The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 30

“Hmm…?”

What I was holding in my hand was a book of the same size as a graduation album.

However, the book had no texture and it floated like a hologram or an illusion.

Where did it come from?

[The Demon Encyclopedia is now open.]

…

It was one of the by-products I got from defeating Cal Curso. It was a common feature in mobile games and other games, where new functions were revealed depending on the stage progress. It was easy to think of it as a form of intelligence gathering.

The reason why the Demon Encyclopedia looked like a graduation album was because it was not much different from a real graduation album.

Flip…

When I opened the Demon Encyclopedia, I saw the images and footnotes of the demons I had collected.

‘It’s so empty.’

Of course, it was not a proper encyclopedia.

The demons I had collected were only some forest attribute demons and Phoenix.

Naturally, it was empty inside.

However, even if I didn’t have the demons, I could guess their identities by the black silhouettes in the demon encyclopedia.

Flip…

When I turned to the most back part of the old-fashioned page, there were 72 demons recorded. Although it was shabby, Phenex was also decorating one side of the page.

‘…She’s a loner here too.’

The encyclopedia had a function that allowed me to know the faction of the demon, and the demons usually gathered together, but Phoenix was alone.

Heretic.
She was a girl who was decorated with such a footnote.

Flip…

I turned the page where she was and observed the other pages. I had some memories of this encyclopedia, and the shapes beyond the silhouettes were vaguely drawn.

This demon is Leraje… This demon is Gaph. I could recall them easily.

And when I turned to the last page, there were silhouettes of awe-inspiring figures that looked extraordinary at a glance.

‘The Seven Great Demons.’

If I was a Lemegton user, they were the names I dreamed of. There was no pickup, so it was hard to get one of the great demons unless I poured out money overwhelmingly.

‘…They are far from me now.’

The magic stones that Faust had were far from enough to get their names. They were clearly the so-called ‘jackpot’ beings.

On the other hand, I had to be satisfied with just avoiding the ‘bust’ in my current situation.

Click…

I closed the encyclopedia.

‘Greedy eyes. Only greed grows.’

Who wouldn’t want to get them? I had to let go of them because my regretful feelings only grew.

Thump…

Thump…

Lucifer, who came closer with deliberate footsteps.

“Mr. Faust.”

“What is it?”

Did a new adventurer arrive?

If not…

“I got some news from Bill.”

“Bill? …News?”

I had ordered Bill to control the doppelganger Mori and contact the puppeteer.

“It seems to be about Mori.”

“…A little, it seems like there is some progress.”

* * *

Doppelganger Mori.

After parting with Faust, he was given freedom.

However, he didn’t know if he could call this freedom.

‘Bill again, that bastard.’

The terribly diligent dark elf was excellent at monitoring him. He would show up and warn him if he showed any signs of laziness or rebellion.

Don’t waste the opportunity that Mr. Faust gave you. Before that opportunity, disappears too.

‘Tsk, if it wasn’t for Bill…’

Then what?

Did he mean to run away?

From him.

From Faust.

His heart shrank just by recalling the pressure of that time.

It was not good for his health to remember that time.

‘Maybe if I run away… I’ll die.’

He was also afraid of what punishment he would receive if he failed to complete the task he entrusted to him.

‘I can’t help it. It’s not a hard job anyway.’

He could easily take over a human organization, especially one that was not very large.

“Humans tend to crumble in fear.”

Knock-

Mori knocked on the door of an old tavern located in a corner of Riudira. Of course, he was in the same shape as the adventurer he had taken from the dead.

Creak…

The doorkeeper spat out a drunken breath through a small gap in the door.

“Get lost.”

The conversation was twisted from the start, but Mori calmly answered.

“You need to get your mind straight from now on.”

“…What?”

“Your life or death will be decided by the next sentence you spit out.”

It was a vicious remark, but the other party was a tough backstreet thug who sneered at it.

They usually used much more fierce words.

“What a funny guy.”

“…Is that your last words?”

“…”

The man who didn’t answer because he was somehow nervous.

The expression of the outsider who asked if that was his last words didn’t seem like a provocation or a sarcasm.

Really, it was like a simple question.

“Let me in. That’s the only way you can live.”

“Not unless you’re crazy…”

Crack-!

“Keh… Keheheh…”

The doorkeeper couldn’t believe what he saw. The arm that pierced through the thick wooden door was gripping his neck.

“Open.”

The doorkeeper was startled and unlocked the door. And in the meantime, the doorkeeper’s colleagues ran to the door where the commotion occurred.

Squeak…

Thud…

“Kehak… Keheheh…”

The doorkeeper who fell to the ground and drooled when he let go of his hand. Mori left him alone and walked into the tavern.

Thump…

Thump…

Mori sat down near a suitable table without caring about the faces of the grim characters.

“Five? That’s too few.”

Five was the number of scoundrels in this place. It included the doorkeeper.

A man with a long scar on his face asked.

“What are you doing?”

“Your name is… I mean… Um… What was it? Rotten smell? Rotten…?”

“Rotten boots. If you came here knowing us, you should know your situation by now.”

Thud…

A serrated dagger casually stuck to the table. Mori’s face was briefly reflected on the blade, but no one noticed that his shape was not human.

“Right! Yeah, rotten boots. I think it’s a funny name.”

Mori chuckled.

“You have to follow my words from now on.”

“…It was a worthless talk. Lock the door, guys.”

“Yes.”

The guys who muttered ‘I’ll get rid of one invoice today’ and went to the door.

Swish-!

And when they turned around at the sound they heard…

The boss’s head was rolling on the floor.

“Uh… Uh?”

They couldn’t help but show a stupid reaction.

A murder happened without a fuss.

