Chapter 7: Tredon Fillian, the Priest of Corruption.
Tredon Fillian. He is a demon.
Tredon Fillian.
Tredon Fillian.
The scum of the world. The evil that tempts the lost. The impure being that chews and swallows their tragedies, moistening their choked throats with tears. And so on.
If one were to examine the impure words used to describe demons in the world, one could find endless derogatory terms for them, like an unending spring.
I quietly gazed at Tredon Fillian and slowly opened my mouth. Tredon, a middle-aged man with a cold demeanor, waited leisurely for me to speak first, even though he had summoned me.
"Respected Lord Tredon. I apologize, but may I make a small request of you?"
"Speak."
"I have something I wish to discuss with you in private."
Even if I knew the demon’s true nature, the demon could not recognize me. The divinity of corruption was as secretive as its title suggested.
Tredon gazed at me with sunken eyes for a long while before slowly opening his mouth.
"Everyone, leave."
The servants and two knights who had received the order vacated the room. Soon, only the lord and I remained, and I brought up the main point.
"Is it fun living as a lord while possessing a human, demon?"
A direct statement that I already knew his true identity. Tredon stared at me intently before slowly moving his facial muscles.
His stiff expression softened into a playful dance, and the cold atmosphere vanished without a trace. The demon smiled mischievously and said,
"Thanks to the late Gallad, I’ve been able to welcome such a precious guest."
The demon grinned and shamelessly looked me up and down. An extremely rude and frivolous attitude. But there was no malice in it.
"Since you recognized me at a glance, I assume you are not a priest serving the Goddess of Maintenance?"
Demons are enemies of most religious orders. As the old saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
I smiled broadly and said,
"I serve the Mother of Corruption."
The demon’s eyes widened in admiration.
"Oh. I thought they had all died out, but there’s still a living child of corruption. It’s an honor to meet you. I am called ‘The Crawling Wait.’"
"The honor is mine. I am Marknak, a priest serving the Mother of Corruption."
The smiling demon, ‘The Crawling Wait,’ stretched his legs and sat comfortably.
"Please, make yourself comfortable. After all, it’s just the two of us here. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a warm conversation with a priest."
In truth, demons held no feelings toward priests who served gods—not even toward the gods themselves. Their interest lay solely in sentient beings.
Demons are born stronger than anyone else, yet they are outcasts who cannot claim anything for themselves. To take what belongs to the world they cannot belong to, they must obtain it through fair transactions with sentient beings. Thus, demons love all living sentient beings.
Demons are enthusiastic spectators and talkative readers who enjoy immersing themselves in the lives of sentient beings through transactions.
Though demons possess immense power, each has distinct abilities and clear limitations. From the perspective of fragile humans, demons seem nearly omnipotent.
This is why gods shun and guard against demons.
The cost of dealing with demons is always proportional to what one desires, but faith and divine blessings do not follow such proportionality.
Unable to bear seeing their followers and other sentient beings swayed by demons who repay in kind for what they give, the gods finally drew their sharpest swords and declared to all sentient beings:
From now on, those impure beings shall be called demons (惡魔), and they are unequivocally evil (惡)!
Demons gladly accepted this sudden hostility from the gods. They even began calling themselves demons (惡魔), delighted that they had been given an easy name to introduce themselves with.
And thus began the priests’ hunt for these unequivocal evils (惡).
The reason I knew so much about demons was simple:
the ‘Demon Contractor,’ who would be persecuted by all if discovered, was an extremely difficult playstyle that everyone avoided—a role I had marked as my next choice after ‘Priest of Corruption.’ Though now that I’ve fallen into this game world, it hardly matters anymore.
The hand in my breast pocket wriggled as if bored.
‘Kill.’
A disinterested voice. Our Mother of Corruption, unlike other gods, had little interest in demons. I tapped my breast pocket soothingly, then spoke to the demon.
"How many years have you been possessing this body?"
The demon lord spread one hand, counting on his fingers, before bursting into laughter.
"This year marks exactly my fortieth winter! Hahaha! If it weren’t for you, Priest, I might have missed this monumental year entirely. We must hold a lively festival to warm this frigid city! Though given my current role, I can’t exactly throw everything aside and revel directly!"
The Crawling Wait soon lost himself in his own world, muttering this and that.
"Let’s see... How much budget Guse has left this year... Hmm. A bit tight, but if I chip in, we can easily keep the city fed and entertained for five days. Good. Very good! Perfect!"
Having finished his calculations alone, he clapped his hands together.
"If you’re not too busy, Priest, please enjoy our festival! It will surely be delightful! Hahaha!"
