WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

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◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 82: Empress of Hell

Doppelgängers. A troublesome type of demon to deal with.

They imitated their opponents' appearance, behavior, and even speech completely. They reveled in mixing truth and lies, throwing everything into chaos.

A happy Korean family was playing on the playground. An ajumma smiled brightly and spoke.

"Oh my, I haven't seen you before. Did you move in?"

"..."

"Which apartment? Central Xi?"

Srrng.

Remi drew her sword without saying anything, and the ajumma scowled.

"Hmph, so you're from the rentals? Youngsu, Cheolsu, come here. Don't play with the rental people."

Seeing the ajumma's venomous expression, Remi smiled slightly.

A sword forged for killing. A demon's sword that existed only for that purpose. Reminox.

Slash!

"Kieeek!"

Even before dying, and as it died, the mimicry monster spewed terrible sounds as its head was severed.

"Hey! How dare you lay a hand on my wife!"

Slash!

"Kieeek!"

"M-Mom! Dad!"

The demon brats Youngsu and Cheolsu writhed and soon transformed into the forms of Kim Junyong and Remi.

"Remi, it's me."

Slash!

"Kieeek!"

When she beheaded it with a single stroke, Kim Junyong, who had been standing behind her, let out a sulky complaint.

"Wow, I'm hurt."

"If it had been Master, you would have been able to block it."

"Well, yeah, that's true."

Remi thrust her sword at the monster that looked exactly like her.

Clang!

It blocked it. An attack from the Demon Sword Reminox, no less.

Remi smiled faintly.

These monsters that mimicked appearances as if reflected in a mirror revealed their true value when they took on the same appearance.

Clang, clang!

Decalcomania. The opponent's appearance, habits, skills, and personality...

They mimicked it all. As time went on, the mimicry became increasingly precise.

The standard strategy against doppelgängers was to deal with them before they could replicate appearances, or, after transformation, to finish them off as quickly as possible before they grew stronger.

"Why are you fooling around? We're busy. Let's go."

"Tch."

But even copying had its limits. A 100-gigabyte file would never fit on a 1-gigabyte storage device.

"Kieeek!"

The head that looked exactly like hers rolled across the ground. Those who died with grotesque screams, unbecoming of their beautiful appearance, soon revealed their true forms.

Ugly, every one of them. They had blunt heads, bumpy skin as if burned, a single eye, small mouths, and long tongues.

"They really look like aliens."

"Let's go. We'll handle the fun ones as they show up."

"Yeah."

They had to finish quickly and return to Kim Jangmi's family.

"A doppelgänger dungeon, of all things."

"If we're lucky, it'll end quickly."

That was true. It was like trying to guess the code to a lost password lock. If they were lucky, it would open at 0000. If unlucky, not until 9999.

"Should we use a Lucky Stone?"

"Huh! Better give it to me instead. I'll finish it quickly for you."

Kim Junyong gave a slight laugh. Yes, whether he used it himself or awarded it as a reward, it only mattered that the result was the same.

Ting.

He took out a green jewel and tossed it to her.

"Awesome! I'll finish it quickly."

"Yeah, okay."

Where did she learn to say things like that? After she started going to high school with Jia, she now seemed like a real high school girl swordsman.

The figure of that reliable man of Belhaim...

"Hahh."

Slash, clang!

"Kieeek!"

Meanwhile, Remi began killing every monster in sight with single strokes.

* * *

If asked to name the most famous hunter in France, anyone would mention Sophie Giraud.

But if asked to name the hunter who served France most devotedly, everyone would name Leon Faivre.

Leon Faivre, an SR-rank hunter, was someone who walked a path much like Choi Hyunju.

A member of France's Special Security Bureau, he never refused thankless tasks and was always the first to charge in.

While Choi Hyunju was like a general who served as both the command tower and the final stronghold, Leon Faivre was like the vanguard of the battlefield, personally leading the troops forward.

A French A-rank dungeon. With fifteen days left until the deadline, Leon Faivre took on the mission to explore it. He immediately assembled his team and entered the dungeon with confidence.

And he experienced hell.

"Huff, huff."

