Chapter 348. Meeting (5)
Prihi asked Eren why he was crying. Eren wiped away his tears and told her he wasn’t. Prihi smiled, but Eren couldn’t. Prihi looked at Eren’s sword tied to his waist. Eren slowly turned the sword behind his back.
Prihi asked, “Your name?”
Eren answered, “I’m Eren, a knight.”
“I see. I’ve heard of you.”
The princess nodded as if their meeting had been purely coincidental. In truth, rumors about a young knight named Eren had been circulating in the Royal Palace for some time. Even Romero, Prihi’s henchman, praised the young knight, saying, “If he had been born 10 years earlier, the fate of our kingdom would’ve changed.”
Prihi was greedy. She wanted a strong knight who matched her ambition.
“I heard your master is sick.”
Prihi asked. This time, Eren hesitated to answer.
“…”
Though he remained silent, young Eren couldn’t help but hope for a miracle. Puharen, who he had sworn allegiance to, had given up his master’s treatment. Puharen’s servant came in person and said, “We’re short of finances and time.”
Eren was disappointed but had no choice but to understand. Since his master understood, Eren had to, too.
Prihi asked again. “Is he sick or not? I haven’t heard the answer yet.”
“…He is sick.” Eren nodded.
Prihi opened the door of the room where Eren had just left. Eren followed the princess. Because Eren was big for his age and the princess was the opposite, she was much smaller than Eren.
“…”
Prihi looked at Eren’s master lying in his bed. She knew this knight, who had been reduced to nothing short of a skeleton.
‘Jinkens.’
A trivial knight whose limitations were clear from the start. He started at the bottom and remained there for all of his life. Still, she considered him useful, for he had brought a boy of great talent to the royal capital.
“I know him. Jinkens, a loyal servant.”
Prihi gazed kindly at Jinkens.
“I heard that he has served the royal family for nearly 20 years. I’m sure the former king would recognize him as well….”
As Prihi’s voice grew softer, Eren’s expectations deepened. Maybe Prihi would help his master.
‘If so, should I ask her for help, or should I wait for her to make the first move?’ Eren wondered.
It was then.
Suddenly, the princess turned her gaze to Eren.
“Young knight.”
“…Yes, your highness.”
Eren kneeled before the princess and lowered his head. Prihi could feel the anticipation and excitement rise from Eren. The sly princess hid her smile and spoke with a determined look.
“I shall help you.”
“…!”
At that moment, Eren’s heart burst with joy. The condition that followed—’But only if you pledge to serve me from now on’—was easily overlooked.
Eren looked up at Prihi under the pale moonlight. The young princess was shining in brilliant silver.
**
[Earth — Korea]
I sent Yoo Yeonha the coordinates for the Tower of Miracle. After a moment of silence, Yoo Yeonha switched to video call. The big screen that suddenly popped up was full of Yoo Yeonha’s face. I reduced the screen size in a hurry.
—Why here, all of a sudden? This is the Tower of Miracle, isn’t it?
Yoo Yeonha frowned, pointing at the coordinates I had just sent. It was clear that she hadn’t yet understood my intentions.
“Oh, Medea is with me, by the way.”
I adjusted the angle of the smartwatch to show Medea. Medea smiled calmly and waved, and Yoo Yeonha flinched.
—What the… why is Medea there…?
“She brought me an official letter from Crevon. You should read it first.”
I scanned the letter with my smartwatch and sent it to Yoo Yeonha. Yoo Yeonha, after reading the letter, opened her eyes wide even before I could start explaining. She was quick to understand, as always.
—…This.
“Yeah. You understand what’s going on, right?”
Tomer wrote in the letter, “Queen Araha conquered the 9th floor, proclaimed Crevon an empire and became the Empress. She wants to help you, but there is no energy left in the Tower that we can use for the descent. Does Earth have that kind of energy?”
And that kind of energy did exist on Earth.
—Are you thinking about using the Dimensional Entropy?
“That’s right.”
I snapped my fingers.
[Dimensional Entropy].
Even the name seemed to hasten its use.
“If we provide energy to the Tower with it, we could temporarily form a passage.”
—Mm… give me a moment.
Yoo Yeoha inside the screen began to think. Not in a normal way, obviously. Her eyes turned blue, and her hair stood on end as if they had become static. All this was due to Yoo Yeonha’s special skill that increased her ability to think logically.
About 3 minutes later.
—I don’t know if it’ll work because I don’t have enough information. I can’t calculate properly. …But I guess this is our only option. I’ll do it.
