episode_0142

“······What are you doing.”

A red glint flashed in the darkness.

Mi-jeong, who had been lying motionless, suddenly sat up and stared at me.

Perhaps it was because of the emotionless tone of voice that had no hint of any feelings mixed in.

It made me feel slightly uneasy.

I haven’t done anything wrong, but I feel like my soul is being judged.

“Did you sleep well?”

“No.”

This was the second time Mi-jeong had fallen asleep.

Since falling into the trap set by the Neungsoo nun… no, by Sogong, this was the first time.

Other than that, she had never closed her eyes even once.

It seemed that the experience of sleeping after a long time was quite unpleasant, as Mi-jeong grimaced.

It was extremely rare for Mi-jeong to express her emotions outwardly like this.

It seemed like she had a bad dream.

“······What happened?”

“I was hit by Tran Silvia’s magic. I was knocked out in an instant after being struck on the forehead.”

“I see.”

Mi-jeong nodded as if understanding.

In reality, she was hit by the club she had swung herself.

I decided to spare Mi-jeong’s pride a little.

“······Anyway, what are you doing now?”

“I’m going to sleep now. Since I’m awake, watch over me.”

“······.”

It worked out well.

Now I can relax and sleep.

I let go of all tension and closed my eyes while embracing Mu-myeong.

But I felt a burdening gaze.

I knew that Mi-jeong always stared at me when I slept.

But this time, it felt even more burdensome, so I opened my eyes…

“Surprise.”

“······.”

Mi-jeong was lying backwards in front of my face, looking into my eyes.

I flinched and shivered in surprise.

Because of that, Mu-myeong also whimpered and nestled deeper into my arms.

“What’s wrong? Why are you like this.”

“······Today, I… want to sleep in your arms?”

“It’s cold.”

“I’ll warm you up.”

“What do you mean?”

Mi-jeong said something incomprehensible.

I had often slept while hugging Mi-jeong before.

It felt cool, like sleeping with an ice pack, when it was hot in the summer.

But from now on, that wouldn’t happen.

Summer is coming to an end.

As autumn approaches, the southern continent is gradually getting cooler.

Sleeping while hugging Mi-jeong in this weather would mean freezing to death.

Unless you want to become a corpse together, sleeping while hugging Mi-jeong is out of the question.

“······If I warm you up with fire magic, will it be okay?”

“Even if you do that, it will cool down quickly.”

“Just keep warming me up.”

“Then your body will rot and decay.”

“······.”

Mi-jeong fell silent, realizing that there was no solution.

No. There is a solution.

Wait until next summer.

But it seems that Mi-jeong doesn’t have the patience to wait that long, as she comes up behind me and wraps her arms tightly around my waist.

“Why are you like this? You’ve never hugged me first until now.”

“Just because.”

Mi-jeong answered bluntly with a muffled voice against my back.

When she was looking for it, she ran away saying she didn’t like it.

But now that she doesn’t need it, she comes on her own.

She’s like a cat in that sense.

A very versatile cat.

“······It’s gotten warmer.”

“Really?”

Sigh.

Mi-jeong whispered softly against my back, gently touching my cheek.

In moments like this, I keenly feel how much time has passed.

When we first met, Mi-jeong seemed to have no emotions.

She only gave short answers or remained silent unless it was something I asked or absolutely necessary.

Her emotional expression was almost non-existent.

I even had the misconception that the part responsible for emotions had disappeared.

But as time passed and we spent more time together, I started to understand Mi-jeong a little.

She hadn’t lost her emotions.

It was something hidden.

Perhaps it was hidden due to past wounds.

No questions were asked about what kind of wounds they were.

And Mijeong never mentioned it herself.

I won’t ask in the future either.

I think Mijeong won’t talk about it unless the right opportunity arises.

Whether I know or not, it doesn’t matter.

We can still comfort each other’s wounds without necessarily knowing.

And so, Mijeong’s emotions gradually resurfaced.

These days, not only through words but also through a once expressionless face, emotions began to be expressed.

It’s a great improvement.

The heart may be dead, but Mijeong’s heart is still alive.

The body may be cold, but Mijeong’s chest is still warm.

At least I understand that much.

Even if everyone else thinks of Mijeong as a monster or a bloodsucker.

I, at least, know that Mijeong is human.

“Mijeong.”

“······Yes.”

I chuckled softly.

And held Mijeong’s hand that was wrapped around my waist.

The cold sensation transferred to my hand.

The chill from her back made me shiver involuntarily.

Holding her small hand, I said, “Look, Mijeong.”

“······Eek.”

I pushed her away.

It’s cold.

I wrap her in a warm cloak.

I felt a sharp gaze piercing through me from behind.

***

On the beach at night, where the waves crash.

Bubbles slowly formed on the surface, and suddenly, black smoke began to rise, pushing away the foam.

Seagulls that were perched on the beach flew away in alarm.

Crabs scurried into the sand.

Seaweed burned black and died.

|The supreme being who even rejects the judgment of the afterlife. I, the Great Demon…|

In the darkened beach where the moonlight was obscured by clouds.

Even deeper darkness began to spread.

Amidst the smoke, a horned figure appeared with a chilling voice.

|Belphagor will manifest in this world…|

With the appearance of the Great Demon Belphagor, the beach turned into chaos.

The eyes filled with only deep darkness opened wide, and the mouth of the Great Demon began to tear apart.

