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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: A Meal for Marbas
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That evening.
Inside the new villa in Yeoksam-dong, the new home of Kang-jun and his family, the calm voice of a young news anchor echoed.
- Today, the World Awakener Association officially announced that the ‘Destruction-rank Gate’ in New Delhi, India, has been completely eliminated.
- Since the bizarre phenomenon of Gates began appearing around the world, this particular Gate was responsible for the greatest loss of life and property…
- In response, the academic community has stated it will accelerate its investigation and research into the circumstances under which an unspecified number of Gates are self-destructing…
Watching the news from a plush leather sofa, Lee Su-bin let out a soft “Wow…” and murmured to herself.
“What a relief…”
Then, patting the plump bottom of Marbas, who was curled up on her lap, she said brightly.
“At this rate, we might be able to live peacefully like we used to before long…”
Just then, the firmly shut door to a room slowly opened, and Kang-jun emerged…
“How’s Seol-i?”
At Lee Su-bin’s hushed question, Kang-jun picked up Marbas from her lap and replied.
“I guess she was tired from running around all day. She was out like a light the moment I put her in bed after her bath.”
Lee Su-bin nodded a few times, then glanced at Kang-jun’s attire and asked again.
“By the way, are you going somewhere?”
It was because Kang-jun was dressed in a full tracksuit, as if he were about to go out.
“Just for a short walk.”
At his words, Lee Su-bin’s gaze naturally drifted to the clock on the living room wall for a moment.
“A walk this late at night?”
“I just feel like walking.”
“Alright, be careful…”
As Kang-jun opened the front door, holding Marbas under one arm, he turned back to Lee Su-bin and added softly.
“I might be late, so don’t wait up. Go to bed first.”
With that, Kang-jun and Marbas stepped outside…
“Okay…”
For a long while after, Lee Su-bin stared at the front door Kang-jun had just left through, her expression deeply serious.
“Hmm…”
Her brother, whom she hadn’t been able to reach, had finally shown up in a rush only after the entrance ceremony had begun…
And though she didn’t know how, he had appeared with a retinue of Ranker-level Hunters.
When she asked what was going on, her brother simply said that Kim Bong-gu and Go Du-yeol had brought them along.
But, really?
Lee Su-bin had unintentionally overheard parts of the conversation between her brother and the Rankers…
“We will be sure to repay the ‘grace’ you have shown us in the near future.”
Unlike the Hunters, who maintained an endlessly polite attitude, she had witnessed her brother speaking down to them casually.
“Sheesh, just take care of yourselves.”
He was definitely hiding something.
She didn’t know what it was, but…
He was definitely hiding something.
“No way....”
Lee Su-bin’s expression grew infinitely grave.
For some reason, her brother’s past words came to mind.
“Seriously, I was the ‘Emperor.’”
“Of course, I was the strongest in the world.”
“I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”
Along with that, the words of Elder Choi Dol-soe and Lady Iriel also began to surface.
“On the Anux Continent, the Lord’s existence was truly no different from a god. All the people prayed to the Lord daily…”
“The Lord…”
“Back then, my main duty as the Minister of the Imperial Household was to assist the Lord by his side.”
Just as Lee Su-bin’s thoughts deepened.
Beep, beep, bee-beep.
The sound of the front door unlocking was heard, and Crabslie appeared with a wide grin.
“You’re back?”
After replying, “Yes, Your Highness,” Crabslie lightly shook a bag in his hand and asked.
“I picked up some expiring items from the convenience store. If you’re hungry, would you care to join me?”
At his words, a creaking sound was heard as Iriel also opened her door and came out.
“Grand Duke, did you bring any ‘Fire Chicken Ramen’?”
“I keep telling you, they don’t throw out the ‘Fire Chicken Ramen.’”
Watching the two of them talk, Lee Su-bin finally let out a small chuckle.
‘What on earth am I thinking…’
* * *
The cool night air rushed into his lungs.
“Woof! Woof!”
Marbas, nestled snugly in Kang-jun’s arms, was in a good mood for some reason, wagging his stubby tail gently from side to side.
It had been quite a while since he had an outing alone with his master, ‘Immortal.’
With his mouth slightly open and tongue hanging out, Marbas glanced up at Kang-jun and asked quizzically.
“Master, where are we going, anyway?”
“Shh.”
“The destination isn’t the ‘animal hospital,’ is it?”
The ‘animal hospital’ he had been dragged to by Immortal’s sister a while back was an object of pure terror.
