“I’ll tell you everything! Just give me an easy death!”
At Babub’s desperate cry, Gaon answered.
“Still, you should experience it once.”
The demon language was perfectly fluent.
If someone had only heard the voice without knowing Gaon’s identity, they would have assumed a demon noble was speaking.
Of course, the important point was not Gaon’s fluency.
“Experience?”
Babub asked back.
What exactly was he supposed to experience?
Before he could hear the answer.
Babub felt every muscle in his body begin to convulse.
It was not only the muscles.
His bones changed too.
It felt as if countless needles were stabbing into them.
Babub gritted his teeth against the unfamiliar pain.
He shouted frantically.
“I’ll tell you everything! Whatever you want… I’ll do it!”
He did not want to endure this agony any longer.
He wanted to escape it as quickly as possible.
“I’ll even make a soul pact!”
“……!”
At Babub’s next cry, Gaon could not help but be surprised.
A soul pact?
Gaon stopped the Bone-Crushing Agony for now.
Babub let out a sigh of relief.
Gaon asked.
“You’re willing to make a soul pact?”
He had paused the technique.
But honestly, he found it hard to believe.
A soul pact was exactly what the name implied—a vow upon the soul itself.
Breaking the conditions meant death.
And not an ordinary death, but one accompanied by unimaginable pain.
That was not all.
The moment the pact was formed, death became certain.
The time limit was five years.
In other words, making a soul pact was no different from agreeing to die in five years.
Of course, Gaon had no intention of letting him live that long.
He planned to extract everything he needed and then kill him.
Babub had to know that.
So Gaon suspected the offer was only a desperate attempt to escape the immediate situation.
If that was truly the case?
He would simply intensify the Bone-Crushing Agony beyond what he had used before.
“I’ll make the soul pact! Any condition you want!”
“If you’re thinking of pretending to form the pact and then killing yourself—”
“No! I know I’d be subdued before I could even try. I also know I’m going to die once you’ve taken everything anyway.”
“Then why go this far?”
“Because I can see I’m going to die anyway, and I don’t want to go in pain.”
Myrdaon’s Demon King castle.
“……”
Myrdaon let out a quiet sigh and muttered.
“I shouldn’t have split the rank.”
At some point he had gained enlightenment and obtained a certain “power.”
Through ancient texts, Myrdaon had learned that this power was called “rank.”
After obtaining rank, Myrdaon had experienced the overwhelming sensation of being able to defeat anyone.
And he had made a vow.
To rule the demon world, the heavenly realm, and the middle world.
To shorten the time it would take to dominate every world, he had split his rank and created several artifacts.
Honestly, he had believed splitting it would cause no problems.
He had separated only a very small portion, and even after doing so he was confident he could defeat any opponent.
But reality had brought a major issue.
A being who was presumed to have obtained “rank” had appeared in the middle world.
From what he had heard, that being seemed to possess far greater rank than Myrdaon himself.
So Myrdaon had urgently focused on strengthening his rank.
And he had reached one uncomfortable conclusion.
Under the current circumstances, it was impossible to increase his rank.
To grow the rank, he first had to fill the hole created by splitting it.
The problem was that filling the hole would take an enormous amount of time.
What should I do……
For now there would be no immediate problem.
However, obtaining rank greatly extended one’s lifespan.
In other words, the being who had gained rank in the middle world would have obtained an immense lifespan and would eventually clash with him.
It was then.
“Lord Myrdaon.”
One of Myrdaon’s few subordinates, Perkano, approached.
Perkano’s face showed clear agitation, unlike his usual composure.
Myrdaon knew something had happened.
And it was something quite serious.
“What is it?”
“Contact with Asfal has been lost.”
“What?”
Myrdaon frowned.
Asfal was the location of the rift connected to Tarun, the middle world’s largest stronghold.
He had been receiving regular reports just in case, yet contact had been severed?
“……Try contacting Babub.”
Myrdaon had given Babub a separate order.
By now Babub should have reached Asfal as well.
“That’s the thing……”
Perkano trailed off, his face troubled.
From Perkano’s reaction, Myrdaon realized Babub was also unreachable.
If Babub could not be contacted, something had happened in Asfal.
If that something was the “situation” Myrdaon had been worrying about?
That can’t be.
Myrdaon denied it.
For the being who had obtained rank to cross through such a tiny passage?
It was not impossible, but it would be insane.
The reason was that doing so would damage the rank.
In other words, even if someone had crossed, it could not be the rank-bearing being “Gaon.”
And if it was not him, there was no need to worry too much.
Myrdaon’s expression relaxed as he told Perkano.
“Keep trying to make contact. If there is still no response by tomorrow, tell Rekal to go to Asfal.”
“Anything else you’re curious about?”
Babub asked.
Gaon shook his head silently.
He had heard every story he wanted.
He had also heard many stories he had never expected.
There was nothing left to ask.
At Gaon’s reaction, Babub began watching his expression carefully.
And at Babub’s reaction, Gaon felt puzzled.
Babub had wanted an easy death.
Had he changed his mind?
Of course, even if he had changed his mind, Gaon had no intention of sparing him.
