‘I’m dying! I’m dying! I’m dying! I’m dying! I’m dying! I’m dying!’
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The bells were ringing incessantly in the mind of the Great Demon.
Pinned down to the floor by Yerina’s powerful grip, the Great Demon was unable to flinch even once.
Even if it spewed demonic energy, it was utterly useless.
Whenever it attempted to cast spells or curses, Yerina scorched its eyes with murderous intent.
The moment it showed any sign of attack, its neck would be severed right away.
With that premonition, the Great Demon had no choice but to stay still, bound.
Damn it, Luna!
Meanwhile, the inside of the dungeon, where the undead army had vanished, was quiet as a mouse.
Losing just a few undead to that bright flash, it had turned on them so coldly.
For a moment, it raised the question of whether there was any sense of camaraderie.
Thinking that under the same circumstances, it too would have ruthlessly abandoned its ally, it felt a little, just a tad, understandable.
Grawr! Come back to help me, Luna! Otherwise, I’ll spill all the secrets!!!
“Give it up. They’ve already given up on you. They probably think the information you have is worth less than a rat’s tail.”
Th-That can’t be true!
Thinking about it, Luna always moved gloomily and covertly.
What if, assuming the betrayal of the Four Heavenly Kings, he had intentionally withheld information all by himself?
If that were the case, then it somewhat explained why Luna wasn’t rushing out, even after screaming about betrayal.
You bastard!
“Ugh, so noisy! Shut up before I rip out your vocal cords!”
Hmph…
“We’re retreating. I’ll slowly pull back while holding on to the Great Demon, Murderer.”
“Got it.”
Holding the Great Demon captive, Yerina and Transylvania slowly retreated towards the dungeon entrance.
Soon, the two of them completely exited the dungeon.
With the stone door closing, the inside of the dungeon filled once again with utter darkness.
The Great Demon, dragged outside, was confronted with an unexpected face.
Priestess?!
“Phew. I was only able to manage two shots. I’m glad you retreated after just two.”
“If two shots are your limit, it won’t be easy to operate it deep within the dungeon. The enemy still doesn’t know the limits of the flash magic, so we’ll have to use that to our advantage…”
…?!
The Priestess, Jill Diner.
The Great Demon’s head swiveled back and forth between her, the Frost Duchess, and Transylvania as they exchanged questions.
It found it hard to keep up with the flow of the conversation.
Wasn’t that flash just one time, ending at two?
If so, shouldn’t the undead army not have had to retreat?
Luna! That last flash was—
“This isn’t good.”
Ugh?!
The Great Demon attempted to raise its voice immediately to inform them.
But as Yerina’s hand exploded into action, she grasped its neck, tearing it apart before it could finish speaking.
Gush! Gush! Gush! Demonic energy spurted out uncontrollably instead of blood.
As the Great Demon weakened in real-time, it had to exert all its energy to staunch the bleeding from the wound at its neck.
Of course, the Great Demon’s anatomy wasn’t like a human’s—ripped out, it shouldn’t be unable to produce sound.
Yet, the Great Demon had already lost the courage to make a loud sound, paralyzed with fear.
“Hmm. Kid, we don’t have much time, you know? So how about we have a cozy little chat from now on?”
D-Don’t come any closer!
“If you cooperate, there’s no need to get hurt, so don’t worry.”
That was a lie.
Even if the Great Demon willingly spilled everything, Yerina was thinking of cutting off one or two of its limbs.
It was more convenient to instill fear than to outright attack.
As the Great Demon succumbed to fear, and while Yerina was slowly approaching and reaching out…
Suddenly, Yerina’s ears and the fur of her tail stood on end.
“…What’s that?”
Whatever it was, her animal instincts were signaling something was off.
In the distance, a flock of birds was crying out as they flew away.
Rustle, rustle, rustle, ants crawled from the ground, fleeing in a line toward somewhere.
“Everyone, get down—”
Just as Yerina was urgently shouting…
Click!
The world went dark.
Before her eyes, only a pitch-black void unfolded.
Whether her eyes were closed or open, there was no change in sight.
No matter how much she opened her mouth and screamed, no sounds emerged.
In a phenomenon that seemed to have swallowed all light from the world, everyone in Elvenguard became paralyzed in confusion.
‘No idea what’s going on, but hey, at least I’m grateful!’
Taking advantage of the moment, the Great Demon quickly loosened its bindings.
It seemed that humans couldn’t see or make sounds through this darkness, but the Great Demon was different.
The essence of darkness settling here wasn’t just ordinary—it was demonic energy.
Thickly enveloping the underworld, the Great Demon could secure its sight and hear sounds within it.
