Bab 77: The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions…
A bright and sunny morning. Staring out the window, Maria let out a wide yawn and smiled as she watched Seoul's cityscape covered in gold. "Everything's on the up and up, huh?"
Maria stretched and then got out of bed, doing some light stretches. As she did though, she caught sight of her phone lying on her desk and frowned. "Right... That crazy Oppa of mine is back here too."
Seriously, what the hell was wrong with that guy? She just wanted a sugar daddy, not some stupid older brother who didn't know how to spend his money right!
"Ugh." Maria grumbled and then made her way to her bathroom. "Stupid Oppa." She grabbed her toothbrush and then slipped out of her clothes. Letting the water from her shower heat up first, she stepped inside and let the warm water wash over her body.
As she did, she found her mind drifting to that crazy bastard again.
Seol Jihu. The crazy guy who was first in the Tutorial, cleared the Impossible Mission on his own merit... and who kept giving her money and crazy gifts like it was going out of fashion.
At first, Maria was happy- No, ecstatic. Here was a dumbass who didn't know any better and kept throwing money away to someone like her. Not only that, but he was a dumbass who was going to make it big in the world and who owed her a giant favor after she saved a girl he liked.
Or so she thought. But instead...
*Because I respect your ability, and because I think you're a trustworthy person.*
*You can keep them even if you don't want to go. I already owe you a lot, so think of this as just paying you back.*
*That's because I trust you and believe in you.*
"Dammit! Fuck!" Maria cursed and turned the shower to cold. She screamed when the icy water hit her skin, but it was more out of frustration than the cold.
He was crazy. Jihu had to be insane.
She could have forgiven him for not knowing in the Neutral Zone and the Tutorial. Hell, she had shut her damned mouth for exactly that reason. Maria knew exactly just how sweet and cute she looked when she didn't open her mouth.
But after the ceremony and when he got out to Paradise, he had to have known. Jihu had to have known all about how she was a crazy bitch who cared more about money than anything else. Especially since he had been with that birdbrain.
Even so, he didn't care. No, he did care. He knew that she loved and wanted money, so whenever he came to ask for her help, he always brought some. But not just a little. No, it was just like how a big brother would come by to spoil his little sister by showering her with gifts.
Maria turned off the water and then grabbed a towel off the rack, wiping her body down. As she did, she stared at herself in the mirror.
A beautiful young woman with golden hair. A lithe body, curves in all the right places...
"Damn, I'm hot."
Maria smiled and winked at herself in the mirror. And then she remembered how she ended up like that and sighed.
Drying her hair, Maria walked back to her room and grabbed some fresh clothes. A pair of jeans, a baggy t-shirt... And as she did, she noticed how tidy everything was.
"Tch." She clicked her tongue and said, "Those kids must be rubbing off on me. No, this is all Oppa's fault."
Seeing that confident and invincible guy laid out like a corpse for two months and not being able to do anything to help despite being a priestess...
"Dammit." Maria growled and stomped over to her refrigerator. Opening it and grabbing a bottle of soda, she pulled the cap off and took a long drink from it. The fizzy drink burned her throat, but it at least helped her get her mind off of that guy.
"Ugh." Maria wiped her mouth and rubbed her throat. "Why am I even like this?"
Maria Yeriel. The Money Demon. Bitch. Shit-aria... a Priestess who drank alcohol so much that it might as well be vodka running through her veins. Someone who had extremely high standards and would do anything given enough money. But now...
"Fuck."
Maria flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
She had it made. With everything Jihu gave her, she got a fancy apartment in the expensive part of Seoul, all the fancy jewelry she could want to buy, stares from handsome rich business executives whenever she walked around down town... She never had to worry about money problems or scrape by like she did when she was a kid.
"But it's all fucking pointless! Argh!" Maria screamed and jumped out of her bed. "Dammit!"
The handsome guys she saw weren't as handsome as Jihu. Drinking alcohol and smoking only made her feel guilty when she remembered how Luxuria said she wasn't healthy enough to cast the spells that would be needed to help Jihu. Not only that, but even buying things were making her annoyed since it reminded her of how much money that guy had and was throwing away like it was nothing.