In the Great Demon’s right hand, a blue heart was beating vigorously, and the demon caressed it as if it were lovely.

|Indeed, the heavens help those who help themselves…|

I had been unable to focus on one thing and paid too much attention to too many things.

I strengthened monsters in the World Tree underground dungeon for Kali, only to be quickly defeated.

When Luna caused a commotion claiming to have resurrected Kali, I helped find a body to sacrifice, but now a problem arose in Cologne.

It’s highly likely that there were also setbacks in recruiting Solara.

I was on my way to Cologne to rectify the situation.

In the end, the Great Demon decided that helping others was futile.

He began to strengthen his own body.

The result was this.

The heart of the sea dragon.

|Behold! If you help yourself, will even the heavens that curse me bestow such a treasure upon you!|

Originally, I had planned to obtain the heart of the sea dragon later.

It was a bothersome and annoying task.

But I had to believe in the other Four Heavenly Kings who were falling one by one.

The Great Demon stopped supporting them and focused all his efforts on controlling the sea dragon using the magic implanted in its head.

The control was swift.

In just a month, the Great Demon took over the sea dragon’s body, turned the dragon palace into ruins, and killed the sea dragon, obtaining its heart.

The Great Demon wasted no time in devouring the sea dragon’s heart.

The heart continued to beat vigorously, splattering blood in all directions.

The black smoke mixed with the red blood of the Great Demon.

The demon, who licked the blood off his hands and arms as if it were a waste, felt power surging through his whole body.

|This is the power of Haeryong…!|

It was Bellpegor’s unique trait, ‘Predation’.

A trait that stole power from others’ hearts.

With this, not only did the demon become more than twice as powerful through simple calculations, but he could also engage in underwater combat.

It was a moment when Bellpegor was filled with joy and laughed maniacally.

|Ahahaha…! Huh?|

Black smoke swirled and sent a strange signal.

At this, Bellpegor’s mouth closed again.

Magic that transcended dimensions.

Through this, there was only one being that could attempt to make contact.

|Why…|

For nearly a hundred years, there had been no contact.

Even during the change of the Four Kings, there was no word.

So why suddenly call at this timing?

The demon, rummaging through his memories, could not easily come up with an answer.

It was hard to grasp.

But even if he found out the reason, it wouldn’t change anything.

There was no choice but to respond to the call.

The demon gathered black smoke at his fingertips and a pitch-black abyss formed within it.

As Bellpegor stepped forward, his body was sucked into it.

|Gasp…|

A crushing sense of oppression throughout his body.

And within the excruciating headache that felt like his head would explode at any moment, the demon quickly knelt down.

And then quickly increased the number of consciousnesses to hundreds, even thousands, to disperse the pain.

Without this, it was an unbearable place.

If an ordinary human entered, their body would explode instantly and they would die.

Even an elf or a fairly exceptional human would quickly go insane if they entered.

Even Transylvia, after coming here once, began to fear ‘that person’ and all the Four Kings, having seizures.

Only the demon could come and go here in his right mind.

No. Even the demon could not be in his right mind the moment he met ‘that person’.

It was a different world.

|Did you call me?|

The demon cautiously asked.

But there was no answer even after a while.

The being that did not communicate through language.

Instead, it communicated through ‘will’.

What I want, and what you want.

If our wills align, that’s all that matters.

There had been no specific instructions so far.

The Four Kings, including the demon, had been operating within the bounds of ‘that person’s’ will.

‘That person’, who was close to being neglectful, why did they call this time…

The demon felt his divided consciousnesses being consumed one by one in real-time and sweated profusely.

Even the demon could not last long here.

|What’s going on…|

|법민땍긍뤼렉걔꽥딩뱉멈럽베깰냈귁뜩렷뮈꽥띰떻멂누법민땍긍뤼렉걔꽥딩뱉멈럽베깰냈귁뜩렷뮈꽥띰떻멂누법민땍긍뤼렉걔꽥딩뱉멈럽베깰냈귁뜩렷뮈꽥띰떻멂누법민땍긍뤼렉걔꽥딩뱉멈럽베깰냈귁뜩렷뮈꽥띰떻멂누법민땍긍뤼렉걔꽥딩뱉멈럽베깰냈귁뜩렷뮈꽥띰떻멂누|

|Aaaah!!!|

In an instant, all of the demon’s consciousness exploded.

The ‘being’ facing the demon was clearly hostile towards him.

Gathering magic at his fingertips, the demon, leaving only one or two consciousnesses before becoming a wreck, barely managed to escape from the other world to the present world.

|Huh… Huh…|

Uniting his consciousness again, the demon first began the task of erasing his memories from the other world.

He had to forget.

Forgetting was the way to live.

Trying to recall it again, losing one’s mind was just a momentary thing.

The Great Demon succeeded in erasing all memories, leaving only necessary information.

All things like the voice of ‘that person’ or the scenery of the other world were forgotten.

There was only one thing remembered.

That ‘person’ was displeased.

For some reason unknown.

Even though language did not communicate.

The great anger was clearly felt.

|Huh······?|

And the Great Demon noticed a strange change happening in their body.

It was not a change unique to the Great Demon alone.

It was being applied to all monsters.

At that change, the Great Demon’s body trembled.

It felt like ‘that person’s’ power was slipping away.

|What in the world······!|

The Great Demon immediately caught on to what ‘that person’ was planning.

Just as the Great Demon had distrusted and abandoned the other Four Heavenly Kings.

‘That person’ too was gathering strength and intending to move directly.