"Rubel, long time no see."
"Luciela?!" Even someone like Rubel, used to life-and-death situations, broke into a cold sweat. He was just an agent who took money behind the Claymores—not someone meant to fight. Let alone standing face-to-face with the infamous Abyssal One of the South. The fact that Rubel was still standing was impressive. No one knew better than the Organization how terrifying an Abyssal really was.
"Rubel." Luciela smiled warmly, but it gave no comfort. Instead, Rubel felt like he was being watched by a venomous snake.
"…"
"I brought you luck."
Luciela's words made the short man with the round sunglasses feel a chill run down his spine. "Having the famous Abyssal One of the South visit me is fortune enough." Slick talker.
"That's what I like about you. No matter what, you always greet people with a smile. Doesn't matter who they are." Luciela had noticed this old man long ago. Back then, even when a Claymore talked back to him, Rubel never reprimanded them like the other agents did. It was almost like he wanted them to cause trouble.
"Heh heh." Rubel gave a dry laugh. He had no idea what to say next to keep himself alive.
Whoosh!
Luciela flicked her wrist. The greatsword she stole from Ophelia was already at Rubel's throat. "I'm here to make a deal."
"A deal?"
"That's right, Mr. Spy."
Rubel's back was instantly drenched. He had never told anyone about this.
"Too bad for you, the person you were transmitting info to got eaten by a yoma recently. That yoma ended up in my hands. Right before it died, it fingered you as the mole planted in the Organization. I also learned a lot about the Continent of War and your mission here—to sabotage the Organization's plans."
Rubel cursed his contact for being so careless. Knowing how dangerous this place was, they still managed to get themselves killed? The reason he had the ship dock in the South was to avoid the Organization's eyes. Who would've thought this would happen?
Truth was, if Luciela hadn't run into Kid, she wouldn't have cared about any of this info. As an Abyssal, she never needed intelligence—just brute force. But now she couldn't transform anymore. Without that overwhelming, monstrous form to intimidate the Awakened in the South, she needed another method. What she needed was money. She planned to use it to build a structure that would represent her alone.
Luciela had ambition and a plan.
"Haven't you noticed what's different about me?"
Not really. Rubel still saw the familiar beautiful features, those neat twin tails. Claymores didn't age quickly, so looking the same after more than ten years wasn't strange. And then there was that glittering greatsword at his throat. Wait—a greatsword??
Awakened beings didn't use greatswords. Their bodies were their best weapons. But the Abyssal One of the South… was using one?
"So, you've figured it out!" Luciela shifted her shoulder and swung the greatsword to the side.
Boom!
Rubel's eyelid twitched. He saw the force of the swing blast through a huge fan-shaped area. That destructive power was even stronger than a typical Awakened's full-force attack. That wasn't normal. Awakened in humanoid form shouldn't be this powerful. He'd been in the Organization long enough to sense yoki—and he hadn't sensed a single drop coming from Luciela. Actually, an Abyssal's yoki usually made people collapse from fear even from far away. But he hadn't felt a thing from Luciela until she appeared.
Luciela's answer confirmed Rubel's suspicion.
"I don't need to transform anymore to use Abyssal-level power," Luciela said with a smile. "So here's the deal. You give me money, and I'll tell you why I've changed. Otherwise, I'll sell this info to the Organization. I'm sure they'd love to know about a Claymore in my current state."
"Your condition? I admit you're strong, but not as much as you think. Besides, you still—"
"I don't need to eat organs anymore." Luciela knew exactly what the Organization wanted—a controllable weapon. And now, she was the perfect weapon. That smile of hers alone was enough to make Rubel sweat bullets.
'Damn it, what the hell happened?' Rubel's mind raced. A spy like him was actually being extorted—and it wasn't even something he could refuse. Pathetic. He had to admit, Luciela was smart. She picked the right target. Rubel wanted to know more than the Organization about how to revert Awakened Beings back into normalcy without sacrificing power.
If the craving for organs was solved, Awakened Beings would become perfect weapons. If the Organization got that method, Rubel's homeland would be in danger. The advantage they held through the descendants of the dragon would vanish overnight. What should he do? Was he really going to give in to this shameless extortion?
The two of them stood in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. Luciela was already picturing the grand castle she would build for herself, imagining a world where the masses knelt before her.
Rubel, on the other hand, was thinking about how to escape this trap. If he agreed to pay, would she really tell him everything? "How much do you want?"
"A whole ship filled with gold coins! I know you don't have that kind of money, but you can send word to your country. Have them ship a load of gold from the Continent of War to a southern port."
What a demand. A whole ship of gold coins—how much would that even be? Rubel cursed silently. Abyssals really were monsters. Even in human form, they were the same.
"I need to send a message to my homeland first. If there's no issue, we have a deal." Rubel had to keep the secret of the perfect weapon out of the Organization's hands. "But once the gold arrives, how do I know you'll actually tell me everything?"
"Use whatever methods you usually use. I swear on my title as Lord of the South."
Rubel cursed in his heart. 'What the hell does that even mean? Since when is an Abyssal a Lord of the South?' Obviously self-proclaimed. But she planned to be. She wanted to live in the finest house, eat the most extravagant food. That's why she needed the money.
It was pure daylight robbery, but Rubel couldn't refuse. In the end, he left, thoroughly annoyed. He couldn't shake the feeling that all of this had something to do with the Earthlings near the southern border. The sudden change was too much of a coincidence. But he had no proof.
Still, once he got back, he'd definitely question God-Eye Galatea—why hadn't she noticed the disappearance of the Abyssal One in the South? Then Rubel chuckled bitterly. He'd been the one letting Claymores slack off when it came to the Organization, and now this delay in intel had backfired on him.
But maybe it was for the best. If Galatea had reported Luciela's disappearance, the Organization would've sent people to investigate. He might have only learned about it after they did.
So Rubel couldn't even decide if he should be angry or relieved. In the end, he figured Galatea must not say a word about this. He needed to get a message to his country right away. No time to waste.