“······What are you doing?”
A whoosh of red eye light flashed in the darkness.
Mi Jeong, who had been lying down, abruptly sat up and stared at me.
Her emotionless voice felt as if it carried no hint of any feeling.
It was a bit creepy.
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt like I was being scolded.
“Did you sleep well?”
“······No.”
Is this the second time Mi Jeong fell asleep?
Ever since getting caught in the trap of the Centipede Nun… I mean, Seo Gong, it was the first time.
Other than that, she had never closed her eyes even once.
Having the experience of finally falling asleep seemed to have left Mi Jeong feeling quite unpleasant; she frowned.
It’s extremely rare for Mi Jeong to show her emotions like that.
She must have had a bad dream or something.
“······What happened?”
“I got caught in a curse from Transylvania. I got smacked on the forehead and fainted instantly.”
“······I see.”
Mi Jeong nodded as if she understood.
The truth is, she was hit by her own club due to reflecting my power.
I decided to give Mi Jeong a little boost to her pride.
“······More importantly, what are you doing now?”
“I’m gonna sleep now. Since I’m awake, keep watch for me.”
“······.”
Well, that’s good.
I think I can finally sleep easy.
I loosened up completely and hugged the nameless one while closing my eyes.
But I felt a heavy gaze on me.
I knew Mi Jeong always stared at me while I sleep, but this felt way more pressuring, so I opened my eyes…
“Whoa.”
“······.”
Mi Jeong was upside down right in front of my face, her eyes meeting mine.
Startled, I flinched and trembled.
This made the nameless one go whooo and snuggle deeper into my arms.
“What’s up with you? Why are you like this?”
“······Today, I’m not going to hug you while sleeping?”
“Yeah. It’s cold.”
“······I’ll warm you up.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Mi Jeong was spouting some cryptic nonsense.
Well, I have hugged her to sleep a lot up until now.
When it’s hot in the summer, she feels like a cooling pack.
But there won’t be a chance for that anymore.
Summer is winding down, and autumn is making the southern continent cooler.
Hugging Mi Jeong in this weather means I must be crazy to be freezing to death.
Unless I want to die and become a corpse, hugging Mi Jeong is a no-go.
“······You can warm me up with flame magic.”
“But it’ll just cool down again quickly.”
“······Just keep warming it up.”
“If you do that, your body will rot away.”
“······.”
Mi Jeong fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words.
She must have realized there weren’t any options.
Actually, there is a way.
Waiting until next summer.
But it seems Mi Jeong doesn’t have that level of patience, as she smoothly approached from behind and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“What’s up? You’ve never come to me first before.”
“······Just.”
Burying her face in my back, Mi Jeong replied gruffly in a murmur.
She would run away saying she didn’t want any when I sought her, but now that I’ve said I don’t need her, she approaches on her own.
She’s like a cat.
A very, no, overly versatile cat.
“······I like being warm now.”
“Oh really?”
Slide.
Mi Jeong whispered while rubbing her cheek against my back.
As I did this, I suddenly felt how much time has passed.
When I first met Mi Jeong, she seemed devoid of any emotions.
When she spoke, it was only short replies.
If it wasn’t something I asked or something necessary for living, she wouldn’t even open her mouth.
Her emotional expression was nearly non-existent.
I even suspected that the part responsible for emotions had flown away.
But as time went on, I seemed to start understanding Mi Jeong a little.
She hadn’t lost her emotions; she had merely hidden them away.
Probably due to some past wounds.
I never asked about those scars.
And Mi Jeong never mentioned them herself.
I don’t intend to bring it up in the future either.
Unless a fitting opportunity arises, I think Mi Jeong won’t bring it up herself.
Whether I know or don’t know, it doesn’t matter.
We can still embrace each other’s wounds without necessarily knowing them.
Thus, Mi Jeong’s emotions slowly began to revive.
These days, she expresses emotions not only verbally but also with her once-stoic face.
It’s like huge progress.
Her heart may be dead.
But Mi Jeong’s spirit is still alive.
Her body may be cold.
But Mi Jeong’s heart is still warm.
I know that much.
Even if everyone thinks Mi Jeong is a monster or a blood ghoul.
I alone know that Mi Jeong is a person.
“Mi Jeong.”
“······Yes.”
I smiled lightly.
I took Mi Jeong’s hand that wrapped around my waist.
The cold touch transferred to my hand.
I shivered involuntarily due to the cold contact.
Holding that small hand, I said.
“Keep watch for me, idiot.”
“······Ugh.”
I pushed her away.
It’s cold.
I’m just going to hug the warm nameless one and sleep.
I felt a sharp gaze piercing me from behind.
*
On the night beach where waves were crashing.
Bubbles began to form on the surface slowly.
At some moment, black smoke started rising, lifting the bubbles away.
The seagulls perched on the beach suddenly fled in fright.
The crabs scurried away and buried themselves in the sand.
The seaweed blackened and burned to death.
|The supreme being who even rejects judgment from the Underworld. I, the Great Demon…|
In the pitch dark beach where the clouds obscured the moonlight.
An even deeper darkness began to spread.
From within the smoke, a horned figure appeared along with a chilling voice.
|Belphegor shall manifest in the current world!|
The mere appearance of the Great Demon Belphegor turned the beach into ruins.
