Ch.638Chapter 24. Real Estate Never Die (16)

I Zenrosed two men.

Both committed evil acts, but one is a demonic perpetrator, and the other is a victim who became a demon.

Birds of a feather flock together, blood is thicker than water, charity begins at home.

If asked whether I feel more sympathy for a ghost or a sweet guy, naturally as myself—

[Go easy on the Italian side.]

Rather than a solo terrorist who tears couples apart, I’m more inclined to sympathize with a fellow “married man,” even if he committed public indecency.

“Yeah.”

The tetrapod restraints created by Seong Ji-eun immobilized the two white-haired men completely.

If we were in Jeju Island, she would have embraced them with stone grandfather statues, but now she’s just restraining them however she wants.

For those who’ve been Zenrosed, physical restraint is enough.

No need to worry about details, just keep them from moving.

But that demon is different.

“Ugh, argh…!”

[What a shame, Yoo Yeol-chung.]

The demon couldn’t escape Seong Ji-eun’s restraints.

It was a surprise attack, so he’s temporarily bound by her restraints.

[Do you have anything to say before you depart?]

“…….”

[How many demons like you do you think I’ve dealt with? You’re not the ‘real’ one right now. You’re a fake.]

“……Heh. You’ve got that wrong.”

Yoo Yeol-chung’s avatar twisted his lips and mocked me.

“I don’t use avatars. I am the real one.”

[Is that so? Then die here, demon.]

“But as you suspect, I have no intention of dying quietly here.”

Crack, crunch!

Twisting his body inside the tetrapod prison, Yoo Yeol-chung escaped from the restraints, regardless of whether his body was crushed.

Creak!!

“Goblin.”

[Leave it. If we make new restraints, he’ll escape through the gaps.]

Purple blood splattered all over the marble.

Whether his muscles and bones were crushed or not, whether he could barely stand after escaping the tetrapod prison and planting his head on the ground, Yoo Yeol-chung squeezed through the gap and escaped the restraints.

Crunch, crack.

Then his body began to reassemble itself as if returning to its original form.

His twisted arm bent back into place, the flesh scraped off by rocks regenerated, and the foot he tore off while escaping grew back.

“…Insolent demon.”

Seong Ji-eun raised magical power from the ground again.

I wanted to tell her it was useless, but I still cheered her on, just in case.

Clank!

This time, rectangular concrete appeared instead of tetrapods.

The concrete encasing Yoo Yeol-chung was sealed so tightly that not even an ant could escape—

Hissss.

Something like mist escaped from inside, and soon purple blood flowed out of the concrete.

The blood quickly began to form into something like a Monkey’s Paw, and then took on a human shape.

“Your concubine is quite rough. It’s useless. Imprisoning me is futile. If there is someone in this world who desires me, I can exist whenever and wherever.”

“Goblin, can you translate this chuunibyou demon language?”

[It’s a bit much to call it chuunibyou, but he seems to be saying that as long as there are humans who wish for something, he will definitely exist.]

Most demons are like that.

[If there were someone without wishes, killing this demon would be easy. Or perhaps he couldn’t exist at all.]

“Hu, huhu…. As expected of the Goblin. Worthy of being the one who gave me the name ‘Yeol’.”

Yoo Yeol-chung bowed to me with an elegant hand gesture.

“As you thought, I cannot die to ‘those who have wishes.’ Whether it’s someone who dreams of resurrection, or someone with the will to sacrifice everything in this world for their beloved woman. Those who desire something can never kill me.”

A somewhat troublesome condition has appeared.

“I am a demon who grants wishes. One who watches over the hopes that humans desire, and observes their progressive efforts to achieve those hopes. At the same time….”

[You enjoy watching people despair when you grant their wishes in twisted ways.]

“Could it be that you, Goblin, are one of our kind? How do you know me so well?”

[All Yoo Yeol-chungs are like that.]

Whether it’s a Monkey’s Paw or whatever, those who grant wishes in the wrong way are all twisted in the same way.

[Hey, have you ever thought about turning your whole body white, making your eyes red, and styling your hair in twin tails?]

“…Hmm. Indeed.”

It feels exactly like looking at such a creature.

“The wish has been granted.”

[What?]

Crunch, crack.

I had just casually mentioned an image similar to Yoo Yeol-chung that was in my head, but he had already transformed into a new appearance.

“Goblin, are you possibly….”

[No, this isn’t my will.]

“The wish has been granted. But it’s not the form you’re thinking of.”

His voice had changed too.

Until just now, it was a husky male voice, but now it sounded like a voice actor from some Japanese animation.

