WHEN A BOOK BECOMES THE STRONGEST WEAPON

17. Forth mission

“I can’t breathe! The cloth can’t block the poison!”

The field, once bright under the sunlight, suddenly darkened and filled with poisonous smoke. Some failed to fend off the gas and died from poisoning, while others scrambled to find a safe place to hide—though they knew that gas could fill any space, no matter how small.

Shaden didn’t like the current situation, especially since the mission that was supposed to begin in two hours had started early. Worse, he had lost sight of Dany, who had just been within his reach.

[System has detected interference from an external party! Mission difficulty level will be reduced!]

The alert surprised everyone, though it also brought relief when several plants disappeared and the toxic fog began to thin. But that didn’t mean the mission had become easy. From the beginning, the poison released by the plants had been lethal if inhaled for too long. It was merely a temporary reprieve before death inevitably claimed them.

BANG! BANG!

Shaden turned his head toward Leah. Despite struggling to survive in the poisonous fog, the woman still tried to save as many people as she could.

Shaden didn’t stop Leah from doing so. After all, even in a ruined world, they were still human and had a conscience. Shaden was different—he had lost all feelings long before the world had fallen apart, crushed under the weight of others' cruelty.

As his way of showing empathy toward Leah, Shaden took on the task of finding an exit for them.

Finding the exit wouldn’t have been difficult if the stadium had remained the same as before the mission started. But the moment the mission began, the stadium's structure changed randomly. That’s why so many panicked, lost their limbs, and fell victim to the poisonous plants.

“Left side!” Shaden shouted. It didn’t matter if others besides Tery and Leah heard his voice. It didn’t matter if more people survived the mission.

Shaden rushed toward the door he had found. However, his movement was immediately detected by the plants, which turned their fire in his direction.

“Damn it!” Shaden cursed as he dove to the ground, dodging a direct shot of toxic gas.

Even though he wore a special mask, a direct hit like that would still kill him.

He was about to run again when the door he had just found shifted back to its original position from the start of the mission. That was his mistake—he had forgotten the rule of this mission: the exit would change position every ten minutes.

“What now? Where’s the exit?” asked Tery.

Everyone was clearly struggling as the toxic gas slowly penetrated their protective gear. Shaden decided to search for the exit using another method.

He crawled across the ground, hugging the edge of the field. To avoid getting stepped on, he made sure the staff on his back was clearly visible.

“Watch out! Move aside!” Shaden yelled, his eyes scanning the lower edges for any signs of the door.

Time was running out—he had to get out of there fast.

“Hey, damn it! What do you think you’re doing?! Get out of our way!”

Someone, noticing Shaden crawling, kicked his arm hard without hesitation.

Shaden was furious. He was struggling too. He grabbed the man’s leg, yanking him to the ground—where the poisonous plants quickly claimed him.

“Serves him right for being so arrogant!”

Amid the chaos, with people running and nearly stepping on him, Shaden continued crawling in search of the exit. He had strayed far from Tery and Leah, who were still near their original mission starting point.

“Found it!”

Shaden dashed toward the door, raising his staff high as a signal to Tery and Leah.

Fortunately, his teammates saw the signal right away and ran toward him. Shaden let them exit first.

“THERE’S AN EXIT HERE! TIME IS RUNNING OUT—THE DOOR WILL CHANGE SOON. HURRY!” he shouted to the others.

Then, he quickly followed and joined Tery and Leah. Shortly after they and a few others escaped, the door shifted again.

“Whoa! So this is how the door moves? It’s a concrete structure, yet the system—or whatever it is—makes it seem like it’s just made of cardboard,” Tery remarked.

Shaden ignored the awe-struck stares from those who had just barely escaped death. He needed water—his whole body felt wrecked.

Moments later, from another door, more people emerged—it was Will’s group. Apparently, they had also completed the mission.

“Whoa, Shad! You made it out first?” Will asked.

