The Novel’s Villain

22. What Is an Emperor? (4)

The place where the Emperor of Greed was sealed was very large, feeling lonesome despite being facilities. When the Emperor of Maze entered the place, most of that lonesome feeling disappeared. It seemed to like the dark space. Somehow, it felt like looking at a loner in the corner of the room, but it worked out well anyway. The Emperor of Maze trembled and settled completely.

[The Sanctuary of Gold and the Emperor of Maze are fused.]

[SS] Sanctuary of Brilliant Gold

A great sanctuary was created by combining the Sanctuary of Gold with the Emperor of Maze. It is greater than the mythological Yggdrasil, as even Bifrost cannot match the Sanctuary of Brilliant Gold.

The Emperor of Maze dropped a part of it every time it moved between dimensions. Those parts are classified into towers, mazes, and dungeons according to their size. Most of the dungeons were spilled by the Emperor of Maze. The Emperor of Maze is connected to every dungeon, so you can move to any dimension where the maze’s body is through the Sanctuary.

The Emperor of Maze awakened and connected the closed dimensions. There is also the possibility of passing into the maze from another dimension.

The Sanctuary of Gold had grown into a great rank after merging with the Rank S+ Maze.

‘The Emperor of Maze was the beginning of the dungeon.’

Tower, maze, dungeon. All of them were clumsily spilled as the Emperor of Maze fled. It was something that hadn’t appeared in the original novel.

‘In the end, it turned out just like the original story.’

The dimensional opening couldn’t be stopped. This was because the Middle-World and the other dimensions were connected through the Emperor of Maze. Still, the situation was much better, as Jin-woo could control the Emperor of Maze without killing it.

[You have obtained a large number of experience points.]

That being said, he’d gained a lot of experience points so far. Jin-woo looked at his information.

Lv. 92

[S+] Lee Jin-woo

Title: [S+] Emperor of Gold, [S] Incarnation of Evil, [S] Dimensional Conqueror

Physical Ability: B+

[Strength: B/ Agility: A / Durability: A]

Charm: S+

Luck: SS

Black Flame Dragon: S

Mana: S

Dark Mana: A+

At some point, his level had reached 92, and his rank reached S+. His stats were nothing to sniff at, and because of what had happened so far, the title’s rank rose significantly. It was still a pity that his physical abilities were poor, though.

With the Black Flame Dragon in his right hand, it was also included in Jin-woo’s information. It seemed that the Black Flame Dragon could also grow. Both Level 91 and Rank S+ were areas that most could never reach. It was a level that was only allowed to transcendent beings such as the Emperors.

‘I’ve just crossed the line, huh?’

Jin-woo felt like it was just the beginning as an Emperor. The Emperor of Greed was SSS+, and the Emperor of Maze was S+, but that was only because it was partially eaten by the Emperor of Greed and spilled various things into another dimension. In terms of risk alone, it was more than that.

The eye on the core part was staring at Jin-woo. He could tell what it was thinking through that big eye. The Dark Ego remained in the Demon Realm, so it looked like the Maze was feeling lonely.

‘Now that it has fused with the Sanctuary, it can’t even move.’

Besides, it couldn’t sleep freely. The Emperor of Maze would also awaken if the Sanctuary were being used. The Maze couldn’t sleep like it used to, so it felt very lonely and boring. It had to stay here for a while, so it would be nice to give it something to spend time with. Jin-woo thought deeply and looked at the huge eye.

“Do you have any hands?”

As he said so, the huge eye blinked. Then, two black tentacles came up from under Jin-woo. They wobbled and became hand-shaped. The black hands reached out and flinched as they tried to touch Jin-woo with their fingers. Jin-woo took out a tablet PC from the subspace, made with the G&P’s latest technology. Most of the games couldn’t be played since there was no Internet in the Sanctuary, but there were also single-player games, so it was a good way to kill time.

When Jin-woo gave it the tablet PC, the core flashed fiercely with blue light. It was a great response. Jin-woo offered a simple explanation. The Maze was immersed playing it soon after.

