The top floor of the Black Hand had never been this lively.
Ever since Ratso, Finn, Chow, and Tohru were sent by Valmont to Tokyo to assist Su Tang in managing Black Hand Culture Media, the vast hall usually contained only a red carpet and an old immortal statue, aside from Valmont himself and Ah Fu after returning from missions.
So when Valmont saw the elevator doors open, his eyelid could not help twitching.
"Miss Makima, what brings you to the Black Hand so suddenly? My men below are truly ignorant. They didn't even inform me in advance."
A smile appeared on his shoehorn face as he looked at the orange-red-haired woman slowly walking out before him. Then, without leaving a trace, he glanced at the four people behind her.
A white-haired old man with mismatched eyes, and his three subordinates—
The Black Hand trio.
However, Finn, who had once been very sharp, now seemed to have lost his soul. He did not react at all to Valmont's eye signal and merely focused on walking behind the old man, silent and wordless.
This scene…
Was truly rather strange.
Rubbing his cane, Valmont shifted slightly to the side, blocking Makima's path and also standing between Shendu and Makima.
The sound of leather shoes stepping on the carpet came to an abrupt stop.
"Miss Makima, coming so late at night, do you have some important matter to discuss?"
Valmont slightly lowered the brim of his hat, supporting himself with his cane as he smiled.
"Although Su Tang is far away in Tokyo, he is aware of all Black Hand affairs. If Miss Makima has any business, you can entrust it fully to Su Tang. His words represent mine."
Makima, whose face had originally been expressionless, glanced at Valmont after hearing the words Su Tang.
She finally spoke, her voice soft.
"Today's matter has nothing to do with Su Tang-kun. He does not know."
Looking at Makima's expression and hearing the tone of this sentence, Valmont's eyebrows lifted.
He remembered the rumors he had heard when he was in Tokyo.
The gossip between the Black Hand's chief representative and Tokyo Public Safety's section chief.
"Oh? Did the two of you… have a quarrel?"
Valmont asked with a smile.
This scene always reminded him of a young married couple quarreling, then the wife coming to her husband's family to reason things out.
Although he was not interested in love, women, and such things, he was still very willing to help his Black Hand brother resolve his troubles.
After turning the matter over in his mind, he smiled and said,
"Miss Makima, there is no need to be angry. It is normal for two people to have some small emotions between them. But I wonder if there has been some misunderstanding. I know Su Tang. His temper has always been good, and he is very considerate…"
Before he could finish, he saw Makima tilt her head and glance at him.
That look was somewhat strange.
"Mm, of course, if I have misunderstood something, then I apologize to Miss Makima as well."
Needless to say, Valmont's skin was thick. While maintaining his English aristocratic bearing, he continued smiling as though he had not said anything just now.
At the same time, he once again looked behind the old man with mismatched eyes and lowered head.
But just like before, Finn, Ratso, and Chow all seemed not to see his eye signal at all. They remained motionless.
His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Valmont pressed his thumb against a raised decorative piece on his cane.
The next moment, his gaze immediately darkened.
No response.
This decorative piece was the emergency communication button between him and his men on the first floor. It would only be pressed in a major situation. The people stationed throughout the building should, no matter where they were or what they were doing, have been able to respond immediately.
But at this moment…
There was complete silence.
That represented only one possibility.
"Please rest assured. They are not dead."
At that exact moment, Makima's voice rang out softly.
She glanced at Valmont, then shifted one step to the side and looked toward the depths of the hall.
On the high wall where the light could not reach, there was a magnificent coiled dragon statue.
"Not dead… What does that mean?"
Valmont frowned without leaving a trace and followed Makima's gaze.
"What? Does Miss Makima like this statue? It was passed down through my ancestors…"
"Shh."
Makima placed her index finger to her lips and gently exhaled. Then she looked at the statue hidden in darkness and said quietly,
"First time meeting you, Lord Shendu."
With one sentence, the entire hall fell silent.
