1039. Does the sun rise and light shine even in the demonic realm?
The Promiser of Abundance was once called the Great Warrior of God and the Prince of the Holy Kingdom.
What could be the reason for such a title?
“I have never seen anyone who handles divinity as well as you do.”
When he was human, he existed above all those who used the divine, from popes, archbishops, and renowned cardinals to saints and saintesses.
Is that so?
Handling divinity was easy for him. Looking back now, it wasn’t that he was loved by God, but that he was born with a clever talent that made it easy to prove God’s power.
What should I do with this?
The Promiser of Abundance pondered. Saving people? He felt no emotion even when seeing a woman thanking him for saving her child.
No matter how many people he saved—lovers, family, friends, acquaintances—he felt no joy whatsoever.
Is this right?
Questions followed one after another. In the end, he reached this conclusion.
Let’s ask God.
From that time on, I began to pray. My body, born with a knack for it, became more adept at handling the divine. My capacity grew larger. And with that, my doubts grew deeper.
Why aren’t you answering?
If you just force a response without answering, haven’t you failed to fulfill your duty?
Enrich the world.
It was the only revelation he had finally heard. Even this was not heard directly, but was in the realm of speculation.
Is that so? Does it mean that I just need to make things abundant? No, it is insufficient.
Then how can I ask God and receive an answer? To him, who had lived his entire life in the temple, there was only one answer.
I will ascend to heaven and ask.
All I have to do is become a god myself, stand beside you, and ask. Isn’t that why you gave me this power?
“God, if you love me, shouldn’t you promise me immortality and eternity?”
So he sang of immortality,
and mocked the command to make things abundant.
“Isn’t it right that all the gold in the world belongs to me? God, prove your love.”
By worshipping gold, he represented human desire. He mocked abundance by defining it as a command to satisfy one’s desires.
Having reached this conclusion, he killed eight Holy Knights and two Popes over the course of three winters following that day. The Legion called the day he killed his first Pope the Day of the Great Catastrophe, and his very existence became the reason the city of Legion came into being.
Since that event, a focal point had emerged for those who had previously been scattered throughout the land, immersed in missionary and religious activities.
It was a difficult time. It was a time when those who served God could not have endured without helping one another to overcome.
The Promiser of Abundance vanished without a trace. When he reappeared, he had completely revamped all techniques based on divinity and became the Lord of the Demonic Realm. He
became a demon to toy with humans and mock God. He became the one who mocks God, the adversary of the Legion.
If God does not answer, I will answer instead.
He used arrogance as a shield.
“If you do not wish to fall, come to me. Stay in my embrace.”
Cloaked in a cloak of seduction.
Therefore, I promise abundance. I am the one who leads this land, and the one who has awakened to the truth one step ahead of you.
He used lies as a sword to cut the world.
He is truly a formidable fellow. After all, among those called demons or lords of the Demon Realm, there is not a single ordinary or commonplace being.
Wasn’t the Parasite of Heat also born as a low-ranking monster and become a demon?
That demon spoke with soft blonde hair, looking exactly as he did when he was human. He is a fellow who did not cast off the mask of a doll even after coming in his true form. This, too, was a disguise intended to mock God.
Now, I am here, killing and tormenting the spectator’s bastard just as I used to be. What can you do?
The Promiser of Abundance was asking that countless times.
“You’re going to fight me here?”
The devil tilted his head. If Crys saw that, would he try to take him to the saloon since he was handsome?
He probably wouldn’t. They say they judge by looks, but the Big-Eyed Brothers value a person’s inner character more.
If he weren’t that kind of person, he wouldn’t have remained in the Order of the Mad Knights until now.
“This is my territory. No one can defeat me here. That applies not even to other demons or lords.”
It was not empty talk. The lords of each Demon Realm had established their own domains, and within them, there was no one who could defeat them.
The Castle of the World Tree, where the Emperor resided, was one such example. And
so was this place, the Altar of Abundance, where he now stood.
It was the realm of those who possessed power. There was nothing a mortal could do here.
It was a truth that transcended mere certainty and remained unchanged. When the sun rises in the east, it sets in the west; when night falls, the moon rises. It was no different from the laws governing the flow of nature.
Are you looking for the sun where there is no sun?
