Chapter 424

Mustan swallowed nervously while looking at the now dark green distorted space.

'What is this?'

He'd never seen that type of dimensional gate before. He could feel evil energy that wasn't magic or sorcery. It felt similar to the demonic energy used by the Black Tower's demonic members.

'No, that's not the problem right now.'

The unknown being dwelling inside the dimensional rift was emanating a tremendous amount of presence. Even though he couldn't feel any energy at all, the presence alone was breathtaking.

'She can kill someone like me with a fingernail…'

He was unable to move, a mouse facing a cat. He was frozen stiff because he didn't know what he should be doing after the voice came from the other dimension for the first time.

"Not many people voice their envy with such honesty nowadays."

"Wh-who are you?"

Mustan covered his neck with his hand and forced himself to speak. The polite tone of his voice was probably the result of his survival instinct.

"You called me."

The diamond-shaped pupils floating from the other dimension sparked with a light green color.

"What do you mean? I never called…"

"You said it yourself. 'I'm jealous, I'll take away everything you have by any means necessary. I'm never going to give up.' Did you already forget about it?"

"Hupp…"

Mustan covered his mouth.

'Did she actually hear that?'

He didn't expect anyone to hear that, since he'd only shouted because he felt like his heart was about to burst. His face and neck were getting hotter because of embarrassment.

"There's no reason to be ashamed."

The laughing voice came from the dimension.

"Envy is an indispensable emotion that even the wise sage, the emperor of the world, and the strongest warrior in the world possess. There's even a saying that humans raise a snake in their mind no matter who they are."

"A snake…"

"Unlike the hypocrites who live under a mask, you honestly revealed your feelings. That already makes you way better than such two-faced trash."

"Ah…"

Even though the voice sounded like a woman far younger than himself, his heart was deeply moved.

'She said I'm better than them.'

No one had acknowledged him since the encounter with Raon.

Everyone kept shouting Raon's name, and even his master wasn't looking at him. He was overwhelmed by emotions, and his hair stood on end because someone acknowledged him after such a long time.

"Emotions only hold meaning once they are revealed. You are already one step ahead of the others."

The energy inside his body started to slowly subside even though its rampage used to be at the brink of explosion. He felt like he was watching a clear, cloudless sky after a violent storm came to an end.

"D-does that mean that you can grant me the power?"

"Of course. I'm here for that purpose. Everything that your target of envy has right now will belong to you."

Red lips curved into a faint smile from within the dimension. Mustan had an ominous feeling that he couldn't understand, despite how beautiful her smile was. However, he couldn't back off when she would give him power.

"Is it really possible for his fame, talent, and even people's recognition to become mine?"

"It's not a difficult task."

The woman immediately responded as if it wasn't even worthy of consideration.

'It's impossible. However…'

Hearing her voice gave him the impression that he could achieve anything.

'Who the hell is she?'

He remembered that she didn't respond to his first question. It must've been because he was too surprised.

"Wh-who are you?"

Mustan asked for the identity of the woman inside the dimension once again.

"I'm the fifth demon king of Devildom, the Monarch of Envy. My name is Envy."

A white hand extended from the dimensional rift. The pure white color looked like it had never been exposed to sunlight.

"If you grab my hand, I'll grant you everything that your target of envy currently has."

"Ah…"

Mustan's chin trembled while looking at Envy's hand.

'She's a demon king?! No, she has to be a demon king for this to make any sense.'

He could finally understand why her presence was so great. The overwhelming presence without any energy was only possible for those who'd transcended the limits of their species.

'Is this an opportunity? Or…'

He remembered the rumor that the demon kings, or rather the demons in general, take away the human souls after granting their wishes.

"Wh-what shall I give you in return? Do you want my soul?"

"You will join my side."

"What do you mean by joining your side…?"

"You will be one of my kin."

"Does that mean I'll become your subordinate?"

"Indeed."

Envy told him what she wanted honestly.

'Becoming a subordinate is a pretty good deal, isn't it?'

'Because I don't feel alive with the way it is right now.'

Because his master was only interested in Raon and kept taking his side, Mustan felt like he was drying up to death.

