Chapter 6: An Offer to the Devil

So…

Even his body hair was red.

Everyone in the Hyeop Empire knew the Devil’s hair and eyes were crimson.

But even that?

The discovery was so unexpected that, for a brief moment, I found myself staring.

The color alone was one thing.

The size of the half-erect manhood beneath it was another entirely.

Wasn’t that practically a weapon?

He ran across battlefields—and hunted—with that?

Only when I felt a scorching stare did I realize exactly where my eyes had wandered.

I hurriedly looked away.

The Devil was glaring at me as though he intended to kill me.

Any ordinary person would have felt embarrassed standing naked before another.

The Devil, however, possessed no such shame.

If anything, he stood with even greater confidence, staring me down as though preparing to skin me alive.

Judging by the state of the room, he had certainly enjoyed himself.

So why was he still in such a foul mood?

Just as the servant had warned, even someone as indifferent toward the Red Devil as I was could immediately tell his temper was especially vicious tonight.

If my arrival had ruined his little orgy, then he should never have permitted my visit in the first place.

He had been the one to summon me.

What reason did he have to radiate such hostility?

A sense of injustice sprouted like bamboo after rain.

He barged into my residence whenever the mood struck him and caused endless trouble.

Yet I was not even allowed to visit his?

He did not even offer the empty courtesy of inviting me to sit.

Then again, the Devil was hardly the sort to rise in greeting.

Remaining standing while looking down at him also felt inappropriate for someone asking a favor.

So I quietly seated myself a respectful distance away.

Keeping my chin raised to avoid looking where I had no business looking…

I was surprised when the Devil spoke first.

“You slept at the Imperial Palace.”

“What concern is that of yours?”

The words escaped me with habitual sharpness.

Only afterward did I bite my lip.

I was the one seeking his help.

I was the one who ought to have come humbly.

Hadn’t I already resolved to abandon my pride?

I hastily softened my tone.

“The circumstances left me little choice.

His Majesty graciously allowed me to remain the night out of concern for his servant.”

I had barely finished speaking before realizing he had not been listening.

Still gripping the neck of the wine jar, the Devil took another long drink.

His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.

Wine overflowed from the corner of his mouth, soaking the hollow of his chest before he finally lowered the jar.

He was free to pretend I wasn’t there.

If ignoring me eased his foul temper, I could endure being treated this way a hundred times over.

…

In the dream…

While rebellion engulfed the empire, I had remained imprisoned beneath the earth.

No matter how desperately I shouted at the guards who occasionally came to verify I was still alive, they never spoke of what was happening above.

I knew nothing.

Who led the rebellion?

How large was their army?

Were the Five Great Houses involved?

What banner did they raise?

What motive drove them?

Why had the Red Devil joined their side?

None of it.

But there was one thing I knew with certainty.

To protect His Majesty…

I needed the Red Devil.

I had wrestled with that conclusion hundreds of times before coming here.

Every time, I reached the same answer.

Even if, in the dream, the Devil had been the one to sever His Majesty’s head…

To crush the rebellion…

His strength would still be indispensable.

At the very least, the Red Devil had not been the rebellion’s leader.

I had people investigate.

His usual behavior alone made that obvious.

The Devil moved only according to his own interests.

He had no ambition for power.

To him, profit meant satisfying instinct.

He fought.

He ate.

He slept.

He indulged his desires.

Nothing more.

Even now…

He had gathered an entire room full of people simply to satisfy his lust.

No.

If anything, the rebels would have been the ones attempting to recruit him.

He would never have orchestrated such a thing himself.

Rebellion offered none of the primal pleasures he sought.

Before the rebel forces could make contact…

I had to secure him first.

Fortunately, for all his brutality, the Devil still possessed a warrior’s code.

Once he gave his word…

He kept it.

“You slept with the Emperor?”

Did this brute have rocks in place of a brain?

“What nonsense is that?”

How could anyone arrive at such a conclusion?

Courtesy became impossible.

The question was beneath answering.

The Devil, however, remained relentless.

“I asked if you slept with the Emperor.”

“How can you utter something so outrageously disrespectful?”

