Chapter 171

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Glance.

She glanced at her reflection in the window.

Her neatly tied hair swayed pleasantly.

The black uniform contrasted sharply with her white hair.

The tight fit around her chest felt a little stifling, but she didn’t show it.

It had been quite a while since she last wore the uniform issued by the Celestial Corps.

“It’s been four years.” Angelica muttered to herself.

She hadn’t expected to wear it again.

Well, she had thought it might happen someday.

But she hadn’t expected to return to the Celestial Corps after four years of teaching.

Even though it was a temporary reinstatement and she was still affiliated with the academy, it felt refreshing.

She crossed the familiar hallway. Everything felt familiar. Even though it had been four years, it felt like she had just been here yesterday. She didn’t hide the faint smile that formed on her lips. Angelica walked and walked until she finally reached her destination.

She knocked lightly. A response came. “Come in.” it said. Angelica nodded slightly and placed her hand on the doorknob. 

With a creak, the door opened. She stood at the doorway for a moment, took a deep breath, and then stepped inside without hesitation.

“Oh, look who it is.”

The first to greet her was an elderly man with streaks of white hair peeking through.

His worn uniform bore the marks of time. He stood with his hands behind his back, slightly hunched over. 

His expression was gentle, but the scars on his wrinkled face gave him a menacing air. A faint smile spread across Angelica’s lips.

“It’s been a while, Angelica. How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine, as always, Vice-Captain.”

“Hahaha, what’s this? Are you being shy after all this time?”

“You haven’t changed a bit, old man.”

The 3rd Division Vice-Captain, Coloss.

He was a veteran Hero who had been active for over 50 years.

A talentless fool.

But a hard worker who never gave up.

A remarkable figure who rose to the position of Vice-Captain through sheer effort.

Angelica quickly glanced over Coloss.

She recalled what Isabella had told her recently.

He had been thinking about retiring.

She had been worried that his health might be failing, but thankfully, he looked as robust as ever.

“Tsk, you brat. Not even a single call in all this time? That’s too cold.”

“I’ve been busy with this and that.”

Even as she said that, Angelica felt a little uneasy.

After leaving the 3rd Division, Angelica had distanced herself from her connections during her time in the Celestial Corps.

There wasn’t any particular reason. It was just a matter of conscience. She felt guilty leaving her comrades behind, who were still on the frontlines battling monsters from the other world. 

As a result, she rarely reached out, and as the days went by, it became harder and harder to make contact. 

In the end, over the four years, Angelica had rarely been the one to initiate communication.

“Welcome back, Angelica.”

A woman resting her chin on the office desk spoke up.

The nameplate on the table reflected the light.

Sweeping her platinum-blonde hair behind her ear, Isabella said,

“Welcome back.”

“…It’s just a temporary reinstatement.”

“Temporary or not, a reinstatement is still a reinstatement, right?”

Isabella let out a soft chuckle.

Angelica’s reflection appeared in Isabella’s gray eyes.

A woman with jade-like skin and white hair tied up.

Once her subordinate, her student, and her successor.

“You’ve broken through the wall. Halfway, at least.”

That’s why she could tell at a glance.

A pleased smile formed on Isabella’s lips.

“You’re just a little short, but the rest is just a matter of time. Congratulations on reaching the same level as ‘us’.”

A god-tier supernatural.

A realm beyond men.

A peak that only a select few among countless geniuses ever reach.

The reason the position of the 7th Division Captain had remained vacant for so long was that no one had reached that peak.

And now, another peak was about to be born.

For Isabella, who had always been troubled by the lack of talent, this was incredibly welcoming news.

“…I still have a long way to go.”

It wasn’t false humility.

Angelica truly believed that.

She had broken through the wall and taken a step beyond it.

Just one step. That was all she could manage for now.

“By the way, aren’t you going to tell me now?”

As Isabella had said, Angelica had returned to the 3rd Division. Isabella had promised to explain everything after her return, so Angelica had handed over all her teaching duties to Si-ul and rushed here. 

They had found a clue to Lucia’s disappearance. Or rather, they might have found a clue. Even if it was just a possibility, Angelica was desperate for any lead.

“Straight to the point, huh? Well, alright.”

Isabella slowly wiped the smile from her lips. While she was happy to see her former subordinate and student grow, she was currently here as the Captain of the 3rd Division. 

Setting aside her personal feelings, she spoke in a low voice.

“First, take a seat. This might take a while.”

◈

“Huh? What did you say?”

Eugene couldn’t help but ask again.

The words spoken by the 4th Division Captain were hard to believe.

It was a story that was difficult to accept.

Seeing Eugene’s dumbfounded expression, Karma repeated the same sentence.

“The Devils and the Family are in a cooperative relationship.” he said.

“No, but why…?”

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

Aren’t Devils monsters disguised as humans?

Astaroth herself admitted she wasn’t human.

So, a monster from the other world is cooperating with humans?

A monster that’s blindly obsessed with killing humans?

