The completed black sword.
Its sleek design felt sophisticated.
But…
‘Why is it black?’
The ingot I handed over was definitely silver-white.
It was a beautiful metal with an unmistakably sacred aura.
So why had it turned black, as if it had been inked over?
Regardless, Emily received the sword.
She then swung it lightly.
“Wow, it fits perfectly in my hand!”
It seemed she liked it.
What about the item description?
Just as I was wondering, Emily and Kyler, curious about the sword’s abilities, examined it closely.
Their expressions quickly turned strange.
“What’s wrong?”
Was something off?
Or was the item defective?
Kyler silently handed me the sword.
I immediately checked the item window that popped up, feeling a slight sense of relief as I read.
[Corrupted Diligence (??)]
–The metal, imbued with the power of Diligence from the Seven Virtues, has been corrupted by Sloth from the Seven Sins.
–The clash of these opposing forces has created an entirely unexpected result.
– Can only be wielded by a Swordmaster, the master of all swords.
– Contains immense latent power.
“Huh?”
Is… is this right?
Corrupted?
What does that even mean?!
Now I understood why Kyler and his daughter had such strange expressions while examining the sword.
I had simply thought the metal was forged into a sword—never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be corrupted.
“……”
We were all left speechless, too busy sorting out our thoughts.
– Nyang. How is it? I spent a whole week forging this sword.
“……”
– This is the first time I’ve dedicated so much effort to a single piece.
“Huh? Oh, uh… that’s… impressive?”
I was so flustered that I kept stuttering.
Ara and the others gathered around, peering at the completed sword.
“It’s so cool…”
– It looks like something I would use.
– But I’ll let Emily have it.
– Hmm, it could use a bit more decoration.
– Should I decorate it?!
Seeing them all gathered around, admiring the sword, was quite adorable.
Meanwhile, Bell entered lazy mode and promptly fell asleep.
If you sleep in a place like this, your neck will get stiff.
I quickly picked up Bell and placed him somewhere soft and warm.
Fortunately, we were near the forge, where the heat from the bellows made it nice and cozy.
“We did achieve our goal, though the outcome was… unexpected.”
“That’s true. Emily, is your quest complete?”
“Uh, well…”
Wait, did another problem arise?
Seeing Emily looking troubled, Kyler and I exchanged uneasy glances.
“The quest is completed, but… the result was so unexpected that things got a little weird.”
“A little weird?”
“Yeah… they’re calling me the ‘Corrupted Hero’ now.”
“…Corrupted Hero?”
What the hell is that?
***
Inside the Office of the Level 9 Awakener, Eli.
As he was investigating Hassan Aldin Sinan’s sudden bizarre behavior, new information appeared before his eyes.
[The Hero has fallen into corruption.]
Thud!
Eli, who had been reviewing documents while seated, sprang to his feet.
His subordinates, startled, turned to look at him.
“What’s the matter, Lord Eli?”
“Did you just receive new intel?”
Curious gazes locked onto him.
But Eli had no time to respond.
‘The Hero… has fallen?’
What does this even mean?
They hadn’t even located the Hero or the Demon King yet.
So what had happened, and where, for such a message to appear?
And then—
More detailed information surfaced.
[The Seven Deadly Sins have successfully corrupted the Hero.]
[The Corrupted Hero is now enlisted as a subordinate of the Demon King.]
“Gasp!!”
More shocking than the simple statement of corruption was the additional detail.
It also revealed that the Hero and the Demon King were connected to the Seven Deadly Sins.
‘But… that’s not the real issue right now!’
The Hero had become a subordinate of the Demon King.
If the Hero and the Demon King were on par with or even stronger than the Seven Deadly Sins, this could not be overlooked.
Humanity—
Could be conquered by the Demon King.
Feeling an urgent sense of crisis, Eli turned to his subordinates, who were watching him with concern.
Hassan’s antics were now the least of his worries.
“Summon the Level 9 Council immediately!!”
“What? The Level 9 Council? We just held a meeting not long ago. The other Awakeners might complain—”
“Immediaaaaately!!! Convene the council!”
“U-Understood!”
