WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 54: The Wheel of Fate
──────
What had these idiots done?
Logan's head throbbed.
“Why did you do something so pointless?”
“Pardon?”
Saiga Kazuma, the boss of Orochigumi, tilted their head.
They'd thought they would be pleased.
“Haven't we saved you the trouble of going all the way to Korea?”
“You idiots don't know what really matters.”
The Mad Sovereign?
They could deal with that snake somehow, as long as they watched out for the ability he'd used to bewitch Ryu Jai.
The real problem was the demon sword.
'If that cursed demon sword is real...'
Logan shuddered.
This was a truly serious problem.
“Logan.”
“Gasp!”
He jumped when a hand touched his shoulder.
He turned to find Jose.
“What? Why are you so nervous?”
“Jose.”
Nervous? Him?
Logan felt cold sweat running down his skin.
Yes, he was nervous.
The Seven Final Heroes.
Before attempting the final raid on the Demon King, they had been granted the honor of meeting the goddess.
[So you are all who remain of the heroes who answered the summons.]
The final seven.
Earth's god had sent ten million Earthlings, but only seven remained.
[This, too, must be fate. I shall grant you my remaining power.]
Flash, flash.
And so they had received another blessing.
That was the birth of the “guardians,” who had gained divine power.
Their strength had risen to a whole new level.
They had been full of confidence.
They had advanced without stopping, crushing armies of monsters and demons.
The last troops the Allied Forces had managed to scrape together had supported them faithfully.
At last, after carving a bloody path forward, they had reached the Demon King's Castle.
A cold-faced man had stood at its entrance.
“It's the demon sword!”
“The Demon King's sword!”
The experienced veterans of the Allied Forces had all said the same thing.
The archbishop of the Church of the Goddess.
The imperial palace's greatest knight commander.
The finest mage of the Mage Tower.
The man held a sword already famous throughout Belheim.
“...The Demon King.”
Looking at the pale-faced man holding the Demon King's sword, the Last Heroes had strengthened their resolve.
They could do it now.
With their newfound strength from the goddess, they could defeat the Demon King.
Tap, tap.
And so the Last Heroes had done everything they could to kill the Demon King guarding the entrance to his castle, but...
“Urgh.”
Their companions had died one by one.
The Demon King...
He had been truly powerful.
“Logan! Finish him!”
Just as Sophie, the Saintess who had created one final opening for him, lost her head...
Logan had succeeded in cutting off the Demon King's head.
And then...
'...The demon sword.'
He had died in Belheim watching the demon sword fly toward him, even without its master.
“Logan!”
“Gasp!”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“I asked what we're going to do.”
“About what?”
Jose sighed.
What was wrong with Logan today?
Arjun stepped in to sum things up.
“Our targets are already here. If we want to deal with them separately, we'll have to wait for another chance.”
“Hmm. Let's sit down first.”
Logan looked at the old yakuza boss.
“You come and sit here too.”
“It's an honor to sit with such heroes.”
What a load of useless chatter from an old fool.
Takahashi Kenchi, who had been kneeling on the floor, also sat on the sofa.
Five people.
Three were G-rank hunters. One was an SR-rank hunter representing Japan. And they themselves were the boss of Japan's largest yakuza organization.
'What a historic gathering.'
Saiga Kazuma, the boss of Orochigumi, was so excited that they trembled at the thought of standing alongside them as an “ordinary person.”
They had become someone with an important role in a historic event.
The elimination of the Mad Sovereign, a threat to world peace.
“This is an office district. There are no homes here, and since it's evening, only a few people working overtime remain.”
Saiga Kazuma showed off their influence.
“I've pulled some strings with the Metropolitan Police Department. They won't respond to any ordinary disturbance. Not even an explosion large enough to bring down a building, for example.”
They made sure the heroes understood their role and their usefulness.
“Six hundred Orochigumi members have surrounded this entire area. Even if witnesses do turn up, we have more than enough people to persuade them or dispose of them.”
