[Translator - Prøks]
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Chapter 216: The Third Trial (4)
Invited by Paimon, he visited the castle.
A grotesque creature sat on a giant throne at the very top floor. The creature looked like a mass of dark clouds gathered together.
Its head resembled a cal's.
A long beard grew beneath its wrinkled jawline.
It looked like a cal-human hybrid, but with five horns on its head, it could also be considered demonic...
A crimson snake was coiled on its shoulder.
'Does this guy also have a pet?'
Just like Hayang.
At that mont, Paimon, who had been staring at him, smiled brightly and said,
—Welco to my concert, human! Sing my praises!
The thick lips of its cal-like snout rippled and transford into musical instrunts.
Tambourine, trumpet, cymbals.
Lips transford into three instrunts began to spread grotesque music.
Crack. Boom. Crash!
Clang, clang, clang!
"Ugh!"
Long Long's knees buckled at the strange music.
His breath hitched, and his vision blurred.
His eardrums burst, and blood flowed.
Long Long's eyes shook greatly.
Seventh in rank, the Great Demon Lord Paimon.
Music was one of his specialties.
He could enchant or tear souls with his lodies.
This ti, it was definitely the latter.
'Cunning bastard!'
Inviting him for tea and then attacking him right away!
Long Long gritted his teeth inwardly.
The lody was so intense that even he, a high-ranking demon, could hardly bear it.
Not to ntion a human, known for their weak ntal fortitude...
"...What are you doing?"
—Oh. Are you alright?
"You play terribly."
[You have entered the Demon Lord Paimon's concert!]
[You have been directly hit by 'Horrifying Music that Shakes the Mind (SSS)']
As soon as he saw the ssage, he assimilated Hayang into his body.
The attribute was chaos.
It was the attribute most specialized in ntal power.
Thanks to that, he was able to maintain his sanity amidst Paimon's music.
His body's energy beca a bit dark, but there wasn't much change in his appearance.
Seeing that, Paimon's eyes glead with interest.
—Oh... This is truly surprising. Even my servants wouldn't be fine after hearing this.
"Is this how you usually treat your guests, Lord Paimon?"
—Of course not. It was just a simple test. I'm not that harsh of a demon. But, you... You wield a very unique energy? An energy that protects the mind...
Paimon, who quickly put on a smiling face, added,
—And a mont ago, I played poorly on purpose.
As if to prove it, beautiful music began to resonate this ti.
[You have been directly hit by 'Heavenly Music (SSS)']
[All stats will be greatly increased for 30 minutes!]
[All skill effects will be greatly increased for 30 minutes...]
[All healing speed will be greatly increased for 30 minutes...]
The effects were the opposite of what one would expect from a demon.
When the three-minute performance ended.
—How was it?
Kim Minwoo found himself clapping involuntarily.
Of all the music he had heard in his life, Paimon's was the most beautiful today.
"You're good. You should have done that from the start."
—Haha, thank you for the complint. Co sit down.
Paimon gestured, and a large table rose in front of them.
A teapot with steam rising from it and two teacups as well.
Long Long clicked his tongue at the sight of Kim Minwoo and Paimon sitting down calmly.
'What kind of energy battle is this...?'
He could understand Paimon trying to subdue them with music as soon as they arrived.
It wasn't even 10 minutes ago that his son's head was blown off.
And by a lowly human who was supposed to be nothing more than prey.
What surprised him was Kim Minwoo.
He was standing perfectly fine on two legs even after listening to the music of the Great Demon Lord Paimon.
'Was it to this extent?'
Maybe it wasn't for nothing that he ca to the castle to et the Demon Lord...
—Now, let formally introduce myself. I am Paimon, a Demon Lord. Welco to my domain, wise and brave visitor.
"Now I'm finally being treated like a guest."
—I apologize for the rudeness just now. So let's forget about it. Elmantra is no longer my child.
He's not my child, so I won't say anything even if you killed him.
That was roughly the nuance.
Only then did Long Long breathe a sigh of relief.
'Thank goodness. We passed the test.'
What if they couldn't withstand the terrible music and collapsed?
That would have been the end for Kim Minwoo and Long Long.
They would have writhed in agony from the nightmarish music and slowly died.
But now it was different.
Seeing him face the 'guest' with a bright expression as if his son had never died, it seed like they wouldn't have to worry about their lives for the ti being.
"By the way, what's that snake on your shoulder, Lord Paimon?"
—Ah, this snake? It's my brain. It feels quite nice to the touch.
The snake coiled on Paimon's shoulder flicked its tongue as Paimon introduced it.
〈I am Posike, the Lord's strategist. Do not be disrespectful to the Lord.〉
Aha.
‘I thought the Demon Lord's brain was actually a snake.’
It seems that the brain ant the strategist. A talking snake is nothing compared to a cal-headed Demon Lord.
He accepted it as it is.
"So, what about the tea?"
—Here it is.
Paimon gestured, and a large table rose next to the throne. Two teacups with steam rising from them as well.
—This is one of the tea leaves presented to the king of the Frail Kingdom. I heard it's a very precious item.
"The Frail Kingdom? Not the Empire?"
Kim Minwoo asked, tilting his head.
Frail.
It was a familiar na.
'It was from the second trial.'
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
[Participate in the Frail Empire Academy!]
The process of participating in the empire's academy and making rhen his summon.
The na of that empire was the Frail Empire.
