Mind Demon's Path of Domination

Bale grabbed the key for one of their most luxurious cars from a drawer and entered their garage. Mark—disguised as Heilan—followed him.

Both of them had gotten into sophisticated tailored suits, jackets, and clean black shoes. They looked gentlemanly; an effeminate young man and an incredibly masculine one—they were quite the contrast.

Mark wasn’t really a man who knew how to handle clothing so sophisticated, but it was nothing that the internet couldn’t fix for him. In his private chambers, he had worn into the suits using the help of tutorials online.

"What did the scientist say?" Bale asked.

Mark answered, "She is on the way to the meeting point. What about the Contract Hunter?"

"That wench is already there. Waiting for us in the sky in her plane, circling the location."

The masculine A-Ranker turned on the furious engine of his sleek black car that looked somewhat like a Bentley from Earth.

Mark got into the front seat and wore the seatbelt.

"As feminine as ever, Hailen," Bale mocked, wearing a sunglass.

Mark loosened the top button of his white shirt under the suit and sat straighter.

"Don’t mock me. I am a... tad bit nervous, this is a world-class deal, after all."

Now that he had said that, Mark felt a lot calmer. Even if his acting was a bit unlike the actual Hailen, it wouldn’t be too suspicious if he was nervous.

Bale shook his head.

Laboy opened the garage’s shutter and the sleek car slowly moved out. Soon enough, it was cruising through the highway at an incredible speed, sun of early morning glinting on its dark skin.

...

The car’s furious engine stopped revving in the middle of a deserted street, and the brothers got out of it silently, looking around.

Mark had also worn a par of sunglasses over his eyes and there was a cigar between his lips. He touched a Bluetooth earpiece and spoke into it: "You here yet, scientist?"

"Look to the left, the old truck, I am in it."

"Any unwanted third party around?"

"I only brought my driver, Choi Sung. C-Rank Hunter. He left me here and went on his own route because of the secretive nature of the deal."

"Good." Mark didn’t want Choi Sung around here—that man might (might) have dangerous ideas in an opportunity like now. Choi Sung had seen Mark turn Hailen into his Parasite Host and if the guy yelled that out to Bale, it could turn into a shit show.

Of course, that would also leave Choi Sung in danger.

Mark had thought about just killing Choi Sung but it was unnecessary. Choi Sung was a good errant boy and even though Reol’ran had said that the man was not loyal to him, Mark felt that Choi Sung would know the best route of action.

For Choi Sung, Mark surviving and bringing him to the demon world when the world ended, was the best scenario. Of course, that was just a promise on Mark’s part and some promises could be broken.

He turned and looked at a truck parked in the shade about three hundred meters from their car. It looked dirty, old, and worn.

"Always remember when you handle deals, little brother," said Bale, his own gaze on the dirty truck. "The appearance is an important part of a sale. If we look like beggars, we start in a lower position by default. Now, since we are all dressed up, this is already a way to intimidate the other party."

Mark nodded thoughtfully.

Yuri was standing outside the dirty truck in her signature lab suit, leaning against the cargo with a lollipop in her mouth, whereas they themselves were in incredibly detailed suits and luxurious cars. That already put them in different standings.

The masculine man gave Mark’s back a slight push.

"Don’t be so stiff. This is just a deal," he said. "You are showing your inexperience—like the little lad you are."

Mark cringed in slight pain. "Where is the Contract Hunter?"

"That wench is an even bigger appearance freak than we are, look up. Get your first impression of her."

Mark’s heart skipped a beat, he looked up, and his eyes squinted.

A small shadow became visible in the morning clouds and soon enough, something broke through the layer of clouds.

"What a freak," Bale spat.

"Sky diving?" Mark muttered. "Is she boasting about how she has her own private jet?"

"She is."

Soon, the parachute opened behind the woman up above and she deftly manipulated it to land accurately between Bale’s car and Yuri’s truck.

The parachute’s cloth fell around her and she walked out of it with a shrug. Look left, look right, she stood there silently as if waiting for both Bale and Yuri’s gang to move towards her.

Bale leaned against his car and lit a cigar.

"Scientist, come here," Bale said, voice rough and overbearing.

The Contract Hunter’s body twitched.

Mark frowned slightly but otherwise just acted like a shadow. A reflection of his brother.

Yuri spat out the lollipop and walked towards Bale, she ignored the Contract Hunter as she walked around her. About three meters away from Bale and Mark (Hailen), she stopped and put her hands into her lab pockets.

The Contract Hunter didn’t seem too embarrassed.

She was a woman with an incredibly eerie appearance. Dark hair like dry twigs, wearing an eerie metal mask over her nose. Most eerie of all, her movements were rather robotic and irritating to look at. And she was so old.

"Yet you called her an appearance freak," Mark commented.

His brother laughed sardonically. "She is a freak of nature. And yeah, she doesn’t care about her conventional appearance. But her landing sure must have left an impact on you."

Mark nodded in thought.

Yuri said calmly, introducing the Contract Hunter with some interest, "She has a sort of disease. Before she became a Hunter, she couldn’t even move out of her wheelchair and was just a cripple, but when she became a Hunter one day, her physique improved, yet, her condition never did.

"She could walk now but there are still some irregularities to her. Even Healing-type Hunters can’t do anything to help her. Her movement is always somewhat robotic and a rather ghostly sight."

Soon, the Contract Hunter walked near them—eerily as that was—and laughed. "You know well about my curse, Scientist. I remember having worked with you years ago, you grew up a lot little girl"

"Of course I know about you," Yuri said, even though she was the shortest person there, she didn’t seem intimidated. "Well, the thing is, Lady Shuuma, your disease is never going to be fixed unless you find the root cause of it." She shrugged. "But you are just a coward who is afraid of letting Scientists put needles into your body."

The Contract Hunter glared at Yuri but then turned towards Bale and ’Hailen’.

"Ah, the Neslan Brothers. Charismatic indeed."

"Not as charismatic as you, old freak," said Bale with a sneer.

There began a negotiation on a deal that could change the fate of the Hunter World easily.