After following the man with the beast mask out of the arena, Yong-Ho headed straight towards Catalina. She was sitting in the front row while the spirits that were watching were sitting several rows behind. They were looking at Yong-Ho and talking amongst themselves, but it didn’t seem like they were going to approach him.
Yong-Ho looked at them for a brief moment. Amongst them sat Kaiwan, where just by looking at her face and body language, it was obvious that she wanted to rush straight towards him, but was instead suppressing it. The spirits, however, weren’t acting that way. They looked relaxed when looking at him, but also kind of cold.
‘The Arena’s spirits.’
It couldn’t apply to all of them, but a part of them were most likely previous owners of the House of Mammon, just like Kaiwan.
They entered as competitors, but lost and now remained here at the Arena.
Yong-Ho turned his attention away. It was difficult to avoid Kaiwan’s gaze because she was desperately trying to get him to see her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Catalina barely managed to answer when Yong-Ho asked. However, her body answered differently because her ears and tail weren’t moving in the slightest.
But her expression was bright. Yong-Ho won and further grew in power. Catalina gained another horn, so it was obvious that she was happy about that.
Yong-Ho softly patted her head when she tried to stand on her own and then displayed a warm smile. After transforming Aamon back into a bracelet, he turned around and spoke.
“Get on.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Get on. I’ll carry you. You can hardly stand, let alone walk.”
Yong-Ho turned his back to her, kneeled and signaled her with his finger to get on.
Catalina blinked her eyes a few times and then turned around. The Arena’s spirits were having fun watching as they looked down on Yong-Ho and Catalina. Catalina had better hearing than Yong-Ho, so she was able to hear their conversations.
“Catalina?”
“Oh, uh, yes.”
When Yong-Ho called her, her ears turned red and she carefully stood up from her seat. She ignored their stares and comments and got on to Yong-Ho’s back. The only time she had ever got on someone’s back was when the previous guard had carried her when she was younger. It was really awkward, but she managed to wrap her arms around Yong-Ho’s neck.
“Good.”
After grabbing Catalina’s thighs, Yong-Ho stood up. It was a good thing that she couldn’t see his face because he had turned slightly red. This was his first time carrying a girl and the things he felt through his back seemed extremely soft.
“What the heck are they doing?”
Gusion asked as he watched them from afar. Since Catalina’s senses had been heightened, she had clearly heard him. She tightened her lips and buried her face into Yong-Ho’s back.
Yong-Ho looked straight at Gusion. He didn’t look that intimidating since Catalina was on his back, but it didn’t really matter. He spoke loudly.
“I’ll be going now. I’ll see you next time.”
“Anytime.”
A satisfied smile appeared on Gusion’s face after he answered out loud. He was extremely satisfied when Yong-Ho said the words “next time.”
Gusion probably wasn’t as bad as many thought. He only acted that way because he was being loyal to his owner, Mammon. Even though he told Yong-Ho that he couldn’t acknowledge him yet, once Yong-Ho completed the levels, Gusion would acknowledge him as his owner.
When comparing that smile to the one he had first displayed, Gusion was definitely being friendly.
‘Is he like Zhang Fei from the Records of the Three Kingdoms?’
It just popped into his head, but he thought it was a decent comparison.
On top of that, he had a large frame. He was known to have superhuman strength, so his muscular strength was probably unlike the others. He was a Red Demon after all.
‘I still dislike him though.’
Kaiwan’s was one of the greatest owners to have existed. Gusion didn’t physically abuse her, but Yong-Ho still didn’t like the way he was treating her.
Yong-Ho turned around and after ignoring Gusion, he briefly looked at the spirits and Kaiwan before leaving the Arena.
Even though it was just their eyes that met, it felt like he was able to hear her voice.
Anything is fine.
Anything is fine so please tell me!
‘I’m sorry.’
He couldn’t say it. Kaiwan desperately wanted to hear some news about her brother, but the only news he could give her was of his death. He couldn’t do that to Kaiwan in her current state.
‘Someday, someday.’
Yong-Ho didn’t really have any interest in her brother. The only thing Yong-Ho knew about him was that he had died while filled with despair and remorse.
Yong-Ho turned around as if he was ignoring her and then started walking away. The man with the beast mask walked next to Yong-Ho and guided him to the passageway that led them outside of the Arena.