Not only did the person called a veterinarian plunge a sharp, pointy ‘syringe needle’ into his body…
“Oh, looks like he hasn’t been neutered yet?”
He had even made the bloodcurdling suggestion to Immortal’s sister that he be castrated.
Recalling the memory, Marbas couldn’t help but shudder…
“We’re not going to the vet.”
“Then?”
“We’re almost there.”
The place Kang-jun headed to with Marbas in the middle of the night was the 「Secret Society of the Wealthy」 building, located deep inside Insadong Market.
“You’ve arrived?”
‘Swift Sword, Yun Hui-su,’ who was standing at the main entrance waiting for Kang-jun, bowed her head and asked politely.
“Let’s go in.”
Just then, Yun Hui-su’s gaze fell upon Marbas, who was peeking his head out from inside Kang-jun’s tracksuit top…
“Oh, where did this cute little dog come from…”
Noticing her stare, Marbas scowled deeply and growled back in a voice thick with his demonic energy.
“Hey, hey, what are you staring at?”
“The, the dog is talking…”
“Want me to pluck out your eyeballs?”
Completely overwhelmed by his aura, Yun Hui-su gasped in shock and looked at Kang-jun…
“Hey…”
Kang-jun gave Marbas a light flick on the head and continued speaking in a soft, chiding tone, as if reasoning with a child.
“Why are you scaring her for no reason?”
At that, Marbas let out a dejected “Keeaaang…” and protested weakly.
“But she was getting on my nerves…”
Even though he had lost some of his power and was now Kang-jun’s pet, he was one of the ‘72 Demons’ who once ruled over the entire Demon Realm.
‘I guess a diamond is still a diamond, even in the rough…’
Marbas shot Yun Hui-su a death glare and growled a threat.
“Hey, you better watch yourself…”
Once again, Kang-jun flicked Marbas on the head with a thud and took the lead, adding.
“I told you not to scare her.”
With that, Kang-jun pushed open the main doors of the 「Secret Society of the Wealthy」 building and took his first step into the spacious lobby…
Looking completely bewildered, Yun Hui-su followed Kang-jun into the vast lobby.
“O great Immortal…”
A goblin in a suit, who had been standing guard at the lobby’s information desk, rushed out and bowed a full ninety degrees.
“We have been waiting for you…”
Kang-jun lightly patted the goblin’s shoulder and asked in a flat, emotionless tone.
“Where’s Kajan?”
The goblin raised his head and explained with the utmost respect.
“The manager is waiting for you at the helipad on the building’s rooftop.”
Kang-jun nodded once and replied.
“Lead the way.”
Following the goblin, they rode the building’s elevator, which was finished entirely in pure gold.
After a cheerful *ding!*, the elevator arrived at the top floor…
“I greet the great Immortal.”
Kajan, dressed as always in a flawless, wrinkle-free tailcoat, bowed politely to Kang-jun and added.
“The ‘gifts’ the young lady requested have all been prepared without a single one missing.”
A quick glance revealed a mountain of boxes filled with toys piled up on one side of the helipad.
Every single one was a brand-new, popular toy procured from the toy store located on the first floor of the building registered under Seol-i’s name.
“Good work.”
Kang-jun replied noncommittally and gently placed Marbas, who had been hiding inside his tracksuit top with only his face showing, on the ground…
“Alright, from now on, we’re going to find someone.”
As Kang-jun finished speaking, he glanced at Yun Hui-su, who began to take items out of her bag one by one.
They were mementos of her departed daughter, Hyesu, including clothes she used to wear and toys she used to play with.
Kang-jun set Marbas down properly on the floor, gestured with his chin towards the child’s belongings, and began to explain.
“We’re going to find the owner of these items, so memorize the scent on them well.”
At those words, Marbas let out a sudden “Ah!” and, wagging his tail furiously, muttered in an excited tone.
“Is this finally my ‘first mission’…”
Until now, the only missions he’d been given were basically to act as a nanny for the little hellion, the ‘little Immortal.’
‘With this chance, I will prove my worth to Immortal and achieve my dream of rising in status…’
Marbas buried his nose in the child’s belongings, sniffing energetically with a series of “Sniff, sniff…” for a moment.
“Tracking....”
A thin, long, reddish ‘current’ appeared before Marbas’s eyes.
This was a unique power belonging only to the Great Demon Marbas, who ranked a formidable 5th among the ‘72 Demons’ of the Demon Realm.
As long as Marbas remembered a target’s ‘scent,’ he could locate them anywhere in the vast Abyss.
“Can you find her?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s go.”
Kang-jun, too, activated his ‘power’…
“Naglfar.”
