Chapter 227 – Melee (2)

The word ‘covenant’ carries immense weight.

This was especially true for a man who had made himself a Demon King to stand against a world gone wrong.

There were seven kingdoms, and they sacrificed countless people for their own interests and hegemony.

The demonkin were no different from slaves, and for the sake of these beings, treated like cattle, Dantalian became the Demon King.

He sought to create a world where demonkin were not persecuted. And he was acclaimed by those who followed his will.

-You have been chosen as the 71st Demon King.

The will of the people, connected through the system, had made him the Demon King.

When the demonkin, who had never been able to unite, came together as one, they became a powerful army the likes of which had never existed before.

The Demon King, in particular, placed everything under his command based on ability alone, regardless of status.

This was true not only for demonkin but for humans as well.

If their ideals aligned, he absorbed even humans into his fold. Naturally, many demonkin initially rebelled against such a policy.

But upon comprehending the grand vision their master held, they followed his will.

To move beyond humanity, to act as one unified will.

There is no such thing as eternal peace, but a very long peace can be forged.

Such a grand dream of the Demon King was shattered.

It was because of a being called the Hero, summoned by the kingdoms that felt threatened.

At first, he thought it was just some sort of propaganda strategy.

But the Hero grew in power in an instant and became a great calamity.

In the end, the era of the Demon King was brought to a close by the Hero.

The Demon King was reincarnated in the modern era. He heard the stories of what followed from his subordinates, who, like him, had been reborn in modern times.

Once the Demon King’s army was gone, the seven kingdoms resumed their wars. The demonkin became targets to be subjugated on sight.

And during this time, the Hero once again took up his sword and walked the path of the conqueror.

He was different from the Demon King, yet he fought with the same purpose.

Even the former Demon King’s army joined forces for his cause.

Ultimately, after a ten-year war, the Hero conquered the continent and seized hegemony.

The problem began after that.

The Hero should have taken his place as the supreme ruler, the monarch. But after ending all the fighting, he simply vanished.

Fortunately, there was no fight for the empty throne he left behind.

To them, the Hero was a figure of mythic proportions.

But the system, built upon the powerful symbol of the Hero, could only truly shine when the Hero was present.

The Demon King understood the Hero.

Everyone held resentment and hope for the Hero who had refused the throne, but only the Demon King knew the truth.

The title of Hero isn’t some all-powerful wish-granting box.

He had shed blood for his beliefs, and after achieving them, he looked back only to find he no longer knew what he truly wanted.

Perhaps the Hero remembered the countless lives lost for the sake of his conquest. When he looked forward, he saw a river of blood. When he closed his eyes, the dead pledged their loyalty.

It was a ridiculous thing.

Because he was so strong, everyone looked to him.

The wills and gazes of hundreds, no, tens of millions were directed solely at him.

A fanatical faith and obsession clung to him, where people would die if he commanded it and live if he allowed it.

There was no need for such things in the first place.

For the Hero!

Under that cry, countless people died.

The Hero shouldered their deaths.

And to ensure their deaths were not in vain, he granted their wishes.

He literally became a box that granted wishes.

He did not fear sacrificing himself for others, no, for his own satisfaction.

That was clearly wrong.

He met the Hero again in the modern era.

There was no resentment. He, too, had held the same wish and had done his best, sword in hand.

If anything, he felt gratitude.

Without his existence, the surviving demonkin would have all been annihilated.

This time, he joined hands with the Hero.

It was a dream unfulfilled in his past life.

While fighting the Hero, he had often thought how wonderful it would have been if the Hero had been on his side, not the kingdoms’.

And the reality of that thought soon came to be.

As the illegitimate son of a corporate giant, he established a guild with the Hero as its public face.

In just one year, the guild saw brilliant growth. It literally became the best guild.

The Hero was becoming the greatest through military might, and he, through power and influence.

It was a covenant. One that passed between people who shared the same dream.

“It’s begun.”

A clear voice struck his ears.

The Demon King, Im Jae-joon, opened his eyes.

The media was currently filled with stories about Deliveryman Lee Hyunbin.

His phone was buzzing with text messages from his subordinates at Hanul Group, reporting in.

The disgrace of Deliveryman Lee Hyunbin.

As a result, Hanul Group’s stock price was beginning to fall. But manipulating the media, even while taking such a massive hit, was exactly what Im Jae-joon had wanted.

“Do you have any regrets?”

“No. This is my choice.”

He had already calculated for regrets.

If there is something to lose, there is also something to gain.

“The East is stronger than I thought.”

The ruler of the East, Immortal Agares, was preparing a dimensional invasion.

But this dimension still hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation.

They were all just playing hunter in their respective countries. If they were to face the grand army of Hell in this state, the only outcome would be total annihilation.

If a war were to break out under these circumstances, that foolish man would only make one choice.

“He’ll take up his sword to protect someone again.”

He would save many people by doing so. But he is a being capable of saving far more people, more worlds, more dimensions.

More than he ever could.

Therefore, he must live.

“We’re ready on this end. You make sure you do your part.”

Im Jae-joon spoke.

The woman standing before him responded in a low voice.

“This time, I will fulfill my wish.”

The woman in the red Justice Armor, the Regressor, murmured softly.

She had deactivated the noise obscuring her face in front of Im Jae-joon.

If she had kept her face hidden, Im Jae-joon would never have been persuaded in the first place.

With the noise gone, her face was beautiful. But a lifelessness, a doll-like dryness, lingered there.

