Chapter 142

Chapter 142
## Chapter 142

Recruiting Talent (2)

As twilight gradually blanketed the area,

Clatter, clatter—

An exquisite lady boasting pink locks and amethyst eyes stared silently through the window of a carriage rolling down the metropolitan boulevard.

Her countenance, adorned with a soft grin, radiated an air of pure naivety as though she remained oblivious to the world, yet her internal state was far from tranquil.

‘This sensation is…’

Siana, the lady in question, concentrated her vision beyond the glass and extended her awareness to scan the environment, picking up an uncomfortable irregularity.

One, two, three…

The presence of spectral entities had visibly multiplied compared to earlier.

Furthermore, a few of them were trailing the vehicle from a set distance, indicating she had been designated as a target for surveillance.

At that exact realization, absolute certainty washed over her.

‘They’ve compromised me!’

That Banshee Queen Olivia of the legion of death was conducting an inquiry into her.

Yet, she remained baffled as to how her identity had been leaked.

Simple spectral entities should have lacked the capacity to pierce her flawless mortal camouflage.

‘No, they cannot have confirmed my identity as Siana just yet. Their probe must have been triggered by a different variable.’

Had Olivia discovered she was ‘Succubus Siana’ and ordered her tracking, their methods would have been far more meticulous.

Their current maneuvers were somewhat undisciplined for an intelligence operation directed at her.

‘Where did the leak occur then? Surely not through my standing as a noble of the realm… Could it be the operations of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance? Or perhaps through Old Man?’

Her thoughts swirled rapidly.

Regardless, he remained ignorant of her true moniker, Siana, and was unaware that her headquarters resided within the borders of the Empire.

Their partnership had never progressed past basic utility.

‘A sense of dread has consumed me ever since the agents I dispatched to Talaria abruptly vanished from contact. Could this predicament be tied to that event?’

She could only surmise that her location had been compromised through a tangled web of events she could not immediately untangle.

‘No matter the origin, remaining here is out of the question now that their attention is fixed on me. I must depart.’

It was a painful choice, requiring her to relinquish numerous assets.

The noble status within the Azeria Empire she currently maintained was a persona she had painstakingly cultivated over an extended period.

Nevertheless, the circumstances left her no alternative.

The reality that Olivia was monitoring her meant the gaze of the Immortal King was inevitably shifting in her direction as well.

Any further hesitation risked her being dragged forcefully back into the ranks of the legion of death.

‘Absolutely not! Returning to that army! Extinction would be preferable!’

Constructing a fresh persona and establishing a new position was always possible.

However, if the Immortal King captured her now, her subjugation would remain unbreakable until his ultimate downfall.

‘Indeed, flight is the only option.’

Though her resolve hardened, the sheer volume of wealth and status she had to discard made her hesitate to simply flee empty-handed.

‘I poured immense labor into establishing this groundwork!’

Was it not prudent to leave behind some mechanisms for an eventual return?

Additionally, gathering sufficient capital was essential to finance her next beginning…

‘…They surely would not launch an assault this very instant? A figure of the Immortal King’s stature would not involve himself directly in something so minor.’

He would likely delegate the task to his upper echelon, such as Olivia.

Given her location in the heart of a metropolitan imperial center, they could not easily execute a brazen strike with just those forces.

This suggested a window of at least several days before their preparations to capture her were finalized.

Unable to conquer her own avarice, Siana validated her choices and directed her course back toward her estate.

Among the invaluable assets she intended to extract, ‘Andrew Weber’ was high on her list.

He possessed a unique capacity to monitor the dynamics of the entire world from a fixed location, despite certain constraints on his power.

Clatter, clatter— Thud!

The moment the vehicle reached the courtyard, she threw the door open and stepped out, dismissing the salutations of the household staff who gathered to receive her, and strode directly toward the area where she sensed Andrew’s location.

Boom—!

The double doors slammed against the walls with a resounding crash as she forced them open without a second thought.

She lacked the luxury to worry about such minor breaches of etiquette given the urgency.

“Andrew—!”

“What? Big sis? What is the meaning of…”

“Pack your belongings and prepare to depart immediately!”

“…Ah! Splendid! You arrived at the same conclusion! I was actually on my way to inform you…”

“Save your breath and move!”

