I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 169: The Complex Society of Hell (Patreon)

None of the spectators had expected Marcus’s stunt to end so badly.

A little excitement was one thing, but nobody enjoyed seeing a child collapse.

Once they saw he was all right, the onlookers drifted away and left the family to sort things out.

Marcus rested for a while before slowly speaking.

“Yesterday after school, for some reason, I didn’t take the bus. I walked home with a few friends instead. We passed an alley, and I saw a merchant with a stall. I’d never seen anyone selling things like that, and none of my friends could even see him. I was curious, so I asked what he had. He gave me those shoes, and once I put them on, I couldn’t bear to take them off.”

At the mention of the shoes, Marcus glanced at Liam. “Liam, could I please have the shoes back? I promise I’ll remember to take them off next time.”

Liam flatly refused.

“Forget it. I know you won’t take them off. You’re not getting them back.”

Marcus hung his head in disappointment.

Masters, on the other hand, was relieved to see his disappointment. The farther his son stayed from those shoes, the better.

Now that Marcus had regained some of his spirits, it was time to settle the score with that merchant.

Marcus climbed into the car and noticed an adorable bear’s head peeking out from the passenger seat. His disappointment vanished.

He managed to raise a hand, eager to pet it.

His father watched from beside him. Then Marcus suddenly asked,

“Dad, can we not tell Martin about what happened today? It’s a little embarrassing.”

Masters burst out laughing upon hearing this and patted his chest in assurance.

“Don’t worry! I’ll make it a family story we pass down for generations. We can watch it every year.”

From behind the wheel, Liam added, “I recorded the whole thing. Want a copy?”

Masters readily agreed.

“Absolutely. I’d pay anything for it. We’ll make it a Christmas tradition!”

Imagining his family replaying that embarrassment every year, Marcus wanted to sink into the ground.

Wait a minute.

He suddenly realized something.

True, Liam had tripped him at the end, but the camera must have captured all his spectacular plays beforehand. If he cut out the embarrassing ending, he would have footage of himself looking cooler than ever before.

At that thought, he actually started to look forward to it.

Just imagine all the admiring looks he could get.

For different reasons, all three occupants of the car were delighted with the recording.

...

The town wasn’t large, and the group quickly found the spot. At first glance, Liam felt a sense of déjà vu.

It was almost identical to the alley where Eric had encountered the devil. The only differences were the restaurant next door and the larger trash cans.

Liam handed Marcus some slippers and told him to try entering the alley alone. The merchant had appeared after Eric handed over the book made of human skin. Perhaps losing one of the items triggered his appearance.

Anyone who lost a devil’s item seemed guaranteed another meeting with the merchant.

Marcus walked into the alley and looked around in confusion.

Suddenly, a voice came from beside him.

“Marcus, when did you get here? Are those shoes working out for you?”

The voice made Marcus jump. Already weak, he nearly collapsed.

He turned his head and saw Emil sitting next to a trash can. What should he say now?

After hesitating, Marcus asked,

“I haven’t worn those shoes much. Can I get a refund?”

Emil immediately glared at him.

“You ran off in them yesterday, didn’t you? I saw you. No refunds on used merchandise.”

Marcus retorted. “I’m a minor. You broke the law by selling those shoes to me in the first place.”

Emil sneered.

“On the contrary, selling stuff like this to you guys is exactly my job.”

As the two argued, Masters fidgeted anxiously in the car.

He couldn’t see Emil at all. To him, his son was talking to empty air.

Just as he turned to ask Liam what to do, he realized Liam had already gotten out of the car.

Liam could see Emil, the merchant who had completely ignored him last time.

But this time, he’d brought Janice along. Blue spiritual energy flowed through his body. His senses sharpened, and he could now detect Emil’s spiritual energy.

It was a thick, black mass that writhed constantly, unpleasant even to look at.

Liam wrapped his arm in spiritual energy and seized the blanket draped over Emil.

Emil only noticed him when a large hand appeared on his shoulder. He let out a startled cry.

“What is that?” He began writhing and struggling frantically.

“Sir, please! That’s harassment!”

However, Emil possessed only the physique of an ordinary human and had no chance of breaking free from Liam’s control.

Emil tried to return to Hell as usual, only to discover that a familiar energy had covered his body and cut off his connection to it.

