Drowsy Infiltration! The Beast-Transformed Ex-Wife

In an unassuming inn in eastern Sandra City—

Paris, the bald man, along with the demon man Justin and the demon woman An Meng, were currently staring blankly at each other.

Justin held a gauge resembling a hygrometer.

Late last night, its readings had nearly peaked, yet now they had plummeted by more than half.

“…Tell me, both of you,” Paris scratched his head (despite being bald) and furrowed his brow (though he lacked eyebrows). “This is the Abyssal Fluctuation Gauge, isn’t it?”

“That’s right…” Justin nodded.

“And this gauge directly reflects the Abyss’s instability, correct?”

“Indeed…” An Meng affirmed with a nod.

“When the readings are full, the Abyssal Seed becomes active, allowing a sub-dimensional rift to form naturally, saving us the risk of infiltration and exposure, right?”

“Precisely…” They both nodded in unison.

“Then why has the Abyss stabilized, again?”

“We’d like to know that ourselves…”

All three fell into a silent stare-off.

Justin and An Meng had brought the Abyssal Seed, crafted by the Third Revered One.

Paris had infiltrated the Abyss disguised as a mercenary to plant it, expecting a stable sub-dimensional rift to form within a month.

To accelerate the seed’s activation, they had even released the “Miasma of Inaction” from the Second Revered One to agitate the Abyss.

Success should have been imminent within the next couple of days, so what exactly went wrong?

“…Could it be that we’ve finally been exposed?”

“Unlikely…”

“Or is someone working against us?”

“Even if there were, they should confront us directly, not suppress the Abyss indirectly… And does this place truly possess such combat prowess?”

“Come to think of it, the daughter of the Human Race’s First Apostle arrived a few days ago. She’s an unpredictable factor we can’t ignore.”

“Tsk… More importantly, is there no remedy for this?”

Paris slammed the table, his emotions flaring.

“I cursed myself for trusting you! I’ve waited for so, so, so long! And now, just when we’re at the finish line, it all falls apart? Are you toying with me? Don’t tell me you have no backup plan!”

“We do, actually. There’s one more Abyssal Seed…”

“And then we’ll have to dilly-dally and wait another month!?”

“Yes, unless you’re willing to contribute your sub-dimensional crystal. With its stimulus, the rift could form instantly.”

……………

Paris’s eye twitched.

Justin and An Meng watched him in silence, their gazes becoming inscrutable.

The atmosphere instantly grew subtle and tense.

“…Are you two really that covetous of this thing?”

Paris jingled the crystal in his hand, and their eyes were immediately drawn to it.

While the sub-dimensional crystal was precious, its intrinsic value was not the main point.

What truly mattered was the entity sealed within it: a medium capable of summoning an immensely powerful, high-ranking sub-dimensional demon.

“This was meant to summon a demon after the sub-dimensional rift opened. Using it simply to open the gate would inevitably consume it… I detest ‘imperfection’.”

“…Please don’t overthink it, Mr. Paris,”

Justin swallowed, then spoke calmly. “Our cooperation is mutually beneficial and entirely genuine. This crystal, of course, should only be used after the rift has been opened.”

“Then what should we use to open the rift? Is there no better alternative?”

“If we had enough spiritual homogenesis… such as a ‘powerful soul,’ the effect should be quite good.”

“A powerful soul, you say…”

Paris narrowed his eyes, studying the two demons who, despite their odd appearances, were actually capable subordinates of the Revered One.

“…Would you two happen to have powerful souls?”

“What are you thinking!?”

Sandra City’s Mercenary Guild was plunged into brief chaos.

Not because of an Abyssal Beast attack, but because the Abyssal Beasts themselves had been attacked.

Early this morning, mercenaries returning from a night of Abyssal exploration swarmed into the guild hall as if they had seen ghosts, chattering excitedly about the strange occurrences within the Abyss.

The guild immediately dispatched a large number of mercenaries and contacted the City Lord’s Mansion to organize an army to verify the situation in the Abyss.

Among them, naturally, was—

“Everyone, follow me… Actually, don’t bother if you don’t want to.”

Now, deep within the Abyss’s third layer, a beautiful woman strode confidently, surrounded by darkness.

Her expression was placid, and she seemed utterly disinclined to wait for the City Lord’s frantically trailing special guard detail.

Miss Jadette Dochido immediately sprang into action upon hearing the news, heading straight to the scene without a word.

This utterly terrified the City Lord, sending his soul scattering to the heavens.

She was the First Apostle’s beloved daughter, the world’s most prominent young lady.

If anything were to happen to such a figure—even a mere scratch—his head would surely roll!

Over ninety percent of his enterprises thrived under the First Apostle’s protection.

‘Yabai yo yabai!’ he thought, ‘The City Lord’s personal guard must be deployed at once! All safety measures must be in place! Strive for stability! Absolutely nothing must go wrong!’

…However, it proved that when it came to dungeon delving, the guard detail was nothing more than a hindrance to this young lady.

Many other Abyssal Beasts, drawn by the stench of decaying corpses, appeared.

Just as they reached the third layer, an Abyssal Beast resembling a hybrid of a bone dragon and a Vaal Hazak emerged from the darkness, lunging at Jadette without hesitation.

“Noisy creatures.”

Before the startled guards could rush forward to intercept, Jadette pulled a glittering object from beneath her short trench coat and hurled it.

The moment it left her hand, it emitted a brilliant flash, accelerating towards the Abyssal Beast.

Amidst the billowing smoke of an explosion, the creature’s head and the upper half of its torso were obliterated.

[Hiss, hiss, hiss…]

[Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!]

An Abyssal Beast resembling an agglomeration of earthworms and another that moved by its tongue burst through the ground, surrounding her.

