Talca City

Silvie raised both arms and cheered.

“Awesome! I’ve always wanted to manipulate the world from behind the scenes! Once you see my genius, you won’t regret making me a subordinate!”

I used one of the maids Ivana summoned to make Silvie my subordinate.

I shrank back down and became a pet octopus again.

Silvie took me, Ivana, and Sophia to her room.

Silvie knocked on the wall, and it opened, revealing a secret space inside.

The secret space contained dozens of hidden camera crystals, each showing a different part of the mansion.

Ivana was surprised.

“Silvie-unni. When did you make this room?”

Silvie, in a good mood, giggled and explained.

“There are combat golems and surveillance golems I made hidden throughout this mansion. From this control room, I can see everything in the mansion and give orders to the golems. Of course, only I can use it. You could say the inside of this mansion is a dungeon that’s hard for anyone to infiltrate secretly.”

Ivana had given up on being surprised.

“Unni. You’re really amazing. You should have become the director of the Talka Research Institute instead of the Marquis’s heir.”

“I like being the Marquis’s heir better. Making golems is just a hobby.”

Sophia said nonchalantly.

“Silvie has been like this since Hamel High. Whenever she gets into something she likes, she always sees it through to the end.”

I gave Silvie a mission.

“Now, you need to make your parents, Marquis Lucas and Collette, my subordinates.”

Silvie asked me.

“Please don’t harm my parents.”

“Of course not. Your parents will still manage Talka City. The dark Talka City, that is.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

Silvie looked at one of the hidden camera crystals and said.

“Hmm. My parents are still lying in bed hugging each other.”

Ivana covered her eyes with her hand, flustered.

“What! Are they, are they doing that?”

“No. They’ve been sleeping since this morning, right? They’re wearing clothes.”

Ivana lowered her hand.

“Ah. I see.”

We went to Marquis Lucas’s room.

As we creaked open the door, Marquis Lucas and his wife Collette were indeed hugging each other and sleeping.

We tiptoed to the bed.

In an instant, I wrapped Lucas and Collette’s heads with my tentacles.

The two of them were caught off guard while sleeping and were flustered, unable to grasp the situation.

I altered their brain structures and used a maid to make them my subordinates.

Marquis Lucas politely greeted me.

“Greetings, God of Darkness.”

Collette also greeted me.

“I also greet the God of Darkness. I apologize for the rudeness of using you as a test subject when we first met.”

I accepted it magnanimously.

“It’s alright.”

I explained how the director of the research institute, Carol, and the commander of the knights, Clovis, had discovered my true form.

Marquis Lucas pondered for a moment and then said to me.

“According to my speculation, the Inquisitors must have also learned about this.”

“Why?”

“Because Ivana is a Dark Human, the Inquisitors have been secretly monitoring the area around the Marquisate. I’ve just been tolerating it. The Inquisitors must also know that the number of Dark Humans has increased at the Talka Research Institute near the Marquisate.”

“Hmm.”

“If my speculation is correct, the Inquisitors must have contacted Carol and Clovis somehow. The fact that Clovis hasn’t come to find me yet probably means he’s already judged that the Marquisate has been corrupted by darkness. Which it actually is.”

“You’re sharp.”

“Clovis is probably convincing the remaining knights to call up the troops and move the army by now.”

I expressed concern.

“Are we too late?”

Marquis Lucas replied.

“Not all the knights will agree with Clovis. We need to make public opinion more favorable to us.”

“There will be a war, right?”

“Since there will be those who agree with Clovis, yes, there will be. We need to frame them as an evil coup force.”

“Lucas. I’m counting on you.”

“Understood.”

Silvie suggested to me.

“How about making the employees of this mansion our subordinates first?”

“Good idea.”

Silvie tapped the bracelet she was wearing, and light emanated from the beads of the bracelet.

Soon, the light took shape and became a 3D map of the Lucas Marquisate mansion, with red dots indicating where people were.

Marquis Lucas was shocked.

“Silvie! When did you make something like this?!”

“I’ve been improving it whenever I was bored, and it turned out like this. It provides a perfect map of the Marquisate mansion and its surroundings.”