“Are you having fun? You keep it.”

Jin-woo looked at it with a smirk.

[The favorability has increased significantly.]

[The Maze is impressed. It was the first time it received a present!]

[The Maze regards you as its best friend.]

Favorability: 100%

The Maze was such an easy fellow. It would fall for you even if you were just a little nice to it. The Dark Ego, its only friend, was also offhand with the Maze. Jin-woo was the first person to treat it kindly and even offer it a present.

The Maze stared at Jin-woo when it couldn’t try another game.

“You must have an Internet connection…”

Jin-woo explained. Surprisingly, the Maze easily understood. Its comprehension and application skills were so high that Jin-woo had to admire it.

[The Maze uses its power and the Sanctuary to connect the dimensions. It wants to search for things owned by the Emperor of Gold. Will you allow it?]

When Jin-woo nodded and gave permission, the Maze’s eye closed. The core gave off a fierce blue light. It was very focused.

Ding!

[It borrows resources from the G&P Research Institute.]

[Wi-Fi has been created through the Maze’s core!]

Such information came to mind with the sound of the bell. As Jin-woo looked at the part where the core was, the shape of the Wi-Fi symbol came to his mind. The power that created legends in all dimensions was being used for this.

Jin-woo took out his cell phone and tried to connect to Wi-Fi.

“It’s nice.”

The core became a huge wireless router, making Internet access now available in the Sanctuary. The G&P Research Institute had the fastest Internet connections in the world. It was said to be thanks to their mana particles technology, but Jin-woo didn’t know the details.

A blue beam was emitted from the huge eye, shining on the tablet PC. The black hands moved quickly. Sometimes its eye widened; other times, it appeared to frown.

‘It won’t be bored for a while.’

It wasn’t the ending Jin-woo expected, but peace was best anyway. The main character who entered the Maze suffered a great crisis.

‘Even Dang Xiao Zhen became like…come to think of it, the heroines…’

As there were so many heroines, most of them disappeared. Seeing the heroines and the leading roles die off, the author must have killed them because he was too lazy to mention them again. Existing heroines and supporting characters came out in large numbers before the Middle-World season.

Now those things weren’t going to happen.

Jin-woo watched the Maze for a while before heading to the Demon Realm. He arrived directly in the desert where the Maze’s body was located. The Maze’s body was disintegrating and moving one by one beyond the dimension; only the Maze knew exactly whether it was going back to the Sanctuary or leaking somewhere else.

He was a little anxious.

“Ku-ugh…”

Digent, who was lying quietly under the maze, was the first to come to his senses. The other Demon Kings woke up shortly after. Jin-woo looked down at them as Digent grabbed his throbbing head, then raised it in surprise. He made eye contact with Jin-woo.

“Uh-huh!”

Behind Jin-woo was a huge maze. It looked as if it was being destroyed because it was disappearing beyond the dimension. Digent was astonished, as were the other Demon Kings who came to their senses. The Emperor of Gold destroyed the Emperor of Maze!

The part with the terrible eye had been cut off very cleanly and disappeared. Digent gulped. His neck felt so cold.

“Are you okay?”

Jin-woo reached out to help him. Digent jumped up, then fell to his knees.

“Ugh, I’ve sinned worthy of death. I-I…”

Digent confessed what he had committed without even being asked to. Then he wailed loudly. It was a desperate struggle to survive. The Demon Kings who were looking at Digent also noticed and confessed the same. Digent and the Demon Kings gave all their remaining territories to Jin-woo. Since everyone had gathered under Sarah Vriac to stop the sand soldiers, the Digent and the Demon Kings had no power left.

[You have conquered the Demon Realm!]

[The Demon Realm is under the JW Gate.]

[Awesome! The Goddess fainted upon hearing this great news.]

