BXBX NOVEL Chapter 246 - Acceptance (3)
Chapter 246: Acceptance (3)
He smiled slightly at Gusion. So, with the help of Lucia, he registered Gusion as his subordinate spirit.
He was the 8th subordinate spirit of his. Whenever they were added as his subordinate spirits one by one, the effect of their registration was reduced, but this time it was none other than Gusion.
Yong-ho felt an enormous power like Gusion was joining him. He closed his eyes before he knew it and opened his horns. All his subordinate spirits did the same thing. With them opening up their horns fully, they felt the addition of a new power.
In particular, the changes in Gusion and Catalina were significant. Mana was released from Gusion’s two horns that looked like a bull’s. Gusion recovered some of the mana he had lost when Mammon died.
Catalina’s change was even more dramatic. Struggling in extreme pleasure and pain, she screamed, hugging her shoulders. White light was glaring in her eyes, and soon, new horns grew through her white hair. Like Kaiwan, she overcame the limits and obtained the sixth horn.
Other subordinate spirits also felt their strength increase. Yong-ho let out a long breath to control his mana. After controlling not only his but also other subordinate spirits’ mana, he removed his hand from Gusion’s shoulder.
Kaiwan quickly supported Catalina. There was a pleasant smile on her face covered with cold sweat.
Normally, Yong-ho would have taken care of Catalina and Kaiwan, but he could not for now. He was so impatient at the moment. After asking Scathach to heal the two women, he ordered Lucia to activate the door of space.
Magnadon, the wizard of Mammon, died. However, his legacy, the door of space, played its part even at this moment.
“Let’s go.”
Yong-ho took the lead and stepped into the door of space. Kaiwan looked at him with some anxious expression but soon followed him with Catalina.
After Gusion, Scathach, Salami, and Bucephalas went in, Skull tapped his chest, looking at Eligos as if to tell him not to worry. After smiling at him cheerfully, he finally entered the door of space.
Let alone, Eligos closed the door of space. He prayed for Yong-ho’s safety.
***
There were many gorges and mountains in the land of the King of Lust. The stiff cliffs and rocky mountains had long served as a natural fortress to protect the king’s territory.
The door of space was inside the collapsed cave. The entrance was cut off from the outside because of the large stones clogged up, which fortunately helped maintain the door of space for over a thousand years.
Aamon drove out the darkness by emitting only light from the flames of the red lotus. Gusion punched the rocks lightly to turn them into powder while Scathach solidified the collapsed sites with the moisture she pulled up from the basement. She took the measure to prevent the cave from collapsing again.
Yong-ho could escape the cave within minutes of his arrival, thanks to the three subordinate spirits’ excellent cooperation.
A cold northern wind blew through the canyon. Facing the huge cliff in front of her, Kaiwan looked around with anxious eyes. She could sense the scent of the sword-blade Ogres, the wild monsters living in a group in the cold wind.
If Sitri was really dying, even those monsters would be dangerous.
‘But....’
The gorge was too wide for Yong-ho and his party to search for Sitri right away. He couldn’t figure out where and how to search for her.
Yong-ho swallowed, at a loss of what to do.
Aamon whispered to him in flames.
[Master, yearn for Sitri.]
[Maximize the possessiveness and bring out the power of Greed.]
The only thing Yong-ho could rely on was to follow his desire for Greed.
However, the situation was different in the case of Catalina and Kaiwan, now Yong-ho’s possession through their registration as his subordinate spirits.
He had never had any desire for possessing Sitri.
He closed his eyes and thought about Sitri. He thought about her when he held her in his arms and when he was held in her arms.
That was clearly different from his possession. However, his Greed did not forsake his desire.
The energy of his Greed that he was releasing at full blast engulfed everything around him.
And soon, it became one and led him the way.
It wasn’t too far. She was surprisingly close to where he was.
“Salami!”
The moment Yong-ho ordered Salami, he spread his wings. After increasing his body as much as possible, he lay flat and let them get on it. Yong-ho, Kaiwan, Gusion, and Scathach climbed on it, and Salami flew without hesitation.
Bucephalas, carrying Skull, followed. Catalina spread her wings of shadow and soared into the sky.
Salami was flying low, so he could not be detected by the air barrier. Salami flew with all his might, and Bucephalas ran not only on the ground but also on the walls of the canyon without any fear. Catalina flew ahead of Salami and watched out for the ground.