Feeling a comforting sense of being home, just as it was about to take revenge on the Frost Duchess and the Murderer…
Ah…?!
The Great Demon froze.
This overwhelming amount of demonic energy.
Realizing what it was, the Great Demon’s black pupils trembled.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
The cries of creatures echoed from all directions.
Only then did the Great Demon realize.
This wasn’t just simple demonic energy.
The massed souls of the underworld were so plentiful they appeared as thick darkness.
This…
It wasn’t that a vast amount of demonic energy had poured into the current world.
It’s the Underworld…!
The Underworld itself.
The God of the Underworld, the King of Hell, had approached the current world, and his physical form enveloped the realm.
The moment it realized that, the Great Demon felt its body collapse from sheer powerlessness.
It was bearable when it didn’t know, but upon recognition, a wave of pressure swept over it.
The pressure was incomparable to when it confronted ‘that one’.
While ordinary humans were flustered, their eyes covered by the King of Hell’s decree, the Great Demon, piercing through the darkness, slowly began to go insane upon meeting the legions that had engulfed the real world.
No, no!
The Great Demon hurriedly gathered all its demonic energy, trying to break through dimensions.
Anywhere would do.
As long as it could escape the current world!
It would take a long time to return after consuming so much demonic energy, but that mattered not to the Great Demon.
It simply needed to flee.
Eeek!!!
At that moment, a massive claw shot toward the Great Demon.
The claw formed of creatures converging together screamed as it approached the Great Demon.
With no strength left and rendered virtually harmless, the Great Demon hurled itself into another dimension.
Did one already escape?
The breach closed in an instant, leaving the claw of creatures clawing at the empty air.
From the darkness, the King’s voice echoed with a hint of longing.
Speak your names. As long as the attraction you created allows, I shall capture them and certainly pass my judgment. However, if you are not worthy of condemnation, you shall not escape calamity.
“Luna! Necromancer Luna! And Kali! Great Druid Kali!”
The names of the current world are always so unfamiliar. But it will suffice. If there are no duplicates, I can find them quickly… Hmm. How curious, one seems to have come here like a rat…
“…?!”
The voice of the God of the Underworld turned icy.
It was then that I felt a sensation from within my clothing.
A shiver like bugs crawling over my skin.
No… it’s actually something crawling.
…
When I reached in and pulled out whatever it was, a baby spider clung to my fingertip.
At first glance, I thought it was a nameless creature.
Yet the glimmer in its eye and its trembling form unmistakably indicated it was Kali.
Throwing it to the ground, it transformed into the small figure of a girl in an instant.
With her golden hair scattered, the girl looked up at me, trembling.
“I apologize. I didn’t realize I was hidden beside you.”
“Mi- Mi Jeong? What’s going on? Huh? What’s happening…?”
“What’s happening? I’m trying to free you from your spiritual imprisonment.”
“…!”
Kali. Great Druid Kali. Indeed, this is a soul with such a history.
“AAAH!”
Just then, as if drawn by a focal point, Kali clutched her head in agony.
It was a scene that was painfully hard to watch.
Yet, thinking of what lay within her, all sympathy evaporated.
Great Druid Kali. Tell me every single thing about your sins.
“Wh-what?!”
Great Druid Kali. Tell me every single thing about your sins.
“What’s happening?! Explain something!”
Great Druid Kali. Tell me every single thing about your sins.
“Ugh…”
With every repetition, the voice of the God of the Underworld warped oddly.
Only then did Kali freeze, as if finally grasping the situation.
Overwhelmed, she merely gazed up at the darkness.
“What sin? I have no sin! I lost my memory—”
“Lying before the God of the Underworld? You’ve become quite brave, Kali.”
“Mi Jeong? What do you mean? That’s not true! You confirmed it too! I lost my memory!”
“Sure, you did lose some. But not everything, right? Excluding your most recent memories, don’t you remember every single thing you did? Am I wrong?”
“…!”
Snap!
The crystal ball in my hand shattered into pieces.
I was about to awaken Kali’s memories with the video contained within, but it was now unnecessary.
Kali had been lying from the very start.
She hadn’t lost all her memories.
At least, she remembered all the atrocities she committed.
For some reason, she chose to keep that a secret from me.
Perhaps she sensed that if it was discovered, she’d be in deep trouble.
In any case, this made things easier.
“Memory is history, Kali. Within that body lies your history. And your history proves your wicked deeds. Instead of making excuses, you better start finding ways to lessen your sentence.”
“What?! How could what I did be wicked?!”
In an instant, it was hard to contain my frown.
Steeling myself to face the darkness, I raised my head and locked eyes with Kali.
