Ch.8989. Goetia

Amon sent Balam back to his mother’s side.

“O Mother. I return this prodigal son to your embrace, and pray that he may repent in your bosom.”

Amon took a brief breath and continued his prayer.

“You who always accept us…”

Muttering, muttering.

“Deliver unto him judgment befitting the sins he has committed. Amen.”

After finishing the prayer for Balam, Amon cremated Balam’s body in the furnace.

Although no ashes remained, it was a cremation nonetheless.

After completing everything, he made the sign of the cross and walked out of the workshop.

Yotron’s disciple, as the owner of the workshop, had observed this entire process.

When Amon had moved away from the workshop, he whispered to his master.

“Master, are we really safe?”

“Hang crosses in every workshop.”

While the two were having this conversation, Amon joined Sonia.

Afterward, they sent the victims and their families they had forgotten about to America and returned to their lodgings.

And as always, they reported to Kathy.

“This time I met the guys behind Neville Pharmaceuticals.”

Since reporting on the assassins sent by Miller Pharmaceuticals had become routine, he skipped that and went straight to reporting the unusual circumstances.

He was certain that Balam had used the same methods as the attackers to commit suicide.

These people were behind Neville Pharmaceuticals.

Amon then reported on their characteristics.

They used Divine Power.

Although it felt somewhat impure compared to Sonia’s or Amon’s, it was undoubtedly Divine Power.

Another characteristic was that they had horns on their heads and possessed physical abilities that transcended human limits.

There were other features that made them difficult to describe as ordinary humans.

While Balam’s claws were threatening enough, what was truly dangerous was his invisibility ability.

The reason Amon and Sonia hadn’t noticed his presence until they were attacked first was because of this ability.

He could even make only parts of his body invisible, which made it difficult to gauge the distance between his claws.

“When those invisible claws retracted in front of my sword and suddenly extended in front of my chest, my heart dropped.”

He managed to dodge by instinctively taking a step back, but it was a chilling experience.

Even Amon, who prided himself on knowing Balam’s patterns, approached him cautiously from that point on.

The nameless pink-haired one who faced Sonia was the same.

She possessed insane durability and strength beyond that of a man.

It was only because Sonia’s weapons fell into the anti-tank category that this aspect wasn’t highlighted, but in terms of durability alone, she was close to a tank.

Moreover, when you factor in the explosive speed coming from that small frame, it was Sonia who was strange for having defeated her.

“I can say with certainty. They’re both at director level.”

Amon reported with confidence.

But what was truly important wasn’t their combat ability.

What was truly important was the inverted pentagram engraved on their bodies.

“I have a pretty good idea of who these guys are.”

[A cult?]

“Something like that.”

[But different?]

“Yeah. A little different.”

For one thing, they actually believe in something that exists, unlike a cult.

The being they believe in, while not quite a goddess, is certainly divine by human standards.

Amon’s demeanor grew heavier.

“I think I can say this with certainty.”

Amon wasn’t someone who believed the world should be purified by fire.

He had no intention of hunting down all the heretics in this world.

But he couldn’t leave these ones alone.

Because…

“They are heretics who must be killed.”

If left alone, they would repeat what they did thousands of years ago.

*

In response to Amon’s fierce declaration, Kathy chimed in.

[Well, I guess they’ll clash with me too if they’re manipulating Megacorps behind the scenes.]

Kathy wasn’t particularly interested in heretics.

But seeing Amon’s hostility, she figured there must be a reason.

So she expressed her willingness to stand with Amon without needing to fabricate a justification.

[I’ve been burned by cults before. We should deal with them before they make their move.]

Amon was briefly concerned about involving her, but only briefly.

‘Worrying is just my nature.’

Come to think of it, she was a precognitive ability user and the president of a Megacorp.

She wasn’t someone Amon needed to worry about.

Besides, given her personality, it was clear she would follow even if he tried to dissuade her.

‘Sonia said the same thing.’

Pushing someone away out of consideration was no different from showing distrust.

If they’re comrades, trust and rely on them.

Recalling that day’s lesson, he gratefully accepted Kathy’s consideration.

“Thank you.”

[Don’t mention it. But there’s a problem.]

“What is it?”

[Those two people you met, how strong are they in their organization?]

