Chapter 30: I need you to show your skills as the Dog of the Arena

He ended the life of the one who would one day hold a key position in the Dantalion House.

Kurom sustained some injuries but was captured relatively intact.

Considering the message that surfaced by taking Cheolgo’s life,

‘It was a bit of a struggle, but the results are decent enough.’

His body, still aching from the recent battle, felt on the verge of collapse, but Taehoo smiled pleasantly.

“Now then, I asked what your real name is.”

“I don’t have a real name. Kurom. That’s my name.”

Kurom caught his breath and spoke.

‘So the name that looked like an alias was the real one.’

It wasn’t unheard of.

Sometimes, a name could be so common that it became a plausible fake.

“I see. Doesn’t really matter. You know this guy’s face too, right?”

Taehoo gestured towards Juhyeok with a casual glance.

Kurom had been watching the fight the entire time and was no longer surprised by anything.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Good. Then you must also understand exactly what I’m curious about. You blocked the guy I told you to—so will you answer now?”

Kurom had already betrayed Dantalion.

He had no reason to hide their information now.

Taehoo, knowing this, didn’t bother using intimidation right away.

‘The reason for betrayal…’

He planned to use a skill when that question came up.

It was also a decision influenced by his dwindling mana from the recent fight.

Soon, Kurom’s mouth opened.

“I figured out the size of the Belial House through Juhyeok next to you. As for what Holy Relics they serve, I borrowed some power from the Constellation.”

Before gaining that power, Juhyeok hadn’t known the name of the Constellation Jin-tae Kim worshipped.

So Kurom was explaining that another method was necessary.

[Since they are under the same demon’s authority, it wouldn’t be strange for Dantalion to notice if they paid attention.]

Ba’al elaborated on Kurom’s words.

“So that means the Dantalion House knows about Belial’s existence.”

“Yeah.”

Kurom answered the next question without hesitation.

“When did they figure out Belial’s existence?”

“Two months ago.”

Still a blunt answer.

“Good.”

Taehoo nodded in satisfaction.

‘I know better than anyone why Dantalion desperately tries to eliminate demons. If they sensed the existence of a Holy Relic, they would move within at least half a year.’

Just as Taehoo had initially expected, he could roughly deduce the situation through Kurom’s information.

Regardless of Juhyeok’s presence, they had detected the Constellation’s existence.

Moreover, since he had the chance to interrogate Kurom directly, Taehoo even thought this turn of events was advantageous.

“When was Dantalion planning to remove Belial? Do you know?”

“They wanted to finish it within three months at most.”

That revealed that their behavior hadn’t changed from a past life.

‘Under normal circumstances, as Kurom said, they would have gotten rid of Belial right about then. But the situation has changed now.’

Kurom, who had been in charge of Belial, betrayed them, and the pursuers chasing him were killed.

If that reached Dantalion’s ears, they would likely take extreme measures.

‘They aren’t the type to give up a demon’s Holy Relic.’

Juhyeok couldn’t have known all this, but Taehoo succeeded in uncovering the whole picture.

If he could predict the situation this well, it wouldn’t be impossible to make Jin Tae move accordingly.

Now, it was time to move on to the next phase.

At that moment,

“I don’t understand why the Sword God Family’s bloodline is so cautious about wiping out such a small house.”

Kurom asked, sounding puzzled.

He questioned why they didn’t just erase the house with their power.

It wasn’t a wrong question.

But Taehoo had a different goal—to swallow the Belial House whole.

Therefore,

‘Figuring out why he betrayed Dantalion is important.’

It meant there might be other groups targeting Belial.

“That’s none of your concern. Just answer my questions.”

Taehoo cut him off coldly.

“Remember, you have no right to speak. I want you to answer promptly, just like before. Now, why did you betray Dantalion?”

Silence.

For the first time since the interrogation began, Kurom shut his mouth.

‘So this side is the real one after all.’

Just as expected.

“If the Sword God Family is after Belial or Dantalion, then the reason for my betrayal isn’t that important, is it?”

His words pierced the silence—not an answer but another question.

Taehoo had no intention of giving him a second chance.

Swish!

Before Kurom could say more, a dagger appeared and sliced one of his fingers clean off.

“I said you have no right to speak.”

“Ugh… Right away cutting off an arm as soon as we met. You really don’t hesitate.”

Kurom was inwardly shocked.

The kid in front of him acted like an expert interrogator.

“I’ll ask again. Why did you betray your house?”

Kurom remained silent again.

Or rather, he couldn’t speak.

He was bound by restraints.

Even the desire to live couldn’t help him.

The restraints were so intricate that even Ba’al couldn’t detect them before activation.

Taehoo realized that continuing this way was pointless.

He cut off another finger from Kurom’s hand.

Then sheathed the dagger.

[Skill ‘Intimidation’ activated!]

Taehoo thought this was the time to borrow the skill’s power.

Kurom’s fierce, wide-open eyes went blank under the force of Intimidation.

Taehoo repeated the same question for the third time.

This time, expecting an answer.

But,

• Caught you much easier than I thought. The Dantalion guys weren’t much after all.

