READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 21
Chapter 21: I Am a Demon (4)
[What is the nature of higher beings?]
[Theory of Innate Goodness VS Theory of Innate Evil]
‘I expected this topic to come up at some point.’ It was a classic theme that never failed to appear in debates.
‘And luckily, I was assigned the latter choice.’
Having lived in Hell Joseon, Jung Minwoo firmly believed in the theory of innate evil.
‘It’s not easy to lose when you get a topic you’re so confident about.’
Jung Minwoo turned his gaze to Pink Girl with a satisfied smile.
‘She looks pleased.’
He could see that Pink Girl also had a bright expression.
‘I wonder what she’s thinking?’
Jung Minwoo decided to read her thoughts before the competition began.
As he concentrated on Pink Girl.
【Theory of Innate Goodness… I can easily win this.】
Letters formed above her head, transforming Pink Girl’s thoughts into text.
‘She’s thinking the same thing as me.’
Since they were both assigned choices they were confident in, it seemed like this debate would be quite exciting.
“Would it be okay if I started first?”
Pink Girl asked Jung Minwoo, taking her eyes off the screen.
“I don’t mind.”
As Jung Minwoo nodded in agreement.
Beep―
Pink Girl immediately pressed the button and spoke.
“The reason higher beings are good is simple. Unlike us, they exhibit the characteristic of carrying on with their weakened members. How can such beings be considered evil?”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i ng m tl. o r g
It was a fairly plausible argument.
‘But there are too many blind spots.’
Jung Minwoo read her thoughts to figure out what Pink Girl was hiding.
【It’s better to push forward calmly like this than to start too strong at the beginning.】
‘So that’s what she was thinking.’
Jung Minwoo chuckled inwardly and pressed the button.
Beep―
“That argument doesn’t make sense.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because that logic requires the premise that a safe haven is provided. If they were to face danger, they too would abandon the weak and elderly first.”
Pink Girl immediately pressed the button and countered.
“Of course, if their lives were threatened, they would have no choice but to act that way. However, I believe that is a ‘survival instinct,’ and should be considered differently from their ‘innate nature.'”
Jung Minwoo stroked his chin and said,
“It doesn’t matter… Why do you think so?”
“Because instinct is a basic desire possessed by both higher and lower beings.”
Jung Minwoo was impressed by Pink Girl’s answer.
‘Was this all a build-up for this?’
As expected of a competitor he acknowledged, her eloquence was quite remarkable.
‘This is what makes debating fun.’
After dealing with opponents who didn’t know how to debate throughout the competition, facing Pink Girl brought up a sense of enjoyment he hadn’t felt before.
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‘Now, how will she lead the next part of the conversation?’
Jung Minwoo read her thoughts with anticipation in his eyes.
【The situation so far isn’t bad. I need to slowly draw him into my pace.】
‘She has some ambitious thoughts.’
Jung Minwoo had no intention of playing along, so he decided to start his counterattack and pressed the button.
“Unfortunately, I disagree. I see that ‘instinct’ as proof of their evil nature.”
“…Why do you think so?”
“Because that’s how living beings are designed.”
At Jung Minwoo’s words, Pink Girl frowned and asked,
“Higher beings are omnivores, consuming both meat and plants. They can sustain themselves on vegetables alone, but they go out of their way to kill and enjoy meat. Isn’t this enough to prove their evil nature?”
Pink Girl’s face hardened at the unexpected counterattack.
【The atmosphere has changed…】
Pink Girl felt the pace she had been leading shift towards Jung Minwoo.
【If this continues, I’ll be dragged along. I need to break it somehow.】
With a determined expression, she pressed the button and spoke.
“There’s a fallacy in that statement.”
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“Fallacy? What’s wrong with my statement?”
Jung Minwoo gave a sly smile as if to urge her to refute him.
“According to your logic, all living beings are evil. But if that’s the case, wouldn’t we be able to satisfy our demonic energy without needing to corrupt higher beings?”
“As far as I know, we can satisfy our demonic energy without corrupting them. What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about a large amount of demonic energy, not a small amount.”
In other words, she was arguing that if higher beings were evil, a large amount of demonic energy would naturally flow in, so why wasn’t that happening?
‘She made a mistake in her haste.’
Jung Minwoo shrugged and replied to her words,
“By that logic, the Pigeons wouldn’t need to create priests, would they?”
“…”
Embarrassment flickered across Pink Girl’s face at the piercing remark.
‘She’s visibly flustered.’
Jung Minwoo read her thoughts, curious to see how she would get out of this situation.
【…Damn it, I made a mistake out of desperation. I need to make up for this mistake with the next question!】
Pink Girl bit her lower lip and pressed the button.
“Then, how would you explain the existence of heroes?”
“Heroes?”
“Heroes are chosen by the Pigeons to be good beings who oppose Demon Lords. If they were evil, could the Pigeons really create heroes?”
Heroes and Demon Lords.
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When a demon ascended to the rank of Demon Lord, they could only manifest on a planet with a portion of their power, but the Pigeons couldn’t manifest at all, so they had to select heroes.
‘To bring up the topic of heroes, she must be getting desperate.’
Jung Minwoo decided to start solidifying his victory and pressed the button.
“You’re mistaken. Heroes aren’t chosen by the Pigeons because they’re good.”
“…Then what is it?”
“They’re chosen because they have unlimited growth potential compared to other higher beings.”
“Unlimited growth potential?”
“Yes, the Pigeons saw that and chose them.”
Pink Girl smiled slyly, as if she had found something to counter with.
“According to historical records, the heroes chosen by the Pigeons are described as individuals who are devoted to other higher beings. How would you refute this?”
