Demon Realm, Dirke Village
In the Demon Realm, at Dirke Village, Azid was busily fiddling with something.
"So... like this with the meat earlier?"
A cutting board sat before him with a hunk of meat on it. Azid recalled how Han Ji-woo had made yukhoe earlier and diligently sliced at the meat with his nails.
Schuga-gaga-gak!
But instead of thin strips like Han Ji-woo had made, it turned into a ragged, shredded mess. Astaroth, who had been watching intently from the side, let out a deep sigh.
"If you're gonna do it like this, just grill it."
"Hold on. The presentation's a bit off, but it'll taste great. Next... this, right?"
He dumped two eggs onto the shredded meat.
Splat!
The eggs cracked, spilling whites and yolks everywhere. Azid mashed it all together with the meat. Astaroth tilted her head at the eggshells crunching and embedding between the chunks.
"Lord Azid. That human's dish didn't have crunchy bits like that."
"I can't make it exactly the same. I'm just roughly imitating it. Next... this?"
Splat! An apple in Azid's hand shattered into pieces and rained down onto the yukhoe. Watching the whole process, Astaroth felt the urge to blurt out, 'You're really fucking this up.'
"Hmm. Looks about done."
Azid, proud of his mystery dish, leaned in for a bite.
Chomp! Nom nom.
Astaroth's hand and mouth beat him to it. Half the disastrous yukhoe vanished—half that no one had asked to be born this way—and Azid shoveled the rest into his mouth in one go.
Crunch crunch! Gulp!
The two demons chewed vigorously and swallowed in unison, then eyed each other.
"How is it?"
Astaroth pondered before answering Azid's question.
"It's not bad, but it tastes like a completely different food."
"Hmm, weird. I tried to recreate it as close as possible."
"And to be precise, this is tasty just because the ingredients are fresh. It's not skillful cooking. Want me to be more exact? Even mana beasts could mash up human ingredients and get this flavor?"
Astaroth hammered Azid mercilessly with her words.
"Fine, shut up already, you punk. You scarfed it down and now you're bitching."
As mentioned several times, it was tasty. Just a totally different taste. Crucially, Azid had used pork instead of beef. From the ingredient choice onward, this dish was aimed at another planet entirely.
Anyway, belly full, Azid approached the fertile plot of land ahead. The soil Toryong had churned was visibly different from the surroundings. The originally nutrient-barren black dirt had turned into rich brown earth.
Azid scooped some up and felt it. Moist and soft. He brought it to his nose. The pleasant, earthy scent of fertile soil filled his nostrils.
Astaroth sidled up and sat beside Azid, who lingered like that for a while.
"It's amazing. To encounter soil like this in the Demon Realm."
"This is where self-sufficiency begins."
As Azid dreamed of a Demon Realm overflowing with food, a flock of demons darkened the already perpetually overcast sky, approaching.
It was the Demon King and his followers.
Thud thud—
They landed before Azid. Astaroth dropped to one knee in respect. The Demon King ignored her and strode toward Azid.
"Azid."
"No."
"...I haven't said anything yet."
"Whatever you say, the answer's no, so I said it early."
The Demon King's head already throbbed.
But today, someone perfectly voiced his feelings.
"Truly a wastrel fits you to a T."
Azid's gaze shifted to the man beside the Demon King. Unfazed even before him, the speaker was the Demon Realm's First Demon Prince, Irdan Devil.
The Demon King shot Irdan a look that said, 'Yeah, you handle the discipline.'
"What, wanna go?"
But Azid just smirked without a hint of caution, provoking him.
"Lots of eyes here. Getting beat in public wouldn't look good for a prince."
Irdan phrased his warning as mildly as possible: 'You might end up pulverized in front of everyone and shamed for generations.'
But the opponent was Azid.
"Face? You lot eat when hungry, shit wherever it hits—now you're worried about face? If you're true demons, act like it. Quit chasing something that doesn't suit you."
"Can't talk sense into you, huh."
Black demonic energy rippled from Irdan. The high officials behind him flinched in unison.
The Demon King had seven children: five princes, two princesses. Irdan, the firstborn, boasted top rank among them in strength.
But he'd never directly clashed with Azid. As a half-prince, Azid was always excluded from rankings—or more accurately, utterly ignored.
