Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 115

115

“But what were those strange things you said earlier?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You were suddenly listing the names of seafood like sea cucumbers and sea anemones. Why were you doing that?”

“Ah…….”

Doesn’t that kind of teasing exist here? I wondered why he was listening so quietly. He probably didn’t even realize what it meant. Well, he probably hasn’t had the chance to be teased like that before.

Did he get a bad feeling from my overly stiff expression? Ifrit narrowed his eyes and glared at me.

“Don’t tell me you were saying I look like that?”

“Ahaha, of course not. It’s just that Ellyuen…….”

“Ellyuen what?”

“Oh, nothing. I just suddenly wanted to eat that. So I just said it since it came to mind. Really.”

“You want to eat that? You have really weird tastes.”

Fortunately, Ifrit seemed to let it go without much suspicion. I secretly sighed in relief, making sure he didn’t notice his head tilting in a strange way.

Come to think of it, why did Ellyuen suddenly say that? Was the person he was talking about really Ifrit?

It’s true that meeting Ifrit was shocking, but it’s not something that warrants a warning. The more time passed, the more certain I became of that thought. It would be easy to resolve by contacting him now and asking, but I couldn’t because I didn’t want to bother him when he’s already busy.

Next time he talks to me, I’ll definitely ask him then. I quietly resolved in my mind.

* * *

“I am pleased to meet Ellyuen-nim, whom I have only heard of through rumors.”

Ellyuen stared at the man sitting in front of him with an indifferent gaze. Faded gray hair braided into two pigtails that stretched down to his toes. Thick glasses that almost completely covered his face rested on his slender chin.

That alone was strange enough, but what stood out more was his attire. A long coat buttoned up to the neck, black boots reaching up to his thighs, and bandages wrapped around his arms and fingers, completely concealing his skin.

However, despite his ridiculous appearance, there was an aura about him that one could not easily approach. The smell of murky fog and moisture, like something from a swamp, with a thick, chilling aura of death beneath it. It was definitely from the Underworld.

Arehis also possessed the same aura, but it was not even comparable to the man before him. Ellyuen recalled the name he had given when he visited the palace.

Shannon, the God of the Underworld.

As the title before his name suggested, he was the highest god of the Underworld, who oversaw the lives of the dead.

The Demon God Kanos, the God of Fate Radeka, the God of the Underworld Shannon, and the Heavenly God Iowen. The high-ranking gods were all treated with respect, but the highest gods of each realm were even more special. They were the first Spirit Kings and the first high-ranking gods created by the Main God, the beings who opened the beginning of this Divine Realm.

Most gods thought it was an honor just to meet them, but Ellyuen felt the opposite. In his judgment, the highest gods were far from normal. That’s why Shannon’s sudden visit was unwelcome.

“If I had known you were such a wonderful person, I would have visited you sooner. The rumors were so terrible that I wondered if I would meet some kind of monster, but it was a complete waste of worry. Why haven’t you ever attended the gods’ banquet with such a beautiful appearance? If you just showed your face, all those who are creating strange rumors behind your back would turn into your followers, Ellyuen-nim.”

“……Not really.”

“Hehe, you’re a man of few words. I think I like you more and more.”

Ellyuen’s face slightly frowned at the unwanted praise. Reading the blatant rejection, Shannon chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

“What business does the God of the Underworld have with me?”

“I have something to discuss with you.”

“Discuss?”

“The movements of the Demon Realm are unusual.”

Ellyuen’s eyes sank further at the calmly returned answer. He still couldn’t guess the purpose, and the word he least wanted to hear was mentioned. However, he had no choice but to pay attention to Shannon’s next words.

“It seems that Arkadon is being used.”

“……What does that mean?”

“Are you aware that there have been an unusually large number of deaths in Arkadon in the last 10 years?”

“10 years?”

“To be exact, it was before that, but the exponential increase has occurred in the last 10 years. Quite a few young children have died.”

“It must be because of the drought.”

Ellyuen casually stated it.

Arkadon, the first intermediate dimension created by the Main God. The world of birth and abundance governed by the four Spirit Kings. The fact that there had been a long drought there was so well known that it was not a new topic.

The terrible disaster caused by the lack of water took the lives of not only young children but also countless other lives in that land. Ellyuen couldn’t understand why Shannon was bringing up such an obvious fact. It was even more so because he couldn’t read his expression due to the glasses covering half of his face.

“Do you think so?”

“Are you saying it’s not?”

“It’s not completely unrelated. It’s true that many children died because of the drought.”

“But……?”

“Then are you aware that a significant amount of those children’s blood was used in sacrifices? And that it was all under the jurisdiction of one person?”

“……!”

Ellyuen hardened his face and stared at Shannon as if glaring at him. The sacrifice itself was nothing special, but if it was all under the jurisdiction of one person, the problem became serious.

Shannon is a god who oversees countless deaths. Managing dozens, hundreds of souls every day, he would not use the expression ‘many died’ unless it was to a considerable extent. If he said that, it meant that at least thousands of lives were at stake. And that enormous number of lives was said to have died under the control of one person.

“The cause of death was invariably a deep stab wound in the heart, resulting in excessive bleeding. All of the recovered souls are in a state of exhaustion, making it difficult for them to be granted the next life for a while.”

“That means…….”

“It means that someone is increasing their power by the weight of that life.”

Only then did Ellyuen realize the seriousness of the situation. Stealing the life force of others through blood to strengthen oneself is one of the dark arts that disappeared a long time ago. It was once a commonly used method, but it was forbidden when someone who severely abused it tried to challenge the Main God’s authority.

After that, all related content was collected and sealed in the Divine Realm, and it was known that there were almost no people who even knew the method of the magic. Until Shannon’s story just now.

