Chapter 251: Sixty-Fourth Floor, Intelligence (10)

[Support the agent in their espionage mission. Time remaining: 83 hours 31 minutes.]

The demon’s corpse was in the last tent.

It was encased in a glass cylinder the size of a human torso, looking almost entirely unchanged from how I had left it. Despite the passage of time, it didn’t appear to have decayed or discolored.

Is it because it is a demon?

Fascinated, I shifted my gaze around the tent. Cables that seemed to have been connected to the glass chamber lay haphazardly on the floor. Nearby, a small vial filled with a swirling violet mist rested inside an open wooden box.

Redirun hadn’t lied; the Imperial agents had been preparing to leave soon.

So this is the residual demonic energy.

The corpse hadn’t been dissected, so I had no idea how they had extracted it. Judging by the scattered cables, they had used some kind of siphoning mechanism.

Well, considering what Langley and Parein had said earlier, demons had roamed this world in the distant past. Therefore, the existence of technology related to demons wasn’t entirely implausible.

On the other hand, Langley and Parein had yet to utter a single word since laying eyes on the corpse. Both stood frozen in shock, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and awe.

Hidden beneath the shock, a faint glimmer of desire peeked through.

Hmm.

I had managed to keep it out of the hands of that deranged emperor, but judging by the looks on their faces, it wouldn’t be long before the demon’s remains threw the entire continent into chaos.

Human greed knew no bounds, and from a national perspective, it was even worse. No kingdom, no matter how wary of the dangers, would willingly abandon research that could grant them power, for example, on a demon’s corpse.

They will try to harness demonic energy no matter what.

In doing so, they would likely lose control.

Even the mighty Empire, supposedly the most powerful force on the continent, had only been able to extract residual demonic energy—costing some of the researchers in the process.

Who knows what they would have accomplished if I hadn’t appeared?

Rather than leaving behind a source of potential conflict, it seemed wiser for me to take it with me. Not to mention, it would benefit me as well.

Just as I made my decision, Parein broke the silence. “Holy shit. A real demon’s corpse. No wonder the Empire’s Blades were deployed.”

“Yeah.”

His gaze shifted to the small vial. “That stuff in the bottle is probably demonic energy, right?”

Langley nodded.

Parein seemed lost in thought for a moment before turning to me. “Well, the vial’s small enough to transport, but what about the corpse? We can’t exactly take it out of the glass container and carry it around like some trophy.”

I nearly scoffed but managed to hold it in.

He was jumping to conclusions far too early. Not that I blamed him—Black Butterfly had hired Nameless, after all.

He doesn’t seem like a bad person, though.

However, circumstances kept pushing us into opposing standpoints. Sighing quietly, I resigned myself to the inevitable. There was no way I was handing this thing over.

Lowering my voice, I coldly remarked, “I’ll be taking it.”

“

Huh?

You sure? I mean, you’re strong enough to lift it, but it’d be a pain to carry around.”

He had misunderstood my words entirely, so I corrected him. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not carrying it back to Berest. I mean, I will be the one keeping it.”

“What?!” Parein’s eyes went wide with shock.

Langley’s expression mirrored his, though with a trace of subtle hope.

She thinks she has the slightest chance at claiming it? Dream on.

Just as I was about to put a stop to this conversation, Parein narrowed his eyes coldly. “What the hell are you saying? You’re a mercenary. We hired you!”

His frustration was evident from his expression and tone, but he was still trying to maintain a facade of logic and calmness. He couldn’t afford to lash out outright, not after seeing me defeat a Sheath.

“Whether it’s the Empire, Berest, or...” I trailed off and turned to Langley.

I couldn’t say Beastfolk Alliance outright, but I wanted to convey that her backer was no different. “Whoever takes this will bring disaster upon this land. I’ll take care of it.”

Parein refused to relent. “Come on, Kwon. Why are you doing this? You’ve worked well with Black Butterfly until now. You’ve never opposed a mission before.”

“That’s because those missions weren’t tied to the fate of an entire continent. This is different.”

