Avoid Yandere Constellation

I sat up and sighed deeply.

“Hmm…”

Did my expression give it away?

[The goddess who sees fate is wondering why you’re acting this way.]

The constellation sent me a concerned message. I shook my head at her question.

“No, it’s just…”

I swallowed the words that followed, thinking that I could finally end this.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Knock. Knock. Knock.”

“Just a moment,” I replied.

I closed my eyes for a moment and pushed the magic into the circuit.

-Vroom!

I shouldn’t release the magic. If I do, it will only enhance my physical strength.

I needed to blow it into the circuit to heat it up and warm my body.

About ten seconds passed, and my body started to heat up. Sweat dripped down my forehead. This should be enough.

“Come in, cough!”

“Yeah.”

Willy slowly opened the door and looked at me.

“Huh? Brother?”

Unlike her usual indifferent expression, her eyes widened. She looked at the sweat on my forehead.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, cough! No, I’m not okay, cough!”

“Brother, don’t go today.”

“Huh? No, I can’t just…”

I coughed as I spoke, and Willy narrowed her eyes. She spoke firmly, as if she wouldn’t let me go.

“In that state, you won’t be of any help. You’ll only be a hindrance. Just rest today.”

“Cough! Okay, I understand.”

“I’ll tell the others.”

“Yeah, cough. Thanks. Be careful and don’t let your guard down.”

“Okay…”

Just as Willy nodded and was about to leave the room, the constellation sent me a message.

[The goddess who sees fate says your acting skills have improved.]

I hoped it was a compliment. But that wasn’t the important thing.

The real reason I wasn’t joining the expedition was different. It was to strategize against the highest-ranked demon.

After facing the demon, I realized that a normal strategy wouldn’t be enough to defeat it completely.

The demon’s ultrasonic attack could be countered by lowering the volume for me and using earplugs for the rest of the party.

‘But that’s not enough.’

It didn’t affect me since I could completely block the sound, but earplugs had their limitations.

It was impossible to completely block the demon’s attack with earplugs.

‘Even without that, it was still strong.’

Indeed, the demon was one of the strongest, except for its aerial attack. It was unlikely that we could defeat it easily by sealing just one of its abilities.

‘But we can still win.’

The problem was that someone died every time we tried to defeat it. And it was always a different person.

Sometimes it was Kim Soo-yong, sometimes it was Rain, sometimes it was the professors, and sometimes…

I remembered the companions who shed tears when I first regressed. I clicked my tongue and cut off my thoughts.

“Tsk!”

Anyway, I couldn’t afford to lose anyone here. It would only make things more difficult during the war with the Cult.

‘Especially if we lose the named characters.’

Even if no one died, it would still leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Either way, we needed to find a different approach.

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After completing my preparations, I quickly left the capital. By now, my companions should be marching leisurely.

I needed to get ahead of them. That way, I could reach the Cult branch first.

So, I entered the forest instead of taking the clean road. I used physical enhancement and ran as fast as I could while using the map.

About an hour later, I finally arrived at my destination.

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

This was exhausting. It had been a while since I ran at full speed.

If I infiltrated like this, I would surely be suspected. So, I needed to recover my strength.

I took out the highest-ranked health potion that Karin had made from my subspace ring and immediately put it in my mouth.

-Gulp! Gulp!

The cold liquid flowed down my throat, and my tired body gradually felt better.

Before long, I finished the health potion and put the empty bottle back into my subspace ring. Then, I took out the mask that Andrew used.

[The goddess who sees fate is asking if you’re going to do that again.]

No, that’s not what I’m doing. If someone saw me, they might think I was causing harm to innocent civilians.

I tried to ignore the constellation’s message, feeling a bit wronged, and put on the mask. Then, I walked towards the branch entrance with a leisurely stride, as if I were going home.

Did they sense my presence?

The guards stared at me with suspicious eyes and pointed their swords at me, their eyes wide with anger.

“Who are you?”

“Do you know where you are?”

Their voices were filled with murderous intent, as if they were ready to kill me at any moment. I ignored their reactions and…

-Whoosh!

I released my demonic magic with full force, maximizing the quality of the effect.

Did they feel the full extent of my magic?

“W-What?!”

“D-Demonic M-Magic?”

The two Cult members guarding the entrance trembled, their lips quivering. I crossed my arms arrogantly and glared at them.

“Did Dwayne tell you to do this if I came?”

“Y-You are… Who are you?”

The guard immediately switched to a polite tone when I glared at him. I answered his question without hesitation.

“Andrew. I’m your boss.”

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Ten minutes had passed since Kaine’s declaration. Dwayne was biting his lip anxiously, listening to his subordinate’s report.

‘Could it be… Did Andrew really come?’

His subordinate had said that someone released demonic magic, and it was of a completely different caliber.

Although he needed to see it for himself, their reaction suggested that it was indeed Andrew. After all, no one except the branch leader and the executives possessed demonic magic.

‘Could he have found out?’

