Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Proposal (2)
After a moment of surprise, Jung Minwoo looked at the Black Goat with questioning eyes.
‘How did it get in here?’
This was not a place where anyone other than the room’s owner could enter as they pleased.
‘The room can only be accessed through iris recognition.’
An artifact was installed on the door. Unless iris recognition was performed, the door would never open, no matter what method was used.
Furthermore, an artifact was also installed on the window, creating a protective barrier that prevented entry from outside.
‘And if someone tries to force the door open, an alarm would go off, and security guards would be dispatched.’
The training center valued the safety and security of the demons, so if someone had tried to force the door open, they would have already been apprehended by the security guards.
‘Although they emphasize safety, they mercilessly dispose of those who don’t rank in the top 10.’
Anyway, for those reasons, it didn’t make sense for the Black Goat to be here in the first place.
As he was lost in thought, rolling his eyes back and forth,
“Curious how I got in?”
The Black Goat spoke, wearing a sly smile.
“…Sigh.”
Realizing that there was no way to find out other than asking the person directly, Jung Minwoo sighed and said,
“…How did you get in?”
“Want me to tell you?”
T h is w a s c op i e d f r o m ki n g m t l . or g
The Black Goat responded to Jung Minwoo’s question with a playful expression.
“…”
“I’m debating whether to tell you or not~”
Seeing this, Jung Minwoo felt irritation rising within him.
“You’d better tell me honestly.”
“Why?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll sound the alarm and call the security guards.”
To Jung Minwoo’s threat, the Black Goat replied nonchalantly,
“Oh my, such a scary threat. Well, I guess I have no choice but to tell you, then?”
Snap―
And as it snapped its fingers,
“?!”
The Black Goat’s face instantly transformed into an exact replica of Jung Minwoo’s.
“I opened the door and walked in, looking just like you.”
“…What?”
After a moment of bewilderment, Jung Minwoo glared at the Black Goat and said,
“Who are you?”
“Who do you think I am? I’m a student, just like you.”
At the Black Goat’s words, Jung Minwoo frowned and shouted,
“Cut the crap!”
“Oh, quite a temper you have.”
As if amused by his reaction, the Black Goat started laughing, clutching its stomach.
“Oh, that was hilarious. But do you have any proof that I’m not a student?”
It soon stopped laughing and asked for a reason.
Jung Minwoo didn’t want to answer his question, but
‘…If I don’t speak, it won’t answer my question either.’
He had no choice but to respond, as he was the one who needed information.
“It’s simple.”
The reason he was certain the Black Goat wasn’t a student was simple.
‘It’s different from what it showed during the duel.’
During the duel, it clearly used a weapon that could freely extend the length of its scythe and a unique trait that inflicted debuffs on opponents.
But now, it had a unique trait that could even change its appearance?
‘Just this alone tells me it’s not a student.’
He could have questioned whether it possessed a human soul like him, but
‘If it did, it wouldn’t have revealed its abilities in front of me in the first place.’
If it were truly a student, it wouldn’t have done something as foolish as exposing its full power to a competitor.
“Oh, sharp observation.”
The Black Goat clapped its hands in admiration after hearing Jung Minwoo’s explanation.
“…So, who are you?”
“Well, if I’m not a student, what could I be? ~”
Hearing its response, Jung Minwoo realized the Black Goat had no intention of answering.
‘If this continues, I’ll just be led around.’
He also sensed that if the conversation went on like this, he would be playing into the Black Goat’s hands.
‘I need to take control of the conversation to get the answers I want.’
Deciding to reclaim the lost initiative, Jung Minwoo chose to take a firm stance.
“I’ll ask one last time. Who are you?”
“Why, are you going to threaten to call the security guards again if I don’t answer?”
“Yes.”
“Do you really think you can? Then you won’t hear about my true identity.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Scoffing at the Black Goat’s words, Jung Minwoo uttered the activation phrase,
“Shadow Deployment.”
Rustle―
The shadows that had been clinging to the floor transformed into thorns and began to fly toward the door.
“Let’s see if you can maintain that nonchalant attitude even when the security guards arrive.”
Just as the thorn-like shadows were about to reach the door,
“Alright, alright.”
The Black Goat raised a white flag.
“You should have done that from the start.”