Andrew, who had been lounging carelessly in a plush chair, completely disoriented from drink, stumbled to his feet under the weight of her aggressive directive.

While Siana occupied herself utilizing dark magic to store vital goods within a localized subspace, plotting methods to mitigate her financial ruin,

‘This piece must come along… Leaving this behind after all the maneuvering it took is devastating. Is there no strategy to preserve my current holdings? And what about that…’

Yet, even as she orchestrated her retreat,

Swoosh—

An icy premonition brushed past the nape of her neck.

‘Oh no.’

The sensation was one she recognized instantly.

An incomprehensibly dense, suffocating aura was enveloping the sophisticated protective wards woven throughout the estate.

Profound, dark, weighted, and suffocating.

A manifestation of mortality, akin to a void that consumed existence itself.

The very entity she had desperately hoped to avoid.

‘Nooo—! I ought to have discarded everything and fled the moment I knew!’

Acknowledging her impending doom, Siana could do nothing but squeeze her eyelids shut.

—

‘Tobea City… While it lacks the status of a capital, it possesses too much significance to be overlooked.’

A municipality of this magnitude invariably maintained comprehensive defensive measures against any variety of external threats.

Consequent to that, executing a stealthy infiltration from the outset was no simple feat…

It also meant that masking the residual signatures of his mystical energy would be nearly impossible, regardless of how flawlessly he constructed a distortion barrier.

Completing his objective silently and slipping away unnoticed was out of the question.

Therefore, he engineered a diversion.

Wheeeng— Wheeeng—!

Boom—!

“Gah! What is happening?!”

“Help me—!”

Crisis alarms echoed across the metropolis, punctuated by violent detonations.

The blasts, erupting simultaneously within affluent sectors and impoverished slums, immediately plunged the darkening settlement into absolute pandemonium.

‘With that settled, shall we proceed?’

If stealthy advancement proved problematic, utilizing the cover of systemic chaos was an excellent alternative.

Hans moved silently through the perimeter boundary he had previously erected while his cohorts initiated their disruptions.

Before him stood a residence designed to mimic an ordinary aristocratic estate within the boundary.

Yet, it was merely an illusion, as the interior held exceptional secrets…

‘Impressive, they dedicated significant resources to this layout. Standard spellcasters would fail to even perceive these defensive mechanisms.’

Traits such as “Path of Magic” and “Magic Domination” engaged in rapid succession, instantly dissecting the mystical arrays binding the manor.

From sensory manipulation to the masking of life forces and lethal wards intended to vaporize trespassers.

The enchantments were sophisticated enough that systematic dismantling would typically demand a vast expenditure of time, except…

Crackle—!

Crackle!

Naturally, such restrictions were irrelevant to the Lord of Death, who commanded limitless supremacy.

By simply advancing while elevating his internal reservoir, the intricate frameworks of the defensive perimeter shattered and dissolved, overwhelmed by the extreme concentration of dark miasma radiating from his form.

‘Let us locate them first…’

Wooong—

A pulse of raw pressure, discharged from Hans as he stepped through the threshold and warped the fabric of reality with his presence, rolled through every corridor of the building.

Simultaneously, he perceived the consciousness of the residents extinguishing one after another…

Subsequently, the individuals capable of withstanding the pressure were pinpointed.

[Found you.]

In the following breath,

Hans manifested directly within their chambers.

“H-h-eek…!”

A fair-haired youth stood before him, shivering uncontrollably at the sight of the entity that had materialized as though cleaving through the dimensions…

[Oh? And who might you be?]

Beside him, a woman with pink tresses had already dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the floor.

“Ah—! Your Greatness, you have finally returned. This humble servant has spent ages longing for your presence!”

“B-big sis?”

An expression of absolute capitulation that required no explanation.

The fair-haired youth’s features contorted in bewilderment at her immediate shift in allegiance, but she could not spare a single thought for his confusion.

“Hehehe… This servant has spent sleepless nights preparing pathways so Your Greatness might subjugate this land with greater ease and certainty. I embedded myself among humanity and endured endless trials, driven solely by my devotion to Your Greatness…”

The pink-haired lady perspired heavily as she scattered desperate justifications.

Hans, the Lord of Death, gazing downward at her form, deciphered the underlying motivation for her performance instantly.

‘Demon Succubus, Siana.’

