episode_0072

When the offer for a renewed contract came, Succubus Queen Bestia quickly fled.

Understandable.

Would someone who’s pulled off two unfair contracts hesitate to go for a third?

…Thinking about it, running was the wise choice.

‘Assuming escape was even possible.’

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Succubus Queen Bestia dashed through every possible exit, searching for a way out.

But.

There was no escape to be found.

Hero Lia had already enveloped the entire hideout in a barrier.

‘Breaking through is impossible too.’

The barrier was imbued with .

So.

Escape? Out of the question.

“Hehehe.”

“Why not just give up and hand over your horns?”

“Th-This is cheating!”

“You said you’d return them after the job was done!!!”

“I did return them.”

Technically, she had.

She just took them back afterward.

“You bastard!!!”

“Should’ve put a ‘no take-backs’ clause in the contract.”

“Damn it!…”

“So, not giving them up?”

Lia and Elris drew their swords,

while Sophia activated her Blood Stone at 100% and equipped her battle suit.

Not the red suit for combat enhancement,

but the pink one for divine power amplification.

A specialized suit that converted overflowing vitality into divine energy.

Wearing it meant near-infinite divine power.

Enough to cast divine magic on a scale that could blanket an entire nation.

“Ughhk!…”

It could also saturate the air with divine energy potent enough to torment a demon.

“How’s the taste of the Saintess’ divine energy? Delicious, right?”

“Y-You son of a…”

“Divine energy heals wounds and restores health for humans.”

“But for monsters and demons, it’s pure poison, no?”

“Guh…!…”

“If you don’t hand over those horns soon, the divine energy might just kill you… Not that I’d mind.”

She said it with a bright smile.

“We are the Hero’s party, after all.”

Gripping the Succubus Queen’s head, she added,

“A clean kill like this isn’t so bad, either.”

“You… You!…”

“But maybe we’ll spare you if you do one last job properly?”

“……?”

“We are the Hero’s party, but~”

“We don’t need to slaughter every member of the Demon King’s army~”

“……”

“Once the Demon King’s defeated, the hero’s journey ends~ And we can make our wish~”

She grinned.

“So, letting one high-ranking officer go… wouldn’t hurt.”

“You… mean that?…”

“Of course.”

Snap!

With a flick of her finger, Sophia stopped releasing divine energy.

“Haaah…”

The Succubus Queen exhaled, finally looking like she might survive.

“So?”

“Feeling like making a deal?”

“…This is really the last one?”

“The very last.”

“You’ll return my horns and let me go after?”

“Naturally.”

“Fine…”

“I’ll sign that damn contract again… Hand it over…”

With a sigh, the Succubus Queen took the contract.

“……”

The terms were simple:

Retrieve all the wealth the Pope had amassed, stored in a dimensional bag.

“That’s it? You’ll free me after?”

“Of course.”

“How far does ‘amassed wealth’ go? Even the Pope’s underwear?”

“Don’t need that.”

No junk items.

Just everything piled in the Pope’s treasury,

plus all the war supplies meant for the Demon King’s army.

That’ll do.

“……”

“What? Not happy?”

The Succubus Queen glared bitterly.

Understandable.

After all her hard work securing supplies for the Demon King’s army,

now she had to hand them all over.

Her chance to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings—gone.

…The moment she thought that,

the Succubus Queen’s glare turned even fiercer.

“Whoa, whoa—calm down, friend~”

“Who’s your friend?”

“This contract actually benefits you too.”

“How the hell does this scam benefit me?!”

“Doesn’t matter how you get there—becoming a Heavenly King is the goal, right?”

“?”

“Finish this job, and you’ll become one.”

“I… can become a Heavenly King?”

“That’s right.”

“……Explain.”

The Succubus Queen listened intently, curiosity piqued.

“First question.”

“How many vacant spots are there among the Four Heavenly Kings right now?”

“One, obviously.”

“Wrong! Incorrect!”

“?”

“The answer is two.”

“Two?”

“Yep.”

“A few days ago, Jet of the Sonic Speed bit the dust.”

“Lord Jet is dead?! How?!”

“He ran into us.”

“That’s impossible!”

The Succubus Queen was genuinely shocked.

Understandable.

Jet of the Sonic Speed was so fast he could outrun even the Demon King.

On top of that, he had an almost supernatural sense for killing intent.

Ambushes didn’t work on him,

and his evasion was top-tier.

In raw combat power, he was the weakest of the Four,

but in survivability? The strongest.

And yet, he was dead.

Hard to believe.

So, I showed her proof.

“Th-This is?…”

“A Blood Stone condensed from Jet’s corpse.”

“AAAAAAAH!!!”

The Succubus Queen turned pale, screamed, and collapsed.

“What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the—?! How can you just wave around something so horrific?!!!”

“?”

I thought for a moment.

