Chapter 97
“Wh-why are you all acting like this?”
“Who is Vulcan?”
The sudden change in atmosphere left the younger demons bewildered.
Then, the older demons, born before the Monarchs War, clicked their tongues in disapproval.
“What? You don’t know about Greedy Vulcan?”
“Young ones these days!”
“If Vulcan was still alive, we wouldn’t be holding pickaxes.”
“That’s for sure. We would have been devoured long ago! Not even a single bone left!”
The older demons recounted the dreadful and terrifying past. Demons were broadly classified into two types: Those with intelligence and those without. Intelligent demons never considered the unintelligent ones as their kin, and they treated them like vermin.
“Vulcan was once nothing more than a nameless vermin!” an old demon shouted.
Even more, he was a creature that groveled at the very bottom of the demon realm, feeding on the blood and flesh left by other demons after their hunts.
“He was once just a maggot squirming on instinct.”
That had been Vulcan’s reputation in the demon realm. But the world of demons was one of constant struggle for survival, where only the strongest devoured the weak. In this hellish struggle, sheer strength and mana were second to the ability to somehow endure and survive to the end.
“In that sense, Vulcan was truly a powerful demon.”
Vulcan, though born weak and lowly, survived by crawling low during the day and hiding underground at night to avoid becoming prey. He gradually grew stronger by scavenging the flesh and blood left by other demons.
Then purely by chance, Vulcan found something that would change his fate. Unfortunately for the demon, Vulcan lacked the intelligence to recognize the object at the time, but his instincts made the right decision.
Crack!
Vulcan clung to the giant object and snapped off a small branch from it. He then voraciously devoured the leaves on the branch. Then at that moment, he began to transform. Amid extreme agony, Vulcan’s body began to grow larger. Simultaneously, a sliver of intelligence emerged in his vacant mind. And he realized, the identity of what was before him. 𝒻𝑟𝑒𝓮𝔀ℯ𝓫𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝓸𝓶
[The World Tree]
“Vulcan had stumbled upon the edge of the World Tree, which had sprawled out into the demon realm.”
By a stroke of luck, the lowly demon who fed on the World Tree’s leaves became known as “Vulcan.” Wielding a club made from the World Tree’s branch, Vulcan began hunting and devouring the stronger demons who had once scorned him.
Roar!
No demon could withstand Vulcan’s attacks as he pummeled his enemies using the weapon made of the World Tree. Thus, the demon grew larger by gorging on the flesh and blood of the demons he defeated.
“Upon encountering Vulcan, we were forced to make a choice.”
Become prey for Vulcan, or lower themselves and willingly become his subordinates. Thus, the once-lowly demon eventually became a ruler of a territory and became nobility.
But for some reason, perhaps due to his abnormal growth, Vulcan never acquired language skills. He had gained intelligence, but only what was required for him to grow and conquer. He remained a predator driven by instinct. He had even failed to learn how to create bloodstones, a symbol of demon nobility.
Of course, he didn’t need to create bloodstones, as he simply devoured whole the demons he hunted. For Vulcan, that was far more delicious and enjoyable.
“Thus, even as a noble, Vulcan continued to reign as a predator, constantly hunting and devouring lower demons.”
Demons back then had called him Greedy Vulcan as they trembled in fear.
“Until he was killed by the Shadow Army during the Monarchs War.”
The young demons swallowed dryly, listening to the older demons’ tales from the past. They knew how astounding it was for a lower demon to ascend to nobility on their own.
“How many did he have to devour to achieve that?”
Devouring every demon in the coliseum still felt like it wouldn’t be enough.
Boom!
Their attention turned back to the battle unfolding in the middle of the arena.
A gigantic demon, bearing Vulcan’s horn, was engaged in a fierce battle with Minotaurs.
Watching this, the older demons nodded their heads in certainty. “His appearance is slightly different, but it’s certain.”
“That’s Vulcan’s horn.”
“It’s Vulcan’s aura.”
“If that’s not Vulcan resurrected, then it must be Vulcan’s offspring or something...”
Regardless of the truth, the situation was undeniably shocking for the old-timers.
***
Meanwhile, Suho couldn’t help but overhear the crowd’s absurd theory. “They’re saying I’m Vulcan’s son.”
“Congratulations. Your secret origin has been revealed,” Esil said.
“Stop joking. Who was Vulcan and why are they reacting like this?”
“He was a gluttonous pig, really. A big-bellied one.”
“Then, I don’t resemble him at all.”
“It seems like me eating bloodstones here has somehow triggered something related to Vulcan.”
Vulcan was a demon noble who had never tasted a bloodstone. All that was left of him was his horn, now Suho’s weapon, but experiencing the taste of bloodstones for the first time had triggered a surge of his old energy.
“Right now, Vulcan’s unique stench is leaking from your horn.”
“Stench? I don’t smell anything.”