Parein clenched his jaw. “I’ll report this.”

“Well, I can’t stop you from doing your job. Go ahead. But...”

I met his gaze directly. His blue eyes flickered with a storm of emotions: resentment, frustration, and the faintest trace of fear.

“But do you really think you can stop me?”

I didn’t mean it as a threat. I would be returning to the waiting room soon, and searching for me would only be a waste of time. It was a simple statement of fact. He didn’t need to fight a losing battle.

However, spoken aloud, it did sound like a threat.

Parein let out a quiet groan of frustration.

Trying to ease the heavy atmosphere, I clapped my hands lightly. “You both got what you came for. The Empire had its hands on the demon’s corpse, and Nameless took it away. That’s all there is to it.”

I shrugged. “It isn’t like I’m keeping it for personal gain.”

Langley and Parein studied me in silence.

“I’ll dispose of it where no one can ever find it. The Empire won’t grow stronger, and the demon’s remains will disappear from the world. Sounds like a win-win, doesn’t it?”

Neither of them spoke.

“Let’s just leave it at that. Just a strange little incident that happened. And if you don’t like it, you’re welcome to try and take it from me.”

***

[Support the agent in their espionage mission. Time remaining: 83 hours 9 minutes.]

Neither Parein nor Langley managed to overturn my decision.

Still, unwilling to leave empty-handed, they scoured the tents for any documents or records they could find. Their movements were swift, almost competitive.

Of course, Parein continued arguing for more benefits. “Hey, Kwon. Shouldn’t you stop her? You’re still technically working for Black Butterfly.”

“I already gave my word. And didn’t we go over this earlier? The Empire was about to leave. If not for Langley’s help, we would have been too late.”

Faced with my unwavering stance, he eventually turned back to searching for other intel.

Meanwhile, I stored both the vial of demonic energy and the corpse inside my mimic, then stepped outside to gather my thoughts.

Even after securing the corpse, the trial hadn’t ended. I was starting to think that the next floor would be unrelated to this one. Or perhaps, something dramatic would unfold before I left.

The Beastfolk Alliance or Black Butterfly could send reinforcements to confront me, for instance.

As I contemplated my next move, Langley subtly glanced around before approaching me. “Are you really going to destroy it?”

Instead of answering, I simply nodded and furrowed my brow to emphasize my resolve.

Despite my unwelcoming response, Langley pressed on with a flicker of hesitation in her gaze. For the first time, she looked almost embarrassed.

“If you gave it to us, we could build a kingdom for the beastfolk—”

“Enough.” My voice turned cold. “Keep pushing, and I won’t feel inclined to look out for you anymore.”

Langley had clearly anticipated my reaction and immediately apologized, “I’m sorry.”

It seemed like she had simply taken a shot in the dark to see if it would work.

Did I come across as too soft?

As I mulled over the thought, she quickly continued the conversation. “By the way, do you only take jobs from Black Butterfly?"

Wait! This may answer my question from earlier. Are the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth floors tied to the concept of “jobs”?

I deliberated for a moment before shaking my head. It was best to keep my options open.

“No, not exclusively.”

A glimmer of relief crossed her face. “That’s good to hear! Since you’ve only worked with Black Butterfly, I wasn’t sure.”

She inhaled deeply, as if steadying herself, before requesting, “I’d like to commission a job.”

I simply looked at her and waited.

Not missing a beat, she added, “We’ll compensate you accordingly. Whatever price you name.”

“What’s the job?”

She hesitated. “As you probably expected, I can’t reveal that until you agree. Well, I can give you one word. Wyverns.”

Her cryptic response didn’t exactly surprise me. Intelligence organizations weren’t in the habit of handing out assignments so freely, but I had asked for one reason alone.

“I don’t get involved in inhumane work.”

Based on what Parein had asked me earlier, Nameless refused unethical jobs. At the time, I had only offered him a vague smile rather than an explanation. Perhaps it was the nature of this trial, but it seemed that Nameless—my host—mirrored my principles.

Or maybe it was just a coincidence.

