Fighting against the urge to sink to his knees, Raon straightened his back. He needed to hold out until the end for the sake of people behind him.
Sloth, who was trying to destroy the castle, stopped moving for the first time. He halted his steps and stared at Raon.
āThis land belongs to the esteemed Wrath, the monarch of Wrath! This is no place for someone like you!ā
āWrathā¦ā
Slothās eyes, which used to be pretty much closed, appeared like an evening moon. However, he didnāt seem to completely believe him, as signs of distrust could be seen in his lazy eyes.
Why would this gutter be the King of Essenceās domain?
āIām not done yet, so please shut up.ā
Y-You damn bastard!
Contrary to the respect he treated him with on the outside, he scolded Wrath on the inside.
āHaaā¦ā
Just as Wrath managed to notice Slothās existence from afar, Sloth should have also been able to feel Wrathās presence once he got angry.
āAre you⦠the vesselā¦of Wrathā¦?ā
āYes. The esteemed Wrath is currently angry at you who trespassed into his domain. He said you donāt know your place when you are just a sleepyhead.ā
āā¦ā¦ā
Sloth shuddered as soon as he heard the word sleepyhead. It was a relief that Wrath had told him about Sloth.
However, his doubts still remained. And Raon needed to completely get rid of his doubts.
Donāt listen to him, Sloth! This is not the King of Essenceās domain, and this guy isnāt the King of Essenceās subordinate either! He is an enemy!
āHe canāt hear you, so stop talking.ā
What was conveyed to Sloth wasnāt his voice, but the anger emanating from his body.
āHaa.ā
Raon slowly exhaled. Letting out the dirty energy from the fight, he filled his lungs with cold air. The view became clear thanks to the refreshing air and the taste of blood inside his mouth.
āI accepted the emotion of wrath for this purpose.ā
Wrath didnāt realize it, but standing in front of Sloth wasnāt the only reason he made the trade to accept wrath.
He did it to convince Sloth using the 15 points of wrath he received, in addition to the original 10 points.
āI need to show my wrath.ā
It was obvious what he needed to think about.
Raon recalled the face of Derus Robert, clenching his fist until his bones started creaking. The pain of his nails burrowing into his skin felt pleasant in comparison.
Whir!
The 25 points of wrath he had gotten from the trades pierced through his reason and started to eat away his brain. Feeling the flame of wrath filling up his brain, Raon's mouth curved into a deadly smile.
āThis is the power of Wrath⦠You are⦠really Wrathāsā¦ā
The laziness in Slothās dead eyes became crystal clear. He finally realized that the monarch of Wrath was with Raon.
āIāll convey the esteemed Wrathās words to you. āYou must have a death wish for trespassing into the King of Essenceās territory. Take one more step and you shall be unable to sleep for eternity, you damn sleepyhead.āā
Th-The King of Essence never said such a thing! You crazy bastard!
Obviously, Wrath never said such a thing. Raon was just imitating his tone using the information he had gotten so far.
āErm⦠I-I wonāt be able to⦠sleepā¦ā
However, it was super effective. Hearing that he wouldnāt be able to sleep anymore, Slothās eyes started to visibly tremble.
āE-Esteemed Wrath! Please suppress your anger!ā
Raon bowed towards the ice flower bracelet.
Wh-What are you trying to do now? Stop it! Immediately!
āThat braceletā¦ā
Slothās eyes grew even wider upon seeing the flower bracelet around his wrist.
āI knew this would work.ā
When Wrath transformed into a flower bracelet the first time, he said that it was his preference. Raon expected him to wear a similar accessory in Devildom, and he was right.
āPlease donāt advent right now! You didnāt gather that power to fight against Sloth! It was in order to make the continent submit under your feet!ā
Raon gave Wrath, who was just standing there dumbfounded, a serious look.
Continent? What are you talking about?
āWhat? You arenāt planning to fight, just follow him to make him unable to sleep? Esteemed Wrath, thatās just evilā¦ā
Raonās eyes widened as he looked down on the flower bracelet.
You are really insane! The King of Essence never said such a thing! Iām losing my mind because of you!
Wrath grasped his head, shouting that itās so frustrating.
āHe will⦠follow me⦠and stop me from sleepingā¦? Wrath is doing⦠such a thing?ā
Sloth was shocked by what he heard, starting to stagger.
āEsteemed Wrath! You have to suppress your anger! Please, think about the future!ā
Shut up already!
āIām sure that will be annoying for Sloth, but the conquest will last even longer!ā
Raon was calling him the āesteemed Wrathā, but he actually treated him as something worse than a dog shit.
āA-Are you saying that the fight is inevitable because he attacked your subordinates? O, esteemed Wrathā¦ā
Raon looked like he was deeply moved as he bit his lips while looking at the flower bracelet.
