The door to Adis Sephia's office was quietly opened. Ligwin, his butler, bowed to him after entering the room.
"It's over, president."
"Hmm…"
Adis was looking at a document but stopped moving his pen and raised his gaze.
"How did it go?"
"The White Sword Dragon obviously ended up winning."
"I see."
"However, there were some peculiarities."
"Peculiarities?"
"Yes. He destroyed astral energy by only using the aura blade."
"…Is that even possible?"
Adis gasped and put down his pen.
"I've never seen anything like that before. Moreover, it looked like he didn't even improvise it, as he removed Mark Goetten's astral energy without taking a single scratch. He was even more monstrous than the rumors."
Ligwin furrowed his brow because of the unbelievable performance.
"I guess my discernment isn't completely useless yet."
Adis chuckled and nodded his head.
"How is Dorian doing?"
"He was injured, but it's not a serious injury because the White Sword Dragon interfered at the right time."
"Hmm…"
Adis let out an extremely brief sigh of relief.
"There was another peculiarity during the young master Dorian's match."
"What is it this time?"
"The young master Dorian managed to defeat Toten Robel."
"What?"
Adis slammed the desk and briskly stood up. It was a rare reaction from him with his cynical personality.
"D-did he really do it?"
"Yes. He was having a hard time in the beginning, but he reached the highest level of Expert after he gained enlightenment and defeated Toten Robel."
"Then how was Dorian injured…?"
"Mark Goetten inflicted them on him. He stood on his ground without running away from the astral energy. I'm seeing the young master Dorian in a new light."
A faint smile appeared on Ligwin's face.
"Huh, huh!"
Adis started walking in a circle around the desk while laughing in amazement.
"That boy managed to go that far…"
"His will was indomitable. On top of his appearance, even his personality felt similar to the mistress."
"…Yes, he did look similar to her."
Adis nodded and returned to his chair. His lips were curved into a gentle smile.
"What happened to Palen?"
"There was no physical injury, and she fainted from the White Sword Dragon's pressure."
"He only made her faint…"
Adis groaned after hearing that.
"Raon Zieghart. He is an even more frightening man than I thought."
"Yes. I'm pretty sure he even considered the trial that is about to follow."
Ligwin nodded his head heavily.
"It looks like the young master Dorian is the one who brought the biggest treasure for the time being."
"Yes. I didn't expect that he cared about Dorian so much even though he might become the strongest warrior on the continent in the future."
Adis lowered his eyes and finished signing the last document.
"Instruct everyone to come to dinner tomorrow."
He put down his pen with a smile.
"Let's start the trial for succession."
* * *
Raon finished eating dinner with Dorian at a restaurant inside the central administration building of the company.
Wow!
Wrath exclaimed while looking at the empty dishes.
Excellent! The food was bound to be tasty since the best ingredients were cooked by excellent chefs!
He smiled happily, saying that his expectations had come true.
However…
'However?'
Raon looked back at Wrath while drinking a tea that was brought as a dessert.
They are lacking affection.
'Affection? Did you just say affection?'
Indeed. Those dishes were more delicious than the food made by Pineapple Girl or your head maid, but the annex building's food was still better. The King of Essence would like to eat it since it's been a while.
'Huh…'
Raon never expected a demon king would say affection. He had the same feeling many times before, but Wrath really didn't fit the image of a monarch of Wrath.
'It still makes me happy though.'
He complimented Helen and Yua's food over the elegant feast of the Sephia company, and that brought a smile to Raon's face.
Raon finished eating the apple that was brought alongside the tea before he lowered his eyes.
'By the way, do you know if Merlin was around earlier or not?'
He did feel the presence of a small animal above a tree, but he wasn't sure whether that was Merlin or not.
There was an animal indeed, but he's not sure whether that was the mad woman. Honestly, her magic is insane.
'Her magic is insane?'
Indeed. It's extremely inefficient because she can't attack at all while taking over an animal's body and it requires a tremendous amount of mana and time to switch back to herself.
Wrath gasped while thinking about the time Merlin possessed a lion.
That magic was literally made for the sole purpose of stalking you. She's completely insane. Her desire is on par with Greed…
His shoulders were trembling as he called her a truly frightening woman.
'Greed…'
Wrath had mentioned that name very rarely before. Raon could guess from the name that he must've been the demon king of greed, who must've been full of desire.
'Is he the demon king of greed?'
Indeed. He is extremely keen about money.
'Money? Do you even have money in Devildom?'
Raon tilted his head. Since he imagined Devildom as a world where violence and screams were the only things that existed, he didn't expect that they would have money over there.
