The Heavenly Demon Can't Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 418

Everyone knows fear. For some, it’s spiders or snakes. For others, it’s the dark. But Hoffman? He used to think fear was for other people. He was rich, richer than almost anyone. He had everything money could buy, so he thought he was safe from everything. But that was before. Now, fear was all he knew.

Nightmares haunted Hoffman every night. In each one, he saw the same man. Even in his dreams, Hoffman’s skin would turn cold just thinking about him. ‘Count Fabius.’ Just the name made Hoffman tremble. Fabius was like a living nightmare.

Hoffman had tried to get back at Roman Dmitry. Every time he tried, he ran into Count Fabius. Fabius was like a stone wall, impossible to break through. Hoffman remembered the shame of kneeling before Roman Dmitry. Now, just seeing Fabius made his body shake with fear.

To meet him at a time like this… it was despairing.

Once they moved locations, Count Fabius sat down, grinning slyly.

“Why are you in such a hurry? It looks as if you are packing your bags busily, trying to survive somehow.”

Just looking at Fabius made Hoffman feel like he couldn’t breathe. That smile, that knowing look in his eyes… it brought back all the fear from his nightmares. Hoffman knew he had to stay calm, even if his heart was racing. He needed to sell his secret treasures and get away. But Fabius was dangerous. If Hoffman showed any weakness, Fabius would destroy him completely.

Hoffman said.

“I know, I know,” Hoffman said quickly. “Golden Bank helped Chronos. We lost. We will pay. But please, give us a chance to live! In war, you have to choose a side. If you punish everyone who picked the wrong side, who will be left?”

“Oh, come on, Hoffman. Don’t play games with me. Golden Bank didn’t just ‘support’ them, did it? You were much more involved than that.”

“I know. I’m not saying we don’t acknowledge our mistakes.”

His mouth felt parched. The sin was clear. Even if he tried to hide the source of the funds, he knew it wouldn’t work against a sly old fox like Count Fabius.

But he couldn’t die like this. Since Fabius had come to find him, he would certainly not return without achieving results.

“I’m begging you for a chance,” Hoffman repeated. “The war is over. Everything is broken. People like me, people who know how money works, are important to fix things for Dmitry. I will help you with everything I have. I will pay back what I owe. I will even say sorry to everyone, in public!” He lowered his head. Hoffman, a man who always looked down on others, was now bowing.

Of course, he wasn’t sincere. If Count Fabius gave him a chance… he would disappear like a ghost in the meantime.

So, even if it was an empty promise, he had to say anything that would captivate the other person’s heart.

He glanced subtly. Seeing Count Fabius looking at him with strange eyes, Hoffman gritted his teeth and chose his trump card.

Thud.

He knelt down. Then, he slammed his head on the floor and shouted loudly enough to make the veins in his neck stand out.

“I beg you just once! Have mercy on me and open a path for me to live!”

Hoffman knew instinctively. Unless the other person opened a path for him, there was no way for him to survive.

It was a great decision. Still, the one who had commanded the continent as the head of Golden Bank was now kneeling and appealing to emotions.

“Count Fabius. I also deeply regret the mistakes I have made. If I could turn back time, I would not have made the mistake of joining that vile Alexandre’s plan. I will ask you, Count. Weren’t you also not a person of Roman Dmitry from the beginning? Please give me a chance. If you give me a chance to prove that this Hoffman can change, Golden Bank will become a strong supporter of Dmitry in the future.”

He gave a signal with his eyes.

A servant rushed in with a heavy box. Hoffman pushed it towards Fabius, speaking in a low, urgent voice. “I know this is hard for you. I’m not asking for too much. Just tell Roman Dmitry what I said. And… look.” He opened the box to show gold bars. “This is gold. Enough for you to live like a king forever. It’s clean, no problems. It’s just to show you I’m serious. And if you help me, I’ll give you this much gold every year. I will be grateful to you forever.”

He raised his voice. From his desperate appeal to emotions, one could see Hoffman’s desire to survive at all costs.

However.

“Tsk, tsk. I hate people who think they are so clever,” Fabius said, shaking his head. “Hoffman, you think you can trick me and run away, don’t you?”

In that instant… his heart sank.

At the remark that completely saw through him, Hoffman hurriedly raised his head and waved his hands.

“What are you talking about! I never thought of that!”

“Didn’t think of it, my foot. Do you think I wouldn’t have investigated what the situation of Golden Bank is when I came to find you? Even if my lord doesn’t punish you, Golden Bank will collapse because it can’t repay the recklessly borrowed money. Still, the effort is commendable. If a person who is the head of Golden Bank kneels and offers bribes, the old me would have certainly worried about swallowing the gold bar box.”

He laughed. That sly laugh pierced Hoffman’s heart like a dagger.

“Let me tell you something. My lord, Roman Dmitry, is truly scary. He blew off the head of Duke Vieto, the most powerful man in Valhalla, right in front of everyone. Marquis Memphis, the top man in Chronos, he let him starve to death in public. That’s the kind of power my lord has. And I know him well. If I do what he wants, if I follow his rules, I will be rich and respected forever.”

Tap tap.

He tapped his head. As if belittling him as a fool, Count Fabius looked down at Hoffman.

“You should have thought of that earlier, you fool,” Fabius sneered. “Guards! Arrest Hoffman, the head of Golden Bank!”

It was a death sentence.

Hoffman was desperate. He jumped up and tried to fight back, but it was no use. They were going to drag him away no matter what.