The Great Demon’s eyes, holding nothing but profound darkness, widened as his mouth began to split into a sinister smile.
In his right hand, he held a blue heart.
That heart, still beating vigorously, was caressed lovingly by the Great Demon.
|Surely, heaven helps those who help themselves!|
Until now, he had been too scattered, unable to focus on one place.
He had reinforced monsters in the unique dungeon beneath the World Tree for Kali, only to see them wiped out in an instant.
Luna, in a frenzy trying to resurrect Kali, was causing chaos, and when I helped her find corpses as offerings, urgent reports were coming in about issues in Cologne.
That meant there was a high chance that recruiting Sola would also be disrupted.
Once again, he was headed toward Cologne to handle the mess.
In the end, the Great Demon decided that helping others was of no use.
He began to strengthen his own being.
And the result was this.
The heart of the Sea Dragon.
|Behold! If one helps themselves, even heaven that curses them may grant them such a treasure!|
Originally, he planned to retrieve the Sea Dragon’s heart later.
It sounded like such a bothersome and troublesome task.
But how could he trust the other Four Heavenly Kings, who were falling one by one?
The Great Demon stopped supporting them and focused all his power to control the magic implanted in the Sea Dragon.
The takeover was fast.
In just a month, the Great Demon seized the Sea Dragon’s body, turned its palace into ruins, and made the Sea Dragon commit suicide, thus acquiring the heart.
Without hesitation, the Great Demon began to devour the Sea Dragon’s heart.
Even amid everything, the heart kept beating and sprayed blood everywhere.
The black figure became drenched in red blood.
Feeling the power surging through him, the Great Demon felt.
|This is the power of the Sea Dragon…!|
It was Belphegor’s unique trait, ‘Devouring.’
A trait that siphons power from the hearts of others.
With this, the Great Demon not only became more than twice as powerful through simple calculations but also gained the ability to fight underwater.
While Belphegor was gleefully laughing like a madman…
|Ha ha ha…! Huh?|
The black smoke started to swirl, sending out a strange signal.
At that, Belphegor’s mouth closed again.
Magic crossing dimensions.
There was only one entity that could attempt contact through this.
|Why…|
It had been nearly 100 years since there had been any communication.
Even during the exchange of Four Heavenly Kings, there was no word from him.
So why, at this moment, does he initiate contact out of the blue?
As he racked his brain for the answer, the Great Demon couldn’t easily come up with one.
He felt a vague sense of unease.
But even figuring out the reason wouldn’t change anything.
He had no choice but to respond to the call.
With a deep sigh, the Great Demon gathered black smoke at his fingertips.
A pitch-black abyss formed inside it.
As Belphegor stepped forward, his body was drawn into it.
|Guh…|
A sense of oppression that felt like he was being crushed all over.
In a moment, a headache surged that felt like it could split his skull.
The Great Demon quickly kneeled.
He rapidly multiplied his consciousness hundreds or thousands of times to distribute the pain.
There was no way to endure this place otherwise.
If an ordinary human entered, their body would surely explode immediately.
Even an exceptional human or elf would go mad in no time.
Even Transylvania went into convulsions after facing ‘Him’ just once after coming here.
Only the Great Demon could traverse this place with his sanity intact.
No, the moment he locked eyes with ‘Him’, even the Great Demon couldn’t remain sane here.
The Otherworld.
|Have you called for me?|
Cautiously asked the Great Demon.
Yet, there was no response for a long time.
This was a being whose language did not communicate.
Instead, they communicated through ‘will.’
What I want, and what you want.
‘He’ was only interested in these two things.
As long as their wills aligned, that was enough.
Until now, there had been no specific instructions.
The Great Demon and the other Four Heavenly Kings only acted in accordance with ‘His’ will.
What could be the reason for ‘His’ sudden summoning this time…?
The Great Demon felt beads of sweat trickling down as he sensed his distributed consciousness fading one by one.
Even the Great Demon couldn’t endure for long in this place.
|What is the reason for…|
|Bredughrhzgsfgelkshcehfhg…?|
|Aaaah!!!!|
In an instant, all the Great Demon’s consciousness burst out.
The ‘existence’ looking at him was clearly hostile towards him.
Barely gathering magic at his fingertips, the Great Demon was on the verge of becoming a husk, but he managed to escape the Otherworld back into the current world at the last moment.
|Huff… Huff…|
Once he integrated his consciousness back into one, the Great Demon immediately began the task of erasing the memories of the Otherworld.
He had to forget.
Forgetting was the key to survival.
It would be instantaneous for him to go mad the moment he tried to recall it.
The Great Demon successfully wiped his memories, retaining only the necessary information.
He forgot the voice of ‘Him,’ the scenery of the Otherworld, everything.
He could only remember one thing.
‘He’ was angry.
Why, he did not know.
Although he couldn’t communicate through speech, it was clear that he was raging.
|Huh…?|
And the Great Demon sensed a strange change occurring in his body.
This change was not limited to the Great Demon alone.
It applied to all monsters.
At that change, the Great Demon’s body shuddered.
He felt ‘His’ powers withdrawing.
|What the hell is this…!|
The Great Demon quickly realized what ‘He’ intended.
Just as the Great Demon had betrayed the other Four Heavenly Kings due to his lack of trust…
‘He’ was also withdrawing power and intending to move directly.