Valmont glanced at the old man with mismatched eyes, and his cane moved from his left hand to his right.
Makima did not speak, and neither did he.
They were all waiting for another voice.
Another voice…
One that could determine the different fates of the people present.
A moment later.
A pair of blood-colored vertical pupils suddenly lit up within the darkness.
"Hehe… Interesting."
Shendu's gaze flickered as he slowly spoke.
"Little girl, this is your first time seeing me, but it is not my first time seeing you. You are Su Tang's superior, that Public Safety section chief, correct?"
Makima's lashes trembled slightly. Facing Shendu's gaze, she slowly nodded.
"Su Tang-kun mentioned me to you?"
"Mm… You can go ask him yourself for the answer to that question."
Shendu did not answer Makima's question. He laughed twice in an ambiguous manner, then asked,
"Then did you learn of my existence from him?"
This time, Makima shook her head.
Shendu's gaze flickered slightly as he looked at Makima, seeming to think about something.
"There is an intermediary acting as guarantor who wants me to discuss a deal with you."
Makima did not keep Shendu waiting for long and took the initiative to speak.
"An intermediary? A deal?"
Shendu's gaze shifted to Valmont beside him, only to find that Valmont also looked surprised.
"Miss Makima, who is this intermediary?"
Valmont could not help asking.
"No one else in this world should know about Shendu!"
"I don't know his name."
Makima shook her head.
"As for describing him, that is not easy either, because he has no special features. He is probably… utterly ordinary."
"Utterly ordinary…"
Shendu repeated those words, seeming to think of something, then chuckled.
"I can roughly guess who it is. When did he come out? Oh… during the black-chi disturbance in the west last time."
After muttering to himself, Shendu once again looked at Makima and asked in a heavy voice,
"Then what deal does this intermediary want you and me to make?"
Makima smiled faintly.
She reached into her pocket, then brought her hand before everyone.
The blood-red light in Shendu's eyes nearly became tangible as he stared straight at Makima's clenched right hand.
"As you think. As you see."
Makima slowly opened her palm, and her voice drifted quietly beside everyone's ears.
"This is one of the bargaining chips in our deal."
No one spoke.
At this moment, everyone's gaze in the hall was focused on Makima's palm.
Valmont's breathing grew somewhat heavier. Unable to hide the surprise and joy in his eyes, he said,
"This is… the Monkey Talisman?!"
An octagonal stone talisman lay quietly on that pale hand, its surface engraved with a vivid monkey.
And in the next instant, the stone talisman suddenly floated up, about to leave Makima's palm.
Of course, it did not succeed.
Makima closed her five fingers again and raised her head to smile at Shendu.
"I wonder whether this bargaining chip suits your wishes."
Blood-red light surged in Shendu's eyes as he said heavily,
"Are you threatening me?!"
"If Shendu understands it that way, then I suppose that intermediary's guarantee no longer counts."
Makima remained calm and composed beneath the terrifying blood light, speaking indifferently.
This sentence seemed effective.
The blood glow in Shendu's eyes weakened slightly. After two seconds of silence, he suddenly asked,
"What do you want?"
Meeting Shendu's gaze, Makima closed her eyes and inhaled. Then she opened them and slowly said,
"I want you to help me kill someone."
This answer clearly exceeded Shendu's expectations.
He looked at Makima, seeming puzzled.
"You do not want money? You do not want authority? You do not want power?"
"Money, authority, power…"
Makima softly chewed over those words, smiled, and shook her head.
"I only want a world where all beings are equal. A world without famine, without war, without control, and without death."
"Oh…?"
Shendu seemed never to have seen such a wish from a devil before. He looked deeply at Makima and suddenly asked,
"What does that have to do with wanting me to kill someone?"
"When he dies, I can use him to realize this wish."
Makima did not hide anything and said it directly.
Shendu stared at Makima and remained silent for two seconds.
"What is the name of the person you want killed? Where is he? What is his identity?"
