Chapter 182 - Summit (3)
'This'll be easy,' Julia Vilkova thought.
She sneered coldly while looking at Oh Kang-Woo, whose smile deepened when he was surrounded by pretty women.
'And the scent seems to be effective.'
Julia had spread a scent, which had an aphrodisiac mixed in, throughout the room. She'd developed the scent using black magic, and it allowed humans to feel the desire that a demon's body felt. It had such a strong effect that it could make even a devoted religious person or an ascetic monk lose their mind from desire.
The politicians and beautiful girls whom Julia had planned this with had taken a medicine that increased their resistance to the scent. However, Kang-Woo hadn't taken anything like that, so he was fully exposed to the scent's effects.
'I'll start light.'
If Julia were to release the scent all at once, there was a chance that Kang-Woo would feel something was wrong and run out of the room.
"How is the food?" Julie asked.
"Ah, it's very delicious."
"Fufu."
The way Kang-Woo nodded truly made him look stupid.
'Tsk, he doesn't live up to his rumors,' Julia thought, looking at Kang-Woo like he was pathetic.
Kang-Woo was Kim Si-Hun's sworn brother—a man whose talent, abilities, and sense of justice had been acknowledged by Guardians. He'd been allowed to join them despite not having been chosen by Gaia as a Protector.
'I heard he has Gaia's trust.'
Until recently, the person whom Gaia trusted the most was, without a doubt, Grace McCubbin. She was the strongest World Ranker and Gaia's caretaker.
That seemed to have changed of late. Most people knew that Gaia had begun to put more of her trust in Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun and his sworn brother Oh Kang-Woo.
'She doesn't have an eye for people. Maybe it's because she's blind.'
The scene of Kang-Woo gazing lustfully at the women around him was truly a spectacle. Julia even thought that perhaps she didn't need to use the scent.
'Maybe I could've tried to make a move on Sword Dragon directly.'
Her opinion of Si-Hun dropped after seeing his sworn brother acting like this. She regretted having pointlessly taken the long road.
'No, no.'
People thought of Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun as the ace of Guardians as well as the most powerful Protector. There was a rumor that he'd practically resolved the South America incident by himself, so he possessed a very important role in Guardians.
Leaving everything aside, Si-Hun had defeated Balrog, so being cautious was the correct decision for Julia.
'Furthermore, it will be a while before I can ask for Lord Satan's guidance again.'
Satan, the master whom she served and the pinnacle of the Aspects of Evil who led the Demon Cult, had not yet fully revived. Rather, he was preparing for something beyond just a simple revival. So, it was hard for her to have the opportunity to talk with him.
'I must deal with this as thoroughly as possible in the time that I cannot ask for Lord Satan's guidance.'
As an Apostle of Evil, she had to be the one to fill the vacancy left by the Aspects. She couldn't ease up on her plan to break down Guardians from the inside and weaken them.
Julia stared at Kang-Woo. He was grinning like a moron in a drunken stupor, with women in his arms as if he had come to a brothel.
'First, I will make this pathetic man into my puppet.'
There was no need to even think about what Julia would do after that. She would stir up trouble within Guardians by using Si-Hun's trust in Kang-Woo against him.
'I wonder what expression that bitch Gaia will make once that happens.'
Julia smiled wickedly.
She felt a thrill just from imagining the despair that would appear on Gaia's face when the organization known as humanity's last hope, which Gaia's incarnation had painstakingly created, crumbled from the inside…
"Fufu, do you like the girls, Kang-Woo?"
"Ah. Wh-What was I… I apologize."
Upon hearing Julia's words, Kang-Woo returned to his senses and pushed the women away while shaking his head. It seemed like he still had some sanity left.
'But it's only a matter of time,' Julia thought.
She spread more of the scent inside the room. As the scent thickened, Kang-Woo's vision became more blurry.
"Ah…"
"There is no need to apologize. You've been hunting down the Demon Cult without rest lately, haven't you?" Julia asked.
"Th-That's true, but…"
"This is a break worthy of a hero."
"But still…"
'Ugh, you're so damn frustrating. Are you impotent or what?' Julia frowned at Kang-Woo's moronic appearance. 'This is why I hate retainers of gods.'
On the outside, the retainers of gods always acted like good people with a strong sense of justice. Yet, they were so weak in the face of their own desires.
Retainers of gods were truly pathetic to Julia, who had accepted demonic energy, recognized her desires, and pursued them to even greater heights.
'I wonder if you could still act like that after realizing the pleasures that the body of a demon brings?'
The sensation induced by the scent was only an indirect experience, but it wasn't much different from what was felt with a demon's body.