Unhurriedly, she unfastened her trench coat, revealing her lithe figure clad in a form-fitting suit—and the utility belt adorned to it.

The utility belt held numerous shimmering metal tags, which at first glance resembled soldiers’ dog tags, each inscribed with a different name:

Tokarev Pistol.

Hua-Made Type 54.

Colt M1911.

Steyr 9mm Tactical Submachine Pistol.

Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun.

Benelli M1 Shotgun.

Protecta Revolver Shotgun.

Uzi Submachine Gun.

FR-F1 Sniper Rifle.

Remington 700 Rifle.

AWP Sniper Rifle.

Barrett M82A1 Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle.

HK79 Grenade Launcher.

MGL-140 Grenade Launcher.

MP9 Military Sniper Crossbow.

RPG-7 Rocket Launcher.

Dillon Aero M134D Minigun.

This was only a small fraction of her arsenal. (Aisha would have called her an expert.)

“You’re the one!”

Jadette tore off the metal tag marked “SPAS-12.”

The alchemical product, utilizing spatial compression technology, instantly reverted to its original form in her hands.

The small metal tag expanded and layered like a blooming flower, transforming in a mere instant into a shotgun radiating a cold, industrial aesthetic.

Her fingers, delicate as spring onions, pulled the trigger—

BOOM!

The small shotgun roared like a cannon.

Each pellet fired exploded simultaneously, stripping the skin clean off the worm-like Abyssal Beast.

As for the other one—

“Toxin 174, release authorized.”

A seemingly antique drone hovering above her head fired a tranquilizer dart, which struck its target.

Though it appeared to be a tranquilizer, its interior was filled with a different kind of surprise.

The moment the needle pierced the Abyssal Beast’s body, the creature began to rot and deform at an astonishing speed.

Within seconds, half its body had dissolved into foul, viscous liquid.

She resolved the battle with such effortless grace.

Realizing their own incompetence, the guard detail could only hang their heads in shame.

In truth, were it not for her consideration of them, Jadette could have unleashed her secret, mass-destructive toxic mist, “Mercury,” which would have kept any Abyssal Beast, even Midir, from approaching her.

“You’re all a bit in the way,”

Jadette remarked, a hint of disdain in her voice.

“Our deepest, most profound apologies…”

“Fine. You all keep watch for me. I’ll examine this corpse here.”

The guards were overjoyed at her words.

They immediately formed a circle around her, while Jadette bent down to meticulously inspect a corpse left by the roadside from the previous night.

‘Truth be told, though she appeared utterly at ease, she was actually on the verge of losing her composure.’

‘It stank.’

‘It stank so badly!’

‘The Abyssal Beast corpses reeked! They were utterly foul! A pungent, gamey stench! It only grew stronger now that they were mangled into rotten flesh! The smell was so vile that Jadette yearned to pinch her nose and roll on the ground!’

‘She regretted not bringing deodorant. Should she use a nerve paralyzer to numb her olfactory nerves? No, she’d forgotten that too! Ahhh, how could her perfect self be so careless! And couldn’t these guards just move further away? They were such a nuisance!’

Jadette suppressed her inner displeasure, forcing herself to concentrate on the object before her.

This was one of the corpses left from last night, a gruesome sight reduced to scattered pieces of flesh, making its original form unrecognizable.

Jadette wondered if she could achieve such destruction herself—she could, but it would be highly impractical given the consumption of her tools.

The uninvited guest from last night must have been capable of unleashing such an attack with ease.

Furthermore, the corpses were too thoroughly destroyed to determine who had killed them or how, making it difficult even to reconstruct the scene, thus complicating the investigation.

‘……………’

‘It seemed unsolvable.’

‘But if one considered it from another angle—’

“…That person doesn’t want us to know who they are, doesn’t want to be discovered.”

The quick-witted Jadette immediately deduced this conclusion in reverse, leading her to three summaries.

Firstly, that person was very powerful, capable of sweeping through the Abyss unopposed.

Secondly, that person did not want to be identified.

Lastly, Sandra City was human territory.

Any powerful demons who had infiltrated would have no reason to help Sandra’s military and civilians fight against the Abyss, and the same applied to any potential remnants of Dawn’s Light.

In that case, linking it to the rumors of the Ninth Apostle possibly appearing here—

‘……………’

Jadette immediately concentrated all her energy on controlling her expression.

‘Control it, control it, control it! Don’t lose composure! Don’t smile, don’t smile! Valeria, Aisha, Cyan, Ling Zhuxiao, Justina, Shirayuki Chihane… all those bothersome love rivals have fallen behind! Fei is just a foolish younger sister! From now on, no one else will get ahead of her, no matter what. Finding Corvus like this is only a matter of time! Keikaku doori! I will be the heroine of the new world!’

“Miss Dochido…?”

“Hm?”

“You… are your facial muscles spasming?”

“Ah!”

Only after being prompted did she snap back to reality.

She cleared her throat delicately and feigned seriousness, saying, “This matter is highly complex and very likely connected to the remnants of Dawn’s Light. Let’s return and compile our intelligence.”

“Yes, Miss!”

On the way back, Jadette was in high spirits, several times barely resisting the urge to hum “Ceddin Deden” in public, followed by a section of “BL the Time!”

Her thoughts had already soared beyond the clouds, and the prospect of reuniting with Corvus filled her with irrepressible excitement.

After ‘tethering his bull…’ Mm-hmm-hmm… what should she do with him?

Although there were many things she wanted to do, honestly…

…Jadette would be perfectly content if, after a tiring day of alchemical research, she could return home to find her husband waiting, holding a freshly brewed cup of milk tea for her.

Buzz—

Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

She opened it to see—

“………………Huh?”