"Phew..."
Raon let out a sigh of relief and gripped his trembling shoulders.
'The gamble paid off.'
He had quickly devised and executed a plan to escape from Greed, and it seemed to have succeeded. No, not just Lust, but seeing that Gluttony had come as well, it was enough of a gain to set up a new game.
-A gamble?
Wrath furrowed his brow, unable to understand.
-What gamble did you make?
'After Greed appeared, I scattered the demon kings' powers that were spread in the atmosphere to the outside.'
This dimension was now no different from the Devildom, so the powers of the demon kings he had wielded were spread like lingering thoughts. Using Garunua's wind, he sent those powers outside to call demon kings who could help him, and fortunately, that gamble had worked.
-So you stirred up the wind with your already depleted strength.
Wrath let out a sigh, finally understanding why Garunua had been used.
-To think you were having such thoughts with Greed right in front of you, you really are...
He frowned, saying that even calling it guts gone mad wasn't enough to describe it.
[As expected of my master...]
-You shut up!
Wrath gave Zircon a smack on the head. By now, he was starting to feel sorry for that demon.
'However, there was something even I didn't predict.'
Raon shook his head as he looked at Lust's pink eyes.
-Something you didn't expect?
'I didn't know Lust would be in the Devildom.'
He had sent out the power of Lust strongly, hoping she would come, but she had popped out of the Devildom Pathway just like Greed. He couldn't understand why Lust, who had been traveling with Merlin, had come over from the Devildom.
"I didn't expect you to call me first when I've been searching for you so much."
Lust waved her hand with a bright smile, as if she was truly glad.
'You've been searching that much?'
Raon blinked as he looked at Lust.
'Why were you in the Devildom if you were looking for me?'
-Don't bother trying to understand that stalker. As this king said, she's the worst when it comes to directions.
Wrath shook his head, saying she might come down from the heavenly realm next time they meet.
"Do you have bead ice cream...?"
Gluttony licked her lips at length, as if she was hungry.
"Of course I do."
Raon took out a box of bead ice cream from his subspace pouch that he had prepared as a snack for Wrath.
"Oh..."
Gluttony took the box with a pleased look and immediately started eating the ice cream. She seemed completely uninterested in the current situation, as if her nerves were dull.
-Aaaargh! That's this king's!
Wrath grabbed his own collar and shook it, asking what he was doing.
'It's fine to give her this much.'
Raon shook his head as he brushed off Wrath's hand.
'I didn't expect Gluttony to come as well.'
In fact, the only one he had wanted to call was Lust. He thought if she came alone, he could escape this crisis, but with Gluttony coming as well, he could take another step forward. Even if she came just because she needed money to buy ice cream, he was just glad.
Lust and Gluttony. If these two demon kings stood on his side, he could not only drive out Greed but also create an opportunity to receive his authority.
"I wondered when I saw the wind scattering, but..."
Greed licked his lips at length as he looked at Raon standing between Gluttony and Lust.
"Did you plan for this outcome? I like you even more."
His golden eyes flashed as if he was even more greedy now. It seemed like flames of greed were burning in his eyeballs.
"Get lost."
Lust frowned, placing her hand on her sword as if telling him to retreat immediately.
"A bit disappointing..."
Gluttony threw the empty ice cream box into the air and stood in front of Raon. It seemed like she was going to protect him from Greed.
"You didn't seem like the type to play with women."
Greed drawled, as if trying to provoke Lust.
"How did you win over that obsessive woman?"
He sneered, pointing at Lust with his long finger.
"What Lust shows me isn't obsession..."
Raon shook his chin as he looked at Lust, who held purity within her sensuality.
"It's affection."
"Wrath... Wrath!"
As soon as Lust heard the word 'affection', she emitted a terrifyingly intense pink current. If he didn't have the authority of Lust, he might have been sucked in and suffocated by that power.
-You, you crazy bastard!
Wrath slapped the back of his head as if asking what he was doing.
-What are you saying things like affection for! Did you really get hit on the head with a sword!
'I'll leave the aftermath to you.'
Raon shrugged towards Wrath as if asking him to take care of it.
-You, you will receive divine punishment! Neither god nor demon god should let this pass!
Wrath shook his head vigorously, insisting that neither angels nor demons would do such a thing.
"Lust. You're making a big misunderstanding. That's not Wrath, but..."
