Chapter 211 – Mephistopheles, Overlord of Hell #03
Mephisto smiled comfortably again as I was dazed and flustered by Mephisto’s sudden words his.
“Hehe, it’s been a while, so Jim must have been a little over-sensitive, don’t mind Artin.”
“… Mephisto, that’s it.”
“Did you say you wanted to sign a contract? Great. Instead, this is not the right place, so follow me. I want to show you the gift I prepared for you first.”
When I tried to say something, Mephisto jumped up from his seat and started dragging me somewhere.
“Wait a minute, if you want to sign a contract, Cayenne too…”
“That woman just sent her back to the human world, so you don’t have to worry about her. I returned her to her original place her.”
“What? That she sent Cayenne back to the human world? Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? For there is no way anyone who fears me can make an equal contract with me.”
At that, I was speechless. Did you hear all the conversation in the hallway?
However, if you think about it, it makes sense. There’s no way the great archevil can’t hear what the great archdeacon is saying in his castle.
‘…I guess it wasn’t because I didn’t know how he looked overly excited or why he kept asking me what I was doing.’
Perhaps even though Mephisto knew everything, he might have been doing it without knowing.
Maybe, seeing me accepting his foolishness of him, he might have wanted to convince me that we were still friends.
Even now, I could feel Mephisto’s hand shaking slightly, so I had no choice but to quietly follow him.
As I walked along Mephisto like that, I stood in front of a huge and ornately decorated gate like a castle gate built in a castle.
“Here, Artin Ludwig. This room is Jim’s gift for you.”
“..This room? No, isn’t it rather an audience room than a room? What’s inside? Can it be a warehouse?”
“Open it yourself. I’m sure you’ll be happy.”
It was strange. Mephisto’s expression his as he sternly answered me now looked so happy that it was hard to recall the way he cried at me just before.
You prepared for me, what the hell did you prepare for?
“Okay, then open it?”
Due to Mephisto still holding onto my right wrist, I reached out my left hand and gently pushed the huge door.
──Kurrureung!!
As if the word “A room prepared for me” Was sincere, the door slowly began to split left and right at my light gesture, as if recognizing the existence of me.
At the same time, candles were lit in the dark room, illuminating the inside of the room, and my perplexity increased.
“How are you? Isn’t the present Jim prepared for you very much your favorite?”
“Me, Mephisto. This…”
Could it be a hallucination? Having such doubts, I slowly stepped out and looked around the room.
The room, which was pitifully small compared to the huge door, but large enough for a person to stay, was like a house.
However, this type of house does not exist in this world. The form and structure of this…
“..An apartment, isn’t that the structure of a luxury apartment that you only see on TV? How do you do this?”
“Was that the only surprise? Artin Ludwig?”
Of course not. Hearts and pink and white furniture filled this room. All decorations tailored for two people.
“All of it… It’s the ideal house I dreamed of in real life.”
This was the love house that Yang Hee-min dreamed of.
The ideal house I always imagined, drinking soju with leftover stew in a single room in a dark semi-basement.
In a room full of dampness and mold, Yang Hee-min, who always enjoyed a gloomy drunkenness and was worried about going to work the next day, made a small wish.
‘I wanted to live happily and happily in a house like this with someone who truly loves me.’
It was an impossible wish. With no money, no lover, no future, I had to give up everything except the present.
It’s a fantasy that’s too much for a real-life loser who was barely able to pay for next month’s rent and living expenses.
“I’m glad Jim liked it, I made it for you with care, down to the smallest detail.”
“… Mephisto you.”
“Huh, it’s okay not to be thankful. Instead, why don’t you sleep here tonight? Jim didn’t purposely use this place to sleep with you, so I’m looking forward to it…”
“How many times have you replayed my memory?”
“…”
Mephisto, who proudly spoke at my words, stopped talking. But there was still a smile on his face.
This great Lord of Sin is like the first time I met him.
“As many as the largest number you can imagine plus one.”
He just gave me a friendly smile.
***
Overlord of Hell, Archdemon of Contracts. The most powerful transcendent.
I realized the moment I met Mephistopheles that all the modifiers representing Mephistopheles were meaningless.
“How long are you going to keep Jim waiting, Artin Ludwig?”
Suppressed by that mighty energy, I forgot to even breathe. I barely came to my senses when I heard my name her come out of her mouth her.
“The spirit of asking for fragments of knowledge and pieces of the fruit of wisdom was such a pleasant remark that it made Jim forget his boredom for a moment.”
“…”
“However, words must have weight. It’s not enough to try to make an equal deal with Jim, so if you proudly claim one of Jim’s treasures, you’ll have to pay the corresponding price?”
