First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 110

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 110

[This… ability…]

Lucifer, trapped in the black space, trembled violently.

His arrogant attitude was gone, leaving only fear.

This power brought back forgotten nightmares for Lucifer.

[Pluton’s authority… Mugan…]

No other being existed in this space.

Mugan was an independent realm separated from the present world.

Only Lucifer and I were here.

[How is this possible?]

Lucifer’s massive body, once like a mountain, was now adjusted to a size similar to mine.

His lower body, which had been hazy like smoke, was now properly attached.

It was his ordinary appearance from the Demon Realm.

[Pluton is dead. We confirmed his corpse ourselves. There was no way to come back from that.]

Lucifer’s black pupils stared directly at me.

[Are you… Pluton’s remnant? Or have you been reincarnated?]

I couldn’t help but chuckle at those words.

“You got it exactly right.”

[…What?]

“You’re correct.”

Facing the bewildered Lucifer, I revealed my true identity.

“My real name is Cael de Argent. I am Pluton’s reincarnation.”

Seeing Lucifer’s face distorted with confusion gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.

[Pluton’s… reincarnation?]

Even after saying it himself, he seemed unable to believe it.

I placed my hand on my chest.

“That day… after Vergil’s spear pierced my heart. I’ve been counting the days until I could face you all like this.”

The end I met by Vergil’s spear.

Information known only to the seven Demon Lords who were there, excluding Nevilos.

No. Setting all that aside.

From the moment I cast Mugan, he would have recognized me.

Such perfect and flawless use of authority couldn’t be possible for a mere human.

[You really are… Pluton.]

I nodded.

“Do you believe it now?”

[Impossible! Reincarnation? Then Deront’s prophecy was all…]

The prophecy left by Deront, the great sage of the Demon Realm.

I heard it was the decisive reason why Vergil and the other Demon Lords decided to kill me.

Lucifer knew the prophecy that even Deront himself couldn’t remember.

“About that prophecy. I’ve been very curious about it for a long time.”

I pointed Gradnir, the World-Destroying Spear that was originally Lucifer’s weapon, at its former owner.

“Vergil said I was born with a very dangerous fate. You seem to know what that means too.”

Lucifer’s shoulders trembled once.

“Tell me. What is that prophecy?”

[…]

Lucifer lowered his head.

[Do you think I’ll tell you?]

“Since you’ve entered this space anyway, one of us will definitely die. You know that, right? So why don’t you just tell me honestly? I’m asking nicely.”

[How utterly disgusting.]

“What’s disgusting are your subordinate demons and priests who cruelly massacred innocent beastmen.”

[Have you grown attached to mere mortals? Well, you were always too sentimental even when you were in the Demon Realm. Unfit for a Demon Lord’s Seat.]

“That’s ancient history…”

[There’s one thing I can tell you.]

Lucifer suddenly brought up something out of the blue.

[Do you know what a self-fulfilling prophecy is?]

It was an expression I had heard before.

“…Actions taken to avoid a prophecy become the decisive trigger that actually fulfills it… is that it?”

[That’s right.]

The Dark Spear Krenil vibrated strongly.

[The moment you appeared before me, we had to admit our mistake. We killed you to avoid the prophecy, but because of that, the possibility of the prophecy’s fulfillment has only grown greater.]

“Since you’ve gone that far, couldn’t you tell me a bit more specifically?”

[No.]

He pointed Krenil’s spearhead at me.

[Stay curious forever and die of frustration.]

It was an utterly childish curse.

“Ha, fine then.”

Kwarrrrrrk-!

Dense demonic energy flared violently.

Mugan.

My unique domain created by extremely condensing my space-manipulating power.

Though not an intuitive ability, to put it simply, it was a superior version of Meirei’s Battle Field.

Stop!

Just as Lucifer was about to swing Krenil.

An invisible force stole away his will.

[This authority is as annoying as ever.]

“You can’t move without my permission.”

In this space, even individual will is controlled by me.

That wasn’t all.

Kugugugu-

A massive torrent of demonic energy swirled.

Energy denser and more alien than the demonic energy I usually handled.

Demonic energy with destructive power surpassing my full-power Hellfire rushed toward Lucifer.

Kwagwang-!

Demonic energy assaulted from all directions.

In the form of thorns, in the form of bombs, in the form of blades.

Each strike was no different from a finishing move.

[Kraaaaaaak-!]

Finally, Lucifer couldn’t endure and let out a scream.

However, he wasn’t just taking it helplessly either.

[Kreuuk, Plutooooon-!]

My vision shook.

Nauseating dizziness washed over me.

Lucifer had connected resonance to me.

[I’ll kill you once more. Don’t think you can go peacefully like last time.]

Lucifer’s limbs moved with difficulty.

He was trying to break free from Mugan’s constraints.

‘Resonance is indeed a troublesome authority.’

My strength was being drained in real time.

Moreover, Lucifer kept trying to inject demonic energy into me through his authority.

Like Adora had done, he intended to make me explode from within.

The mental energy consumed blocking those invisible attacks was no joke either.

[Huuu…]

Lucifer, completely freed from Mugan’s dominion, let out a low breath.

If it were his prime, perhaps.

I never expected to be able to completely dominate Lucifer at my current level anyway.

‘This is where it really begins.’

Mugan and Resonance.

In a battlefield where each other’s authorities pressed against one another.

Swoosh-!

The dark spear Crenil flew toward my throat.

‘This will be a long fight.’

Fortunately, I still had plenty of demonic energy.

I also swung Gradnir toward Lucifer.

* * *

The battle continued for quite some time.

It felt like a week had passed.

But the time outside would only be an instant.

Mugan was a separate space-time dimension separated from the present world.

“Haa, haa.”