Jose laughed at Saiga Kazuma's dramatic delivery.
“Wow, you sounded like a real yakuza boss just now.”
“...”
They didn't just sound like one. They were a real yakuza boss!
You half-naked South American fool.
“No one will ever know the heroes were here.”
“What do you think, Logan? Everything's already set up.”
“...”
Logan looked at Saiga Kazuma.
“What do you want?”
“Hahaha. Helping with the heroes' secret operation is a reward in itself. I want nothing.”
“...”
“If anything, I should be thanking you for answering our country's appeal.”
Logan's gaze shifted to Takahashi Kenchi, who sat beside Saiga.
'These idiots think we came in response to their calls to defeat the Mad Sovereign.'
Whatever had led to this, Logan now had to choose.
Would they wait for another opportunity?
Or would they hunt the demon sword's owner and the Mad Sovereign at the same time?
“Let's just finish them off.”
“Right. Why bother waiting until tomorrow?”
“Maybe this meeting was fate.”
For some reason, Logan felt uneasy.
“It could be a trap.”
“What? Logan, don't joke around.”
“Jose's right about this. That Japanese person was the one who planned it.”
“...”
Logan looked at Saiga Kazuma's reassuring smile.
“...”
Why did this feel so wrong?
“Are we going or not?”
“I'm going. Definitely going. I want to get home already. It's my eighteenth son's birthday in two days.”
At Jose's urging, Logan reluctantly nodded.
“All right. Let's go.”
“Great.”
“Let's get this over with.”
The stage was set.
Could they really keep things any more secret than this in Korea?
'I don't like it, though.'
Three G-rank hunters had entered the country under false identities.
The yakuza boss had acted exactly in line with their intentions and prepared the stage for them. It bothered Logan.
He'd never gotten along well with people who anticipated his every wish.
At any rate, they had all but been pushed into this battlefield.
“The plan is simple.”
Before leaving the room, Logan went over their final plan.
“You two and Takahashi Kenchi will take the man.”
Takahashi Kenchi's eyes lit up at being assigned the Mad Sovereign.
“I'll check whether the demon sword is real. If it is, we retreat immediately.”
“What? Without even fighting?”
“Why? That woman didn't seem all that special, apart from her face.”
“It doesn't matter. If the sword is real, we're in serious trouble. We retreat at once and plan our next move.”
The person holding it wasn't what mattered.
The demon sword had flown straight at him.
As he lay dying with it through his body, he'd heard a conversation between members of the Allied Forces who had arrived late. Their voices still rang in his ears.
Had they been the master of the Mage Tower and the commander of the Imperial Knights?
'How strange! Only the Demon King can possess the demon sword, yet it moves on its own without a master.'
'At any rate, the heroes have slain the Demon King.'
'A fine outcome. Huh? What?'
'Th-that's...!'
Their startled voices were the last thing he remembered.
Then he had been sent back to Earth.
He had wondered what happened afterward, but had never had any way to find out.
Logan had been the last returnee.
'If he really is the Mad Sovereign, I could hear what happened next.'
An unofficial returnee had appeared.
The goddess of Belheim had called them the Last Heroes. He didn't know how this was possible, but someone believed to be the Mad Sovereign had appeared on Earth.
“Fine. I don't love it, but it's a good plan.”
With that careless remark from Jose, they left the room.
“Today, justice will prevail in this world. I'll be cheering for our heroes.”
The old yakuza boss went on about justice as they fell back.
After all, they were an ordinary person.
If they got caught up in the fighting, they would only lose their life.
“You've emptied all the other rooms, haven't you?”
“Yes. We explained the situation and sent everyone home, but one guest insisted on staying.”
Boss Kazuma frowned at the manager's report.
“Leave them. If they want to die that badly, let them.”
“The thing is, that guest is actually...”
KABOOM!
“Yikes, they're getting rough right from the start. Let's get out of here.”
“Yes, Boss.”
