Chapter 113: The Angel Goes to Sea (12)

Episode 113: The Angel Goes to Sea (12)

“Disinformation…?”

The demon king’s avatar, who had never shown any fluster, except when his concealment was broken, and he was dragged out, tilted his head.

Leffrey, without further explanation, soared into the air and approached a nearby Mariana soldier.

The Mariana soldier was both inflicting and suffering indiscriminate violence. All around him was a scene that perfectly illustrated a war of all against all.

‘I’ve seen something like this in a spy movie…’

Leffrey shook his head, trying to clear his mind, then whispered to the soldier caught in the struggle,

“Why are you fighting?”

The angel’s voice pierced through the horrible song, reaching the wounded soldier.

“I’ll ask you again, why are you fighting?”

An angel is a messenger of Heaven.

A messenger is someone who delivers a message.

If an angel speaks with sincerity… their words can reach anyone, no matter who they are. Even those who have closed their hearts and are consumed by hatred.

“I…”

The Mariana soldier answered.

The anger that had filled his eyes began to fade, and tears welled up.

“They sent me here. Sold me off. I wanted to learn more, but… I didn’t want to become a soldier.”

“I see. But why did you have to become a soldier in Mariana?”

“Because I… I didn’t have the background to enter the academy, because I had no money. Because my parents sold me to a powerful faction for money.”

His words were facts.

Humans inevitably hurt other humans.

The song the Demon King was singing right now was a song about those wounds. A song that spoke of the truth.

‘But even spitting facts… is still violence. Then…’

Leffrey, the Agitator Angel, activated. Religions, since the old days, were experts at agitation and fabrication. And the ultimate form of agitation and fabrication was a holy war.

“No, it’s not because of them.”

“Not… because of them…?”

“Think carefully. Why does Mariana need soldiers in the first place? Why did those powerful factions become so strong?”

Leffrey pointed at the sky.

Up in the sky, the demon king, who looked somewhat like Leffrey but was a little taller and had black wings… tilted his head and muttered, “Me?”

“It’s all because of that loser.”

Leffrey whispered,

“If that loser hadn’t invaded this world, if he hadn’t unleashed monsters upon the world… then this wouldn’t have happened. So it’s all his fault!”

A new flame of hatred began to burn in the eyes of the Mariana soldier. Some might even call it the flame of fanaticism.

“That’s right.”

The Mariana soldier took a stance. He had already become a holy knight, ready to face the Demon King.

“It’s all that *loser’s* fault. He’s the root of all my problem!”

Thus, starting with this Mariana soldier, Leffrey’s agitation and fabrication began.

“Why are *you* fighting?”

“Our academy bullies the weaker students. I’m being bullied by those bastards…”

“No! That bullying… It’s all because of that demon king! He’s the one corrupting people’s hearts!”

“I see…!”

Seeing this, the Demon King muttered in bewilderment.

“Huh? I’m the cause of bullying? Why are you blaming me for the sins you humans committed on your own…”

But Leffrey didn’t stop.

Agitation and fabrication, the true functions of religion.

“Sir, why are *you* fighting?”

“I’m… I’m serving in Mariana for humanity, but my wife back home cheated on me. Those bastards must have something to do with it. I can’t forgive them.”

“No! I know the real culprit!”

Leffrey confidently pointed at the sky.

“That’s the loser who seduced your wife! Look at his pretty face! That evil being must have stood beside your wife, tempting her to sin!”

The demon king, hearing those words, said in disbelief…

“Why, why would I even seduce a human? Those monkeys, why would…?”

…but his words were already falling on deaf ears.

“So it was you. You… I’ll kill you…!”

Thus, one by one, the soldiers of Mariana Camp and the students of the Central Academy joined the holy war.

“I hate this world that made me bald…”

“The reason why you’re bald is because of that *loser*! He’s the one polluting the air with negative energy, causing hair loss!”

“What? What?! I’ve never done such a thing! Think rationally, human!”

But the man, his eyes consumed by rage,

…had already drawn his weapon.

“…I’ve finally found you. The nemesis of my hair.”

“Nemesis of your hair?”

“What? That bastard is…”

Dozens of people charged at the demon king. Leffrey, seeing that, nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Hair loss is a serious matter. Wow, they’re practically berserkers.”

This absurd agitation and disinformation continued.

“Sure, part of it is because of me playing too many games… but my grades… being so low…”

“It’s all because of that demon king’s avatar! He used his seductive magic to hinder the Central Academy students!”

“Wh-When did I even…”

Leffrey took to the skies. The demon king’s avatar, unable to unleash his Seven Trumpets because of the professors, could only watch helplessly.

The Demon King Avatar Raid Team grew in number.

The so-called Holy Crusaders.

“The fact that I have no friends…”

“It’s because the demon king’s interfering!”

“The fact that I have skin problems…”

“It’s because the demon king made the air quality bad!”

“And the fact that I don’t want to live…”

“It’s all because of the demon king! I don’t know! I don’t know! Everything is because of the Demon King!”

Leffrey whined proudly from the sky.

Leffrey, the Whiny Angel…!

“Blame the Ca… No! Blame the Dark Lord! All the suffering and pain we’ve endured, it’s all because of him!”

Most of the students and soldiers immediately responded to his words. They even grabbed those who weren’t yet swayed and bombarded them with absurd lies, just like Leffrey.

The Holy Crusaders spread like a zombie horde.

“How? How is this possible? How can such clumsy agitation and disinformation actually work…?”

The demon king, shocked that such a ridiculous tactic was actually working, stared at the growing horde, forgetting to even blow his trumpets.

As the demon king stopped blowing his trumpets, the professors and Captain Jeb started to move. In the end, the demon king couldn’t stop Leffrey’s nonsensical actions.

