The Precious Demon King - Chapter 56

WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 56: Calamity Stone

Kenchi Takahashi trembled in fear as black tendrils bound him. The revolting touch, the sensation, the smell...everything tried to drag him back to that time in the past.

Like fiends dragging him back into the mire he had barely escaped, his imagination and memory thrust him back into that time of torment.

"Uhh."

His jaw chattered. These memories of fear and terror were carved into his soul. They could never easily be forgotten.

Am I truly unable to overcome it in the end?

By now, his body and mind had reached their limits. Even the spark of courage he had tried to muster had almost completely extinguished.

"J-Just kill me."

"Tch, you've already withered."

Kim Junyong looked at Kenchi Takahashi's soul with pity. It was a lamentable sight, shriveled like a deflated balloon.

In contrast, Yoichi Sasaki's soul was clear, transparent, and beautiful.

How long would he last before succumbing to corruption?

He barely suppressed the sudden impulse. Restraining his usual amusing tricks was torture.

"I have to hold it in! I am Kim Junyong of Hansan 2-dong, Seoul!"

A cultured modern citizen doesn't resort to torture! Kim Junyong chided himself as he looked at Kenchi Takahashi.

He's a hostage-taker, so it's fine to kill him, right?

< If proper punishment and education are applied together, there appears to be a possibility of reformation. >

The scale was still spouting frustrating nonsense, as always.

What kind of punishment?

< Around one hundred lashes should be appropriate. >

Good grief, this scale. It was so devoid of humanity because it wasn't human.

A person would die before surviving half that.

< There have occasionally been cases of survival and successful repentance. >

'...'

It seemed the scale also knew that "occasionally" meant an abysmal probability.

"Forget it."

A withered flower wasn't worth picking in the first place.

"Kim Dokdo. Sing 'Dokdo Is Our Land' ten times before you go."

"Wha...what are you talking about?"

"I'll call it even for mouthing off to me with that."

"...!"

< Bel's Scale is greatly surprised by your mercy. >

< "Forgiveness" is placed on the Scale of Order. >

< "Hostage Rescue" is placed on the Scale of Order. >

Good. With just a little more, the scale could be upgraded.

As Kim Junyong gleefully stacked up 1,000 points, Kenchi Takahashi trembled with humiliation.

Damn it!

The Mad Monarch was as outrageous as ever.

Whoosh.

At that moment, the black tendrils slipped loose. Being released as if he were harmless stabbed his heart all the more painfully.

So he thinks I'm no threat at all?

And indeed, he wasn't. Beside Kim Junyong stood a beauty with a sword in hand. Looking again, her stunning looks truly deserved to be called peerless.

The difference in power is too great.

If the beautiful swordsman hadn't held back in jest, he likely wouldn't have lasted even a single exchange.

As long as she's guarding him, I won't even be able to approach the Mad Monarch.

The moment Kenchi Takahashi made up his mind, the Mad Monarch gave an order as if he could see right through his thoughts.

"Remi."

"Yes."

"Go clear out all the trash around here."

Remi perked up her ears. Now that was a welcome thing to hear.

"Even the ones in the basement?"

"No, we'll finish those last."

"Tch."

So it was only small fry for her again.

"If you don't want to, forget it."

"Who said I won't?"

Why would she pass up a chance to stain her blade with fresh blood? As Remi quickly stepped outside, Kenchi Takahashi shifted his eyes, as expected.

"Hurry up and sing. Want me to kill you?"

"U-Ulleungdo, two hundred li out to sea..."

As Kenchi Takahashi flaunted the Korean song drilled into him through brutal torture, Yoichi Sasaki–who could only say "annyeonghaseyo" and "yeppeoyo" in Korean–started singing along.

"A lonely island, a home for birds!"

"A lonry isrand, home for birs!"

With his face flushed bright red as he sang, Kenchi Takahashi glared at Yoichi Sasaki.

