Chapter 98

Reâd ​&o;​&n; ̂K​at́​Re&a;d​inɡCaｆ​&e;​

Luck wasn’t on their side.

That was Kallad’s assessment.

The spiritual vein was a crucial element in maintaining a nation’s stability. The stronger the spiritual vein flowing through a region, the fewer rifts would occur. This meant that land enriched by high-quality spiritual veins was relatively safe from sudden calamities.

Because of this, districts were classified by the spiritual vein’s strength. People naturally gravitated toward stability. Districts with single-digit classifications attracted large populations, becoming hubs of commerce, culture, governance, and transportation.

District 4 was one such place, boasting the nation’s fourth-strongest spiritual vein. An occurrence like a spatial rift opening here was rare. With a dense population, even a minor rift could cause significant harm—let alone one at a scale of at least level 5.

Moreover, the rift’s rate of expansion was alarming.

This phenomenon, termed “Overload”, was exceptionally rare.

A rift expanding so rapidly would also vanish quickly, but by then, the damage would already be catastrophic.

“Let me ask you one thing first.”

What troubled Kallad the most was the coincidence of a dangerous individual’s emergence with the rift’s appearance.

Unaware that the rift had been artificially induced by manipulating the spiritual vein’s energy, Kallad simply chalked it up to bad luck.

In a sense, he wasn’t wrong—it was undeniably unfortunate. Even one of these incidents would be hard to manage, but both at once?

As a captain, his priority was the eradication of monsters and the safety of civilians. But leaving a Class-1 threat unchecked was not an option.

While his Second Division members worked to contain the park and repel the monsters, Kallad had a different responsibility: eliminating the threat.

“You are the prime suspect in the massacre of the research team.”

“That’s right. I did it.”

“…No denial, then.”

Her confession was straightforward.

In hindsight, it wasn’t surprising.

If she’d wanted to hide her crimes, she wouldn’t have left evidence and witnesses in the first place. This girl had even waved cheerfully at the CCTV cameras as she committed the act.

Calling her a “suspect” was a formality. She was the confirmed perpetrator.

“Since you’ve admitted it, I’ll make you an offer.”

“An offer?”

“You are classified as a Class-1 threat. Surrender, and I promise your life will be spared.”

Class-1: the highest level of danger.

This designation was given to individuals deemed too dangerous to apprehend alive. The default protocol was to neutralize them on sight.

However, the girl in the red fox mask was an enigma.

Her identity, her origins, how she’d obtained her immense power—all of it was unknown. Was she acting alone, or did she belong to some organization? What was her motive?

Killing her would sever any leads to uncovering these mysteries.

“Ahahaha, you’re funny.”

Predictably, the girl dismissed Kallad’s offer with scornful laughter.

Kallad flexed his wrist casually—a habit of his before a fight, or sometimes after one.

“Understood.”

Though he’d made the offer, he hadn’t expected her to accept it.

Someone willing to threaten an entire nation wouldn’t surrender so easily.

A person who wielded immense power with no moral restraint, who took lives without hesitation—such a threat could not be ignored.

“You leave me no choice but to eliminate you.”

As both a hero and a captain, it was his duty to remove such a danger swiftly.

“If you can, go ahead and try.” Astaroth said, smiling with faint amusement.

Though hidden behind her mask, her expression carried a trace of intrigue.

She had always been curious.

About the captains of the Celestial Corps—the so-called apex of humanity’s supernaturals.

But in the end, they were just humans.

Not the chosen one, but ordinary humans.

How strong could they really be?

“Urk?!”

Astaroth’s slender frame was hurled into the air.

A fiery burst of lightning exploded toward her with ferocious intensity.

Her azure eyes widened in genuine surprise as she gasped. Her parasol fluttered violently in her hand.

The lightning sword struck down, a blinding white flash of overwhelming force.

Astaroth parried the successive slashes with her parasol, but her small body was relentlessly pushed back.

The lightning blade bore down on her parasol with unyielding force, and in his other hand, Kallad summoned a lightning spear.

A precise thrust aimed straight at her throat.

Astaroth countered with an astonishing kick that deflected the spear.

The weapon rebounded, but Kallad didn’t miss a beat. Twisting his wrist, he redirected the sword’s trajectory and brought it down in another deadly arc.

Though Astaroth’s parasol managed to alter the blade’s path, the continuous spear strikes left her no room to regain her footing.

Each motion was deliberate yet carried a crushing weight.

Even the long spear, unwieldy for most, moved with extraordinary agility in Kallad’s hand.

The clash painted arcs of black lightning in the air, his right and left hands working in tandem like two independent entities.

“…You’re quite strong, aren’t you?”

