Chapter 52: The Demon’s Bargain

‘How on earth did he figure it out? And so quickly… Could it be that the reverse usage has been lifted…??’

The twins looked at each other’s faces simultaneously.

Their changed faces remained the same.

There was no way the skill personally bestowed by the clan head would be undone.

‘Then did he identify our true identities purely by his own strength?’

Countless questions surged and vanished in the twins’ minds.

At the same time, a growing fear of Taehoo took root.

“Let our children assess him directly. To see if he’s someone who can stand against the world alongside us.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. And gather as much information as you can. I look forward to the evaluation.”

Words they had heard from the clan head before infiltrating the Nam Clan.

‘It’s too soon to pass judgment; there’s not enough information about him yet.’

But what they could be certain of now was:

‘No matter how it was possible, he’s astonishingly calm. Not some fool who just rushes in relying on strength alone.’

Since entering the dungeon, bewildering events kept unfolding.

From the sudden spike in dungeon difficulty, to Taehoo’s overwhelming power far beyond expectations, to the unexpected message.

From the twins’ perspective, Taehoo was precisely reading the situation amid all this.

When they had received the note in the village’s underground, they had briefly thought it was nothing serious—and regretted that.

‘He’s terrifying.’

The twins became convinced of that from the current situation.

This newcomer who had only just begun life as a Hunter showed judgment on par with a veteran.

A presence more than enough to instill fear in children their age.

Of course, the twins weren’t naive enough to spill all their secrets so easily.

‘We don’t know how he deduced our true identities, but at least, in this situation, there’s no solid proof.’

Woobin judged as much.

Moreover, the fact that the Joo Family could change their faces was not common knowledge.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, my lord. The ‘Holy Ones of the Joo Family’?”

“We have sworn loyalty to the Nam Clan. Are you trying to insult us?”

When Woobin played innocent, Woojin added from beside him.

Taehoo let out a mocking smile watching their reaction.

“So, you say it’s not true?”

“I really don’t understand what you mean.”

Answers came without a pause.

Taehoo grinned.

Rising from his seat with that smile.

With a single movement, Taehoo dominated the surroundings.

The twins broke out in cold sweat.

“I’ve heard that the Joo Family can change their faces…”

“…!”

“Let’s see if you’ll say the same after I tear your faces apart by force.”

His clear words were a death sentence for the twins.

“Oh, and if I’m wrong, I’ll apologize after I tear your faces off.”

The continuing smile made their minds reel.

Just as Taehoo was about to leap at them,

“W-Wait!”

Woobin’s strained voice rang out loudly.

If they used the full might of their clan, they could probably hold their own evenly.

But fighting would be admitting guilt, and if that happened, surviving the dungeon would be out of the question.

They had no chance against Taehoo and the three other Hunters left.

‘Still, the fact he’s giving us a chance to reveal everything means he probably doesn’t intend to kill us.’

Woobin shut his eyes tightly and spoke.

“Alright, then. What do you want?”

Their identities were exposed, and the twins had no way out.

Now was the time to reveal what Taehoo wanted, while protecting whatever they could.

‘He’s not holding a sword, but the battle has already started. If we show even a slight opening, he’ll devour us…!’

With his resolve steeled, Woobin looked calmly at Taehoo. Woojin did the same.

‘He was so flustered at first, but now he’s back in his element. No wonder they call him a Holy One.’

Taehoo looked at the twins thoughtfully.

‘I wonder what their real strength is… Should I just fight them once?’

Aside from Muncheol, they were the first peers Taehoo had faced.

Such a frivolous thought briefly entered Taehoo’s mind. Of course, it was not his true intention.

“Glad we can talk.”

Taehoo returned to his seat.

“I have some idea why you two are here. Probably to dig up information on me.”

The twins flinched at the sharp truth.

“You can take whatever information you want. Investigate all you like. I’ll keep it a secret that the Joo Family twins attended my coming-of-age ceremony.”

The twins’ eyes widened when Taehoo said that.

If they left the dungeon and made an issue of this, it could escalate into a family feud.

Yet Taehoo was offering to overlook it so easily?

The twins could not even begin to guess Taehoo’s true motives.

Taehoo’s words continued amidst their silence.

“But in exchange, you two will form an alliance with me. Even after we leave this dungeon. How about that?”

“Even after leaving the dungeon?”