And at one moment, Catalina flew toward the ground as if she was falling. Yong-ho felt his heart beating fast. He felt it when he met the Queen of Fury or the King of Gluttony, but his feelings were different this time.
There were many Ogres on the ground with blade-like protrusions on their bodies. They were hostile to Catalina who suddenly appeared, but only briefly. The appearance of Skull and Bucephalas alone frightened them. Faced with Skull’s glaring eyes, they got frightened and fled in chaos.
Salami landed safely on the ground. Jumping on the ground in a hurry, he moved his gaze following the smoke of Greed. There was something deep in the pile of rocks piled up randomly. There was nothing clearly visible because of something like a magical power, but he could feel it. His heart was pounding more and more.
‘The power of Sloth.’
After withdrawing the power of Greed, he moved forward. Then he burned the barrier of Sloth with the power of Greed.
At the moment, the space was twisted as if a haze was rising. A couple of human figures were seen through the pile of rocks.
“Sitri!”
It was Scathach who shouted at her. She rushed to the pile of rocks. Then she held her breath, looking down at the two bloody women.
It was Sitri holding a blonde, black-winged woman. As she was a thousand years ago, she was always beautiful even though she was covered with blood.
Scathach unwittingly shed tears. Sitri was not the subject of resentment toward her. She was her precious colleague who had gotten out of the battlefield a thousand years ago.
Even though she just took a glimpse of Sitri, she was choked up with emotions.
Even before wiping her tears, Scathach filled her hands with vitality. She then breathed it into Sitri and Samael.
“Both of you are still alive. You’re very weak, but it’s okay. I’ll never let you die because I’m here,” said Scathach.
Yong-ho let out a sigh of relief, holding back the urge to hug Sitri right away.
She was in better shape than he was worried.
‘Samael?’
The one held in Sitri’s arms was obviously Samael, the ‘fastest wing’ and one of the five directors of the Dungeon Market. Given that not only Sitri but also Samael was put in a precarious situation, something really big must have happened at the Dungeon Market.
‘Is there a rebellion inside the Dungeon Market?’
The Dungeon Market was operating normally at this moment. Actually, Yong-ho had one of the masters in the eastern area to buy an item there and confirmed their operation.
Be it an internal uprising or an external enemy, it was obviously a very covert attack. If there had been a massive attack, they could not have run the market normally as if nothing had happened.
He stopped thinking. After getting next to Scathach, he quietly held her hand.
The Queen of Sloth, when all the other kings betrayed Mammon, she stayed with him until the very end.
“Sitri.”
He could not hear her reply, but Scathach’s healing efforts brought color to her pale face.
Scathach signaled to him with a glance. He carefully held Sitri while Gusion held Samael.
“I just gave first aid to them. I need to heal them properly in the Garden of Life.”
Yong-ho nodded. After tightening his arms holding Sitri, he headed to Salami.
They hastily left the place.
***
The dungeon of the King of Envy was the same as yesterday. Nothing changed except the fact that its owner changed.
The throne of the King of Envy.
The King of Pride sat there, which belonged to the King of Envy for more than a thousand years.
The King of Pride felt deep satisfaction. The power of Envy surging deep down delighted him all the more.
Leviathan, the King of Envy, was dead. However, his forces were still fighting the forces of the King of Pride. Of course, they were not fighting out of loyalty to their late king. Most of them were unaware of the fact that their king was dead. And, interestingly, the forces of the King of Pride didn’t know it, either.
Intelligence was power. Over time, it would be inevitable for them to learn that the King of Envy had died and that the Dungeon Market had been taken over by the King of Pride. If that was the case, the King of Pride needed to delay it as long as possible.
Ignorance was always a fatal weakness.
The King of Lust was actually the King of Pride himself. The Godly Energy of Lust that he had around his waist was that of Envy, not Lust, proved it.
The King of Pride closed his eyes and counted the numbers. He checked what he missed in his plan.
First, the King of Sloth. He preferred Sitri, who revealed herself as the specific enemy, to the Queen of Sloth that didn’t appear, hiding somewhere. It was surprising to him that she was the Queen of Sloth, but according to the report of Bifronz, Sitri at the moment was badly wounded. By now she was on the verge of dying.
The Queen of Fury was nothing but a little kid. She didn’t know how to fight properly and ran wild on the battlefield, saying that she would save her subordinates. As a woman who didn’t know the fact that she was the queen, she couldn’t be a match for him.
