Chapter 425

Raon bit the inner side of his cheek as his heart pounded so violently that it felt like it would explode. The tension was slightly relieved thanks to the pain.

‘I need to stay calm. The smallest mistake will ruin everything.’

He was facing the Monarch of Envy who ruled over Devildom. His head was going to roll before he could even pass his body to Wrath if he spoke or acted in the wrong way. Even the slightest mistake couldn’t be allowed.

You bastard! What are you even thinking right now?!

Raon glanced at Wrath who was grinding his teeth.

‘Envy, the Monarch of Envy…’

There wasn’t that much information about Envy from Wrath’s tales.

‘But all of them had important information.’

Envy had a rough handling of her subordinates, was an unsightly thug-like loser, and had a similar personality to Mustan. Even though there were only three pieces of information, they were still useful enough.

‘Since she’s an unsightly thug-like loser, she’s going to yield on her own accord if our side is stronger.’

Since the emotion of envy inside Mustan had subsided after he was thoroughly beaten up, Envy should be the same.

Making her believe that Wrath and Sloth were on the same side should’ve allowed him to take the upper hand in the situation.

‘I wouldn’t have needed to gamble like this if he would just wake up…’

Raon rolled his eyes towards Sloth. The white baby bear was even drooling in his sleep.

‘I guess it’s already too late even if he wakes up now.’

Since he’d already declared that Sloth was Wrath’s subordinate, it would be a problem if he woke up. He just had to focus on perfectly deceiving Envy.

“Human.”

Envy narrowed her eyes. She glared with those snake eyes, and it felt like his soul was getting torn into pieces by her overwhelming gaze.

“Say it again. What did you just say?”

“I said that Sloth, the Monarch of Sloth, became the great Wrath’s subordinate.”

Raon casually repeated what he said a moment ago. He felt like he was about to throw up from the nausea, but he forcibly suppressed it and endured.

Whaaat?!

Wrath barked and jumped at him.

Why is that sleepyhead in the King of Essence’s faction before he knew it?! He wouldn’t take it even if it was free!

‘This is the only way for now.’

Since he’d threatened Sloth with Wrath disturbing his sleep, he had to threaten Envy with the difference in power.

“Sloth became Wrath’s subordinate, you said?”

Envy sneered and raised her chin.

“Are you expecting me to believe that?”

“What can you do if you don’t?”

“What else? I’ll tear your limbs off and feed them to my new servant.”

She pointed at Mustan, who was standing behind her blankly.

“All of your talents and reputations will become his.”

“Are you telling me that you would attack me despite knowing the fact that I am the vessel of wrath who serves the great Wrath?”

Raon stopped his fingertips from trembling by using his aura and stared at Envy.

You serve what? You are blatantly looking down on him even as you speak!

Wrath leaped like a frog and shoved his face onto him.

You bastard! How dare you say such a thing? Heaven is watching over yo—ack!

Raon slapped Wrath away with his elbow, pretending he was shaking his hand.

“I’m a loyal servant of the great Wrath and the vessel where his soul will dwell eventually. You will regret it if you attack me.”

Th-that’s not true! The King of Essence is the servant here! Please save him!

Wrath frantically waved his hand towards Envy, but it was obviously invisible to her.

“Regret?”

Envy rolled her red lips into a long smile.

“You should’ve been wiser if you wanted to deceive me. You were too hasty to call yourself the vessel of Wrath with the small amount of wrath you have.”

She raised her hand, showing that she didn’t even need any further consideration. She was being as impulsive as her young appearance and tone. Raon’s heart tightened from the powerful demonic energy gathering in her hands.

That’s right!

Wrath strongly clapped his hands.

She’s definitely different from that stupid sleepyhead! Attack him right now and allow the King of Essence’s manifestation!

He quickly nodded with an expression of delight on his face.

“Haa…”

Raon fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive and exhaled quietly while drawing the Blade of Requiem.

‘She’s reacting as expected.’

