Episode 566
“That voice…?”
The lieutenant blinked, recognizing Boris’s voice. He let out a deep sigh and lowered his hand.
“Just my luck. Yalok, I can’t handle your torture, so do me a favor and make it quick.”
Hearing his old name from the days of the 13th Division brought a wave of nostalgia to Boris. But he quickly suppressed those feelings and addressed the lieutenant.
“Please, call me Boris now. I didn’t expect to find you here, Senior Goose.”
Goose shrugged at Boris’s words. “After the 13th Division disbanded, making a living got tough. We’re all just trying to survive.”
“With your skills, you could’ve secured a position in another kingdom. Why Castro?”
“I’ve got too many ties to the Central Kingdom. Castro seemed like a safe bet for a stable retirement, but I miscalculated.”
Boris released Goose’s neck and stepped back. “I understand your situation. Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be.”
Goose nodded in agreement. The two men put some distance between them, sizing each other up. Goose raised an eyebrow at Boris.
“Looks like your new gig is treating you well. You look sharp.”
“Better than the 13th Division, at least. The boss is a bit demanding, though.”
Boris sheathed his dagger and asked, “Have you decided where you’re headed next?”
Goose dusted off his clothes and shrugged. “After failing as a strategist for Castro, I realized it’s best to stick to what I know. Maybe I’ll look for a job that values my experience.”
Boris nodded. “At your age, no one’s hiring rookies. Use your experience to land a team leader position.”
“I know, but who values experience from a defunct division like the 13th? Anyway, it’s good to see we’re both still alive. If we meet again, spare me.”
Goose chuckled and turned to leave, but another shadow suddenly appeared in his path. Startled, Goose stepped back, drawing his sword.
“Assassin?”
Shadia, holding a dagger, blocked his way. Boris, standing behind Goose, spoke up.
“I’d let you go, but our captain is strict. If I let you walk, I’ll be the one getting cut.”
Goose sighed deeply. “At my age, torture would be the end of me.”
“I know. So, do you have contact with any other former 13th Division members?”
Goose looked puzzled but then nodded. “Yeah, we keep in touch, share updates.”
Boris seemed pleased. “You mentioned looking for a job. How about I offer you a position? You’d work under me, but the terms are good.”
Goose glanced at Shadia, realizing refusal meant certain death. He sheathed his sword and looked at Boris.
“Is the pay decent?”
Boris nodded. Goose thought for a moment, then agreed. “Alright, better to work with someone I know.”
He gestured towards Shadia and asked Boris, “So, where are you and this young lady from? Doesn’t seem like the Central Kingdom. Are you freelancers?”
Boris shook his head. “No, we’re direct hires.”
“Direct hires are stable.”
“But our boss is the Knight of Salvation.”
“What?”
Goose’s face turned pale. To former 13th Division agents, the name Sieg Draker was synonymous with nightmares.
“Uh… I was actually considering other offers…”
Boris approached, placing a hand on Goose’s shoulder with a grin. “Let’s work well together, Senior. From today, you’re Dimitri. Let’s start by sharing intel on Jupiter Castle.”
Sieg stared at the entity that called itself Lucifer.
‘Arrogant savior.’
Sieg had absorbed the soul of the arrogant savior from Harvey West, but for some reason, he hadn’t fully attained divinity. Just as the soul of the Blood King Caligula lingered in his subconscious, the arrogant savior seemed to be hiding somewhere in his unconscious mind. It seemed his assumptions weren’t wrong.
Lucifer smiled at Sieg. “That was my name when I was a constellation. Now, having fallen, I’m called by many names, but Satan is the most common.”
He spread his arms, gesturing to the canyon. “Borrowing the power of this canyon, it’s nice to finally have a conversation. Being trapped for so long, I couldn’t fully exert my power.”
Sieg, still in the form of Laura Agamemnon, watched Satan with discomfort. Noticing this, Satan exaggeratedly shook his head.
“Ah, you don’t like this form. Alright.”
Satan’s appearance changed. This time, it wasn’t someone from Sieg’s memory but a completely different figure—a handsome man in a white suit with long black hair.
“It’s been a while since I took this form. When I showed my true self to humans, they called me the epitome of beauty, which was quite bothersome.”
Satan’s appearance was so perfect it seemed to embody all standards of beauty, regardless of gender. A typical human would be mesmerized just by looking at him. But Sieg maintained his guard, unfazed by Satan’s allure.
Satan shook his head. “Sieg Draker, we’re not strangers anymore. Relax.”
He snapped his fingers, and the mist in the canyon stopped moving.
‘What is this…?’