They rushed toward the underground bunker inside the private room.
* * *
“This is the room.”
“You can go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The employee who had shown them the way hurried off.
Before opening the door, Logan met Jose's, Arjun's, and Kenchi's eyes in turn.
While the three of them handled the suspected Mad Sovereign, he would check whether the demon sword was real.
The key was to tell them whether to keep fighting.
Once everyone seemed ready, Logan opened the door.
And inside...
“You're here?”
He had been waiting for them.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Hmm?”
Logan Hayes.
Arjun Mehra.
Jose Ramira.
All three froze at a strange sensation.
It felt as though someone was whispering in their ears.
'Get on your knees. Beg for forgiveness.'
It was as if they could hear Ryu Jai, the companion they had dismissed as a crazy bitch.
An irresistible force seemed to bind their bodies.
No, it wasn't just a feeling.
Something other than air filled the space around them, pressing down so heavily that they couldn't move a finger.
“W-we need to run...”
“M-my body won't move.”
“...Damn it.”
Barely managing to speak was all they could do.
Then Takahashi Kenchi, who wasn't affected at all, stepped forward.
“Mad Sovereign!”
My sworn enemy!
Take my blade!
Whoooosh.
He shot forward at incredible speed, worthy of an SR-rank hunter, and thrust his sword.
Clang!
But a master of the sword was always at Kim Junyong's side.
“Out of my way, bitch.”
Clang, clang, clang!
After several swings failed to land even once, Takahashi Kenchi sensed something was wrong and leaped back.
He took a moment to catch his breath and looked at his opponent.
'She's smiling?'
Who was this bitch?
“Who the hell are you?”
“Can I cut him down?”
Remi asked with a broad smile.
Kim Junyong shrugged.
“It's self-defense.”
“Hehe.”
Remi charged again, driving Takahashi Kenchi back.
Clang, claaang!
This was fun.
Slash, swish.
“Urgh.”
As though she were toying with her prey, she covered Kenchi in shallow cuts until he was gradually drenched in blood.
Kim Junyong merely chuckled at Remi's game. She really was a devil.
Then, drawn by the noise, someone new appeared through a collapsing wall.
KABOOOM!
“Hah! Takahashi Kenchi! What are you doing to a delicate woman?”
“...? Sasaki! Why are you here?”
“Hmph! You look like a villain caught in the act. Now that I, Sasaki Yoichi, am here, you won't lay a finger on that woman!”
Whoosh, boom!
“Y-you lunatic!”
He hadn't managed to hit her even once!
Boom, bang.
“Urgh.”
Sasaki's attacks drove Takahashi Kenchi steadily back.
Remi scowled at having her prey stolen so suddenly.
“Can I cut them both down?”
“No. That one's... got a pure soul.”
Kim Junyong studied the newcomer with interest.
Here was someone with clear goals and dreams.
A pure soul with passion to match.
“Ah, I could share a little power with him and make a soul contract... Ah!”
He'd had another devilish thought.
Whenever he saw a pure soul, he wanted to go bad. It was a real problem.
“Let's leave him alone for now.”
Killing Kenchi would be self-defense, but killing Sasaki would be murder.
“You troublesome Scales.”
<...>
Grumbling lightly, Kim Junyong accepted a drink from Ed.
“Kanpai, meow!”
“Cheers.”
Some truly unexpected people had shown up.
“Three beads, huh...”
Including the one he'd already absorbed from Ryu Jai, that made four. Even after giving Earth's god the three it needed, he would still have one left.
“Well, now... Did Earth's god bring everyone here on purpose?”
He'd only come because he thought the yakuza might put on some sort of event for him, but an unexpected gift had rolled right in.
“Shall I cut them down?”
“No. I'm the Guardian of the Scales, after all. I should pass Judgment on them.”
<That is the right course of action.>
Now, shall we see how much sin you've piled up?
Kim Junyong drained his drink and stood.
Footnotes:
“Kanpai” is Japanese for “cheers.”
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