It was the first time Eli’s subordinates had ever seen him this agitated.
Realizing that something huge had happened, they scrambled into action.
‘What the hell is going on? Why can’t I get a grasp on the situation?!’
Since becoming an Awakener, Eli had never been blindsided like this.
His superiority in intelligence had always been his edge.
With that alone, he had climbed to the position of a Level 9 Awakener, even earning the authority to convene the Level 9 Council.
But things had been going wrong for a while now.
Yes… ever since the Seven Deadly Sins vanished without a trace.
Thinking back—
Had the Demon King already existed back then?
Based on the current intel, the Demon King and the Seven Deadly Sins seemed to be on the same side.
If that were the case, the disappearance of the Seven Deadly Sins made a bit more sense.
“The Demon King! He must have taken them!”
How had he failed to deduce such an obvious truth?
Until now, he had never considered the connection between them.
That was how much he had overestimated his own abilities and developed the bad habit of relying solely on the information he could see.
“Ugh…”
Eli, his anxiety at its peak, bit his nails nervously.
The Seven Deadly Sins had already fallen under the Demon King’s control.
And now—
The newly confirmed information was even worse.
Logically speaking, the Hero was the natural adversary of the Demon King.
That meant the Hero was powerful enough to face both the Demon King and the Seven Deadly Sins alone.
Yet such an existence had fallen to corruption and joined the Demon King.
Now, who could possibly stop the Demon King?
“The downfall of Earth.”
That ominous phrase naturally formed in Eli’s mind.
But his ability was not yet finished.
[Causality is in motion.]
[A new Hero is being chosen.]
[Causality is in motion.]
[Due to the Demon King’s overwhelming influence, Earth is deemed unsuitable for producing a new Hero.]
[The new Hero will be from another dimension. Prepare for interdimensional invasion.]
[Causality is in motion.]
[The existence of the Seven Virtues has been revealed.]
“A… Aaaaaah!!!”
Three consecutive causality messages appeared.
Even one was already an extraordinary event, but three in a row?
A new hero.
Dimensional invasion.
The Seven Virtues.
Each one was a historic-level incident.
Though there was no set timeframe, it was practically a preordained future.
With no clear information, it was impossible to determine whether this was good or bad for humanity.
“Huff, hic, huff.”
Breathing became difficult.
The burden of being the only one to see these messages was overwhelming.
“Level nine… Level nine council…!”
In the end, Eli succumbed to the pressure and fainted.
His subordinates, who had been watching, panicked and called for an ambulance.
It was a beautiful scene of utter chaos.
***
Bell slept for a full day.
In fact, I only realized he was awake thanks to Ara.
Even though Bell still had his eyes closed, Ara greeted him as if he had already woken up.
He was probably planning to keep pretending to sleep out of laziness, but there was no fooling Ara’s sharp eyes.
– Meow.
“You need to say something.”
– Meow?
His feigned ignorance was annoyingly adorable.
I ended up laughing as I patted Bell’s head before deciding to start preparing for the move.
“Just tell us what you want to bring. We’ll pack everything for you.”
– Too lazy.
“Too lazy?”
– Meow.
Bell stretched out limply, showing no intention of getting up.
It was hard to believe he had been hammering away so energetically just yesterday.
In the end, we relied on the other cats to pack everything, taking what was necessary and leaving the rest behind.
“Wow, Bokkeum, you’re really huge, huh?”
Bokkeum.
All the luggage was packed using Bokkeum.
Well, calling it “luggage” was a bit misleading—it was more like we were moving the entire forge.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if everything would fit, but our Bokkeum effortlessly swallowed it all.
“Bokkeum is a glutton!”
“As much as Ara?”
“W-What? Am I a glutton too?!”
Don’t deny yourself, Ara.
After gathering all the belongings, we hastily built a door.
This place never had a proper door, but with Mammon, Kyler, and the cats working together, they managed to construct a large one in no time.
“We were here for almost ten days.”
“Yeah. Thank you for all your hard work, Kyler.”
For those ten days, I hadn’t used the Gluttony Master ability, just in case.