There were monsters with intelligence among them. Although communication was impossible due to the language barrier, there were definitely monsters capable of understanding intent.

But they had never interacted with humans. Not even a similar attempt had been made. 

Monsters hated humans. They despised them. They were desperate to kill them. Cooperation? That was impossible.

Were Devils, who could disguise themselves as humans, different from other monsters?

Well, maybe.

The Devil he had met in person was similar to a human.

“But why would the Family…?”

He reluctantly nodded in understanding, but the questions didn’t stop.

The Family.

The Supernatural Liberation Front.

Extreme supernatural supremacists.

They denounced non-supernaturals as inferior old humans and claimed supernaturals were the new humans.

Of course, they didn’t view monsters favorably.

Monsters didn’t distinguish between supernaturals and non-supernaturals.

To the Family, monsters were a common enemy.

They would never cooperate with them… right?

“…Wait, now that I think about it, maybe it’s possible.”

There are humans who don’t care about the means as long as they achieve their goals.

Especially for radical criminals like the Family, who would stop at nothing.

Joining hands with a Devil? To them, it probably wasn’t that big of a deal.

Once Eugene seemed to have sorted out his thoughts, Karma resumed his explanation, which had paused for a moment.

They were at a small café nearby. They had visited the café to escape the pouring rain and to have a calm conversation. The café, filled with the aroma of coffee, had no other customers besides Eugene and Karma. 

However, Karma manipulated the flow of air to block any sound from leaking out. The conversation they were having was top-secret information that must not be leaked to the outside.

“Before the Devil Murmur opens a rift, they relay information to the Family in advance. Then, the Family waits at the scene beforehand. When the rift opens and chaos ensues, they abduct people and quickly retreat.”

Karma spoke in a calm voice, folding his fingers one by one as he explained.

“This is the current situation as understood by the Celestial Corps.”

“…Why is the Family abducting people?”

“Well, that part is still unclear…”

Karma narrowed his eyes.

He took a sip of coffee to wet his throat and continued.

“But I can tell it’s efficient. Thanks to that, the Family has been able to hide their crimes for a long time.”

The number of missing persons due to space-time rifts had noticeably increased recently.

However, the number of missing persons had been steadily rising for years.

At the very least, it had been several months.

The Family had been carrying out abductions since then.

They used the special circumstances of monster invasions as a shield to hide their crimes seamlessly.

“Could their abduction of Lucia… be related to their abductions of civilians?”

“Hard to say. Without concrete information, it’s difficult to conclude.”

Conclusions drawn from insufficient information are bound to have holes.

Perhaps it’s just a coincidence, and Lucia’s abduction has no connection to the Family.

In a situation where nothing is certain, it’s too early to be confident.

“Soon, the operation to subdue the Family will begin.”

“…”

“There’s a good chance we’ll have to confront a Devil as well.”

Karma looked at Eugene.

He observed Eugene not with his eyes, but with his other senses.

The 4th Division Captain asked the boy, who still had traces of youth on his face.

“It will be dangerous. You can still back out now. If you just swear not to leak what you heard today, I won’t detain you.”

“…I’ve already made up my mind.”

“How brave. Admirably so.”

Karma chuckled. Eugene frowned for a moment but quickly returned to a neutral expression. 

Every time he saw that enigmatic smile, negative thoughts swirled in his head. Why was he, still a student, being dragged into such a dangerous operation?

All sorts of questions arose, but he shook his head and brushed them off. This wasn’t just anyone—this was a Captain. 

A Captain of the Celestial Corps. 

Someone at the pinnacle of all Heroes. Captains weren’t just anyone, so being overly suspicious probably wasn’t good. 

Surely, he couldn’t really be a shady person, right?

“Hoho.”

…Surely, he couldn’t really be a shady person, right?

There’s no way… right?

‘The Devils and the Family are in a cooperative relationship…’

As Eugene made a subtle expression, Karma fell into thought for a moment.

He pondered over what he had said. He hadn’t lied. But he hadn’t told the whole truth either.

He wondered if it was necessary to say this much.

Karma quietly whispered to himself internally.

‘Perhaps the Family itself has been consumed by the Devils.’

The boss of the Family.

There is someone who has taken the position of the new boss, replacing the previous boss who was killed by the Commander.

Due to the nature of a cell organization, communication between branches of the Family is difficult.

It’s a structure where establishing a communication system is challenging.

The very characteristic that made the Family’s secrecy robust also strangled its lifeline.

The scattered branches had no way to exchange information, so they couldn’t unite.

Once the top cell was eliminated, the Family lost its functionality as an organization.

The scattered branches were picked off one by one.

The Family steadily withered away.

Until a new boss appeared and rallied the scattered Family.

‘…The new boss was said to be wearing a mask, right?’

Just like the other Devils that have been sighted.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
By the way, if I had to compare the relationship of Isabella and Angelica, it would be like a professor and a graduate student.

She barely managed to escape, but now she is going to get caught again.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Reminder that looks can even fool a devil, 

A stupid brain-rotted one, heh.