NOVEL NEXT Episode 61 - Ranking Measurement (1)
Episode 61: Ranking Measurement (1)
I turned around and stared at the sunken patch of earth. Lucifer had vanished without a trace, with only white flames crackling and burning.
I thought I’d be able to hear everything till the end, but who would have thought another lightning bolt would strike…
Even in that chaotic moment, I heard Lucifer’s last words.
Although the sentence was cut off midway, I could somewhat infer what Lucifer had meant to say from the preceding syllables.
“……”
I put the sword into [Demon King’s Gluttony] and looked at my palms. Palms covered in blood, as if they had been scraped somewhere.
The power of heaven’s punishment, that is, the pure white wave, was beyond imagination.
‘Is this the power of heaven….’
Honestly, it’s hard to believe this is the power of a single entity. It seemed more reasonable to view it as some kind of power granted in exchange for Lucifer’s sins.
Just like on Earth, where one’s power grows stronger if they pay ‘a certain price’.
In fact, [Magic Control] is an incredibly overpowered ability, but it came with the price of ‘not being able to move more than 1 meter from where the ability was used’.
‘If Eden hadn’t been a magician, it would have been a useless ability.’
Anyway, one thing is certain. The fact that heaven possesses military might stronger than I had imagined.
Above all, it’s the first power I couldn’t block.
‘Was there another sky out there.’
Of course, I’m not sure if that sky is higher than me.
[Demon King of Pride Defeated] (Completed)
– Description: Elimination of doppelgangers and defeat of the Demon King of Pride.
– Reward: Gain 20 Territory Points per doppelganger. Upon defeating the Demon King of Pride, gain 100 World Causality and 1 slot of [Predation].
The ‘blue window’ that appeared before my eyes proved that Lucifer was completely dead.
Suddenly curious, I checked [Territory Effect Bestowal].
[Territory Effect Bestowal] Current Territory Points: 1520 T.P
– Teleport Connection between Territories: 1000 T.P
……
‘So I have 1520 Territory Points….’
Divide by 20, and it’s 76.
Even adding the four I killed in this battle, I’ve only killed eight doppelgangers.
But the fact that it’s counting 76 seems to include the doppelgangers killed by Shayen and Quel as well.
With this, I can use [Territory Effect Bestowal] to do various things.
“Your Majesty!”
“My Lord!”
“Seo-jun!”
The Solomon demons and Kim Eun-ha ran towards me.
“Is everyone alright?”
They nodded with expressions like hamsters.
Among them, the dumb hamster looked at me with worried eyes.
“But, my Lord, are you alright…?”
The others had expressions not much different from Shayen’s.
Kim Eun-ha aside, it’s been a while… no, maybe the first time the others have looked at me like this.
When we were in the Solomon demon realm, there was no reason for them to worry about me.
“Yes, I’m fine as you can see.”
“We’re sorry, Demon King. Because of our inadequacy….”
“It’s fine. I had my shortcomings too.”
I answered Quel, who was feeling guilty.
Honestly, if it weren’t for the variable named Kim Eun-ha this time, it would have been quite dangerous. Moreover, I couldn’t completely block the punishment.
If I had perfectly nullified it, I could have heard more information from Lucifer.
Of course, that was unavoidable, but I want to grasp even such fate with my own hands.
In real battles, there’s no room for excuses like ‘it couldn’t be helped’. I must always be prepared to command the situation.
“……”
Including Kim Eun-ha, the Solomon demons hung their heads low and bit their lips.
I won’t encourage them. That’s entirely up to them. Having realized their inadequacies, they’ll surely grow more in the future.
I’ll just wait for them.
This much reflection on the current situation is enough. Now it’s time to do what needs to be done.
“Stay there for a moment.”
I took my eyes off them and moved my feet.
If my guess is correct, now that Lucifer is dead, ‘Adoniyah’s medium’ should have fallen somewhere, just like with Beelzebub.
For a moment, I had the chilling thought that it might have been completely incinerated by the punishment, but fortunately, I found something nearby.
‘…This time it’s a chalice, huh.’
I picked up a golden chalice that looked like something an ancient emperor might have used. I looked it over, but there was no liquid or anything inside.
After confirming that Adoniyah’s energy was imbued in it, I put the chalice into [Demon King’s Gluttony].
This confirms the hypothesis that killing one of the Seven Deadly Sins produces ‘Adoniyah’s medium’.
‘The problem is Asmodeus, though….’
But there’s no point in thinking about it now. It’s better to gather the others’ first and think about it slowly.
I turned to look at the guys waiting for me.
Snap─
First, I flicked my hand once to remove any foreign substances. Then I tidied up my hair and smoothed out my wrinkled uniform and cloak.
Every time I moved, their heads turned like meerkats.
Thump thump─
I approached them as they stared with wide eyes.
Then I stood in front of Hyude.
“Good job.”
I patted Hyude’s head with both hands. Surprised, Hyude belatedly lowered his head.
I went over to Shayen next to him and did the same.
“Good job.”
“Thank you, my Lord!”
“You’re noisy.”
“…Yes.”
I gave a small smile to Shayen, who spoke quietly, and approached Quel next to her.
I gently stroked Quel’s silver bob hair with both hands as she looked up expectantly.
“Good job.”
“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Mm.”
I clenched and unclenched my hands, then turned to Kim Eun-ha.
Kim Eun-ha, who had been watching my actions all along, stood up straight as I approached. However, when I didn’t do anything, she glanced at me with her eyes.
