Chapter 423 – Extension
“Juni, let’s go rest quickly. “I promised Port that I would rest today after this.”
“Por, the original promise was meant to be broken.”
“!!!”
After conquering the boss room and the magic tower on the 70th floor, Jun and the innocent, shocked angel headed to the devil’s castle, a pitch-black old castle located in the middle of the devil’s city.
As soon as the boss room on the 70th floor was conquered, the spatial distortion throughout the Devil’s City completely disappeared, so we were able to arrive quickly without having to take another route like before.
In fact, the labyrinth ended on the 70th floor, and isn’t there only a final battle with the true boss?
‘Maybe that’s right. Now there’s no reason to waste time doing something pointless.’
I see We have finally seen the end.
It seems like just yesterday I was wondering when the end would come.
Thinking back to the time when he first entered the labyrinth, Jun felt sad.
‘Let’s stop appreciating it later. Because it’s not completely over yet.’
I shook my head to banish the premature sentiments from my mind.
Then, they opened the gate, which looked even more bizarre than the gates of hell, and entered the castle.
“Juni, I don’t feel like you’re popular at all.”
“I know. “Where has everyone gone?”
After entering the castle, Jun and Fortuna did not stop there but went deep into the castle along the corridor.
Even after a long time had passed, the two couldn’t even see the common bugs, let alone the monsters.
Jun burst into laughter as he felt the landlord’s will to come to him right away and not waste any time.
“Ugh. Juni, Por is scared.”
“The atmosphere is definitely not a joke.”
However, no matter what the owner’s will, the atmosphere inside the old castle with no one was very gloomy.
Most haunted houses wouldn’t even be able to show out business cards.
Jun was very suspicious of the demon king’s mental state, who left all the good places behind to live in a place like this.
‘Isn’t it actually because of this atmosphere and not because of demonic energy that the personalities of the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings are distorted?’
It may not be completely unrelated.
Since ancient times, good character is formed in a good environment.
“… Por, let’s hurry.”
“Yes!”
Jun, who suddenly reduced the Demon King to an unlucky adult who grew up in a bad environment, accelerated his move with a sense of duty as an upright adult.
That’s how we arrived at the grand hall.
It should be the most splendid place in the castle as it is the place where the king and his subjects discuss state affairs, but the Grand Hall was dark and gloomy, just like the places we had passed by so far.
But there was something with light in it.
Throne.
A symbol of authority only for the king.
Located at the end of the grand hall, it was shining elegantly and splendidly in this dark and gloomy atmosphere.
“It looks kind of lonely.”
“Huh. “Fort looks like that too.”
It was enough to arouse admiration.
However, the words that came out of Jun and Fortuna’s mouth were not admiration, but sadness.
I don’t know why, but in the eyes of the two people, the throne, or more precisely, the nobility and splendor of the throne, seemed very lonely.
‘A throne that alone maintains its elegance and splendor even as everything in the castle fades. Is it simply a matter of feeling that it seems as if everything in the castle is being sacrificed to maintain the nobility and splendor of the throne?’
Jun didn’t know.
So I looked.
The owner of the throne is as noble and gorgeous as the throne, but has eyes that are as faded as everything else.
The answer to this question will surely lie with him.
“It’s strange. I knew it from Brutos’ report. “Slaughterhorse, the fact that four years have come down to earth.”
The owner of the throne, the Demon King, opened his mouth.
He was resting his chin as if he were bored, but there was very faint interest in his voice.
“But I didn’t really care. He didn’t feel the need to do anything.”
“Woo! “You underestimated Por!”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t look down on him at all. He just knew. The way of the world.”
The Demon King’s gaze from Fortuna changed to Jun.
The slight intimacy felt in the gaze quite embarrassed Jun.
“In order to gain something, you must sacrifice something of equal value. No matter how much the throne is, you can’t be free from that law.”
The Demon King then said that since Fortuna had great power, she must have sacrificed a lot when she came down to earth, and the object of that sacrifice would have been her angelic power.
It was the correct answer, and it wasn’t information worth hiding at this point, so Fortuna nodded her head.