Stopping the shadows, Jung Minwoo looked at the Black Goat.
“I was going to play with you a little longer before telling you, but you’re a better demon than I thought.”
“Enough with the games. Reveal your identity.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you if you insist.”
The Black Goat sighed and snapped its fingers.
Snap―
“Hmm?”
It transformed into a demon with a different appearance.
‘Who is this?’
Jung Minwoo narrowed his eyes and examined the Black Goat closely.
Th i s w as c op i e d fr o m k i n gm tl .o r g
Red hair, two horns protruding from its forehead, and a tail shaped like a trident.
He felt puzzled by its ordinary demon appearance. Then,
‘…Heterochromia?’
He noticed that the man’s eyes were different colors.
‘The right one is red, and the left one is black? Wait a minute…’
Seeing this, a figure flashed through Jung Minwoo’s mind.
‘Where have I seen this before…?’
Th i s w as cop i ed f r o m k in g m t l .o r g
As he slowly retraced his memory, he recalled seeing this figure in a textbook titled “Great Figures of the Demon World.”
“…No way.”
And he realized that this figure bore a striking resemblance to the Demon Lord.
Jung Minwoo muttered the name he had recalled, his voice trembling,
“…Satan?”
The Black Goat, no, Satan chuckled and said,
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a demon who doesn’t use honorifics in front of the Demon Lord.”
T hi s w as co p i e d f rom k i n g m t l .o rg
Then, Satan flicked its finger.
Thud――!
A massive demonic energy began to crush his body intensely.
“Ugh!”
He tried to draw up his demonic energy to resist, but
“Gasp, gasp!”
Overwhelmed by the absolute power, Jung Minwoo struggled to even breathe, let alone gather his demonic energy.
Just as fear began to grip him, the fear of his body being crushed,
“You’re quite promising, so I’ll stop the punishment here.”
T hi s wa s co p i ed f r o m k in g m t l .or g
Satan flicked its finger again, and the demonic energy that had filled the surroundings vanished as if it had never been there.
“…Huff.”
As if by magic, the pain that had been crushing his body disappeared completely.
T h i s w a s c op i e d fro m k in g m t l . o rg
With the pain gone, his frozen mind began to work rapidly.
‘…The Demon Lord came to see me?’
Jung Minwoo couldn’t believe the current situation.
It was like the president visiting an ordinary student he had never met.
T h i s w a s cop i ed fr o m k i n g m t l. o rg
‘Is it because I used Demon Eye?’
The only connection they had was the shared “Demon Eye” unique trait.
‘…He did say it appeared after 10,000 years, so it’s understandable he’d be curious.’
However, he still couldn’t shake off the question of why the Demon Lord would come to see him in person.
‘He could have summoned me separately, why bother coming in person?’
Eventually, realizing he couldn’t find the answer on his own, Jung Minwoo decided to ask the person in front of him directly.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Demon Lord-nim. If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask you a question?”
Jung Minwoo knelt on one knee and spoke as respectfully as possible.
“You were so casual before, but your tone has changed completely.”
“I apologize for my disrespect earlier, as I was unaware of your esteemed presence. I am truly sorry.”
“It’s alright, I was hiding my identity. So, what did you want to ask?”
With Satan’s permission, Jung Minwoo bowed his head respectfully and said,
“I would like to ask why you have come here.”
“It’s nothing special. I heard that someone with ‘Demon Eye’ appeared, so I came to mark you as mine.”
“Mark me as yours…?”
“It means I’m going to take you as my subordinate after you graduate.”
Jung Minwoo tilted his head in confusion at the Demon Lord’s explanation.
‘…He came all this way for this? Seriously?’
T h i s w a s c opied f r o m k in g m t l .or g
He couldn’t comprehend why the Demon Lord would personally come all this way when he could have simply summoned him after graduation.
“My answer didn’t resolve your doubts, did it?”
“Due to my humble understanding, I couldn’t grasp your grand intentions, Demon Lord-nim.”
At Jung Minwoo’s response, Satan stroked his chin for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Well, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you.”
As if he had finished contemplating, he raised his head and said,
“Actually, others are aiming for my position.”
“Aiming for your position…?”
“Yes, other Demon Lords have formed alliances and are eyeing my throne.”
