Chapter 314: Episode 314_Succubus Dream (4)
4.
There’s no such thing as a purely good-natured competition.
Even if one exists, that phrase only applies until the results are in.
Once the results are in and there is a first place and everyone else, the world inevitably divides those who ran on the sa track into two camps.
Winners and losers.
Success and failure.
It’s the sa in any competition.
Even when nothing tangible is at stake, and even when the difference is just one second—or even 0.01 seconds—those lines are drawn.
So people say we should restrain this culture of worshipping rankings and applaud second place as well, but in the end, that’s only a consolation.
Ultimately, the spotlight falls only on the winner.
Whether it’s sports, college entrance exams, business deals, or elections.
No matter how much dirty dealing went on along the way, only the winner is rembered.
There’s a reason they say the victor writes history.
The sa is true for those who plot treason, fully aware that failure ans the annihilation of their entire bloodline.
If they succeed, they aren’t recorded as traitors but as revolutionaries.
It’s the sa in gas.
“First.”
In a ga, that word belongs to only one person.
This world was no different from reality.
And Kenji, who had stood on the exact opposite side of Han Simin and competed to prove the Heavenly King and Demon King, was no exception.
Not at all.
Even a man who was called the richest in the world could not escape it.
Loser. Failure.
There weren’t many people who openly pointed fingers at him.
Those who had stood on his side and defied the Emperor didn’t have the luxury to grumble.
They were too busy bowing their heads and begging the Emperor for their lives, confessing their sins.
Because of that, Kenji, who had started it all, remained unhard, but he couldn’t avoid the wave of emptiness that crashed over him.
He remained silent.
If that emptiness had been purely ntal, he might have endured it.
But he had also paid every last coin he owed Han Simin.
Of course, in his heart, he hadn’t wanted to pay. He was human, after all.
Even so, once he regained his reason, he paid what he had promised.
That was his character.
It was the source of the staggering title he had earned—richest man in the world.
He separated public and private matters.
His dealings with Han Simin had been nothing more than an exchange of information.
He had anticipated the possibility of being backstabbed, and he had his own plans as well.
This ti, Han Simin had simply moved faster.
No, as always.
In any case, he wasn’t completely crushed.
Nothing would change if he just sat there.
It might have looked like the situation was drifting along aimlessly, but that would never be the case.
He hadn’t spent a long ti with the Emperor in person, but from what he had heard, the Emperor was not the type to let this slide.
He would use this opportunity as a pretext to once again demonstrate the majesty of the Empire to the kingdoms that had been harboring rebellious thoughts.
And the Kingdom of Kenji would not be able to slip out of that net.
No matter how unfair it felt, he had to find another way.
Sitting around hoping that day would never co would be the height of stupidity.
Kenji moved.
*
The Heavenly King took the bait.
“I’ll give it to you.”
“Now you’re talking. Good call. You have to survive first, then you can think about the rest. You’re the Heavenly King, but you can’t rot in here for a thousand years. You need to hurry back, get your house in order, and co back for revenge.”
The mont the Heavenly King made his decision, he handed over Han Simin’s Sanctuary, which he had brought to the continent, without hesitation.
Not that much ti had passed, but Han Simin’s face was full of emotion as he received the Sanctuary.
“Finally. You idiot. I went through absolute hell after leaving you with that damned demon, and now you finally co crawling back. From now on, it’s smooth sailing for you and .”
The Heavenly King remained silent.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this had been the source of everything.
If the Heavenly King hadn’t taken Han Simin’s Sanctuary in the first place—
He would never have overwheld the Demon King and won.
Epia and Han Simin would never have crossed into Heaven to screw him over.
And he would never have opened a Heavenly Transfer Gate in his own castle by sacrificing two Divine Objects...
’Well, I guess he would have opened it anyway.’
He still had to co down to the continent sohow.
In any case, all the responsibility lay with the Heavenly King.
So Han Simin accepted it without the slightest trace of guilt.
The Heavenly King stared at him.
“What? Don’t look at
like that. I’m not giving you the Divine Objects. You can co and steal them later if you want. I already enhanced them, you think I’m crazy enough to hand them over?”
With those brazen words, he pulled a half-used Heart from his coat and tossed it.
It was the Heart Epia had used and left over.
Officially, he had cut it in half so the Emperor wouldn’t get suspicious if she recovered too much mana at once, but in truth, Han Simin had only used half because he wanted to pocket the rest. That leftover half now went to the Heavenly King.
“Use this and get out of here without getting caught. It was only temporary when Epia used it, and it won’t be enough for you to turn the tables, so don’t get any funny ideas.”
It was a sha to part with it, but without sothing like this, the Heavenly King didn’t have enough mana to cross back to Heaven.
So he handed it over.
“And put your seal here. I know you probably won’t, but just in case you change your mind.”
The Sanctuary and the contract.
Those two things alone were more than worth the price of that free half-Heart.
The Heavenly King skimd the contract and signed.
It simply stated that he would quietly return to Heaven without causing a scene.
Han Simin wrote nothing more than that.
Then he turned his back without a second thought.
“Have a nice trip.”
It was a victory.
If he wanted to, he could have squeezed even more out of him.
But compared to the big scores he had already taken, this was small change.
Besides, Han Simin was exhausted.
“Damn. I really need to take at least a week off.”
It was the biggest resolution of Han Simin’s life, and at the sa ti, it was sincere.
The Demon World episode.
This Main Quest, which had stretched all the way to the continent, had been far, far too long.
Countless users had pulled all-nighters, but the ntal fatigue of the man at the center of it all, leading the quest and planning for the future as he moved, was beyond words.
