Chapter 252: The End of Envy, Kang So-hyun’s Way.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 252: The End of Envy, Kang So-hyun’s Way.
Leviathan.
Or rather, the thing that was once called Leviathan finally managed to regain consciousness.
Her name, her body, and her status were all lost; even her soul was no longer her own.
Only the parts that could be called her mind and ego had been neatly severed and demoted to a different existence.
That was how she perceived her current state.
And the one looking down at her was a monarch of the Demon Realm.
Until only a few hours ago, she had occupied a similar position.
Now, she was in a state where she couldn’t even dare to look the other person in the eye.
“Well, I guess I can’t call you Envy or Levi anymore, can I? Still, you remember what happened before you came here, right?”
She remembered.
How could she not?
She had suffered the agony of seeing countless plans go up in smoke, and having her mind ripped away from her body and soul.
Even after that, she had felt a high status within the body that captured her and tried to seize it, only to be suppressed and sent here instead.
To the Demon Realm—specifically, to Lucifer’s palace.
“You’ve become so weak that you almost dissipated the moment I looked away. It was quite a chore keeping you together. But I’ve injected a minimum amount of Demonic Energy, so you won’t have to worry about fading away anymore.”
The words that she had been kept alive with a minimum amount of Demonic Energy didn’t exactly sound hopeful.
Lucifer, as well as the other Demon Kings, had no reason to look upon her kindly. Considering what she had done just moments ago, it wasn’t difficult to deduce their objective.
Revenge… or was that not quite it? Since she had failed, perhaps “punishment” was a more fitting word than revenge.
At that thought, the nameless entity suppressed the urge to smile.
No matter how terrible the punishment they intended to inflict, the fact that they used Demonic Energy to maintain her existence meant they didn’t intend to kill her immediately.
No matter how painful it was, if she endured and endured, and if there was even a one-in-a-million chance of being released, she could start over from the beginning.
If she had fallen to the very bottom where no one was weaker than her, she would simply take from those in the same position.
Bit by bit, she would accumulate power and climb back up.
You were foolish, Lucifer. You shouldn’t have thought about keeping me alive to torment me; you should have viewed me as a source of instability and eliminated me as quickly as possible.
“It’s obvious what you’re thinking, but unfortunately, I’m not going to do anything to you. Well, if I had to put it one way, I’m just playing the role of delivering a gift to him on behalf of an anonymous sponsor.”
The “anonymous sponsor” likely referred to the girl she had seen back then.
If so, she could guess who “him” referred to.
And as if to prove her guess correct, the moment Lucifer gave a signal, a boy with a familiar face walked in.
The first things that caught her eye were his black hair, red eyes, and his rather handsome, smiling face.
Since his human main body couldn’t have come to the Demon Realm, this was likely a clone.
His bright expression was inexplicably irritating.
She wondered just how severely he planned to torment her to be smiling so brightly.
But on second thought, this was actually for the best.
The display he had shown while killing her subordinates was quite impressive, but how much pain could a human’s torture really inflict?
He had clearly said he would torture her for a long time in ways she couldn’t imagine, so the possibility of him not killing her had actually increased.
Compared to being killed by Lucifer immediately or falling to the bottom of Hell, this was much better, as her chances of survival had improved.
“You look like a mess. I heard you were supplied with the bare minimum of Demonic Energy. How does it feel to be lower than a Lesser Demon?”
Actually, it’s much better than dying.
I’m weak, but I’ve gained a body again.
“Yeah, it’s pretty terrible. It’s humiliating. Are you satisfied now?”
“Of course. Honestly, I was so disappointed because I thought I’d lost the chance to torment you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to Lucifer.”
…Lucifer? Is it officially recorded that Lucifer caught me?
She thought about blurting out the truth, but she couldn’t even open her mouth, perhaps due to a restriction.
Phew, let’s stay calm.
That’s not important right now.
Now was the time to focus on her acting.
She had to show just enough pain while maintaining a rebellious attitude so that he could never be fully satisfied.
She also needed to calibrate it delicately so he wouldn’t kill her out of sheer anger.
It might take a while, but if she endured, an opportunity to escape would surely come.
“Actually, I put a lot of thought into this after hearing the happy news that you’d been captured.”
