novelraw Chapter 59 : Chapter 59
Chapter 59 : Chapter 59
Chapter 59. The Invasion of the Lombard Kingdom (5)
“How dare you filth trespass here!”
“Ho? A venerable dragon. I can feel tremendous magic power at a glance. May I ask for your name?”
“I have no name to give to the likes of you. Get lost, now!”
Anonymous growled, showing strong hostility.
But the newcomers, as if unafraid of her, bowed their heads toward me, who was behind her.
“Are you the Hero, Frank?”
“I am, but who are you?”
“It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. My name is Lucifer. I am the eldest of the brothers.”
Following him, the ones next to him introduced themselves one by one.
Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor.
Excluding Mammon, the seven great demons had gathered in one place.
What was unexpected was that while Mammon had a giant demonic form, these guys were in human form and were even wearing suits.
‘It's like a rainbow, each wearing clothes of a different color.’
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
Orange was missing, which I guessed was probably Mammon's color.
Lucifer was wearing a red suit, and perhaps because of that?
He stood out and gave off an intense feeling.
He also had a very gentlemanly demeanor, to the point that Anonymous, who was wary of them, seemed more rude.
‘In the game, the demons other than Mammon never once showed their faces, and to think they would appear all at once.’
I let them into the house and asked the reason for their visit.
“What brings you to me?”
“I heard from my brother. He said you could provide us with a place to rest.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Lucifer elegantly drank the black tea Elliot brought and slowly opened his mouth.
“The Dragons' Paradise is here, isn't it? It's not much different from that. Please find us a place to stay. If possible, a place not too far from the Dragons' Paradise.”
Did I just mishear something?
Asking me to find a place for demons to rest.
And a place not too far from the Dragons' Paradise?
Didn't they say demons and dragons were mortal enemies?
I wasn't sure why.
I got a feeling that I shouldn't treat this matter lightly.
Now that I was facing the absolute evil, Primus.
‘I'll need to accept as many allies as possible.’
In that sense, the power of the great demons might not just be an ordinary reinforcement, but could be used as a joker to turn the tide of the situation.
***
Lucifer took a light sip of his black tea and looked at Frank.
‘This man is the Hero who defeated the Demon King? I don't feel any power from him at all.’
Mammon had said that among all the humans he had seen so far, this was the first time he had seen a figure so powerful and with such courage.
He had even questioned how strong he must be to be able to enslave the queen of dragons.
But the Frank he saw in person was nothing more than a weak human.
‘Could Mammon have been mistaken because the venerable dragon was next to him? I don't feel any magic power at all.’
In some ways, that was even more amazing.
Everyone had at least a little bit of magic power.
This was the first time he had seen a human so devoid of magic power.
Lucifer downed the remaining black tea into his mouth and recalled the events of a few days before his visit here.
“Is this the place where Mammon is hiding?”
At Belphegor's words, Leviathan nodded his head.
“It seems they built a cathedral to suppress Mammon's power, but even so, don't you feel his strong presence? This must be the place.”
“That may be so, but it's too weak.”
“It's probably due to the cathedral's neutralizing effect and the magic of the ancient ruins being mixed together. I'd bet my right testicle that he's here.”
“Don't talk about testicles. You're impotent after being done in by Primus.”
“...That sounds like you're picking a fight.”
As Belphegor and Leviathan glared at each other and bickered, Lucifer hurriedly intervened.
“This is not the time for this. We need to find Mammon quickly and come up with a plan.”
Satan, the fourth brother, agreed with those words and shrugged his shoulders, pointing to the huge entrance.
“That's all well and good, but how do you plan to get through here? You can't enter without a key.”
“Have you already forgotten my ability?”
“What?”
“This kind of thing is a piece of cake for me. Stand back.”
Lucifer concentrated his mind and soon succeeded in easily opening the door.
“What did you do?”
“The title of Pride isn't given to just anyone. I'm very disappointed that you have no interest in my abilities. Everyone, follow me. We'll quickly rendezvous with Mammon and then all get out of here together.”
For demons, a place like a cathedral was extremely uncomfortable.
At Lucifer's annoyed reaction, the other great demons followed him without a word.
But even the boastful Lucifer was helpless against the traps Mammon had set.
“Pant. Pant. I nearly died.”
“What kind of place is this? It's a damn mess.”
The traps were so cleverly hidden, and each one was so powerful, that it seemed even Primus couldn't guarantee passage if he were here now.
In fact, Asmodeus had lost an arm, and if not for his amazing regenerative ability, he would have had to live as a cripple for the rest of his life.
In the end, the demons had to leave their physical bodies at the entrance and move in their spiritual forms.
‘To have to be in this state again. It's so humiliating.’
‘Quit your mumbling and hurry up and follow.’
If someone were to touch their physical bodies at the entrance now, they would have to spend thousands of years again to regain them.
Spiritualization was that dangerous of a choice.
It was one of the skills they wanted to avoid using as much as possible, unless they met a strong opponent like Primus.
Still, it wasn't without its advantages; like ghosts, they were not restricted by physical barriers.
They passed through walls and moved down at high speed, and it wasn't long before they reached the lowest floor.
Soon, they saw a huge cavern and the figure of their brother.
“Ooh! Look who it is! It's been a long time, brothers!”
As Mammon waved his hand with a happy face, Lucifer urged him on, saying there was no time.
