Chapter 15: The Demon King’s Challenge

Four stowaways gathered in one place.

The Red Sorceress, Chae Yuri.
Commander Hwang Rian.
The Femme Fatale, Min Sena.
And the last one…

“I didn’t think you’d show up.”

The shy pink-haired girl couldn’t give an answer to the question.

The small-framed woman, wrapped in a pink robe, was holding something resembling a hammer, far too large for her size.

“Long time no see, Park Haeyoung.”

“1”

“No, was it Park Haeyoung?”

“…Shut up.”

Park Haeyoung, with her pink hair that was dyed all the way down to her head, glared at me with murderous intent while tightly gripping her hammer.

“Give me the ring…!”

“Anyone would think you left it with me. Right, Chae Yuri?”

“Am I wrong?”

After escaping from prison, perhaps having replenished her strength, Chae Yuri now had makeup on and was wielding a staff, nearly as tall as herself, aiming it at me.

“Don’t do anything weird. Choose one. And I hope it’s me.”

“I like your honesty. I wish you were this honest back then.”

“What’s in the past is out of my control. What matters is the future ahead.”

“Right. The future is important. Forget the past, only the present and future matter. After all, no matter what happened in this world, we’ll be back to Earth, and that’s the end, right?”

Chae Yuri and Park Haeyoung fell silent.

They only maintained the barrier they had set together to keep me sealed. Without saying a word, they merely exchanged glances.

It’s an alliance with the enemy.

They had teamed up to trap me, but there’s only one ring.

These two can never cooperate with each other.

“Who was it that lied at first?”

“What lie?”

“The woman who said you defeated the Demon King.”

I decided to address the fundamental issue first.

“You defeated the Demon King? You’re joking. Who was the first to lie, huh? You weren’t even within 10 km of the Demon King’s Castle the day he was killed.”

At my words, soldiers who had been trying to surround me began murmuring.

The hero was not the one who defeated the Demon King?

Initial confusion.

“And right after I defeated the Demon King, you were summoned by the Goddess, weren’t you? After I received the ring that would allow me to return to Earth and fainted, one of you received the Demon King’s curse left behind in the castle, right?”

Truth followed immediately by a lie.

“Stop lying!”

“Really? Am I lying? Really? Then….”

As Chae Yuri shouted at me, I pulled a ring from my pocket.

“Hey, Park Haeyoung. Want this?”

“”

“Am I telling the truth or not?”

“…It’s true.”

“Hey! Park, you!”

Chae Yuri didn’t hold back her harsh words toward Park Haeyoung.

Of course, hearing ‘Park’ in front of others wouldn’t sit well with Park Haeyoung.

“What’s this… So are you saying Undertaker is lying?”

“Of course, he’s lying! The Demon King’s curse?! Where’s the such thing? The Demon King is dead! He no longer exists!”

“You, who never even went to the Demon King’s Castle, shouldn’t be saying that, especially after the Goddess summoned you there.”

People began to gather slowly.

“When I fought the Demon King, just before he died, he said this.”

I never said that.

“Gravekeeper, how foolish. Even if you kill me, the next Demon King will be born. I have already planted my curse in the bodies of the women you call ‘heroes.’ When I die, the seeds of the curse will sprout, and the hero will become the witch who will bear the Demon King and revive the Demon Army.”

“Th-thats a lie…!”

“What’s this? I heard it directly during the fight. How could it be a lie?”

A bold-faced lie.

The Demon King’s last words were nothing but a simple exclamation.

• Damn.

The words uttered just before he died were packed with meaning.

He didn’t say a word about the curse. The curse was purely something I created and stirred up.

But in the case of propaganda, the truth varies depending on people’s regular actions.

• There’s no way the Undertaker is lying.
• Honestly, if there’s anyone trustworthy among the five, it would be the Undertaker, right?
• We’re not idiots. We know Undertaker is the only one who didn’t go to the Demon King’s Castle.

The soldiers’ eyes were filled with such thoughts.

But the reason they are pointing their swords at me is not because they don’t know the truth, but because they fear the person holding the false sword, a powerful figure, more than they fear the truth itself.

And just then, someone arrives running.

“Undertaker! The cursed one!”

“Talking nonsense again, Prince.”

“I’m not a prince! I am the Emperor of the Empire!”

“Right. After the first to the seventh princes all died in the war with the Demon King’s army, you shut yourself away in the palace and ended up becoming Emperor by sheer luck.”

“You bastard!!”

I merely recited the facts, but Emperor Azjan’s face turned bright red immediately.

“You are surrounded! The murder of Archmage Admut! And the collapse of the Storm Tower! The liberation of the Demon Sword! All of these are proof that you have fallen under the Demon King’s curse!”

