A chilling stillness pervaded the black market.
At the center of this stillness, Vestera knelt.
Before her stood Azmo, arms crossed, gazing down at her with cold eyes.
“Vestera.”
Azmo’s voice was chillingly low.
Vestera’s shoulders trembled slightly at his voice, which seemed to suppress rage.
“I clearly ordered you to operate the black market.”
That’s right.
Azmo’s command was to ‘operate’ the black market.
However, her actions were closer to ‘harvesting’ and ‘crafting’ than operating.
“I don’t recall telling you to turn all the customers into materials.”
Vestera had turned all the customers who visited the black market into materials for her dolls.
As a result, the black market had become a theater filled only with dolls, without a single customer.
“……”
She had nothing to say. Vestera tightly closed her mouth.
If you thought about it, this was simply because she had been captivated by the new materials of this new world called Earth and had turned the customers into materials.
Of course, she had her own reasons.
The customers were gone, but the black market’s power had increased, so wasn’t that enough?
However, she was not foolish enough to blurt out these words foolishly in front of Azmo.
Vestera’s experience, having lived for a long time, warned her.
This was a time to unquestionably prostrate herself.
“I am sorry. I will not do it again.”
Just as Vestera bowed her head again, attempting to apologize, Azmo raised his hand and stopped her.
“No.”
…No?
What was no? Various ominous scenarios flashed through Vestera’s mind.
“Vestera.”
Azmo called her softly. She carefully raised her head, waiting for Azmo’s next words.
“I am curious why there were no humans to offer to me.”
“….?”
For a moment, Vestera’s thought process froze.
The tone of the conversation was flowing in a strange direction.
Vestera racked her brain to understand the current situation.
So, Azmo wasn’t angry that she had turned all the black market customers into doll materials.
He was asking why she hadn’t offered humans to him.
“That is…”
Vestera finally realized her fatal mistake.
It was the natural order of things.
It was the duty of a subordinate to offer good prey to their superior.
She had been so captivated by the best materials in a long time that she had forgotten that basic courtesy.
“Actually… it’s because all those humans were men…”
Of course, there were women too.
But Vestera skillfully lied. Well, it was a desperate excuse.
Azmo was an Incubus.
Incubi were creatures that took women.
So, if she claimed there were only men, there was a high chance she would get away with it.
It was a perfect excuse.
However, Azmo’s statement was enough to shock Vestera.
“I and my kin do not discriminate between men and women.”
“?!”
Vestera’s button eyes widened as if they would pop out.
What did that mean? What did he just say?
“…Yes?”
For a moment, Vestera thought she had misheard.
She was so surprised that her stitched mouth gaped open.
‘An Incubus doesn’t only take women, but men too?’
How? No, why? For what reason?
Her mind was in turmoil regarding the identity of an Incubus.
The solid slab of common sense for her race, ingrained over many years, not only cracked but shattered with a deafening sound.
Vestera had only arrived on Earth a few days ago, so she hadn’t fully learned about hunters.
Hunters unknowingly send hunters of the same sex when they discover an Incubus or Succubus dungeon, so she didn’t understand why Azmo had to evolve in a different direction.
Unaware of how much shock his words had caused his subordinate monster, Azmo stood up, leaving Vestera gaping blankly.
“So next time, be sure to offer me humans. No, that’s not right. You can continue operating the black market and occasionally catch some fresh ones.”
At Azmo’s words, Vestera mechanically nodded.
Still recovering from the shock, she was engraving new knowledge into her mind.
‘Lord Azmo… doesn’t discriminate between men and women…’
A new misunderstanding was forming.
Then, suddenly.
‘…Doesn’t discriminate between men and women?’
The sentence that flashed through Vestera’s mind, beyond a simple fact, became a great realization.
Her button eyes gleamed.
‘Yes!’
She realized one thing.
How foolish she had been until now!
She had been obsessed only with beautiful materials.
Soft and elastic skin, delicate curves, rich emotional expression.
She had never doubted that these were the essence of a doll’s beauty.
But Lord Azmo was different.
‘Lord Azmo sees through the essence itself!’
He was not confined by the shallow shell of gender, but was taking the essence of emotions and vitality contained within.
Azmo’s words seemed to be saying:
– True beauty is not bound by gender!
A man’s strong muscles, rough skin texture, expressions contorted with rage and despair.
A woman’s graceful lines, soft skin, eyes clouded with fear and sorrow.
All of them were forms of beauty in their own right.
Why had she been fixated on only one kind of beauty?
It was the arrogance of a narrow-minded and immature artist.
“Ah…”
A gasp escaped Vestera’s stitched mouth.
She looked up at Azmo.
Now, his appearance was not that of a mere lord.
He looked like a great teacher who had opened new horizons in her art world, like a god who ruled art.
“I have realized, Lord Azmo.”
Her voice trembled with a religious fervor unlike before.
“I… was too narrow-minded. I have finally realized that true beauty is something sublime that cannot be contained within the framework of male and female.”