Julia was having fun imagining how this guy, who looked like he had been a virgin for ten millennia, would turn out after feeling such pleasures.
"Should I ask them to leave if you're feeling uncomfortable?" she suggested.
"Ah~ Oppa, don't you like us?"
"But we're so much better than Korean girls~"
The women approached him even more seductively immediately after Julia's.
Kang-Woo's cheeks moved upward in a perverted grin as he replied to Julia, "N-No, it's okay."
His patheticness peaked. Even the politicians around him started to laugh mockingly at him.
"But… didn't you say that you wanted to tell me something?" Kang-Woo asked.
'Oh, I guess he hasn't forgotten about that.'
Julia calmly said, "It wasn't anything important, really. I wanted to talk with you at least once because I admire you."
"Haha, you flatter me."
"Although you weren't chosen as a Protector, you were able to join Guardians because of how much you cared for your sworn brother. That in itself is worthy of admiration."
"You're exaggerating."
"What do you all think?" Julia asked the politicians.
"O-Of course, we were incredibly moved by your story!"
"The older brother who fights on the front lines for the sake of his younger brother! I heard that you aren't even related by blood. Is that true?"
"Ah, yes. It's true."
"I think that you've made an incredible decision."
The politicians around Kang-Woo spoke as if they had been waiting for their turn to chime in. They competed on what their respective countries would do to support him.
'They're all doing quite well.'
Julia smirked upon seeing the politicians jump at Kang-Woo as if they were hungry hyenas attacking their prey.
These politicians weren't directly related to the Demon Cult. They were just people she'd dragged in under the guise of a Russian ambassador.
'Well, I would expect them to be a little useful from time to time.'
Julia wouldn't have put in the effort to drag them in if they weren't of any use. The politicians were there to make Kang-Woo their puppet and use Guardians as part of their respective countries' forces.
She was trying to disband Guardians, so her intentions differed from that of the politicians. Nevertheless, such details didn't matter. They had the common goal of turning him into a puppet.
Kang-Woo, whose eyes were gleaming while listening to the absurd words of the politicians, said, "Oh, right. You've treated me so well. I feel bad about doing nothing in return."
He took out a bottle of wine from his pocket.
It was quite big compared to his small pocket, so it seemed like he had a magical device of sorts.
"This is…"
"Haha. It's a valuable wine I prepared to drink with my fellow Guardians members after the banquet. But since all of you are so devoted to world peace, I would like to share it with you," Kang-Woo explained.
"Wow."
"You shouldn't have."
"Hahaha! How did you know that I go crazy for wine?"
The politicians praised Kang-Woo.
It wasn't that they were interested in the wine that Kang-Woo had prepared… What they cared about was that he was going to open a bottle of wine that he had prepared to drink with his fellow Guardians members.
'It's working out so easily that it's a bit disheartening,' Julia thought.
She yawned and laid back against the sofa.
Julia had prepared a few more things to use depending on Kang-Woo's reaction, but it seemed like she wouldn't need to use any of them.
'I guess Guardians isn't that big of a deal in the end.'
She couldn't see anyone capable of being a threat to the Demon Cult's takeover. Julia would have to meet Sword Dragon to be completely sure. However, seeing that he trusted someone like Oh Kang-Woo, her expectations had plummeted.
'My lord seems to have overestimated the demon Balrog.'
Satan didn't talk much about what happened in Hell. He'd mentioned nothing at all about the demon king who had fought against the seven princes of Hell for a thousand years or about the demon king's close aides Balrog and Lilith.
It was as if Satan had been traumatized by it all.
'I don't blame him.'
Satan hadn't admitted it, but Julia had heard that Satan and the other princes had lost the war against the demon king.
As for what happened to that demon king…
'He disintegrated while trying to cross the dimensional wall.'
The end of the demon king who had killed the seven princes of Hell had been anticlimactic.
The demon king, who had taken control of the Nine Hells, had tried to get his hands on another dimension, but the result had been devastating. He had charged straight into the system's constraints and gotten annihilated, leaving behind just the source of his power, the Demonic Sea.
'There's no need to worry about someone who has been annihilated.'
Julia needed to focus on the plan.
"All right, let's all have a glass!" Kang-Woo said.
He poured wine for all the politicians who were inside the room.
Julia raised her glass while making a seductive smile.
"To the eradication of the Demon Cult and achieving world peace!"
"Cheers!"
Clink.
They bumped their wine glasses. Then Kang-Woo and the politicians took a sip of the wine.
Julia also took a sip of the wine, which shimmered with a beautiful red light.
'It's good.'