“This is a technology that’s ahead of its time! As expected of our amazing daughter!”

Silvie puffed out her chest as if proud.

“Ahem! If we check this map, we can make everyone a subordinate of the God of Darkness-nim.”

I asked Silvie.

“Can’t you distinguish between people who are my subordinates and those who aren’t and display them in different colors?”

“This map is a map implementation of the surveillance golems’ vision. If we have the subordinates wear marks on their bodies, we can distinguish them by looking at those marks.”

“It’s difficult without marks?”

“I haven’t developed an algorithm that distinguishes people just by looking at their appearance yet. Hmm. There’s room for research.”

“Well. If it can’t be done, it can’t be helped.”

As a pet octopus, I rode on Silvie’s shoulder this time.

We looked at the map and went around the mansion, brainwashing employees such as maids, chefs, butlers, and guards.

Now, everyone in the Marquisate mansion has come under my command.

Looking at the map, 10 red dots were approaching the main gate of the Marquisate mansion.

Silvie explained.

“Ten guests have arrived at the house. We should go greet them.”

I, Silvie, Ivana, and Sophia went to the main gate and opened the door.

Outside, three division commanders with dark faces and seven knights were waiting.

We exchanged greetings.

Silvie led the guests into the hall.

In the hall, there was a long dining table and chairs.

Marquis Lucas and Collette also came and sat in the chairs.

One division commander said.

“You must be wondering why we came here as a group. I’ll get straight to the point. Clovis is trying to start a rebellion by joining hands with the Inquisitors.”

Marquis Lucas said with a shocked face.

“Hoo… I suspected it, but he’s really starting a rebellion…”

“Did you know, Marquis-nim?”

“It all started because we fired Carol from her position as director of the research institute.”

“You mean Carol, Clovis’s wife?”

“That’s right. It was confirmed that Carol was abusing the remaining researchers using her power as the director of the research institute and even secretly embezzling research institute materials.”

“I knew that Lady Carol was lacking in personality because she only studied, but I didn’t know it was that serious.”

“Most of the research institute staff signed a petition to dismiss Carol and promote Deputy Director Sophia to director. I immediately accepted the petition and dismissed Carol. I told Carol to leave quietly if she didn’t want the corruption and abuse she had committed to be made public.”

“In that case…”

“That evening, Carol secretly filmed the researchers with a small golem. The Talka Research Institute was secretly researching war chimeras to turn them into Dark races. But when she saw the chimera go berserk due to a researcher’s mistake, she reported it to the Inquisitors nearby. You also know that the Inquisitors are people who become narrow-minded when it comes to darkness, right?”

“That’s right.”

“The Inquisitors must have persuaded Clovis and Carol to eliminate the darkness immediately. And Clovis is probably launching a coup to seize power and put Carol back in the position of director of the research institute.”

“This can’t be…”

“You also know that Clovis is a man with high ambitions, don’t you?”

“That’s right. Clovis has a very high desire for power. Clovis has been taking bribes from various places, including Talgyeongnyeon, using his power. He himself has been using both persuasion and intimidation to increase the number of people who follow him. There are even more knights who follow Clovis than the Marquis-nim.”

“Clovis won’t miss this opportunity with the Inquisitors involved for the sake of his ambition. We must stop Clovis before more blood is shed.”

All the knights in this place were determined.

“We will follow the Marquis-nim and stop Clovis!”

I laughed at Clovis inwardly.

‘Stupid Clovis. If you had lived cleanly, your credibility would have been high, and there wouldn’t have been any opponents. Carol probably didn’t know she would be backstabbed here for lacking personality either.’

The three division commanders prepared the divisions for battle, and the remaining seven knights decided to bring their families to the Marquisate mansion.

Before the knights left the mansion, Silvie asked.

“Before you go, would you like to use the massage chairs in the Marquisate mansion?”

The knights looked at each other and said.

“Didn’t they say the Marquisate’s massage chairs are the best?”

“Hmm. I heard rumors that using the Marquisate’s massage chairs eliminates back pain…”

The three division commanders accepted.

