I was submerged in a deep, tranquil darkness. A void of nonexistence where pain, sound, and sensation were all absent. It was a momentary respite, the price of having slain a god. And from the heart of that sanctuary, a familiar voice drifted in.
"Seventh, for your first proper bout, that was quite the show, wasn't it?"
The voice of Pandora, the girl with the pink twin-tails, whispered from beyond the fringes of my consciousness.
"That god's fate was truly a tragedy. To be caught forever between parents who are eternally separated—all he could do was howl in grief. But thanks to you, his long, long sorrow has finally reached its end. Well done, Seventh. Now, rest. There are far more difficult trials ahead of you."
With those final words, the fading voice vanished completely. And I began to slowly float upward, back into the agonizing weight of reality.
"…Ugh…."
The first things to greet me were a leaden exhaustion that crushed my entire body and a piercing, sharp pain stabbing at my left shoulder. When I forced my eyes open, I saw the familiar ceiling of my hotel suite. I tried to push myself up, but my muscles screamed in protest and refused to obey. It felt as if my body no longer belonged to me.
"Have you regained consciousness, Your Excellency?"
Alessandro, who had been sitting in a chair by the bed like a silent shadow, rose quietly. His blue eyes held a sense of relief, alongside a reverence that had grown noticeably deeper than before.
"…How long… has it been?"
My voice was horribly hoarse.
"Two full days and six hours have passed. While you were unconscious, the finest healing mages dispatched by the association tended to your physical form. Your exhaustion of magical energy was severe, but fortunately, they reported no lingering threat to your life…."
"Never mind that. Water…."
Alessandro quickly poured water from a pitcher on the table and moistened my lips. A single sip felt like divine nectar. Only after drinking several more times did I feel my mind finally beginning to clear.
"So, what’s the status?"
I tried to shift my bandaged shoulder, only to wince as a jolt of pain shot through me. I asked the question through gritted teeth.
"Everything is being handled smoothly."
Alessandro began his report. His voice was calm as usual, but the contents were anything but.
"Firstly, the manifestation of the god and the subsequent battle in Hawaii have been masked by the association's full efforts as the 'worst super-typhoon in recorded history.' The memories of several witnesses have been adjusted, and the media is reporting exactly what we provided. Restoration of the destroyed coastline has begun, and as for the massive stone statue of the god… immediately following the Slaying, it lost its reason for remaining in this world and returned to the cycle of mythology."
His explanation was detached, reflecting the common sense of the magical world where the disappearance of a god’s corpse was simply expected.
"And… the European magical world is in a complete uproar."
A faint trace of excitement crept into Alessandro’s voice.
"Scarcely days after a new King has descended, the news that he has personally defeated a second god—and a chief deity of the Polynesian pantheon like Tāwhirimātea at that—has left everyone in utter shock. Not only the Bronze-Black Cross, but other associations are flooding us with letters praising Your Excellency’s feat and begging for an audience."
"…How annoying."
"Pardon?"
"Just tell them all to get lost. I’m on vacation."
Alessandro seemed momentarily taken aback by my irritable response, but he soon lowered his head.
"…I shall convey your wishes exactly as stated."
I let out a long sigh and stared up at the ceiling. I killed a god, became a Devil King, and then fought and won against another god. Yet all I had to show for it was agonizing muscle pain and the world’s most tiresome attention. Just what kind of mess had my life become?
It was at that moment.
"Hmm…."
Inside the room, a third voice sounded—one that belonged to neither me nor Alessandro.
"!"
Alessandro spun around with the speed of a lightning strike. His hand was already drawing the rapier at his waist. The killing intent radiating from his entire body was enough to drop the room’s temperature by several degrees.
Standing in the shadow of the window, as if he had been there from the very beginning, was an old man.
"You are… the old man from the beach! How did you bypass the barriers…!"
Alessandro was visibly shaken. The hotel suite was protected by multiple layers of barriers cast by the association’s mages, complemented by state-of-the-art detection systems. Intrusion by an outsider should have been impossible. Yet, the Kahuna of Hawaii, whom we had met on the shore, was standing right there.
"Calm down, Alessandro. He’s a guest."
Alessandro looked puzzled at my words, but he obediently sheathed his blade and stepped back, though his guard remained high. The Kahuna watched us for a moment before slowly approaching the bed.
"I have witnessed it, O King."
Instead of a greeting, the Kahuna began by reciting the results of his Spirit Vision.