[ Bakayaro! You don't even know Korean, so why are you singing along? ]

[ Music is universal! It's a lively melody! ]

[ Don't sing when you don't know the lyrics! ]

[ Hmph! Don't act all high and mighty just because you know a little Korean! ]

[ Idiot! It's disgraceful for a Japanese person to sing this song! ]

[ Then why are you singing it? ]

[ Because I was ordered to! ]

[ What are you, his lackey? Do whatever you're told? ]

[ You bastard! ]

In the end, Kenchi Takahashi couldn't hold back and lunged.

"You're a disgrace to the Japanese!"

"Hmph! You're the bigger disgrace!"

All talk. A mere R-rank dares to defy the great SR-rank Kenchi Takahashi?

Swoosh!

Kenchi Takahashi charged at Yoichi Sasaki, but suddenly changed direction just before taking another step. He swung his fist toward the Mad Monarch.

Yes!

It was a chance to take down the careless Mad Monarch! How foolish!

He had undone the binding magic and even sent away the swordsman guard. To make such a foolish mistake!

Swoosh, bang!

The fist flying toward the Mad Monarch's face froze in midair. It felt as if his fist would tear apart.

"Khup."

It hurt as if he had struck iron, yet there was nothing there. Even worse, his entire body felt as if it were being crushed by the air itself.

"Nyaa, how rude to Master, nya."

His stiff neck wouldn't turn. He rolled his eyes and saw a half-dazed cat standing upright like a biped. Its forepaws rested on its waist.

"Forget about dying peacefully, nya."

Kim Junyong chuckled faintly as he approached Kenchi Takahashi.

"You've got a good recovery."

"...Kill me."

"See? Singing the Dokdo song brought back your fighting spirit. Isn't that nice?"

Seeing the soul that had all but given up on life ripple with fury once more, Kim Junyong smirked.

Indeed, shame and ridicule could rouse even someone whose will to live had been broken.

"This counts as self-defense."

< Withdrawing rebuttal... >

As Kim Junyong stirred his dark mana to finish off Kenchi Takahashi, Edmond–already holding him fast with telekinesis–stepped forward.

"Master, I earnestly beg you, nya."

"Hm?"

"The rarest of fortunes! Will you give me this fool who squandered his chance at life?"

"And what will you do with him?"

"Luck is two sides of the same coin, nya. Fortune and misfortune alike. With this man's life of misfortune, I can refine a Calamity Stone."

An intrigued look came over Kim Junyong's face.

"There's such a thing?"

"Yes, nya."

Although Kim Junyong had lived two hundred years in Belhaim's world, from a demon's perspective, that was still a very short lifespan.

Countless demons lived a thousand years with ease. Some even spoke of ten thousand years, and the gods' lifespans were all but eternal.

Two hundred years of knowledge and experience was meager, so the existence of the Calamity Stone was something he was only now hearing for the first time.

"Fine. Take him."

"Nyaa! Truly, following Master has been the greatest fortune of my life, nya!"

Following his excessive flattery, Edmond flicked his paw. Kenchi Takahashi, thoroughly controlled by telekinesis, walked unnaturally like a puppet and knelt before him. Edmond lifted a forepaw and placed it on Kenchi Takahashi's head.

"O soul, burdened with misfortune upon misfortune, at last you meet your calamity."

"Gaaahhh!"

Fwoosh.

Kenchi Takahashi's body trembled and shriveled. He soon dried up like a mummy and collapsed to the floor.

"You shall no longer suffer misfortune. Be grateful for my salvation, nya."

Life is suffering. Now, rejoice in death.

Edmond de la Fleur smiled slightly.

Flash.

Before him, a deep violet orb formed, distinct from the usual green.

As he grasped it, a flicker of greed crossed his face.

"Bring it here."

"Nyaa! Here it is, nya!"

His greed quickly subsided.

Possessing a Calamity Stone was no better than not having one if he couldn't control it.

"Wow, this is fascinating."

From the violet jewel in his hand, Kim Junyong felt an ominous energy so strange it was almost wondrous. This wasn't just the feeling of "misfortune."

It was exactly what the name implied: calamity. It reeked of a thick curse that dragged bloody storms in its wake.

"Is that my gift?"

"When did you get back?"

"Just now."

Remi's clothes were spotless, and not a trace of her breathing was disturbed.

