The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

Episode 39: Doppelganger (1)

At a funeral hall in Seoul, a journalist spoke in a quiet voice.

“Currently, the funeral of Jang Min-tae, a S rank hunter and the head of the Mass faction, is taking place. Even though a day has passed, the waves of mourning continue.”

Jang Min-tae’s acquaintances were entering the funeral hall.

“Hunter Association Chairman Park Sang-cheol and other S rank hunters have already visited yesterday, and the only one who hasn’t visited yet is the SS rank hunter Lee Seo-jun….”

Even Park Chae-ah, who was not involved in the raid, had visited, but Lee Seo-jun had not yet appeared.

After finishing the mourning, people who had lunch were discussing.

“But what will happen to the Mass faction now?”

“Well, with the only son being an A-rank hunter, it might be difficult for it to continue as before.”

“Well, that’s true. But with a determined son, he might eventually become an S-rank hunter. He’s not that young.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to endure at that age.”

Jang Min-tae’s son, Jang Do-hyun, the chief magician of the Mass faction and an A-rank hunter, now had to follow in his father’s footsteps.

– Dut-dut-dut –

At that moment, through the gloomy atmosphere, a dignified stride echoed. To that regular rhythm, as if everyone had made a promise, numerous gazes turned towards that direction.

Long, stretched legs. Impeccable black suit.

Anyone could see that the noble figure belonged to Lee Seo-jun.

“…….”

In the sudden silence, Lee Seo-jun headed towards Jang Min-tae’s memorial.

Everyone watched him, and he took off his shoes and stepped onto the memorial. Among the solemn chrysanthemums was a picture of Jang Min-tae.

Lee Seo-jun didn’t do any action, like placing chrysanthemums, burning incense, or bowing. He just stared at the picture of Jang Min-tae as if counting his soul.

After a few seconds, Lee Seo-jun turned to face the family.

“Are you Jang Do-hyun?”

“Yes, nice to meet you, Mr. Lee Seo-jun. I’ve heard stories from others. Mr. Lee Seo-jun moved my father’s body…. Thank you very much.”

“Yeah.”

Jang Do-hyun nodded to Lee Seo-jun’s calm words.

Lee Seo-jun put his hand into his pocket and handed a slightly faded gold pendant.

Receiving it, Jang Do-hyun’s eyes showed a small ripple.

“…What is this?”

“I’m a bit late in giving it to you. But I wanted to deliver it personally.”

“As far as I know, there’s no connection between my father and Mr. Lee Seo-jun, so why go this far….”

“There’s no reason. I just wanted to do it.”

“Oh….”

Jang Do-hyun’s wistful gaze trembled slightly.

Lee Seo-jun, who had no reason to stay here any longer, turned on his heel.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Wait a moment!”

Jang Do-hyun called out to Lee Seo-jun at that moment.

Lee Seo-jun’s body faced him.

“Do you have any business with me?”

“Have you seen the last appearance of our father? If you have, could you tell me what it was like?”

When Lee Seo-jun found him, Jang Min-tae was already dead. Therefore, usually, he couldn’t know how he fought.

However, Lee Seo-jun could vaguely recall Jang Min-tae’s battle through traces of magic on his hands and scars engraved on his body.

If asked how, Lee Seo-jun couldn’t explain in detail. It was just an instinct built up over 6666 years.

“Oh, I apologize. Please don’t mind what I just said….”

However, Lee Seo-jun didn’t need to make such an effort. As Jang Do-hyun said, there was no connection between them and himself.

But if by allocating a few minutes of his time, he could change someone’s life, Lee Seo-jun always thought he would do so.

Lee Seo-jun approached Jang Do-hyun, gently grabbed one of his arms, and closed his eyes.

“The first attack was a surprise from the opponent. It was not a monster’s attack but a human’s.”

Jang Do-hyun looked at him with perplexed eyes.

“It wasn’t a very fast attack, but Jang Min-tae, being a magician, couldn’t avoid it perfectly and got his forearm cut.”

But as he realized what Lee Seo-jun was doing now, he closed his eyes.

