Chapter 413
[Why did you crawl in here?]
The Demon God asked with a displeased look. Her attitude was different from how she treated other demons. While she looked down on them, toward the being in front of her, there was a slight hint of wariness.
[From what I’ve heard, you seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble.]
Baal spoke leisurely.
He quietly looked at Taesan.
[You made such a fuss about it. You talked about it so much that it was hard not to get interested.]
A faint smile formed on Baal’s face.
[So, I decided to meet you myself.]
[You.]
The Demon God’s face twisted.
For a moment, the air stilled.
An invisible pressure pressed down on Baal. Even an immortal couldn’t be free from that pressure.
[What are you thinking?]
[The ones on this side are up to boring tricks. I’d like to crush them, but as the Great Demon, I can’t intervene directly. So I need a suitable representative.]
Baal pointed at Taesan.
[On behalf of the other demons, I, the Great Demon Baal, will test this being. That will be the trial for this floor.]
[Don’t worry too much, Lucifer. Created one. All your concerns until now were about finding a proper trial, weren’t they? I won’t give a trial you need to worry about. As long as you have a contract with me, I cannot lie.]
[I know you can hide the truth. How many times have you stabbed me in the back?]
[Come on, it was just a harmless prank. This time, I declare it’s the truth.]
Baal spoke lightly, like an old man humoring a child.
[Hmph.]
The Demon God snorted.
[Do as you wish. If it’s you, I can trust you more than the other demons.]
[Thank you for that.]
Baal chuckled like an old man and returned into the passage.
[I’ll be waiting. Come in when you’re ready.]
With those words, Baal’s presence disappeared. The Demon God clicked her tongue.
[A real nuisance has shown up.]
“Who is he?”
That being was powerful.
Taesan’s level wasn’t high enough to fully sense his power, but even what he could feel suggested there was little difference between him and the Demon God.
Most of all, the type of power he felt was foreign.
That was a being closer to an Old God than a transcendent.
The Demon God answered Taesan’s question.
[The Great Demon. Master of all demons.]
“Aren’t you the master?”
[Of course, I made contracts with the demons and allowed them to lend Magi to the demon race. But demons are extremely willful. Even if I try to suppress and rule them with power, they won’t listen. The one who helped me with that was the Great Demon, Baal.]
The Demon God continued.
[I don’t know what changed his mind, but he betrayed the old Demon God and took my side. Thanks to him, the other demons cooperated as well.]
“…He betrayed the old Demon God?”
The old Demon God—now called the Old Gods.
The beings of the demon world made the Demon God their god to overthrow the old Demon God. That was the general flow Taesan knew.
But apparently, the demons were involved in that process as well.
[I don’t know why that guy betrayed them. He never answers when I ask. Anyway, Baal helped me manage the demons and have them make contracts with the demon race.]
The Demon God frowned.
[He helped me a lot when I first became the demon world’s god, but he also pulled plenty of nasty pranks.]
“I see.”
Baal’s playful attitude toward the Demon God now made sense.
[He’s a bother, but he’s better than the other demons. If he’s the one giving you the trial, it won’t be a half-baked one.]
The Demon God permitted Baal’s intervention.
Now Taesan just needed to enter the passage. He stood before it and asked the Demon God,
“He seems very similar to an Old God.”
The demons were strong, but Baal especially so. Taesan, as he was now, couldn’t easily tell the difference.
“Is there any difference?”
[That’s something you’ll have to see for yourself. Go and claim it. Obtain what you desire.]
The Demon God smiled as she spoke.
Taesan nodded and entered the passage.
Feeling the gazes of countless demons, Taesan arrived at a vast space.
A red sky stretched above.
Beneath it lay a desolate ruin. There were several figures visible.
‘What is this?’
It wasn’t what Taesan expected. Five figures stood in the middle of the ruins.
But there was no demon’s power coming from them.
They were ordinary humans and demons.
* * *
[Kehehek! Another one! There’s too many!]
A shrill voice rang out, piercing his ears. Taesan turned his head. There, he saw a creature with tiny bat wings and a grotesquely large eye.
[Stupid human! You have Lemegeton too, right?]
Taesan nodded. This one was different from the others present.
“Are you a demon?”
[Yes! I am a demon—one feared by mortals, one with great power!]
The demon boasted proudly.
[Go over there and wait! When everyone’s gathered, we’ll test your qualifications!]
“What qualifications?”
Taesan hadn’t been told anything yet. The demon flapped its wings irritably.
[Shut up! Worm! Don’t ask me questions! All you have to do is follow my orders!]
“I don’t like that.”
[You, you, you.]
The demon’s eye rolled wildly.
[You need a lesson!]
Before it finished speaking, power crashed down on Taesan.
A thick, deep darkness. Demonic energy engulfed and pressured Taesan.
[I-I won’t kill you! I’ll just fiddle with your mind!]
Darkness invaded Taesan’s mind.
It shook his brain, trying to swallow him.
It was strong.
As the demon had said, most mortals would be unable to resist.
But that was all.
Taesan was engulfed by darkness. The demon burst out laughing.