You never know when a crisis might hit, and I could only use it once a day.
“Alright, time to move!”
I activated the Gluttony Master skill.
Beyond the newly opened door, a portal to the Dungeon of Gluttony appeared.
– Meow.
Bell, still clinging to Ara, was dragged along.
At the same time, a message popped up.
[Sloth’s Bell Faust has been registered as a subordinate familiar.]
[99 Cat Smiths from Sloth’s Dungeon have been registered as subordinate familiars.]
So it finally appeared.
Wait, Bell had a surname? Faust?
‘How fancy.’
No wonder he looked so refined—it was such a noble-sounding name.
Kyler and his daughter were the first to step through.
One by one, the cats followed, plodding through the portal.
Then it was our group’s turn.
Lastly, Ara dragged Bell through the door.
After quickly scanning the area to make sure nothing was left behind, I stepped through as well.
“Whew. It’s only been ten days, but why does it feel like it’s been so much longer?”
The Cat Sanctuary—no, the Dungeon of Sloth—was lush and green, not bad at all, but it still didn’t feel quite as comfortable as home.
The cats, however, were ecstatic, darting around in excitement.
“Welcome home, everyone! Bell, open your eyes and take a look. This is your new home.”
– Meow.
Still held captive by Ara, Bell slowly opened his eyes—those jewel-like pupils gleaming.
His pretty eyes roamed the surroundings, taking everything in.
– Not bad. Now, servant, give me a treat.
“Haha. Alright, let’s take a quick treat break, shall we?”
To do that, we needed to head to the village.
For the past ten days, I had been feeding them treats non-stop.
Now, it was time to replenish our stock from the village supply.
And so, with Bell leading, a grand total of 100 feline warriors marched proudly into Slime Village.
Squish?!
Squish!
– Hehehe.
The slimes greeted us with enthusiasm.
Soon after, my mother, who had been petting Gomgom, noticed our arrival.
“Oh my! What is all this?”
“They’re our new family members. This one is their leader, Bell Faust. You can just call him Bell, and these are the cats.”
– A new servant, meow?
Bell tilted his head at my mother.
Her expression melted instantly at the sight.
“My, how adorable. Bell Faust, was it?”
– Meow. Just call me Bell.
Since we had to leave again soon, we hurried through the treat distribution.
Fortunately, the rabbitfolk children arrived and helped us hand out the treats.
One treat per cat.
Each one received their portion and happily slurped it up.
“Alright, shall we head back out?”
To close the portal created by Gluttony Master, we had to step outside.
We would leave the others behind and go out alone.
‘Except for Ara—she’s coming with us!’
Taking Ara along, we exited once more.
On the way, something suddenly came to mind, and I checked my status.
[Sloth’s conquest has been completed.]
[!!Special Hidden Quest!!: Seven Deadly Sins]
[Gluttony has begun its conquest! Conquer the remaining Seven Deadly Sins!]
Pride: X
Greed: 0
Envy: X
Wrath: 0
Lust: 0
Sloth: 0
“Ohhh.”
The number of conquered sins had increased.
Now, only Pride and Envy remained.
Unfortunately, those two had yet to be found.
Just then, another notification flashed before my eyes.
[Quest: The First Step to Becoming the Demon King is now linked.]
[You have conquered five of the Seven Deadly Sins and defeated the Hero—a remarkable achievement befitting a Demon King.]
[Rewards have been upgraded.]
‘What the hell does this mean?’
Sure, I had taken in five of the Seven Deadly Sins as my familiars.
But when did I ever “defeat” the Hero?
Of course, after hearing about Emily’s Corrupted Hero quest, it did mention that the Hero was now under my command, but still…
“Why…?”
Why am I being called the Demon King?!
I mean, look at me!
I’m kind, responsible, and—
I care for monsters and work hard at farming!
Where else would you find someone like me?!
But there was no one to hear my protests.
Maybe… maybe I should start accepting this?
Being the Demon King might not be such a bad thing, after all?
“No way!”
“Ky-Kyu-seong? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, sorry. I got a little worked up.”
Aaaagh! I don’t want to be the Demon King!
Cliche Novel 