The King’s Overture

“You guys weren’t invited, were you…?”

The warehouse keepers had all been lured away by the Slaughter Beast’s massive area-of-effect aggro. Thanks to that, Jojun’s party was able to roam the 4th floor quite smoothly. They had been searching for the soul fragments for seven hours straight without a single break. Eila had been sensing a powerful energy nearby, but because there were so many strange and bizarre items scattered about, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact location.

“Haa… *huff*, *huff*…”

Meanwhile, as the search dragged on, Han Aram grew increasingly exhausted. Even though her demonization was already fully underway, she had been continuously absorbing Magi for the sake of the party, causing an excessive amount of the energy to accumulate within her. She had inhaled so much Magi that she was on the verge of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠berserk state. Even a Demon Slayer like Han Aram couldn’t absorb Magi indefinitely. There was a clear limit to her capacity, and from the moment she crossed that threshold, she had to struggle to keep her sanity from snapping. If she couldn’t properly discharge the Magi built up in her body, she might go berserk before long. If that happened, she would run wild, unable to distinguish friend from foe.

‘I need to do something, fast. Should I just tell her to fire off her skills blindly…?’

Jojun watched Aram with concern as her condition deteriorated in real-time. ‘There don’t seem to be any warehouse keepers nearby, so if she spams her skills toward the floor, wouldn’t that drain some of the accumulated Magi?’

It was obvious that if things continued this way, Han Aram’s condition would only worsen. So, Jojun decided to ask Cheshire for permission and then order Han Aram to use her skills so she could vent the Magi.

“Hey, Cheshire. Aram is currently…”

Just as he was about to tell Cheshire that Aram wasn’t doing well and suggest she use her skills to purge the Magi, Cheshire shoved Jojun behind her and fired her pistol into the darkness.

A bizarre-looking human had its stomach pierced by Cheshire’s attack and burst apart. At the same time, broken humans began crawling out from all directions. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, they didn’t seem to have any intention of fighting.

“What the hell are these bastards?”

Things that looked like humans were crawling out from between the shelves. They were ambiguous creatures—zombies or perhaps people—who had been hiding in every nook and cranny to avoid the eyes of the warehouse keepers. With the keepers gone, all sorts of small-fry had crawled out.

“Ugh.”

Even Kesia, who usually had a strong stomach, gagged at their horrific appearance. They looked as if they had been hit by about thirty curses at once. They looked exactly like humans who were on the verge of becoming warehouse keepers. Some had bloated faces, others had elongated limbs, and some had skin that was melting off. They were in a state like broken clay dolls, poisoned by Magi and curses. Every one of them was someone who had either made a contract with a demon or triggered a trap set by them.

There were many types of traps set by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demons here, the most prominent being items like ‘Pleasure 1004,’ which had been sold by drug dealers. These were cheat-like, slightly strange items that guaranteed pleasure or granted power without any effort. Greedy and lazy humans were naturally drawn to such things, and that was the trap the demons had laid. These items were sold not only in the black market but also by various general merchant NPCs, including peddlers. They were unexpectedly easy to come by.

Of course, since it would be a total mess if demons just went around scamming people unilaterally, the item descriptions clearly stated they were demon-related goods. Or they had warning labels attached, clearly marked so that one could recognize there was a problem before purchasing. Yet, lazy and greedy humans reached for the demon-made items despite those warnings. They were corrupted by the promise of unearned power or free pleasure. No, humans were the kind of species that would keep buying cigarettes even if a picture of a rotting lung was plastered on the cover, claiming it caused lung cancer. Those in desperate situations were even more easily ensnared by the demons’ schemes.

Of course, they probably hadn’t known they would be driven to such an extreme situation. Most of the humans dragged here to become playthings for the demons were players who didn’t even know exactly what demons were. They had been deceived by the ‘illusion of the good demon’ created by media, thinking they had stumbled upon an unexpected opportunity. For instance, the trope where a demon starts off evil but eventually becomes an ally while acting tsundere, or the ‘bad-looking but actually kind’ demon. All those illusions from anime and subculture.

They had met with disaster because they failed to realize that, in reality, demons didn’t consider humans to be anything more than livestock.

‘It’s their own fault. You idiots who stupidly reached for demon goods.’

Naturally, Jojun felt no sympathy for them. They were people who had been dragged here due to their own poor judgment and foolish choices. There was no value or need to pity them. Jojun was simply annoyed that they were blocking his path.

“Kuh-urk… You… you guys must know the way out!”

“Save me!! Please, save me!!!”

“Ugh… *kuh*, *kuh-urk*…!”

The humans who had been dragged here and toyed with for various reasons begged for help upon seeing Jojun and his party walking around normally. Perhaps they held ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a small hope that these people might know how to escape this place.

“Filthy-looking bastards…”

However, the man they thought of as a lifeline, Jojun, was a human more vicious than any demon, well-versed in human hunting. Jojun was a villain who had sold off his humanity long ago. In his dictionary, others were either to be made into slaves or killed. Unless they were harem members who had given him their bodies and souls, or already enslaved, Jojun trusted no one and had no qualms about killing humans he deemed useless.

Moreover, although their races and origins were all different, Jojun could understand everything they said, perhaps because they were already completely broken. It meant they were already fully incorporated into the Manma-jeon.

