A Demon's Survival Instinct

"Get rid of your prejudice that it won't work just because it's Kim Tae-hyun. Everyone has preconceptions because of Pan-On 1, but Kim Tae-hyun is human too. Now that he's gotten so popular, his personality must have softened. You saw his interview video, right? How humbly he spoke."

"I mean, if he threw a fit in an interview too, he'd be a complete psycho..."

"Ah, shut it! There's no harm in trying. Is there any loss for us if we try?"

"Well, that's true, but..."

Isn't it weird to make a proposal that doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell in the first place?

"And besides, we're acquaintances with Kim Tae-hyun."

Can we really call that being 'acquaintances'?

Woodstock, the guild leader of the Woodstock Guild! They used to belong to the Guild Alliance, but they had been kicked out for various reasons. Normally, they would have been framed by the Guild Alliance and wiped out, but fortunately, Tae-hyun and the Guild Alliance had been in the middle of a massive clash back then. Thanks to Tae-hyun running amok and causing chaos in the Auston Kingdom, they had been able to slip away.

Can we really call that being lucky?

"Ah, you're muttering to yourself again! Stop muttering!"

"It's because your plan is garbage, Guild Leader! Honestly, I don't want to meet Kim Tae-hyun!"

Hapara, the vice guild leader, had realized it back when he traveled around the Auston Kingdom with Tae-hyun. Ah. Hanging around that guy is seriously dangerous! Hapara wanted to play Pan-On comfortably and for a long time, not live a crazy, short, and intense life. If he hung around Tae-hyun, even ten lives wouldn't be enough.

"You know how every Tom, Dick, and Harry is getting investments and rolling in cash these days, right? Others are using that investment money to scale up, and if we just sit still, we'll get left behind. Doesn't your stomach churn seeing those Guild Alliance bastards doing so well even after getting beaten to a pulp? It's all because they got investments."

"That's true, but..."

Among the large guilds in Pan-On, there was a trend of receiving investments and aggressively expanding. If you couldn't join in, you'd be left behind! And the prerequisite for all this expansion was territory. First, you had to have a territory!

"Seriously, listen. This time, it's a perfect plan. People generally think Kim Tae-hyun is the king of the Atali Kingdom, right?"

"Right..."

"But even Kim Tae-hyun isn't perfect. He conquered the northern and central regions through battles last time, but the southern nobles don't listen to him."

"Are they insane?! Why?!"

"Ah, how should I know what those noble bastards are thinking! Maybe they want to die! That's not what's important right now. What matters is that these southern territories are a major headache for him! Put yourself in Kim Tae-hyun's shoes."

"I can't even imagine..."

"Just do it! Imagine you're Kim Tae-hyun! But suddenly, I come along, offer you a mountain of gold, promise to take care of that headache for you, conquer the territory on our own, and then swear loyalty to you. What would you do?"

"...!!!"

Hapara was genuinely shocked. Our Guild Leader... Our Guild Leader came up with such a brilliant scheme?!

Is he really our Guild Leader???

"Sounds plausible, right???"

"It... it actually does...?"

From Kim Tae-hyun's perspective, it was a deal he had no choice but to accept! It was so plausible that they were now afraid someone else might beat them to it.

"Quickly! Let's make the proposal right away!"

"That's my boy! That's the spirit!"

"Ah. Why do whispers keep coming in? How annoying."

"How about blocking everyone who isn't on your friends list?"

"I can't. I might miss something in an important situation."

"What kind of whispers are they?"

"Some guild leader asking to meet just once... Well, it's a common proposal."

"Ah. There are plenty of those."

Since both of them were the most famous people in Pan-On, all sorts of proposals came in even if they just stood still.

Thanks to that, both of them immediately closed any whispers that seemed trivial.

Finally! Lee Se-yeon let out a sigh of relief. What kind of curse was so incredibly persistent?

"Lee Se-yeon, come over here. It's hard to react if you're over there."

"Uh, huh? Okay."

"You are focusing, right? You're not thinking, 'Since my summons are shielding us, they'll take the hits for me anyway,' are you?"

"I was not!"

As the Gold Dragon and Black Dragon stared at her with innocent, wide eyes, Lee Se-yeon felt a pang of guilt. I really didn't think that!

"Is that giant bastard waiting outside?"

"Probably not."

"You know how persistent those ancient giants are... Let's absolutely avoid fighting them."

"Why is this dungeon so quiet?"

"?"

"???"

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon stared at each other. The monsters living in this dungeon were completely silent. So what was that conversation they just heard? It had to be intruders from the outside!

Whoosh. Tae-hyun immediately activated his stealth skill along with Lee Se-yeon. Tae-hyun's stealth skill was at the very peak of the Advanced rank. It was enough to put average rogues to shame. Combined with his other skills, his actual stealth capability was far higher.

"Hey. I... well..."

"??"

Lee Se-yeon wanted to say, I can summon undead now, but she hesitated. For some reason, it was hard to speak!

