Chapter 126. Kaesong Reclamation Operation (3)
Saionji Keito was born into a Japanese cult.
It was a typical fraudulent religion that haphazardly mixed Hinduism and Buddhism together.
The group committed all kinds of illegal acts, including using drugs to induce hallucinations in its followers.
Keito’s father was the leader of that religious organization.
He called himself the “Holy Father” and wielded tremendous authority.
He intended to make his own son, Keito, the “Holy Son” and his successor.
That was why Keito had been drugged from a very young age.
The incoherent nonsense he muttered while half-conscious was transformed by the adults around him into “sacred revelations.”
Naturally, he had no friends.
Keito was nothing more than a machine that silently did whatever the adults told him.
Then one day, the Fantasy Realm descended and the world fell into chaos.
Keito’s father wasn’t alarmed.
Rather, he believed their time had finally come.
He thought religious organizations like theirs would become even more powerful in such a chaotic world.
Using all the money and connections he had accumulated, he attempted to seize control of a fractured Japan.
What caught his attention during that process was the Contractor system.
He became convinced that Contractors, those who formed contracts with Constellations and wielded extraordinary power, would be the ones to lead the next era.
So he tried to make his son contract with a powerful Constellation.
The reason he didn’t become a Contractor himself was because he wanted to avoid any unknown risks.
After several years of research, preparations were made to summon a powerful Constellation.
Whether those preparations truly worked or it happened purely by coincidence was impossible to know.
Either way, Keito succeeded in contracting with an extremely powerful Constellation.
It was a Hindu-related Constellation, just as his father had wanted.
And among such beings, it could be called one of the strongest.
But there was a problem.
Immediately after forming the contract, Keito fell into a coma.
His body had already been ruined by years of drug abuse from childhood.
Then, after enduring all kinds of rituals intended to summon the Constellation, it finally reached its limit.
No doctor could heal him.
Everyone lamented that he was going to die.
That was when the Church of the Morning Star, which had expanded into Japan around that time, reached out.
The Church of the Morning Star began repairing Keito’s body.
Of course, they weren’t simply trying to heal him.
They wanted to create a ‘Vessel’ for the resurrection of Lucifer.
In the end, Keito regained his health.
No.
He obtained physical abilities so extraordinary that they couldn’t even be compared to what he had possessed before.
When Keito’s father saw him, he was overjoyed.
Keito was already contracted with a powerful Constellation.
Now he had obtained the tremendous physical abilities of a modified human as well.
He had effectively gained everything needed to become the strongest Contractor imaginable.
His father rejoiced, convinced that they could now seize not only Japan, but the entire world.
He embraced Keito and sang praises about how his son would make him emperor of the world.
And then...
That very night, Keito killed his father.
He didn’t stop there.
He massacred every senior member of the religious organization around him.
He had finally obtained the power to take revenge on everyone who had trampled over him.
There was no reason not to use it.
After that, Keito began walking the path of a Contractor.
He defeated everyone who stood in his way and advanced along the path of conquest.
Eventually, he became the leader of an organization called the Tenka Restoration Association.
The Tenka Restoration Association had originally been a political organization connected to powerful figures in Japan’s old political and business circles.
Those powerful people tried to use Keito to rule Japan once again.
Keito eliminated them too.
He continued defeating every enemy who opposed him...
until, before he knew it, he had risen to the very top of Japan.
But...
Keito was always alone.
He had never had friends in the first place.
He had no one who could truly be called a companion either.
All he had were subordinates.
Becoming the sole existence at the top of Japan meant there was no one left who stood on equal ground with him.
Then one day, Ha Mina appeared after being absent for quite some time.
She told Keito that he was a ‘Vessel’ created to bring the Demon King Lucifer back into this world.
And she told him that across the sea in Korea...
there was a man named Kang Yujin who was the same kind of existence as him.
The moment Keito heard that, he became certain.
That man called Kang Yujin...
might be someone capable of forming an equal relationship with him.
While the subordinates around him discussed how to swallow Korea, Keito thought only about Kang Yujin.
He wanted to meet him and fight him as soon as possible.
And Kang Yujin lived up to his expectations.
The moment Keito became convinced that this man could become an equal rival...
he felt tremendous joy.
Whatever conspiracy Ha Mina was planning didn’t matter much.
Lucifer’s resurrection.
The Vessels.
None of that was especially important to Keito.
Simply standing on the same battlefield as Kang Yujin...
was enough to give him a sense of fulfillment he had never known before.
“Does that clear everything around here?”
“Hmm. Looks like it.”
Before he knew it, Kang Yujin had penetrated deep into enemy territory together with Keito.
They were far from the allied forces.
But neither of them felt much danger.
Even if enemies surrounded them, the two of them could probably wipe them out without much trouble.
“I don’t think we need to wait for the others.”
Keito looked behind them before speaking calmly.
“We can just go kill Armaros ourselves.”
“Yeah. Might as well.”
“According to the operational information we received earlier, his office should be inside that building.”
“Then let’s go there.”
That was how it was decided.
Kang Yujin and Keito entered the building together.
“Yujin, how about we compete to see who kills Armaros?”
“You’re saying pointless stuff again.”
Kang Yujin frowned.
“Either one of us can do it.”
“Is that really true? I feel like your pride would be hurt if I finished him off.”
“Hey.”
Kang Yujin frowned again.
This guy is supposed to be the representative of an entire country, but all he does is cling to me and pick fights...
He was old enough to know better.
Why did he behave like this?
Kang Yujin stared at him with disbelief.
But Keito simply advanced with his usual calm expression.
What a weird bastard.
Thinking that, Kang Yujin continued forward while taking care of the minor demons blocking their path.
“Is this it?”
“Looks like it.”
Thinking back to his battle with Arioc, Kang Yujin considered the possibility that Armaros might simply be waiting in his office.
Keeping that in mind, he opened the door.
And saw something completely unexpected.
“Ghh...”
A demon with dark reddish skin was crouched on the floor, groaning.
Judging from his large build and ornate clothing, he appeared to be Armaros.
“What is this?”
"..."
Kang Yujin frowned.
Something unexpected was happening.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Keito, wait!”
Keito strode forward.
The moment he leaned down for a closer look, Armaros suddenly raised an arm.
"...!"
But Keito was never struck.
Before Armaros’s arm could reach him, Keito’s foot erupted in flames and smashed the demon’s head apart.
“A trap?”
"..."
Kang Yujin frowned at Keito’s cold mutter.
