After leaving the guild, my party and I returned to the hotel just before midday. The city outside buzzed with life as always, but the moment we stepped into the quieter lounge area, the atmosphere shifted.
Two members of our party had stayed behind earlier to eat lunch and relax.
The second we approached the table, I tossed a folded request sheet onto the center of it.
The paper slid smoothly across the wood.
The girls leaned forward curiously.
Then their expressions froze.
"…Yeah," I said with a small smirk. "This is absolutely a trap."
Kara blinked twice.
"Wait… how do you already know that?"
Honestly, the confusion on her face was kind of funny.
"When it comes to strategy and intelligence," Frana said proudly before I could answer, "I've never met anyone in this world who can match Hiroy."
Her eyes sparkled while saying it too.
Dangerous.
I laughed softly and patted her head.
"In this world," I said confidently, "there's only one person who could challenge me in that area."
I leaned back slightly.
"And if it isn't him, then they're not beating me."
The room fell silent for a second.
Then all four girls stared at me like I'd just declared war on common sense itself.
I gave them a confused look.
"What? It's true."
Lilith sighed dramatically.
"The scary part is he actually believes it."
"I do believe it."
"You said that way too fast."
Frana giggled quietly while Kara tilted her head.
"…Who exactly are you talking about?"
I pointed lazily toward the window.
"Shiro."
Recognition immediately crossed several faces.
"Ohhh!" Lilith clapped her hands together, her beast ears twitching excitedly. "The purple-haired guy! You talk about him constantly."
"Not constantly."
"Every day," Lani corrected immediately.
Traitor.
Frana looked down slightly.
"He seemed… darker than you."
Kara nodded slowly.
"I think I saw him with my sister's group once."
"Yeah, that's him," I said quietly.
I rested my chin against my hand for a moment.
"He might seem cold sometimes. Kinda rude too. But Shiro's actually a good person."
A small smile crossed my face unconsciously.
"He just carries too much by himself."
And honestly…
when it came to fighting?
Shiro was terrifying.
Every serious spar between us ended the same way:
total exhaustion.
Bruises.
Broken terrain.
Usually some destroyed buildings.
We pushed each other constantly growing up.
Even now, if we fought seriously, I honestly couldn't guarantee victory.
Which was exactly why I refused to fall behind him.
But reminiscing wouldn't help right now.
I tapped the request sheet again.
"Anyway. Back to the important part."
The girls straightened immediately.
Since accepting the mission, we had roughly a week before departure.
Nine full Gregas days.
Honestly, I preferred this world's calendar system.
Longer days.
Longer weeks.
More time to think.
More time to train.
More time to survive.
As lunch arrived, I finally explained everything.
"After accepting the quest, I started investigating the surrounding region."
I tore a piece of bread casually.
"Several high-ranked adventurer parties vanished near the mission area over the last few months."
The room quieted.
"No corpses."
"No survivors."
"No magical residue."
Lilith frowned.
"That's bad."
"Very," I agreed.
I took another bite before continuing.
"Honestly? I think a demon is behind it."
That got everyone's attention immediately.
"And not a normal one," I added.
"If my theory's correct, it's probably close to evolution."
Kara slowly lowered her fork.
"…How dangerous is that exactly?"
"Incredibly."
I leaned back in my chair.
"In this world, dormant demons are usually Demon Lord-class at minimum."
"Once they evolve further, they become Archdemons."
"And above even that…"
I paused briefly.
"…Demon Gods."
Even saying the title felt heavy.
The room grew noticeably colder.
"If it's hunting humans specifically," I continued, "then it needs blood, mana, and souls."
I tapped the request paper again.
"So it creates attractive missions."
"Enough reward to lure adventurers."
"Then it slaughters them."
Frana looked pale.
"That's horrible…"
"Demons don't think like humans," I said calmly.
"To them, people are resources."
The girls listened carefully while I organized my thoughts.
"Most likely, it's targeting mid and low-ranked adventurers first because they disappear quietly. Less investigation. Less resistance."
Kara narrowed her eyes.
"But where are you getting all this information?"
I smirked slightly.
"…Sources."
Lani immediately looked suspicious.
"…What kind of sources?"
"The illegal kind."
That earned me several horrified stares.
I shrugged.
"There's an underground network beneath Larkingdon."
"Smugglers."
Information brokers.
Black-market mages.
Forbidden relic dealers.
Basically this world's version of a criminal intelligence network."
"My first visit ended in a fight."
Lilith sighed.
"Of course it did."
"They attacked me first."
"…Because you asked illegal questions to dangerous people."
"That's not important."
Frana buried her face in her hands while Kara started laughing quietly.
Still, the underground market had proven useful.
Terrifyingly useful.
Some artifacts sold there were horrifying.
Soul-linked weapons.
Memory parasites.
Dream prison relics.
Objects capable of trapping victims inside living nightmares forever.
Not killing them.
Just breaking them mentally until their souls collapsed.
"Most average mages can't survive those artifacts," I explained.
"Especially people with only one or two elemental affinities."
"They're considered disposable."
Silence followed.
Then I added calmly:
"People would probably call me a monster too, honestly."
My fingers rested lightly against my scythe.
"This weapon steals souls directly."
"And my eyes manipulate internal energy."
Fear.
Control.
Illusions.
Soul pressure.
Those were my specialties.
Not exactly heroic abilities.
But power was power.
And if I wanted to survive the Successor Games…
I needed more of it.
A lot more.
I looked down at the mission request again.
Then smiled faintly.
"Demons are dangerous."
"But they're also valuable."
My grip tightened around the scythe.
"If this thing really evolved…"
A golden shimmer reflected briefly through my eyes.
"…then maybe I can take its power for myself."