The man then stopped walking when they approached the passageway. He then pointed to the passageway as if he was saying that his job was done and then disappeared.
Yong-Ho pushed Catalina up and walked into the passageway. It was different from when Gusion was leading because when Yong-Ho was leaving, the lights that appeared on the ceiling started to disappear one by one until complete darkness filled the space.
How long had he been walking?
Yong-Ho stopped. Now there was only one light that was shining down upon him.
Before leaving the Arena, Yong-Ho had to ask a question.
“Aamon.”
“Speak, my young master.”
Aamon replied right away. The Red Lotus Demon’s flame appeared in front of Yong-Ho.
Catalina gulped while staying on Yong-Ho’s back. Yong-Ho then asked while looking at the flame.
“Mammon…how the King of Greed die?”
The strongest demon king in the history of the demon world.
He was placed in the top three out of the Seven Deadly Sins and also had four superhuman skills.
He was one that called strong spirits, like Aamon and Gusion, as his own.
No one knew how he had really died.
The only available information was that Mammon had suddenly passed away and because of that, the House of Mammon had crumbled.
How did Mammon die?
He wasn’t curious at first. Mammon existed over a 1,000 years ago, so Yong-Ho simply left it at that.
But not now.
He wanted to know. It felt like there was some sort of secret to this death.
Aamon didn’t reply right away. Because he spent time with Mammon until his last moment, he remained quiet. It seemed like the flame that was moving with the wind was displaying Aamon’s feelings.
Yong-Ho waited. Catalina was afraid that she would make a sound, so she kept her mouth shut.
“I’m afraid I cannot tell you yet, my young master.”
He said “yet.” Yong-Ho decided to leave it at that.
He asked another question. It was more of a confirmation than a question.
“You said I can’t rescue Kaiwan just yet, right?”
“Yes, not yet. But someday, in the near future, I believe that it will be possible. I believe that.”
Even though he was just a flame, Yong-Ho felt like he saw Aamon smile. Catalina had the same feeling too.
Aamon must’ve felt satisfied with his answers, because the Red Demon’s flame disappeared. Yong-Ho watched the flame disappear with the wind and then breathed in deeply. Instead of looking back, he took a step forward and exited Mammon’s Arena.
***
He wasn’t sure how many additional steps he took in the total darkness. It was so dark that Catalina, who was able to see through the darkness, couldn’t make out anything that was ahead of them.
Yong-Ho calmed himself down and walked forward. Moments later, he felt his disconnected senses connecting to the dungeon again.
“Master! Where did you go?!”
Lucia’s voice rang loudly in his head. This finally meant that Yong-Ho was completely out of the Arena and was now in the first floor of the House of Mammon, the area that was under Lucia’s control.
Yong-Ho also felt relieved when he heard her worried and relieved voice. He felt like he had finally returned home.
“I’ll tell you later. First, gather Eligor, Skull and Ophelia to the Library.”
“Got it.”
“Eligor and Skull experienced a huge…oh my! You gained another horn! And your mana has increased a lot as well!”
“Catalina’s mana has become extremely strong as well. What exactly happened in there?!”
Instead of answering, he displayed a slightly awkward smile and even though Lucia was mentally connected to him, she didn’t push him anymore.
“I understand. I’ll relay your message to the three spirits.”
After he finished talking to Lucia, he walked out of the darkness and headed towards Kaiwan’s Break Room. He felt Catalina quietly release a sigh of relief.
‘I think I know why Kaiwan kept the location of the Arena a secret from the spirits.’
One was able to earn big rewards in the Arena. The rewards, which included Mammon’s mana, were extremely appealing.
As someone that cleared the first level, Yong-Ho was curious about the second level’s reward. His opponent on the first floor was tough, so the Floor Master of the second level was probably stronger, but Yong-Ho was far more interested in the reward compared to the Floor Master or the fear of losing.
Once one jumps in, they can’t stop.
If Ophelia’s father participated, he probably would’ve kept on going until his last breath.
According to Gusion, the punishment was a lot weaker for the owners.
And Kaiwan experienced the punishment that was already set in the Arena. In that case, what kind of punishments did the spirits experience? Losing one’s life probably wasn’t the worst punishment.
“Catalina, never participate in the Arena without my permission. Got it?”
Catalina gulped when she heard Yong-Ho’s request. From the way she reacted, she must’ve had a slight interest.
