Hwang Tae-su looked around the director’s office. Given it was the director’s room of the Management Bureau, he expected it to be grand, but it was surprisingly unimpressive.

The only decoration was a flower vase on the desk.

“You should eat before it gets cold.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I heard the economy's not doing well lately. How’s business?”

“Merchants always talk about recessions—be it during the IMF crisis or back in the 80s. Still getting by well enough to keep food on the table.”

“That’s true.”

“What kind of tea is this? Doesn’t taste like green tea… is it Pu’er?”

“It’s oolong tea.”

“Oolong tea… You’re not serving oolong tea just to make a joke at my expense, are you? Hahaha!”

“……”

Lee Myung-seop showed no reaction.

Hwang Tae-su, who had burst out laughing, gave a sheepish cough. Must’ve picked that up from Monster 2.

“This is the Management Bureau. If you came here to joke around, Yeouido would be a better fit.”

“It was just a light joke… no need to kill the mood. I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Please do.”

“I’d like to donate condolence money to the families of the fallen.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Please don’t take offense.”

Hwang Tae-su shrugged.

“No offense, but you don’t strike me as someone who donates money. Do you have another motive?”

“Another motive?”

“Yes. For example… the upcoming general election?”

“Oh right, there is an election coming up. I’d forgotten.”

Was he pretending or did he genuinely not know? Lee Myung-seop frowned in doubt.

If it wasn’t for entering politics, then why would he donate?

“As long as your donation doesn’t tarnish the honor of the fallen, I don’t care what your real motive is. But I would like to hear your reason. Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t know what answer you want, but if I had to give one… I want to go to heaven.”

“Excuse me?”

“Someone told me once that if you do good deeds, you go to heaven. I don’t know if that’s real or not, but I figured I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Lee Myung-seop let out a dry laugh.

“You said you’d get straight to the point, but that was quite the prologue. Let’s skip that and get to the main part. There were twenty-six who died, correct? Including those in Daejeon and Busan?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll donate 3 billion won per person.”

“Three hundred million?”

“Three billion. With one extra zero—three billion.”

“…Are you joking?”

“How many people do you think have the guts to joke in front of the director of the Management Bureau? I’m not joking.”

“Then why…?”

“I heard the government only gives them 200 million as compensation. What good is that to anyone?”

“…Are you serious?”

“I’m serious. But I have one condition.”

“A condition?”

“Don’t let anyone know who donated it.”

“You mean anonymously?”

“Yes.”

“Why go to such lengths…?”

“You know the saying: ‘Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing.’ That’s all.”

-…In response, the National Tax Service has stated, ‘No company or individual could easily donate 80 billion won in cash,’ suggesting potential criminal connections and stating the need to trace the funds. This announcement has drawn a flood of criticism from citizens. Choi Young-min reports.

The screen changed to a middle-aged reporter now in frame. He asked a citizen for their opinion.

-80 billion won is a huge amount. Sure, it could be tied to crime. But what kind of criminal would be crazy enough to donate 80 billion?

The scene switched to another citizen on camera.

-It’s ridiculous. If we follow the Tax Office’s logic, we should investigate every anonymous donor who leaves envelopes full of cash at community centers or orphanages during Christmas. Just last Christmas, some tall guy left 300 million at the Gwang-an district center. Right?

The broadcast returned to the news anchor, who calmly wrapped up.

-Everyone seems to have a point. We’ll end today’s news with a quote from Gandhi, the pacifist from India:

“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.”

“Must be a filthy rich bastard.”

Silence hung in the office.

Go Hyung-geon, who had been peeling an apple with a fruit knife, spoke while watching the TV. Kim Si-hyun responded.

“More than rich. He’s probably drowning in it.”

“Still, that bastard’s incredible. Even if I were swimming in cash, I don’t think I could casually donate 80 billion. Don’t you think?”

“Of course not.”

Hwang Tae-su, lying on the couch pretending to sleep and eavesdropping, let the corners of his mouth curl slightly. But then…

“I think he’s a heinous criminal.”

“A heinous criminal? He donated 80 billion?”

“Which is exactly why he’s even more heinous.”

Slice—!

Go Hyung-geon bit into his freshly sliced apple and shot back a question.

“What kind of logic is that?”

“Hyung…”

“Manager.”

“Ah, right. Manager. Just think about it. If you had 80 billion, what would you do?”

“Who knows. I’ve never touched that kind of money, so I can’t imagine.”

“If it were me, first I’d buy a super luxury yacht and park it in Haeundae. Then I’d get a Lamborghini… and a Rolex, obviously! I’d ring the golden bell at the club like crazy.”

“Hmm… I don’t know about the rest, but I do like the yacht idea.”

“Right? But look at that bastard. He donated 80 billion in cash. He must’ve done some shady business.”

“True… Even in this day and age, it’s not easy to make 80 billion legally.”

“Exactly! He’s probably a killer or a human trafficker—someone who does every kind of dirty job.”

“But then why would someone like that donate 80 billion?”

“Do you know when someone with no religion suddenly gets one?”

“When?”

“They say it's right before death. Especially bastards who’ve done a ton of bad things—they say every single one of them ends up finding religion.”

“That bastard’s the same?”

“Yes. When it's time to die, they go and buy themselves an 80-billion-won ticket to heaven. Why else would he donate anonymously, huh? Not one or two billion, but eighty billion won.”

