NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81
Chapter 81
“I received a report that an angel has appeared…”
The golden eyes turned towards Demogorgon.
“There’s a demon too.”
As those two phrases were heard, neither Doviel nor Demogorgon could move. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t. Their instincts were warning them.
If they made one wrong move, they would die.
Even high-ranking angels and demons felt this way.
What appeared before them was the most powerful Great Demon from hell, the ruler of the inverted kingdom, and the servant of the three Massu of End.
Nahun stared at them in silence. Even just looking was overwhelming. It might be less felt by beings like humans or the demon race due to the vast difference in status, but to demons and angels, his power was completely felt.
As a tense atmosphere flowed between them, it was Demogorgon who first broke the silence. He struggled to move and knelt on the ground.
“I, I greet the great ruler of the kingdom.”
“You.”
“…Yes?”
“Are you affiliated with the demon who came the other time?”
The demon from the previous visit. Demogorgon quickly realized that the reference was to Abaddon, who had disappeared not long ago. Indeed, it seemed that Abaddon had been killed by him.
“…That is correct. I am Demogorgon, the most loyal subordinate of Golraph.”
“Seeing that you came back without growing weary, it seems there was a lack of examples.”
“By examples, you mean, Abaddon…?”
“It seems Golraph must lose all of my subordinates to come to his senses.”
Demogorgon shuddered.
“Abaddon… things will be different this time.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am directly under Golraph, unlike Abaddon. You may disregard losing Abaddon, but should you also lose me, my master will not simply let that slide.”
Unlike Abaddon, Demogorgon was a high-ranking demon. The difference in power was incomparable, and naturally, the importance Golraph placed on him was also different.
“If Golraph himself comes to meet the great one, the safety of the Demon World cannot be guaranteed.”
This was similar to what Abaddon had said before. However, Nahun listened carefully to Demogorgon, unlike before.
Firstly, Nahun sensed that Demogorgon possessed power that far surpassed even Abaddon’s. Thus, it was likely true that Golraph valued him.
Killing Demogorgon here and forcing Golraph to come would undoubtedly be problematic. Even if Nahun could subdue Golraph, there would be great damage to the Demon World in the process.
“I will hear your words in a moment.”
The response that Demogorgon had hoped for came from Nahun. Inside, Demogorgon rejoiced, but he hid that expression and responded.
“…Yes, great one.”
“First, what I need to deal with is….”
The golden eyes moved. They then turned towards Doviel, who had been overwhelmed by the oppressive aura and was unable to move.
“The fact that an angel has set foot in the Demon World can be taken as an indication of a desire to die.”
“…D-Do you think it’s okay for you to be in the Demon World?”
“What does it matter?”
Nahun retorted.
“I have not concocted any plans to invade the human realm or the heavens from here, nor have I plotted anything, so why should it not be okay?”
“Are you saying that because you don’t know the extent of my power…?”
Doviel was implying that simply being in this world made Nahun worthy of condemnation. Nahun smirked as if finding that reasoning ridiculous.
“I have not brought down the Demon World with this power. And the one who keeps poking at me now….”
A creeping black mist began to reveal itself behind Doviel. Feeling an ominous presence, Doviel turned to find a gigantic Leviathan with its mouth agape.
“It is not me, but the heavens.”
Seeing the gigantic Leviathan attempt to swallow him, Doviel furrowed his brows. Realizing he could not simply be devoured, he forced his stilled body to move.
“…Judgement Light!”
A powerful divine energy came crashing down over the head of Leviathan, which had been poised to engulf Doviel. The high-ranking angel’s divine power was nothing to scoff at, even able to affect the Massu of End. Struck by the divine energy, Leviathan had no choice but to close its mouth and stagger back.
“Is that not effective…?!”
Of course, it didn’t inflict any significant damage.
Seizing the moment while Leviathan was staggering, Doviel pulled something out. It was an escape tool that Camiel had given him as a contingency for emergencies.
“What were you trusting to come to the Demon World? You brought something like that.”
Just then, Nahun’s voice echoed from behind Doviel. It barely took Doviel any time to pull out the tool after striking Leviathan, yet Nahun had already caught up to him.
“Using magic will leave traces, so….”
Determining that magic couldn’t be used, Nahun simply reached out with his bare hands.
With a sudden yank!
He tore the escape tool from Doviel’s wrist.
“Guahhh!!!!!!!!”
With sheer grip strength, he ripped apart the angel’s body. But Nahun did not stop there; he punched Doviel regardless.
Boom—!
Screaming, Doviel’s body flew helplessly, and the Leviathan, regaining its senses, gulped him down.
Nahun extracted the escape tool from the hand he had torn off and then offered the wrist to Leviathan as well.
Demogorgon, who witnessed the high-ranking angel, a direct subordinate of the Archangel, becoming fish food in an instant, felt his eyes tremble. It wouldn’t have been strange if his body had been shaking, but Demogorgon held it together.
Be that as it may, Nahun looked at the escape tool Doviel had intended to use. It was a familiar shape. After all, this was a consumable item that could be used directly in the game.
“Did angels also have access to this tool…? No, it’s more accurate to say this was an item from the heavens.”
It was a “Dimensional Transfer Stone,” an item with limited acquisition opportunities in each game route, obtainable only three times throughout the game.
‘So that’s why it wasn’t coming out often.’
In other games, a common teleportation item would be exceedingly rare here, revealing its background.
Nahun, believing there would come a time he could use it, pocketed it and turned to the remaining demon.
“Demogorgon.”