[Kakakak! That’s what you get for being cocky!]
“Shut up.”
[Eek!]
Taesan shook his head. The darkness burst apart.
He grabbed the demon by the neck.
“I’d like you to answer my questions.”
Taesan spoke quietly, releasing a portion of his sealed power. He focused it so those farther away wouldn’t notice.
The demon screamed desperately.
[Ask anything! I’ll answer everything!]
“Good. You’re a demon too?”
[Yes! Yes! I don’t have a name or a domain, but I’m still a demon!]
“You’re pretty weak.”
Objectively, it was still powerful.
Even those on the boundary would struggle to overcome it.
But that was all. It didn’t possess the power to transcend mortality.
There was an uncrossable gap between mortals and immortals, so it wasn’t a threat to Taesan.
[O-of course there are strong ones too. Those with names and domains are incomparably stronger than me.]
“So there are different kinds of demons.”
The Demon God said only seventy-two had domains. The rest were mostly like this one.
Once finished, Taesan asked,
“So, when you said ‘everyone,’ you meant the others over there have Lemegeton too?”
[Yes! All those idiots over there have Lemegeton just like you!]
Taesan wasn’t the only one with Lemegeton.
Lemegeton allowed for direct contracts with demons. Six people were gathered here for that reason.
“What exactly are we doing here?”
[This is the place where you undergo the trial to ascend to the rank of demon!]
“What?”
Taesan frowned.
“To become a demon? Is that even possible?”
Demons were beings close to the Old Gods. To handle that power, you had to at least transcend mortality.
But none of the others seemed to have transcended mortality.
They were right below the boundary. Of course, that still made them powerful, but nowhere near the level of a demon.
[I—I don’t know the details. The demons with domains decided it, and told me to guide you, so I’m just following orders.]
The nameless demon replied carefully. It seemed he didn’t know much else.
“That’s enough.”
[T-thank you!]
The demon bowed to Taesan and flew off.
Taesan left him behind and approached the other five.
As Taesan approached, a gloomy-looking man with long, messy hair quietly came over. His face was pale, and his hair was tangled like a bird’s nest.
Without a word, the man studied Taesan and held out his hand.
“…Handshake.”
Taesan looked at the hand for a moment, then shook it without hesitation.
The man looked momentarily surprised but slowly shook his hand.
With each shake, a wave of power seeped into Taesan.
It probed his body, trying to gauge his strength.
But Taesan’s level blocked it; the detection power couldn’t penetrate.
“…Huh?”
The man’s face hardened for a moment. He reflexively pulled his hand back.
“…You.”
“Fool.”
The old man behind him spoke up.
“I admit you’ve hidden your strength perfectly, but letting others touch you so easily—you’ll never survive here that way.”
Taesan looked at them.
The gloomy man and the old man were human. The other three seemed to be demons.
And they didn’t hide their power.
As if showing off, they scattered intense demonic energy.
“And you’re showing off your power openly.”
“Why hide it? This power is proof of who I am. There’s no need or reason to hide it.”
The old man declared proudly.
“I am Ethan, the one who wields Magi by contracting with the great demon Decarabia.”
Decarabia. Taesan knew that demon’s name.
Beginner Magi—Decarabia’s Twisted Vegetation. He’d used that black magic often until now.
‘So that’s how it works?’
They were black magicians who made contracts with specific demons to use Magi. Ethan bluntly asked,
“Who is the demon you contracted with? Though I doubt a coward who hides his strength would answer, I’ll ask out of courtesy.”
“A contract, huh.”
Taesan thought for a moment.
Technically, it was the Demon God, but she wasn’t a demon. Taesan shook his head.
“I don’t have one.”
“What?”
Ethan’s face twisted.
As he tried to say something, the space split open.
[Everyone’s here.]
The Great Demon Baal appeared. He spoke leisurely to the bewildered Black Magicians.
[I am the Great Demon, Baal. Nice to meet you.]
“B-Baal!”
The Black Magicians bowed their heads in terror.
Every Black Magician knew the name of the Great Demon. The lord of pure evil who had existed since the beginning of the world. The absolute ruler above all demons.
They hadn’t expected that being to descend in person. They all trembled in fear, unable to even look up.
Only Taesan looked Baal in the eye.
Baal spoke languidly.
[To be honest, I don’t like you all.]
The Black Magicians swallowed hard.
The fear of death gripped them.
[But as a Great Demon, I can’t suppress the desires of other demons. As long as both you and they agree, I won’t interfere.]
With a brief smile at Taesan, Baal continued.
[You six who possess Lemegeton, this is my trial. If you pass, you will rise to the rank of demon and claim a domain.]
At those words, the Black Magicians’ eyes lit up.
Taesan could see the strong desires within them.
[This is my trial. The demon Belial is dead, but his twisted domain remains. Survive there and claim Belial’s throne.]
[Sub Quest Started.]
[The Great Demon Baal gives a trial to the holders of Lemegeton. The demon Belial is dead and gone, but his domain remains twisted. Break through and claim the throne in Belial’s castle.]
[Reward: The rank and domain of a demon.]
[Leveled up by skill abuse]