◈ Episode 380. Demon King (1)
Entering the Demon Realm.
Perhaps, for the first time since players awakened, the time has come when I’ll have to struggle without anything to rely on. Am I afraid? I am. I, Lee Hoyeol, haven’t yet lost my sense of fear like someone else.
Yusra Kingdom.
I stood in the backyard of the annex.
Lush trees grew around it like a fence.
For a moment, with only the chirping of birds reaching my ears, it felt like a place cut off from the world. All that could be glimpsed within that view was the [Garden of Dignity] attached to the annex.
‘I don’t know how he took my loose tongue, but.’
After the incident of unifying all under heaven.
Elsidore remained in China.
There should be nothing to worry about.
Elsidore had become a fairly trustworthy existence in his own way. Well, even if he did something unexpected, as long as the [Hierarchy of Blessings] existed, controlling Elsidore would not be difficult.
“I trust that you will do well.”
More than anything, my social experience hadn’t been for nothing either. Keeping him tied to the garden forever would be a violation of labor laws, wouldn’t it? In any case, with Elsidore, the guardian of the Garden of Dignity, absent, there were no eyes watching this place.
‘So let’s check.’
Know yourself and know your enemy.
Before entering the Demon Realm, I wanted to confirm my own strength.
Naturally, [Blackening] could not be included in my combat power.
That was Grandfell’s strength, not Lee Hoyeol’s.
‘As expected, the risk is too great.’
[Blackening] was not a skill I could activate at will just because I wanted to. What I could consider entirely my own strength went only as far as [Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme], with a proficiency of 10 percent.
‘Of course, that isn’t everything.’
Ssssss.
As a gentle breeze blew, the Dawn Jacket draped over my shoulders fluttered. The trophies of the Seven Deadly Sins, [Neutral Parasitic Creature Envy, Lust, Wrath]. I looked at the three items glittering like jewels.
‘Gluttony and Sloth.’
Those two did not die by my hand, the hand of a demon hunter. They had been slain respectively by Shahin Dune of the Red Eyes and Gamond, the Diamond Merchant Guild Master.
“Bear in mind that I am watching.”
They would be reborn, just as Greed had been.
Even so, there was no need to worry immediately.
Let’s recall that the resurrected Greed had absorbed all sorts of negative emotions in the Yusra Islands and still had only been level 600.
‘It’s different from back then. Not just me.’
The current Arcana Continent was on an entirely different level from the era when Greed resurrected.
Quirnberg Machine Towers rose throughout the imperial territories, and the surviving Arcanians were veterans who had gone through all manner of hardships against demons.
They would not be easily tormented by fear. On top of that, the level of the players who had set foot on the Arcana Continent was also high enough that they would not fall helplessly to a newly born Seven Deadly Sin.
My loose tongue coldly evaluated.
“They may instead come to me seeking eternal rest.”
In other words, rather than dying and resurrecting over and over, it might be better for them to fall cleanly into hell by my hand. I reached out toward the trophies of the Seven Deadly Sins.
‘There’s no need to examine Envy again.’
I checked the two newly acquired items.
[Neutral Parasitic Creature Lust 2/7]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Restriction: Unknown]
[Effect: Lust exists in three forms: good, neutral, and evil, and grants the user different effects depending on each form. Current state: Neutral
- Provides the user with the “Charm” stat.]
[Description: A small creature of unknown identity.]
If Envy had been in the form of a transparent jewel like crystal, Lust was attached to my jacket in the form of a tiny, vivid red jewel like a pomegranate seed. Anyway.
‘Charm, huh.’
It wasn’t the first time a new stat had been created.
[Tenacity], which I had acquired thanks to repeatedly undergoing training that challenged my limits, was one thing. Likewise, [Aesthetic Sense], which I had acquired by equipping an item, had not been a basic stat either.
But [Charm]?
‘As expected, I’ve never heard of it.’
Before I could even assess it, my mouth twitched first.
“What a useless effect.”