Although he didn’t like it very much, the King of Violence was powerful. Moreover, it was highly likely that the King of Violence killed the King of Gluttony, though he assumed it was a possibility for now. If he had obtained the Godly Energy of Fury as well as that of Gluttony, he must have changed into a formidable enemy by now.
But even so, the King of Violence would have two different Sins.
In other words, the King of Violence and the Queen of Fury were not united into one.
They couldn’t do anything with such half-baked cooperation. There was a reason why dragons were called the arrogant nickname Dragon Lord. Moreover, the Queen of Sloth had no connection with the other two kings.
The three kings who had to confront the King of Pride. They existed as separate entities with no central figure to lead them.
Then what should he do?
His answer was simple. The King of Pride drew a line on the map of the demon world that came to his mind. He ordered the soul of his dungeon to deliver a message to the camp of the King of Gluttony.
The sun had set and the night came.
On the darkest night without even a star, the King of Gluttony’s army began to move.
They were marching into the west, to the territory of the Queen of Fury.
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Chapter 247: Fury (1)
The sky was blue and dark. There was still a lot of time left until it was dawn.
The central temple, one of the sacred places of the eight clans, was as quiet as always.
It was even more so because there was no strong wind blowing because of the terrain where the temple was located.
It was quiet. Since everyone was asleep, there was supposed to be no sound at all, let alone footsteps.
But not today. Lots of people went back and forth, raising their voices. Among them was Kirtimuka, the nanny as well as the bodyguard of the Queen of Fury.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
Kirtimuka shouted, who jumped into her room forcefully as if to destroy it. Her behavior was very rude, given that the one staying in this room was not only the chieftain of the Gandharva clan but also the Queen of Fury.
But Kirtimuka didn’t care at all. She didn’t act arrogantly just because she was the queen’s closest aide.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Wake up now! Your Majesty!”
She shook the queen’s shoulders violently with her big hand. The queen, who was drooping on the big bed, opened her eyes wide open and talked nonsense, half awake.
“Ah, I didn’t doze! No, I didn’t nod off. Yes, I did so. Oops... I’m sorry. Prince Antoniox, don’t be upset.”
She was about to cry at the end of her words. It seemed that Mahora, who was a teacher of etiquette to her, saw Antoniox in her dream.
Kirtimuka grew even more urgent. Once again she shook the queen’s shoulders and shouted.
“Your Majesty! A terrible thing has happened! Wake up!”
“Kirtimuka?”
The queen finally spoke, blinking her eyes. Her voice was very weak since she usually slept late in the morning.
Kirtimuka shouted, holding her shoulders, “It’s a war! The army of the King of Gluttony has crossed the border! Battles are currently underway along the eastern border!”
The queen suddenly came to her senses. As soon as the queen got up from her bed suddenly, Kirtimuka said, picking up the clothes on the bed, “A meeting of the representatives of the eight clans was called. As they are coming to the conference room, you have to hurry up.”
She was not in the movable dungeon, Vimana, but the temple of the eight clans. Besides, the representatives of the eight clans were also in the same place because of a series of meetings every day.
She asked Kirtimuka instinctively. “How big is their invasion? Is it big enough to require the convening of the representative of the eight clans?”
“It’s not clear yet. But it looks like an all-out war.”
It was already a few months ago that the Queen of Fury and the King of Gluttony deployed their own troops on the border areas. Because of this, their invasion and defense against each other was quick.
The Queen of Fury slapped herself on the cheek with both hands. After completely waking up, she and Kirtimuka left the room. She was dressed in baggy pajamas, but she had no time to change her clothes leisurely.
More than half of the heads of the eight clans already gathered in the conference room located in the center of the temple. Some of them were in pajamas like the queen, others with their hair disheveled.
The queen sat on her seat reserved for the head of the Gandharva clan. If she could have her way, she wanted to rush to the battlefield right now, but she had to endure it. In some cases, an all-out war could take place, so even if she was impatient, she needed to review and discuss the matter with them.
She felt every minute, every second was so long. It took more than a few minutes for all the representatives to gather, and it took another more minutes for them to receive the briefing from those who attended the meeting to brief them about the war status on the battlefield.
The Queen of Fury clenched her teeth.
The situation was worse than she thought.
It seemed that the King of Gluttony was thinking of an all-out war. He was striking the eastern front by mobilizing large troops, which could not even be compared to the armed clashes they had exchanged several times so far.
“It seems that he mobilized even those troops that he had concentrated to confront the King of Lust. He was also moving the troops confronting the Dragon Legion dispatched by the King of Violence.”