Tae-hyun squeezed her shoulder, pressing her down.

"Keep your head down. I don't know what you're trying to say, but save it for later."

"No, it's just...!"

"Who are these guys... Did the giant send them?"

"Mmph...!" Lee Se-yeon let out a muffled, incomprehensible groan.

Carbanog had caught the scent of demonic energy like a bloodhound! Does the ancient giant command demons too?

Carbanog explained while subtly taking a jab at Akisus. Tae-hyun nodded in agreement. Given the temperament of ancient giants, they certainly didn't seem like the type to get along with demons.

Then we'll just have to take them out. Everyone, get ready. Three. Two. One. Now.

Flash! Tae-hyun broke his stealth and lunged forward. He could easily melt a bunch of demons walking in completely off guard. Even if he couldn't see them clearly, he could estimate their positions from the sounds they made...

With fire support from Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk, Tae-hyun charged like a bolt of lightning. The demons sent on orders were at most level 200 to 300. While that was a high level, they couldn't withstand Tae-hyun's fierce onslaught, especially when caught in a surprise attack.

Boom! Crash! Crash! The demons melted away in an instant!

"What?! What is this?!"

Tae-hyun silently swung his sword. He'd rather land another hit than waste time answering! Dealing with demons was always a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠losing game anyway. Weren't they creatures that deceived with their cunning tongues?

"This bastard dares...!"

"Take out the mage in the back!"

The battered demons snapped out of it and tried to scatter. One of them lunged forward to stop the magic first.

"Evil Blink!"

The demons approached using short-range teleportation magic! Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk, and Golgol-i moved in a panic. If they left things as they were, Lee Se-yeon would be attacked. And if that happened?

Master will nag us to death!

Kim Tae-hyun's storm of nagging! You guys call yourselves dragons? You can't even block that? Are you really dragons? Or are you just wyverns? The nagging already rang vividly in their ears.

"We must block them!"

"I am blocking! No, this guy teleported again! Golgol-i! You block him!"

"This bastard is filthy fast!"

"..., , , !"

Listening to the chaotic conversation, Lee Se-yeon simply spammed her spells. She rapidly boosted her defense with mana, summoned a golem, cast a spell to draw all attacks to it, and finally cast a magic disruption spell to prevent the enemy from escaping.

"Urgh!" The demon, who had been blinking all over the place, was caught dead in his tracks.

"Die, you bastard! Who do you think you're messing with?!"

"We almost got ruined because of you!"

"......."

Lee Se-yeon fell into deep confusion as she listened to the summons' conversation. ...Just what kind of education is he giving them...?!

"Oh? Lee Se-yeon. Did your debuff wear off?"

"Huh? Oh... yeah! It just wore off!"

"It didn't wear off earlier and you were just pretending it was still there, right?"

Tae-hyun threw a joke. At that joke, Lee Se-yeon felt her heart drop. How did he know?!

"Just kidding. It's not like you're Cain, why would you do that?"

"Y-Yeah."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tae-hyun left exactly one demon alive. Since Lee Se-yeon had regained her original strength, there was no longer any need to be cautious.

"What is your purpose for coming all the way here?"

"I... I don't know what you're talking about, human! I was merely chased here by the ancient giant! If you let me go, I will reward you handsomely!"

Huh? Tae-hyun was taken aback by those words. I naturally assumed they were assassins.

Because he had done so many terrible things to demons, whenever he saw one, his immediate thought was, Gasp, they must have come to kill me!

Right?

"So you didn't come to kill me?"

"Why on earth would I come to kill you?!"

"Hmm. I thought they sent assassins because I stole a Demon Duke's castle."

"......."

At that moment, the demon shut his mouth tight.

"...Ah. You didn't know who I was, did you?"

"T-That... well... I only came to scout! Really! I had no intention of touching you! Think about it! How could a mere demon like me dare to challenge Akisus?!"

A demon is pleading about how weak he is...?!

Lee Se-yeon felt her common sense crumbling. Normally, demons—whether lesser or superior—were arrogant and wild. Even if they lost to a human, the standard cliché was for them to exit saying, Keke... Human... I shall return! When I do, I will crush your heart!

Yet right now, this demon was pleading, I'm really weak! How could someone like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me harbor ill intentions toward you?!

...Pan-On really is a vast world...!

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"They wouldn't have sent just you alone... Where are the rest of the demons gathered?"

Like someone who had dealt with plenty of demons, Tae-hyun was highly experienced. Would the Demon Dukes have sent only one or two demons to deal with Tae-hyun? Of course they would have sent as many as possible!

And for demons to swarm onto the continent, a special method was required. Whether a black mage summoned them or they found some dimensional gate... Seeing this demon here, there was bound to be such a method hidden somewhere!

"I-If I tell you that, the other demons..."

"What about the other demons?"

"...Come to think of it, they're none of my business! I will tell you!"

When he thought about it, keeping the secret wouldn't benefit him at all!

This is what makes demons so charming.