Chapter 885
Episode 221: An Unexpected Turn (Part 1)
“You… you bastard!”
Kukan trembled violently. Tilias gripped Kukan’s neck from behind and twisted the sword that had pierced through his back.
“Gahk!”
Kukan screamed in agony, unleashing a burst of magical energy. Tilias dodged the surge and pulled back his sword, but the wound didn’t heal immediately.
Tilias’s family, the Biseps clan, originally ruled over the Immortal Zone of the Demon Realm.
Demons from the Immortal Zone possessed the power to suppress their opponents’ abilities. Among them, Tilias was one of the strongest—second only to Basset. Kukan spat blood repeatedly as he tried to put distance between them.
‘What the hell is going on? Could it be that this Tilias is a traitor to the Demon Realm? Whatever it is, at least I can catch my breath for a moment.’
Misol, who had been smashing through the ice, stopped moving and stared blankly at the demons, her expression dazed.
“I never thought… but could this damn bastard have betrayed Lord Jito? Just like your worthless brother…!”
Tilias smiled coldly.
“Betrayal? I never once worshiped Jito. How can you call it betrayal? You’ve all just been deceived until now.”
“Heh heh! So you were hiding your true power all this time… even blocking the authority that comes from Lord Jito’s essence.”
“We could have killed Jito. If only Paelito hadn’t turned against us.”
“Even if Paelito had kept helping you, the outcome would have been the same… Grrr! When everyone called you a traitor’s bloodline, I never once looked down on you. Like Jito, I always respected you. How could you do this?”
“Misol! Misol!”
“Yes… there were a few demons like you. Those who accepted me without discrimination or prejudice. But you and they killed and tortured members of the Biseps clan right in front of me. And you followed that horrific ideology, playing into Jito’s hands.”
“You crazy bastard! You were the one who led the charge against the Biseps clan! What nonsense are you spouting? To them, you were a nightmare called Biseps…!”
“Misol!”
As Kukan said, Tilias had been the fiercest suppressor of the remaining Banjito faction. That was why, despite being from the Biseps clan, he survived and rose to become a Demon Lord.
It was because Tilias had taken on that ‘role’ within the Biseps clan. Tilias looked at Kukan with dark eyes.
“When I had to pretend to side with Jito, torturing and killing my comrades… When I had to watch Jito and you kill our allies with a smile on your faces, how do you think I felt? You’ll never understand. Not in life, nor in death.”
Kukan couldn’t accept this. Tilias had been deceiving the demons of the Demon Realm all along.
As the conversation continued, Siris passed by the dazed Misol and approached Luna’s side.
“First Rank, it seems there’s internal division among them.”
“Right? Not just low or mid-level demons, but a spy among the Demon Lords themselves. Today’s haul might be better than we expected.”
“Tilias is probably a key figure in the Banjito faction that Orgal mentioned to Jin before. Judging by how things are unfolding, it looks like the Banjito faction wants to ally with us.”
“They want to ally with us? How do you know?”
“…First Rank, sometimes you really don’t understand the world. If they didn’t want to cooperate, why would Tilias reveal his true colors right in front of us?”
“Oh, I see.”
Vice is gone, and Tilias has shown his true self.
Kukan had to face the harsh reality that his chances of survival were slim.
‘Baekkyung is still alive, but Vice is dead, and I’m badly wounded… Misol is all I can trust, but does that idiot have hidden power like Tilias? Sure, when angry, she was the strongest among us… but even if Misol has power, it would take someone like Leila to turn the tide.’
Ssshh…!
A heavy, sharp violet magic gathered around Tilias’s sword. Kukan dashed toward Misol.
“Misol! You still have a piece of Lord Jito’s flesh, right?”
Among the four Demon Lords, Misol was the only one not using the flesh. Luna hadn’t noticed this in the heat of battle.
“Misol?”
“Hand it over! I need to heal if we want any chance of survival. Tilias’s power suppression means no support or spatial leaps. Hurry up!”
“Misol…”
Misol reached into her bosom. Kukan’s frustration flared at her slow movement, but fortunately, Tilias was moving cautiously as well.
‘Tilias must be careful because of Misol. Baekkyung is suspicious and staying still for now. If Baekkyung stays still a few seconds longer, we’ll have enough time to use the flesh…!’
Just as he thought that—
Kukan was struck by a searing pain in his head and collapsed to the ground in humiliation. Something with immense force had hit his head.
It was Misol’s fist, pretending to retrieve the flesh but actually striking him.
“Ugh…!”
Bang!