It was an acceptable condition since his soul wasn't being taken away.

"Hmm…"

Mustan was about to extend his arm towards Envy's hand but stopped himself. Looking at the snow covering the ground reminded him of his master's face with his white hair neatly swept back.

'Should I ask my master at least?'

He wanted to visit Rector once again and ask him about his own worth and Raon's. Envy's presence must've returned him to his senses.

"C-can you give me some time? I'd like to visit a certain person beforehand…"

"It's already too late."

When he was about to refuse, Envy's hand suddenly came out and grasped his hand.

"The contract was begun the moment you summoned me, the seal was nearly done."

Demonic energy flowed into him from the back of his hand right after that. It was so powerful that it was difficult for him to breathe.

Rumble!

The dark green demonic energy drove away the aura in no time and dominated his mana circuits, seeping into the bottom of his soul.

Creak!

Mustan screamed upon feeling an intense pain on his cheeks. It felt like his soul was being seared with a hot iron.

"Kuaaah!"

"Just endure it a little. A little bit more and your wishes… Huh?"

Envy came outside the dimension and was about to finish the contract, but briskly turned her head towards Stallin Mountain's peak.

"Sloth."

Her red lips trembled faintly and rolled into a smile.

"Were you there all along?"

Raon raised his head and looked at the messages that appeared.

[All stats have increased by 12.]

[You've gained an additional 6 points from the consecutive victory.]

He could feel the exhilaration as the muscles and mana circuits all over his body throbbed from the 18-point increase in all stats.

He was so excited that he felt like all his exhaustion was gone.

'What a nice reward.'

The system was giving him high rewards according to the bet's quality, just like Wrath had said.

Wait, this is way too much!

Wrath's jaw dropped while looking at the message.

The King of Essence only asked for five pineapple pizzas in return, so why is he getting 18 whole points?!

He barked, calling it a scam.

'You've entrusted it to the system, and it took care of it in an extremely fair manner. What's your problem?'

It's not fair at all! Once the King of Essence returns, the first thing he's going to do is to destroy that thing and make a new one.

'Do it if you want.'

Raon shrugged his shoulders and checked the message that appeared after the one about the stats.

[The trait Magic Armor of the Snow Flower has been created.]

The trait had the Snow Flower in the name once again. He really loved flowers despite being a demon king.

'What is this one?'

I-is it really giving you magic armor? It must be insane!

Wrath was dancing furiously, and Raon could tell that it was a nice trait.

Magic Armor of Snow Flower

Utilize Glacier's coldness to harden the body in and out.

Raon could immediately understand because it was a simple description. The Magic Armor of the Snow Flower was a defensive trait that could reduce internal and external injuries.

'Not bad.'

He felt like he could use it without much difficulty since it was activated by controlling frost and wrath.

'Thank you for your patronage once again, dear dumb customer.'

Raon visibly nodded at Wrath to make fun of him.

A divine punishment shall fall upon you!

'A demon wants me to get divine punishment? I'm sure heaven will listen to you.'

Ugh, it's true. The King of Essence… Huh?

Wrath violently ground his teeth, but then he suddenly looked under the mountain.

Why is that loser there? Did it really happen?

He shouted with wide eyes.

'What? What's up with you…?'

He tried to see what Wrath was looking at, but Sloth's breathing was the only thing that could be heard.

Escape seems to be impossible.

Wrath frowned and jumped on Raon's shoulder.

Stand up and get ready. She will be here soon!

'You should tell me at least what is coming!'

Raon was about to look at Wrath in order to ask him who was coming, but he suddenly felt a huge presence from above. It felt like heaven itself had descended.

'This is…'

Raon raised his head with a trembling chin. A tall, young girl was floating in the sky.

Her appearance didn't match the scenery at all. Once Raon met her eyes, he felt like the container of his soul was getting shattered into pieces.

'Don't tell me…'

Such a huge impact on the soul had only happened twice so far. It was when he'd encountered Wrath and Sloth. She must've been a monarch of Devildom, just like those two.

Raon carefully examined the girl with trembling eyes.