“I understand. I’ll follow your orders, sir.”
That was like Catalina. Yong-Ho felt relieved when she answered honestly. After fixing Catalina’s posture, he headed towards Kaiwan’s Break Room.
***
“You went to the Arena?!”
The Library was supposed to be a quiet place, but it was filled with shock.
The voice belonged to Ophelia. Yong-Ho felt a bit flustered by Ophelia’s unexpected reaction, but he quickly nodded his head.
“I did. I cleared the first floor. And thanks to that, me, Catalina…and Eligor and Skull, all changed.”
Yong-Ho looked at Eligor and Skull while replying. Eligor and Skull had become stronger, just like Catalina. Eligor still had the same number of horns, but his mana became stronger, so his body now released a beast-like energy. Skull, who had become the Iron Skeleton Knight, had no way of releasing his mana, so Yong-Ho instead felt an immense amount of mana within Skull’s body.
Ophelia couldn’t control her excitement. It was refreshing to see this side of her because she was usually always calm and cold.
‘Did she hear something from her father?’
That wasn’t the only thing. Catalina, who had obtained a third horn, was sitting in front of Ophelia.
Based on the amount of mana and the purity, Ophelia was still stronger however. Excluding Aamon, Ophelia was the strongest out of all the living spirits in the House of Mammon.
But if this continued, then someone else would likely end up taking that spot.
Yong-Ho was expecting such a thing to happen and would be overjoyed if it did.. Since it would mean that the House of Mammon’s spirits had become that much stronger.
But, it didn’t mean that he wanted Ophelia to fall behind. She might not be as strong as her father, but she still wanted to become stronger. She was extremely competitive, however it was better than not being competitive at all.
“Please, please make me your personal spirit, sir!”
Her request was straightforward.
Yong-Ho smiled awkwardly.
Of course Yong-Ho wanted to make her his personal spirit. But the reason why he didn’t bring it up was because she would be “bound” to him.
Spirits that belonged to the dungeon also belonged to the owner. If the dungeon died, then they would die as well.
They were different from ordinary spirits since ordinary spirits were able to terminate their contract at any time. Bound spirits would end up sharing the same fate as their owner.
They devote their entire body and soul to their owner.
That was the difference. That’s why he couldn’t make such an offer so easily.
On the other hand, there was a reason why Ophelia didn’t make the request before.
It wasn’t because of the constraints that Yong-Ho had thought of and it wasn’t about having anxiety about having to give her life to him.
The places were limited.
The owners in the empty regions tended to have a minimum of three and a maximum of five personal spirits. Even the six strong kings that were controlling the demon world probably only had about 10.
When thinking about the Power of Evolution and the House of Mammon’s dungeon characteristics, the spirits were bound to grow at a fast rate. During these two months, Catalina and Eligor had become so much stronger.
For Skull, Yong-Ho purchased him from the dungeon shop and he was nothing more than an ordinary Skeleton Worker, but Skull had grew a lot since then.
That’s why she didn’t say it. But, now she couldn’t wait any longer. The moment she was suppressed by Greed and Aamon, she had figured out that Yong-Ho was the new King of Greed and that was when she had made her decision.
That she would be the King of Greed’s spirit.
“Ophelia, please calm down. You’re in front of the Master, so please be respectful.”
When Eligor spoke calmly, Ophelia realized that she had been acting too excitedly. But instead she moaned and couldn’t sit back down in her seat.
Eligor looked back at Yong-Ho for her. He spoke while showing his respect.
“Master, I would like to make the same request. Ophelia will definitely be a great help to the House of Mammon.”
Ophelia was touched by Eligor’s unexpected support, she looked at him with a grateful expression. It felt like someone was cheering her on.
Only
Before answering, Yong-Ho looked back at Skull and Catalina. Skull had a satisfied smile and Catalina lightly nodded and agreed with Eligor’s comment.
Which meant that everyone had agreed.
“Okay, if it’s okay with you Ophelia, I’ll make you my personal spirit. But, there’s something else I need to tell you.”
Ophelia, who had lost her cool, quickly sat down and listened to Yong-Ho. Eligor also paid attention to him.
Yong-Ho took a deep breath and organized his thoughts. The first topic was obvious.
“The owner from three generations ago. Kaiwan, the Queen of Distortion, is alive.”
As soon as he finished talking, both Eligor and Ophelia stood up from their seats.
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