With a single gesture, Satan had halted time in the canyon. A luxurious table and chairs appeared in the center, complete with a tea set. Satan gestured for Sieg to sit.
“Opportunities like this are rare. Let’s sit and talk.”
Satan elegantly crossed his legs and picked up a teacup. The teapot floated, pouring steaming tea into the cup. Sieg watched, then sheathed his sword and sat across from Satan. The teapot poured tea into Sieg’s cup as well. It was a clear yellow tea with a fragrance Sieg had never encountered.
Satan smiled at Sieg, who was examining the tea. “I see you appreciate tea. This was made by a now-extinct civilization, so it’s a rare taste.”
Satan’s power was recreation. With past data, he could recreate anything that once existed, including items from lost civilizations. Sieg took a sip of the tea, finding the subtle aroma quite pleasing.
After savoring the tea in silence, Satan set his half-empty cup down and looked at Sieg. “Sieg Draker, would you believe me if I said I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time?”
Sieg set his cup down and replied, “It sounds like you knew me before.”
Satan smiled charmingly. “Knew you? Something like that. I couldn’t say it was you specifically, but I anticipated someone would take on the role you now have.”
Sieg looked puzzled. “The role I have?”
“Don’t you know? The one who defies fate, created by the Elder Dragon and the Great Sage.”
Sieg had returned to the past due to the irreversible promise power inscribed by the Great Sage on the Elder Dragon’s relic. It was clear Satan knew Sieg had traveled from the future to the past.
Sieg glared at Satan. “Did you peek into my memories?”
Satan shook his head. “You absorbed me, and my soul was swallowed by your consciousness, so we share memories. But I’ve known about the ‘defier of fate’ for a long time.”
Satan lifted his cup again, and the teapot refilled it. He took another sip and continued, “Did you know? I was the first to defy fate after this world was created.”
Sieg frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
“The primordial light. I was the first to oppose it.”
The adversary of light, the self-illuminating one. The first to challenge the primordial light. That was Satan, the arrogant savior known to be closest to the primordial light. He spoke with a distant look, as if recalling the ancient past.
“In the beginning, the primordial light sought to create a perfect world. Yet, the world that emerged was somehow flawed. He despised that imperfection with an almost obsessive fervor. But I, I saw things differently. I believed true beauty lay within those imperfections.”
Satan extended his hand.
A cascade of light unfurled, projecting images of the past.
Countless civilizations, now erased without a trace by the primordial light.
Satan gazed at these lost civilizations with a look of deep regret.
“Zeke Draker, what do you think happened to these vanished civilizations?”
Zeke replied in a disinterested tone, “They were probably obliterated. That’s what you celestial beings have always done.”
Satan shook his head at this.
“I loved every civilization created in the material world and every mortal who lived there. I couldn’t bear to see them vanish so meaninglessly. That’s why I stood against the primordial light.”
As he spoke, the images showed a city being consumed by a massive volcanic eruption.
But before the lava could engulf the city, a magnificent light appeared.
A noble being with wings made of dozens of pairs of light.
Zeke realized that the soul of this being was the same as the one sitting before him now—Satan.
With his wings of light, Satan enveloped the city, transporting it beyond the material world to the edge of dimensions before the volcano could destroy it.
An unstable, unfixed realm.
Satan preserved the civilizations erased by the primordial light there.
One by one, these nearly lost civilizations connected, eventually forming a single world.
Zeke’s eyes widened as he watched the grand city taking shape in the images.
“Babel?”
The first demonic city, Babel, created by Satan, who led the fallen celestials under the name of an arrogant savior.
The panorama of Babel appeared in the projection.
Satan looked at Babel with sorrowful eyes and said, “Yes, Babel was a refuge for civilizations that were almost erased from the material world. It became what is now the demon realm.”
Creatures abandoned by their creator, nearly erased from existence.
Satan resisted the creator to prevent their annihilation, crafting a new world for them.
Zeke finally understood the true nature of the demons and monsters of the demon realm.
‘Refugees from obliterated civilizations. They migrated to this unstable world called the demon realm.’
Once residents of the material world, they were cast out by their creator, forced into an unstable realm where their appearances and traits became rough and altered.
Satan, gazing at the image of Babel, spoke again.
“An arrogant savior. It’s a fitting title for me. I thought I could save them. In hindsight, it was the height of arrogance.”
As he dispersed the image of Babel, the light scattered in all directions.
Satan turned back to Zeke and said, “Zeke Draker, I’ve been waiting for a new defier of fate to succeed me. Someone who can shatter this damned wheel of destiny.”