He’d purposefully unleashed a small amount of wrath in order to raise suspicion to Envy before destroying it.

He was only using 20 points of wrath at the moment. The loser was bound to suspect him with such a low number.

“You picked the wrong target for your deception.”

The demonic energy emerging from Envy’s hand was fired like a ray of light. Raon felt like his skin was getting torn apart and his bones were melting from the crude power of that dark green energy.

Whaam!

Raon crossed his swords and increased the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier’s outputs to the maximum.

Slash!

The moment Envy’s energy of envy was right in front of him, Raon strained his legs to the point where they started digging into the ground and extended Heavenly Drive downwards and the Blade of Requiem upwards.

Whir!

The explosive heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and coldness of Glacier gathered around the tips of his hands, and a majestic radiance was born. The opposing red and blue energies created a pure wave of power.

Heavenly Drive’s reddened blade created a wave of raging fire, and a white shadow emerged from the blue tip of the Blade of Requiem.

It was the Flawless Sea of Fire and the White Shadow Slash. The techniques that deserved to be called matchless confronted Envy’s demonic energy.

Zap!

Powerful sparks covered the sky from the clash between tremendous powers, and the entirety of Stallin Mountain trembled as if it were about to collapse.

‘Kuh… This is seriously no joke.’

Envy had gotten only slightly serious, yet the pressure was on a whole different level from before. Raon felt like a moment of carelessness would blow up more than half of his body.

Rumble!

Both the Flawless Sea of Fire and the White Shadow Slash couldn’t advance to their trajectories and were struggling with the demonic energy in front of them. It was the result of sheer difference in power.

“Huu…”

Raon held his breath and examined Envy’s expression through the demonic energy. Her face was a sneer. She seemed to be certain that he was lying.

‘Now is the time!’

Destroying her confidence was bound to ruin her mind. It was the perfect time to confuse Envy.

Whir!

Raon bit his lip and mustered all of the wrath from the bottom of his soul.

The energy of wrath, which had far surpassed 100 points, exploded at once and added a new flame to the two blades.

Wham!

The Blade of Requiem and Heavenly Drive couldn’t previously advance through the impenetrable wall, but they easily shredded Envy’s demonic energy once they were wrapped in the sharp blue light.

Slash!

He could see Envy’s face behind the dark green demonic energy severed like a dry leaf. Her sneering lips were frozen stiff, her eyes wide.

“……”

Raon calmly looked down on Envy, but he was screaming in his mind.

‘Damn it… It hurts so damn much.’

It was good that it went according to his plan, but unleashing the heat and coldness at once, not to mention utilizing the wrath at the same time, was painful for his soul on top of his body.

“Th-that wrath belongs to Wrath…”

Envy’s raised hand was trembling in disbelief.

“Do you finally believe me?”

Raon furrowed his brow and lowered Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.

“Why didn’t you show the wrath before if you had this much?”

Envy bit her lip with a confused look in her eyes.

“I told you, I’m the servant of the great Wrath. I didn’t use it simply because I didn’t have his permission.”

“Then, when you said that he gave you permission earlier…”

“Yes. The great Wrath allowed me to use the wrath.”

Raon nodded while suppressing his laughter.

‘It worked perfectly.’

He was relieved that she remembered the bait line.

The combination of that line and the situation was making Envy’s eyes waver with a lake of confusion.

“Envy, the Monarch of Envy. The Monarch of Wrath is currently watching you.”

Raon glared at Envy with an enraged voice.

Yes, he’s watching you. He’s indeed watching, but! The King of Essence never gave anything like permission!

Wrath screamed while pounding on Raon’s chest with his plump fists.

There’s nothing he can do! He’s so frustrated he could die!

“He’s saying that he is going to manifest the moment you do anything funny and shred you to pieces.”

Raon took a glance at Wrath and confidently shouted something that he’d never said.

‘This is also going to work.’

Wrath had mentioned that he was more powerful than Envy. Considering the fact that he never lied, it must’ve been true that he was more powerful than her.

