Chapter 340: Taboo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 340: Taboo
I drew a sharp breath at Gremory's words.
It was a statement so blasphemous it would make the Vatican gasp and have a seizure.
...But she's a demon, so I guess it doesn't matter.
The more I thought about it, the less surprising it was.
The truly blasphemous thing was the demon right in front of me.
Since ancient times, demons have been called sinners whose very existence is an insult to God.
I calmly composed my expression and turned the question back on her.
“Then what are you? A demon can be an object of worship for some. Isn't that a kind of god?”
In fact, demons were once worshipped as divine beings, called evil gods or demon gods.
The most prominent example is the demon worship of black mages.
And black mages surely weren't the only traitors who followed demons.
In other words, the very fact that Gremory was sitting before me contradicted her claim that 'there are no gods in this world.'
“Your point has some merit, Hyun-woo.”
Slurp.
Gremory leisurely tilted her teacup.
She didn't look at all like someone—no, a demon—who had just been refuted.
“However.”
Clink.
As she set down her cup, the corners of her eyes curved bewitchingly.
It was a captivating smile that seemed to gently caress and stimulate a man's primal instincts. So much so that I found myself understanding why she was called a demon.
And yet, my lower body remained strangely unresponsive.
With my libido growing more vigorous by the day, I felt a sense of unease that I had no reaction to a woman like Gremory.
“That argument would only hold true if I were, in fact, my main body.”
“...What?”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
My brain, which had arbitrarily activated Thought Transcendence, began processing at an incredible speed.
But the meaning of her words was so clear that I couldn't come up with any other hypothesis.
Still, I shook my head.
The being before me had to be the main body.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the pressure I was feeling.
“Don't give me that bullshit. If a demon's duplicate was that strong, the demon 23 years ago wouldn't have been subjugated by the White Tower Lord, and the Vatican would have burned to the ground long ago, leaving black mages to rule the Earth.”
“23 years ago... Ah, I heard some foolish count was killed by a human mage. Is that what you're referring to?”
Gremory crossed her legs and gave me a meaningful smile.
At some point, a wine glass had appeared in her hand.
“I remember she had the epithet 'Witch of the Snowfield.' I recall meeting her once, about 17 years ago. Being part-fairy, she was indeed unbelievably strong for a mere mortal. It seems her flesh and blood wasn't quite as capable, though.”
“Just answer my question.”
I raised my voice at Gremory, who was spouting nonsense.
It was true I'd lost the initiative, but I had no intention of being dragged along indefinitely.
It wasn't like I had no way to escape this demon, so there was no need to just bow my head.
“...You're quite impatient.”
“I also get told I'm nasty. Want me to show you?”
Vwooom!!
An Aura formed over my palm.
This wasn't a bluff. I was serious.
I had zero intention of kowtowing to someone who threatened me by holding my friends hostage just because she was stronger.
Not even for my own sake.
“Hoo... I thought you weren't foolish enough to mistake courage for recklessness.”
Rumble-
The entire cave began to shake.
The overwhelming wave of demonic energy made the very air tremble.
For a while, we glared at each other without a word.
“...Let's stop.”
Fwoosh-
The pressure bearing down on me vanished as if it had never been there.
Gremory was the one who backed down first.
“Since when do demons know how to yield?”
“As I said from the beginning, I didn't come here to fight you.”
But she seemed quite offended, summoning a glass of cold champagne and gulping it down.
I considered provoking her further, but I decided against it since I hadn't gotten all the information I needed yet.
“To answer your question, 21 years ago, due to a certain incident, all the gods and demons of Earth vanished. What remains now are their thought-forms, a kind of duplicate.”
“...What?”
I was momentarily stunned by her statement.
My brain refused to accept it so casually.
“In other words, the one before you, Hyun-woo, is a duplicate of Gremory. Of course, even as a duplicate, it's still undeniably the main body, so you could say I've descended here as the main body.”