“Now there are four. I don’t like it getting smaller.”

Only then did they realize that Mori had made a move.

Pop-!

Pop pop!

They each raised their hands to their weapons, but they didn’t pull them out easily. Mori didn’t like that hesitation.

“They’re all just pretending. Sigh… If you were going to kill me, you would have pulled it out sooner. Is there no one worth using?”

“Why, why are you doing this? Where did you come from? Revenge?”

“Revenge? No, I’m giving you a chance.”

“A chance?”

Hehe…

“…A chance to serve a great person.”

Here, the great person meant Faust.

“I’m, in trouble.”

“…What?”

“Rotten boots are just a branch. We can’t move separately…”

Mori was rather pleased with his words.

“Kihik… I hear you have a boss?”

“Ye, yes. So…?”

“Tell me.”

“…What?”

Chirik…

Mori’s face changed in an instant to the face of the boss he had just killed.

“Where they are.”

“Th… that’s a lie…”

…

The scoundrels of the rotten boots completely surrendered to Mori. They felt a deep fear of something that was not human.

Now that things had come to this, there was only one way for them to live. Mori had to completely subjugate the hideout of the rotten boots.

They told Mori the location of the hideout for that reason. If they hadn’t, Mori would have counted the heads of the rotten boots again.

Exactly three days after the information of the hideout flowed into Mori. Strange things started to happen in the hideout.

“Tell me straight, what?”

“Maron stabbed Daven… sir.”

“…Daven?”

“…He’s dead.”

“Bring Maron.”

The hideout was a size that looked like twenty people at least. They were villains who set up a base here and scattered the power of the hideout to various businesses in a small village.

There were not many people who knew their true identity, and even if they did, there was not much they could do in this remote area.

Anyway, there was a conflict among them.

“Maron, explain yourself convincingly.”

“It… it wasn’t me! I didn’t stab him!”

“Don’t make me laugh! More than ten people saw you stabbing Daven!”

“That… that wasn’t me. I don’t know any…”

Puhwaaak-!

Maron’s head rolled off.

The boss said.

“If you didn’t like the hideout life, you should have said so, I would have made you comfortable sooner.”

“…”

This seemed to end the incident for now. Until the next morning.

“…”

“Two… this time, two.”

The sight of them lying down after stabbing each other’s chests.

“…Clean it up.”

A restless air was swirling in the hideout.

Who was it?

Who did it?

An unknown anxiety rose up his throat.

“Boss! Here… there’s something here…”

A message written in blood on the hideout fence.

One will suffice.

The phrase was a message that could not be understood right away, but the hideout members who had experienced the two incidents soon realized.

The one who wrote this message wanted only one person’s neck.

“…Damn it.”

The boss returned to the hideout with a bad mood. The hideout was quiet.

The conversation was gone.

Both of the previous two incidents happened among the hideout members.

No one… could be trusted.

To end this horror, one person’s neck was needed. Otherwise, there would be more victims.

The next morning, the door of the hideout opened wide.

Squeak…

Through that door, Mori entered. He knew without checking. That the hideout had already been devoured by fear.

As he entered, he saw the lonely body of the boss stabbed by more than ten knives in the yard.

“Please… please stop.”

“We did as you said! Please…”

Fear.

Doppelganger Mori was an efficient tool for dealing with humans.

Hehe…

“I have to report to the great one.”

It’s a mission. Don’t mind the means and methods, and take over this place.
“…Mission, complete. Now! Let’s count the heads again.”

* * *

‘It was faster than I expected.’

It would have been a rather difficult mission if it was a spy mission.

It’s not like in games, where you just assign a mission and forget about it, and it’s done.

‘It’s reality.’

No matter how strong Mori was, I expected it to take some time, but the mission was completed faster than that. It was enough to re-evaluate Mori’s ability.

From now on, I could use the humans that Mori had acquired to do more things.

‘Of course, I’ll have to test them myself.’

It’s a green light for now.

If I’m not satisfied, I’ll just let them go.

‘Then now… I have to do what I have to do.’

Swish…

As I got up, Lucifer seemed to have guessed my intention and waited with a box full of magic stones. Two boxes of 20 consecutive draws, excluding the remaining amount after the last gacha.

It was hard to carry two boxes, so Phoenix followed and took one box.

Thump…

Thump…

Azarub, the gatekeeper of hell, smiled as if he was waiting.

‘Gloomy bastard.’

Kukukuk…

“Today you feel good, huh?”

“I hope so.”

“May my grace reach hell! Khihihihihi!”

The guy who always fails, but always has the most confidence.

Thump…

My heart started to beat.

‘Hoo…’

I calmed down the boiling blood.

As if it was a prayer, I recalled a trivial sentence.

Dreams are just dreams, you have to live in reality.

Rationally and efficiently.

I empty my mind.

It’s not a fight to survive.

It’s the start of a fight to live.

Dudududududududud…

Yeah… rationally and… efficiently…

Calmly…

“Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak-!”

Crack… Kwajijijijijijijik…

Calmly…

“Mr. Faust, you have to step back.”

“Uuuuuu… It’s coming… It’s coming… It’s coming!”

Phenex grabbed her head and hid in a corner.

Rat… eff… that…

What was it? Calmly…

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!

A bizarre light of a color beyond the rainbow burst out of Azarub’s eyes.

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung…

This is… a situation like a lotus blooming in the mud. A blossoming, that the way ahead is not so dark.

Azarub spoke with a sagging expression, as if he was possessed by something.

“Originated from the first evil…”

The first evil…

The moment this sentence came out, a chill ran through my body.

Each of the great evils.

What’s coming over this door now…

Thud…

A being that only seven out of 72 demons exist.

“There were seven demons.”

No doubt… each of the great evils.