(Yuuta pov)
Erza sat beside , arms folded, her gaze distant as she recounted what she'd learned from the agency. "His na…" She paused, frowning, lips pressed into a thin line. "The first part escapes . But the last… it was sothing like Manster."
I tilted my head. "Manster? That's… kind of a weird na for a demon."
Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. Erza was the kind of person who rarely rembered nas unless they mattered to her. Enemies were just obstacles, erased from her mind the mont they fell. She only rembered the people who counted: , Elena, Sister Mary… Fiona, maybe. Everyone else? Disposable.
Yet this story had lodged itself firmly in her mory. That alone made lean closer, compelled to listen.
"This Archdemon was loyal to his master," she said, voice calm but edged with sharp precision. "At first, he obeyed the Emperor completely. He slaughtered humans in wars, assassinated nobles, toppled kingdoms—a perfect weapon. But when his master grew old, lying on his deathbed, the demon realized sothing. Human lives… they're fleeting. Barely eighty years at best."
A shiver ran down my spine. A servant who understood he would be discarded by ti itself.
Erza's voliet eyes hardened. "When his master died, he knew he'd be dragged back to his own world—a world cursed by the gods after the Zareth War."
"Zareth…" I whispered without thinking. My chest tightened. The word rang inside like a distant bell, oddly familiar and heavy.
Erza didn't flinch. Or perhaps she simply ignored it. Her voice remained smooth, steady, as if recounting history rather than a tale of horror. "Fearing that fate, the demon begged his master for one last wish: permission to study, to research the laws that bound him. The old king granted it, oblivious to the danger. And that's how the demon discovered a ritual—one that allowed him to bypass contracts, to cheat the bindings, and remain here for centuries."
Her expression darkened, her voice dropping lower. "But each contract weakened him. Humans were… righteous in those days. Their goodness ate away at him. So he created sin. Cults. Black rituals. He poisoned the world, feeding on despair and blood. Every war, every atrocity, every massacre—each beca fuel, and with each, he grew stronger. He thrived on corruption itself."
She finally fell silent, letting the weight of her words settle between us.
I swallowed, a tight knot forming in my chest. The idea of a demon growing stronger through centuries of human sins was almost incomprehensible. And yet, sitting next to Erza, who spoke of it with calm, unflinching certainty, it felt terrifyingly real.
I leaned forward, brow furrowed. "Wait—then how exactly was that demon got weaker? I've never read a single thing about him in any history book of they were really exist don't you think history would ntion."
Erza's gaze darkened. "Because the World Organization made sure of it. Every page, every record, every trace that ntioned him… erased."
That na hung between us like a shadow. World Organization. It sounded too deliberate, too vast to be sothing ordinary.
"World Organization?" I repeated, uncertain.
Erza nodded slowly. "Yes. You don't understand, Yuuta. In this world, there are two realities—the one you live in, the one ordinary humans are allowed to see… and the other. The one only agencies like Libeus are permitted to witness."
I blinked, trying to wrap my head around it. "Hold on. You've only been here a few months and you already know all this? That's… unbelievable, even for you."
Her eyes slid to , sharp as a drawn blade. "What's truly unbelievable is how much your world hides from you. Tell , Yuuta—have you ever wondered where all the stories about demons, aliens, and monsters ca from? Did you think humans just made them up for fun?"
The air inside the van thickened. Even the soldiers in the front went quiet.
Erza leaned back slightly, her voice dropping to a cold whisper. "They never ca, Yuuta. They were always here—living among you. Hiding in plain sight."
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. "Okay," I managed, forcing a shaky laugh, "but don't go off track. If this demon just kept growing stronger and stronger, why didn't he eventually take over everything?"
Erza didn't hesitate. "Because of Sara Venom."
The na hit like a spark. "Sara Venom? That sounds like… a comic book villain."
"She was no villain." Erza's tone was sharp, steady. "She ca from my world—five hundred years ago. When she saw what humans were suffering through, she swore not to interfere with their politics or greed. But demons…" Her expression hardened. "Demons she never forgave. Whenever she found one, she slaughtered it without hesitation."
I stared at her. "She just… wiped them out?"
"Not alone," Erza said softly. "Humans who had lost their families joined her. Together, they fought in secret wars across centuries. They hunted the hidden, the unholy, until the surviving demons were forced deep underground, to rot in the shadows."
Her crimson eyes glinted faintly in the dim light. "And from her followers, her legacy… the Libeus Agency was born."
For a mont, no one spoke. The hum of the engine filled the silence. Then, unexpectedly, one of the soldiers in the front gave a quiet clap. Another followed. Then another—until even I couldn't help joining in, grinning despite the chill her story left behind.
"Wow, Erza," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "You could be a history teacher. Seriously, that was better than any textbook I've ever read."
She shot a withering look—the kind that said don't be ridiculous—but for just a second, I caught it: a small, reluctant curve at the corner of her lips.
And just like that, before I could throw another question at Erza, the van began to slow. The tires crunched against the road as we pulled up in front of… a building.
We had stopped in front of a massive building gleaming under the morning sun. A bank—its polished marble steps and spotless glass windows scread money.