The brief exchange was enough to make one thing clear:

This storm of sparks and overwhelming pressure wasn’t something an average human could produce.

The man before her was far more formidable than she had expected.

Boom! 

The ground beneath her feet caved in.

The impact was so intense that it didn’t just sink the ground—it shattered it, leaving deep cracks spreading outward.

Astaroth stomped forward with raw force, channeling all her power into her shoulder. That energy flowed through her arm and was delivered to her parasol, which smashed into the lightning spear with absurd strength.

The spear was deflected, leaving an opening. Seizing the moment, she launched herself off the ground and rammed into Kallad’s chest with her shoulder.

It was an imitation of the Vajra Warriors that Angelica had once used against her.

Back then, it had barely scratched her, but with a different wielder, its impact was on another level.

“…”

Kallad bit back the groan that almost escaped his lips, enduring the pain as he swung his lightning sword with unwavering determination.

He pulled his body back at the moment of impact, dodging a direct hit. If not, his sternum would have been shattered.

The lightning blade grazed Astaroth’s earlobe, while her parasol scraped Kallad’s cheek almost simultaneously.

Despite the blunt tip of the parasol, its sharpness rivaled the finest swords.

Blood trickled down Kallad’s face, warm and sticky.

In contrast, there was no sign of bleeding on Astaroth. Any wounds inflicted on her burned shut instantly under the heat of the lightning.

Both strikes were close. If either had been just slightly deeper, they would have severed each other’s lifelines.

Had the lightning sword tilted a bit further to the right…
Had the parasol angled slightly more to the left…

It would have been their heads pierced instead of minor wounds.

“Ugh, that hurts.” muttered the red fox-masked girl, pulling back swiftly.

The brief clash eased into a tense standoff.

Kallad ignored the throbbing pain in his cheek, glaring at Astaroth as she touched the spot where her earlobe used to be.

‘…Angelica, you weren’t exaggerating.’

While Angelica had once been a promising candidate for captain, her current skills barely reached that of a vice-captain.

Perhaps in the future, things would be different. But for now, the opponent before her was overwhelming.

Kallad’s judgment wasn’t wrong.

This girl was undeniably on the level of a captain.

“When Agares warned me not to underestimate the Celestial Corps captains, I laughed it off. Guess that wasn’t just empty caution, huh?”

Though she had let her guard down, she hadn’t expected to get injured.

This wasn’t like the time Eugene had broken her mask and left her with superficial wounds. Back then, it was a calculated risk.

But this? She had genuinely intended to block, even counterattack with lethal force.

Yet her ear had been burned away, and the strike aimed at her head had only grazed her cheek.

“I underestimated you. Looks like I need to take this seriously now.”

She had assumed that humans, regardless of their title, were weak.

Even the so-called captains were nothing extraordinary—or so she thought.

While exceptional among humans, they were still only human.

Astaroth revised that assumption.

This one was strong.

Perhaps strong enough to deserve being called the pinnacle.

When Agares had expressed caution about the Celestial Corps captains, it wasn’t just the “chosen one” he was wary of.

Even among ordinary humans, these captains were enemies dangerous enough to threaten devils.

Still—

“May I ask your name?”

“I wouldn’t normally reveal my name to a criminal, but knowing yours while keeping mine hidden does seem unfair. Kallad.”

“I see, Kallad. You’re strong—stronger than any human I’ve faced so far.”

But even captains were merely humans striving to emulate gods.

And even at their peak, humans are still just humans.

The pinnacle of monsters…
Surpasses the pinnacle of humans.

“Are you ready?”

With a sly grin that stretched her lips, Astaroth spoke.

“Do you really think you can beat me alone?”

The earlier exchange had been a warm-up, neither showing their full strength.

When both unleashed their full power, there were bound to be unknown variables.

Yet one thing was certain:

Kallad was strong.

But he wasn’t stronger than her.

Not even close.

“How should I handle you?”

Should she put a mask on him? No, a mask wouldn’t work on someone with his supernatural prowess.

Should she just kill him? That seemed wasteful…

Ah, she had an idea.

She needed a suitable “vessel” anyway.

The Black Knight.

Letting that one die would be such a waste.

He was a child unable to control his own power. But with a captain-level body… he might even reach the domain of apex-beasts.

“You seem to be under a misconception.” Kallad interrupted, pointing his lightning blade at Astaroth, its sparks dancing wildly.

“The massacre at the National Research Center for Monster Studies. Angelica, the 1st-year A-Class homeroom teacher, defeated. Taking all of this into account, the Celestial Corps has classified you as captain-level—or perhaps even higher.”

“And?”