āUgh⦠so it was trueā¦ā
The corners of Slothās mouth drooped. He was apparently aware of the fact that Wrath treasured his subordinates.
Bullshit! Itās bulllllshittt! You fucking monster! What do you even have in your stomach?
āEsteemed Wrath, please trust me for now!ā
You bastaaaaard!
Raon bowed at Wrathās screaming flower bracelet, then stood in front of Sloth.
āI feel like dying. My heart canāt handle this anymore.ā
Raon was losing his sanity from putting up with the angrily Wrath screaming right next to him and the powerful Sloth right in front of him.
He wasnāt sure how he ended between those two demon kings, but he couldnāt stop there. He needed to take care of the situation, no matter what.
Curse you! Raon Zieghart!
Naturally, Wrath exploded in anger, and a tremendous wave of coldness and wrath stormed into his body.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator ā Kyangi]
[Proofreader ā Harley]
Join our discord for updates on releases!Ā https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
āI need to show this to him.ā
Raon didnāt block Wrathās attack like he usually did. Instead, he accepted his wrath as it was.
Wham!
Wrathās coldness and anger started to rise from Raonās entire body.
āWrathāsā¦energyā¦ā
Sloth frowned, lowering his chin.
āAllow me to introduce myself again. Iām the vessel of wrath, where the esteemed Wrath will advent soon enough.ā
āErmā¦ā
āI know why you came to this place. It must be because of the war and the black magic that woke you up.ā
āThatās⦠right.ā
Sloth nodded very slowly.
āBut you picked the wrong opponent. Those that kept bothering you were a group called Eden, who wear monster helmets. We were only defending against their attacks.ā
Raon endured the stabbing pain and calmly explained the situation.
āEdā¦en⦠Where⦠are⦠theyā¦?ā
āI donāt know.ā
āSo⦠you are⦠unrelated to thisā¦?ā
āIndeed.ā
āThen⦠I donāt need to⦠fight against Wrathā¦ā
Sloth took a step back. He looked rather relieved.
āSloth, where are you going?ā
āIām⦠returning⦠since you have nothing to do⦠with thisā¦ā
āReturning? What are you saying⦠Ah! Esteemed Wrath!ā
Raon jolted in surprise and grasped the bracelet.
āY-You have to suppress your anger! You shouldnāt come out yet!ā
Huh? What?
āAh, okay! Iāll convey it right now! Please, wait a moment!ā
Raon kept bowing to Wrath, who was just standing there like an idiot.
āSloth, where are you trying to go after attacking the King of Essenceās subordinates?ā
āWrath⦠I⦠didnāt know⦠you were hereā¦ā
āThat's the problem. You wouldāve killed the King of Essenceās belongings if I wasnāt here!ā
Raon purposely took his time between the lines, pretending he was conveying what Wrath was telling him. He didnāt leave any room for doubt with Sloth.
The King of Essence never said such a thing! Iām frustrated! Iām so frustrated right now! I finally realize why humans have that anger disorder!
Wrathās eyes started spinning like a top.
āYou must also be aware of it, since you are a demon. The lives have to be repaid with your life.ā
Raon pointed at the soldiers that had died in the battle against the monsters.
āI⦠didnāt kill⦠anyone⦠yetā¦ā
āStop trying to argue against the King of Essence. Your action caused the monsters to run away and kill the King of Essenceās subordinates.ā
āNoā¦ā
āYou also tried to make unrelated people take responsibility for disturbing your slumber.ā
āUhmā¦ā
Sloth shut his mouth, unable to say anything. Actually, his eyes looked like he was annoyed, and didnāt really care about reason or whatever. He just wanted to go back and sleep.
āNow is the time.ā
Since he finished the preparations, it was time to get down to business.
āI know that taking your life in return would be unreasonable.ā
āWrathā¦ā
āThe great King of Essence, the monarch of Devildom, is giving you a choice. You shall decide between giving up on the slumber you cherish so much, or handing over your ability to this guy. Since he will be the King of Essenceās⦠Huh?ā
Raonās mouth became wide open as he looked at the flower bracelet. Of course, Wrath wasnāt even thereāhe was just floating in the air.
āE-Esteemed Wrath!ā
S-So, this was your objective! You devil!
Even though Wrath was the demon king, he kept shouting that Raon was the devil or demon or whatever, spreading his wrath.
āI donāt need such an opportunity. I only need the esteemed Wrath!ā
Raon bowed until his head reached the ground. He bit his tongue and endured Wrathās interference through the pain.
Sloth! Kill him! He only brings harm to the world! Just swing your hand!
āSlumber⦠or give him my abilityā¦? Thatās an easy choiceā¦ā
Sloth nodded slowly. His expression was saying that it was needless to ask.
