Chapter 162 – Why Won’t He Die (2)

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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At Yama’s Hellfire Palace in the Yellow Springs Realm.

The day’s work had ended, and they were currently in the closing meeting.

“All right, all right, let’s wrap it up here and go to the multiplex for a drink.”

At Yama’s words, Gangrim raised his hand and spoke.

“Um, I have something scheduled today…”

“What?”

“Don’t you know a new drama is coming out at the theater?”

“What is it?”

“Squid Game Season 2…, and I feel like I need to see it on the big screen to really experience it.”

At Gangrim’s words, Judge Geopryun snapped at him.

“You little bastard, all you need to do is look at the immortals’ faces if you want squid.”

“That’s right, we have Poison Squid, Sword Squid, Liquor Squid, Painting Squid, all kinds.”

“Still, Season 1 was pretty fun.”

“Are the same actors in Season 2 too?”

“Let’s use this chance to make a drama ourselves.”

“A drama?”

“How about Immortal Realm Squid Game?”

Apparently it was a fairly interesting suggestion, because the meeting hall became noisy.

“Try a survival game like in the drama?”

“Naturally with coins put up as the prize…”

“Since immortals can use spells, we’d have to seal their immortal qi too.”

“Would the Immortal Realm squid do well?”

“With coins on the line, they’ll cling to it desperately.”

“Film it with smartphones?”

“Then export it back to Earth…”

That was when it happened.

“Enjoying yourselves?”

“Biting, tearing, tasting, enjoying, what a mess.”

“Who would have thought you’d spend your meetings badmouthing us?”

“As expected of the sinister Yellow Springs Realm.”

“You called us squid? When you lot look like maggots yourselves.”

Before anyone knew it, immortals had appeared in the Hellfire Palace.

They had all come in a crowd.

“…Uh.”

“Mm.”

“W-when did you get here?”

Tang Gun-ak came forward with a stern face.

“Poison Squid had something to ask.”

Yama rolled his eyes around and said,

“Y-you heard it all?”

“I’m sorry. My ears are unusually sharp.”

“Th-that, I mean, the way it happened was…”

“Forget that and look at this.”

When he took Drek Karax out of the Infinite Space,

“Hm?”

It was a bizarre figure.

As if horns on the head were not enough, his whole body was nothing but bones and skin, almost a living skeleton.

He looked even more unsightly than a prisoner of hell.

“This is…”

Ureureu,

the judges and grim reapers who had been seated also gathered around.

“What is this?”

“Since it has a form…, a jiangshi?”

“No, it’s not a jiangshi. It smells like an evil spirit.”

“…An evil spirit?”

Drek Karax was beside himself.

He had been moved somewhere again and then brought back out.

Who were these people this time?

And where was this place?

They were different even from the immortals.

If he had felt an immeasurable gap in power from the immortals, just looking at these beings made his body tremble.

“What do you think? As experts, judge it for me.”

Experts?

Who exactly was that person?

Huge glaring eyes, a bushy black beard, a face red as if it were burning, a broad and imposing frame, and the dignity rising from his entire body.

His head lowered on its own.

He could not even meet his eyes.

“Poison Immortal, first I want to know where this thing came from. It does not seem to be a monster.”

“Hoo.”

Tang Gun-ak sighed.

It drained him to tell the same story again.

But since it was Tae-ju’s matter, he endured it.

He told the whole story from beginning to end in detail.

At that, Yama, the judges, and the grim reapers widened their eyes with intense curiosity.

“So you’re saying that something not even human was delivered from Earth? And on top of that, it’s a soul linker necromancer called evil, who harassed Hero Tae-ju?”

“That is exactly right.”

“And on top of that, it doesn’t die properly either?”

“That is the reason this thing is still alive.”

Yama thought for a moment.

Then he said,

“First we should examine the soul this thing possesses. If we’re lucky, we may even learn what kind of thing a soul linker is.”

“Oh! I beg your help.”

Yama gave an order to one of the judges.

“Judge Odo, go bring the Soul-Summoning Bell.”

“I shall bring it at once.”

The Soul-Summoning Bell.

A treasure of the Yellow Springs Realm.

It looked like a bell.

If this was shaken, using the sinner’s soul as a medium, it would show in full even the sins committed in this life and previous lives.

Additionally, it could even peer into the essence of the soul.

Whether it was truly human, or an evil and wicked spirit.

Holding the Soul-Summoning Bell, Yama interrogated Drek Karax in a grave voice.