“Ugh, he is just a useless glutton who loves strange food…”

Envy ground her teeth while calling him a useless glutton. Since she wasn’t attacking, what Wrath had said was indeed true.

U-useless glutton? You dirty snake, how dare you!

Wrath raised himself in a fit as soon as he was called a useless glutton. Apparently, he was already called a useless glutton in Devildom.

‘I need to shake her even further right now.’

Raon unleashed the energy of sloth while spitting the blood flowing up in his throat because of his internal injury.

Whaap!

The dark current emerged like smoke and spread all around his body, seeping into his torn skin and muscles.

It was the sloth’s regeneration ability, which allowed him to quickly heal the external and internal injuries.

“Th-that is!”

Envy’s eyes widened to the point where they couldn't get any bigger. They looked like they would pop out if he touched them.

“Why does the vessel of wrath even have Sloth’s energy?”

“This is proof that Sloth became the great Wrath’s subordinate. He received the energy of sloth in order to manage him.”

Raon shook Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem off and lowered his gaze. It was more than 70% done. It was time for the finishing touch.

Why the hell did the sleepyhead enter the King of Essence’s faction before he knew it?! You are seriously a fiend!

Wrath screamed and slammed the ground with his round fist.

Oh, my demon god! Allow this one to kill him and go to heaven afterward! Please grant him a body!

“What? But…”

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at Wrath, who was rampaging around.

“But there’s no reason for you to do it yourself… Ah, understood.”

He frowned and bowed towards the thin air.

What are you doing now, you madman…?

Wrath’s chin was trembling anxiously as he watched.

“Haa…”

Raon took a step towards Envy and furrowed his brow.

“The great Wrath is going to speak now. You should be honored.”

As soon as he said that to Envy, the two demon kings had a fit at the same time.

“What arrogance…”

You fucking freak!

* * * 

Raon closed his eyes before opening them again, ignoring the murderous intent of the two demon kings, and opened the Evil Eye of Wrath.

The fire of wrath was raging on his red pupils.

“How dare you come to this place when you are nothing but a dirty snake crawling in Devildom?”

Because Raon kept hearing from Wrath every single day, it was a trivial task for him to copy his tone.

“Wrath…”

Envy stepped back with trembling shoulders. Raon called her a dirty snake just like Wrath had done, and she seemed to believe that it was really Wrath who was talking.

“You dared to intrude into the King of Essence’s domain. You have a lot of gall.”

“Wh-what have you even done? Why did that sleepyhead become your subordinate?!”

“He just realized the greatness of the King of Essence. What else can it be?”

“Ugh…”

Raon acted arrogantly like Wrath always did, and Envy ground her teeth in irritation.

Th-that’s not true!

Wrath went to Envy and frantically shook his hands.

Don’t trust him! He’s lying right now! He’s a deceptive, evil fiend!

Because Envy was getting deceived, Wrath started to panic and hurriedly shouted without even using his dignified speech.

You dirty bat, how dare you use the King of Essence’s information once again?!

‘Yes, this is all thanks to you. Thank you.’

It was worth listening to all the rambling from Wrath even though he wasn’t too focused on it. He was truly the best partner since he gave all the information and even served as a target for imitation.

Arrgh!

“Envy.”

Raon ignored the angry shouts from Wrath and raised his fingers.

“You’ve made two mistakes.”

“Mistakes…?”

“The first mistake is that you intruded into the King of Essence’s domain. The second mistake is the fact that you attacked the body that would become his vessel two whole times.”

Raon unleashed the wrath. The energy of wrath burst from his shoulders and crushed the entirety of Stallin Mountain.

It was weak enough to be extinguished in an instant if Envy seriously unleashed her energy of envy, but she was unable to act because of Wrath’s presence.

Don’t be deceived! The King of Essence won’t mind at all even if you kill him! He can even do a tap dance every time he loses his limbs! Please start moving!

