Chapter 10

“Gluttony, drunkenness, lust, debauchery, strife, and jealousy are things you must avoid. Instead, clothe yourself with the Lord. Do not serve your body in its desires.”

The Saintess is once again offering up her devout prayers today. Even though it doesn’t seem like the Sun God would listen to her prayers, why is she so diligent about it?

She’s truly an incomprehensible woman. A foolish woman.

“Praise be to You, my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?”

Whenever Celt opens the door for visitation or food distribution, there’s always this dim darkness whether it’s day or night. That is Tartarus.

That was true until six days ago.

Ever since the Saintess arrived as a newcomer, there’s always been a faint glimmer of light in Tartarus.

This is because the holy light of the Sun God enveloping her body seeps through her nun’s habit, making her seem like a small sun herself.

Even now, while praying, she’s emitting that light.

When I first heard her prayers, I wanted to rip my ears off it was so annoying. But lately, it doesn’t bother me as much. Guess I’ve gotten used to this weirdo Saintess.

…Isn’t something wrong with me as a demon for feeling this way? I’m starting to question the meaning of my existence.

“Please, do not abandon this wretched and vulgar world. Forgive us our trespasses, if only for my humble life. Oh Lord.”

Wow, look at her speaking so piously.

I can confidently say that none of the priests I’ve killed were as devout as her.

A person’s true nature comes out right before death. Whether it was righteous Holy Knights, worldly priests, or fearful nuns begging for their children’s lives instead of their own – they all showed their ugly sides when faced with death.

But the Saintess will probably be different. My gut tells me that.

Even when her execution day comes in just two more days, she’ll probably be smiling on the guillotine. At least, that’s what I think of the Saintess I know.

“Sister.”

“Yes, Joker-sama.”

Despite finding out my true identity during the hero’s visitation, her attitude towards me hasn’t changed at all. It’s still warm and compassionate. The only thing that’s changed is the title.

“Sister, aren’t you afraid of death?”

“If accepting death is returning the grace the Lord has given me, shouldn’t I receive it joyfully?”

“Joyful? If it’s so joyful, why don’t you just kill yourself? Why have you lived until now?”

“Because I have duties given to me by God to fulfill. Though I haven’t completed them perfectly, if the Lord calls me, I must go.”

As expected, the Saintess is an unusual human. Different from other humans… no, other “lives.”

“Can you really say without any hesitation that you’re not afraid, swearing on the Sun God?”

Her expression annoyed me slightly, so I kept pressing her.

I don’t know why I’m doing this. Whether the Saintess is good or evil, whether she trembles before death or not, it has nothing to do with me.

“To say I’m completely unafraid would be a lie.”

“What? So you were lying before?”

“But if my death can bear the sins of the world, and through it, the current world can be forgiven by God…”

The Saintess’s face was filled with pure hope. Her voice carried nothing but sincerity.

“I can wait for that day with great joy.”

“Huh, I can’t relate to that at all.”

Suddenly, I became curious about this Saintess.

What kind of environment allowed her to grow up with such brightness and hope? Was she raised with nothing but care and protection?

I became a little curious…

*clank*

“…Ow.”

Every time I hear the sound of those chains, I have to swallow this bitter pain again…

***

I was the loyal right-hand man of the Demon King.

Very loyal.

So loyal that when the Demon King gave three orders, I followed one. I never attended any of the banquets he invited me to. In fact, excluding official occasions, I’ve never used honorifics with him even once.

Am I not loyal like a dog?

Some might say I lack common sense, but that’s not true.

My loyalty was possible only because the Demon King was my close friend. My childhood friend since we were ten years old.

The Demon King and I met when we were around ten. He was the direct heir of the number one family in the Demon Realm, the Demon King household, and I was from one of the four major families, the Northern House.

Of course, no matter how long we’d known each other, I didn’t fully trust the Demon King. I trust no one. Not even a friend I’ve known for hundreds of years.

Isn’t there a saying about using someone then discarding them?

That’s why I held onto three of the Demon King’s weaknesses. In fact, without his knowledge, I even engraved a curse mark on his body.

The problem is, before I could activate that mark, I got dragged here.

It was just another ordinary day. I was having breakfast while suffering from Merlin Gregory’s magic-induced convulsions. That day’s breakfast was rye bread.

Suddenly, Demon Realm police burst in during my peaceful meal, accusing me of blasphemy and trying to arrest me.

Subduing them was easier than breathing, but I let myself get arrested willingly. I had nothing to hide, and I knew I could overpower them anytime.

I wondered who dared to frame me, the Great Duke of the North, Joker.

I was immediately escorted to the courtroom, where the trial began right away.

