◈ Episode 284. Trivial Things

The Great Evil.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Noble ugliness.

There are so many different names to call them.

But none of them sounded good.

Because I was born that way.

『I envy you.

Insanely envious.

If I couldn’t have it, I’d break it.』

From birth to eternity.

Longing for something.

A being born with no choice but to live with ‘envious’ of something.

The Seven Deadly Sins, Envy.

But in the recent Arcana Continent, there was nothing to be envied.

Not even a severed right arm.

It wasn’t hard to keep my composure.

“There are days when mongrels are useful.”

The continent trampled by demonic mongrels was silent.

Envy liked the silence.

What was so happy about such trivial things.

There was no sound of the humans’ constant laughter.

Because I didn’t have to watch the people I wanted to destroy.

“I praise you, kings of the mongrels.”

Especially the Demon King.

Even the ones who claimed to be kings of mongrels and led their hordes to get on my nerves. For some reason, they were too shy to show themselves.

Envy stared at the severed right arm.

『Damn Akshan. Damn Demon Hunter…….』

Even though I lost my right arm to him.

In this Arcana Continent.

There was no need to turn to another world in pursuit of peace.

It wasn’t so bad.

“Damn it……!!!”

All in a day’s work.

Until I fell into the world of adventurers with the Zero Mountains.

How did I know that while I was stuck in a cave?

Thump thump─

Because my heart was beating differently.

What kind of world is this?

The amount of negative emotions is on a different level.

Compared to the hopelessness of the current Arcana continent.

There was no comparison.

“……Karimzeva.”

The brat didn’t want to bring him here for nothing.

But Envy was not forgotten in admiration.

There were survivors of Akshan in this world, Demon Hunters.

Even the words the man had left for him.

-“You lost your right arm, demon. I remembered that.”

Envy looked at his own right arm.

“Tch.”

It was a body raging with vitality.

The wound should have regenerated long ago.

His right arm, severed by a demon hunter, hadn’t grown back.

If I were to face him in this condition…….

‘……this time, I’ll be condemned to hell.’

Like the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed, the Demon King, Decarabia.

The fear drove Envy to hide in deeper darkness.

It drove it deeper and further into a cave, a more inconspicuous cave.

But Envy’s hiding did not last long.

For there were players in the Zero Mountains.

“This, this is an appearance message……!!!”

“Lord……!!”

“The Great Evil, the Seven Deadly Sins Envy.”

I’ll have to kill it.

That’s what Envy thought when he saw the adventurers entering the cave.

From the Arcana continent, he thought.

There is no other group of people as insignificant and obnoxious as the adventurers.

kudeudeug!

Envy’s body twisted ugly.

The body disguised as a human bursts open, revealing its true form.

Envy’s gigantic body transforms.

“Blame yourself, lowly race, for being born in vain.”

Adventurer.

They were even more stupid than the humans of Arcana.

Resurrection, a power that even he did not have, was insignificant.

They were a weak people.

And yet, what makes them so joyful.

They traveled across the continent together.

They were insanely annoying.

That is why I will end their lives, I thought.

“……?”

But Envy did not.

I didn’t feel envious from the adventurer in front of me.

It was an emotion that surprised even him.

“My Lord, I think it’s better for you to leave……!!!”

Lord.

The man was surrounded by many people.

So many humans throwing themselves to protect one man.

It was a sight that should have distorted his judgment.

‘That’s strange.’

It actually calmed me.

A man for such envy.

Liu Zunqun opened his mouth.

“Great Evil.”

“?”

“Aren’t you curious about the world of adventurers?”

.

.

.

Envy put on his mantle and headed for the gathering place of the Heavenly Unity.

Countless humans gathered at the appointed place.

Envy laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“The most foolish of the foolish.”

Liu Zunqun.

To think of him as a lord and follow him.

It wasn’t for nothing else that Envy felt at peace with Liu Zunqun. Yes, he was human, but he had a malice not different from the demon.

“It’s impossible for me to feel envious of that ugliness.”

That was what piqued its interest.

“I don’t know what goal you had.”

Still, it’s always fun to watch a human being despair at not reaching a goal.

It was always a pleasure.

Most of all, it was worth it to Liu Zunqun.

Informative without being intrusive.

Liu Zunqun.

If it weren’t for him.

The Demon Hunter.