‘We left the entrance open. Let's get out of here with us right now.’
But Mammon made a ‘Why should I?’ expression and started picking his nose with one hand.
“If you want to go, go by yourselves.”
‘I'm not in the mood for jokes right now.’
“Same here.”
Mammon refuted Lucifer with this logic.
“Even if I wanted to leave, I can't.”
‘What did you say?’
“Seeing as you came here in that state, it must be because of the traps I set. Sorry, but even I can't pass through them at will.”
Wouldn't it be possible to use the secret passage Frank used when he came to find him?
Unfortunately, unlike Frank, Mammon had only found a part of the secret passage.
He couldn't just leave his body here and escape with only his soul either.
In a spiritualized state, he wouldn't be able to exert even a hundredth of his original power.
“More importantly, I like it here. It's too dangerous outside.”
‘You traitor! Do you mean you don't care what happens to your brothers!’
“Keke. I heard Primus has been resurrected, right? Even he won't be able to come here easily. I'm just going to stay here, so you guys go on your own.”
Mammon waved his hand dismissively as if it were someone else's business.
The enraged Satan scolded him, but he didn't even pretend to listen.
Instead, he picked his ear with one finger and said this.
“If you want to take me with you, find a place as safe as this. Then I'll think about it.”
‘We don't have time for this now. Primus is sending his subordinates in all directions to find us even at this very moment!’
“Huhu. I have a pretty good helper. As long as he's here, I'll be fine.”
‘Who is it?’
“Empty-handed?”
‘Keuk. I'll give you half of the wealth I possess.’
Only then did Mammon confess about his helper.
He said there was a Hero named Frank who defeated the previous Demon King, and his power was immense.
He was enslaving a venerable dragon that even he couldn't handle, so he was no pushover.
As long as he was there, Primus was no longer scary.
Lucifer retorted with a look of disbelief.
‘Even if he's a Hero, he's just a mere human. Why do you trust him so much?’
“My gut tells me so. It's telling me that if I join hands with him, I'll be fine.”
‘Don't make me laugh.’
“Ah! Why don't you discuss this matter with Frank? I'm sure he'll tell you a good solution.”
What on earth was this human named Frank that he was so cherished, praised, and adored?
Unable to persuade Mammon any longer, Lucifer left that place and inquired about where this guy named Frank lived.
Finding where he lived wasn't that difficult.
He just had to sweet-talk a passing human and ask about a man named Frank.
And so he had come all the way here, but...
‘It's completely different from what Mammon said. Is he hiding something?’
On the contrary, the maid who growled at them at the entrance and his two daughters seemed more amazing.
The maid who had transformed from a venerable dragon was one thing, the daughter named Adel was overflowing with an unusual aura, and the daughter named Noemi had so much magic power that its limits were beyond imagination.
The most manageable-looking person was Rude, but his magic power was also great.
‘For such talented people to be following one person. I shouldn't judge by magic power alone.’
Re-evaluating Frank, Lucifer made an offer that he absolutely could not refuse.
“If you provide us with a place to rest, we will follow your words for the rest of your life, until you die.”
“Are you saying you'll become my slaves?”
“Ahem. The word ‘slave’ is a bit unpleasant to hear. It would be better if you understood it as forming a master-servant relationship.”
The other party seemed to ponder for a moment, then smiled faintly and nodded his head.
“That doesn't sound too bad.”
“Then the deal is sealed.”
Lucifer rejoiced inwardly.
A human's lifespan was, at most, around 100 years.
For demons who lived for thousands, tens of thousands of years, that was a mere fleeting moment.
‘I'm just using you for a while. It doesn't mean I'm becoming your subordinate. You fool.’
Moreover, a verbal promise like this could be changed at any time if the situation became unfavorable.
They were demons.
They were beings who found pleasure in backstabbing humans.
But then, the man added an unexpected story.
“I think you've misunderstood something.”
“Misunderstood, you say?”
“Where in the world is there a law that decides such an important matter with just words? I'll bring a contract, so write down what you just said without leaving anything out.”
He took a contract out of his drawer and even gave him a pen.
Then, he looked straight into his eyes and spoke.
“What are you doing? Aren't you going to write it down?”
“No, that is…”
“Surely you weren't thinking of something else, were you? I don't think a gentlemanly demon like you would do such a thing, but I'm just saying, just in case.”
“...”
When he glanced at his brothers' faces, they were giving him a look that said, ‘What are you doing, not writing it down?’
They had faces that seemed to say, ‘What's there to weigh now that Primus has been resurrected?’
In the end, Lucifer signed the contract with the feeling of a man forced to eat mustard.
Frank looked at it with a pleased face and then immediately said this.
“With this, I am the master, and you are the servants. Then, as the master, I will give my first command.”
“W-Isn't it first to provide us with a place to rest!”
“No. How can I just provide you with a house when I don't even know what abilities you have? If you want a reward, prove your abilities. It's an old saying passed down in human society.”
Frank continued with a confident face.
“Right now, a large enemy army is advancing toward the kingdom's capital. If you stop them, I will surely provide you with a place to rest. However.”
“However?”
“The demons don't matter, but you must not kill a single human. Can you do it?”
Was this a joke or what?
It was absurd, but he had already signed the contract.
Lucifer had no choice but to nod his head.