Taking a single day off had only made it worse.
It felt like a computer that had been running nonstop had finally crashed.
He needed to recharge before he could start running again.
To do that, he checked one more ti to see if there was anything he had missed.
’Kenji, taken care of. Epia, made into the Heavenly King. Heavenly King, sent back.’
Perfect.
’Got paid.’
The wrap-up was flawless.
That was enough.
Han Simin imdiately opened the guild chat.
“Let’s go on a trip. About a week.”
“Oh. Where? Where?”
“I heard the South or East is nice for vacations.”
“Wherever you pick is fine, Mr. Simin.”
The replies ca back instantly.
Han Simin frowned.
“I’m not spending a whole week off inside Fantastic World. I’m sick of this damn BetaGo world. If we’re going, let’s go overseas. A resort. Sowhere with a wide-open ocean, lots of tall, busty ladies in bikinis, and great food.”
“Hey. I’m right here and you’re talking about busty ladies?”
“...You don’t count. Maybe if it were Seolah.”
“You’re the worst.”
Specialist, too, brightened up at the unexpected suggestion.
They were hardcore ga addicts, but they were still in their twenties.
A trip with people they liked.
There was no way they would turn that down.
“Alright, then it’s decided. I’ll cover the plane tickets, and the three of you can split the rest of the expenses. How does that sound?”
“What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m in.”
“You little punk. You’re planning to score so free tickets from sowhere, aren’t you?”
“Co on. Don’t say things that hurt my feelings.”
“Honestly, when Simin suggested we go on a trip, I was planning to pay for everything myself. I guess having money does make you generous.”
And so, with Han Simin’s unexpected generosity, their travel plans were set.
5.
Kenji secretly made his way to the underground prison beneath the Great Temple.
He had wondered if it would even be possible, but it turned out to be easier than expected.
Han Simin had already told them to allow adventurers access to the underground prison where the Heavenly King—or Demon King, as it were—was being held.
It had been to let the Heavenly King hear news from the outside and give up quickly, but once he got what he wanted, Han Simin hadn’t bothered to issue any further orders to restrict access.
After all, the Heavenly King was going to break out of that prison anyway.
For a man who had done his mandatory military service, the idea of going out of his way to give one more order was unthinkable.
That was why Kenji was able to face the Heavenly King, who had not yet left.
“I want to follow you.”
The Heavenly King didn’t respond.
He simply continued absorbing the Heart in his hand.
Kenji didn’t mind and dropped to his knees.
“I will help you take revenge. I have the power to do so.”
“I have no need of a human’s help.”
For the first ti, the Heavenly King replied.
A cold rejection.
But it was still the first thing he had said to Kenji, who until now hadn’t even been worth acknowledging.
Kenji took it as a positive sign.
“Of course, right now it’s impossible. But I am an adventurer. I also have a very close relationship with that man. It may be difficult for
to take revenge directly, but once you cross from Heaven to the continent, I am confident I can bring that man before you.”
He paused.
“Just let
co with you.”
That stubborn positivity, surprisingly, reached the Heavenly King.
It couldn’t help but reach him.
Given the circumstances, it was only natural.
Normally, he wouldn’t have even glanced at such words, but right now, the Heavenly King was seething with rage—rage at the human who had dared to drag his pride through the mud, and at Epia, who was strutting around the continent in his place.
It wasn’t as if he had simply lost.
He had won an overwhelming, flawless victory in a head-on clash, only to be defeated later in such a cowardly, lowly way. That made it all the more infuriating.
Honestly, if he could take revenge by borrowing a human’s strength, he felt he would.
On top of that, Kenji was laying the board for him.
This was not a win-win relationship.
Kenji was bowing one-sidedly.
He was saying he would do anything, as long as the Heavenly King took him along.
Of course, Kenji must have his own desires.
But the Heavenly King—he could easily grant whatever it was a human wanted.
Instead of answering, the Heavenly King turned his gaze away and finished absorbing the Heart.
He didn’t reply, but he didn’t order Kenji out either.
Kenji quietly stepped closer to the Heavenly King.
As the Heart was absorbed, the surging Divine Power blew away the iron bars of the underground prison as if they were nothing.
Even as Kenji approached, the Heavenly King didn’t stop him.
The sa went for the top-tier celestials standing at his side.
They ignored him, but they acknowledged him.
Swallowing a humble smile, Kenji stopped at a respectful distance and waited.
Then he opened the guild chat.
“I did it. I’m going. Until I get back, please focus solely on leveling up as much as possible.”
“Good luck, Guild Master.”
“We’ll be waiting for you.”
He had his founding guild mbers and an entire kingdom behind him, but he left them all to go alone.
Of course, he was shalessly squeezing his way in to tag along; there was no way he could ask sothing like, ’By the way, can I bring my guild mbers, too?’
He felt bad, but there was no helping it.
He could take care of them when he ca back.
While he was saying his goodbyes, the Heavenly King poured every bit of the temporary Divine Power he had gained into opening a Gate.
Kenji hurried after the Heavenly King and the top-tier Celestials as they stepped through the Gate.
He was tense, yet his heart pounded with excitent.
Everything he had built was gone, but this was a new beginning.
He would beco the Heavenly King’s successor.
’It might be counting my chickens before they hatch to dream this far ahead,’ he thought, ’but I lent my private jet to Han Simin for an entire year just for this information.’
Whether that gamble paid off would depend entirely on his actions from this point forward.
A single variable that not even Han Simin had predicted had just been thrown into the mix.
*
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