Chapter 246

EP.246 I Am the Demon King

Kieeeeeeek-!

A dragon-like demon screaming as it falls.

The thousands of demons that appeared in Russia were all wiped out by the Russian military, me, and Adelle, who had been dispatched.

They were F-rank demons, so dealing with them was quite easy. A few thousand in number wasn’t even that much.

However, one D-rank demon, the leader, appeared. At first, I tried to capture it, but Adelle smashed its head with a brutal punch.

Meaning, I couldn’t even secretly extract and interrogate it.

Let’s put that aside… It was really f*cking annoying. The word “f*ck” came out naturally.

Because while Adelle was fighting, Sehwa relayed this message to me.

The portal that opened did so on its own from the Demon Realm without any permission.

That Amon, Orbas, and even Guf only plotted rebellion but didn’t open a portal to attack Earth.

This means there’s someone who has completely escaped my influence.

And it’s a high-ranking demon capable of opening a portal with its own power.

Otherwise, this incident would be hard to explain.

It feels like my influence has suddenly shrunk drastically, and the reason for this is probably… the pain I felt when I was inside Adelle.

At that time, Rosario’s divine power clearly affected my body.

This is such a headache. Such a headache.

– Mr. Jihyuk! Can I go back now?

Adelle’s voice came through the communicator.

I answered while hovering the fighter jet.

“Yes. Come back.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the portal inside the fighter jet flashed, and Adelle walked out of it.

Seeing the golden glow on her fists, I secretly grimaced.

I hate that it’s on her skin. I need to make a hammer or something soon…

Adelle, who had undone her transformation, approached me with a bright smile.

Her expression was asking for praise. I let out a weak chuckle and said,

“You did well.”

“Thank you. But today, really weak demons showed up, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Tairat knows our strength very well, so why would he do something so foolish? Did he hit his head or something?”

Foolish…? Hit his head?

I never thought I’d be insulted by Adelle.

Even though it wasn’t directly aimed at me, it’s incredibly insulting. I’ll definitely find the demon who opened the portal.

I’ll tear it to shreds until its guts spill out, then hang it on the front gate of the Demon King’s castle.

No. I’ll cut off its limbs, remove its eyes and tongue, and make it live for eons without being able to die.

“Well… it’s pathetic.”

“Right? So stupid.”

If I listen any longer, I’ll get sick.

After briefly responding to the Russian military’s thanks, I turned the fighter jet around.

“You worked hard. Let’s go back.”

“Yes! Today was super fun, Mr. Jihyuk!”

“…Yeah.”

I’ve never been so annoyed by Adelle before…

Suppressing my anger, I left Russia and arrived at the laboratory.

Silvia was pacing around, waiting for us.

She seemed anxious, unable to step out even though the device was completed.

Adelle, who returned to the laboratory triumphantly, approached Silvia and gave her a look.

She wanted to comfort her but seemed hesitant to speak up, knowing well about the Aiter charging method.

After calming both of them down and sending them off, I immediately contacted Marcella.

– Yes, Demon King.

“What’s the situation?”

– It’s not even clear yet. The Queen is preparing to go to the Demon Realm.

She plans to investigate herself.

It’s best to put in the effort, but… it feels bad.

If Sehwa goes to the Demon Realm alone, she might get betrayed.

“Tell her not to go.”

– Huh…? But there’s a limit to what we can investigate here…

What? But?

Look at this b*tch? She’s been acting up since I loosened her leash.

Is this proof that my influence is fading?

“Are you disobeying?”

– Ah, no… I’m sorry… I’ll tell the Queen not to go.

“How’s the Doctor?”

– She’s adapting well… She can handle daily life without difficulty now.

“Good. Leave the Doctor’s care to Sehwa and Yuria. You come to the Han-daeguri Office Apartment right now.”

– M-me…? Right now…?

“I won’t say it twice.”

I hung up without waiting for Marcella’s response.

Without even properly organizing the laboratory, I went outside and started the car.

**

Thud!

While waiting for the elevator, I hit my head against the wall.

A young couple had pushed me, causing the incident.

“Ha…”

I let out a hollow laugh and looked at them.

The two entered the elevator without a single word of apology.

I brushed it off, shook my head, and followed them into the elevator.

The 19th floor lit up, so it seemed the couple lived there.

They’re the ones paying me, so I’ll let it slide.

After pressing the 25th floor, I stood still, and the man’s snarky voice came.

“You should press the close button too.”

Why are these idiots picking fights out of nowhere?

I slowly turned my head to look at the couple.

The man shrugged and sneered.

“Can you stop by our place after dropping off? We have something to deliver.”

Ah… They must think I’m some delivery service worker.