Maria growled and grabbed her phone. She swiped her thumb on the screen and started to call Jihu. But then someone called her first. She flinched, thinking for a second it was Jihu. Knowing that crazy bastard, it wouldn't surprise her if he found out she was thinking about him or something. But it wasn't. Instead...
"Oh. It's those kids, huh?" Maria sighed and then picked up. "Yeah? What do you want?"
"Unni! Do you think you could help us out with something?"
Sungjin's voice echoed in the background. *Is that Maria, Noona? Hi!*
"Hi to you too, Kid." Maria leaned against her wall and said, "But what's up? You need me to help you with something?" She frowned. "Did you dummies get wrapped up with loan sharks? I told you that if you needed money-"
"No, no!" Seol-Ah let out a dry laugh and said, "Oppa found out about that already and made the problem disappear."
"Tch. Of course he would."
So that guy was the same here as he was in Paradise huh? Throwing money willynilly to solve problems...
Maria pursed her lips.
"Anyway," Seol-Ah said. "It's nothing important. But we were hoping to throw a small party for Oppa here on Earth. I wanted to call the others too and see if they could come visit, but neither Sungjin or I speak English..."
"A party?" Maria hummed.
...Yeah. That could work. That dumb Oppa didn't take care of himself enough, so it'd have to be on them to take him out to relax. And knowing that guy, he was probably doing something crazy right now and not resting like he should.
"Alright." Maria nodded. "Don't say anything in the group chat though. I'll start another one with everyone else. Then we can go to that guy's place and drag him out."
"...Eh? You know where Oppa lives, Unni?"
"...No. But I'll find out."
It shouldn't be too hard, right? She just had to pretend to want to send him a gift. And while she was at it, she could scope out the place and see just what kind of life Oppa was living. And if he was living like she used too...
"Well. He can take a punch or two, right?"
"U-Unni?"
Maria blushed, realizing she was still on the phone. "Nothing! Go pack your bags! I'll text you later!"
Before they could say anything else, Maria ended the call. After that, she let out a deep sigh and then sent a text message.
xxx
"Hm?" I glanced at my phone. There was a new notification from... Maria? Asking me about my address to ship a gift.
Hao looked at me and said in English, "Something come up, Bro?"
Claire looked at me as well and said, "Should we cut this short?"
The moment Claire said that, a muffled scream echoed. And then it cut off.
I quickly sent off a reply and then slipped my phone back into my pocket. "We probably should. It's morning already, so we don't want to risk this spilling over to the public."
After saying that, I took a look around.
A warehouse. Corpses of people who had committed countless sins that couldn't be forgiven littered the ground. Huddled next to them were men cowering in fear. And mixed in with those were men standing with nothing but sheer devotion and resolve.
Those I killed, those I spared, and those who I forced to abide by my will.
Claire tossed a body through the air, causing it to land on the cement floor in the middle of that group. After brushing her hands off, she walked to stand by my right side.
Hao smirked and walked over to stand on my left, idly lighting a cigarette.
I turned to face the survivors and said, "So. You understand what's happening now, right?"
One guy stood up from the crowd and quickly bowed his head. "Yes, Master! We'll clean up Seoul for you!"
A chorus of 'Yes, Master!' echoed after that.
My eye twitched.
Hao took a long breath from his cigarette and then exhaled. After that, he looked at me and chuckled. "Well, it's not an emperor, but being called Master isn't that bad, eh Bro?"
"Shut it. I'm just hoping that it doesn't-"
[Master has been added to your aliases.]
I groaned.
Claire blinked. And then she followed my gaze and chuckled, hiding her mouth with her hand. "Did that get added to your aliases?"
I swiped my hand through the window and said, "Damned system. We're on Earth! Why the hell are you still registering things here?!"
Hao flicked his cigarette to the ground and shrugged. "Blame your crazy powers, Bro. Anyway..." He turned to look at the men kneeling in front of me and said, "Not bad. Pretty good start." He glanced back at me and said, "You gonna do this with the other gang too?"
"Mm..." I turned to look at my new men.
It was a strange mix. About half were people I used Karmic Binding on, forcibly changing their personalities from bad guys to good guys feeling super regretful about their actions and willing to throw their lives away to make up for it.