“Exactly as you heard. We Holy Ones are not the only ones here. If you look beyond to the world, their number is countless. And I have no intention of settling for being just a Holy One.”

In other words, he was talking about climbing higher than those others.

Taehoo was envisioning a far-reaching future.

The twins recalled Joo Hyemin’s words.

To judge whether he was someone who could fight alongside them in this world.

‘His power, situational judgment, and courage. There’s nothing lacking.’

They were certain.

“There’s no choice.”

Not saying “Fine” outright was their last shred of pride.

“Good. A wise decision. And I have a small favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

Taehoo walked toward the two, who looked at him warily.

The twins swallowed dryly as Taehoo approached close enough to see them clearly.

Suddenly, Taehoo’s form vanished right before their eyes, and from behind them came a calm voice.

“There’s someone in this dungeon targeting my back. I’m entrusting your backs to you two against that guy.”

Otherwise, my sword could turn against you at any time.

The twins could only nod in response to the implied threat.

They had already decided to move with Taehoo.

As Taehoo said, guarding his back was the wise choice.

With those few words, Taehoo walked out of the building.

He had shackled Jiho and secured a way to control the twins at will.

The board was set; now he only had to make sure Seongcheol moved as planned.

‘So, will he act as I expect?’

The important factor now was how Seongcheol would move.

Even if he did not act according to Taehoo’s wishes, Taehoo was confident he wouldn’t stray far.

The twins were here, Jiho was outside.

If Seongcheol was to act, now was the perfect opportunity.

Seongcheol was already in the palm of their hand.

Underground in the village.

Where the other four Hunters had left, an unknown tension lingered.

Seongcheol was turning over thoughts within that atmosphere.

From the moment he set foot here, many situations came rushing in.

All of them made clearing the dungeon increasingly difficult.

The bad news for everyone else was an exception for Seongcheol.

On the contrary, it was an ideal situation for him to act.

‘I had basically given up on overpowering them, but now there’s definitely an opportunity.’

If he could shake the villagers’ minds inside and out, a crack would form.

He had the strength to exploit that gap. There was still a chance to save his younger sister.

Seongcheol was certain of that.

Therefore, with everyone gone, his task was clear.

“Village Chief, I have urgent business to discuss.”

Seongcheol approached the village chief, who was sweating profusely between the villagers and himself.

From the earlier situation, it was easy to tell the chief was the villagers’ spiritual pillar.

If there was a first target to strike, it was none other than the village chief.

At the word “urgent,” the chief discreetly led Seongcheol to his room.

“I’m sorry. They’re not all bad people… but they’ve been through such hard times…”

The chief bowed repeatedly before Seongcheol.

His remorse was so deep it seemed he’d give up his own life if he could take responsibility.

“It’s nothing.”

Seongcheol said as he looked around.

A small, worn bed filled the one-room space.

A shabby place unbefitting a village chief’s quarters.

A place that vividly reflected their hardships.

Seongcheol began.

“I’ll ask without beating around the bush. You suspect there’s a traitor among those who showed themselves today, don’t you?”

At his sudden question, the chief visibly trembled.

His weak eyes shook uncontrollably.

“You don’t need to be so afraid. I suspected someone among us, too.”

The trembling eyes stopped and widened.

“W-What do you mean…?”

Carefully so as not to alarm the chief, Seongcheol drew his sword.

Soon, he gathered mana around the blade.

The unawakened mana shone white.

To an ordinary person, it would look like the pure power of a god.

Seongcheol put on a prepared expression and spoke.

“As you surely know, the power of Great God Kalian is white.”

Though a fabrication, such superstitions were common in a small village.

Seongcheol had hit that blind spot.

The chief nodded in agreement.

Bingo.

Seongcheol smiled inwardly.

People often thought the god’s power was pure white. Then what about the opposite?

“What about the one who stood at the front during the day, slashing demons?”

He meant Taehoo.

He asked about the color of the aura he used.

Aura color varies by user, but the villagers would have no way to know that.

“Wasn’t half of it black? If that’s not evidence of corruption, then what is?”

They probably didn’t see the battle, but they surely noticed the black aura lingering on Taehoo’s blade.

Seongcheol drove his point bluntly.

The chief said he needed time and stepped outside.

When he returned, his eyes held a certain resolve.

