hapter 41: Sin of Mercy

“Th-that’s really that painful?”

“Yes, that’s right. Demons, by their very nature, exist near death, pain, and despair, so it’s only natural that things close to the Spirit of Vitality would be agonizing for them, isn’t it?!”

“If they’re so used to pain, wouldn’t torture be okay for them?”

“Just because they’re close to it doesn’t mean they enjoy it! We’re not masochists!”

“Ah, is that so?”

“………Not all demons are perverts.”

Come to think of it, even Elves felt like they had a screw loose, so there was no need to be prejudiced just because they were demons.

“So there are demons who have their own beliefs and morals too, huh….”

“Sikude! You wretched bastard!!!”

At that moment, someone’s angry shout suddenly erupted.

“H-hyung! Damn, you’re alive after all!”

“How dare you sell me out to the Elves?!”

“How is that selling you out? You’re the one who tripped and fell because you weren’t looking ahead!”

“What? You think I’m an idiot?! You cracked my skull with a rock, didn’t you!!!”

“Hyung! Did you see that?!”

“You bastard!!!”

Jaeho felt that the beliefs and morals of demons were still very different from those of humans.

Clatter—!

Finally, the two brothers started rolling on the ground, tangled up.

“Hey, hey! Calm down! At least you’re both alive!”

The moment Jaeho tried to break them up—

Crackle—

“Kiyaaah!!”

“Gaaack?!”

With a sound like sparks flying, the two demons writhed on the ground.

[ <Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘The Regent of Spirits’ touch itself is agony for demons.’]

“Oh really? You finally open your mouth?”

[…….]

Well, it was good information.

‘So that’s why they suffered several times more when hit by Elbo.’

If even a simple touch made them roll on the ground, there was nothing more to say.

“For now, just shut your mouths and stay quiet. I’ll talk to the Elves, so don’t go acting like you know something and spoil things.”

“B-but…”

Sikude’s eyes were filled with naked distrust.

“If you can’t trust me, what then? It’s not like you have any options anyway!”

“Urgh… Alright.”

In the end, he had no choice but to accept.

“Ahem, then….”

Jaeho headed over to the group of Elves huddled together and talking among themselves.

“Just burning them wouldn’t even be all that painful.”

“Right. The Demon World itself is basically a boiling cauldron of lava anyway.”

“But just killing them outright would be too merciful. There’s got to be a reason we’ve captured them one by one like this.”

“Then what’s the best way to make them suffer?”

“They’re demons. Isn’t pain basically pleasure to them?”

“Hmm, what a headache.”

“…….”

The Elves’ conversation reached Jaeho’s ears.

“Scary…”

He began to understand why demons feared Elves so much.

And that prejudice against demons wasn’t something he alone had.

“Ahem, are you all busy?”

“Ah, Regent of Spirits.”

“Not at all. We’ve already caught all the demons who tried to escape.”

“Right. But there weren’t as many demons as I thought.”

“Yes. That made things easier for us.”

The Elves nodded in satisfaction.

“Anyway… Have you decided what to do with the demons now?”

“That’s our concern. How can we make sure the demons never try to invade the Middle Realm again…?”

[Thanks to the ‘Monarch of Demon Torture Techniques’ title effect, the Elves are impressed by your torture skills.]

The look in the Elves’ eyes toward Jaeho changed subtly.

“Would you be able to help us, Regent of Spirits?”

“Hm? Help with what?”

“Torture, of course!”

“…I don’t know how to do that, though?”

“Didn’t you just extract screams from a demon a moment ago?”

He had only touched them, and that was the result.

And the crucial fact was…

“Honestly, I think your very existence is horror itself to demons.”

“That can’t be! Demons are a race without fear!”

“Damn it! Trying to torture those guys is such a headache!”

Suddenly, Jaeho recalled his first meeting with Sikude.

“They definitely begged for their lives.”

But he confirmed: mere threats wouldn’t be enough to persuade them.

“In that case, why don’t you all leave this to me and head over to Alicia’s Flower Garden for now?”

Jaeho casually put out the bait.

