EP9. Minotaur
‘This is driving me insane.’
Demon King Lerajie had been suffering ever since that portal suddenly appeared not long ago.
At first, he thought some idiot had messed up the coordinates and plopped it right in the middle of his Demon King's Castle.
So he'd sent his demons inside, intending to politely tell them off.
But the demons never returned.
Instead, his connections to his minions severed one by one, confirming they'd all been killed.
Lerajie flew into a rage at this hostile response, despite his own graciousness.
He selected his absolute elites from among his demons and sent them into the portal.
His top-tier demons and soldiers, mounted on griffins from the demon realm, formed ranks and charged in.
And a day later...
Only a single soldier returned.
"...It, it was a massive cow."
"A cow?"
He said that if you looked up from below, you couldn't even see its head—it was that enormous a monster.
"Was it... another Demon King?"
"...It wasn't a Demon King."
The soldier died shortly after returning.
‘Not even a Demon King.’
‘What kind of monster is that huge?’
Lerajie was a cowardly Demon King by nature, so he couldn't even dream of venturing inside himself.
And sending another assault force? His demon numbers had dwindled too much.
‘If my forces weaken further, the neighboring territories might attack.’
Lerajie made his decision.
‘Ignore it!’
‘It's so huge, it probably can't even get out of that portal anyway.’
For a while, Lerajie's judgment seemed spot on.
But one day, the portal began shuddering violently, like it was causing an earthquake.
And from within emerged a massive hand.
The rough, fur-covered hand swung wildly in all directions.
Boom! Crash!
The castle pillars crumbled, and beautifully stacked buildings collapsed in ruins.
Lerajie, furious, poured his authority into the giant arm.
Hell's Scorching Wind!
It was an authority that dried up every liquid in any living being.
The arm twitched briefly, then raised its hand, palm open as if fanning the wind.
And in an instant, the hand shot toward Lerajie, from where the wind was blowing.
"Gaaahhh!"
"My lord!"
Startled, Lerajie grabbed his chief steward right beside him and hurled him forward to shield himself.
"Sp-spare me!"
"My lord!"
His steward was dragged into the portal, and soon the minion connection snapped.
Gaaahhh!
Crunch! Crunch!
From beyond the portal came the screams of his steward being eaten alive.
Lerajie stared at the portal in terror, at a loss for what to do.
‘Even my authority doesn't work!’
Then.
A massive bull head thrust out from the portal.
It was struggling to emerge, but the portal was too small—only one shoulder had squeezed through.
Mooo!
The bull-headed monster swept its pitch-black eyes over the castle interior.
Those eyes burned with ravenous hunger.
As it eyed the demons, transparent saliva bubbled and poured from its maw.
"Wh-what the hell is that?"
Every demon in Lerajie's Demon King's Castle trembled and collapsed to their knees.
The weaker ones in mana fainted outright.
[I'm hungry!]
Creak! Groan!
The portal emitted a bizarre noise, as if it might rip apart any second.
[My stomach's empty!]
Lerajie was instantly terrified.
"Right now! Throw the fallen demons to that monster!"
"Pardon?"
"M-my lord?"
The demons stared at Lerajie, wondering if they'd misheard, but he bellowed even louder.
"Throw food to that thing right now!"
With that, he scooped up a fainted demon nearby and flung it at the bull monster.
Splat!
The bull monster gaped its maw and chomped the demon in one bite.
Crunch! Crunch!
The demon, a comrade just moments ago, was chewed alive into a bloody pulp, with only scraps hitting the floor.
"Eugh!"
"Throw them now!"
"W-wait, I'm awake now!"
To survive, the demons hurled their fainted brethren at it.
The monster devoted itself to the meal, catching and devouring like offerings.
Moooooo!
Finally sated, it let out a long bellow and vanished back into the portal.
He'd hoped it might close the portal, but no such luck.
‘D-damn it!’
Lerajie sent a demon to Demon King Belphegor's castle, whom he served on the Throne of Sloth.
But he only got word that Belphegor had been away for ages.
‘This won't do! This absolutely won't do!’
Lerajie gathered all his demons and made his call.
"From now on, go to other Demon King's Castles and drag back as many slaves as you can! If they resist, take them by territory war!"
His demons scattered through territory portals everywhere.
No nearby territory dared defy Lerajie, who commanded tens of thousands of demons.
‘Gather sacrifices from other territories and shove them into the portal!’
Lerajie's plan worked perfectly.
Offering the right number of sacrifices kept the bull monster quiet.
But over time, the tributes from neighbors started dwindling.
His demons had to venture to ever more distant territories.
Vrrr!
"Hm? Already here, huh."
A portal opened to an abandoned desert territory.
‘Probably a weak spot with no forces—they must've obeyed the messenger.’
Lerajie's smug face turned to shock as he eyed those emerging from the portal.
