< 21. Subordinates (4) >
Jin-woo stayed at Gallord’s estate for a while, though he occasionally went to JW Gate and brought things that he could grow in the Demon Realm.
Rachel and Moo-jin had grown to an unrecognizable extent, now ranked among the best among the Mercenary Guilds. They were even expanding their scope of activities by smoothly exploring the JW gate. With the of meat and ingredients, many Gate dishes had been created. Thanks to Rachel and Moo-jin, new materials were constantly being discovered, so the potential for development was limitless. Some scholars had even described it as a revolution comparable to when humans discovered fire.
It also entered the instant market, and SNS was all about it. Some people even toured the country to buy ‘Gate Noodles’ or ‘Gate Flavored Potato Chips.’ Jin-woo stayed at the Gallord’s estate except when he occasionally returned to Earth to do work. Yoo-na was a little disappointed, but she was kept just as busy.
‘Is that too much?’
When he came to his senses, Gallord’s estate had become large and splendid. As he cared about this and that, it grew bigger and bigger. As he kept growing dissatisfied with something, he broke it down and built a new one, so it became more splendid. He made it as if he were playing Sim City, so it changed remarkably. The magnificent walls and towers looked like works of art even to Jin-woo. The crops were growing well, and specialties had been produced in their own way, so it seemed that there would be no major problems in the future.
Wouldn’t this be enough to satisfy Gallord?
‘I think it will be fine if I help the other Demon Kings and conciliate them.’
Jin-woo thought so. He still hadn’t heard from Hallas, but things were going well anyway. If he met the Demon Kings and talked honestly, it seemed unlikely that the Emperor of Maze would be resurrected. It was very reassuring to have Gallord on their side. After all, he was one of the most powerful among the Demon Kings.
‘The estate close to here is…’
It was Sarah Vriac’s estate.
Sarah Vriac, the heroine of the Demon Realm season. She was known by a terrifying nickname, the Demon King of Fear. She was also the Demon King who was the first to be dealt with by Hallas. For a Demon King who was competing for rank with Gallord, she felt somehow empty. After Hallas took all her power, she became the main character’s workhorse.
‘If only I had my power, a guy like you would…!’
‘It’s a shame that my power has decreased.’
‘Is this the sorrow of the powerless?’
She spouted these lines, but it was a little cheesy. Anyway, she was a heroine with the concept of losing power. When the Demon Realm season ended, she disappeared, but her power hadn’t been restored at all by then.
‘She’s a Demon King I should be careful about.’
It was when Jin-woo nodded and thought so; he could see Gallord running.
“M-my Lord Emperor!”
It looked like something big had happened.
“What’s going on?”
“That’s…”
According to Gallord, it seemed that the Demon Kings invited him. They asked him to attend the event to congratulate the completion of the giant weapon Arcron and watch the demonstration. And they wanted to proceed with negotiations for mutual development.
‘If it’s Arcron…’
It appeared briefly in the original story. Hallas used it to distract the protagonist. The other Demon King’s estate was devastated, but the main character, who was going to stop Hallas, stopped halfway to save the demons. As it was a dangerous weapon, the main character somehow blocked it, but Hallas awakened the Emperor of Maze in the end.
‘Umm…’
Jin-woo wondered why it came out now and at this time. Maybe it was because of what he had done when he first arrived. After all, another Emperor came again after the Emperor of Greed, so it wouldn’t be strange to unite once more. It might be a good thing.
‘Negotiation, that’s what I wanted.’
Jin-woo wanted to solve the problem of the Demon Realm before the international competition. If only the Emperor of Maze were taken care of, they wouldn’t appear in Japan, and the road to the Middle-World wouldn’t be opened. Then, the international competition would be held safely, and the world would be filled with peace.
“W-what would you like to do?”
“It’s a negotiation…good.”
