Chapter 242: Jealousy (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 242: Jealousy (13)
The saint who served as the motif for the Will of the Saint was an ordinary religious man with a somewhat unusual talent, but he wasn’t particularly capable.
However, that was only the story of his life as a human.
Now, as a being commonly referred to as an ‘angel’ after death and directly linked to the artifact, he was far from ordinary.
Fluttering three pairs of wings made of glowing feathers, the angel looked down upon the earth with satisfaction. He smiled as he watched the boy, who seemed to be completely enthralled by the power he had bestowed, certain that the youth had experienced a change of heart.
Well, putting aside what the boy actually thought, of course.
* * *
“…Should I just throw it away?”
The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I immediately dismissed it.
No matter how I looked at it, the thing had helped me so far. What kind of thug would throw away an artifact just because it felt a bit ominous?
Besides, even if its image was a bit questionable, it was undeniably a source of great power.
-If you drain too much energy, a small ‘penalty’ will occur! Please use it only in moments of absolute necessity!
“Really? And what is this penalty?”
-As long as you don’t abuse it, it will be fine! I believe that you will not misuse this great power.
You’re not going to tell me…? That’s making me even more anxious. Should I really throw it away?
…It might just be my imagination, but the ring felt like it was tightening around my finger.
I was genuinely a bit spooked, but I decided to endure it for now.
I had to prepare for the Demon King’s raid immediately. Even if my preparations were thorough, it was better to have as many cards to play as possible.
Especially if that card allowed me to handle divine power, which was the natural enemy of demons.
But, I don’t know. A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Seeing how the Touch of the Devil, the Will of the Saint, and even the Black Shadow kept trying to leave their marks on me, I strangely found myself missing Sun Wukong, who used to help me without any special contracts.
Was it because we hadn’t been able to talk much lately since he was often deep in sleep, claiming he needed to repair Ruyi?
…I hope he comes back soon.
* * *
While he was preparing to face the Demon King on the surface, the Demon King of Jealousy was also making preparations to ensure she got exactly what she wanted.
Leviathan, the Demon King of Jealousy.
She was a troublesome woman—impatient and determined to get whatever she desired by any means necessary—but she wasn’t exactly stupid.
At the very least, she had a clear grasp of what she needed to do at this stage. This was because, no matter how she looked at the current board, it wasn’t one where she could emerge as the winner.
Even looking only at the major issues, it was riddled with problems.
First, since the battlefield was the human realm, she would face significant restrictions if she ascended personally, unable to use her full power.
Well, she could still easily wipe out the humans, but the so-called heroes of the surface would undoubtedly be a nuisance.
Next was the fact that one of her desired targets was the contractor of Lucifer, who was stronger than herself.
Previously, she could have feigned ignorance since it was a provisional contract, but since Lucifer had declared her claim by strengthening the contract this time, any attempt to touch him would inevitably mean preparing for war.
At least she had a countermeasure in mind for that, so she could manage, but the final, most fundamental problem was holding her back: the entrance to the human realm wasn’t one she had opened.
Though she had seized most of the authority through secret maneuvers, she had to keep in mind that since another Demon King had opened the gate, that authority could be taken back.
Even if she managed to maintain control over the entrance, in the worst-case scenario, she might end up having to face two Demon Kings alone.
Originally, the subordinates she had sent up first were supposed to open a new gate, but she hadn’t expected them to be defeated so quickly.
It was unexpected.
These were just the major problems; if she tried to consider every minor detail, there would be no end to it.
Any other Demon King would have given up or looked for another way, but Leviathan, the Demon King of Jealousy, did not choose such a path.
She wasn’t a complete fool, but she wasn’t a brilliant strategist either, and she was a demon far removed from the concept of patience.
There was a toy she liked right in front of her, and watching it from a distance when it felt within reach went against her very nature.
She decided to take a path that was somewhat of a gamble—a dangerous bridge, but a fast one.
The more complicated the knot, the simpler and clearer the solution. She considered how to remove the obstacles, and the conclusion she reached was as follows:
“Belphegor! Let’s make up!”
Combat wasn’t the only way to reduce the number of enemies one had to fight, was it?
If she made up with Belphegor, everything would be fine!
“Oh my, I just noticed, but you’ve become really cute! Lucifer certainly has good taste.”
And at the sight of the Demon King who suddenly appeared and suggested reconciliation, Belphegor, the Demon King of Sloth, realized that even demons could suffer from high blood pressure as he clutched the back of his neck.
* * *
Are all these Demon King bastards like this…?
“…Leviathan. You seem to be looking down on me just because I lost to Lucifer, but I am a Demon King too. First you brazenly hijack what I was preparing, and now what?”
“Ah, try to change your way of speaking to match your appearance. You’ve become cute after all this time.”
“…Right, I should just give up on having a normal conversation. If you leave now, I’ll just consider this the drunken nonsense it is, so get lost.”
“Huh? You don’t want to make up with me? Why?”
…Is she insane? Ah, she is insane. After answering his own question, Belphegor weighed the effort of explaining the reason right now against the annoyance of having this madwoman follow him around.
No matter how he crunched the numbers, the former was much better.
“Fine, since you’ll surely argue, I’ll explain it as clearly as possible.”
“Yeah, go ahead. I’m listening.”
…Should I just kill her?
“My prestige in the Demon Realm plummeted when you hijacked my project. What do you think I’ll become if I join hands with you without any proper retaliation?”
“A kind-hearted Demon King?”
“Wrong, you moron. I’d be treated as a spineless coward, a loser who shriveled up because he got hit by Lucifer. Do you think the other demons would just sit by and let me keep my throne?”
“It’s not like being a Demon King is all that great anyway.”
“It doesn’t look that way to the underlings.”
