The Demon King Who Draws

The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 1

I don’t like homework.

No, to be more precise, I hate it.

How many people in the world would like homework anyway…

I hated it when I was a child and I hated it when I was a student.

And now that I’m an adult?

I still hate it.

But, ironically, I became an adult who gives out that hated homework to other people.

“Well, that’s it for today. I’ll upload the assignment to the cyber classroom by tonight, so please check it out.”

As soon as the word ‘assignment’ echoed in the room, the faces of the students crumpled.

Ignoring those faces was one of the things I learned the most while doing this job.

Yes, yes.

I also hate homework, everyone.

But you’re adults, so bear with it.

“Any questions, students?”

Swish…

The short-haired boy with sharp features who sat in the front row looked around and answered awkwardly.

“…I don’t think so, professor.”

Did he think I was waiting for an answer?

“I see, see you next time.”

Thud…

Thud…

Before my footsteps left the classroom, the space was filled with the students’ voices.

But, my unusually bright ears caught a bad word that reached my ears before I even left the door.

“I can’t stand Kim Seo-jin’s lectures. They’re too stiff. Like a cold ice rink.”

“Why?”

“He’s like a cyborg, really. A robot that lectures.”

“Hey, don’t say that anywhere. You don’t know that?”

“Huh?”

“Professor Kim used to be a cheerful and gentle person. I heard that a few years ago, his wife died in an accident…”

* * *

The story of my wife’s accident always hurts.

But, I think I’ve become numb.

No, I don’t think I was that sad to crumble.

I was really bearable.

In my mid-thirties.

At this age, standing on the podium, people around me make a fuss about sending me a matchmaker.

Lately, I couldn’t laugh at all.

Swipe…

When I pick up my smartphone, a woman’s face inevitably pops up on the lock screen.

She’s like a moon.

‘You’re beautiful, Seung-ah.’

The woman in the photo is the most beautiful face in the world, at least in my eyes.

Seung-ah.

Hyun Seung-ah.

Seung-ah, stop playing around and wake up and make me laugh.

“Sigh…”

Slurp…

I nervously unlocked my smartphone and pressed one of the few icons.

Beep…

Lemegetonooong~
A slightly awkward Japanese-style English pronunciation of the title.

I was startled and lowered my voice.

It’s a good thing this is the professor’s office.

Swipe…

Swipe…

I turned down the sound as much as possible and operated my smartphone.

‘…Homework, I didn’t do my homework today.’

The only pleasure left for me is this game.

How long have I been enjoying Lemegeton?

…That’s right, it must have been shortly after Seung-ah left my side in an accident.

My wife was the project manager of a small game development company. Lemegeton was the last project she took on before she left the world. It still feels like yesterday when she complained about her work stress.

Seo-jin, listen. No, those pigs! They’re pushing BM too viciously!

The users will be scared and drop out, I’ve told them so many times…

How many times do they want me to change the concept? I’m sick of it.

So what are you going to do? …What can I do, I have to change it.

I think the pain that Seung-ah’s death left behind has faded…

It has to.

After my wife died in an accident, I became an old tree that rotted in place.

The only thing that kept me from collapsing was this game.

A mobile game full of homework that I hate.

72 Demons Lemegeton.

A common collection-type mobile game that comes out every year.

A mundane theme of demons summoning demons to hunt humans and manage dungeons.

The users will never know.

This game is full of my wife’s tears and laughter.

So, this game must have been abandoned.

Everyone must have left.

‘…It’s pretty fun, though.’

Yeah. I hate to admit it, but Lemegeton is a crap game.

The reviewers who played this game a little bit packed their bad reviews with bad reviews. Maybe they were worried that newbies would step into this game.

It might be nice for newbies, but at least to me, it looks mean.

Lemegeton is definitely a crap game, but it hurts to hear that it’s a crap game publicly.

As I watch the reaction of this game fade away in real-time, I think of it.

She was worried about taking on a new project, but at the same time, she was excited to try it.

I think of Seung-ah.

I’ll definitely make Faust happy.

You join me too!

That’s what Seung-ah often said.

Faust.

The protagonist of this game and the character that the user plays.

He has a lot of stories… What does that matter now?

In the end, Faust didn’t become happy, did he, Seung-ah?

Click…

I do my homework on my smartphone, and I go to the official website on my PC and check the notice.

I read and read the long notice.

How many times have I read it?

I’ve already read it once before going to class today, and once when I came back.

I read it twice.

The notice that Lemegeton’s life ends here.

Unfortunately, all servers stop breathing today.

