Chapter 194: Grand Duke (1)
Angel’s Notes about the Demonic Power Awakening:
There are 2 levels of the Demons’ Awakening:
- Awakening – The first awakening of the Demons. As mentioned in Chapter 125, among the demons, those of the Marquis rank/level were known to have a Demonic Power Awakening.
- Advanced Awakening – The second awakening of the Demons. It was interchangeably used with ‘True Awakening’ but will now be used consistently.
Another type of Awakening:
- Forced Awakening – An awakening that would only happen through predation of one’s own kind. Which meant that the power inside them was impure.
— I am true darkness. Let this darkness of mine be like chaos itself. I am the flame. Let this blazing flame lead you into darkness. My guidance will be your path.
Those words were written on the stone tablet in the temple of Arisha.
Arisha’s temple was where only those with Duke t.i.tle or higher could enter. There, Duke Bevman saw those words thousands or even more times.
When he saw Chun Yeowun, who had a power that only beings higher than a Grand Duke could have, he suddenly thought of those words in the temple.
‘Why did I suddenly think of it?’
Chun Yeowun had nothing to do with their clan. He was a human. A mere human. However, the moment he saw the darkness and the flame together, it popped up.
‘Black flame.’
The power that symbolized Arisha. It wasn’t known why he thought of it.
“Arisha? That is absurd.”
Chun Yeowun heard from Shakena that Arisha was a G.o.d-like existence to them. Therefore, he dismissed it, thinking it was his own power.
“Who are you? I have never heard or seen a human with such power.”
“Quite funny. You people think you are the center of this wide world.”
“If you aren’t the incarnation of Arisha, why are you like thi….”
Chun Yeowun approached him and grabbed his head when he was still speaking.
Grab!
“Kuak!”
“Don’t push your luck. I am the great Sky Demon Order’s Chun Ma, the Demon G.o.d you all should fear.”
“Demon…G.o.d?”
Demon G.o.d.
The t.i.tle which Chun Yeowun was given.
At that, Duke Bevman’s eyes trembled.
Just as Chun Yeowun knew that Arisha was the G.o.d they worshiped, Duke Bevman, too, had come to Earth over the years and knew what Demon G.o.d meant.
“… you are really the Demon G.o.d… No, are you?”
Suddenly, Duke Bevman’s att.i.tude turned polite. Chun Yeowun made a puzzled expression.
Thud!
Duke Bevman suddenly knelt on one knee and placed his right hand on his chest.
“Papa!”
Marquis Irene shouted as she was startled by his father’s actions. The reaction was the same from the other demons and Marquis Cawl.
They all knew what that position meant.
‘W-why?’
‘I-isn’t that the bow to the king?!’
Surprisingly, the bow he did was a sacred bow only to be done to their king, the Demon King, and of course, to the temple as well.
“Duke Bevman greets the great one with respect.”
“Papa!”
Marquis Irene couldn’t stand it any longer, so she shouted.
This seemed wrong. He was bowing in front of someone other than the Demon King or the person he swore allegiance to, Grand Duke Kaliaf.
Shh!
Duke Bevman reached out and gestured to her to shut up. His voice echoed in her mind as she couldn’t understand what her father was doing.
[Stay still.]
This was telepathy to the demons to talk secretly without speaking out.
She asked, bewildered by his actions.
[Papa. What are you doing? That man is the enemy. If Grand Duke Kaliaf knew that you did that before a human, he would never forgive you!]
But the response from Duke Bevman came back calmly.
[Not a human.]
[Huh?]
She frowned.
He might be a monster for them, but what was this about him not being a human?
[What are you even saying…]
[This one is the Demon G.o.d of Earth.]
[What?]
[Well, you haven’t been to this place for long, so you might not know.]
[…what are you saying?]
[It means someone like the great Arisha of our clan.]
[A-arisha!]
[Our clan uses Arisha… and they use Talisha, this person is the G.o.d who symbolizes the Demon of this place.]
[No way…]
Her expression changed as she looked at Chun Yeowun in awe.
‘What is with her?’
Chun Yeowun raised his eyebrow at that.
Looking at them looking at each other, Chun Yeowun was sure they were talking about something.
‘Nano… can you eavesdrop on their talks?’
[I will try searching for the frequencies.]
Nano searched for frequencies around. However, the telepathy that demons used didn’t need energy for it.
[Cannot perform the action.]
At the unfortunate answer, Chun Yeowun looked at the father and daughter and spoke in irritation.
“What are you two doing?”
Duke Bevman seemed shocked at it. It was just a question, but it seemed like he guessed what was happening.
‘H-He even managed to notice that we were using telepathy?’
It was funny.
This misunderstanding that started was constantly growing bigger and bigger. Duke Bevman bowed his head and spoke like a guilty person.
“I apologize. In the presence of the great being, I used telepathy to stop my daughter. Forgive me for the disrespect I caused so recklessly.”
“Hm.”
Chun Yeowun touched his chin, wondering if something had gone wrong somewhere. Something felt weird about this demon.
Just by looking at the att.i.tude, he could tell that this was different from how the regular demons would swear allegiance.
‘A little better than that?’
Either way, it was certain that this demon was afraid of him. If so, he could bring out a considerable amount of information.
And as demons cannot be turned into Ghosts, there was no other way but to make them speak.
“From now on, answer my questions.”
“Please do ask.”
“Lie, and it will end with your death.”
“How can I lie to a great being?”