“Really? Then I’ll officially apologize. Let’s just say we’re joining forces.”
“…That’s not all. I heard it from Lucifer herself, but if you go up now, you’re going to lay hands on Lucifer’s property, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. There’s someone I really covet.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m much more afraid of Lucifer than I am of you. I have absolutely no reason to help you and make an enemy of her.”
“What!? You have to get revenge for that broken horn! Honestly, that horn is kind of cute, but are you really such a gutless loser that you won’t even retaliate after being hit first!?”
“You’re literally repeating what I just said.”
“Ah, but I apologized. Lucifer wouldn’t have done that, right?”
“…Lucifer did apologize, in her own way.”
If you could count her smiling and stroking his head while saying she felt bad for breaking his horn now that he had such a cute face as an apology, that is.
“Ugh, we’re really not communicating here.”
“Just know that I’m thinking the exact same thing right now.”
“Hmm, then.”
“No matter what you say, I have no intention of wavering.”
“What if I told you I have a trick that has a very high probability of taking care of Lucifer?”
Belphegor, who was about to refuse, flinched for a split second but immediately shook his head.
“Don’t make me laugh. You’ve never even fought Lucifer directly. The power she wields is beyond common sense. Even if the two of us attacked at once, the outcome would be uncertain. And you’re saying you have a way to suppress Lucifer while simultaneously attacking the surface?”
Since such a method couldn’t possibly exist, Sloth rejected Jealousy’s proposal once again.
“Well, why wouldn’t I? I admit I’m greedy and impatient, but I’m not a fool who bets my life on a fight I can’t win.”
Until then, in Sloth’s eyes, the Demon King of Jealousy just looked like an idiot blinded by greed.
That was why.
“I’m showing this only to you. I received something good from a ‘helper.’ If you still refuse after seeing this, I’ll have to make you my enemy, and I’d rather not do that, okay?”
The moment he saw the trump card she pulled out, Belphegor had to quickly work the abacus in his head.
Which was more powerful: this alien energy she possessed, or the power Lucifer wielded?
And if he refused, would he be able to leave this place alive?
“It’s sticky and pretty, right? I was told that with this power, I can ignore almost any law.”
“What on earth is that?”
“I don’t really know either. But the guy who gave it to me called it an ‘Authority.’ Said it’s the most fundamental rule of the world or something? Anyway, so which side are you on? I quite like your horn, so I don’t want to see the remaining one get broken too.”
In other words, the moment he refused, she would attack.
He didn’t know. He had no idea which side was more advantageous for survival.
Honestly, his heart wanted both of them to just get lost, but there was no way he could say that at this stage.
A smiling Leviathan took a step toward Belphegor.
“You’d better decide quickly. You know I’m impatient.”
However, Belphegor saw it clearly.
Behind Leviathan’s beautiful smile, her eyes weren’t laughing at all.
* * *
“…Is it really just seven locations?”
“Yes, at least as far as I know. Including the planned sites, I believe they were scheduled to work on two more by the end of this year.”
The locations Aisha mentioned where large-scale demon summoning was possible weren’t much different from what I knew, but there were two fewer than before the regression.
Well, that’s probably not bad news.
It meant there were fewer spots to defend than I originally thought.
Right now, we were gathered in Ga-eul’s hospital room, holding a strategy meeting.
“Ga-eul. I know you don’t have an appetite, but try to eat some of this.”
“Ugh… Yu-na? I’m really, really okay.”
Lee Yu-na had peeled an apple and cut it into cute shapes, but Ga-eul just shook her head weakly, as if she didn’t even have the energy to eat.
…She was trying to act energetic despite her pale face, but she probably didn’t even have the strength to swallow fruit.
I felt sorry for Ga-eul, but that was exactly why I had to focus more on the meeting.
If only to recover her health as quickly as possible by catching the Demon King.
“…Stay still. I’ll at least braid your hair so it’s easier for you to move.”
“Ri-ra. I told you, yesterday was just because I got caught up in the mood! I’m not sick! You can just check the test results!”
Ju Ri-ra was even looking at Ga-eul as if she were a pitiful creature while tidying her hair. Watching this, Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak frowned in displeasure.
Ah, and the same went for me, of course.
I’m definitely not letting this slide.
That’s why we’re making this plan.
“To be honest, it’ll be hard to block them all with just us.”
Assuming this becomes a full-scale invasion rather than a light skirmish like now, the demons led by their true bodies are monsters that cadets can’t handle.
Individually, they might be no match for our group, but if we’re isolated by sheer numbers, it could get dangerous. We can’t just recklessly assign one person to each location.
“No! Guys! Please listen to me!”
Even if the professors take one, we take one, Yuseong Group’s private soldiers and Rose take another, and we notify the Association to block one… that still leaves three spots open.
Fortunately, the number of cards I had prepared fit perfectly.
If all nine locations had already been operational, I would have had to split our forces even further.
Of course, those were all the forces Kang So-hyun could mobilize.
At most, I could get help from Cheon Yu-hak, but Cheonhwa Group’s forces needed to protect civilians or prepare for unexpected situations, so they were essentially a card I couldn’t use.
But I wasn’t just Kang So-hyun, was I?
As the masked villain, I had a few more cards I could mobilize.
From Arcadia, linked through the Villain Alliance, to the Farmer Expert Ban Gi-san, who had joined as an ally.
It was enough.
In the past, I had managed to stop the Demon King’s advance with far fewer forces than this, and the opponent was a Demon King I had a record of killing personally.
This was enough to give it a shot.
“Guys, I’m telling you, please listen to me!?”
As the summer vacation drew to a close, we were preparing for the first war against the demons.
Ga-eul’s anxiously trembling eyes finally calmed down when I took her hand.