Today, Irdan planned to give him a proper taste of the dirt.
Azid gathered his own energy.
"Gonna glare till you croak? Come at me, you bastard."
Irdan's form shot toward him—
But suddenly!
A hand thrust out, blocking his path.
"Father, why...?"
Irdan started to question, but the Demon King stared at Azid with a strange expression.
"Azid, what is this?"
He extended the hand that had blocked Irdan. In it was a handful of soil.
"Dirt. Very fertile dirt."
Fertile soil? The Demon King and all the demons present were stunned.
'What? Isn't that Mid-Realm stuff?'
'Why's it in the Demon Realm...'
'What the hell did this lunatic do now?'
As they buzzed inwardly, the Demon King scolded his son in a heavier tone than ever.
"Explain. What is the meaning of this!"
His aura crushed the air, choking them—except Azid, who just grinned.
"Grant one wish if I do?"
"A wish? What sudden wish?"
"End the war."
"You worm!"
A lion's roar erupted from the Demon King. Weaker demons fainted on the spot.
Irdan, unable to stomach Azid's arrogance, lunged like lightning.
Pow!
Something flashed before Irdan's nose, and his consciousness flew far away.
Thud.
He collapsed at Azid's feet, out cold. The demons gasped in unison.
Irdan rivaled top high officials. Yet Azid downed him in one blow.
They recalled the Demon King and dead Amon's conversation here.
"Amon. Have you seen that one's full power?"
"No."
"That's why you say that. Azid leaving the war means a serious loss of strength."
They'd thought it fatherly bias. But now it was proven true.
"Hoo."
The Demon King sighed at the mess and unleashed energy—not at Azid, but to cradle fallen Irdan.
—Azid.
The Demon King's voice echoed in the wastrel prince's mind.
—What.
—We'll head back without more questions today. I don't know what you're scheming or how you made this soil, but it'll all be futile soon.
—Doubt it.
—...I don't know how that human crosses here, but hide your ties if you value your life.
—...
With that, the Demon King scooped up Irdan and took flight. The others flapped after him.
Azid smirked at the receding figure.
"He knew."
In the Dungeon Prison, Han Ji-woo's appearance after so long differed sharply from Sasuri's last memory.
His white armor covered him fully, but one sword in his hands had changed. The Ultimate Mana Beast Sword gleamed dull gray along the blade, etched with grotesque red runes at the center.
A crimson whip coiled at his waist, matching his boots and robe as he soared through the sky.
But above all, his aura had transformed. An overwhelmingly fierce energy radiated tyrannical dominance, incomparable to before.
Yet this wasn't the time for admiration.
'If the Ogre King copies Master!'
It would spell disaster. Sasuri's anxiety peaked as the Ogre King's gaze locked on Han Ji-woo.
But then!
Shh—
Golden goblin Jami's Invisible magic activated, and Han Ji-woo vanished like a lie.
By a hair's breadth, the Ogre King failed to fully capture him, unable to create a copy.
His voice echoed from empty air.
"Sasuri. I heard the rough situation from the others."
"You met the golden goblin too?"
"Can't you see me?"
"...You did."
"Anyway, take down that Ogre King and we're done?"
"Probably, but not certain. And with Master's power against the Ogre King..."
As they spoke, gargoyle copies bulged from the Ogre King's body and shot toward them like arrows.
Sasuri bellowed.
"Master! Behind you!"
Han Ji-woo didn't turn. He unequipped the Black Hwado in his right hand and yanked the whip's handle from his waist.
Whip! The uncoiled Dark Blood Whip drooped like a limp snake.
A quick glance back, then he swung the handle with all his might.
Snap!
The rubbery crimson whip stretched, bisecting every incoming gargoyle copy.
Thud thud thud—
The corpses plummeted. To Sasuri, with Han Ji-woo invisible, it looked like the gargoyles suddenly split and fell.
His beak gaped at the sight.
'He's definitely different.'
He'd sensed it from their first meeting, but Han Ji-woo's aura was beyond changed.
"Sasuri. I'm itching for action with nowhere to use it. Perfect timing. Rest up—you're badly hurt."
A warm hand patted his head at the end. Han Ji-woo's presence faded away.
"GRRAAAAAHHH!"
The Ogre King's ear-shattering scream rocked the land.