Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Baal (2)
"A bet?"
"Yes, a bet."
Baal straightened his posture and calmly faced Rudian.
At Baal's sudden proposal, Rudian let out a contemplative hum and spoke calmly.
"Setting aside whether I'll accept or not, let me hear the details first."
"The details are simple."
Baal crossed his legs slightly and spoke in a relaxed tone.
"Between you and me, whichever side collects more of the Seven-Colored Worlds wins."
Baal lightly shook the chain of his necklace.
"As of now, I only have this Red World. In other words, if I collect three more, I win."
"...What's the stake?"
"The moment a winner is decided, the loser gives up everything and disappears. Everything they've achieved so far!"
The bet Baal proposed was simple.
Whoever collected more than half of the Seven-Colored Worlds would win.
If Baal collected 4 and this side collected 3, then not only would the 3 collected be surrendered, but everything built up until now—all forces and connections—would be abandoned, disappearing into the back pages of history.
In a word, this was...
"How about it?"
"Hah, hahaha...!"
Rudian let out a dry laugh.
But inside, Rudian was consumed by tremendous rage rivaling the authority of Diablo.
'This bastard... Is he pulling a character deletion bet on me right now?'
On Kim Seong-jun, a fervent reader of who knew every setting inside and out?
On this body that knew everything from locations to strategy methods, with only the difficulty level being challenging?
"Interesting."
"I knew you'd say that."
"Really interesting."
What has been built up so far?
Of course, Baal would be overwhelmingly superior.
Talent, wealth, power, territory...
Through tens of thousands of years, Baal would transcend Rudian by far in all these aspects.
But that was only 'at this moment.'
Given enough time, Rudian was confident he could surpass what Baal had built.
"Before I answer, let me ask one thing. Why not solve this by force instead of proposing something as complicated as a bet?"
"I believe I just mentioned those circumstances."
"Of course I know there are many who trouble you. But compared to the keyword of Seven-Colored Worlds, such people are merely trivial problems. If you put your mind to it, you could eliminate those who know about the Seven-Colored Worlds and monopolize the information."
"Huhu, perhaps."
"Knowing that, why propose a bet to me?"
Baal didn't answer that question for a while.
A quiet silence passed between the two for a moment, and only after some time did Baal break that silence.
"If I led armies to destroy this country and killed everyone around you, what would you do?"
"...What?"
"Please answer honestly."
Baal's attitude of responding to questions with questions was quite displeasing, but Rudian calmly met Baal's gaze and spoke.
"I would use every means and method at my disposal to dry up the seeds of every demon race existing in this world."
"Hahaha, see?"
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!
The guy clapped his hands while laughing, finding something so amusing.
"Over the past tens of thousands of years, quite a few have 'threatened' me with such content."
At that moment, Baal's eyes gleamed coldly.
"But none have spoken with such calm confidence as you have."
"......"
"You really have confidence, don't you? The sincere confidence that you can eliminate the demon race, including me, Baal, from this world."
What is this bastard, really?
"Such arrogance rivaling the gods of heaven. Since I have no need to antagonize someone like you, I've proposed this bet."
What exactly is this guy seeing in me?
For a moment, Rudian felt afraid of Baal.
"Actually, this bet too is something I've had to step forward with as a monarch bearing the fate of a race. Truthfully, I didn't want to be so involved with you."
—I am afraid of you.
Though Baal boldly stated this fact, Rudian never underestimated Baal.
Rudian was certain of one thing.
'This guy accurately grasps the situation of this world and my capabilities.'
Therefore, he felt this was someone who absolutely had to be eliminated if possible.
'This kind of guy will definitely bring trouble later.'
But to take action, Rudian's current military power was far too insufficient.
Baal probably knew all this and proposed the bet.
'What should I do.'
How could he seize the initiative in this situation?
After much contemplation, Rudian voiced his thoughts.
"I have a condition."
"Please speak."
"Until our confrontation ends, all wars in this Middle Realm are forbidden."
"Hmm..."
At Rudian's proposal, Baal crossed his arms and showed a slightly thoughtful expression.
But...
"Impossible."
"...It shouldn't be that burdensome a proposal for you?"
"Burden aside, to obtain the Seven-Colored Worlds, we must inevitably start from this Middle Realm, which is the connection point of all dimensions. That makes violent conflict unavoidable. Your proposal lacks realism."
"Then are negotiations broken off?"
"Huhu, it's better not to use such strong words."
At this line he'd heard many times before, Rudian grimaced.
Just as Baal's next words were about to naturally spill from his brain,
Instead of saying you seem weak, Baal presented a compromise.
"Violent conflict is unavoidable. But how about we withdraw from nation-to-nation wars?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Human to human. Let's decide the Lower Realm's wars only in that manner."
Currently, as far as Rudian knew, the countries occupied by demons were these two: Kingdom of Rohans and Ergon Kingdom.
But only the leadership had changed to demons; the economic and military power of both countries hadn't declined at all.