“Balam. The 51st rank demon.”

[Huh?]

“He’s the 51st among the 72 ranks.”

Balam was famous as one of Solomon’s 72 ranked demons.

Of course, Amon didn’t memorize all 72, but he remembered Balam precisely because he was a named demon.

[A demon you remember?]

When Amon mentioned this, Kathy showed interest.

[Can you explain?]

“With what’s on the internet? Or what I know?”

[What you know.]

Amon nodded and began his story.

In this world, Balam is known as a demon who suddenly appeared from somewhere.

Not much is known about his origins, and his abilities are limited to revealing the future and granting invisibility to his contractors—a rather ordinary(?) demon.

But the Balam that Amon knew was originally human.

This was precisely recorded in Punk City 1.

According to the records, in ancient times, sorcerers and seers were abundant worldwide.

It wasn’t that superstition was rampant; it was a world where magic truly existed, resulting in people who should have studied science studying only magic instead.

Balam was one of many common sorcerers of that era, but he was somewhat famous for his skills.

In an age where magic was crudely established, Balam’s divinations and curses had a high accuracy rate.

The fact that Balam was appointed as a court sorcerer of a kingdom at that time leaves no doubt about his skills.

But Balam’s arrogance reached the heavens, and he broke a taboo.

“Balam wanted to be chosen by the Goddess.”

Those chosen as prophets or sorcerers receive the title of prophet.

Prophets gain power incomparable to other seers or sorcerers, making it a title everyone desired.

But Balam wasn’t chosen. An ordinary boy was chosen instead.

Despite worshipping the Goddess while mastering sorcery and divination, all he received was indifference.

“He worshipped the Goddess’s power, not the Goddess herself, which is why he wasn’t chosen, but he didn’t realize it at all.”

Balam envied the prophet.

Blinded by jealousy, he broke the taboo three times.

“First, Balam tried to intercept the Goddess’s divination meant for the prophet.”

For this, Balam lost his sight. He regained it through prayer and repentance.

But people don’t change so easily. His repentance was brief, and he broke the taboo a second time.

“Thinking the Goddess wouldn’t help, he cursed the prophet with plague and slandered him as a false prophet.”

Naturally, the Goddess wouldn’t stand for this.

From that day on, Balam couldn’t stand up.

His lower body was suddenly paralyzed as if his legs wouldn’t listen. The loss of sexual function was an added punishment.

He tried to get a donkey to ride, but any donkey he mounted would throw him off.

And the donkeys would speak to the crawling Balam in human language, telling him this was divine punishment and to stop his foolish actions.

From then on, Balam cried out in resentment toward the Goddess and broke the taboo a third time.

“He sent prostitutes to the prophet and his followers to induce them to commit adultery.”

He thought this would be the greatest insult to the Goddess.

But the Goddess already knew this.

The Goddess caused epileptic seizures in Balam and the prostitutes before he could even implement his plan.

In the end, their seizures continued until their last breath.

“That’s the story of Balam during his human life.”

[Interesting. But what does this have to do with demons?]

“I’m getting to that.”

Balam died that way.

But when his soul was cast into hell, the Sinful Saint living there made him reborn as a demon.

From then on, Balam became a demon.

‘This leads to Punk City 1.’

Punk City 1 is about a nameless mercenary going to the holy city to capture the Sinful Saint.

In that process, Balam could be encountered as a mid-boss, as a follower of the Saint.

Of course, Amon explained this to Kathy without mentioning bosses, games, or past lives.

Hearing this, Kathy was shocked.

[The Sinful Saint Summoning Incident? That’s enough to threaten the Vatican’s existence! Isn’t that a Level 1 classified secret?]

“It’s a Level 0 top secret known only to the Pope.”

[How do you…]

“Higgjen Group royalty fee.”

[Ah…]

Amon gave up a significant portion of the Higgjen Group’s royalty fees and in return demanded several things from the Vatican.

One of them was access to secrets known only to the Pope in the Vatican.

[Is it okay for me to know?]

“Don’t worry. I have my reasons.”

There were other rights he had, so it wasn’t a problem.

“Sonia already knows, so I’ll tell you later too.”

[Thank you]

Anyway, Balam was a being who was once human and became a demon.

‘It was easier because the pattern was similar to back then.’

