## Chapter 179 – 179. God’S Atlantis
179. God’s Atlantis
“Indeed. I am the Heavenly Demon.”
My voice was deeper than usual. I had altered it using Deception (SS).
“……”
The man standing in the alleyway looked me up and down, then clicked his tongue.
“Tch. What’s with that ridiculous mask? Are you imitating the Helten executives?”
Helten.
The most notorious criminal legion in Atlantis. However, their base of operations and exact strength were unknown.
There were rumors that Helten executives operated while wearing masks.
Of course, I knew about Helten. They were one of the protagonist’s enemies in the original story. And my current goal was to join Helten.
“That’s none of your concern. Act like a guide should.”
“What kind of bullshit is this… Ugh. Fine. I’ll just get a headache if I bother with someone like you… I’ll guide you, so just follow me.”
I started walking behind the man.
The back alleys of District 2’s City of Today were winding like a maze. As befitting Atlantis’s largest city, even the back alleys were enormous.
“Harek! Working? Who’s the clown behind you?”
While walking through the alley, some rough-looking men would call out to the burly man.
“He’s an old hag’s customer, don’t mind him.”
The burly man, Harek, said irritably. He seemed to be quite popular, at least in the back alleys.
After walking for 15 minutes, we arrived at a dilapidated building. Scattered furniture and rusty armor gave off an eerie vibe.
“Here. The old hag is inside this building, go on in.”
“Good work.”
Harek just waved his hand as if telling me to hurry and leave, without saying anything.
I confidently entered the building.
The inside was clean and tidy, unlike the outside. The lights on the ceiling were bright.
I looked at the papers posted on the wall. There were requests to kill someone, steal something, find someone, and so on.
This was a request center that brokered illegal jobs. Murder-for-hire was easily arranged here.
“Another crazy one has come.”
At the end of the building, there was an old woman sitting on a chair. The old woman, wearing a red cloak, looked to be at least 70 years old. Her hair was snow-white, and her face was full of wrinkles.
What was unusual was that she had piercings all over her chin, beside her nose, and on both ears.
‘The broker, Pesika. An old woman who brokers all sorts of illegal jobs. And a member of Helten.’
Pesika also introduced capable individuals to Helten.
“I am called the Heavenly Demon.”
I introduced myself as I walked towards Pesika.
Pesika frowned.
“Cut the crap and tell me why you went so far as to kill an innocent man to find me, you bastard.”
“Innocent man? That guy was a pickpocket.”
I spoke in a casual tone and sat across from Pesika. To hide my identity, I had to refrain from using my usual way of speaking.
“You beat him to death and dumped his body in the alley, right? And you wrote my name on the alley wall!”
I frowned at the old woman’s sharp voice.
“I just caught and killed the pickpocket because he was in my sight. And the reason I wrote your name on the wall, isn’t it obvious that I have business with you? And you don’t really care whether that pickpocket lives or dies, do you?”
Two hours ago, I followed a man who looked like a pickpocket and beat him to death. Since Pesika was sensitive to information in the back alleys, she would have heard about my actions in less than an hour.
Also, it was faster for her to find me than for me to find her.
“Business with me? What business?”
“……”
Instead of answering, I raised my head.
In my Heavenly Demon state, my senses were extremely sharp. I could feel something on the ceiling.
‘It’s obvious without looking. It must be a wraith. Pesika is a necromancer.’
Pesika, a necromancer, possessed considerable power despite her old appearance. If I were to fight Pesika now, there was a chance I would lose.
I lowered my head again, looked at Pesika, and said,
“If I have business with a broker, there’s only one thing, isn’t there? I want a request.”
“You killed a pickpocket to meet me and get a request? You’re a crazy bastard.”
I felt a cold presence from all directions. Wraiths that hadn’t revealed themselves were surrounding me. Pesika was probably planning to kill me here.
“That was the fastest way. And that pickpocket was also an eyesore.”
“An eyesore? Did the pickpocket steal your money?”
“No. He was stealing a woman’s sleeve.”
“But why kill the pickpocket!”
There was no need to kill the pickpocket. I could have met Pesika by catching and beating the pickpocket. Pesika had that much control over the back alleys of this city.
“She was a pretty woman.”
“……What?”
“And she was quite my type.”
“……You’re a madman. I’ve seen all kinds of madmen in this line of work, but you’re top-tier.”
“I’m normal… Well, whatever. Will you give me a request?”
“I will. That pickpocket wasn’t one of ours, so it doesn’t violate any rules. However… this guy doesn’t seem to like you.”
Swoosh.
A blue wraith appeared in front of me. A long face and thin eyebrows. It was the pickpocket I had killed two hours ago.
‘This old hag. She turned the pickpocket’s soul into a wraith.’
Pesika called me a madman, but from my perspective, it just looked like the pot calling the kettle black.
Glancing sideways, my eyes shifted.
The wraiths were all revealing themselves and slowly closing the distance.
Pesika was watching me with a blank expression, without saying anything.
‘Is this a test?’
If Pesika had really wanted to kill me, it wouldn’t have been this childish.
‘Fine. I’ll face it head-on.’
I began to draw out the mana, no, the Heavenly Demon Qi (天魔氣), within my body.
And I released the Heavenly Demon Qi in all directions, dominating the surroundings.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功).
Heavenly Demon Force (天魔 Force).
The wraiths, as if feeling intimidated by the Heavenly Demon’s energy that dominated all demons, hesitated and began to retreat.
I reached out my hand straight ahead and grabbed the pickpocket wraith’s neck. Because I was wearing the Subjugation Armor with great demonic power on my hand, I was able to grab the incorporeal wraith.
Screeeeeech!
The wraith struggled in my grasp.
