Chapter 202: Chapter 198: Keep Your Temper In Check

Mephisto Rage.

Though she was one of the Four Heavenly Kings with a particularly mysterious whereabouts, I had a rough idea of where she might be.

Although she hadn’t directly revealed herself, the circumstances during another Heavenly King’s attack on me had given me clues.

“Hehe, it’s a relief that you’ve put down your hostility and made space for this meeting… It seems the owner of this fortress is someone I can reason with.”

What on earth had happened to her…?

What could have happened in the last half year for her to appear before me, not as Merilyn, but as a demon?

“What’s wrong? By setting up this meeting, it seems you’re willing to talk to me as well…”

Unable to shake off my anxiety, I looked at Merilyn—no, at this moment, she should be called Mephisto, the demon.

Her characteristic overconfident demeanor was enough to make me feel quite tense just by facing her.

Even though she had entered the ark alone, away from her group, and despite the key members of the ark, including myself, being present in this meeting room…

She seemed confident that no matter what happened here, she could easily brush it off.

“My, my, everyone here is so tense.”

And I was sure others felt the same.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, Mephisto let out a small laugh and then, as if to make a point, raised her hand and clapped.

“It’s not good to stay so tense, you know? Now that we’re all here, why don’t we all have a big laugh together, okay?”

-Bang!

A light explosion followed the sound of her clap.

The burst of confetti scattered around, making a mess, but the tense atmosphere remained unchanged.

Instead, someone even prepared to draw their weapon, suspecting some trick behind the explosion.

“Oh dear, you’re all being so harsh. I even came alone to ease your suspicions…”

It was only natural. Though she rarely showed herself, the rumors alone placed her in a league far above other demons.

Wherever she set foot, everyone would fall into madness, killing each other until only carnage remained—the incarnation of chaos…

“…Mephisto Rage.”

With the culprit of such horrors standing right in front of us, there was no way we would let our guard down.

Even for me, who had responsibilities to uphold.

No matter how much I loved her, as long as I didn’t understand her intentions, I couldn’t help but feel wary.

“…Why have you come to us?”

In this situation, the most pressing question was why someone of her stature would seek out a group like ours, struggling just to take in refugees.

At my question, she dropped her playful demeanor and gave me a straight answer.

“I heard some recent rumors that piqued my interest. They spoke of a group leading a mobile fortress outside of human territories…”

“And why would that catch your interest?”

“As for that… Well, let’s not beat around the bush. I’ll get straight to the point.”

With a swift motion, Mephisto tilted up her hat.

Her half-open eyes, now visible beneath the brim, fixed on me as she stated her purpose.

“Hero Woo Hyo-sung.”

An offer from the closest aide of this world’s greatest calamity, one I never would have expected.

“Please, could you take in the demons under my command?”

“…What?”

“I heard you’re gathering refugees here. So, I was hoping you could also take us in, as we’re in need of a place to stay…”

My breath caught, and my mind spun in confusion.

What she had just said was beyond comprehension.

Asking us to take them in—what could that mean?

A demon asking humans for help?

For demons, who were born to pillage and plunder, to request to be taken in as refugees just because they were in a tough spot—could that even be possible? ɌαɴÖ𝖇Ęs̈

“What’s wrong? Your expression has gone stiff.”

“No, it’s just… I’m having trouble understanding. Did you really just ask us to accept demons as refugees?”

“That’s correct.”

“You, the second in command of the Demon King’s army… came here, leading your group, to ask me for this?”

“That’s right, but I think you may be misunderstanding something.”

At that moment, the gap between perception and reality grew wider.

In this incomprehensible situation, she began to explain in a more serious tone.

“As it happens, I’ve already left the Demon King’s army. As for being one of the Four Heavenly Kings or the second in command… those are just things of the past now.”

“What…?”

“Yes, that’s right. I no longer have any ties to the Demon King’s army. No matter what happened in the past, I’ve left it all behind and am now seeking an independent life.”

-Murmur, murmur.

The unexpected, shocking confession threw the members of the ark into confusion.

But it was still hard to take her words at face value.

There was no way we could fully trust the words of a race born to deceive others.

“And as for the demons who followed me… you could say they are the losers of the power struggle.”

Yet the Frenzied Jester continued to explain in a voice full of sincerity.

