Ch.595Chapter 22. The Price of Labor (27)

Demons are creatures who understand the human heart all too well.

They know better than anyone what humans want, what they desire, and what they hope for even after their wishes come true.

So do these demons purely grant human wishes?

Not at all.

Because they understand humans so well, demons are those who toy with humans.

They are creatures who prefer watching what happens when wishes go wrong at the moment they’re fulfilled, rather than watching humans despair when their wishes aren’t granted at all.

The demons I’m talking about here aren’t ability users who have fallen from grace.

I mean demons as they appear in the Bible, or as we generally think of them.

And the true nature of such demons was perfectly revealed in how they turned Chairman Choi Ho-jung into an “immutable golden statue.”

They granted Choi Ho-jung the power of immortality that he desired.

As “gold” that would exist forever—neither aging nor dying.

CLANG!

[It’s useless.]

Even when I lightly swing my Goblin club to strike him, there’s no reaction.

I’ve tried smashing him with the club, creating a saw to cut his surface, and even rubbing his face with sandpaper.

But Golden Choi Ho-jung remained motionless.

Choi Ho-jung had solidified like a mannequin made of managold, showing no movement whatsoever.

Just metal itself.

Like a statue of a child or adult standing in an old elementary school park, Golden Choi Ho-jung had turned to gold while kneeling with both arms raised toward the sky in the hotel suite.

‘Is this like Midas?’

King Midas, who gained hands that turned everything he touched to gold, eventually turned his own daughter and finally himself into gold.

The circumstances are a bit different, but Choi Ho-jung’s situation seems similar.

The difference is that with Midas, someone might have had the power to cut the gold, or if the gold melted, it could be reborn as gold bars or gold beads.

Golden Choi Ho-jung is different.

“Brother, I don’t think I can do anything either.”

Even Lord of Radiant Wings gave up.

He tried his best to change Choi Ho-jung’s posture, but despite using quite a lot of mana, he couldn’t alter Choi Ho-jung’s position.

“Will he really stay in this position forever?”

[I suppose so.]

“Even after humanity goes extinct?”

[Even if the sun explodes and the universe resets, this Golden Choi Ho-jung will remain to become an object of worship for the new humanity.]

Neither Goblin nor Lord of Radiant Wings can manipulate Golden Choi Ho-jung.

[If two more people try and they also find it impossible, then this golden statue will maintain this state forever.]

“Who are these two people?”

[Qiongqi Yoon Hye-ra and Armored Taejo.]

Either melt it with overwhelming firepower.

Or control it with ability power since it’s managold.

[If neither works, then he’ll have to live like this forever.]

“Is he really living…?”

[It’s immortality, right? Choi Ho-jung must still be alive in there.]

I lightly flicked the statue’s face with my finger.

[His body has become immutable gold, but his soul hasn’t departed. Rather, it’s sealed inside. He probably won’t be able to escape from this managold for the rest of his life. Can you see it? The flow of mana.]

“…The mana in the air and the mana flowing from the ground just passes by Golden Choi Ho-jung without touching him?”

[That’s right.]

The mana used and expelled by ability users.

The mana flowing from nature.

The mana created by the “will of Hwan” that fills the underground of the Korean peninsula flows around Golden Choi Ho-jung’s statue but doesn’t approach it.

I’m not sure if this is an appropriate expression, but it’s like when someone vomits in the middle of the road and people try not to get close to the vomit.

Has he become someone even the will of Hwan avoids?

I should investigate the details, but I don’t really feel like doing so.

Thinking that Choi Ho-jung is still inside, I can only think about how else we might use this.

“Brother, what are you thinking? You’re not planning to sell this to America or something, are you?”

[I have no intention of selling it for money. Unless it’s to draw attention.]

“Attention?”

[Well, let’s talk about the details later.]

I tapped the floor.

[How’s your body? You’ve finally revived as a human.]

“…I finished talking with the body’s owner. He said it’s an honor.”

[Huh?]

“It’s like a residual thought, I guess? I met with the trace of the soul that remained in the body. He said I could use his body freely as long as I completely erase Haeguneul.”

[…I see.]

Though he lived his entire life as Haeguneul’s tool, and lived for Choi Ho-jung until the very end, it seems there was another feeling in a corner of his heart.

Conscience, or hostility toward Haeguneul.

Perhaps that final trace could awaken because the being residing in that body was none other than humanity’s strongest hero, “Lord of Radiant Wings.”

“But brother. I’m fine, but is that really okay?”