...In short, kind of like how those phantom thieves stole people's hearts and changed them to be good people and repent.
The other half were people who were mostly teens or those who joined because they didn't have a choice. And half of those were looking at me with fear while the other were looking at me like I was a god.
Which concerned me, but after what I'd done, it couldn't be helped.
"...I think it's fine for now. We shouldn't make too many waves. After all, a cornered enemy is always the most dangerous."
I wasn't too concerned about them doing anything to me, but I also wasn't omniscient. Immortal and practically unbeatable on Earth, yes. All-knowing, no.
So it was best to not do too many things and keep things fairly predictable.
I glanced at Hao and said, "Think you can cover this up, Bro?"
"Heh." He laughed and snapped his fingers. The moment he did, men started filtering into the building, all wearing suits. "Of course. You've already done the hard part, so just some clean up isn't that hard."
"Alright." I turned around and then said, "I'm leaving it to you, Bro. You're better at organizing things, so set up the hierarchy and make sure to keep my people protected. You know the ones?"
"Obviously."
"Good. Then I've got a promise to keep and a lovely partner who'll be pissed off if I don't show up so... Catch you later." I avoided Claire's gaze and started a hasty retreat.
And it seemed that I would be fine. But then Claire's voice echoed from behind me, speaking in Italian.
"Do not forget. Because of you, I have no home. I don't mind you throwing me away afterwards, but use me once first so I can return."
I paused and glanced back at Claire.
She stared at me with a determined gaze... Though as she continued to stare, she blushed and looked away. "I-I am aware of our positions, so I will not ask much. But at least make your mark before you discard me." As she said that, she adjusted her motorcycle outfit, fiddling with her zipper... and revealing her unblemished skin.
"...Understood." I turned back around, doing my best to avoid thinking about Claire's very clear message and circumstances. "And don't be stupid, Claire. I'll never throw you away like Cinzia did."
I started walking. But then I heard a loud thump from behind me. The sound of someone falling to the ground. And after that, Hao spoke up in Cantonese.
"Ai, brother! Time and place! Don't go making your women faint when she's not in bed with you! And what did you even say to her? She's fainted with a big smile on her face! Miss Agnes! The crazy woman who terrifies even the hardest criminal!"
I coughed and then stepped away, bending space to arrive in front of Hannah's house.
The scenery blurred, revealing a neat suburb with a white picketed fence house.
The sun was just starting to rise... and from the fact that the lights were off, it seemed like Hannah was still sleeping.
"Perfect."
I took a look around to make sure there weren't any people watching and then conjured up a small ramen cart. Making top quality ingredients, I made my way to Hannah's front door and then called her.
As always, she immediately picked up.
"You're here already, huh?"
I smiled and said, "Of course. My dear partner invited me over for ramen, so I'm going to give it to her."
"...Are you sure? We might be partners, but if you do this then I'm going to have to make you sign some papers to make it official."
"I thought we were already a thing?"
"...Dammit. F-Fine. But you can't go back on your word, alright? And I expect to be at least number two!"
I blinked.
...Number two? Was Hannah that hungry...?
"...Maybe I'm just tired."
I *did* use Karmic Binding more than I probably should have. And then there was the thing with Claire...
"I'm coming down! Don't go anywhere! ...And make sure to come in as soon as I open the door. I don't want anyone to see."
With that, the call ended.
I frowned and put my phone away. Was Hannah looking forward to eating my ramen that much? I was starting to get worried now... I might be good, but I wasn't Seol's level of god-tier cooking. I could cheat it with my own powers, but...
Footsteps echoed and then I felt a presence standing at the other side of the door. Hannah.
I heard her take a deep breath... and then the door was flung open.
I smiled and moved the cart around. "Morning Han...nah?"
I froze and stared at Hannah's outfit. Or rather, at her lack of an outfit, with only a lacy black bra, underwear, and pantyhose stockings.
And then it clicked.
Come over to my place for ramen...
Fuck! Why didn't anyone tell me that was the same thing as staying for some hot coffee?!
Hannah froze as well, slowly staring at my ramen cart. And then she grabbed a pair of heels from the ground and flung them at my face.
"YOU FUCKING DENSE DUMBASS!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone