Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Emperor Who Summoned Demons
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“Have you calmed down a bit?”
Marus patted Marwen’s shoulder as he spoke.
“…Yes, Uncle.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
“…….”
Shwaaaaa…
Everyone looked utterly exhausted.
“Let’s rest here before we go.”
“U-Uncle! If you’re planning to call off the pursuit…”
“Do you think I’d do that? It’s better to rest briefly, recover our condition, and then move.”
“…Yes.”
Dale, the vanguard of the party, scanned the surroundings and said,
“That spot over there looks good.”
“Yes, I’ll leave it to you.”
“No problem.”
Marwen was in a daze, as if his soul had fled his body, and Marus had to keep watch around them, so the others prepared the camp.
Though rain poured down in buckets, the three of them divided the work and quickly set up a shelter from the downpour.
“Found it! Wood we can use for firewood.”
“That’s good news!”
Crackle…
Whoosh…
Smoke from the campfire rose in the forest.
“The rain doesn’t look like it’ll stop… It’s best if we warm up and recover a bit before heading out.”
“You’re right.”
Crackle…
Shwaaaaa…
Outside the range of the campfire’s warmth, an unpleasant dampness gathered, so they huddled close together.
Marwen was still out of it.
No one seemed inclined to break the silence, so Marus spoke first.
“What you said earlier… it’s all true, right?”
“…Yes, Uncle. It’s the absolute truth.”
Marwen, who had gone off alone to confront Faust, had already recounted everything that happened there once.
“That guy… he’s a filthy demon, no doubt. He deceived us with his sly tongue and took pleasure in it.”
“…Whether he’s a demon or not is secondary. What matters is whether that child’s murders in Liudira were his doing.”
“That too, of course…”
- My name. Not some Cal Kurso… Faust. You’d better remember it clearly.
But Faust had clearly said he wasn’t Cal Kurso.
“He didn’t deny being connected to demons, did he?”
“…No, he didn’t.”
“Then it doesn’t matter anymore if that child is Cal Kurso or not. It’s no different from saying he’s harboring something even worse than a petty murderer like that.”
His uncle showed a fanatical obsession with demons. He was usually composed, but occasionally transformed into a startling demeanor.
Marwen had ignored his doubts so far, but now even his patience was shaking.
“Uncle, I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you… so obsessed with demons?”
“…….”
“If there’s something you haven’t told me…”
“I see. Since we’ll be staying here a bit longer anyway, I suppose I should tell you.”
Crackle…
Thud…
Shwaaaaa…
The sound of the campfire crackling and the rain pouring made Marus’s eyes misty.
“For dozens of years since facing that demon… what do you think I’ve been doing?”
“You stepped down from your position after a great shock and went into seclusion, didn’t you…?”
“Seclusion? Who said that?”
“My late father…”
Suddenly, Marwen recalled how his father had looked at him with a strange unease whenever he spoke of Marus.
“I didn’t give up. Since that night, I’ve been… pursuing the demon relentlessly.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. I couldn’t forgive those who… turned my comrades into that.”
Marwen clenched his fist at his uncle’s words brimming with a sense of justice.
On the other hand, the others felt a slight chill at Marus’s obsession-like rage and eyes burning like molten lava.
“I didn’t give up. After that day… I vowed to confront the demon again, no matter what means I had to use.”
But confronting it again wouldn’t magically produce a way to defeat it.
That demon had effortlessly crushed the core of Lion Soul without even lifting a finger. Could his uncle, now a savage wanderer, possibly stand against such a demon?
“No matter if I trained for 10 years… no, 100 years, I wouldn’t even reach its toes. That’s the gap. But fights between humans and demons don’t always favor the demons just because of power—that’s a different story.”
“What do you…?”
“Understand this. We don’t know them.”
Demons know humans.
Humans don’t know demons.
Because they fear them.
They fear knowing them, understanding them.
“You don’t mean… you delved into demonology?”
“…Yes.”
Marus continued as if possessed.
“I executed demon worshippers and delved into research materials from Lion Soul and many other places. Believing that was the only path to answers.”
Marwen couldn’t understand this uncle of his.
“But demons… aren’t they just familiars of the demon race? The demons who command them are the true minions of evil, vile and despicable…”
“Marwen, there’s something you don’t know. You and the children here are all mistaken about that too.”
What was this now?
“Never, ever breathe a word of what I’m about to say to anyone.”
Gulp…
“Do you know how demons came to this land blessed by the Sun God, Solaria?”
“They’re beings from another world called Hell. During the Hegemony War, when the tide turned against them, the demons summoned them to fight Emperor Solomon…”
Heh…
Marus let out a weary laugh.
“Half-truth.”
Flinch!
Everyone’s eyes flashed.
Denying history was dangerous.
“The truth you know isn’t much different from what most imperial citizens believe.”
Marus intended to overturn that truth.
“The one who summoned the most demons to Solaria during the Hegemony War wasn’t the demon race.”
“Then…?”
“Emperor Solomon.”
Everyone jumped to their feet, blurting out in shock.
“What is this!”
“What are you saying!”
“Such blasphemy…!”
Marus waved his hand, signaling them to calm down.
“I don’t know the full details, but it’s certain that Emperor Solomon summoned a massive number of demons at that time. It’s history that’s been erased now, but…”
Marwen wanted to protest, but his uncle’s following words quelled his confusion for a moment.
