episode_0190

Deep within the abyss of the demon realm.

In the thick darkness where not a single ray of light penetrates.

At the bottom, a black figure descended.

Wrath, Satan.

Unlike his usual appearance, where he would cloak himself in grand magic like a mantle.

Now, he had suppressed it as much as possible, resembling other demons.

There was no light, nothing visible to the eye, but with magic, he could sense his surroundings.

Five massive statues surrounded the deep abyss cliff.

The statue in the sixth position was shattered, and the seventh position was empty.

“Have you dealt with Naeta?”

“Velfegor gave him as a gift to the humans. Whether they kill him or torture him until he loses his mind and turns into a beggar, it doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter which. If Naeta loses his name, that will be enough.”

Faint magic flowed out from inside the statue, beginning to convey its message.

Meanwhile, Satan knelt, suppressing all his magic, listening intently.

“What will you do if Naeta remains as Naeta?”

“I do not think that will happen, but… Nevertheless, there is no problem. I will kill him with my own hands. I have decided to bear all the sins.”

Achieving his goal by having Eugene kill Velfegor and gaining his favor was the essence of the basic plan.

But even if the plan went awry, there would be no problem.

Because Velfegor could be killed at any time to take Naeta’s name.

He was brazenly committing murder within the view of the mortal realm, unlike the demon realm where such deeds were impossible.

Satan was prepared to commit atrocities.

All for a greater purpose.

And for the demon realm and the demons.

As the Great Demon, he had to sacrifice himself.

If there was one variable, it would be Velfegor escaping from the demon realm again.

But now, that was no longer possible.

Draken, who had helped him escape before, seemed to have lost interest in Velfegor.

“Surely that human won’t help him…”

An individual who had come from the mortal realm to this place alive.

He might find a way to escape the demon realm somehow, but he would not help Velfegor escape.

His hatred towards Velfegor was not ordinary.

Unlike the demon realm where evil deeds were impossible, the mortal realm was truly lawless.

Listening to the atrocities Velfegor had committed there, Satan immediately understood the roots of the human’s hatred.

Either kill him immediately.

Or inflict such great pain that he would want to die.

It had to be one of the two.

Humans were such a species.

They pursued justice, established nations, and sought objective morals.

But they could never give up the exhilarating pleasure of revenge.

If they could give up such things, they would have ascended to heaven long ago.

“At least it’s best not to provoke his emotions…”

“I understand. I never expected a being familiar with death to suddenly appear, especially as a living human… Anyway, it’s a great opportunity for us, so we can’t afford to miss it.”

Although there were suspicions from the moment he appeared, no one believed it.

But when the heavens responded to his call, all doubts were dispelled.

Now, not a single demon harbored even a hint of doubt.

A being familiar with death.

A being that only existed in legends suddenly dropped into the demon realm.

There were countless ways to utilize him, but the immediate thought was to assist the ‘plan.’

However, explaining it without a good understanding of the demon realm’s situation would be futile.

So, for the time being, they decided to give him time to adapt to the demon realm.

Above all, the human still seemed to cling to the hope of returning to the mortal realm, so they would wait for him to give up and accept his fate.

All the ingredients were ready. The plan that had been dormant for thousands of years suddenly resurfaced due to laziness, and thanks to the familiarity with death, it had come to this-

Clang!

At that moment, the ground shook with a loud noise.

Satan’s expression stiffened at this.

At first, he thought it was a vibration caused by the Underworld.

However, even though it was a significant vibration, it was not enough to shake the entire Underworld.

No matter how strong the impact was, it could only shake about 10% of the Underworld.

But what was strange was that, except for the six Archdemons gathered here, there was no other being in the Underworld capable of producing such power.

“Could it be…?”

Satan stood up.

Something unusual was happening.

Something was different.

Where did that feeling come from?

What was different?

Intuition is a result that is quickly calculated by the data and logic of experience.

It may be difficult to explain, but with time and effort, it is not impossible to explain.

Of course, there are cases where it is just a false feeling.

But in my case, that is not the case.

The experiences accumulated over 12 short lifetimes are not in vain.

It is better to act according to my intuition than the decision I made after days of contemplation.

But today, no matter how long it takes.

I must somehow unravel and explain my intuition.

“What is different about Velfegor?”

It is such an important issue that there is no other way.

Kali, Luna, Solra, and Velfegor.

There is definitely a difference between these three and Velfegor.

How are they different?

I need to find out from now on.

First of all, Solra is out of the question.

Although she is not entirely blameless for the actions of the Four Kings, her responsibility is very weak.

She was also blackmailed with her younger sister as a hostage.

She was not proactive.

She had no purpose or intention, and even before ascending to the throne of the Four Kings, I grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out, so she cannot be compared to the other Four Kings.

So, Luna and Kali.

What is the difference between them and Velfegor?

What is it that makes me hesitate to kill Velfegor?

Because of this question, my head keeps getting cluttered, and I cannot focus on anything else.

I need to come up with an answer quickly.

And then, whether I kill Velfegor or take any other action, my mind will be at ease.

“Beautiful, right?”

“No way.”

I immediately dismissed Mijeong’s opinion.

That’s not it.

If it was because she was cute and pretty that my heart wavered, then it would have been the same when Kali possessed an unknown person.

But at that time, I was not swayed at all.

Appearance has nothing to do with it.

