abcnovels
Chapter 778
Chapter 778
Chapter 778
“Oh my… Those bastards!”
As per Davey's request, Hydro Citrus Soda stayed at Hyun-Ah's house for a while. Yun Ji-Hwan rented an empty lodging a short distance away from Hyun-Ah's place.
Even though it was guest accommodation, he and Oxygen didn't want to make Hyun-Ah uncomfortable, so they had made the request to Davey directly to get them a place to stay. Hyun-Ah and Yeon-Hee were very considerate, and the guest lodging had better facilities and more space than where the Oxygen siblings lived.
"Huh? Ji-Hwan, what's wrong?"
“Look at this.”
Ji-Hwan frowned and showed a video on his tablet PC. The video showed a scene where a car drove recklessly and hit a person walking down the street at night.
“...”
Even though they were no longer living in a world where seeing people die was rare, it was still uncomfortable to see someone getting hit by a car.
“Are you watching snuff videos or something? That’s messed up. Stop watching those and wake up.”
"No, that's not it! Do you think I have some kind of perverted fetish or something? This is CCTV footage of something that happened nearby recently.”“Is this the scene of the accident?”
“But those kids, they didn’t leave after hitting some innocent man; they ran over them again and killed them for sure before leaving.”
“...”
Ji-Ah squinted her eyes.
"So? Did they catch who did it?”
“They did. But the driver apparently has a way out.”
"Way out?”
"You know, the damn child protection law that changed how those under 18 get disciplined. There were several middle and high school students caught with the kid on the spot, but I’m expecting they’ll get just a slap on the wrist.”
He then continued to talk.
“Isn’t it unbelievable? There were six people in that big vehicle: two 13-year-olds and four 16-year-olds. The one who was driving was a 13-year-old. Everyone was drunk, stole a car at night, and hit someone while driving.”
"Oh my god…”
“This video was posted on the Internet. I don’t know who posted it, but there are suspicions that the police were trying to hide it.”
"Why?"
"Sigh. I wonder what the Grim Reaper is doing, not taking away those bastards.”
“Christ… Unlicensed and underage driving is bad enough, but car theft and driving under the influence? And the rest were drunk too?”
“Right? I think they’re all getting some disciplinary measures as they were drunk, mentally and physically weak, and showed signs of remorse. Seems like they’ll go to court and get simple trials—I think that’s all. And not long ago, some kids beat their classmate to death and got away with a light punishment.”
Maga, who was drinking water, became interested in Ji-Hwan’s fuming and walked over to him.
“Get out of the way, you toad.”
“What the heck are you doing getting so close?!”
She pushed Ji-Hwan away with her foot and looked at her cell phone.
“Woah… The world is really going downhill. It’s already spread all over the internet. Hyun-Ah seemed bitter, so she must’ve seen it too.”
She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.
“That petition is causing a stir. Some people say they made it public as a distraction to cover up a legislative scandal. There’s a lot of fuss right now.”
"Ugh…”
Ji-Hwan suddenly got up and sighed, still upset.
“Anyway, that damn child protection law.”
“Why do you keep calling it the child protection law? Geez, you’re so stupid.”
“Then what is it? It’s a protection law! If kids do something wrong, they should be punished! The person who died was the head of the family! Their family depended on him to put food on the table.
“Who is going to compensate his family? What about the sadness they will feel?
“Those crazy people! Do you know what the kid yapped to the lawyer? He said he knew that he did something wrong, so he asked for a moderate punishment, saying he’d get it done quickly then go out and play again! He was so proud that the lawyer got mad that he leaked the trial recording. Kids like them should be punished.
“Do you know why they act like that? They know they are protected by the law and cannot be severely punished. That’s why they’re not afraid of anything!”
“Ji-Hwan, calm down first,” Hydro said.
Ji-Hwan huffed at Hydro’s words.
“Damn it, those bastards should die by getting struck by lightning! I hope Davey comes and takes care of those guys.”
“Why would a busy person like him care about such things? And he’s neither Korean nor an enforcer of justice—there is no reason or justification for him to step forward.”
“Hmm…”
“Ah, of course, he’s such a maverick and only thinks about himself to the point that if we even had the slightest connection, he would completely destroy their souls.”
Although Maga was joking, Grape-flavored Cat Tower, who was listening while playing a game, trembled all over.
“That person really doesn’t play around... He’s a god for making technicians work.”
But there was something they didn't know. The kids had already hit someone else outside the CCTV area before hitting the person caught on footage, making the situation worse.
But that person just so happened to be…
***
Aiur, a demon city under the direct control of the Demon King. It was a place where one person's decisions could determine the fate of the entire race—even their extinction. So when Davey became the Demon King, he implemented significant reforms.
