Ch.108Chapter 108 – The Mastermind (1)

Meanwhile, in a military research facility in Seoul, Belphegore’s corpse was being stored in an ultra-low temperature freezer where all biological activity had ceased.

The corpses of bosses had immeasurable value for hunter equipment manufacturing, potion creation, DNA research, and more. Especially when the corpse was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it was even more valuable.

That’s why the Korean government had risked retrieving Belphegore’s body. They planned to sell parts of the corpse to private companies at a high price and conduct their own research with the rest.

They believed that by studying how different the Four Heavenly Kings’ bodies were from ordinary bosses—their physical structure, strength, muscle power—they could help defeat other Heavenly Kings that might appear in the future.

In the military warehouse with its impenetrable security where not even an ant could sneak in, silence had prevailed for days. But on the third day after Belphegore’s death, a sudden rhythmic drumming began to echo through the storage facility.

Thump-thump-

Thump-thump-

The sound, barely audible at first, gradually grew louder as if finding its vitality, until it vibrated with a clear beat. It was a familiar rhythm. A heartbeat.

The source of the pulsation was Belphegore’s chest. Thump-thump-thump-thump—as the pace reached its peak, his bulging belly split open with a crack, and a skeletal hand emerged. Like a cicada shedding its shell, like a baby tearing through its mother’s womb, Belphegore shed his corpse and resurrected.

The demon who returned from death after three days of burial rejoiced.

“It has activated! I feared even my secret art would fail due to the reset of magical boundaries!”

The ultimate secret technique developed by Belphegore—the Return of the Dead. It was a magic he had inscribed in his heart long ago, fearing his own death. Originally, resurrection spells didn’t exist, and once a living being died, the soul naturally left the body, making resurrection impossible.

But Belphegore, who had mastered the ultimate secrets of necromancy, had succeeded in creating a limited resurrection spell. When his heart stopped, it would capture his departing soul and forcibly settle it into a new body created within. The only limitation was that the body needed three uninterrupted days to form—and thanks to being stored in a freezer, Belphegore had luckily succeeded in his resurrection.

“I originally invented this secret technique to guard against heroes, yet I had to use it against a mere paladin!”

Belphegore checked his condition while chewing on his anger. His body was in an even more miserable state than before. Reconstructed from his own genes, his physical abilities were truly garbage, and the damage received from the paladin remained in his mind, causing his magical realm to regress several steps.

“Damn it, damn it! That mortal bastard—!!”

Belphegore erupted in fury. How ridiculous his situation was for someone called one of the Four Heavenly Kings. If he returned to hell like this, he’d have to worry about subordinates rebelling against him, let alone maintaining his position. He had become too weak.

“Still, with my talent and time, I can regain my former level within a few hundred years…!”

Belphegore gritted his teeth as he contemplated his future. It seemed he would need to lie low in his territory for a while, focusing on regaining his strength.

But then Belphegore realized another problem. He had no way to return to hell.

Opening gates was the Demon King’s authority—a unique ability bestowed directly by God when appointing the ruler of hell. Unlike teleportation which merely changes location, this power forcibly connects two spaces—a truly transcendent ability that surpasses the laws of the world.

Of course, the Demon King couldn’t personally manage all gates, so he delegated limited gate authority to army commanders to invade various parts of Earth. That’s why gates closed when these commanders—or “boss monsters” in familiar terms—were defeated.

However, for some reason, gates were subject to “System” restrictions. For example, only demons of similar strength could enter a particular gate, or too many gates couldn’t be concentrated near one location—there were many such constraints.

One of the most critical restrictions was that the Four Heavenly Kings couldn’t descend directly from hell to Earth. Only when enough demons had died on Earth, meeting some threshold, could one of the Four Kings descend to Earth.

Even then, they couldn’t arrive in their complete state. The moment they crossed the gate, they would be restricted by the System’s limitations. To remove these restrictions, they needed to conduct a summoning ritual by sacrificing a sufficient number of humans.

Even Belphegore, despite his magical expertise, couldn’t escape the System’s restrictions, which was why he had sacrificed all of Pyongyang’s citizens to manifest on the material plane in his complete form.

