The shark-man pulled a bottle from his waist.
He yanked the cork free and roared—
"Come out! Demon Dad!"
Thick smoke exploded from the bottle, flooding the chamber.
It twisted through the air… then slowly faded.
Nothing appeared.
Silence fell.
Every fish-man froze.
The shark-man hurriedly corked the bottle, then opened it again.
"Come out! Demon Dad!"
More smoke.
It spread, rolled… then vanished.
Still nothing.
He repeated it again. And again.
His roar turned into pleading.
Then into sobbing.
"P-Please… come out…"
Adam exhaled.
"Enough."
"Let's finish this. I don't have time to waste."
His voice dropped.
A low growl rumbled from his throat.
Fangs slid free.
Claws followed.
The shark-man broke instantly.
He collapsed, crying.
The others dropped to their knees one after another.
Moments later—
The narrow stone chamber fell silent again.
Fish-men corpses lay scattered across the floor.
Blood crept between piles of treasure.
Adam slowly retracted his fangs and claws.
"…I have a question."
Silver Bell flew in from the corridor, shifting into human form.
"How are we taking all this back?"
Gold. Silver. Relics. Antiques.
Mountains of it.
Even Adam frowned slightly.
Then—
A voice echoed behind them.
"Welcome, valued customers… to Demon Daddy's Wish Shop."
"Apologies for the delay. I was in the middle of a bath."
Adam turned.
And inhaled sharply.
A demon stood there.
Goat-like face. Curved horns. A thin beard.
Child-sized body, completely bare.
Flesh wings folded behind his back.
An arrow-tipped tail swayed lazily.
The demon inhaled too.
His gaze swept the corpses.
The blood.
The treasure.
Then locked onto Adam.
One eye widened slightly more than the other.
Shock.
Calculation.
Restraint.
For half a second—
His grin stiffened.
Beneath Adam's scent…
There was something ancient.
Something that made even demons cautious.
…Not a client I should cheat too much, he thought.
The grin snapped back instantly—wider than before.
Harmless. Greasy. Merchant-like.
Silver Bell laughed out loud.
"You're late," Adam said coldly.
His claws slid out again.
Demons were never to be trusted.
Fish-men were demon offspring.
Finding one here wasn't strange.
The shark-man even called him "Dad."
Possibly literal.
The demon raised both hands.
"Easy, Bloodkin. Put the claws away."
"No hostility here."
He flashed yellow teeth.
"Demons and vampires have no grudges."
"We only have business."
"Our hatred is reserved for God."
"You're not avenging them?" Adam asked.
He gestured at the corpses.
The demon glanced down briefly.
Then shrugged.
"They were customers."
"Past customers."
He looked back up, grin widening.
"Which means…"
He gestured at the treasure.
"All assets now belong to you, correct?"
Adam nodded.
His claws stayed extended.
"Got a problem with that?"
"No problem at all!"
The demon shook his head violently.
"If anything—congratulations."
"Because that qualifies you…"
He bowed theatrically.
"To become my customer."
He straightened proudly.
"Name's Cherman."
"Honest and Reliable Cherman."
"Fish-folk prefer calling me 'Dad.' Branding reasons."
His tail flicked.
"So—interested in purchasing some services?"
"Services?" Adam narrowed his eyes.
"You should first explain what you offer."
For a second, he felt like a human being tempted by a demon.
Two thousand years ago—
Demons were the ones he tricked.
Times had changed.
"Anything you can imagine," Cherman said.
"If you can afford it."
His grin stretched wider.
"And from this very second—"
"All services are charged."
Adam snorted.
"Do you live inside that bottle?"
"Two gold coins," Cherman replied instantly.
"Upfront payment. No credit."
"First transaction discount."
"Even questions cost money?" Silver Bell huffed.
"Small business, miss," Cherman said with a greasy smile.
"Tough economy."
She laughed again.
Adam tossed him two coins.
Cherman caught them.
Closed his fist.
Opened it—
Gone.
He straightened.
"I do not live in the bottle."
Silence.
Five seconds.
"That's it?!" Silver Bell exploded.
"You scammed us!"
Cherman spread his hands.
"I answered accurately."
"Additional questions—twenty gold."
Adam considered killing him.
But demons weren't easy to kill.
Like angels—
They required divine power to truly destroy.
Adam had none.
"Skip that," he said.
He pointed at the treasure.
"Move all this to my residence."
"How much?"
"You live on the island?" Cherman asked.
"You want to know if I live on the island?"
Adam grinned.
"That question costs one gold."
Silver Bell burst out laughing.
Cherman lowered his gaze.
"I will not be purchasing that information, sir."
Fat sheep… but not stupid, he thought.
Adam exhaled.
No time to play.
Dawn was coming.
"Fine. Corsica Island. No ship."
"Fifty gold," Cherman said instantly.
"Cargo only. Passenger transport extra."
"Deal."
There were at least ten thousand gold coins here alone.
Cherman clapped his hands.
Dark smoke spread across the treasure piles.
But suddenly—
He paused.
Holding up a blackened crown.
"…Oh?"
His grin faded slightly.
"Didn't expect to see this here."
Adam's eyes narrowed.
"What is it?"
Cherman turned the crown slowly.
Ancient runes flickered faintly.
"A Blood Authority Relic."
He tossed it lightly—
Adam caught it.
"This thing drinks blood," Cherman said.
"And amplifies dominion over lesser bloodlines."
He grinned again.
"You might want to keep that one."
Then he picked up a dagger.
"Ah… and this."
"A Sun Hunter blade."
"Rare."
"Very rare."
His eyes flicked up at Adam.
"Against your kind."
He smiled wider.
"But in your hands… it might be useful."
Smoke swallowed the rest of the treasure.
Gone.
"Delivery will be completed before sunrise," Cherman said.
"Pleasure doing business."
His body dissolved into smoke—
Vanishing into the bottle.
While Adam was busy negotiating with a greedy demon…
Another storm was already brewing in the steel cities of the surface world.
A 100-millimeter medium particle cannon rose slowly under mechanical arms.
Its muzzle aimed directly at the Red Pavilion main building.
Inside—
Bai Shaojun's face was pale.
Eve's speech had already been broadcast worldwide.
Yet the Elder Council still deployed artillery?
He slammed open the loudspeaker.
"Don't fire!"
"We surrender! We surrender!"
Inside the cockpit—
The operator nudged his captain.
"Captain…"
"Quiet. I'm dialing Elder Chen."
In the council hall—
Chen Xiangdong sat frozen.
On the comm screen, a field commander shouted:
"Elder! We've arrived!"
"Awaiting attack authorization!"
They couldn't see the hall.
Didn't know the elders were on the brink of collapse.
"Captain! They surrendered!" the operator shouted.
"What?"
The captain looked up.
White flags hung from rooftops and windows.
He turned back to the screen.
"Elder! They surrendered!"
Chen Xiangdong's eyes flickered back to life.
Network Administration Office.
Feng Mi spun toward Eve.
"Sis—they captured footage."
"White flags over Red Pavilion."
"Council forces are taking control peacefully."
Eve inhaled slowly.
Then exhaled.
"…We moved too early."
Her fingers tightened.
Nails dug into her palm—
Until blood seeped out.
She didn't even notice.
"If I hadn't broadcast the speech…"
Her gaze darkened.
"The elders would've opened fire."
"Even if Bai Shaojun surrendered."