? Somewhere:

  |||While I was busy buying my clothes, a group of people was having a meeting in what looked like a hall. There were seven people sitting on chairs in a semi-circle facing one person in a single chair, and behind each of them was another person. The front chair had two people sitting beside it. The seven, along with those behind them, wore black jackets embroidered with dragon designs in different colors. As for the person in the front, she wore a long white coat embroidered with shining gold, and the same applied to the person beside her.|||

  (Blue) : "[Hits the table with his hands and speaks loudly] I told you! You shouldn't have entrusted the mission to that one-eyed fool! And look what happened! Everything we planned has failed!"

  (Purple) : "[In a gentle voice] Calm down a little, Captain Krol, you shouldn’t speak like that in the presence of the president."

  Krol : "What’s wrong with speaking like this, Captain Jina?! We will all die if Deus takes over a suitable body!"

  (Red) : "[Arrogantly] Don’t tell me you’re afraid of just one demon."

  Krol : "It’s not just one demon, it’s the Demon King! And I’m not afraid of him, but of what will happen afterward if he finds a suitable body. So, mind your own business, Captain Rose!"

  Rose : "[Smiles smugly while placing her fingertips on her lips]"

  (Green) : "[Calmly] Alright, let’s all calm down and talk comfortably. [He adjusts his glasses with his finger] President, what do you think? And how should we deal with this?"

  President : "[Pauses for a moment and rests her chin on her hands on the table] I don’t think we can do anything specific at this time."

  (Yellow) : "What... do you mean?"

  President : "I mean, Captain Sam, we have no way to capture Deus again."

  Krol : "And all this because of that one-eyed idiot who was so confident in himself, huh?! [With sharp eyes, he turns to one of them whom placing a bandage over his left eye]"

  (Green) : "As you can see, Captain Krol, this isn’t entirely the Black Dragon Captain’s fault."

  Krol : "Huh?! How is it not his fault, Captain Nate, when he was responsible for killing Deus’s spiritual body and his sister right away, yet he clearly failed at it?"

  Nate : "We all made mistakes. If we were there, this wouldn’t have happened."

  Krol : "How’s that? Don’t you think it’s strange that a captain with his power would let Deus, who was clearly in his weakest state, escape so easily?!"

  Nate : "What... are you implying?"

  Krol : "What I’m saying is that you, one-eyed, let Deus escape on purpose! [He turns to the one with the bandage]"

  Rose : "Oh, I didn’t expect you to make such a surprising accusation, Captain Krol. [Smiles]"

  Krol : "I told you to mind your business, Captain Rose!"

  President : "Captain Krol, that’s a harsh accusation. Do you have any proof of its validity?"

  Krol : "Well, isn’t what happened enough proof? And why isn’t he even speaking?!"

  Jina : "No... That’s not true!"

  Krol : "What?"

  Jina : "The one-eyed captain didn’t let Deus escape on purpose! Speak up, Deputy Captain David. [Looks at the person behind her]"

  David : "Yes, Captain! As my captain said, the one-eyed captain didn’t have a choice but to let Deus escape."

  Krol : "[Light laughter] You said it yourself, he let Deus esca-"

  David : "But..."

  President : "But what?"

  David : "He saved our lives!"

  Krol : "..."

  David : "[Angrily] If the one-eyed captain wasn’t there, Deus and his sister would have killed us all immediately! He protected us after Deus released his sister’s seal and he fought her, knocking her down before she reached her full power. While he did that, Deus had already escaped, and all the deputies here confirm what I’m saying."

  Krol : "Then why didn’t you chase Deus while the one-eyed captain was fighting that woman?"

  David : "I can’t speak for all the deputies here, but.... But I... [Grinss his teeth] I was scared!"

  Krol : "..."

  David : "Just the thought of trying to take down the Demon King and their princess terrified me! I still remember when the previous deputies fought that demoness with the General First rank, Sivana, and... and she enjoyed tearing them all apart! I know, I know! I joined the The D.E.O to expel demons, but... we’re not... like you, we haven’t fought deadly demons of high rank before, so... we don’t know what to do except be afraid..."

  Nate : "[Light laughter] As I told you, Captain Krol, this is all our fault."

  President : "No, it’s completely my fault."

  Nate : "President!"

  President : "I chose to have the deputies accompany the one-eyed captain because he didn’t have any exorcists in his team. It was completely my mistake, yes."

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Jina : "N-No, President! If we had gone too, this wouldn’t have happened!"

  President : "If you had gone too, who would have protected your base? What if it was a trap? The leaders go while all the other high-ranking demons kill all the exorcists in America? I won’t say it’s good that no one was seriously injured, but who knows what might happen if Deus finds a suitable body."

  Krol : "This is exactly what I was getting at. If Deus finds a suitable body, it will be the end of humanity without a doubt. Also, what if the one-eyed captain went to kill Deus? Wouldn’t it have been better to kill Deus and get rid of him at that moment?"

  Jina : "But didn’t you hear?! they would all have died like what happened with Sivana!"

  Krol : "So what?!"

  Jina : "[Shocked] Huh?!"

  Krol : "We can replace the deputies again, just like we did this time. It’s not that hard."

  Rose : "Oooh, since when did you become so sadistic, Captain Krol?"

  Krol : "I’m not sadistic, I just think it’s the best option in my view, and my deputy Marco agrees with me."

  President : "What do you think, Deputy Captain Marco?"

  Marco : "..."

  President : "What is it?"

  Marco : "..."

  Krol : "You can speak."

  Marco : "Yes, Captain!"

  Rose : "[Light laughter]"

  Marco : "I fully agree with my captain in what he said, and I see no harm in our deaths in the pursuit of killing Deus."

  Jina : "But... but you’re children, you still have so much life left to..."

  Marco : "Children? [Light laughter] I’m sorry, Captain Jina, but we gave up our lives and ages the moment we became exorcists. Isn’t that right, deputies?"

  (Red Deputy) : "I don’t fully agree with you."

  Marco : "Huh? What did you say? Deputy Captain Anderson?"

  Anderson : "I agree with you when you said we gave up our lives when we became exorcists, but I don’t agree with you saying it’s easy to replace us."

  Marco : "What do you mean?"

  Anderson : "Request permission from the president to speak freely."

  President : "Yes, you may speak freely."

  Anderson : "You said it’s easy to replace us, right, Deputy Captain Marco? Yes, of course, you can replace our positions with anyone else, but... I don’t want to brag, but I don’t see anyone strong enough to take this position. What’s the point of getting a high position if your strength can’t fill it?"

  President : "You have a valid point, Deputy Captain Anderson."

  Anderson : "It’s an honor, President."

  Marco : "Tch."

  President : "Do you have anything to say, one-eyed captain?"

  Krol : "Finally, he speaks."

  One-Eyed : "[Pauses for a moment] There’s nothing specific to say. Yes, I made a mistake by letting Deus escape, but I believe I did something right by stopping his sister. So I can’t say whether I was wrong or not. I just followed my instincts. That’s what matters to me."

  Krol : "Instincts?! Is that your excuse?! What a pathetic excuse!"

  One-Eyed : "Say whatever you want, it doesn’t matter anymore."

  Krol : "Huh?! Do you want to fight--"

  |||Captain Krol couldn’t finish his sentence as the White Dragon Captain stood up and started walking toward the exit, with his deputy following him.|||

  Nate : "Where do you think you’re going in the middle of our meeting, Captain Reo?"

  Reo : "[Stops] What’s the point of holding a meeting where we’re supposed to find a solution but you all just make things more complicated?"

  Krol : "You...!"

  Reo : "[Continues walking] While you’re all babbling, a demon is preparing to start hunting right now. I also left a dangerous mission for my team, so I’ll go see what’s happening and leave you to your nonsense. [Keeps walking] See you later."

  Sam: "President, do you really allow such behavior?!"

  President: "..."

  Reo: "But..."

  Rose: "[Looking intently, with a mischievous smile]"

  Rio: "[Stops] I will do what the One-Eyed fool couldn't do, Charlotte."

  Rose: "[Light laughter] He just called the president by her name, oh my god!"

  Nate: "Captain Reo, what do you think you're doing, calling the president by her name in front of all of us?!"

  Reo: "Shut up and let me finish."

  Nate: "[A look of anger appears on his face]"

  Reo: "I won’t be in any more meetings with you. The next meeting I’ll attend with you [Turns half of his face and gives the leaders a sideways glance] will be after I kill the Demon King, Deus Abrast! [Continues walking and exits through the door]"

  President: "..."

  ? Mall:

  Dean: "Do you really think this will look good on me?"

  Saleswoman: "[Smiling] Yes, of course! You have the height, body, and shape that suit it perfectly! You’ll look great in it, Mr. Dean."

