The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 2

Swoosh…

When I came to my senses, I lifted my head from Lucifer’s lap.

“Ugh…”

My whole body felt like it had been beaten up. If I were in reality, I would have been too injured to even move a finger.

I got up with a groan, but Lucifer was still kneeling and looking up at me.

Why wasn’t she getting up? I wondered for a moment and then tilted my head.

‘Could it be…’

Lucifer just blinked and stared at me.

‘Is she waiting for my command?’

It was not a mistake.

She had starry eyes that seemed to expect something.

“Get up.”

What?

I doubted if that sentence came out of my mouth. I couldn’t remember the last time I spoke to a stranger in such an imperative tone.

‘Even to my students, I didn’t talk like that…’

But still, that command felt very natural to me. My tone was cold and harsh.

‘Is this because of that?’

The birth of Faust… should I call it that?

The protagonist of Lemegeton and the character that the user plays, Faust, had a rather peculiar background.

Maybe that’s why I spoke in such a stern tone.

Anyway, that’s not important right now.

“Explain.”

Lucifer, who showed no sign of resistance to my icy attitude, began to explain.

“Can you tell me where your memory was cut off, Faust?”

“Loss, the guillotine is all I remember.”

“Oh no, maybe the humans tried to brainwash you… I’ll explain from now on.”

Swoosh…

Lucifer took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide.

Her pupils contrasted with her silver hair.

‘Does such a visual really exist? It looks like a well-made CG… CG?’

I thought of something when I said CG.

The guillotine.

I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back, it wasn’t unfamiliar. It was like something I had seen somewhere.

‘Was it a cutscene?’

A cutscene is a term for a scene that shows an inevitable event as a video, which is often used in mobile games as well as story games.

‘The guillotine… I see.’

The demons captured by the guillotine.

Surely, the user of Lemegeton started with such a cutscene.

But this time, it wasn’t a view from above the guillotine, but from being bound to the guillotine and looking at the crowd.

‘So, what I experienced was a tutorial cutscene?’

But it didn’t match the prologue cutscene perfectly. There was one impurity.

“Is there a problem…?”

“…”

This woman.

Lucifer was not supposed to appear in the tutorial.

Originally, the demon faction’s suicide squad attacked the guillotine with their lives on the line, and the demons captured by the guillotine escaped with their sacrifice.

That’s the same as the prologue of Remegaton.

“Lucifer, where did you come from?”

I looked at Lucifer’s expressionless face, but I didn’t think I could get the answer easily.

Then, situation assessment is the priority.

“Start.”

“I’ll start.”

Chirp-!

She pulled out a huge sheet of paper from nowhere and spread it in the air.

Most of the demons were born magicians or masters of magic use. I didn’t react to their feats because the things I had experienced before were too shocking.

Now, unless they show me some great magic in front of me, I won’t change my expression.

“The great continent of the sun, Solaria. The continent includes humans and demons…”

Humans and demons.

Maybe she was going to talk about that.

I don’t need that story.

I know it all, and it’s just background.

“Stop. Skip that part.”

“Did you remember?”

“Yeah, there’s something more important than that.”

I can think about the background of this game when I have time. That’s not important right now.

It’s like the ceiling of my house is leaking water, and I’m worried about the international situation and the exchange rate.

“What am I?”

“…”

“I’ll ask again. Lucifer, what am I and what are you?”

“Faust, you are a demon.”

Lucifer paused for a moment at the question I threw casually.

‘Look at that?’

I’ll give you another chance.

Don’t try to fool me.

“That’s not all, is it?”

Lucifer answered.

“Faust, you are a failed experiment of the seven demon kings.”

“…”

She finally spoke properly.

Good, I wanted to hear that answer.

“After losing the decisive battle with the human faction, the seven strongest among the surviving demons became the demon kings… the Seven Deadly Sins. They conducted an experiment to reverse the situation.”

Because I skipped Lucifer’s story earlier, the story felt choppy.

Roughly, humans and demons fought a decisive battle for some reason, and the demons were pushed to the brink of annihilation.

The surviving leaders tried some tricks to plan for the future, and the worst of them was the experiment that Faust was involved in.

The Demon King’s Experiment.

They created test subjects to become the future demon kings and face the humans in their place.

‘It failed.’

Lucifer added an explanation.

“The experiment failed because serious defects were found in the test subjects… and all the surviving test subjects, including you, Faust, were abandoned.”

“So, the place where I woke up was the guillotine?”

“Yes. The other brothers too…”

Brothers… brothers.

‘What a joke.’

It’s a word game to call them brothers just because we shared the guillotine.

‘Anyway… being a discarded loyalist is the same here and in the game.’

The point is, neither the Demon Kings nor Solomon’s army welcome this guy named Faust.

It matches the game’s setting perfectly.

‘From the demon kings’ perspective, he’s a defective product that they threw away once, and from the human faction, he’s a demon that they have to chase and kill…’

Faust, who was destined to be split in two by the guillotine.

…Why am I alive?

Where did the suicide squad that was supposed to save me go?

