---

We caught Gerg, who pushed his subordinates to their deaths and ran away.

“L-Let go of this!”

“This guy’s way too noisy…”

Gerg, who was caught, flailed around, but Jeong Ha-yul’s single hand on his shoulder was enough to control him.

“Bro, how could you abandon us and run away?”

“Shut up! If I live, you live too! I was trying to get reinforcements from the big boss to save you all!”

“…You were probably just planning to hide behind the big boss and survive, huh?”

Unlike the resigned subordinates sitting quietly, Gerg was still thrashing around and cursing.

“Whether here or there, it’s always the higher-ups causing problems.”

“…That’s a bit harsh to hear as a higher-up.”

“Oh, sorry, you’re a higher-up too.”

Park Seol-hwa looked at him incredulously, but Jeong Ha-yul didn’t care.

“So, Gyeoul, what are you planning to do with these guys?”

“First… let’s ask a few questions and then go to their boss. At least he should have a tight grip on what’s happening in this city.”

“Ha! You think I’d spill the big boss’s location that easily?!”

It took less than three minutes for Gerg to change his attitude to the point where he’d even reveal the color of the big boss’s underwear.

With Jeong Gyeoul’s grip tightening, his collarbone and arm bones were freely rearranged, leaving him no choice.

In fact, holding out for three minutes was commendable.

For a thug who abandoned his subordinates, he had quite the backbone.

“I-I’ll answer anything.”

“Was there a human who came in with a demon or alone? A middle-aged man in his 40s, carrying a sword at his waist and a bow on his back.”

“Uh… Ah, yes! I know! A human man came in with a demon who looked like a rich young master not long ago!”

The expedition team members exchanged glances, surprised they found a lead so easily.

Half of them were impressed by Jeong Gyeoul, and the other half were worried about her violence.

Surprisingly, Jeong Ha-yul only had a proud look in his eyes.

“So, where is that human now?”

“Well, obviously… I don’t know.”

“What? You don’t know? Really? Seriously?”

They didn’t think Gerg was lying, but they kept pressuring him with their stares.

Jeong Gyeoul didn’t forget to add a little more pressure to her grip.

“Ugh! S-Stop! I know! I know! Even if I don’t know, I’ll find out!”

“Right, you know it.”

“J-Just give me a week, and I’ll bring him to you… Agh! A day! Just one day!”

They didn’t know Kim Yu-shin’s whereabouts, and finding him in a day was impossible.

But with Jeong Gyeoul’s strength, the impossible was becoming possible.

[To put an elephant in a fridge, grab one guy and beat him to death. He’ll figure it out.] – hayul. J

Jeong Gyeoul nodded with satisfaction, recalling Jeong Ha-yul’s always-useful quotes.

“A day is too long. Let’s cut it to half a day. You can’t do it alone…”

“I-I can do it! I’ll work hard! No, I’ll do it well!”

Gerg was spouting lines that any boss would love, but they didn’t think he had the ability to back it up.

“Yeah, you can’t. So let’s go to where your big boss is.”

“…I might die if I go to him.”

“So, you don’t want to?”

This time, she didn’t add pressure or glare.

She just smiled with a slight smirk, and Gerg’s body trembled.

Before the expedition team headed to where the big boss was staying under Gerg’s guidance, they shackled Gerg’s subordinates with ice cuffs.

“They’ll melt in about an hour… but I don’t know if they’ll survive that hour.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“You should know better, right? Whether you live or die depends on how well you’ve lived so far. It’s getting noisy, and there are a lot of eyes on this place.”

“…”

“Anyway, we spared you. So survive on your own. Let’s go.”

Leaving the subordinates with troubled expressions, they pushed Gerg forward.

Soon, they arrived at a mansion-like place.

It was small compared to the Lords’ Castle but larger than Dantalion’s Castle.

It showed how hard the so-called big boss had worked.

“He must’ve sucked a lot of blood to live like this. A mere demon with a castle bigger than a general’s.”

“If this were Earth, it’d be like the Triads, Mafia, or drug cartels. I thought he’d be some small-time boss, but he’s got quite the size.”

Jeong Gyeoul was actually smiling, pleased.

“The bigger, the better. We’ll find him faster.”

