Chapter 429

Chapter 429
## Chapter 429

Dark Side (1)

An intense radiance completely overwhelmed the city’s midnight horizon.

The sheer luminosity shattered the peace of the sleeping populace, throwing the entire municipality into a state of frantic confusion.

Yet, the phenomenon was not limited to the blinding glare.

The accompanying auditory assault played an equal role.

A succession of detonations ripped through the upper atmosphere, mimicking a thermonuclear blast and reverberating across the darkness… rendering sleep an absolute impossibility for anyone.

Those who rushed to their windows to witness the commotion could scarcely trust their own senses.

Very few observers discerned that the shimmering, aurora-like barrier of illumination was actively shielding the metropolis from the destructive shockwaves… but the celestial entity, projecting an aura so immense it registered from miles away, was far more than a mere spectacle. It felt like an absolute marvel.

“…What scale of conflict have we truly stumbled into…?”

Ahn, mirroring the collective bewilderment of the populace, kept her eyes locked on the firmament, her utterance dropping to a quiet murmur laden with profound reverence mixed with a subtle thread of hopelessness.

She pulled Freddy, the President, closer to her chest, her companion remaining entirely catatonic.

A fiend capable of warping the flow of time, a specter of the undead matching him blow for blow, a hidden marksman raining devastation from an untraceable perch, and a divine being intercepting those lethal trajectories…

Was this the reality of what people termed a secret world concealed beneath yet another layer of secrecy?

Having observed the entire engagement from inception to conclusion, she still found herself failing to fully grasp the situation—the absolute magnitude of the energies clashing, the supernatural phenomena… it reduced her own past tribulations to complete triviality.

She scanned her immediate surroundings.

The cadres of the Heaven’s Turn Society, who had presented such a terrifying front only moments prior, were now scattered across the terrain, utterly crushed and shattered like ruined playthings.

Her vision gravitated once more toward the upper air.

The celestial being, wings unfurled to their full extent, was making a deliberate descent.

The entity’s visage was utterly arresting, holding her gaze captive.

‘…Stories of his existence reached my ears. The Saint originating from another realm… ‘

Beholding him in the flesh, the truth finally crystallized for her.

If anything, the whispered accounts had failed to capture his true magnitude.

He existed on a plane distinct from mortality.

‘…Reports mentioned the manifestation of a dragon as well. Given that, an actual divine messenger shouldn’t be entirely unexpected.’

Naturally, he wasn’t the sole combatant who had left an impression on her.

The heavily muscled warrior donning the beast guise had not only locked horns with the Executioner without yielding an inch, but had additionally immobilized the other transcendent beings who attempted to intervene…

Furthermore, the individual hidden behind the headpiece, along with Ken, the demon, who had assisted in securing the capture of the Southeast Asia Branch Manager…

It was regrettable that they permitted the Executioner to slip away… yet who possessed the capability to apprehend an individual who could freeze time itself?

It was an existential threat of an ability.

‘…That matter will require my attention down the road.’

His continued existence posed an ongoing hazard.

Should he resolve to exact retribution, executing targeted assassinations against them, the Burning Torch—which had only just escaped total erasure tonight—would be thoroughly wiped out.

‘…Even so, the grand scheme of things isn’t entirely bleak.’

Though their casualties were severe, they had managed to secure formidable comrades.

The Masquerade stood as a clandestine collective possessesing the raw power to confront the Heaven’s Turn Society in open warfare.

That alone was a monumental shift in their favor.

As she began stepping toward their position to voice her appreciation,

…she abruptly froze, a bizarre sensation of impending dread gripping her senses.

She re-examined the gathered operatives of the Masquerade.

The divine figure casting a radiant glow, the robust combatant whose skin bore numerous lacerations, the helmeted figure reclining without a care while keeping watch over the bound captives of the Heaven’s Turn Society, and Ken, the demon, standing stiffly on the periphery, observing the scene…

In that instant, the discrepancy hit her.