Wrath shouted that Raon was just bluffing, but Envy’s face kept turning yellow in fear.

“Since this is Sloth’s bed, it shall be more than enough as your grave. Come.”

“I-I…”

“Don’t worry, the King of Essence will deal with you himself. Sloth will only be blocking your retreat.”

Raon rolled his lips into a smile and bobbed his finger.

He said it because he thought Wrath wouldn’t want to fight a two-on-one battle, and it seemed to have worked. Envy’s expression had no speck of suspicion anymore.

Stop holding back and just kill him! He’s just a scarecrow that you can easily kill with a single flick of your finger! Please attack him already!

Wrath was unable to suppress his anger anymore and went on an outburst. The violent wrath entered through his mana circuits. He would’ve normally blocked it with Glacier or the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, but he let it spread on purpose.

Whaaam!

The wrath that he’d originally had combined with Wrath’s outburst into a single flame and created a huge wave of energy that even Envy broke out in cold sweats.

“I-I didn’t know that you were together! It’s true!”

Envy frantically shook her head as if she’d reverted to the age of her appearance.

“I’m leaving now! I’ll go and won’t tell anyone about it! Please let me go!”

“……”

Raon simply stared at her without responding.

“I-I swear. I won’t say anything about your alliance, the fact that Sloth is here, or about your vessel!”

She put her hands together, saying that she would never say anything she saw to others.

“Instead of that, it seems a lot easier to just kill a dirty loser snake.”

Raon sneered and dropped his swords. A frightening sound resounded as the two swords were lodged into the ground.

“The King of Essence will allow you the first attack. This is your only chance since the manifestation takes some time. Try it.”

Raon furrowed his brow after telling her to attack.

“Wrath, my lord! It will be problematic later if you manifest now… But even then… Haa, alright. I’ll make the preparations so you’ll be able to use it right away. However, I’m also going to wake Sloth up, since there’s no reason for you to overwork yourself.”

Raon concentrated the energy of wrath in his right hand and encircled it with coldness to finish the preparations for the Silver White Aurora.

He put his left hand on Sloth and unleashed the energy of sloth.

“The Silver White Aurora…”

Envy swallowed nervously while looking at his right hand, which was controlling the Silver White Aurora, and his left arm, which was reaching towards Sloth.

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll never come back here ever again! Please forgive me this time!”

Envy lowered her head while shaking her hands. Her trembling eyes looked like she was about to cry.

‘It’s perfect so far.’

Once he showed that his side was far stronger than hers with two demon kings, she immediately yielded without even thinking about fighting back.

She was indeed an unsightly loser, just like Wrath had described.

You moron! How could you be fooled by his acting? Give up on being a demon king already! You are disqualified!

Wrath shouted at Envy that she was disqualified as a demon king, but Raon was the only one who could hear him.

Raon sneered without revealing his thoughts.

“The King of Essence doesn’t even want to deal with you with that unsightly behavior.”

“Ah!”

Envy’s green eyes sparked with hope as she raised her head.

“I pledge in my name as a demon king that I’ll keep the promise. Just let me go and—”

She spoke quickly in order to grasp the opportunity.

“A pledge requires proof.”

“P-proof?”

“The King of Essence said that you made a mistake. And what made him the angriest was the fact that you attacked this body.”

“Ah…”

“Give your authority to the King of Essence’s vessel. Huh…?”

Raon removed his wrath and frantically shook his head as soon as he said that.

“Lord Wrath! I don’t need such a thing! It’s far better to simply kill Envy right now! Please reconsider!”

Again! He’s doing it again! That damned Method Acting!

Wrath jolted like a dolphin.

You bastard! Don’t you fear divine punishment?

‘Even heaven doesn’t care about demons.’

My heart is about to burst from this frustration and misery! The King of Essence… The King of Essence!

He screamed while pounding his chest and fell backward with his eyes rolled back.

Grr…

‘Is this deja vu? I saw him doing this before.’

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]