“Answer me. To whom is your soul linked?”

“…What would you do with that if you knew?”

As if.

Did he think he would tell him that?

‘He’s going to look at who my soul linker is?’

How dare he!

Those bastards did not know their place.

Suddenly courage welled up.

Drek Karax also understood the mechanism of soul linkers very well.

The soul linked to him was also an absolute being of the world.

Anything but ordinary.

It only pained him that, since he was human, he could not fully display the power of that great being who was his identical soul.

Even becoming a Deus Lich had been in order to get as close to him as possible.

‘If they find out who the soul linked to me is, they’ll probably collapse in shock.’

No, would they even be able to uncover it?

Then Yama smiled in a sneering way and said,

“Trifling thing. I shall reveal it personally.”

Ddarang! Ddarang! Ddarang!

Yama shook the Soul-Summoning Bell violently.

Uuuuuuuuuuu…,

“Know your own sins!”

At that instant!

Paaaaaaat!

Something like an illusion unfolded on the ceiling of the Hellfire Palace meeting room.

“Huh!”

Drek Karax’s eyes widened.

Above his head, inside the illusion, though faint, his deeds on Earth flowed like a panorama.

Mega Roma of the European Empire.

Born to an ordinary family, losing his parents in a demonic-beast wave, living with difficulty, and then at some point experiencing soul linkage.

Then, using that power as his stepping stone, he took over gang organizations one by one, selling drugs, prostitution, contract killings, kidnappings, extortion, and loan sharking as he expanded his power.

He had killed plenty.

At first he killed only gangsters, but later he killed ordinary people too in order to gain power.

All of his deeds came out.

How he took in people with useful talent as disciples, eventually established an organization called the Black Mafia and ruled the nights of Europe, and even the matter of raising undead and using all of Moscow as a sacrifice.

“Th-th-th…”

“What a vile bastard!”

“He’s committed every evil deed there is.”

“…It’s regrettable that he grew up in such a miserable family, but.”

“Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean you become evil. Even among heavenly people, there are hardly any who were born to wealthy households in their previous lives.”

At that moment, the illusion began to disappear.

“Hmm, is it over?”

“Eing, and you said we’d be able to figure out the soul linker too.”

“Try harder, Yama.”

Flinch!

Drek Karax doubted his own ears.

‘Yama?’

That Yama who managed the Yellow Springs and ruled hell?

‘Aw, no way! There’s no way…’

Ddarang-ddarang-ddarang!

The bell sound grew even more violent.

The illusion appeared again.

The atmosphere had changed.

But then?

“Hm?”

“Ah!”

“Hmm…”

“That place?”

“…That’s not Earth.”

An environment entirely different from Earth.

A sky filled with sinister qi, black earth, and grotesque animals and plants.

The immortals tilted their heads.

Where was the place inside the illusion?

On the other hand, Drek Karax’s eyes became dazed.

That was because he knew where that place was.

The Demon Realm.

The place where the great soul linked to him lived.

That was right.

Myself in another world was the Demon King.

Ahhh!

My great soul.

Who could understand the bitterness of being unable to fully display the power he possessed merely because he was human and not a demon?

If only he could have gone to the Demon Realm, he might have obtained the body of a demon.

He had wanted to follow him even by a quarter of a quarter.

But the limit a human could climb to was no more than Deus Lich.

Would those shabby bastards know?

The greatness of the Demon King.

Ddarang, ddarng, ddarng!

The bell sound rang inside his head.

His chest swelled.

His heart pounded.

His senses reached their peak.

It felt as if his body were floating up.

At the same time, Drek Karax’s soul was being pulled somewhere.

Aaaaaah!

This feeling, this sensation.

‘At last…’

It was Drek Karax’s soul linkage.

And as expected, the first to detect it was Poison Immortal Tang Gun-ak.

‘Look at this bastard?’

Of all times, here?

“It’s soul linkage.”

At Tang Gun-ak’s words, the immortals jumped in surprise.

“Who? Could it perhaps be Hero Tae-ju and Poison Immortal…”

“No! I mean this bastard. It seems his soul is currently linked to someone.”

“Heo!”

Parrrrr,

the Soul-Summoning Bell shook violently.

And then.

Paat!

Someone revealed himself within the illusion on the ceiling of the Hellfire Palace.

“What the hell is with that goat head?”

“Wow! Fire is coming out of its eyes.”

“It has horns and even a pointed chin, it’d hurt if it stabbed you.”

“In all my life, I’ve never seen something so ugly.”