“Now that you mention it, that does sound suspicious. If it were me, I’d be bragging like hell about it.”

“Exactly. Is he really just a shady bastard deep down?”

When even Kim Si-hyun, following Go Hyung-geon, started doubting him, Hwang Tae-su, who had been pretending to sleep, suddenly sat up and shouted.

“You bastards have no backbone, no backbone! Huh? You dickless sons of bitches!”

“You weren’t asleep, sir?”

“I woke up ‘cause it got so damn quiet, you bastard! And Deputy Jang, you bastard. Did you see it yourself?”

The courteous employee flinched.

“Did you, huh? Did you see that man doing shady shit to make money, you punk?”

“N-no, I didn’t.”

“Then shut it! When someone does something good, just say, ‘He must’ve done something good,’ and leave it at that! Why the hell are you so damn suspicious? You think you can survive in the company like that?”

“……”

“And Manager Go, you bastard.”

“Why me all of a sudden…?”

“Didn’t I tell you to turn the TV off before I went to sleep, huh?”

“…You did.”

“But did you turn it off or not?”

“…I didn’t.”

“So should you get hit or not?”

“I should get hit.”

“Right, you should. But today, Deputy Jang, you take it instead.”

“Huh? M-me, sir?”

“What, you want me to smack Manager Go’s forehead right in front of you?”

Deputy Jang, who usually took it without complaint, shook his head with a mutter.

“Alright then, get in position.”

Deputy Jang, intimidated, approached and lowered his head.

Whack!

“Now, repeat after me. That gentleman!”

“Th-that gentleman!”

“Is a goddamn good man!”

“A goddamn g-good man!”

“That gentleman!”

“That gentleman!”

“Is a great man!”

“A g-great man!”

“Let’s live like that gentleman!”

“L-let’s live like that gentleman!”

When the repetition ended, Hwang Tae-su waved them away as if he didn’t want to see their faces anymore. The three men took the hint and quietly slipped out of the office.

Trbilon’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“All of them, you say?”

At his question, Kadalan nodded.

“Yes.”

“How can that be…”

“It seems he hasn't lost the source of his power.”

At Kadalan’s words, the Arconus seated around the massive round table stirred.

“...My god.”

“Kadalan, are you certain?”

“You can’t cross dimensions without losing your power from the Demon Realm, can you? Even most Celestials lose their celestial energy, after all.”

A barrage of questions followed.

Kadalan organized his thoughts before replying.

“I can’t give a definitive answer. But if he had lost his power, not even a Demon God could defeat three dragons in such a short time. Judging from what’s happened before… it seems he’s retained the source of his power.”

“Heh… It’s shocking enough that the Demon God is on Earth, but to think he still has his power…”

There was not a trace of dignity left in the Arconus, supposedly commanders of the Celestials. Their chaotic murmuring resembled the goblins they so hated and looked down upon as vile and crude.

But their shock was understandable.

Thousands of years ago, the Demon God had unified the Demon Realm, which had never before seen unity since the dawn of time. He subjugated the lords who had lived scattered across the realm and extracted oaths of soul and loyalty from them.

Then, hundreds of years ago, the celestial energy circulating in the Heavenly Realm began to fade. The disappearance of celestial energy meant the disappearance of the Celestials.

The Celestials searched for a solution and eventually discovered, almost by accident, that Earth—located in another dimension—could potentially replace the Heavenly Realm.

So, they chose to migrate to Earth. But not everyone agreed.

Serael, who once held a seat at this round table, objected. She argued that they could not make such a choice at the cost of Earth’s sacrifice. She proposed accepting annihilation instead.

Many Celestials rejected her argument.

Those who opposed her stripped Serael of her status as an Arconus and imprisoned her in Purgatory—a prison from which no escape was thought possible. At least, until Serael escaped.

The Celestials had been narrow-minded. They had never imagined that Serael would corrupt herself to make an escape possible.

In the end, Serael chose corruption and fled to the Demon Realm.

The Celestials were struck with fear. If the Demon Realm discovered that celestial energy was vanishing, there was no telling what might happen.

The Celestials infiltrated the Demon Realm to capture Serael—and succeeded in annihilating her.

But they were soon discovered.

They had broken the unspoken rule: never cross each other’s boundaries. A war broke out between the demons and the Celestials.

The Celestials had the upper hand in the battle at first.

Thanks to that, in the human and middle realms, the battle is remembered as a victory for the Celestials. But in truth, it was the opposite.

The moment the Demon God appeared, the tides turned.

A single individual.

Just one person overturned the entire battlefield. Countless Celestials were annihilated by his hand.

After much hardship, the war came to an end, and once more, the unspoken rule of not crossing each other’s boundaries was upheld. But the Celestials still vividly remembered that battle.

Now, that same Demon God was on Earth without having lost a shred of his demonic power?

For the Celestials, it was a shocking and terrifying thought.

It was Trbilon who silenced the Arconus, who had been chattering like noisy goblins.

Bang! Bang!

He struck the round table, drawing everyone's attention.

“We can always find a new method. There’s no need to fear something that hasn’t happened yet.”

“But he still has his full demonic power, doesn’t he?”

“Just because he retains his power doesn’t mean he has no weaknesses. Am I wrong, Kadalan?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Kadalan nodded.