“What should I do?”

The chief responded.

People only needed one simple thing to pick sides—color.

A witch hunt.

That was what Seongcheol planned in this dungeon.

The second day.

Under Taehoo’s orders, Jiho and the twins took no action.

To an outsider, it might seem they were resting for the next battle.

That night, rumors began circulating in the village.

One of the five who appeared as heroes was a demon’s thrall.

The source of the rumor was the village chief.

Exhausted villagers readily believed the chief’s words.

In truth, whether the rumor was true or false didn’t matter much to them.

They simply needed a target to vent their resentments, and their trusted chief’s words were too sweet to deny.

The villagers only wished for this hell to end as soon as possible.

The third day.

The rumor spread even more foully, like a stench.

“The thrall uses the demon’s power—black energy!”

The rumor became more concrete than before.

In a small village like this, rumors spread all the faster.

Taehoo and the others hadn’t heard it yet, but they would soon.

By the time the rumor reached their ears, their plans would already be in motion.

Seongcheol thought so.

The fourth day passed like that.

By the next day, the rumor had become accepted as fact.

Seongcheol had only tossed a small spark to the chief, but the flames had already engulfed the entire village.

Four days was enough time for the situation to spiral into catastrophe.

At a cabin on the outskirts of the village—where Taehoo and the twins had talked—the five gathered.

“Rumors are spreading ill about the people here. I promised to protect the villagers… I have no excuse.”

Seongcheol bowed before Taehoo.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s because I failed to notice.”

Taehoo’s voice came out like he was chewing on each word.

[Wow, what an act…]

Ba’al occasionally disrupted his focus, but Taehoo ignored it.

“We can’t do anything about the villagers, even with the quest. Blocking the waves is our priority.”

“Sorry.”

Jiho looked at Taehoo with a weary expression, and when he glanced at Seongcheol, his lips pressed tightly in distress.

Even Jiho could clearly see Seongcheol had betrayed them.

He had confirmed the chief was repeatedly reading a note—and the handwriting on that note was Seongcheol’s.

Seongcheol had left it behind, thinking Jiho would never suspect him, but it had become a poison.

Still, Jiho could not bring himself to believe the betrayal.

He wanted to believe there was another explanation.

That night.

Seongcheol gave the village chief one order.

The demon’s thrall could not act against the villagers for some reason, so they were to revolt near the end of the demon invasion, with Seongcheol’s help.

And so dawn of the fifth day arrived.

[Second Wave begins!]

The once clear sky darkened in an instant, as if a shadow had been cast.

Eeeeng!

With a tearing sound, a Gate spewed out demons.

[Wave Boss has appeared!]

Perhaps due to the change in content, the boss appeared immediately from the Gate.

[Skeleton Summoner Skebin claims the title of the 2nd Wave Boss!]

The villagers hid underground, waiting.

Taehoo, Jiho, Seongcheol, and the twins faced off against Skebin.

Skebin looked like a skeleton with horns, but otherwise resembled a human skeleton.

In its ribcage burned a dark green heart, and empty eye sockets flickered with flames of the same color.

“Rise.”

A dry voice like cracking earth echoed everywhere.

Responding to the voice, skeletons whitened as they rose from the ground.

Clatter, clatter.

The sound of bones hitting each other filled the air.

Skeletons sprouted from the earth, quickly filling the area.

A rough count showed over a thousand.

A heavy atmosphere pressed down all around.

The skeletons wore helmets forged from dark magic, wielding shields and swords made the same way.

Skebin stood proudly amid the swelling skeletons.

The massive iron mace it held was very intimidating.

‘So this is why there were no Wave monsters before.’

Still, they were not at an unbeatable level.

Just then, Skebin spoke.

At the same time,

The skeletons covering the battlefield opened their mouths.

“Humans with the power of the Great Demon.”

Voices echoed from every skull.

A grotesque chorus filled the dungeon.

All the skeletons sang in unison with Skebin.

The words struck everyone’s ears present.

“If you hand him over to us, the invasion will end. Then no one will die.”

No one will die.

That short phrase echoed from all directions.

“A human with power is among you. Think of a way to survive.”

The sound was loud enough for those hiding underground to hear.

It was like pouring fuel onto the burning public sentiment.

Seongcheol cheered inwardly, while Taehoo watched him and prepared for the coming battle.