My clothes were shabby, and I was holding a small box with machine parts for the office apartment, so they must’ve misunderstood.

[The door is closing.]

While I was lost in thought, the elevator door closed on its own.

Then, I heard the couple giggling from behind.

They were clearly mocking me.

I looked up at the elevator ceiling and blinked twice.

I was contemplating why I was enduring such humiliation.

Is this also the influence of divine power? Did Rosario make me kind-hearted?

Seeing how angry I am, that doesn’t seem to be the case…

‘I’ll test it out.’

Perfect timing. I needed pawns anyway.

I licked my lips and pressed the emergency button when the elevator reached the 13th floor.

Beep-!

A long signal sounded, and the elevator stopped.

“Wh-what? Hey!”

The man panicked and shouted.

Without a word, I put the box down, and as the man tried to grab my shoulder, I punched him in the face.

Thud!

A clean hit.

The man made a cracking sound as he slammed against the elevator wall and collapsed.

Holding onto the walls on both sides, I lifted my foot and stomped on the man’s head.

Crunch!

A short, intense, ominous sound of something breaking, and the man’s body twitched before going limp.

A clear liquid mixed with blood flowed from his nose.

Probably brain fluid.

“Kyaaaaah!”

The woman screamed in panic at the sudden situation.

I covered her mouth with a rough hand and tightly gripped her neck, looking at the camera on the ceiling.

Then, the elevator restarted and went straight to the 25th floor without stopping.

Ding!

[25th floor.]

The person who came out as the door opened was Marcella.

She took the unconscious woman from my arms and asked,

“What should we do with her?”

“Keep her. I’ll make her a retainer and send her to the Demon Realm. We can use her to gather information about the Demon Realm.”

“Understood.”

I let out a refreshing breath.

I felt no guilt whatsoever about killing a human.

I also felt no discomfort about turning her into a demon.

The divine power only reduced my influence; it didn’t change my essence.

I am the Demon King Tairat.

**

While drinking beer on the sofa, Marcella approached and knelt, so I asked,

“How’s the woman?”

“I’ve injected your blood. The effects will show soon. Both the man and woman were handled as accidents…”

“And?”

“I’m sorry, Demon King…”

Marcella was apologizing for questioning my earlier command.

I stared at her and said,

“It’s fine. It happens.”

I was so angry earlier that I treated Marcella harshly.

Now that my head has cooled, I felt sorry for her.

She’s the loyal one who resurrected me four times.

I should’ve been calm, but the situation made me too excited.

“I deserve to die… Punish… Punish me…”

Marcella, almost crying, begged for punishment.

I chuckled, leaned forward, grabbed Marcella’s wrist, and pulled her toward me.

Then, I almost sat her on my lap and stroked the back of her hand.

“Without you, I’m nothing. How could I let you die?”

“Ah…! Demon King… I…”

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“D-don’t apologize…! You shouldn’t…!”

“Is it a crime for me to care for my subordinate?”

“It’s not but…! Huh…”

Marcella trembled all over.

It was right after I grabbed the tip of her tail and squeezed.

“Sehwa followed my orders, right?”

“Yes, yes… She just said she’d help the Doctor…”

“Come to think of it, I promised you a reward but never gave it.”

“It’s fine if you don’t…”

“Who do you think got us this far? How can I not reward you? How about staying over tonight?”

Marcella’s face turned red.

Feeling something wet on my thigh, it seemed she was close.

Just imagining her sitting on my lap makes her like this… She’s always been third-rate.

“D-Demon King… Now’s not the time… We need to investigate the Demon Realm first…”

“How long does it take to do it once?”

“But… Last time, you clearly said you’d make time…”

Ah… Trying to pass off one round as a reward was the problem?

I messed up. I messed up big time.

I chuckled at Marcella’s cute resistance and shook my head.

“Got it. Who do you think the traitor is?”

“I have no clue, but… Malphas comes to mind first…”

Same thought.

That sly bastard is really suspicious.

When I went to interrogate the three traitors, including Amon, he didn’t seem to bow to me.

But Malphas has a good head on his shoulders.

He’s not stupid enough to open a portal so blatantly.

Or maybe he twisted things again to do this.

To get off the suspect list.

Either way, there’s definitely a traitor… So, it’s right to investigate the most suspicious one first.

“Find a few more humans who are easy to handle and turn them into retainers. We’ll send them together.”

“Yes…”

After hearing Marcella’s answer, I bit her tail lightly and chewed.

“Haaa…”

Feeling my pants getting completely wet from the fluid she released, I felt sorry for myself, the Demon King who couldn’t return to the Demon Realm.

This is why Aiter replication is crucial.

Because there are demons trying to bite me at every opportunity.

‘Traitor bastard… If I find you, I won’t let you off easy.’

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