Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: ACT. 29 Devil's Trial (1)
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"...It's hot."
*Fwoosh!*
Every breath I took felt like a fireball entering my lungs.
I felt like an old man stepping into a high-temperature sauna to prove he wasn't past his prime yet.
Diamond Body wasn't particularly effective against elemental resistance.
It provided a slight boost, but that was it.
I deliberately slowed my breathing and looked around.
‘I was curious if anything here had changed.’
Changed? Not a chance.
It was exactly as I remembered.
‘It’s almost nostalgic.’
This wasn't the vague pit of fire one might imagine when thinking of Hell.
Such terrain existed, but not here.
Of course not. This was where the highest-ranking devils gathered.
It was decorated to look presentable, at least for formality's sake.
I looked up at the jet-black castle, which seemed fit for a demon king.
The scale was one thing, but the power emanating from within was extraordinary.
"Go in."
Something nudged my shoulder.
A Balrog, a demon also known as a fighting ogre, boasting an incredible build.
The silent pressure from such a being's expressionless face was a stark reminder that I had truly entered Hell.
‘Seeing it in a game and experiencing it firsthand are completely different.’
Besial was also quiet.
Our subordinate relationship wasn't severed, but I couldn't feel any connection to him.
He was either being disciplined separately or watching the situation from hiding. One of the two.
"Inventory."
Since I had nothing better to do while the massive doors opened, I opened my inventory to check what Kairum had given me.
It was something akin to a blue-glowing ore.
I unknowingly furrowed my brow.
It was, of all things, a Dimension Stone.
‘Why this...’
Dimension Stones and Ark Gates.
And what Cheon Jin-ha had said.
The puzzle pieces tickled my mind, almost fitting together but not quite.
I still hadn't fully grasped the power of the Dimension Stone.
If I were to form a hypothesis, it would connect to 'a certain faction' as a focal point, but...
"Kneel."
"Ugh!"
When the Balrog put force on my shoulders, a pressure several times that of gravity crushed down on me.
I had to obey for now, so I complied meekly. The pressure vanished as if it had never been there, and I had a moment to observe my surroundings.
It was a courtroom-like space.
A defendant's stand was in the center, with seats arranged in a circle around it.
The Devil's Seats. The seats for the 72 devils.
...It felt strange, the thought of being sentenced to Hell in this very place.
"Now, let the trial of player Kim Se-hyeon begin."
A devil sitting in one of the seats unrolled a parchment and began to read its contents.
It was a formal procedure, so I only half-listened as I surveyed the faces of the devils present.
There were five of them seated.
It was rare for all 72 devils to gather, so that was to be expected. Still, it was a large turnout for a case of this magnitude.
‘Asmodeus is here, as expected.’
Asmodeus, the demon of lust.
One might think she was here because the succubus was her subordinate... but the reality was different.
Indeed, her expression wasn't one of anger.
For devils, power was absolute.
Whether you lost due to carelessness or not, the loser had no say.
If anything, the succubus would have been endlessly ridiculed for being taken out by a human's surprise attack.
Her presence here was 99% simple curiosity.
Curiosity about the human who killed a mid-tier demon, even if it was a clone, with a surprise attack.
Indeed, her eyes were shining in a very dangerous way.
[The effect of ‘Watcher Beyond the Screen’ prevents you from losing consciousness.]
For that to activate from just a brief glance said it all.
Asmodeus naturally possessed the same abilities as the succubus.
And they were incomparably stronger.
If she seriously tried to bewitch me, I wouldn't be able to resist.
‘And one other...’
I scanned the room, searching for a particular devil.
He should definitely be here.
For things to go as I wanted, his presence was essential.
‘There.’
As expected, he was here.
A devil looking at me with a face full of interest.
The Lord of Darkness, Belial.
‘To think two of the lords have shown up for the trial of a single human.’
The thought was momentarily absurd.
Who would believe it?
If the black magic cults, the most knowledgeable humans about Hell, heard this, they would faint from what they'd consider blasphemy.
And among them, Asmodeus wasn't just any lord, but one of the famous Seven Great Devils.
"...Therefore, player Kim Se-hyeon is judged to have broken the rules and has been summoned to this trial. It is believed that punishment is unavoidable, but considering his past achievements, we will hear him out if he has anything to say."
He said he'd listen, but he was radiating an intimidating aura.
Any ordinary player would have been too choked up to even open their mouth.
As expected of a devil's trial.
He was proving with his own actions that it was just a formality.
Even if you wanted to argue, you couldn't without power.
"It seems you have nothing. Then..."
"Your Honor."
"Hmm?"
The devil, who was about to fold the parchment and slam his gavel, twitched an eye.
He must have thought I wouldn't be able to answer.
In truth, the pressure pouring in from all sides made it quite difficult to speak.
But it wasn't impossible.
"I understand that administrators are not to deviate from the manual's policies due to personal feelings. Furthermore, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, they are also required to act according to the manual. Is that correct?"
"...It is. Is that all you wish to ask?"
"No."
Don't you try to gloss over it.
The moment you acknowledged that, the game was over.
"In that case, it would seem that an administrator who has violated all of those provisions is unqualified for their position."
Angels and devils held the manual in high regard.
It was a set of principles that came into being with the System, rules they absolutely had to follow.
All the more so because they were the ones who had agreed to it.
"Are you trying to say that because the administrator broke the manual, you were justified in punishing them in her stead, and thus you are not at fault?"
His displeasure was blatant.
The other devils were also subtly showing their foul mood.
"No."
I slowly shook my head.
"No matter how much the administrator violated the manual, I have no right to punish them. I do not think that for a moment."
"Then what is it?"
"I am saying that I did not kill an administrator in the first place."