Don't underestimate Devildom!
Wrath barked while puffing up his cotton candy body.
Of course! There is money since it's a world of intelligent life!
'Ah, my bad.'
Raon lowered his eyes and apologized since Wrath was right about that.
By the way…
'Hmm?'
Are you finally interested in Devildom?
Wrath's eyes were sparkling like a perfectly cleaned window.
'This looks pretty good.'
Raon simply nodded, since it was a great opportunity to gain information from a demon king.
'So why does Greed gather so much money?'
There's no special reason. He just gets stronger the more he gathers the money.
'…He gets stronger from gathering money?'
Raon's eyes widened.
Indeed. Humans and demons are the same in the way money reflects their desire. A nice house, nice clothes, good food. The concept of money is a representation of desire for intelligent lifeforms.
Blue energy was creeping from his eyes.
Greed, that dirty bastard, absorbs human and demonic desires through money and enhances his own abilities.
Wrath frowned while calling him a dirty bastard.
However, he will still be weaker than the King of Essence even if he manages to collect the money from all around the world! If he told him that he would destroy all his money, Greed would be so terrified that he wouldn't even leave his home anymore!
'Huh…'
It sounded slightly exaggerated, but Wrath did seem to have an upper hand.
Anyway, let's stop talking about that dirty bastard. The King of Essence will explain how awesome he is. From the moment he was born, he was different from others…
Since it was a useless story, Raon only pretended to listen.
'I see.'
Th-the story isn't over, though.
'I listened to the entire story.'
…How you were born into the human realm is truly questionable! The King of Essence is starting it again! From the moment he was born…
Raon put a piece of apple in his mouth while ignoring Wrath's voice.
"Erm, vice squad leader."
Dorian put down his fork and sighed deeply.
"What's up?"
"I'm not sure if I should be saying this, but my third sister will probably not be quiet after what happened. She's definitely going to plan her revenge since she's never lost before…"
"I know."
Raon nodded. He didn't seem surprised in the slightest.
"What?"
"I've seen countless people like her."
Palen Sephia was born as a member of the direct line of the Sephia company, and she must've been living while spending all the money she wanted to do anything she desired. Raon could guess that it was the reason she grew up to be so stubborn.
Since she had to kneel for the first time and lower her head, she was bound to prepare to repay the humiliation as soon as she woke up.
'I actually let her go for that purpose.'
He'd only scratched her pride in order to finish her off once and for all. His purpose was to take over the company rather than defeating her, after all.
'Well, I have another reason though…'
Raon smiled faintly while drinking the tea.
"I can consider it as a cute tantrum if she picks a fight by hiring a powerful warrior. However, that's not going to happen."
A warrior that stood a chance against Raon had to be at least the highest level Master or a Grandmaster.
Some powerhouses could be hired with money, but it required an astronomical amount of money.
Even though Palen was part of the direct line of the Sephia company, she wouldn't be able to continue the succession war anymore if she did that, since it would exhaust her bank account.
Which meant that there was only one thing she could do.
"She's most likely going to hire an assassin."
"I-if you knew that, you should've made sure she wouldn't try anything…"
"Well, she didn't cross the line for now."
Palen and her hired warriors had never shown their bloodlust.
It was exactly because they didn't cross the final line that Raon didn't inflict any fatal injuries.
"Moreover, you are the protagonist this time, not me. I figured you would feel guilty about it if I went too far."
"Ah…"
Dorian was the most tender and kindhearted person in Raon's previous and new life combined.
Since he could end up regretting the decision, he wanted to hear Dorian's determination before he did it.
"You should decide. Can you fight a bloody war against your siblings?"
"..."
Dorian swallowed nervously and looked into Raon's eyes.
'Seriously… He's such a mystery.'
Even though he usually acted like a ruffian, he looked like a sage from time to time. He didn't seem to be considerate at all, but he did act according to the other person's will when it counted the most.
Raon looked like he was doing whatever he wanted, but success always awaited at the end of his path.
Dorian couldn't figure him out at all.
'But I know two things for sure. I can trust him, and I will follow him for the rest of my life.'
"Haa…"
Dorian made up his mind and sighed deeply.
"Erm…"
"Hmm?"
"D-don't kill them, and d-don't cut off their limbs…"
Dorian said while scratching his cheek, and Raon giggled.
"But they've been bullying and looking down on you ever since your childhood. They even tried to chase you away when you finally returned."
"But they are still my siblings."
Dorian nodded, his eyes full of determination.
"Alright. Well, I know plenty of ways to inflict pain without killing them."
