The Sweet Taste of Vengeance
The sound of Kim Jae-hyun's laughter sent Charles trembling from head to toe.
His decision to come for the Demon King had been born from unshakable confidence that his son, his daughter-in-law, and his granddaughter would be safely evacuated.
If he died, his family would be untouched. And with his philosophy burning in his veins, he had believed with fanatic devotion that revenge was nothing but illusion.
But right now, he could not contain the boiling rage inside him.
"You wretched, filthy scum!!!"
Charles screamed at Jae-hyun, eyes blazing with fury. Jae-hyun knew exactly what that look meant.
It was the same gaze he had worn ten years ago.
Driven solely by revenge, consumed by hatred and curses, dying to kill the betrayers.
"I will curse you even if I die! Curse you! You will perish! Even in death, I will find a way to kill you and avenge you!"
"Why won't you forgive me? Hahaha! You yourself said forgiveness was true revenge, and that forgiveness was necessary even if revenge wasn't. Only emptiness remains, yet you want to take revenge on me?"
Kim Jae-hyun returned every word Charles had spoken to him.
"Aaaah! I curse you! Curse you!"
Charles was denying the words he had once spoken. Tears streamed down his face as he glared at Jae-hyun with bloodshot eyes. He was nothing but a vengeful spirit, unable to think of anything other than revenge.
And Kim Jae-hyun's red eyes gleamed as he stared back at Charles, a sinister light flashing in their depths.
"Is that how you want revenge?"
"Of course! Aaaah! I will never forgive you!"
"Didn't you tell me to forgive you? Why won't you forgive me?"
When Kim Jae-hyun asked with a mocking smile, Charles clenched his teeth, unable to answer for a moment.
"What kind of insignificant thing is that?! Damn it! I lost my family!"
"I lost mine too. Irene is the only family I have left in this world, and the woman I will spend the rest of my life with."
Charles fell silent once more. He knew it was true.
He knew his own words and actions were contradictory.
But moments ago, he had been someone who had never lost anything precious. Thus he had never truly understood what revenge was.
Although he still hadn't experienced the revenge of betrayal, at least he could now feel the revenge of losing something precious.
Yet even so, the wise man he had called himself had finally spoken again, his tone carrying revenge and hatred, but with renewed calm.
"Yes, I admit revenge is foolish! But I will exact revenge on you! No matter what, I will avenge you."
"You said revenge leaves only emptiness behind, yet here you are refusing to forgive me. This proves it. Those who tell the vengeful to forgive are simply spouting nonsense about someone else's affair."
Kim Jae-hyun's eyes flashed red for an instant, but nothing happened, so Charles quickly moved on. Then Jae-hyun held out a dagger, and Charles flinched.
"You bastard! Do you even plan to kill me too?"
"No. Take it."
Kim Jae-hyun offered the dagger to Charles. In a daze, Charles accepted it.
Charles felt the dagger in his hand was exceptionally sharp. It was no ordinary blade.
"What trickery is this?"
"I am giving you a choice. Will you attack me with this dagger and take revenge on me, or will you return the dagger to me and forgive the man who slaughtered your family? Your choice."
To his surprise, Kim Jae-hyun was offering Charles a chance. The Demon King, who never showed mercy, was offering mercy now.
Charles hesitated, trembling slightly, then made his decision.
"You will never be forgiven!"
Remembering the horrifying sight of his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter—his precious granddaughter—dying before him, he chose revenge over forgiveness.
He had told Jae-hyun to abandon revenge, yet he himself could not. His words from moments ago now sounded like the ramblings of a senile old man.
But Charles cared for none of that. Only revenge mattered. Only revenge.
Swish!
Charles's blade drove straight into Jae-hyun's heart.
"S-Success!"
Charles lost his mind with joy. Why had the Demon King allowed himself to be attacked? It didn't matter. It was fine.
"Kuaagh!"
When Charles saw Jae-hyun vomit blood and collapse backward, and Baros shout "Lord of the Demon King!" in surprise, he knew the Demon King was taking a fatal blow and dying. Joy surged through him.
The sight of Jae-hyun's body slumping and going still was beyond imagining. The joy that flooded him was overwhelming.
He could barely contain it. He was truly, overwhelmingly happy. He was overwhelmed with emotion.
"Robert... Bianca... and your granddaughter... I have avenged your grudges. I have avenged you all... Hic... hic!"
He wept with joy, calling out the names of his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. He was tasting the sweetness of victory.
