Archisus Has Returned!

While he was lost in thought, the system notifications regarding the castle modification quest finally finished popping up.

This quest had triggered after he saw the moving castle of the Underground Alliance Goblins. It had been an absurd quest demanding that he build something similar, but Tae-hyun had actually pulled it off.

'The reward was an Engineering Secret Skill, right?' Tae-hyun waited with a pounding heart. What kind of skill would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it be?

'Oh...'

Just like the divine beasts representing the orders of Archisus, Sadiq, and other religions, it seemed the Engineering skill had something similar. Best of all, there was no penalty! He didn't have to consume Holy stats or worry about his Infamy rising; he could summon it instantly with a single skill activation. The Engineering skills he had diligently accumulated up until now served as his sole qualification.

'Wait. What exactly is a summon imbued with the essence of engineering?' Tae-hyun began to ponder what kind of summon would best fit the theme of engineering.

'That's not a summon, that's just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weapon...' How was he supposed to ride around on something so terrifying?

'Well, that does sound plausible... Wait, why does it have to be a bomb?' Out of all the endless possibilities, why a bomb?

'There are plenty of other options. First of all, I'd like it to have wings.' A mechanical wyvern! A mechanical dragon! Just imagining their power made his heart race. After all, anything with "dragon" in its name was guaranteed to be decent.

"Heh. Master, I am glad you finally understand what true majesty is," Yong-yong muttered, nodding his head with immense pride. Watching this, Carbanog clicked its tongue.

'Shh.' You shouldn't hurt Yong-yong with such harsh truths!

'Well, it doesn't strictly need to have wings.' Between Heuk-heuk, Yong-yong, and his motorcycle, Tae-hyun already had more than enough modes of transportation. In that case, what about a golem?

'A golem ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would be great.' A golem summoned based on Tae-hyun's level and Engineering skill would surely possess astronomical defensive stats. Alongside Cain, it would serve as an incredibly reliable vanguard!

'...Thanks for the kind advice.' Tae-hyun decided to hold off on the summoning for now. What mattered most at this moment was making a grand declaration to the demons. To let them know he had arrived! That Archisus had descended upon the Demon Realm!

"Goblins! Activate the Sky Castle!"

"Sniff... Sob...! We have waited for this day, Your Majesty!"

"This is the happiest moment of my life!"

"If I could save time in a bottle, I would preserve today forever..."

"Just get us moving already!"

"Understood!" The Goblins instantly dried their tears and scurried off. The Chimeras of Archisus also rushed to their respective stations. It was time to depart!

Ruuuumble—! With a deafening roar, the entire castle began to shake violently.

"Come at me, Furneus! What are you doing? Are you just going to stand there?" Adad mocked Furneus. The Ice Duke seemed frozen in place, utterly bewildered and unable to move. His face was a mask of pure shock and horror!

"Furneus! Trying to pull a cheap trick like that won't save you! The longer you stall, the worse it'll be for you!"

"W-Wait... Just a moment...!"

"Still trying to play mind games!" Adad felt his anger rising once more. It was incredibly irritating that a cornered rat, instead of fighting back or admitting defeat, kept resorting to pathetic tricks. Who did he think he was dealing with?!

"T-That... That... That crazy bastard!" Furneus pointed behind Adad, his voice trembling in what looked like a highly realistic performance. That detestable acting only fueled Adad's rage.

"Furneus...! You absolute Archisus-like bastard, you really won't stop with the cheap tricks until the very end! Die!!" Adad refused to wait any longer and charged forward. As he unleashed his demonic power, a crimson aura erupted around him, obliterating everything in his path.

"Stop, Adad! Look behind you!"

"Die, you Archisus-like wretch!" Crash! Boom! Bang!Adad completely tuned out Furneus's pleas and swung his massive warhammer. With the surrounding terrain being pulverized, Furneus had no choice but to raise a defensive barrier to endure the onslaught.

Ruuuuumble—! A thunderous roar echoed from behind them. Even so, Adad refused to look back. 'Furneus, you sly bastard, you're really pulling out all the stops!' The castle behind them belonged to Furneus. If Furneus wanted to, creating a loud noise like that was child's play. As a veteran demon, Adad knew exactly what was important in a battle: staying focused and ruthlessly taking the enemy's life without distraction! That was the essence of combat.

Of course, the world occasionally threw unexpected curveballs.

"M-My castle... My castle...!" Furneus, who had been casting various curses and ice spells to bind Adad's feet while maintaining his defense, muttered in a hollow, soulless voice.

"My castle! My castle is flying away!"

"Your life is flying away today too!"

"Adad, you Archisus-like bastard! Look behind you!"

"You won't even have the chance to look back! Because you die here today!" Furneus felt like his chest was about to burst from sheer frustration, but there was nothing he could do. If he diverted his attention for even a second, Adad would instantly kill him. All he could do was put everything into holding Adad back. Meanwhile, his castle was drifting further and further away into the distance. Furneus had absolutely no idea what was happening to him. Where had things gone wrong? No, more importantly, why on earth was his castle flying away? Was it an illusion? But who could possibly cast an illusion that could deceive a magician of his caliber? The answer came soon enough.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hear me, demons of the Demon Realm!"

"—!"