N-No! Donāt do it! You idiot! You are getting tricked by a human worse than a devil! Stop it!
Wrath kept screaming while flailing his hands, but Sloth raised his finger to point at Raon.
Whir!
The dark energy coming out from his finger pierced through Raonās heart. No, it wasnāt his heart but a part of his soul, where a tremendous amount of energy got engraved.
[A portion of ās ability is seeping into your soul and body.]
[The ability will be activated once the adjustment is done.]
It felt like a searing iron was pressing on his back. However, the pain allowed him to keep his sanity.
Th-The King of Essence is dying⦠He is dying from an anger disorder. Ahhā¦
Wrath was lying on the ground, his whole body trembling.
āThen⦠I will⦠return⦠Iām too⦠sleepy⦠I need to⦠sleepā¦ā
āWait.ā
Raon raised his hand to stop Sloth, who was about to leave.
āItās not over yet.ā
āā¦What?ā
Murderous intent appeared in Slothās eyes. It looked like he would fight anyone if they tried to stop him from sleeping any longer.
āI have a gift for you.ā
Raon unwrapped the black cloth heād been carrying, taking out the goblin kingās magic stone. The heat coming from the magic stone melted his fingers, which were frozen stiff from the coldness and his nerves.
āThatāsā¦ā
Slothās eyes widened upon feeling the magic stoneās heat.
āTake this magic stone.ā
Raon didnāt hesitate to throw it at him.
āItās warm⦠I⦠can⦠keep sleeping⦠with thisā¦ā
The murderous intent and irritation disappeared at once from Sloth. He stared at the magic stone in bewilderment.
āBut⦠why⦠are you⦠giving this⦠to meā¦?ā
āDonāt come down here anymore, no matter what sounds you hear. And if a large number of monsters start moving, you shall control them adequately and stop them.ā
Raon didnāt want to be the only one to benefit from it after what everyone went through. He was planning to prevent the waves from happening in the future by using Sloth.
āItās annoying⦠but itās not⦠a difficult⦠requestā¦ā
After staring at the magic stone in ecstasy, Sloth turned his gaze towards Raon.
āIs this⦠Wrathās⦠requestā¦?ā
āNo. Itās a trade unrelated to Wrath, so you wonāt come here again.ā
āTradeā¦? Itās a trivial matter⦠compared to⦠this item⦠Thatās whyā¦ā
After looking over the magic stone, he raised his finger again.
The black stream coming from his finger surrounded his wrist, right next to the flower bracelet.
āWhat?ā
āDonāt⦠worry⦠Itās the remainder⦠after the tradeā¦ā
Just like he said, there was no malicious intent in the black light.
Cling!
Along with a sound of metal colliding with each other, a black flower bracelet was created on his wrist, slightly different from the ice flower bracelet.
āWhat is this?ā
āIt⦠will⦠help you⦠in the futureā¦ā
āBut why is it a flower braceletā¦?ā
āI⦠made it⦠according to⦠your masterās⦠preference⦠So that he wonāt⦠bother me againā¦ā
With those as his final words, he turned around and started walking towards the mountain.
The darkness started to fade as he moved away. The impenetrable night finally ended, and the sleeping sun woke up.
āHaaā¦ā
Raon exhaled with difficulty.
āIām really going to die at this rate.ā
He wanted to collapse right away, but he couldnāt do that yet. He needed to hold out until Sloth disappeared completely. The fortunate part of the situation was the fact that Sloth was walking way faster than before, pleased by the goblinās magic stone.
āIt had to be a flower again, Wrath. This braceletā¦ā
Krrrr! R-Raon you son of a bitā¦
Wrath was unconscious, probably because he really did develop an anger disorder. Foam was coming out from his mouth.
āHah.ā
Raon laughed bitterly and swept his hair up, drenched in cold sweat.
āBut Itās now over⦠somehow.ā
That was really close. If he didnāt have the information about Sloth, or if Wrath refused to trade with him, or if there was anyone conscious inside the castle, he wouldnāt have been able to use the method he had just used.
When Slothās back started to become faintly visible, messages appeared.
[Youāve competed against a transcendentalā¦]
[Your soul level has increasedā¦]
[TheĀ Ten Thousand Flames Cultivationāsā¦]
[Coldness of FrostĀ andĀ Glacierā¦]
[The traitĀ Slothā¦]
[Upon sleepingā¦]
There were many messages, but he couldnāt read them properly because his vision was blurry.
Raon closed the message, and put every last ounce of his strength on his faltering legs. He protected the castle walls alone until the monarch of Sloth disappeared into the mountain, and the golden sunlight eventually erased the darkness.
That was how the nightmare of a single night came to an end.