Grandfell, of all people.
There was no way he would welcome something as artificial as [Charm].
But I was different.
As I said, I was about to enter the Demon Realm.
In a position where I had to value anything and everything, the effect of a legendary item?
There was no way I could ignore it.
[Charm: Forms a unique atmosphere.]
The effect was exceedingly concise.
It was called a stat, but it was not something I could distribute points into like [Aesthetic Sense], nor did it have a numerical value. It seemed closer to a buff than a stat……
‘What the hell is a unique atmosphere?’
At this rate, until I used it in actual combat,
I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to know.
The one fortunate thing was that it did not seem like it would be difficult to utilize.
Ssssk.
In order to make use of a legendary-grade item, one had to build affinity with that item. I didn’t know why…… but judging by the way Lust rolled around in my palm, it seemed to hold considerable fondness for me.
‘Unlike Wrath, that is.’
[Neutral Parasitic Creature Wrath 3/7]
The trophy of the Seven Deadly Sin of Wrath.
Was it resembling Wrath, who had refused to be easy until the very end?
A message appeared.
[Affinity is insufficient.]
[Its full effect cannot be exerted.]
Not only could its effect not be exerted, but even the item information was not properly visible. As I had just said, every single thing was precious. I felt regret, but I could not show it.
“I am not the one who should be regretful.”
……
No matter what, let’s not have a battle of wills with an item, Grandfell.
I decided to think about how to raise affinity gradually.
For now, there was still something else I needed to check besides the trophies of the Great Evils.
I looked at my status window.
[Title: Master of the Ten Thrones]
A title did not simply end as a title.
You can tell just by looking at the titles I had acquired so far, can’t you?
Starting with the first title I had acquired, [Last Adventurer], to [Noble], [Transcendent], [Dark Dragon]……
It meant that every title possessed “something” related to that title.
What that meant was simple.
‘Perhaps I truly……’
The throne of the Ten Thrones.
Perhaps because I had taken that throne, I had become able to handle the authority of an upper demon king. That was right. The reason I stood in the backyard of the annex of the Yusra Golden Palace, where no one’s gaze could reach, was precisely because of that.
‘There is a need to test it.’
The authority of the throne.
I had watched and known the authorities of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Great Evils.
They had induced abnormal statuses corresponding to the seven sins of humanity.
However, an upper demon king was somehow different. Because of [Blackening], I could not know what kind of appearance Buer had shown, but I could infer it by recalling Gamigin.
‘That wasn’t inducing an abnormal status.’
If what the existing demons, including the Great Evils, stirred up was ordinary fear, the fear pouring toward Gamigin had been closer to worship.
It meant it was closer to yielding before an absolute king and kneeling.
My lips moved.
“There is a need to examine what he had been holding.”
It went without saying, but Grandfell did not acknowledge such things as upper demon kings.
Perhaps that was why I could examine this authority. If the upper demon kings were not powerful in themselves, and it was simply that the throne was extraordinary, then it was something that could be accepted.
If so, a question would follow.
Even if there were no eyes watching, was it truly all right to exert such power in the Yusra Kingdom? Wouldn’t the Yusra Kingdom, beyond the backyard and the Garden of Dignity, be reduced to a mess?
‘Even if only because the elixirs would be wasted, I must avoid such a mishap.’
It should be about the appointed time……
Meaning, I had called someone capable of enduring that ability.
Soon, that very person appeared before my eyes.
More precisely, she got down from a broom.
“Have you been well all this time, Claudi?”
*
The Witch of the Southern Sea, Mary.
Her fame was lofty even in the Social Hall of Space-Time.
It was the Social Hall of Space-Time, where one could only enter after reaching the ranks of a transcendent. Mary, along with the heads of the Four Families who could access the upper levels, was one of the few transcendents.
What that meant was simple.
It meant that Mary was stronger than Shegwin, who was known as the Sword Saint of the Arcana Continent, stronger than the Sunrise Warrior who had likewise conquered the east, and stronger than Urs, who had consumed dozens of elixirs.
