Envy (3)
A sturdy body with copper-toned skin and rippling muscles. Rings adorned with multicolored gems glittered on his ten fingers. A gold necklace that matched the rings sparkled around the man's neck, and stylish sunglasses and a leather vest—items unseen in this world—combined to make him look, in the best light, like a flashy rich man, and in the worst, like a thug.
Envy shouted at the man in a startled voice.
"Greed!"
"Bingo. As expected from a brother. You recognized me even after the change in appearance."
The man approached Envy with a jangling sound. It came from the numerous accessories draped over his body clinking against each other. Each one was made of expensive gems and minerals, hinting at the man's immense wealth.
"You got utterly crushed. As expected from Envy! You never fail to disappoint."
"Urk! Did you come to mock me?"
"As if. Why would I mock you? We're in similar boats. Greed and Envy. Inseparable, right?"
Envy fell silent at Greed's words. Their innate instinct to covet others' possessions was so alike that Envy, who rejected all other beings, had only ever been close to Greed.
"But in the end, we're fundamentally different at the core."
"You think you're different from me?"
"I know how to give up."
What the hell did that mean? Greed, giving up?
Then, belatedly sensing something off, Envy asked,
"Wait. How do you... have a body!?"
"It's been a while. About a hundred years, I think."
"You made a body a hundred years ago!?" Envy cried out in shock.
It was impossible. Creating a body suited to their kind was incredibly difficult. The body was a vessel for the soul. To contain their immensely powerful souls, an ordinary body wouldn't do—which was why everyone was striving to craft their own.
"How did you do it? I've never seen a hero infused with your fragment. Weren't you just hiding away after giving up?"
"Envy, you lack a change in perspective. Not just you—everyone lacks creativity. If making the vessel is hard, just reduce the contents."
"What? No way...!"
"That's right. I used my power and soul to create this body. Even so, there was so much left over that I discarded quite a bit. That's why I'm much weaker now."
To do something so insane. What use was a body if you lost your power? He, Sloth, and Greed had been the strongest among them, hadn't they? And now Greed had thrown away even that precious strength.
"Is that for real? You're mad."
When he'd first seen Greed, Envy had thought he was hiding his power. The aura felt so much weaker than before. But after hearing the story and checking again, it wasn't hidden—he was genuinely weaker.
Envy figured Greed had given up in despair after failing to beat the others. As if reading his mind, Greed spoke.
"You think I've despaired?"
"Isn't that what happened?"
"Of course not. I have my pride. I'm weaker, sure, but I can still beat a hero easily."
"Is that something to brag about? How far you've fallen, Greed."
"That's why I came to you."
"Sorry, but even I can handle a weakened you..."
He could win. Or so he wanted to say, but the situation wasn't favorable. The shock of splitting his soul had left Envy unable to use his power properly. What little remained wasn't enough to beat even this weakened Greed. His only hope was the item hidden within him. If he used that, he could win.
Envy bided his time to pull it out.
"Envy. Like I said earlier, you and I are fundamentally different."
"How so?"
"We both covet others' things. But the way we handle what we covet is different."
Greed put his sunglasses back on and stared into the distance. Beyond the horizon, a blinding golden pillar pierced his four white eyes through the dark lenses.
"You envy and resent things and talents you don't have. You try to destroy what you can't have. Even if you get it, that's the end. The moment it becomes yours, it holds no value. You only envy it when others have it—that's your nature."
Envy said nothing. It was all true.
"And you claim you're different?"
"Obviously! I'm different. Once it's mine, I treasure it even more, don't I? Greet it once a day, polish it well, protect it, observe it every day. That's the difference between us."
"Why say that now...?"
Envy's words cut off. Greed's arm had pierced through his soul.
"Arrrgh!!!"
And it rummaged deep into a place it shouldn't touch.
"Why? Because you have something I want. A very useful item, and you're not even using it properly."
"I, I have something? What!?"
"It was just a guess before, but seeing your fight earlier confirmed it—you have it."
"Urgh... Stop...!"
"You're such an idiot. Having it but not using it properly. Well, that's your nature too. Ignoring what you have and coveting others'."
"Please stop... Stooop!!!"
"Coveting others' means you can't even handle your own power. With your strength, you could've made a body for yourself. Like you said, you, me, and Sloth—we're the weakest, but with a little effort, we could make bodies. Though you'd probably discard it if it didn't suit you."
"I, I'll give it to you, so please stop... Urk...!"
"It's fine, Envy. I've found it now. The last part might hurt a bit."
"Arrrgh!!!"
A thick book emerged from Envy's soul. The black-covered tome in Greed's hand was stained black down to every page. It looked made of leather, not paper—a prison trapping darkness, not a repository of knowledge.
"Huff... Huff... Th-that's..."
"You know what it is, right?"
"...The thing that guy gave me."
The book with mysterious power that had given him a body.
Greed, who had been looking at Envy with mocking eyes, turned to the book. The mockery vanished, replaced by joyful laughter.
"Kyahaha!!! Finally, it's mine. Ahh! Darkest black. Beautiful! The rough texture feels great in hand, and the crudeness pairs perfectly with the black. Even the unbooklike weight is just right!"
"Kuhk... Kuhaha!!!"
"Hm? Why are you laughing?"
"You came for something like that? That trash he made? Have you no pride!?"
"Pride? Without this, you couldn't have escaped that guy earlier—or split your soul that fast. You think you could do that on your own?"
Come to think of it, something was off. Splitting a soul required immense effort and power. Yet in that crisis, Envy had done it in an instant.
"It's all thanks to this. You know it. That guy..."
Both thought of the same person. One like them, yet not.
"Pride is on another level."
"So you coveted his trash without pride!?"
