Evil Duchess Summons Me, the Heavenly Demon

Ephre wanted to die.

Of all places, it had to be in front of Liriel, that talented brat.

Even though her summoned creature wasn’t one that would make you exclaim “Wow!” at first glance, every spell that came from it was incredibly powerful.

Hadn’t Orlando, who thought he was stronger based on appearance alone, challenged Liriel and been utterly defeated?

That stupid, perpetually aroused gorilla seemed to think that if he knocked his opponent down, she would fall for him.

Or maybe not? Perhaps because Liriel gave off such a cold atmosphere, he just wanted to change her face into one streaming with tears.

Truly, Ephre couldn’t empathize with that way of thinking, but anyway.

She looks like she doesn’t have an ounce of tact, but she’s surprisingly quick-witted.

Look, wasn’t she just rambling about impurity and whatnot?

‘I’ll get revenge. You bitch. I’ll find ingredients that mix into a yellow color and smell like they’d twist your nose…!’

Ephre’s head was spinning.

She had already transformed her rudeness into anger toward the other girl. She didn’t know that her behavior was the real rudeness. And she didn’t want to know, either.

Shiver, shiver.

Her body trembled. It was cold. Shameful and humiliating.

She gritted her teeth tightly. Then she looked at Cheon Sang-geuk. He wasn’t frowning at Liriel.

…Why?

He’s constantly mean to me, so why not to her?

Ephre’s insides boiled. Wasn’t she already burning with impatience because she hadn’t been able to make a contract yet?

When Sofia, that loose woman, brought forward that hideous flesh, she had barely restrained herself from tearing it all apart. Fortunately, Cheon Sang-geuk’s expression had been completely twisted as if looking at filth.

But now was different.

He was looking at Liriel… no, more precisely, at something behind her or above her head.

“!”

Lightning struck Ephre’s mind. Until just a moment ago, she had been about to shout fiercely, “Is that your preference?” but no.

That crazy man was trying to capture Liriel and raise her…

It was a horrifyingly creepy idea.

Of course, Ephre had also imagined using [Absolute Command Right] on Cheon Sang-geuk, making him kneel and lick her feet, giving him a thorough training.

But that was just part of education to establish the hierarchy between summoner and summoned creature. Surely a grown adult shouldn’t behave like that toward a student who’s still developing?

Especially when dealing with what might be an Ancient Species, a Fantastical Species, or even a being from far beyond history.

“Ugh… no, such things… such things cannot… be… Argh!”

Ephre jumped to her feet. There was plenty of water flowing around, so it should be fine. And the color of her clothes… hmm. It’s fine.

-Well done, you know how to act on your own.

Whatever he understood, Cheon Sang-geuk clearly said that.

“Pun… Pun… You’re saying I should be punished? Fine, I’ll take it!”

Clack, clack, clack. The girl stepped forward, grinding her teeth. Swoosh! Tremendous streams of water created foam floating around.

For a moment, the girl felt as if she had become a goddess.

Yes, she had descended to this world borrowing a human body. In the heavens, she was so beautiful that she received the envy and jealousy of all the other goddesses. Tired of that, she chose the body of a persecuted human.

By doing so, she proved something.

That insects like these could never fade her eternal, immortal beauty.

Swoosh!

Her body staggered under the falling waterfall. Ugh. Her shoulders felt heavy. She couldn’t lift her head.

As a matter of fact, she couldn’t see properly and couldn’t breathe properly. Puff, puff. She spat out water and her breathing became rapid…

♦♦♦

‘Look at this one?’

Liriel was special.

Her silver hair and expressionless pretty face weren’t particularly special. After all, nothing compares to Coolbeautycontinentbestbeauty.

What’s really important is something else.

‘Familiar.’

In the martial arts world where I originally came from, there weren’t many of what they called spirit beings.

Having traveled throughout the world, it’s not that I never saw any, but if you think of the typical mass-produced martial arts novels, the number I’ve actually seen was extremely small.

Nevertheless, through various channels, I had opportunities to see or eat their internal cores.

After all, wasn’t I the absolute ruler of the Divine Sect?

Whether through peace offerings, subordinates retrieving them, or visiting—not raiding—the secret vaults of the Divine Sect, I had various routes for acquisition.

Among them, the most impressive were definitely the internal cores of the Silent Forest Dragon or the Thousand-Year Dragon Crocodile.

Neither snake nor dragon, but something in between, like a lesser dragon.

Of course, if I had said this in the martial arts world, there would have been an immediate shout of ‘HA!’ Followed immediately by their death at my hands.