“Jang Min-tae was taken aback by the sudden human attack, but he recognized the hostility and cast a spell.”

Lee Seo-jun’s calm voice turned into paint, depicting memories on a black canvas.

“Yeah, judging by the traces of magic, it was a fireball.”

The red color bloomed brilliantly, and the magical fruit-like spell shot towards the imaginary enemy.

“The human fell with just that one shot. However, the attacks on Jang Min-tae didn’t end there. After that, countless humans poured in.”

The element of tension added color, filling the black canvas.

“Jang Min-tae sensed impending death with the overwhelming numbers.”

“…..”

“But he didn’t give up. Ice magic froze the enemies, fire magic incinerated them, and lightning magic tore them apart.”

Lee Seo-jun’s recitation continued.

As the colors spread with his incantations, the opponents perished, and Jang Min-tae’s wounds increased.

In the evolving scene, Jang Min-tae struggled, and the enemies perished.

“…However, when stronger opponents emerged, the situation worsened. Magic power plummeted rapidly, wounds multiplied, and the body trembled. Then, eventually—”

Lee Seo-jun’s long index finger gently touched Jang Do-hyun’s heart.

“The enemy’s attack pierced through his heart.”

“Ah….”

Jang Do-hyun sighed vividly at the vivid depiction of the final moments.

The image of a heart being pierced and sprawled on the ground. That was Jang Min-tae’s end.

And just when everything seemed to be over.

“Even so, he raised his arm.”

Lee Seo-jun spoke.

“Gathering all the remaining magic power throughout his body, he concentrated all the knowledge he had acquired there. And finally, he cast the last magic on the enemies.”

The lifeless Jang Min-tae revived and moved.

“It was a splendid magic.”

With that final struggle, he made it known that he was still present.

And on that day, it reached Lee Seo-jun. Without it, he might not have noticed their fight taking place far away.

“That was your father’s final appearance.”

Jang Min-tae’s end was not someone dying but casting a spell.

Lee Seo-jun placed his hand on Jang Do-hyun’s shoulder. Jang Do-hyun opened his eyes at the sturdy sensation.

Lee Seo-jun, looking straight at him.

“Your father was magnificent.”

There was no need for words that had no meaning in the present, expressing apologies for not saving him.

It would only hang on to the remaining person and burden them with the past, offering no help in the future.

Therefore, Lee Seo-jun left words that could allow them to live in the present.

“So, you can be proud to be his son.”

With that carefully thrown stone, Lee Seo-jun created a large ripple in Jang Do-hyun’s eyes.

As if gripping a heart or filling an empty space, Jang Do-hyun tightly embraced the pendant.

In his wavering eyes, two streams of tears flowed down.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. Thank you very much…”

Raising his head, Lee Seo-jun patted Jang Do-hyun’s shoulder. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned on his heels.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

====

***

====

“Your Majesty, is everything done here?”

Exiting the funeral hall, Hyude greeted me.

I answered as I put on the black cloak he handed me.

“Yeah.”

All the immediate tasks were completed. Now, I could leisurely proceed with the affairs of establishing my country. Unless the government was exceptionally foolish, ownership of the Floating Island would also come under my control, and the once blue sky darkened at that moment.

“…Is it coming right away?”

I raised my head.

A discomforting aura lingered in the crimson clouds, spreading massively, swallowing the blue sky not only in Korea but throughout the world. Along with it, the ‘black light’ window appeared.

[Demon Lord of Pride] (Time Limit – 360:00:00)

Explanation: Just now, you released 72 Doppelgangers on the planet. After the time limit, depending on the remaining number of Doppelgangers, my power will vary greatly.

Humans who were ignorant and arrogant. I, Lucifer, the Demon Lord of Pride, will not deceive and scorn you humans.

It’s time for you to return to being bugs once again.

Remaining Doppelgangers: 72

It meant disaster had arrived.

====

***

====

[Not long after the incident with the Demon Lord of Greed, now it’s the Demon Lord of Pride? Is the end of the world near?]

