Things were moving really fast.
Loitering around could leak information, so it was advantageous to proceed quickly. When the servant that was sent by Sebastian arrived, Demian was looking around Valentine’s quarters with Lara. Valentine burst into admiration, saying that he had never seen such a nice house in his life.
Konny, who was following him, shrugged for no reason.
Lara introduced Valentine to his quarters, but at the same time, she was being conscious of Demian. She kept on showing what was good if he lived in the quarters. In other words, Demian should quickly agree to the wage negotiations and move in there.
Demian just looked at Lara, as she was being cute.
Then, the servant arrived and conveyed Isadora’s order.
“Madam Isadora has sent the trading company’s mercenaries. She said that it would be better to raid the black sorcerer’s hideout as soon as possible.”
“Mercenaries?”
“Yes, they’re waiting outside.”
Demian did not need any time to prepare. He only put a sword on his waist without changing his attire.
“Lara.”
“Yes?”
“If I deal with the black sorcerer for you, can you answer a question?”
“What question?”
“Give your word that you will be honest no matter what. I won’t accept lies nor silence.”
Demian’s voice was no different than usual.
A low, heavy voice that was relaxed and impassive. But somehow, Lara felt nervous.
She tensed up and nodded after a moment of hesitation.
“I will.”
“Okay.”
Demian smiled satisfactorily.
He turned his back on Valentine, whose legs began to tremble with anxiety, and headed to the place where the mercenaries awaited him.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Isadora’s mercenaries called themselves ‘wolves’.
They were all different in appearance, skin color, gender, and age groups. But they were all comrades. They got along by respecting each other, sometimes making fun of each other, and at times ignoring one another.
“Finally there’s something that I can do in this boring Hautean!”
“I know, right? I couldn’t sleep at night thinking about Madam Isadora’s money that was wasted into your trap.”
“Into my trap is much better than into your ass. Is it because I only eat greasy food these days? It’s very moist. You wanna see?”
When a wolf stuck out his lips and pretended to kiss the air, the wolf next to him slapped his lips.
They giggled and chattered on their horses. They were in attire that was close to casual attire to be called armor, and close to work attire to be called casual attire.
“But who in the world are we supposed to bring? Do we have to get help from someone else just to deal with a guy?”
“Black sorcerers are dangerous. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Madam Isadora assures his skills. So let’s just wait and see.”
Demian arrived not long after the servant went to inform him.
“I like it that he’s fast.”
The mercenaries chuckled.
“Oi, newbie! Take the lead!”
Demian just smiled. He skillfully returned the mischievous joke made by the mercenaries.
A joke like that did not give any effect to him, who had a lot of experience on the battlefield.
“Let’s go, seniors.”
The mercenaries teased him, saying that since he looked delicate they thought he would be weak, but he was actually quite manly.
It was deep dawn. It was so late that the lights of the red-light district were fading off one by one.
Demian quickly retraced the path he used when he followed Valentine.
As they went deep into the alley, the mercenaries’ momentum also changed. They put one hand close to their weapons and moved while controlling their breathing. No one said anything. Black sorcerers were cunning and discreet, they were used to fleeing and living in hiding, so they needed to be caught off guard.
Demian stood in front of the row house where Valentine ignored the entrance, turned to the back, and disappeared.
‘Stop.’
Demain naturally raised one hand and used a hand signal.
The hand signal, which meant back, down, silence, and wait was quickly completed with his gesture. The move looked so familiar that the mercenaries unknowingly moved as Demian told them to.
They went back to the back of the row house and ducked down. Then, they stood in front of the small door and waited for him.
Just like that day, Demian waited with his ears close to the door.
No sound could be heard inside.
He didn’t even feel any human presence. He suspected that she had fled after feeling suspicious because Valentine didn’t return, but it didn’t seem so because the hideout was left without being burned out.
‘Wait here. I will go first.’
Demian delivered his message with a hand signal.
The mercenaries exchanged glances a few times and nodded.
He walked without making a sound.
He bent his back, neck, and waist, lowering his posture and moving like a cat.
The black sorcerer’s hideout was in the basement. Demian tore off the door at once and walked on tiptoe under it.
‘Watch on.’
‘Wait.’
The mercenaries exchanged hand signals and listened carefully with worried faces. They were all planning to go down if even a small scream was heard from the basement hideout.
But it was weird.
No sound could be heard for a long while after Demian went down. They became uneasy because it was so quiet.
The mercenaries who had been guarding from a little distance away had gathered nearby.
‘Let’s go down.’
‘Wait.’
‘Dangerous.’
‘Advance.’
They fought using hand signals.
They kept their mouths shut because they promised not to make a noise, but their hands were busy moving, saying that they could not stand it anymore with frowns on their faces. They didn’t know why the person who invented hand signals did not make a signal for cursing that it made them this frustrated.
It was clear that the newbie who went down first fell into the black sorcerer’s trap. They reasoned out such a conclusion. Madam Isadora specially ordered him to go with them, so they could not just let him die like this.
‘Let’s go.’
Along with the last hand signal, the mercenaries moved toward the entrance to the basement hideout. They each held their weapons and a specially made shield in case they were attacked with black magic.
But then, a man walked up from the basement entrance.
It was Demian.
He was only slightly disheveled and frowning, but he was neither injured nor was he dirty. The same look when he went down.
Moreover, there was a body on his shoulder.
“What…”
The mercenaries put down their weapons.
“She killed herself.”
Demian clicked his tongue as though he was annoyed and put the body on the floor.
The mercenaries were speechless.
The body that Demian brought was the black sorcerer.
The black tattoo on her whole body recorded the demon’s name and the oath made with the devil. Her fingers had turned black due to her having been handling poison for a long time.
Demian was fine, but not the dead.
Her clothes were torn and scorched, and there were many wounds here and there.
Moreover, one of her hands was twisted in a bizarre way. Anyone could tell at a glance that Demian had overpowered her roughly.
“What happened down there?”
Someone asked.
Demian answered roughly, pointing to the basement.
“I went down, but she was casting magic so I just snapped her arm off. I guess she was planning to blow up the hideout if something went wrong. To prevent her from casting magic…”
“What? She was casting magic, but you just approached her?”
“…That’s what I did, but she killed herself.”
“Crazy.”
It was unbelievable, but they could not help but believe it because the evidence was right in front of them.
They said no wonder he used the hand signals that were mostly used in the battlefield too naturally.
“I heard he was a war slave. Did he have experience in fighting the black sorcerers?”
When someone muttered like that, the others just nodded.
“Madam Isadora is coming with the laggards there.”
The watchmen soldiers rushed from the entrance of the red-district alley. Isadora was with them. From now on, it was their job to gather evidence and grasp the situation.
After finishing his duties, Demian looked at the mercenaries and uttered a few words indifferently.
“Let’s go, seniors.”