“To die twice in my hands… you’re lucky. Heavenly Demon Explosion (天魔爆)!”
Boom!
A black explosion erupted from my hand. The wraith, hit directly by the explosion, disappeared without a trace.
Swish.
Looking around, the wraiths had retreated from me.
“…Okay.”
As Pesika spoke briefly, the wraiths disappeared without a trace. They didn’t just hide, they vanished completely.
“For wraiths to fear a human… that’s logically impossible. What are you, you bastard?”
“You should know. I am the Heavenly Demon.”
When I spoke solemnly, Pesika clicked her tongue.
“Tch. No one would think that’s your real name. Let’s see your face first. Take off that ridiculous, childish clown mask.”
“I cannot. My social status is so high that revealing my face would cause quite a stir.”
“If you’ve come to get a request, shouldn’t you at least give me some basic information about yourself?”
“Hmm. My name is Heavenly Demon. I’m in my early twenties.”
“Insufficient. You seem to be an exile… when did you come to Atlantis?”
“Three years ago.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Kid, how many years do you think I’ve been doing this? I’ve been doing this since the beginning of this world. I’ve seen a lot of crazy bastards like you.”
“I’m normal.”
“Enough. I don’t intend to argue with you. If you won’t give me your personal information… it’s a shame, but I’ll back down. Instead, tell me the Divine Seat you’re contracted with. That’s the condition for me to broker a request for you.”
“The Seed Sower. That’s the Divine Seat I’m contracted with.”
Pesika glared at me sharply.
“Don’t joke around.”
“I haven’t joked. In the first place, how would you verify it even if I told you the name of my Divine Seat?”
“Ask your Divine Seat to send a message. You can do that much, can’t you?”
“Do you think my Divine Seat will listen to me?”
“Hmph. If your Divine Seat won’t even grant that much of a request, then your level is only that high. I won’t give a request to someone who doesn’t reveal their name and face and has no skills, so get out.”
I couldn’t leave.
My plan was to naturally come into contact with Helten while carrying out Pesika’s request and become an executive of Helten. I couldn’t fail the plan from here.
“……My Divine Seat is a bit eccentric. Tell me your Divine Seat first. Wouldn’t that be fair?”
“……”
「The Soul Harvester wants to harvest your soul.」
The Soul Harvester.
That was definitely Pesika’s Divine Seat.
“King of the Demonic Sky. I ask for your help.”
「The King of the Demonic Sky is watching the Soul Harvester.」
「The Soul Harvester is startled and looks around.」
Pesika’s notification window must have appeared as well, as she had her mouth slightly open.
“…King of the Demonic Sky. Not an ordinary Divine Seat.”
“Do you know what the King of the Demonic Sky is? Can’t you tell me? I’m dying of curiosity.”
“No. I don’t know who the King of the Demonic Sky is.”
“Then why are you so surprised?”
“The fact that my Divine Seat was surprised means that the King of the Demonic Sky is of a high caliber. And… if the word ‘King’ is in the name of a Divine Seat, there’s more than a 50% chance that it’s not an ordinary Divine Seat.”
“The King of the Demonic Sky is quite impressive. Can I get a request now?”
“Fine. What kind of request do you want?”
Thanks to the King of the Demonic Sky’s cooperation, things were going smoothly.
“I don’t have much time. I’d like a request that can be done tonight.”
I hadn’t left the Starting Church yet. I had skipped class today and snuck out. Since they didn’t take attendance, I wouldn’t get caught. Still, I had coordinated with Yoo Seohee that I was sick and couldn’t come if I got caught.
“Tonight… There are three available.”
Pesika took three request papers from the wall and showed them to me.
“Choose one of these.”
I examined the request papers closely.
“One is a contract killing…, one is information gathering… and the other is theft.”
Surprisingly, the reward for the contract killing was the lowest. The reward for theft was the highest.
“Hite? What kind of name is that? What does this guy do?”
“He’s a herb swindler. He disguises poor-quality herbs as fresh ones and sells them.”
“I think I know who the client is. What about the information gathering?”
“You need to gather information about the Mate Legion.”
“Can that be done in one day?”
“Kidnapping and interrogating a member of the Mate Legion can be done in one day.”
That old woman was indeed vicious.
“Stealing a red twig is worth 3 million pennies. What’s so special about that twig that the reward is 3 million pennies?”
3 million pennies was about 30 million won in Korean currency.
“It’s not the item, but the location of the theft that makes the reward so high. That twig is in the mansion of Hobson in District 57. Hobson is the richest man in District 57.”
“District 57… It’ll take days to get there.”
“If you take that request, I’ll give you a scroll.”
“A scroll?”
“A space-movement scroll.”
A space-movement scroll was a scroll that could move you to a set coordinate. It was one-time use, not easy to obtain, and very expensive.
“Do you know that the scroll is more expensive than the request reward?”
“Don’t do it if you don’t want to. There are plenty of others who will take this request besides you.”
“Who said I wouldn’t do it? I’ll take this request.”
“Don’t forget that you have to bring the twig to me to complete the request.”
“What is that twig anyway?”
“I don’t know.”
That was a lie.
Pesika didn’t seem to want to explain the twig to me.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I knew about this twig. Helten was the one who made this request.
‘The twig is one of the blades of the Seven-Branched Sword.’
Even if I didn’t take this request, Helten would recover the twig soon.
The reason Pesika showed me this request was probably to test me. As someone contracted with the high-ranking Divine Seat, the King of the Demonic Sky, I was the talent that Helten was looking for.
“If you tear this scroll, you’ll move to an alley in District 57. And the coordinates of this scroll are set on the outskirts of the City of Today. Don’t do anything stupid like losing the scroll.”
“Okay. But I have one question.”
“What is it?”