He knew such changes often brought controversy and pain. Count Kirta in front of him, who managed this city, began abusing the authority he had been granted to then engage in corruption.
“I can’t say he wasn’t influenced by it, but…” Davey muttered.
An oppressed being, once full of desire, had gained freedom and misused it.
"What's this? Right of the First Night? Is this guy crazy?" Davey exclaimed.
"I… I think so too," replied Sebastian.
Davey closed his mouth and looked at Sebastian.
“You’re not very disturbed by what I did?”
“You’re the Demon King. Besides, I’m just grateful that you punished the count. Above all else, you gave me a new life and saved the count from ruining everything."
“Public sentiment in the territory had turned extremely hostile—people were dying, and they couldn't follow someone who had fallen into a life of lavish banquets.”
Davey understood this, as changing birthright classes played a significant role. Just as there were different types of humans, demons were no different. Davey knew they might not follow him completely, but he figured their cooperation was enough.
According to the document, Aiur seemed fine on the surface, but in reality? Its finances were in shambles, general welfare was terrible, and public security was nonexistent. Many demons were poor, while Kirta lived in absurd luxury.
“Are other cities like this too?” Davey asked.
The Demon World had several cities besides Aiur. Belial, a loyalist of Perserque who had joined hands with Davey in the past, was imprisoned in a prison city reminiscent of the Aoji Coal Mine.
‘That place needs complete reorganization,’ Davey thought.
Davey had, in fact, come here after hearing news regarding traces of self-proclaimed ancient gods and deciding to investigate them.
“But, Demon King…”
“What?”
“Are the appearances of those monster rabbits and snakes related to this lord’s castle?” he asked nervously.
“We’ll know once we get there,” Davey answered while standing up.
***
The lord's castle was originally used by high-ranking demons. The current Count hadn't been the owner for very long. Because of this, the map of the castle wasn't entirely accurate, but that didn't matter.
“Here we are.”
The basement was dark. Davey knocked on the huge iron prison door, which was tightly sealed.
“Isildi. Use the master key.”
Without hesitation, she drew the Black Iron Sword he had given her.
"Move."
Swoosh!
With a swift and surprisingly clean cut, the sword slashed open the iron gate. Cutting through solid black iron with the Black Iron Sword would have normally suggested the swordmaster wanted to break their sword. However, the results showed otherwise.
“Hmph!”
The seemingly sturdy giant iron gate suddenly began to collapse.
Clank!
Her swordsmanship was so impressive that she hadn’t left a trace anywhere else besides the door.
“It’s very rusty,” she muttered bitterly.
Ignoring Isildi's comment, Davey entered the dark storage room. He activated his Death Spirit Eye, then lightly clapped after his vision adjusted.
[Light]
Gleam!
Once light filled the room, they saw a startling sight. The storage room was filled with mysterious magical devices, and in the middle was a bloodied demon male, chained and hanging on the wall. His body was so badly beaten that he didn’t have a single intact spot.
"Ah… Ahhh…"
Sebastian made a confused and astonished face as he saw the man.
“Seeing him, I can tell that demons are no different from humans,” Kain criticized harshly.
“Tsk.”
Davey approached the man, and before Isildi could sheathe her sword, she swung again and cut off the chains.
“He’s alive. And it’s him.”
"Ah… Alfred!!”
Sebastian, horrified, ran over and picked up the man.
"W-Why… Why are you here? What on earth happened?”
“Do you know him?”
"T-This is my son! I heard he left to participate in the territorial war... How did you end up here?!”
The territorial war referred to the battles that took place after the demons split up. Sebastian soon made a face full of anger and confusion.
“Count… Count Kirta… He couldn’t have…!!”
“He’s the responder. I think I understand now.”
The Count, driven by revenge against Davey for his son's death, seemed to have committed these depraved acts. While Davey was ultimately the cause, the choice of method for revenge was the Count's own.
“He’s alive. He’ll recover to some extent after getting treated. Move him.”
"Why… Why on earth did this happen to my son!?”
“Do you remember the snake and muscle rabbit that attacked the territory?”
"Yes…”
“Ancient monsters created them. They can't only simply emit power; they connect with responders and unleash their power through them.”
Just how viruses worked.
“I suspect that the Count tied up your son here and wanted to use that power to his liking.”
‘And this is the result,’ Davey thought.
Of course, it might have been good if the sealed monster could continuously emit its power through the responder. But Davey knew that this might not be the end of what the Count had done.
“The bottom.”