"Your second flaw: refusing to acknowledge your opponent. Don't deny he's strong. Get objective. And this isn't trash."
Greed's four white eyes licked over the book greedily.
"Among Pride's creations, some are on another level. This is one of them."
Greed suppressed his uncontrollable laughter, but couldn't stop his lips from curling. His shark-like fangs peeked over.
"Angra Mainyu. One of the four evil books Pride created. The principle of all evil—the ultimate evil that should never see the light! Finally in my hands."
"For something like that..."
"Not 'like that.' I told you, I'm weakened. I need things like this. And you? Pathetic. You got it for free and never planned to use it properly? So stupid."
Greed flipped through the pages, inspecting his new possession—a habit of cherishing what he owned.
His actions halted abruptly. Amid the black pages, he found the only white one.
"Look. You didn't treat it right, so a page got ruined. Probably making your pathetic body."
"So what!?"
Just a bit more... Just a little more time!
Envy's power was slowly returning. Once it did, he could escape Greed.
"What? You ruined my treasure, so you pay for it. It's mine now."
"Ridiculous."
Just a bit more!
"Don't worry. I won't ask for money. The fix is simple."
"What is it?"
"It's just..."
Now!
Envy melted into the darkness—his final escape with barely recovered power.
But...
"Urk!"
"Got him. Chairman."
"Oh, Collie. Good job!"
A red spear pierced the darkness where Envy hid. The woman in a suit who came with Greed pressed down on the shaft, pinning Envy.
Envy couldn't believe it. How could a physical spear pierce a bodiless mental lifeform like him?
But the question vanished in the soul-piercing pain that followed.
"Can't escape, right? That spear's one of Pride's creations too. Still think his stuff is trash?"
"Arrrgh!!!"
"Envy. I told you: know yourself and your enemy. Me, weak? If you'd attacked instead of fleeing when your power returned, you might've had a chance."
Greed's four white eyes turned to the evil book. His golden pupils absorbed its information.
"Hm. Used like this, huh. Alright, Envy. One last request."
Greed's snake-like tongue licked his lips slyly.
"Fix this for me. Simple: absorb your remaining power into it."
"Wh-what!?"
"In other words, die."
"N-no!"
Greed opened the book and chanted a strange incantation. As it continued, Envy's body began sucking into the white page.
"Nooooo!!!"
With a final scream, Envy vanished completely into the book. The white page blackened, briefly showing his agonized face before fading.
"There. Done! Killing a brother doesn't sit right."
Greed smiled bitterly.
But this was just the beginning. The start of his dream.
No time for sorrow. More brothers to kill ahead.
"What about that, though."
Greed gazed at the horizon. Golden light stretched radiantly to the sky like morning sun.
His four white eyes, quickest to discern value, absorbed its info.
"Pride... or more? Not sure."
Beautiful enough to covet fiercely. His instinct screamed to claim it.
"He'll die, right? Probably. So I give up!"
Want but can't have. Sometimes such things exist.
Unlike his nature, Greed stepped back, stuffing his greed deep inside.
He closed the book. It floated up and absorbed into his right arm, leaving a tattoo.
"We'll meet someday. Collie, let's go."
"Chairman."
"Yeah?"
Greed tensed at his secretary's call—she only spoke for important matters. Her rigid, tree-like stance made him wary.
Shouldn't have given her the spear?
"What is it?"
"Well... I'm here. That's a tree over there."
"..."
"Chairman, take off the sunglasses."
"No way. They're cool."
After Envy vanished, the Demon King Castle returned to normal, regaining its peace. The monsters remembered nothing of their actions and resumed guarding as usual.
Except one.
"Forgive me! My King! Please punish me!"
The old man Gepelt prostrated himself on the floor, voice strained from his battered body, begging Sung-tae.
The sight of the frail elder, who looked like he'd snap if touched, bowing—even the recipient felt uneasy.
Sung-tae tried to raise him, but Gepelt stubbornly refused.
"It's fine. It wasn't your fault."
"I can't accept that! Mind-controlled like this? It's a mage's shame, a loyal vassal's disgrace! I won't rise until you punish me!"
Excessive loyalty was a problem too.
Staring at the flattened Gepelt, Sung-tae realized he'd never give up without punishment. He knew Gepelt's stubborn loyalty well, but couldn't think of a fitting penalty.
"Urgh..."
More than punishment, another issue weighed on Sung-tae. This incident revealed Gepelt's loyalty and trust—he no longer wanted to deceive him. He recalled the monsters' nagging about invading the human world.
I should be honest.
He hadn't told everyone, but Sung-tae had no desire to conquer the world. His goal was simply to travel this fantasy realm.
No grand ambition to conquer or bring peace—just observe the world, blend in, and enjoy adventures.
I need to make it clear now. Or it might happen again.
"Gepelt, get up and come to the plaza. Garba, gather all the other monsters there too."
"Yes, my lord."
Garba assembled the monsters in the plaza on Sung-tae's order. Bewildered by the sudden call, they whispered among themselves—some even shouted, "Finally invading the human world!"
"Quiet, everyone! I have something to say."
"Yes! Demon King!"
Was this the right move? Would they be disappointed and leave? They saw him as the Demon King, but he wasn't—just a strong human.
Confessing the truth meant baring his heart—more nerve-wracking than nudity. Sung-tae hesitated.
I have to say it someday. It's just sooner than planned.
He clenched his fist, steeling himself, and scanned the gathered monsters. Their eyes sparkled with expectation. He saw steadfast Garba guarding him, and Gepelt still prostrating in guilt.
"I..."
Was this right? Doubt gripped him, but he'd started, so he confessed honestly.
"...have no intention of invading the human world."