Raon chuckled and stood up from the chair.
"Ugh…"
Dorian's chin was trembling. He must've remembered a few things from the past.
"Let's go back."
"Yes…"
The door was opened when Raon was about to leave the restaurant. Dialon Sephia was there, he was Dorian's second brother, whom they'd met in the afternoon.
"Hmm…"
The news must've reached him already since he wasn't surprised even though he saw Raon's hair and eye color. He couldn't hide his stiff expression though.
"This is my second greeting. I'm honored to meet the White Sword Dragon."
He politely bowed.
"I apologize for deceiving you last time. My name is Raon Zieghart."
Since Dialon had acted politely during the first encounter even though he was only pretending, Raon properly greeted him back.
"It must've been a big problem, although you've just arrived."
Dialon slightly lowered his chin.
"I don't run away from a fight, after all."
"That sounds frightening. It almost sounds like a threat."
"I have no intention of acting unless it's in retaliation."
Raon smiled while looking at Dialon's gloomy eyes.
"Haa…"
Dialon sighed and looked at Dorian standing next to Raon.
"I honestly thought you wouldn't even stand a chance in the competition, but the person you bought with you is too difficult to deal with."
He coldly looked at Dorian.
"You might be the most dangerous opponent."
"That's right."
Dorian swallowed nervously and raised his head.
"I won't lose to my brothers. I'm not alone anymore."
"Hah!"
Dialon laughed coldly.
"I know, Dorian Sephia from the Light Wind squad."
Dialon tapped on Dorian's shoulder before entering the restaurant. The warriors and servants under him followed him afterward. Their eyes were bright without exception.
Raon remembered their presence before he went outside.
"I-I didn't say anything strange, did I?"
Despite how confidently he declared his intent a moment ago, he was already intimidated, his shoulders trembling. Raon found it a mystery.
"It was the first time you voiced your intention like that. You were very cool."
"Ooh!"
"However…"
Raon smiled and raised his finger.
"Your voice was hoarse and was completely trembling."
"Uhh…"
"Honestly, you sounded like a shitter."
"Uaaaah! This is embarrassing!"
Dorian grasped his head and started to scream.
"It will get better since you are only getting started."
Raon grinned and went to his lodgings.
…That's how the King of Essence managed to become a monarch of Devildom!
'…Were you still talking?'
Palen Sephia opened her eyes with difficulty.
"Hmm…"
She could see a familiar ceiling and feel a familiar soft touch. She was inside her room.
"Why am I here…? Ah!"
The memories returned along with an intense headache. She figured that she had fainted because of Raon Zieghart's pressure after he revealed his red eyes.
"Damn it!"
Palen briskly stood up and started to swear. The memories from the training ground brushed past her head like a dream.
"Swin!"
The door was opened, and a secretary wearing a suit entered the room.
"Did you call me?"
"Tell me what happened."
"After my lady fainted…"
"No, from the very beginning!"
"You went to the training ground with the young master Dorian, and he fought against Toten Robel…"
The secretary named Swin told her everything that happened inside the training ground without leaving out any details.
Listening to his story made her remember the incident as vividly as a dream come true. She could only swear at how bad the situation was.
"Argh…"
Palen grasped her long hair and ground her teeth.
"Damn it!"
Even though she was a legitimate daughter of the Sephia company, she knelt in front of another person and surrendered. Humiliation. It was an extreme humiliation.
'I was going easy on him…'
She was originally planning to simply teach Dorian a lesson since they shared the same father, but she wanted to kill him instead because of how it ended up.
In fact, she wanted to beat Raon Zieghart to death even more than Dorian.
"We still have the connection with the assassins called Black Snake, don't you?"
Palen coldly looked at Swin.
"My lady, they are a bunch of unknown ruffians…"
"Shut up and answer my question."
"We do."
Swin sighed faintly and nodded.
"Contact them. On top of my brothers and Dorian, I will also attack Raon Zieghart."
"What? I-if you attack Raon Zieghart…"
"I know. The company might disappear as a result. That's why I'm planning to kill him after he leaves. You should just contact them for now."
Since the entire company could be endangered if she tried to attack Raon Zieghart, it was necessary to target him after he left.
"Haa…"
Swin sighed deeply and nodded.
"Understood."
"Wait."
When he was about to leave, Palen raised her hand.
"Bring me some liquor. Something strong."
"…Yes."
Swin brought her a dark brown whiskey and a few side dishes before leaving the room.
Palen started to drink the whiskey while sitting at the table.
"Shit…"
Even though she was drinking, she kept thinking about Dorian's victory and the red eyes of Raon Zieghart.