Yoo Yeonha nodded resolutely, and I threw a glance at Medea.
“Medea, please head back to Crevon and adjust the time.”
Before carrying out a summon of this size, our time must first align with that of Crevon. Crevon would also need some time to prepare an army.
“…Will it be alright?”
Medea asked, clearly doubtful.
I nodded.
“Yes, it’ll definitely work. But you have to hurry.”
We were still under the influence of my ‘Accumulation of Luck’.
Also, I still had some luck left for one last use.
“Okay, well, if you’re so sure.”
Medea quickly recited a spell. Ssssssss- After the recitation, which was so quick that I could have mistaken it for wind, Medea disappeared.
“Phew….”
I calmed myself down with a deep breath and turned my gaze to Spartan on my shoulder.
“Spartan.”
—Pururu.
Spartan read my thoughts and nodded before I could speak.
I smiled and said my orders aloud nonetheless.
“Let’s go to Yoo Yeonha.”
**
[Vassago’s Colosseum — Arena]
“…”
“…”
Cheok Jungyeong and Jin Seyeon stared at the woman in front of them.
There were at the throne room, a place just for Vassago, built at the highest point of the Colosseum. This was where the last challenger would have faced Vassago during their final duel.
Right now, however, Cheok Jungyeong and Jin Seyeon were looking at Vassago peacefully. They felt neither threatened nor scared, but only confused at Vassago’s appearance. Not only did Vassago seem weak, but she was also beautiful, a quality that did not necessarily matter to devils.
Her long blue hair danced like waves in the ocean, her nose and mouth were in harmony like the moon and the stars in the sky, and her eyes sparkled as if they contained all the light of the world.
“…Hmph.”
No words could properly describe such beauty. Feeling her confidence vanish, Jin Seyeon glanced at Cheok Jungyeong.
Cheok Jungyeong’s eyes were on Vassago. He clearly had no regard for manners or self-control. Jin Seyeon pinched Cheok Jungyeong, but her nails couldn’t do any damage to his body full of muscles.
“I liked it a lot.”
It was then that Vassago finally spoke.
“What did you like?”
Jin Seyeon asked carefully. Vassago gave a smirk and tapped on the throne twice. The chair was made by Black Lotus, which Cheok Jungyeong had dedicated(?) to Vassago.
“This chair. I liked it a lot.”
Vassago seemed truly satisfied. Jin Seyeon nodded, holding back a sigh of relief.
“…I’m glad to hear that.”
“Is it true that you own a lot of these things?”
“It’s true, Lord Vassago. So why don’t you negotiate with us? On Earth, there is an artisan who can make items that are much more valuable than that chair.”
Jin Seyeon’s voice was serious. But Vassago only shrugged.
“Why should I negotiate, when I can just kill you all and have the artisan to myself?”
Jin Seyeon had expected this objection. She countered immediately.
“Then the artisan would refuse to work for you.”
“That’s a fair argument. But what if I threaten to kill him? Isn’t death what you mortal beings are most afraid of?”
“Baal is trying to destroy the entire world anyway. The artisan knows that even if you don’t kill him, he’ll be murdered by Baal.”
“…Haha.”
Vassago smiled.
The relationship between Vassago and Baal wasn’t exactly hierarchical. Though Baal was ranked first, Vassago was ranked third and almost equally influential.
“Do not underestimate me. I can freely collect things I want, regardless of Baal.”
Vassago rose from the throne. At that moment Cheok Jungyeong scanned Vassago from head to toe. Her beauty was so extraterrestrial that no human could dare to judge it. “Ohhh-” Cheok Jungyeong admired out loud.
This upset Vassago and she sat back in her chair.
“But your strategy was good. I am indeed a devil with the desire to collect.”
Vassago pulled out an accessory. This time, it was a ring made not by Black Lotus but a different craftsman from another dimension.
Vassago stared at her ring, mesmerized by its beauty.
“Collecting beautiful things is a more important hobby than my life.”
“…Than your life?”
Jin Seyeon frowned. The fact that the devil had revealed her weakness so easily puzzled the Hero.
“Yes, it’s a high-end hobby among devils. Low-ranking devils think murder and destruction are the only forms of entertainment, but nobles like me are different. I don't necessarily enjoy destruction. That is unless you start to behave cocky and arrogant.”
At that moment Jin Seyeon’s face was distorted.
“Then, what about Baal? He’s-”
“Baal’s just like me in a sense. He has the desire to collect different worlds. But I’m different. My hobby is collecting beauty. So…”
Vassago stopped and looked down at Jin Seyeon and Cheok Jungyeong.
