-What...?
Wrath frowned.
-The demon kings' authorities are the path to heaven?
He tilted his head as if he couldn't understand what was being said.
'I was able to figure it out by observing people while staying here.'
Raon nodded with conviction.
'These bastards are collecting negative emotions, which are the demon kings' authorities.'
After staying here for the past week and observing many things, he had reached a definitive conclusion. This place called the Land of Clouds was nothing more than a pigsty designed to help humans fulfill their desired cravings in order to collect negative emotions.
The reason Evelyn and Denning Rose had discovered the movement of continental resources was because so many resources were being consumed in places like this.
'I couldn't believe it at first either.'
Raon surveyed the food laid out before him and the luxurious housing, pressing his lips tightly together.
'To think that Derus Robert and the Archangel would use the same emotions as the demon kings.'
Since this Land of Clouds was a space created by the Archangels, he had naturally thought it was a place to gather Holy Power. But what they wanted was the opposite - humanity's primal emotions. Seeing how those who displayed more negative emotions gained recognition from the executives made his hypothesis even more certain.
-I, I see!
Wrath opened his mouth wide as if he finally understood.
-This king just liked the food because it was delicious, but these damn bastards were hiding filthy ulterior motives!
He gritted his teeth, saying he had simply been blinded by the feast laid out before him.
'That's why I need to show an even more ugly side.'
Raon activated Gluttony and ravenously shoved the food filling the table into his mouth.
"Your appetite is tremendous again today."
Kuanyu approached from the side with a bright smile.
"I don't know how you managed to hide such desires until now."
He clapped his hands as if amazed by the transformation.
"I had no choice."
Raon spoke informally to Kuanyu while twisting his lips into a smirk.
"On the surface, I was weak, penniless, and had no backing! But here, I can do anything!"
He bared his teeth and laughed as if completely fallen to the temptations that existed in the Land of Clouds.
"That's right. This place is exactly that kind of place."
Kuanyu smiled gently as if he didn't mind being spoken to informally at all.
"Please continue to achieve everything you desire. Someone like you, Mr. Zilfen, should be able to reach true heaven as well."
He nodded, saying he believed in his abilities.
"Heaven? When exactly can I go to heaven!"
Raon said it was boring and frowned.
"Don't worry. As I said, you will definitely be able to set foot on that land, Mr. Zilfen."
Kuanyu smiled as if telling him not to worry and clasped his hands together.
"Of course! This place is the heaven I imagined, so I'm curious what real heaven will be like!"
Raon stamped his feet with eyes already marinated in the desires of alcohol, food, and money.
"I'll look forward to it."
Kuanyu left saying he would visit again soon and walked toward where the other people were.
"Kheh..."
Raon paid no attention to the departing Kuanyu and poured alcohol into his mouth.
-What the hell is that so-called Branch Manager doing?
Wrath glared at Kuanyu and frowned.
-He just gives food when asked for food, gives houses when asked for houses, gives money when asked for money - he's just a pushover!
He let out a hollow laugh, saying he'd never seen such a pushover in his life.
'I've seen them often though?'
Raon looked at Wrath with a blank stare.
-What, what! Why are you looking at this king while talking about pushovers!
Wrath waved his hands vigorously, telling Raon not to look at him.
'And those guys aren't pushovers.'
Raon chuckled and tapped the table scattered with food and alcohol.
-Not pushovers?
'Right. Kuanyu and the other executives of the Land of Clouds are currently evaluating the livestock here.'
Kuanyu wasn't mindlessly throwing money and food around. He was searching with burning eyes to see who could harbor the most negative emotions, who could gather negative emotions the fastest, and who could extract the highest quality emotions.
Indeed, those who appeared to have the greatest desires in his eyes had disappeared from the Land of Clouds shortly after. They had surely been moved to that so-called 'heaven.'
'I don't know what kind of place heaven is, but...'
Raon bit into a chicken leg covered in sauce and twisted his lips into a smirk.
