In the dim darkness of the town streets. Monsters poked their heads out from between crumbling buildings.

‘Wyverns? Those teeth are vicious.’

Wyverns made up the majority of the monsters. Danger-class A-rank monsters, rarely seen in normal circumstances, but now over three hundred of them were arrayed before him.

Behind them were scattered B-rank large monsters, seemingly picked out only the biggest ones.

Yet the being radiating the most powerful aura was, unexpectedly, the human woman at the forefront. A South American beauty with ashen hair and dusky skin.

He was barely half the monster’s size, yet his aura was no joke. Go Byeonggap could sense it instinctively.

‘SS-rank.’

A pressure on par with Seo Sihui. People with that kind of energy were few and far between worldwide.

‘From now on, even blinking once will take careful thought.’

Byeonggap pushed the Grugle at his side forward. They’d lost a good number clearing out one of Illumission’s bases, but counting the small fry, there were still well over a thousand.

‘It’s fine, monsters run from Grugles…’

“Grrrrr!”

“…They’re not running?”

An anomaly. Normally, monsters tuck tail and flee at the mere sight of a Grugle. But not this time. The creatures blazed with crimson eyes, their fighting spirit flaring.

Just as Byeonggap sensed the plan going wrong, the woman across from him spoke.

“So you’re the one commanding this rabble of pitch-black rejects? I’ve never even heard of such things… What the hell are they? No—what the hell are you?”

The English came with a distinctive accent.

Go Byeonggap had never once thought his English was even passable while alive. Yet, strangely, he could understand every word the woman said.

‘Ea’s power, probably.’

When he’d lost the Lord’s authority back then, he couldn’t even talk to the goblins. It was Ea’s help that broke that language barrier, and since then, he’d become fluent in every tongue.

Byeonggap quietly sensed the surrounding auras, careful not to alert the woman.

‘These are all the monsters? Gotta stall for time.’

He put on a calm face and opened his mouth. Fluent English rolled off his lips.

“Well, I don’t hand out personal info just like that. Isn’t it basic etiquette to introduce yourself first if you want to know someone else?”

“Hah? You’re trying to joke around with me?”

The woman wore a look of disbelief. She then pointed at the monster looming behind her, puffing herself up.

“I know you’re just pretending it’s nothing. I can feel how tense you are.”

“You trying to show off your little pet? Sorry, but I’ve got plenty of grunts myself.”

“Those black trash mobs? They’re nothing special.”

In an instant, a wyvern spat a wad of karma from its maw. The bright-yellow mass engulfed half a dozen Grugles in one go.

The goblins looked ready to strike back at once. Go Byeonggap quickly reached out a hand to hold them back.

«Wait.»

«…Yes.»

The woman’s eyes sharpened as she glared at the goblins. But after a few seconds, she squinted one eye and tilted her head.

“Hey, you.”

“What?”

“How the hell are you controlling those goblins? You’re not a mental-type awakener.”

“How do you know whether I’m a mental-type awakener or not?”

“Hah. A grub trying to show off in front of a dragon. You dare to act cocky in front of the world’s greatest mind controller?”

The truth of the matter was this.

The woman had tried to control the goblins with her mental domination ability. But the goblins hadn’t even pretended to obey.

‘My control isn’t working on them? They can’t possibly be on my level… So that means there’s a bond stronger than my domination loop here?’

It was impossible. There was no mind controller superior to her in this world.

Why else would she be forcibly holding back monsters that fled at the mere sight of that pitch-black creature?

That was when Go Byeonggap asked, his tone dripping with mockery.

“From the look of it, you must be some big shot in the Hexagram Order. A psychic-type awakener, right? So you’re that bitch Ariena? Member of the Last Eighteen? That’s it, I think.”

“…You know about that too? I see, you’re in cahoots with that Seo Sihui wench. Where’s that crazy old hag?”

“You tell me where Go Geonryong is first, and I’ll tell you.”

“The cheek on you… Hmph! No need. I’ll just make you my slave and make you spill everything.”

Ariena released her karma with a fierce surge. She infused a sliver of her consciousness into that karma, attempting to infiltrate Go Byeonggap’s mind.