Yet Belphegore, who had existed since the birth of hell, still didn’t know what this “System” actually was. And why the power bestowed by God had restrictions that seemed to favor humans.

Neither the previous Demon King nor the current one spoke about this, so it was unclear whether the Demon King even knew the truth about the gates.

“God’s self-proclaimed ‘great’ plan is beyond my concern…”

In any case, Belphegore’s current concern wasn’t the gate restrictions but “how to return to hell,” so he quickly dismissed these distracting thoughts. However, his problem seemed to resolve itself unexpectedly.

Suddenly, a gate formed inside the warehouse.

A small dot in the air rapidly expanded like ink dropped in water, growing large enough for a person to pass through. Belphegore’s pupils dilated in surprise.

‘Could it be… the Demon King has been watching over me!’

Belphegore trembled with gratitude and joy. He had always held favorable feelings toward the Demon King, as they shared similar pessimistic ideologies.

Unlike the Demon King of Wrath, who moved with the intention of somehow spiting God due to his intense anger, the Demon King of Sorrow moved with the clear goal of causing the death of all humans. Belphegore swore loyalty to the Demon King of Sorrow, considering him a kindred spirit. Though he might not actively follow due to his characteristic laziness, he would never betray him.

It seemed that loyalty was finally being rewarded.

Witnessing the gate opening for him, Belphegore was overcome with emotion.

“Oh, oh…!”

Someone emerged from the gate. Belphegore, thinking “Is the Demon King personally coming to welcome me?” couldn’t contain his joy and spread a bright smile. But the moment he identified the figure, his smile froze.

“You, you…?”

Blood-red pupils, snake-like pale skin, a neat black suit. A handsome man exuding a mysterious yet dangerous aura stepped out of the gate. If Shin Jaehyuk had seen him, he would have called him:

Mr. B.

“You-? You’re alive-?!”

Crack-

The headless body tilted backward and fell. Dirty green blood stained the warehouse walls and floor. And so, Belphegore, who had resurrected after three days, met his final death.

“Hmm, I can definitely feel how weakened he’s become.”

I, Mr. B—no, Baphomet—flexed my hand with a curious expression.

He approached Belphegore’s corpse and extracted the heart. Then he grasped Belphegore’s soul residing within it.

“Even in death, you should pay what you owe.”

Kieeeee-

As Baphomet placed Belphegore’s heart in his mouth and chewed it with crunching sounds, spiritual screams filled the warehouse. Though inaudible to normal hearing, anyone who could hear it would faint from the horrifying screams of agony.

Baphomet swallowed the heart and soul without hesitation. He smiled with satisfaction, feeling the exquisite sensation of massive demonic energy seeping into his body.

“Good, good. I’ve recovered quite a bit of power. And I’ve retrieved the Goetia Code that Belphegore possessed.”

All objectives accomplished. Baphomet hummed a tune as he cast a spell. Hellfire burned Belphegore’s corpse and the blood splattered around the warehouse.

After destroying the evidence, he surrendered himself to the gate. The black sphere that swallowed Baphomet compressed back into a dot and vanished.

The warehouse regained its silence as if nothing had happened.

***

Near Potala Palace in Tibet, in the main hall of a nameless monastery.

An old monk in shabby clothes sat cross-legged before a Buddha statue, reciting sutras. Hidden in a remote mountain valley, this secret monastery was inhabited solely by the elderly monk, with no servants or guests.

A place so secret that no one could find it unless they already knew of its existence.

Yet suddenly, an object appeared before the peacefully chanting monk. A gate. And emerging from it was none other than Baphomet.

“Her-, no, Leonardo! Everything went according to your plan. As expected of the Sage, your predictions are never wrong. I’d believe it if you said you could see the future!”

Mr. B, who appeared humming a tune, made no effort to hide his joy as he applauded in admiration. Dealing with one of the Four Heavenly Kings, recovering a fair amount of power, obtaining a Goetia Code—a key fragment to unlock the Holy Grail’s seal—and Shin Jaehyuk’s successful awakening. All had proceeded according to the Sage’s predictions.

“Shin Jaehyuk’s awakening exceeded expectations! How excited I was to see him draw out divine power! Now that he’s grasped the thread of divinity, the day he becomes a System user like us isn’t far off.”