“Compared to that, the Chaotic-World Demon King is idol-class.”

“Is that goat the soul linker of this bastard?”

But Drek Karax could not help but be moved.

That person was himself.

The ruler of the demon race.

The King of the Demon Realm, Baphomet.

How proud it was!

Drek Karax could not suppress the exclamation bursting from his mouth.

“O King of the Demon Realm!!! Please mock these lowly pieces of trash to your heart’s content!!!”

At those words, the immortals looked bewildered.

“What’s with this bastard? Did he take drugs?”

“A Demon King? And where exactly is this Demon Realm?”

At that exact moment!

Inside the illusion, Baphomet looked directly at the immortals.

“Oh-ho? Look at that bastard? He’s staring right at us.”

“A goat-looking bastard. I ought to rip that mouth wide open!”

“Yama, can you not make a door to where that bastard lives?”

Yama, too, glared at the great demon in the illusion, Demon King Baphomet, and frowned.

He knew the moment he saw him.

A low, cruel, sinister, crafty crystallization of evil.

It was the type Yama hated most. If he were standing before him, he would have ripped him apart on the spot.

“Lower your eyes, you little demon-breed bastard! How dare you act arrogant.”

Seuseuseuseut!

The violent power of the Yellow Springs churned over Yama’s whole body.

“If you act up, you’ll shit blood, understand? Should I come there? Do you think I can’t? How about I open a door?”

Meanwhile, Drek Karax was experiencing the unification of consciousness.

Himself and Demon King Baphomet.

Through soul linkage, experience and memories were shared.

Their emotions, too, came and went in real time.

Thus Drek Karax knew.

What Demon King Baphomet was currently thinking.

Horror, shock, confusion, bewilderment, and…

‘Huh! Wh-what?’

The final one was fear.

The terror a herbivore feels when facing a predator.

Baphomet was afraid.

Of these immortals, of the judges, of the grim reapers,

and especially Baphomet’s intense reaction toward Yama.

‘A demon god…’

That was right.

Demon King Baphomet was recognizing Yama as a demon god.

‘Th-this is crazy! Th-that makes no sen…’

Baphomet even lowered his gaze first.

And then the connection gradually dimmed.

‘W-wait!’

Tuk!

‘Huh?’

The connection was cut.

Baphomet had forcibly cut it.

The illusion vanished with a pit.

Drek Karax was dumbfounded.

The ruler of the Demon Realm, the Demon King, had severed the soul linkage out of fear?

“Ah, damn it, he ran away. Great King, just what are you doing?”

“You let him get away, even though that bastard tried to harm Hero Tae-ju.”

“That’s right, after taking everything he was given from Hero Tae-ju, and then you can’t even catch a bastard like that.”

“No gratitude, no gratitude at all.”

“And talking bad about others behind their backs too.”

The immortals’ criticism continued in a stream.

Yama protested against it.

“N-no! How am I supposed to catch someone in another world?”

“Just a while ago you said you could open a door. Were you bluffing?”

“It wasn’t a bluff…”

“Oh! Then you’re saying you can go over there, to the Demon Realm?”

“Not right now. But since the Soul-Summoning Bell reacted with this bastard’s soul and the one called the Demon King, if we study it further…”

At that, Sword Immortal said in a subtle voice,

“Then Earth too?”

“Haven’t I told you repeatedly that it can’t be done? There has to be the same soul as me on Earth.”

“Tsk, I’m disappointed, Yama.”

“…”

Yama looked at Poison Immortal and said,

“What are you going to do with this bastard?”

“Well, we’ve seen everything we need to see, and he’s not useful.”

“Then leave him to me. I have things to study too.”

“Please do.”

Having received permission, Yama called for Gangrim.

“Gangrim.”

“Yes, Great King.”

“For now, throw this bastard into hell.”

“Understood.”

“Work him over as much as possible until he softens up.”

Gangrim twisted and seized the neck of Drek Karax, who was still standing there in a daze, and crossed over into Scorching-Heat Hell, then

“Heavenly Demon! Blood Demon!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Did you call for us?”

The Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon, who had come to serve as managers of the prisoners in hell as a reward for their contribution to the construction work of Yellow Springs World, came running over in a hurry.

“Take in a new guy. Work him over thoroughly.”

“…To what degree of intensity?”

“I’m telling you he doesn’t die, so you can beat the hell out of him as much as you want.”

“Hahaha, leave your worries behind.”

“Later, I’ll send in fried chicken and beer as prison rations.”