The corners of a few devils' mouths turned up.
They had realized what I was getting at.
"An administrator who violates the manual is immediately stripped of all authority and dismissed. I was simply there by chance and attacked a demon who was hostile to me, not an administrator."
The devil acting as judge stroked his chin.
The scales had tipped considerably, but there was one more hurdle to overcome.
That devil would surely use that point against me.
That was the final move.
"However, according to your words, there must be proof that the administrator violated the manual. Simply stating that you found her measures inadequate is subjective and does not count as proof. The judgment is, after all, dependent on the administrator's capabilities."
"Then if her lack of capability is proven, that strengthens my case, wouldn't you say?"
"...What do you mean?"
"There were many Stigmas near the gate, which were a means for the Disaster to recover its strength. Her measures were an act of ignoring that fact. Besial, who temporarily took over as administrator, told me she had only implemented half the suppression force stipulated in the manual."
"Is this true?"
The devil gestured to where Besial was standing.
I wondered why I couldn't see him. So he was already here.
It seemed they had temporarily severed our connection to prevent us from coordinating our stories beforehand.
"It is."
Besial, still looking nervous, slowly nodded.
"But did you not defeat the Disaster of Solitude in the end? This would mean the administrator's judgment was correct."
"That's just looking at the results."
It would have been impossible if I hadn't broken through my stat limit.
It would have been difficult to even imitate the swordsmanship of Aira, the Disaster of Solitude's former lover.
If Besial hadn't further strengthened the suppression, the outcome would have been anyone's guess.
The devil was silent.
A few minutes passed as he stood there, organizing his thoughts and staring at me.
"Quite an interesting human."
The first to speak was Asmodeus.
She wore a seductive smile, tracing her lips with a fingertip.
"I came because I was curious about the one who killed my girl in one go, even if it was a surprise attack. You're more than I expected. I vote not guilty."
*Flicker.*
A blue flame ignited in one of the small braziers arranged in a circle around the defendant's stand.
It had begun.
A democratic voting trial, uncharacteristic of devils, where the outcome was decided by the majority vote between red flames for guilty and blue flames for not guilty.
But it wasn't only blue flames that appeared.
"Still, the fact remains that this human has tarnished the prestige of devils."
"If we don't make an example of him, other humans might start attacking administrators."
There were still those who viewed me unfavorably.
The number of red flames shot up in an instant.
I acted nonchalantly, but on the inside, I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
There was no way these archdevils would move according to my plans.
I was just acting on the best plan I could devise.
There was no guarantee of 100% success.
‘Four to four.’
Of the nine braziers, eight were now lit.
The red and blue flames were perfectly balanced, four each, a 1:1 ratio.
A devil's trial always had an odd number of participants.
To ensure a decision could be reached in any case.
The devil who had yet to make a decision was Belial, who was smiling meaningfully.
‘Still, if the last one is Belial.’
There was a good chance.
The reason I went so far as to subordinate Besial was to draw Belial's interest.
I had even raised Besial from a low-tier to a mid-tier demon.
The Belial I knew would surely...
"Right. There was a kid like that."
Belial's gaze shifted past me to my side.
As his eyes fell upon Besial, Besial's own eyes trembled.
A child whose very existence he had forgotten.
To be told that to his face, he couldn't possibly remain unaffected.
"Interesting."
Belial's lips curled into a wide grin.
*Fwoosh!*
And then, a new blue flame flared to life.
"Then it is decided."
The devil who had been acting as judge slowly nodded.
The flames in the braziers extinguished all at once.
Simultaneously, all the chains and cuffs binding my body were released.
"Player Kim Se-hyeon. The punishment decreed upon you is hereby rescinded."
‘It worked.’
I felt like my lifespan had just been drastically shortened.
It was a common expression, but feeling it in the middle of Hell made it seem more than just a figure of speech.
Of course, this wasn't the time to relax.
The trial was over, that was all.
I was still exposed to the devils' whims.
[Kim Se-hyeon, was it?]
I flinched and my head jerked at the voice that felt like a breath against my ear.
Telepathy.
I turned my head toward the owner of the voice.
Asmodeus was still wearing her bewitching smile.
[Once you leave this place, a servant I've sent will be waiting. You know what to do after that, right?]
The fact that she used telepathy to call me even though we were in the same place was not something I could interpret favorably.
I managed to force a smile as a reply.
It wasn't like I could refuse anyway.
A simple gesture from Asmodeus here, and I would be annihilated, soul and all.
‘It’s fine.’
I had anticipated that Asmodeus might react this way.
It wasn't a situation I was completely unprepared for.
‘I was hoping to meet Belial before I drew too much interest from other devils.’
The interest and attention of devils was a double-edged sword.
One could gain immense power or wealth, but one could also be saddled with an inescapable curse or karma for life.
Having your soul mortgaged was a common occurrence.
Things didn't go exactly as I'd planned, as expected when dealing with the highest-ranking devils, but what's done is done.
After a brief glance at the anxious Besial, I turned and left the courtroom.
"You must be Kim Se-hyeon-nim? Please follow me."
A devil in a classic maid outfit gave a polite bow.
I didn't think Asmodeus had such tastes.
Then again, she was a devil whose preferences changed frequently, so it was possible.
"Ah, and just so you know... should you try to run, I will cut off your limbs and deliver you to my master. Please keep that in mind."
The devil walking ahead turned just her head slightly, her eyes glinting coldly.
...Even in that outfit, she was a high-ranking demon.
And this was Hell, the devils' home turf.
She was not an opponent I could handle.
‘Stay sharp, Kim Se-hyeon.’
I steeled my resolve and followed the devil, running countless simulations in my head.