“Power...”
Greed narrowed his eyes as he looked at the bracelet of demon kings on Raon's wrist. His pupils dilated like gold coins.
“What are you trying to do by raising that vessel?”
Greed sent a flickering, ominous gaze, as if trying to read Wrath's thoughts.
“What nonsense! It's not what I'm doing!”
Wrath shook his head in disbelief.
“We're all being toyed with by this damn brat! You and I, both of us!”
He shouted, begging Greed to understand, but of course, Greed couldn't hear him.
“Whether I destroy the continent with the power of the demons or kill the gods, it's none of your concern.”
Raon tilted his chin arrogantly, as if he could accomplish all of that.
“That's true.”
Greed nodded with a faint smile.
“I still doubt you. I don't know if you're Wrath or if the vessel is acting.”
He revealed his quietly shining eyes, as if he was still watching himself.
“That's right! This guy is not me! There's no way I would look this ugly!”
Wrath waved his arms up and down, begging him to recognize him.
'As expected, Greed is dangerous.'
Since Raon had borrowed Wrath's power and soul, he would appear as Wrath even through the glasses Greed was wearing.
However, Greed still did not let go of his suspicion and considered him human. He was definitely different from the foolish demon kings he had seen so far.
“Still, I can't touch him now. Either way, the damage would be immense.”
As Greed flickered his fingers, the golden power of Greed rose from the air.
Woo-woo-woo-woo!
The power of Greed traced a graceful trajectory like a comet's tail and descended onto his wrist.
Hwa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a
[The power will be unlocked after the adaptation period ends.]
“Hm?”
Raon stared at the power of Greed embedded in the golden flower bracelet.
“What is this? How much is this?”
Greed had given him the largest amount of power he had ever recieved from any demon lord at once.
It was an amount comparable to the powers of other demon kings he had cultivated through training and life, causing him to unconsciously let out a sigh.
“He gave me more than Lust did.”
Since the amount of Greed that had been transferred was greater than Lust's Lust, which she had initially favored, Greed couldn't help but feel suspicious.
“Greed. What are you up to?”
Raon frowned at Greed.
If there had been other energies mixed in with the Greed Greed had transferred, he might have been able to read his intentions, but since it was pure power, it was actually harder to discern his thoughts.
“It’s an investment.”
Greed waved his hand casually, as if it were no big deal.
“An investment?”
“Yeah. I just want to dip my toes into what you’re trying to do.”
He smacked his lips, sensing that there was quite a lot to be gained.
“Without even knowing what the king is planning?”
“To make a big profit, it's important to invest in places that others don't know about. Investment opportunities that everyone knows about are already dry land.”
Greed revealed his merchant side again and nodded his chin. However, the desire in his eyes seemed to burn even brighter.
“My instincts are telling me that if I bet on you, I can make a lot of money. Whether it's Wrath or the vessel, it doesn't matter.”
“...”
Raon lowered his eyebrows as he looked at Greed, who was smiling coldly.
'He's still suspicious.'
Even in this situation, Greed was still doubting that he was not Wrath.
Seeing how he refused to trust others to such an extreme degree, it seemed that the name “Lord of Greed” was well-suited to him.
If Wrath had been like Greed, he might have already lost his body.
“Then what about the shape of this flower?”
The flower had an unusually gentle feel to it, which made Greed feel uneasy.
“It's a matter of taste.”
Greed shook his head, repeating the exact words Wrath had once said.
-What a pathetic taste.
Wrath, unable to think for himself, mocked Greed and snorted.
“I've handed over the power as promised, so I can go now, right?”
Greed took a step back, as if he were going to return to the demon world.
“Where are you going?”
Lust refused to let him go and aimed the tip of her finger, which contained the power of lust, at Greed's neck.
“Can't I just take a bite and let you go?”
Gluttony used her power to open the black mouth of “Gluttony” that was swaying above Greed's head as if she were hungry.
“Let him go.”
Raon waved his hand at Lust and Gluttony.
“There's no point in fighting now.”
Since he wasn't the real Wrath, the losses of capturing Greed outweighed the gains.
If Greed really charged forward to die, he might end up fighting the two demon kings in front of him, so it was better to let him go now.
“Hmph...”
Lust sighed regretfully and lowered her hand.
“I wanted to take a bite...”
Gluttony closed her black mouth, licking her lips as if he really wanted to eat the Greed whole. Suddenly, she became afraid of him.
“You’re amazing. I didn’t think the two demons, who are so loyal to their instincts, would listen to you.”