The devil spoke and took a step closer. The surrounding air seemed to distort. Theresa frowned. Even though she was further away, the sheer intimidation alone felt like her insides were being crushed, making it difficult to breathe.
Are you seeking light where there is no light?
With another step, Audin’s knees swayed. If Enkrid had seen this, he would have told him to stop messing around.
Of all people, Audin’s knees giving way?
Still, he would have eventually accepted it. This was a hellish realm, and this was the demonic domain known as the Altar of Abundance. Even Audin was finding it hard to hold on.
Do you pray to God where there is no God?
With just three steps, one of Audin’s knees hit the ground with a thud. The power that had wiped out the monster Armandon and his eight followers just moments ago was in vain.
At least, that is how it appeared so far.
“I’ll say it again: no one can beat me here.”
“So come under my command. Pursue abundance. Be faithful to your desires. Worship gold. Become my right-hand man who ultimately challenges God.”
That was the meaning behind the devil’s words. Audin replied in a tone devoid of any humor.
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes, I cannot defeat you within this realm. Didn’t you create this instead of a sanctuary?”
Audin spoke and stomped the floor with the Lord’s love held in his left hand.
You really investigated me thoroughly.
He spoke as if asking a question.
Although Audin belonged to the Order of the Mad Knights and had no intention of leaving Encred’s side, it was the Legion that had embraced and raised him. That, too, was an undeniable fact.
Standing before him was the Legion’s adversary, a man born with divinity who had become a demon.
Moreover, he was a fellow blocking Encred’s path. A man worse than a dog with a human face, who despised, mocked, and accepted the weak as sacrifices.
“I studied very deeply.”
“I see. What did you learn through that study? That I am the one worthy of divinity? That the god you speak of is nothing more than a mere spectator? That a spectator who ultimately does not project their own will directly is unnecessary? That you merely watch without any revelation even in a situation like this? What did you see? What did you know, and what aspects of me did you take note of? What conclusion did you reach? Speak. You bastard of a spectator, you who serve the useless that has been reduced to a mere object of ridicule.”
Even though he did not appear agitated, words poured out like a waterfall. The devil repeatedly made his presence known through his actions and words.
What will you do if I approach you like this?
Can you refute me even if I pour out my words? What can you do?
He also took it easy.
This is my land, my territory, and my domain. What do you intend to do about it?
He was a man who spoke through his demeanor. He stood still, waiting for Audin’s answer. Even if the Paladin standing before him asked him to wait just one more year, that was fine.
After all, he would need his permission to leave this land, his domain, anyway. What if
he ultimately refused to become his follower? Then there was another way to handle that as well.
Crackle, crackle.
Theresa watched as the wooden prison bars behind her burst, revealing their white flesh.
The brown wooden bars snapped futilely. With a loud crack, the children inside gasped for breath and collapsed onto the floor.
“Lord, your daughter longs for you. I know that even if you cover the heavens with clouds to obscure the light, there is a purpose to it. I know that you prepare rain for the earth. Make room for me; command that this weak, small, and pitiful one be protected now, and grant me the opportunity to sacrifice myself.”
Teresa gathered her remaining divinity and prayed. It was a prayer that would soon lead to a song.
“How pitiful. Are you not originally my child? Born and raised among my followers, destined to serve me—why are you acting like this in that place? Do you truly think that position suits you? You intend to become an apostle of the God of War? Is that really your dream? Are you qualified for it? Does it even suit you?”
The devil sneered. Only Theresa heard these words. In the past—that is, before she met Noah, the Holy Emperor of the Legion—her heart would have easily wavered at the devil’s whispers due to her self-loathing and anguish. But not now.
“You who wish to love others, love yourself first. For those who are harsh on themselves cannot be generous toward others.”
It was Noah’s words. Then, the captain’s words also came to mind.
Take responsibility yourself.
Yes, all these things are the path I have walked and the deeds I have performed.
I prove it by acting before asking the Lord.
She sang. She sang loudly enough to make the surroundings echo. Gathering all her remaining divinity, she protected the children so that they would not be crushed to death under the weight of the Mirror of Evil.
A soft golden curtain enveloped all the children, including Teresa.
Oho.
The devil marveled. To possess such purity of divinity even in a moment like this—it would be good to keep her under his command again.