“That’s right! It’s all the demon king’s fault.”

“We did nothing wrong… It’s all because of the Demon King!”

“He’s the source of all evil in this world…”

“Blame the Dark Lord!”

“Death to the Demon King!”

This was Leffrey’s plan.

‘The demon king is a much more powerful karma user than I am. There’s no way I can defeat him in a direct confrontation using Angelic Abilities. So if I can’t avoid his power to create war…’

Then he would just turn it into a war they *had* to fight.

Change the human-versus-human war… into a holy war against the demon king.

Leffrey, feeling the karma surging within him, looked at the demon king.

[Stopping a war between humans is a truly angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

[Leading humanity to declare a holy war is truly an angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

And then came the full-on attack. The demon king’s avatar, not even taking a defensive stance, had used most of his karma to blow the trumpets, but… he couldn’t last much longer.

In the end, the demon king, dismissing the ‘Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets’, looked down at the humans and said, his voice filled with hate,

“You weaklings, unable to even face the truth. Twisted beings who can only survive by blaming others.”

The demon king’s wings grew even larger, and a black halo formed behind his head. An immense amount of karma enveloped the avatar, even though it was just a mere fragment of the demon king.

“I will personally save you.”

The demon king waved his hand, pulled out a black dagger, and muttered,

“Darkness of the Archangel that Illuminates the World.”

A black beam shot towards the students and the soldiers. A few instinctively created barriers, but it wasn’t a darkness that could be blocked by the barriers of those weaklings.

“It’s been a while. You haven’t forgotten about me, have you?”

“Demon King, I’ll rip you apart with my own hands.”

“Ahahaha, an avatar of the demon king. A perfect test subject.”

“Fallen Archangel, it’s been a long time.”

“… Archers to your positions.”

But it was a darkness that could be blocked by the strong. The professors of the Central Academy, humanity’s strongest, easily deflected the demon king’s beam.

“They’re now called professors, huh? Defeated trash, calling themselves that.”

The demon king’s avatar laughed as if it were nothing. But he couldn’t be so unfazed.

The reason he hadn’t stopped Leffrey from agitating those people, the reason he kept blowing his trumpets, was to prevent the professors and Captain Jeb from participating in the fight.

The demon king’s plan was to make the students and soldiers destroy each other, while the professors and Captain Jeb were enduring his ability with their willpower.

But Leffrey ruined all of his plans.

However, the demon king, looking at Leffrey who had ruined all of his plans… smiled benevolently.

“My little angel. So clever for someone so young. Just like one of our kind.”

As Leffrey flinched at that smile, Park Jin-ho shouted at the Demon King’s avatar with killing intent.

“That’s right, we lost to your true form.”

The moment Park Jin-ho drew his sword, the other professors of the Central Academy immediately formed a formation.

“But I don’t think we’ll lose to a mere avatar.”

“You humans are so unimaginative. To live without even considering such an obvious fact.”

The sky cracked, the earth trembled, once more. The demon king’s avatar had already consumed a tremendous amount of karma using his Angelic Ability.

‘And yet, he still possesses such immense demonic power…’

The battle between the professors, Captain Jeb, and the Demon King’s avatar had begun.

Although they were still concealing their Ultimate Skills, even their basic attacks, were worthy of being called ‘mythical.’

The sea parted from their sword strikes, massive meteorites were summoned by their magic, and clouds scattered from their punches. And the demon king’s avatar gracefully endured it all.

The demon king wasn’t just powerful in terms of Angelic Abilities; he was also a master who had honed his martial skills for a long, long time.

Martial arts honed in countless mythical battles, talents blessed with Heaven’s greatest gift.

Even without his Angelic Abilities, the demon king was still the demon king. His avatar could face the professors with just his stats, his mana, and his Esper Ability.

“Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Heroes.”

And the demon king’s Angelic Ability was unleashed.

An incredible amount of demonic power emanated from him.

‘…What immense demonic power.’

Here, demonic power means karma. Even now, the Demon King’s avatar was emanating karma so powerful it seemed endless.

‘Why would the demon king’s avatar use such a complex method when he has this much karma? He could have just used it to kill us all…’

Leffrey realized the answer.

No. Even with that much karma, he couldn’t defeat the professors, Mariana Camp, the students, and the soldiers.

If he could have won alone, he would have just massacred Mariana Camp with his avatar and sunk this entire artificial island right away.

Even the demon king’s avatar, who had unleashed his Angelic Ability, was still unable to gain an advantage, continuously consuming his karma.

If the demon king was a demon king, then the professors were heroes.

Heroes do not fall easily.

Thus, heroes do not know defeat.

‘This is my chance. A chance to eliminate the demon king’s avatar. That avatar must be incredibly important to the demon king, even more so than a Heavenly King. If I can eliminate it, then the enormous damage to the demon king…’

Leffrey’s eyes sparkled.

If he could just take even a fraction of that immense karma his…

‘No, to be precise, this is a chance to steal the demon king’s karma…!’

Just how much Angelic Power would he gain if he could steal even a fraction of that karma?

Leffrey couldn’t resist.

He didn’t know what he was resisting, though.

‘An unprecedented Angelic Power farming opportunity…!’

Leffrey, the Greed Angel, his eyes sparkled once again.

“Heroes, are you ready to fight?”

Leffrey looked at the three girls standing behind him.

“O-Of course! Haa, haa. Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not nervous at all!”

“…He looks strong. This will be a fun fight. Meow—Ahem, what was that? Did someone bring a cat?”

And Yumari, silently enlarging her horns. Her long black hair begins to float slightly, fluttering with static electricity.

Yumari smiled.

“My angel.”

The girl reached out her hand.

“Let’s fly together.”