Chapter 57: The Black Fangs VS The Empire (5)

Sunlight painted a beautiful spectrum through the stained glass windows.

Majestic statues and a grandiose, old organ.

Despite the sacred and holy atmosphere, the events unfolding inside the cathedral were far from divine.

A man’s dissatisfied voice echoed through the hall.

“What did you just say?”

The second prince frowned as he asked. The situation is such that the prince of the empire is openly showing his displeasure.

Yet, the response remained unchanged.

“I truly apologize. We’ve been experiencing supply issues recently, and aside from the Holy Grail you took last time, we have nothing else in our possession. It will also take time to produce another one.”

The second prince gritted his teeth at these words.

He knew. He knew that what they said was true.

The Holy Church would not want to provoke the Empire’s prince by lying.

The words were undoubtedly true.

But still... it made his blood boil.

Days of sleepless nights had left his mind razor-sharp. And though he was unaware, the side effects of having a part of his soul taken by Asmodeus were also at play.

These factors hindered the prince from acting rationally.

Even though he knew they had their own circumstances, it was infuriating to see that cardinal.

It felt as though the cardinal was mocking him for foolishly squandering what was given to him last time, making this struggle unnecessary.

That an imperial prince had to stoop so low as to come here seeking help was infuriating.

“...Useless.”

The second prince muttered as he left the cathedral.

As he walked, he unconsciously bit his lip.

The once composed figure who leisurely watched over his subjects while smoking a cigar was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes were bloodshot from nights of working alone.

His hair, disheveled and messy.

He looked more like a madman than an imperial prince. Like a crazed gambler you’d see in a casino.

‘I can’t end it here.’

Biting his lip, the second prince desperately racked his brain.

The original plan was simple.

If the leader of the Black Fangs was a being close to a demon, knowing his true name could weaken his power.

He intended to use the Holy Grail again to attack him or at least uncover his face if an attack was impossible.

But it failed.

There was no Holy Grail. There were no more cards left to play. So this time, he couldn’t attack the Black Fangs.

That fact drove the prince mad.

‘I was so close. Just one more step, and I could have uncovered his identity.’

He had lost so much because of that bastard.

Just the rare cards like the Holy Grail alone were three. He even sold part of his soul.

And now, finally, the chance to reclaim those losses had arrived.

Victory was already assured.

This was a gamble he couldn’t lose.

But he was out of chips.

“...”

The second prince fell silent, lost in thought.

And... before he could even say a word, the demon, as if sensing his presence, revealed itself.

The demon merely smiled without uttering a word. That same unsettling smile as before.

As if it could read the prince’s mind.

Though the demon did not speak, the second prince felt as if he could hear mocking words in his head.

Unlike the fools who lost their souls by relying on a contract with a demon, he believed he could maintain control.

He thought he was using the demon, not the other way around.

But now, in the face of crisis, he had shamefully turned to the demon first.

However...

The second prince gritted his teeth.

“Can you gather information about him, or use his true name to seal part of his power?”

Winning was all that mattered.

No matter the sacrifice, as long as he won this gamble, he could reclaim everything.

Thus, he had to place all his bets now.

He had to wager everything he had.

Even if it meant grasping the demon’s hand.

Recent days had been extremely peaceful.

The shelter was developing day by day, almost all the cases of magic addiction in the area had disappeared, and people wore smiles on their faces.

However...

I couldn’t just be completely happy while watching this scene.

‘Why on earth is the Empire not taking any action?’

At first, I was pleased, thinking the Empire was just slow to respond. But this was too strange, no matter how you looked at it.

Even now, with the rumors about the Black Fangs spreading, they were doing nothing. It made no sense.

In my opinion, there was only one reason for such behavior.

The calm before the storm.

They were preparing something. They were conserving their forces for what was to come.

‘...Maybe I’m just overthinking things.’

But there’s no harm in being prepared.

Judging from the current situation, fortunately, it seemed this place had not been discovered.

But being complacent would be the worst strategy.

Since things here had mostly stabilized, it might be time to move the shelter.

If we did move, what should be done with the people remaining here? Was there a risk this place could become a target of the Empire?

There were many things to consider.

It was at that moment, as I was wrestling with these issues.

- Hurry, come see this!”

A hurried voice echoed from somewhere.

Yet, there was no one around me.

This could only mean one thing.

After being unreachable for the past few days, Miss Rubia was finally sending a message again.

And with such an urgent tone.

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

Something was about to happen.

-The identity of the leader of the Black Fangs has been revealed!

“...What?”

-There will be a public bounty announced soon...

Miss Rubia sounded frantic, almost in a panic.

Only then did I realize.

Why things had been so quiet.

They were preparing for this very moment.

This could be... extremely dangerous.

If the Empire started actively hunting the Black Fangs with this bounty, we could get caught in the crossfire.

‘They’re not to be underestimated, after all.’

Their strength was formidable, and their intelligence network was beyond measure.

The identity of the leader of the Black Fangs.

I didn’t even know who it was yet.

But they had discovered it.

-Just wait a moment! I’ll send you the data as soon as I get it!

Miss Rubia was flailing her hands about, hurriedly manipulating her magic engineering device to send the data since she couldn’t use magic herself.

Before long, an image appeared before me.

And...

“...?”

Miss Rubia’s face was filled with confusion. My own face probably mirrored hers.

It was understandable.

The man in the photo didn’t look like a secret organization’s leader at all.

No, it wasn’t just that he didn’t look like a leader...

‘Why is this guy here?’

My mind went blank for a moment.

The name on the wanted poster.

“FurryFurry.”

A name I had seen countless times while browsing the strategy guides on bone and blood galleries.

If you spent 24 hours on the gallery, you couldn’t not know it.

-This is...

“Yes, he’s definitely not the leader of the Black Fangs.”

My mind couldn’t keep up with the situation.

What on earth was happening?

How had things gotten so twisted to end up like this?

‘Wait, isn’t that clearly from Korea?’

The background in the photo.

It was unmistakably modern.

No matter how advanced the imperial capital was, it couldn’t compare to that level.

This fact was crystal clear.

Somehow, the Empire had managed to spy on someone from another world, capturing a photo of this moderator.

My head spun even more.

There were limits to wasting one’s abilities.

I didn’t know what means they used, but doing something like this without any cost seemed impossible.

Influencing another world just to reveal the moderator’s face?

It made me genuinely suspect if the Empire was secretly filming a prank show on me.

‘…I know I shouldn’t be thinking like this.’

As a person responsible for many lives, I couldn’t afford to be careless.

No matter how foolish the enemy’s actions seemed, I couldn’t drop my guard.

I knew that.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The image of the mighty Empire I had seen in the previous works.

That powerful image vanished in an instant.

Naturally, a question formed in my mind.

‘Are these guys just weaklings after all?’

It seemed like I wouldn’t even need the Black Fangs. I could probably overthrow the Empire with a half-baked revolution myself.

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