Chapter 104

Chapter 104. Demon God of Vice (3)

After leaving Cheon Sangwoon’s faction, I wandered from place to place and took on all kinds of work.

Finding a way to overcome my limits was important, but simply putting food on the table was just as urgent.

One of the jobs I eventually ended up taking was transporting goods for a trade deal with Pandemonium.

It wasn’t being handled by a respectable organization like the Black Dragon Society.

It was a small-time group, and the whole thing reeked of something shady from the start.

But at the time, I had spent most of my money treating a serious injury.

I wasn’t in a position to be picky about work.

In the end, I joined a group of low-level Contractors gathered from different places and helped transport the “goods.”

We crossed a mountain alongside a truck loaded with boxes meant to be delivered to Pandemonium.

The truck rolled along slowly and looked like it might break down at any moment.

Then one of its wheels sank into a muddy hole.

The Contractors with high Strength managed to pull the truck back onto the road, but one of the boxes in the back rolled off.

That was when I heard it.

A faint groan coming from inside the box.

Judging by the size, it couldn’t have been an adult.

What we were transporting to the demons...

was a child.

“Hey. You.”

The leader of the transport team grabbed me by the shoulder.

Then he looked at my stiff expression and spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s get moving.”

“Yes. Understood.”

It was a warning.

He was telling me to pretend I hadn’t noticed anything.

And, realistically speaking, that was the correct choice.

Even if I confronted them and asked whether we were really selling children to Pandemonium, it wouldn’t accomplish anything.

The people here were members of a criminal organization willing to engage in human trafficking, along with low-level Contractors they had hired.

If I started lecturing them about ethics, the only result would be my own death.

The smartest thing to do was to pretend I hadn’t seen anything and take my pay.

It can’t be helped.

I sighed.

It really couldn’t be helped.

Even if there was absolutely nothing in it for me...

I still couldn’t just ignore something like this.

I said I needed to use the bathroom, slipped away for a moment, then entered the forest and lured monsters toward us.

I had already studied the surrounding environment and figured out what kinds of monsters lived nearby.

While everyone was thrown into chaos by the attack, I managed to steal the truck.

I released the children in the nearest village.

If I could have, I would have searched for their parents too.

But given my situation at the time, this was the best I could do.

Afterward, I deliberately drove around with empty boxes still loaded on the truck and headed toward another region.

That was meant to throw the human-trafficking organization off my trail.

But the truck soon ran out of fuel, and the pursuers caught up with me.

I knew I would die if they captured me, so I ran for my life.

And during that escape...

I ended up inside Pandemonium’s territory.

The demons were waiting for me there.

Furious because the “goods” had never been delivered.

I thought I was unlucky.

If I had to die, I would rather have been killed by humans than captured and killed by demons.

But what awaited me in Pandemonium wasn’t a one-sided beating.

It was a trial.

“Defendant, do you genuinely believe that was a logically coherent defense?”

The prosecutor’s voice boomed through the courtroom.

He was dressed neatly in a suit, but his face was red, and five horns protruded from his head.

“You claim the transaction was unethical? Those are human values!”

He spread his arms as though appealing to the various demons watching the proceedings.

“Such values do not apply in Pandemonium. Why does it matter whether the merchandise being sold is five years old or ten? Is eating a pig slaughtered at three months somehow more unethical than eating one slaughtered at six months?”

After saying that, the prosecutor bowed toward the judge.

“Your Honor! This human not only interfered with a legitimate transaction and caused serious losses to the merchants, but is now attempting to justify his actions using the arrogant values of humanity! I request permanent removal of both eyes and one hundred and twenty years of forced labor!”

Contrary to what I had vaguely imagined, Pandemonium’s judicial proceedings followed an astonishingly proper format.

Considering that most countries no longer had functioning legal systems, it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to call Pandemonium advanced in matters of law.

The problem was that I knew very little about Pandemonium’s laws or values.

That put me at a severe disadvantage.

On top of that, I didn’t even have a lawyer.

“Then I shall deliver the verdict.”

As the two-headed judge spoke solemnly, despair washed over me.

One hundred and twenty years of forced labor after having both eyes removed.

At that point, death almost sounded preferable.

But then a voice came from the audience.

“Judge, there appears to be a problem with this trial.”

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

A murmur of surprise immediately swept through the courtroom.

Standing there was an astonishingly beautiful man.

Dressed in an elegant black suit, he slowly walked toward me.

“Wasn’t it a fundamental principle that every trial must have counsel for the defense? If a defendant cannot appoint their own attorney, the court is supposed to provide one. So why is this human being forced to defend himself?”

“Well... the attorney assigned today got an upset stomach after digging up and eating a corpse in the cemetery...”

“That is not a valid excuse, Your Honor.”

He came to stand beside me and rested one hand on the back of my chair.

“I suppose it can’t be helped. I will represent this human.”

“L-Lord Belial!”

“Don’t worry, human.”

He smiled and winked at me while I stared blankly, unable to understand what was happening.

“I am a legal expert who once argued a case over the rights of Hell itself in the court of King Solomon. You may trust me.”

“Didn’t you lose that case?”

“Hm...?”

I answered while recalling The Book of Belial, a mock-trial text written in 1382.

The man’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe I knew about that.

That was the first time I met Belial.

“You are quite an interesting human. This is the first time I’ve met a modern person with knowledge as broad as yours.”

"..."

Thanks to Belial’s eloquent defense, I was acquitted.

But I wasn’t particularly happy about it.

I couldn’t understand why Belial had defended me in the first place.

Why did he save me?

Belial was one of the Seventy-Two Demons who ruled Pandemonium.

Even among them, his position was quite high.

It was deeply unnatural for someone like that to simply wander into a courtroom and defend some insignificant criminal.