I was the last diehard of this game, so I had no trouble imagining this ending.

‘Am I finally free from homework?’

If this game disappears, I might forget Seung-ah little by little.

Little by little, I might be able to get rid of it.

The fact that the game is ending its service does not change. Then, as if planting an apple tree when the end of the world is scheduled, the user also has something to do.

The answer is decided.

Spending the accumulated resources.

Gacha, or drawing.

I burn up the piled-up magic stones in an instant.

On the regular draw!

I spent enough money on the game that my wife touched, enough to rival nuclear spending, but Lemegeton, which has the worst spending efficiency. And the worst of the worst, using magic stones on the regular draw, caused an instinctive rejection.

‘It feels like a thorn under my tongue.’

I’ve adapted, but I still had a bit of resistance to spending money on games.

Maybe if it wasn’t a game with memories of my wife, I wouldn’t have had the option of spending.

‘No, I wouldn’t have touched a mobile game like this in my life.’

For me, who tried hard to save magic stones, using them all on the regular draw, not the pickup draw, is a destructive act on myself. …But I can do it today!

Lemegeton’s 6-star demon draw rate was so low that it was hard to tell if this was hell or reality. And there were various additional gachas besides the demon lords, which made even the users who were familiar with the spending games shake their heads.

…It’s no wonder it failed.

Lemegeton often did things that would make ordinary mobile game users scream, and the hellish draw rate was just part of it.

Maybe it would feel like a blessing to end normally without any incidents or accidents.

Anyway…

Service termination imminent, infinite bleeding draw.

These magic stones will be thrown into the hell gate and return with disappointment.

Whoosh…

The hell gate, locked tightly with chains.

Above it, a rattling skull head performed the summoning ritual.

I’ll find you any monster, even if I have to scrape the bottom of hell!
‘Stop bluffing and find me something good.’

Whizz…

Blue.

Grrr… Meat… Delicious meat…
[★★★You summon Nol Mutuga.]

…

Whizz…

Green.

[★★You successfully found a Wicked Club.]

…

Whizz…

Purple.

Today… The full moon is up.
[★★★★You summon a Werewolf.]

…

What was that? I just did 30 draws.

It’s spicy.

It’s very spicy.

‘Wow… That’s harsh.’

Not even a glimpse of 6-star or 5-star demons.

As usual, the magic stones piled up naturally turned into a handful of ashes in no time.

I’ve been lazy with my homework lately, so I understand. But still, I didn’t burn a small amount of magic stones.

I stopped spending money recently, but I could still collect these magic stones, partly because of Lemegeton’s direction.

The black cows who are the spending users are squeezed, and the non-spending users who are nothing but grass to fill the self-esteem of the black cows are subtly kind game.

The strategy was not bad, but anyway, it sank. I came to my senses too late.

I don’t care what the shipwreck carried, dreams and hopes, silk and pepper.

Whizz…

‘…What?’

I just did 80 draws.

If I wasn’t dreaming, I just finished 80 draws.

…What?

Before I knew it, I only had about 10 draws left in my magic stone balance.

“Hoo…”

I took a moment to catch my breath and touch.

Whoosh…

Kuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
The skull of the hell gate screamed with pain or ecstasy or something.

Sometimes, this kind of production came out when I drew a 6-star demon.

‘…It’s here.’

Bow down… You have witnessed a being born before hell was created…
‘…What? What are you talking about?’

Usually, a cool product came out, but this kind of modifier was rare…

The dialogue that followed didn’t come into my ears well and I just stared blankly at the screen.

The mother of all demons, the holy adversary of heaven!
‘No way…’

Kwarurururururururung-!

Immediately after, a never-before-seen production of the hell gate’s door breaking completely came out.

I came to meet you, beyond fate.
[★★★★★★You summon Lucifer.]

[You complete the epic quest ‘The Woman of the End’.]

My pupils naturally expanded.

‘…What? What?’

Lucifer?

…Lucifer?

No way.

‘Lucifer is coming out now?’

If a normal 6-star demon had appeared, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

That’s because Lucifer… There was no news of him since the users ripped the client and stole the modeling.

‘Submarine patch? No… A game that’s on the verge of collapse?’

Lucifer wasn’t even one of the 72 demons of Lemegeton, so there was only speculation that he might appear as an event someday.

Especially after the diehards had already fallen off, Lucifer himself was far from the users’ interest.

I was the first to collect Lucifer, should I be happy? Even if it’s a bug acquisition?

No, today is the end of Lemegeton’s service. And it’s over in a few minutes.

“Star…”

Ding…

[Lemegeton’s service termination is imminent.]