“That’s because it’s a scent only demons can detect. But watch out, behind you!”
“I know!” Suho immediately turned around, just in time to catch the horn of the mad bull charging at him. He thrust his fist downward.
The Minotaur countering him was incredibly tough. It withstood Suho’s powerful blows with its bare body, and the beast delivered its own savage punches back at him.
Boom!
The shockwaves from the strikes sounded like bombs as they struck Suho’s body. However, he did have a useful skill for this situation.
[Skill: “Pain Tolerance” reduces the damage taken.]
“I’m pretty tough myself.” Suho absorbed the attacks with his body and continued to swing his fists.
“Such brutes...” Esil clicked her tongue in disgust. Abandoning defense for total offense was unimaginably crude for a demon noble.
The only noble who fought like that was Vulcan.
Eventually, the winner and loser of the brutish encounter were decided. Another giant beast had collapsed, drained of strength by Suho’s relentless violence.
“Truly, their resilience is remarkable.” Suho admired his opponents sincerely. The five Minotaurs he had defeated were still alive, gasping for air and writhing on the ground.
Even with the victor decided, the crowd simply stood in near silence, unable to cheer.
“Unbelievable...”
“He took down five Minotaurs on his own...”
“He must be the son of Vulcan...”
However, the chief guard had something else in mind. “Hmmm.” His gaze sparkled with greed as he stared at Suho. I’ve hit the jackpot. The offspring of Vulcan!
He drooled at the thought of the potential success. It was only natural. The story of Vulcan was a classic underdog story—a lower demon becoming a noble.
The chief guard was curious. How powerful could I become if I devoured him? The mere thought unleashed a tremendous hunger. The demon quickly surveyed the coliseum. He hasn’t arrived yet! Despite the chaos, the Tyrant King had yet to appear in the coliseum.
Single Horn has finished his battle too quickly. Realizing this, urgency appeared on the chief guard’s face. What if I consume him before the Tyrant King arrives? Could I become even stronger than the Tyrant King? As he entertained such a daring thought, an exhilarating thrill surged throughout his body. Me, stronger than the Tyrant King? Me?! Becoming the ruler of this place?
Filled with desire, the chief guard’s heart pounded like thunder. I couldn’t call myself a real demon if I could ignore such desire now, would I?
“Huh?!”
“Sir?!”
Suddenly, the chief guard leaped into the arena, and his minions were shocked by his impulsiveness, but none of them dared to stop him. In the absence of the Tyrant King, he was the highest-ranking demon present.
Suho’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the chief guard rashly charging at him. A big catch.
“Don’t let your guard down! He has far more mana than you!” Esil warned.
“Mana isn’t everything.” Capturing the leader is much more efficient than taking on the entire horde. Suho quickly readied himself for battle.
The chief guard had acted out of desire, but he was no fool. His cunning gaze quickly shifted to the Minotaurs lying around Suho. Never be complacent. After all, Single Horn had single-handedly knocked down five of them. And if he truly was Vulcan’s son, caution was even more crucial.
The chief guard stretched out his hands toward the Minotaurs and shouted, “Rise again, mad-blooded Minotaurs!”
“Hey, that’s not your line!” Beru, hidden in the shadows, said furiously.
The chief guard had already thrown mad blood poison toward the fallen Minotaurs to infect them.
The beasts writhed in immense pain but managed to rise again. Their bodies were unbearably hot. Blood was boiling in their veins.
Using the poison on the creatures, being on the brink of death due to exhaustion, was essentially a death sentence.
The beasts would have opted not to fight had they been given the poison at the start of battle in an attempt to preserve their own lives. But now, the situation was different. The Minotaurs, fueled by all their pain and rage, unleashed their fury onto Suho.
[Domesticated Minotaur is overtaken by madness.]
[Domesticated Minotaur is overtaken by madness.]
[Domesticated Minotaur is overtaken by madness.]
The chief guard cackled as he issued his command, “That’s right! Kill him! Burn your lives to the ground if you must, but tear his limbs apart!”
“Hahaha! Offspring of Vulcan! I will devour your blood, flesh, and every single bone fragment! I’ll leave nothing behind!” The chief guard, fueled by madness, charged Suho with the frenzied Minotaurs, intent on tearing his heart out and devouring it. “The power of Vulcan shall be mine...!”
But at that moment, Suho’s horn—or rather Vulcan’s Horn—vibrated, emitting a strange, resonating sound.
[An emergency quest has been sent.]
Emergency? Suddenly, a quest window unfurled before Suho’s eyes.
[Emergency Quest: Vulcan’s Greed]
[Driven by a powerful desire for strength, the soul of the demon within Vulcan’s Horn has awakened. Roused from his long slumber, “Greedy Vulcan” is consumed by an intense hunger. Feed the souls of demons to Vulcan and receive a special reward.]