Swoosh…

‘Why did you come instead?’

I glared at Lucifer and asked.

“Answer me.”

“…”

“Lucifer, are you a demon?”

“…Indeed I am.”

“Why are you helping me, of all people?”

“That’s because I saw the fate.”

“Fate?”

“Only you, Faust, can create the world that I can be satisfied with.”

…I don’t know what nonsense this is, but it seemed like it wasn’t a lie. After all, she was the one who saved me, whether it was a lie or not.

‘It might be a simple error, or there might be a hidden agenda, but the important thing right now is survival.’

For that, I need to ask for help…

Swoosh…

I exchanged eyes with Lucifer.

How would she react if I revealed my true identity?

The one in front of her now is Kim Seo-jin, who is wearing Faust’s shell.

She has an innocent expression, but she is a demon after all.

…So I didn’t really want to know the result.

The demons in this game look fine, but sometimes they do weird things. If I get swept up by that, my neck will fly.

‘That aside, the situation is… acceptable.’

The guillotine, and the current situation.

Overall…

‘Except that I entered the game.’

Whip…

I looked around and this place looked like a dark cave.

“Chase?”

“We shook them off. No, they can’t follow us. We did a long-distance transfer.”

“…What?”

Thud.

Lucifer touched the horn on her forehead.

‘Huh? Come to think of it, the horn…’

Lucifer’s horn was black until we came here. That black horn was now completely white, as if it had been bleached.

“I used all my power for the transfer. I apologize in advance that I won’t be able to use any power for quite a long time.”

“…You’re a burden.”

I became Faust and now I have a sharp tongue.

‘Why do I speak before I think?’

Faust’s tone and behavior were different from his nature. He is… no, I am the epitome of instability.

“…Please forgive me.”

Lucifer bowed her head deeply, as if she was really ashamed.

I took it for granted.

Because I’m Faust.

“Where is this place?”

I roughly guessed the place, but

I asked to confirm.

“This is the Great Forest of Calhel.”

“Where was the guillotine?”

“It was the Victory Castle on Hocla Island.”

“There won’t be any pursuers for sure.”

This place is the rotten root inside the Great Forest.

It’s the place where Faust first makes his base.

I thought for a moment, holding my chin.

‘I guess I became Faust.’

That was the conclusion I came to.

It doesn’t matter if it’s reincarnation, past life, or possession.

‘What happened to my body in reality?’

Did I die?

If not, can I go back?

‘…Go back?’

My blood ran cold.

The blood of the demons is as cold as it can be, as the Lemegeton joke goes.

‘What for… do I have to go back?’

To a life without a wife, or a trace of her.

To a life where no one welcomes me when I go home after work.

‘No, why am I thinking that…’

My head throbbed.

Swoosh-

Ouch…

I put my finger on my forehead and felt Lucifer tense up.

‘Rather than problems like wanting to go back or not… can I survive?’

First, I have to recall the information I have about Lemegeton.

Hmm…

Hmm…

‘There are… a lot of bad memories.’

Based on the comprehensive information of Lemegeton, I derived the results for the future.

‘Can I reach the early and mid-game of the game without Faust’s death?’

…Impossible.

Only impossibility came to my mind. Even though, this game was shut down early and the episodes were not finished.

‘What happens to me if Faust dies here?’

In the game, he survived with a retreat scene, but now that it’s reality, I don’t think the situation will go well.

“Lucifer.”

“Yes.”

“What’s the situation of the dungeon?”

Lucifer opened her eyes wide and answered my question.

“Did you know this place is a dungeon?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. What’s the situation?”

“The dungeon is in a state of chaos. It needs to be cleaned up quickly.”

“We need power.”

Come up with a plan by now.

“Fortunately, the transfer location is close to the dungeon core.”

“Guide me.”

“Yes.”

Trudge…

Trudge…

I continued to think as I walked.

I would have to live here from now on, but I wondered if I could adapt well. Or if I would wake up from this dream-like lie.

If I had to live out the rest of my life here, I wondered if there was anything I was missing.

‘Missing something?’

I remembered one thing.

Thud…

I turned my head slightly to the feeling and saw Lucifer hiding behind me. She said in a flustered voice.

“They are monsters, they seem to be separated from the pack.”

“…?”

“Today, I can’t help you with anything.”

Yeah, that makes sense.

It’s an extension of the tutorial.

I still have a few more steps to go through.

Pkiiii…
[The Rotten Root Sap Worms appear.]

[The control during the battle is automatically done by default.]

[You can switch to manual control at any time.]

[Tip: Use basic attacks to build up the gauge, and then use various abilities depending on the weapon type.]

Rotten tree sap worms.

Three giant worms that wriggle appear.

The giant worms are only so compared to normal worms, they are the size of a well-fed country dog.

Of course, that was grotesque enough.

If it were Kim Seo-jin in reality, he would have trembled at the sight of a moth that came through the mosquito net, but Faust was different.

Facing a forced battle now, he was calm beyond words.

‘A battle… I need to test it.’

I was dropped in the middle of a war zone, so I should be afraid, but strangely, I didn’t feel a bit of nervousness.

