Chapter 57: The Black Fangs VS The Empire (5)
Sunlight filled the cathedral with a beautiful spectrum through the stained glass windows.
Majestic statues and an old organ added to the grandeur of the place.
However, despite the holy and sacred atmosphere, the reality inside the cathedral seemed quite the opposite.
A disgruntled voice of a man echoed through the hall.
“What did you just say?”
The second prince frowned as he asked. It was quite clear that the prince of the Empire was openly showing his displeasure.
Yet, the response did not change.
“I sincerely apologize. We’ve been facing supply issues recently, and aside from the Holy Grail you took last time, we don’t really have anything else in stock. It will also take time to produce another one.”
Upon hearing that, the second prince ground his teeth.
He knew. He knew that what was said was indeed true.
The Holy Church wouldn’t want to anger the Empire’s prince by telling lies.
Those words were undoubtedly factual.
But still… it made his blood boil.
Days of sleepless nights had sharpened his mind. And though he didn’t realize it, the side effects of having a part of his soul taken by Asmodeus were also in play.
These factors hindered the prince from acting rationally.
He knew they had their own circumstances, yet seeing that cardinal was infuriating.
It felt as if the cardinal was mocking him for foolishly squandering what was given last time, thus making this struggle unnecessary.
It was disgraceful that an imperial prince had come here asking for help.
“…Useless.”
The second prince muttered while storming out of the cathedral.
As he walked away, he unconsciously chewed on his lip.
The once composed figure who leisurely watched over his subjects while savoring cigars was nowhere to be found.
His eyes were bloodshot from nights of working alone.
His hair was a mess, looking as if a tornado had swept through it.
He looked more like a madman than an imperial prince—like some crazed gambler you’d see in a casino.
‘This can’t end here.’
crunch crunch He chewed on his lip as 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, figuring out his true name could weaken his power.
He intended to use the Holy Grail again to attack him or at the very least uncover his face if attacking was impossible.
But… it failed.
No Holy Grail. No more cards left to play. Therefore, this time he couldn’t attack the Black Fangs.
That realization drove the prince to madness.
‘I was so close. Just one more step, and I could have uncovered his identity.’
He had lost so much due to 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 saying anything. That same unsettling smile as before.
It was as if it could peer into the prince’s mind.
Though the demon did not speak, the second prince felt as if mocking words echoed in his head.
Unlike the fools who lost their souls by relying on a contract with a demon, he believed he was in control.
He thought he was the one using the demon, not the other way around.
But now, faced with a 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.
So, he had to place all his bets now.
He had to wager everything he had.
[That depends on the weight of the price you are willing to pay.]
Even if it meant grasping the demon’s hand.
*
Recent days had been extremely tranquil.
The shelter was developing day by day, almost all the cases of magic addiction in the area had vanished, and people were smiling.
But…
I couldn’t fully rejoice while watching this scene.
‘Why is the Empire taking no action?’
At first, I thought the Empire was just slow to respond. But this was odd, no matter how you looked at it.
Even now, with rumors about the Black Fangs spreading, they were doing nothing. It made no logical sense.
In my opinion, the reason for such behavior could only be one.
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 being prepared could never hurt.
Judging from the current situation, thankfully, it seemed this place had not been discovered.
But being complacent would be the worst strategy.
Now that things had mostly stabilized, perhaps it was time to relocate the shelter.
If we did move, what should happen to the people remaining here? Was there a risk this place could become the Empire’s target?
There were many things to contemplate.
It was at that moment, while I was wrestling with these issues…
“—Hurry, come see this!”
A frantic voice echoed from somewhere.
However, there was no one around.
This could only mean one thing.
After days of silence, Miss Rubia was finally sending a message again.
And with an urgency that was quite alarming.
A sense of foreboding washed over me.
Something was about to go down.
“—The identity of the leader of the Black Fangs has been revealed!”
“…What?”
“—Soon, there will be a public bounty announced…”
Miss Rubia sounded frantic, her voice in a panic.
Only then did I realize.
Why things had been so quiet.
They had been preparing for this very moment.
This could be… extremely dangerous.
If the Empire started actively pursuing the Black Fangs with this bounty, we could end up caught in the chaos.
‘They’re definitely not to be underestimated.’
Their strength was formidable, and their intelligence network was incomprehensible.
The identity of the leader of the Black Fangs.
I had no clue who it was yet.
But they had figured it out.
“—Just hold on! I’ll send you the data as soon as I get it!”
Miss Rubia was flailing her arms, hurriedly manipulating her magical device to send the data since she couldn’t use magic herself.
Before long, an image popped up in front of me.
And…
“…?”
Miss Rubia’s expression morphed into one of confusion. My own face probably mirrored her surprise.
It was understandable.
The man in the photo didn’t look remotely like a secret organization’s leader.
No, it was beyond that…
‘Why is this guy here?’
For a moment, my mind went blank.
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 in 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 twisted so much to end up like this?
‘Hold on, 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 reeled even more.
There were limits to wasting one’s abilities.
I had no idea how they pulled this off, but accomplishing something like this without any cost seemed unlikely.
Influencing another world just to reveal the moderator’s face?
It made me genuinely suspect the Empire was secretly filming a prank show on me.
‘…I know I shouldn’t be thinking like this.’
I was responsible for many lives and couldn’t afford to be reckless.
No matter how foolish the enemy’s actions seemed, I couldn’t let my guard down.
I was aware of that.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The powerful Empire I had seen in previous works.
That mighty image vanished in an instant.
Naturally, a question formed in my mind.
‘Are these guys just weaklings after all?’
It seemed I wouldn’t even need the Black Fangs. I could probably overthrow the Empire with a half-baked revolution of my own.
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