The taste and scent of the wine were so sweet that she would believe it if she were told this was a rare wine.
"Hahaha! It really is a good day," Kang-Woo said excitedly.
His eyes had a hazy look to them as if he was drunk on the scent that filled the room. Even his movements had become sluggish.
"Oh, considering I have you all here, there's something that I would like to tell all of you," Kang-Woo announced.
"Oh, what is it?"
"I'm getting oddly expectant since you're saying it like that."
It seemed like Kang-Woo was about to leak important information about Guardians while in high spirits.
A wide smile appeared on Julia's face.
"You see…" Kang-Woo slurred his words, looking around hesitantly.
He seemed to be conscious of the women who were stuck to him.
Julia waved her hand and ordered, "You girls wait outside. Come back in when I call you back later."
"Yes, ma'am."
The thirty beautiful women walked out of the room
Julia's eyes shone brightly.
'The information seems to be rather important.'
Seeing how Kang-Woo still looked around even though his mind was in tatters, the information he was about to share had to be pretty significant.
"Ahem." Kang-Woo cleared his throat and grabbed everyone's attention. "What I'm about to say cannot leave this room.”
"Haha. Of course."
"There isn't anyone more tight-lipped than us."
The politicians quickly agreed to Kang-Woo's condition.
"The truth is…" Kang-Woo began.
Gulp.
The politicians swallowed with anticipation. There was a weird sense of anxiety in the room.
Kang-Woo continued quietly, "There is poison in the wine you all just drank."
"...What?"
"Oh, it's technically not poison, but it's similar. Anyway, if you don't receive an antidote from me in fixed intervals, you will suffer immense pain and die."
"Wh-What do you…"
Chaos ensued.
Shatter.
Julia dropped her wine glass. The blood-red wine wet the carpet.
"What…?" she questioned in a trembling voice. "Wh-What did you just say?"
"I said, you will die under immense pain if you don't get an antidote from me. Is that so hard to understand?"
Kang-Woo laid back against the couch. His eyes still had a hazy look, and he was still moving sluggishly. He looked like he was high, but he spoke with clarity. That didn't make it any easier for them to understand the meaning behind his words though.
Julia glared at Kang-Woo, seemingly questioning the nonsense he was talking about.
"H-Hahaha!"
"You have an amazing sense of humor, Kang-Woo!"
The politicians who had drunk the wine laughed awkwardly while trying to figure out what was happening.
Kang-Woo, who was relaxing on the couch, raised one hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
"ARRGGHH!!!"
The French ambassador, Emmanuel Amon, fell to the floor and rolled about in pain. His veins turned black and bulged out, and his skin became pale as a corpse's.
He squirmed in agony and even scratched the floor, ripping his nails out in the process. Foam frothed at his mouth, and he soiled his pants.
"Bleeeeh!!" Emanuel vomited.
His eyes were bloodshot. He scratched his face, splitting his skin open. Dark red blood spewed out of it.
Snap.
Kang-Woo snapped his fingers again.
Emanuel, who had been struggling in pain, trembled while panting heavily.
He uttered, "Wh-What just—"
"I activated the poison inside of you. If you don't take the medicine I give you once a week, you will struggle immensely just as everyone has seen. Then you will die."
"…"
A heavy silence fell over the room. The politicians looked around with confused expressions, unable to understand what was going on. The silence was so palpable that even the movements of their eyes could almost be heard.
Finally, a politician got up and stomped on the ground.
"D-Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" he exclaimed.
"Of course, I do. Did you really think I didn't?" Kang-Woo replied.
"This is a crime! An international crime! Is Guardians planning to declare war against the world?!"
"War? Of course not. I just want to resolve this as peacefully as possible," Kang-Woo expressed calmly.
After seeing his relaxed attitude, the politicians stood up in succession.
They screamed with faces red in fury.
"Are you doing this with Gaia's approval?!"
"I am canceling all the support I have promised to Guardians. No! I will make sure you pay for this crime!"
"I cannot believe a member of Guardians would do something like this, considering you call yourselves the last hope of humanity!! Are you insane?!"
"Demon Cult! This man must be a Demon Cultist!!"
The room erupted into chaos.
Kang-Woo tilted his head back while leaning against the couch.
"Haaa," he let out a sigh.
Rumble.
"Huh?"
"Wh-What the…"
The entire room shook.
Kang-Woo pulled his head back down. A powerful bloodlust poured out of him and pressed down on everyone in the room.
"Stop fucking yammering," he commanded.
He frowned and raised his legs, resting them on the table with one placed over the other.
"Just do as I say," Kang-Woo said. He spat on the floor. "If you don't want to, then feel free to die."
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