Kang You-jin closed his eyes tightly and pondered the Dark Knight’s proposal.
“To surrender?”
Originally, as someone who had aspired to become a Hero, he was aware that his actions were wrong. He knew that if he continued down this path, it would only lead to ruin.
He swiftly glanced over his gang. They were all people who had trusted him and participated in these crimes out of loyalty.
“What will happen to my comrades?”
“The same as you.”
At that moment, Shin Gak, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
“I have already let go of my resentment, so it is right for me to disappear. I intended to stay longer for your sake, but with things turning out this way, I shall depart.”
Shin Gak had managed to resolve his grievances by killing all the treacherous individuals, granting him peace and allowing him ascension. Concerned for Kang You-jin, he had wished to stay a bit longer, but the Dark Knight’s proposal was a reasonable one, and Shin Gak encouraged Kang You-jin to accept it. It was a gimmick of necromancy: feigning the resolution of a vengeful spirit’s grievances to keep them around longer, but in this case, the Dark Knight simply pressured Kang You-jin to accept.
“Very well… I will surrender.”
Kang You-jin replied with a detached expression.
“Young Master! Why suddenly…!”
“You’re saying that even the Dark Knight isn’t a challenge worth fighting?”
His gang erupted in chaos at his declaration to surrender, their faces contorted as if the heavens had collapsed.
“My contracted Ghost has achieved ascension.”
Though technically, it hadn’t happened yet, he simply no longer wished to continue committing sins. The last shred of conscience in his heart rejected it.
“I see.”
“Nothing can be done.”
“If that’s the case…”
Kang You-jin’s gang, all individuals of the same underworld network, understood what he meant. They all moved toward the Dark Knight, bowed their heads, and promised to surrender.
On the other hand, the demon Shaks, who clung to Kang You-jin, was deeply dissatisfied with this development.
“Kang You-jin. You must achieve A-rank. That isn’t something you can accomplish in prison.”
“I’m sorry.”
The Dark Knight initially startled at Kang You-jin speaking to himself but quickly realized the words weren’t meant for him.
“Is it because you think you can’t defeat that guy? I can give you greater power.”
“That’s not the issue. Anyway, it seems I won’t be able to achieve A-rank. Perhaps you should move on to someone else.”
When Kang You-jin coldly dismissed him, Shaks shoved a translucent contract, visible only to Kang You-jin’s eyes, in his face.
“Kang You-jin. Didn’t you clearly agree to achieve A-rank? Are you planning to break the contract?”
It was all news to him—both the existence of the contract and the promise to achieve A-rank—but upon seeing the semi-transparent document thrust in his face, it was indeed written exactly as Shaks stated.
“No, this is fraud. I’ve never even seen this contract, let alone signed it, so I have no intention of fulfilling it.”
Shaks grinned malevolently, as if receiving the response he wanted.
“Did you really think I, a demon, would ever make a fair contract with a mere mortal like you?”
From the start, Shaks had crafted this deceptive contract, skillfully taking advantage of human perception in ways incomprehensible to them—much like how dogs and cats cannot fully grasp human behavior.
“Ugh!”
Shaks possessed Kang You-jin’s body. With the declaration of Kang You-jin’s lack of intent to fulfill the contract, the body was reclaimed as collateral.
“Finally, I have a body. Why are there so many restrictions in this dimension!”
Everyone in the room sensed that things were going awry.
“What’s going on? Are you really Kang You-jin?”
The Dark Knight acted the fastest. Knowing of Yongcheonhwa’s case, he immediately suspected that Kang You-jin had been possessed.
“You’re quite strong for an Earthling. This body won’t suffice.”
Kang You-jin’s body began to morph. His mouth transformed into a sharp beak, and his legs took on a bird-like appearance. His energy altered enough that even a relatively weak B-rank Hero could feel disconcerted.
Kang You-jin’s body, now resembling Shaks in its true form, was far weaker than the actual Shaks, but it was still a partial recreation of his power.
Having concluded that this was not Kang You-jin, the Dark Knight used the ‘Decapitation’ skill. Disappearing with a black mist, he reappeared behind Shaks and lunged at the demon’s chest with his blade.
“You’re too slow.”