Gremory spoke of being a duplicate as if it were nothing.
I felt a sense of unease at her demeanor.
“...Do I look naive enough to believe such a lie?”
“A lie, you say...”
At my words, Gremory gave a meaningful smile and began to unbutton her suit jacket.
Pop, pop, pop.
The white dress shirt underneath was revealed, accentuating the volume of her chest.
But she didn't stop there, proceeding to unbutton the shirt as well.
Soon, her pale breasts, encased in a black lace bra, were revealed.
“Would you like to check for yourself?”
“I'll pass.”
I had zero desire to roll around with a demon.
Even if she got naked, my lower body wouldn't react.
“...Are you impotent?”
Gremory, who had slightly parted her cleavage as if to tempt me, asked in disbelief.
But I just snorted and replied nonchalantly.
“Blaming others so shamelessly without considering your own lack of charm. Is that a demon thing?”
“...”
Grind—
I heard the sound of teeth grinding from somewhere, but I just let it go in one ear and out the other.
This wasn't a blind date. It was none of my business.
“...Don't you know that being so mean makes you unpopular with women?”
“Really? Then I guess I should start being meaner. I've got way too many women around me as it is.”
The moment I finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the table.
I could feel a faint killing intent from behind Gremory's eyes as she looked—no, glared—at me.
“Hoo...”
I was about to press the matching button, but I paused when I saw her calmly taking a breath, as if trying to restrain herself.
For a demon, her patience was considerable.
“...The demon the black mages summoned 23 years ago was a terrible matchup against the Witch of the Snowfield.”
“A demon making excuses? That's a bit pathetic, isn't it?”
“It's the truth.”
Gremory shrugged.
As she set down her wine glass, she looked as if she were reminiscing about someone.
“It wasn't that the demon was weak in the first place; it's that it's strange for a mere mortal human to reach the 8th Circle. Even you would be surprised if your pet cat suddenly started swinging its claws infused with aura, wouldn't you?”
I wasn't sure if that was an apt analogy, but thanks to it, I got a rough idea of how an 8th Circle Archmage was perceived from a demon's perspective.
“One more thing. You said gods don't exist, so what about the church? What about divine power?”
“They're cockroaches sustaining themselves on the dregs left behind by the remnants of gods.”
It was a rather extreme expression, but hearing it reminded me of a headline I'd seen a long time ago.
[The Path of a Priest Narrows Each Year, Harder Than Winning the Lottery?]
I didn't know exactly when it started, but it was a fact that the number of newly ordained priests was decreasing worldwide.
Of course, I couldn't judge the reliability of her information based on that alone.
My opponent was a demon.
I had to take what she said with a grain of salt, and it was essential to cross-verify it later.
“That's why I find you so interesting, Hyun-woo. To wield a god's authority in a world where all gods have vanished.”
“...A god's authority?”
What kind of nonsense was this now?
When I gave her a clueless look, Gremory stared at me with a stiff expression.
“Are you playing dumb? I'm talking about that black flame.”
“The Black Flame?”
“To contact a human while avoiding the surveillance of □□... it seems a high-ranking divinity has been hiding quite well.”
Static—
...What was that just now?
For a moment, a ringing filled my ears, and I couldn't hear Gremory's words clearly.
It was as if a specific part had been intentionally filtered out, the sound cutting off and distorting.
I didn't have a headache, but my mind felt inexplicably cluttered.
I gave my head a little shake and looked up to find Gremory staring at me as if she were utterly shocked.
“...My goodness. To think a mere human could hear that and remain sane.”
“What?”
“Ahem, it's nothing. The chatter went on a bit long.”
I was dumbfounded by her shameless attempt to just move on.
I was a little dizzy, but not so much that I couldn't understand what she was saying.
“Getting to the point, I want you to become my apostle, Hyun-woo. I don't know which god you've contracted with, but it would be far more beneficial for you to make a pact with me than with some incompetent god who's too busy worrying about what others think to properly care for a single apostle.”