However, Langley nodded knowingly. “I understand. I was part of Black Butterfly myself, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I can’t give you an answer right now. I’ll have to think about it.”

“I’ll wait. If you’re interested, meet me in fifteen days at the Wandering Dreamers in Balaran. If you choose not to come, that’s fine too.”

“Got it.” I nodded.

Fifteen days.

It had to be connected to the sixty-fifth floor. I had assumed the choice lay between the Beastfolk Alliance and Black Butterfly, but it appeared that my decision to take the corpse had shifted the course of events.

Before I could dwell on it further, Parein frowned and approached us. “What’s going on? You two aren’t plotting behind my back, are you?”

His sharp intuition never failed to impress me.

Langley’s expression stiffened, but before she could respond, I answered, “We were just discussing when we’d part ways. You know as well as I do that we can’t take Langley back with us to Black Butterfly.”

He narrowed his eyes doubtfully. “That so?”

I furrowed my brow slightly, silently questioning his mistrust. “Yeah. We’ll go our separate ways the moment we leave. That’ll make sure any potential pursuit can’t catch us all.”

Parein clicked his tongue but ultimately conceded. “Well, if you say so, I guess there’s nothing I can do. But you know I’ll have to report this.”

“I won’t stop you.”

Satisfied with that, he turned to Langley. “I’ve got everything I need. You?”

“Yes, I’m done as well.”

Parein shifted his gaze toward me. “Let’s move, then.”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Rising to my feet, I cast a glance at the fallen Blades and Ears, still bound and unconscious. Redirun had been the only one I freed.

Turning to the Sheath, I coolly said, “If I untie the others, they’ll come after us immediately. I assume you understand.”

Redirun nodded in understanding. Getting to his feet, he extended a hand. His brow twitched slightly, likely from the lingering pain in his shoulder.

“I hope we meet again someday.”

I smirked. “If we do, I’ll be even stronger by then.”

He grinned. “

Haha

, all the better.”

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

I returned the gesture. Redirun was a good man.

“I’ll untie them in an hour.”

“Appreciate it.”

That was the last of our goodbyes. Leaving him behind, we began our descent down the mountain.

Once we reached the base, Langley waved nonchalantly. “I’ll be on my way now.”

She glanced at both of us, but Parein remained silent.

With a small, wry smile, she met my gaze. “Thank you for everything. It was an honor.”

An honor? Is it because I defeated Redirun?

I simply nodded.

She hesitated for a brief moment, then finally turned to Parein. “Senior, I’m sorry. I never meant any harm. I have no ill intentions toward you or Berest.”

Parein remained silent. After a long pause, he gave her a slow, almost imperceptible nod—the atmosphere between them was unexpectedly warm.

With that, Langley departed.

As I watched her figure grow smaller in the distance, Parein muttered under his breath, “Hey, Kwon.”

“What?”

“You taking a break after this job?”

His question struck me as odd. It had to be related to the sixty-fifth floor. This indicated my suspicions had been correct all along. In the end, I had to choose a side.

“Not sure yet.”

“Take one more job before you do. I’ll make sure you’re well paid.”

I exhaled lightly. “If this is about Langley, I already told you that I won’t talk. I made a promise.”

“I know.”

“Then what’s the job?”

The friendly atmosphere from earlier had vanished. Parein tilted his head toward the direction Langley disappeared.

Seriously? Was that whole sentimental farewell an act?

I was about to say something when Parein beat me to it. “I’m not asking you to break any promises. Just take an additional job and track the traitor.”

He smirked. “You wouldn’t be revealing a secret. You’d simply be acting on a separate contract.”

I stared wordlessly and expressionlessly at him.

“Just follow her trail and report what you find. You keep your word, we get our intel. Doesn’t that sound like a win-win?”

I laughed quietly and shook my head in disbelief. It wasn’t even infuriating, just amusing. Although it wasn’t like his logic was flawed. He was trying to exploit a contractual loophole.

His grin widened, mischievous as ever. “So? Sounds fair, doesn’t it?”