When the meeting with the boss ended and I stepped outside, Niverna, who had been waiting anxiously, immediately stood up and rushed over to me.

“─Are you alright?”

“What do you mean, alright?”

“The meeting with the chairman…”

Hearing this, I let out a small sigh as if I understood. Of course, even for an S-rank hero like Niverna, who could conquer the world with sheer power, there were people she couldn’t easily ignore. A corporate chairman, especially one who was also the boss of a villain organization, was one of them.

This world wasn’t that different from Earth—it ran on money. Even an S-rank hero like Niverna was, in a way, subservient to capital. A corporate chairman could have more influence than an S-rank hero in many ways.

And Regalia wasn’t just a corporate chairman—she was also the leader of Eblis Corporation’s villainous organization. While Eblis used to be considered a group of powerless rejects, it had grown into a formidable private army now known to serve the corporation.

“I’m fine. She’s not the type to harm me.”

“…I see. I suppose I don’t know much about the chairman.”

“You probably know even less than you think, Niverna.”

I chuckled and glanced around. Since we were in the waiting area just outside the chairman’s office, it didn’t seem like anyone was eavesdropping. Still, just in case, I activated a sound-absorbing device before continuing.

“My name isn’t Laemon. It’s Eight.”

“…Eight? Why do you have two names—?”

“It’s not that I have two names, it’s more like I have two identities. As you can see, I’m the kind of person who gets attacked often.”

“Ah…”

Niverna let out a small sigh of understanding. After all, in just one day of being with me, we’d already been attacked by people with hypnosis abilities.

That alone explained well enough why I needed to hide my identity. Seeing her nodding as if she understood, I threw out a playful remark.

“You’re not going to say that as a hero, you can’t stand to see illegal activities, right?”

“Huh? Of course not… Even if the boss were involved in illegal activities and had to hide their identity because of it—I would still trust and follow you!”

“Well, it’s not like that, so don’t worry.”

What did she think of me? I shot Niverna a brief glare, then sighed and looked around for the one other person who should have been with us. My bodyguard, who had been hypnotized like a fool...

“Where’s Birana?”

“I had the secretaries take her to the medical ward.”

“Well done.”

Of course, Birana wasn’t entirely to blame for this. Hypnosis abilities were a lot like computer hacking—no matter how many precautions you took, you could still get caught. And in this world, there were all sorts of different abilities. Even simple telekinesis operated with different mechanisms from person to person, so hypnosis was bound to vary too.

‘I’ll have to make some anti-hypnosis devices. I can’t give them to everyone, but at least I can distribute them to the executives…’

As I was thinking this, Niverna suddenly looked at me with a shocked expression. When I met her gaze, wondering why she was staring at me like that, she cautiously spoke.

“Boss, you’re… smiling.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You’re smiling right now…”

I raised my hand to my face, only to realize she was right—my lips had curled into a slight smile.

Birana woke up an hour after falling under hypnosis. Fortunately, she was no longer hypnotized. I wasn’t sure if the knockout itself was the trigger, or if the hypnosis wore off over time, but in any case, I didn’t have to exert any extra effort to free her.

“Hah-hah-hah! I heard some fool of a bodyguard got hypnotized, and I just had to come see it for myself! How pathetic!”

“Get lost, Galm!”

“Why would I? Unlike some bodyguard who gets hypnotized, I’m here as the scientist’s escort, and I don’t fall for stuff like that!”

Birana’s hands and feet trembled in anger as Galm laughed at her, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. If Galm had been there instead of Birana, things would have played out differently. This muscle-bound beast, who never cared about what was considered “normal,” would’ve probably punched the man demanding a song, regardless of whether it was appropriate.

In the end, whether Galm was hypnotized or not, the outcome would’ve been the same. He would’ve easily shrugged off the crowd and protected himself like a proper villain. But that didn’t mean Birana was incompetent—it just meant Galm was absurdly powerful.

“…Eight, I’m sorry. This was my fault.”

“No, it’s my fault for assuming that an elite bodyguard like Birana wouldn’t have any defenses against hypnosis.”

“None at all!? I do have defenses against hypnosis!”

“But you still got caught, didn’t you?”

“That’s because the method they used wasn’t something I was prepared for…”

There are so many different types of hypnosis. From the classic coin-swinging method to those that slowly alter your perception over time, to neurochemical drugs and supernatural powers—there’s even the method where the world around you is altered instead of your own mind.

There’s no way anyone can prepare for all of them. Defense is something you learn after being attacked.

As I said earlier, it wasn’t Birana’s incompetence that led to her being hypnotized—it was the enemy’s skill.

“Well, I’ll make you an anti-hypnosis device for next time. I don’t know much about this field, so the methods might be a bit outdated, but it should do the trick…”

“…Thanks.”

“I’ll make them for others too, not just you.”

As we were discussing this, Galm suddenly snapped his head around and spoke.

“Birana. It’s an attack. Deploy the highest level barrier.”

“Huh? Galm, what are you—?”

