The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 20

“Are you feeling better?”

Marus asked, patting Mawen’s shoulder.

“…Yes, uncle.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“…”

Swoosh…

Everyone looked exhausted.

“Let’s rest for a bit.”

“U-Uncle! If you’re planning to stop the pursuit…”

“Do you think I should do that? It’s better to rest and recover our condition for a while before moving on.”

“…Yes.”

Dale, the vanguard of the party, looked around and said.

“That place looks good.”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Mawen was still in a daze, as if his soul had left his body, and his uncle Marus had to be on guard, so the rest of the party prepared the camp.

It was raining heavily, but it was easy to make a shelter with three people.

“I found it! Some wood for the fire.”

“That’s great news!”

Crack…

Whoosh…

Smoke rose from the bonfire in the forest.

“It doesn’t look like the rain will stop… It would be better to warm up and recover for a while before we go.”

“You’re right.”

Crackle…

Swoosh…

Outside the warmth of the bonfire, the unpleasant humidity was overwhelming, so they had to huddle together.

Mawen, who was still out of it.

No one seemed to want to break the silence, so Marus spoke first.

“What you said earlier, it was all true, right?”

“…Yes, uncle. It’s the undeniable truth.”

Mawen, who had faced Faust alone after being separated from the others, had already told them everything that had happened there.

“He’s… a filthy demon. He enjoyed deceiving us with his cunning tongue.”

“…Whether he’s a demon or not, what’s more important is whether he’s the one who killed Riudira.”

“That too…”

My name. Not Cal Corso… Faust. You’d better remember it well.
But Faust had clearly said he was not Cal Corso.

“Didn’t he admit that he had something to do with the devil?”

“…Yes.”

“Then it doesn’t matter anymore whether he’s Cal Corso or not. It’s no different from saying that he’s hiding a worse being than a lowly murderer.”

His uncle had a fanatical obsession with the devil. He would sometimes change into a surprising attitude, even when he was polite.

Mawen had to ignore that question, but now his patience was shaken.

“Uncle, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why are you… so obsessed with the devil?”

“…”

“If there’s something you haven’t told me…”

“I see. Since we’re going to stay here for a while, I guess I should tell you.”

Crackle…

Thud…

Swoosh…

The sound of the bonfire burning, the sound of the rain pouring, made Marus’s eyes deep.

“For decades since I faced the devil… what do you think I’ve been doing?”

“After a great shock, you resigned from your position and went into hiding…”

“Hiding? Who told you that?”

“My father, when he was alive…”

Mawen suddenly remembered that his father had a hesitant look in his eyes when he talked about Marus.

“I didn’t give up. Ever since that night, I’ve been… chasing the devil.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. Those bastards… the ones who made my comrades like that, I couldn’t forgive them.”

Mawen clenched his fist at his uncle’s righteous words.

On the other hand, the rest of the party felt a chill as they saw Marus’s fury and obsession, and his eyes burning like lava.

“I didn’t give up. After that day… I vowed to face the demon again, no matter what it takes.”

But facing him again doesn’t mean a new method would suddenly appear.

The demon who had swept away the core of the Lion Soul, a power beyond their reach. How could his uncle, who had become a savage, stand against such a demon?

“Even if I train for 10 years… no, 100 years, I wouldn’t be able to match his toes. That’s the gap. But the fight between humans and demons is not always unfavorable to humans, for a different reason.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Understanding. We don’t know them.”

The demons know humans.

Humans don’t know demons.

That’s because they are afraid.

They are afraid to know, to understand them.

“Are you saying… you dabbled in demonology?”

“…Yes.”

Marus spoke as if he was possessed.

“I hunted down the demon worshippers, and dug into the data that was researched in many places, including the Lion Soul. I believed that the answer was in that path.”

Mawen couldn’t understand his uncle.

“But demons are… nothing but the minions of the demon race, right? The demon race are the source of evil, and they are greedy and vile…”

“Mawen, there is something you don’t know. Something that you and the kids here are all mistaken about.”

What is he talking about?

“Never, ever, say what I’m about to tell you out loud anywhere.”

Gulp…

“How do you think the demons came to this land, blessed by the sun god, Solaria?”

“I thought they lived in another dimension called hell. During the Hegemony War, when the situation turned against them, the demon race summoned them to oppose Solomon the Emperor…”

Hmph…

Marus’s weary laugh.

“That’s half the truth.”

Gasp!

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Denying history is a dangerous act.

“The truth you know is no different from what most of the imperial citizens believe.”

Marus was going to overturn that truth.

“The one who summoned the most demons to Solaria during the Hegemony War was not the demon race.”

“Then…”

“It was Solomon the Emperor.”

Everyone jumped up and exclaimed in shock.

“What!”

“What are you talking about!”

“That’s a great blasphemy…”

Marus waved his hand and signaled them to calm down.

“It’s hard to know the details, but it’s certain that Solomon the Emperor was the one who brought out a large number of demons at that time. It’s a lost history now, but…”

Mawen wanted to argue with his uncle, but he quieted down as he heard his next words.

“But that doesn’t mean that Solomon the Emperor’s achievements are overshadowed or faded. I have one thing to say.”

Mawen hated the demon race, and Marus chased the demons.

