Melinus received the news that the woman had awakened just after finishing his consultation and sending Winters off. After getting a private message from Ian, Melinus quietly made his way to the room, careful not to be seen by anyone. Inside, he found Ian sitting in a chair and the woman lying back against the bed.
“Oh, Belial… no, Melinus here, huh?”
“…Satan.”
The moment the door opened, a soft, almost teasing voice greeted Melinus. Though the voice was youthful and distinctly feminine, knowing the true identity behind it left no doubt—the woman before him was Satan. More precisely, it was the soul inhabiting her body.
“You’ve awakened.”
Lowering his voice, Melinus offered a smile mixed with relief and joy, congratulating the seed’s awakening. The woman slowly scanned the room, then suddenly began twisting her neck side to side, clenching and unclenching her hands. For some reason, her movements felt a bit unnatural.
“How’s your body feeling?”
Sensing something, Melinus asked gently, choosing his words carefully.
“Well? How do I look to you?”
She stopped her movements and gave a sly glance. Despite being the head of the Great Demons, her striking beauty made her seem almost adorable. Of course, both Ian and Melinus looked incredibly awkward.
“I-I’m not sure. But I did my best. Sabnock and I barely managed…”
“I see. It must have been tough.”
“Definitely. The seals from the Age of Myth weren’t easy to break. We managed to handle the guardians around and the external seals, but beyond that…”
“Hmm.”
Melinus trailed off, watching her carefully.
“Right. By the way, how’s Sabnock?”
But the woman bit her lip, subtly trying to change the subject. It was obvious why she wouldn’t give a clear answer about her condition. Though the details were unclear, it was likely something had gone wrong during the seed’s germination.
Melinus didn’t dare press further and quietly spoke.
“Sabnock’s seed germinated normally. He’s currently active as the lord of the Elfin Clan under the name Olivia.”
The woman lifted her head slightly.
“I thought the chances were lowest for the fourth one, but it succeeded. Good. How’s Gaph?”
“Gaph is the same. We received confirmation of his safe success. He’s probably busy rallying the remaining forces on the Western Continent.”
“And Perseus?”
“Perseus… progress was slow at first, unexpectedly so. But after releasing Thanatos’s seal, the smoke that escaped had a definite effect. He’s managed to take root in Erwin’s heart. We still need to watch closely, but compared to the start, things are going fairly smoothly.”
A long breath escaped the woman’s nose.
“Sabnock, Gaph, Perseus… I see. Then, how about you?”
Having been trapped in the seal for so long, Satan naturally wondered if the plan was proceeding smoothly. Hearing that the three demon lords were safe and no major variables had arisen, her voice softened slightly with relief. Ian smiled wryly and raised his hand.
“I didn’t have much trouble.”
“That figures. No matter how good-natured the user, the less capable they are, the easier the seed germinates.”
“Still, I held my own here. I like knowing a bit of everything, so sometimes when I leaked information about the Northern Continent, no one seemed to mind.”
“That’s why you were chosen, considering all those factors. Melinus, I imagine it was pretty difficult for you.”
The woman turned her head, and Melinus gave a bitter smile.
“I almost failed.”
“…What?”
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Satan’s grand plan began with herself and her five demon lords carefully selecting users on the Southern Continent to germinate smoothly. The most critical part was for Satan to safely take root in the sealed Thanatos, and for at least one of Eldora or Melinus to be fully possessed.
The first was a gamble, but the second was non-negotiable. Satan agonized over it. Ultimately, she judged Melinus had a better chance than Eldora, who was protected by various divine artifacts, and targeted him. To ensure success, she used Belial, one of the 14 demon lords, as the seed.
After all, he was just a human—how could he fail? Yet, to nearly come that close was shocking.
“Not a lie. I was on the brink of failure. It was truly dangerous. The human—an old man, no less—had an incredibly strong will. …But.”
“But?”
“Fortunately, there was a flaw. Heh heh.”
“…”
Melinus suddenly chuckled, exhaling sharply. It was a laugh so petty and sly, nothing like the wise sage image he usually projected.
“To cut to the chase… this human harbored lust for Eldora.”
“Huh?”
“Honestly, it was kind of funny. I’d raised him almost like a daughter, yet he had these utterly filthy, perverse fantasies. I was shocked myself. Of course, that’s how I barely managed to slip through.”
“I see. Not really surprising, though.”
The woman spoke calmly.
“No matter how much you praise her as a prophet or sage, she’s not originally from this world. I wonder what kind of human she was back then.”
She fell silent, lost in thought. Whatever the process, the first step of the plan had succeeded.
But it was just the first step. The road ahead was still a thousand miles long. They had taken the high risk of trying to germinate in Thanatos for the sake of the prophecy’s twist, but the overall situation remained dire. In the end, it was a matter of time.
After a long moment, the woman suddenly fixed her gaze on Ian.
“Amon, no—Ian. What’s the current situation on the Northern Continent?”
“Hmm. Well…”
Ian scratched his head, hesitant to speak. But under her steady gaze, he continued quietly.
“…The situation isn’t good. What Satan wants—stability—is nowhere to be found in their minds. It’s quite the opposite.”
“Opposite?”
“Yes. The entire Northern Continent’s activity has suddenly doubled. I think they’re entering full-scale power gathering.”