“That’s true. The more underlings, the faster it’ll be.”

“These guys are good at finding people and squeezing money out of them. Let’s trust them.”

Before they could even mention that the big boss might help, or even before meeting him.

Gerg, watching this, thought it was absurd but also believed they could pull it off.

‘…The big boss wouldn’t be caught in three seconds if he ran, and he couldn’t mold collarbones like clay with just his grip.’

Gerg had only seen the Jeong sisters use their strength, but he assumed the rest of the team had similar abilities.

With just one of them, it wouldn’t take five minutes to subdue the big boss and his guards, and there were five of them.

A disaster had struck the dark valley.

All he could think was to lay low until they passed.

Gerg’s attitude became more polite and respectful.

“I’ll guide you this way.”

“…?”

The expedition team was puzzled by Gerg’s sudden change in attitude, but since he offered to guide them, there was no need to refuse.

***

They arrived at the mansion where the so-called big boss was.

True to a back-alley thug who sucked blood to survive, there were guards stationed at the main gate.

‘These shady guys are really serious about guarding their place.’

The guard, who had drawn his sword in caution, sheathed it upon seeing Gerg’s face.

He bowed deeply, his posture reminiscent of a Korean gangster.

“Master Gerg, you’ve arrived.”

“Yeah. Open the gate.”

“What about the humans behind you…”

“…None of your business. Just open the gate.”

The guard tilted his head at Gerg’s stuttering but opened the gate anyway.

After walking through the open gate, they poked Gerg’s back.

“D-Do you need something…?”

“You’ve got quite the influence, huh?”

“Haha. It’s not for me to say, but you could say I’m the big boss’s right-hand man…”

“And you sold out the big boss?”

“…”

*Smack—*

They smacked the back of his head and pushed him forward.

All thugs are bad, but traitors are worse.

In that sense, Gerg was the worst trash.

He abandoned his subordinates and the big boss.

A guy like this would abandon his parents if you just shifted his spine a bit.

Gerg, who had been laughing nervously, stiffened his expression and walked forward.

This big boss guy must have a lot of shady stuff going on, given that there were four excessive gates just to get inside.

The guards seemed to get stronger as they went deeper.

As they were about to pass through the fifth and final gate…

“Gerg, the big boss didn’t call for you.”

“…C-Could you at least let him know I’m here?”

“Just get lost.”

Typical of the demon race, known for their deceitful nature.

Gerg wasn’t the right-hand man after all.

What kind of right-hand man gets ignored by the guards?

I had no choice but to step forward.

“Gerg, I think you need to explain what’s going on here.”

Why are you asking Gerg to explain when I’m right here?

This is racial discrimination, you f***ing racist bastards.

Gerg was at a loss, rolling his eyes.

“Hey,”

“Hey? Do you know where you…?”

*Wham—*

Of course, a knock is necessary when meeting someone for the first time.

I tried to follow demon realm etiquette by knocking before entering, but the guy I kicked flew and opened the door with his body.

“Oh, the door opened. I guess that means we’re welcome.”

The expedition team was getting used to demon realm etiquette, so they didn’t say anything.

Anyway, with a loud bang, the door opened.

Inside, there was a fat pig-like demon and a bunch of buff demon bodybuilders.

There were dozens, almost hundreds of them.

All eyes turned to us.

“Were you having a meeting? Sorry, we must’ve come at the wrong time.”

“Wow~ so many~”

“But what’s with all these buff guys?”

“…They’re the big boss’s elite guards.”

“Tell me the truth. Did you bring us here on purpose to mess with us? Knowing they’d all be here?”

“N-No! I didn’t know!”

These elite guards weren’t the kind you could take down with a single gesture like Gerg’s subordinates.

They weren’t general-level, but they weren’t ordinary soldiers either… more like, in-between.

“I was already hungry, but now I’m even hungrier…”

“Gyeoul, you’re hungry? Well, it is about that time. Let’s wrap this up quickly and eat.”

“Or do you want to rest for a bit?”

Even with hundreds in front of them, they casually joked around, which seemed to piss off the buff guys.

The buff guys started warming up.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but ask.

“…What’s your big three lifts?”

 

---