Chapter 267: A Deal With The Devil
Desecrate was one of Seo-jin's two trump cards. Unlike the rest of his arsenal, it attacked the soul directly rather than the body. That made using it risky, since there was always a chance he could destroy an enemy's soul entirely, ruining whatever gains he might have received from consuming it.
From what he could sense, that worst-case scenario hadn't happened. The Chairman's soul was still intact, though the damage he'd suffered was immense. Even from across the city, Seo-jin could feel the violent fluctuations in what remained of it.
Even in the middle of that scream, during the brief moment the Chairman was consumed by pain, he'd managed to flap his wings once. In an instant, he'd crossed the entire city, fleeing so quickly it might as well have been teleportation.
[Should've started with that.]
'Fuck off.'
The drain was immense. He wanted to pursue him, but his legs nearly gave out beneath him. He'd hoped the cost would be ignored within his domain, like his other skills, but apparently he wasn't that lucky. Producing a Soulstone, he immediately began replenishing his Soulmass.
At that moment, Snare, Pain, and Panic landed on the spire beside their father, their claws digging into the vertical stone.
"The portal is his weakness, Broodfather. He is drawing power from the other side."
Glancing toward the direction the Chairman had fled, Seo-jin turned his attention back to Snare.
"Any ideas?"
The Broodspawn raised his head toward the portal, his eyes glowing as he studied it. After a moment, he slowly shook his head.
"Someone would have to go through and close it from the other side. I can see no other way."
[He's right. There's gotta be a power source. Just like how you got here.]
It wasn't a guarantee, but it was the best lead he had. He considered asking Snare for a recommendation, but this was a decision he needed to make himself. Someone would have to go through that portal, and it was his responsibility alone to decide who.
"I'll do it."
Panic stepped forward, his restraints wrapped tightly around him shifted as he turned his attention toward the portal.
"No. You three would be a waste."
Seo-jin finally had a way to return to the Maw. Dominion Scar could establish a connection there, the problem was he had no idea where that connection would lead. Nobody knew how vast the Maw truly was. If he sent one of his children through and tried to retrieve them after the battle, they could end up on opposite ends of the entire realm. Dominion Scar could also summon those he'd marked directly to him, but he didn't know whether that ability had a range limit.
It wasn't a gamble he was willing to take with his three eldest.
"Slims will do it."
Of everyone in the Brood, the human had the least potential, while his new demonic form was practically built for long-range scouting. He was highly agile, and his cockroach-like survival instincts made him exceptionally difficult to kill. For a mission like this, Slims was the best choice.
'Come pick up Snare. He'll tell you what to do next.'
'Yes, Master! Be right there!'
High above, Grimm's enormous mass began shifting behind the clouds. Satisfied with the plan, Seo-jin tightened his grip on the stone beneath him, knowing the difficult part was still ahead.
"Grimm will take you and Slims to the portal. Make sure he knows that as soon as we're done, we'll be coming for him. He's not allowed to die until I command it. Understood?"
Looking toward the sky, Snare nodded as his third eye slowly closed. His claws dug deeper into the stone spire, holding him firmly in place.
"I will make sure he understands his role."
Turning toward Pain and Panic, Seo-jin began gathering his aura, the familiar pressure building beneath his armor.
"We need to press the attack. Tomb, Bug, and John. I want you three blocking his line of sight to the portal. Don't make it obvious."
"Yes, Broodfather!"
With Grimm's enormous silhouette now directly overhead, Seo-jin tightened his grip on Butcher's Wrath as Bloodlight began flowing along his blades.
"Do not underestimate him."
With that final warning, Seo-jin launched himself toward the Chairman. The Brood followed, their movements coordinated through the Broodlink as they scattered across the broken terrain. Their combined departure produced a shockwave that shattered the stone around them. With his Agility now at sixty-nine, Seo-jin's top speed had reached roughly Mach 3.15. At that speed, crossing the entire city took only seconds.
It helped that finding the Chairman wasn't difficult. His aura was raging wildly, surging and collapsing in violent waves that made his location impossible to miss. Seo-jin stopped at the edge of a clearing that looked freshly devastated, the ground torn apart and blackened.
At the clearings center, the Chairman stumbled back and forth, clutching his head as he lashed out blindly. Every swipe of his arm released black flames that tore through the air, detonating violently against whatever they struck. The same man who had dismantled the Brood with effortless precision was now struggling to control his own movements, his damaged soul lashing out as violently as his body.
"What's wrong with him?"
Leaning closer, Panic sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring.
"He has a demon trapped inside him. Looks like it's trying to get out."