The Greed stood in front of the gate to the demon world, still looking surprised.
“We’ll meet again someday. Then I’ll make sure to get my investment back.”
He took a white, sparkling gold coin from his shirt pocket and threw it.
Clang.
Raon caught the coin in his hand and examined it. It didn’t seem to be a coin from this world; a dragon was engraved on its surface with eerie realism.
“I need to make some money for a while. The losses are too great.”
Greed muttered that he needed to move quickly and entered the gate to the demon realm. He seemed different from when he first saw it.
“Haa…”
Raon exhaled heavily and reached out his hand toward the gate to the demon realm. He unleashed the power of anger he had received from Wrath, causing Glacia’s coldness to rise.
Kwaaaaaa!
Wrath's decisive battle technique, the Aurora of Silver, shot out through his hands and froze the enormous gate to the demon realm in an instant.
Kwaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaaddaaadda
As the frozen gate of the demon realm plummeted from the sky, the blackened demonic energy split apart, revealing a sky tinged with green.
Though he had always thought of it as a dark world, it seemed to be a dimension not so different from the continent he called home.
“To use that Silver Aurora with my power… I’m still so happy…”
Lust said she had no regrets and blushed.
“What will you do next? If you need more power, I'll give you more! I can even give you myself!”
She spread her arms wide, saying she could give herself instead of her power.
-Kiaaaah!
Lust screamed and stepped back.
“Drop that thing! It’s really scary!”
The boy sniffed, saying it was too hard on both sides.
“It’s a pity…”
Gluttony sucked his finger as if he regretted not being able to taste the Greed. Unlike Lust, the other side could be solved by buying them bead ice cream or delicious food.
“Thank you for coming this far.”
Raon nodded at Lust and Gluttony.
“I came because I have no money...”
Gluttony still insisted she came because he had no money, twirling her fingers around her white hair.
“I'm grateful! Call me anytime! Just thinking of me is enough! You can take all my skills and powers!”
Lust seemed to have lost her mind at the mention of affection, her eyes turning pink as she spouted out intense words one after another.
-Krrrrrrr...
Wrath seemed frightened by Lust's affectionate attack and collapsed with a large object in his mouth.
“But why were you in the demon realm?”
Raon frowned at Lust.
“Weren't you with Merlin?”
“We parted ways a long time ago. I was looking for you on my own, and somehow ended up in the demon realm...”
Lust shook her head, saying she had gone to the Demon Realm while searching for him.
“...Is that even possible?”
Raon tilted his chin as he looked at Lust.
“I told you. That stalker is the worst at directions in the entire dimension. I still don't understand how those two traits can coexist in one person...”
Lust shook his head, saying he couldn't follow Lust's train of thought.
“So you don't know where Merlin is right now?”
Considering Merlin's usual behavior, she should have shown up at least once during this war or the previous battle.
Since she hadn't appeared even in her animal form, he was worried something might have happened to her.
“Yeah. It's been a while.”
“I see...”
Raon nodded and narrowed his eyes.
“Should we go look for her?”
Lust also said she would go look for Merlin, as if she missed him.
“No, it's fine...”
Lust might go to the heavenly realm while looking for Merlin, so it seemed better to stop her for now.
“For now, you two go outside this dimension. I will clean up here and follow you later.”
“Ugh, I'll wait...”
Lust frowned, seemingly unwilling but obedient, and turned away.
“Are you going to buy some ice cream?”
Gluttony waved her hand, using her power to express her hunger.
“There's an ice cream shop outside, so wait there with Lust.”
“Okay.”
She nodded in agreement, took Lust's hand, and disappeared in a flash of white light.
“Hey, wait a minute!”
Wraths poked his finger at him, glancing at him.
“How about you give me back my power and soul now? It's all over, isn't it?”
"...
Raon looked at Wrath without saying a word.
“Why are you staring like that? You said you’d give it back when it’s over!”
He trembled in fear, wondering what he was thinking.
“Alright. I’ll give it back.”
Raon placed his hand on Wrath’s head and returned all the power and soul he had received.
Whoosh!
The immense power that had been supporting him vanished in an instant, leaving him feeling a bit hollow, but this experience alone would be a great help in his growth.
-This is strange. He’s not the type to just give it back like that…
Wrath furrowed his brows in suspicion.
‘What’s so strange about it? I just returned what I borrowed.’
“If it were the usual you, you'd use this to blackmail...”
As Wrath pointed his finger and began to scold him, a blue message appeared before his eyes.