“Indeed, transforming into a beautiful girl makes the Goblin uncomfortable. Huhuhu, how amusing. It’s thrilling to see the women around the Goblin becoming wary as I approach him.”

“You’re vicious. Are you saying you’re getting a thrill from watching me be jealous?”

“Ah, yes. This is quite… an interesting emotion.”

Yoo Yeol-chung touched his lips with slender fingers and smiled faintly.

“Humans are indeed fascinating creatures, the more you know them. When they achieve one thing, they want ten; when they achieve ten, they want a hundred. Desire has no end.”

[That’s what it means to be human.]

This demon understood humans.

That they are beings who cannot escape from desire.

He takes pride in watching the process of striving to fulfill those desires, but detests those who bypass that process of effort.

In other words, he could be called a ‘cheat hater.’

And that hatred manifests in him granting cheats himself, only to lead those who use them to ruin.

[The greater the gap between strong desire and actual ability, the greater the human’s downfall. That’s your raison d’être as a ‘demon,’ right?]

“……You know too much about me.”

[Stop trying to act seductive and twisting your body.]

Having already seen him as a 2m tall man, no matter how cute he acts, he just looks like a gender-swapped pretty girl to me.

“Huhu, fine. Then, I’ll call you this. The one who gave me the name ‘Yoo Yeol-chung.’ I’ll call the Goblin… my ‘Father’—”

WHACK.

I immediately swung my Goblin club.

Yoo Yeol-chung was flattened like dried squid by the club, but soon retreated like slime and regained his original form.

“It’s useless. I grow stronger the stronger the wish is. If you want to defeat me, you’ll need to bring a being of ‘desirelessness.'”

[…….]

“But can you really bring such a being? At least, it doesn’t seem like there’s one among the ability users?”

“What a troublesome demon, really.”

Physical restraints don’t work.

Physical attacks don’t work.

Then how do we eliminate a demon?

“Ah. Someone else is calling me. Let’s meet again. Farewell, one who dreams of resurrection. One who seeks to conquer the world for a woman. I….”

Hiss.

“I must go grant the wish of someone hoping to strike it rich through gambling.”

[What are you planning to do? Make them win the jackpot, then have them die of a heart attack from too much joy?]

“……Oh. Truly a demonic idea. Request accepted.”

Yoo Yeol-chung winked at me and began to disappear from the bottom up.

“They won’t die of a heart attack, but I’ll make sure others take all their coins. Haha, hahahaha!!”

Hiss.

Sharp earth spears shot up from below and my Goblin club flew, but they only cut through empty air.

“Damn it.”

Seong Ji-eun openly expressed her frustration, pulling at her hair.

“This is troublesome. What should we do about that? Is it basically impossible for us to defeat him?”

[I suppose so. Did you feel it when you hit him?]

“…Yes. That guy seemed like he was trying to place a lifelong curse on whoever kills him.”

Seong Ji-eun clenched her fist tightly.

“It felt like if you eliminated him, he would never grant your deepest wish.”

[That seems to be how he survives. By holding the subconscious desires of humans hostage and threatening them.]

To put it simply.

Seong Ji-eun could kill the demon if she was willing to give up her own wish.

But as a consequence, she would have to abandon her desire forever.

Currently, her immediate wish is “resurrection,” but if she has an even greater desire, she would have to give that up.

[…….]

“What’s wrong? You look extremely serious.”

[No. Just. I’m wondering if this too is fate.]

If this is the role given to me, then I have no choice but to choose.

My destiny.

[Hundun.]

“Yes.”

[It seems I need to do some genuine villain work. Take care of Baek Seol-hee for me.]

“…Are you going to do something that will make Baek Seol-hee hate you?”

[I’ll explain the situation. That there’s a demon like this, and this is the best way to defeat it.]

A strategy to defeat Yoo Yeol-chung.

[We could keep fighting indefinitely. But that would exhaust us and we’d eventually fall apart.]

That is.

[So we’ll attack him another way. Show this guy who thinks he’s a demon of Yeol what a real demon is.]

To defeat a demon, one must become a demon worse than the demon—become ‘human.’

[For a pathetic Yoo Yeol-chung like you. I’ll show you what ‘real Yeol’ is.]

All ability users.

[Enjoying Yeol against bad guys isn’t really a bad thing, right?]

When facing someone better than themselves, their mental fortitude crumbles.

Then their weakness will be revealed.

Whether they self-destruct from mental breakdown or give up everything and vanish.

Demons are no different.

[Let’s start by NTRing his Monkey’s Paw position.]

A wish-granting Goblin.

[It was none other than the Goblin who ruined greedy Nolbu who broke a perfectly good swallow’s leg to get rich.]

Before there was the Monkey’s Paw, there was the Goblin.