Chapter 152: Gob, the Archdemon of Wisdom
Gob felt someone’s hand on his back.
‘What about the barrier…!’
To break through his barrier, one would have to be at least as powerful as him to be able to infiltrate──
‘No, no, no, trust my instincts!’
Gob walked down the hallway, slowly and unnaturally.
The lightless corridor seemed long, like a distorted boundary and a chill ran down his spine as he took each step.
‘There he is, an assassin of considerable skill!’
The world of demons may appear to be unified, but in reality, it’s an abysmal struggle to topple each other.
Hell itself is full of fighters, depending on lineage, race, and seniority.
Gob, one of the last of the Archdemons of Wisdom, and a goblin by birth, was so powerful that even the high demons, let alone the Archdemons, would say, ‘That’s enough to make him a force to be reckoned with.’
‘You’re here to assassinate me!’
It’s not unnatural for Gob to jump to this conclusion. After all, Gob has been challenged time and time again.
So who is this, a senior Archdemon trying to steal his research?
A murderous Archdemon who’d seen a goblin rise to the rank of Archdemon?
A Senior Archdemon of Wisdom trying to take his place once and for all!
“Kikikikit…!”
But it didn’t matter. Gob had summarized the situation in a flash and smiled a despicable smile.
“You’re not the first assassin to come to kill me. And you won’t be the last.”
Gob, the Archdemon of Wisdom, extended his staff toward the assassin behind him.
“Power! Devour my enemy!”
Instantly, the staff burst into a fierce light. It was a holy power ray that melted demons at the mere touch!
Go, Holy Cannon!
Gob, who had killed countless rivals with this power, expected the assassin behind him to melt away.
“???”
“????”
But contrary to his expectations, the assassin was still intact. He cocked his head and stared at Gob.
“You…….”
-Boom!
It was the Knight of the Gods, who ignored immortality, extinguishing all demons, whether lesser or greater… even lords.
“You lowly green beast, did you think you’d live if you ran, I swear to you, I’ll tear your snout out!”
Gob recalled the terrible memory of the past.
‘I will die!’
The moment Gob realized he was going to die──
“Using holy power…you weren’t a goblin, were you?”
“Huh?”
Gob noticed Leon’s puzzled demeanor and quickly turned around.
Convinced it was a demonic assassin, he fired his holy cannon but to Leon, he would have been considered a holy power user in the middle of the Demon Realm.
Then…!
“Are you the Savior?”
“……How is this king your savior?”
Okay, he doesn’t start with a sword. There’s hope!
“Well, my tribe has a legend that says a knight of the goddess will come to save us from our suffering!”
“……tell me about it.”
The white goblin in front of Leon spouted a legend made up out of desperation.
A tribe of goblins had been captured by demons and forced into slavery as servants of the orcs, and one day a savior would come to free them.
The story was plausible, though I was puzzled that goblins would worship a god.
Leon asked.
“So, what’s the name of your god?”
“Ma, Lickety-Split!”
“…… That’s a strange name.”
“Well, my tribe’s language is like this!”
Gob did his best to convince himself that he was a cleric from another dimension. His deliberately twisted name was one example but Leon wasn’t having any of it.
“Recite the code of your god.”
Now, a little bit about Gob.
He was an unusually wise and inquisitive mutant in a race of goblins whose entire species was regarded as foolish and cunning.
A genius in the entire history of his race. No, a one-of-a-kind mutant.
Add to that the wisdom and acumen he’d gained in the two hundred-plus years since his awakening as a demon, and you’ve got the makings of a man who could survive in this flesh-and-blood demon world.
In the heat of the moment, he was able to conjure up an incantation that didn’t exist. If you overheat your brain, you can do anything!
“Hmph. I never thought there was another faith in this filthy land.”
Leon inferred that this goblin-like creature might be a believer from another dimension.
The goblin’s unexpectedly unprejudiced nature led him to this conclusion.
Otherwise, how could something that looked like a lowly beast use holy power?
“But why are you here, Gobla?”
Leon called him by the pseudonym he had given him.
“I prayed to the Lickety-Split, and he told me that this is where you would find me, so I risked my life and came here!”
“Hooo…….”
Leon found himself more and more enthralled by the goblin-like priest’s words.
“You may be of a different faith, but I never thought I’d find such a clear and correct believer in this savage land!
Even on Earth, he didn’t deny Yahweh, Buddha, or Allah, but he was tolerant of otherworldly beliefs.
“This place is dangerous. Go with this king.”
“I’m fine──”
“Haha, don’t be a stranger. There are many things I want to know about your tribe.”
Leon grinned, and Gob realized he couldn’t refuse in the setting he’d created.