“T-they won’t have any ill will either. I-it’s just…”
Jin-woo smiled at Gallord’s words. It seemed that if he relieved their anxiety at this time, they could find a way to peace.
“I want to know the tastes of the Demon Kings.”
“Yes? W-why…?”
“I got an invitation, but I can’t go empty-handed.”
“A-Aah…”
Gallord quivered and began to tell him the information about the Demon Kings. He stuttered a lot, but he could tell even the smallest details. He told Jin-woo everything from habits to weaknesses. Anyway, thanks to Gallord, he was able to choose gifts that suited the taste of each Demon King.
“I’ll have to get ready. Lord Gallord.”
“Yes?”
“It is my first meeting with the Demon Kings, so please take care of me.”
“I-I understood.”
Gallord wiped away the flowing sweat and answered so. He didn’t want to go to the site of tragedy and despair, but he couldn’t refuse the Emperor’s words.
‘Those crazy bastards! I’ll just be quiet!’
Gallord had made every effort to please the Emperor. He put all his heart and sincerity into making him lose interest in the Demon Realm. But the damn Demon Kings ruined everything.
‘What the heck. I don’t know.’
Come to think of it; he was lucky to be on the Emperor’s side. At least he didn’t have to worry about being eaten.
‘Yes! Just ruin everyone! As long as it’s not me. I am the Emperor’s servant!’
Admitting it like that made him feel at ease.
It was the day of the invitation. Jin-woo, returning to Earth, dressed up for the first time in a while. They were the Kings who ruled the Demon Realm, so he couldn’t go to them dressed in shabby clothes. Gallord never blamed him since he was a good companion, but that wouldn’t be the case with the other Demon Kings.
Before he went back to the Demon Realm, he was able to talk to Yoo-na.
“Are you saying that you are going to meet the Demon Kings?”
“Yeah, I should have a good talk with them.”
“I see. We don’t know what they’re up to, so I want you to be careful.”
Yoo-na was worried. It was understandable when he said he was going to meet the Kings of the Demon Realm.
Jin-woo headed straight to the Demon Realm, remembering to bring the presents. As the demons were materially weak, even the Kings would be satisfied with them. When he returned to Gallord’s estate, the preparations were complete. Gallord himself wore a costume that symbolized his status as a Demon King, though he didn’t wear his crown.
Since he was invited, he decided not to bring an escort.
“You are wonderful, my Lord Emperor.”
“I’m flattered.”
Gallord’s complexion always looked poor, but now he looked fine.
The place where they were invited was Daront, the estate of Demon King Digent. Digent was the oldest among the Demon Kings, acting as the spiritual pillar of the Kings. It was Hallas who pierced his heart from behind in the novel.
Gallord used a portal stone to teleport to Digent’s estate. However, the portal wouldn’t open.
“The mana supply seems to have been cut off.”
“It must have been touched when we were repairing the road.”
Jin-woo looked at the portal stone with the Magic Eye of Information. There was only a problem with the supply of mana, but everything else was fine. When Jin-woo infused it with mana, the black portal opened. Gallord nodded in admiration.
As they passed through the portal, they could see Daront. Digent’s estate, Daront, wasn’t as wealthy as Giganter and nor as large as Vriac’s estate. However, it was called the capital of the Demon Realm as it was the place where the previous Demon Kings were established, where the tradition and culture of the Demon Realm remained intact.
There was a place set in front of Daront. Food was placed on a huge table, and numerous demon soldiers were lined up behind it.
‘So these are the Demon Kings.’
Five Demon Kings appeared. It was unexpected since he thought there would be six of them. Jin-woo could feel the powerful force emanating from each of them. Thanks to the information that Gallord gave him, he recognized them all without using the Magic Eye of Information. Only Hallas wasn’t there.
‘Umm…’
Again, the Demon Kings were on a different level. It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to deal with them easily without dark mana. He could also see something covered with a cloth. It was quite large, so maybe that was the weapon discussed before.
‘Why am I a little nervous?’
