The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

Episode 26: The Demon King of Greed (2)

‘Even though I’d heard of a floating island, it’s fascinating to actually see how it floats.’

I looked up at the sky, which seemed close enough to touch.

During my time as the Demon King, I had defeated the Demon King of Lust, ‘Asmodeus’, and gained some information from Lezie.

Although I hadn’t obtained much, I had at least figured out the ‘territories’ of the Seven Deadly Sins.

For example, the Demon King of Envy had the ‘Ocean Temple of Sallit’, the Demon King of Sloth had the ‘Temple of Time, Feol’, and so on.

Considering that the Demon King of Greed’s ‘Floating Island of Canaan’ has come to Earth, it’s possible that the other Seven Deadly Sins will bring their territories as well.

“Especially since Asmodeus brought his own domain, Sarazar.”

I’ll find out more about this in the future.

I climbed to the top of the tallest tree to survey the area.

‘…Something’s blocking the view.’

About 5 km from here, the center of the island was shrouded in a black curtain, making it impossible to see what was inside.

This must be why I haven’t seen Adoniya’s demon yet.

I landed on the ground and began walking towards that area.

“Your Majesty!”

A haughty voice suddenly caught my ear. I turned my head.

“…Quel?”

“Yes, at your service, Your Majesty.”

It was definitely Quel, but her normally diamond-clear appearance was tainted red.

I used [Clean] to tidy her up before asking,

“Was there a battle?”

“Yes, I was going to ignore it, but a strange fellow insulted Your Majesty and showed hostility…”

Quel briefly avoided eye contact.

I guess she’s worried about how I’d react.

“Good job. If anyone shows hostility, handle it that way.”

I didn’t intend to be a pushover, even if it was to let my people live on Earth.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Please accept this.”

Kneeling on one knee, Quel handed me something.

In my open hands lay a flask.

“I extracted the blood of that individual, Your Majesty.”

This is an unexpected gain. The owner of this blood is likely at least an A-rank hunter.

I hesitated no further and drank the blood from the flask.

Aghhh!

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the memory of a teenager being electrically tortured in a dark room.

…Isn’t this Ryu Chun-ji, an SS-rank hunter from China?

I inspected the newly acquired skill.

[Thunderbolt]

Allows you to envelop your entire body with powerful lightning and control it.

“Your Majesty, he seemed to overload his nerves with lightning to boost his physical abilities.”

It’s similar to [Acceleration]. With [[Thunderbolt], that power would likely be amplified.

A truly excellent skill.

I affectionately patted the head of the resourceful Quel.

“Well done, Quel.”

“…I’ve only done what needed to be done.”

“Let’s move on. I intend to claim this land as mine as soon as possible.”

“As you wish.”

We headed toward the central area. I had no intention of waiting for that curtain to lift.

If they don’t make way, I was prepared to use ‘that method’. It looked more like a seal than a restriction.

Woosh!

At that moment, a Magic circle formed beneath our feet, and an enormous Magical energy surged in.

Above our heads, a condensed sphere of energy seemed ready to burst.

Sensing this, Quel and I swiftly moved out of the circle’s range.

Kaboom!

A bolt of lightning struck, tearing a bright yellow scar in the sky and demolishing the ground where we had stood.

“Hmm, you dodged that. You’re not just an ordinary hunter, are you?”

I liked the smug tone in the voice.

From the forest emerged an old man with a long white beard, leaning on a long staff, and coming toward us.

Around him were people wearing robes.

“… A member of the Cult of Great Sin, huh.”

Interestingly, I couldn’t sense ‘Adoniya Magi’ from the old man, but his aura was unmistakable.

There was no chance that the other hunters would attack me, either.

“Heh, quite surprising. Even other intelligence agencies don’t know about the Cult of Great Sin. So, were you the one who took down the Greed faction in Korea?”

He was clearly a Westerner, but I understood his words.

The same phenomenon had occurred during the time of the Demon King of Lust, it seemed to be the same this time.

“Well, who knows.”

“Heh, you’re pretty confident just because you took them down. But don’t get careless. We’re not comparable to them.”

It did look that way.

They were nothing special before their transformation into demons, but this old man felt menacing even in his human form.

Well, that’s all there was to it.

“Are you Eden, the SS-rank Hunter from the U.S.?”

“Lucky you recognized me. I would’ve been disappointed otherwise.”

“Are all SS-rank hunters part of the Cult of Great Sin? Or should I say, because it’s the Cult of Great Sin, is it accurate to call them SS-rank hunters?”

“Ah, that’s incorrect. I can’t speak for the others, but I was an SS-rank hunter even before joining the Cult of Great Sin.”

The corner of Eden’s mouth rose in a boastful manner.

I casually asked,

“What exactly is the Cult of Great Sin’s purpose?”

“Purpose…”

Eden stroked his long beard.

“Well, things like the destruction of humanity are part of it, but in my case, it would be immortality. As you can see, I’ve lived 20 years more, looking like I’m 80.”

The reason demons have long lifespans is because of Magi. This was confirmed by Roberto’s research.

Well, my case is special.

“I still regret it. If I had known about the Cult of Great Sin sooner, it would’ve been better. Apparently, it existed even before the great change.”

Is he freely sharing this information because he thinks I’ll die here anyway?

I chuckled upon hearing Eden’s lament.

“Immortality, huh… I’ve tried it, and it’s not that great.”

Living forever without any goals or purpose is not exactly a joyous experience.

Among humans, I would be the one who understands this the best.

“…You’ve tried it?”