“Can’t you eliminate them beforehand?”
“I need a justification. A justification.”
“Ah…”
He had thought that someone of the Demon Lord’s stature could wield power as they pleased, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“There have been similar instances before, but this time, the atmosphere is different. So I thought about strengthening my forces, and that’s when I heard about you.”
“With all due respect, wouldn’t it be better to recruit demons with higher ranks than a mere student like me?”
“It’s too late for that. I’ve been preparing for this for thousands of years. And it’s more beneficial to recruit you than those guys.”
“…Beneficial, you say?”
More beneficial to recruit him than high-ranking demons?
Jung Minwoo looked at Satan with a questioning gaze.
“You have no idea how much potential ‘Demon Eye’ holds, do you?”
“…”
“Its power is dangerous enough to threaten my position. That’s why I came here before anyone else could claim you.”
Satan’s words finally made sense to Jung Minwoo.
‘I see, that’s why.’
Since Satan himself possessed the “Demon Eye” unique trait, he would know how powerful it was.
‘That’s why he came to me personally before I could be recruited by another Demon Lord.’
Based on what he had heard, other Demon Lords would likely try to recruit him once he graduated.
‘And they would use me to overthrow the Demon Lord.’
If they succeeded in overthrowing the Demon Lord,
‘Then I would be discarded.’
They would attempt to eliminate him, the dangerous individual with “Demon Eye.”
It was clearly advantageous to side with the Demon Lord.
However, there was one thing he didn’t understand.
“May I ask one last question?”
“What is it?”
“Then why haven’t other Demon Lords approached me?”
Satan shrugged and replied,
“It’s a rule that demons can’t interfere with the training center before the ‘Affiliation Consultation’ begins.”
“Then how did you…?”
“Me? I snuck in.”
Jung Minwoo almost burst out laughing at the shamelessly blunt answer.
“…What happens if I refuse?”
“Any demon with a brain wouldn’t refuse, but if you do, I’ll simply leave.”
“…You won’t kill me?”
“There’s a rule set by the Demon God that forbids killing students.”
“I understand.”
“So, what’s your answer?”
Jung Minwoo nodded at Satan’s question and replied,
“Do I even have a choice? If I follow other Demon Lords, I’ll be disposed of later. It’s obvious I should follow you, Demon Lord-nim.”
The Demon Lord seemed pleased with Jung Minwoo’s answer and gave a bright smile.
T h i s w a s cop i e d fr om ki n gm t l.o r g
“As expected, you’re quick-witted.”
Then, Satan stood up from the bed and said,
“I’d like to make a contract with you right now, but there’s a rule against making contracts with students. So we’ll do it after you graduate.”
“You seem confident that I’ll graduate.”
“It would be strange if you couldn’t graduate with ‘Demon Eye.’ If you can’t graduate with that ability, you’re better off being disposed of.”
“…”
Jung Minwoo shuddered slightly at the chilling words.
T h i s w a s co pi e d f ro m ki n gm t l . o rg
“Since you’re going to be under me, I should at least give you a present before I go.”
“A present?”
Jung Minwoo’s eyes sparkled at the mention of a present.
“What should I give you…”
Satan scratched his head, lost in thought, then
“Ah, right. I’ll give you that.”
He clapped his hands and approached Jung Minwoo.
“Endure the pain.”
He grabbed Jung Minwoo’s face and forcefully injected demonic energy into his right eye.
“W-What are you doing…!”
At that moment, an indescribable pain began to engulf Jung Minwoo’s entire body.
“Ugh!”
“You’ll be fine once you open your eyes. See you at graduation.”
Swoosh―
Satan smiled and vanished from the spot.
“Ugh!”
Thud―
Jung Minwoo collapsed to the floor, clutching his right eye.
It was as if someone was gouging out his eye and pouring salt into the wound.
“This is beyond just pain…!”
He wondered if he would die from the unbearable agony. Just then,
【A new effect of Demon Eye (魔眼) has been discovered with the help of a high-ranking demon】
A new message window appeared before his eyes.
‘A new effect has been discovered…?’
He was curious about the new effect, but
“Aaaargh!”
The intense pain that followed left him no time to check.
Unable to withstand the excruciating pain, Jung Minwoo
Collapse―
lost consciousness.