“Only a captain can face another captain.”

It was a simple truth: if an enemy was on the level of a captain, even a Celestial Corps captain couldn’t guarantee victory.

Even among captains, there were differences in power. With so much uncertainty about the enemy’s capabilities, there was no room for half-measures.

“We don’t do half-hearted deployments.” he declared.

The Celestial Corps captains were humanity’s asymmetric counterforce—each one defied conventional limits. Losing even one was a blow not just to the Corps but to all of humanity.

“Prepare to fire.”

Without warning, blinding white light surged forward.

Astaroth instinctively unfurled her parasol, using it as a shield.

It was the right call. The blast only pierced through the parasol, leaving her otherwise unharmed.

“Fire!”

BOOM!

The ferocity of the attack was overwhelming.

Despite being a single strike, the weight behind it felt like it could shatter the heavens.

The hand gripping the parasol’s handle trembled uncontrollably, now smeared with blood.

“Ugh… what the…?!”

This hurt far more than Kallad’s earlier attacks.

Astaroth staggered back, trying to recover from the force of the blow.

Before her stood a tan-skinned woman, her fist still extended from the punch.

The woman slowly lowered her hand, turning her head with a bright smile.

“Sorry for being late, Captain Kallad!”

With a sharp click, she brought her boots together, saluting with precision.

Her hat was pulled low, and her uniform buttons were meticulously fastened, restraining her ample chest.

Her teal eyes glimmered with fierce determination.

Though her gloves were burned from the punch, she seemed unfazed.

“Captain of the 7th Division, Kaen! Reporting for duty!”

“…Kaen. You’re a captain now. I’ve told you several times—you don’t need to be so formal.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kallad had chaired the recent captain’s meeting.

Many opinions had been shared, but the conclusion was unanimous:

If any trace of Astaroth was found, two captains would be deployed.

This was to minimize casualties and ensure her complete eradication.

“So that’s the fox mask girl? I hit her squarely, and she’s still in one piece! Amazing!”

“Be careful. She’s a formidable foe.”

“Understood! I’ll crush her with everything I’ve got!”

The 7th Division Captain, Kaen, shouted energetically.

Astaroth smirked through the throbbing pain in her wrist, arm, and shoulder.

Her destructive power was impressive.

So, this one’s a captain too?

Indeed, there are seven captains, so it’s not surprising for another one to appear.

“Not bad. That was a good punch. I like you too. But, you know, two aren’t enough. If you really wanted to beat me, hmm… yeah, three of you should’ve come.”

Their decision to not rely solely on their strength and to form an alliance with another captain was wise.

But still, it wasn’t thorough enough. They needed to plan better.

Though slightly bothersome, the result won’t change.

Even with two captains, they can only hope to endure and cause minor damage. Victory remains mine.

Perhaps I’ll have to reveal my true self. I might even need to remove my mask.

But that would complicate my active time… Fine, let’s finish this quickly.

At that moment, a chilling frost blanketed the battlefield.

The flames that had been roaring and consuming the cherry blossoms were extinguished as if snuffed out by a gentle breath.

An unseasonal cold wave swept over the national park.

Tap. Crunch.

Boots clicked against the concrete, then crunched through dirt.

The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed in perfect cadence.

And then, they abruptly stopped.

At that precise moment, a massive white glacier erupted from the ground.

“What… is this?”

Astaroth folded her parasol and swung it like a blade.

The glacier cracked apart, sending a fierce snowstorm spiraling outward.

Though she managed to slice through it, its durability was no joke.

Her grip had already weakened during the surprise attack from Kaen, and forcing this swing caused her thumb to hang limply.

“I heard news about a spatial rift opening in District 4 rated Level 5 or higher, so I rushed over… but look at this. I didn’t expect to find you here.”

Fluffy platinum-blonde hair.

A delicate face with sharp, catlike eyes that belied its soft features.

Long limbs that strode forward with confidence.

The outstretched index finger left no doubt—this woman was responsible for the glacier.

“Hello there, little one. I hear you gave our Angelica some trouble?”

Isabella, the Captain of the 3rd Division, spoke in a languid tone.

Astaroth couldn’t respond, only blinking in disbelief.

“Uh… three of you now…?”

I lied…

This is going to be a problem.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Kallad confirmed the existence of Astaroth through Arin’s SOS. 

He immediately contacted the other captains, and the 7th Division Captain Kaen responded.

They entered the park together.

And separately from Astaroth, the 3rd Division Captain Isabella was dispatched upon hearing news that a spatial rift had opened in the city center.

The three captains gathered like this.

Astaroth’s eyes went dark.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
A very prepared correcting session for Astaroth, heh.