"I, of course, and all demons will withdraw from this war. In exchange, you withdraw from the Morian Empire's side. Let humans handle human wars, while we continue our competition for monopolizing the Seven-Colored Worlds behind the scenes."
"Must humans be made to fight each other?"
"Unfortunately, even without us, the humans of the country called Kingdom of Rohans would have started a war. Their desires were so vile that even demons would shun them. I guarantee this."
"......"
At least seven Demon Kings.
2 million demon legions.
And countless demons beyond estimation...
If even they withdrew from the war, the casualties could surely be reduced tremendously.
Though this was clearly an overwhelmingly advantageous condition for this side, Rudian somehow couldn't easily accept Baal's compromise.
The reason was simple.
'I'm hesitating because I think it's a loss for me.'
Baal was watching this side intently, waiting for an answer.
"Fine. I'll accept it."
After much contemplation, Rudian eventually accepted the proposal.
With a choice to reduce immediate damage right before his eyes, there was no luxury to worry about distant future matters.
"Deal established. Very good."
GRIN!
Baal showed an ominous smile whose meaning was unclear.
***
Afterward, Baal met with the Emperor again to formally draft an agreement.
The Emperor, who carefully reviewed the contents Baal had written, spoke with a deflated expression.
"...All matters have already been decided, and this is merely a unilateral notification."
"Are you dissatisfied with that, human Emperor? If you wish, I could negotiate with you again..."
"No, that would result in conditions far more vicious than this content."
"Huhu, wise. You should be grateful to that person. You've avoided your country's destruction."
The Emperor was puzzled by the unfamiliar term ‘Seven-Colored Worlds’ written in the agreement, but dismissed his doubts upon seeing the subsequent statement that all demons would not intervene in the war.
'The conditions are too good.'
The Emperor knew.
Behind this unconditionally advantageous content, there definitely existed something beneficial to them.
'If I had to find it, perhaps Count Belstad's departure?'
The ominous darkness that had colored the capital's vicinity, and the brilliant golden city that had swept away that darkness.
Though no one had discovered the identity of that city that appeared and disappeared like a fantasy, some who participated in the battle had offered the suspicion that Rudian Belstad might be related to that city.
In any case, since the agreement held no disadvantages, the Emperor signed without hesitation.
At that moment, Baal showed a very meaningful smile as he looked directly at the Emperor.
"Emperor, do you know the weight of this agreement?"
"I cannot say I know what I don't know."
"Wise."
Baal tapped the agreement and spoke to the Emperor.
"You have avoided national destruction at the cost of a strategic loss."
"Is that strategy related to Count Belstad?"
"Exactly, Emperor."
Then Baal's mouth stretched wide.
"Still, since my stomach is a bit twisted, I suppose I can indulge in one bit of mischief."
"...What do you mean?"
The Emperor felt deep foreboding from those words.
Sure enough, Baal dropped a huge bomb in the great hall where all the Empire's ministers were gathered.
"With this agreement being effective, we demons can no longer intervene in human affairs. But it's only demons who withdraw, not humans."
"Look at this evil wretch!"
The Emperor, who immediately grasped Baal's intention, jumped up from his seat and pointed accusingly.
"How dare you deceive the Morian Empire!"
"That word 'deceive' is one of my favorite words, Emperor."
SNAP!
When Baal waved his hand once, a huge holographic window created by magic appeared inside the great hall.
"Th-this is...?"
What appeared in the holographic window was just one thing.
Only the sight of soldiers filling the plains, moving somewhere!
Not a single person in this place didn't recognize which country's style the perfectly armed soldiers' uniforms belonged to.
Baal, his face full of mockery, spread both arms and shouted dramatically.
"Before the agreement was concluded, I deployed 200,000 and 100,000 soldiers respectively at the eastern and northern border regions."
"...!"
Everyone present was greatly shocked.
Especially the Emperor, who received those words head-on, kicked his chair in fury.
"H-how dare!"
"And at this moment, as soon as you, Emperor, signed the agreement, the prepared forces have simultaneously begun their invasion of the Morian Empire."
"Kill that wretch immediately!"
"Now, let's begin the war 'between humans.' I'll be watching with amusement from afar."
The nearby Imperial Guard knights ignited their aura and attacked Baal, but their attacks caused no damage to Baal whatsoever.
With countless swords piercing his body, Baal's flesh flickered like dying flames.
"This violates the agreement, Emperor."
Before completely disappearing, Baal winked at Rudian, who had been watching the agreement from a corner.
"Hahahaha! Well then, Rudian, if we meet again, I look forward to encountering you on a more interesting stage."
WHOOSH!
"......"
As Baal's form completely vanished, what remained was only a chillingly quiet silence.
And it was the Emperor who broke that silence.
"Vincent!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Immediately assess the situation in the northern and eastern regions! Time is of the essence, hurry!"
"I shall obey your command!"
The quiet great hall immediately became noisy.
As if the previous silence had been a lie, loud voices began to fly back and forth inside.
Rudian, who had witnessed that agreement firsthand, gritted his teeth and hurled curses at Baal, who had thrown a massive insult and fled.
"Damn bastard...!"