‘I survived for now!’
I want to go home.
* * * *
On the way back to the cave, Leon said.
“You remind me of an old acquaintance, by the way.”
“What do you mean…….”
“In the old days, there was a goblin who tried to rip this king’s head off.”
-Ouch!
“That lowly green beast had a foul tongue and a sly temper but he paled in comparison to you.”
“Oh, no!”
Whoa, Gob breathed a sigh of relief. The last time he’d met Leon was 230 years ago, around the time of his awakening as an Archdemon.
During the subsequent invasion of Lionheart, Gob had unconditionally applied for an assignment far from Lionheart, and as soon as he heard the news of the Wisdom Lord’s death, he fled to the Demon Gate.
‘I had my mouth torn out by this bastard back then, and I still can’t make a single sound with my tongue!’
Fortunately, the difference between Gob then and now is in his appearance.
His skin has turned white from demonization, and as an accomplished mage, Gob has created artifacts to hide his magic.
It’s a specialty he created to give to Reynald Sherman, and it’s the one thing he carries with him that saved his life.
“You’re here, hmm, Your Majesty?”
Beatrice’s gaze snapped to the white goblin Leon had brought with him.
“He says he’s a priest of Lickety-Split.”
“Lickety-Split?”
Beatrice tilted her head at the white goblin that Leon had so graciously brought along.
“I am Gobla! At your service!”
Gob stood at attention, watching the two with all his might.
Every so often, Leon or Beatrice would ask Gob about his faith and his tribe, and he would respond with a sincere ad-lib.
“Your god, by the way, does not appear in person, does he?”
“Yes, the Old One prefers to mature his believers through trials rather than directly help!”
“Well, then, there are certainly many gods of that sort, and the congestion of your holy power speaks for itself.”
The decisive reason Leon and Beatrice did not suspect Gob was because of the power contained in Gob’s staff.
After years of research, the wand had absorbed all sorts of holy powers into a jumble that Leon couldn’t identify.
In the process, his body became accustomed to it, and he was able to avoid suspicion.
‘I thought I was going to die every time I researched holy power, but I’m so glad I did!’
Who would have thought that researching to fend off competitors would lead to something like this?
All hail the great and wise Archdemon Gob!
“Here’s a meal for the two of you!”
“I have prepared a bed for you, make yourself comfortable!”
Gob offered himself as a servant to the two in order to curry favor without raising suspicion.
He had once hoped to be king of the goblins, and had studied the arts of the Lionheart Kingdom.
“The more I look at him, the more I marvel. A being from another dimension is such a fine practitioner.”
“Is it because this king is a representative of the Ten Thousand Gods that makes you so comfortable?”
“No! Hehe….”
I, the greatest genius of the goblin race, the Archdemon of wisdom and exploration, encompassing infinite knowledge, am praised as a servant by you!
Gob wanted to bite his tongue right then and there, but the desire to survive forced superhuman patience on him.
Three days passed.
Pacing near the cave, Gob spotted a cavalcade of two-wheelers kicking up a cloud of dust like something out of a turn-of-the-century movie.
“Finally…!”
They were the Goblin Mad Max Cavalry he had raised.
He’d lost contact with them three days ago when his apprentice troops were wiped out, and now they were looking for him!
‘You bastards, I’m still alive…’
Wait. Just because they’re here doesn’t mean he’s alive?
Gob recalled the cavalry’s top speed and Leon’s top frequency from his memory.
‘That bastard…the crazy bastard who chased me barefoot even when I was running away on a wyvern!’
A chill ran down his spine as he recalled the madman who had chased him down and tried to tear him apart.
Just then──
“Gobla, come here!”
Leon’s voice called from inside the cave, and he pushed my way through, afraid that he would find me and my guards.
“You’ve come.”
Beatrice was there, waiting with the gate open.
‘You found the coordinates!’
After three days of watching, I realized that their purpose was to find a certain place in this demonic realm.
What a timely discovery! I wish they would disappear through the gate!
“You’re going?”
“Yes, I am, though I’m tempted to take you with me.”
“Oh, no, no, no, it’s okay!”
Gob waved his hands in the air and denied it.
“I did not expect to find another faith like yours in a place like this. This is fate…”
“It’s the guidance of the Lickety-Split!”
“Yes, the guidance of that god.”
Leon patted Gob’s shoulder.
“This king will return to this place one day, and when I come back I’ll tear the filthy bastards to shreds.”
Leon’s words were meant as encouragement, but to Gob, they were a curse.
‘You suck! You suck! You suck!’
Leon’s declaration to a desperate Gob was like a blast from the past.