‘Uh…’
Somehow, even Chun Yeowun felt like this demon was misunderstanding something but didn’t see the need to clarify it.
“Why are you all aiming for this sword and the other weapons?”
He actually knew the reason because Shakena told him, but this question was asked to check if there was another hidden reason.
“Arisha’s Armor is a sacred item of the clan. What it symbolizes is the king.”
“King?”
“Only the king can have the armor and use it.”
“I heard that your king isn’t present or that some problem occurred. So, you did this to take the vacant place?”
“Ah…”
At Chun Yeowun’s direct question, Duke Bevman, who was silent for a bit, spoke.
“The king holds a crucial position in the clan. However, our King hadn’t been seen for a very long time, and the people closest to him are ignoring the affairs of our clan.”
“Doork.n.o.b something?”
At Chun Yeowun’s words, Duke Bevman’s eyes lit up. He didn’t think that their clan’s slang would be heard from a being of another planet.
“…they can be called as such.”
“So, this was to drive them out?”
“How can we ever go and fight enemies without a leader who rules over the clan?”
“Enemy? Your clan has enemies?”
At that question, the duke smiled.
“Our planet is ten times the size of this planet. It is natural for other beings to exist besides our clan.”
Chun Yeowun thought.
Shakena, who came here under the orders of one of the four aides, who were the closest to the King, had her own opinion. Now, these answers showed the cause for the actions.
“The one you serve is the one called Grand Duke Kaliaf?”
“Right.”
“Then he wants to challenge the throne?”
“Yes. Grand Duke Kaliaf wants to become the king and revive our clan again.”
Duke Bevman answered with a voice that showed his loyalty. He aimed to make the lord above him the king.
“Arisha’s Armor has a value that symbolizes one as the king.”
“It isn’t just that.”
Duke Bevman waved his hand and continued.
“Then?”
“It has been said that those who wear the armor can have the power of Arisha.”
“Power of Arisha?”
“Arisha’s Armor is indeed a powerful weapon. If it falls into one of the close aides of the kind, their reign will grow stronger too.”
Pak!
“Please consider our clan and grant the Arisha’a armor to Grand Duke Kaliaf, the great being.”
They needed it.
But Chun Yeowun had a question. According to Shakena, it was said that these close aides of the king were preventing the others from finding the armor to maintain their power.
‘But it doesn’t seem like that.’
If Duke Bevman’s words were heard clearly, even the king’s aides were also searching for the armor.
As long as they find it, they can replace the Demon King.
Instead, it was possible to rule the clan more stably.
‘Weren"t they the ones who hid it?’
Initially, Chun Yeowun thought that the Demon King’s closest aides hid Arisha"s Armor. However, hearing both stories, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know when and how this sword and Arisha’s Armor got into this place?”
From the memories he saw, these items just fell onto Earth a long time back. So he thought these long-living demons would know.
But,
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Does it make sense that you don’t know about your own things?”
“Why would I dare and lie to you?”
Duke Bevman looked up with bright eyes. He displayed unshaken eyes. Seeing that, Chun Yeowun didn’t feel like he was being deceived.
“Even Grand Duke Kaliaf doesn’t know?”
His eyes trembled at the question leaving a silent answer.
“He seems to know.”
“… I won"t deny that.”
Duke Bevman didn’t hide it. To him, the Grand Duke might have known.
He bowed again and asked Chun Yeowun, who had an expressionless face.
“Great being. Could you please give us Arisha"s Armor?”
“If I won’t?”
‘!?’
Duke Bevman didn’t hide his shock at the outright refusal.
The demons needed it. So Duke Bevman spoke very cautiously.
“… Grand Duke Kaliaf will never give up on it. Not just him, but even the king"s aides will not stop.”
In other words, if the Arisha"s Armor isn’t given, the demons will continue to come to Earth. This wasn’t a threat but the truth.
This was because they knew the armor was the only way the internal rift could be ended.
Chun Yeowun smiled.
“If possible, tell them to come and try.”
‘!!!’
Duke Bevman was perplexed at the arrogant response and didn’t know what to do.
If Grand Duke Kaliaf heard that, he would be so furious that he’d personally come down here.
“…would the others be fine?”
Duke Bevman asked, looking around. It was directed at the others around Chun Yeowun. He didn’t intend to provoke, but there was no other way.
“Fine…huh!”
Chun Yeowun didn’t seem much bothered.
Duke Bevman began to turn anxious. Chun Yeowun, who stared, moved closer and said,
“Right. You do have a point.”
Duke Bevman, afraid that Chun Yeowun would kill him in anger, sighed in relief.
Duke Bevman thought he was lucky to escape it.
“You made a difficult decision. I will inform the Grand Duke to take measures so that no one will come to Earth….”
Grab!
“Kuak!”
Chun Yeowun suddenly grabbed his hair.
At the uncalled-for act, Duke Bevman spoke.
“W-why are you acting like this?”
“You seem to misunderstand something.”
“Uh?”
“Do you think I will sit here silently waiting for them?”
To that, Duke Bevman asked, trembling.
“W-what do you mean by that?”
Looking at him, Chun Yeowun spoke.
“I will go there myself.”
‘!?’
For a moment, Duke Bevman went speechless.
He never expected to hear words, which meant he would move to their planet, and the other demons reacted the same way.
‘Come to our planet?’
‘No way…does he mean he’ll attack us?’
Invasion?
It was an idea that had never crossed their mind before.
As Duke Bevman was still bewildered, Chun Yeowun said,
“Open the Gate this instant.”