[In 5 minutes, Lemegeton’s service will be permanently terminated.]

[We sincerely thank the Demon Lords who loved and cherished Lemegeton.]

…

Whatever… Whatever…

I rubbed my eyes.

But why am I suddenly so sleepy?

I don’t have any lectures behind me, but still…

Oh, I… I haven’t been sleeping well lately…

Thud-!

* * *

Whoosh…

…It sounds like rain somewhere.

“…Hey!”

Be quiet, let me sleep.

“Start it already!”

“Execute him!”

…What is this noise?

Who came into my office without knocking…

Huh?

Clank…

Huh?

Clatter…

Huh?

‘What? My body…’

My body is restrained.

‘Kidnapped! No, kidnapped?’

Not only that, but I’m also getting rained on.

Crash-!

Whoosh…

I have no idea why I’m on the street getting rained on.

“Today, we are here to condemn the fallen beasts who have threatened humanity! The demon resistance…”

What the hell are you talking about?

‘…Demons?’

Demons… Demons?

Demons, who?

Who’s a demon? Why are you suddenly saying demons…

Snap-!

The agitator’s finger pointed at me.

“Among them, we will judge the wicked descendants who might become the Demon King’s army someday. And thus, we declare that our humanity has… won in the present and the future!”

“Woaaaaah!”

“Woaaaaahhhhhhh!”

“Kill him! Killlllll!”

At this point, even a fool would catch on…

I’m tied to a guillotine.

A sharp blade hangs above me.

The blade is tied up, so I can’t see it directly, but I felt it.

Strangely enough.

My senses were sharp as ever.

But, descendants?

I glanced around and saw that there were others who were restrained like me. I could only see one person on each side, but it felt like there were at least five or more.

But, that’s not important right now.

‘Help me, someone… in this ridiculous situation…’

I can’t speak.

It’s not a mood thing, I really can’t speak.

I should wake up by now if it’s a dream. There’s mercy in nightmares, too.

‘Please… please…’

I rolled my eyes frantically.

In my captivity, the only thing I could move with my will was my pupils.

“Kill him!”

“Cut his throat!”

They all shouted for the guillotine’s stars to die quickly.

I can’t resist.

At that moment, I felt hatred for the humans who were ranting and raving beyond my own understanding.

‘How dare…’

As if it was my nature, what flowed through my veins was not blood, but anger.

Crunch…

I clenched my teeth and glared at the front.

With bloodshot eyes, I glared at the crowd, and there was a woman who caught my eye.

I wondered what else could surprise me, but the woman’s dazzling features, with a hooded robe flipped over, were definitely surprising even in this chaos.

Her hair was like pure silver, her skin was snow-white, and her features were oddly oriental.

Her eyes were also yellow like a cat’s.

But, the reason I was really surprised was not because the woman was beautiful.

It was because she looked like someone I saw last before I fell asleep.

‘…Lucifer?’

She lifted her hood, and her horns were revealed.

“Just a little…”

What are you talking about?

“Please endure.”

Whoosh…

A tremendous darkness swept from the woman’s hand.

“What… what is it!”

“Kyaaaaaak!”

“demon!”

“There’s a demon here!”

As the crowd scattered in all directions, there was a flash of light.

Kwaaaaaaang-!

The guillotine exploded.

At that moment, I regained my freedom.

And I faced another captivity.

As I fell from the cliff, I realized that this place was a tower on a remote island, and the guillotine’s location was quite high there.

That is, I was falling into the sea, and the woman’s blow had just destroyed the tower.

Whoosh…

I fell into the sea, which was violently splashing with the rain.

That was my last memory.

No, actually, I have a little more memory.

As I fell into the sea, the other guillotine’s demons scattered and fled as if they had been waiting for this.

And…

Gurgle…

The sight of Lucifer swimming towards me.

Gurgle…

Gurgle…

Uuuuuuugh…

“Cough… cough…”

I spat out water.

What?

‘Ah…’

I woke up from a dream.

…No?

The fact that I spat out water means it’s not a dream.

“Cough… ha… ha…”

“You’re awake.”

I just realized that I’m lying on someone’s lap.

It was more comfortable than any pillow, so soft.

My eyes met with the owner of the lap I was lying on, the demon Lucifer.

“Lord Faust.”

“…Ah.”

For a moment, I remembered the words that the two women gave me before I came here.

I’ll definitely make Faust happy. You join me too!
Hyun Seung-ah.

I came to meet you, beyond fate.
And Lucifer.

“…Damn.”

Maybe today, I got the worst homework ever.