Lucifer, significantly weakened from forcibly manifesting in an agent’s body.

Me, who had reached 7-star and unlocked vast demonic energy, plus possessed an authority specialized in reversing power differences.

The battle that had been dragging on was finally approaching its end.

Drip, drip.

Lucifer, his chest pierced by Gradnir, collapsed limply.

Red blood added color to the space of pure darkness.

Exactly the opposite situation from 17 years ago.

Back then I was in Lucifer’s position, so I knew better than anyone.

He won’t survive that.

“It’s over.”

Even at my mockery, Lucifer could only barely lift his head to meet my eyes.

He didn’t even have the strength left to move his body.

[Do you feel… a bit relieved now?]

He asked about my emotions.

Well…

I had resolved to take revenge on all the Demon Lords, and had only just achieved one-sixth of that.

Am I relieved?

“Still a long way to go.”

Vergil, Baal, Aderzhen, Asmodeus, Zagan.

Especially Baal and Vergil.

If I killed all of them, I might feel a little relieved.

The well of hatred was too deep to be satisfied with killing just Lucifer.

“One last question.”

I lowered myself toward Lucifer, who was coughing up blood.

“What’s the content of the prophecy?”

[…]

He looked at me with difficulty.

[I have… no obligation to tell you…]

“This is just a final request. We did live together as gods, so there’s some bond, right?”

[Bond my ass… damn it…]

Right. That’s bullshit.

The eight Demon Lords were more in a competitive relationship than cooperative.

[Kuk. Keheheh… Uhahahaha!]

Did he find my joke amusing?

Lucifer’s mouth opened as he laughed madly.

[The Star Deity Esnia… go find her.]

Esnia?

I never expected that name to come from Lucifer’s mouth.

[Then you’ll… learn the truth.]

With those words, he closed his mouth.

He seemed to have no intention of giving any more hints.

Does this mean my prophecy is related to Esnia?

What is Esnia’s true identity anyway?

For just one of the neutral deities, there were too many elements related to the Demon Realm, from the Wall of the Void Tundra to my prophecy.

Suddenly, I recalled content I learned in history class in the Holy Kingdom.

“Could Esnia really be the creator god of this world?”

Keheheh.

Lucifer didn’t answer my question, only let out a sinister laugh.

[Looking back… battle was my life. I really… fought to the point of exhaustion.]

Lucifer’s eyes slowly closed as he looked at me.

[Being able to fight you at the end… was at least… entertaining.]

Silence followed.

I could no longer feel any vitality from him.

He was dead.

I had defeated the main body of Lucifer, the second throne of the Demon Realm.

Not some mere agent.

This was a legendary event.

If it became known to the world, I would be recorded as one of the greatest figures in the continent’s long history.

Of course, I had no intention of bragging about it.

‘Phew…’

A deep sigh escaped.

If I had to say whether I was happy or not, of course I was happy.

This was an achievement incomparable to killing Zagan’s agent.

However, rather than the joy of revenge, I felt unsettled with only mysteries remaining.

‘The Star Deity Esnia. And the Holy Kingdom.’

The Holy Kingdom, a nation that worships Esnia as its state religion.

It was Ragnor’s homeland and also the country where Byeolmaseong, one of the three great academies, was located.

When I return to Millennium Academy, I’ll head straight to the Holy Kingdom with minimal preparations.

Of course, I don’t know if I’ll be able to meet Esnia just by going to the Holy Kingdom.

Rumble rumble…

The space was collapsing.

My remaining demonic energy was almost depleted.

That was close.

If the battle had lasted just a little longer, I would have been the one defeated.

Rustle rustle.

I thoroughly searched Lucifer’s corpse.

There were two things I needed to secure from him.

One was the dark spear Crenil.

Diago would be pleased if I gave this to him as a gift.

And the other one was…

And the other one is….

‘Found it.’

I grasped the chunk of tissue that had stopped beating in my hand.

A Demon Lord’s heart.

Though it was torn and split from being pierced once by Gradnir, there was no doubt about its performance.

I stored Krenil and Lucifer’s hearts in subspace.

At the same time, the light of dawn poured out in all directions.

“Asel!”

“Your Maj… Asel!”

“Lord Asel!”

Kise, Diago, and Merry welcomed me warmly.

The Emperor and Genta, along with the beastman knights, were still there as well.

As expected, while I had fought Lucifer for over a week in Mugan’s domain, it seemed less than ten minutes had passed outside.

The brightening crimson light of dawn vividly colored the manor.

“What happened!”

The Emperor walked over with difficulty, supported by Genta.

“Did Lucifer return? Or perhaps… did you defeat him?”

Good instincts, this old man.

“How could that be possible.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Lucifer has returned to the Demon Realm. But the Lucifer Sect will never invade Suinuk again.”

“I see…”

The Emperor seemed somewhat disappointed.

He appeared troubled that he couldn’t finish off his nation’s enemy with his own hands.

I observed the beastmen’s reactions.

There was no hostility, but they were looking at me with eyes demanding an explanation.

Genta and the Emperor were the same.

Even though I had saved their lives and protected their country, the distrust of the Demon Cult ingrained deep in their bones was unavoidable.

I could understand this reaction too.

“I don’t know if you’ll believe that there are good Demon Worshippers…”

“I believe it.”

The Emperor answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Whatever your identity is, wherever you belong. That doesn’t matter now. You are our benefactor and Suinuk’s eternal ally.”

The Emperor paused once before continuing.

“However, I would appreciate an explanation. About various things.”

“Understood. But before that…”

My head was spinning.

The fatigue from battle was hitting me all at once.

“Just let me… rest a bit.”

Thud-!

Worried voices crying out sounded faintly as if submerged in water.

After that was darkness.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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