[You have achieved a feat that will go down in the history of the continent.]
[You have defeated the master of the Black Tower.]
[You have been recognized by the ruler of Greed.]
[All stats...]
[New traits...]
[Traits….]
The rewards for this war filled his vision.
-What? Why are there so many?
Wrath shouted angrily as he read the messages.
-I know he did something great, but this is too much! It’s not even a status window; I can’t see it all at once!
He shook his head, refusing to believe it.
‘…….’
However, Raon dismissed the reward message without even reading it.
-Huh? Why are you doing that?
Wrath furrowed his brows in confusion.
-Didn't you return the power to the king? What are you thinking?
‘Now that the battle is over, I feel a sense of reality. This isn't the time to look at that message.’
Raon pushed back his blood-soaked hair and bit his lip.
-Reality? Ah…
Wrath let out a low groan as if he had understood his words.
‘It’s time to take responsibility.’
Raon let out a heavy sigh and descended to the dimensional exit where everyone was waiting.
***
“Hmm...”
Karoon lowered the sword he had been holding onto with difficulty.
“I don't know what I just saw.”
He thought everything was over with the appearance of the Demon King, but suddenly two more Demon Kings appeared and fought the golden Demon King.
In the midst of the intense battle, the golden demon king gained the upper hand and attacked Raon, but he suddenly unleashed a powerful wave that overwhelmed the three demon kings, ending the fight altogether.
Even though he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it, and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.
“Is it over now?”
Burren approached from behind and swallowed hard.
“Why did you stay here?”
Karoon frowned, asking why they remained despite his order to retreat.
“Our lord is there! How can we run away? We'll die together!”
Martha shook her head as if to say she would never leave.
“Yes. One body...”
Runaan held up three fingers, as if to say that everyone in the storm was one.
“...I see.”
Normally, he would have reprimanded them, but seeing the expressions on Burren, Martha, and Runaan’s faces as they thought of their leader—no, their family—he kept his mouth shut. Since Raon had ended the situation, there was nothing more to say.
Huuu.
Raon descended to the ground with a hollow look in his eyes.
He surveyed the dead and the demons and walked toward the exit of this dimension.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Burren simply bowed his head and said, “You worked hard.”
“What was that at the end? It looked like you were seeing the lord!”
Martha raised her hands in surprise at the overwhelming aura.
“Today was amazing.”
Runaan simply raised his thumb and said, “That was incredible.”
“Everyone worked hard.”
Raon smiled weakly as he listened to everyone's praise.
“What's wrong?”
Martha shook her head as she looked at Raon's heavy expression.
“It's not over yet.”
Raon looked outside the dimension and lowered his eyes slightly.
“It's not over?”
“Is another one coming?”
Burren and Martha trembled in surprise.
“Um…”
“……”
Only Karoon remained silent, as if he had read Raon’s thoughts, and Runaan lowered her eyes.
“No, it’s when I feel reality.”
Raon looked at his blood-stained right hand and bowed his head.
“I have to think about the people who died in this war, and also…”
As he tried to utter the name of the child he had in mind, his lips trembled uncontrollably.
“Because of Lencia.”
Born with a leash around her neck in the Black Tower, she did not succumb to darkness but instead helped those in greater need than herself. She was the one who played the greatest role in bringing down the massive Black Tower and its master. And even as she lay dying, she thought of her younger siblings before herself.
He vowed to take care of her future life, hoping she would be happy, but the thought of her leaving without fulfilling that promise made his heart ache as if it were being torn apart.
“Hmm…”
“Lencia. That’s right. That child was there.”
“……”
Beren, Martha, and Runaan also seemed to recall Lencia, lowering their gaze and biting their lips.
-…….
Wrath also remained silent, seemingly at a loss for words on that matter.
The injuries Lencia had sustained could only be healed by someone who had mastered both divine power and medical skills.
If she had even a little bit of aura training, she might have been able to endure, but she was in a weaker state than even ordinary children, so there was no choice but to consider Lencia’s death.
“Lencia. Thank you.”
Without you, today's victory would not have been possible.
Raon thanked Lencia and left the Black Tower dimension. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the fountain where Lencia had been sitting.
He had told her that only happy things lay ahead for her, and he had promised to take care of her siblings when she was dying, so his stomach churned as if he were about to vomit.
“I wanted to make sure no one else would die.”
Even though we won, it doesn't feel like a victory.
Raon bit his lip and bowed her head.
“Raon-nim!”
The voice of the person he most wanted to hear rang out from behind the fountain.