“Try using the Magi.”
“…Huh? Oh, yes!”
Kim Eun-ha activated the Magi I had given her. As her aura changed, a small horn sprouted on her forehead.
I carefully reached out and caressed the horn. Kim Eun-ha flinched at my touch.
“…Ah!”
“Does it hurt?”
“No… It just feels strange…”
Kim Eun-ha, with a slight blush, rolled her eyes and rubbed one of her arms.
I removed my hand and asked.
“So it doesn’t hurt, right?”
“No.”
“Good. I’m glad you’ve adapted well to the Magi.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Seo-jun.”
“I see.”
With this, my experiment(?) was successful. I should continue to inject Magi into talented individuals like this in the future.
Since the magnitude of power is determined by the amount of Magi one can handle at once, not the total amount, it didn’t affect my own power.
Of course, having a high total amount of Magi would be good, but mine is already too high, so it’s more efficient to nurture talented individuals like Kim Eun-ha.
“Lucky bitch.”
Suddenly, a cold voice was heard.
Following the sound, I saw Shayen glaring in this direction.
“I could also receive my lord’s Magi…”
Shayen’s raised shoulders trembled. She looked like an older brother jealous of his little sister.
“I wouldn’t give it to you even if you asked.”
“…Kuh, how could you say such a cruel thing.”
“And from now on, treat her as a fellow corps commander.”
“…What? Me, a corps commander?”
“Yes, you’ll become a corps commander of the Twilight Magic Kingdom from now on. You can think of it as similar to a team leader role in a guild.”
In reality, Kim Eun-ha was still far from being comparable to other corps commanders, but she was more than qualified to hold the position of corps commander itself.
“Any objections to this?”
“No. It’s an extremely wise decision.”
They seemed to have accepted Kim Eun-ha’s promotion on their own, not just because it was my order. Perhaps it was due to her recent achievements.
“Seo-jun!”
Kuguugugu──
Turning my head at the heavy noise, I saw Jeong Ye-rin waving her hand while riding on top of the giant Psych’s head.
As she approached, she slid down Psych’s body like a slide and landed in front of me.
“Landed!”
“Looks like you’re doing fine.”
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”
Jeong Ye-rin smiled brightly like a full moon.
Kim Eun-ha’s eyes widened slightly when she saw her.
“Jeong Ye-rin? How did you…”
“Hehe, a lot has happened.”
Come to think of it, Kim Eun-ha probably still thinks Jeong Ye-rin is just an ordinary alchemist.
Since there was no need to hide it, I explained to Kim Eun-ha.
“I see… To think that Jeong Ye-rin was actually someone with such incredible talent…”
However, I excluded the story about her trauma and being a descendant of Eve. I’ll let Jeong Ye-rin handle the rest herself.
“By the way, Your Majesty, is this edible?”
– Hii, hiik! It’s a dragon!!
I turned my head at Quel’s question.
Quel was holding the shrunken Psych in her hand, raising it to her face, while Psych was thrashing about like a loach, looking at Quel’s wide-open mouth.
“It’s a thousand-year-old snake. It might not taste good, but it should be good for your health.”
– Wh-what are you saying!!
“I see.”
– Ack, aack! Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me, I say!
Ignoring the commotion, I surveyed the city.
Buildings that had lost their shape and smoke rising here and there. Although the battle had lasted less than a few hours, the original appearance of the city had already disappeared without a trace.
But there were still survivors here, breathing.
“Well then, let’s clean this place up a bit.”
They will continue to live and breathe because of us.
===
**
===
One week after Lucifer’s descent in London, at the headquarters of the International Hunter Organization.
The executives and the 12 Zodiac were gathered there, holding a meeting. One of the executives spoke.
“It’s Lee Seo-jun from Korea again… According to John from England, if it weren’t for him, London would have already been destroyed.”
“Honestly, the speed at which he’s accumulating achievements is astonishing. From what I’ve heard, he was called ‘the zero-magic failure’ when he was in the academy. How did he become so strong?”
“Well, I’m curious about that too, but the reason for his strength isn’t important to us. What’s important to us now is that he’s a powerful individual capable of stopping massive calamities.”
The executives nodded in agreement. The Korean executive’s mouth was completely stretched to his ears in pride.
However, he had to compose his expression at the words that followed.
“The problem, though, is the demons following him… There’s been a lot of talk about it here and there lately. People are always fighting about this issue on the internet. What do you executives think about this?”
The executives’ faces grew serious at this sensitive issue.
“For now, I’m in favor. Those two demons not only fought for us humans this time but also helped with London’s reconstruction. Their contributions now surpass those of many hunters.”
“Ah… but I still feel uneasy. Weren’t demons the beings that tormented humanity for 30 years? Even if they’ve saved humans a few times, suspicion and hatred still remain…”
Opinions about the demons clashed sharply. Some were gradually being influenced by them, while others still maintained a wary gaze.
It was a natural reaction. After all, the number of people demons had killed far outweighed the number they had saved until now.
After a moment of silence, one executive spoke.
“Well, I don’t think this will be decided here and now. Above all, racial discrimination is still prevalent in society, so it’s bound to be even worse for demons, who were enemies of humanity.”
“Yes, you’re right. Let’s discuss this again later and move on to the main topic now.”
While they had gathered here to discuss the London incident, there was an even more important agenda.
“I’m talking about measuring the ranking of Hunter Lee Seo-jun, who prevented Lucifer and saved London this time.”
The 12 Zodiac listened intently to this.
(To be continued in the next episode)