Of course, as it became reality, there were some irregular patterns, but most were within a manageable range.

There was a reason why Amon rushed at him convulsing as soon as he saw him, and why he performed the spectacle of meticulously slicing each limb.

“Didn’t you rush at him just seeing the pentagram, before even confirming his face?”

Sonia pointed out from the side, but that’s how it was anyway.

“So, what were we talking about before we got here?”

[How high Balam ranks in the organization.]

“Ah, right. Balam is 51st rank. The 51st among the Sinful Saint’s 72 follower demons.”

[So he’s almost the weakest?]

“Extremely weak.”

He’s not quite a mob, but he’s a boss you meet early on in Punk City 1.

‘Compared to the ones you meet later…’

Punk City 1 was an open-world boss rush game. A game where you roam an infinitely free world and defeat bosses that keep pouring out.

However, being the company’s first work, it failed in difficulty adjustment and received a lot of criticism.

In such a game, Balam was famous as the “Refund Demon.”

‘At first, I used to get shot by mini crosses in the blink of an eye.’

Amon also frequently fell victim to him before earning his veteran player title.

A director-level being is the weakest, and an organization with 50 even stronger beings.

Realizing this fact, Kathy’s expression darkened.

[With this level of power…]

“It’s quite insufficient.”

They still had about 70 members left.

If they decided to come in force, the company would disappear quickly.

‘Of course, they can’t do that.’

But Amon wasn’t worried.

They are in a position where they can only operate covertly.

“Times have changed a lot.”

They ruled through people’s fear only in the past when the strong were few.

In a world where times have changed and the strong can be created with just one procedure, they can’t operate openly relying on past prestige.

A group of 72 people with director-level or higher combat power?

Threatening enough for one company, but not world-ending.

If they gathered to destroy one company, all other companies would be wary of them.

As in any era, when power holders discover those who threaten their security, they join hands regardless of past differences.

In that case, they would have to face a corporate alliance.

They know this well, which is why they’re manipulating Neville Pharmaceuticals from behind.

“Well, don’t worry too much.”

At least 70 of them will never come rushing in together.

They know their place too well.

‘They’ll stay quiet until they reach world-ending level.’

They would need to secure power at least on the level of DLC or hidden bosses from the first game before they could act freely.

Amon reassured Kathy with such confidence.

“I have a plan, so don’t worry yet.”

[Alright, I’ll trust you. But what’s the name?]

“Name? What name suddenly?”

[No, I mean that organization. It must have a name.]

“Ah…”

Although it might be different this time, Amon pulled out the name he knew from his mind.

“Goetia.”

The name of demons who once nearly destroyed this world.

*

After the report, Amon was about to end the video call.

But suddenly Kathy stopped him.

[Wait, Amon. I want to talk to Sonia for a bit.]

“… Should I leave?”

[No need. You already know everything anyway, right?]

Amon’s lips tightened as if he guessed what Kathy was going to say.

As Kathy said, there are no secrets between Amon and Sonia.

After that day’s promise, there was nothing that could be called a secret between them, except for Amon’s past life.

Therefore, Amon could guess what Kathy was going to say.

[Um… Sonya.]

“Speak.”

[You told me before, right? That you’d stay with me no matter what.]

“…”

Kathy took a breath and briefly glimpsed Sonia’s thread of fate.

Whatever she saw in that thread, she spoke to Sonia with eyes full of determination.

[Now it’s my turn to say it. We’ll stay with you no matter what happens.]

“… Thank you.”

[And trust Amon more. You two already know everything about each other anyway.]

Sonia looked at Amon. Amon answered with a shrug.

From beyond the screen, Kathy advised Sonia.

[He’s waiting for you, sacrificing this and that because of you. Thank him later.]

With those words, Kathy ended the call as if she had finished her business.

Before the call completely disconnected, Amon spoke into the microphone.

“Ooh~ You sounded like a prophet just now.”

[I am a prophet, you know?]

“Is that so?”

[Hey!]

Amon chuckled and ended the call.

Then he extended his hand to Sonia.

“Shall we go eat?”

Sonia held back the apology that was about to come out reflexively.

Instead, she uttered the words she had promised him.

“Thank you for waiting, really.”

“It’s nothing, really.”