Anyway, anything related to ‘dragons’ is treated as precious both there and here. Their auspicious energy and the harmony of the five elements is something perfectly balanced.

Especially those Kunlun fellows who love dragons to death—even I couldn’t help but admire them when they unleashed their martial arts, spraying lightning energy or demonstrating their miraculous footwork.

‘Consecutive teleportation?’

I highly praised the Divine Dragon Style of the Kunlun sect leader.

-Die… you, cannot… escape… the eternal… punishment…

I honored him with death personally.

Putting aside this brief reminiscence, I looked at the girl before me. More precisely, I looked at something that existed nobly behind her as if protecting her.

“Impressive, a remarkably auspicious creature indeed.”

“…? You can see our God?”

“God? Hmm, I suppose one could see it that way. But as I understand it, don’t you call all beings that appear through magic ‘summoned creatures’?”

Liriel furrowed her small face.

In a slightly pouty voice, she retorted.

“God is God. Although only the tail is visible, it’s actually much more magnificent.”

“Haha, I understand.”

“…Disbelief. You don’t believe me. I knew it. Ephre’s summoned creature, right? I’ve heard about you. An arrogant and impudent man. An unidentified being, not knowing whether you’re human or a summoned creature.”

“Hmm? So you could speak coherently. Did you deliberately feign childish cuteness? This isn’t ordinary. I can see many men will be enamored by you. Though most will be virgin boys who’ve never held a girl’s hand.”

“?”

Liriel’s already furrowed face tilted sideways.

Wooong.

Something rippled behind her. That auspicious energy again. I could guess without trying to discern it. Roughly in a teacher-like position, perhaps?

Whoosh! The girl’s face belatedly turned red. Glare. She glowered with narrowed eyes.

“Insult, provocation…!”

Why would receiving attention from pure men who like subculture be an insult or provocation? I truly don’t understand.

This is why those born naturally good-looking are annoying. They don’t appreciate it at all.

“Come, God!”

Liriel shouted thus.

Rumble!

In an instant, dark clouds gathered overhead and the air grew humid. Crackle, crackle. Lightning flickered around the girl, causing the ends of her hair to burn and curl.

A sign that either the summoning wasn’t stable or she couldn’t perfectly control the energy herself.

Of course, Liriel seemed to have no time to worry about such things. She just glared with faint hostility. Gradually, magical formations stacked above her head and rotated among themselves.

Parting the cumulus clouds, an elegant movement revealed its auspicious form.

…Just the tail.

“For the crime of insulting the Tail God, you deserve punishment!”

“Even if that was an insult, wasn’t it directed at you rather than your summoned creature—no, the god you serve? I don’t understand. In this world, is being called cute considered an insult?”

The small girl trembled. Her tightly clenched fists exuded indignation.

Well, calling someone cute generally presupposes a small target.

Considering that this word doesn’t readily come out for people with large builds, Liriel probably heard similar comments many times since childhood. Countless times.

And thus she developed a distorted way of thinking.

Being called cute is the same as being insulted. It means being looked down upon and treated like a much younger sibling or a little kid.

Crackle!

With its main body beyond the magic circle, only the tail peeked out.

It was a ridiculous form, but from it, one could sense that the main body was quite large, and the auspicious energy had increased incomparably from before.

Well. That makes sense.

It’s a real dragon, not whatever “Tail God” she’s talking about.

“Insulting the one who serves God is the same as insulting God! I’ll fix it. Your impure mind!”

Kiyuung! Rumble!

As soon as Liriel finished speaking, lightning instantly gathered in her hands. For a moment, I could notice the summoned creature, the dragon, hesitating. This was different from Orlando’s case.

Regardless, the girl fired lightning bolts.

Splash!

At that moment, brave Ephre, who had been trying to collect herself, fell into the water. She floated to the surface. Her clothes clung to her buttocks, revealing an all too naked appearance.

“Tsk.”

No matter how twisted my disposition, I had no intention of embarrassing her openly. I’m not that bad a person.

So I decided to look after Ephre.

Ah.

I should deal with this first.

…Wooong.

I just casually extended my hand. Not other energies, but energy familiar from ‘that place’ would be quite helpful to me now. In other words, nourishment.

Swoosh…

Crackle. Crackle. A dust-sized remnant of lightning energy sparked at my fingertips before quickly dissipating.

“Hiccup.”

I told the dumbfounded girl.

“That is not a tail. Where in the world does a tail gather energy and discharge it all at once?”

It’s a dragon. I didn’t say the latter part. Above all, rescuing the person who had fallen into the water came first.