"How many did you cut down?"

"Five hundred eighty-one."

"Damn, you really let loose."

"Just small fry."

Remi shrugged. Kim Junyong looked at the scale. The yakuza that Remi had wiped out must not have been good people, as quite a few order points had accumulated.

< Order : 911 - 0 : Chaos >

"Hss, almost 1,000."

Even if he killed the yakuza boss who had fled to the basement, it didn't seem like he would get more than 90 order points.

Kim Junyong looked at Logan, who was still lying prostrate on the floor.

"Go back and hunt hard."

"Ah! Yes!"

"I'll be checking."

"I'll devote myself wholeheartedly!"

"All right, go."

After saying this, Kim Junyong looked at Yoichi Sasaki, the only outsider still alive at the scene. When their eyes met, Yoichi Sasaki gave a sly grin.

"I'll follow Hyungnim."

"Good grief."

With such a pure soul loitering around him, the temptation to corrupt kept creeping in...

"Okay, come along."

"Yes!"

Though it was his first time at Private Club, Kim Junyong moved as if he had been here many times before.

He headed underground through passages disguised as walls or janitors' closets.

Following the winding path, he came upon a fairly large iron door.

"Yoshi! I'll break it down!"

Perhaps wanting to show off, Yoichi Sasaki walked up to the iron door, took a stance, and suddenly threw a straight punch.

Boom!

For an R-rank hunter, an iron door was nothing more than an obstacle that just took a little longer to dismantle.

Bang, bang!

After a few more punches, the iron door's fittings twisted and cracks began to form.

"Nngh!"

He shoved his hands into the gap and, straining with all his strength, opened it wide enough for a person to pass through.

"Phew, I'll go in first, Hyungnim."

"Sure."

Though it was their first meeting, Yoichi Sasaki took it upon himself to act the part of a loyal younger brother as he slipped through the iron door. When Kim Junyong followed inside, he found Kazuma Saiga surrounded by his guards.

Clearly flustered, Kazuma Saiga asked.

"H-How did you find this place?"

Kim Junyong pointed sharply with his finger. Among their ranks was a sentry rat that he had created, which had slipped in with them.

"Kuhk, so it really was an inside betrayal!"

Kazuma Saiga interpreted it in true yakuza fashion.

That man is the Mad Monarch...my calculations were completely off.

Even more surprising was the presence of Yoichi Sasaki, who had gone out of his way to break down a door that wasn't even locked.

A loyal hunting dog of the Japanese government was with him too.

Yoichi Sasaki was an R-rank hunter–weak by comparison to Japan's top hunters, but he was still the representative hunter of the Psychic Awakening Agency.

For him to show up with the Mad Monarch Kim Junyong...

So the South Korean and Japanese governments have already joined hands. Is Japan trying to dismantle Hardbank?

There was already precedent. South Korea's Daesan Group.

That giant corporation that had defied the state–what situation was it in now? What had seemed like someone else's problem was now happening in Japan.

What a nasty entanglement.

Had Japan's real target always been Hardbank? So they drew the Mad Monarch in for that.

To think there was someone this cunning in the Psychic Awakening Agency!

"Hyungnim, let's take care of them quickly."

Upon hearing these words from Yoichi Sasaki, Kazuma Saiga admitted defeat.

If they were close enough to call each other brothers, their bond clearly wasn't formed in just a day or two. Surely the Korean and Japanese governments intended to regulate the bloated private corporations.

After all, guilds were virtually no different from private armies owned by the companies...

"I failed to read the tide of the times and boarded a sinking ship."

Greed. Blinded by the thought of gaining a new SR-rank member, he failed to see the calamity he had invited.

"Life comes like the wind and goes like the wind. It was fun."

Just as Kazuma Saiga drew the sashimi knife he had hidden in his robes to commit seppuku–

"Hey now. If you do that, the points won't settle properly."

"...?"

"Judgment."

Crackle!

"Uggghhh!"

The golden scale began judging them, starting with Kazuma Saiga and continuing with his guards.

Kazuma Saiga himself was just a civilian, but his guards were all hunters. Hunters who had done many evil deeds.