A Blazing Torch (1)
I stroked my chin as I looked at the system window floating before my eyes.
‘The third version of the Karma Shop, huh.’
Just how much fun had I had thanks to the 「Karma Shop Ver.2 Update」?
The 『VIP Market』, which provided special products useful to Awakeners, and 『Item Purchase』, which made it easier to obtain goods from each dimension, had both been no small help until now.
So when I heard that the shop had been upgraded even further, I couldn’t help but feel expectant, but…
“…Even so, I never expected this.”
With a sour look on my face, I stared blankly at the list that had appeared before me.
Overall, the shop had taken the form of the previous version with several new elements added.
But as I was happily checking each change one by one, something suddenly lodged itself in my mind—
『Item Purchase
-View Details』
└Auterica
└Ganghwan Realm
└Earth
‘Earth? Did that say Earth?’
It was that single word, “Earth,” sitting brazenly in a menu that had only allowed me to purchase items from other worlds until now.
“…So you’re saying I can buy things from Earth with karma now?”
In truth, that in itself wasn’t such an amazing benefit.
With my current influence, I could get most things without having to go out of my way to spend karma.
If anything, using Earth’s currency, which was easier to obtain than karma with its limited methods of acquisition, was far more cost-effective.
‘But that’s not what matters right now. The problem is why this change suddenly happened.’
Until now, the Karma Shop had drawn a clear line between itself and Earth.
Usually, the first time an Awakener encountered it was immediately after being transferred to another world.
And once they finally gathered one million points and chose to “Return” to Earth, the Karma Shop disappeared, and the chance to use it again was gone forever.
‘I’m an exception, I suppose, since I basically exploited a loophole in the system and bypassed it.’
After awakening my Unique Skill, I had clearly been transferred to another world, yet I had also continued to remain on Earth.
Wasn’t that contradiction the greatest reason I could make use of the system as I pleased?
‘Let’s see.’
With a serious expression, I selected the “Earth” category and examined the products one by one.
It was a menu I had used many times before, so it didn’t take long to roughly check what was and wasn’t possible.
And the conclusion I reached after finishing that check was…
“Wow, they even sell airplanes and aircraft carriers? What’s this now? A space shuttle? Don’t tell me they even sell nuclear warheads… They really do?”
There was no such thing as impossible in this Karma Shop.
Of course, the cost-effectiveness was practically the worst compared to the mystical items of other worlds.
“You can buy an adult dragon heart for under two million, but a mere fighter jet costs a hundred thousand points? An aircraft carrier without a single carrier-based aircraft goes over ten million? Who would buy this crap?”
Still, the very fact that I could buy them right away if I wanted to was impressive in itself.
But with cost-effectiveness like this, there was no way I’d be purchasing any of it in the future.
Forcing my gaze away from the nuclear bomb that asserted its presence with its name alone, I let out a sigh.
‘What exactly does the system want from me?’
One thing was certain: this vast system that encompassed all manner of worlds wanted something from me.
Perhaps even the fact that I had discovered the trick to bypassing the system hadn’t been mere coincidence.
The situation was similar during the detailed exploration of 『Karma Shop Ver.3』 that followed.
The 『VIP Market』 had added not only an 『Invitation (1,000,000)』 that could forcibly turn an ordinary Earthling into an Awakener, but also a 『Return Ticket (2,000,000)』 that would pay the karma required for an Awakener transferred to another world to return in their stead.
On top of that, there were conveniences like 『Odin’s Eye』, which consumed karma continuously to let one look down upon anywhere on Earth, and 『Hermes’s Footsteps』, which allowed instant travel no matter how far the destination…
By that point, I had no choice but to naturally realize what the theme of this update was.
‘Every single thing is related to Earth.’
As if it were saying that I had finally been granted the qualifications to intervene in Earth.
And the cause of that change was probably this.
『Karma Occupancy Rate (5%)』
A single sentence that had appeared at the very bottom of the Karma Shop from the beginning.
I stared at it with narrowed eyes.
‘Occupancy rate, huh. Of what? The system? Earth? Or other dimensions? What happens if I fill that to 100%? Do I just need to gather karma? Does it only count usable points? Or the total cumulative points I’ve earned until now?’
All sorts of thoughts whirled through my mind.
Until now, I had charged forward with the single-minded goal of crushing the Beoncheon Society, but now that I had suddenly encountered an incomprehensible situation, my head grew complicated.
Even so, there was one thing I instinctively realized amid all that.