The intimidation in his voice was something I, a mortal brat, could not handle.
However, I had to maintain my spirit by biting my lips so hard that they were torn.
‘Come to your senses, Yang Hee-min…I didn’t ask Violet too much to pass out here, did I?’
Asking me to face Mephistopheles alone in this dark space was my unreasonable request. But Violet did her best to help me with my request her, and I finally got my chance.
Everything was a decision for me, for my friends, and for everyone.
In order to defeat the demon king, the power of the great demon Mephistopheles is clearly needed. Even more so to give all the talent to the hero, Cayenne.
“It’s boring, I just wanted to meet a mortal who doesn’t know the subject that looks interesting, not dumb. That’s it. In exchange for this conversation, your life…”
“…Two things, there are two things I can give you as a condition of this contract. And I swear, what I am giving you now is something Mephistopheles never had.”
“Oh, can a mere mortal give me what I, the Overlord of Hell, do not have?”
“Yes, it is.”
Every time I uttered a word, it felt as if my soul would be ripped out with a knife and my courage and will be shattered.
A transcendent person with a stronger soul than the demon king, as described in the novel. It must be a miracle that Yang Hee-min, who has not even awakened at all, remains sane.
But I had to. ‘Cause no one else can do it Because that’s what I have to do.
Swallowing dry saliva with lips that were burnt as if facing the sun, I slowly opened my mouth to Mephistopheles, who showed interest.
“…What I will give to Mephisto-sama. The memory and identity of human Yang Hee-min, and—”
After hearing my words, Mephistopheles looked at me with a dumbfounded expression for a while. Then
“Puh!Haha! Kyahahahaha!!”
I laughed out loud for the first time, bursting into madness as if my way of speaking and gestures were a pleasant joke.
“Funny! Fun! I’m pretty sure no one ever gave it to me. Especially since what you said later was something I couldn’t even imagine.”
Mephistopheles, who had even shed tears and laughed, looked at me with eyes that seemed to like me.
Then, with small gestures, I let go of the pressure that had been weighing me down at once and allowed me to breathe.
“Okay, accept that contract. Of course, there is a price to pay for power that a weak mortal body can’t handle, but you’re curious about how you can overcome this price.”
As Mephistopheles’ sharp claws drew straight lines through the air, the space was cut like thin paper.
Mephistopheles, who put his hand in it, took out a small glowing green sphere and sent it slowly into the air toward me.
“Take it, it is the piece of wisdom you have been longing for. The moment you accept it, the contract between you and Jim is established.”
I knew it the moment I saw that mysterious green glow.
The fact that this devil is not trying to deceive me with a contract, but he sincerely intends to accept it.
──It was clear what to do if there was certainty.
With a snap, I held the fruit in her hand.
At the same time, everything on his head started to turn white.
The existence of Yang Hee-min began to disappear from this world.
***
“It’s such a mischievous contract, who would have thought that we could turn back time and void the contract?”
“…”
“But it didn’t matter. Because the memories and life you’borrowed’were fun enough to make Jim forget his boredom him.”
“If that’s the case… I’m glad I did.”
After the regression, I was able to regain Yang Hee-min’s identity and memories.
Of course, in my mind, the identity of Artin Ludwig was already deeply entrenched in me, but it didn’t matter.
Because I wasn’t the type to put value on Yang Hee-min’s existence in the first place.
“But you are also mischievous. Everything I gave him was taken away from me.”
“That…”
“Do you have anything to say?”
Mephisto looked at me playfully, but he couldn’t open his mouth because of the resentment inside him.
What I gave to Mephisto in exchange for the contract were two things.
The first is the memory and identity of human Yang Hee-min, and the second is…
“To think that the first equal friend would die so worthless. Isn’t it fun?”
“Mephisto…”
“Okay. However, since you have returned to my side, albeit belatedly, I will forgive you for breaking the contract with a generous understanding.”
Mephisto, who spoke firmly with an expression as if he would not listen to excuses, came to me and hugged me tight. It’s like you don’t want to miss this warmth.
“Good night. Artin, if it’s a contract, I’ll do it, for Jim can do anything for his one and only friend his.”
“If you ask for all of my treasures, I can give you immortality and immortality. No matter how much, I can give the burden for you.”
“If you promise me just one thing, he can give you all of it unconditionally.”
Mephisto was still smiling mischievously. He looked at me with sad eyes as if he would burst into tears right away.
“Wouldn’t you trade all of my burdens for your whole life?”
As if he didn’t want to show me any other facial expressions.
