Envy (1)
[Garba…… I'll kill you.]
Garba…… I'll kill you.
A massive dead tree stretched its branches beyond the top of the Demon King Castle. It resembled the Ents from myth, but the blackened scorch marks everywhere, like it had been struck by lightning, gave off an evil aura rather than anything sacred.
"Gepelt, what's gotten into you?"
"My lord."
Sung-tae tried to stop the fight between the two, but Garba stepped forward first, clearly eager to join the fray.
"I don't know the reason, but Gepelt started it. As a warrior, avoiding battle would be dishonorable. Please permit the fight, my lord."
"……In that case. Just don't kill each other, alright?"
"Yes!"
The moment the order was given, she charged ahead. Spreading her wings, she leaped to the top of the dead tree and looked down at Gepelt.
"Gepelt, ever since you became one of the Four Heavenly Kings, I've wanted to clash with you once. I wondered if your magic could even work on me."
"Pathetic! A warrior can never beat a mage. Your flesh is nothing compared to the power of magic!"
Young flower buds sprouted from Gepelt's branches. These unbloomed buds contained the magic he had crafted.
"Behold the thousand flower buds I have bloomed. Receive the magic within them!"
Multiple casting. Even grand mages couldn't cast over a hundred spells at once, but Gepelt, returned to his true form, overcame that limit using his own body.
The thousand buds bloomed all at once, unleashing their stored magic toward Garba in a torrent.
"Magic it is, then."
The sky where Garba hovered was painted in rainbow hues. The multicolored spells collided and exploded in a brilliant spectacle, but the destructive power within was pure annihilation, erasing everything it touched.
"Is this the extent of your magic?"
The rainbow sky faded, revealing a single figure. Amid faint prismatic afterglow stood a woman cloaked in black mana—Garba.
"You said a warrior can't beat a mage?"
"Grk! You blocked my magic with just mana cladding?"
"Not just mana."
It was pure black mana, distinct from mere darkness. Denser than when she first fought Sung-tae, yet cleaner and more refined.
"Mana honed through extreme training. And special training on top."
"Special training?"
"A secret…… one I can't talk about!"
Garba mumbled evasively and reshaped the black mana cloaking her body. She had faithfully followed Sung-tae's command: take human form when venturing into human lands. But what if she faced a formidable foe—one she couldn't beat in human guise?
Her solution: wield werewolf power even in human form. Since returning from the Saint Country, she had trained relentlessly and finally mastered it.
"Oh. That form……"
Sung-tae admired Garba. The reshaped black mana enveloping her took the shape of a werewolf. This was her method—unleashing her true power in human form without transforming. She wasn't a werewolf now, but she could access all its strength.
"Gepelt, surrender while you can. You're one of the Four Heavenly Kings like me, but you were kidnapped for research, not combat. You're not suited for it."
"Shut up! I'll…… kill you. Then His Majesty's attention will turn to me!"
"My attention?"
Attention out of nowhere? Sung-tae tilted his head at Gepelt's baffling words, but before he could ponder it, Garba's assault began.
"Whatever the reason, sowing chaos in the Demon King Castle is unforgivable."
The black wolf raised its claws, slashing the air. The slashing strikes stormed like a gale, severing Gepelt's branches. They didn't stop there, lunging to shred his trunk—but Gepelt hastily cast a defensive spell, barely resisting.
"Grk!"
But it was futile. Garba, now able to fight heroes on equal footing, unleashed attacks no ordinary magic could block.
Crack!
With a sound like a watermelon splitting, cracks spiderwebbed across the dead tree. They spread through its entire body, soon reducing it to unrecognizable wreckage.
"Don't kill him!"
"Worry not, my lord. He's a tree monster. This won't kill him."
"……You sure?"
"See? He's regenerating already."