"When the time is ripe, I will naturally tell you."
"You are not afraid that I will not fulfill my promise?"
"I said this is only one of the bargaining chips. Consider it a deposit."
Makima looked at the Monkey Talisman in her hand and said calmly,
"After the matter is done, I will present the remaining payment as well. That is also a talisman."
Raising her head, she looked at Shendu and smiled.
"That talisman is Rat."
!
The blood glow in Shendu's eyes brightened once more.
But very soon, it restrained itself again.
"No need to search, Shendu."
Makima smiled.
"Of course I would not bring both talismans here together. And do not think of using the Black Hand's power to search for it. It is hidden somewhere no one can find."
The hoarse voice slowly said,
"Then do you mean… if I do not agree to this deal, I will never find the Rat Talisman?"
Makima smiled without speaking.
The situation in the hall suddenly grew tense.
Valmont, standing to the side, gripped his cane more tightly. He was anxious as to why Su Tang had not yet received the message he sent.
The night wind blew in through the window, rustling the hanging scrolls on the wall.
The hands of the clock also kept ticking.
Like this, perhaps thirty seconds passed.
Perhaps a minute.
Shendu finally spoke.
"Little girl, no one has ever dared say such words before me."
"However… for Su Tang's sake and that intermediary's sake, I will forgive your disrespect. And I have decided to agree to your deal."
Makima's expression moved slightly, but before she could say anything, she heard Shendu continue,
"However, compared to this deal, I have a better idea here. Perhaps you will be interested."
"No, I am not inter—"
"Do not be so quick to refuse."
Shendu's tone was filled with the same seductive quality he had used earlier when promising Valmont the treasure of Jinji Wang.
"You want an absolutely equal world without war, correct?"
Makima's lips moved slightly. The sentence she had originally intended to continue stopped abruptly.
Noticing this, Shendu chuckled.
"A very great ideal. But I do not think you need to kill someone and use him for anything. I have a simpler method."
"Help me gather all twelve talismans and resurrect me. I will rule the entire world and make all living beings on this blue planet—whether human or devil, whether noble or commoner, whether powerful or weak—equally enjoy the same treatment and status."
"There will be no more war among them, and this world will no longer have hunger. There will be no control, nor death. Because Hell… will become the new paradise their souls journey to."
"Utopia, Eden, the Great Unity… All the beautiful visions recorded in ancient civilizations will be the best words to describe it."
"What do you think?"
Shendu's voice was not particularly impassioned. It did not possess the passion of Churchill's Darkest Hour, nor the tragic grandeur of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream.
He was merely stating things quietly.
But precisely this kind of statement carried a power that made refusal difficult.
It was the confidence of the Fire Demon.
It was the foundation of a demon monarch from a thousand years ago.
Makima listened quietly without saying a word.
Shendu glanced at Valmont and said again,
"Perhaps you have some concerns, but you can ask Valmont beside you. My promises are always absolute…"
"No need."
Makima interrupted Shendu and raised her eyes.
"I did not come here today for those things. Let us proceed with the original deal. I give you the talisman, and you agree to my request to kill someone."
Shendu focused on Makima for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"Very well."
He was not afraid of Makima refusing.
She was not Valmont. She could not be won over in one stroke.
But this matter had planted a seed in her heart, and he believed there would come a day when it took root and sprouted.
"Valmont, go bring me that talisman."
Shendu said faintly.
"As you command."
Valmont bowed humbly to Shendu, then walked before Makima.
"Miss Makima, please give it to me."
Suppressing the excitement in his heart at being one step closer to Jinji Wang's treasure, Valmont extended his hand, intending to catch the talisman as Makima released it from her fingers.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would become the seventh talisman embedded in Shendu's body.
Of course, whenever that phrase appeared, it meant something unexpected was bound to happen.
The falling talisman was not caught by Valmont.
It very skillfully rolled onto the ground, bounced, and fell again.
Then, with a crack—
It shattered.
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