They were the worst of demons. He had wrapped bandages all over his body as emergency treatment, but blood that couldn't be staunched welled up and burst through.

Clang, clang!

Meanwhile, the sounds of fighting could be heard outside. Were they comrades?

Were there any survivors? Leon Faivre stuck his head out.

A dazzlingly beautiful swordsman, out of place on the battlefield, was slaughtering people.

Slash!

"Kieeek!"

With each stroke of her blade, heads flew. It was truly a beautiful trajectory.

Srrng.

After flicking off the blood and sheathing her sword, she swept her gaze over her surroundings.

She saw me!

Though an SR-rank hunter had deliberately suppressed his presence, she looked his way anyway.

"I–I'm a hunter!"

Leon Faivre dragged his injured body forward. The gaze of the beautiful woman that swept over him was cold and pitiless.

"I am Hunter Leon Faivre of the French Special Security Bureau!"

Srrng.

"W-Wait! I am an SR-rank hunter!"

"..."

The beautiful swordsman tapped her foot. In an instant, she closed the distance between them, filling his vision. A sword, drawn so swiftly that he hadn't noticed, was aimed at his neck.

Clang!

He barely blocked it.

"Urgh."

Clang, clang! Clang!

He was driven back again and again by the sword strikes flying at him in succession.

"W-Wait, stop! I'm a hunter!"

"So what?"

"Hm? My comrades have all scattered!"

"And?"

"I–I'm human! Not a demon!"

Remi's lips thinned as she grinned. Leon Faivre thought the smile was fatally beautiful.

"So what?"

"...!"

Slash!

Remi's blade slashed across Leon Faivre's neck. Though he barely managed to pull away in time, blood gushed in torrents. Clutching his throat, he staggered back and shouted.

"Damn, you're sharp!"

"...?"

Crackle.

Leon Faivre's body transformed. That hideous, bizarre thing was a doppelgänger.

Crackle.

Its body did not take long to transform into a high school girl with a beautiful smile. There were no wounds.

The monster, now in a spotless form, let out a voice as sweet as Remi's.

"How did you know?"

"..."

Remi's eyes filled with disappointment.

So it wasn't human. She had thought maybe, for once, she could cut down a person instead of a monster. When her master wasn't looking, she was about to quickly slash it apart and make the excuse that she thought it was a monster!

"Are you an idiot?"

What appeared with a mocking voice was her master.

"A Frenchman rattling off fluent Korean? Anyone but an idiot would notice."

"Y-You, w-who...!"

Doppelgänger Remi's face filled with shock.

"Oh, you know me?"

Kim Junyong grinned.

"You're Yarun."

"M-Mad Monarch!"

"Heh."

Kim Junyong laughed when he heard that old nickname again.

"Yes, it's me."

"Fuck! Why are you here?!"

"As expected, an old friend is the real deal. Good to see you, man."

"...!"

The fake Remi–Doppelgänger Yarun–shook with fear. Why had that bastard appeared here?

"Not happy to see me?"

"..."

Like hell it would be glad. Even in the Demon Realm, where the law of the jungle applied, bastards like the Mad Monarch were rare. And of all places, to run into him on Earth.

"M-My apologies. If I had known that Earth was the Monarch's domain, I would not have trespassed."

"Hm?"

Kim Junyong felt his mood deflate. Seeing that the doppelgänger had no will to fight, Remi frowned.

Doppelgängers made excellent sparring partners for honing one's skills. Especially bosses, who could copy techniques to an even higher level. Remi had secretly been looking forward to it.

"Well, fine."

Kim Junyong approached the fake Remi. They stood on a four-lane road. He sat down on a bench at a bus stop and beckoned it over.

"Did you call for me?"

Yarun, still in Remi's form, approached with a sycophantic smile. The sight was oddly ironic.

"Transform before I blow you up."

"Y-Yes."

Crackle.

Yarun revealed its true form. No one winced at its grotesque appearance.

"I have many things I'm curious about."

"I'll answer anything."

"Why aren't you dead?"

Kim Junyong and Yarun knew each other. This meant that one of them should be dead.