—
Jae-jun, emerging from the portal, immediately sought out Demon King Lerajie.
Unlike his own castle, demons swarmed here, but Lerajie was easy to spot.
Not just the overwhelming aura, but he sat on an opulent throne that screamed grandeur.
"You the one?"
Jae-jun demanded bluntly, but Lerajie stayed mute as a clam.
He just stared blankly somewhere in shock.
‘Tarasa?’
Lerajie was gawking at Tarasa.
Tarasa herself ignored him, surveying the flashy decorations.
"...H-Hydra, ma'am?"
Slay the Minotaur!
📍 Description: The Minotaur is a cursed being born between a bull and a goddess. It longed to become a Demon King but was rejected by the others and sealed eternally in an inescapable labyrinth. It sustains itself by devouring victims who enter through occasional portals from the labyrinth.
🎁 Reward: Minotaur's Horn
💀 Failure: Death
[Do you know me?]
Lerajie snapped to at Tarasa's voice.
He leaped from the throne and bowed to her.
"...Yes! I once glimpsed you conversing briefly with Lady Belphegor!"
[...Belphegor? Ah. I recall seeing you standing by her side then.]
"An honor!"
Tarasa nodded impassively and resumed scanning the surroundings.
Jae-jun didn't like Lerajie ignoring him.
Kissing up to Tarasa like that was an eyesore.
"One last question. You're the one who declared territory war, right?"
Only then did Lerajie whip his head toward Jae-jun.
Unlike with Tarasa, his eyes were ice-cold.
‘What the hell is this worm spouting?’
Lerajie declared territory wars like meals—he couldn't track every one.
But anyone he'd bother warring on had to be a low-tier Demon King or similar.
He was about to dress him down when he noticed Tarasa's odd expression.
‘She's expecting something?’
‘What?’
Lerajie hadn't risen this far on raw power alone—his instincts were sharp.
He closely examined the two demons with Tarasa.
The long-legged one couldn't even lift his head—clearly a Demon King's minion.
And the humanoid one...
‘Hmm.’
Definitely a Demon King.
But something was off.
His presence felt slightly inferior, yet the mana pouring off him was immense.
Any normal Demon King would've charged to rip him limb from limb, but Lerajie stepped back.
"Territory war? Must be some misunderstanding. I never do those!"
The surrounding demons' faces twisted oddly, but he ignored them.
Seeing disappointment flicker in Tarasa's eyes confirmed his judgment.
"If any of my minions were rude, I apologize! But we've got a huge crisis in our castle right now. I can't keep tabs on every underling's actions."
[A big problem? Related to that portal?]
Tarasa perked up with interest again.
Lerajie eagerly steered the topic there.
"Yes, exactly! This portal popped up out of nowhere, and a massive monster inside goes berserk if we don't offer sacrifices!"
Figuring a hydra could squash such a monster, Lerajie gazed at her expectantly.
[A massive monster?]
"Yes. Bull head, human body—a monstrous thing."
Tarasa's eyes shifted—she knew what it was.
At the same time, a quest popped into Jae-jun's mind.
Ding!
Minotaur?
📍 [Using the Minotaur's Horn will elevate your Demon King rank!]
Tarasa chuckled in surprise.
[You know that monster?]
Jae-jun shook his head.
[A tragic monster. It had power surpassing Demon Kings but couldn't control itself, so the others sealed it in a labyrinth. Haven't heard of it since... until now.]
Seeing the hydra knew of it, Lerajie asked hopefully.
"...Lady Hydra, can't you slay that monster?"
[Difficult. Even if we kill the Minotaur, getting lost in the Demon Kings' labyrinth would make escape near impossible.]
"N-no need to worry about that!"
Lerajie gestured, and a demon brought a massive red thread ball.
"Thread twisted from adamantium. Even if you lose your way in the labyrinth, just follow this back!"
Jae-jun, who'd been listening quietly, nodded.
"I'll head in and take out the Minotaur. But in return, you'll have to offer something, right?"
"...I'll send my minions with you."
"Don't need that crap. They'd just get in the fight's way."
"Hmm. Then what do you want?"
"How many slaves you got?"
"...About 5,000."
"Hand 'em all over to my territory."
"..."
After a moment's thought, Lerajie nodded.
If they just eliminated the Minotaur, he'd gladly hand over not just slaves but territory too.
"Deal."
Without delay, Jae-jun decided to enter the portal immediately.
He wrapped the adamantium thread around himself, with Tarasa alongside.
Baphula was too awkward to leave here, so he sent him back to their territory.
‘Didn't expect to dungeon-dive in the demon realm too.’
Unlike Earth's blue gates, this was red, but the vibe was the same.
Jae-jun glanced back once and stepped inside.
"Lady Hydra! We'll be waiting!"
Tarasa nodded at Lerajie's words and followed Jae-jun.
—Author's Note—
Thank you.