A descendant of twilight in whose veins flowed the blood of pure-blooded magic.
Among them, Mary had been born with an especially outstanding talent.
Her ability was such that, even when including the Magic Tower, it would not be excessive to call her the pinnacle of magicians.
Someone might ask.
But wasn’t she in a state of severe injury?
Wasn’t she unable to exert her full strength?
That was not wrong. Mary had suffered from the ill omen for centuries. In order not to yield to its whispers, she had smoked dozens of harsh cigarettes every day.
However, what the toxicity of the cigarettes affected was her physical condition, not her ability. No, rather, considering the awakening effect of those harsh cigarettes……
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Mary’s magical ability, with her entire body effectively steeped in cigarettes, was at its prime right now. Just as a candle burns brightest before it goes out.
“I shall accept Claudi’s proposal with honor.”
Tap.
Mary lightly touched the ground with her broom.
Before the spar.
Soon, twilight magic power covered the backyard of the annex.
Shwaaaak.
A kind of barrier to prevent the impact of the spar from leaking outside.
Through the violet particles of magic, Mary’s gaze turned toward Hoyeol.
‘……His hair is short right now.’
To be precise, toward the length of Hoyeol’s hair.
Mary had guessed it.
Claudi was currently unable to exert the abilities of his past prime. However, for some reason, when his silver hair grew long as it had been in the past, he reproduced the appearance of that era.
‘Is that also a secret of the Claudi Family?’
It was something Mary could not know.
‘No.’
However, Mary decided not to think too deeply.
From herself to the salvation of her clan, who had been swallowed by the ill omen.
She had received far too many favors from Claudi.
‘If he does not wish it, I will not interfere.’
Therefore, in this moment,
Mary intended to focus only on the spar that Hoyeol had requested.
Of course, Mary had no intention of going all out.
If it were Claudi in his prime, perhaps, but……
For the current Claudi, whose hair was short,
and who could not display the appearance of his prime, her magic might be—
‘Far too fierce.’
A true powerhouse could not be unaware of the fact that they were strong. Mary was the same. There was no need for much explanation. The cigarettes she had smoked without pause were proof of that.
The missions of space-time.
The gold coins of space-time given as the reward for success. The cigarettes Mary always kept at her lips cost a hundred gold coins for just a few sticks. Even in the Shop of Space-Time, they belonged to the category of luxury goods.
Furthermore, even the heads of the Four Families, who were endlessly arrogant, did not doubt Mary’s strength. Therefore, the word conceit did not suit Mary.
Because Mary was a powerhouse who had the right to be so.
She lightly manifested magic.
She raised twilight magic power like a storm.
It was the moment Mary’s fingers bent like a bowstring.
“You may go all out.”
Hoyeol said.
It was a disrespectful thing, but
for an instant, Mary thought.
‘……If I go all out.’
You, as you are now, may not be able to endure it.
However, Mary soon realized.
The fact that she had been “conceited” for the first time in her life.
Goooooooo.
An indescribable pressure surged forth.
“……?”
Amid the scattering violet particles, she could see an existence that seemed to stand at an unreachable height. Mary doubted her own eyes. His hair was still short.
It was clear that a fragment of his prime had not manifested, and yet.
“……!”
Mary could not help but ask herself.
‘……Why am I looking up at him?’
There was no way to weigh the superiority or inferiority of ability.
Just as even the greatest general could not defy a king’s command.
In this moment, Mary was looking up at a true king.
An intertwined aura rose.
Black and silver surged.
The fluttering jacket spread like wings.
The trees scattered across the earth bowed their heads.
The chirping birds stopped their song.
All life in the area held its breath.
That solemn atmosphere declared it.
That the Demon King of the Ten Thrones was here……
[The unique atmosphere dominates the area.]
[Current Atmosphere: Demon King of the Ten Thrones, Lee Hoyeol]
[Warning: Akshan is watching you.]
……