“However, that doesn’t diminish or tarnish Emperor Solomon’s achievements. What I’m saying is simple.”
Marwen hated demons, and Marus hunted demons.
“Demons are a dangerous power, and if they fall into the wrong hands, everything turns to ashes. Like the dead spirits of Lion Soul.”
“Uncle…”
“So we must stop it. Before that power is misused. No matter what!”
Friya, the party’s priestess, hesitated before speaking.
“If I may be so bold, can we really do it?”
“Don’t worry. I, Marus, am here.”
Tap, tap.
Marus tapped his temple with two fingers as he replied.
“No matter what demon comes, I can deal with it. That’s the power of human knowledge.”
“We trust you, Uncle.”
“We’ll follow you, Sir Marus!”
……
Shwaaaaa…
Crackle…
Thud…
Exhausted from days of marching, and warmed by the fire, they soon fell into deep slumber.
Snoooore…
Dale, who had been teased for snoring days ago, was snoring again.
But they were all in such deep sleep that no one noticed.
Crackle…
Thud…
Only Marus stood watch, staring piercingly into the campfire.
Whoosh…
With every flicker of the flames, illusions rose with the haze.
In the flames, that day existed.
The screams at dawn.
- Graaaaaah!
- Uwaaaaaah!
Like soldiers unable to leave the battlefield.
Marus still lingered there.
- Marus… run!
Perhaps he would remain there forever.
Those horns, those eyes.
- You’re not afraid, are you?
That day, Marus hadn’t backed down.
He had even taken a step toward the demon.
“Finally… I’ve found you.”
* * *
My body is hot.
Like I swallowed fire, heat rises from within.
- Seojin, are you okay?
Ah, I’m fine. Totally fine.
Don’t worry about me and go to work.
- God, feel your forehead—it’s burning up. Stay put, I’ll wring out a cold cloth.
I said leave me alone.
I’ll be better once I take some medicine.
You’ll be in big trouble if you’re late.
You said you have something important.
You have to go meet Faust, right?
You have to make him happy.
- If you say it like that, how can I go?
Then don’t.
- …Huh?
Seunga.
If you’re that worried… do you really have to go?
- …I have to, Seojin.
You know me, I’m indecisive and easily swayed by others, but still…
- Seojin.
…….
- You have to be happy.
Don’t go!
“Don’t… don’t go….”
Slap-!
Unthinkingly, I reached out.
What I grabbed was someone’s slender wrist.
I half-opened my bleary eyes and saw a wrist of pale white skin.
“Lady Faust.”
“…….”
“You’re crying.”
Only then did tears start rolling down.
‘Did I dream of Seunga in my sleep?’
Meeting good memories in dreams is joyful yet painful. Because you have to return to harsh reality.
But still, I hoped she’d keep coming back.
Did I grab Lucifer’s wrist because she overlapped with Seunga in that moment? Or because I just wanted someone by my side?
A bone goat mask sculpted in the likeness of Satan at the corner of the throne.
An item provided along with the fodder.
I held the mask and stared at it for a moment.
The bizarre details, brimming with realism, calmed my mind.
This is reality.
From Kim Seojin’s life, where Seunga was taken away, now even Faust’s life is in danger of being stolen by someone.
I’ve always had things taken from me.
I must truly be hated by the world.
Boom-!
My gaze snapped toward the door at the sudden noise.
“Naaariii!”
“Phenex, be careful with the door…”
“Eep…”
Phenex, flustered midway between the kicked-in door and me as I woke in a cold sweat.
Sigh…
For some reason, a sense of relief washed over me.
“I was worried… You got drenched in the rain! Phenex hates rain too, you know! Is it a cold?”
“…I’m fine.”
“Really? Ahahaha! Of course! Nari wouldn’t go down to something like a cold!”
Her energizing words aside, my condition wasn’t good. Especially with those tightening around my life every moment.
“Lucifer.”
“Yes.”
“What of my orders?”
“The territory has been expanded.”
“And the forest?”
“A large area has been allocated.”
The dungeon had grown in my absence.
The forest field had widened, and the familiars dwelling there would grow even stronger as a result.
But this wasn’t enough.
Heading toward the dungeon now was Cal Kurso.
The worst boss, infamous as a no-spend severer and ant-plucker.
That monster was skipping entire episode stages to come straight for me.
“Lucifer.”
“Yes.”
“To the Hell Gate.”
“I’ll prepare.”
As things bustled about, Phenex got swept up in the momentum and closely followed me.
“W-Wait! Me too! I wanna go too!”
Just like her original personality, hating to be left out.
Step…
Step…
We descended the stairs to the basement and stood before the Hell Gate.
Aje Rup’s skull hanging on the Hell Gate greeted us.
“Kekeke… You look urgent. Is there a problem?”
“There is, a problem.”
“Hoo…”
“So I’ve come for a solution.”
“A solution… If you have enough sacrifices, I can provide as many as you want. But… I don’t see any sacrifices?”
Of course.
I hadn’t come with sacrifices like usual today.
“No sacrifices, then…”
Swoosh…
The gem I pulled from my inventory emitted a mesmerizing glow.
‘In the end… I have to use this.’
Is now the optimal time to use this item? I don’t know.
But I knew well that using it now meant there would be a next step.
“That’s…”
“A Hellstone.”
Now was the time to use the cherished 6-star demon exclusive weapon selection ticket I’d been saving.