Greed opened his mouth to calm Lust down, seemingly surprised by her reaction.
"Shut that stinking mouth of yours."
Lust twisted her lips and drew her sword, as if she wouldn't be fooled by Greed.
"I may be called a playboy, but I'm not as bad as you. You're terrible."
Greed shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. Realizing that words wouldn't work on Lust, he turned to look at Gluttony.
"Gluttony. Didn't you say you had no money?"
Greed gestured to Gluttony, who was licking the ice cream off her fingers.
"Seeing how you like ice cream, it seems you've fallen for human world food. Then I'll give you money."
White gold coins fell like a waterfall over his palm.
"You'll be able to enjoy to your heart's content even with your appetite. No, I can even make humans into slaves and build a country for you."
'...'
Raon frowned as he watched Greed tempting Gluttony.
'Did he figure out Gluttony's relationship with me in this short moment?'
Since coming here, all Gluttony had said was that she had no money, ice cream, and that she was hungry. To see through Gluttony's relationship with him with just those three sentences, Greed was indeed different from other demon kings.
"Gluttony. Don't listen to..."
"Your money smells unappetizing."
Before he could speak to prevent Gluttony from being taken by Greed, she shook her head.
"Unappetizing smell?"
Greed's eyes widened as if surprised by Gluttony's words.
"Yes. I'll get money from Wrath..."
Gluttony showed a resolute look in her eyes, as if saying she didn't need Greed's money.
'Huh?'
Raon let out a sigh as he looked at Gluttony who had made a firm decision.
'Could it be that Gluttony...'
Did she come to save me, not because she lacked money? In fact, it hadn't been that long since he had given gold coins to Gluttony. Seeing that she came here even though it wasn't time to look for him yet, it seemed like she really came for him, not for money.
"...It seems you're only interested in eating and don't know much."
Greed smirked as he flicked a gold coin with his finger.
"There's no such thing as bad money in this world. The nature of money changes according to its owner."
He sent the gold coin he had taken out back into the darkness and raised his gaze.
"Two monarchs..."
Greed licked his lips as he examined Lust and Gluttony in turn.
"It would be worth fighting, but the problem is not knowing when Wrath might pop out. I have no choice..."
He slightly turned his ankle as if he had no choice but to retreat.
'Zircon.'
Raon quickly called for Zircon as he saw this.
[Why, why are you calling?]
Zircon, who had been cowering from Wrath, slowly raised his head.
'Can you recover my body and mental strength even a little?'
[Hmm, it's difficult with just my power now, but there is a way.]
Zircon nodded, saying it wasn't easy but there was a method.
'Then that should be fine.'
Raon nodded and took a step back. He turned his gaze while showing a very faint emotion of relief.
-You stupid fool!
Wrath shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
-If you make such a scared expression, won't he realize that you can't call this king!
He shouted as if asking what he was doing.
"So it was like that after all."
A golden light bloomed over Greed's eyes as he looked at Raon.
"Wrath can't come out right now!"
He stretched out his long hand, revealing a desire that would never be filled.
"Kuhehe."
Although Lust and Gluttony blocked that hand, Greed had already made up his mind, fixing his gaze on Raon with a chilling smile.
-Look! You stupid fool!
Wrath clicked his tongue as if it was pathetic.
-That bastard might not be able to beat Lust and Gluttony, but he can momentarily break through between them and reach you!
He waved his hand, saying he might even be dragged to the Devildom.
'I did it on purpose.'
Raon calmly shook his head as he watched Greed gradually building up his greed.
-What?
'With two demon kings on my side, it would be too wasteful to let him go like this.'
If only Lust had come, he would have been satisfied with making Greed retreat, but now Gluttony and Lust were both in front of him. With those two, he could fight an advantageous battle eight or nine times out of ten, so letting him go as is would be a loss.
'Now I can read Greed's psychology.'
If he had shown a confident appearance or provoked him just now, Greed would have quickly retreated, considering the possibility that Wrath might come out. But when he showed a scared appearance, Greed began to reveal his greed and look for an opportunity to grab him.
As Wrath said, he was a demon. And not just any demon, but the monarch of greed. It was clear that he was truly aiming for him, not just money, but everything.
"Two demon kings deserve that much treatment, I suppose."
Greed licked his lips greedily and raised his finger.
"Simply put, 100 million gold."
As his lips curled up, a golden light poured out before their eyes.