The voice that followed was completely different from Kurom’s.

‘What?’

Taehoo was quite taken aback.

“Ba’al, can you identify whose voice that is?”

Even in such moments, Taehoo didn’t stop making decisions.

[No, this is a power I’ve never felt before. But it’s definitely from a Constellation.]

Ba’al couldn’t fully analyze it either.

It meant the opponent was controlling Kurom with an extremely tiny amount of power.

• I’m more impressed with your skills than I expected. See you again.

Before Taehoo could ask the identity, the presence inside Kurom vanished instantly.

Crack!

At the same moment, Kurom’s head snapped back completely.

“What the hell…”

Juhyeok muttered beside him, dumbfounded.

Unlike the startled Juhyeok, Taehoo saw the situation clearly.

Kurom, the traitor.

Another faction’s involvement beyond the Sword God, Belial, and Dantalion.

Something previously unknown in his past life—secrets of the world—were gradually revealing themselves.

From the last words, he realized the reason this incident came to light was because of his existence.

They were apparently more impressed by his abilities than expected.

‘What’s their purpose? Killing Jed so openly might not have been simple revenge.’

The question about why Kurom betrayed them began to evolve.

‘Jed said he was going to change something.’

Change what?

For what purpose?

What was certain was that whoever reported Jed definitely knew something.

Whatever it was, Taehoo needed to find out.

‘But not now.’

There were still too many constraints on action.

The investigation would begin at least after swallowing Belial.

‘Cutting off Kurom’s tail like this means that voice is stepping back from this incident.’

Or maybe that was the goal all along.

“Let’s go back for now.”

[Quest cleared!]

Along with new information,

The mission was a success.

In just one day,

The two who returned so quickly made Jin-tae Kim startled instead.

He hadn’t doubted their success, but he hadn’t expected such a swift return.

He even briefly wondered if some incident had happened and caused failure.

But after confirming the quest was cleared with Belial, all anxiety vanished.

Jin-tae’s office.

“I knew I had a good eye for people.”

Jin-tae greeted Taehoo with a smile.

It pleased him that Taehoo and Juhyeok’s abilities exceeded his expectations.

But Taehoo had no intention of playing along with Jin-tae’s mood.

“I came to report what I found out.”

While Juhyeok, exhausted from the mission, went to rest, Taehoo sought out Jin-tae.

Taehoo had even insisted Juhyeok take a break.

Though the mission lasted only a day, it had probably felt like living through months of incidents for them.

“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t just be sent to die without good reason.”

Jin-tae nodded approvingly.

“What did you find? If you’re here without rest, it must be important.”

“The Dantalion House is aware of our existence.”

Jin-tae looked at Taehoo, encouraging him to continue.

“They know our name, our size, and everything in general. Like a beast preparing to bite our necks.”

Taehoo ended his words with utmost seriousness.

Jin-tae’s expression deepened.

He rose from his seat and paced back and forth across the office a few times.

Coins slipped smoothly through his fingers as he thought.

He was troubled.

‘They must have sensed Dantalion’s existence, but they didn’t know we had gotten a solid lead this far.’

If they had, Jin-tae himself would have been the one to eliminate Kurom, not these two.

‘They probably thought they were already a step ahead just by catching Kurom’s tail.’

“I must have underestimated the opponent. They were closer than I thought. Yosep, you brought really valuable information.”

Jin-tae looked at Taehoo with eyes full of admiration.

Taehoo deliberately ignored the awkward gaze.

‘If he’s this grateful, he must have been pretty worried.’

[Ugh, but seeing that look makes me a bit sick… Why do I have to witness this too?]

Ba’al muttered briefly.

‘This will surely serve as a strong stimulus for Jin-tae.’

Dantalion would become quite urgent because of this.

If things seemed to be delayed, they would act without hesitation.

That assessment included a wish for Belial to move more decisively.

So Taehoo was provoking Jin-tae.

To make him act faster.

To give the enemy an opening.

‘To find out who the presence inside Kurom was, this mission has to end quickly.’

Many calculations were entangled in his actions.

‘I’ve confirmed that Juhyeok and I are better than expected. There’s definitely potential.’

Taehoo followed Jin-tae’s pacing with his eyes, waiting for him to speak.

A coin hovered in the air, catching moonlight before being drawn back into Jin-tae’s hand.

He stopped right in front of Taehoo.

“Yosep.”

He called him by the alias.

“Yes.”

Taehoo answered as if it were his real name.

“I need you to show your skills as the Dog of the Arena.”

His gaze was resolute.

The look of someone who had made up his mind. Taehoo placed a hand on Yosep’s shoulder.

“You need to enter the Arena.”

A brief silence.

“You can win, right?”

Jin-tae asked.

The Arena was the second most MVP-laden place after the Auction, next only to the Sewers.

Jin-tae planned to reveal his house to the world from there.

It was a bold and definite plan.

“I was confident even before training. Why else would the Sword God have taken me in and raised me?”

Taehoo said confidently, flashing a bright smile.

“The day you win there, that’s the day we show ourselves to the world.”

Jin-tae met Taehoo’s eyes firmly.

[Quest begins!]