Realizing he was trapped, he finally said with resignation, “Mr. Exorcist Who Doesn’t Exorcise, what can I do for you?”

Liam replied with a smile.

“Running a business without a license on my turf? You’ve got some nerve.”

“Hahaha, so you’re a colleague after all.”

Emil laughed awkwardly. He could tell that this power came from the same source as his own.

He assumed the enormous man was an agent of some other devil.

“My boss is Mr. Scratch. Who’s yours?”

Liam immediately thought of a name.

“Belphegor.”

Emil let out a gasp.

“Oh, that big shot? Brother, you’ve got yourself a powerful patron.”

He kept flattering Liam while subtly twisting his shoulders.

“Come on, we got off on the wrong foot, that’s all. Let me go and we can talk properly. I swear I’ll never come back here.”

Liam certainly wasn’t going to let this devil go.

The instant Liam loosened his grip, Emil would undoubtedly slip away.

What he needed to do now was pry more information about the devils out of Emil.

He tightened his hold and lifted Emil off the ground. The blanket fell away, revealing a middle-aged man with slightly dark skin.

His strange clothing and eccentric jewelry made him look like a Gypsy.

“Now, tell me why you came here.”

Emil had no moral reservations to speak of, so he answered readily.

“Oh, is that all you wanted? You should’ve said so. My boss’s boss, the boss of Mr. Scratch, ordered us to give unusual items away for free to people whose desires weren’t being fulfilled.”

Liam hadn’t expected such an easy answer. Emil looked completely untroubled, as if everyone already knew about the arrangement.

He’d thought he’d have to interrogate him to get to the truth.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again.

“Hold on. You said you’re supposed to give them away for free. So you’ve been pocketing the money?

“Tell me how many people you sold them to.”

Emil quickly pleaded for mercy. “Sir, I honestly don’t know. I can see only the people I’m supposed to give the items to. Nothing else. A little nobody like me can’t just travel to the human world whenever he wants.”

Now this was a real problem.

The merchant himself didn’t even know everyone he had sold the items to.

Liam decided he would have to deal with the source of the problem.

“Where’s Mr. Scratch? I need to discuss something with him.” Emil’s expression changed instantly.

“You don’t know Mr. Scratch? Then you aren’t one of us. Who are you?”

Darkness swallowed Emil’s face. His limbs twisted, and his outer skin split to reveal red flesh underneath.

The devil merchant was transforming!

Liam tensed and clenched his right fist, ready to strike while Emil was vulnerable in the middle of transforming.

But his punch went straight through empty air.

The only thing left in his grip was Emil’s discarded skin. It drifted in the air for a moment before crumbling into ash.

Liam scratched his head in frustration. The bastard could escape by shedding his skin like a lizard shedding its tail.

Still, Liam had other leads. If Emil kept distributing those items, he would eventually show himself again.

Just then, Liam looked up at the sky.

“Lily, did you get all that on camera?”

A tan-skinned catgirl materialized in a swirl of black mist above him.

“I captured it all, Little One.”

Before, Lily had been limited to her feline body. She could carry the camera, but she couldn’t operate it precisely. Now she had a human form, so she could help with the filming. Her powers of concealment also allowed her to appear at almost any angle.

All she lacked was technical knowledge, and Liam could teach her that later.

Marcus had watched the entire supernatural display from the sidelines. He sank to the ground in shock. The shoes had merely changed his physical abilities. They were nothing compared with the spectacle of Emil’s escape.

He burst out,

“Whoa, Liam, you’re incredible! So everything on your show really is true!”

“Of course it’s real. I never lie.”

Marcus decided to catch up on all the episodes of Exploring the Truth he had missed.

Liam then turned to Masters, who had just arrived.

“As thanks for giving us material for the show, you can take Marcus to Boston Hospital for a complete examination. Just tell them I sent you.”

“Really? Thank you! I’d only planned to have him take a few days off school and rest at home.”

Masters hadn’t expected such a windfall and thanked him repeatedly.

Marcus, however, didn’t see it that way.

“Dad, I feel great. Look, I can still exercise! Just let me stay home and rest.”

He quickly hopped up and down a few times, trying to prove he was okay.

After only a few hops, he had to lean against the wall, as worn out as a middle-aged man whose ambition far exceeded his stamina.

Seeing his son like this, Masters could only shake his head with concern.