  Dean: "[Light, nervous laugh] Really? Thank you."

  Saleswoman: "Oh, how about this one?" [She takes a black jacket and hands it to Dean] "Try this on."

  Dean: "Hmm, I don’t think it will suit me."

  Deus: "Just do what she says."

  Dean: "Shut up!"

  Saleswoman: "What?"

  Dean: "No, no, I wasn’t talking to you. [Light laugh]"

  Deus: "This is why you shouldn’t speak to me around people."

  Dean: "Phew! [Puts on the jacket] So, how does it look?"

  Saleswoman: "Hmm... Could you step back a little?"

  Dean: "Why?"

  Saleswoman: "[Shyly] I want to see how it looks from a distance."

  Dean: "Oh, okay."

  Saleswoman: "[Shyly, nervous] Also... um, I... I want to take a picture of you."

  Dean: "Why?"

  Saleswoman: "So... I can see how it looks in photos, of course!"

  Dean: "Oh, sure! No problem."

  Saleswoman: "Really?!"

  Dean: "I’m glad! [Smiles]"

  Saleswoman: "[Tries to take out her phone] Okay, step back a little,and— What?"

  Dean: "[pulls his phone out and hands it to her] Take a picture with this, didn’t you want to?"

  Saleswoman: "[Angrily] Fine! [Quickly takes the phone]"

  Dean *in his head*: "Did I do something wrong?"

  Deus: "[Light laugh]"

  Dean *in his head*: "What’s so funny all of a sudden? [Takes a few steps back]"

  Saleswoman: "Step back a little more."

  Dean: "Okay."

  ||| While I was stepping back, I bumped into someone and fell forward.|||

  Saleswoman: "Mr. Dean, are you okay?! [Rushes to Dean]"

  Dean: "Yeah, I’m fine. [Looks at who he bumped into]"

  |||When I looked at who I bumped into, it was a tall guy, about my age, but I felt a huge difference between us. He was pale with spiky black hair, shaved on the sides, and his eyes were drowsy black with swollen, dark eyelids. But his cold gaze made me nervous.|||

  Guy: "[Glares at Dean for a long moment, then walks away indifferently]"

  Dean *in his head*: "Am I really just going to let him leave like this? I need to change. No! I’ve already changed!"

  Dean: "Hey, you! [Gets up on his feet] Hey, apologize!"

  Guy: "[Glances at Dean from the corner of his eye] What?"

  Dean: "You bumped into me and knocked me down. You need to apologize."

  Guy: "Why should I apologize to someone as ugly as you?"

  Dean: "[Shocked and nervous] What?"

  Deus: "[Light laugh]"

  Saleswoman: "[Shocked] Ugly?!"

  Guy: "Tsk, I don’t have time for someone as ugly as you. [Continues walking]"

  Dean: "[Chases after the guy and grabs his shoulder] You can’t offend me twice! Apologize—"

  ||| I couldn’t finish my sentence, because... well, he... hit me with his fist in the stomach. It felt like his punch was going to go right through me. I’ve taken all kinds of hits and tried different punches, but this was by far the hardest hit I’ve ever received in my life. Heh, and I thought my new body would be invulnerable to punches, but this guy’s punch made me fall to the ground, clutching my stomach, and feeling an unbearable pain. |||

  Saleswoman: "[Rushes over to Dean] Mr. Dean! Are you okay? [Bends down to check on him, then looks at the guy] What’s your problem really- [Her eyes widen]."

  |||The young saleswoman felt a completely different atmosphere when her eyes met his. She felt cold and an overwhelming pressure, like he wanted to kill her! She couldn’t say a word after that.|||

  Guy: "It’s not my problem if he’s ugly, and I’m not obliged to apologize to him. [Continues walking]"

  Dean: "[Coughs] ... Wait!"

  Guy: "[Stops and looks at Dean] Hmm?"

  Dean *in his head*: "I can’t just let him leave like this! I need to... I need to change! I couldn’t do this before, but now... [Looks determined and raises his fists high] I can do what they used to do to me!"

  Guy: "Do you really want to fight me?"

  Deus: "Do you really want to fight him?"

  Dean: "[Stands firm, with bright, intense eyes]"

  Guy: "Alright... [Stands facing Dean and places his hand on his neck, raising his chin] But I won’t be responsible if you end up looking uglier than you already are"

  ||| End of Chapter |||