DEB 140

The mysterious figure wore a goofy-looking cat mask, but his outfit was remarkably polished—no, not just polished, it was refined and luxurious, like that of a nobleman’s son. 

He wore garments made from what was clearly expensive fabric, golden cufflinks embedded in his wrists that looked to be pure gold, and shoes of fine quality. 

It was rare to see anyone dressed like that in the Demon Realm.

He looked exactly like a nobleman.

…A nobleman?

Huiyun latched onto that fleeting thought, his eyes widening.

No way.

A nobleman who knew the name “Yasha.” 

Someone who could speak so casually to him. 

But no one in the Demon Realm should fit that bill, except for one kind of being.

A Lord.

The moment that realization struck, his gaze slid toward his disciples. 

Unlike Ann and Hee, who showed no reaction to the name “Yasha,” the other three disciples’ eyelids trembled ever so slightly. 

Watching Vina silently mouth a word, Huiyun caught what he was saying, just one soundless syllable that matched what he himself was thinking.

So Vina came to the same conclusion.

If that’s the case, the probability of this man being a Lord just shot up. 

When it came to these beings, Vina’s guesses were rarely wrong. 

If Moot were here too, he would’ve had a 100% confirmation.

This was not good.

Huiyun bit the inside of his lip and looked back at the masked man. 

He now realized what the brooch was—a vision stone, compressed with immense demonic energy.

Only a Lord would have enough power and mana to create something like that. 

So there was no need to question whether this man was a Lord. 

The question now was—which one?

– You seem pretty shocked that I called you. Cat got your tongue?

It was a vision stone. 

It only transmitted one-way images, yet the man acted so naturally, as if they were having a live conversation. 

That alone ruled out the Lord of Gluttony, he was never so calm and playful. 

It also couldn’t be the Lord of Wrath, who, last Huiyun saw, had been gravely wounded and teetering near death. 

That left five remaining Lords. 

Though two of them had supposedly been destroyed, he couldn’t ignore what Zenith had once said during their time in the Demon Realm, that she had sensed the presence of the Lord of Pride.

So it could still be one of the two—Pride or Sloth—who had returned.

– Ten thousand years… that’s a pretty long time, huh? Just like you came back to life, so did I.

I knew it.

Huiyun grimaced as a sharp ringing pierced his ear while he stared at the vision stone.

He should’ve brought Siho with him.

Without the Spirit Beast by his side, he couldn’t tell if this ominous sensation was just anxiety or a true instinctual warning.

He regulated his breathing and mulled over the man’s words.

“Coming back to life”—that phrasing was too grand to describe someone simply waking from a seal. 

It didn’t sound like something a Lord suppressed by an oath would say either. 

That kind of talk fit someone who had truly been destroyed and returned from oblivion. 

A literal resurrection.

– You figured it out? Interesting.

Even though it was just a pre-recorded message, the timing flowed as if the masked man were reading Huiyun’s thoughts in real time. 

Which meant, this man knew Huiyun very well. 

Enough to trace the circuits of his mind.

He had met someone like this before.

That unsettling familiarity brought buried memories rushing to the surface. 

Huiyun remembered another Lord for whom “resurrected” was a fitting word, aside from Pride and Sloth.

Back during the war against the demons, there had been one Lord considered the most dangerous.

Not due to raw power—Pride and Sloth had stronger magic than him—but Huiyun had poured everything into destroying them. 

Yet one other Lord, despite not being the most powerful, was a future threat that Huiyun could never ignore.

A Lord whose evil nature was so pure, he could spread his malice faster than anyone. 

A natural-born tyrant. 

The first among the seven Lords to be called “the Dominator.”

A ruthless, merciless demon with a lighthearted tone who regarded life as spare changes. 

One who only felt satisfaction by taking the lives of those who irritated him.

“…Leviathan.”

The Lord of Envy, Leviathan.

As Huiyun said the name, all three disciples flinched and looked back at him in shock. 

Their wide eyes were filled with horror, more so than when they had speculated the Lord of Pride might have returned.

Considering the kind of horror Leviathan had once brought to the world, their reaction was understandable. 

Huiyun let out a hollow chuckle, clenched his fists, and stared at the vision stone.

Yes.

Ten thousand years was a long time. 

And Huiyun’s absence during that time had been the world’s weakness. 

So the Leviathan he once banished to the deepest darkness beyond “The Door” had somehow clawed his way back.

The moment he recognized the name, the man’s face behind the mask became clearer. 

Even hidden, the sharpness of his features made his identity obvious. 

His voice, too, now rang as uncomfortably familiar. 

Mischievous, androgynous, chilling. 

It felt like a black serpent coiling from his feet to his neck.

As he shuddered at the old memories, the man in the vision extended his hand.

– That’s enough of a greeting, right? It’s good to see you again… Yasha.

“….”

– I’ll be visiting soon.

The whisper ended in a giggle. 

Click. 

The vision cut off with a soft sound, but no one in the room moved. 

Huiyun slapped both ears to shake off the lingering echo of Leviathan’s voice. 

It was disgusting, like a leech clinging to his eardrums.

“Uh… um…”

Hee glanced nervously at Huiyun and the others, unsure of what to say. 

Ann fiddled with the vision stone but found the light within it had gone out completely—it was now nothing more than a useless rock, and she tossed it aside. 

Huiyun double-checked to make sure it was indeed dead, then finally let out the groan he had held back.

Leviathan had returned.

Judging by the timing, it must’ve been recent. 

But how did he know Huiyun’s name?

No—think differently.

How was Leviathan able to return?

The space beyond the door wasn’t part of any world, not the one Huiyun ruled, nor the one ruled by the Bird With No Eyes. 

It was outside existence. 

Even during his time as Yasha, he had only been able to open that door once.

So how had Leviathan broken through?

If he reversed the chain of cause and effect, the answer became obvious.

I was the problem.

The moment he awakened, there had been a glitch in the system. 

A faint, almost imperceptible tremor in the world—like time had begun moving again. 

Adding everything up, it seemed likely that his awakening had triggered something in the fabric of reality… a crack that gave Leviathan the opportunity to return.

He didn’t know how Leviathan crossed The Door.

But the why… that was likely his own fault.

His head was too full to absorb anything else, but he still had work to do.

He could share this with the disciples once the job was done and they were safely back home.

“…Let’s keep looking for the next clue.”

“I think I heard you say Leviathan just now. Is that what the masked guy’s name was?”

“I believe we’ve searched the second floor thoroughly. Let’s move up to the third.”

“You know about this Leviathan guy, don’t you, Mr. Yun?”

“Are you sure there aren’t traps on the third floor? I’ll go first if it’s clear.”

“Just who is Leviathan? What’s that brooch? And how do you even know about that guy, Mr. Yun?”

“Mr. Hee.”

Even with Vina and Vita trying to redirect the conversation, Hee wouldn’t let it go. His relentless questions were exhausting. Huiyun turned to face him and Ann, locking eyes with their dark irises.

Huiyun’s blue eyes glowed.

And in that glow, it felt as if the others were being pulled into it. 

When the silence had stretched just long enough, Huiyun finally spoke.

“Brace yourself for a long ride.”

“…”

“Half-knowing is worse than ignorance.”

His tone was flat, but the advice hit Hee like a whip. 

He flinched and slowly nodded.

In that moment, he looked almost possessed.