Episode 522. Sacrifice

Inside the dark mansion.

Maestro continued his prayers while looking at a giant statue of a demon.

He knew he wasn’t receiving revelations from the Demon King, but prayer had now become his daily routine.

If he didn’t even offer these prayers, his mind wouldn’t have any time to rest.

Jeobeok jeobeok.

Just then, the approaching footsteps snapped Maestro out of his thoughts.

“It’s Gale.”

“This is the regular report, Maestro-nim.”

His new secretary brought Maestro documents detailing the current status of Pandemic’s terrorist activities, and Maestro nodded after reviewing them.

Not long ago, Pandemic had abolished all regulations restricting demons.

Since then, demons had stopped hiding their true nature, revealing themselves as Pandemic members and carrying out terrorist acts.

The goal was the slaughter of as many humans as possible.

High-level demons simultaneously initiated the terror attacks, and similar copycat crimes followed.

It was only natural that the entire world fell into chaos.

The world’s economy was paralyzed because of one group called Pandemic.

Maestro, the mastermind behind these events, calmly checked the documents Gale handed him.

“Gale, this is everything, right?”

“Yes. The number of terrorist incidents has increased dramatically compared to last week.”

“Indeed it has…”

Maestro’s new secretary.

Gale.

Among the executives, he was a loyal and simultaneously powerful demon of Pandemic.

To faithfully carry out Maestro’s order to maintain only the minimum reporting system and allow others to act autonomously, he bowed to Maestro before attempting to leave the room.

“Gale. Just a moment.”

“Yes. Do you have another command?”

Gale stopped in his tracks at Maestro’s words and waited, standing rigidly, for the next command.

Since becoming secretary, this was the first time he’d been tasked with anything other than reporting, so he was quite nervous.

“Wait there for a moment.”

Maestro put down the documents and scanned Gale’s body.

The brainwashing he had undergone was still strong.

Occasionally, the brainwashing was so strong it had the opposite effect on some demons, but fortunately, Gale was moving faithfully for Pandemic without any side effects.

“It’s good to see you working for Pandemic, Gale. I always appreciate your hard work.”

“That’s praise beyond my deserving, Maestro-nim.”

Gale was slightly surprised by Maestro’s sudden compliment and bowed his head.

All the demons of Pandemic respected Maestro.

The biggest reason was his overwhelming charisma and presence.

His demeanor, more demonic than any demon despite being human, captivated the hearts of all demons.

For him to express such warm gratitude to him, it was only natural that his heart swelled with emotion.

“Good. I will eternally record your loyalty to Pandemic.”

“No, sir. I merely followed orders… Hmm…?”

For just a moment.

Gale felt a sense of doubt about Maestro’s words.

Although it was clearly praise directed at him, it felt awkward.

It felt like a final farewell to a dying old soldier lying in bed.

Before that doubt could be resolved, Maestro slowly approached Gale.

Puuk-

“Kuh…?”

The event happened in an instant.

Maestro’s hand, which pierced Gale’s chest, cleanly ruptured Gale’s heart.

“M-Maestro-nim…”

Due to the brainwashing, he probably couldn’t resist even if he wanted to, but the blow was so fast that resistance was impossible anyway.

Gale, forgetting even the pain, stared at Maestro with trembling eyes.

“You truly worked hard, Gale. You are now walking the same path as Arkman and Tavishi who went before you, and… hmm. Many other demons. It’s a path for Pandemic.”

“Ah…”

Maestro was smiling benevolently, despite piercing the heart.

Seeing that face, Gale understood his death and accepted it calmly.

The strongly brainwashed demons of Pandemic prioritized the stability of Pandemic over their own lives.

If the boss judged that they must die, they would naturally lay down their lives.

That was Maestro’s brainwashing, and the mindset of Pandemic’s executives.

…However.

Gale, despite all that, was still a demon.

In the final moments before his breath gave out, the last instant of his life.

The unique desire for life inherent in demons flared up.

‘…Arkman and Tavishi?’

He knew those names too.

Maestro’s previous secretaries.

They were particularly loyal to Pandemic, and though their combat prowess had waned from long service, they were famous demons.

It was the exact same situation Gale was in now.

Maestro’s secretaries had been replaced continuously of late.

Each one had disappeared during battles, but what if they had all died like this?

“… N-No way, all the missing secretaries… K-Kuhuk!”

“So you’ve finally realized. It’s strange how demons’ brainwashing breaks at the very last moment. I really must be careful to finish things cleanly.”

Maestro’s lips curled up like a child who had found something amusing.

All the demons who had died at his hands up until now had realized the truth in their final moments.

But by then, it was too late. They couldn’t resist even if they wanted to.

“It’s alright. Thanks to your sacrifice, the Demon King’s descent will be hastened by even a second.”

Badung badung.

Gale, whose heart had been pierced by Maestro, tried to break free from him like other demons, but his body, still bound by brainwashing despite his mind’s awakening, ultimately offered his life to Maestro.

About a minute passed.

The light vanished from the demon’s eyes.

Cheolpudeok-

After tossing Gale onto the floor.