‘He can bluster all he wants, but there’s no way he can withstand me directly implanting a piece of my soul. I don’t know what trick he pulled, but once I make him my slave, those goblins will follow suit.’

In an instant, she plunged deep into Go Byeonggap’s inner world.

Go Byeonggap didn’t notice what she was doing. It just looked like she was standing still after unleashing her karma.

He decided to just stay put anyway — he needed to buy time.

Meanwhile, Ariena kept pushing deeper and deeper into Go Byeonggap’s psyche.

It was a space of utter blackness. All she had to do now was plant her spirit here and extract herself. Then Go Byeonggap would become a puppet stripped of his ego.

‘Good, now I just need to pull out and—’

<Look at this impertinent little girl. Who do you think you are, trying to dump your filthy filth in here?>

‘Wh-what!?’

Ariena spun around in a panic. Inside Go Byeonggap’s inner world, that is.

The next moment, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Someone was there. A man of immense build.

‘Two souls in one body? …No! Three!’

She spun around again. Something came trudging out of the pitch-black darkness. It looked almost identical to the monster outside. But the aura it radiated was incomparable.

‘Impossible. How can three souls coexist in a single body? Even that Archbishop only has two!’

Ariena instinctively knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Whether she knew or not, that pitch-black something let out a sweet, sultry shriek.

<Kyahaha! The scent of Madmut! Fresh!>

<Hey, demon. I’ve got my eye on that woman. Calling her entertainment—worth waking up for after so long.>

<No! I’m the one who gets to eat that soul!>

<Eat it or don’t, that’s your business. Just don’t touch her until I’m done.>

<Fine. I only need the soul anyway. Kyahaha!>

“You—what the hell are you? Why are you here?!”

Ariena stepped back, asking. Landriol summoned a sword as massive as his own body as he answered.

<Hmph. What would a wretch like you even do knowing my true identity? Your impertinence knows no bounds.>

“Wh-what do you mean?”

<Just know that the stench radiating from you and I share a deep enmity.>

“Damn it! —Kyaa!”

<Ignorant girl. Did you think you could flee from me?>

Ariena, who had tried to grab her soul and run, was soundly struck down by Landriol blocking her path.

Despair washed over her. She instinctively knew she couldn’t escape this place.

The presence the massive man exuded was overwhelming. There was no way she could oppose him with the scattered soul fragments she carried. No, even at full strength, could she have matched that presence? She couldn’t be sure.

“N-no! Please, let me out!”

Ariena pleaded even knowing it was useless. The answer she received was as cold as expected.

<How absurd. You had no trouble forcing your way in, and now you ask to be let out? Utterly shameless. If you wish to escape, then strike me down. Though I doubt that black thing will leave you be.>

“Uwaaaaah!!”

<Finally found the will to fight? Good!>

Ariena lunged at him in desperation. But Landriol parried her effortlessly, toying with her. A game—pure entertainment.

Landriol’s sword tore through her without mercy. Of course, it didn’t wound her physically. But the pain was undeniably real.

Her desperate struggle didn’t last long. Soon, Ariena lay crumpled on the floor like a rag. Landriol snorted, as if he’d lost interest.

<Is this the end? A spineless specimen.>

“Guh… Guh…”

<Done? Then can I eat that now?>

<Do as you please, demon.>

<Kyahaha! Good!>

Immediately, the black thing pounced. It snatched the soul Ariena clung to like a treasured heirloom, then brought it to its gaping maw.

“No! Please, don’t!”

She screamed and tried to stop it.

But demons knew no mercy.

<Thanks for the meal!>

“Kiyaaaaah!!”

“Kiyaaaaah! Uwaaaah!”

“What the? Suddenly.”

«Huh? Lord, that woman’s lost it.»

Go Byeonggap and his goblins stared at Ariena with bewildered eyes.

Something strange was happening. She stood silent for about ten seconds. Then, without warning, she let out a shriek and crumpled to the ground.

“Aaagh! Hngghhh!”

Ariena tore at her hair, pounding her forehead against the dirt. Her sobbing moans sounded almost bestial.

Go Byeonggap had no way of knowing the agony of having one’s soul chewed alive.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but this works for me.’

Whatever the cause, an enemy’s panic was an opportunity.

