The Demon King's Fury
The vast throne room was studded with black orbs on every side, and the rug spread across the floor was woven from crimson crystal.
Seated upon a throne carved from the same crystal was the Demon King, Izuka.
His entire body was composed of crystal, making him look like a suit of animated armor.
Where a face should have been, only deep, impenetrable darkness lingered.
“Say that again. Who did what?”
He had just received a report that was difficult to comprehend.
The subordinate shaped like living armor bowed even lower.
“…The Adel Kingdom has seized the prison camp.”
“Where?”
“My lord, there was an abandoned prison camp along the northern strait.”
“I know that. What is Adel?”
“Yes, my lord. It is a nation of the human race…”
“Are you saying humans still live on that continent? How remarkable.”
“Yes. The prison camp vanished without a sound…”
“They stole an ancient facility?”
Izuka straightened his posture.
To the Demon King, the report sounded something like this:
The cat army stormed in, turned the inner sanctum into a wasteland, and instead of the vault, they made off with every last jar of kimchi.
At this point, the real question wasn’t how the cats had managed to raise an army and launch an invasion. It was why on earth they would steal kimchi instead of gold.
If they could break a place like that prison camp, surely they could raid the Demon King’s own armory?
Naturally, Izuka could only tilt his head in confusion.
“So you’re telling me that humans shattered the stone walls of an undersea prison camp and occupied the facility.”
Izuka stroked his fingers as he spoke.
“There is no way humans could do such a thing. Who was it? Which Demon King interfered? Have you identified the mastermind behind this?”
“We observed a fleet of skeletons and cursed trees. However, the final blow delivered to the planted demon knight was done with the power of light…”
Izuka pointed a finger at his subordinate.
The crystal-like subordinate was seized by an invisible force and lifted into the air.
Black lightning crackled and surged behind Izuka.
“…Say that again.”
“M-My lord… it is only an estimation, nothing is certain yet…”
Crack!
The moment Izuka clenched his fist, the subordinate’s entire body crumpled like paper.
White blood sprayed from every orifice as the shattered torso fell to the floor of the throne room piece by piece.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The mineral body rolled across the ground.
“Clean it up.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Other subordinates rushed forward and removed the ruined armor-like corpse.
Izuka rose from his seat.
“Why is it that none of you have yet learned how to prioritize a report?”
Izuka, whose head was more than three times larger than any of his subordinates, stood and looked down at the assembled civil and military officials with their heads bowed.
Not a single one dared raise their gaze before his fury.
“You worthless, incompetent lumps of metal. If not for me, you would have been devoured long ago. And yet you treat a matter that may signal the return of light with such negligence!”
Though he spoke coldly, none of his subordinates dared to object.
“Felix.”
“Yes, my lord.”
A monster clad in deep blue armor bowed at the waist.
Izuka looked at him and declared,
“I grant you the Third Legion. Destroy Adel completely and bring every last one of them back as prisoners.”
“Yes!”
The response rang out like thunder.
“Huk!”
When Kim Hwang-je regained consciousness, the sun was already high in the sky.
He had been dreaming.
“Ahjussi~ are you okay? What did you see in your dream?”
“Yeah… I’m fine, Poyu.”
Looking at the bed he was lying on, he realized it was the bedroom he had prepared inside his own stomach.
It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but Kim Hwang-je could sleep anywhere as long as there was a bed.
“…Ahjussi slept for a really long time. It’s okay. I licked the wound and made it all clean!”
“Uh… where?”
“There were so many wounds on your belly…!”
Kim Hwang-je let out a deep sigh.
This time he opened World Observation and examined the kingdom inside his body.
“The rear gate…”
The area around the rear gate was a scene of utter devastation.
The ground had been gouged out deeply, shattered as if it had been carpet-bombed.
Who could have done this?
As he stared at the wreckage, the door opened cautiously and the Hunter stepped inside.
“Your Majesty. Have you awakened?”
“Hoo, it’s you. Looks like you held them off well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It seems the shock was severe. After losing consciousness, you drank Arbocil and personally swung your iron fists.”
“I did?”
But he had no memory of it.
“The secretary fellow kept saying things like ‘awakening’ and ‘berserk.’ I don’t really understand it, though.”