Revenge is empty? He had believed it was true until now, but direct experience proved it was not.
The idea that revenge was empty was the greatest nonsense in the world. Revenge was incredibly satisfying. It even lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders.
Now he understood why vengeful people sought revenge.
The act of vengeance was to free oneself from the crushing weight of being wronged. He finally saw it.
'Ah! Revenge is truly wonderful.'
That was when the voice spoke.
"Yes, revenge is truly wonderful."
The voice came from somewhere right in front of him.
Clap.
And then applause...
Crash!
Charles realized he had been trapped in a delusion when he saw the Demon King Kim Jae-hyun standing whole and unscathed right before his eyes, while the world around him shattered like glass.
"Y-You!"
He realized he had been mocked by the Demon King Kim Jae-hyun right in front of him.
"Heh heh. How was it? Wasn't revenge incredibly sweet and wonderful? The joy of revenge went beyond imagination? And yet you still dared to preach to me like that?"
"Y-You...! Kuaagh!!!"
Charles's boiling rage could not be contained. He stared at Jae-hyun, then vomited blood and collapsed backward. The old man had simply been unable to hold back his fury and had fallen.
"Just as I wished."
Charles had smashed his head on the ground, skull cracking open as blood poured out, and even in death he glared at Jae-hyun with hatred. Jae-hyun ignored him like an insect.
"Revenge is sweet. After tasting that sweet revenge, I will have no regrets even in death. Heh heh."
Yet Kim Jae-hyun felt even more satisfied. The old wise man who had once told him revenge was empty and forgiveness was true revenge now admitted his own words were nonsense and faced death.
He had never regretted choosing this path. He had survived because he took it. And the joy he felt while torturing the Saint Lucrezia had been more than enough to sate his revenge.
Today was the happiest day of his life since he had been reborn as the Demon King ten years ago.
"Huhu. Saint Lucrezia. That old man who was once called the wise man within the Holy Kingdom has finally admitted that revenge is neither empty nor wrong. Shall we resume my revenge against you then?"
Kim Jae-hyun kicked Charles's corpse aside and walked toward Lucrezia, who hung crucified on the cross. She begged with a pale face, fearing more torture.
"W-Wait! Please wait!"
Of course, Jae-hyun ignored her pleas. He spread Lucrezia's sacred maidenhood apart. Though it was a saint who had lost her virginity to a monster, regeneration had restored it perfectly, leaving her as virgin as ever.
And Jae-hyun licked his lips and tasted her slightly.
"Hnn... uuuuh!"
When his tongue touched her, Lucrezia shuddered with overwhelming pleasure, feeling nothing but bliss. Jae-hyun felt nothing but disgust and pulled away.
"It's delicious, but not good enough. Even a little touch and she enjoys it so much."
He had no interest in making Lucrezia happy. He wanted to torture her instead. He had come up with a new method for that.
"Summon."
As Jae-hyun murmured the word, a small monster appeared before him. Its round body served as both head and torso, with eight tentacle-like legs beneath it.
Pink in color, it resembled an octopus but had many other unique features.
"Go."
Jae-hyun shoved the monster straight into Lucrezia's vagina. It immediately began thrusting as deep as it could.
"Uuu... kuaaaah!!!"
Lucrezia's eyes widened in horror. Her body trembled as the monster inside her touched every part of her vaginal walls, driving deeper and deeper into her. It was an indescribably alien sensation.
"Aaaaaah!"
And the monster shattered the regenerated hymen in one go, advancing further. Again and again, Lucrezia tasted the agony of losing her virginity.
The tentacles inside her suddenly transformed into sharp blades.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Lucrezia screamed in agony as the internal tentacles sliced through her walls like knives. Jae-hyun finally smiled.
"Heh heh. Yes. You are beautiful when you suffer. The most beautiful and loveliest sight is when you beg to be killed because the pain is too exquisite. Lucrezia."
He felt one thing clearly. The more Lucrezia suffered, the happier he became.
The other five major betrayers would taste the same suffering. That was his joy. That was his purpose.
"Aaaaah!!!"
Listening to Lucrezia's torn screams of agony, Jae-hyun began examining the situation of the former Holy Kingdom of Astraea now under his control. Since he would soon fight across the entire continent, he had to organize the country first.
But just as he was about to perfect the organization of the nation, he sensed presences that threatened his plans.
From every direction, figures appeared near his dark army.
The dragons known as the Guardians of the Intermediate World had finally come to reveal themselves, sensing the Demon King's arrival.