‘Then…’

Practical experience is valuable.

It’s a precious moment to practice without risk.

If I have to survive here, I won’t have such a great opportunity often.

Maybe next time, I’ll have to face bigger monsters or cunning humans.

Wriggle…

The worms straightened their bodies.

Before the emotions, it was Faust’s body that moved and felt first.

Toooong-!

The three worms then sprang up like springs and jumped out.

Pat-!

‘My body…’

I reacted nimbly enough to wonder if I had ever moved so agilely in my life.

I dodged the simultaneous attacks by spinning in the air.

The sap worms are the lowest level monsters in the Rotten Root dungeon.

They are not expected to have any combos or consecutive attacks.

Whooong…

‘Amazing…’

Kwajiiik-!

Faust’s body, its elasticity and destructive power were beyond imagination.

He crushed the worm with his bare hands.

Piiiiing-!

The worms spat out something sharp.

It was a simple pattern beyond words.

Pat…

Of course, he responded by lightly twisting his body axis.

Peeer-!

He kicked one worm and it exploded, unable to withstand the impact.

Thud…

As before, he had no choice but to wear the sap, but Faust… no, I maintained my calmness consistently.

‘Here…’

This strong and fast body was unfamiliar, but that’s why I had to get used to it.

This will be my body from now on.

‘Hueeup…!’

He stabbed the worm’s body with his palm.

Pwooook…

‘The feeling is strange.’

The worm’s insides were vividly conveyed.

The unpleasant temperature and texture told me that this situation was not a dream at all.

At the same time, the vivid sense of reality overwhelmed me and aroused a strange excitement.

“…”

Clap clap clap…

The sound of applause.

“…Indeed, Faust. You are splendid.”

Lucifer’s dry compliment and the messages that pop up.

[You have awakened Faust’s power.]

[You have confirmed Faust’s strength: Coldness.]

[Faust is immune to emotional turmoil and can maintain his calmness during battle.]

[Faust does not know kindness.]

[Tip: Faust still has hidden strengths and weaknesses.]

[Tip: The strengths and weaknesses will be revealed depending on the progress of the main scenario, or when Faust meets certain conditions.]

‘…Right, there was something like this?’

The characteristics of the protagonist that are revealed as the story progresses.

The first one is coldness.

His chilly personality stems from here. Maybe that’s why I could accept this situation without any resistance.

‘His tone is another problem, but anyway.’

If there is strength, there is also weakness.

‘It’s about time that it comes…’

Flinch…

“Ugh…”

“Faust?”

I knelt on one knee and collapsed. My body… became heavy like a wet sponge.

‘As expected… is it a backlash?’

My strength drained out of my body rapidly.

[You have confirmed Faust’s weakness: Lethargy.]

[Faust has a congenital defect in his body.]

[Faust’s physique is sturdy, but he gets exhausted easily.]

[Faust suffers from an incurable disease since birth. He needs to circulate his magic with the dungeon core to extend his life.]

[It takes several days to recover from exhaustion without any special effort.]

…It’s sore.

Soon, my body became so dull that it was hard to stand up straight.

‘Damn… this is too much.’

The weakness that explains why he was abandoned at the guillotine. This amazing body was drained of energy just by facing the worms.

‘The penalty is more severe than I thought…’

As I moved my creaking body, Lucifer noticed.

“Faust, are you alright?”

She came closer, who had been staying away.

‘You just watched from behind!’

It’s annoying, but what can I do, her physical condition is worse than mine.

“Never mind that. What about the dungeon core we aimed for?”

“It’s over there.”

A black pillar that emits a dull light. A black bead attached to it.

It’s the dungeon core.

Anyway, this is also part of the tutorial, so the job was done in an instant.

Voooom…

[You activate the dungeon core with your magic.]

[You open the dungeon: Rotten Root.]

[Faust’s heart and the dungeon core resonate.]

[From now on, as long as the dungeon lives and breathes, so will Faust.]

Zzzzz…

The black wave that started from the pillar vibrated the entire dungeon, starting from the root that touched the pillar.

‘…It begins!’

Kukukukukuku…

[The dungeon: Rotten Root is currently in chaos.]

[You need to complete the dungeon order to fully open the dungeon: Rotten Root.]

[You can order your familiars to attempt the dungeon order.]

[It is not recommended to do the dungeon order yourself.]

‘So this is… my home.’

Faust’s coldness did not bring up even a nail’s worth of fear when he thought of the uncertain future ahead.

Instead, another thought filled his place.

‘It’s annoying.’

It’s annoying. I’m desperately annoyed by how this body is designed.

Faust is a guy who puts laziness before fear.

‘To survive…’

To struggle for survival.

Then what should I do first?

…There is a clear answer.

“Lucifer.”

“Your command.”

No, no.

Command or whatever.

“How much is left?”

“…Excuse me?”

“The magic stone.”

He breaks through the coldness, and a strange excitement takes place.

Yeah, I can’t wait.

‘It’s time… soon.’

The first draw… I have to do it, right?