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If I say it’s true, shouldn’t you usually bet your neck?

Heukgu confidently bet Heukrang’s neck, to the point of absurdity.

But his expression looked so wronged that it was hard not to believe him.

I think we need to keep going deeper to find Team 2 and Heukrang…

“You said you came from the Demon Realm, right?”

“Yes! It’s true!”

“You got beaten up at the Demon King’s Castle, got thrown out, and when you came to your senses, you were here?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

I don’t want to get sidetracked, but… there’s one thing I’m really curious about.

“But you guys are rich, so why are you still mooching off the Demon King’s Castle?”

“…Well, there are many complicated and deep reasons, and it’s too rushed to explain now…”

He was squirming and blushing, which was extremely unpleasant.

“Ah, a lover.”

“…Huh, how did you know?!”

“Is she one of the servants?”

“No! Servants? She’s actually part of Satan’s royal guard… oops.”

“Satan’s royal guard? Then think again, it seems to me like you were set up.”

“That can’t be! Even if you’re the captain, you shouldn’t say that!”

‘The woman you love doesn’t love you! She was following another man’s orders and used you!

Look at the result! You guys were stuck in Satan’s Demon King’s Castle, getting beaten up without being able to do anything!

What was that royal guard woman doing then? Did she really not know?’

I summarized it briefly, and Heukgu got angry, his voice trembling and avoiding eye contact.

Bingo.

“You’ve been suspicious too, huh?”

“…”

“Anyway. Follow me for a bit.”

“…Wait, Captain! What about Heukrang?”

“We need something to save Heukrang, so stop whining and follow me.”

“Yes.”

I took Heukgu to the base camp.

This time, I moved quickly using magic power, and before reaching the base camp, I ran into a production team member who was either on guard or spacing out.

Looks like they’re trying to do something on their own.

Hearing rustling sounds, they looked at me nervously, then sighed in relief and waved when they saw my face…

But suddenly, their face turned pale.

“Hero! Behind you! A humanoid monster is following you!”

“Ah… he’s not a monster. I’ll explain inside, let’s go together.”

“…?”

I entered the camp and gathered everyone.

They kept glancing at Heukgu, so he must be pretty scary.

“Don’t worry, he’s my subordinate.”

“I’m in my 60s now, Captain. Even so, there’s such a thing as social dignity…”

“Shut up.”

“Yes.”

To lower everyone’s guard, I deliberately treated Heukgu in a domineering manner.

Just like how the wild boar is scared of me and doesn’t harm people, I wanted to show that Heukgu is the same.

Heukgu answered as usual, but people couldn’t understand him anyway.

They’ll probably think he’s just some lackey who submitted to me. Whatever.

“How did it go going deeper into the island? Who is that…”

“We couldn’t find Team 2. On the way, we ran into a strange tentacle monster, buried it, and headed further in…”

I left out the part about Satan and brushed off the Demon Realm story by saying there’s a dungeon deep inside the island.

They’re already trembling with anxiety, and there’s no benefit in them knowing. Plus, it’s not my place to spill secrets the Association is hiding.

I lied that Heukgu is a hero from overseas I’ve known for a long time, who took the wrong medicine as a kid, changing his skin color and growing horns and a tail.

Strangely, they seemed to mostly believe it.

Is it because the situation is so messed up? They’re buying this…

I think I’ll have to send everyone to a psychiatrist for an appraisal when we get back to Korea.

The good thing is, since they can’t understand each other, no matter what nonsense Heukgu spouts, no one will understand.

“Anyway, I’m going back in, and Heukgu will guard the camp.”

“Captain? I’m guarding this place?”

“Yeah, you’re the guard dog of this base camp.”

“…The richest man in the Demon Realm, the top merchant Heukgu… is a guard dog in the human world?”

“Shut up.”

“Yes.”

After silencing Heukgu, PD Choi stepped forward.

“Um… we can’t even communicate with this Heukgu guy…”

“…Could you communicate with the boar?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

They’ll have to understand what I’m saying if they don’t want to die.

Since a boar can’t understand human speech, Heukgu and the boar aren’t much different.

“Just think of him as a guard dog.”

“Even so, he looks older than our national brother, calling him a guard dog…”

In the Demon Realm, the law of power rules.

But this is Earth, specifically Korea, a country filled with Confucian values.

Han Seo-jin seemed a bit uncomfortable treating Heukgu, who looks middle-aged, like a dog.

If she talked to Heukgu for just thirty minutes, she’d throw that thought out the window.

It’s a real shame they can’t communicate.