‘I don’t know what it is, but for now, I should raise it no matter what.’
That thing probably wasn’t unrelated to what I had been doing until now.
In reality, wasn’t what the Beoncheon Society’s leader was doing the same?
He possessed enough power on Earth to call himself a god, and yet even at this very moment, he was continuing to tour other dimensions and supply himself with karma.
But what if that wasn’t simply for the sake of greater power, but to satisfy the condition called “occupancy rate”?
‘…Then I absolutely can’t just leave him be.’
Having made up my mind, I slowly nodded.
In that sense, I decided to put off purchasing the 『Divine Fragment of an Imprisoned Human God』, which had no trivial price, for a little longer.
For now, I would watch until the price dropped further… and if necessary, use it as a dagger at the decisive moment.
Bzzzz—
—Bzzz—
Just then, a vibration came from the smartphone I had placed beside me.
It was a notification for a linked email.
And one concerning a situation that had to be urgently reported.
“This is…”
Sender name: “CCTV.”
It was a report from Andrew Weaver, to whom I had given various tasks in exchange for gifting him the language-translation magic tool Howard had made.
With a serious expression, I checked the contents.
The email included not only reports on the matter I had assigned him, but also foreign local articles that seemed to have been captured from somewhere.
And thanks to 「Xenoglossy」, the moment I ignored the translation attached beneath them and read through the original text in an instant, my eyebrows twitched of their own accord.
“A demon?”
News about a demon that had recently been frequently sighted in Southeast Asia.
The report, which said that most of the news had already been taken down as if someone somewhere was attempting information control, was filled with details listing the connection between that demon and the Beoncheon Society.
‘A demon, huh…’
I tapped the table lightly and fell into thought.
What an oddly coincidental turn of events.
As someone who had only recently waged a thrilling bout against the Demon Realm along with countless demons, this was naturally a story that piqued my interest.
‘If all of this is true, then he’s definitely no ordinary bastard.’
In truth, it wouldn’t be that strange for someone on Earth to use demonic power.
Among Earthlings sent to other worlds, there were quite a few who would use any means necessary to survive, and a demon contract was one of the ways to gain power relatively quickly.
‘Though the risks are considerable in equal measure.’
The moment one’s soul and mind were completely taken over by the contracted demon, they would lose their authority as an Awakener just like an undead, so the demon contractors who returned to Earth were all exceptionally capable people who had managed to overcome that.
Even merely borrowing contracted power was already like that, so there likely weren’t many cases where someone had completely become a demon like Ken and still returned while maintaining themselves.
‘And a guy like that is wandering around near Singapore, which was supposed to be my next target?’
Therefore, there was no need to explain how extraordinary this being in Andrew’s report was, one that seemed to perfectly reproduce a “real demon.”
Above all, this report was merely the result of analyzing clues indirectly obtained while gathering information, yet the fact that Andrew couldn’t observe the target at all with his Unique Skill, 「Trajectory Observation」, made it all the more convincing.
‘At minimum, a marquis-class demon. …At maximum, he might even be demon king-class.’
My eyes narrowed as I sank into thought.
The gap in the estimated level of the enemy was quite large, but that couldn’t be helped.
No matter how capable an informant Andrew was, there was a limit to what he could discover without directly observing the target.
If anything, it was commendable that he had written such a detailed report even under those circumstances.
‘Mm, I should raise his salary even more. He’ll have a lot to do going forward, so I need to treat him properly.’
Beyond the physical realm, from somewhere past cognition itself, I seemed to hear an auditory hallucination crying out to give him a vacation instead of more money, but…
It was probably just my imagination.
After all, there was no way anyone in the world would dislike being paid more.
“Anyway, this is unexpected. I didn’t think I’d find them in this way.”
That capable informant Andrew had added another note at the end of the report.
It concerned a certain faction that was being driven to the edge of a cliff with every passing moment by not only the demon himself, but also an organization moving in coordination with that demon.
Since it was information he had barely discovered while tracking the demon’s rough movements, the identity of that faction was certainly not ordinary either.
‘So they really did exist. People besides me who oppose the Beoncheon Society. Though it seems their situation isn’t very good.’
Commonly known as the “Blazing Torch.”
Discovered in the midst of my lonely fight alone.
It was a secret society formed by people who shared the same objective as me.
***
An abandoned house strewn here and there with miscellaneous junk.
“Kehup— Cough, cough!”
From one corner of it, a harsh coughing fit burst out.
The person in question seemed to be trying somehow to suppress it, but it was useless.
