The Demon King, Lucart, is deep in thought.
For someone like him, the ruler of the demon realm, the embodiment of chaos, the eternal being, to be troubled means something serious must be happening.
Lucart let out a deep sigh and clasped his hands to his forehead.
No matter how much he thought it over, no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t find an answer.
Lucart sighed again and lifted his bowed head.
He then saw Lyat grabbing Martin by the collar.
“No, you idiot! That doesn’t suit Shekina at all!”
“I’m smart. Lyat, who calls me an idiot, is dumber. This is the best for Shekina.”
“No! You don’t even know what colors suit Shekina!”
“Shekina looks good in anything.”
Lucart slowly lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
Why are these guys arguing about the homunculus’s clothes in front of me?
Did I do something wrong? Is that why they’re causing this ruckus on purpose?
Lucart wanted to deny reality.
“My lord! What do you think?”
“I like pink.”
“Oh! No!”
But this was reality.
High-ranking demons were fighting, grabbing each other by the collar, over what clothes to dress a young homunculus in. This was the reality.
Lucart sighed deeply again and brushed his hair back.
“I don’t understand why this is even an issue. Just dress them in anything and send them out.”
Before he could finish speaking, Lyat’s eyes widened.
“That won’t do! It’s for when Shekina goes to the capital! What if they get looked down upon as a northern bumpkin?”
“My lord, you’re too indifferent. Too harsh.”
“…..…”
Where has my dignity as the Demon King gone?
Didn’t they pledge their loyalty to me?
Lucart began massaging his temples, feeling a bit sad.
“We really need to be careful this time. We’re going to uncover the truth behind the Crown Prince’s murder.”
“Han, or whatever that human’s name is, has been investigating thoroughly.”
Yes.
Shekina had entrusted Han with the task of finding out about the Crown Prince’s death, and there was progress.
There were suspicions that black magic was involved in the Crown Prince’s death, so they were naturally excited.
If they could uncover information about black magic, they could track down Lucifer, and finding him could reveal his purpose and reasons.
They might even find the sealed powers of the Demon King.
That’s why they strongly supported Shekina’s trip to the capital.
Though it was strange that they were fighting over the color of clothes, it was still important.
“I’ll say it again, what the homunculus wears is not important. What matters is what we can find out there.”
Lucart replied coldly.
At this, Lyat and Martin, who had been excitedly choosing clothes, calmed down a bit. If they pushed further, the Demon King might actually get angry, so it was wise to restrain themselves.
“Ahem. It would be great if we could find out what Lucifer is planning,”
Lyat said cautiously.
“We can guess.”
“He’s definitely planning to start another war with the Celestial Realm.”
“But most of the Celestials died back then.”
“Lucifer, who was also thought dead, came back to life.”
“That’s true, but……”
Lyat frowned, deep in thought.
Even though they were demons obsessed with homunculus, they were still the core of the Demon King’s army.
They were dedicated to the safety of the Demon King and the preservation of the demon realm above all else.
“It would be good if we had at least one clue…….”
As Lyat murmured weakly, everyone nodded. At that moment,
– Knock knock.
They heard a knock on the door.
Lucart squinted his eyes and glared at the closed door.
There was no one who would dare come to his room. Who could it be? Lucart slightly furrowed one brow.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Through the crack in the door, Yurian’s face appeared.
“Yurian?”
Lyat’s eyes widened. He, too, seemed surprised that Yurian had come to the Demon King’s room.
“What brings you here?”
“Uh, well… about what Shekina brought.”
Brought?
Transport?
What is he talking about?
While the Demon King and the demons tilted their heads in confusion, Yurian snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, a chunk of ice thudded onto the floor in the middle of the room.
Out of nowhere, an ice chunk? What on earth……
“Huh?”
“Whoa?”
Even Martin stood up and approached the ice chunk.
Lyat and Martin swallowed hard. The transparent ice clearly showed what was inside it.
Inside was…
“It’s Lucifer’s corpse.”
It was the corpse of Lucifer, who had died with a spear through his chest, frozen exactly as he was.
…We wanted a clue, but this is too much.
Lyat and Martin’s eyes trembled.
***
The reason Shekina brought Lucifer’s corpse was simple.
To mess with the system.
Until now, the system had helped Shekina. But was that help truly the best it could offer?
Shekina thought the system was hiding a lot from her, and she was convinced that her ‘reincarnation return’ was part of what it was hiding.
If the system had explained everything and asked for Shekina’s help, she would have gladly assisted.
But the system didn’t. It just kept toying around with ‘to be continued’ nonsense!
So Shekina decided to take matters into her own hands. She resolved to uncover everything about this wretched situation surrounding her and then punch the system in the face.
Lucifer’s corpse was just a part of that process.
Shekina felt nothing seeing it. It wasn’t an enemy she fought or the face of the black magician who tormented her.
But what about the demons?
What about the Demon King?
Wouldn’t they find something out by looking at the corpse?
That’s why Shekina dug up the body and brought it here, even using monsters.
Shekina, with her head held high, looked at Lyat and Martin gathered around the ice.
“Seeing that shameless face again makes me want to kill him again. Am I the weird one?”
“Just one more hit, that’s all I ask.”
They said, trembling with rage.
As Shekina expected, their reaction to the corpse was immediate.
She thought there would be more to uncover. Shekina’s eyes sparkled with that thought.
Then it happened.
“Whoa?”
Suddenly, Shekina’s body floated into the air.
Caught by the neck and lifted off the ground, Shekina looked wide-eyed at the Demon King who had cast the spell. Lucart’s face was more rigid than usual.
Is he… angry?
Did I do something wrong?
Shekina was slightly flustered.
“You.”
Lucart looked directly at Shekina and spoke.
“Hold your breath.”
Before Shekina could ask what that meant, a massive amount of demonic energy erupted.
Fortunately, being near the ceiling kept Shekina from being fully exposed to it, but her skin still prickled and her eyes stung. The concentration of demonic energy was too much for a human body to handle.
Did Lucart know this and suspend Shekina in the air on purpose? Shekina looked down at Lucart in surprise, but Lucart’s gaze remained fixed on the ice chunk, not sparing Shekina a glance.
“Shekina! Are you alright?”
“Did the baby get hurt?”
Instead, Lyat and Martin caught Shekina.
They checked her arms and legs to ensure she was okay and sighed in relief once they confirmed she was uninjured.
“No, My Lord! If you were going to do this, you should have warned us first!”
“The baby almost got hurt. This could have been serious.”
They grumbled at Lucart, but he paid no attention. He just stared intently at the half-melted ice chunk.
Seeing the corpse in the ice, Lucart initially thought it was a clone. That cunning bastard wouldn’t hide his body in the northern ice wall.
But it wasn’t.
This was indeed Lucifer, and Lucart could sense Lucifer’s unique power emanating from it.
This meant…
“He’s still connected to it.”
Stimulating this body would let Lucifer know and feel it.
“This is going to be fun.”
Lucart murmured with a wicked grin.
Shall we start the torture?
Lucart’s red eyes gleamed fiercely.