"I haven't heard the news of it being promoted to an empire yet. Well, it might be possible soon. I heard that the king there is waging a war of conquest."
It seems that even empires had a ti when they were kingdoms. Paimon then reached for the teacup and said,
—Let's have a cup first.
The feeling of seeing a smiling cal head.
It was a very strange feeling.
If he hadn't been accustod to various monsters through years of gate experience, he might have been a little scared.
'The presence is also overwhelming.'
He had only seen the Demon Lord twice so far. The first was Mr. Ahn.
He had the appearance of a man with a snake wrapped around his hand, and both his grotesqueness and presence were...
With all due respect to Mr. Ahn, he was no match for Paimon.
'Well, I guess.'
The 72nd and 7th ranks were bound to be different in class.
He glanced at the teacup.
He saw a blue tea with a fragrant li scent wafting from it.
"But, why are there two cups?"
—Hmm?
"What's the balrog going to eat and live on?"
—Didn't I say it was a precious item?
"Aha."
‘He's more strict than I thought.’
He understood.
He imdiately summoned Cedric.
Clatter!
Paimon's eyes lit up when he saw the skeleton rising from the ground.
—I thought you were a knight. But are you a necromancer?
"Sothing like that. Have a drink."
He handed Cedric a teacup.
Gulp.
The guy's pupils shook quite a bit after taking a sip.
—Oh. It tastes good. What kind of tea is this?
Okay.
Confird it's not poison.
He was about to drink it all, so he imdiately recalled him and picked up the teacup.
Slurp.
The first thing that hit his nose was a refreshing scent. Then, a sour and tangy taste spread over his tongue.
'It's nutty?'
Sour, tangy, nutty.
It's a unique taste, but it sticks to the mouth...
['Pramoyl Tea' has been consud!]
[All stats will be increased by 10 for 30 minutes!]
—How is it?
"I see why you cherish it."
—Right? It's good tea. That's why I can't stop going to the middle world. There are so many great things.
"Does that greatness include things that eat people?"
Paimon smiled at that remark.
—The humans I've seen are quite peculiar creatures. They tend to adjust the world's standards to their own.
"You talk as if demons don't do that. They all seem the sa to ."
—We demons are strong. Unlike those insignificant prey. So, what are you so curious about that you ca all the way here?
"Vulcan. You know him, right?"
—Of course. He's a very brave rcenary captain. He's helped deal with many difficult situations.
Paimon said with a smile.
His attitude was like that of a father.
He asked him,
"I'd like to et him."
—Vulcan? Why?
"It's personal."
—Hmm... That would be difficult right now.
"Why?"
—He's on a confidential mission. Ah, don't ask what it is. I can't tell you.
"Then when will it end?"
—You'll probably be able to see him soon. So wait.
At that mont.
Kim Minwoo quickly drew his sword and stabbed it towards Paimon's face.
Clang!
A strong rebound was felt in his hand, as if he had struck a hard diamond.
〈You nasty human.〉
The red snake sitting on his shoulder.
The red snake had wrapped itself around Paimon's body and was burning brightly.
It had also blocked the Shadow Sword.
—Why did you attack ?
"If you're going to lie, you'd better wet your lips first."
—...Did I lie?
"Didn't you? You seed to dislike Vulcan."
Chaos is an attribute that allows one to see the target's mories.
Of course, it didn't work on everyone.
In the case of the Demon Lord Paimon, even if he saw his mories, it was very limited.
Small mories like fragnts.
He could only see these mories because they were related to 'trauma'.
The mories of Vulcan there...
'The treatnt was very bad.'
Paimon had just praised Vulcan, but the mories were the opposite.
The leader of the balrogs with powerful force.
He was a troublemaker that even Paimon couldn't easily control.
Vulcan's tendency to be straightforward caused all sorts of conflicts with Paimon.
But he said that?
'It ans it was a 100% lie.'
He said this without changing his expression, truly befitting a Demon Lord.
"Where is he, Vulcan?"
At those words, Paimon, who had just been smiling warmly, instantly hardened his face like a fierce demon and said,
—It's difficult. Very difficult...
"What is?"
—You said Long Long, right?
"Yes, that's right."
—Don't you want to rule the village where Vulcan used to be in charge?
"No, suddenly?"
—Vulcan is going to die. Soon.
Kim Minwoo stared at Paimon.
“Why do you think so?”
—That Vulcan has a lot of enemies. He was too reckless. There's not a single Great Demon Lord who hasn't been tornted by him. Long Long, you should have so idea.
Long Long's face turned pale.
Indeed, it was true.
Why did the Balrogs move their base so often?
It was because Vulcan, who was in charge of rcenary work, caused trouble everywhere.
But, they thought it would be okay under the 7th Lord, who was relatively rciful among the lords...
"Don't tell , Lord Paimon, you also abandoned the captain?"
—Abandoned? Was he my subordinate? No. He was just a rcenary. It ans it was a contractual relationship, not a master-servant relationship.
"..."
Long Long clenched his fists and remained silent.
Paimon looked at Kim Minwoo and said,
—The Great Demon Lords have all agreed. To get rid of him cleanly. I, Paimon, am no exception. If you want, you can et him once before he dies. Will you do that?
Damn it.
Kim Minwoo clicked his tongue after hearing Paimon's words.
All the Great Demon Lords were joining hands to bury Vulcan.
'Is this guy so kind of Lu Bu?'
It wouldn't be strange for one of the lords from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms to co to mind.
[Translator - Prøks]
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