“What do you mean by that?”

“We finally caught all the demons, and you’re telling us to just leave?!”

As expected, the Elves pushed back.

Their reaction was only natural.

But by now, after dealing with Elves so long, Jaeho had learned something.

Sometimes, you just had to brazen it out!

“I’m against sending the demons back to the Demon World.”

“?!!!”

“What do you mean by that?!”

The Elves erupted in outrage, but Jaeho didn’t stop.

“The Demon World is their home. If you want to make them suffer forever, wouldn’t it be worse if they could never return there?”

“What does that…?”

“Just now, I learned this through torture… You’re right. The more you torture a demon, the more pleasure they feel. In other words, no matter how much you torment them here, they return home at the peak of ecstasy.”

“?!!!!”

“If those guys, unable to forget that ecstasy, decide to come back here…?”

The expressions of the Elves darkened at Jaeho’s words.

[ <Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘What nonsense. The demons’ real goal is the Demon Invasion of the Middle Realm anyway.’]

But unlike the Spirit of Vitality’s objections, the Elves’ trust in the Regent of Spirits was absolute and unwavering.

“We… didn’t think that far.”

“Then why have they been hiding here until now?”

Faced with the Elves’ question, Jaeho paused for a moment.

“………In the end, the demons’ goal is to invade the Middle Realm anyway!”

[ <Spirit of Vitality> is ‘????’…]

“They were probably building a base here. If we send them back to the Demon World now, it might be good in that it destroys their base. But there’s a risk the effect could backfire in the way I mentioned earlier, and that’s what I’m worried about.”

Crunch—

The sound of teeth gnashing echoed chillingly loud.

“Those filthy demons…”

“They had such a scheme all along.”

“If not for Regent of Spirits, we would never have expected this!”

“Got them!”

Just how do Elves’ thought processes work, anyway?

Do they really believe anything the Regent of Spirits says?

Jaeho decided not to think too deeply about it.

Samantha, watching from the sidelines, as well.

“This guy… sure plays the game on easy mode.”

She just felt envious, once again.

***

“So, what should we do, then?”

“We’ll follow your advice, Regent of Spirits!”

Jaeho nodded at the Elves’ words.

“The plan is to imprison the demons here in Embay Forest. And give them the torment of never being able to return to their homeland, forever.”

“Elbo!”

“I’ll personally manage those demons.”

“Oooooh……”

[Thanks to maximum Elf favor, the Elves show overwhelming trust in your words.]

“Understood! Then we’ll follow the Regent of Spirits!”

Finally, Jaeho got the answer he wanted from the Elves.

“Good! That worked out easier than I thought…”

“If possible, may we observe the Regent of Spirits’ torture as well?”

“We wish to be taught!”

“Uh…?”

Jaeho was genuinely flustered by this unexpected development.

“Why do you want to watch something like that?”

“Demons are our mortal enemies! Now that it’s come to this, we want to learn torture techniques so we can deal with demons in the future!”

“Please teach us the technique that can torture even those who cannot be tortured!”

[<Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘Elves filled with venom are truly frightening.’]

‘No, Elves were terrifying from the very start!’

Jaeho could say so with confidence.

***

No matter what Jaeho said, the Elves, fired up with academic fervor, wouldn’t listen.

In the end, Jaeho ended up bringing along a gaggle of Elves as he approached the demons. Sikude’s face was full of suspicion as he watched Jaeho.

Why had the man who swore to keep his promise brought Elves with him?

“U-um, then I’ll now demonstrate how to torture a demon!”

“?!!!!”

Jaeho approached Sikude with his bare hands, no weapon.

“????”

Sikude’s eyes seemed to say,

‘What the hell is happening right now?’

Jaeho answered silently.

“Just trust me completely.”

[<Elbo Spiritization> was chosen as <Spirit of Vitality> .]

Woooo—

A blue light flowed from Jaeho.

He’d used Spiritification for the sake of this visual effect.

“Hup!”

And then he punched Sikude straight on.

Pak!

Sizzle—

“Gyaaaaaa!!!”

The effect was tremendous!

