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Chapter 243: Ballroom(4)
Baal.
A demon with the heads of a lynx, a human, and a frog.
His appearance was exactly the same as when he had seen him at the trial.
The only difference from then was that he was looking at them with a face like a ferocious beast.
[Baal's aura is crushing the surroundings!]
Along with the message, he felt a heavy pressure like a mountain.
'Hmm.'
Was this Baal's power?
He had heard that Baal had been at the top for a long time after obtaining the Demon God's Stone, and it was certainly no joke.
'He's become much stronger than when I saw him before.'
It felt like his power had increased by at least three times.
[Baal]
[Level: ?????]
[The gap is too vast. Further analysis is impossible at this time.]
Oh dear.
His Demon Eye had malfunctioned.
Was it because of Baal's fury?
The banquet hall was already filled with a deathly silence.
Even the demons who had been bragging about being barons and counts couldn't breathe properly under Baal's pressure.
In the midst of that, only one human stepped forward.
No, in fact, he was a human in appearance only, but his essence was that of a demon.
"Haha! Baal! Long time no see!"
―……Vulcan. Is it you?
"Yes, it's me. You old hag with three heads."
Crack.
Crack.
Vulcan, who had instantly transformed into a Balrog, growled while holding a whip.
―You annihilated my kin and stole our treasure, the Demon God's Stone. I haven't forgotten. And I will never forget.
―Tsk tsk. A lot of time has passed, hasn't it, child? Didn't you run away after giving up that precious treasure with your own hands?
―If you hadn't cowardly attacked us together!
―No. The fundamental cause of that incident was that the weak were holding a treasure they couldn't handle. So it had to be taken.
Baal, having said that, stared at Andromalius.
―Malius. I know you well. Although you were the lord of the lowest rank, you held that position for a long time.
―It is a great honor that Your Majesty Baal, the great one, remembers an insignificant person like me.
Andromalius received Baal's words with utmost politeness.
Even though he had taken Kim Minwoo's side, it didn't mean he could ignore Baal.
The great ruler of the Demon Realm.
Even though they were both lords, there was a tremendous difference in rank between him and Baal. It was even more so now that he had relinquished his position as lord.
―But Malius, why did you give up your position as lord? What were you promised?
―I cannot tell you that, even if you are His Majesty. It's a contract.
Andromalius answered with a grin.
―Hmm. Even if that choice means becoming my enemy?
―Yes, even if it means that, there's nothing I can do. Contracts are absolute for us demons.
―……I see. Since you've spread your wings, I wish you good luck.
Whether it would be a soaring flight or a crashing fall remained to be seen. Baal, swallowing his next words, stared intently at Kim Minwoo.
A volcanic rage blazed in his pupils.
The reason was simple.
A lowly human had dared to steal the great power bestowed by the Demon God!
The Demon Eye.
The eye that could see everything.
How had he obtained it?
It was the greatest power bestowed by the Demon God, which he had only been able to obtain after holding the Demon God's Stone in his heart for a thousand years.
It wasn't related to combat power.
But it was a power that could be used even more effectively than that.
After obtaining the Demon Eye, no one could lie in front of Baal.
Even the most cunning witch couldn't dare to bargain in front of Baal.
He could catch a glimpse of the swirling fate of the Demon Realm.
It was the greatest power, to be used importantly for his glory and the revival of the Demon Realm.
But…….
It was stolen.
It disappeared overnight.
He felt like he was going crazy from the overwhelming sense of loss. And he realized who had stolen his power.
Kim Minwoo.
The very name he had repeated hundreds, thousands of times in his anger.
A human, the most insignificant creature!
Baal gestured.
At that moment, a thin membrane formed around Kim Minwoo and Baal.
Within it, Baal spoke.
―Was it you? The one who took my eye?
"Ah, can they hear me?"
Kim Minwoo looked at the surrounding demons. They looked bewildered, as if they couldn't hear the conversation between the two at all.
―It's useless. I've blocked all the surrounding sounds.
"Would you be in trouble? If this story gets out?"
―It wouldn't be good. But the same for you.
That was a fact.
If the news that he had the treasure spread, many would be jealous.
"But why is it your eye? To be precise, it should be the Demon God's Eye."
―How did you take it?
Baal's eyes widened.
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The air grew heavier.
"You want me to tell you for free?"
―I'm holding back the urge to tear you into a thousand pieces right now.
"No. To be precise, you can't kill me. I'm already a participant in the ranking battle. Aren't I?"
―…….
Seeing Baal's silence, it seemed that was correct.
The ranking battle was a rule set by the Demon God, and the scope of protection under that rule also included the proxies.
To put it bluntly, if the proxies weren't protected, all the good ones would end up dead.
The Demon God was a more thorough being than he thought, and protection in this area was quite certain. Even Baal, the 1st in the Demon Realm rankings, couldn't disobey the 'God's' command.
That was what Mr. Ahn, whom he had joined hands with, had assured him.
'Long live the Demon God.'
That was the reason why Kim Minwoo could remain relaxed even in this private conversation.