I pride myself on being able to embrace a person regardless of appearance, even if Mijeong suddenly turned into a giant one day, thanks to the same life repeated 12 times, if I cannot realize such a simple thing, then I must have regressed.

“Luna and Kali are dead, and Velfegor is alive, is that the only difference?”

Is it just that one thing?

Because they stand on opposite sides of life and death.

Is it because Luna and Kali’s punishment can be left to the objective justice of the gods, that I could easily crush them without hesitation?

“No. That’s not it.”

It’s not like that.

I was of the same mind that humans are not taken to the gods.

At that time, I summoned the gods, prepared to be dragged to the gods because of the sins I had committed so far.

“If that’s the case, then the answer is…”

When Kali was being dragged away.

She insisted that she was justice and begged for forgiveness in the end.

She begged for forgiveness.

And Luna, in her final moments, begged for her life by threatening me.

No, to be precise, she begged for her ‘existence’.

The execution of justice in the realm of the afterlife, which is no different from the laws of dimensions, is inevitable, yet they struggled in vain, knowing this.

Their commonality lies in the fact that they knew their actions were wrong, yet they tried to justify them or avoid responsibility.

But what about Velfegor?

“Regret or not regret······ that is the question.”

Velfegor faced death.

Of course, he feared death, but he did not deny or regret the path he had walked.

What does it mean to not regret the actions one knows are wrong, even after walking that path?

It may be something only a pure evil devoid of a heart can do, but Velfegor’s demeanor, though cunning, was not pure evil.

That’s why it’s even more peculiar.

“It feels like we’re similar.”

A bit unsettling, but I caught a glimpse of similarity with Velfegor.

A determination not to regret, even if my choices may not have been the best.

A determination to cherish what I have built.

A determination not to deny what I have accomplished.

Then, what is Velfegor holding onto so fiercely, refusing to regret in such a desolate place?

“There is always a faster way.”

If there is a way to find it, he had already thought of it.

In the past, he might not have imagined it, but in a place where time and resources are abundant, he could try as many times as he wanted.

With a flick of his finger, the thick magical barrier surrounding him was lifted, revealing a maid with chocolate-colored skin standing motionless against the cave wall.

She had a flushed face, trembling and rubbing her thighs.

“What are you doing?”

“W-what······ what am I doing······! I’m in the middle of carrying out your orders······!”

What did I say again?

Scratching my head for a moment, I finally remembered.

I had told her to stay there and not move until I came out to begin my training······.

It had been 6 hours since I gave that command.

Had Velfegor not moved an inch for those 6 hours?

But why is his face so red again?

“Why can’t you move properly?”

“Hurry······ hurry up······. Untie me······.”

“Not answering when asked-”

“Ah, ahh!”

“······.”

Oh right······.

I had forgotten.

Demons don’t go to the bathroom, but Velfegor had lost all the magic he had on his body and was practically human, and 6 hours were enough to reach the limit of holding back menstrual symptoms.

Flowing down smooth legs under the skirt, a transparent stream of liquid.

Yet, due to the unfulfilled command, Velfegor stood still, trembling in place, holding onto the hem of his skirt as if in a vengeful grip, glaring fiercely at me.

“This is the human body. I did it on purpose to make you understand-”

“Don’t lie, you perverted bastard!!!”

Misunderstanding.

There had been similar incidents during Alicia’s time, but they were not all intentional on my part.

······Probably.

“Change your clothes. I have something to try.”

“I don’t have any other clothes······.”

“Then dry them.”

“······.”

Fortunately, Mijung knew how to use fire magic.

She was quick to act.

Following my command, Velfegor reluctantly grumbled and entered the magical barrier, looking a bit uncomfortable.

I closed the barrier again, sealing off the inside.

“What do you want from me······.”

“You’ve walked this path. You said you wouldn’t talk about it.”

“I won’t. No, I can’t. How could a mere human understand the thousands of years of history of a demon? It’s something that can’t even be conveyed in human language.”

That’s true.

Trying to express the scenery of the Demon Realm in human language, could someone who has never been to the Demon Realm understand it?

You might be able to convey the visible scenery to some extent.

But the dense magic in the air and the inexplicable uncomfortable sensation that keeps coming back.

And the silence amidst the noisy chatter everywhere.

It’s impossible to perfectly express all of these things in human language.

Demons and humans are different.

From one to ten, everything is different.

So I gave up on trying to understand the path Belphagor has walked in terms of language.

“I understand. That’s why I brought out a trick.”

“What, again…”

As I smiled, Belphagor hesitated nervously.

But due to the command to stay still, he couldn’t move his feet and just trembled in place.

I approached Belphagor, grabbed his neck, and said, “From now on, we’re going into your inner world.”

“What?!”

If you’re a sentient being, you have a world inside you.

I succeeded in entering my inner world, and even invited the God of the Underworld inside.

And later, I succeeded in inviting Mijeong to come in with me.

I can say that I’ve become quite familiar with my inner world.

So what about someone else’s inner world?

If I can invite others into my inner world, can’t I also be invited into someone else’s inner world?

So how do you do that?

“Well, you know there’s a universe, but how do you plan on getting in there?”

“We’ll find out now.”

“?!?”

I don’t know either.

We’ll have to find out now.

Kurung!

At my gesture, magic slowly emerged from the surface of the Demon Realm.

As the approaching black smoke, Belphagor’s pupils shook violently.