The Isle of Britain, City L.
Wayne Jest stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hair, not caring that water dripped onto the room's luxurious wool carpet.
He glanced at the half-naked woman on the bed and impatiently went over to pat her cheek.
She opened her bleary eyes, seeming to have just come back to her senses after a night of passion. Instinctively, she tried to wrap her arms around Jest's waist, but he pushed her away.
"Now that you're awake, get out. I've got important business to take care of."
The woman shuddered and finally came fully to her senses. "What did you give me?"
"Just something to spice things up. You use it all the time anyway, don't you?" Wayne Jest picked up the wallet on the table, pulled out a whole stack of hundred-dollar bills, and tossed them onto her. "Take it. Anything extra is your bonus."
The woman had been about to say something else, but her gaze was quickly drawn to the money. A glimmer of delight flashed in her eyes, and her sluggish movements seemed to quicken. She gathered up the bills in a flurry, then stacked them neatly one by one. As she counted, she couldn't help licking her lips.
None of this escaped Jest's notice.
He wore a look of contempt, yet also felt a sense of boredom.
Ever since he'd encountered Paradise, the thrills of real life had seemed so dull and uninteresting that he could barely rouse himself. The same went for those who had participated in the games: they were vastly different from ordinary people. He couldn't say why, but he could sense it. Take himself, for instance. After crossing the threshold between life and death twice, his powers of observation and reaction speed seemed to have returned to what they'd been at twenty, perhaps even surpassing his younger self.
When he'd first discovered this, he'd been so excited he could hardly contain himself.
No amount of money could buy back time. He'd amassed enough wealth by now, but his advancing age kept reminding him that his body was growing old. His unrestrained drinking and womanizing only hastened the process.
Now, however, his abilities showed signs of returning.
The limp woman on the bed was proof.
But conquering someone so ordinary gave Jest little satisfaction. Anyone with money could do whatever they wanted with women like her. Beneath their beautiful faces and figures lay nothing but soulless, rotten flesh. His prey shouldn't be limited to them.
That girl called Naruko was quite something...
Especially when she was killing.
That defiant gaze, her powerful limbs, and movements like a leopard's...
Wayne Jest grinned. Perhaps he could use his connections to look into Asahara Naruko's real identity. Of course, anyone who could take part in Paradise games was either rich or powerful, so she'd be far harder to get his hands on than the woman on the bed.
But the greater the challenge, the richer the reward, wasn't that right?
"Ding-dong."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Jest picked up the intercom on the table.
"Sir, your room service."
"Come in." He pressed the door-unlock button without a second thought.
The thick oak door swung open, and a hotel server wheeled a food cart into the room. His gaze visibly paused when he saw the beautiful woman getting dressed. "Sir, I..."
"It doesn't matter. Just do your job." Jest chuckled dismissively. "If she weren't leaving, I wouldn't mind letting her take care of you, too."
"You're joking..." The server quickly lowered his head, wheeled the cart over to the dining table, and began setting out the food.
"Get in touch if you need me next time." The woman fastened her high heels and winked at Jest before reluctantly leaving the room.
As the door shut with a muffled thud, Jest caught sight of the tablecloth beneath the food cart lifting at the corner.
A figure shot out of the cart like lightning!
"Fuck!"
He roared and had only just turned around when something slammed into his head!
For an instant, his skull rang like a bronze bell. The buzzing sound traveled from the crown of his head all the way to his teeth. At that moment, he saw the attacker clearly: a girl no older than sixteen or seventeen, wearing a white kitchen apron and holding an iron pot.
"You little brat!" Wayne Jest endured the excruciating pain and grabbed for her. The girl clearly hadn't expected that blow to leave him standing, and her reaction was a beat too slow. She tried to run, but Jest had already seized her by the collar.
He slammed her onto the floor and clamped both hands around her throat.
Blood streamed from the top of his head, tinting his vision red. The metallic scent of it made his blood surge!
If this had happened before, a sneak attack like that would have put him flat on his back. But now, he'd undergone a transformation. Death itself was nothing to him!
He summoned all his strength, intending to choke his enemy to death. The girl struggled desperately, but the difference in their size and strength was too great. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pry his hands away—
"Thud!"
Another muffled impact rang out.
Jest slowly turned his head and saw that the server was standing behind him, holding a sturdy rolling pin.
"You son of a—"
He mumbled and collapsed unconscious.
"Are you all right?" Seeing Jest knocked out, the server hurried over to help the girl up.
"Cough, cough..." She coughed violently and took a long while to recover. "Damn it, how can this guy take such a beating?"
"Maybe you didn't hit him right," the server said quietly.
"How could I have missed? I've practiced hundreds of times. Besides, I've hit so many people before—who's ever stood up to it? Oh, right. This must be a Demon trick!" The girl suddenly realized. "Bran, find a rope and tie him up tight, so he can't put up a desperate struggle when he wakes."
"Leave it to me." The man called Bran sprang into action.
The girl pushed herself up with a hand on her knee and covered one eye. Her other eye gave off a strange glow. Though faint, it looked up close like countless rivers of stars.
"Just as I thought. My instincts were right. This man has ties to a Demon." Following the faint green glimmer that appeared in her field of vision, she searched until she found a pair of VR Goggles in the travel bag on the sofa. "There! It seems the Demon contacts him through these."
"Hmm, communicating through a game? I guess that makes this Demon pretty modern."
"Don't underestimate Demons!" the girl said solemnly. "They're cunning and treacherous, and they possess unbelievable power. Once you fall into their clutches, you'll end up as their slave!"
"Yeah, yeah. You've said that plenty of times already." Bran pursed his lips, clearly unconvinced. "Even if they're that powerful, can they eat bullets?"
The girl thought it over seriously. "Probably not."
"Then there you go." Bran grinned. "Besides, if all they do is steal souls and enslave people like they do in legends, modern corporations are much better at it."
"That may be true, but Demons can change the world. They grow stronger until they become everyone's nightmare." She shook her head, unconvinced by her companion's argument. "Take those corporations you mentioned. They began as an organization called 'the Company,' and the one who first invented the corporate structure was a Demon."
"Uh... Elodie, where did you hear all that?" Bran rubbed his forehead. "I'm guessing it wasn't from a history book?"
"Where I heard it doesn't matter. What matters is stopping the Demons from corrupting the world. Only we can do that." The girl put on the VR Goggles, then felt her way over to the sofa and sat down. "I'm going to look for the Demon. I don't know what dangers I'll face this time. Listen carefully, Bran. Whatever happens, follow the plan. If I don't wake up within thirty minutes, leave the hotel by yourself. Don't let the police catch you."
"Hey, are you serious?" Bran frowned. "It's one thing to talk like that, but how are you going to catch a Demon through VR? And I'm absolutely not leaving you behind. Even if I have to crawl, I'll carry you out on my back!"
The girl parted her lips.
Her mouth formed the words "thank you."
Then green light blossomed from her body!
Bran's eyes widened in shock. Only now did he finally realize that something was wrong!
"Elodie!"
He dropped the rope and ran toward the sofa! But the light appeared and disappeared just as quickly. After it shimmered away, the sofa was empty.
Before you continue