Maestro turned towards the statue without even wiping the blood from his hands.

A giant statue shaped like a demon.

It was where Maestro always prayed.

A large chalice held in the statue’s left hand.

Maestro carefully lifted the chalice and held it close to his chest.

Inside the chalice, pitch-black water sloshed.

It exuded an ominous magical energy just by looking at it, resembling a black pillar.

Seeing the chalice half-full, Maestro frowned.

“It barely increased. It’s far from enough.”

The Chalice of Hell, meant to summon the Demon King.

It had suddenly appeared before him.

One day, while continuing his prayers as usual.

The ordinary chalice held by the statue began to fill with an unknown liquid, and it grew rapidly as terrorist acts increased.

Maestro naturally became convinced.

When this chalice was completely full, the Demon King would descend.

The criteria for the chalice filling up were complex.

Sometimes it would fill only slightly even after obliterating a region and killing many people, while other times it filled noticeably after killing just a few.

There was only one sure criterion.

Immense magical power and negative human emotions.

The best were those humans referred to as big shots.

Killing them increased the amount in the chalice.

When they captured a rather renowned mage from the Wizard Association.

When they buried a group of China’s S-class hunters using a sinkhole.

In all those instances, the chalice noticeably filled up.

But even that had its limits.

Maestro unleashed Pandemic’s demons, plunging the world into chaos, and negative emotions erupted across the globe.

Many named hunters were killed in the process.

Yet, the chalice only filled up a tiny bit.

It was insufficient to summon the Demon King.

‘A greater sacrifice is needed.’

Maestro sensed it.

To fill the chalice any further, ordinary humans wouldn’t suffice.

What was needed now were individuals connected to the fate of this world.

Those with the ability to twist fate single-handedly.

Lee Hoyeon. And… Lucifer.

Jeobeok. Jeobeok.

Maestro placed the chalice back on the statue and turned around.

Lee Hoyeon and Lucifer.

The two were closely related.

“It would be great if I could offer even one of them… as a sacrifice.”

Lucifer is an apostle of the Demon King.

Naturally, it wouldn’t make sense to use him as a sacrifice, but Lucifer’s demeanor had changed drastically starting a few days ago.

As if suspecting Maestro’s and the Demon King’s true identities, he began distancing himself from Maestro.

At the same time, the chalice also recognized Lucifer as a potential sacrifice.

‘Has he discovered the secret of this world?’

Maestro didn’t know the secret of this world, but he was aware of Lucifer’s plans.

It was because Lucifer had taken many demons to use in his schemes.

The plan was to capture Lee Hoyeon, unravel the secret of the demonic eye, and bring forth the Demon King of Hell.

In a way, it was a similar goal to his own.

“Lucifer’s demonic eye is certainly a nuisance…”

Lucifer’s demonic eye could see through everything in the world, except for Lee Hoyeon.

That’s why Lucifer showed such great interest in Lee Hoyeon.

However, there was something Lucifer didn’t know: his own brainwashing was also undetectable by Lucifer.

Even if brainwashing could be blocked, its presence itself couldn’t be perceived.

As proof, Lucifer hadn’t noticed the brainwashing commands Maestro had secretly implanted several times.

If he got lucky, he might even be able to brainwash Lucifer.

Seuk.

Maestro entered his study and continued his contemplation.

This place, where no presence could be felt, was where Maestro came to think quietly.

The black pillars summoned across the globe.

They were emitting the magic of Hell, assimilating the environment of Hell with Earth.

Connecting Hell and Earth held great significance.

Even a single proper connection would vastly expand the rift between spaces.

It was difficult the first time, but once a spatial rift had a scratch, it could be widened indefinitely.

“Lee Hoyeon…”

Maestro recalled the face of one human.

His fated adversary.

Lee Hoyeon had recently achieved tremendous growth.

It wasn’t just his power. Something Maestro didn’t understand was also growing rapidly.

It could be a mental aspect, or some other special factor.

What was certain was that the Demon King feared him as he grew stronger.

That must be why he was in such a hurry.

“…Kugh.”

Maestro rose from his seat again due to his worsening headache.

It had reached a point where daily life was no longer possible.

If he paused the assimilation work of Hell or the preparations for the Demon King’s descent even for a moment, his entire body would twist in agony.

Maestro connected the communicator to the field.

• Chijik. Chijik… Yes. Maestro-nim.

• Gale has died in combat. A replacement secretary isn’t needed for the time being, so have available personnel report every hour.

• Understood.

• Also, compile and report the status of attacks on guilds controlling the black pillars. I will visit the next site myself.

• Y-Yourself?! I’ll prepare immediately!

Maestro ended the communication and closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

He was already too late.

Pandemic’s actions to kill humans and destroy the Earth could not be stopped.

He was no longer human.

A monster. Or a ghost.

No, his identity didn’t matter.

Now that things had come to this, he would struggle through this ugly life until the very end.

He would summon the Demon King and eradicate the human race from this world.

‘…Can I be freed from this cycle?’

Maestro stood up before the headache returned.

It was time to start the next task.

Push me further into a corner.

If you cannot stop me, you will be the ones to die.