The Utility of a Demon
It was only natural for the Shadow Elves to feel anxious and disgruntled. They were launching a surprise raid on demonic territory, yet they were bringing a demon along? There was no telling when or where he might stab them in the back. But Tae-hyun was resolute.
"He's absolutely necessary."
—!
Pogalo's face registered shock, which quickly morphed into a smug, triumphant grin. This human bastard. He must have realized he can't get by without my help. Since he's practically begging me, I suppose I'll lend a hand! I'm absolutely not doing this because he's an Archisus follower!
"Mmmph! Mmmph-mmmph!" Of course, since Pogalo was gagged, those grand thoughts never actually made it past his lips.
"He's highly versatile."
Once you started using a demon, you quickly realized just how convenient of an item they were. Just like air conditioning during a sweltering Korean summer, once you experienced it, you could never go back. A demon was a must-have item! They served as meat shields, mana batteries, skill providers, information sources, and finally... bombs.
If things go south, I'll just detonate him and run.
Since Tae-hyun spoke with such absolute conviction, the Shadow Elves couldn't argue any further.
"Fine. Then tell us how we are going to fight."
"The plan is basically simple. We split into teams of two, slip into various positions without getting caught, and then unleash plagues and poison. That'll throw them into chaos automatically."
Phase one: weaken the Demon Duke's territory! The real fight would come after that.
The rankers quickly exchanged glances.
If we're pairing up...
The best partner is obviously Kim Tae-hyun!
Everyone knew Tae-hyun's personality was incredibly "Archisus-like," but in a life-or-death situation, he was still the most reliable person alive. Especially during a high-risk quest like this!
"Me first! Kim Tae-hyun! Party up with me!"
"No! Kim Tae-hyun is going to partner with me! Right, Tae-hyun?!"
"Tae-hyun, don't hang out with those gearless, classless losers!"
Tae-hyun replied with a slightly bewildered look. "Guys, I appreciate the enthusiasm... but I'm taking this demon with me."
"...Ah."
"Just draw straws."
The rankers split into pairs, and the Shadow Elves did the same. Everyone would position themselves across the area and detonate their payloads simultaneously! It was a simple yet incredibly difficult plan. Everyone moved out with tense expressions.
"The World Tree definitely sucked away all my luck... I'm the only one with zero luck..." Suana muttered in a despairing voice.
Standing right next to her was Johansson. Wow! Talk about completely unreliable! Especially for a stealth-focused quest like this, Johansson was at a massive disadvantage.
"What's with that face? I believe in you," Johansson said.
"Y-You do?"
"Yeah. Even though you used to be a ranker in that filthy Guild Alliance..."
"..."
"I still trust your skills!"
"Go die!"
"!?"
Watching Suana and Johansson bicker as they moved forward, Tae-hyun felt a deep sense of foreboding. Are those two going to be okay? No matter how he looked at it, they seemed like a disaster waiting to happen...
Carbanog tsks at your ignorance. It says that fighting like that is exactly how people grow fond of each other.
What absolute nonsense. Tae-hyun immediately dismissed Carbanog's words. Growing fond of each other through bickering was something that only happened in dramas and movies! Where in the real world did that actually happen? Leave it to a rabbit to have such a ridiculous imagination...
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Stop thumping. It's noisy.
Carbanog proposes a bet. It asks what you will do if those two actually grow fond of each other.
A bet? I don't really want to—
Carbanog prepares to sulk.
Fine, fine. What do you want?
Carbanog says it wants a giant rabbit statue!
...It's not made of gold, is it?
Carbanog is not a god so shameless as to demand that. Carbanog says it only needs to be massive.
Well, if that's all. Crafting it out of gold or pure silver would have been a pain, but just making a regular one was easy. Labor? He could just go to his territory, put his thumb up, and shout, "Anyone bored? Gather round!" and everyone would swarm over. As for materials, he had an abundance of bronze, copper, and iron (mostly plundered from various places)...