If his heart moved, mixing his own blood to conceive a child would be a delightful mockery and toy.
Hadn’t the one who once relied on him become an apostle of the God of War only to fall back into corruption?
Indeed, O God, can you protect that woman?
“Let’s see how long you hold out. When your holdout ends, the children you tried to protect will die like bloody lumps. Let’s watch that together; it will be fun.”
The devil said.
“They won’t be able to hold out for much longer. I know that, too. If left like that, the children will all die, too. I know that, too.”
Audin said, “It is a fact known to most of the Order of the Mad Knights, but Audin reads more books than you might think. He tends to enjoy learning new things and accumulating knowledge.”
If you have trained your body, you must train your mind as well.
It is something he often says. It would be a mistake to judge him solely by his appearance and assume he knows nothing but fighting.
Thanks to this, he knows what the being before him has done to be in this position. The Legion did not neglect preparations to kill the demon. All of that has now been passed down to Audin.
“You learned all the techniques for manipulating divinity, but you did not learn the proclamation of a Sanctuary. Instead, you found a workaround. That is precisely what became the boundary markings that constitute the Demonic Mirror. You concluded that if you could not dominate it in an instant, you should invest time and effort; essentially, by using Magi and Will, you declared a Demonic Mirror here instead of a Sanctuary.”
“You really studied this in detail.”
The devil marveled once again. There are two souls here destined for corruption. That continued to amuse him.
Yes, that is why I cannot defeat you in this land.
The so-called Demonic Realm—the establishment of a domain created by the devil—began because of the devil right before my eyes. He developed, taught, and spread this technique. That is how the current Demonic Realm was completed. The
oppressive sensation of the air here and the gloomy, gray sky are all due to the art created by the devil before me. Should I call
it the establishment of a devil’s domain? It is a secret technique created to make it a land untouched by the eyes of God, where the demonic energy they harbor swirls several times more smoothly.
The origin of the art he created is the proclamation of a sanctuary, the ultimate technique desired by all Holy Knights or those who wield divinity.
So, I prepared this.
Love and mercy are not merely weapons imbued with divinity. Everything Audin wears is preparation for wielding a single technique.
To achieve this, many prerequisites must be met.
First, to fight for others.
Second, to risk one’s own life.
Furthermore, to sincerely and earnestly desire all of this.
I don’t care if I die.
Protect those standing behind me.
I shall convey your teachings to that being who is hostile to God.
With silent prayer, Audin connected the hole he had dug with his toes to his divinity before coming here.
If someone were to look down from above at the shape formed by the straight, extended golden lines, they would recognize it as a fist. The fist was the mark of the god of war.
“I command you as the Messenger of the God of War. This place is a sanctuary established by my Lord, and it shall be a venue for the judgment of evil.”
Golden light spread across the Altar of Abundance, the realm of demons, dispelling the air of the demonic realm. Does
the sun rise and light shine even in the demonic realm?
A crack appeared in the gray sky, and a few streaks of light fell to illuminate the land and the people. Audin wanted the light to shine on Teresa and the children rather than on himself, and his wish was granted. The beams of light pushed away the gloomy and unpleasant air and drew in a sense of tranquility.
Several rays of light enveloped the child’s back and brushed past Teresa’s face. It was light that had descended as the sky split open. It was a magnificent sight to behold.
Like sunlight showing off its brilliance above a sky full of dark clouds, those streaks of light pierced through the clouds and touched the ground.
“Take him out, Sister. If this happens to be my last, please tell the Captain Brother that I’m taking at least one of them.”
“I saw everyone, including the Captain, improving. I didn’t want to fall behind, and I didn’t want to lose. So I sought out and realized a way to move forward. That is the result we have now.”
As Audin spoke without even turning his head, the golden light from his body gradually lost its hue and turned white.
A white light, signifying purity to anyone, enveloped his entire body. It was the new Holy Light Armor.
Now, the story would be different here, Golden Dog, Mr. Swindler of Abundance.
Along with the name given arbitrarily, the corners of the devil’s eyes shot up.
“How dare you in my territory!”
His personality changed in an instant, and he reached out his hand in a burst of anger. Pitch-black spears transformed and flew in. Their number easily exceeded a hundred.