Despite her young appearance, her body was as thin and long as a flower stalk. She had a dreamlike and mysterious atmosphere around her, probably because of the golden accessories she was wearing around her wrists and ankles.

He could feel a torrent of powerful emotion as her dark green eyes slid down towards him. It was the emotion of envy that was directed to the entire world instead of a specific individual. His heart felt like it was bursting from witnessing such a deep rift of emotion.

'…Is that Envy?'

The only person who came to his mind after seeing the emotion in her eyes was Envy, the Monarch of Envy.

Indeed.

Wrath furrowed his brow deeply.

That stupid jealous idiot must've caused another problem.

Raon looked at Envy once again upon hearing that. Mustan was floating behind her, and he looked like his soul had left him.

'Are you saying that he summoned her?'

The King of Essence said this before, but he was about to cross the boundary. His emotions should've subsided after you beat him up, but something must've happened after he woke up.

'Damn it…'

Raon felt like he should've beaten him up even more thoroughly, but it was too late. He needed to find a way to escape for the time being.

Whir!

Envy slowly descended, and Sloth's barrier surged to block her path.

"Sloth really created a barrier. I thought it was my mistake."

Envy seemed to have noticed Sloth's barrier just like Wrath did, and she extended her hand without panicking.

Spark!

Dark green energy emerged like a snake from her hand, and Sloth's dark barrier was distorted diagonally.

"Hah?"

She lightly landed on the peak and tilted her head upon seeing Raon, who was standing next to Sloth.

"Why is a mere human here?"

Her eyes skimmed over Raon's body like a snake's tongue.

"I can't feel any envy from this trash. But I think I've seen him before somewhere…"

Envy narrowed her eyes and clapped her hands.

"Ah!"

A sweet smile appeared on her face as she nodded.

"It was you, the target of this guy's jealousy."

Envy licked her lips while pointing at Mustan behind her.

"I was just planning to fulfill his desire and call it quits, but you are so unlucky to encounter me here."

"Kuh…"

Raon bit his lips and lowered his posture.

'Murderous intent?'

The atmosphere around Envy had drastically changed. The mischievous smile of a teenage girl was distorted like a demon on a battlefield.

She hadn't even released any pressure. The mere change in her emotion was causing an intense headache for Raon.

'I need to withstand it no matter what.'

He rolled his eyes while controlling the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. Sloth was still sound asleep despite the situation.

'Why is he not waking up? This should be dangerous enough!'

Even Envy is unable to kill Sloth in a single strike. It's still not dangerous enough for him.

Wrath shook his head, telling him to stop trying to comprehend Sloth.

"Consider it your bad luck."

Envy's silvery voice resounded as she shook her hand. Even though she looked like she was simply chasing away a fly, Raon could feel the tremendous wave of power from it.

Whir!

It felt like the sky was crushing his body. He was filled with fear that he would turn into a handful of blood and disappear from the world.

'But this sensation… I've experienced it before.'

It reminded him of when the Sword Demon attacked him with the versatile sword.

Raon accelerated the Ring of Fire to the extreme. The rotation of the seven rings was unprecedentedly clean and guided him into a world of extreme focus.

You idiot. Unleash your wrath if you want to defend against it!

Wrath shouted at him to unleash his wrath, saying that it was impossible with his current level to safely fend off that attack. Wrath could apparently cancel it out since it was also an emotion of the demon king.

'…No.'

Raon bit his lip until it started to bleed.

'I shouldn't use it now.'

He had to save the trump card in order to survive. It wasn't time to show his wrath and sloth yet.

"Kuh…"

He believed in his might that had gotten stronger, and he unsheathed Heavenly Drive while stomping the ground.

'It's too late to parry or deflect.'

Since he hadn't expected her to immediately attack, he didn't have enough time despite being in an extremely focused state. Defending against it was the only solution he had.

He grasped Heavenly Drive's hilt with both of his hands and swung it upwards from below.

Whaam!

The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's most defensive technique, Firewall, dashed through his blade and unleashed its crimson flame. A fire of protection instead of destruction rampaged around to forge a majestic shield of fire.

Whir!

Raon didn't stop after unleashing Firewall. He incorporated the principles of heavy sword and severing sword into the fireshield that emerged. He was solely focusing on defense while giving up on flow and softness.