'I'll smash whatever it is to pieces.'
There wasn't much time left for this livestock-like existence. Judging by Kuanyu's gaze and the movements of others, he would surely be moved to heaven soon as well.
-To figure all that out in such a short time, you really are...
Wrath wrinkled his nose, saying it was an absurd level of insight every time he saw it.
'It was obvious to see.'
Raon clicked his tongue briefly while looking at the humans whose eyes had rolled back, fallen into desire.
'Because I possess all the demon kings' authorities.'
Having learned about human emotions and become more familiar with the demon kings' authorities, he immediately understood what Derus and the angels were after the moment he saw the humans being raised here.
'I wanted to destroy everything from the beginning, but...'
Now was the time to wait. He was furious at Derus and the angels for treating people like livestock and wanted to immediately collapse this Land of Clouds, but he shouldn't move now. To shatter Derus's plan itself, he needed to go to heaven and thrust a blade in all at once.
-That's true.
Wrath nodded, saying it was well thought out.
-But why haven't you used this king's wrath?
He tilted his head, asking why he had left wrath alone while using the other demon kings' authorities.
'How could I use wrath here?'
Raon shook his head, saying that was absolutely not allowed.
'If I'm treated like a crazy bastard with anger management issues, I'll never be able to go to heaven.'
While the Authority of Wrath was the most familiar to him, if he displayed strong anger in a place like this, he might be immediately expelled or sent to hell instead of heaven. Right now, he had to act like obedient livestock.
-A-anger management issues! Don't call this king's power by such a name!
'Yeah. Right now, that's anger management issues.'
Raon waved his hand toward Wrath, who was fuming with rage.
'Who would like it if I got angry like you're doing now? I'd be kicked out immediately.'
-Grrrr...
Wrath seemed to have nothing to say and let out a groan while biting his lips.
'Just wait a little longer.'
Raon shoved the seasonings on his hands into his mouth while drawing a chilling smile.
'I'll let you taste heaven's delicacies soon enough.'
***
Thud! Kuanyu, called the Branch Manager of the Land of Clouds, knelt toward the pitch-black darkness.
"Have you arrived?"
He bowed respectfully and pressed his head to the ground. The darkness seemed to understand Kuanyu's words and wavered like sunlight, taking the form of a tall man.
"How is the next sacrifice coming along?"
The man emerging from the darkness looked down at Kuanyu with gleaming golden eyes.
"High-grade livestock have come in this time as well. One of them has already qualified to go to heaven in less than a week."
Kuanyu bowed his head again, saying he was steadily preparing the sacrifices.
"In just a week?"
The man wrapped in darkness let out a low exclamation of surprise.
"Yes. It's livestock I've been watching from the outside, and it hasn't disappointed as expected."
Kuanyu curled his lips, saying it was interesting material.
"Could it possibly harbor seditious thoughts?"
The man shrouded in darkness narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Absolutely not. It didn't fall for any of the traps we used, and there was no reaction to the barriers either."
Kuanyu shook his head firmly.
"Don't you know? Even if one could luckily pass through the first barrier, the barrier installed in the grass was created by 'That Person' - no human could ever escape it."
He revealed confident eyes, saying the barrier carved into the grass could never be deceived.
"True enough."
The man shrouded in darkness also nodded, saying he had to acknowledge that.
"That mercenary is a maggot with no background and no talent. He's always been oppressed outside and never received recognition from anyone. The endless desires he burned in his heart as rebellion against that have exploded here. He's just talented livestock that occasionally appears."
Kuanyu drew a gentle smile, saying this wasn't the first such case.
"Judging by that livestock's growth rate, it will be a great help in heaven as well. Take it with you this time."
He flashed eyes filled with desire like the humans in the Land of Clouds.
"If you say so."
The man shrouded in darkness nodded calmly as if trusting Kuanyu.
"Good. I'll come to collect that livestock this week."
He said to make final preparations in the meantime and stepped back. The darkness rippled once more and the man's form disappeared completely. Kuanyu bowed respectfully toward the darkness even after the man had vanished.
