A Friend from Hell
Episode 17
“Oh, really? So you’re only strong at summoning magic?”
“Huh?”
For a fleeting moment, Do-ha’s eyes lit up with a faint sparkle. Canteas tilted his head.
What was that?
Just now, he looked almost… pleased?
A sharp whoosh cut the air—
THUD!
“Hahahaha! I don’t know who you are, but you will never break this shield.”
Do-ha’s fist rebounded off the barrier, and the cardinal burst into laughter.
Even an Unknown-rank Lich couldn’t shatter it. As if a mere human stands a chance!
“You called me a half-measure, yet you’re even weaker than that half-measure!”
“Wow, you’re strong. But why are you out here all alone?”
Do-ha gestured at their surroundings.
On this tiny island, what was a man of cardinal rank doing by himself? At his station, hundreds—thousands—of followers should have been swarming around him.
“Hmph. Even hundreds of millions of those useless freeloaders would be worthless.”
“You…”
At the cardinal’s words, Do-ha’s eyes narrowed.
For lower ranks, that might have made sense. But a cardinal could never travel alone. It wasn’t a matter of personal choice—followers were required to stay attached to him at all times. In short, it was mandatory. At best, a cardinal might be alone in his own chambers. The moment he stepped outside, the Pope always assigned attendants to him.
“You’re an exile, aren’t you?”
“……”
The cardinal’s mouth snapped shut.
There was only one reason a man like him would be wandering alone: exile. Once cast out by the Order, even a cardinal could roam freely—exactly like the one standing before them.
“But that’s strange. When a cardinal gets exiled, they always execute him.”
Canteas cocked his head at Do-ha’s remark.
Unlike ordinary believers, high clergy knew far too many of the Order’s secrets. An archbishop-level exile was always put to death without exception. And yet the man in front of them was walking around perfectly intact.
“He ran because he didn’t want to die.”
“……”
Whether Do-ha had hit the mark or not, the cardinal bit down hard on his lip.
It was true. He was an exile. Rather than die, he had summoned monsters inside the Order’s halls and fled.
“But there’s one correction I need to make.”
“?”
“I would die for the Demon God at any moment. But I have no intention of dying for the Order.”
The cardinal’s eyes did not waver.
He truly worshipped the Demon God—not the church. Most of those inside the Order, however, were less devoted to the Demon God than they were to carving out factions and lining their own pockets. When he had confronted the other cardinals about it, they had framed him and driven him out.
“Some of them even revere the Pope as if he himself were the Demon God. How twisted is that?”
“Damn. A genuine fanatic of this age.”
Do-ha clapped in genuine admiration at the cardinal’s speech.
After dealing with so many believers in name only, meeting a cardinal who truly cared about the Demon God was almost delightful.
“I’m so happy I just want to beat you to death myself. Khh…”
The fake believers never stirred any real emotion in him. They were just trash that needed sweeping up. But a true fanatic like the cardinal standing before him—that was genuinely unpleasant. Irritating.
“If the Demon God tore your family apart and ate your friends, would you still stay loyal then?”
“If that was the Demon God’s will, gladly.”
“This is exactly why I hate fanatic bastards.”
Whoosh.
THUD!
Do-ha slammed his fist into the shield again.
“You fool. There is nothing you can do.”
“Ugh, this shield is just too solid. I can’t break it.”
“?”
Watching quietly from the side, Canteas narrowed his eyes at Do-ha’s terrible acting.
With Do-ha’s power, he could shatter that shield as easily as blowing his nose. As the cardinal himself had said, his strength was concentrated entirely on summoning. Canteas was still weak enough that the barrier might stop him—but Do-ha was not.
What the hell is he aiming for, putting on this whole performance…
Tap.
“Still, we’re lucky. Since he’s alone, he can’t summon a demon.”
Do-ha nudged the silent Canteas and spoke up.
“Hahahaha! Have you ever seen such an idiot? I can summon a kraken as an Unknown-rank, and you think I can’t summon a demon?!”
“D-don’t tell me you can actually summon a demon?! E-even so, it’d only be a common demon at best! Even a cardinal couldn’t summon a baron-class demon! As long as it’s not Balak—the one I’m most terrified of…”
“Oh, for the love of—”
Thwap.
Unable to bear the unwatchable performance any longer, Canteas covered his eyes with one palm.
I really should be recording this…
“I would never summon those exalted ones merely to show off to a human.”
“Whew… so you can’t. What a relief.”
“……I can.”
“We both know you can’t, so stop lying.”
“You little— Fine. I’ll show you. You may not matter, but I have to deal with this Lich anyway.”
ZRAAAAAANG!
The cardinal flourished his staff with a triumphant expression.
“Well? Think he took the bait?”
Do-ha whispered to Canteas.
“Took the bait? I feel like the breakfast I ate this morning is about to come back up.”
“What? That was incredible acting. I might try becoming an actor after this.”
“The entire country would become your anti-fan club…”
SHHHHHHHHH!
The demonic energy pouring out grew denser and denser, weaving itself into a black magic circle.
KRA-KOOM!
FLASH!
As the last of the demonic energy soaked into the circle, the air around them turned thick and heavy, the reek of sulfur intensifying. Black clouds rolled across the sky, and lightning began to fall.
“You said Balak was the one you feared most? Heh heh heh. Too late for regrets now.”