As befitting a demon with not an ounce of conscience, Gremory extended her hand to me nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.
It was clean and pale, without a single callus to be found.
An alluring gesture that would make an ordinary man want to drop to his knees and kiss the back of her hand.
“...Can I ask one last thing?”
“Of course.”
“You called yourself a duplicate, so why do you need an apostle? And it doesn't necessarily have to be me, does it?”
Gremory gave a slight smile at my question.
It was an endlessly bright smile, not at all demonic.
“To become 'real'.”
“Real...?”
The moment I tried to ask for more details, Gremory's atmosphere shifted.
As if to say, no more.
“Now then, shall you give me your answer?”
Snap—
The table and chairs vanished, leaving nothing between us.
It was a clumsy trick meant to apply psychological pressure.
Is she trying to scare me?
I didn't care. I boldly shot her the middle finger.
I had zero intention of dealing with a bitch who threatened me by holding my friends hostage.
Ssshaaa...
In that instant, the air temperature began to plummet. It was so cold that a normal person would not only see their breath but soon suffer from frostbite.
“...If you're going to be like that, I'll have no choice but to be a little rough with the cute Miss Seoah and the little goat girl.”
Gremory's gaze shifted to the two figures lying on the floor.
Kiiiiing!!!!
Pure white Aura enveloped the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword.
I glared at Gremory as if I could kill her with my eyes alone.
“I'm pretty sure I told you not to piss me off.”
“What a coincidence. I seem to recall asking you not to be so mean, either.”
My mind changed in an instant.
I felt like I wouldn't be satisfied unless I landed at least one hit before escaping with a match.
If things went wrong, I could just turn back time with my Mystic Eye, so I wasn't too worried.
I'll take one of her arms, even if it means I'll be laid up for the next two or three months.
Every muscle in my body screamed, but I forced myself to ignore it and gripped the hilt of my sword.
*
Gremory, the Great Duke of Gehenna, realized her patience had reached its limit.
He needs to be taught a lesson.
She swore, for once, to give it her all.
Even if Kang Hyun-woo's mind broke in the process, it didn't matter.
She could always repair it after playing with him for a while.
Better yet, she could remodel it to her own tastes.
Making him lick my toes every time he sees me sounds nice.
Harboring such dark, twisted fantasies befitting a demon, Gremory drew upon her demonic energy.
Of course, she wasn't careless.
Every time she saw the pure white Aura Blade covering Kang Hyun-woo's sword, her instincts screamed danger.
Normally, she would have activated her authority immediately, but Kang Hyun-woo's thick mental barrier wouldn't allow it.
Without light physical contact, it would be difficult to control his free will as she had before.
Boom!
In that instant, Kang Hyun-woo's figure vanished.
Startled for a moment by his incredible speed, Gremory reached out without a hint of hesitation.
Within the space she controlled with her demonic energy, she could track his movements with her eyes closed.
Although she was weak in close combat, Kang Hyun-woo was already exhausted.
They exchanged a few blows, but even that didn't last long.
Thump—
Finally, Gremory's fingertips touched Kang Hyun-woo. Her lips stretched from ear to ear as she looked at him.
It was a smile that sent shivers down one's spine.
But that, too, was brief. A strange pattern began to appear in Kang Hyun-woo's eyes.
Gremory's eyes widened in horror.
A-A demon's authority?!
It was a power she had never felt before, but it was unmistakably the authority of a demon.
Flustered by this unexpected variable, Gremory hurriedly activated her own authority.
Vwooom—
As the golden crown rotated, her authority instantly pierced Kang Hyun-woo's mental barrier and reached his deep consciousness.
Of course, she couldn't shatter his unusually thick and complex mental barrier in one go.
At best, it was like she'd only managed to insert a single knuckle.
But that was enough.
“...Huh?”
Enough to provoke what lay beyond.
[■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■]