Her eyes sparkled.
‘From now on, I must combine all genders when creating dolls.’
Look at Lillian, her first work created on Earth.
Lillian was definitely a female doll with the highest beauty.
Anyone could see she possessed the beautiful and delicate atmosphere of a woman.
But Vestera, having gained enlightenment from Azmo, knew.
That was not true beauty.
True beauty was not limited to either men or women.
‘I must remake Lillian right away!’
Vestera nodded, thinking so.
Meanwhile, Azmo also nodded, agreeing with Vestera’s words.
“That’s right. Even Incubi have to evolve to adapt to their environment.”
When Vestera spoke of beauty, Azmo spoke of evolution.
“Oh, indeed! Regardless of gender, environment is also important!”
Their conversations were not connecting at all.
But one thing was certain.
Vestera was now burning with a new creative passion.
What about combining male and female dolls to create a tragic love story?
In the past, she would have been horrified, thinking of a two-headed ogre, but it was not a problem for Vestera, who had gained new enlightenment.
Or, how about creating a new form of beauty by combining a man’s strong body with a woman’s sad face?
In the past, she would have roared, asking what kind of chimera she was creating, but it was not a problem for Vestera, who had gained new enlightenment.
Rather, this meant the expansion and development of her unique worldview.
* * *
– Vestera gained enlightenment through her conversation with Azmo.
– Vestera realized the true meaning of beauty.
– Vestera’s [Dungeon Monster Strengthening System] has been unlocked.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, an alarm indicating she had gained enlightenment appeared.
‘I gained enlightenment this quickly?’
The problem was that Vestera was a monster summoned just a few days ago.
And she gained enlightenment after talking with Azmo?
‘Vestera must be a competent monster.’
No, is it Azmo who is competent for inducing Vestera’s enlightenment?
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
Regardless, hadn’t she discovered new possibilities?
Azmo proved to be a competent monster in his own way, and Vestera proved to be a competent monster in her own way, which made me feel at ease.
* * *
A few days passed since Vestera gained enlightenment.
In the meantime, Vestera closed the black market and began training to fully internalize this enlightenment.
Azmo did not interfere with Vestera’s actions.
It was natural for a true artist to experience explosive growth when they gained enlightenment.
As a being who loved art, like an Incubus, Azmo did not hinder Vestera’s training.
As Vestera was consolidating the essence of her enlightenment.
New beings appeared in front of the black market.
“Is this it?”
To the question of Dahye Lee, who was at the forefront, a man immediately replied.
“Yes, this is where Mr. Yoon Taejun’s signal was lost.”
The man reported while checking his tablet.
They belonged to Seongjeonghoe and were tracking the whereabouts of Executive Yoon Taejun, who had gone missing a while ago.
The conclusion they reached was this black market.
They gazed at the tightly closed door.
No light or sound escaped through the door crack.
It seemed the black market door was completely shut.
“Prepare yourselves. Whatever happened, we will confirm it and end it.”
At Dahye Lee’s words, one of the members stepped forward and carefully opened the door.
The scene inside the door was soon revealed.
And the ones who saw that scene froze on the spot.
“…Shit.”
Someone’s curse unexpectedly burst out.
The black market was not the transaction place they knew.
It had become a twisted exhibition hall filled with grotesque dolls.
The first thing that caught their eye was a giant doll that looked as if two bodies were forcibly sewn together.
A man’s bulging upper body was connected to a woman’s lower body, and the limbs were asymmetrically twisted.
It was a hideous sight, like looking at a chimera.
“W-what is all this…?”
Dahye Lee, an executive of Seongjeonghoe, was horrified.
All the color drained from her face.
The men behind her felt cold sweat trickling down their spines.
Next to it stood a doll with explosive male muscles beneath a terrified woman’s face.
The dissonance alone was enough to induce nausea.
But that wasn’t the problem.
“Th-why does that look so familiar?”
The woman’s face was certainly unfamiliar.
But the muscular body attached below it was somehow familiar.
At Dahye Lee’s words, the man’s face was filled with shock.
“Come to think of it… it’s similar to the subordinates Mr. Yoon Taejun usually brings around…”
And then, two familiar faces appeared behind them.
Yoon Taejun’s and Cheol Park’s heads were attached to a single body, like a two-headed ogre.
“…”
Dahye Lee covered her mouth with her hand, unable to bear looking at the scene before her.
Even she, who had a strong stomach, felt something rising in her throat.
This was not simple murder.
This was… desecration and an insult to the deceased.
“I don’t know who did it, but they must be insane!”
The man said, and Dahye Lee nodded.
It was best to avoid crazy people.
And that time was now.
“Ev-everyone, retreat!”
At Dahye Lee’s command, the Seongjeonghoe members fled the black market.
Fortunately for Dahye Lee, it was a stroke of incredible luck that Vestera, engrossed in exploring her enlightenment, did not notice their presence.
