Great Judge of the Underworld.
The moment I heard that name.
I felt my whole body being heavily pressed down.
No.
Rather than being pressed down…
It would be more accurate to say that the Demon World is pulling me in.
“What exactly have you done to me?!”
|As for the Underworld, it is known in the current world as a form of mythology. Just as you understand it.|
I know.
I’ve heard of it.
The mythology about the Underworld comes up so often in game stories that it sometimes feels random.
Great Judge of the Underworld.
That is the title of the role that assists the God of Underworld and helps judge the spirits.
Since it’s a position, it can clearly be passed on to someone else.
But why to me…?
“Why to me—”
|A qualified candidate appeared, and it was simply passed on to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re human or demon. Isn’t it natural for a being familiar with death to deserve the position of Great Judge of the Underworld? Had there been no qualification, it would have been impossible to appoint you. Congratulations. It seems the King of Hell believes you possess character suitable for judging others.|
That’s nonsense.
Me, possessing the character to judge others?
There are so many things I want to argue about right now.
What matters now is not that.
What’s urgent is the pressure weighing down on me.
To put it more precisely, the attraction of the Demon World pulling me in.
The position of Great Judge of the Underworld granted to me is exerting immense power to bind me to the Demon World!
|In any case, I hope for your cooperation. The position of Great Judge of the Underworld does not only come with responsibility. If you wish, you could also acquire enormous wealth and power—|
“Don’t make me laugh! Who would take on something like this? Take it back, Satan!”
|I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. It will never happen until you give up your desire to return to the current world.|
“······!”
Satan spoke with a sinister smile.
At that moment, goosebumps crawled all over my body.
I had a feeling Satan didn’t want me to return to the current world.
I never imagined he would go so far as to hold me back by force.
“I’m going back! So give back the position of Great Judge of the Underworld!”
|Hahaha. Go on, try to give it back. That position can only be passed to a more qualified individual. However, I cannot guarantee that a person more qualified than you will appear within the next ten thousand years.|
“······!”
It’s true.
No matter how much I try to appoint Satan back to the position of Great Judge of the Underworld, the force binding me does not show any signs of letting go.
It simply does not seem to want to leave me.
“You bastard…!”
|Hahahahahaha!|
I couldn’t contain my rage and charged at Satan like a flash.
When I stood still, the title of Great Judge of the Underworld was heavy and oppressive, but just for that moment, it accelerated me to an incredible speed.
Before Satan could react, I grabbed his neck.
|I could help you step down from the position of Great Judge. There’s an important ceremony to be conducted, and if you carry out that task, I will find a more suitable individual to take your place.|
“Can’t I just torture you right here until you bring out that qualified individual?”
|I think there’s a misunderstanding. The qualified candidate is already within the Demon World but is not being revealed. At least within this Demon World, there is no one beyond you, a being familiar with death. What we are about to perform is… Hmm. I can’t openly disclose this.|
Satan touched my wrist, gripping his neck.
He began to pour a small amount of demonic energy and ‘will’ into my body.
I shuddered at that ‘will’.
|It’s a ceremony to separate the Demon World from the Underworld, making it an independent world. Through this, I intend to wander through the dimensional rift and find another being in a different world to replace you.|
“······!”
To separate the Demon World from the Underworld?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Did Satan read my expression? He continued with the ‘will’ right away.
|To human eyes, this may seem like a foolish choice. Humans will never understand! The terrifying curse of living inside the Underworld while exposed to its gaze! You must know it well from living in the current world, right? A lawless world filled with distrust and countless violences! The love, trust, and harmony that bloom within it are indeed beautiful and valuable!|
“······.”
|But how about the Demon World? Demons already live in contact with the afterlife and live in fear of judgment! Deception and violence cannot even be dreamt of! Those who think this place is a more peaceful and beautiful world couldn’t be more mistaken. This is a horrifying and deceitful world. A world without freedom! A world where life is no different from being dead, even while alive! This is why the Great One wants to separate the Demon World from the Underworld. Future demons will escape the gaze of the Underworld, forgetting it, and remember it only as myths passed down in legends! They will become a world just as free and unrestrained as the current world!|
“······.”
I felt it too.
I have thought more than once that the Demon World is somewhat bizarre.
The lifestyle, communication methods, and even thought processes of humans and demons are entirely different.
But through deep conversations, I have felt that the essence is not vastly different.
Yet occasionally, I felt something awkward from the demons.
A world where crime, distrust, and sin do not exist.
It feels almost like paradise.
However, once you dig deeper, you find there’s no real trust or harmony within.
That had become ordinary for the demons.
It was no longer precious or valuable.
Satan feels this world is unnatural.
He even finds the sin-ridden current world more natural.
And what’s frustrating is that my thoughts align with Satan’s.
|Please, just help me. I am asking you like this.|
“The way you’re asking for help is all wrong…”
But this isn’t how it should be.
There’s no way you should forcibly bind me to the Demon World, no matter how desperate you are.
As the demonic energy gathered into my hand, its power grew stronger.
With the addition of the Great Judge’s power, the strength was more than enough to crush Satan’s neck.
Yet Satan looked at me with a relieved expression as if he didn’t care if he died.
|The execution of the ceremony requires the sacrifice of the seals of all Great Demons.|
“If I kill you, won’t it all be for nothing?”
|I don’t care. If that would relieve my anger, then do it. If one Great Demon dies, the seat will be vacant and another demon can take that seat of the Great Demon, so there won’t be any issues with the execution of the ceremony.|
For a moment, I thought that if I killed Satan, my eligibility might also vanish and the Judge’s seat would leave me.
But that thought quickly faded.
Killing him would only be meaningless slaughter unless the Great Demon, the Chair of Wrath, disappears as well.
