Chapter 235 : Chapter 235
Chapter 235 - Demon Realm (5)
When I threw Melu at the Wyvern, the picture I had expected was for him to reveal the true ability he had been hiding.
I was certain that this fellow was hiding his strength, and if a crisis came, he would naturally have no choice but to reveal it.
‘Or perhaps not.’
Even if my prediction was wrong and he had no hidden power, and he simply became the Wyvern’s meal, that would not matter.
Climbing the dimensions of the Demon Realm would become a little slower, but he was going to betray us first eventually anyway.
However, with the Demon King’s sudden intervention, a completely different development unfolded from the one I had expected.
The necks of the twin-headed Wyvern were sliced off in an instant.
Two streams of blood poured down, and Melu landed safely.
[Due to interference with a lower dimension, a portion of the Demon King’s authority will be extinguished.]
The Demon King had even saved Melu at the cost of sacrificing his own power.
The meaning of this message was significant.
‘He is someone special.’
If that was the case, only one best strategy came to mind for me to take here.
Driving that fellow into another crisis.
I summoned a dagger from my Inventory.
At that, Melu stepped backward.
“It is useless. A flying blade will be faster than your steps.”
“Why are you doing this! Why, all of a sudden!”
“Have you not foreseen and seen through everything that happened in the Demon Realm until now? Then guess. Whether the blade I throw will be lodged in your neck, or whether it is merely meant to frighten you.”
“Wait! We can settle this through conversa……”
WHOOSH!
The dagger left my hand and shot toward Melu’s throat like a flash of lightning.
There was no reason the Demon King, who had already intervened once, could not do so a second time.
If so, the best course was to proceed without hesitation.
CRASH!
Just as expected, the dagger did not lodge itself in Melu’s neck.
A small barrier that had formed in an instant blocked the dagger.
Naturally, it was the Demon King’s doing.
[Due to interference with a lower dimension, a portion of the Demon King’s authority will be extinguished.]
“Wait! I will tell you everything!”
“What?”
“Everything you want to know!”
“What a fascinating ability you have. Even I do not know what I want to know right now.”
I summoned another dagger.
As the one holding the hilt, there was no reason for me to hesitate.
Here, the best strategy was to move with the genuine intent to kill.
“Stop!”
“Is there a reason to shout so desperately? The Demon King will step in and block it again anyway. Is that not right?”
“Once or twice may be possible, but at some point, he will no longer be able to intervene!”
“So even the Demon King’s sacrifice has its limits?”
“Of course! And if you kill me, you will not escape unharmed either. Can you not roughly guess that much just from what is happening now?”
Melu steadied his breathing and took another step backward.
I slightly raised the corners of my mouth.
“I will decide whether or not to kill you after hearing what you have to say.”
“You have thought well.”
“Do not feel relieved yet. Say whatever you can. Remember that your life depends on it.”
I glared at Melu and infused mana into the dagger.
As though he had made up his mind, he opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“The truth is, I am someone who came down from a higher dimension.”
Then he wore an expression as if he had made a bombshell declaration.
“The reason?”
“You do not seem particularly surprised.”
“I expected it.”
“That is impossible! You expected something unprecedented in the Demon Realm?”
It was an expectation possible precisely because I was not a native of the Demon Realm.
I had been able to observe the phenomena occurring in the Demon Realm without prejudice.
“Tell me why you came down from a higher dimension.”
At my reaction, Melu looked dumbfounded.
Since I needed to awaken his sense of danger once again, I aimed the dagger at his neck.
It had already been proven that I could send the blade flying without hesitation.
He immediately opened his mouth.
“It was for the stability of the Demon Realm!”
“I hate it when people speak in circles like this. There will be no second chance, so think carefully before speaking from now on.”
At that, Melu hurriedly continued.
“The mission I was given is to ascend to the twentieth dimension and separate the Demon Realm.”
“Separate the Demon Realm?”
“Yes! As you know, the Demon Realm has become a complete mess because of the Zombies! So it was decided that the lower dimensions would be detached from the Demon Realm, and that is the role I was given.”
“Is it possible to detach dimensions like that?”
“The Demon King’s authority in the Demon Realm is tremendous. I came down to the lower dimensions after receiving authority in order to carry out that task on his behalf.”
“But why did the Demon King not do it himself and instead order you to?”
I connected my questions without pause, giving him no time to think.
“Even the Demon King cannot directly intervene in everything that happens in the lower dimensions. As you just confirmed through the messages, doing so weakens the Demon King’s authority.”
He did not seem to be lying.
All of Melu’s answers fit together as well.
‘So this was the reason the Demon King would strain himself to save him.’
Melu’s astonishing story continued.
He said that once he separated the lower dimensions of the Demon Realm, that place would later become connected to another world.
He did not know where it would be, but that world might begin its destruction through Zombies.
I had caused chaos in the Demon Realm, but I had never imagined the Demon King would use it in this direction.