The demon tilted his head, then asked me,
"By the way, why did you come to see me?"
To which I replied,
"I came because you summoned me...?"
The demon slapped his forehead, laughing loudly.
"Ah, right! Look at me! Hahaha! My apologies, Priest. It’s been so long since I’ve had someone to talk comfortably with—I got carried away. Let me apologize properly!"
I smiled warmly.
"It’s fine by me."
"Truly, the Child of Corruption is as magnanimous as your bright face suggests! Kill!"
Our Mother seemed pleased by something about his direct compliment.
"Actually, I didn’t summon you for anything particularly special. Gallad—that friend. How he died... I wanted to hear directly from a witness, so I summoned you. If possible, could you tell me in detail about Gallad’s death? Compensation will be generous."
That much I could do anytime. Especially since compensation was included. So I explained in detail how Gallad died.
After hearing the entire story, the demon clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Tsk tsk. What a tragic affair. To think my only brother would leave like this. I told him countless times how dangerous mercenary work was and begged him to quit. Tsk. Ah, when I say 'brother,' I mean in relation to myself, of course."
I slowly surveyed the surroundings. The unadorned room revealed the lord's frugality.
A demon lord mourning his frugal half-brother's death? How amusing.
I shifted to a more comfortable position in the warm room.
"By the way, was your current body's original owner the contractor?"
The demon answered briskly, as if he'd been waiting for the question.
"Hahaha! Curious about my tale, are you? I'll gladly share it! Stories always taste better when there's someone to listen, don't you agree?"
The demon's account was straightforward. His contractor had been Tredon's father, the former lord, who became obsessively infatuated with a woman. Though she already had a beloved fiancé, the lord craved not just her body but her heart. In the end, he summoned a demon and spat out his desire:
"- Give her to me! Her heart! I'll pay any price!"
The demon responded with exaggerated kindness to his summoner:
"- No need for 'any price.' Just give me what you're willing to offer."
"- What do you demand, 'Crawling Patience'?!"
The demon smiled as he extended one finger from each hand.
"- To ruin one life, you need another. Give me your fifteen-year-old son's life, and I'll give you the woman's."
Consumed by lust, the former lord sold his son without hesitation. The demon upheld his end meticulously. The woman became the lord's mistress, and their child was Galad.
"How tragic," the demon continued. "Since Galad was essentially my creation, I tried to care for him. But my brother despised his illegitimate status and eventually ran off to become a mercenary. This winter, when he struggled to find work, I secretly arranged a job for him—only to lead him to his death. How cruel life can be."
The demon grinned radiantly, brimming with delight.
"Yet that's what makes it thrilling! Now, if you'll excuse me, I must attend to my duties as lord. I'd love to share more stories, but let's save that for next time! Feel free to visit whenever—a friend's company is always welcome!"
Somehow, I'd become the demon's friend. The affectionate demon lord handed me a pouch as "payment" for entertaining him.
"Forgive the meager amount, but consider it a small token. Safe travels, Priest!"
After leaving the mansion, I cautiously opened the pouch. Inside gleamed two gold coins worth two hundred silver pieces.
"Wow!"
'Kill!'
"Now, now, Mother of Decay," I chided. "The lord has truly reformed. To think he'd try tempting me with wealth! These coins overflow with pure goodwill."
The Mother of Decay, perhaps vexed by her inability to grant her son gold, radiated bitter jealousy toward the demon lord.
'Kill!'
"A priest coveting riches? How preposterous! But did you know? Gold never rots."
'Kill!!!'
"Mother, hear me out fully. What matters most in words is what follows."
I cleared my throat.
"Ahem. There's something as eternal as gold—do you know what?"
'Kill?'
"My devotion to you."
'Kill...!'
Waves of emotion overwhelmed her. The Mother of Decay sank deep into lingering sentiment, unable to resurface.
"You'll always come first. No need for concern."
I patted my fidgeting chest pouch and headed to the mercenary guild, two gold coins richer.
Three priests from the Cultivation Church stood ready in the guild hall, their white armor gleaming under sunlight. Black cloaks bearing hammer-and-scale motifs draped their backs, while execution-ready swords hung at their waists. Erin brightened when she spotted me.
"Oh, Father Marnak! Come greet these Cultivation Church priests!"
Though reluctant to engage with fanatics, I bowed with practiced piety.
"Greetings. I'm Marnak, priest of the Sustaining Goddess who safeguards daily life."
As I locked eyes with one priest:
'Kill!!!!!'
The Mother informed me he carried one of the twelve remaining Holy Relics.