“…”
Ian faltered, and the woman’s expression darkened.
It bore repeating: what the demon faction desperately needed now was time—first and foremost, time. The success of the plan depended on careful, painstaking progress, not quick fixes.
They had hoped the enemy might settle in Atlanta for a while, but it was quite the opposite. If this continued, their efforts to avoid total annihilation would be in vain.
“What will you do now?”
Melinus asked cautiously. It was a question that struck at the heart of the demons’ current dilemma. They had taken the risk to come out, and gained the power to oppose Hwajeong and Geophua.
So now—
What was the next move?
“I have to accept it.”
The woman pulled back the bed sheets, revealing a petite, dazzlingly pale naked form. But Melinus and Ian’s wide-eyed surprise wasn’t because of that. Before they could say anything, she finally rose from the bed.
“I’ll use a human as a proxy… Yes, the angels were right. At least in this world, Gabriel’s choice was the right one…?”
“Sa-Satan!”
At that moment, Melinus, who had been quietly listening, suddenly shouted, forgetting to be careful with his words. Satan struggled to rise but staggered twice like she was dancing, then collapsed with a thud.
Melinus rushed over and sat beside her, startled again. Her left arm trembled violently, like a leaf in the wind.
“A-Are you alright?”
He asked anxiously.
“Damn it…”
She grimaced and cursed. Pressing her right hand firmly against her left arm, the shaking gradually subsided. Watching this, Melinus furrowed his brow deeply. The uneasy feeling he’d sensed earlier only grew stronger.
“So it really failed?”
“No, not that.”
She shook her head.
“Then…?”
“She’s awake.”
“…What?”
“Thanatos. The body was sealed, but the mind was somewhat conscious. I never dreamed she’d be that awake.”
The woman gave a grim smile that didn’t suit her appearance. Gritting her teeth, she stood and headed toward the door.
“There’s no time. I’ll execute the second plan immediately.”
The dark night.
‘Hwajeong.’
I stood outside on the terrace, speaking quietly to myself.
“Alright, then, shall we open it?”
“W-Wait! Jinsuhyun! Hold on, hold on. Can I open it this time?”
“What do you mean ‘this time’? You just opened it.”
“Yeah, but let Yujeong unnie step back, and I’ll open it. How about that?”
“You can’t either. Didn’t hyung say you’re never to open it? Have you forgotten?”
“Waaah…”
Even though it was the middle of the night, the garden below the railing was noisy as ever. Ansol sulked and backed off after hearing a sharp ‘No,’ while Lee Yujeong and Jin Suhyun were bickering over the ‘Monster Summoning Box 4.’ I’d told them where I got it after they kept pestering me, but I never expected them to buy one so quickly.
Well, I don’t really care how they spend their personal GP. They might gain some battle experience or even get decent gear if they’re lucky, so I eventually gave my permission.
But I set one condition.
Absolutely no opening the box for Ansol. Because if it wakes some ancient evil god like last time, we’re in serious trouble. And…
Suddenly, Hwajeong’s slightly delayed reply echoed in my mind. I’d originally reached out because I couldn’t sleep and was bored, but seeing the box sparked a question.
“Remember that… what was it? Doritos’ flower?”
“Oh, right. Thanatos’ flower. Anyway, didn’t you say it’s on the same level as you and Gehenna?”
Hwajeong’s voice suddenly sharpened, but I pressed on.
“It’s nothing, really. Just that last time Ansol almost summoned it, right?”
“Is there any chance the seal could break?”
“But like when the ancient evil god woke up…”
Ragnarok?
The word sounded oddly familiar, but I kept going.
“But last time you said it’s hard for the seal to break on its own, but if there’s external interference, it’s not impossible.”
Hwajeong didn’t respond right away.
But after a moment, the tone grew serious again.
“How?”
“Me?”
“Huh?”
I wondered who ‘that one’ referred to, but soon realized it meant Ansol.
“Ansol?”
Hmm. Could be.
After all, any stat over 101 points is considered beyond human limits. And Ansol’s luck is a whopping 105. He’s even summoned Gehenna before. From 103 onward is an unknown realm even to me, so maybe Ansol really could do it.
Anyway, neither Ansol nor I have any intention of breaking Thanatos’ seal, but for some reason, I’ve been feeling uneasy lately.
“But don’t you think you’re a bit overconfident? Still, isn’t there a chance the seal could break? Even if it’s just a tiny possibility?”
“What do you mean?”
Hwajeong’s scolding tone made me laugh.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Feeling reassured by Hwajeong’s words, I looked out over the terrace again with a lighter heart.
But then—
“What the….”
The moment I glanced down, all my laughter vanished.
Jin Suhyun, caught off guard when our eyes met, looked flustered.
Lee Yujeong stared intently, swallowing nervously.
And Ansol, sneaking a glance at the terrace, was quietly reaching toward the box.
I shouted at the top of my lungs,
“Ansoooool!”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Satan: Time… there’s no time! Hurry, hurry with the plan…!
Ansol: Hyah! Opening the box!
Vrrrrrr!
Satan: Okay, next plan is… huh? What kind of magic circle is this?
Wooooooosh!
System Message: Thanatos’ Flower (Satan) has been summoned to the Mercenary Castle.
Satan: …Huh?