Whaam!

The entirety of Stallin Mountain trembled from the clash between Envy's dark green energy and Firewall's flame. The heat spreading in all directions seems capable enough to melt down all of the snow from the mountain.

'Ack!'

Even though he was mustering all of his aura from his energy center, he felt like his shoulders were being crushed.

It was ridiculous how powerful it was even though she was simply crushing him with sheer power without any technique whatsoever.

You idiot! Use the wrath already!

'I can't do it yet! This isn't a crisis yet.'

He strained his legs, which were about to give up, and unleashed all of the remaining heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. He endured the pain that felt like his mana circuits were burning up and pushed the dark green energy back.

Whaam!

The icy ground of Stallin Mountain's peak was destroyed like a spider web, and Envy's energy faded away, unable to surpass Firewall's heat.

"Hah?"

Envy exclaimed and tilted her head. She furrowed her brow in irritation.

"Did you actually block that?"

A mind-blowing amount of energy gathered in her hands, incomparable to before.

Are you really planning to defend against that without using it? Do you want to die in vain so badly?

Wrath flew up to Raon's face with trembling lips.

Sloth is Envy's target right now. Even if Sloth wakes up, he isn't going to save you. He will start to rampage, and you will be the first one to be trampled!

'So what?'

There's only one way for you to survive this situation. Let the King of Essence take over your body!

He dragged his lips into a smile. It was difficult to tell whether he was laughing or smiling.

Envy is different from Sloth, who doesn't like to think. You won't be able to survive this by talking your way out!

Wrath urged him to give his body away already because she couldn't be convinced, unlike Sloth.

'But you will also lose control once you enter my body. It's going to be a battle between the three demon kings afterward. What's going to happen to Habun Castle?'

They should be able to defend for an extremely brief period of time since that geezer is there, but lots of people are going to die.

He said that the clash would end up having a tremendous impact, and they shouldn't be able to defend against it.

But the King of Essence will try to regain his sanity as fast as possible because his subordinates are there right now.

'One more thing.'

Raon swallowed nervously and asked his question.

'You mentioned before that Habun Castle was protected by a natural barrier made from human and monster blood. Is that also going to be destroyed?'

Of course. Even the lizards are probably going to appear, and it will be a huge mess.

Wrath shook his head, saying that it was the only solution in the given situation.

'I can't let that happen.'

Raon shook his head. He couldn't allow such an outcome in order to save people in Habun Castle.

You idiot! Envy is an unsightly loser, but she's not an idiot! Your smooth talking won't work against her! Give up your body already!

Wrath grabbed Raon by his collar and started to shake him because there was no time to waste.

'Smooth talking… Ah!'

The way he'd managed to convince Sloth in the past, and the information about Envy that Wrath had told him, twisted with each other. Raon came up with the only way to survive in that situation.

"You made me act twice when you are just trash without any envy."

When Envy was about to shake her hand a second time for the attack, Raon took a step towards her instead.

"You'd better stop."

"What did you just say, you vermin…?"

"He finally granted me his permission."

Raon unleashed the wrath that he hadn't used even when his life was in danger.

Whir!

The wrath engulfed his soul as the crystallization of extreme malice bared its sharp fangs towards Envy.

"Wr-wrath? Why do you have wrath…?"

"Envy, the Monarch of Envy. I'm an embodiment that serves the great Monarch of Wrath."

Envy's hands came to a halt upon hearing that.

You idiot! That's not going to work!

'I'm not going to stop now.'

Raon swallowed the blood that flowed all the way up to his throat and gazed at her with serious eyes.

"Embodiment of wrath? Why is a servant of Wrath inside Sloth's domain?"

"Because this land belongs to the great Wrath."

"You must be insane to say that when Sloth is right next to you!"

"He is also affiliated to our great Wrath."

"What do you mean…?"

Whaaat?

Envy and Wrath widened their eyes at the same time.

"The Monarch of Sloth, Sloth has already become the great Wrath's subordinate."

Raon's eyes sparkled in crimson, melting down the envy.

You scammer! What are you trying to pull off this time?!