Because that wasn’t an ordinary cough.
“Are you all right, An? Maybe you really should rest for a bit…”
At that, a man with a sturdy build cautiously spoke up, but the black bob-haired woman curled up and trembling simply shook her head.
With a handkerchief soaked in blood pressed to her mouth.
“Hoo— Hoo.”
After some time passed like that.
The woman, An, who had carefully raised herself while taking deep breaths, let a blue flame ripple over her hand and burn away only the blood on the handkerchief.
In the blink of an eye, the handkerchief changed from red to white.
She carefully put it away and let out a deep sigh.
“You know there’s no helping it, right? The moment I rest even for a little while, this place will be discovered immediately.”
“…Still, if it’s only for a moment…”
“Forget it. How many comrades have died until now because we responded that naively?”
At her blunt reply, the man couldn’t bring himself to argue.
As she said, their current situation could not be called good, not even as an empty compliment.
To the point that a brief rest might very well become an eternal one.
And even that was only because of her; without her, every one of them would already have been slaughtered.
“…Sorry. If only I had the strength to face that demon…”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Three superhumans have already died to that demon. Even after they set a trap and attacked together. If you joined in, all that would do is add one more corpse.”
Her tone was sarcastic, but that was only to stop him from showing pointless recklessness; her green eyes held concern for him.
That was how threatening an enemy the demon was, enough to force them to scatter and flee.
“Hoo— I hope the others are safe too… Ahhh! Damn it! That viper bastard, calling his friends into a fair duel like some coward! And you call yourself a man!”
An, who had been catching her breath and focusing her mind to maintain her ability, finally failed to hold back her anger and burst out shouting.
It was only natural, since the organization that had somehow been advancing toward hope had been shattered because of those who had suddenly intervened.
“Ugh, if only that damned old hag Oracle hadn’t butted in, we could’ve done something against the Executioner.”
She couldn’t guarantee victory, but at the very least, they could have retreated while minimizing the damage and waited for another day.
At the very least, it would have been far better than being scattered to pieces as they were now, fleeing all the way from the Philippines to here in Vietnam.
“...Hoo! I can’t do this. I can’t. Calm. I have to stay calm.”
After venting her anger for a while as though relieving her stress, she steadied her breathing once more.
Not only the lives of those here with her, but also the lives of their comrades scattered far and wide, depended on her ability now. She could not afford to let her guard down for long.
“But why are Becky and Ttolla taking so long?”
Just as she was calming herself down.
Realizing that those who had gone outside to scout still had not returned, she frowned.
Normally, she would have been able to grasp her comrades’ locations as naturally as breathing, but now that she was pouring all her strength into obscuring Oracle’s gaze, she had no leeway to spare elsewhere.
“Wait.”
“...Jose?”
A sturdily built man stepped in front of Ann, who had been grumbling like that.
Sniff, sniff.
—His nostrils flared as he scattered a sharp aura toward the outside.
Soon, with a grave expression, he quietly opened his mouth.
“It’s a demon.”
“No way...! How? Is it because I got angry earlier? No, there’s no way something that minor would...!”
“We’ve already been pinpointed. It’s coming straight here.”
At Jose’s low words, her face stiffened.
The fact that her current location had been exposed was by no means a simple matter.
It was a serious situation in which not only they, but all of the scattered and hidden members of the “Burning Torch” could be endangered.
Even as she clenched her teeth as if blaming herself, the presence did not stop and continued approaching the abandoned house.
Along with the thud, thud of footsteps, as though it had no intention of hiding itself.
In response, fur sprouted all over Jose’s body, and his frame began to grow larger and larger.
And at last, the moment he took on the form of a beast standing on two legs—
“Phew, finally found you. He just gives orders from somewhere comfortable and tells me to figure out the exact location on my own. Does that even make sense?”
A man opened the door of the abandoned house and entered.
“That damned human... Somehow, the way he works people seems a lot like our Demon King’s... Must be my imagination, right?”
He kept grumbling, having tossed any sense of caution aside.
Then, realizing that the man and woman before him were bracing themselves against him, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
“Ahem, so—”
The uninvited guest cleared his throat and composed his voice.
Then, using the language-communication ability unique to demons, he offered a greeting.
“Glad to meet you. My name is Miyamoto Ken.”
With a heart full of joy at meeting Earthlings he could converse with for the first time in a very long while.
“I have come to save you from your despair.”
But truly unfortunately, his feelings did not reach the other party.
In place of an answer, only a fist thickly covered in fur came flying back.