Baphomet’s heart couldn’t help but race at witnessing the fruition of four hundred years of waiting. He continued praising the Sage, making no attempt to hide his satisfaction.

The old monk, called the Sage, stopped tapping his wooden gong and half-opened his blue eyes, reminiscent of clear, still water.

“Well… you did all the hard work. Don’t praise me too much.”

“Hehe, I have been quite busy lately! With great results to show for it. I just recently succeeded in deciphering Belial’s experimental data! The human demonization experiments conducted on gangsters. I’ve already begun the procedure on the Gehenna organization members, and since Park Jugwan approved my proposal, I’ll soon be able to cultivate quasi-vassals who prioritize my words over their lives.”

“A plan to turn humans into demons to raise a private army… As a human, it’s not a plan I particularly like, but we have no choice. We’re not in a position to worry about morality now. Namu Amitabha…”

The Sage chanted a prayer for the innocent people who would become sacrifices to their plan. The scent of incense rose and filled the quiet interior of the monastery.

“I’m glad you don’t get bogged down by morality. How many foolish humans ruin things by clinging to unnecessary emotions and ethics… By the way, how are things on your end?”

Baphomet asked. They had a most concerning enemy.

“I mean the God who’s sleeping soundly in heaven.”

Baphomet and the Sage were allies who had formed a pact to thwart God’s plan. While the Sage quietly hid in the monastery to avoid God’s notice, Baphomet, who could somewhat evade God’s gaze with his power of deception, handled external activities.

Of course, the Sage wasn’t idle. He collected information, controlled the plan, and studied the System to keep God in check.

According to what the Sage had discovered by delving into the System, God normally remained in deep sleep to preserve and recover his power.

However, God couldn’t just sleep for his “great plan.” So he had set a systemic alarm to wake up whenever one of the Four Heavenly Kings was defeated, to check if his great plan was progressing normally.

“When Belial died, I was terrified when I felt heaven stirring. I thought God had fully recovered his power and started to act. Fortunately, he went back to sleep quickly, but it was our greatest crisis—our plan almost unraveled.”

“Back then, we didn’t even know he had set such an alarm… Don’t worry. This time I’ve interfered with the System to prevent him from waking up. Elohim won’t notice that his paladin has awakened divine power, albeit imperfectly. He’ll continue sleeping unless given special stimulation.”

The Sage, Leonardo, assured with confidence. Only then did Baphomet feel relieved. For their plan, it was better if God remained unaware of Shin Jaehyuk’s awakening.

“Good. Then what about the civilization rewards God has provided to Earth’s people?”

“You mean the gate connecting Eden and Earth? Hmm… Elohim surely intends to unite the churches of Earth and Eden. It would help with the supply of faith.”

“Shouldn’t we stop it then?”

Leonardo slowly shook his head.

“No, let it be. We might tip off God if we meddle unnecessarily, and more importantly, it will help Shin Jaehyuk.”

“Oh? Help Shin Jaehyuk?”

“Yes. His realm is nearly complete, but his software isn’t.”

“Hmm? I was planning to soon reveal our plan to Shin Jaehyuk and invite him to join us.”

Baphomet tilted his head. From his perspective, the awakened Shin Jaehyuk was already qualified. The Sage pointed out an important factor Baphomet had overlooked.

“No, that won’t work. What paladin, full of faith and devotion, would accept if we suddenly proposed, ‘Join forces with us to fight God’? We’d be lucky if he just showed hostility and caution toward us.”

“Humans and their… what’s so great about faith anyway.”

“To turn Shin Jaehyuk’s heart away from God, he needs time to discover the world’s secrets on his own. How miserably this world is designed, what humans truly are… His experiences in Eden will help. You just need to give him a little push.”

So he meant to guide Shin Jaehyuk’s thinking? Toward opposing God. Baphomet grinned.

“That’s precisely a demon’s specialty.”

But I’ll need some preparation. Recalling the black magician he had contracted with four hundred years ago by giving him divine blood, Baphomet opened a gate. Then he activated his power of deception. This versatile ability, applicable to the broad concept of deceiving others, could even transform a demon’s body into something else.

Baphomet transformed into a snake with scales as red as blood. The red snake flicked its tongue and quietly disappeared through the gate.