‘It was good that I came to the Demon Realm.’
What was clear was that even the Demon King was moving under the rules of the Abyss.
Even in the Demon Realm, the Demon King was not an omnipotent being.
“Then, Melu, the fact that you could see through the world of the Demon Realm must also be an authority you received from the Demon King.”
“That is correct.”
“But it seems there is no problem with you telling me all this.”
“We are in the same boat.”
Rather than that, it was likely because he planned to stab me in the back someday.
“But why is the standard for separating the Demon Realm the twentieth dimension? The places ruined because of the Zombies are far below that.”
“Because the true Demon Realm begins there.”
The true Demon Realm?
This, too, was astonishing information.
There was no reason for him to tell a lie that would soon be exposed.
“Interesting. Then how does it differ from the true Demon Realm onward?”
“Wait! I will tell you the rest after we reach the twentieth dimension and I complete my mission.”
“What?”
“What if I tell you everything and you kill me? I need to keep at least one bit of insurance, do I not?”
In truth, it was an obvious strategy for him.
Once I had heard all of Melu’s story, I would have no reason to keep him alive.
“Then was it the Demon King’s order that sent you down to the lower dimensions?”
“You could say that.”
“It seems that if we go to what you called the true Demon Realm, communication with the Demon King becomes possible.”
“……What?”
I had only thrown it out to test him, but judging by his reaction, it seemed I had struck the mark.
If so, from there onward, the Demon King might be able to intervene directly in the lower dimensions without sacrificing his own power.
Perhaps that was also what Melu was relying on.
‘I will know once I go there myself.’
In any case, it seemed the Demon King had been troubled by the Zombies as well.
To think he would try to protect the mission he had given Melu even while weakening his own power.
“But I suddenly became curious. When your life is in danger, will the Demon King help you three times, or will he not?”
At my words, Melu gave me a puzzled look, and then his face turned pale.
“……Just what are you planning to do?”
I raised the dagger again.
From here on, I had no intention of keeping him alive anyway.
WHOOOOSH!
And there was no longer any protection of the Demon King over him.
***
The Demon Realm.
I had thought it would be a paradise of monsters filled with all sorts of beasts, but this place was very different from what I had expected.
The demonfolk here lived in a way similar to the people of the world I knew.
Similar? My friend! I find that part difficult to agree with! Do the demonfolk of the Demon Realm not possess that insane desire called murderous desire?
But I thought the direction of that murderous desire was not very different from that of the human world.
Ultimately, it led to a desire for ascension.
The way the demonfolk of the Demon Realm lived was to constantly accumulate Killing Karma and move to a higher dimension.
Of course, I could not understand why that was so important to the demonfolk, but similarly, the demonfolk would not understand all the phenomena of the human world either.
‘Do all demonfolk ultimately wish to become the Demon King?’
Perhaps that was the final realm one could reach after arriving at the end of this Demon Realm.
If so, there was a high chance the current Demon King had become one in that way as well.
And when old Master Heo Gyeong-woo and I arrived at the twentieth dimension, we came to understand this place called the Demon Realm a little better.
“Ji-han! It seems this truly is the gateway to the real Demon Realm that Melu mentioned.”
“It seems so.”
A circular arena like a gladiatorial arena.
All the demonfolk here were pressed against the outer wall, facing one another.
I immediately understood what kind of situation this was.
My friend! It is a war of all against all!
In this space where everyone except oneself was an enemy, all the demonfolk were keeping one another in check while holding their breath.
I could not know how long this situation had continued.
However, no one could move easily.
If one moved rashly here and revealed an opening, that would instantly become an opportunity for the enemies nearby.
『Kill the one who has just ascended! The one who carries out my command shall immediately ascend to my world!』
The Demon King’s voice rang out.
Since I had killed Melu and ruined his plan, anger toward me must have surged within him.
But this was not the first ill-fated connection between the Demon King and me.
‘Does he recognize me?’
However, if he had connected the memory of Hardeon with the current me, the Demon King’s anger would not be limited to this degree.
It was clear that the Demon King did not recognize me.
『What are you all doing! Move, all of you, and kill those two men this instant!』
My position, having just ascended here, was right at the center of the circular space.
The starting position of a newcomer seemed perfectly suited for becoming prey to everyone.
The gazes of the demonfolk all turned toward us at once.
Even so, they were also keeping the enemies beside them in check.
Perhaps this kind of situation repeated itself every time a newcomer arrived.
‘Interesting.’
I infused mana into the Holy Sword.
BOOOOM!
And a baptism of mana began pouring down from the sky.
I liked the setting of this twentieth dimension.
Since everyone had gathered together like this, it was easy to clean them up.
BOOOOM!
They were all likely demonfolk of a considerable realm, but there was no way they could withstand a single strike of mine.
The Demon King should have known that as well, so I did not know why he had urged them so impatiently.