‘…Hold on, their ranks numbered five individuals, did they not?’

The moment that realization surfaced,

…an icy shiver cascaded down her spine.

‘…When did he vanish? How did his absence elude my awareness?’

She had failed to register him because his profile had been so muted… yet the phenomenon transcended simple stealth.

It felt as though his very reality had been expunged, his existence thoroughly wiped from her cognitive memory.

‘…I had actively recalled Phantom! This isn’t a psychological intrusion… what sort of trick is this…?’

She scanned the perimeter, analyzing the countenances of her allies, yet not a single soul appeared to discern anything out of the ordinary.

They were all battle-tested, highly competent professionals…

It was highly probable she would have remained equally oblivious had it not been for her distinct intrinsic capacity, ‘Fate Manipulation’.

‘…Where has he gone?’

There existed a singular destination he could have chosen.

—

“Tsk…”

The Executioner, his features contorted into an expression of acute agony and irritation, ground his teeth together.

Reverting to his mortal guise, his palm pressed against the laceration marring his chest—a parting souvenir from his frantic withdrawal—he yanked the hood of his outerwear over his face.

“Confound it, this situation is…”

He had relocated to a dense, elevated forest region within Malaysia, situated hundreds of leagues away from the minor settlement in Thailand where the conflict had unfolded.

He had achieved this instantaneous relocation solely by leveraging his Time Stop capacity.

Exhaling deeply to quiet his erratic pulse, he lowered his eyelids.

‘…I owe my survival to that… simpleton.’

He had been on the precipice of expiration when a distant ballistic intervention from an unidentifiable source created a temporary diversion, providing him the window to flee.

He had been granted a lifeline by the very woman he had ridiculed for utilizing underhanded maneuvers and lacking the fortitude to confront him face-to-face.

“Tsk!”

Granted, the credit did not belong exclusively to her efforts.

His subordinates had likewise played their parts, drawing the focus of the opposition, and his flight would have proved impossible without the aid of his Time Stop mechanism.

Still, the celestial warrior, his absolute counter, had been pulled away from the main engagement owing to that concentrated bombardment…

He could not deny the reality that he was indebted to her actions.

‘…Masquerade… this slight will not be forgotten. And those remnants of the Burning Torch… I shall slaughter every last one when we next cross paths.’

He would ensure they lamented their misplaced leniency.

He ought to have secured them at the outset, oblivious to any collateral destruction, even if it necessitated leveling the entire municipality or wiping out the frail survivors of the Burning Torch.

He would guarantee that regret consumed them in their final breaths.

‘…I pushed my limits too far. I must seek concealment and mend. Yet, owing to that absolute aberration of an opponent, my internal bloodlust has been temporarily placated. Managing the inner degradation shouldn’t prove overly taxing.’

Psychological degradation remained an inescapable consequence of undergoing demonification, a perpetual hazard he was forced to navigate.

Regardless of how high his progression ascended, so long as he retained his demonic nature, he would remain susceptible to its influence.

‘…The moment my recovery is complete, my retribution will begin. They will discover the consequences of converting me into an adversary… the Eternal Greater Demon… the master of temporal control… ‘

While immersed in these calculations,

…he instantly locked up, his mouth twitching in a subtle movement.

He rotated his skull with deliberate slowness.

“Ha!”

A sharp breath escaped him, his visage twisting into a mask of sudden shock, followed swiftly by realization.

He had harbored doubts initially… but now, ambiguity vanished.

“…I scarcely anticipated that someone could track my trajectory.”

As if providing an answer to his low declaration,

“Your perceptive faculties are quite sharp. They surpass my initial assessments.”

…a frigid utterance resonated from the shadows,

“Mmm, maintaining a greater interval would have been wiser on my part. Your durability is remarkable, given the extent of your trauma. It appears my calculations underestimated your resilience.”

…and a silhouette, materializing from the gloom,

…stepped into his line of sight.