"—!!!" A voice that struck terror into both Adad and Furneus! Adad flinched, his entire body shuddering at the strangely familiar voice. Though his hands were still swinging his hammer to crush Furneus, his ears were perked up, listening intently to the voice behind him. That voice was undoubtedly...

"I have returned! Archisus has returned!"

Thud!Adad was so utterly shocked that he dropped his massive warhammer. It was a golden opportunity for a counterattack, but Furneus couldn't take it. He was just as stunned as Adad. 'But why on earth is that bastard Archisus standing on top of my castle?!'

"Edaor! Thank you! Adad! Thank you! Thanks to you guys, I was able to claim this bastard's castle!"

Snap!Furneus's head whipped around, his eyes glaring at Adad with murderous intent. Adad stood dazed for a moment before snapping back to his senses and shouting.

"What kind of absolute nonsense is that?! Why would I ever team up with a guy like Edaor? Let alone Archisus!"

"Then why did Edaor show up, and how did that bastard steal my castle?" Furneus glared at Adad, his eyes burning with fury.

"How should I know, you absolute idiot! Dammit! Wait, I get it! Edaor and that bastard must have conspired together and used my name to frame me!" Adad had deduced the situation perfectly. The puzzle pieces finally clicked into place. Edaor and Archisus had joined forces to scam Furneus, and then tricked him into believing Adad was in on it too. 'What a complete moron...! How could he fall for something like that?'

Adad cursed Furneus inwardly. There was a limit to stupidity, but to fall for such a blatant lie? Of course, this was a common thought shared by all demons who hadn't been scammed yet. 'Wait, why would anyone fall for that? I certainly wouldn't!' which inevitably led to: 'Ah! So that's how they get you! I'd better keep my mouth shut so others get scammed too!' Such was the proud tradition of the Demon Realm!

"And how am I supposed to believe that?"

"Furneus, you insolent bastard. Do you think you're in any position to talk back to me? You just lost your entire castle, and you dare suspect me? Right now, I want to kill you even more than Archisus, so shut your mouth!"

"..."

"There is a way to make even a fool like you believe me."

"And what is that?"

"We go together right now and tear that bastard to shreds!"

"...Indeed!"

"Wait, why are those two making up?!" Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. The two demons, who had been trying to murder each other just moments ago, whispered to one another before turning their gazes toward him. They had clearly decided to put their feud on hold and hunt down Archisus first!

"All those rumors about demons being ruthless were lies. They're way too cooperative."

"Activate it!" Tae-hyun cleanly gave up on his hopes and ordered them to activate the warp device.

"You're turning it on now? Can't we just escape normally?" Choi Sang-yun asked with deep concern. No matter how he looked at it, that device felt incredibly ominous.

"Hehehe... Don't cry... I'll activate you soon..."

"What's that? You want to be turned on? Just wait a little longer...! Kakaka..."

Every time they passed by the device, the Goblins had been whispering such things while caressing it. It was pure horror! It was common knowledge that Goblin engineering was nowhere near as stable as Dwarven technology, so Choi Sang-yun couldn't help but worry. Was there really no other way?

"No. We have to activate it now." But Tae-hyun remained firm. Trying to play it safe could easily lead to an even greater disaster. In the first place, Tae-hyun had fully intended to activate the device the moment those two stopped fighting. There was only one reason they would halt their battle. 'Sigh. I was praying they'd keep tearing each other apart...' Surprisingly, the two Demon Dukes seemed to have a decent relationship, as they immediately ceased their conflict and joined forces. Now that it had come to this, activating the device was non-negotiable. Otherwise, they would be in serious trouble.

"But..."

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

"What the?!" A barrage of paralyzing needles flew from behind them! Choi Sang-yun dodged them in a panic. The Goblins immediately began whistling, pretending to look innocent.

"Why, you little...!?" The Goblins had fired paralyzing needles at him! It was their way of telling him not to interfere with the activation.

"Do we really have to travel with these lunatics?!"

"Boo! The human who doesn't appreciate the beauty of our machine is the real lunatic!"

"Let's throw that human off the castle!"

The Goblins of the Underground Alliance Goblins actually began to jeer at Choi Sang-yun. Tae-hyun let out a deep sigh and spoke again.

"Activate!"

"Waaaaah!"

"Yay! It's starting!"

'Wait, what did that last part say...?'

Flash! With that final notification, the warp device enveloped the entire castle in a blinding light, and then vanished. Nothing was left behind.

"..."

"..."

Adad and Furneus, who had been charging toward the flying castle, froze mid-stride, completely speechless.

Adad was the first to recover from the shock. It was only natural, as he hadn't actually lost anything of value. Although he had come all this way and caused a massive scene for no reason, he didn't feel particularly bitter about it. After all, there was someone standing right next to him who was completely ruined!

Adad had once been tricked by Tae-hyun into lending him the dimension gate to the Demon Realm. Back then, he had felt incredibly humiliated and ashamed... but looking at Furneus now, he realized his own past misfortune was absolutely nothing. 'Ah, I am truly a blessed Demon Duke! I still have my subordinates, my castle, and I didn't get scammed nearly as badly by Archisus!'

"Ahem. Furneus."

"..."

"Furneus?"

"..."

"Are you dead?"

"..."