Chronicles of the Demon Faction - Chapter 883



Only Noblemtl

Side story 233. The Magical Scripture and the Magical Realm (8)

“Phew.”

Baekheon, who had emptied his glass, sighed softly.

It was a sigh of satisfaction. The change in expression was not great, but both eyes were curved like crescent moons.

“This is a good wine. How many years has it been aged?”

“It seems like it’s been at least ten years.”

“Did you ask after the leader ascended to the throne?”

“I think so.”

The lanterns were calm.

He had a face that was so indifferent that he was often called a “smile boy.”

Instead, there was some free time.

Even if Baekheon’s splendid pavilion collapsed in an instant, and even if Baekheon’s men rushed at him from afar with their swords drawn, it seemed like he wouldn’t even blink an eye.

Baekheon, who had been staring blankly at the lantern, shrugged his shoulders.

“Why is today so different from usual?”

“exactly?”

“Have you had any changes in your mind recently? Or is there anything you would like to ask of me?”

The lantern smiled.

Baekheon couldn’t read anything from that very familiar smile.

“If you think about it, haven’t we all lived really hard lives?”

“What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“I’m talking about our teenage demon kings. We’re people who come to visit each other sometimes when we think of each other and have a drink together, but at some point, we started to show our true feelings, thinking that there must be some intention behind our meetings.”

Baekheon chuckled.

“Is that a complaint?”

“I’m not complaining, but I do regret it sometimes. It seems like there are no more glasses of alcohol that can be shared without any intention.”

“This guy. Did those who sit on the Demon King’s throne become elders just because they are strong in martial arts? Although there may be differences in personality and ability, they are all people who have bravely survived through the harsh waves of the world. In order to survive, they always had to be on their toes and sharpen their blades.”

“… … .”

“You did that too, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

The lantern looked around.

“So, why are you living here? I’ve been to all the Demon Lords’ residences, but I’ve never seen a place this splendid.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? How many times have you not come to my place?”

“Did you scrape it together because you were anxious?”

That was quite an aggressive statement.

Baekheon wasn’t at all flustered.

“Don’t be anxious.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“Variables are inevitable in life. You never know when, where, or what will happen, so it’s natural to feel anxious.”

“Isn’t Senior Baek’s martial arts skills too high to acknowledge that? I thought he had improved before, but now it’s different. To be able to continuously grow, even if only slightly, is genius.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Are you trying hard because you’re anxious about that too?”

Baekheon burst out laughing.

“It used to be like that, but not anymore. Actually… … .”

“… … .”

“I’ve been feeling a lot of limitations lately.”

The lantern’s eyes sparkled.

Feeling limited? That’s not something that should come out of Baek-heon’s mouth. Even if he truly felt limited, he wasn’t the kind of person to openly admit it in front of others.

“What kind of limits are you talking about?”

“Just this and that.”

“hmm.”

“If you look closely, the world is nothing special. As you know, that’s all.”

“Sometimes it’s nothing special, and sometimes it’s too heavy.”

“Anyway, I’m trying my best to survive in this world that doesn’t have much to offer. But at some point, I started to wonder why I’m living like this.”

“… … .”

“If the world were literally nothing special, would I, who had achieved everything I could, really be anxious?”

The lantern tilted its head.

“When it’s time to go, you have to go. But who wants to die?”

“That’s the problem.”

Baekheon lifted his glass with a bitter face.

“I don’t want to die, but if you ask me if I’ve lived a life without regrets even when death is right in front of me… … I don’t think so.”

“… … .”

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately.”

Yeondeung was certain that Baekheon was a person whose natural talent would never change, no matter what he thought.

But the words Baekheon was spitting out now were full of sincerity. Whether he changed or not, it seemed that he too had been feeling uneasy lately.

Yeondeung, who had been quietly watching Baekheon, suddenly asked.

“What is Senior Baek’s dream?”

“dream?”

Baekheon scratched his head.

“Are you still living with such a sweet and bitter ideal in your arms?”

“… … .”

“I have no dreams left. My future is to just continue living the way I have lived so far, without losing my identity.”

“no.”

“no?”

The face of the lantern that made the assertion was unusually serious.

“Senior Baek had a dream.”

“… … .”

“This is not something I am passing over. In fact, Senior Baek told me about that dream a long time ago.”

“Stop it.”

“Senior Baek dreamed of an ideal. Together with the previous leader, the main church… … .”

“I told you to stop.”

“… … .”

“Dreams are like a mirage. When you actually reach them, there is nothing there for you. There is only a small reward for having worked hard and not worth a penny.”

“… … .”

“At our age, dreams are nothing more than signposts set up by young people who don’t know the world and can’t find their way. Signposts that we both know don’t exist. That’s what dreams are like.”

“no.”

“Even if you don’t think so, I still think so. I have no intention of persuading you or scolding you.”

Baekheon suddenly burst into laughter.

“Look. The world’s greatest demon lord, Jasodaema, who is one of the ten demon lords of our school and is known for his cruelty, is offering to treat you as a senior and sharing some good alcohol with you.”

“… … .”

“I am satisfied with this place. Dream? Ridiculous. As I said, I have dug the path I have walked, the path I have run with my greed, until it leads to death.”

Baekheon filled the lantern’s cup.

“I just live like that.”

“If you think about it differently, then.”

The lantern’s voice was locked somewhere.

“The path my senior took and my goal are not very different.”

“That’s a very clear statement. Did you come to me because you wanted something, but you lamented that there was no pure encounter?”

