Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: From Demons to Idols
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The demons that had crawled up from hell felt an inexplicable fear creeping down their spines.
No, it wasn't just fear.
The moment they laid eyes on the horned human before them, the overwhelming pressure they sensed went beyond mere intimidation.
It felt as if someone were slowly crushing them underfoot.
Their entire bodies were compressed, making it hard to even breathe.
And this was just from meeting his gaze.
What in the world was this being?
No matter how weakened they were from emerging from hell, no matter how they'd declined because fewer people believed in demons, they were the ones who had endured even when all the angels had withered away and vanished.
They weren't the type to be slammed to the ground like this from a mere glance.
Yet... they couldn't rise no matter how hard they tried.
What the hell is that thing?
That's all the demons could think.
They had been wary only of angels and Yahweh—never something like this aberration beyond all norms.
Why was a being like that setting foot in the human realm?
Lilith, the de facto leader among the demons, was utterly dumbfounded.
They had finally encountered an angel and planned to publicly execute it, thereby making the world aware of demons' existence and regaining their power...
But somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that the plan had gone wrong from the very start.
Something was seriously off.
She was struggling to move her body, but the intangible pressure from locking eyes with Seo-hyun bound her, refusing to let go.
'I can't move...!'
The other demons who had followed her were in the same boat. They all tried to resist somehow, but they were powerless against the overwhelming presence emanating from the horned figure.
At the very least, since he was cooperating with an angel, he couldn't be a demon... but even a dragon? Could a dragon be this powerful?
Compared to the dragons that had once lived in hell—now extinct—this thing was beyond a mere dragon; it was something more.
'...We're screwed.'
As far as Lilith was concerned, they had badly stumbled upon something.
* * *
"Why are you so late? My house is trashed."
"You lunatic. If you'd told me you moved, I could've come faster. I didn't even know you'd moved—how was I supposed to speed up when I didn't know where to go?"
"...Oh, right."
"So, these are the demons you mentioned?"
"Yep."
"Looks like you could've handled them solo without me. What's the point of calling me?"
"Can't you see my house got blown up? If the fight had escalated, this whole neighborhood would've been reduced to rubble."
Fair enough...
I glanced at Han-gyeol's house.
The neatly maintained single-family home had been utterly demolished before I knew it.
If a simple clash caused this much destruction, a full-on battle would've obliterated the entire area without question.
And only now did I sense it—these demons were stronger than I'd expected.
Even now, they were twitching, desperately trying to overcome the Dragon Fear... yeah, they weren't ordinary by any means.
Just enduring my Dragon Fear marked them as exceptional.
As I was thinking that—
"Eeeek...!"
Woooong-!
The female demon at the front overcame the Dragon Fear and regained her freedom of movement.
She stared at me with a stunned expression and spoke.
"...Who are you?"
"Dragon."
"That's a lie. Even Leviathan, who once ruled the seas, wasn't as strong as you...!"
Leviathan? That Leviathan?
So even those were real entities.
I had no idea how vast the scale of this world truly was.
When I first gained the Ancestral Dragon's memories, I thought that was the extent of it...
But then Han-gyeol became an angel, and heaven and hell turned out to be real... and somehow, it felt like that was far from the end.
The mutations weren't even over yet—according to the World Tree Ermenia, a Third Mutation was on the horizon...
What a headache.
I pressed my throbbing temple.
At my movement, the demon flinched slightly.
Probably the effect of my Dragon Fear—she didn't seem eager to attack.
She was likely calculating furiously in her head right now.
But it would all be futile.
Han-gyeol had called me because she knew exactly what I was capable of and my limits.
I took a small step forward.
In that instant, the scenery surrounding us shifted in a blink.
Just like in that Sin Executioner game last time, I overlaid a virtual space onto reality.
It was a kind of barrier. No matter how much they rampaged here, it wouldn't affect the real world.
"This is..."
"A barrier. Whether you die or not, no matter how much you struggle... you can't escape unless I release it."
"...You're insane."
The demon who'd blabbered about Leviathan let out a hollow laugh.
She looked like she'd lost the will to resist.
"So, demon lady? What's your name?"
"...Lilith. I'm Lilith."
Oh, that's a familiar name.
The other demons behind her were probably famous ones too.
"...By the way, are all demons female? You and the ones behind you are all women."
As I examined them, I noticed one thing.
Why no male demons?
At my words, the demons replied nonchalantly.