In stark contrast to the Executioner, whose garments hung in ribbons and whose flesh was mapped with gashes, the arrival appeared perfectly composed in formal attire, his condition completely unaltered from their earlier clash.

“Phantom…”

Heinz the Second, the Sovereign of Vampires, donning a pale theatrical mask, his essence concealed beneath the shroud of 「Existence Denial」, had pursued his path.

Yet the Executioner, confronting him, found himself plagued by a burning query.

“By what method did you trace me?”

He had executed a Time Stop and systematically obliterated any vestige of his path.

Locomotion within a frozen timeline generated zero etheric signatures, rendering the action far more untraceable than conventional space-bending teleportation.

He had quite literally vanished in the space of a heartbeat and manifested hundreds of leagues away, passing the border into Malaysian territory.

Granted, the execution lacked the seamless ease of instantaneous dimensional displacement… yet he existed as a Greater Demon, his physical attributes dwarfing those of mundane entities.

How then had his position been compromised with such immediacy?

“Who can say?”

Heinz, naturally, harbored zero intention of clarifying the mechanism.

There was no logical basis for supplying his adversary with actionable intelligence.

‘…The moment you claimed my lifeblood via Harley, the outcome was sealed.’

For a scion possessing Divine Blood, whose fundamental nature was inextricably linked to the essence of lifeblood, locating an individual via their internal fluid was an elemental task.

Undeniably, the process grew intricate when the quarry possessed transcendent status and distance entered the equation… but a span of several hundred kilometers proved a negligible obstacle.

“It is rather regrettable, in truth. My preference leaned toward monitoring your actions for a duration, observing your subsequent maneuvers.”

“You dare…”

“My objective centered on harvesting additional data… yet occurrences seldom align perfectly with expectations.”

Heinz scrutinized him, his ruby irises reflecting a distinctly predatory fixation.

He had maintained a conservative distance, apprehensive that the quarry might vanish entirely, mirroring the escape of Doctor… yet it appeared he had undervalued the efficacy of his own concealment arts.

Stalking an entity bordering on divinity—a transcendent who had partially uncoupled themselves from cosmic constraints—was no simple feat.

“Regardless, the situation demands adaptation.”

He offered a nonchalant movement of his shoulders and produced a sharp snap of his digits.

Simultaneous with the action,

…the 「Blood Magic」 he had been imperceptibly structuring, amplified via 「Existence Denial」, surged into effect.

His personalized territory manifested—a specialized countermeasure tailored against Time Stop.

Myriads of crimson micro-particles, functioning as literal manifestations of his own entity, saturated the atmosphere, tumbling and coalescing to wall off the localized zone, completely severing any pathways to the exterior environment.

[“…Insolent creature. Do you truly harbor the delusion that victory is within your grasp? Unassisted?”]

The Executioner, reverting fully to his monstrous demonic manifestation, emitted a guttural vibration, his tone dropping to a low, hazardous pitch.

Though impaired by trauma, he harbored no terror regarding Phantom.

Flight remained a viable recourse.

He could bide his time for a vulnerability to present itself, puncture the enclosing membrane, and subsequently invoke Time Stop once more…

“Mmm, does this setup prove insufficient? Your expectations are rather demanding.”

Regrettably for his ambitions,

…that did not comprise the entirety of Heinz’s arrangements.

“Well, leaving this asset unutilized would be a waste… Furthermore, this engagement has already yielded ample returns. I can tolerate a minor degree of… inefficiency at this juncture.”

His preparations had been set in motion from the moment the long-range barrage commenced, dating back to his realization of the Heaven’s Turn Society’s involvement.

He had entertained apprehensions that the Executioner might command supplementary forces, or that the Sovereign leader might personally intervene… prompting him to hastily formulate an emergency countermeasure.

Now that the asset was primed, neglecting its deployment would be an absolute waste.

Saaaa—

The ambient climate plumetted toward absolute zero,

…and the environment enveloping them appeared to dim, as though an obscuring overlay had settled over reality.