The only thing Jin-woo did was fix what had happened; he accidentally conquered the Demon Realm. Like Elonti, it came under JW Gate. The Dark Ego seemed pleased. Since it came under JW Gate, the Demon Realm would recover slowly like Elonti.

‘I’m glad I don’t have to fight the demons, but…’

In the original story, high-ranking demons worked hand-in-hand with Japan and engaged in their conspiracies. After the international competition, the fight with Japan stretched out, but frankly, it felt like a long season.

There was also a heroine who hit the back of the main character’s head. She was a shaman who was the most powerful person in Japan. She became a subordinate of demons and put the main character in crisis.

‘The readers were also stabbed in the back.’

At first, she was a good heroine who comforted his sorrow of losing Dang Xiao Zhen. Then she suddenly stabbed him from the back.

After Jin-woo went to the Hall of Glory, he headed straight to the canyon. He left the others there because the other Demon Kings seemed to have business with Digent. When Jin-woo arrived at the canyon, everyone was waiting for him. He ran fast from the Hall of Glory to the canyon, but it took a while.

The sun was setting. A haze rose and blurred Jin-woo’s figure as the sun descended below him. He stepped into the canyon, and the huge structure separated and fell into the desert. Yoo-na and Choi Hee-yeon’s eyes were red, and Ella was shedding tears. Next to Ella, the Red Crest patted her with its wings.

Jin-woo didn’t know what to say. When he prepared to say something, Sarah Vriac took the pose of the cross sign. Then the demon soldiers cheered. Jin-woo had become the great Emperor who blew away the Maze and united the Demon Realm alone.

“For now…let’s go back to the estate.”

Jin-woo took everyone to Sarah Vriac’s estate.

* * *

in a huge room.

Everyone gathered, but Jin-woo hadn’t come in yet. It was because he was talking about future measures with Gallord and Arina. As the Demon Kings dedicated all their territories, the Demon Realm was unified for the first time since its birth, and Sarah Vriac became a true Demon Emperor. All traces of the Demon Kings, who once ruled the Demon Realm, had disappeared.

Jin-woo came to reign as the God of the Demon Realm above her, but he was spending his time and effort trying to convince them not to do that.

“We must worship the Emperor as the God of the Demon Realm and make a religion of it!”

“Of course!”

“There is even the Goddess in heaven, and we too…”

“Delont! How dare you compare such a ruthless bitch to our great Emperor! Our Emperor has the Emperor of Greed and the Emperor of Vanity under his control, and he even got rid of the

Emperor of Maze…”

But the conversation didn’t work out at all because each demon was in agreement. As Jin-woo rubbed his aching head, the humans, elves, demons, and dwarves talked in the huge meeting room. They were for Jin-woo.

The atmosphere was friendly as all of them were comrades gathered under Jin-woo. Even though Choi Hee-yeon wasn’t one of them, she fought together at their side anyway, so she was naturally involved.

Yoo-na looked to Ella.

“Is the Emperor of Maze gone now?”

“I think the Emperor has sealed it. The Emperor of Maze is an Emperor that influences all dimensions. If it disappears, the dimensions will become tangled. Maybe this time its body is…”

Ella’s words dampened the mood a little. Sarah Vriac, who was reading the room, quickly responded. She left everything to Gallord and ran away before because she was afraid of the high-ranking demons who had come, though they assumed she left to lead the army herself.

“Anyway, it’s settled! That’s what matters.”

“By the way, Lady Sarah Vriac, how did you come to meet the Emperor?”

She claimed to be the Emperor’s left hand, and she couldn’t do that unless the Emperor trusted her. When Ella asked with curious eyes, everyone looked at her. Sarah Vriac broke out in a cold sweat, but her expression remained the same.

She was quick-witted, understanding what kind of existence Jin-woo was to them by looking at the atmosphere. It was her specialty. Indeed, it was her power.

“I had lost my body and mind to the Emperor of Maze. The Emperor of Maze devoured the Demon Realm and plotted to rule all dimensions! But I couldn’t watch the suffering demons. Therefore….”