“About how to torment me?”
“I’m glad you understand so well. That’s right. What should I do? You dared to harm those precious to me… what can I do to ensure no one ever touches my people again?”
He drew a dagger, perhaps intending to instill fear.
It’s a dagger filled with Demonic Energy. Is he going to stab my eyes? Or maybe he’ll pierce my throat and heal me repeatedly.
It would be painful, but it wasn’t something she couldn’t endure.
“Besides, I need to make an example out of you so the other Demon Kings stay crawled up in their holes without eyeing the surface. Don’t you agree?”
“From what I see, you aren’t thinking about that at all. You just need someone to vent your anger on, don’t you?”
“Ah, honestly, I won’t deny it. I’m not exactly that altruistic of a person. You’re right. I need a place to vent my anger. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”
“Fine. What exactly do you plan to do to me? If possible, instead of something painful, why don’t we do something that makes us both feel good?”
She wondered if she had provoked him too much, but surprisingly, he gave a thin smile and nodded.
“That sounds good.”
“…What?”
For a moment, she didn’t understand.
What did he just say?
“Venting through something that makes us both feel good—I think that’s not a bad idea. It’s actually what I was going to say.”
Ah, I see. He’s thinking of giving me hope and then snatching it away. Human thoughts are so predictable.
Or maybe he’s actually fallen into lust and wants to claim me. Fortunately, my new body has retained its past beauty.
In fact, since her lower half was now human as well, she would look even more attractive than before.
“I’ve reached this conclusion after very careful thought, so listen well. This is the punishment I’m going to give you.”
He paused, slowly raising the dagger.
As I thought, he’s just going to give hope and take it away. That kind of tactic won’t work on me.
But the moment he swung the dagger down, the restraints binding her shattered.
“…Huh?”
“I am going to forgive you.”
What was he talking about? Did he plan to keep up the act?
“Ga-eul is safe, and since Lucifer is my partner, I don’t think any other punks will try to act up and come to the surface. My kids grew a lot stronger while dealing with the demons, and there weren’t many casualties anyway.”
When she turned her head to look, Lucifer had a dissatisfied expression on her face.
Wait? Is he serious?
“There’s also talk that you were being used. So, I’ve decided to forgive you and take you in.”
Perhaps.
Looking at the boy who smiled at her despite their life-and-death struggle and the fact that she had harmed those precious to him, the former Demon King smiled as well.
How could anyone be this foolish?
Whether he believed he could reform a demon or had some other ulterior motive, it was an undeniable stroke of luck.
Still, she couldn’t express that openly here.
She didn’t know what his hidden agenda might be, and if she mocked him, he might suddenly change his mind and try to kill her.
She would prostrate herself as much as possible and apologize. She would act as if she were truly sincere.
“Th-thank you so much…! I’ll really, really reflect on my actions! This will never happen again…!”
Humans are so foolish and lovely.
The life that began from that point was smooth sailing.
Because she was weak, there were those who came for revenge or ignored her, but “he,” Kang So-hyun, blocked almost all of them.
His comrades and Lucifer didn’t seem to like her, but they said they would respect his opinion and didn’t directly threaten her. This was more than bearable.
When she helped him just for the sake of her act, they would look at her with surprise or greet her. They were truly foolish creatures.
He spoke to her often.
He said that Envy was ultimately a feeling of emptiness, a result of not having anything that was truly one’s own.
He told her to trust him, that he would fill that void.
If such a shallow sentiment could fill that void, would she have ever been able to sit on the throne of a Demon King?
However, she left it alone, wanting to see how far his futile efforts would go.
When an opportunity to recover her strength came, she tried to betray them, but it was a trap.
Those foolish humans came to rescue her.
She thought about mocking the fools who didn’t even know they’d been deceived, but surprisingly, they already knew.
Then why?
Seeing him injured while trying to save her made her heart ache a little.
My heart aches? Me, a demon?
She expected their attitude toward her to sour, but they remained the same.
They ate together, laughed and chatted, and sometimes took walks nearby or went on trips far away.
And during those times, the thought would suddenly cross her mind that this kind of life wasn’t so bad.
She had only been acting to regain her power.
Then one day, he said he would set her free, as she seemed to have reflected enough.