* * *
"I knew you'd come out like that."
Lust gritted her teeth and stepped forward. A pink flame flickered along the path her sword had taken, creating a massive wall.
"I'll be even hungrier now…."
Gluttony let out a short sigh and put her hands together. A snow-white light sprang up, suppressing the golden light trying to cross over the pink flames.
The shockwave from the collision of the three demon kings' energies shook the entire dimension. The sky tore open and black lightning fell, while the ground collapsed, swallowing up the corpses piled on the floor.
'Zircon.'
Raon retreated far back and called for Zircon.
'You said earlier that you could recover my condition a little bit, right? How do we do it?'
[...]
Zircon looked at him for a moment before nodding.
[Eat the birth stone of Peridot that you obtained earlier.]
'Eat the birth stone?'
[Right now, Peridot's power is sleeping inside the birth stone. If you eat it, it will clash with my power and recover your physical strength and mental power a little bit.]
He raised a finger, saying that was the only way.
'It's quite big...'
Raon frowned as he looked at the Peridot. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zircon, but the gem seemed too large to swallow.
[Don't worry. It will naturally melt once you put it in your mouth.]
'Hmm, then...'
Raon looked at Zircon once before putting the Peridot in his mouth. As Zircon said, as soon as it touched his tongue, the gem melted like ice cream.
'Ugh...'
His eyes closed involuntarily and his back bent from the pain that felt like his heart was about to burst. However, the pain didn't last long. When he opened his eyes again, vitality had returned to his body that had been so weak he could barely move his fingers, and his throbbing mind had calmed down as if doused with cold water.
It wasn't his full strength, but a state not much different from normal. To recover to this state with just a bit of pain, the power of the birth stone was amazing.
[As I said, it's a phenomenon caused by the clash of my power and Peridot's power. You'll be able to fight for a while. And...]
Zircon shook his head with a somewhat bitter look in his eyes.
[This is goodbye for us.]
'What?'
Raon widened his eyes as he looked at Zircon. It wasn't a lie that he was saying goodbye, as his spirit body started to blur.
[I've used up all my power, and so has Peridot. In this state, if the fundamentals of two birth stones clash, our selves will disappear and only power will remain.]
Zircon poked Raon's forehead with his finger.
[Of course, you won't be able to possess all of our power from the start. It will very slowly become your power, like a tree taking root.]
'No, it's not about the power, but are you okay with disappearing?'
[Don't worry. If you die, we'll scatter again as two birth stones. And...]
Zircon slowly turned his gaze to look at Wrath. The wistfulness in his eyes suddenly turned to anger.
[It's better to just disappear than to live with that foul-tempered demon bastard!]
-Fo-foul-tempered?
Wrath widened his eyes as if he couldn't believe it.
-Is this how you repay me after I took care of you!
[Try to kill me! I'm disappearing anyway! You muscle-head with only strength!]
-Are you crazy?
He swung his fist, but Zircon's spirit body had already scattered, so it didn't hit.
[May you eat curses for a lifetime from your master!]
Zircon stuck out his tongue long and scattered into black mist.
-Aaaaargh!
Wrath swung his fist in frustration, but Zircon had already disappeared, so he was just hitting the air.
'Tsk tsk, how badly must you have bullied him...'
Raon shook his head as he looked at Wrath.
-What do you mean bullied! This king was just showing affection...
'Bullies always express it that way. Would he have run away if you hadn't bullied him?'
-Grrrr...
Wrath bit his lip, frustrated but unable to say anything.
'Anyway. Pass your anger and soul over to me for a moment.'
-Huh? What kind of crazy talk is that!
He widened his eyes as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.
'I need to pretend to be you from now on. So pass over your soul and anger.'
-You, you crazy lunatic! Why would this king pass over his anger! This king will absolutely not do anything good for you!
Wrath swung his fist, telling him to stop talking nonsense.
'You seem to have forgotten already. Didn't you say you'd do anything if Zircon didn't stick to me because of your Wrath?' (E/N: "-Of course! Why would someone follow a weakling like you? If it's not because of this king's wrath that he's following you, I'll do anything!")
-Uh...?
He trembled his jaw like a freshly caught fish, as if just now remembering that promise.
'Now is...'
Raon grabbed Wrath's head and drew a cold smile.
'The time to keep that promise.'
-Uuuurgh...
Fear and shock rose in the eyes of the Demon King of Wrath.