Stealing the life force of a soul means that the magic was used accurately. In other words, someone broke the taboo. Of course, it was not yet accurate, so it was not a stage to judge rashly, but the situation was serious enough just by the possibility. It was something that would greatly overturn the entire Divine Realm if it became known.

“The race of the person performing the sacrifices is human. And recently, we confirmed that they have a contract with the Demon King.”

“A Demon King…….”

“After secretly investigating, all the blood he collected was distributed to the Demon Realm.”

Then now there is only one thing they need to watch. They had to judge whether this was under the jurisdiction of one Demon King, or whether all the demons were involved. If it was the latter, it would mean that many people shared and drank it, so even if it was a little unpleasant, there was nothing to worry about. It was not a new fact that demons originally enjoyed being intoxicated with blood.

The problem is the former. The fact that one person is monopolizing the blood means that they are deliberately breaking the taboo from the beginning. It was an act of challenging the Main God’s authority, which everyone feared.

After tapping his forehead for a while and immersed in thought, Ellyuen frowned and looked at Shannon.

“But why are you telling me this? If it’s a problem in the Demon Realm, you should discuss it with the Demon God.”

“Is that so? I think I came to the right place.”

“You know I’m the God of Punishment, right?”

“Of course, I know that. But you are also in charge of the Demon Realm now, aren’t you?”

“…….”

“Am I mistaken? I heard that the Demon God Kanos entrusted you with the management of the Demon Realm. The God of Hell, Kraze-nim, clearly said so. Is that not the case? If not, I should go and argue with him right away. Not only did he make me take a wasted trip, but he also wasted Ellyuen-nim’s precious time.”

“……No, it’s okay. That’s right.”

“Ah, is that so? I didn’t come to the wrong place. That’s a relief.”

“…….”

Watching Shannon pretend to be greatly relieved and stroke his chest exaggeratedly, Ellyuen gritted his teeth. Thanks to that, the memory of a few days ago that he wanted to forget came back to him.

The days of the gods usually unfold in a similar way. In the early morning, when you go to the office, the attending angels bring the documents and reports that need to be reviewed that day. What the god does is sit diligently in his seat and process them.

If you finish your quota early, you can spend the rest of your time as you please, but usually there are so many documents that work continues until late at night. After completing all the work, you go to the bedroom for a short rest. And the next day, you repeat the same life. It was surprisingly monotonous, but it was something that should not be neglected even for a single day.

Ellyuen was a very capable and diligent god. His palace had more work than other places, but despite that, he never had any problems with speed or problems. No matter how much the amount, he always handled it perfectly without being disturbed.

That day, Ellyuen’s daily life began as usual. He opened his eyes as soon as he felt the passage of time, lightly washed his face, and headed to the office as usual. However, the moment he entered the office, he had no choice but to remain silent for a while at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.

“……What is all this?”

It was no longer surprising to see documents piled up like mountains in his office. But that day, the amount of documents was so large that it could not be compared to any other time. The piles that could not fit inside were spilling out of the office.

The problem was that most of them were not from the jurisdiction he was in charge of. His eyes scanned the piles of documents once, and then the angels who were frozen like wax in front of them once. Six black wings, and the clear wing pattern stamped on his forehead, were foreign appearances that did not fit in with Ellyuen’s palace no matter where you looked.

“Why are the Demon God’s angels here?”

At Ellyuen’s question, the black-winged angels shrank their shoulders. Ellyuen’s attending angels, who were standing with them, also had pale faces.

“Answer me. Why are you here?”

At the repeated question, the Demon God’s angels looked at each other. Soon, one of them handed something to Ellyuen in front of him with trembling hands. It was a neatly folded white letter.

Puzzled, Ellyuen received the letter and unfolded the paper without much thought. At that moment, the expression completely disappeared from his face.

Hi, honey?

I have some unfortunate news to tell you.

You won’t be able to see me for a while, even if you miss me.

Because I’m going on vacation.

So please take care of my work in the meantime☆

—From your darling.

Crack!

The angels’ shoulders shrank again at the sound of the paper being crushed miserably.

“……Where is this crazy bastard now?”

“He, he went down to the intermediate realm.”

“Intermediate realm?”

He recalled the story Kanos had boasted about a while ago. He had been recognized by the Main God for his hard work and had been granted the privilege of staying in the intermediate realm for several years.

Of course, Ellyuen regarded it as nonsense from the beginning and did not listen properly. As far as he knew, Kanos had never worked hard. But to stab him in the back like this. He couldn’t even laugh.

“Which intermediate realm did he go to?”

“Well, that is…….”

“Answer me.”

“To Arkadon…….”

The stammering answer was very small, but Ellyuen understood it right away. It was suspicious that he suddenly used his privilege, and it was Arkadon of all places. In the moment when an ominous premonition flashed, the Demon God’s angel who handed the letter carefully looked around and said.

“Ma, the Demon God has been showing interest in the rumors circulating in the Divine Realm for some time now.”

“Rumors?”

“That’s actually…… Ellyuen-nim adopted a child, and that son is in Arkadon…….”

“So, he went to meet my son?”

Seeing his eyes turn fierce, the Demon God’s angels prostrated themselves in place one by one.

“We tried to stop him, but our strength alone was not enough. Please forgive us!”

“Please forgive us!”

Amidst the fear-stricken crowd, Ellyuen stood silently for a while. After sighing for a moment, he inadvertently looked at the letter he had crumpled. A phrase he had not seen, written in the last corner of the letter, caught his eye.

P.S. I’ll miss you so much, honey♡

It was a phrase that was better not to have seen. Soon his roar echoed throughout the palace.

“Find that crazy bastard right now!”