And it says the statue must be able to move.
Why are you adding conditions? Well, that's not too hard either. A moving statue. It would be a monumental task for others, but for Tae-hyun, who was rapidly approaching a Legendary-grade Engineering skill, it was child's play. He just had to insert a power source inside, similar to a golem.
But what a completely pointless endeavor... A rabbit statue waving its front paws. Sure, it would be cute! But the actual benefits would be negligible. Since it would be large and capable of movement, his Blacksmithing Skill and Engineering skill would probably go up a bit. And maybe his territory would receive a minor farming bonus and see an increase in rabbit monsters?
Carbanog says that as long as it's cute, that's more than enough, so what more could you possibly want?
...Anyway, a bet is a bet, so if you lose, you get absolutely nothing. And what are you wagering?
Carbanog flinches.
Don't tell me you proposed a bet with nothing to wager? I trust that you aren't such a shameless deity.
...Carbanog says it will reveal the location of a hidden treasure.
! Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised. Carbanog...! You really are a god after all!
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Ah, no. I was just surprised because the Archisus Church was completely ruined and left with nothing, yet you claim to have treasure.
Carbanog says that no matter how ruined and forgotten they are, it still remembers a few treasure locations.
If you give me some weird, useless treasure, I won't build a rabbit statue. I'll build a statue of a rabbit getting beaten up by Sadiq.
Carbanog is left speechless by the sheer magnitude of this humiliation.
A rabbit getting dominated by Sadiq!
Carbanog begs you to at least make it a rabbit getting beaten up by Archisus.
No way. Sadiq is much more insulting. It was a conversation that would have made Sadiq weep had he heard it.
"Anyway, as long as those two split up, I win, right? Then I should make them fight even more right now."
Carbanog tells you not to cheat!
The territories of the Demon Realm varied wildly depending on their rulers. The stereotypical image of hell—bubbling lava, a crimson sky, and a castle made of skulls right in the center—was actually quite rare. Demons, after all, had their own distinct personalities. And the place Tae-hyun's group had infiltrated was...
"The path is way too complicated."
Massive blue ores jutted out like pillars everywhere, blocking their line of sight. Everything was blue! Occasionally, tall towers could be seen looming in the distance. It was easy to guess those were the dwellings of the demons.
Carbanog informs you that it can sense demonic mana coming from over there.
Yeah. Looks like a great spot to detonate a plague.
Releasing it from a high vantage point would make it spread much better! By now, the other rankers were probably thinking the exact same thing. In this land filled with nothing but blue ores, the only viable targets were the towers scattered around.
"Pogalo. Who is the master of this place?"
"Hmph. Did you really think I would just tell you? There are several Demon Dukes associated with the color blue, so I cannot give you an immediate answer. Besides, I have been sealed away for far too long to know what shifts in power have occurred among the Demon Dukes."
The Demon Dukes were constantly keeping each other in check and bickering. Though rare, some Demon Dukes fell from power. Even rarer, new ones emerged. In other words, this territory could very well belong to a Demon Duke Pogalo had never even heard of.
"Hmm... It could be Edaor. Edaor is a powerful demon, and he has a fondness for towers like these."
"It'd be nice if it were Edaor, but it's not him."
"What do you mean? Not Edaor? What do you know!" Pogalo scolded Tae-hyun. No matter if Tae-hyun was the successor of Archisus, Pogalo still knew far more about demons than he did.
"Edaor probably doesn't have the luxury to occupy a place like this right now."
"You speak in riddles! Edaor is one of the most powerful demons in the entire Demon Realm."
"?"
"?"
Tae-hyun, Carbanog, and Yong-yong all tilted their heads in unison. Was Edaor really that kind of guy?
"Judging by the looks of it, this seems to be a newly conquered territory rather than a land directly ruled by a Demon Duke. If so, it means the master is an Archdemon capable of defending his own territory while simultaneously conquering a new one. The probability of it being Edaor is extremely high!"