“He must be crazy.”
Somebody cursed at the king. The Queen of Fury also agreed.
If he had not cursed, she would have done so. The King of Gluttony’s attack was like a reckless warmonger. Aside from his troops deployed to check the King of Lust, how could he move the troops from the frontline where they were pitted against the Dragon Legion? Was he going to do lance charging without taking into account the consequences?
“What about the King of Gluttony? Did you find out his whereabouts?”
Mahabharata, the head of the Deva clan, asked. A young Mahoraga who attended the meeting to brief them about the war status replied hastily, “He is not seen anywhere at the moment. The man who is spearheading the attack is Judyceras, the “Demon King of Earthquake,” who was in charge of the eastern front. He was allegedly seen commanding his troops on the battlefield.”
Even at this moment, the battle was underway. The Queen of Fury once again suppressed her feelings. She quickly reviewed all the intelligence available and checked out the situation.
The reason the Queen of Fury planned to attack the King of Gluttony was because of the alliance with the master of the House of Mammon as well as the assistance of the King of Violence. On the other hand, the King of Gluttony had no alliance. Rather, the King of Gluttony was confronting not only the queen but also the King of Violence. So, it was unreasonable for him to strike first in this situation.
If that was the case, what happened? Did the King of Gluttony form an alliance that she was not aware of? Or did he join hands with the King of Lust?
She thought that the absence of the King of Gluttony for more than a month was related to his efforts to form an alliance behind the scenes. But she kept thinking he didn’t do it because such activities never befitted the king that she used to know.
“What happened to the King of Lust’s forces? Why are they moving?”
At that moment, Kavilaka, the head of the Karvinka clan, asked the young Mahoraga.
With her hair and feathers turned white, she was calm as always. As if impressed by her serenity, the young Mahoraga replied calmly, “The King of Lust has never shown any sign of moving. According to the reports of our scouts there, the masters under the command of the king are also showing no movement at all.”
More than half the scouts of the eight clans were the Karvinka clan who could freely roam the sky. It was almost impossible for the king to move a large-scale military force without avoiding their watch, who could look very far down the sky.
Actually, the King of Lust did not move. It was clear that his army did not join the King of Gluttony.
The Queen of Fury stopped thinking. It was meaningless for her to think further. She got up from her seat and drew everyone’s attention.
“Let me tell you this as the queen of the eight clans, not as the head of the Dritarasstra clan. I’m going to join our forces in the eastern front from now on and confront the King of Gluttony’s forces.”
The King of Gluttony was still missing. However, his troops were constantly gathering in the eastern front. The eastern front, where the war was currently going on, was of great strategic value because it was not far from the border that shared the territory of the King of Lust.
Aside from the personality of the Queen of Fury, the eastern battlefield was worthwhile for any king because of its strategic value.
“Let me ask for the assistance of the King of Violence and the House of Mammon. I would like to enlist your full support from the rear.”
She already revealed at the meeting yesterday that she formed an alliance with the Mammon family as well as the King of Violence. She took a deep breath then looked at the head of the dragon clan and the head of the Deva clan.
“As always, I’m going to assume the worst scenario. Both of you, please defend the northern area like before.”
“We take your order.”
Sugura, the head of the dragon clan, and Asterio, the head of the Deva clan, paid their respect to the Queen of Fury. Like she said a moment ago, she was giving them an order not as the head of her Gandharva clan, but as the queen of the eight clans.
“Head of the Garura clan, dispatch a messenger to the King of Violence. Gardimundi, once again, go to the House of Mammon and ask for emergency assistance.”
Biryupakcha, the head of the Garura clan and Gardimundi’s father, also showed due manners to her and followed her order. Although Gardimundi tried to protect the queen who was going on an expedition to the eastern front, she could not dare to resist her order in a public meeting like this, so she also accepted the queen’s order politely.
After revealing her war plan like that, the Queen of Fury said, “It must be an unexpected attack. But we have been preparing for this kind of war. As always, I think we can overcome this crisis wisely.”
Their first meeting was finally over. The queen hurried out of the conference hall and climbed on the back of Astra, a huge beast, with her bodyguards. She cleaned her body and armed herself with weapons on Astra’s back. As large as a fully grown ancient dragon, Astra spread its iridescent wings. Then it immediately soared high in the sky and headed east.
The sun was rising.
The Queen of Fury grabbed the Godly Energy of Gluttony.