Sarah Vriac desperately created a story. Suddenly, Jin-woo became the savior who came to save the Demon Realm. Hallas was described as a traitor who would devour the Demon Realm as the Maze’s key man in the process.

“So, as soon as the Emperor came to the Demon Realm, he destroyed Giganter and declared war on the Maze!”

It was a great epic. Mixing in fairy tales and other rumors from the Demon Realm made it seem plausible. The General Manager was taking notes while listening to Sarah Vriac’s story.

“He has made another legend. I must spread this story. Well, if we work with Elonti and make a movie….”

The General Manager was moved. He and Sarah Vriac seemed to have good chemistry. Degurron, the Dark Craftsman, was also there.

“That was it. Hallas, corrupted by the Maze’s technique, was a very evil being. Our dwarves were…”

“Cough, I apologize on behalf of the orcs!”

“No. We were just enemies because of the bad situation. I understand.”

The orcs and dwarves also cleared their feelings. While they were talking like that, Jin-woo came in. Everyone turned to look at him with sparkling eyes wet with emotion.

‘Did something else come up?’

He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding quickly.

“Actually…”

It was the moment Jin-woo said so.

[Summon time has expired.]

[The Golden Army is reverse-summoned!]

“Ah….”

All of them were engulfed in golden light and disappeared. Only Degurron and Sarah Vriac remained.

“You didn’t say anything, did you?”

When Jin-woo said so and looked at Sarah Vriac, she avoided his gaze. Anyway, peace had come to the Demon Realm. It worked out alright, despite all that happened.

Wasn’t that what mattered now?

* * *

The Maze was very focused. Its huge eye was staring only at the tiny tablet PC. The world it saw through tablet PC was truly new. The Maze couldn’t move freely because of its huge size and the persecution it found everywhere it went, but it found freedom there.

It could move around freely! It could even communicate! Although the Maze felt a sense of alienation, it quickly grew used to it because they had seen many cultures while traveling across the dimensions. The language barrier wasn’t a problem at all.

It looked around and saw a post about Jin-woo. When a picture of Jin-woo came out, the Maze left a comment. It was a place where it could write anonymously without signing up.

IamMaze: My friend.

└Seer: That’s ridiculous.

└Conceptualist: lol What kind of concept is this again?

The Maze commented again because it was angry, but it couldn’t overcome Korean keyboard warriors. With a broken heart, the Maze wandered around the screen and clicked on the G&P Research Institute. Since the tablet PC that Jin-woo gave wasn’t released on the market, it had the G&P Research Institute with it.

An anonymous bulletin board appeared. There were quite a lot of pictures of Jin-woo popping up.

Anonymous (1): Our CEO

[CEO in Knight outfit.JPG]

└Anonymous (103): My friend.

└Anonymous (1): I envy you.

The atmosphere here was very good. It was the first time the Maze had a normal conversation like this. As they were talking on the anonymous bulletin board, they spoke about the game that came out. One of the anonymous people recommended a game made by the company Jin-woo took over.

The Maze installed the game right away. It was purchased already since the tablet PC was under Jin-woo’s name. Jin-woo had a perpetual free pass for games.

‘Dark Blood Dungeon’

The Maze’s eye widened. It was a game that left many gamers in despair and pain. It was difficult enough to describe it as atrocious. However, it was addictive and was now very popular. The Maze had always been invaded, but it felt a strange sense of immorality when it was the one who invaded, and the pleasure engulfed its body.

The Maze quickly became addicted to the game, just a simple game set up by Jin-woo.

It was then that the dimensions changed. The more the Maze focused on the Dark Blood Dungeon, the more its mazes and connected dungeons changed. It was summoning its body from the Demon Realm, but its concentration was blurred, and the large parts flew to another dimension. There was a big change in Middle-World, but no one knew about it.

Kim Se-yeon tilted her head on the anonymous bulletin board.

‘Is it someone new? So cute.’

Thinking so, she smiled a little and began to focus on her research again.