Jung Minwoo pressed the button without hesitation and said,
“That’s what the records say. But were they really chosen solely for their goodness? If it was based on goodness, they should have become priests. Why did they become ordinary higher beings?”
“…Th-That’s.”
“That means talent was prioritized. Because that way, they would create positive synergy when power is shared with them.”
Unable to find a counterargument, Pink Girl’s expression rapidly deteriorated.
“And isn’t the standard of goodness too vague? The records state that heroes who defeated Demon Lords gained wealth and women. Can that truly be considered good?”
“…”
T h i s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i ng m t l. o r g
Pink Girl lowered her head and closed her mouth at the continuous attacks.
【What should I do? Should I change the subject? Or should I cite another example?】
Reading her thoughts, Jung Minwoo could see her scrambling for a solution.
‘I should deliver the final blow and end this.’
There was no point in dragging it out any longer, so Jung Minwoo decided to deliver the finishing blow and end the competition.
“And there’s decisive evidence that higher beings are evil.”
“…Evidence?”
“The fact that higher beings create laws to shackle themselves is the evidence.”
“Why is that decisive evidence?”
“Because without laws, they become uncontrollable. Like us demons.”
“…”
At the end of Jung Minwoo’s words, Pink Girl gave a hollow smile.
“…Ha, I can’t think of anything to refute that. I admit defeat, No. 1.”
She raised both hands, gracefully accepting her defeat.
“With No. 999’s declaration of surrender, the winner of ‘I Am a Demon’ is No. 1!”
The instructor, who had been observing the situation, stepped forward and announced Jung Minwoo’s victory.
“The winner, please come to the center.”
Jung Minwoo nodded at the instructor’s call and moved to the center.
“The winner will be awarded 5 bonus points. Congratulations, No. 1.”
At the sound of bonus points being awarded, Jung Minwoo smiled with satisfaction.
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‘This brings me one step closer to being top rank.’
He currently had 15 bonus points.
As long as he didn’t mess up the exam, there was a high probability he would be within the top 10.
‘But that’s assuming I don’t mess up the exam and get over 95 points.’
However, just because he was ahead of the others didn’t mean he could let his guard down.
‘You never know when another competition with bonus points will be held.’
He was lucky to have received bonus points twice, but there was no way to know what would happen next.
Thinking about the exam and other competitions made his head spin, but.
‘For now, let’s just enjoy the victory.’
That was a matter for later, so he decided to enjoy the fact that he had won ‘I Am a Demon.’
Just as he was about to step off the stage.
“Congratulations, No. 1.”
Pink Girl approached and offered her congratulations.
“Thank you.”
Jung Minwoo accepted her congratulations and read her thoughts at the same time.
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【I lost this time, but I’ll definitely win next time.】
Jung Minwoo looked at her with surprise at her competitive thoughts.
‘She could have harbored ill feelings after losing, but this is unexpected.’
Now that he looked at her, she didn’t seem like such a bad demon.
‘Wait, is saying a demon isn’t bad actually an insult?’
As he was having silly thoughts while looking at Pink Girl.
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“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Pink Girl scratched her cheek and showed discomfort.
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking you’re a pretty decent demon.”
“…Huh?”
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Pink Girl tilted her head at the unexpected words, but.
“Let’s go down. The competition is over, time to make a slave.”
Jung Minwoo didn’t feel like explaining, so he changed the subject and went down from the stage.
“Let’s do that.”
Pink Girl didn’t seem to think too deeply about it either, as she didn’t ask any further questions and followed Jung Minwoo.
That night.
“No objections, right?”
Pink Girl asked Owl with a cold gaze.
“…That’s right.”
Owl, after seeing the contract terms, had a lot he wanted to argue about, but he couldn’t bring himself to object and nodded.
‘You should have known better than to do something so foolish.’
Jung Minwoo clicked his tongue inwardly and examined the contract terms he had written.
― ‘Party A’ refers to ‘No. 1’, ‘No. 777’, ‘No. 888’, and ‘No. 999’, and ‘Party B’ refers to ‘No. 555’.
― When ‘Party A’ gives an order, ‘Party B’ must unconditionally obey the order.
If the order is not followed, ‘Party B’ will die.
― ‘Party B’ cannot harm ‘Party A’ in any way.
If ‘Party B’ attempts to harm ‘Party A’, ‘Party B’ will die.
After reviewing the entire contract, Jung Minwoo looked at Pink Girl, who had created it.
‘She really made it airtight.’
There was no loophole for Owl to exploit.
“Then, please drip your blood on the parchment.”
“…Alright.”
Owl let out a shallow sigh and bit his thumb.
Drip, drip―
As he dripped blood onto the parchment.
Fwooosh―
The magic circle floating in the air seeped back into the parchment.
【Contract Complete】
And a message appeared, indicating the completion of the contract.
“Ha… Now there’s no turning back.”
Owl showed a dejected expression upon seeing the message.
This was the moment he officially became a slave.
“Nice to have you.”
Jung Minwoo patted Owl’s shoulder and said.
“Yes, nice to meet you…”
Owl replied politely, but with a hesitant expression.
‘I can use this guy for that, right?’
T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l . or g
Coincidentally, Jung Minwoo had a place in mind to utilize Owl, so he was about to give his first order.
“Do you have any orders for No. 555?”
However, since it wasn’t his personal property, it was necessary to ask the Demon Communion members for their opinions before proceeding.
“No.”
“Not really?”
“…None.”
At the Demon Communion members’ replies, Jung Minwoo gave Owl a sly smile.
“Then, I guess it’s alright for me to give the first order?”
Owl felt a sense of foreboding at that smile.
And it wasn’t long before Owl’s premonition came true.