“Since we don’t know when we’ll be back here once we go to the division, we should get a massage.”

The remaining knights left to pick up their families, as they could use the massage chairs in the evening.

Silvie led the three to the physical therapy room.

In the physical therapy room, there were several massage chairs, massage beds, and physical therapy equipment.

The three division commanders sat comfortably in the massage chairs and placed their arms on the armrests.

One division commander asked Silvie.

“I heard that you made all of these, Silvie-nim?”

“Yes. I applied technology that can provide the most comfort by studying the shape of human bones and muscles.”

“Hahaha. Silvie-nim is amazing.”

“I received a lot of technical help from the Talka Research Institute members.”

Silvie said.

“Now, I’ll start the massage.”

As the division commanders closed their eyes comfortably, Silvie tapped her bracelet.

Then, shackles rose from various parts of the massage chair and fastened the division commanders’ wrists, ankles, necks, and waists.

Clang Clang Clang

The division commanders were flustered.

“No! Silvie-nim, isn’t this different from last time?”

I, who was riding on Silvie’s shoulder, transformed into a giant tentacle.

“Kieeee~~”

The division commanders twisted their bodies and screamed.

“Aaaaaah!”

“It’s a monster! Save me!”

But no one came to help.

I altered the division commanders’ brain structures and made them my subordinates.

I captured homeless people from around the Marquisate and used them as sacrifices.

The division commanders politely greeted me and left to prepare the divisions for battle.

Ivana sent a messenger to the Hero party, telling them to come to the Marquisate mansion.

The Hero party each arrived at the hall of the Marquisate mansion.

Gilluk looked at me, who had returned to being an Elf, and asked.

“Hyung-nim. Nisa-nunim was wandering around alone. Where have you been all this time?”

“I was in a hotel room.”

“What did you do at the hotel for a week?”

“I spent my time watching movies.”

“How did you solve your meals?”

“I solved them with the food Nisa brought.”

“That’s amazing.”

The remaining party members, except for Nisa and Serena, looked at me as if I were a shut-in.

Aibos said to me.

“Kyle-hyungnim is the same type as me? I’ve been holed up in a cave for a month before.”

“I was only there for a week.”

Andre shook his head as if he was pathetic.

Marquis Lucas explained that he had gathered the Hero party at the Marquisate because he saw ominous movements in Talka City.

Marquis Lucas said the same things he had explained to the knights a few hours ago.

In summary, it was about Knight Commander Clovis plotting a coup by joining hands with the Inquisitors.

Park Gyeong-cheol clenched his fists and was furious.

“Those damn Inquisitors. They’re causing problems here too.”

It seemed almost inevitable that the Hero party and the Inquisitors would clash.

---

That evening, Marquis Lucas declared martial law and led soldiers with the three division commanders, occupying the north of Talka City and heading south.

In the north of Talka City, there were the Marquisate mansion, the train station, the downtown area, high-tech companies, and high-tech factories.

At this time, Clovis was gathering troops and mentally preparing them.

The Inquisitors were hoarse from preaching to the troops about the danger facing Talka City.

Clovis was surprised that Marquis Lucas’s response was quick, but he quickly moved his troops to block the path of Marquis Lucas’s troops.

There has not yet been a direct clash.

Clovis’s troops occupied the south of Talka City and confronted Marquis Lucas’s troops.

In the south of Talka City, there were workers’ residences, food processing factories, spinning factories, sewing factories, livestock farms, rice paddies, and fields.

Talka City was divided into north and south.

The forces of Marquis Lucas in the north of Talka City were as follows.

Lucas Marquisate, Hero party, Talka Research Institute, 14 researcher knights, 3 division commanders, 7 knights, and 35,000 soldiers.

The forces of Clovis in the south of Talka City were as follows.

Knight Commander Clovis, 40 Inquisitors, former Research Institute Director Carol, 3 division commanders, Bruno Police Chief, 24 knights, and 39,000 regular soldiers and police officers.

The next day, newspaper articles and promotional materials condemning Clovis’s coup forces were spread throughout the north of Talka City.