‘In that case… they’re practically half-low-level demons. It seems awkward to make them slaves and drag them around.’

Jojun had no intention of saving them, nor did he want to carry around dead weight. So, he decided to liberate them all from the hell that was life. It was perfect, as Han Aram was feeling dizzy from not being able to vent her Magi.

“Cheshire, let’s leave those guys to Aram.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Let Aram vent some Magi.”

At Jojun’s words, Cheshire stepped back. Meanwhile, Aram was already lifting her hammer.

“Aram, wipe them out.”

“Okay!”

An excellent means of communication was swung toward the man at the very front. Perhaps because she had fully charged her Magi, Aram was stronger than usual, and the man who took the direct hit of her full swing turned into blood and flesh, splattering across the floor and shelves like a burst tomato.

“Gyaaaaah!!”

“You son of a…!!!”

The survivors of the 4th floor, who had been approaching to ask for help, screamed and tried to flee as Aram ruthlessly burst a man to death. Of course, Aram had no intention of letting them go; she leaped halfway and crushed them as if playing whack-a-mole.

“Hahaha!! Hahahaha!!!”

The sight of her joyfully smashing the ugly creatures into minced meat was so exhilarating that it felt like it was clearing out her insides. Cheshire, who had been watching Aram vent her Magi in all directions while slaughtering the things that used to be human, cautiously approached her and asked.

“Haa. *Whew*.”

“How do you feel?”

“Good. Very. Much so.”

Aram answered with a smile. It seemed her mood had improved because her stuffy chest had been cleared.

At that moment, Eila, who had been continuously detecting Cheshire’s soul fragment, stepped forward, treading on the gore, and said, “Since we’ve mostly cleaned up, let’s run. I’ve pinpointed the location. It’s around here… it seems very close.”

“Oh!”

Eila had finally locked onto the exact location of Cheshire’s soul. Now, all they had to do was steal Cheshire’s soul fragment with the soul extractor and quickly flee this place.

At that moment, the shelves piled high with goods collapsed, and they began to shatter like falling dominoes.

Soon, the sound of something breaking and exploding was heard from behind. The fact that they could hear the Slaughter Beast and the warehouse keepers fighting each other from all the way here… meant they had gotten very close.

“Run!! Run!!”

“This is insane!!!”

As soon as they heard the roar of the Slaughter Beast, the party followed Eila, who had started running, and dashed like mad. This was because if they encountered the Slaughter Beast and the warehouse keepers here, it might become difficult to obtain the soul fragment.

“There!! It’s there!!”

At that moment, Eila, who was running at the front, pointed at a shelf and shouted. The necklace she was holding was thrashing, pointing frantically in one direction.

‘Finally…!’

Jojun thought as he heard the increasingly loud roars of the Slaughter Beast. It had been chaotic ever since they entered the 4th floor. Even so, they had managed to find Cheshire’s soul fragment. Now, all they had to do was take it and get out… It should be that simple…

‘But… we’ve caused this much of a ruckus… and it ends just like this? What is this feeling that a named demon is about to appear?’

Jojun was anxious. It felt like something was about to explode. And the moment that ominous thought crossed his mind…

A crushed warehouse keeper flew in from behind. Jojun wasn’t hit directly, but he was caught in the aftermath and fell over.

“Hwaaaa!!! Master!!! I finally!!! Found you!!!!!”

The blood-soaked Slaughter Beast shouted toward Jojun.

“God damn it…!”

The naked Slaughter Beast, which had the appearance of a frog-kin. It was certainly a cute look, but… it was creepy in a way.

“You filthy, persistent bastard…”

Jojun prepared for battle. Since they had already crossed paths, he intended to kill it completely.

At that moment.

Bizarre music echoed throughout the entire 4th floor. It was like… a twisted march.

“W-what is this again…”

Jojun looked up at the ceiling where the sound was coming from. The Slaughter Beast also looked around, wondering what this was, then looked up at the ceiling. Just as everyone on the scene was bewildered by the mysterious march.

Only Cheshire realized what this sound was.

“N-no way…”

She was a native of the black market. Furthermore, she was the one among the party who had the most frequent contact with demons and had even mortgaged her soul to one… in a way, she could be called a demon expert. That was why she immediately grasped the identity of this music.

How could she not know? The march of disaster. The arrival of the King.

“Paimon…”

Cheshire despaired. The thought that one of the demons they should never encounter might manifest here sent shivers down her spine, and the terror of death washed over her. The uniquely flamboyant, yet bizarre and twisted instrumental sound was clearly the performance of Vival and Abalam, announcing Paimon’s arrival.

“I-it’s a failure… we’ve failed… everyone, snap out of it and run!!!!!”

At Cheshire’s shout, Eila was the first to react. She pulled Jojun, who had been lying on the ground, to his feet. Soon after, Kesia and Han Aram also prepared to take action.

However.

For a split second, space-time froze.

And the ceiling of the black market’s 4th floor cracked.

“Damn it…”

Ominous premonitions always came true. As she had expected, the King’s vanguards appeared. There was no chance of winning. The fact that they had appeared meant Paimon would soon follow. Unless a miracle occurred, everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would die here today. No, perhaps dying would be better.

Vival and Abalam revealed themselves. Cheshire remembered. That disasters always happened in succession. She prayed earnestly for a miracle to occur.