Kali flinched slightly, startled.
“You unleashed blood ghouls and killed innocent people.”
On that day, Mi Jeong encountered Kali.
Because Mi Jeong plucked a single flower, Kali unleashed blood ghouls upon the village.
All residents, save Mi Jeong, met their end at the hands of holy knights.
“You tried to seize the World Tree and spread plagues across the continent.”
What they thought was an unavoidable event, the plague of death.
That too was Kali’s doing.
She aimed to wield the most devastating weapon that would indiscriminately kill everyone across the continent.
“Moreover, you committed senseless killings and deceptions without any justification or retaliation. Isn’t that wickedness?!”
“Yes! Nature is a world governed by the survival of the fittest! It’s only natural for the strong to consume the weak! The strong become nutrients for the weak to be born, and the weak in turn get eaten by the strong. This cycle is nature! How can what I did be wicked?! Instead, aren’t you, humans, the evil ones who disrupt that cycle?!”
“What…?!”
I was flabbergasted by her ridiculous claims.
Kali, now defiant and unrepentant, was speaking as if she believed in what she was saying.
I was beyond shocked.
“What drives human civilization? Desire! Desire is what drives humans! It’s all about satisfying desires and gaining perverse pleasure! But I sacrificed my body for my conviction! And I will not stop until I kill all humans and lead the natural world back to the ‘right path!’”
“…”
Lost for words.
I never thought someone in this world could think like that.
Shock rendered my lips nearly immovable.
Oh, how interesting. You have quite an argument there. Certainly, you have a point.
“Right, King?! My claims are valid, aren’t they? If there are any wicked deeds, it’s this one here! This one lied about being one of the Four Heavenly Kings and that I was his lover!”
“…”
That, too, is wickedness.
“Haha! I knew you’d say that! Did you see, Mi Jeong? No. Is Mi Jeong even your real name? Whatever! Your morality holds no weight here! Do you think the God of the Underworld subscribes to human morals? Not at all! The King has a perspective on morality that sees it as nature’s cycle! Unlike your flimsy and hypocritical human morals!”
As her bravado rose, she began to poke at my heart.
It filled me with dread, causing me to tremble.
My head instinctively lowered as I stared at the ground.
‘This crazy girl doesn’t seem to realize the gravity of the situation!’
It wasn’t that I feared Kali.
I could sense something had subtly shifted with the God of the Underworld.
Yet Kali seemed oblivious, her shoulders still stiff with bravado.
With an audacious flip, Kali turned.
As she gazed into the darkness, she shouted.
“Then punish this bastard, King!”
No. That is not my task.
“What?! What do you mean…?”
Have you ever heard of the God of the Underworld intervening in disputes between parents and children? Have you heard of the God judging the feud between friends? I only concern myself with those who have committed serious sins.
“Y-You can’t mean me, right? I’m just doing what’s natural as part of nature…”
Indeed. You functioned brilliantly as a part of nature.
“Right? Exactly… yes…?”
Finally sensing something off, Kali’s face turned strange.
Her color drained bit by bit, as if she sensed her fate approaching.
It seems you are even happier functioning as a part of nature rather than as a civilized being with intellect. Thus, I shall bestow my grace upon you. In the Underworld, you shall frolic freely as an animal, enjoying the flames of hell.
“AH…?!”
You don’t like being an animal? Then I could send you as a plant, forced to grow while bladed winds relentlessly slice through you. You needn’t give thanks for this either.
“AAAH! No! No! That’s not what I—AH! No! I was wrong! I will admit my sins! I apologize!”
She caught on far too late.
Finally realizing the gravity of her situation, Kali quickly threw herself down, rubbing her palms as she sobbed.
“I will repent! Thanks to my shallow beliefs, I’ve killed too many! Please, show mercy and let me atone for my sins…”
Worry not. Nothing serious will happen. First, we’ll start with you experiencing the pain of all the innocent people you have harmed. Hmm…? Oh dear. It seems it might take thousands of years just to get back to the start of it all.
“AAAHHHHHH! No way!”
Hahahahahaha! And I said you didn’t need to thank me!
With a chilling laugh, darkness swirled around us.
At that moment, a nameless being seized control of its body, changing its terrified eyes into a bored, lazy expression.
Then the nameless one drew out a crimson spirit from deep within its chest, molding it into a round Mana Stone in his hand.
Finally complete, the Mana Stone, Kali’s dead soul.
In an instant, it was covered in dark abyss, then immediately freed from the nameless one’s hand, sucked deep into the darkness.
Kali was pulled into the Underworld.
I could only watch the scene unfold, my mouth agape and trembling in horror.