―Do you think there's no way to kill you? Absolutely not. There are plenty of ways.
"Then do it, what's the problem?"
Kim Minwoo sneered sarcastically.
He was already an irreconcilable enemy with Baal. He wasn't a resident of the Demon Realm, so he had no respect for Baal like the other residents did.
To Kim Minwoo, Baal was just a very strong monster.
A monster he had already hunted once.
―……I'm asking you. How did you take my power?
"I probably took it well. In fact, I wonder if the Demon God wasn't too happy with you hogging it all."
At those words, Baal flinched as if he had been struck in a sensitive spot.
'Does he really think that?'
Well…….
From Baal's perspective, he would be anxious. After all, his power had disappeared overnight.
He would never know that Kim Minwoo had killed his past self and obtained his soul.
Naturally, he had no intention of telling him.
"So, are we just going to keep having this pointless conversation? At this precious time."
―Fine. Return my power. I'll give you a reward.
"I wonder if power is something you can return just because you want to?"
Wasn't this a kind of skill?
If skills could be transferred, everyone on Earth would be trading skills by now. Skill books were expensive because that wasn't possible.
At those words, Baal smiled darkly.
―The devil's contract is great. It's possible if we make a deal. As long as you agree.
"First offer."
He had no intention of returning it anyway.
But he decided to hear what Baal was going to offer.
Grit.
He could hear the sound of teeth grinding from somewhere.
―You came to the Demon Realm because you wanted to see if there was anything to gain from the ranking battle, right?
"Something like that."
―You got Malius's position, but it's only the lowest rank. The road ahead will be very long and difficult.
"So what?"
―If you return my power, I'll help Vulcan get into the top 10. I'm the strongest Demon Lord, and I have more than enough capable proxies.
"Rejected."
―……What?
"Baal, put your hand on your heart and think. Do you really think that's a deal?"
―You seem to not know much because you're human, but the Demon Lords in the top 10 get a lot of benefits…….
"But it's not as good as the Demon God's Eye, right?"
―…….
Baal fell silent.
"Or, would you give me your position?"
―Ha…… Did Vulcan say that? That he wants my position.
"Yes."
―I'd rather kill you somehow and take the power back. That would be much cheaper.
"Then do it. Stop talking and do it."
―……Fine. I'll be a bit more honest. That method is tricky.
"Of course it is. The Demon God isn't some pushover."
—That's right. Shall we talk about something else? I can't give up my rank. I've held this position for a long time, and countless grudges and debts have piled up in the meantime. If I were to step down...
"Things would get messy."
—Something like that. So let me make another offer. I smell a familiar scent from you. Necromancer. You're probably the successor of that Lich, aren't you?
"Oh, you know the Death Lord?"
—Of course. I also know that Vulcan, that loser, sought refuge with the Lich. So he must be under you now.
"So what?"
—Do you know this? That Lich was a far more formidable being than you think.
"How formidable was he?"
—He even fought against the Outer Gods. If our Demon Realm hadn't blocked the passage connecting to the Middle World, we would have been swept up in the aftermath too. We would all be dead. Just like that Lich's forces.
Come to think of it.
Vulcan had said that after he went to the Middle World, the passage was blocked and he couldn't go back. Was that the reason?
Anyway.
That wasn't the important thing.
"Get to the point."
—The Lich's legacy is quite extensive. Well, it seems you were lucky enough to find one. But that one isn't everything.
Baal's three heads stared intently at Kim Minwoo's crown as he spoke.
"So... you know the location of the legacy."
—Yes. To be precise, I know three locations. And I have one of them.
"Please have a seat, Baal. Let's have a heart-to-heart talk."
—Heh heh. Are you finally interested?
"I am. Quite a bit. But what exactly do you have?"
—Well... it's not difficult to tell you. It's a belt. The belt that Lich used to wear.
A belt.
'Valuable.'
Why was it valuable?
It was simple.
Belts weren't considered equipment. To be precise, they were treated as mere accessories.
That meant they had virtually no additional effects.
But if it was the Death Lord's belt…….
'It probably has tremendous effects, right?'
That was something he could tell just by looking at the crown.
"But why is your waist empty, Baal?"
—Only the successor can use that guy's legacy. A demon like me can't use it.
"So, you're going to give me the belt?"
—I'll also tell you the locations of two more legacies. As a bonus, I'll help you rise higher in the ranks of the Demon Lords. I'll get Vulcan into the top 10. Isn't that a reasonable offer?
He nodded.
It was definitely tempting.
—It's reasonable. But Baal, why do you think thieves exist? To sum it up, it's this. If I take Vulcan and usurp your position, I can take all of the Lord's legacy and your position, right? And crucially, I already have a prior agreement.
―……A prior agreement?
"You know, that Andromalius fellow. He wants me to raise him to 2nd place. Well, what can I do? My life's on the line. So I already made a contract with him. You're a demon too, Baal, so you know, right? Once a contract is made, it can't be broken."
―……This is amusing.
But there was no trace of a smile on Baal's face as he said that.
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