“Treat Heukgu as you see fit… Anyway, he’ll guard the camp, and I’ll go back in.”

After roughly assigning Heukgu as a guard dog and having the wild boar help with camp security, I headed back into the island.

But…

‘I’m so damn hungry.’

It seems like I’m running out of fuel.

Maybe I should’ve caught and eaten the boar.

If even one animal showed up, I’d quickly roast it with magic and eat it, but not a single one appeared.

I had no choice but to pick and eat the tree fruits I could see.

“I’m still hungry!”

Was this how Coach Hiddink felt?

***

Thinking about it, I’ve probably already walked enough to reach the center of the island.

Even though I’m bad with directions, I know how far I’ve walked.

…Ah, maybe?

…I can estimate the distance, I guess.

Should I consider the center of the island as a passage to the Demon Realm?

It feels like I’ve walked half a year’s worth of distance today.

I silently walked deeper into the island.

At some point, the color of the sky changed.

It didn’t gradually change, but like flipping a photo, it instantly shifted.

“Damn… I’m back in the Demon Realm.”

If I were to return to the Demon Realm, I thought it’d be to snatch some of Heukgu and Heukrang’s wealth or artifacts from ruins.

What a twist.

First, I came to the Demon Realm because of Satan.

Now, I’m back in the Demon Realm because of Satan.

At least this time, I didn’t end up in the middle of a desert but right at Satan’s Demon King’s Castle.

‘But this… it’s because of Satan, right?’

Just as I started to doubt if I was slandering the Demon Realm’s most upstanding person based on Heukgu’s words…

I saw Heukrang.

He looked like he’d been beaten harder than Heukgu, still standing as if he hadn’t regained consciousness.

Staggering—

He looked really off.

“At least we found you quickly, Heukrang!”

“…”

I’ll send him to the camp and have the medics treat him.

“No answer? The captain’s here, and you’re spacing out.”

“…”

…?

Heukrang’s eyes had no pupils.

Just creepy white eyes, baring his fangs…

Kyaaaaah!

He roared and charged at me, as if he thought he was a real wolf.

‘What’s wrong with this guy?’

But Heukrang is still Heukrang.

Unless he’s trained for thousands of years, he can’t beat me with just 40 years… Gah!

Kwaang—

“Kyaaaah!”

Another dizzying, spinning day for Gyeoul.

Is this the second time today?

I couldn’t react to Heukrang’s sudden acceleration after moving slowly.

Kwa-jik— Kwa-jik—

I don’t know how many rooms are in the Demon King’s Castle, but thanks to me, four just got destroyed.

I wrapped myself in magic power reflexively when hit, so I wasn’t injured…

‘But that’s the problem.’

I used magic, and I still got sent flying this far?

It was almost as powerful as Jeong Ha-yul’s Demon King Punch.

Well, pre-transcendence Jeong Ha-yul. Post-transcendence, if she hit me in Seoul, I’d probably fly to Japan.

Even if he’s weaker than Jeong Ha-yul, it hurt more than the giant moth’s headbutt earlier.

“Hey, Heukrang, did Satan mess with you?”

“…”

Heukrang, thinking he’s a real wolf, didn’t answer.

Kyaaaaah!

As if determined not to let his prey escape, he kept charging.

I was caught off guard the first time, but his straightforward attacks were easy to dodge.

“How many knuckle flicks do you want!”

Flinch—

He still remembers the taste of the Demon King’s knuckle flick, his body twitching, but only for a moment.

The knuckle flick only further enraged him.

Kyaaaaah!

Thwak-

Kyaaaaah!

Thwak-

Kwaaaaah!

Thwak-

Grrr…

Thwak-

Kiiing…

Thwak-

While dodging Heukrang’s wild attacks, I relentlessly flicked his forehead in the same spot.

By the fifth flick, he started crying.

…Are these guys actually part dog or wolf?

His crying sounds just like a dog’s.

As I approached him to deliver the final flick while he stood still…

“Captain! I’m back to my senses! I’m back!”

“Oh! Finally woke up!”

Thwak-

“…Why, why! I said I’m back! It’s really me!”

“I know, but I was annoyed, so I flicked you one more time.”

“…”

“Don’t mess around in the future. Whether you’re conscious or not.”

“Yes! Sorry! But Captain, what about Heukgu…”

Even though they’re my lackeys, I couldn’t bring myself to say I’d hired his friend as a guard dog.

“Heukgu’s fine. Forget that, let’s eat something. I’m starving.”

With Heukrang back to his senses, we raided the Demon King’s Castle’s food storage and devoured whatever we could find.

For that moment, I was just another beast.

 

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