It was the face of someone who had lost precious things before her eyes time and time again.

“What a tragedy.”

Im Jae-joon muttered.

“What is?”

“Is it not?”

A Hero exists to protect people.

A Hero is a symbol of justice, salvation, and hope. But such a Hero only exists in picturesque fairy tales.

In reality, such a Hero does not exist.

Except for Hyunbin, that is.

“The more he tries to protect, the more he is unable to.”

To protect those around him, to prevent any sacrifices, he went through tremendous effort to become strong. But the stronger he became, the more his enemies united against him.

Looking at her, Im Jae-joon picked up a glass of whiskey from the table and moistened his lips.

If Olivier had been here, he would have asked for tea, but in her absence, alcohol took its place.

A Demon King who had lost his aide. And a Hero who had lost his Saintess.

They were polar opposites, but once their interests aligned, an interesting situation arose.

“An alliance between a Demon King and a Saintess.”

The Regressor, no, the adult Katrinne, accepted the drink the Demon King offered.

She saw her own face reflected in the liquor filling the glass.

She hated her face.

Nausea rose in her throat.

A powerless, incompetent, foolish girl who endangered the Hero with her childish greed.

“For the Hero.”

The Regressor drained her glass.

To protect him, she would hunt him.

She would eliminate his reason to fight.

***

This was an interesting situation.

The words ‘alliance’ and ‘betrayal’ have always been a packaged deal.

That’s why I’ve always been careful to check for any nails sticking out from the wall I lean my back against.

I certainly thought I had.

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin! I’m placing you under emergency arrest. Do not offer any unnecessary resistance…!”

Unnecessary resistance, huh.

Literally, if there’s no need to resist, it’s normal not to. But for things to unfold in such an absurd way means something is up.

Aren’t you supposed to use your turn signal when you change lanes?

What happens if you don’t use your signal? It’s no different from a manga that suddenly throws in a plot twist without any foreshadowing.

No one’s out there praising them, saying, ‘Oh, what a great driver,’ or ‘Oh, what a brilliant writer.’

“What’s the reason for this emergency arrest?”

“We will explain once we have you in custody.”

So they’re going to hit me first and tell me why I got hit later.

“We, too, do not wish to cause any trouble for a national hero such as yourself.”

“It’s fine.”

“…Pardon?”

He must not have heard me right.

“You can cause all the trouble you want.”

The special forces captain seemed to be worrying unnecessarily, so I cleared that right up for him. Still, his expression doesn’t look too good.

“Kuh, our Hunter Lee. You’ve gone too far. Didn’t I tell you? No matter how strong a beast is, do you think it can fight countless people for 24 hours? For years?”

I know.

“Your body may be steel, but your mind will wear down… Gaaah!”

Our dear Director seemed to have regained some of his spirit, so I stepped on the back of his hand.

Seeing my action, the special forces members tensed up, raising their rifles.

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin, please come with us for now. This is making things difficult!”

I could see the muzzles of the special forces surrounding me tremble.

These men are the best of the best. It’s only natural for them to feel fear.

After all, I’m a being more terrifying than a colossal monster in human form.

“You just stay put.”

I felt Seol Ji-hoon next to me preparing to activate a skill and stopped him.

At my words, Seol Ji-hoon’s face turned quizzical.

Ha, this guy, ever the villain. Ready to fight at the drop of a hat.

We could probably wipe out everyone here. The same would be true even if the army came. But like they said, could we fight for 24 hours without sleep?

No.

But more importantly, I’m the one they want. So, there’s the option of going along willingly and clearing up the misunderstanding.

I once told that Siegfried fellow.

Betrayal happens because there’s a profit to be made.

Even if there’s no monetary gain, there’s emotional gain, like settling an old grudge.

For the Demon King to betray me, there must be a profit. I just think I might have underestimated the size of his profit.

“If you want to stop me, then try.”

“Hunter Lee, don’t make things complicated…!”

First off, I’m not sure how good our Demon King is at addition and subtraction.

“There’s nothing complicated about it. I’m leaving, and you’re going to get out of my way.”

I’m curious to see how many will be left standing when you take me out of the equation. So I think I’ll have a look.

“Ready to fire!”

“Ready to fire!”

As they openly prepared to shoot, I slowly began to walk forward, then picked up my pace.

*Bang!*

A bullet really did fly toward me.

No, to be precise, it was a suppression shot meant to stop me. To keep me from moving forward.

“…!”

I dodged it with a light step.

In fact, I didn’t even look to see where the bullet was coming from. I just had a feeling of what was coming from where, without looking.

Is this how even blindfolded masters could dodge swords?

-Be careful. This is the Demon King’s doing, so it won’t be just this.

Just then, Olivier’s voice came through.

For some reason, hearing her voice made me feel at ease.

To be honest, getting stabbed in the back like this is extremely unpleasant.

No, it’s fine. A stab in the back. I just have to pay it back with interest.

But the only reason I’m annoyed is that I don’t know my opponent’s objective.

No matter how I think about it, the profit they gain from making an enemy of me is too small. No, it’s nonexistent.

“If you want to catch me, tell him to bring the Demon King’s army.”

-Whatever, you conceited jerk.

At my words, I heard Olivier’s voice, letting out an incredulous laugh.

-If I may ask…

She began to speak cautiously.

-Do you trust me?

The Demon King broke our alliance, so could I trust his subordinate, Olivier?

The answer is yes.

It surprised even me.

Because there’s no one worse at calculating gains and losses than her.