Eden paused momentarily, then burst into loud laughter. His companions followed suit.

At his rudeness, Quel stepped forward.

“Those…!”

“Stay back, Quel. I think there’s much to gain from this guy.”

I held her back.

He may still plan to kill me, but not just yet.

“Heh… Quite a funny joke. Koreans sure have a good sense of humor.”

Eden finally suppressed his laughter.

“You, being young, wouldn’t understand how I feel. You still have many days left to become strong and sleep with countless women.”

He put his wrinkled hand to his chest.

“But look at me. My skin is all wrinkled, and my once golden hair has turned white. Don’t I look like an old goat? Your beauty will eventually turn into this, you know.”

Eden stared at me with intense eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid of that? I don’t know how you obtained your Magi, but that alone won’t grant you eternal life. So, how about joining the Cult of Great Sin before you regret it?”

“You’re asking me to enter a stinking goat pen?”

At my sarcastic remark, Eden’s relaxed eyebrows twitched.

He forced a smile.

“Well, you’ll understand when you get older… though it seems you won’t have that opportunity.”

As Eden slightly gripped his staff, I smirked.

“Do you really think you can defeat me?”

“Heh, you remind me of my younger self. An ignorant child. Let this old man teach you that there are walls you can’t overcome in life.”

A child… I’m at least 6,000 years older than you.

“What should I use on you…”

Eden pondered as he stroked his goat-like beard.

“Hmm, yes. For you, I’ll have to use my special ability.”

Of course, I knew what ability he was referring to.

“Magic control, is it?”

“…What?”

For the first time, confusion appeared in Eden’s eyes, but he quickly masked his emotions.

“Ah, you even have the ability of insight. Truly worthy of being an SS-rank hunter.”

“Where does your confidence come from? You should know that I control Magi, not just Magic, right?”

I had previously revealed my use of Magi on a live broadcast.

Ordinary hunters wouldn’t know about it, and because it caught the attention of Cult of Great Sin,

“Heh heh, you use Magi and yet you seem to not know this.”

I should know everything there is to know about Magic.

“What don’t I know?”

“When humans use Magi, they necessarily incorporate Magic Power! To draw Magi, one needs Magic Power as a catalyst! It’s the same for a human like you!”

… I almost burst into laughter.

Ah, so that’s something I didn’t know. ‘Ordinary humans need Magic Power to use Magi.’

‘But what now…’

I put one hand to my rising mouth.

Quel looked at Eden pityingly and asked me,

“…What will you do, Your Majesty?”

So, they’re acting all arrogant because they think that if they control my Magic Power, I won’t be able to use Magi?

Ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Barely suppressing my laughter, I looked Eden in the eye.

“I’ve made my decision.”

“Hm? Finally feeling the sense of crisis and deciding to join Cult of Great Sin?”

“I’ll appoint you as my personal clown. Life won’t be boring with you around. What do you say? It’s your last chance to live.”

It had been a long time since I almost burst into laughter like this.

Anger was etched on Eden’s narrowed brows.

“… You still have the leisure to joke, it seems.”

“Does that mean you’re refusing?”

“… You impudent brat.”

Eden twisted his mouth and stretched out one hand towards us.

Then he clenched his hand as if gripping something.

” Magic control.”

In that moment, something floating nearby vanished.

It was undoubtedly ‘Magic Power.’

“Now, how does it feel? No strength in your entire body, right?”

Eden grinned strangely.

“That’s what it feels like to grow old. The body deteriorates and becomes frail.”

Eden chuckled softly.

Quel tilted her head beside me.

“Is it despair, perhaps?”

“… A waste of talent.”

I pursed my lips in regret.

“Ho, ho…! Still acting nonchalant? Your boasted physical abilities should have dropped drastically now that your Magic Power is gone, no?”

Eden taunted me, flicking his snake-like tongue.

“So, brat, this old man will show you his last act of kindness. Will you join Cult of Great Sin now? If you kneel and apologize, I might be lenient.”

“Shut up and do it.”

“…What?”

“Stop babbling and attack or do whatever.”

I’ll distort that arrogant face of yours starting now.

“… So, you’re throwing away your last chance. Fine, I’ll kill you all at once!”

The next moment, Eden’s aura changed menacingly.

His fading eyes became blood-red, and Adoniya Magi rose from his flesh.

Grrrrrrrr!

Eden, holding a wooden staff, gathered Magi.

“Inferno”

Whooooosh!

Red energy focused at one point, then burst out and expanded. A massive fire shot towards us.

Truly, a Magic spell on a different level from ‘Fire Arrow’.

I activated [Alter’s Understanding] as I watched. It disassembled and analyzed the spell in front of me, imprinting it into my mind.

Leisurely, I extended one arm.

“Is this how you use it?”

Sssssssss—!

A cluster of pure Magi gathered at my fingertips.

It took on the property of fire, and according to my will, it took form. A point became a line, a line became a surface.

The flame that eventually became three-dimensional turned into the mouth of a demon and was fired.

“Inferno,”

Whooooosh!

A fire of just the right magnitude to counter Eden’s spell came crashing in.

Kwaaaaang!

Both spells collided at one point, causing a huge noise. The two flames pushed against each other fiercely, scattering heat for a while.

The black and red embers scattered like an afterglow, and at some point, they disappeared.

In the ensuing silence after the clash.

“H-how can you use Magic…!”

Eden was horrified at the unbelievable sight.

I looked at him and gave a faint smile.

“Go ahead, use more.”

A very informative Magic lesson had begun.

(To be continued in the next episode)