“This is my room, human.”

"..."

Belial took me deep into a palace-like building, to his private chamber.

A huge bed stood in one corner of the spacious room.

The moment I saw it, my body stiffened.

“Don’t tell me...”

Belial tilted his head when he saw me step backward while covering my rear.

“What is it?”

“Just so we’re clear, I have hemorrhoids.”

The lie came out instinctively.

Because I suddenly remembered that Belial was also famous for his fondness for men.

“I see. I’ve heard that can be very painful.”

Belial’s voice sounded sympathetic.

But from his eyes, I could tell he was thinking, Why is this human suddenly telling me that? Is he insane?

“If you do me a favor, I can order my subordinates to find you some useful medicinal herbs.”

“No... that won’t be necessary.”

While I looked away in embarrassment, Belial retrieved something from a corner of the room.

“I would like you to teach me how to use this.”

“A laptop?”

What Belial had brought out was indeed a laptop computer.

“I was told this small object contains infinite knowledge, but I cannot figure out how to use it.”

"..."

“I also heard that humans around your age are familiar with things like this.”

Belial hadn’t saved me because he wanted my body.

He simply needed a human who could teach him how to use a laptop.

Apparently, he had seized the opportunity when he saw a fresh human being tried in court.

There were probably humans being held as forced laborers or food, but perhaps taking them for his own purposes would have violated some kind of “rule.”

“I can teach you how to use it, but you probably won’t be able to access that infinite knowledge. There’s no internet connection here.”

“What?”

“You don’t have any LAN cables around here.”

"...?"

“And it’s probably not charged, so it might not even turn on...”

“Ah, that part is fine. I obtained something called a human-powered generator and charged it.”

At least that was fortunate.

“Let’s see what’s on it...”

I powered it on and looked at the desktop.

From the icons, it seemed the laptop had mostly been used for gaming.

But every game installed was an online game, meaning none of them could run without an internet connection.

Of course, even if we did somehow connect to the internet, most of those game servers were probably dead anyway.

“The same thing happened when I tried.”

“Wait a second.”

I opened the file explorer and checked what was stored on the drive.

I thought there might be documents or something else useful I could show Belial.

But what the laptop actually contained...

was a collection of certain kinds of videos.

“Why did you stop?”

Belial looked puzzled when I suddenly froze.

I stared at the file list, deep in thought.

What am I supposed to do with this?

I could tell just from the titles.

Nothing appeared outright criminal, but whoever had owned this laptop possessed some extremely perverted sexual tastes.

I felt dizzy just reading the bizarre titles that I didn’t even want to say aloud.

Could I really show this to Belial?

“Belial...”

“Yes?”

I tried to think rationally.

Showing that kind of video on a laptop to a Demon God, a ruler among demons, was completely insane.

I didn’t know Pandemonium’s laws well, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if insulting a Demon God like this carried the death penalty.

But...

Belial was also an extremely lustful demon.

There were even stories that he had been the one who turned Sodom and Gomorrah into what they became.

"..."

In the end, I played the videos.

It seemed better than pretending there was nothing there and disappointing Belial.

“What is this?”

“Just wait.”

I opened several windows and played multiple videos at once.

I figured that would be the easiest way to quickly show Belial what kind of material was stored on the laptop.

And...

Belial’s expression slowly began to change.

“Oh?”

I’ll skip straight to the conclusion.

Belial was extremely satisfied.

After that, I became one of Belial’s favored humans.

He showed great interest in my various fields of knowledge.

Whenever I told him stories about different subjects, he listened with genuine fascination.

Originally, I had wanted to escape Pandemonium as quickly as possible.

But after a while, I started thinking that remaining in Pandemonium for some time might not be such a bad idea.

Pandemonium contained objects, races, and information that simply didn’t exist outside its borders.

I wanted to gain as much experience as possible for the future.

And during that time, I realized something.

Demons basically did not respect humans.

But if they acknowledged a particular human, they would treat that person as an equal individual.

Belial was no exception.

In terms of standing among demons, he was a high-ranking existence who easily belonged in the top ten.

Yet he treated me almost like a friend.

One day, Belial took me outside the city.

He said it was a private place he used whenever he wanted a change of pace, and led me to a hidden cave by the sea.

“Talking with you truly is entertaining.”

Belial smiled as he opened a bottle of wine.

“I’ve interacted with many humans over the years, but this is the first time I’ve met one who thinks as flexibly and sharply as you do while offering such interesting perspectives.”

“Thanks for thinking so highly of me.”

“You’ve made my days much more enjoyable lately. I’m no longer bored.”

Belial took a drink straight from the bottle, then handed it to me.

“It’s hard to believe someone like you was treated so poorly in human society.”

“Well, that was partly my own fault.”

Belial had been curious, so I had told him quite a lot about myself.

And in return, I had learned a great deal about Belial.

“Belial, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Just because Belial favored me didn’t mean I could overstep my place.

Keeping that in mind, I carefully spoke.

“As I understand it, Pandemonium’s goal is to conquer this world and build an eternal empire.”

“That is correct.”

“But right now, you’re in a period of ceasefire.”

“War cannot be waged endlessly without rest. We need some time to recover before beginning the next one.”

It was something I couldn’t afford to forget.

Pandemonium was an army of demons that had invaded humanity.

Countless people had lost their lives and their homes because of Pandemonium’s invasion.

“But Belial... is that what you want too?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been watching you for a while now, and you don’t seem interested in that kind of thing at all.”

Belial had little interest in expanding military power.

What interested him was simply making society prosper.

He actively encouraged trade with humans and sometimes even seemed to be trying to establish friendly relations with them.

“You... seem to have something else in mind.”

"..."

The moment I asked that question...

the smile disappeared from Belial’s face.