The chaos wasn’t just about Hoffman. Across Valhalla, things were changing.

Meanwhile, in Valhalla’s capital city…

While Hoffman was being dragged away, in the city of Marin, some people were still celebrating.

Those who followed Count Snodin were raising their glasses, discussing the future ahead.

“I hope Count Snodin is alright,”

“There’s no need to worry so much. Why else would Roman Dmitry have come all the way to Valhalla’s capital? It must have been to prove Dmitry’s status to the people. Now that we’ve bowed our heads and entered, he won’t find any more fault. From now on, we must only think about the future. How Valhalla will overcome this adversity and topple the giant mountain that is Dmitry!”

One of them was Count Snodin’s right-hand man, Baron Rhino.

He seemed to be a little tipsy already, adding words with a flushed face.

Baron Rhino said loudly, “Let’s be honest. Valhalla lost this war because of Roman Dmitry. Only because of him!”

He set down his glass.

The people opposite him clenched their fists with cheerful faces.

“That’s right!”

“That’s the future we desire. We decided to humble ourselves for the distant future, and Count Snodin accepted the sacrifice on our behalf. We must unite more than ever in times like these. Just as Alexandre has been gnawing away at the continent for a long time, someday we too will express this seething ambition and regain Valhalla’s prestige. If that moment comes, even if I am not alive then, my descendants will inherit our will.”

His eyes burned with animosity.

With intense longing, his voice grew louder.

“Baron Ayrn. We will eradicate every last one of that wretched fellow’s bloodline. Right now, he’s acting like he’s gained the whole world with Roman Dmitry backing him, but the ultimate victor will be us, who have persevered and prepared until the end.”

“For Valhalla!”

They clinked glasses.

That day, they had no idea what was happening in Chronos, and they clinked glasses, getting completely drunk from midday.

In the midst of all this, they even named their secret society.

“Revolution!” They laughed, saying they would record their efforts in history books, and at some point, they slipped into sleep, spending the day like that.

But their celebration wouldn’t last. The next day…

“Ah, Baron Ayrn. Isn’t this too much? Please, please release us.”

The day before, the triumphant Baron Rhino was nowhere to be seen.

Dragged away by soldiers, he pleaded desperately with a face ruined by excessive drinking.

While they were asleep, drunk, a massive purge was carried out, led by Count Snodin, but the servants did not convey this fact to the nobles.

They knew too. That the future of the group named Revolution was over.

After identifying the nobles’ locations, Baron Ayrn first dealt with the troops around them while they were asleep.

It was over.

Since everything was already settled, Baron Rhino and his group were dragged away without even resisting.

“Baron Ayrn. You may think it’s right to follow Roman Dmitry’s orders now, but it’s definitely not the right choice for Valhalla. If he gains absolute power, how do you think the landscape of the continent will change? From then on, Valhalla will no longer be able to exist as an empire, and the history of the empire will remember us as the shame of Valhalla. So please, come to your senses. Why don’t you understand that we must be saved to prepare for the future!”

He raised his voice.

As he continued to rant, Baron Ayrn stopped the soldiers and looked at Baron Rhino.

“Baron. You see, I had a hatred for this world. Whether it’s Valhalla or Chronos, I thought it was really unfair and wrong for a world where people trample on others to secure their own interests.”

For that reason, he followed Duke Vieto.

He believed that he, who opposed Stern Valhalla, would lead Valhalla to a better future.

But the reality was bleak.

When he realized that even that was just a lie, Baron Ayrn felt like the world was collapsing.

“Roman Dmitry is different from the types I hate. He did not devour Chronos and Valhalla, but selected new figures to lead each country. And that was not his unilateral decision, but by borrowing the wisdom of the people living in each country. At that time, I understood why Dmitry’s people would risk their lives to fight for Roman Dmitry. I want Valhalla to return to its ideal state we have been hoping for. To do that, we cannot leave a single one of those whom Roman Dmitry said must be purged alive.”

Baron Ayrn. The emperor’s authority was granted to a mere baron.

In that situation that ordinary people could not handle, Baron Ayrn harbored great ambitions.

“From now on, Valhalla will not be decided by the emperor’s personal will. We will form a committee. If everyone says it is unfair, Valhalla will not follow that will, even if the emperor wants it. Of course, as time goes by, trash like you will continue to appear. But if Valhalla filters them out first, and Roman Dmitry’s laws govern the world fairly, I believe Valhalla will return to the time when it purely pursued life as a warrior.”

It was a strong tone.

Listening to Baron Ayrn’s words, Baron Rhino knew that he could not survive.

It was a finished game.

The Revolution, who had been talking about the future over drinks all night, was just a pathetic group that didn’t even know what kind of future was coming upon them.

His legs gave way.

The soldiers lifted him up and forced him to continue on his way, and Baron Rhino, who had been out of his mind for a while, asked with a face that had given up on life.

“Where are we going? The prison in Marin isn’t this way.”

Neither the execution ground, nor the prison.

As the increasingly familiar scenery unfolded, Baron Rhino belatedly realized that they were heading to the warp gate.

Baron Ayrn said.

“We’re going to Dmitry. There are many prisoners like Baron Rhino there. Ares, who betrayed Dmitry, Karman, who caused riots in the lawless zone, and those who were deeply involved in this war. All of them will be executed…”

Roman Dmitry was not ordinary.

He declared that the birth of the empire, which should be blessed, would begin on blood and corpses.

“Roman Dmitry will ascend to the throne and declare that Dmitry has become an empire.”