"I saw the heavens being torn asunder and the earth binding a god through your will. And finally, I saw the storm return to its serene silence. Because of your great battle, this island has been spared from total annihilation."
He bowed deeply, expressing his gratitude.
"However… you merely fought the consequence of the storm, not the cause. Tāwhirimātea, the son of the sky, was originally a slumbering deity. There was a reason he awoke in such a frantic rage."
"A reason?"
The Kahuna looked out the window toward the blue ocean, which appeared to have regained its peace. His voice was thick with a deep sorrow.
"Someone… stole the treasure that was sealed in the deepest, most sacred part of this island. It was a divine relic symbolizing Tāwhirimātea’s divinity and the 'Gatekeeper' that suppressed the numerous calamities of this land. The desecration of his symbol and the opening of that gate are what forcibly woke the sleeping god."
Alessandro pressed him sharply.
"You mentioned a seal. What kind of seal was it?"
"It was a Grand Rite that the Kahunas of old had maintained through the sacrifice of their lives across generations. It was a seal that could never be undone by human wisdom."
A bad feeling washed over me at those words. A seal humans couldn't break—yet the item inside was gone. That meant the culprit was….
"…Is there even a being capable of such a thing?"
As I asked, Alessandro’s face twisted into a strange grimace. He hesitated for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh.
"…It would be impossible for human magecraft or science. Unless it were a being possessing the Authority of a god…. Ah, if there is one person capable of such an act… it would likely be him."
Unlike his previous serious reporting tone, he now sounded as if he were discussing a notorious celebrity, his voice almost light.
"The Fifth King residing in England. Alexander Gascoigne, commonly known as the 'Black Prince.'"
Campione. It was the name of another Devil King.
"His Authority, 'Black Lightning,' is an incredibly troublesome power, to put it simply. It allows him to literally transform his body into a mass of lightning. In that state, whether it’s a physical wall or a powerful magical barrier, he can simply 'phase' through it. There is no way to stop him physically or magically. Thus, there is no need to break or labor over a seal—he can just slip in like a ghost and pluck the prize out. Honestly, I doubt there exists an Authority better optimized for theft."
My head began to throb. No sooner had the fight with a god ended than another Devil King appeared on the list of suspects. Just how much more of my vacation was going to be ruined?
"So, what happens if that relic isn’t recovered? Is another god going to pop out?"
At my question, the Kahuna nodded. His expression was more solemn than ever.
"Indeed, O King. Tāwhirimātea was merely the sentry guarding the gate. Now that the gate is broken, other things are attempting to crawl out from the abyss beyond it."
The Kahuna closed his eyes. A faint light flickered around his body.
"I have seen it. At the deepest reaches of the ocean, a Goddess of Fire, capable of melting everything in this land, is stirring from her slumber. Unless the divine relic is returned to its place, her descent cannot be stopped."
His words didn't sound like a prophecy of a great disaster; they sounded more like a terminal diagnosis with a countdown timer.
"…Damn it."
A low curse escaped my lips.
I just wanted a normal vacation. But somehow, I’d ended up saddled with the fate of this entire island. Should I just ignore it and fly back to Korea? But the start of this chaos was undeniably linked to me. If I hadn't come here, perhaps the god wouldn't have gone on such a rampage. More importantly, if I left now, I'd be branded as the 'instigator who woke the god' and might find myself being held over a barrel by this other Devil King character.
That was the last thing I wanted.
I clutched my throbbing head and turned to the Kahuna.
"…Fine. Do you know where this Black Prince fellow went?"
Alessandro made a move to intervene, but the Kahuna raised a hand to stop him. The old man’s deep eyes looked straight at me.
"Tracking him is not difficult, O King."
His voice held the conviction of one who reads the providence of nature, a level of certainty beyond the reach of a mere mage's knowledge.
"What he stole was no mere treasure. It is the very heart of this earth. Even now, that heart is wailing, crying out its wounds to the world. The traces of its sorrow… shall ride the wind and cross the sea to point the way."
At the Kahuna's words, Alessandro nodded as if coming to a realization. I didn't bother asking for more details about his mystical methods.
"Then get ready."
I barked the order at Alessandro.
"That thief who ruined my damn vacation—I'm going to catch him myself."
Alessandro’s eyes glinted at my command. He bowed respectfully and replied.
"It shall be as you command, Your Excellency."
And so, my first hunt for a fellow Devil King was about to begin in the most absurd way possible.
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