"Once this matter is finished, I should be able to go there too."
He trembled all over like someone on drugs, as if filled with tremendous anticipation.
"Just a little more..."
***
-Hahhh...
Wrath let out a murky breath.
-When will this end? This king is tired of it now!
He shook his head saying it was too boring and difficult.
'Why? Isn't this place heaven for you?'
Raon shrugged while looking at the food spread all over the table.
'These are all foods you like.'
The food in the Land of Clouds was made by excellent chefs using the finest ingredients. A glutton like Wrath should have his eyes rolling back, so he couldn't understand why he was struggling so much.
-It's boring!
Wrath roughly slammed his fist down.
-All the food is heavy! Even the desserts are thick and too rich!
He sniffled, saying he missed the home-cooked meals from the annex building.
'I think it's edible though? You're really picky.'
Raon let out a deep sigh, saying it was bothersome to listen to his complaints.
-It's not being picky, it's natural! Your tongue and stomach are what's strange!
Wrath yelled that the strange one wasn't him, but Raon.
'Taste is important for food, but as long as it fills your stomach...'
-Shut up!
'Just listen for a moment.'
Raon was trying to calm Wrath who was about to explode in anger.
"Mr. Zilfen."
Kuanyu spoke to him for the first time in a week.
"Your complexion has improved even more since we last met. It seems you're fully releasing all the desires you possess."
He drew a warm smile, saying Raon's face had become so much brighter.
"What are you talking about! I'm still far from satisfied!"
Raon waved his hands so vigorously that wind seemed to blow.
"My desires don't end at this level! I'll have everything in this land!"
He clenched his fists, saying he didn't want to just be stuck to the ground pursuing only food and money, but wanted to obtain much more.
"Of course! Naturally."
Kuanyu drew an even deeper smile, as if pleased with his words.
"I'm here to offer you a new opportunity, Mr. Zilfen."
He extended a hand as flawless as an angel's.
"Your door has opened, Mr. Zilpen. Let's go to heaven now."
Kuanyu carefully bowed, saying he had gained the qualification to go to heaven.
"Heaven?"
Raon murmured the word heaven with a trembling voice.
"Can I finally go there now?"
He said he had waited long and grabbed the gold coins and jewels in front of him with his fists.
"Yes. Usually it takes several months or even years, but your talent is so exceptional, Mr. Zilfen, that the opportunity came quickly."
Kuanyu slightly shifted his gaze, saying such cases were extremely rare.
"That's right! Because I'm a special human."
Raon vividly acted out Zilfen consumed by desire and burst into sinister laughter.
'Finally, it's here.'
After two weeks, the path to heaven had opened. His heart began beating rapidly at the opportunity that came faster than expected.
"Before that, there's someone I'd like to introduce you to. Please follow me."
Kuanyu said an angel from heaven had come down to the Land of Clouds and led him to the temple built in the innermost area.
"What angel."
Raon followed Kuanyu and snorted as if he didn't believe in the existence of angels.
"You'll understand when you see."
Kuanyu stood in front of the temple and turned around. He extended his hand gracefully as if telling him to enter.
"I will."
Raon stepped into the temple following Kuanyu's gesture. As he entered the vast space where sacred lights fell like meteor showers, he felt pressure that seemed to crush his soul. The source of the oppression was nearby. In the center of the temple, he saw a golden-haired man with folded wings, emanating brilliant light.
"Come this way."
The golden-haired man drew a kind smile, contrary to his gorgeous appearance, and gently extended his hand.
"Ah..."
Raon approached the man who looked like an angel step by step, trembling as if his mind had gone blank.
'I've got them properly.'
Despite his blank gaze and awkward movements, he maintained cold reason and moved slowly.
'That bastard is a real angel.'
The door that could reach Derus Robert had come before his eyes. He bit the inside of his tongue to calm his rising excitement.
'I'll see him soon.'
Derus Robert!