[Leo Bradley, the Lion of the 12 Zodiac and the world’s top hunter ranked 1st. Found dead inside a building.]

The crimson clouds covering the sky disappeared a few minutes later, but discussions about it continued without pause.

As consecutive unusual disasters struck, humans fell into fear, and the media, talking about the end times, intensified the anxiety.

I was also equally bewildered.

The Demon Lord of Lust was like that, the Demon Lord of Greed was like that, they all brought their own territories, but the Demon Lord of Pride did not.

There was no news of any territory discovered worldwide, and if my expectations were correct, the territory ‘Hubris’ should have appeared…

“Well, Hubris was said to be an underground cave.”

However, just because that territory didn’t catch the eyes of humans doesn’t mean it didn’t already appear somewhere. No matter how long I’ve lived, I couldn’t possibly know everything that happened worldwide. After all, my time on Earth was a mere 25 years.

Claiming to know everything in this world would be nothing but ‘arrogance’.

[The Korean government hands over full rights to the ‘Floating Island in Yongsan’ to the Twilight Guild]

In the end, the government handed over the ownership of the ‘Canaan Floating Island’ to me. In other words, they judged that my value was higher than the Floating Island.

Moreover, since the perspective on the Floating Island differed, it was a natural result. They focused on the ‘material’ on the Floating Island, while I concentrated on the ‘territory’ itself.

The public’s reaction also seemed to welcome the government’s decision.

[LOL, it’s hilarious that Seo-jun, who conquered the gate, even compensated the survivors and shut up the U.S. and China, but the Korean government decides on compensation. LOL. 👍1213, 👎240]

[Thank you so much for not leaving Korea, Seo-jun. Please, I’m shameless, but please stay in Korea. 😭 👍921, 👎125]

This is my current position—trusted and anticipated.

Although this battle may not have been visible to them, the achievements I had accumulated before were more than sufficient.

However, the road ahead was still long. Currently, being an ‘SS-rank Hunter’ didn’t set me apart much from receiving trust and recognition.

I had to become more than just a ‘hero’ that anyone could look up to.

I led the Solomon demons, utilizing [Mayan] to ascend above the Floating Island.

Closing the black whirlpool, I spoke to them.

“You guys can handle the disposal of the corpses here, we’ll clean up the castle.”

“So, Your Majesty, are you going to reside on that island rather than in that building now?”

“Yeah, that building will serve as a contact office, and the apartments will be like a vacation home.”

When Hyude asked, I replied.

If Seo-yeon and Jeong Ye-rin agree, I plan to let them stay in that castle. I’ll think about things like electricity supply later, and if there’s anything needed, I can descend through [Demon Arts].

Most importantly, being here would alleviate various troubles. It would be difficult for mundane things to even reach this place.

Thud, thud, thud.

Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter echoed from the sky. Since the president and the research institute director had already said they would come, there was no need to be on guard.

I fixed my gaze on the helicopter, and when Hyude asked, I responded.

“Shayen, you go ahead to the castle.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Shayen cheerfully replied and disappeared like an arrow.

he wouldn’t inform the crowds unless necessary. There were various things that needed to be done secretly.

The president who descended from the helicopter looked surprised to see me on the Floating Island.

“You really don’t seem to be bound by any constraints.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“I apologize on behalf of the previous rudeness. And you may find it hard to believe, but I never had any intention of deceiving Mr. Seojun. I only thought it would be dangerous if that information was revealed.”

Using Lezie’s insight, it was true.

This land was sufficient to arouse human greed, so I understood to some extent.

This time, the director bowed to me.

“I also apologize. Despite the previous incident, I am grateful that you allowed the research to continue.”

“Yeah.”

Afterwards, the director straightened up and cautiously asked, “I’ve been curious since before, but how do you plan to move this giant piece of land? Are you using magic or abilities? No matter how you look at it, it seems impossible with physical means like attaching engines…”

Well, it’s not easy to grasp. How to move this vast piece of land covering the sky of Yongsan District.

However, I had a way.

“Physics.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m going to move it physically.”

When the body is originally weak, the mind suffers.

(To be continued in the next part)