Langley, BICH Headquarters
Janet stood quietly inside the office, watching Mo.
The old man sat perfectly still in his chair.
Too still.
His body hadn't moved for several minutes. His breathing was slow and steady. His eyes were completely white, pupils gone.
It was unsettling to look at.
Then suddenly—
His pupils reappeared.
Mo blinked once, twice, then rubbed his eyes.
"Have they landed yet, boss?" Janet asked.
"No," Mo replied calmly. "They just jumped."
He opened a drawer, retrieved a small bottle of eye drops, and began blinking rapidly as he applied them.
Janet folded her arms.
"You really don't need to send one of your personalities there."
Mo dabbed the corner of his eye with a handkerchief.
"Most agents are busy, and I still need you here," he said casually. "Besides, I like finding the mastermind myself."
He gave a small smile.
"Well, if it makes you happy." Janet shrugged with both shoulders.
"Also…" Mo sighed.
"That personality is the noisiest one inside my head. It's nice to get a break."
Janet chuckled quietly.
Asmodeus—better known as Mo—was the only demon whose true form no one had ever actually seen.
The gentle old-man appearance he used now was just one of many personalities he could manifest physically.
His Demon Duke ability allowed him to create independent bodies—fully functioning clones that remained connected to his senses and thoughts.
Which meant that somewhere far away, one of his personalities was currently falling from the sky.
In the past, Mo had been one of Solo and Luke's most troublesome enemies during the chaotic era when the Seven Demon Dukes fought each other for dominance.
At one point, one of Mo's personalities—an extremely attractive female version of himself—had even managed to break Solo's heart.
The incident left a very lasting impression.
So when Mo finally surrendered and swore loyalty, Solo's first official order to him was extremely straightforward.
"Use the old-man form forever."
No negotiations.
No discussion.
Just that.
Lilith, on the other hand, found the entire story endlessly entertaining.
After all, it meant Solo's only ex-girlfriend in this world…
…was technically an old man.
---
Balevar Kingdom, Road Near Merryhall
Meanwhile, far away in the Balevar Kingdom—
A group of young men galloped down the highway at full speed.
Their outfits were wildly mismatched.
One wore a knight apprentice uniform.
Another looked like a blacksmith trainee.
There was also a merchant apprentice, a farmer apprentice, and even a cook apprentice.
None of them were dressed for the same profession.
Yet all of them carried weapons.
Very questionable weapons.
A hammer.
A shovel.
A ladle.
A frying pan.
And various other household tools that someone had clearly decided counted as combat equipment today.
Most importantly—
They all looked extremely angry.
"You sure they came this way?" the blacksmith apprentice asked while riding.
"The merchant said the description matched," the knight apprentice replied.
"They're on foot. They can't be far," the cook apprentice added.
The group continued charging forward, completely fired up.
Each of them was driven by the exact same goal.
Recover the stolen fireworks festival funds.
And possibly their romantic futures along with it.
Each young man muttered his own heroic declaration as they rode.
"For Rosalia, my clumsy, fragile childhood friend—I'll recover the festival funds and confess under the fireworks!" the knight apprentice declared dramatically.
"For Teresa, my tsundere tomboy childhood friend—I'll make my move!" the merchant apprentice said confidently.
"For Amelia, my big-sister–like childhood friend—I'll show her that I'm a man now!" the blacksmith apprentice announced proudly.
The annual fireworks festival in Merryhall was famous for one very specific tradition.
Young lovers used the fireworks display as the perfect romantic moment to confess their feelings.
And depending on what kind of genre this happened to be—
Those confessions sometimes escalated into very questionable behavior shortly afterward.
Unfortunately for the entire town, the festival budget had just been stolen.
Which meant no fireworks.
Which meant no romantic confession opportunities.
Which meant plenty of extremely motivated young men were now chasing thieves across the countryside.
"DON'T WORRY, GUYS!" the cook apprentice shouted, raising his frying pan high.
"WE'LL CATCH THE THIEVES AND CONFESS OUR LOVE AT THE FESTIVAL!"
"YEEEAAAH!!"
Their battle cry echoed loudly across the road as they galloped past a large roadside bush.
Eventually the noise faded into the distance.
Silence returned.
For a few seconds.
Then the bush began shaking violently.
Branches rustled.
Leaves flew everywhere.
And several dirt-covered figures slowly crawled out.
"Tch!" Ivy spat, brushing dirt from her clothes.
