Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 383



Only Noblemtl

383. Red (6)

The generational change has already occurred.

But at first, the Demon King did not realize this fact either. I do not know how he survived the calamity of hell, but in any case, his soul was preserved intact.

As long as he wasn’t completely destroyed, he always thought of himself as the Fire Lord.

There were times when he did not feel that his condition was a little strange. But for some reason, he gradually stopped thinking deeply about it.

It was the same when Lee Seong-jin asked about my name in passing one day.

‘There is much at stake in my true name. If you speak this name carelessly, something irreversible will probably happen.’

Because such vague fear was so strongly eating away at his soul, the Demon King was unable to give a proper answer and ended up giving a vague answer.

‘What did I do around midnight last night? Did I sleep?’

Of course, there were times when I noticed that there were noticeable gaps in my memory.

But until then, the Demon King simply thought that his soul was so free that he was taking short naps.

Isn’t it really strange? Originally, there should have been an abnormality detected and concerns raised long ago, but perhaps something invisible was directly interfering with the Demon King’s soul, and was suppressing his doubts and sense of crisis from the beginning.

For example, the Demon King once heard this from a fool.

-… and I was able to hear a detailed explanation from them. Red is not an evil spirit, but is actually a loyal servant of the lower class.

How dare you call yourself, the great Demon King, a mere servant of a human! The Demon King was immediately indignant, but strangely enough, soon he stopped caring about it.

There was another time when this happened. I think it was when I was lending my spirit eyes to Lee Seong-jin and examining the objects of the world of Gyu-sang.

?List of souls that can be summoned by summoners 2/4?

?1. □□□□ (inactive)?

?2. □□□ □□ (inactive)?

?3. Hayes Martin (Active)?

?4. Red (active)?

An object in the world of regularity that always shows only objective information is labeling itself as Lee Seong-jin’s summoned beast, not the Demon King?

At that moment, the Demon King was so shocked that he forgot his dignity and even sobbed for a moment!

But after some time had passed, didn’t he once again just eat the bear meat that Lee Seong-jin offered and pass it over carelessly?

I should have questioned all that stuff sooner.

Why didn’t [Soul Detection] work on Lee Seong-jin from the beginning? And how was it possible for Lee Seong-jin, a human, to have his senses taken over at will?

And then it finally happened. The day when Lee Seong-jin encountered a crazy old woman in Sigismund’s territory.

Lee Seong-jin, who was extremely indignant, temporarily released the restrictions he had placed on himself and revealed some of the power he possessed in front of everyone.

-You will never be forgiven for your sins again. You will never be able to sleep peacefully until you die. Even after you die, your soul will never be able to rest.

A powerful curse that is deeply engraved into the human soul, making it impossible to even think of resisting it.

Each and every one of those heavy words left a great shock not only on the old woman who was the target of the curse, but also on the soul of Orden who was by her side.

So, what would the Demon King have felt if he had vividly witnessed that scene in his soul state?

That day, the Demon King felt from Lee Seong-jin something like a distant [strength] that he could never overcome.

A mysterious energy that even he, a demon lord of a higher level, could not fathom. The shock of being defenselessly exposed to the gaze of a high-ranking demon lord of a much higher rank.

And then, a terrible pressure that seemed like it would crush the soul in an instant.

The Demon King, who had been trembling in fear for a long time, finally had no choice but to ask Lee Seong-jin this.

-Are you really Lee Seong-jin?

What did Lee Seong-jin say at that time?

-It’s okay. Father fixed everything. Everything is okay now, Demon King.

There was no way it would be okay.

But, strangely, the Demon King found himself feeling relieved at Lee Seong-jin’s answer.

Before he knew it, he was being greatly influenced by Lee Seong-jin’s every move, and even his emotional state.

‘It’s really strange. There’s something strange about the relationship between Lee Sung-jin and me that’s hard to explain… … .’

Just as the Demon King is the enemy who destroyed Lee Seong-jin’s world, Lee Seong-jin is also the enemy who took everything from the Demon King…

But why did the Demon King feel so happy or sad at Lee Seong-jin’s words, and why did he desperately want to become someone he needed? Why did he even volunteer to share his spiritual eyes for his safety?

[and…….]

The Demon King, having said that, stopped blinking for a moment and stared into Seongjin’s eyes.

[Why did I want to stay in this world with you, Lee Seong-jin, even though I could have killed you and returned to Gehenna?]

‘… … .’

[Of course, I know for sure now that the ban has been lifted. If you had disappeared in the flames back then, I, who had lost my status as the Demon King, would not have survived so well either.]

Yeah, that must have been it.

The current Demon King is like a flickering candle that could go out with just one careless gesture.

[You already knew that, right? That’s why you told me not to go back then. Why did you do that? Why do you want to let me live now?]

Why did I do that? There was no other reason. Didn’t the Demon King decide to save Seongjin first back then? So I just responded to the kindness he showed me first with the same kindness.

‘I told you, you have to stay by my side and become my companion someday.’