He whispered to his subordinates.

«All of you, stay close to me. We need to take her head first. Once she’s gone, the monsters will fall apart on their own.»

«Understood.»

«As you command.»

“Kill them!! Kill every last one of those bastards!!”

Ariena suddenly roared. Her eyes were shot through with burst capillaries, stained a bloody red.

As if inheriting her rage, the monsters let out frenzied howls and charged.

Four hundred high-rank monsters were a clear threat. But Go Byeonggap had already prepared a counter.

‘Block them.’

He murmured inwardly. At once, Grugle poured in from all sides. He’d summoned every Grugle scattered in the vicinity — a flood of bodies surging like a river.

Ariena jolted in shock.

“Wh-When!? I didn’t even sense them!”

“You stupid bitch — Grugle don’t leave a trace.”

Thousands of Grugle took on the horde of monsters. Splitting through the gap, Go Byeonggap and his eight subordinates sprinted forward.

Ariena reacted in a panic, but the psychological blow hadn’t faded. Her movements were a complete mess.

Blades, sorcery, and raw force rained down on her like an aerial bombardment.

Dorma’s spells bound her tight; Doran and the other close-combat fighters clung to her like leeches. Even when she managed to create distance, sword auras and lightning bolts chased her down.

The desperate attacks she launched were casually blocked by the two brutes, and whatever miniscule damage she did was rendered meaningless by Bamond’s healing magic.

For Ariena, it was a total deadlock.

“What’s this? You fight like absolute garbage.”

“Aaargh! Shut up!!”

The truth was, Ariena never had to get her hands dirty. Most opponents she could subdue easily with mental domination.

Her combat method was either a self-destruct command through mind control, or turning enemies into puppets.

In that sense, Go Byeonggap and his goblins were her perfect natural enemy.

And the monster army she’d painstakingly brought along had been rendered useless, surrounded by Grugle.

Ariena’s body was becoming more and more a rag. Not a single spot on her remained unblemished by red.

«I’ll end this.»

Seizing the opening his allies had carved, Turka struck. His arm moved like a thunderbolt—no, a hand the size of a cauldron lid, more accurate to say he grabbed her whole face.

Caught fast, Ariena went limp, strength draining out of her. She was already unconscious. Turka’s grip compressed her skull as if to burst it.

«Turka, stop.»

Before her head could really— Crack! —go, Byeonggap reined him in.

«Huh? …Ah, understood.»

Turka unclenched his hand. Ariena dropped like a wet rag, slapping against the ground.

Her eyes had rolled back. Her breath was thin, flickering, ready to gutter out. Were she not an SS-rank body, she’d have died long ago.

Byeonggap looked down at her and spoke.

«Dorma, can you neutralize this woman without killing her?»

«Hmm, I’ll give it a try.»

Dorma stepped to Ariena’s bedside and emitted a dark aura. That black energy crammed its way into her mouth, gulping in relentlessly.

“Guh… guh-eok! Guh-eo-eok…!”

Ariena groaned in torment. Her limbs trembled spasmodically.

The ordeal ended quickly. Dorma dusted his hands and rose.

«I’ve bound her mind. I wondered if it would work, since this woman’s willpower surpasses the norm, but her body and spirit are so weakened that it took hold.»

«Yeah? No chance she’ll run wild?»

«Yes. Until I undo the spell, she’ll be little more than a living corpse.»

«Good. Well done.»

“Kyah, kyahahak!”

“Kie-eek!”

The moment Dorma sealed Ariena’s mind, the surviving monsters shrieked and began to flee.

The rage that had filmed their eyes was gone, vanished without a trace. Only fear remained, flooding every socket.

Byeonggap commanded the Grugle.

‘Chase them. And kill them.’

“Uwooooh!”

The Grugle darted after them. They’d catch half the runners, easy.

«Everyone’s worked hard. Let’s return to Asvillam.»

«Yes, sir! You worked hard too, Lord.»

«Lord! Lord! But why aren’t you killing this woman?»

«I will.»

«Huh?»

«Even if you kill her when it’s time, you have to extract information first.»

«Ah-ha!»

Slinging Ariena over his shoulder, Byeonggap crossed into Asvillam.