"Those horny teenagers just won't give up."
"Never underestimate puberty," Kovalski said wisely.
"I guess we can't use the main road anymore," Irving sighed.
"I miss home…" Bella whimpered.
The group stood there in miserable silence.
Because yes.
These were the thieves.
---
Deep in the Forest Path
The Misfits were now trudging through an overgrown forest trail.
It was narrow. It was muddy. Branches constantly slapped their faces. Roots tried to trip them every few steps.
In short—it was the kind of road sensible travelers avoided.
Which meant it was exactly where they had ended up.
"Good thing our video content only goes to royalty," Bella said while pushing branches aside. "If the Merryhall folks realize who we are and report us, we'll be in big trouble."
"Relax," Irving replied casually. "They don't even have cameras. At best they can do is draw blurry stick-figure sketches."
"We'll skip a few towns where no one knows what's happening in Merryhall," Ivy chuckled. "At least now we already have enough travel money. Kukuku."
"At least no one would be looking for us here," Kovalski said, glancing around the thick forest surrounding them.
Unfortunately—
Forest paths in Talvaris were exactly like any fantasy forest in any RPG game.
Full of problems.
---
A pack of wolves suddenly emerged from the bushes.
"Grrr… bark! Bark!"
RATATATATATATAT!
The Misfits opened fire.
The wolves dropped instantly.
---
Then bandits appeared.
"I heard loud noise! Look! Travelers!" one bandit shouted excitedly.
"And cute chicks too!" another bandit added with a grin.
RATATATATATATAT!
---
Then bandits with wolves.
"The wolves smell prey! Look! Travelers!"
"And cute chicks too!"
RATATATATATATAT!
---
Several encounters later—
Kovalski stood on top of a growing pile of bodies, visibly furious.
"WHY DO BANDITS STAY ON A ROAD NOBODY USES WHEN THEY MAKE MONEY ROBBING TRAVELERS?!"
He threw his hands into the air.
"WHAT KIND OF ECONOMIC STRATEGY IS THIS?!"
"Sigh…" Irving rubbed his forehead.
"Let's stop using guns."
The others looked at him.
"They're trouble magnets."
Everyone looked exhausted.
Twelve encounters.
In one day.
Irving suddenly froze.
"Shh… I heard something."
"I didn't hear anything," Ivy said.
"A scream," Irving replied.
Among the Misfits, Irving had the best demonic hearing.
A few seconds later—
"KYAAAAAA!"
Now everyone heard it.
The sound came from a small clearing just ahead.
They quietly crept toward a nearby bush and peeked through the leaves.
A young girl burst into the clearing.
Behind her, a wolf chased aggressively.
Very typical fantasy situation.
The girl ran a few more steps—
Then tripped dramatically.
She fell onto the grass.
The wolf slowed down, circling her slowly, savoring the moment before the kill.
It approached with exaggerated patience.
Apparently, even wolves in fantasy worlds respected dramatic pacing.
The Misfits watched silently from behind the bush.
Not moving.
Not helping.
Just highly interested.
"Five bucks she dies in ten seconds," Irving said calmly.
"Twenty seconds," Kovalski countered.
"Thirty!" Bella added excitedly.
Ivy cut in.
"Twenty bucks she survives."
"Deal!" the others said immediately.
Ivy took a deep breath.
Then shouted at the top of her lungs.
"HEY YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY MONEY?!"
The girl turned toward the bush mid-scream.
"I CAN SAVE YOU—FOR A FEE!" Ivy continued.
"YES! YES! THE SISTER HAS MONEY! PLEASE HELP ME!!" the girl screamed back desperately.
"That's cheating," the others complained.
"Well, there's no rule against it," Ivy replied while leaping out of the bush.
The wolf prepared to pounce.
Then—
STAB.
STAB.
Two throwing knives buried themselves directly into its skull.
The wolf collapsed before it even understood what happened.
Dead.
Ivy walked toward the girl with a satisfied grin.
"You owe me now."
The girl stared up at her with sparkling eyes.
"Miss Knight… what's your name?" she asked sweetly.
"Call me Ivy," Ivy replied.
"Ivy… such a beautiful name… thank you…" the girl said softly.
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
"What's yours?" Ivy asked.
The girl hesitated.
"…Robert."
Ivy blinked.
"…Huh?"
Bella and Kovalski blinked too.
"Eh?"
Irving frowned.
"Yeah," he muttered.
"This is wrong on many levels."