When I responded calmly, the Demon King seemed a little flustered and began to blink his light quickly.

[… … !]

‘And you’re pretty useful, you know. You can lend your spiritual eyes, be a lie detector, and even be a reconnaissance drone.’

[But Lee Seong-jin. If I hadn’t been there from the beginning, you would have been… ]

‘From the beginning, what?’

[therefore…….]

‘What? Why? What?’

[… … .]

The Demon King, who was momentarily dazed by Seongjin’s blunt attitude, soon shook his head as if shaking his soul from side to side.

[… No. My new monarch has an unusually benevolent side. Not at all devilish.]

Well, Demon King, it’s because I’m not a devil.

Seongjin thought that without thinking, but he didn’t say it out loud, even if it was in vain. He didn’t want to define his own existence so arbitrarily.

Furthermore, isn’t it absurd to deny in advance something you aren’t even sure about?

[Anyway, after that day, I also tried my best to control the fire of Gehenna. But no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work as I wanted. So I gradually realized. That I had already completely lost control over the fire of Gehenna.]

Originally, this realization would have also gradually faded away in the taboo as usual.

But perhaps because Sungjin’s condition has become extremely unstable recently, Geumje has also become unstable, and the Demon King has begun to slowly recall the questions he had kept to one side of his consciousness.

[So I naturally figured out how to resolve the current ambiguous situation.]

I don’t want to hear it.

Seongjin thought so.

But I had to listen to him anyway. I implicitly agreed to the Demon King’s wish that he no longer wanted to lose his memories, and that I would listen to the words he desperately wanted to convey to Sungjin.

[Lee Seong-jin. When the scales of power completely tilted that day, our generational change had already begun. But as you know, the process did not end so cleanly.]

Because I still have my soul left?

The Demon King muttered as he began to move his soul.

[Before I die, I gave the last command to the fires of Gehenna. To burn everything in the world together with Lee Seong-jin. Even my soul, the master of the fire, without a trace.]

But for some reason, the souls of the two survived. That is why the fires of Gehenna are still working so hard to burn those who are designated as their final targets.

[Of course, if the two of us were to be engulfed in that fire right now, my pitiful soul would probably burn and disappear before yours. And you would barely survive, and eventually seize control of the hellish calamity. Which means that all of this was going to happen anyway.]

‘… … .’

[Yes, I know very well. The fact that my soul still remains in this world is nothing more than a small mercy bestowed by the new monarch. However, that grace cannot last forever.]

The place where the Demon King’s soul was headed was directly towards Mores’s dantian. The place where the small spark of Gehenna that was still alive was flickering its tongue, waiting for the chance to rise again.

Only then did Seongjin know for sure.

The reason why the Demon King has been sobbing and depressed lately.

Perhaps the bastard had already decided on his own end by then, and was slowly preparing for this situation.

‘Wait a minute, Demon King. What are you… …!’

Seongjin was startled and tried to control the demon again, but the demon king’s soul, which had already escaped the ban, was moving far away towards the fire of Gehenna.

Only the lonely, ringing thoughts of the guy are gradually becoming clearer in my ears.

[You know what? The original principle of demons’ behavior is quite simple. They transfer their suffering to others and use their misfortune as a driving force to escape their own suffering.]

Seongjin quickly moved his soul to follow the bastard.

But for some reason, the harder I tried, the more distant I became from him.

[Now that I know a little about human physiology and emotions, I also think this. Isn’t the devil’s soul, which cannot keep anything precious intact, perhaps the most painful soul in the world?]

Perhaps the Holy Emperor had done something a while ago. He had completely distorted time and space in his own way to keep the flames of Gehenna as far away from Seongjin’s soul as possible.

[That is why, Lee Seong-jin, I still cannot sincerely apologize to you. It is my nature as a demon to destroy and devour dimensions. If there is even a way for me to regain the power of the Demon King, I will repeat such actions again someday to fill the deep void in my soul.]

After saying that, the Demon King stopped moving for a moment and blinked a faint light towards Seongjin.

[But this is also an undeniable fact. Although I have reigned as the king of the demon world for a long time, I have never had an experience as dense and fulfilling as the time I spent with you over the past few months. Those memories may be the most valuable things in the world to me, something I absolutely do not want to lose.]

Seongjin shouted, finally giving up on catching up with him.

‘Hey, Inma! What are you doing? Stop it now!’

But the Demon King paid no attention and continued to relay words that sounded like a will.

[That’s why I’m grateful to you, Lee Sung-jin. Taking someone under your wing means carrying their karma on your back as well. Thanks to you, I was able to escape my demonic nature for a moment and experience many emotions as if I were a real human.]

‘You’re one of my followers? Then listen to my orders! I told you to stop right there!’

[Thank you so much for giving my soul a long respite so that happy memories could accumulate.]

‘… Don’t do that, Demon King.’

[And thank you for letting me create something that I will never want to lose, even if it means I disappear.]

The Demon King’s soul, having spoken thus far, gave its final confession while emitting a bright light.

[Hello, Lee Seong-jin.]