Seo-jin didn't need Snare's eyes or Soul Sight to see that the Chairman was struggling to maintain control. His movements were erratic, and the eye with the red and yellow pupil had swollen to nearly three times its normal size. That alone was a pretty obvious giveaway.
"Widow, Hex, Synapse and Sin, I want you four on long-range support. Panic, Pain, and Fang, your with me."
Time was running out. He had no idea how long the Chairman would remain in this condition, and he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
"Don't confront him directly. We just need to keep him distracted."
Seo-jin let Butcher's Wrath slip from his grip as they circled the clearing, maneuvering to draw the Chairman's attention away from the portal. Swinging one of his cleavers, he sent the blade flying into a chunk of concrete, then yanked it free of the ground and hurled it toward the man.
"Having trouble, human?! You don't look too good!"
The chunk of street tore through the air like a cannonball, only to be swatted aside effortlessly by the Chairman's black wing. Too bad he hadn't noticed Panic following directly behind it.
"Missed me!"
A shower of sparks erupted across the Chairman's chest as Panic struck and zipped past. The man turned to retaliate, leaving himself wide open for a face full of flames. Pain's breath attack engulfed him, concealing the two massive maces descending from above like a pair of sledgehammers.
But the impact never came. Butcher's Wrath hung motionless in the air, its spiked mass frozen just short of their target.
"This is why I should lead. These flies would be dead already."
It was a voice Seo-jin hadn't heard before, yet there was no mistaking that it came from the Chairman. A moment later, a dome of black erupted from the man's body, expanding violently and forcing everyone back.
Just then, Fang emerged from the Chairman's shadow, his tail shooting forward and driving its sharpened tip deep into the man's back.
As the Chairman turned, a javelin came hurtling toward him, followed by three concussion shots from Synapse. The barrage forced him to deal with the incoming attacks, giving Fang enough time to retreat.
High above the battlefield, a dark cloud seemed to be gathering, its shifting mass filled with thousands upon thousands of beating wings. John and Bug's swarms had taken to the sky, blotting out the moonlight. Every so often, a cluster would break away and dive toward the Chairman, only to be reduced to ash by the slightest movement of his hand.
Rising into the air, Mr. Woon caught Widow's javelin just before it struck again. The weapon immediately teleported out of his grip and returned to her, but he responded by forming a javelin of black fire and hurling it straight back.
The burning projectile struck the stone spire where she had been standing, blasting through the rock, but she managed to leap clear just before impact.
"Alright, ya slippery cunts, give me a moment, will ya! God damn!"
From Seo-jin's perspective, the Chairman seemed like an entirely different person. Gone was the stiff posture, like something was permanently stuck up his ass. The man now stood with a lazy slouch, spitting dust from his mouth without a trace of the prestige he'd carried before.
Looking up, the Chairman let out a tired sigh as a massive chunk of a building came crashing toward him, courtesy of Tomb.
"Really?"
With a single flap of his wings, he released enough pressure to send the rubble hurtling into the distance.
"Look, guys, I really need you fuckwits to—"
As though he'd been waiting for the perfect moment, Panic came twisting through the air, looking like someone had thrown him. The Chairman spotted him and raised a hand, but a deafening chord suddenly erupted from Hex's axe. Panic's speed surged, allowing him to close the remaining distance before the man could react.
"Sneaky little—"
Twisting his restraints together, Panic drove them forward like a cluster of spears. They struck the Chairman square in the stomach, forcing him backward under the impact, though none managed to pierce his skin.
"You guys don't fuckin' listen, do you?"
"Only to me."
While the Chairman was being driven back, Seo-jin seized the opportunity to move around his flank, pressing the twin barrels of his shotgun directly against the man's skull.
The shots rang out at point-blank, both slugs flattening against his head with a sharp metallic crack.
"Ow."
Grabbing hold of Panic's restraints, the Chairman swung the Broodspawn directly into Seo-jin. He managed to catch his son, but the force still sent them both flying across the clearing, where they slammed into a massive boulder hard enough to crack the stone.
[-374 HP]
[HP // 4126/4500]
[SM // 100/100]
"That was fun—sorry."
Seo-jin shot Panic a look that could kill. The Broodspawn immediately scrambled out of his lap and dashed back into the fight, only for the Chairman to appear out of nowhere, crouching directly in front of Seo-jin.
"Listen, man, can we chill out for a sec? I just wanna—"
His brows suddenly tightened, and his hand shot downward into his own shadow, emerging with Fang's throat caught firmly in his grip.