Jin-woo moved his hand to relax, but the Demon Kings and their soldiers all flinched back. The first impression was important.
Jin-woo smiled. As a person who practiced looking in the mirror in his way, it was a nice smile.
* * *
The Lair of Greed.
Everyone gathered around Chief Degurron. Finally, the time had come.
“Lady Arina has contacted me. It was said that the Demon Kings are gathering today.”
The dwarves nodded with determination at their chief.
“She asked if the gift was complete. Lady Arina said she wanted to prepare a surprise for the Emperor!”
“Surprise gift…it’s a perfect match.”
“That’s right.”
Surprise gift…it was such a gift that everyone would be surprised to death.
Degurron looked at the surprise present standing in the huge space with a tremendous presence. He had no idea that something like this would be born; he had to say that he was lucky. Hallas’s ability was also very helpful. No, come to think of it, everything had been accomplished as the Emperor wished!
The connection with the infinite dark mana that the Emperor possessed was completed. The Black Skeletons were very helpful in that regard.
‘When the Emperor signals…’
It would be revealed to the world.
* * *
Digent and the Demon Kings were nervous. In a way, they were provoking the Emperor. The Demon Kings thought that if they had the power of the giant weapon and the five Demon Kings, they would still negotiate to a certain extent. They wouldn’t be as helpless as Hallas and Gallord.
To be honest, it was gambling. They had never experienced the power of the giant weapon firsthand. Digent grasped the Emperor’s plans to some extent through Callarice’s observations and their intelligence warfare. If things went wrong, there was a willingness to offer not only territories but also periodic sacrifices.
Only one Demon King put a relaxed smile on while keeping her back straight; it was Sarah Vriac, the Demon King of Fear.
‘She’s indeed the Demon King who will lead the Demon Realm.’
Now that Gallord betrayed them, she was the strongest Demon King. Digent looked at the giant weapon. Although there were some unstable parts due to their rapid preparations, the parts such as the system and control could be covered if the power source was sufficient. The power source was strangely colorful and stable. He couldn’t help but admire the technical skills of their ancient ancestors.
Everyone arrived early and waited nervously for the Emperor. A huge black portal was created. Ripping through the space, the Emperor stepped out. Even Digent, who had been living as a Demon King for many years, couldn’t help but be nervous. As the Emperor moved his hand slightly, Digent instinctively took a defensive stance. The same was true of other Demon Kings.
Gallord was standing right next to the Emperor, serving the Emperor too naturally. It felt like watching a cunning servant.
The Emperor slowly approached. The Demon Kings were all wary due to his enormous presence. Digent opened his mouth first, asking for a handshake.
“W-welcome to Daront. My name is Digent, the one who rules Daront.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jin-…”
The demon energy fluctuated. A black air stream began to flow explosively around the Emperor. Digent’s body trembled as the thick mana choked him. As the Emperor shook his head, the black air disappeared neatly. All the Demon Kings and the soldiers just swallowed in fear and lowered their tails.
Jin-woo couldn’t reveal his name, so he spoke vaguely about it. He was cautious that it would be rude, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to care. He then sat down in the reserved seat. The meal continued in the cool silence. The food of Demon Realm was pretty good. While their likes and dislikes were different, it still suited Jin-woo’s taste.
He thought there would be fanatics if they opened a restaurant.
“It’s delicious.”
“I am glad that you like it.”
“I sometimes cook myself, but this is good.”
Jin-woo said so to lead into a friendly atmosphere. Whether it worked or not, the expressions of Digent and the other Demon Kings were loosened. Digent smiled broadly with an awkward expression on his face.
“Hahahaha! I can’t believe that the Emperor also cooks…do you even have any flaws?”
“I think the taste will be richer if I add the meat I brought with me. I know Lord Digent is the most famous gourmet in the Demon Realm, so I would like to treat you.”