A red gem made from a Heavenly King’s corpse.

‘The Four Heavenly Kings are like the demon version of the Hero’s party…’

From a human perspective, it’d be like capturing a hero, condensing their corpse into a gem, and flaunting it.

‘Hmm…’

If a demon showed me a gem made from, say, Elris’ corpse…

‘Ah.’

Now I understood her reaction.

But.

No need to coddle the enemy’s feelings.

I smirked.

“If you don’t want to end up the same, behave.”

“……”

“Just do the job right.”

“Finish this one task, and you’ll become a Heavenly King.”

“Become one… Got any proof?…”

“I do.”

“?”

“Jet died because he failed his scouting mission.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“But you, Succubus Queen Bestia, will succeed and report the Hero party’s intel to the Demon King.”

“!!!!!!”

“With that kind of achievement, becoming a Heavenly King is a cakewalk, no?”

“M-Maybe?…”

“Right?”

“But… isn’t it weird to just let me take back info no other demon knows?…”

“Weird?”

“……”

She eyed me with suspicion.

Well.

Of course she’d doubt it.

What kind of fool would just let intel leak to the enemy?

But.

A convincing reason could sell it.

“Getting caught is more beneficial.”

“???”

“We’re the Hero’s party.”

“But thanks to someone blocking the celestial realm, we can’t prove it.”

But—ta-da!

What if the Demon King’s army declared them the Hero’s party?

Instant proof.

And all the privileges that come with it.

Hearing this,

the Succubus Queen smirked.

“So, you’re using me till the very end.”

“Mutual benefit.”

We get the Pope’s riches and official recognition as the Hero’s party.

You become a Heavenly King.

“So?”

“A win-win, no?”

“Not a bad deal.”

From the start, her flirtatious antics with the Pope were just desperate attempts to climb the ranks.

And now?

An easier path to becoming a Heavenly King?

No hesitation.

“But… will it really go that smoothly?…”

“If it doesn’t, we’ll just kill the other Heavenly Kings until it does.”

“Kill them?”

“If all the current ones die, they’ll have to fill the spots with someone, right?”

The Four Heavenly Kings are the demons ranked 2nd to 5th.

If the current 2nd to 5th all perish,

the next in line—6th to 9th—automatically take their place.

Hearing this,

the Succubus Queen smiled.

“Do whatever you want.”

“Really?”

“The Heavenly Kings might fall to you, but the Demon King will crush you all in the end.”

“So, the Demon King’s stronger than us?”

“Obviously.”

“The strongest, most handsome man in the world.”

‘Most handsome?’

Hmm…

Depending on taste, maybe.

The Demon King was the macho type.

If rugged masculinity was your thing, then sure, he could be the world’s finest.

So.

I let that slide.

His boast about being the world’s strongest? Also ignored.

‘No need to shatter her delusions.’

With that thought, I said:

“If that’s what you believe, sign the contract, finish the job, and we’ll part ways.”

“Fine.”

“I’ve had enough of you too.”

The Succubus Queen scanned the contract, adding clauses one by one.

“No taking back the horns after giving them.”

“OK.”

“If the job’s done right, you’ll return them and not take them again.”

“Guarantee my life.”

“OK.”

“Do the job, and I’ll spare you.”

“You promise?”

“If you attack us or try anything, we’ll defend ourselves—and ‘accidentally’ killing you in the process can’t be helped.”

“I won’t attack.”

“You think I’m insane enough to fight you?”

“Good.”

“Once I get my horns back, I’m bolting to the Demon King’s castle without looking back. You better keep your word.”

“Deal.”

And so, the Succubus Queen nitpicked every detail into the contract.

“That it?”

“One last thing.”

“What?”

“No ambushing me on the way back disguised as bandits to steal the bag.”

“Oh…”

“So, stealing it mid-transit and claiming you never got it… Clever!…”

“Agree not to do that?”

“Fine.”

“We, the ‘Hero’s party,’ won’t pull such underhanded tricks.”

The final clause was set.

“Contract’s done.”

“The penalty for breaking it is surrendering everything you own, right?”

“Yep.”

“Break it, and your soul’s mine—eternal slavery.”

“You’d become my slave and lose all your items too.”

“Won’t happen.”

“I’m only thinking of handing over the goods and becoming a Heavenly King.”

“Really?”

“So, don’t get any ideas—just keep your promise.”

“Sure~”

With a faint smile, the Succubus Queen flew off.

The process was trash,

but the result? A shot at becoming a Heavenly King.

Guess she was in a better mood now?

‘Well…’

‘Laugh while you can, my friend.’

The contract stated:

We, the ‘Hero’s party,’ won’t pull underhanded tricks like stealing the bag mid-transit.

So?

What if someone not in the Hero’s party did the stealing?

Geum Taeyang.

Time to work.