Soon, even the smile on her lips faded, leaving only a chilling silence in the meeting room.

“…Losers? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, they’re the lowest of the low who were weeded out of the Demon King’s army. In an army where the law of power rules everything, being weak makes you a prime candidate for elimination.”

They were abandoned because they were weak?

Indeed, the number of demons she led wasn’t small for refugees, but compared to the forces in this ark, they were much fewer.

Moreover, if all of them were weak, their threat might be far less than we initially thought.

“So, I gathered these abandoned ones, formed a group, and now we’re seeking the right opportunity to escape the Demon King’s army.”

But the reason she took in those weaklings must be far from moral.

Demons were beings who acted on their desires, and everything they did was driven by their own ambitions.

So, gathering and leading those discarded demons must serve some purpose for her.

“The right opportunity, you say. What is that…?”

As I suspected, she answered me with a resolute voice.

“A chance to kill the Demon King, of course.”

-Murmur, murmur.

The murmurs grew louder again.

What she had just said was entirely unexpected for us.

“Kill… the Demon King?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Why would the Demon King’s closest aide want to kill him?”

“What on earth is going on?”

It was impossible to predict.

Not only had she suddenly shown up, but now she was claiming that the reason was to find a chance to kill the Demon King.

Could such words truly come from the second-in-command of the Demon King’s army?

“It’s not a lie.”

But her voice was serious, and her gaze was sharply focused on me.

“I am sincerely…”

Her words carried a sincerity that made it hard to believe it was just an act.

“…truly waiting for the chance to kill him. And so, I’ve come to find a place where I can entrust my safety. It may take time for the right moment to come, but when it does, I believe the opportunity will present itself.”

She was gathering the outcast demons for a purpose, seeking a place where they could be protected while biding their time.

It was something I could understand in theory—at least, in my mind.

“…But why do you want to kill the Demon King?”

But even for a demon, wasn’t the Demon King still the Demon King?

The absolute ruler who brought them into this world, the sovereign, and a living catastrophe capable of destroying worlds…

To speak so casually about killing such a being…

“If I don’t kill him, I will die too.”

She answered my question as if it were nothing.

It made the doubts I had been harboring seem pointless, to the extent that I found myself being swayed by her words.

“It’s a simple reason that I’m sure everyone here can understand. Soon, something will happen in this world that will provoke the Demon King and bring about the destruction of everything.”

“Destruction? What do you mean…?”

“I mean exactly what I said. The Demon King has destroyed many dimensions before, and he’s repeating that process here in this world as well.”

It wasn’t an unbelievable claim.

After all, unlike other races, demons were invaders from another dimension who didn’t originally belong to this world.

And the one leading such an outrageous endeavor was none other than the Demon King.

The fact that demons had entered this world was proof enough that he had the power to destroy dimensions.

“And right now, he’s completely lost his mind. He’s killed his loyal subordinates with his own hands, without feeling a thing….”

The gravity of her words, combined with her serious demeanor, made her story increasingly convincing.

A growing sense of unease warned me that ignoring her words might lead to regret later.

“If he goes on a rampage, no longer finding any value in his subordinates, what do you think will happen to us demons, myself included?”

Right, if the Demon King wasn’t killed, both humanity and the demons would be doomed.

Sensing that, she had decided to betray the Demon King, and now she was reaching out to me from this very place.

“Of course, how you choose to take this is entirely up to you… But it wouldn’t be a bad deal for your side, either. All you’d need to do is provide us with safety and time. In return, we could lend you the strength needed to maintain this fortress and potentially eliminate the threats that endanger you.”

Whether to part ways with them here or to form an alliance with the demons to seek an opportunity to eliminate the threat to humanity.

She presented me with this choice, holding out her hand as if to seal her words.

“Whatever your choice, I’ll respect it. Please feel free to share your thoughts…”

-Gulp.

A dry swallow in my throat.

Yet my thirst remained unquenched, and I felt more conflicted than ever.

If she had been a mere stranger, I would have decided to part ways without hesitation. But even now, the aura I sensed from this demon told me she was indeed her—the person I loved, the one I wanted to stay with.

Even if her true identity was that of a demon, I wanted to believe that she wasn’t approaching me with ill intentions.