Still, to hear what he was thinking, Gaon said to Babub.
“Speak.”
Babub opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.
“Can I leave one message for Myrdaon?”
“……”
At the unexpected request, Gaon paused for a moment.
It was not that Babub wanted to live.
He had already accepted death.
He simply wanted to leave a final word.
Gaon nodded.
Babub immediately spat out a voice full of rage.
“You fucking bastard! You truly disgust me!”
“……”
At Babub’s furious words, Gaon could not say anything.
He simply stared at him.
Babub flinched and added.
“Ahem, that wasn’t for you. It was for Myrdaon.”
“Yes, I figured.”
“Is it over now?”
At Babub’s question, Gaon answered by drawing the Heavenly Demon Sword.
He intended to grant Babub a painless death with it.
Whoosh!
The unsealed Heavenly Demon Sword radiated rank.
Babub, who had looked puzzled when he first saw the sword, flinched at its rank.
He stared blankly at the Heavenly Demon Sword and muttered.
“I never stood a chance from the beginning.”
Hearing the mutter, Gaon swung the Heavenly Demon Sword upward in one smooth motion.
The sword pierced Babub’s body without a sound and came out the other side.
That was the end.
“Thank you.”
Babub expressed his gratitude.
His body slowly turned to dust and vanished.
In the spot where Babub had disappeared, only demon stones remained.
Just like with Dormanimonu, three stones were left.
And the demonic energy contained within them was the same as before.
Gaon collected the stones with a satisfied expression and thought.
If every Demon King leaves behind this much……
There were still more Demon Kings to deal with.
Quite a few.
If they all left stones of this quality?
Entering the 11th Circle would be possible, and he would even be able to break through the twelfth wall.
No—he would definitely be able to surpass it.
Gaon closed his pouch and turned his head toward the north.
For now, it’s best to go after the closest one, right?
He had learned the locations of every Demon King from Babub.
The closest Demon King, just as Frantisia had said during the earlier interrogation, was the Demon King of Lust, Rekal, in the north.
The Demon King of Lust, Rekal.
Rekal paced restlessly around his quarters.
Step!
He stopped walking and turned to look at the demon Bawoozan seated in the center.
Bawoozan had six eyes in total.
But only one was open.
The other five could not be opened even if he wanted to.
They had been completely destroyed beyond recovery.
There was a reason Bawoozan had lost those eyes.
The “Brnon” clan possessed prophetic abilities.
Bawoozan belonged to the Brnon clan.
Whenever they witnessed an important prophecy, the Brnon clan lost an “eye.”
In other words, Bawoozan had lost five eyes because of a prophecy.
And the reason Rekal was so restless was that very prophecy.
“Bawoozan!”
Rekal shouted.
“……Yes, my lord.”
Bawoozan answered with difficulty.
Rekal continued.
“The chance that prophecy is wrong is……”
But he closed his mouth before finishing.
He knew exactly how accurate Bawoozan’s prophecies were.
Bawoozan had never been wrong.
Thanks to that, Rekal had survived Myrdaon.
If not for Bawoozan’s prophecy?
He would have died at Myrdaon’s hands.
And at that time, the prophecy about Myrdaon had not cost him any eyes.
Yet this time the prophecy had been so powerful that five eyes had been sacrificed.
The chance that this prophecy was wrong?
It was close to zero.
The problem was that Bawoozan’s prophecy pointed to Rekal’s death.
What should I do?
Rekal began pacing again, his face full of anxiety as he fell into thought.
No matter how hard he thought, there was no way to avoid the prophecy.
It was then.
Boom! Boom! Crackle! Rumble……
Various loud explosions began to ring out.
Hearing the noises, Rekal could not help but freeze.
These explosions should not be happening.
He had ordered everyone within the Demon King castle territory to stay quiet and wait.
He had said he would tolerate no incidents whatsoever.
Don’t tell me……
Rekal swallowed hard and walked to the terrace.
He looked outside.
“Fuck.”
The moment he saw the scene beyond the terrace, Rekal cursed.
The giant statue he had poured his heart into creating was half-destroyed.
That was not all.
The area around the statue had been completely devastated.
The sight made curses rise naturally.
I have to tell everyone.
Rekal activated the omnidirectional communication magic he had prepared in case of an attack.
Most of the communication crystals installed everywhere began to glow.
A moment later, several more crystals lit up, and figures appeared in each one.
The beings who appeared in the crystals were all Demon Kings.
-What’s going on?
-Wait, you didn’t contact only me?
-Hah, you contacted all of us?
-What the hell is happening?
The Demon Kings poured out questions one after another.
Rekal swept his gaze over the Demon Kings in the crystals and said.
“It seems the human named Gaon has appeared here.”
-Gaon? Who’s that?
-The human who stopped the invasion?
-What? How did that human get here?
-What are you talking about?
At the Demon Kings’ reactions, Rekal gave no answer.
They would see for themselves soon enough.
It was better to prepare for what was about to happen than to waste time explaining.
Rekal condensed his demonic energy of lust and thought.
If you want to kill me, you’ll have to risk your life too.