Though most of its body was gone, new growth sprouted from the remaining roots. But fully restoring its prior form was impossible; the surviving flesh shifted to human shape, reverting to an old man's appearance. Unlike before—vibrant and lively—this was a haggard, drained elder.
"I must…… kill you……."
"Gepelt, you said you wanted my attention?"
Sung-tae approached the dejected Gepelt. During the fight, he'd mulled over those words. Since recruiting Gepelt into the Demon King Castle, he'd only paid attention when necessary.
But that wasn't from lack of care.
"Why wouldn't I pay attention to you? Because I trust you."
"You…… trust me?"
"Yeah. You're the smartest one here, aren't you? No need to micromanage. And why do you think I leave you at the castle instead of taking you traveling?"
"I…… don't know."
"No one else I can trust with the house. Without you, I couldn't travel carefree. This is my home now. Your presence let me roam freely."
Trust. Not just a convenient tool or guard dog. Understanding Sung-tae's true intent melted Gepelt's heart.
"It's all a facade. Don't trust him. The haves never speak truth. They deceive and exploit the have-nots. You're being fooled. Don't trust!"
"And who the hell are you?"
Sung-tae stared at the small darkness sprouting from Gepelt's head and reached out. It was yanked into his grasp.
"Grk!? How did you—!?"
"Caught it 'cause it was there. What are you? Similar to the thing on Leo. And the one on Rubert. A hero's evil spirit?"
The darkness had lodged in Gepelt's soul. But as its host weakened and it surfaced to whisper, Sung-tae seized its tail. A mental entity, captured physically—an impossible reality. It writhed, desperate to escape his grip.
"Let go! Release me, you filthy have-not—wait, have!"
"Have?"
"Yes. I've seen it all. Your mighty power. A mere human with such strength. I'll…… kill you!"
"Hmm."
Sung-tae pondered briefly while gripping the darkness. He knew exactly what to do.
"Gurk!?"
"Who's killing who? Cocky bastard. When did you even see me to talk like that?"
Sung-tae squeezed. Though immune to physical harm, the fury radiating from his hand scorched the mental entity's soul like fire.
"You…… Envy, right?"
"!!!"
Envy recoiled in shock. How does he know my identity? He and his six kin were unknown to the world, hidden in secrecy. How had this man identified him as Envy?
"N-No way…… bait from the others!? I knew it! Pretending not to care! All lies! You deceivers!"
"Figured as much. I've met your kind before. One was on the hero, another in the World Tree."
"Which one? Whose lackey are you!?"
"Lackey my ass. Hey, what do I do with you? The castle's a mess because of you."
The front courtyard of the Demon King Castle was utter chaos—perfect for "five minutes of madness." The moment Envy was pulled out, the monsters snapped back to sanity, rolling their eyes at the scene. Gepelt stared blankly at the sky, mumbling, "His Majesty trusted me…… what have I done……" The fight's aftermath had wrecked parts of the castle, half-demolishing the plaza.
"This is nothing! You have power, minions, a castle! Forgive a little mess! Haves are so petty!"
"Petty?"
A vein bulged on Sung-tae's forehead. This intruder hadn't just trespassed—he'd twisted Gepelt and the monsters, turning the castle into a warzone. Probably corrupted them from within, like the heroes. And he calls me petty?
"……Look. I was gonna let you off easy. But first, you're getting beat."
"Resorting to violence!? Typical have. You cause the have-nots' suffering!"
"Shut it!"
"Gurk!"
Sung-tae slammed Envy to the ground and stomped it. His rage tormented the mental being, but Envy dissolved into smoke, reappearing elsewhere.
"Why do you haves have power? If it were mine…… I wouldn't be scorned!"
"It's not power—it's your personality."
"Forgive you? Never!"
Envy swelled, from compact darkness to sponge-like expansion, absorbing power. It had never exerted itself like this since birth. Perhaps that's why it took time to build strength—and Sung-tae sensed it too.
So……
"Who said I'd wait?!"