“I…”

So I wanted to take her hand.

“No, you can’t.”

At that moment, a voice startled me, causing my hand to jerk, and I turned my gaze toward the one who had intervened.

Standing there was Flang.

The look in her eyes as she glared at Merilyn was clearly one of hatred.

“You can’t, Master. Any other race is fine, but you can’t make a deal with the demons!”

“…Flang.”

“Have you forgotten who was responsible for what happened to the people of the sanctuary?! It was the demons! It was one of the Four Heavenly Kings too!!!”

-Thump, thump.

My heart began to pound intensely.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As my mind started to go blank, I noticed that the others were beginning to side with her.

“She’s right. We can’t trust demons.”

“Killing the Demon King? Even if she’s the second-in-command, is that even possible?”

“She’s definitely trying to deceive us! She’s going to stab us in the back!”

It wasn’t just Flang; the others distrusted Merilyn, too.

Amidst this atmosphere, Merilyn adjusted her hat and let out a sigh.

“Come to think of it, Yasmo was the only one of the Four Heavenly Kings left… Ah, no wonder I haven’t seen her around lately. So that’s what happened.”

Had she pieced together the fate of her kin from what was said?

Yet, what came out of her mouth wasn’t sympathy or sorrow but something closer to mockery.

“She should have stuck to her goal, but she couldn’t break old habits and wasted time on useless things, only to meet her end… How fitting for a foolish harlot.”

A chuckle escaped her lips.

Flang’s body trembled as she glared at Merilyn, clearly irritated by the ridicule.

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“What else do you expect me to say?”

Merilyn shrugged as if she genuinely didn’t understand.

No, in the current her, there was no trace of the person I loved.

“Your kin… A fellow Heavenly King wiped out the people of the sanctuary. Don’t you feel any guilt for that?!”

“Guilt? Why?”

Even if it was a familiar face responsible for such destruction, you’d think she’d hesitate to respond.

Yet, she replied as if it truly didn’t matter to her.

“Why, you ask…?”

“Because what happened in the sanctuary wasn’t my doing. Sharing responsibility for something I didn’t do—do you humans really take it for granted to bear the sins of others?”

Maybe that was to be expected.

It was unreasonable to expect demons, who were so driven by their desires, to have a sense of kinship.

Without feeling compassion, sympathy, or even empathy for victims, it was no wonder that she found any emphasis on guilt laughable.

“If sharing guilt is truly human nature and the right thing to do, then the uprisings in your territory would be your responsibility too, wouldn’t they?”

“Th-that’s…”

“Yes, it’s an exaggeration to share responsibility just because you belong to the same race. Just as the uprising had nothing to do with you, what Yasmo did has nothing to do with me. Especially now that I’ve left the Demon King’s army.”

Did she find Flang’s speechless reaction amusing?

As the demon glanced at her trembling in place, a sly smile began to form on her lips.

“But to think someone not involved would interrupt such an important conversation…”

“Keep your temper in check. Taking out your anger in the wrong place isn’t helpful.”

Was that a mockery of someone in pain?

Or was it simply the expression of indifference, devoid of malice, from someone who couldn’t empathize with another’s pain?

Either way, it was a far cry from the person I once knew.

Even so, she used to cry for me when I was in pain and tried to support me…

“…Everyone, leave.”

Is it wrong to cling to those memories and hold onto a sliver of hope in her now?

“Hero, what do you mean…?”

“I said leave. From now on, this will be a private conversation.”

“Master, that’s…!”

“I’m the one in charge here.”

As Flang and the others tried to stop me, I quietly held up the ring in my hand, firmly asserting my decision.

“If you don’t want to take this ring in my place, shouldn’t you prioritize my orders?”

You might think my judgment is wrong.

But unless that judgment proves disastrous, the leader’s orders must come first.

If a group doesn’t follow that principle, it will collapse. Knowing that, they couldn’t refuse my command.

“…Let’s leave it to him for now.”

With Ga-ram accepting my decision, one by one, they began to leave the room.

Flang was the last to go, looking at me with eyes full of betrayal. But I silently endured her resentment, trying to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, Flang.”

Reject what you can’t embrace, and bear only what you can handle.

“Right now, the ark is my top priority.”

I kept repeating that one rule to myself over and over.

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