“So you did.”

Crack.

The neck of the wine jar split beneath his grip.

Before I could even react to the terrifying strength in his hand, irritation overtook me.

I made certain my words left no room for misunderstanding.

“His Majesty is my sovereign.

The noble sun of the Empire.

He is not someone toward whom one could harbor such irreverent thoughts.

My loyalty is nothing more than loyalty.

Nothing else.”

Perhaps my explanation had been too long.

Or perhaps too complicated.

Judging by the murderous stare that remained fixed upon me…

I shortened it.

“We did not.”

The Devil’s grip loosened around the wine jar.

“You said you stayed at that Emperor woman’s palace.”

…The Emperor woman?

Hearing his vocabulary reduced all the solemn resolve with which I had come here to utter absurdity.

Massaging the ache growing in my temple, I asked,

“And how did you learn that?”

“Did you sleep together?”

His expression darkened once again.

I quickly interrupted before he could continue.

“I told you we didn’t!

We didn’t sleep together!”

The thick-headed brute apparently required things repeated.

I practically hammered the words into his skull.

Perhaps provoking people was simply another one of his instincts.

Even after raising my voice until my face burned red, my frustration remained.

By contrast…

He seemed rather entertained by my obvious agitation.

Leaning forward, he shifted his posture.

It was only a small movement.

He merely lifted himself away from the wall.

Yet because of his enormous frame, the atmosphere changed immediately.

The murderous edge in his eyes softened considerably.

Though I had not even reached the real purpose of my visit…

I already felt exhausted.

Finally, I began.

“There are forces within the Hyeop Empire seeking to undermine His Majesty.”

I deliberately hinted at the coming rebellion while carefully watching his reaction.

Nothing.

Not the slightest flicker of suspicion crossed his face.

If anything…

He lazily tilted his chin, silently telling me to continue.

“I want you to use your strength…

And your army…

To protect His Majesty.”

“Did the Emperor tell you to ask me?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“His Majesty knows nothing of this.

I came here of my own accord.”

“Why?”

“Because you are the strongest man in the Hyeop Empire.”

In my dream…

The rebellion had only succeeded because the Red Devil fought on the rebels’ side.

That alone proved the terrifying strength of both the Devil…

And the army that followed him.

The Devil had never known defeat on the battlefield.

To soldiers, he was both guardian and object of worship.

In war…

Not even the Emperor…

Not even the gods…

Inspired greater awe than the blood-soaked Red Devil.

It was not simply because standing behind him meant survival.

Watching him rampage through the center of the battlefield…

One came to understand what absolute strength truly looked like.

And just how mesmerizing it could be.

Amid clouds of dust and screams of war…

The Devil wielded his massive blade effortlessly with one hand.

His body, thick as forged armor, moved with astonishing grace.

Every time an artery burst beneath his sword, crimson fountains sprayed through the air.

Beneath that rain of blood…

His brilliant scarlet hair streamed behind him as he carved through enemy ranks with the smooth inevitability of flowing water.

Like crimson petals caught within a raging storm…

His slaughter resembled a deadly sword dance.

Life and death were separated by only the narrowest margin.

So too was the Devil’s overwhelming violence.

It was horrifying enough that one wished never to witness it again.

And yet…

Too beautiful to look away from.

If even I, a civil official, could feel that way…

What of the warriors?

Countless martial artists, captivated by his unmatched strength, had willingly sworn themselves to him.

Over time, they naturally formed an army.

Unlike the household troops of noble families—men who enlisted simply to earn a living—his followers were united by a single purpose.

They sought strength.

Nothing else.

That alone made them incomparable.

The corners of the Devil’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.

Apparently, my praise pleased him.

His sweat-damp crimson hair had fallen back from his forehead, softening his savage appearance just enough.

Good.

Things were not going badly.

Steadying my nerves as though gripping a naked blade with bare hands, I continued.

“If you stand with His Majesty…

You may have whatever you desire.”

“What I desire?”

“Wealth.

Power.

Honor.

Whatever you wish.

If I cannot grant it myself, I will report your merits to His Majesty.

The Emperor himself will reward you.”

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