Whether it was a boys’ comic or an isekai overpowered rampage story didn’t matter.
As long as he survived, that was enough.
Kim Hwang-je exhaled heavily.
“What went wrong?”
He had definitely blocked them properly.
The barbed wire and soldiers had been solid.
Dave had overwhelmed the enemy commander one-on-one before crushing him with heavy machinery.
And yet the rear gate had still been attacked like this.
“If there was a problem, Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be that we failed to detect their stealth?”
“…”
“I am sorry, Your Majesty. By the time I discovered them, it was already too late.”
He slammed his head against the floor repeatedly.
“Their stealth magic can only be detected with high-level detection facilities.”
“Ughhh.”
Kim Hwang-je sat up on the bed, rubbing his stiff back.
But his mind had grown clearer.
The fact that such pain made reality feel more vivid probably meant he wasn’t normal either.
“We need watchtowers?”
In other words, they needed scanners—stealth detection equipment.
“Don’t those usually only appear in the later stages of a wave?”
“Your Majesty. This curse already destroyed the royal castle before entering your body. The condition has been worsening for a long time.”
“Then how did we block it last time?”
“Stealth monsters slipped in and destroyed the Magic Tower, so… we couldn’t stop them. Moreover, we cannot know what kind of high-tier monsters will appear until we actually face them…”
This was getting complicated.
“Simply blocking them is no longer enough.”
Kim Hwang-je spoke decisively.
“I will no longer show mercy. The days of letting things slide are over!”
He threw off the blanket and stood up.
Whether from losing too much blood or from drinking Arbocil, his heart was pounding harder than usual.
“Hunter! Gather the best hunters immediately and head to the elves’ forest, Sirayen. Search the forest thoroughly, make contact with the elves, and find the source of this curse!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Fisherman!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The door opened and the Fisherman, who had been waiting in the corridor, entered.
He too stood at sharp attention.
“Are you still using gold coins for summoning?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty!”
“Good. I will give you plenty of gold. Protect Sinal Port.”
“Yes!”
“A demon knight called Felix or whatever is coming with an army. Either sink them all at sea or strip their flesh so we can sell them as armor.”
“Huk…!”
The Fisherman’s eyes widened at Kim Hwang-je’s ferocious words.
“Whoever comes, turn them into slaves and send them straight to the mines!”
“O Mighty Emperor! I shall obey!”
Kim Hwang-je pulled out a heavy box containing more than three thousand gold and handed it over.
The Fisherman caught the flying box, hugged it to his chest, and slammed his forehead to the ground.
“Artisan!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. You called?”
The Leather Artisan appeared wearing a robe.
“I still have some of my ‘sculptures’ left, don’t I?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful.”
“Use them to make clothing and present it to me. It increases the number of lives to three, right?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty!”
“Also, search for the location of the empire’s treasures. Above all, locate the territory of the last Holy Knight, Benedict!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I shall obey.”
The Artisan bowed deeply.
“One more thing.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You once told me I cannot enter that world. Is that still the case?”
“It is, Your Majesty. That matter is extremely dangerous…”
“Forget common sense. Go with Park Su-ah to find Gemini and prepare a way for me to examine that world directly.”
At Kim Hwang-je’s icy tone, the Artisan immediately bowed.
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
“Thief!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!!”
The Thief stood before Kim Hwang-je, visibly tense.
He had washed himself thoroughly so as not to offend the Emperor who had just risen from his sickbed.
Satisfied, Kim Hwang-je said,
“Good. It’s much more pleasant to look at you when you’re clean like this!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
“That’s right. People who do big things should always stay clean. That’s what my mother used to say.”
I’m sorry I couldn’t wash properly until now, Mom.
“I have an important mission for you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! This unworthy one is deeply honored. Please give any command you wish!”
“Find out the locations of every single Grim and Calamity-class entity scattered across the Republic of Korea from Jo Jong-hyun.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“That’s not all. You and the Bandit will form a team and raid every dungeon belonging to the Gaya Group following Jo Jong-hyun’s information.”
“Pardon?”
“Plundering. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”
The Thief’s face lit up with joy.
He looked so radiant that Kim Hwang-je was almost surprised to see him smile like that.
“Of course, Your Majesty!”