Davey got the feeling that there was another space beneath this dungeon. He felt a rising heat and a bizarre flow of mana.
After stepping back with both Isildi and Sebastian, Davey took out a huge hammer from his Pocket Plane. It was the Corona Destroyer he had made from materials obtained by killing Malicious Spirits.
“Hmph…”
Bang!!
Without hesitation, Davey struck the floor. It then shattered to pieces.
"What... What is this?"
“There is another space, but what is this heat?”
Davey knew his body would be fine even around lava, but there was something off about the heat. It felt different, unpleasant.
He clapped his hands to create a couple of flash grenades. After throwing them in the black space, Isildi jumped down. Davey wondered if the barrier shattered as the wall collapsed. Davey could feel the unpleasant energy amplifying to an absurd degree.
‘This might be…’ Davey thought.
He followed Isildi into the black space. It was a long hallway, and it seemed the Count paid special attention to this place. As they walked, the oppressive strength grew stronger, and Kain’s expression hardened with nervousness.
“It's terrifyingly powerful. Could it be... an Ancient Demonic Beast?”
“Probably,” Davey mumbled calmly. They soon found a small door at the end of the hallway.
“Wait a minute! We should check the situation first and be careful...”
“Nonsense,” Isildi said. She then immediately opened the door. Davey realized she had turned too fiery after awakening.
As they looked inside, all of them froze. A scene completely different from Sebastian Alfred unfolded in front of them.
“Bleh…”
Isidi covered her mouth and Davey frowned. There were numerous rabbits, all in pure white tights and muscular with expressionless demon faces. They all had white rabbit ears. They all seemed like strange bizarre rabbits. But the rabbits were…
“They’re so bulked up! What the hell?! Davey shouted, unable to hold back. Then all the rabbits turned their heads towards them.
“Kyuuuu?”
As they titled their heads while making a strange cry, Davey noticed them holding something that looked like dumbbells. But then they approached as if they were trying to show off their muscles. As they looked at the rabbits that clearly had been training their muscles, Isildi backed away, clearly sickened by them.
“Ah… I can’t beat those. I don’t fight with things like that,” she said firmly.
Davey sighed and stepped forward.
[Welcome.]
He heard a slick voice echo. Davey instantly frowned.
“What's your name?”
[Is my name important? But for the purpose of entertainment, you can call me Killer Rabbit.]
“Killer Rabbit… That’s a bit disgusting.”
[You came to see me, right? Unlike other Demonic Beasts, I am not interested in power or dominance, only muscles! Muscles are everything to me.]
“...”
[I’ve almost completed my incarnation, unlike the other beasts. Have you come to kill me?]
Davey nodded at its question.
“I’m here to retrieve the inner elixir from your body.”
[Then accept my challenge.]
Then the rabbits retreated. Davey then mumbled about how he couldn’t figure out why the rabbits were making him go through so much hassle when he had to get back to Earth.
Then a massive rabbit with a different physique stepped forward while thudding.
[My being! My power! My appearance!]
It was a grotesquely muscular rabbit, even more disgusting than the others. This rabbit demon not only had rabbit ears but a round face like a real rabbit.
[Fight with strength. If you beat me, I’ll gladly give you the origin of my power.]
Unlike other Demonic Beasts, their seals were almost completely broken. Davey figured that the Count’s power likely came from this crazy, max-level rabbit.
“Ah… I want to get out of here,” Isildi muttered, trying to escape. But then the door slammed shut.
[You can come in however you like, but you can’t go out when you want.]
“Ha, how ridiculous,” Davey said. He then took off his outer garment and threw it to Isildi.
“Wait there.”
[You’re a feisty one. Good. Let’s see who’s stronger.]
“Since you insist, I’m going with my strength, Killer Rabbit. ”
Bang!!
Killer Rabbit attacked fiercely, but unlike other Demonic Beasts, it seemed to be controlling its strength remarkably well. It didn’t look threatening on the outside, but Davey wondered what power it possessed.
Davey stopped midway as he began to engage in a power struggle. He reached into his Pocket Place and drew out Super Ribbon by combining Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon.
Without hesitation, Davey unleashed the Power of Taboo and cut him into pieces. Despite being an Ancient Demonic Beast, it wasn’t a threat to him.
[Gaaa?! What?! You dirty cheater?!]
“No matter how much I think about this, it just doesn’t seem right.”
A monster from the legends? A monster sealed in ancient times? None of that mattered. To Davey, he was just… detrimental. Bothersome.
Davey extended his hand toward the collapsing rabbit and used his demigod power to pull out the origin of its strength, pushing it into the Absolute Gem.
‘Alright, one down. Where’s the next one?’