"Uh," I said, sitting up straighter. "Wait a second. Don't tell we're about to rob a bank."
Every head in the van turned toward . Even the driver hesitated, his gloved hand frozen mid-motion.
Erza sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Now I'm starting to believe we really are similar," she muttered. "That's exactly what I asked Fiona the first ti I ca here."
I blinked. "Wait, really?"
She ignored and tapped her fingers lightly against her temple, as if scolding herself for even engaging in this conversation. "Listen, Yuuta. This isn't just a bank. Libeus built their base underneath it. The upper floors are real—used by ordinary citizens—but below…" Her crimson eyes t mine. "Below lies the true heart of the Agency."
I frowned. "Why build a secret base under a bank?"
"Because it gives them access to the kind of people we need to track," she replied coolly. "Criminals. Corrupt politicians. Smugglers who suddenly beca rich overnight. If soone makes a deal with a demon, chances are, it'll leave a financial trail. The Agency monitors it—and eliminates them when necessary."
I stared at her, speechless for a mont, then let out a low amusent voice. "That's… honestly kind of aweso."
Erza exhaled, long and slow. "Remind again why I agreed to bring you?"
I grinned, but she'd already turned toward the driver. "Take the back route," she ordered. "There are civilians nearby. We can't risk a scene."
"Yes, Commander."
The van rolled forward again, turning off the main street and onto a narrow lane hidden between two tall buildings. Morning light filtered through the tinted windows, flashing in streaks as we passed the shadows of towering walls.
We soon reached the rear of the bank—a wide, steel gate that looked too large and too reinforced to belong to an ordinary financial institution.
Then I noticed it. The air beyond the gate shimred faintly, like waves of heat rising off a desert road. But it wasn't heat. It was sothing else. Energy. Power. Sothing invisible yet suffocatingly real.
Erza straightened in her seat, her voice dropping low. "We've arrived."
The soldier in the passenger seat leaned forward and pressed a sequence of numbers into a small black panel on the dashboard. A faint beep echoed—and then the massive gate began to move.
tal groaned, parting slowly to reveal what lay beyond: a descending path flanked by lights embedded in the walls, leading down into a vast underground compound cloaked in mist and silence.
As the van rolled forward, the sunlight behind us vanished, swallowed by the shadows below.
And just like that, we entered the hidden world—the true face of the Libeus Agency.
The place where all the world's forgotten truths were locked away..
(Sara's POV)
Fiona should've been back by now. I had sent her long ago—told her to bring Erza here as fast as possible. What was taking so long? I couldn't face this monster alone. Not him. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ noᴠelfire
My gaze never left the figure restrained before . Allen Manster.
The na alone reeked of blood and tragedy. Every corruption that poisoned humanity, every cursed contract, every unspeakable act that shattered lives—all of it, in one way or another, traced back to him.
And now, he stood just a few ters away from . Smiling.
Chains of sanctified silver coiled around his body, etched with divine seals. Any other creature would have scread in agony. Allen didn't even flinch. His head tilted lazily to one side, that smug grin never fading.
He could break free if he wanted to. Everyone here knew it. But he hadn't. And that was what terrified most.
I didn't know why he surrendered—or what he was planning—but I knew one thing.
Today would be his last day.
Because of his kind, we lost our Vampire Queen. If demons like him had never existed, the Founder of Zani would never have turned against us. The war wouldn't have been lost. She would still be alive.
The thought made my teeth clench. I hated him. I hated everything that carried that foul, suffocating aura.
Allen's gaze lifted, and that cruel smirk deepened.
I rembered the first ti I'd seen it—the White House incident.
I rembered the day we first encountered him. The white house mission. Not the U.S. President—another leader, soone who had taken refuge, terrified of Allen. He had recently ford a contract, using it against his neighboring countries. But when Allen rampaged… even he had fled, cowering.
By the ti our squad arrived, the scene was already a massacre.
The President—Allen's "client"—was dead. His body hung limply over the desk of the Oval Office, headless. Allen held the severed head in his hand, crimson dripping from his fingers, smiling like he'd just completed a masterpiece.
"My mission is complete, my Eternal Master," he'd said.
Then he turned toward us, that sa smile carved into his face—and raised his hands.
That was how we captured him.
He had surrendered. Voluntarily.
Even then, the sight of him had frozen my blood.
Deep down, I knew only Erza could end him. Once we located the human contractor tethering him to this world, his reign would finally end. I'd promised myself that.
But as I watched him now, in this dim, silent chamber, sothing changed. His smile widened. It wasn't amusent anymore—it was excitent.
"You made a mistake, bloodsucking bat," he hissed, his voice low and sharp.
My grip tightened around my weapon. "What do you an?"
He chuckled—a low, sickening sound that crawled through the air. "I can feel it," he said, eyes half-lidded as though savoring sothing only he could sense. "A trendous aura… magnificent… intoxicating." His chains rattled violently as his body trembled with glee. "Ahh, it's my Master. My true Master."
My heart lurched. "What—your master? He's here? How?"
Allen's laughter broke through the room, deep and wild.
And when he finally spoke again, his voice dripped with reverence and madness.
"He's coming."
To be continued…
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