Ha, haha. He said he would torment her for a long time, yet he was fooled so easily.
She intended to leave without looking back, but for some reason, her footsteps felt a bit heavy.
Not long after, she heard that a powerful enemy had attacked them.
An inexplicable sense of anxiety washed over her, and by the time she came to her senses, she was throwing herself into the fray to save them.
He asked why she had come back, and she didn’t answer.
No, she couldn’t answer. She didn’t know the exact reason herself.
And so, we shared fairly ordinary days together once again.
As the time we spent together grew longer, her anxiety increased.
Her dependence on him seemed to be deepening as well.
Every time that happened, he would smile and tell her he would stay by her side, and the tightening in her chest only grew stronger.
And as time passed.
I lost my Envy.
No matter what happened, even when I looked at what others had, I no longer craved it.
When I told him, he said it was because I finally had a place where I could truly belong and trust.
Was that it?
After a party, while I was taking care of him while he was heavily intoxicated, an accident happened.
We slept together.
That in itself wasn’t a big deal, but for some reason, I felt incredibly embarrassed and began to regret my past actions.
And because of that one mistake, I became pregnant. I was in a position to give birth to a half-demon, which demons consider a disgrace, but for some reason, I didn’t feel bad.
The others who liked him were frustrated, saying it made no sense, but no one truly hated me.
I began to wish this time would last forever.
Time passed quickly.
It passed so truly quickly that a child was born and grew, and naturally, another child came along.
Raising children was incredibly difficult, but it was more joyful than anything else, so I even recorded the children as they grew up.
And then, after falling asleep with the usual feeling of happiness, the moment I woke up.
“Huh?”
I was kneeling in Lucifer’s palace.
He was looking down at me coldly with his pink eyes, and it was strangely terrifying.
Why is he looking at me with those eyes?
“You know.”
No, I can guess what’s happening.
Don’t say it.
The strange daze, as if waking from a dream, was fading, and reality was beginning to set in bit by bit.
“Wh-where are our kids…? Why are we here?”
“How was it?”
“No, wait, is this a dream? It is, right?”
“Did you have a pleasant nightmare?”
I couldn’t understand the situation because of his cold smile, which was completely different from the one he always gave me.
I mean, what is this?
“If I want to show someone what happens when they touch something precious to me… I think taking away what’s precious to them is the most effective way. But you were just full of cravings; you didn’t actually have anything precious to you.”
So. So…?
“So, I made sure you gained something truly precious.”
All those years until now were all…?
“So that you could truly love and cherish something other than yourself.”
They were just a momentary illusion?
“So that you, who were so tough you wouldn’t be easily hurt, would melt into something soft and easily wounded.”
“No, how far did it go…? No. What about our kids?”
“And this is the most important part. Even if I take it away, no one other than you gets hurt.”
“Liar.”
“It was a bit funny watching the illusion. You even had two kids.”
“Don’t lie to me…”
No matter how much she pleaded, his expression didn’t change.
“How does it feel to have something precious taken away? Do you understand a little bit of how the people you harmed felt?”
It was still an incredibly cold smile.
The biggest problem was that even in this situation, she was in a state where she couldn’t hate him.
She ought to hate him, but the false memories refused to leave her head.
“You can look forward to what the next nightmare will be.”
“…What?”
“You’ll probably snap out of it if it’s just once. I’ll make you taste similar emotions over and over again. So, first, you have to forget.”
“No. No, So-hyun. Save me. I’ll be really good. You know I’m sincere. Just once. Please? Just once…!”
“Wow, ‘So-hyun.’ That’s funny.”
He smiled and slowly approached, his eyes beginning to glow.
“No…! No…! Don’t do it! Don’t take it! It’s mine…! It’s my memory…!”
“What kind of relationship do we have that you’re calling me by my name? We might actually get close at this rate.”
The thing that was no longer a Demon King screamed, and the Demonic Energy born from negative emotions became an even stronger hypnosis, molding her.
“Please, have a pleasant nightmare. From now on, continuously. Until you can’t take it anymore.”
And once again, the kneeling Demon King fell into a happy nightmare.
“Seeing how good it feels to vent a little, I guess I still have a long way to go.”