“If we can have firm trust in each other, then from then on we can be friends who can laugh without any selfish intentions.”

“There is no perfect public or perfect private in this world.”

“There is no such thing as perfect construction, but there can be a private property that is infinitely close to the public, and there can also be a public property that is infinitely close to the private property.”

Baekheon shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay, enough wordplay. What do you want from me?”

“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”

“Man, it’s really hard to hear the truth even once. What is it?”

“Don’t you want more power, more money, and more influence?”

Baekheon laughed heartily.

“If you live like that your whole life, how could you have anything to desire? However, it is clear that you have lived your life in order to obtain more.”

“Then come with us.”

we.

It’s not ‘I’, it’s ‘we’.

Filling his own glass, Baekheon asked as he passed by.

“Where?”

It was an unexpected remark, but Yeondeung understood it as if it were iron.

“Aren’t you guessing?”

“So, you ask where?”

Yeondeung, who had been observing Baekheon’s prayers and expressions with deep eyes, cautiously opened his mouth.

“He who rules the gloomy night.”

“……also.”

Baekheon, who had emptied his glass, burped loudly.

“It was the Dark Night Demon.”

The King of Dark Night Demons. He is one of the ten Demon Kings at present, and is a master of all ages who competes with the Bloodthirsty Demon King and the White Bone Demon King for the lead among the Demon Kings.

In fact, he is older than both Gwang-hyeol and Baekgol, and he was the first of the Demon Kings to realize the ultimate power.

Moreover, he was a man of remarkable status.

The execution of the previous cult leader.

The Eumya Shinma was the brother of the previous cult leader, the True White Demon Lord, and was the one who yielded the throne to him in the fight for succession.

No one knew why he did that. In reality, the two men’s talents were so close that it wouldn’t have been surprising if someone had won.

Some people cautiously predicted that it might be because of the differences in the two’s personalities, and that the Dark Night Demon, who enjoyed being alone and had no interest in the throne, ended up yielding the position of leader to the good-natured True White Demon, as he only fought because he didn’t want to die.

In fact, the True White Demon Lord appointed the Dark Night Demon, who could be considered a risk factor for rebellion, as an elder and treated him with respect.

In the history of the Shinto religion, there were few instances of sparing the opponent who fought for the successor. In that sense, the vessel of the True White Demon Lord, who not only spared the Eumya Shinma but also gave him the position of elder, was truly remarkable.

After yielding the position of leader to a priest, the Eumya Shinma lived as if he were dead. He did whatever the leader ordered, and when he was not doing external work, he spent his time alone in his residence.

The lantern was holding hands with that person.

“Why? Have you developed a desire for power, even if it’s late in life?”

It was a remark made to the king. The lantern shook its head.

“What about the throne at that age? Senior Eumya is similar to Senior Baek. He just lives for the new religion as he has lived until now.”

“I live only for the new religion… … .”

Baekheon shook his head.

“That’s a laughing matter. The king I know isn’t like that.”

“If you say no, then there’s nothing I can do. Even if that were the case, it’s not the case now. Senior Eumya is doing a lot for the new religion.”

“A lot of work? Are you talking about teaching the kids by using you?”

For a moment, the lantern’s eyes shook.

Baekheon tapped the empty glass.

“I am also a person with ears to hear. Of course, it is no secret that the Demon Lords select and train talented people, but you have been following him since long ago.”

“… … .”

“If he came to ask you in person, I wouldn’t mind, but would you even blink if those words came out of your mouth?”

A smile appeared on the lantern’s face.

It was a very masked face, very typical of him.

“So in the end we can’t hold hands?”

“Hey, since when have we been so close? As I said before, you and I have nothing to do but deal with each other. If I offer you something, you will move, right? I will do the same. If you offer me something, I will move too.”

“What do I have to offer to get you to join my hand?”

“If Yin-Ya comes before me and kneels.”

“Is that the offer?”

“It’s about saving face. Isn’t that something more precious than the gold that fills my room?”

The lantern’s eyes grew cold.

“You’re completely crazy. Are you saying you won’t even treat me like a senior anymore?”

“Why are you being so polite to me? Are you the kind of person who would laugh heartily and say, “That’s right,” if I got down on my knees?”

“… … .”

“Go ahead. I have no desire to join hands with you.”

The corners of Yeondeung’s mouth, which had been staring blankly at Baekheon, went up fiercely.

“I risked my pride and even brought good alcohol, but it turned out to be a real shame.”

“If you come to ask for something, you should keep in mind that the other person may not grant it.”

“Of course I thought that was very likely. I just didn’t know that Senior Baek was this crazy.”

“My nickname is Gwang-hyeol (狂血).”

Baekheon smiled faintly.

“I’m always crazy.”

thud!

The lantern that had struck the table with its palm rose from its seat.

“Even if we don’t walk together, I hope we don’t bump into each other on the way.”

“Make sure to avoid me so I don’t get in your way.”

“If you live so arrogantly, you will die alone. Who will reach out to Senior Baek?”

That was when.

“Master, a guest has arrived.”

Baekheon shrugged his shoulders while looking at the lanterns and asked with a smile.

“Who are you?”

“I am the twenty-two-horse commander, the two thousand-sang man.”

In that moment, both of their faces hardened at the same time.

But that was only for a moment.

“Has he finally come to realize that chewing on bones without flesh is nothing more than a show-off dog?”

Baekheon, who had been smiling while looking at the lanterns, slowly opened his mouth.

“Tell them to come in. And a guest will be leaving, so when he leaves, sprinkle some salt in front of the gate.”