Her human masquerade was flawless, capable of deceiving even a high-ranking cleric, yet she remained exposed before his “Abyssal Eye,” which revealed every corrupted soul.

‘She occupied a rank near the top ten commanders under my predecessor.’

An entity summoned directly from the demonic domain, an adjacent plane of existence, she had originally integrated into the dark host by mere coincidence.

Delving into his collected insights, he recalled that she represented a highly capable asset for administrative and covert functions, matching Olivia, even if her individual martial prowess was merely respectable.

‘To be fair, managing an aristocratic persona within the empire is no small feat for a demon. Her competence is undeniable.’

Fooled by her deception were the eyes of the realm’s ultimate protectors, including the orthodox church, rendering her unparalleled in clandestine operations.

Of course, she remained nothing more than a deserting commander who had sought concealment and failed.

[Kukuku, you appear to have carved out an exceedingly pleasant existence for yourself.]

“T-that is a misunderstanding! This servant has counted the days until this exact moment…”

[Nonetheless, you managed to obscure your tracks with remarkable success.]

“I… I offer my profoundest regrets… for failing to report my status…”

She attempted to offer further justifications, but he possessed no desire to entertain her fabrications further.

“…However, every action was calculated to guarantee the absolute completion of your designs, it was never for personal luxury…”

[Siana—]

“Eeek?!”

Wooong—

The instant her true name crossed his lips, an eerie vibration materialized and locked onto her physical form.

The binding pact forged three centuries prior reactivated, superimposing itself over her soul.

“Ah…”

A low gasp escaped her lips, oblivious to the twin horns breaking through her hairline as the pure essence of the Lord of Death flooded her pathways.

In contrast to the spectral commanders, she derived no physical evolution from the energies of oblivion…

‘Her conscription is finalized.’

The process successfully reinstated her absolute servitude to the Lord of Death.

Teardrop—

A single droplet of moisture traced a path down her skin, an involuntary reaction to her forced re-enlistment.

“Ah, ah? These… these are merely droplets of overwhelming ecstasy! They represent the depth of my devotion! Hehehe…”

She forced the words out, guided entirely by an intense compulsion to survive.

Hans offered a dismissive nod of approval before shifting his concentration to the male figure who remained paralyzed and trembling nearby.

‘What sort of anomaly is this individual? He overflows with spiritual energy, yet there is no indication of formal training in sorcery or physical arts.’

The fair-haired youth of decadent appearance stiffened completely under the gaze, while Hans deliberately scrutinized him from head to toe, resembling an apex hunter evaluating a target.

‘No signs of discipline exist, yet his physiological baseline is abnormally elevated. This pattern resembles… Wait, could it be?’

An artificial enhancement of physical traits born of an external catalyst, completely separate from traditional development.

He identified the markers of this condition perfectly.

“It appears His Greatness harbors an interest in you. Andrew! Show proper respect.”

“Y-yes! Salutations! My name is Andrew Weber. Ah… a pleasure to make your acquaintance?”

Andrew, the fair-haired youth, stumbled over his words in the face of the bizarre development.

Yet, Hans’s curiosity was fixed entirely on verifying the youth’s origins.

Siana, utilizing her seasoned manipulative instincts, began volunteering critical details without prompting, eager to secure her standing.

“Andrew represents another asset I secured to aid our grand campaign. Your Greatness will marvel at the utility of his gift. His contributions up to this date…”

As her explanation wound down, the exact revelation Hans had anticipated was brought to light.

“…Furthermore, an incredible detail is that he is a traveler from beyond! He originates from an entirely separate plane, independent of both the demonic domain and the ethereal wild. Hehehe.”

[…Is that so? A separate plane?]

A sharp light ignited in Hans’s eyes as his gaze locked onto him.

Andrew found himself unable to challenge Siana as she casually bartered his confidential history, resorting instead to a desperate, placating grin that strained his facial muscles.

“Y-yes… Great King. I… I hail from a realm designated as Earth. Haha… It has been roughly nine years since my arrival, yes, Your Majesty.”

The confirmation awakened a distinct resonance within Hans’s core.

‘A separate… chosen individual from Earth, existing alongside myself.’

Nearly two whole years had elapsed since his own extraction to the Auterica Dimension.

This marked the precise second he encountered a fellow denizen of his native world for the first time.