She felt like she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't get completely drunk.
"Hmm?"
She drank her whiskey without any side dishes before she suddenly heard a small squeaking sound from the window on her right. She turned around to check, and a flying squirrel was sticking to the window.
"Fuck off!"
"Keee!"
Palen threw the glass at the window. The glass shattered into pieces and the flying squirrel ran away somewhere.
"Haa…"
She started to drink the whiskey from the bottle since that wasn't enough to vent her anger. She finished the entire bottle before she laid on her bed.
"…I'm going to kill him by all means."
Palen vowed vengeance against Raon Zieghart while looking at the spinning ceiling.
Her eyes closed right after and she fell asleep, thanks to the intoxication and exhaustion.
* * *
'Huh?'
Palen's body was trembling.
'I can't move my body.'
She felt perfectly sober, but she couldn't move a finger. Darkness was the only thing she could see because she couldn't even raise her eyelids.
'Is this a sleep paralysis?'
She had never gotten sleep paralysis before, but it was similar to what she heard from the others.
'Hah, I'm even having this now after that unlucky incident.'
She tried moving her finger to remove the sleep paralysis while swearing in her mind, but she couldn't move her body at all.
'How long is this… Hmm?'
She noticed that something was touching her forehead. Her senses still seemed to work during sleep paralysis. At the same time, she could move her eyelids and her eyes.
'What is going on…?'
Palen opened her eyes while feeling a creeping anxiety fill her.
'Aaah!'
She almost fainted right after she opened her eyes.
A young woman was looking down with a red cross engraved in her blue eyes, her forehead touching Palen's.
The energy emerging from her distorted eyes felt completely evil.
'Wh-wh-what?! Who the hell is this bitch…?'
The demonic woman was simply staring at her without saying anything.
The gloomy aura coming from her red eyes was making her heart feel painfully tight.
"Who are you going to kill?"
Her short sentence brushed past her ears, and she felt the frightening sensation of a worm digging into her ears.
The damp murderous intent emerging from the woman's eyes was giving her goosebumps. However, it wasn't over yet.
"Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill? Who are you going to kill?"
'Aah…'
The pain of tearing flesh could be felt every time she heard the voice. She wanted to scream from the intense pain, but she could only move her eyes.
She wanted to force herself to close her eyes, but she couldn't move her eyelids anymore. She felt like her soul was getting ripped apart by the woman's eyes in front of her.
"Who are you going to kill again?"
The woman's hand grabbed her shoulder. An unknown heat entered her body and it started to hurt like an ant gnawing all around her body.
'Uwah!'
Her eyes rolled back from the intense pain, but her mind remained intact. She wanted to faint but she was unable to do so.
'Pl-please…'
She begged for her life with her eyes, but the crazy woman's expression remained unchanged. She stayed with their foreheads meeting each other, a frightening smile around her mouth.
"Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me."
The madwoman's obsession and Palen's silent scream resounded throughout the Sephia company all night long.
Aaaaaaaaah!
* * *
Raon opened his eyes after he finished his daybreak cultivation. Sunlight from the window was landing pleasantly on his shoulders.
How can you repeat that boring stuff every single day?
Wrath shook his head and said that he couldn't understand how he could cultivate every day.
'Well, I'm just doing it.'
He didn't find it boring or annoying. He was simply cultivating in order to get stronger, just like he breathed in order to live.
'I feel under the weather if I don't cultivate at this point.'
Just like stretching the body awakens the body after sleep, the cultivation was effective at stimulating the mana circuits inside the body.
Since it improved the aura and the cultivation, and even had an additional effect of awakening the body, there was no reason to skip it.
'Rather than that.'
Raon smiled coldly while looking at the door where he could feel two people's presence.
'They are here faster than I thought.'
Indeed. They might be idiots.
Wrath nodded in agreement.
'Is she unexpectedly challenging me head-on? Or maybe she's trying to deceive me.'
Raon snickered and stood up to open the door. Palen Sephia and Mark Goetten, whom he'd met the previous day, were standing on the sides.
"What's the matter…?"
"Please save me!"
"Please accept me!"
The two people shouted differently and went on their knees at the same time.
"P-please save me! It was my fault!"
Palen Sephia slammed her head on the ground with tears flowing from her distorted eyes.
"Please accept me as your follower! I'm fine with being a servant!"
Mark Goetten bowed, a thick bandage covering his chin.
"..."
The unexpected situation had Raon's jaw dropping. He was dumbfounded over the unexpected situation.
'What is wrong with them?'