“That’s why it’s strange. The power of four years is comparable to that of I, the Demon King, who is the Demon God’s representative. Of course, it will inevitably take an enormous amount of time and effort to fully recover.”
“But after only 20 years, he completely recovered his strength and stood before me like this. Is this possible?”
The intimacy from the devil grows little by little.
I don’t know why, but one thing is certain.
“It would be impossible, unless we sacrifice something that much.”
“So who sacrificed what? Did Bright God sacrifice his divine power?”
He was mistaken.
And very grandly.
“No, she can’t afford that as she is being invaded by her three worlds at the same time.”
“Naturally, the victim was narrowed down to one person.”
“Slaughterer’s contractor. What and how much did you sacrifice?”
Then there is only one thing I can do for you.
“I don’t have one.”
Creating a dark history that will never be forgotten.
There was only one thing to do now.
“…”
“…”
“… Nothing?”
“Yes, none. There really isn’t any.”
“…”
“…”
A breathtaking silence followed.
And as the silence continued, the Demon King’s face heated up so quickly that I was worried that he might explode.
For reference, the Demon King’s appearance was like that of a sickly nobleman.
“Then how on earth did you completely restore the power of the Slaughterhorse?”
While I was contemplating whether to tease him a little more or not, the Demon King stood up from his throne.
When he fully stood up, his face had returned to the dull expression it had when I first saw him.
Even if I pretended, I wasn’t acting like a fool.
It was so embarrassing that it didn’t seem like they were trying to make it seem like it never happened.
It was a hunch, but the Demon King’s change was not one of such mischievousness.
‘Okay. It’s as if the feeling of shame itself has disappeared.’
And I don’t know if it’s related, but the Demon King’s presence has become bigger than when I first saw him.
The presence was so huge that it wasn’t that noticeable, but it was clear that it had become bigger.
‘For a moment. It is clearly the power of the devil.’
At that time, Jun remembered.
The power of the devil that Bruce taught me.
“Sacrifice. Did you gain strength by sacrificing your feelings of shame?”
“I guess you heard it from Brutos. Yes. “Sacrifice is the source of power for me, the Demon King of Sacrifice.”
Sacrifice.
The act of sacrificing or abandoning one’s life, property, honor, or interests for a certain purpose.
It was an act that was far from the demons who hated taking or throwing away something to the point of death, but the demon king of sacrifice repeated the act countless times and thanks to that he was able to ascend to the throne of the demon king.
“No matter what, what if I let go of my emotions so easily?”
“Shame is an unnecessary emotion for the devil. And emotions are very efficient discarders.”
As soon as I heard that, it started to catch my eye.
The devil’s right eye is covered by an eyepatch.
The left sleeve flutters helplessly.
The right foot is slightly bent as if it has a disability, and the cane that supports the body in place of the right foot.
Was it really all like that from the beginning?
Probably not.
The answer came immediately after seeing the Demon King, who treats emotions as efficient castaways.
“Just in case, I’m asking, do you think you’ll never feel the feeling of sacrifice again? Even if there are no emotions, they suddenly appear.”
“No, it won’t happen again. So, I tend to keep some of the emotions that I think are essential. “Is that the end of the question?”
As if he would not take anymore, the Demon King aimed the staff that was supporting his body at Jun.
There was no longer any intimacy in his eyes beyond the tip of the cane.
“Good. “If he had continued to show intimacy, it would have been difficult to beat him.”
“This is what I want to say. You should have lied and said that you sacrificed a lot for the massacre. If that were the case…”
“They would have sent me away alive. Because it looks like you?”
Bruce said.
The childhood friend who became the Demon King sacrificed a lot for other childhood friends since he was young.
The reason why the Demon King showed closeness to Jun may be because of that past.
Well, it was all his mistake.
“I’ll teach you before we fight in earnest. Bruce, no, Brutos and Lilith are alive. But Kaito and Damon are dead. For your information, I am the one who killed those two.”
“I see.”
The Demon King nodded his head calmly.
It was a very light reaction, as if I was hearing news from a stranger.
Looking at that scene, Jun made a promise.
Let’s now let this poor friend, who had to sacrifice even the concept of preciousness for the sake of precious people, rest in peace.