“I am willing to negotiate. But under one condition— you must offer me an accessory that I’ll not get sick of for at least 100 years and will fill me with joy just by looking at it.”
Vassago crossed her legs declaring so.
Soon came a moment of silence.
Jin Seyeon swallowed her saliva and Cheok Jungyeong yawned.
“…If you like the product we’ve given you, what are you going to do?”
Jin Seyeon asked, breaking the silence.
Vassago gave a small smile.
“This incarnation body probably has about 100 years left. During those 100 years, I will stay here without causing any harm to Earth.”
“Here… do you mean the Colosseum?”
“Yes. I'll wait for challengers here at the Colosseum for the next 100 years. I'll even offer challengers entertainment and rewards. My warehouse is crawling with valuable weapons, after all. And when this body dies, I'll go back to the transcendental realm without hesitation.”
The proposal was too good to be true. It was perhaps the best they could obtain through negotiation. Jin Seyeon looked at Cheok Jungyeong. Their eyes met.
Slowly, Jin Seyeon nodded her head.
“…We accept.”
“Good. Then I’ll give you three days. I’ll not cooperate with Baal in the meantime.”
“Pardon? Three, three days are too short!”
Three days. Jin Seyeon was appalled by the pressing deadline. But Vassago was adamant. It was then that Cheok Jungyeong came forward.
“By the way, Devil.”
“…Devil?”
As Vassago frowned at his insolent remark, Cheok Jungyeong gave a wide grin.
“Our duel is still happening, right?”
Cheok Jungyeong had no intention of giving up his duel with Vassago. His determination to fight was expressed outwardly in the form of sparks of magic power that surrounded Cheok Jungyeong’s body.
“Huh….”
Vassago stared blankly at Cheok Jungyeong. However, she soon replaced her dumbfounded expression with a gentle smile. It meant ‘Yes’.
**
[Russia — Vladivostok]
Devil Vual looked at his army. It was made up of soldiers who had served him since he was in the Demon Realm. His mighty army should have been able to wipe out the group of weaklings without breaking a sweat.
Yet….
“…”
The devil couldn't understand what was happening. He couldn't believe the scene unfolding before his eyes. The devil stared ahead, dazed, trapped at the boundary between reality and illusion.
Kwaaaaa—!
The beam of magic power spewing out from the palms of the enemy swept the battlefield. Every demon in its trajectory was burned alive.
As a counterattack, Vual’s army poured demonic energy at the enemy. A huge ball of demonic energy flew towards him, shaking both heaven and earth. But the enemy swiftly absorbed the ball of energy into his body and returned it to the demons with even greater strength.
Chwaaaa…!
He fired a blast of Ki from his hand. The soldiers swept away by the blast were scattered in droves of ash.
Only about five minutes after the battle began, a third of Vual’s army had already been wiped out. The enemy kept releasing an enormous amount of magic power, but he didn’t seem to grow tired at all. He was overpowering the entire army by himself.
Still, the devil couldn’t admit to the reality of the situation. He refused to admit. How could such a lowly being defeat his army…?
“…You—!”
At last Vual shouted, unable to bear any more humiliation. His voice shook the earth. The devil’s wrath stopped all movement on the battlefield, and Orden turned his gaze to Vual.
“Who are you?!” Vual asked.
His eyes were bloodshot and his body was shaking with rage. He was a transcendent devil but also a poor soul more easily angered than mere humans.
Orden pitied the devil.
“I said, who are you—!?”
The devil’s cry tore the atmosphere apart.
Orden answered nonchalantly, “I don’t remember allowing you to ask questions.”
“W-what? How dare you speak that way, you hybrid-”
Vual could not accept this nonsense. He no longer could endure his enemy’s insolence. Extreme rage began to overtake him.
"But devil, I have a question for you.”
But Orden continued, thoroughly ignoring Vual's apparent anger.
"You introduced yourself as a devil. Then I'm sure you've lived for a long time."
A devil lives for hundreds and thousands of years.
Then, during those long years, had the devil seen anything similar to him?
"Have you ever seen anything like me?"
Orden wondered about that.
But the devil seemed unwilling to answer. In his defense, he was in no state to think or reason. Vual’s nickname was 'The Devil of Wrath'. He had already been consumed with rage.
“…Groak, pril, ashack—!”
Vual, unable to contain his anger, made a strange sound and released his demonic energy at Orden.
A massive wave of demonic energy split the earth in half. It flew like a dragon towards Orden, and Orden countered it with his fist.