As expected from someone at the peak of the political world, he immediately began inciting others against me.

“No, perhaps you are the Demon King yourself! Maybe you killed the real Undertaker and have been pretending to be him all along! You even deceived the Saintess! A genius actor!”

“Mother.”

I casually raised my hand towards the Emperor.

“You’re really writing a novel here. Was that your intention all along?”

“What, what did you say?!”

“The Prince Azjan is already dead, and a s*ave who resembles Azjan is pretending to be him. Wow, so if that’s the case, the imperial bloodline ends here, huh?”

“You bastard…!”

“An Emperor wouldn’t say such vulgar things! You’re the fake here!”

I continued spouting nonsense, waiting for the two figures running behind me to catch up.

“Hah, hah, you…!”

“Wow, you’re still running well with one hand. Is your stomach okay?”

“b*tch!”

I had only asked about her health, but insults flew at me.

It was such a biting curse that even Trollian and Hwangrian, who had followed, froze in surprise at her reaction.

“Seems like a woman who might carry the Demon King’s seed. Look at that temper. Admut, who blew himself up for her, must be feeling sorry now.”

“You…!”

“Well, it was kind of romantic when you kissed him before he left.”

“What…?!”

I never kissed her.

But at my words, Emperor Azjan’s expression immediately changed.

“Is that true…?”

“No! Everything that man says is a lie! Isn’t it?!”

“Y-Yes, that’s right… everything is… a lie.”

The Emperor quickly regained his composure and pointed his sword at me.

“Every time you open your mouth, lies spill out! The Undertaker never lies! You are definitely a fake! Even if you are the real one, the Undertaker we knew is dead! You are the Demon King’s vanguard, a fallen hero dreaming of resurrecting the Demon Army!”

“Your level of madness is impressive.”

It’s pointless to talk.

We’re not people who could resolve things through conversation. After all, we’re all willing to become evil spirits for our own benefit.

“What you know or don’t know doesn’t matter. Let me show you.”

I took a ring from my pocket.

“This is mine.”

Click.

The moment I placed the ring on my left hand, divine power began flowing out of it.

“Ugh…!”

The soldiers were shaken.

Who here is closest to the goddess?

It’s me.

The divine energy flowing from my ring, a blessing bestowed by the goddess herself, was visible to everyone.

“The goddess sent two rings. One is mine, and the other…”

I glanced around at the four of them.

“Do you want it?”

All four of them froze.

They swallowed nervously, glancing at each other without saying a word, but their eyes were fixed on the ring I had just revealed.

“If you want it, come and take it. I’m tired of running away. I want to throw it all away and just go home.”

I repeatedly put the ring on and off my finger while pointing downward.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to take it?”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course, I’m serious. I don’t care who I go back with, as long as I can go home.”

I placed the ring on my middle finger and shot them all a challenging look.

“Once we’re back on Earth, let’s never see each other again. I don’t want my life tangled with people like you, so let’s just part ways for good. Got it?”

I stretched my hand out.

“But there’s only one ring, right? Don’t blame me. Blame the goddess. Or blame the Demon King who was too weak to make five rings. Or…”

I slowly lowered my middle finger.

“Or blame yourselves for doing nothing while the Demon King made the goddess so weak.”

Click.

The ring fell.

The four women’s eyes widened in shock as they stared at me. I calmly took a breath and put my finger to my lips.

Ah.

I know this is childish.

“Do you want it? Then start killing each other.”

I couldn’t hold back.

“First come, first serve. Just one.”

Me.

Maybe it’s my nature to be a villain.

Or maybe all the emotions I’ve built up towards them are keeping me from leaving smoothly.

I could just go.

I could just leave.

“What are you waiting for?”

I suddenly felt the urge to see these women fighting each other for the ring.

“Want to check if it’s real?”

I pulled out the Demon Sword.

They all flinched and took a step back, and I raised the sword high before swinging it at the ring.

Clang!

A clear sound rang out, but the ring didn’t break.

The divine energy flowing from it was purer than any other power.

“It’s real. I’m too lazy to decide, so just take it and come to me, any of you.”

I broke the barrier, stomped on the ground, and leaped onto the building’s rooftop.

And then…

Thud.

“It’s mine! Get lost!”

“Hah, how dare you!”

“That ring! We must have it! Emperor, hurry!”

“……!”

As soon as I landed on the roof, the four women rushed toward the ring.

Of course.

“Evil spirits.”

It’s a fake.

“If you really wanted to go back to Earth, you should’ve fought for your lives a long time ago.”

I tore up a teleportation scroll.