"Edaor came to the continent, got beaten up, and was kicked out. I'm telling you, it's impossible."
"Bwahaha! What a pathetic joke..."
"Do you want to get beaten up before you listen, or do you want to just listen?"
"Do you think I would ever yield to violence?! ...However, your words do sound somewhat plausible, so I shall believe you for now!"
Pogalo spoke defiantly, but his eyes betrayed his complete disbelief. To him, it was utterly nonsensical. An Archdemon like Edaor, defeated on the continent? Of course, demons weakened significantly when summoned from the Demon Realm to the continent, but even so, Edaor should have had no equals. How could the mortals of the continent possibly stand against him!
To look down on the Archdemon Edaor like that. Hmph.
"In that case, it might be Mosrak, the Demon of Schemes and Conspiracy. That twisted bastard loves creating convoluted paths like this that obscure one's vision."
"That guy also came to the continent, got beaten up, and was kicked out..."
"I told you to stop telling such ridiculous lies!" Pogalo snapped, thoroughly exasperated. No matter how much Tae-hyun threatened him with physical force, there was a limit! How could he possibly believe such absurd fabrications?
"Anyway, besides those two? Is there any chance this is Adad's territory?"
The master of Galgral and Lalgrgal, the Tyrant Duke Adad! Since Tae-hyun had already screwed him over a few times, running into him again was a bit of a burden. Adad was far more troublesome to deal with than any other Demon Duke.
"If Adad had conquered it, the land would not look like this. That fellow loves scorching heat. This place, on the contrary, is rather chilly."
"Could it be Esla?" Tae-hyun asked as the thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Esla, the only Archdemon he was actually on friendly terms with! Tae-hyun had freed him from his confinement in a continental dungeon. It had been an absurd quest requiring him to gather three of the demons' most powerful weapons, but Tae-hyun had pulled it off.
Pogalo is overcome with absolute terror upon hearing Esla's name!
Pogalo is trying to wash his ears!
"W-What absolute nonsense are you spouting?! Do not speak of such horrific things! Why on earth would Esla be here?!"
It was a reaction equivalent to roughly 0.5 Archisuses! From that response alone, one could easily tell just how terrifying of a name Esla truly was.
"What's wrong with Esla?" Tae-hyun was genuinely puzzled. Among demons, Esla was actually quite gentlemanly and kept his promises. After fulfilling his agreement with Tae-hyun, they had parted ways on incredibly warm terms!
Carbanog suggests that your memory might be slightly distorted.
If Carbanog's memory served, Esla had practically bolted the very instant he was freed...
"Do you truly not know the legend of Esla?" There were a few things that even the demons of the Demon Realm feared. One of them was ancient legends! Archisus, who had come to the Demon Realm long ago and tricked innocent demons into fraudulent contracts, was one of them. And then there was Esla. The Madness Duke who had attempted to slaughter every single demon and conquer the Demon Realm all by himself, only to be brought down by a joint coalition of the other Dukes! Unlike Archisus, Esla was so vicious and unhinged that he would slaughter any demon he laid eyes on.
"That is the kind of monster Esla is. Do you have any idea how much power was required just to seal that beast away...? The Demon Dukes were so utterly terrified of him that they didn't even dare imprison him themselves. Instead, they commissioned the dwarves of the continent to construct a labyrinth! They were so paranoid that Esla's subordinates might find him if he remained in the Demon Realm that they smuggled him to the continent to seal him away. That alone should tell you how terrifying he was."
"At any rate, Esla has been sealed for an eternity. There is absolutely no way he is the master of this place."
Hmm. I should definitely never mention that I was the one who freed him. If he did, it would only add another line to the legendary list of Archisus's notorious achievements! From the demons' perspective, they would have no choice but to cry out, What kind of deep-seated grudge does that bastard Archisus have against us to keep doing this?!
"Furthermore, Esla would never set up such intricate decorations. There is nothing in his territory. Nothing but death."
"Then it must be a demon I don't know."