Not even the name.

Nor the name.

Or what he was in the world of adventurers.

I wouldn’t have known.

It was only because of the information he had provided that I was able to roam the mountains like this.

“You can’t feel me.”

At this moment, he’s probably holed up in a cave in the Zero Mountains.

It would be easy for me to take advantage of that and devour the prepared sacrifice.

Adventurers in the distance.

Envy licked his lips.

“I’ll take them with pleasure.”

Then I thought.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take his body.’

Liu Zunqun was not human in many ways, so it would not be a bad idea to possess his body and live in the world of adventurers. Most importantly, I could hide this right arm.

The players stood in the way of Envy’s plan.

“What the fuck is this?”

A red insignia.

Liu Zunqun’s men.

Several of them showed open hostility.

‘It’s bound to happen.’

They must be high from all the commotion.

Poor thing.

Everything so far has been a sacrifice to myself. Without even knowing that it was Liu Zunqun’s ploy.

Now you’re going to die.

Kwaduk─

Envy didn’t answer, instead revealing his hidden malice.

A giant hand shot out from its ribs.

It instantly crushes and absorbs those around it.

“Ugh ugh ughh……?”

People who close their eyes in fear.

“!!!”

Even those who had drawn their weapons are stunned by the sight.

Envy posed no threat.

It was inevitable.

“Weak. So weak.”

Considering that the player who was categorized as the highest ranked player in the Heavenly Unity was only level 500. Considering that the freshly resurrected Greed was level 600, there was not the slightest bit of lie in Envy’s words.

Boom!

Quadruple!

Boom!

But Envy wasn’t complaining.

Lee Hoyeol, the Demon Hunter who had his arm amputated.

Now he’s in the same world as him.

‘You have to eat what comes your way.’

I had to build up my strength quickly.

In that sense, the world of adventurers.

The reality was a very suitable place.

“This is good. The spices make up for the lack of ingredients.”

A small smile of Envy appeared on his face.

In a place that should have been filled with terror.

Why?

A cheerful voice spoke up.

“This is not what I expected!”

“What’s the difference? We were all going to die anyway. I don’t know what the history of that shit is, but as long as the outcome is the same, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Uhaha! As expected, you have something in common with me.”

Gulp.

Envy swallowed the human he’d been holding.

It looked at the two men.

Then it shifted its gaze to the devastation.

Flesh and blood splattered across the mountainside.

The sudden change of scenery.

A human would have frozen in terror.

The two men were remarkably unaffected.

As if they were used to such carnage.

Buckbuck.

Hulking, Rockid scratched his head.

“So, any new plans you’ve heard about?”

“Hot damn, since when are we good with magic?”

“I think I asked the wrong question.”

Rockid, himself, and Henderson were martial artists.

This meant that they couldn’t communicate with Wolfe, naturally. But in a situation like this, Wolfe had a plan.

“No matter what, if it all goes away, it’s going to be difficult. Isn’t there a limit to how that gloomy woman can bring corpses back to life with magic?”

“A gloomy woman? Isabella? That’s a lot to take in, haha!”

“Stop splitting hairs and let’s do something about that bastard.”

Bam!

Rockid threw off his rabbit mask and raised his axe.

If there’s one race that makes you feel uncomfortable just by looking at them, it’s…….

The demon, of course.

Chuck.

Just like Rockid.

Henderson raised his hammer.

Rockid said to Henderson.

“Well, be careful not to get scared.”

“Hahaha. I hope so.”

“As expected, I said something pointless.”

Boom!

And just like that, the battle began.

The whole situation was being shared with the Shadow Mercenaries through Nadivo.

Alkari grimaced.

“…….”

The only one who recognized the meaning was Wolfe, the vice leader.

“I’ve been thinking about it in the back of my mind.”

“About what?”

“Liu Zunqun. I was wondering if the Monarch of Adventurers really didn’t know that his group was rotting away, because this was beyond ignorance, it was actually encouragement.”

“Hmph…….”

“That cleared my head a bit.”

But if you consider that guy the demon?

All questions are resolved.

Liu Zunqun and the demon have a symbiotic relationship.

Liu Zunqun threw his men to the demon out of self-interest.

If you think about it, he threw them to the demon.

“They were a kind of sacrifice.”

Wolfe raised the corner of his mouth.