“Remember one thing. You must appear as righteous thieves with no connection to me whatsoever. Always move while concealing your identities. That doesn’t mean kill everyone. Try not to kill people if possible.”
“Pardon? You want us to act as righteous thieves?”
Kim Hwang-je looked at the Thief’s face.
This guy looked completely different before and after being washed.
Instead of hair shooting up like bamboo spears, he now had long, straight hair flowing down on both sides.
Unless someone saw him directly beside Kim Hwang-je, almost no one would recognize him as the same person.
“Do you know Hong Gil-dong?”
“I do not, Your Majesty.”
“He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. He said he didn’t need the money himself.”
“Ah…?”
“I don’t need gold or money either. I already have more than I could ever use.”
Kim Hwang-je raised his hand and pointed at the mountain of gold coins piled all the way to the ceiling.
The loot obtained from the Bugbear battle had literally piled up to the point it was becoming a problem.
“At this rate, my gold reserves might already be at a national level.”
The Republic of Korea currently held 316 tons of gold.
After the monster outbreak, laws had changed so that at least ten percent of foreign reserves had to be held in gold.
Kim Hwang-je still didn’t have as much as the Korean government, but he possessed a similar amount to the treasuries of small nations around the world.
“Yes, indeed! His Imperial Majesty’s wealth shall only continue to flourish!”
Of course, this wasn’t the age of Spanish conquest. Even if a massive amount of gold entered the market now, its value wouldn’t plummet.
For the sake of national survival, governments—especially the United States—would gladly purchase gold worth trillions of dollars to store value.
And not just governments.
The secret salons of the world’s nobility that had only accepted payments in gold even before the monster crisis—the Bank for International Settlements.
Warlords who needed gold for various covert purposes.
Multinational corporations trying to escape government control.
“That’s right… everyone wants gold, but I can create as much as I want…”
There was no other currency that could back human civilization besides ‘gold.’
Oil and the dollar were both insufficient.
The reason the dollar became the world’s reserve currency in the first place was because of its overwhelming gold reserves.
“Therefore, go plunder Jo Chun-ki’s dungeons and return every single penny of the profits to Jo Chun-ki’s victims!”
“Eh?”
Of course Kim Hwang-je wasn’t giving this order out of kindness.
“It means find the small and medium-sized guilds and scatter the money among them. Go to those who have suffered from Jo Chun-ki—those whose prices were slashed, whose goods were forced on them, whose dungeons and patents were stolen—and secretly hand them expensive gifts packed in apology boxes. Understand?”
“I understand! I will wring Jo Jong-hyun dry and find out exactly who should receive them!”
“And after killing the dungeon bosses, bring back only the Grim.”
“…!”
Calamity-class monsters were bound to drop Grim.
And no one yet knew that Grim came from bosses.
If Jung Da-yeon didn’t know, then no one did.
And what Kim Hwang-je wanted was Grim and Grim alone.
According to the status window, the amount of Grim required to instantly build the Magic Tower was a staggering thirty-four.
But Kim Hwang-je had no idea how many waves would come in a single month.
“Bring me thirty-four Grim within one week.”
“Yes!! Your Majesty!! This one shall obey your august command!!”
When the Thief slammed his head to the floor, the steel plate beneath him actually dented.
His motivation was certainly high.
Kim Hwang-je nodded.
“Mr. Seo Jun-seo.”
“Yes, sir!”
Seo Jun-seo entered the room.
“Buy a fertilizer company immediately. Money is no object. Since we still can’t sell rice seeds, let’s start farming ourselves and establish a food company.”
“Understood, sir.”
“And the government doesn’t like the idea of me buying a defense contractor, correct?”
“That is correct.”
Seo Jun-seo quietly sucked in a breath at the fierce glint in Kim Hwang-je’s eyes.
A man who just woke up from near death sure looks terrifying.
“The more they tell me not to do something, the more I want to do it.”
“Should we launder the money and purchase it secretly?”
“No. I’m done holding back. Let’s go shake them down.”
“…!”
Seo Jun-seo flinched.
Was he seriously suggesting attacking the South Korean military?
But Kim Hwang-je shook his head.
“In your opinion, Mr. Seo, which warlord bastards in this world don’t deserve to live?”
Kim Hwang-je smiled faintly.
His exposed canines gleamed.