Digent also guessed the Emperor’s special meat. Callarice had observed it. The demon bones and the appearance of Gallord forcing himself to eat while enduring his nausea. After that, Callarice said he hadn’t eaten anything for a while.
“So, I have a present for you, Lord Digent.”
Jin-woo thought that it went well and took out the finest meat set from the subspace. It was a New Year’s gift set ambitiously prepared by JW Gate. It was a little pricey, but it was the most popular product these days. A set of JW meat was placed on the table.
The taste he learned through Gallord was very helpful. Digent liked special food very much, so he thought he would like it.
“It is a high-quality material. It was made with high-ranking meat. It will suit your taste.”
“H-high-quality…you said it was high-ranking…? Is that so?”
“No. It is similar.”
It was hard to say that it was a high ranking since it was only Rank D+. Jin-woo continued to talk because he thought the atmosphere was good. Digent was astonished. There was only cold silence for a moment.
‘Did I say something wrong?’
Jin-woo was embarrassed by the reaction. It seemed like he had made a slip of the tongue. Was this just a cultural difference?
Jin-woo decided to change the subject to fix it. He smiled as politely as possible. Wasn’t there such a saying, one that said you couldn’t spit on a smiling face?
“Ah! Lord Hallas is nowhere to be seen.”
“…Ha-Hallas…”
“About that…!”
That was how the Demon Kings reacted. They seemed to care about Hallas. Sarah remained firm with a fork in her hand, not even blinking. The other Demon Kings trembled as they glanced at the meat gift set.
Digent looked at Gallord with his eyes wide open. Gallord just shook his head.
“C-cough, that meat is only a very small part compared to the affairs of the Demon Realm. So, shouldn’t we proceed with the conversation slowly?”
Gallord helped just in time. Jin-woo thought it was a relief. As expected, Gallord was experienced in politics.
“Before that, we want to show you how the giant weapon works. It is the weapon that drove out the angels. Hehehe, we think it might be helpful for the Emperor’s plan.”
Digent said so. The Demon Kings looked at him, but he didn’t care. Digent was quite quick-witted; it was the power that kept him on his throne for this long. When he saw the Emperor himself, it seemed that it would be useless to show the majesty of the Demon Realm. He thought that it might be better to buy his heart by offering the giant weapon.
‘I’d rather cooperate…’
It was a crisis, but it was also an opportunity. He changed direction to cooperation rather than negotiation. The Emperor he saw was an existence beyond common sense, who seemed to be gathering troops to conquer the dimension. So, it wasn’t bad for him to cooperate as much as possible to obtain even the smallest benefit from it. After all, the Demon Realm would be devastated.
‘Let’s see.’
Jin-woo had no intention of provoking the Demon Kings. It didn’t matter if there was a giant weapon; it could only be active in the Demon Realm anyway.
The cloth covering the giant weapon was removed, revealing what looked to be a giant spider. Digent stood in front of the giant weapon, opening his arms to activate it.
Jin-woo looked at the giant weapon.
[-S] Giant Weapon Arcron
An ancient weapon that was active during the great war of angels and demons. It is a weapon in the shape of a spider. The beam emitted by the giant weapon is known to have destructive power similar to that of a dragon’s breath. A stable power source is required, but it is in a very unstable state because it has been replaced by an improper power source.
“Hmm?”
It was unstable. Gallord looked at Jin-woo.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think it would be better not to activate it…”
It was already late. Arcron spewed smoke and raised its body. It was similar to the description in the original novel, though it was spectacular to see a figure as big as a building raising its body in person.
Whoosh!
Demon energy began to gather around it, the red jewel absorbing demon energy and emitting light. The light was condensed in one place to become a powerful energy beam. The target was a small mountain in the distance.
“Ooh!”
“So this is Arcron…”
The Demon Kings were amazed. Jin-woo stepped back a little.
‘If the power source is insufficient….’
It was usually supposed to stop working. The moment it was just about to be launched…
Whoosh!
