Chapter 25
“Captain, are we really going to let them run wild like that?”
Hins, who had been glaring at Wendy and her group after their speech, spoke to Kal.
“My constellation doesn’t like it either.”
Kal crossed his arms and stared at the evil spirits gathered in a tight circle.
“So, what should we do?”
At Derek’s question, Kal tilted his head.
“Hmm.”
No matter how strong the awakened one on their side was, or that monstrous man standing beside them—
In the end, everyone’s role came down to either prey or hunter.
The “evil spirits,” who would be hunted down mercilessly without resistance,
and the “Rulers,” who had to hunt them.
But since when did weak and useless prey—
have the audacity to stand so confidently in front of their hunters?
“…It’s all because of them.”
Kal felt something was deeply wrong.
“I should’ve killed them back then.”
This was a position they had fought to claim.
“Sorry, kids, but you’ll have to take the evil spirits. In return, we’ll protect you.”
Even knowing it was petty, he had deceived the younger team members.
“We’ll spare the four of you—if you kill that kid.”
He had even used a seemingly weak woman to try and eliminate their teammate.
If someone saw what they had done, they would surely call them villains.
But in this living hell where survival was everything—
“If we help useless people, we’ll be the ones who suffer!”
The kids, full of compassion but of little use, were nothing but burdens.
So for the first time, he abandoned a teammate.
“Captain, should we kill those evil spirits too?”
After that, he abandoned morality.
“I think those kids showed up on the map.”
“…Not just one?”
At the very least—
“Good. Kill them all.”
Even the last shred of humanity—
was discarded.
And he believed it was the right thing.
At least, in this place.
“Survival.”
Yes. To live in this wretched place, they had to fulfill the conditions set by those so-called gods.
Because then, at least, they wouldn’t die.
Their lives—
“Please… spare me!”
“…Dad.”
Because he could keep living—
even after killing his own daughter, who had turned into a monster.
A filthy life, sustained by sacrificing innocent blood unrelated to him.
And to Kal, that was completely natural.
“The weak die.”
Just days ago, they had all been living in the same world—
maybe even chatting idly in the bakery he once ran.
Ordinary people.
But now—
to him, a “Ruler”—
they were nothing more than fragile prey.
“In the end, you’re all the same. You killed others to get here too.”
Forgetting entirely the true cause of all this—
“Hypocrites.”
It was at that moment that Kal’s heart began to burn black.
[The Constellation, Orator of Hell, requests to make a proposal to its incarnation, Kal.]
His constellation spoke.
“Hey… what’s wrong with that guy?”
Something was clearly off about Kal.
Not just his twisted expression—
but black, ominous smoke was rising from his body.
And a constellation’s proposal?
‘Direct intervention from constellations shouldn’t be possible yet…’
Even in the original story, intervention was only allowed near the end of the second gate.
But this was still the very early stage.
And not even a high-ranking constellation—
so how could it interfere with the world?
[I’ll put up a barrier.]
Sensing something strange, Yeriel extended her branches and wrapped them around us.
“Thanks, Yeriel.”
After thanking her lightly, I began thinking.
The Orator of Hell had shown hostility toward us from the beginning.
There was no way it had made a normal proposal to its incarnation.
“Looks like the Rulers are feeling threatened. For now… we need to get out of here.”
Zenon said, tapping Yeriel’s smooth trunk.
It was a signal to move.
[Ah, wait a moment!]
Yeriel shifted her branches, and soon—
the horrific scene hidden behind them came into view.
“Kill the evil spirits!”
“Don’t leave a single one alive!”
The situation had completely flipped.
The Rulers, now wrapped in black smoke, chased down the evil spirits with weapons in hand.
“Run!”
“Get away!”
The evil spirits weren’t easy prey either—they had survived this long, after all.
In a way, this was only natural.
Rulers hunting evil spirits was as natural as breathing.
‘But why now, all of a sudden?’
And the biggest problem—
“Exterminate the evil spirits…”
All the Rulers were repeating the same words, as if possessed.
“Unni, something’s wrong with them.”
Even Lilia noticed.
This wasn’t coincidence.
Then—
a message appeared.
[The Constellation, Furnace of the Universe, protests that another constellation has violated the rules for personal amusement!]
‘Even Hestia is angry like that…’
No doubt the one being referred to was the Orator of Hell.
“What exactly was the violation?”
[The Constellation, Abandoned Child, says the incarnation unlocked power beyond its level at the cost of its life.]
[The Constellation, Abandoned Child, says Kal’s lifespan has been reduced by 10 years as the price.]
‘I see.’
Whether Kal lost 10 years or 100 didn’t matter.
‘I get what kind of ability this is.’
The Rulers, who had been trembling under Zenon’s killing intent and Yeriel’s awakening, had suddenly become violent.
It was obvious.
‘A skill that amplifies hostility.’
Like how certain manipulators could incite people to do the unthinkable.
That must be the nature of the Orator of Hell.
…but something still felt off.
We were near the cliff where the staircase led down.
Meaning—
we should be able to escape.
“Why isn’t anyone leaving?”
There were plenty of people near the stairs.
But—
“Ahh! Why do I keep getting pushed back?!”
A transparent barrier was blocking them.
[The Constellation, Furnace of the Universe, says the path is temporarily sealed due to your companion’s awakening.]
Right.
During awakening, the area is sealed to minimize damage.
‘So no one can enter or leave.’
“…We have to save them.”
The evil spirits had trusted us.
We couldn’t just watch them be slaughtered.
“Yeriel, can you heal the injured?”
The problem—
I was an evil spirit too.
I couldn’t attack the Rulers.
“Zenon, protect as many people as you can!”
So we relied on the only one who could act freely.
Zenon nodded and shot forward like a beam of light.
Like a black meteor, he moved across the battlefield, disabling the Rulers one by one.
“…That buys us time.”
But the situation was still bad.
“We need a solution…”
Think.
Then—
I saw Kal, standing among them, muttering endlessly while radiating dark energy.
“…We need to stop him first.”
It wouldn’t end everything—
but it could create an opening.
“Celestine!”
She turned with a calm smile.
“My turn?”
Even now, she was composed.
“…I see why Anubis liked her.”
“Shut that man up.”
She nodded.
“Gladly.”
She scanned Kal—
then locked onto a pink bracelet on his wrist.
“That will do.”
Her body dissolved into mist.
Her spirit leapt—
and entered the bracelet.
Her ability:
To possess objects with history.
She should be able to control him—
“Lilia, increase the flame—Eden, you—”
Then—
“Aah!”
Celestine was thrown out, collapsing to the ground.
“You damn brat!”
Kal, gripping the bracelet, raised his dagger.
“How dare you touch my daughter’s keepsake?!”
The condition—
an object with meaning.
And this—
was his dead daughter’s relic.
“…No.”
Realizing it—
“Stop!”
I rushed forward without thinking.
