Chapter 674 – What It Means to Protect (2) #PART 1

Valefor.
He was a great learner.
Despite being born in the realm of anomalies, Valefor held no prejudice. He accepted knowledge and malice that would normally be considered base and beneath him, processed them, and made them his own.
Even amidst the collapse of the demon world, he was the same.

“…Ugh.”

It was thanks to his study of the worlds consumed by the demon world.
Valefor survived the aftermath that even Baal could not escape. But that was all.
To avoid the gaze of the silver Evil Eye, he had to conceal all presence.

“Zenzhaaaaang…”

A hollow throne left behind, with no one to take it away.
That was all that remained for Valefor.
He had thrown away everything to hide his presence.
And yet, Valefor did not give up.

‘Know your place. Never forget your place, Valefor.’

This level of humiliation?
He didn’t care in the slightest.
Hadn’t he already been treated poorly even before losing his power? Yes—especially back when he was under the sway of Agares’ Word of Command.

‘This might actually be an opportunity.’

All he had left was a mere handful of power.
But Valefor had the ability to grow that small power into one capable of filling the universe.
And so, Valefor submerged himself in the byproducts of the backflowing demon world.

“Ugh.”

It was nauseating to the point of death.

“More than disgusting, it’s dangerous.”

Diving into the byproducts of the demon world was extremely risky.
Behemoth, who had sustained the demon world, seemed to have consumed far more than Valefor expected.

…Zzt.
A hunger to learn stirred within him.

‘This might be worth studying…’

No, Valefor.
You can’t waste this one chance.
Valefor forcefully pulled his gaze away from the various byproducts.
As stated—he only had one handful of power.

‘I must overturn this situation in a single shot.’

Did he really have a power capable of resolving the despair of the demon world’s collapse?
Of course.
Hadn’t he witnessed it himself?
The immeasurable malice that drove the first throne’s demon king, Baal, to death…!

‘That’s the power I must aim for.’

Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
Valefor didn’t know what he wanted—what his goal was in killing Baal or collapsing the demon world—and he didn’t care to know.

‘I just want your power.’

Yes, if only he had that level of power…

‘All things would serve me.’

Even Agares’ Word of Command would be no more than a mosquito’s buzz.
Valefor’s pupils burned with malice.

‘So endure, Valefor—desperately.’

Because it was so vast…

“Hrrgh.”

Even with Grandfell’s Evil Eye, one couldn’t possibly see through the demon world’s byproducts.
Valefor floated, eyes wide open, simply waiting for Grandfell to act.

‘He must have a purpose for doing all this.’

To enact such unfathomable malice, surely he would have to unleash great power.
He would wait for an opening, witness Grandfell’s power, and learn it.

It was the moment Valefor resolved himself—

“…?”

A sudden light caught his eye.
The demon world had collapsed and merged with the continent of Arcana.
And thanks to that, a landscape of the Arcana continent shimmered through.

More precisely—

‘That is…?’

He had seen Hoyeol.
But Valefor couldn’t believe his own eyes.
Now, with his malice blazing and his consciousness razor-sharp, he couldn’t possibly be hallucinating.

‘That power… what is it?’

Reviving a dead human…?
This wasn’t some cheap necromancy like that of the lich skeleton from before.
It wasn’t reanimating a corpse—it was true resurrection.
No, more than that…

‘He returned to a body uninjured from before death.’

At that moment, Valefor’s malice flickered.
Maybe… just maybe—

‘I don’t have to take such a risky path after all.’

Observe and learn Grandfell’s power?
He had made up his mind to do it, but had no real confidence he could succeed.
And rightfully so—he had witnessed it firsthand:
The once-unreachable Baal dying like a fool under the gaze of Grandfell’s Evil Eye.

Moreover—

‘I don’t know how or why, but…’

Lee Hoyeol.
A mere human—yet his power had grown to a staggering degree.
It was enough to finally understand why Grandfell had favored him so much.

“!”

Valefor’s astonishment didn’t stop there.

“What, what impossible…!!”

Valefor forgot he was submerged in the byproducts of the demon world and gaped in shock.
Filthy sludge poured down his throat, but he couldn’t spare a thought for it.

Woooooooom—
A low rumble that shook his body.
He hadn’t misheard.
It was the cry of Behemoth.
Hoyeol had made a gesture—and the long-dead Behemoth had risen again.

How?

It didn’t make sense.
Reviving a human who had just died was one thing, but Behemoth had perished days ago!

‘…No, now’s not the time to be frozen in thought.’

Lee Hoyeol—Valefor would learn his power.
He made the decision quickly.
What he’d seen already was reason enough, but he also had one more conviction.

‘Above all else, he is the human chosen by Grandfell.’

He didn’t know what it was, but there was something between them.
And if that something truly had the power to hunt Grandfell—

‘Then it’s the right choice.’

Valefor didn’t hesitate.
He activated his authority 『The Rat That Feeds on Claws.』
Unless one possessed Grandfell’s Evil Eye, which could pierce through all, no one would notice.

‘He won’t even know I’m here.’

Even fallen to the gutter, a Ten Throne demon was still a Ten Throne demon.
Valefor’s prediction was correct.
As soon as the authority activated, he began to absorb the knowledge inside Hoyeol’s mind as his own.

And that’s when—

“…Hurk?!”

Valefor began to retch.

“Blaaaaaargh!!”

He couldn’t even speak.
The vomit that surged up clogged both his voice and breath.
No—more than that, he didn’t even have the presence of mind to speak anymore.

The sheer volume of information was beyond what any Ten Throne vessel could endure.
It wasn’t just vast—it was deadly.
The past and background inside Hoyeol’s mind were darker than dark—lethal.

Foaming at the mouth, Valefor mumbled,

“He’s insane. Completely insane. Utterly insane…!!”

I… I… I…!!

Tremble tremble tremble…

His hand began to slowly move.
It stopped at the nape of his neck.

Yes—better to die than to carry this past and knowledge in my mind—!!

…Crack!

Valefor’s face turned deathly pale.
There was no trace left of the Valefor who, even in the filth of the gutter, had vowed revenge fueled by malice.

“Grrck-kuh…!”

The sixth throne demon king, Valefor.
That was his end.
The fate of one who uncovered a ‘past’ too devastating to withstand.

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