Misol’s fist slammed into Kukan’s head again as he lay fallen. His skull crushed halfway, Kukan barely lifted his head to look at Misol.
“I despise scum like you. You have no intellect or will—just a plaything of Jito. You’re unworthy of being a higher life form.”
Gone was the timid voice that only spoke his name. Misol now spoke with rapid, precise articulation. Luna and Siris couldn’t help but be shocked once more.
“Wow… even that ‘Misol’?”
“Her acting skills are impressive.”
Like Tilias, Misol had been deceiving the other demons all along. Misol Hyuwan was also a key executive of the Biseps clan.
“Mi-Misol, what are you doing…?”
“Are you really that stupid to ask now? The fools aren’t me—they’re you. How can you follow a world ruled by pain? You’re disgusting beings. Jito and you must disappear from this world.”
Kukan’s last hope vanished. Tilias now stood over him, sword stained violet, aimed at his heart.
“You’ll be recorded as having died heroically in battle, Kukan Ten. Consider it the price for treating me as an equal and trusting me all this time. Though, Jito will only be angry that you lost your flesh, no matter how you died.”
“P-please…!”
Thud!
Tilias’s sword pierced Kukan’s heart. Kukan gasped briefly before dying, his remaining essence absorbed along the blade into Tilias.
“Good work, Tilias. We’ve avenged our comrades a little.”
“It would have been better if we’d caught someone like Dailus or Leila instead of this guy.”
Tilias pulled out a cigarette from his bosom and lit it.
“That’ll happen soon enough.”
Luna and Siris approached the two. Luna still held Krantel, but Tilias and Misol had sheathed their weapons.
“You should explain in more detail.”
“First, put away your weapons if you want to talk. Don’t humans have at least that much courtesy?”
“Enough, Misol. Humans can’t be trusted yet, so that’s a natural reaction.”
“This is an unexpected development for us too. Maybe it’s all just a show by that Jito guy?”
“A show? Watch your words, human. We’ve suffered hundreds of billions of casualties over millennia for freedom. Have you ever seen a show like this?”
“Misol, humans find that hard to understand. Since we’re the ones asking for help, let’s not be too harsh.”
“But humans need our help, too. Without us, Jito can never be killed.”
“Luna Runkandel, let me properly introduce ourselves again. I am Tilias Biseps, a member of the Biseps clan that once ruled the Immortal Zone of the Demon Realm, and currently the only remaining executive of the Banjito faction in the Demon Realm. This fast-talking friend here is Misol Hyuwan, also an executive of Biseps.”
“So your family and the Banjito faction both share the name Biseps?”
“That’s right.”
“You should introduce yourselves properly, too. Show some respect. We’re intelligent beings, after all. And we might become allies going forward.”
“Ah… right. I am Runkandel, First Rank, Luna Runkandel. Nice to meet you.”
“Siris Endorma, Sub-Lord of the Secret Palace.”
“As you can see, we’ve been pretending not to be Biseps, deceiving Jito and the Demon Realm. You asked if this was a show by Jito, but since we just killed Kukan right before your eyes, I’m not sure how else to prove our intentions. As you know, if we had unleashed our full power, Vice wouldn’t have died so easily.”
Luna shrugged.
“Yeah, it doesn’t sound like a lie. If you two had revealed all your hidden power, our Sub-Lord might not have survived. So, you want to form an alliance with us?”
“That’s right. Like Misol said, without our help, you’ll never be able to finish off Jito. Inse is bound to be destroyed.”
“I don’t appreciate threats disguised as alliance offers. And I still don’t know what makes you so sure about any of this.”
“Can your leader communicate with Jin Runkandel? I’ll share as many details as I can.”
“That’s not hard. But who exactly is your leader?”
“Bassett Visceps, my older brother.”
“If you want to speak directly with our Sogaju, your side needs someone of equal standing. Besides, the comms are down right now. You did this, didn’t you?”
No sooner had Luna spoken than the comm device emitted a resonant beep. Since the battle began, Luna’s side hadn’t managed to make contact even once, so the command center had been repeatedly trying to reach them. It was the result of Tillius’s power.
“…It takes a lot to get in touch with my brother. After all, he’s a demon lord under Jito’s command. But we’ve already laid our cards on the table. A little cooperation would be appreciated. This concerns the lives of billions in the True Demon Realm—and the entire Inse.”
Luna locked eyes with Tillius for a few seconds. Something urgent trembled deep within his dark gaze. Then she activated the comm.
“This is First Squadron. We’re safe. A demon lord requests to speak with the Sogaju. Bring him here immediately.”