Tody smacked Will’s shoulder.

“Shaden’s the one who shouted and pointed out the exit,” Tody informed him.

Shaden simply smiled as Will nodded in understanding. Naturally, Will’s group sat down near Shaden and his companions.

“This mission was brutal. We had no idea there would be so much poisonous gas. If even we, with better resistance than most, struggled, it’s no wonder so many others failed,” Will shared.

Surprisingly, despite his rough appearance, Will spoke with genuine sorrow.

“When we got out, we did what you did—shouting to tell people where the exit was. But...” Will glanced at the door he’d used to escape. “No one else has come through it. They must be having a hard time reaching it, even if they know where it is.”

Shaden fell silent. At a glance, the survivors gathered in the stadium seemed more prepared than those in the previous missions, yet this was still just as difficult.

As a small comfort, Shaden pulled a bottle of water from his pocket and handed it to Will’s group.

“Haha! Is this your way of cheering me up because I look sad?” Will asked, laughing.

Shaden turned away. “It’s not free. It costs 10 coins.”

Will and his friends burst out laughing at Shaden’s response.

Then, unexpectedly, a man approached with a child in tow.

“E-excuse me. Can we buy water too? My child is thirsty. I don’t mind paying extra.”

Shaden looked at the man, then at the child. If he followed his instinct, this kid wasn’t ordinary either—surviving up to the fourth mission meant something.

“Alright—”

Shaden’s eyes widened. He immediately stood, gripping his scythe.

“What is it?” Tery and Leah asked.

Even Will and his group stood in surprise at Shaden’s reaction.

“Leah, give them some water! I need to go somewhere!”

*

Shaden was certain that the man had deliberately emitted a sinister aura to make Shaden aware of his presence. Whether it was a trap or not, he had to capture that person—his interference had clearly disrupted the mission.

The system alert during the mission was surely triggered by that man's meddling, and that revelation confirmed Shaden’s suspicion: Dany had sold his soul to a demon to survive.

“I figured—you must have an angel-related skill, since you instantly sensed me.”

The figure who had constantly evaded him now stood directly in front of him. Dany looked completely different. Two long horns jutted from his head—the mark of a mid-tier demon.

“You’re that desperate to meddle in human missions that you buy the souls of desperate people? And what do you gain? Is it fun watching people die because you ruined the mission?” Shaden asked.

He struggled to remain upright, the demon's aura pressing down like a mountain. Without Mikael’s scythe in hand, he would’ve already collapsed.

“Haha! Aren’t humans the same? There are humans who enjoy watching others suffer and beg for mercy. To me, that’s a beautiful sight.”

It was true. Sometimes, humans could be crueler than demons.

“Go back to being a spectator. If you enjoy watching what’s happening on Earth, then just sit back and watch. You have no right to interfere in the missions!”

The demon possessing Dany smiled.

“And what if I refuse? Even the system can’t stop me—how can a mere human like you give me orders?”

Words were pointless against a being far stronger than him. So Shaden quickly hurled his scythe straight at the demon.

The demon was caught off guard as the weapon, which had once wounded his back, now pierced his heart.

“You fool! You know that something like this won’t kill me, right?! It’s the human who’ll die instead,” he sneered, referring to Dany.

Shaden smirked.

“I don’t care. The moment he sold his soul to you, he was already dead. You’ve just been playing with him. And I know one strike won’t kill you, but at least it’ll stop you from interfering—for now, until you find another human willing to sell their soul.”

“Lowly human! You’ll pay for this! Once I find another host, you’ll be the first one I come for!”

Dany’s body collapsed, lifeless—proof that the demon’s hold had ended.

Shaden approached, staring coldly at the human who had become the target of Leah’s anger. It would’ve been nice if he could show Leah Dany’s dead body—but a vessel once used by a demon disintegrated as soon as the demon left it.

Well, at least for now, the missions would proceed as they should—free from that demon’s interference.

**