Drek Karax’s life in hell had just begun.

* * *

Late at night, Tae-ju visited the Imperial Palace while avoiding the reporters.

So many calls had come that he had to meet them at least once.

Since he had contacted them in advance, Geum Su-ho personally came out to meet him.

Emperor Ryu Tae-hyeon and Geum Su-ho both wore expressions that looked as if they had many things to say.

“Good that you came. Things are chaotic these days, aren’t they? Both inside and out.”

“Yes, a little, to the extent that new-drug research is difficult.”

Actually it was not all that difficult, but let him complain a little.

“Heoheo, that won’t do…, but what kind of medicine?”

“Raid-use doping potions. We’re conducting our own experiments. Right now we’re in the phase of reducing the side effects as much as possible.”

“Is that so?”

The Emperor brightened.

There were narcotic doping potions even now.

The problem was that the side effects were severe, so they were not used widely.

But if someone made doping potions without side effects?

And moreover, were they not medicines made by Chairman Kim Tae-ju?

They would surely be of great help in attacking demonic-beast concentration zones.

And they could also respond to sudden situations like the undead incident.

“What are the effects?”

“They’re fantastic. I don’t know if you’ve heard. There was recently an operation to conquer a DMA demonic-beast concentration zone.”

“I know about it too. It succeeded, didn’t it?”

“Nine people killed eighty-eight elite demonic beasts. Thanks to the raid doping potions.”

“Ohoooo!”

Well, Sword Queen Jeong Yeon-hui’s share had been large too.

“And I’m also thinking of researching a hair-growth medicine.”

“Huhk!”

This time Geum Su-ho let out an exclamation.

“Th-that is true? Hair-growth medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Ooooooh! When will it come out? Would it not be possible for me to volunteer as a test subject?”

Why the fuss?

He was a man with a full head of hair,

“In truth, recently my hair has been falling out little by little. Medicine has slowed the progress, but.”

“Hmm,”

Now that he looked more closely, the hairline at both sides of his forehead had indeed risen a little.

“An M-shape?”

Geum Su-ho nodded with a forlorn expression.

The Emperor clicked his tongue as if dumbfounded and said,

“Tsk tsk, at your age already…, just shave it all off!”

“If only the shape of my skull were merely average, I would have.”

“A bastard who says he has no intention of marrying…”

“Even if I don’t marry, I do date…, in any case, this is not the time for that. We have to help Chairman Kim focus on his research.”

“How?”

“We should clear out the reporters first.”

At present, the attention of all the imperial citizens was on the issue of soul linkage.

It was a raging storm.

If one turned on the TV, that was all they talked about.

YouTube was the same.

To the point that even the Emperor said,

“Even I’m being suspected. They ask whether I’m a soul linker, and even when I say I’m not, they don’t seem to believe me.”

“…That must be difficult.”

“It’s unbelievably frustrating. I held a tea party with my ministers, and every single one of them asked whether I wasn’t a soul linker.”

That made sense.

A Grand Master beyond comparison to ordinary masters.

Was not the strongest awakened in the Samhan Empire precisely Emperor Ryu Tae-hyeon?

So even before, people had often compared them.

If Emperor Alex Caesar and Emperor Ryu Tae-hyeon fought, who would win?

Lion or tiger?

Superman or Batman?

In the middle of that, it was revealed that Emperor Alex Caesar had hidden his awakening markings with a polymorph ring.

It was perhaps natural for Emperor Ryu Tae-hyeon to be suspected.

“Even when I took off my rings, took off my necklace, and scrubbed the markings with an exfoliating towel, they still wouldn’t drop their suspicions.”

Geum Su-ho shook his head and responded as well.

“Yes, it was something. Didn’t you even try to climb up on top of the tea-party table and lower your trousers? To prove you had no polymorph item.”

“…I didn’t lower my trousers.”

“You had already undone your belt. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have lowered them.”

If even the Emperor was in this kind of situation, what would it be like for anyone else?

“But listen, the one from which world whom you are…”

The Emperor asked carefully, and Geum Su-ho also edged closer and made his eyes shine.

In the end, that was the real purpose.

‘Hmm,’

Should he tell them, or not?

Even if he told them, the Immortal Realm and the immortals were off limits.

Naturally, the exchange of goods too.

Only as far as the human realm.

That is, the first linkage in the murim world before ascension.

‘That should be fine.’

Then they would understand where the abilities regarding hidden weapons, poisons, and the manufacture of new medicines originated.