"Look, I really don't wanna fight. Look—"
With a quick flick of his wrist, he tossed Fang aside without hurting him. Then he raised both hands and slowly backed away. Seo-jin found it difficult to look anywhere but the man's enlarged, constantly twitching eye. He had no idea what angle the Chairman was playing, but if the man wanted to waste time talking, that was exactly what they needed right now. He sent a pulse through the Broodlink to stand by.
"I take it I'm talking to the demon?"
A broad grin spread across the man's face.
"In the flesh. Name's Beezle. Hear they call you Broodfather. Wicked name, if I do say."
[What the fuck is happening?]
'I have no idea, but talking doesn't hurt.'
He meant that both figuratively and literally.
"Beezle. You want to talk?"
Clapping his hands together, Beezle pursed his lips, looking as though he were struggling not to laugh.
"It's kinda embarrassing, ya know, demon to demon. As you can see, this ain't my body. Been stuck in this uptight asshole for years. Wait, hold up, anyone have a smoke?! I'd fucking kill for one. Seriously."
Caught off guard didn't even begin to describe how Seo-jin felt. The contrast between the Chairman's behavior now and just moments ago was so ridiculous that he barely knew how to respond. Even the Twin Serpents were staring at the man in confusion.
"No one smokes—"
"Here..."
Both Seo-jin and the Chairman turned to find Panic holding out a cigarette case. The Broodspawn carefully avoided his father's gaze as the Chairman reached over and took one.
"Fuck-in-a! Thanks, amigo."
Snapping his fingers, a tiny black flame appeared at his fingertip. He took a deep drag, burning through the entire thing in a single breath, then released the smoke with an exaggerated groan of satisfaction.
"Oooohhhh yyyeeeaaahhh. Nic-o-tine, how I've missed you."
Shooting his son a look that promised they'd be discussing this later, Seo-jin turned his attention back to Beezle. He did his best to avoid glancing toward the portal, where Grimm had finally moved into position.
"Listen here, Brood-dude, you wanna take over the world, and Mr. Go-fuck-himself is gettin' in your way. Not a problem. I want control, or at least out of this douche, so here's the deal. I'll let your little group go through the portal and do what they need to do, but after that, you gotta let me handle the Chairman alone. Once I take full control of this body, we can both go our separate ways. Sound good?"
Seo-jin kept his expression still, though his mind was racing. This bastard had known about their plan the entire time.
"Why not do it yourself? You could easily go through—"
"And get stuck in the Maw? Fuck that. Place is boring as Hell. Come on, time's running out. If he gains control back, I won't get another chance like this. We have a deal?"
"There's no time for a contract."
"No, there isn't."
Beezle extended his hand and waited, his fingers held open between them.
Glancing upward, Seo-jin saw that black flames now covered the portal, preventing Grimm from getting Slims anywhere near it.
Whether he wanted to admit it or not, his back was against the wall.
His gaze dropped to the Chairman's outstretched hand before returning to Beezle's enlarged eye. Seo-jin clenched his jaw.
"Deal."
He took the demon's hand, and shook it.
"Wonderful! Now—NO!"
Mid-sentence, the Chairman's face twisted violently, and his aura erupted outward, slamming into Seo-jin and Panic with enough force to send them flying.
As the Chairman shot into the air towards the portal before rapidly plummeting back toward the ground, Beezle's voice broke through again, strained by the struggle for control.
"Go! Now!"
'Get Slims through!'
The command traveled through the Broodlink, and Seo-jin caught sight of a massive tentacle stretching toward the portal. At its tip, Slims tiny figure was barely visible against the darkness.
"Beezle!"
The Chairman's shout tore Seo-jin's attention away from Grimm. Seeing the man's intentions, he immediately broke into a sprint, but even at his speed he was too late. Mr. Woon's hand rose, and a moment later, a roaring tornado of black flames engulfed the portal.
Grimm roared as he withdrew his burning tentacle, its flesh melted away and the tip completely gone.
'Did he make it?!'
For a moment, there was no response through the Broodlink. Seo-jin stared at the portal, searching the black flames for any sign of Slims.
'Snare! Did he fucking make it?!'
'I... I don't know, Broodfather. Grimm lost contact with him. I couldn't see if he got through.'
Seo-jin's stomach tightened. If Slims hadn't made it, they had just lost their only chance to close the portal. He reached through the Broodlink himself, searching for the familiar presence of his first demon hybrid...
Nothing.
Just as he was about to try again, a sharp crack echoed across the clearing.
He looked up and saw a thin fracture had appeared across the surface of the portal, spreading outward as the black flames faded.
Another crack followed, then another, until the entire portal began to buckle.
A breath later, it exploded.
Slims had gotten through.