"Gurk! Ah, I haven't powered up yet……"
"Only an idiot waits for the enemy to transform!"
The swelling darkness deflated and vanished. Envy shrank back, wallowing in self-reproach and sorrow.
"As expected…… can't beat a have……"
"What? Easier than Sloth."
"Sloth too…… you beat him? Heh. He died by your hand. We're the weakest among us."
"Nah. You're weaker than Sloth. Way weaker."
"……"
Silence from Envy. But Sung-tae exaggerated—Sloth and Envy were comparable. Sloth fought to the end without surrender; Envy had already lost the will to fight.
"Haves…… impossible for the likes of me. That's fate."
Self-loathing. Envy assumed everyone outshone him, so he deemed Sung-tae superior before even clashing. That eroded his will, dooming the fight.
"Damn. Was gonna kill you, but now I pity you."
"Pity……?"
"Just clarifying—pity for the pitiful. Not that other kind…… Sigh. Pity…… Shouldn't have said it. Reminds me of the Saint Country crap."
Envy mulled "pity," dredging painful memories.
'I pity you. Take this—my final gift to you.'
His brother, overwhelmingly superior despite being kin. Envy had envied and tried to kill him, only to be effortlessly subdued. Yet he hadn't killed Envy—instead pitying him. Recalling that, Envy erupted in killing intent.
"Don't…… pity me!"
Envy drew forth something dormant deep in his soul—a gift from the brother who pitied him.
"Only…… I can pity myself!!!"
Long sealed within Envy, this object—crafted by his brother, embodiment of evil—now emerged into the world.
"Envy, you are weak."
Those were the first words he'd heard since birth. Pity from his strongest brother—poignant compassion.
No malice. No contempt. No dismissal.
But that's why Envy hated him.
"What gives you the right to echo him!?"
He was arrogant. All before him became lambs needing care. Only his brothers escaped such pity.
Except Envy. He alone was treated like a fragile sheep among the weakest three. Sloth, who slept endlessly, got no pity. Greed, disinterested in power, neither.
A being he yearned to kill but couldn't touch. Unable to vent rage at his hated foe, Envy turned it inward in self-flagellation.
"I'll kill you……"
That's why he hesitated to use it. He knew its immense power, but it was his gift. Using it would summon memories, centuries of self-torment.
But for the first time, Envy unleashed his self-loathing outward.
"Garba! Evacuate everyone inside!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Sung-tae barked orders at Envy's sudden transformation. He nearly struck it down, but sensing vast energy, he feared an explosion. Scooping it up, he dashed far away.
It has weight now!
"Useless. I'll kill everything tied to you…… for provoking me."
Weightless like gas before, Envy now felt solidly corporeal. It had gained real flesh.
"I'm the pissed one—why are you flipping out?"
"Kukuku. Kuhahaha!!!"
Kim Sung-tae arrived in the Volcanic Zone with Envy in tow. Its form had fully shifted to a proper human shape.
"You're too strong. Insanely…… strong. Enough to remind me of him!"
"Him?"
Envy blazed with black flames. The eerie fire writhing from his flesh-human body moved like a living thing.
"Whoever he is, you're getting slapped by the Han River and venting in Jongno. Take it up with him, not innocent me."
"He's strong. Like you. You're strong. Like him. But different. He's kin; you're just human. A human with our power! His power!"
Lava at Envy's feet evaporated in black smoke. Scorching molten rock, yet the black flames consumed it utterly. Not just lava—the surrounding air burned away, space itself punctured by holes.
"Just an object, yet…… he's strong. Crafting something like this……"
And giving it away. Envy couldn't fathom it. This brother's creation granted instant flesh. Gazing at Sung-tae, Envy saw his brother's face—not looks, but the relaxed aura of the supreme, twin-like.
"Kuku. That's why I hate him more."
Envy glared at Sung-tae, igniting his body fiercer.
"And you, who resembles him."