"Because we were the only ones who lingered in human minds enough to avoid fading away."
What did that mean?
"What do you mean by that?"
"In other words... humans imagined us based on their desires or created works featuring us, so that's how our forms endured."
...Wait, ah, got it.
I understood.
Demons were incarnations of various desires, after all... so they avoided losing themselves through that.
The name Lilith popped up constantly in all sorts of adult media.
"Ah, I see."
"So... are you going to kill us?"
Now, what to do.
"If I don't kill you, you'll just cause chaos everywhere to maintain your existence. Any reason to let you live?"
"..."
No argument there.
To sustain themselves, they'd have to do something attention-grabbing, and as demons, it'd inevitably involve instilling fear or something similar.
So, sorry, but—
"Wait."
I'd been preparing Dragon Tongue to finish them off when Han-gyeol suddenly stopped me, leaving me puzzled.
"Why?"
Without answering, she stared at the demons intently.
Like she was scanning them.
After thoroughly inspecting them, Han-gyeol spoke.
"Approved."
"...?"
The demons looked baffled at what she meant.
And so was I.
What the hell are you saying?
"What nonsense is that?"
"These demons came up here to maintain their existence, right? So they want to live, don't they? Yeah?"
"...For now, yes."
"And trying to kill me was just to survive too."
"That's also correct."
"Then there's a good solution. Father just told me."
"...What solution?"
"It's not a barbaric era anymore. No more beating people to death. Perfect number too. Five of them..."
I was dumbfounded watching her say that.
This was the same girl who'd been bombing the Middle East with angel beams not long ago.
And why were there suddenly five demons?
"Above all... these damn things trashed my house and were about to pull some hell run. You think I'd let that slide? Do you know how expensive this place is?"
"You're loaded, aren't you?"
"Even so, a hundred billion gone in a flash—how could I not flip out? They don't die until they pay it all back."
I gauged where we were.
Ah, Cheongdam-dong.
...Seriously, ever since connecting with those Middle Eastern tycoons, this girl had been raking in cash.
"And above all, you said you'd do anything to survive, right?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Father just said: if you repent your past sins now, he'll forgive them."
Instantly, the demons' faces lit up.
What? Why were they reacting like that?
"Is that true?"
"But there's one condition."
"...What condition?"
"Shed your demonic forms and serve under me."
"Th-That’s a bit..."
"Hey, I'm offering to spare you, and you say no? Fine then."
Han-gyeol said that and began drawing on her power.
A halo ignited above her head, and six wings started to unfurl.
At that moment, the demons hurriedly replied.
They must've decided it wasn't the time to stand on demonic pride.
"W-We’ll do it."
"Shorten your speech."
"We'll do it..."
It felt like watching a sitcom. Why was the plot twisting like this all of a sudden?
What was she planning to do with them?
"Why save them?"
"I told you. They're going to repay my house with their bodies."
"How?"
"Look at their appearances. Lilith—famous for her allure. Behind her, Barbatos, Astaroth, and so on... every one of them has a look that'd make humans lose their minds."
Wait a second, no way...
"Hey, you don't mean..."
"Father's been really into human culture lately. Said he wants to make one himself."
"...So Yahweh wants to debut an idol group now?"
"Yep. Win-win for everyone. I save on house repairs, they survive."
Fair point, but...
"So how do you plan to make them idols? Capital... oh."
"Once I spread word it's Father's will to the Middle East crowd, those tycoons won't hold back. Which is Korea's most reputable agency...?"
"Why there?"
"I'm buying it."
"Won't acquiring that take trillions?"
"Check the Middle East rich list. Trillions are pocket change to them."
"Ah."
Right. Yeah...
The world sure was something.
Demon angels debuting as idols, huh.
...This might actually be fun.
That's when my smartphone buzzed.
-So, when should we come?
It was a message from Tae-hwa unnie.
Ah, I'd forgotten.
I'd told Tae-hwa unnie, who was streaming, and Ha-rin, who was on her salary Lupin run, to stand by in case something happened.
"Situation's over, so you can just keep streaming. No need to come."
-Got it. No idea what happened, but it ended well, right?
"Yeah. A bit absurd, though."
-? Absurd how?
"...Just is."
How do you sum it up briefly?
Demons repented and are debuting as angel idols.
And blowing trillions to squeeze out a hundred billion—what kind of bizarre logic was that?
Didn't add up financially... probably just Yahweh's whim?