The Regent of Spirits’ inherent spirit energy, the Aroma Passive, and even the Holy Power radiated by the Spirit of Vitality were all concentrated in the blow—a demon’s worst nightmare!

Yet, since he’d hit him with his bare hand, it didn’t do all that much real damage. The Elves, watching, were amazed.

“As expected! He burns the demon’s whole body with Holy Power!”

“But he skillfully avoids the vital points! He knows exactly how to hit demons to make them suffer!”

“It’s a pity! We can’t use Holy Power ourselves… Is there anything that can create a similar effect?”

Even as the Elves discussed among themselves, Jaeho’s fists didn’t stop.

Thwack thwack thwack!!!!

“Hey, just bear with it for a little longer!”

Maybe his feelings got through?

Sikude grit his teeth and endured.

If he could just hold on through this—

He’d finally confess his long-delayed love to Rakula!!!

[You have defeated the Lower Demon reconnaissance soldier, .]

“……?!!!”

Fizz—

Sikude’s form turned to ash and vanished!

—Screeeeeech!!! I swear! I’ll definitely, definitely have my revenge!!!

With a final wail of bitter grudge, Sikude disappeared.

“……”

Dazed, Jaeho stared as notifications popped up one after another.

[You have Leveled Up.]

[The demons fall into extreme terror.]

[You have acquired the title <Devil of Demons>.]

[The demons feel respect toward you.]

“Huh? Respect, why?”

But he couldn’t stay flustered forever.

“C-cough… I got a bit too excited. Sorry. I just couldn’t help it when I remembered what these guys did to the Elves…”

“W-we understand, Regent of Spirits! We understand your feelings completely!”

Deceiving Elves was the easiest thing in the world for Jaeho.

“Now! You all saw that, right?! If you don’t want to end up like that guy, you’d better stay cooped up in the forest! Otherwise, you’ll get a taste of Holy Power spa treatment!”

“Hiiiiiik!!!”

The demons shrank in terror and bowed their heads to Jaeho.

[Your infamy increases, causing the demons’ respect to rise.]

[Your Fear Politics causes the demons’ respect to increase dramatically.]

[The Embay Forest demon tribe <22nd Reconnaissance Unit> follows you.]

“Wait, why!!!!”

Jaeho had thought he’d come to Embay Forest to find some kind of solution… But he’d never imagined it would turn out like this.

“Amazing! We learned so much from you!”

Meanwhile, the Elves cheered for Jaeho’s achievements.

[Your Reputation increases dramatically.]

“Ahem… Well, this much should be enough, right?”

Jaeho said nonchalantly to the Elves.

“Of course! If these guys ever try anything, we’ll ask for your help again!”

“Y-yeah.”

Thus, the demon problem was resolved.

Thanks to Sikude’s sacrifice.

***

The Elves were satisfied with Jaeho’s neat handling of the matter, and agreed to let the demons remain in this forest.

Of course, the demons would be subject to the Elves’ torment forever.

Afterwards, while the Elves dispersed briefly to purify the tainted forest, Jaeho glared at the demons.

“Which one of you was it?!”

Sikude was not someone Jaeho should have been able to defeat at his current level.

And he’d only used his bare hands, no less!

“Hiiiiiik!”

“Who beat Sikude nearly to death before he died?!”

“T-that’s…”

All the demons’ eyes focused on one spot.

On the demon who claimed to be Sikude’s older brother!

“I-I barely hit him! It’s his own fault for being so weak!”

“You barely hit him and he died? You’re not making any sense…”

—Alicia-nim.

Just then, Samantha, who had been dozing behind Jaeho, suddenly sent a telepathic message.

—I got some experience from it, too, but…

“…You’re right. It’s his fault if he died from just a few punches!”

Only then did Jaeho realize.

Back during their first meeting, he and Samantha had beaten Sikude up a lot more than he remembered.

“Yeah… He deserved it! That bastard deserved to be tortured in the Demon World forever!”

To see an older brother say his sibling deserved to die right after watching him get beaten to death—

Truly, that was just like a demon.