Arcron’s legs bent with the sound of the power is turned off. It fell over Digent, who was spreading his arms. The mana gathered in the Arcron scattered and hit Digent, expelling out into the surrounding area.
Boom!
Digent bounced off the mana and rolled on the ground. The plating of the power source on Arcron’s body was peeled off, revealing its poor interior. Digent, vomiting blood, stared blankly at the power source.
“T-the power source…”
“How come?”
“I-is it fake?”
All eyes of the Demon Kings turned to Sarah Vriac. Sarah Vriac, who had taken a step back, avoided the gaze of the Demon Kings. She was sweating coldly, but she still put on a poker face.
“Fu…Fufufu.”
Like she was saying, ‘Everything went as planned!’
It was then.
Whoosh! Bang!
The mana gathered by Arcron wasn’t scattered. Mana started to gather to the fake power source once more; then, there was an explosion. A red light erupted from Arcron again. It swung its blade-like legs and blew away everything around it.
The demon soldiers were thrown aside.
Shhhh!
Arcron’s legs trembled and then shrank. Mana spewed out to one side as it started spinning like a top.
“Keargh!”
“Eaaaargh!”
Arcron stormed past the demon soldiers, approaching the nearby Demon Kings. The Demon Kings hurriedly generated their mana to block it, though Sarah remained frozen in the distance.
“Kugh!”
“Uhg!”
“Keeuugh!”
The three Demon Kings barely deflected Arcron’s attack. Arcron changed its direction and quickly approached Jin-woo. It even created tornadoes made of mana, showing off its tremendous power. Digent and the other Demon Kings looked at Jin-woo in astonishment.
There was plenty of time to avoid it, but there were fallen demon soldiers around Jin-woo.
‘I have to stop it.’
Could he stop it? It seemed that he somehow could with dark mana. Jin-woo gathered all the dark mana around him, causing a massive current of black air to gush out and cover his surroundings. It was when Jin-woo reached out his hands nervously that the mana that was released to stop Arcron began to be sucked under the ground.
There seemed to be something resonating with him. A vibration resounded from below.
“Huh?”
Drrrrrrrrrrrr! Bang!
The ground in front of Jin-woo split, and something huge soared up.
Bang!
Arcron collided with the huge being that suddenly soared up. Arcron bounced aside and attacked the Demon Kings again, who desperately blocked it once more. Its power was similar to that of a dragon’s breath, and its legs spinning was difficult to block even for the Demon Kings who combined their forces.
They could barely turn their heads to look at the Emperor. The Emperor, engulfed in darkness, held up his holy right hand.
“That’s…”
The huge thing that rose through the ground was like a dragon. No, it was like looking at the bones of a dragon. The earth collapsed as the bare body raised itself.
“Bo-bone dragon?”
One of the Demon Kings shouted.
It was strange to call it bone as it seemed to be made of hard minerals, but the bone dragon twice as large as Arcron rose to its feet. The black airflow from the Emperor’s right hand vibrated like a flame and began to dwell in the bone dragon. Then, the bare body of the dragon disappeared, and scales made of black flames appeared.
Digent, who barely made it to his feet, had no choice but to stare with his mouth agape.
Gwooooooooo!
The black dragon roared, spreading its wings of black flames. Digent had seen it before. The trauma that had barely been sealed came back to his mind.
It was foolish. He had forgotten how great the existence of an Emperor was.
“The Emperor…of Greed.”
Although small in size, it was like the Emperor of Greed. No, it was him, engulfed in black flames and reborn as a Black Flame Dragon. The Emperor of Gold didn’t simply defeat the Emperor of Greed.
He killed it and made it his slave.
[Ugh?! What is that?!]
The Emperor of Gold spat out a terrible language covered in black energy and shook off his hand. It looked as if he were shaking off a small bug.
The Black Flame Dragon flew over the Emperor of Gold.
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