"Demons don't really die, right?"

"...?"

"Monarch, you were born in the Demon Realm, weren't you?"

"No."

"Ha!"

Yarun's ugly face grew uglier.

"What's with that face?"

"I assumed you were native-born..."

"Wanna die?"

"Eek."

Yarun protected its face with both hands.

Remi slouched against the bus sign, watching the violent tableau of Kim Junyong on the bench and Yarun kneeling on the road before him.

"Well, fine. So it's something like resurrection?"

"When demons die, their souls return to the Demon Realm. Then, they build up their strength again."

"Ha, so killing you is pointless."

"For demons, only annihilation is death."

"And how's that done?"

"Eh? Unless it's a god, it's impossible. That's why the Demon Realm is such a mess."

Survival of the fittest. The Demon Realm was a battleground of dead demons, killing and being killed. Only the strong survived to reach its peak.

Yarun proudly recounted the story of how, after dying, he struggled and struggled in the Demon Realm and finally returned to the human world.

"Wow, you've had it rough."

"Oh, don't even mention it. Recently, a crazy bitch appeared in the Demon Realm. She seems likely to become the next Demon King."

"Hm? What about Modeus?"

"Oh, no. Lord Modeus has already descended in Belhaim, hasn't he?"

"...?"

Kim Junyong tilted his head.

"I killed him."

"Eh!"

Yarun was truly shocked. Belhaim had been conquered by the Demon King Modeus–a successful descent. It was naturally the planet where he would soon evolve, so Yarun instead chose a new place to descend upon: Earth.

So after I descended on Earth, the Mad Monarch killed Modeus.

Yarun quickly racked its mind. Its plan to be number one on Earth had gone up in smoke. This was the planet where the Mad Monarch lived. There was no way to surpass that bastard. Even Modeus had ended up being killed by the Mad Monarch...

"Wow, look at you scheming."

"Hehe, no, no. But why didn't you take Belhaim for yourself after killing Modeus?"

"...Why would I?"

"What do you mean, 'why'? Slaying a god is the ultimate evolution for a demon!"

"I wouldn't know. I'm not a demon."

"What?"

Yarun was startled. Then, its expression turned strange.

"Oh, you must be joking."

The Mad Monarch, not a demon? Who would fall for such a cheap joke?

"..."

"...?"

Yarun recoiled in shock.

"A-Aren't you Reminox's master?"

"That's right."

"But you're saying you're not a demon?"

"Correct."

"N-Not even an outborn?"

"What's that?"

"A demon born outside the Demon Realm!"

"No."

"Ha! No wonder you know nothing about the ways of the Demon Realm!"

Yarun looked as if he had been deeply betrayed.

"Then what are you?"

"What else? Human."

"...!"

Yarun was aghast. Everything became clear.

The one who killed the Demon King Modeus yet did not destroy Belhaim. The reason the Mad Monarch existed on Earth.

"A–A human?!"

"Is that so shocking?"

Of course it was something to be shocked about. Yarun thought quickly.

The Mad Monarch a human?

That would be like saying a demon did volunteer work. Fuck, what a shitty world.

"Shall I cut it down?"

"Eek."

Remi's casual remark startled Yarun.

"Well, I've learned everything I need to know."

"Eek! No!"

Yarun panicked, but Kim Junyong's black mana had already ensnared it.

Should I use Judgment?

Wasn't it said that only the power of a god can annihilate a demon?

Nah, that's too harsh.

After all, they weren't strangers. He might as well give it a chance to resurrect.

Crunch.

The tendrils tightened.

"Guaahh!"

"Then let's meet again, friend."

Yarun felt a sense of crisis from the constricting pressure. It couldn't return like this. In the Demon Realm, a crazy bitch known as the Empress of Hell was indiscriminately slaughtering demons.

That crazy bitch...huh?

There was a rumor that the Empress of Hell was from Earth...

"Y-You! The Empress..."

Crunch.

...of Hell, what's your connection to her?!

Bang!

Looking at Yarun, who had been crushed like a can, Kim Junyong let out a faint laugh.

"What nonsense about an Empress."

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