“It’s a shame we’re parting like this. This king has a blessing for you. Give me that old staff.”
‘The staff?”’
A blessing.
In other words, to bestow some sort of favor with holy power.
For a normal human, it would be something to bow down to and consider a lifetime of honor, but for a demon, it worked differently.
The blessing of holy power is the ultimate curse for demons! Leon was now offering to shove a radioactive fuel rod up Gob’s ass.
‘Well, if I refuse, I’m fucked!’
But now it’s too late to refuse. A refusal here would arouse suspicion, and this Lionheart King would tear him limb from limb before he crossed the gate.
“Thank you…….”
“Haha, I knew it.”
With a shaky hand, Gob handed over the staff that had served him for two hundred and fifty years.
“Goddess of Light.”
Leon blessed the staff in his hand. A blessing from a man the size of the Lionhearted King is the equivalent of a divine blessing.
‘Farewell Staff…….’
No matter how much power I’ve been accumulating, it’s only been inside the staff.
But now, with Leon’s blessing, the staff, which had become an object, was no longer a demonic staff.
“Here, take it. It will be quite a force in this polluted land.”
“…….”
You want me to take that radioactive lump in my hand and die?
Gob shook his head with as much restraint as he could muster.
“…Come to think of it, I’d like to offer this staff to your majesty!”
“What, why?”
“With Your Majesty’s blessing, it has become too conspicuous an object in this land!”
The words made Leon feel sick; why hadn’t he used the Holy Law to create the gate?
To avoid being seen by the demons. But now that he had a staff that he had blessed himself, it was no longer something a lone Gob could easily carry around.
“This king made a mistake.”
“No!”
Gob would rather Leon had taken the staff, for leaving such a concentrated holy object on the land would endlessly pollute it.
And it would be his responsibility to fix the issue.
“This king will take the staff.”
‘That’s it!’
Gob sang a song of relief.
“I will give you a blessing instead.”
“Oh?”
Leon laid his hand on Gob’s head. “Do not refuse, my friend,” he said with a kind smile.
The next moment, Leon’s touch blessed Gob.
His heartfelt blessing was a sincere favor from Leon but──
“Grrrr!”
Gob, being cooked from the inside out by holy power, desperately swallowed the boiling foam.
His gaunt face and shivering body resemble the corpse of a frog in an electrode experiment.
“Hahahahat, are you so happy?”
‘Yi, you bastard!’
Leon’s blessing went on for another thirty seconds or so.
* * * * *
The goblin cavalry spotted the light emanating from the cave and galloped towards it.
“There!”
“There’s something there!”
The loyal goblin riders spotted Gob emerging from the cave, but were quickly drawn back by the terrible aura emanating from him.
“Boss!”
“What the hell happened?”
Gob was in terrible shape.
His entire body was scorched red, and the smoke billowing from his crown was enough to make you wonder if he was still alive.
If Gob hadn’t been somewhat resistant to the heat, as he studied holy power, he might have died.
“Grrr, grrrr…!”
The cavalry burst into tears as he went limp.
“What kind of rascals do you think you are, spoiling your boss?”
Gob exclaimed angrily.
“Oh, no, never!”
The cavalry captain cocked his head at his attitude.
“Don’t you think you ought to be jostled?”
“No, we’ll get our asses handed to us if we try, and we shouldn’t even think about fighting them, and we shouldn’t provoke them!”
“????”
The cavalry gave him a puzzled look, but Gob knew.
If they charged, they would be slaughtered!
How much time had passed? Gob groaned as he realized he couldn’t detect any heat signatures in the cave.
“Ah!”
Gob gasped and turned toward the cave, where the two had disappeared.
“Boss, what’s going on!”
“They leapt through the gate! They’re gone! Gahahahaha!”
“”???””
The cavalry captain chimed in, looking puzzled.
“If they jumped through the gate, wouldn’t the boss be able to chase them?”
Gob shouted, annoyed by the cavalry captain’s words.
“Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, we didn’t see anything, did we, Algernon?”
“Hmm?”
“Think about it! What’s going to happen if we report this upstairs? They’re going to tell us to go after them, and then you and I will be dead!”
Gob is a survivor, and he never does anything that puts his life in danger.
Especially when it comes to Lionheart, he has a precise belief system.
“It’s better that we don’t see them again! You know?!”
“……Yes.”
And with that, Gob hopped on one of the motorcycles.
“Let’s go! Let’s all pretend that what happened today never happened!”
“”Yes! Boss!!””
The sun sets as the motorcycles disappear into the distance.
The goblin cavalry rushes by, exhaust puffing out.
‘… I survived today…….’