“Demons are a dangerous power, and if they fall into the wrong hands, everything will turn to ashes. Like the dead spirits of the Lion Soul.”

“Uncle…”

“So, we have to stop them. Before that power is used recklessly. We must!”

The party’s priest, Freya, hesitated and asked.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but can we do it?”

“Don’t worry. I have this Marus.”

Thump.

Marus tapped his chin with two fingers and answered.

“No matter what demon comes, I can handle it. That’s what human knowledge is.”

“I trust you, uncle.”

“I’ll follow Marus!”

…

Sssshhh…

Crackle…

Thud…

Everyone was tired from the days of marching, and they fell asleep as soon as they felt the warmth.

Creak…

Dale, who was teased for snoring a few days ago, snored again.

But no one noticed, as they were in a deep sleep.

Crackle…

Thud…

Only Marus was awake, staring at the bonfire.

Flicker…

Every time the fire flickered, illusions appeared with the mirage.

In the fire, there was that day.

The screams of dawn.

Aaaahhh!

Uaaahh!

Like a soldier who couldn’t leave the battlefield.

Marus was still there.

“Marus… run.”

Maybe he would stay there forever.

That horn, that eye.

“You, you’re not afraid?”

Marus didn’t back down that day.

He even took a step closer to the demon.

“I finally… found you.”

* * *

My body is hot.

As if I swallowed fire, it heats up from the inside.

Seo-jin, are you okay?

Ah, I’m fine. I’m fine, really.

Don’t worry about me and go to work.

Look at your fever, your forehead is burning. Stay still, I’ll get a wet towel.

Leave me alone.

I’ll get better if I take some medicine.

You’re the one who’s in trouble if you’re late.

You said you have something important.

Don’t you have to meet Faust?

You have to make him happy.

How can I go when you say that?

Then don’t go.

…Huh?

Seung-ah.

If you’re so worried… do you have to go?

…I have to, Seo-jin.

I have you, I have… I’m indecisive and easily swayed by others, but still…

Seo-jin.
…

You have to be happy.

Don’t go!

“Don’t… don’t go…”

Crack-!

I reached out my hand without thinking.

What I caught was someone’s slender wrist.

When I half-opened my eyes, I saw a wrist with fair skin.

“Lord Faust.”

“…”

“You’re crying.”

Only then did I notice the tears rolling down.

‘Did I dream of Seung-ah in my sleep?’

It’s a bittersweet thing to meet a good memory in a dream. Because I have to return to the painful reality.

But I wish he would keep coming to me.

Maybe I grabbed Lucifer’s wrist because I saw him and Seung-ah overlap for a moment. Or maybe I just wanted someone to stay by my side.

A goat mask made of bones that symbolizes Satan, sitting in the corner of the throne.

It was one of the items that were given to me along with the feed.

I held the mask in my hand and looked at it for a moment.

My heart sank at the bizarre detail that exuded realism.

This is reality.

I moved from Kim Seo-jin’s life, where I lost Seung-ah, to Faust’s life, which is now at risk of being taken away by someone else.

I’ve always been robbed.

The world hates me for sure.

Kwaaang-!

My eyes turned to the door at the sudden noise.

“Nariiiii!”

“Phenex, be careful with the door…”

“Eek…”

Phenex, who was wavering between the door that was already kicked open and me, who woke up with cold sweat.

Phew…

Somehow, a sense of relief came to me.

“That’s not it… I was worried… You said you got soaked in the rain! Phenex hates rain too, right? Are you sick?”

“…I’m fine.”

“Really? Ahaha! That’s good! Nari can’t be defeated by something like a cold!”

He sounded cheerful, but my physical condition was not good. There were also those who were constantly strangling my life in this situation.

“Lucifer.”

“Yes.”

“What did you order?”

“The expansion of the territory has been achieved.”

“What about the forest?”

“We allocated a lot of area.”

The dungeon grew once while I was away.

The forest field expanded, and accordingly, the demons who stayed there would become stronger.

But this is not enough.

The one who is heading towards the dungeon now is Cal Curso.

The worst boss who had the infamous reputation of cutting off the no-spenders and ant-picking.

That monster is skipping the stages of the episode and coming towards me.

“Lucifer.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to the hell gate.”

“I’ll prepare.”

He moved quickly, and Phoenix was swept away by the flow and followed me closely.

“Hey! Me too! I want to go too!”

He was true to the original character, who hated being left out.

Thud…

Thud…

I went down the stairs to the basement and stood in front of the hell gate.

The skull of Aziraphale, hanging on the hell gate, greeted us.

“Kekeke… You look in a hurry, is there a problem?”

“There is a problem.”

“Hoo…”

“So I came to find a solution.”

“A solution… I can give you anything if you have enough sacrifices. But… I don’t see any sacrifices.”

That’s right.

I didn’t come with a sacrifice as usual today.

“If there is no sacrifice…”

Swoosh…

The gem I took out of my pocket emitted a captivating light.

‘In the end… I have to use this.’

Is this the best timing to use this item? I don’t know.

But I knew that I had to use it this time to have the next one.

“That is…”

“It’s a hell stone.”

Now is the time to use the coveted, 6-star demon’s exclusive weapon selection ticket.