Before I could question him, Birana immediately deployed her maximum-range barrier, enveloping the entire Eblis headquarters. Moments later, a deafening roar and tremor shook the building.

The whole structure shuddered violently. Galm smiled wickedly, clearly amused.

“An attack in broad daylight? These guys must be insane.”

“…An attack? Is that what this is?”

“Yeah. An attack.”

Galm stood up as he spoke, casually grabbing a vial of genetic material and a stamina-enhancing solution from the lab. He began stretching his muscles as he headed for the door.

“I’m just going to step out for a bit.”

BOOM!

Another tremor shook the building, but strangely, I wasn’t particularly worried.

One of the greatest weapons of our villainous organization had just stepped outside. If anything, I was more concerned for the attackers.

‘Hopefully, he doesn’t kill anyone.’

As I silently prayed for the attackers’ survival, I deployed a few drones. The cameras attached to them began transmitting footage of the area around Eblis headquarters.

A man draped in an outdated robe stood in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. Drivers blared their horns and yelled in frustration.

“You crazy bastard! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?”

The deafening honks and the furious shouts of the drivers didn’t seem to reach the man in the robe. Ignoring all the noise, he simply stared up at the Eblis Corporation building.

This spot was perfect.

“I offer my soul to you, O demon…”

The man murmured as he rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. Beneath it was something far from human, grotesque and monstrous. Even among beastkin and those who had mutated their bodies with supernatural powers, this was an abomination.

The Devil’s Right Hand—Diestra del Diablo.

A gift from the demon, bestowed upon the apostle. The man raised his grotesque right arm and swung it, and the Devil’s Right Hand disregarded distance, cutting through everything in sight.

In an instant, every building surrounding Eblis Corporation’s headquarters was obliterated, leaving the structure untouched as civilians screamed and fled in terror.

“What the hell’s going on!?”

“There was no warning today!”

“Someone, call Eblis Corporation immediately!”

As the civilians screamed and ran, a few brave souls realized the robed man was the culprit and tried to ram him with their cars. It would’ve been a good idea if not for his Devil’s Right Hand effortlessly blocking them.

Tossing aside the car that tried to hit him, the apostle glared at Eblis headquarters. Despite striking with the Devil’s Right Hand, the building remained unscathed, likely thanks to the barrier surrounding it.

A normal person would have thought to either take down the barrier’s creator or find a weak point in the shield. But for a demon worshipper, such thoughts are far from normal. To them, the logical next step is this:

“I offer my soul to the demon.”

They believe in nothing more powerful than the demon. They trust in it completely. And with that belief, they attack relentlessly, smashing through the barrier inch by inch. The apostle realized that with just a few more swings, the barrier would fall.

“─That’s far enough.”

“…Hmm?”

But it was too late.

This was the headquarters of Eblis Corporation, their domain. Even a mad dog had an advantage in its own den, and Eblis was far beyond being just a mad dog.

“You shouldn’t be making so much noise in front of someone else’s house. Isn’t that right?”

“Beast King.”

“Well, I prefer ‘King of the Beastkin.’”

Galm frowned slightly at the apostle’s typical demon worshipper babble and fixed his gaze on the man’s arm. As someone who had wandered many battlefields, Galm had never seen anything like it. That right arm—clearly not of this world—was grotesque.

Just as Galm was distracted by the sight of the arm, the apostle swiftly swung it again. Galm thought he was safe due to the distance, but to his surprise, the Devil’s Right Hand ignored space and struck him.

Grimacing from the impact, which felt like a building had been thrown at him, Galm’s limbs trembled for a moment before he let out a hearty laugh.

“Hah-hah-hah! Now that’s something I like!”

A long-range attack that ignored distance, packed into a single arm. It was the kind of power a fighter like him couldn’t help but covet.

“I want one of those for myself.”

With that, Galm shoved the genetic material he’d taken into his mouth. The scientist had explained that this gene material allowed the body to evolve in the direction the user desired.

Back when he wanted long-range attacks, it had given him eye lasers.

Now, as he focused on the apostle’s power, he wondered what it would give him.

Filled with anticipation, Galm bit down on the genetic material.

Crunch!

The gene code of evolution surged through his body.

“…I offer this beast to you.”

The apostle, ignoring Galm, raised his right arm again. Just as he was about to land the same attack on Galm, the moment Galm raised his own arm and swung, the attack stopped midair.

The Devil’s Right Hand was neutralized.

The apostle looked at Galm in disbelief. Galm simply smiled, twirling his arm as he stepped forward.

“─Nice.”

The Devil’s Right Hand—Diestra del Diablo.

The demon’s power had now been claimed by a beast without faith.

Seeing this, the apostle roared in disbelief.

“You… you… YOUUUUUU—! How can a filthy beast like YOU—!?”

“You just have to ask for it, you know. What, jealous?”

“ARRRRRRGHHHHHH!”

The apostle screamed like a wild animal.

The next moment, a demon-imbued beast and a beast-turned-demon collided.