ZRAAAANG!
The moment the cardinal finished speaking, a figure began descending from the magic circle.
Tszzzzzz.
“It’s been a long time since someone summoned me.”
Arms folded, face stern, the being drifted downward.
Demon Rank 62, Baron Balak, looked down upon the cardinal.
“Ohh, child of the Demon God!”
The cardinal bowed his head before Balak.
He had truly answered the summons. The cardinal had only called him out of necessity—to kill the Lich—but Balak himself had answered. Had Balak ignored the call, some other baron-class demon would have appeared instead.
“So, the reason you called me…”
Still with his arms crossed, Balak descended toward the island—then his gaze fell on Do-ha and Canteas.
He flinched.
“Lord Balak?”
When Balak stopped midair, the cardinal tilted his head in confusion.
Did I make some kind of mistake?
“Heh. It seems the time is not yet right.”
Ssssss.
Balak offered a light smile, shook his head, and began rising back toward the magic circle.
SHHHHH.
But unlike the solemn, deliberate descent of moments before, he was now shooting upward at tremendous speed.
SHHHH.
Thud.
“Hey, Balak. Long time no see—where do you think you’re going?”
Just as the demon was about to reach the circle, Do-ha appeared and slung an arm around Balak’s shoulders.
It had been decades since they’d last met. Letting him leave would be such a waste.
“It’s good to see you again after so long. Right?”
“I… I… I feel the same… way.”
“Time really has passed, hasn’t it? You’re even talking casually to me. Uncross those arms, will you?”
“……”
Slowly, Balak uncrossed his arms.
“Let’s go down.”
Sssss.
“???”
As the human and the demon descended with their arms around each other’s shoulders, the cardinal’s face filled with pure bewilderment.
What on earth is happening right now?
Why is Balak acting like that with a human?
No—more importantly—
Why is Balak sweating and looking so terrified?
What is this?
Unable to find any answer, the cardinal’s mind spun in circles.
“I asked him to summon you, and the cardinal was happy to oblige.”
“……”
“……”
When Balak shot him a murderous glare, the cardinal felt a sudden flash of injustice.
Demons normally loved being summoned to the middle realm. Why was he looking at him like that?
“Yo, Balak.”
Canteas waved at him.
How long had it been? Decades ago, Balak had been summoned to Belhart, gotten beaten so thoroughly by Do-ha that dust flew even in the rain, and barely crawled back home alive. He hadn’t even shown his face when the Hell Legions invaded.
“Good to see you, buddy?”
“Who’s your buddy—”
“I only spared your life back then because of our friendship… Was I the only one who felt that way? I’m starting to feel hurt.”
“Haha, i-it’s been a long time.”
“Still talking down to me?”
“I-it’s been a long time, sir.”
“Wait—you’re the demon friend Baal mentioned?!”
Canteas had always wondered who the “friend” Do-ha had mentioned to Baal actually was. In all the decades they’d traveled together, he had only ever seen Do-ha kill demons—never befriend one. With Baal present at the time, he had kept quiet. So it had been Balak all along.
“You said you didn’t torture him.”
When Baal had asked whether Do-ha had tortured the information out of him, Do-ha had denied it…
“I really didn’t torture him. I just beat him for three hours every time I saw him.”
“The world calls that torture.”
“Balak. Did I torture you?”
“Of course not. I have no such memories.”
“No memories? Want me to help you remember getting hit?”
“……”
Balak swallowed tears inwardly.
What the hell am I supposed to do here…
“Just kidding. I really did want to see you again.”
“I didn’t…”
“Hm?”
“I missed you terribly as well. When I heard you’d been killed by the Demon God, I was so happy—I mean, so sad…”
“You keep flip-flopping.”
“It must be because I’ve returned to the middle realm after so long.”
“Sure, sure. I understand.”
Pat. Pat.
Do-ha nodded and clapped Balak on the shoulder.
“You’ll get used to it again once I start hitting you like old times.”
“Wow! I’ve already fully adjusted. Hahahaha.”
Balak forced a laugh and glared at the dazed cardinal.
That dog of a man is the reason I’m in this mess.
Of all places, why summon me in front of the Absolute Being?!
He could have thrown me into a pack of dragons—why in front of Baek Do-ha?!
“Ah, right—the cardinal. Hey. Thanks. Because of you, I got to see my friend again.”
Do-ha offered his gratitude to the still-stunned cardinal.
He had needed Balak specifically—not just any demon—and a church member with exceptional summoning talent had conveniently been standing right in front of him.
“Now, get lost.”
“Pardon?”
The cardinal answered with formal speech without even realizing it.
Get lost? Where…
WHOOOOSH!
KRA-BOOOOM!
While the cardinal was still tilting his head in confusion, a massive Heavenly Diamond Fist came flying from behind him, smashing through the shield and the man together.
SHHHHH.
SPLASH.
“Canteas, seal his energy and keep him alive. We’ll have him summon other demons later.”
“He must have burned through a lot of life force summoning Balak, though?”
“Eh, if he burns through all of it, he should still manage one or two more summons.”
“Got it.”
Canteas nodded and headed toward the unconscious cardinal floating on the sea.
Do-ha turned back to Balak.
“Now then. You and I have some catching up to do after all this time.”
“……”
Balak stared at the fading summoning circle with tearful eyes.