“Well, I can’t believe there’s another scumbag like us.”

Alkari cut him off.

“Considering the difference in the years they have lived, I think they are worse than us. It was an evil act that was far ahead of this old man’s thoughts. I have no choice but to admit it now, I underestimated the Monarch of adventurers.”

It wasn’t sarcasm, it was sincerity.

Alkari had studied the hegemony of the Arcana continent.

The monarchs who have survived on Arcana have not survived because they were saints. They survived because they were merciless, even tyrants to some.

Alkari turns to Wolfe.

“So what do you propose, Acting Leader Wolfe?”

All eyes of the Shadow Mercenaries turn to Wolfe.

“I don’t know.”

Wolfe imagined.

What would the leader, or Kichi, decide?

Then he shook his head.

Kichi wouldn’t have come up with this plan in the first place.

She would have tried to do it all on her own.

In that way, he was weak, unlike her.

‘Because I’ve brought in everyone she wanted to protect.’

But it’s the other way around.

The Shadow Mercenaries, all of them.

We moved to find you.

Wolfe spoke up, as if it were obvious.

“First of all, let’s think half-heartedly like we are.”

.

.

.

Envy looked down.

“Just in case.”

The number is ‘nine’.

Because, contrary to what I knew, one was empty.

However, I noticed the stigma wrapped around the man’s body.

『Mark of the Shadow God.』

They are the Shadow Mercenaries.

Envy looked down at his own body.

The battered flesh cringed and regenerated.

Envy assessed it objectively.

“Amazing.”

He hadn’t expected to suffer this much damage against a human in a situation where he, a demon, had such an advantage. Envy thought back to the past with a wry smile.

“As expected, I didn’t entrust the request to you for nothing.”

“…….”

Wolfe clutched at his torn side.

Not even the leader…….

I don’t think I’ve ever blamed Henderson and Rockid before.

‘Fear, not being able to feel that important emotion.’

They were too cavalier, mistaken.

They thought it was a common demon.

Damn it, it’s not a common demon, even if it pretends to be.

It wasn’t until they came face to face with him that they realized it.

Kichi’s last words were telling.

-“To confirm that it is a request from a great evil.”

The moment he mentioned the request.

I was certain.

He’s the one.

But his next words were far more unexpected.

“And you have fulfilled that great commission.”

My sides ripped open.

“What……?”

Cough!

The damage to my lungs and other organs is extreme.

Even just flinching.

Just breathing in can cause fatal damage.

But even as he coughed up blood, Wolfe spoke.

Certainly.

I had to ask.

‘You’re telling me we did the job perfectly……?’

Kichi said plainly.

A request from the great evil.

It was one of those long unresolved malicious requests that remained on the ledger. If we could find out what it was, we could help the commander in chief.

That was why Kichi had accompanied him to the Arcana Continent.

Wolfe suddenly realized.

‘……You’ve known all along, leader.’

The thing that can reveal the request ledger is.

Only the leader of the Shadow Mercenaries.

There was no way she could have been confused about the nature of the request or its success.

Wolfe paused.

‘…… Wait.’

Kichi had disappeared.

She’d told the commander that she’d take full responsibility.

At which point she’d double-check the nature of the Great Evil’s request.

A natural flow of thought.

Soon, Wolfe came to a conclusion.

“…… The Great Evil’s request was related to the Commander-in-Chief.’

Suddenly, Kichi’s behavior begins to make sense.

“Haha…….”

So that’s why he’d left that shit behind and disappeared.

“That’s fucking twisted, isn’t it…….”

Wolfe thought of Hoyeol, then shook his head.

Kichi’s behavior was beginning to make sense.

Perhaps he would have made the same judgment himself.

But he had to ask.

Wolfe opened his mouth to speak, struggling with jealousy.

“What was that request……. What was it?”

“Is that something you don’t know about?”

“Yes……. I’ve only been the leader for a few days.”

A human from the Arcana continent I met for the first time in a while.

It wasn’t difficult to answer.

It was the moment when I opened my mouth without feeling envy.

“CL…….”

A shout rang in my ears.

“……!!!”

It was not the groan of a fallen Shadow Mercenary.

Nor was it Wolfe’s voice.

Wolf.

It was the howl of a real wolf.

In other words.

“Awooooooooooo-!!!”

It was Tempest in the mountains.