The executives and Andrew had been secretly preparing for the demon possession without his knowledge. He had thought they hadn’t been discovered, but…

‘That was just my assumption.’

If it wasn’t for that, why would Andrew be here? Andrew had told them to lay low for a few weeks. The fact that he had come in person meant…

‘He must have found out about what I’ve been doing.’

But this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Andrew was still waiting at the entrance.

He needed to go and greet him right away. After making up his mind, Dwayne hurriedly ran.

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After waiting at the entrance for about fifteen minutes, Andrew crossed his arms and waited.

“A-Andrew…”

Dwayne, who looked like a third-rate villain, appeared at the entrance. He was startled when he saw Andrew.

“You’ve made me wait a long time.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Dwayne knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

“Th-That…”

Dwayne opened and closed his mouth repeatedly under Andrew’s intimidating gaze. He was still dazed, so Andrew pressed on.

“Do I need to spell it out for you? You must have something to hide.”

“…”

Dwayne remained silent. Andrew couldn’t hold back any longer, so he released his magic and maximized the quality of the effect.

-Whoosh!

Darkness emanated from his body. Dwayne’s shoulders visibly twitched, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Andrew needed to confirm his suspicions.

“Demon possession.”

Dwayne’s face turned pale at Andrew’s confirmation. Before Dwayne could make any excuses, Andrew spoke first.

“You were preparing for this, weren’t you?”

“Th-That, Andrew, it’s…”

Dwayne must have been terrified, as his face turned from pale to ashen. Anyone would think Andrew was about to kill him.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to blame you for this.”

“R-Really?”

“If the demon possession goes well, I’ll appoint you as an executive.”

Dwayne’s pupils dilated as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Then, please guide me. I need to see it for myself to make a judgment.”

“Yes, Andrew!”

Dwayne’s face lit up. He confidently led the way.

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The two men arrived at their destination. Kaine frowned at the demon possession… or rather, the demon summoning ritual in front of him.

Because of this, he was going through all this trouble. He wanted to get rid of it immediately, but…

‘That’s not possible.’

After many regressions, he had tried various methods to prevent the ritual from activating, but cruelly…

‘In the end, the highest-ranked demon will be summoned.’

Even if he rushed to stop the ritual, he would be too late. If he infiltrated and destroyed the ritual, it would still activate for some reason.

Even if he ambushed the branch leader, he wouldn’t be able to kill him in one blow, and the ritual would still activate.

No, even if he killed the branch leader, the ritual would still activate.

No matter where the branch leader was, the ritual would still take place.

‘I don’t think it’s possible to stop this ritual.’

Kaine didn’t know the exact mechanism of the ritual in front of him, but one thing was certain.

Demonic Magic.

More precisely, the ritual was activated using Dwayne’s magic as a medium, as it absorbed his demonic magic each time it activated.

As Kaine frowned and remained silent, Dwayne was thinking…

‘What’s going on? Could the ritual have failed?’

He had a serious expression on his face. He glanced at Kaine.

“Andrew, is there anything missing?”

“Hmm… No, it’s just that I was surprised by how well it’s going.”

Dwayne couldn’t contain his excitement at Kaine’s praise and bowed at a right angle.

“Th-Thank you!”

Dwayne thought that he would become an executive now. He smiled slyly.

Kaine ignored Dwayne’s expression and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

“Then, prepare the ritual now. With me here, you should be able to succeed in this state.”

“Yes, I understand, Andrew!”

At Kaine’s words, Dwayne moved swiftly like a new recruit. Soon after…

-Boom!

A bomb-like sound echoed from somewhere.

‘They must have arrived.’

Hearing that sound at this moment meant that Kim Soo-yong’s group had reached the branch.

Kaine had something to do before the group arrived, so he gave an order right away.

“Activate the ritual now. Show the intruders the power of the executive you’ve become.”

“Yes, I understand, Andrew!”

Dwayne approached the ritual with a bitter smile and injected his magic into it.

-Vroom!

Kaine slowly backed away, knowing that he would be swallowed by the ritual if he stayed close.

As expected…

“W-What?!”

Dwayne was swallowed by the ritual. He was so startled that his pupils shook like an earthquake.

“W-What’s happening?! Andrew, please…”

Dwayne called out to Andrew in a panic. Kaine removed his mask and raised one corner of his mouth.

“Do I look like Andrew to you?”

“W-Who are you?”

“I’m your deceased parents, you bastard.”

“Ugh!”

The pain was unbearable, and Dwayne let out a groan instead of answering. Kaine was about to put his plan into action, so he used his transformation ability, which was his unique trait.

-Swoosh!

His body changed shape. Two horns appeared on his forehead, bat wings on his back, and his face was distorted with noise.

[The goddess who sees fate is startled by the transformation!]

It was no wonder that the constellation was surprised. After all…

“I pay my respects to the Grand Duke.”

Kaine had transformed into the Grand Duke, who had only appeared once as an event in the original story.