[“…What is the meaning of this?”]

The Executioner ceased all movement, his musculature locking up entirely.

He rotated his gaze toward the epicenter of the abrupt atmospheric freeze.

[“What an absolute masterpiece of a subject! My research has felt somewhat stagnant of late. It is highly probable I can derive fresh insights from your anatomy.”]

By what means had he materialized with such absolute silence, devoid of any perceptible indication?

Yet there he stood.

The mastermind responsible for launching this entire Masquerade enterprise.

[“…Hahoe Mask!”]

[“Khahaha! A specimen occupying the echelon of a Demon King, an absolute dream for my analytical pursuits! Magnificent! I shall examine the divergent and overlapping traits across disparate planes of existence! This is an absolute stroke of fortune!”]

Hans, marking his return to the terrestrial realm after an extended absence, gave vent to a booming laugh, his gaze radiating an apex predator’s intensity as he appraised his newly acquired specimen.

Yet he did not stand alone in his arrival.

“Mmm~ Is that the appearance a Demon King from an alternate realm assumes? Truly, this offers quite a novel experience.”

An alluring vocalization, its rhythmic cadence vibrating within his auditory canals, infused its hypnotic influence directly into his cognitive faculties.

A female figure, her countenance partially masked by a translucent fabric, her aesthetic appeal undeniable, her allure intoxicating to any entity regardless of gender, offered a subtle grin, her focus locked tightly onto the Executioner.

Coincident with her smirk, the primeval gloom radiating from the skull-capped sceptre gripped in Hans’s palm saturated the hemmed-in zone, followed immediately by the overlapping application of Hella’s 「Heavenly Demon’s World」.

The space had effectively transitioned into an isolated pocket dimension.

Inevitably, all communication channels tying them to the external cosmos were thoroughly obliterated.

‘…What madness is this?! What is transpiring?!’

The Executioner, his earlier bravado completely dissolving, his physical frame quivering, could not prevent an overwhelming wave of stark terror from overtaking him.

Three distinct adversaries, each operating on a tier equivalent to his own.

And that was to say nothing of the celestial entity and the barbaric titan…

‘…This defies logic. I possessed zero intelligence regarding their existence, let alone their collaborative alignment! What in the world… Oracle! What occupies your attention?! This represents an absolute failure of intelligence!’

The complete assembly comprising the hidden dark side of the Masquerade had converged on the location.

They represented a highly volatile and erratic collection of personalities, poorly suited for public exposure… yet within an isolated venue such as this, such constraints ceased to matter.

“This arrangement is highly advantageous. I have harbored a desire to evaluate the efficacy of my Eyes of Domination when matched against a Time Stop phenomenon. Furthermore…”

Hella, her pupils vibrating with a kaleidoscopic radiance, uttered her thoughts, her delivery slow and bordering on complete nonchalance.

Her focus, shifting rapidly across concepts of control, complete erasure, temporal cessation, and future sight…

…came to rest squarely upon the Executioner, a rapacious gleam surfacing within her ruby eyes.

“The scenario presents an ideal opening. I prefer to avoid the hazard of terminating your existence only to witness a resurrection cycle similar to Doctor. I shall systematically harvest every scrap of intelligence available… though I intend to surrender the concluding execution to our resident specialist.”

Heinz the Second, offering a deliberate nod of agreement, advanced into the space.

The suspended crimson droplets surrounding his form accelerated their rotational paths.

[“Precisely! I stand as the arbiter of demise—”]

Hans, his vocal cords generating a booming resonance that filled the pocket dimension like a decree issuing from the netherworld,

[“—and escape remains impossible for you, even through the threshold of expiration!”]

…moved to flank Heinz.

His metaphysical authority was anchored in the concept of ‘death’.

For an individual specializing in this precise domain, binding an adversary within a permanent state of suspended expiration—completely circumventing any automated revival loops—amounted to an elementary task.

…Even if the parameters prevented him from actually consuming the target.