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As soon as Arman appeared, the raucous auction house fell silent in an instant. Only Minho and I, knowing who he was, were the ones left looking like deer caught in headlights.

Arman’s identity was so tightly wrapped in mystery that it was normal for anyone, except his closest aides, not to even know he existed.

Even the Heros Company intelligence department had mistaken someone completely different for the boss of the Evil Society until Arman stepped into the spotlight. Enough said.

And yet, everyone felt the dread purely because of his overwhelming physical presence.

Standing well over 2.5 meters tall, his massive build made me wonder how a suit could even contain such muscles. I couldn’t help but think, “Where did they find a guy like that?”

His colossal physique looked like it could easily rip through fabric, and strangely, the more I looked at his oddly reassuring features, the more I felt at ease.

Just his sheer presence was enough to make those around him notice; it felt like he was silently shouting, “I’m the boss!” and everyone instinctively kept their mouths shut.

When someone shows up who looks like they could crush your head or bend you over without breaking a sweat, everyone tends to behave.

“Go on, finish whatever you were talking about. You’re not prisoners being dragged to the gallows, so why all the shrinking back?”

Instead of revealing his identity, Arman casually pulled out a cigar and made a joke, seemingly to ease the tension.

But that did nothing to lighten the mood; it just splintered the crowd into those who were curious about his identity and the cunning ones trying to pick up intel like rats.

“What matters is not who I am, but what I’m offering you. What do you hope to do by knowing the organizer’s identity?”

His voice boomed without a microphone, but it didn’t hurt my ears; in fact, it oddly felt familiar and inviting.

It’s funny how persuasive speech can be. Even when I knew who he was, I still found myself nodding along to his words.

Whether it’s him or any head of an organization, it seems they all possess that kind of charisma.

“Whether you’ve heard through the grapevine what’s on the agenda today, or you’ve stumbled in clueless, it doesn’t really matter this time.”

As if vowing not to allow any more questions directed at him, Arman raised his voice immediately, capturing the audience’s attention.

“I’m not here today to sell anything. No, I’m here to offer you all a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Free of charge.”

The people here seemed to catch on that something was up, murmuring to each other as they began to speculate what was about to happen.

Arman seemed to enjoy the moment as he paused, letting them chatter, then finally revealed what that ‘opportunity’ was.

“Today, for a limited time, I’m inviting everyone here to join the Evil Society. No previous affiliations, backgrounds, or power levels matter. We’re currently short on manpower up top. This is a special offer for those who I can trust.”

Until now, I couldn’t figure out why he, who had only been lurking in the shadows, suddenly appeared in the spotlight. Now it made sense.

He had come to recruit.

At least my earlier antics had some impact on the Evil Society, it seemed.

Or maybe he was just going about gathering henchmen in this way.

We had no idea how exactly the Evil Society managed to amass so many members before; it had never come to light.

If the boss had to go around personally dominating people, that was hardly efficient.

Maybe it was true that a little bit adds up to a lot.

Regardless, this situation wasn’t really helpful to me right now.

Finding an excuse to escape was my top priority.

Frantically, I fumbled with my phone, sending texts to the others, urgently warning them not to step forward, while contemplating what I could do to overcome this mess.

But the dread that I had no clever tricks up my sleeve just seemed to grow stronger.

We only knew the surface of these guys; I bet Arman knew everyone’s family history down to the last detail.

Moving even slightly awkwardly could mean death or, worse, being ‘dominated’ and turned into an Evil Society fanboy.

…What if I just used force? I could coat the area in slime and bind Arman’s feet with a barrage, making a break for it with the others.

Or I could spray some slime right in front of him and aim to dominate him instead.

It wasn’t an ideal plan, but it was better than letting myself and my friends end up in his clutches.

Even if Arman’s physical abilities were incredible, he was still just a human. In terms of matchups, I had the advantage…

…I think? His domination ability was nearly instantaneous; meanwhile, my slime would take time to work its magic on the brain.

Most people would go down in seconds, but against a powerhouse like Arman, things were definitely different.

In those few seconds, my head could easily end up as pulp in his fist.

Plus, Arman wasn’t likely to be a regular human either, so he could resist my slime or even turn it against me.

What to do…

Even now, people were eager to run up and put their heads right in Arman’s grip.

While Arman hadn’t shown us any interest yet, it was obvious that soon his attention would be fixed on us.

“They’re offering an opportunity, why are you just standing there?” He might even bring up whatever business was on his mind.

I needed to think of some clever tactic before then.

If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have memorized something else.

Regret washed over me. If I had foreseen this, I would have pounded Minho to keep him quiet, but blaming anyone here wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“Take your time. There’s no rush; we’ve got all day. But you don’t seem willing to step forward, you there… it was Sui, right? Your blue lightning was quite impressive. If you join us, there’s a spot waiting for you…”

Arman scanned the room before singling out the disguised Ageha who was in front.

Startled, Ageha’s eyes darted around, and she stammered that she was interested but had some things left to finish first before she could come join.

“From what I know, it seems like there was nothing at all, huh? Must’ve been a mistake by my informants. I suppose I’ll have to punish them for that. Anyway, come on. We’ll help you with whatever you have going on.”

With a smile that screamed kindness, Arman extended his hand toward the disguised Ageha.

“Hey, big guy! I’ve got a question. Can I join later?”

As Ageha was on the verge of being pulled away, she decided to buy some time with one last question.

“Later? That’s not an option. You join now. It’s exactly what you wanted, isn’t it? Why are you trying to wriggle out of it now?”

…It seemed like everyone we’d disguised was practically dying to sign up for the Evil Society.

This was hardly a wise decision, but…

“Is that so.”

As I answered and settled back into my chair, I signaled Justitia to move in now.

At the same time, I signaled the guards still under my slime control to trigger the security alarm and start shooting in all directions.

With this, I decided to give up on gathering information.

It was better to flee than to engage the Heros with the Evil Society.

Even if many heroes might fall into the Evil Society’s hands, who cares? As long as Justitia and my friends get out safe, it’s all good.

As soon as the chaos broke out, Arman took out his phone to check something and grimaced like he’d stepped in gum.

“…Hmm, there shouldn’t have been any leaks. Or were my family members unable to keep their mouths shut?”

Regardless, he looked in a hurry, stepping up his domination efforts to keep everyone under his thumb without leaving a trace.

He definitely wasn’t going to just let us walk out freely. I subtly manipulated the slime covering the kids to mold it into a structure resembling a gas mask.

It wouldn’t be a perfect gas mask, but…

It should hold up for a few minutes. That was more than enough time for us to make our escape.

Informing the kids, who were buzzing with chatter like, “What the heck is going on?” that we needed to escape, I warned them that I was about to release some poison gas so they wouldn’t panic.

Whether out of instinct or realizing something weird was happening, Arman tried to approach us as a new gas mask emerged, but as I released the gas, he quickly changed his expression and stepped back.

“Escape plan! Now!!!”

With subterfuge being meaningless now, I shouted at Lapiz to start tearing down the building.

“Uh, um?! Got it!”

She seemed to catch on instantly, channeling her golden mana and bringing the entire seating area down with a crash.

Alright, from here on out, it’s all or nothing.

 

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