From the beginning, Satan himself didn’t seem to have much attachment to life, diminishing my desire to kill him.
I even thought about breaking the seals of the other Great Demons to vent my anger.
But that would only bind my own feet.
If I cannot separate the Demon World from the Underworld, I cannot step down from the position of Great Judge and leave…
|Have you made up your mind? Either way, we must join forces in the end—|
“Shut up.”
|Hahahahahaha!|
The moment I uttered a sound full of rage, the entire Demon World shook, and demonic energy gushed up from beneath the ground like a thin fog.
It felt as if the entire Demon World was responding to me.
I had a nagging feeling that the Demon World and I fit well together.
But the moment I bore the title of Great Judge of the Underworld, a feeling of omnipotence began to swell within me, as if I could manipulate the Demon World at my convenience.
Satan laughed grotesquely, as if he enjoyed it.
I wasn’t satisfied at all.
I felt like a puppet.
Even if I help Satan succeed in the ceremony, there’s no guarantee he would grant me my requests.
|Are you not feeling it? The Demon World is following you! You are more suited to this realm than a demon! You will become strong, vast, and wise in this place!|
Yet what Satan was saying was definitely true.
This feeling of omnipotence was not unfounded arrogance.
My level has already surpassed that of a weak human by far.
Soon, the demonic energy that crawled up from the ground enveloped my body, becoming a solid armor.
My vision opened up, allowing me to see over half of the Demon World.
The level was increasing in real-time, and it felt like I could possibly transcend the limits of humanity.
The transcendent being Luna was so desperately pursuing.
I felt like I was becoming a demigod with infinite lifespan.
Great Judge of the Underworld.
As an assistant to the Underworld that creates a world, perhaps it’s only natural for me to attain immortality.
‘If I stay like this, I might live like a king, or rather a god here.’
Initially, I struggled to adapt to the bizarre and strange life of the demons.
But as I interacted and communed with them, I became somewhat familiar with them.
There are still surprising moments, but now I could manage living in the Demon World without much difficulty.
There were connections here too.
Life forms with emotions are breathing.
Satan’s words may be true; perhaps I might find happiness living here.
“Life is a series of choices…”
Do people live for happiness?
Indeed.
Then, do happy people not experience regret?
Well, I don’t know.
“No matter how much a person carries their fate upon birth…”
Will I be happy staying in the Demon World, living as an omnipotent god?
I’ll probably be happy.
I could build a family.
I could make friends who resonate with my heart.
Perhaps I would be able to obtain total satisfaction that I could never achieve despite going through regression countless times.
However, that does not mean I won’t have regrets.
I would regret it multiple times.
I would curse my past self for weakly accepting the chair of Judge.
I will never forget the heroines waiting for me.
I will long for their embrace.
The pain and guilt of not being able to keep my promise will weigh down on my heart for a lifetime.
“I should at least be able to choose how to meet my end.”
|What are you doing right now?!|
Psss.
The demonic energy that enveloped my body dispersed and disappeared.
Before I knew it, I returned from a demonic appearance to look like a regular human again.
Most of the power that had surged within me had been extinguished.
The vision that had spread across the Demon World shrank back, returning to the limited human perspective of seeing only in front of me.
I could feel that my lifespan had drastically shrunk, leaving just a few decades ahead.
But the seat of Judge was still validly conferred upon me.
I closed my eyes and took a brief peek into my inner world.
The enormous chair was firmly settled within that snowy realm.
That chair, standing still as if rooted, didn’t seem like it would be letting go anytime soon.
“It was simple. I knew from the beginning. I was only avoiding it out of fear…”
Mi Jeong, walking slowly into that snowy realm.
The meager flowers blooming beside the huge chair.
Before them, Mi Jeong turned to me.
I nodded my head, signaling my consent.
Then with a clink, clonk.
Without hesitation, Mi Jeong began to pluck all the flowers.
Yellow jasmine.
Black roses.
Blue cyclamen.
And red camellias.
After Mi Jeong plucked all four flowers, she returned, holding them close to her chest.
I tightly held onto Mi Jeong’s hand.
“Belphegor. You gave me a hint.”
“What? Me? What are you talking about…?”
“There’s a simple way to eliminate the attraction to the Demon World. It’s by erasing my identity.”
|W-What do you mean?! The attraction that pulls demons is simply tied to your identity as a ‘demon’, but the position of Great Judge you possess is different! It’s an engraving on your being that is not based on your human identity!|
“Then, I can just disregard my existence, and the issue will be resolved, right?”
|······?!|
Erasing my identity.
Erasing all that constitutes me.
In simpler terms, it’s like formatting the computer that is me.
Then I could smoothly erase even those malignant viruses that don’t get deleted.
But there’s a problem…
The uncertainty of whether I can restore the remaining data after the format.
|Are you joking? Such a thing… It can’t be possible! Erasing my existence means I will be forgotten by everyone!|
“That’s exactly what I want.”
|You’ll be forgotten! By everyone! By humans, demons, and even light! Don’t you understand what that means? It means annihilation! As if you never existed in this world!|
“Disappearing like that won’t be so simple.”
Satan trembled, as if to threaten me.
But all of it sounded ridiculous.
I’ve already experienced the threat of annihilation.
In a void where there was no light or anything, my entire being was fading into emptiness.
I have a record of surviving while relying on Mi Jeong.
Even if I forsake my ‘existence,’ I can live.
Even if everyone forgets me, Mi Jeong will remember me and ensure I don’t perish.
That’s all I need.
If I can escape the Demon World without perishing.
After that, I can gradually recover my ‘existence.’
|N-No…!|
Click.
The moment I snapped my fingers.
My inner world burst forth and condensed into a single point.
