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As Lucian's words fell, the air in the meeting room seemed to freeze solid.
"You suicidal little human brat! How dare you act so arrogant in front of me, Yamori!"
Known throughout Aogiri Tree as a sadistic monster, Jason's fleshy face twisted into something grotesque. With a furious roar, his clothes tore apart, and two jagged, dark-red predatory appendages burst out from his back. They sliced through the air with a shrill screech, whipping violently toward Lucian's head.
This strike—strong enough to pulverize reinforced concrete—would've turned an ordinary person into a smear of flesh before they could even react.
"Heh… what a crude, ugly insect. And it dares disrespect my master."
Standing beside Lucian, Himan let out a cold laugh. A dangerous glint flashed through her alluring violet eyes.
She was just about to lash out with her vines and tear this arrogant prey apart—devour him whole—but suddenly, she sensed a shift in Lucian's emotions.
As a guardian spirit bound to his soul, she could clearly feel it—
Toward this ghoul called Jason, Lucian felt nothing but disgust.
Having read the story before, Lucian knew exactly what kind of thing Yamori was.
A twisted ghoul who reveled in torture and suffering. Just thinking about him was revolting.
"Himan."
Lucian tilted his head slightly. His deep eyes were cold, devoid of warmth, his voice filled with undisguised disdain.
"Kill him. Don't eat him. I don't want trash like that dirtying your stomach."
Himan immediately understood.
"As you wish, my dearest master. Since you think he's vile… I won't make him my midnight snack."
She smirked.
The dark-purple vines she'd been about to use for devouring suddenly changed form. Their surface hardened instantly, transforming into two heavy, purple-black spears, like something forged from solid steel.
Thud! Crack—!
There was no flashy exchange, no drawn-out fight. Jason didn't even get the chance to show off his so-called "regeneration."
The hardened vine-spears shot forward with terrifying speed—faster than sound itself.
Not only did they shatter his prized bioweapons in an instant, they drove straight through his chest and skull without hesitation.
With a sickening crunch of breaking bone, Jason's massive body was pinned to the wall like a specimen nailed in place.
This S-rated ghoul—feared by countless investigators across Tokyo—didn't even finish his signature finger-cracking routine before dying on the spot.
"H-How is that possible?!"
The old man in a kimono nearby stared in horror as Jason was instantly killed. His cloudy eyes bulged, nearly popping out of their sockets.
Black energy churned violently around him—his fear was obvious.
"Y-You… what kind of monster are you?!"
His hand trembled uncontrollably on his cane. But as a high-ranking member of the evil spirit organization, survival instinct pushed him to bark out a threat:
"I warn you! I'm a special envoy of the 'Nine Lives Heaven'! We have thousands of high-level evil spirits! If you dare harm me, not just you—everyone in this school will face endless retaliation and curses! You'd better—"
"Annoying."
Before he could finish, Lucian waved his hand impatiently.
The vines that had killed Jason whipped around and pierced straight through the old man. In an instant, the devouring power activated, draining him dry into a shriveled corpse.
"Gulp."
Himan swallowed, licking her crimson lips with satisfaction. She shot Lucian a teasing glance.
"Master~ that perverted ghoul was too dirty to eat, but this old ghost made of pure yin energy… barely acceptable."
"As long as you're full. Time to wrap things up."
Lucian glanced at Jason's miserable corpse on the wall, then calmly pulled out his phone and dialed a secure number.
"Beep… beep… Hello? Tokyo Supernatural Bureau of Great Xia. Who is this?"
A crisp, professional voice answered.
The Bureau was responsible for handling abnormal incidents.
"It's me. Lucian."
His tone was flat. "Send a cleanup team. Two locations—an abandoned meat processing plant three kilometers from Sobu High, and an abandoned air-raid shelter beneath the school."
The moment the operator heard his name, their voice turned instantly respectful—almost reverent.
"M-Mr. Lucian! May I ask… what level of targets were involved this time?"
"At the factory: Aogiri Tree executive Noro and a dozen underlings. Beneath the school: Jason from Aogiri, plus an envoy from Nine Lives Heaven."
He casually listed names that could shake the entire supernatural world in Tokyo.
"Gasp—!"
An audible intake of breath came from the other end. The operator even started stammering.
"N-Noro? And Jason?! Plus a Nine Lives Heaven envoy?! Mr. Lucian, you—"
"Cut the chatter. Just follow procedure."
Lucian glanced at his watch.
"For clearing out targets and strongholds at this level, the standard base reward is at least 100,000, right?"
"100,000? N-No, Mr. Lucian, there's been a misunderstanding!"
The operator hurried to explain.
"That's just the base rate for ordinary A-rank bounties! The ones you eliminated are SS-level threats and core members of dangerous organizations! The 100,000 is only an advance. I'll immediately apply for the highest-tier disaster bonus—the final payout will definitely exceed a million."
At the mention of a million, Lucian's eyebrow lifted slightly. His mood visibly improved.
"Send people to clean this place up quickly. Don't leave any blood smell behind. My students have morning reading class here tomorrow—if it affects the learning environment…"
He coughed lightly.
"And make sure the money gets transferred to my account ASAP."
"Yes! Understood! We guarantee it won't affect your teaching!"
After hanging up, Lucian didn't linger in the blood-soaked basement. With a satisfied Himan in tow, he calmly left the underground base and returned the way he came.
Back in his room, just as he was about to rest—
A long-awaited sound rang out in his mind.
The Guardian Spirit System finally chimed with a series of crisp, heavenly settlement notifications.
"....."