Surprisingly, the judge was my old friend, the Demon King. The prosecutor was the Demon King. The defense attorney was the Demon King. The district attorney was also the Demon King.

Stunned by this absurd situation, I quickly snapped out of it as the trial proceeded ridiculously fast. It felt like someone was deliberately targeting me.

By the end of the trial, I realized that someone was the Demon King himself.

[To Oscar Lucifer Joker, the Great Duke of the North, I sentence you to 111 days in Tartarus and execution by guillotine.]

The trial lasted exactly 9 minutes and 37 seconds. Naturally, I protested, and the Demon King tried to suppress me with force.

I unleashed all my power and clashed with the Demon King. The courtroom was flooded with pure malice, and an enormous explosion covered us – one that no one had ever caused before. Standing at the end of it all was the Demon King.

Exactly 1 hour and 26 minutes after the trial ended, I was escorted to the world’s worst maximum-security prison, the Babel Tower, accompanied by my battered body from fighting the Demon King for 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Eventually, I was imprisoned in Tartarus, shackled with Adamantium chains that couldn’t be broken by anyone’s flesh.

It was an absurd situation, but there was no one to argue with. No place to complain about the injustice.

The world isn’t soft. Even the second-in-command of the Demon King’s army, under betrayal by the top, falls into ruin.

With the mighty Demon King’s divine command, procedures are meaningless. Who would dare speak against the absolute power that surpasses even the Demon God in the power-driven Demon Realm?

I still don’t understand why the Demon King did this to me. We weren’t on bad terms, and I wasn’t hindering him in any way.

To attribute it to lust for power doesn’t fit the Demon King’s character that I know so well. He’s only obsessed with dueling those stronger than himself. As someone who’s known him the longest, I can guarantee this.

“Sister, don’t you have any clues? Why did the Demon King imprison me here?”

“…”

“Sister? Why aren’t you answering? Are you asleep?”

“…That.”

Finally, the Sister opened her mouth after being asked. This was unlike her usual self, who answered every single question thoroughly.

“I know, but I cannot tell you.”

“What?”

“Please understand.”

“Tch, if you don’t know, just say so. Stop pretending to know everything.”

“Hehe.”

Though her words are curt, I know the Sister isn’t one to speak nonsense.

Is there something between the Sister and the Demon King that I don’t know about that prevents her from telling me?

Since the only related party, the Sister, won’t speak, there’s no way for me to find out.

*clang*

While I was sulking and pressing down on the back of her thigh, the iron door opened.

It’s not feeding time, so it must be another visitor. Seriously, the Sister has quite the network. There’s someone visiting her in Tartarus every day, a place where normal people couldn’t last a second.

Unlike someone who hasn’t had a single visitor in 110 days…

“It’s visitation time.”

As expected, the door opened for a visit.

Hey, why is Kelt speaking informally? He’s not the type to talk casually to the Sister.

“Joker, you have a visitor. Just stay there.”

“Huh?”

“Visitation rights don’t exist. Accept it quietly.”

“Visitor? For me? Finally?”

“Yeah, finally someone came to see you. Greet them happily. Don’t say anything strange and lose your head.”

Wait, who is this first visitor that makes it sound like I might lose my head?

Damn, typical demons until the end. What a shitty social circle I had while alive.

Thinking of the Sister’s visitors… Lilith, the hero. Though seemingly unrelated, somehow…

“Congratulations, Joker-sama.”

“On what?”

“It’s your long-awaited first visitation.”

“C, Cough! Who said I was waiting for anyone!”

“Didn’t you envy it every time Kelt-sama came for a visit? I could definitely sense that atmosphere.”

The Sister tilted her bandaged eyes. Ah, I’ve been found out.

Yeah, honestly, I am looking forward to it. Especially since it’s my first visitor. Baal, the most loyal demon to me? Or Dantalion, who led the 36 Demon Legions? Whoever it is…

With my heart pounding, I clutched it and stared endlessly at the door where the visitor would enter.

*creak*

*thud, thud*

The figure that finally appeared in front of me was someone I believed would never come.

Tall black coat flowing elegantly, slender yet towering physique, dark sunglasses, red horns atop long hair, and swirling crimson malice around them.

There are too many adjectives to describe him, but I’ll list a few:

The legendary demon who conquered the seven nations and three tribes of the continent with overwhelming power alone, transcending even the laws.

The noble demon who stands above the Demon God, ruler of all demons, with the seventy-two Great Demons beneath his feet.

The ultimate heaven and king of all evil, destined to drag the world into the abyss of wickedness.

Demon King (Maou) Canos.

The fifth visitor to Tartarus and my first visitor as a prisoner.

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