“Y-Yes, what is it…?!”
“Relay this to Golraph.”
Although he spoke as if making a request, it was not a request at all. Behind Nahun, Leviathan had appeared, watching Demogorgon as though ready to swallow him whole if he didn’t comply.
“Tell him not to concern himself with me anymore. I have my own way of handling things, so let me be. If such acts are repeated….”
The eyes of the most powerful and fearsome Great Demon in hell glimmered with a chilling light.
“I will show you the true power.”
“…I-I shall relay that.”
Bowing deeply, Demogorgon swiftly vanished from the 72nd floor. Nahun sighed as he quietly watched the place where he had disappeared.
‘Time is not on our side…’
This incident would surely accelerate the Celestial-Demon War. An angel had died in the Demon World. Even if Nahun didn’t kill Doviel, the mere knowledge that he was in the Demon World could lead to an immediate declaration of war.
Nahun pondered how to cope with the forthcoming Celestial-Demon War when a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“…Celestial Gods?”
He felt there was another way besides forming an alliance with Gremory. Couldn’t he redirect the interests of the Celestial Gods from hell to somewhere else?
And if there was a place the Celestial Gods were concerned with other than hell…
Nahun smirked.
“There’s one.”
#
“Hey, Nahun!!”
There was a woman disturbing the usually quiet 69th floor of the Demon King Castle. Despite her making such noise, no one could reprimand her.
Naturally. With her golden hair cascading down to her slim waist and a curvaceous figure, this woman was the only ally of the Devata faction.
“Nahun!!!”
The woman who banged open the door to Nahun’s office was none other than Citri. Nahun looked at her, giving the impression that she was making quite the ruckus again.
“What is it now?”
“What do you mean, what is it? Why haven’t you told me anything?!”
“Yes?”
When Nahun asked what she was talking about, Citri shouted back in disbelief.
“You said you were forming a new alliance!!”
“Oh, is that what you’re talking about?”
“You should have told me! Have you forgotten who your ally is??”
“There’s a reason I didn’t mention it. I hadn’t confirmed anything yet, so I didn’t tell you.”
“Don’t lie, I heard all about Gremory coming here!”
Nahun narrowed his eyes.
“How did you know? I haven’t leaked any information.”
“W-Who I found out doesn’t matter!”
“It does matter. Are you saying that His Majesty has someone planted in our Demon King Castle?”
“That’s not it! I just got curious since the 55th floor has been conquering the lower levels too often, so I investigated. I just happened to make a reasonable assumption when I found out you had so many connections!”
Understanding Citri’s explanation, Nahun nodded as if it made sense. Of course, from Citri’s perspective, the 55th floor was climbing higher in the Demon World, causing her unease that led her to investigate. During that process, she would have learned about the 55th floor’s contact with Seere.
“Gremory will come directly soon to talk with Seere. Then an alliance will be decided.”
“So why didn’t you tell your ally and just went ahead with it…?!”
“Certainly, failing to inform you in advance was my fault. I apologize.”
“U-Um?”
“I’m sorry.”
As Nahun coolly apologized, Citri stared at him with a stunned expression. This was not what she expected. She thought he would argue more, but he conceded too quickly, leaving her speechless.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Um….”
“Since it’s been a while since you came, let’s train a bit.”
“Are you trying to make me fall again? No way!”
“Why not?”
“Can’t you see what I’m wearing? I can’t ruin my clothes!”
Only then did Nahun notice Citri’s attire. Indeed, she had put much more effort into her appearance than usual when visiting him.
“Where are you going?”
“Uh, nowhere in particular….”
“Then why are you all dressed up?”
“…That’s personal.”
Nahun looked at her, half-amused. She bore a confident expression as if there was nothing wrong, and Nahun sighed slightly before speaking.
“Then let’s do something else.”
“Huh? Something else?”
“You’ve been strong enough to stand within my magical power lately. It’s time to learn something different.”
“Are you teaching me ancient magic too?”
“Yes?”
Nahun looked at Citri as if questioning her sanity. Then Citri spoke as though it was unfair that only Seere would be taught.
“I’m an ally too, and you said you would help me regain my strength! We agreed to train for that. Then I should know a few ancient spells as well, right? Don’t just teach Seere, teach me too!”
“….”
Nahun hesitated. Was it right to teach Citri ancient magic? It was true that she was a close ally in the original game, accompanying the main characters until the end. If the ally became stronger, that would also benefit Nahun and Seere.
‘…The existence of ancient magic is rare, making it harder for the opponent to cope.’
Just looking at Seere, her use of ancient magic caused the enemy to stumble in confusion. If the number of users increased, more information and rumors about ancient magic would spread, which was not what Nahun desired.
“Then teach me just one for today! You’re not going to say you can’t do that, are you?”
As Citri backpedaled and made the suggestion again, Nahun sighed lightly. Given how much she wanted it, and with Citri growing stronger, it wouldn’t be bad for either Nahun or Seere.
‘Yeah, adding one more user won’t spread rumors that much.’
Nahun nodded.
“Alright. I will teach you one.”
“Really? But you can’t teach me something useless.”
“I wouldn’t do something so petty. Am I your Majesty or something?”
“When have I ever done anything petty?!”
Grumbling, Citri followed Nahun as he opened the door to his office. Together, they headed for the training grounds.
Watching the two from the window was someone who hadn’t intended it. They simply looked up at Nahun passing by….
“…Teacher?”
It was Seere, the ruler of the 69th floor of the Demon King Castle and the one who cared for Nahun the most.
“Where are they going?”