In that instant, with a great *CRACK!*, a massive rift opened in the air.
[ Naglfar responds to your call. ]
The great warship ‘Naglfar’ once again revealed its imposing bow in this place…
*Charrrreuk!*
A ladder unfurled from above, and Kang-jun looked at Kajan and said.
“Load everything.”
At his command, the goblins moved with perfect coordination, loading the boxes of toys Seol-i had ordered onto Naglfar’s deck.
Kang-jun scooped Marbas back into his arms, tucked him inside his tracksuit zipper, and asked Yun Hui-su softly.
“Shall we go meet her?”
The great warship Naglfar quickly arrived at the ‘Spring of Eternal Rest,’ a realm of the dead in Niflheim under Kang-jun’s control…
“Sniff, sniff…”
Marbas repeatedly pointed the way for Naglfar, following the red current that unfolded before his eyes.
“It seems we have to pass through this canyon…”
Marbas trailed off, looking around at the scenery before him, and then asked.
The ‘red thread’ that showed the location of the target he was tracking stretched far upstream.
“Didn’t you say we were going to find a person earlier?”
“I did.”
“If we keep going this way, it looks like we’ll hit the ‘Yellow Spring.’”
At that, Kang-jun repeated, “The Yellow Spring?” and Marbas nodded and replied again.
“The Sanzu River, the Yellow Spring, the Styx, the Jordan River, and so on. It’s called by many different names…”
“And?”
“It’s easiest to think of it as a great river that connects to all the ‘underworlds’ of the Abyss.”
As they continued to sail along the stream, the scenery gradually began to change.
“Is that mist…”
As if they had entered a massive estuary, the stream merged with the downstream of a great river…
Amidst a thick, spreading fog, sharp, moss-covered rocks jutted out.
“This is the entrance.”
Far in the distance, a rift that looked similar to a Gate shimmered like a heat haze.
And then.
The moment the bow of Naglfar, gliding gracefully forward, made contact with the rift.
[ You have entered ‘The Entrance to All Underworlds’. ]
[ The rulers of all underworlds are watching you. ]
The scenery before everyone’s eyes changed in an instant…
*Kugugugugugugung-!*
Naglfar, which had been sailing on the river, suddenly crashed onto barren land, letting out a deafening roar as it scraped across the ground.
Standing on the deck and looking down, Yun Hui-su swallowed hard and asked Kang-jun.
“Something… a lot of things are swarming towards us. Is this okay?”
Thousands of indistinct ‘shadows’ were rushing towards Naglfar at an incredible speed.
“Vengeful spirits.”
Yun Hui-su looked again at the beings Kang-jun had called ‘vengeful spirits.’
She didn’t know what they were, but it looked like dealing with such a large number would not be easy.
Just then, Kang-jun suddenly unzipped his tracksuit top, took out Marbas, and said.
“Poochie.”
Marbas was drooling, as if looking at prey.
“Grrrr…”
With that, Kang-jun threw Marbas off the deck and added in a low voice.
“Time to eat.”
As Marbas landed on the ground, a dark energy began to gather around his body…
Suddenly hidden in the thick fog, Marbas spoke in a voice that was nothing short of ominous.
「Ah, how long has it been since my last meal… 」
The poisonous mist soon cleared, revealing his true form, a stark contrast to the ‘Doberman puppy’ he had been just moments before.
A demon boasting an immense, muscular body, with the head of a dog, emitting a terrifying red glow from its eyes.
The Great Demon Marbas, who ranked 5th among the 72 demons that oversaw the Demon Realm, had finally revealed his true form.
「You will pay the price for daring to block the path of the great Immortal with your deaths… 」
Overwhelmed by the sight, Yun Hui-su subconsciously took a step back, and Kang-jun scoffed.
“What’s there to be so surprised about?”
“Pardon?”
“He’s the lowest-ranked in our house.”
To that, Yun Hui-su replied.
“Then who is ranked number one…”
Kang-jun cut her off.
“That’s obviously Seol-i.”
Just then, a merciless scene unfolded.
「Kahahahahahahaha! 」
Like a wolf let loose in a flock of sheep, Marbas drove the vengeful spirits into a frenzy…
With every swing of his sharp claws, dozens of spirits were torn apart.
He would then snatch the shredded spirits and chew them ferociously with his sharp teeth.
And as he devoured the spirits, Marbas’s body grew larger and larger.
「A taste as excellent as the ‘pork spine stew’ prepared by Immortal’s sister herself!」
It was a time of feasting.