However, it was merely an afterimage. Shaks had already distanced himself to a faraway place, displaying an incredible speed.
‘Does this mean his agility is specialized?’
Shinnoda was surprised. Even with his current abilities, he couldn’t match Shaks.
———————————–
Status Window
● Name:
n̶̡̡̛̟̠͈͎̟̍͜͝͡͠ų̢̰̭̲̋͒̓͊̀̒́͘͡l̴̳͙͓̞̻̝͇̥͆̋͂̉̕͡͠͠l̨̛̫̖̝͓̮̳͓͆̃̈̈́̈́͆̈̕
● Stats:
[Strength 200 A] (+1100)
[Agility 841 B] (+1300)
[Intelligence 291 C] (+800)
[Luck 277 F] (+1000)
[Overall C]
● Skills:
[Succession 921 A]
[Dragon Heart — A]
[Telekinesis 780 C]
[Engraving Magic — B]
[Polymorph — S]
———————————–
With the bonus from items and skills, he had reached S-rank in both strength and agility.
And yet, he couldn’t keep up with Shaks.
“I am Shacks, the Archangel of Truth and Righteousness. What is your name?”
Shaks stood impressively at a corner of the conference room, introducing himself.
“…”
The Dark Knight remained silent.
I was very perplexed.
Just when I thought everything was heading in a nice direction, Kang You-jin turned into a monster.
The demon who called himself Shaks emitted power equivalent to a fully-powered S-rank. Clearly, his abilities surpassed mine, who only had S-rank strength and agility.
‘Lady Laura, can we reverse this?’
Kang You-jin had become a demon. It was bitter to offer kindness only for it to end this way.
[If we completely subdue him, there might be a chance… but I doubt it’s possible. Honestly, we should be considering running away at this point.]
Lady Laura responded with a voice filled with concern.
‘I concede he’s stronger, but I can’t back down here.’
While my instinct told me to flee, doing so would guarantee the death of ‘Metal Man’ and his entourage.
Moreover, this was the heart of the city; there would be considerable civilian casualties.
Even if I couldn’t defeat Shaks alone, I believed other Heroes would join in the fight upon sensing the powerful energy.
The fact that fighting a villain mattered little compared to this should already have been clear to them.
‘Damn, whatever the case, it’s still extremely dangerous.’
Though I am not a hero, I couldn’t simply stand by and let them die.
‘There’s nothing for it. Just stalling for time.’
With Lady Laura’s assistance, there was some hope of enduring.
Isiah focused her attention on the TV news alert when she heard a familiar name.
“A monster has appeared at the parliament building where a hostage crisis was occurring! It’s presumed to be due to a Gate collapse though it’s unclear how the Gate could have been neglected until now.”
The Gate collapse was irrelevant to her. What mattered was ‘Dark Knight.’
“At the scene are five Heroes, including Metal Man who arrived to capture the villain, along with Dark Knight. They are in a standoff with the monster, and it’s estimated to be at the S-rank level!”
Anxious and restless, Isiah nervously bit her nails.
It was true that Dark Knight was strong. According to her analytical data, he was at the upper A-rank to early S-rank level. Normally, several high-tier Awakened Ones of the same rank would tackle a powerful monster like this. But from what the news said about the other heroes’ capabilities, they were woefully inadequate.
“Meow.”
It wasn’t as if Isiah could only sit and worry. She had the ‘Transformation Belt’ obtained after clearing a dungeon recently, which granted her powers comparable to S-rank, albeit with some penalties.
‘As the captain of the knights, worrying about penalties is simply unacceptable!’
Isiah resolved to act. She would protect her idol on her own. The penalties didn’t matter if it was to safeguard Dark Knight.
Of course, there was a touch of ulterior motives. Saving Dark Knight in distress would offer gratitude and a chance to get closer to him. Maybe she could even uncover his true identity while she was at it.
‘He’s definitely not Shinnoda…’
Shinnoda was certainly handsome, but he wasn’t her type. In her imagination, the figure beneath the Dark Knight’s hood was a broad-shouldered, distinguished-looking middle-aged man.
“Meowhaha. Meowhahaha.”
Isiah happily prepared for battle while indulging in her fantasies, then left her house.