[Hmm?]

“I mean Golden Choi Ho-jung. If a demon granted his wish, doesn’t that golden statue also contain the power to defeat us?”

[Are you worried about dying again or becoming a spirit after being revived? That’s not like the great Lord of Radiant Wings, worrying about such things.]

“Ah, hahaha….”

Lord of Radiant Wings scratched his cheek and laughed awkwardly.

He must be a bit embarrassed at having his thoughts hit right on the mark.

[I don’t think you need to worry. If the demon had liked Choi Ho-jung, it wouldn’t have turned him into a gold lump like this, but rather into a demon who could produce gold. Like Midas himself, for instance.]

As a golden demon.

[If I were a demon with the power to grant wishes like the Monkey’s Paw, and if Choi Ho-jung were an evil person who wanted to rule the world, I would have made him a Korean Midas.]

“An ability that turns everything he touches into gold…”

[Then it would be Goblin and Lord of Radiant Wings who became golden statues, not Choi Ho-jung. And also, this golden statue itself doesn’t have the power to defeat us.]

You can see it just by looking at the mana.

[This man made a mistake. Because the situation became too urgent, and because his thinking ability suddenly improved dramatically after becoming an ability user, he couldn’t respond calmly.]

“Calmly?”

[The demon didn’t even introduce itself as something he should possess, yet he split his wish into several parts.]

The Monkey’s Paw does grant wishes.

But in return, it twists those wishes.

Whether it desires the destruction of the one whose wish it grants, or enjoys the chaos that results, wishes are not fulfilled in the normal way that humans expect.

[Logically speaking, he has gained the power to kill us, so it is frightening.]

“What kind of power?”

[Time.]

I pointed outside the barrier.

[He can now enjoy ‘infinitely’ alone the finite time given to all humans, so that too becomes a power that can kill us. Even until the moment we grow old and die, Choi Ho-jung will live forever inside this golden statue.]

“…You know what.”

Lord of Radiant Wings ran his hand through his hair as he watched the triple barrier gradually being withdrawn.

“You’re probably the person who comes up with the most demonic ideas.”

[That doesn’t sound like a compliment, but thanks for calling me a person.]

I am not a demon.

I just know a lot of stories from writers who have created such demonic beings.

And.

Most such demons use very trivial things to mess with people in the world.

Someone once said:

-The devil is in the details.

That’s how it goes.

The original phrase refers to God, not the devil, but everyone knows how it’s used.

[Having demonic ideas doesn’t make you a demon. Demons are born from humanity’s endless malice and thoughts.]

* * *

Whoosh.

Above Namsan Tower.

The black mist that had been shimmering as a dark form gradually began to take shape.

Whirr.

The Monkey’s Paw, covered in black fur, gradually began to take on a human form, soon transforming into something like a human.

The man wrapped in a black fur coat became an ordinary handsome man with a pale face and long hair.

“The wish has been granted. Congratulations.”

“……”

Behind the demon.

Yang Da-rin, a woman with a somewhat vicious expression, glared at the demon while holding a child who was sound asleep.

“Is Choi Ho-jung really dead?”

“He is not dead.”

“What?! Wait, that’s different from our ‘contract’…!”

“Choi Ho-jung wished for immortality in his final moment, and I granted that wish. Immortality. The power to kill the other two. And the primal wish hidden in the deepest part of his heart.”

“…And what was that?”

“He wanted to be the richest person in the world. So…”

The demon pointed to the sky.

“I made him the entity with the highest economic value in this world.”

“……”

“Why do you look like that?”

“You… you played with Choi Ho-jung…?”

“Not at all.”

The demon firmly shook his head.

“I merely grant human wishes.”

“Even if the way you grant them is wrong?”

“Then he should have specified that when making the wish. Like you did.”

“……”

Yang Da-rin smiled meaningfully while holding the child.

“So what will you do now, Mr. Demon? Do you plan to destroy the Earth?”

“No. I have only one job: to grant wishes. And look, there’s someone desperately wishing over there.”

The demon pointed downward.

There was someone desperately praying with a small piece of paper.

“Please, please let me win the lottery jackpot…! Let all six numbers match…!!”

“The wish.”

The demon nodded as he drew numbers in the air with his finger.

“Has been granted. Six winning numbers will appear.”

“…Really?”

“Of course.”

The demon pointed at the lottery ticket the man was praying over with clasped hands, with an expression that suggested the question was obvious.

“No more, no less, exactly six numbers.”