I Gave Up Being Stronger

Upon returning to his palace, Jun slumped into his chair. ‘That Kim Chul-Sooguy is so unpredictable.’

The Streamer seemed slightly different from what Jun had seen of him on his livestreams. It was as though he was not in his right mind.

’It was like watching a madman who firmly believes he is the only sane one.’

Kim Chul-Soo—the personification of justice, as Jun had come to understand—should have been outraged by such cowardly and petty acts. Yet, inexplicably, he was smiling as if he found them enjoyable.

‘Anyway, I have shared our plan with him.’ Jun felt a surge of satisfaction. “Time to use your heads, guys.”

First Hell’s Memphis.

Second Hell’s Zhenba.

Jun had disliked them ever since they started to flaunt their close brotherly bond.

‘Since when did the Rulers of Hell share such camaraderie? Tsk.’

In a few days, at a secret meeting, Hell Man and Chul-Soo would turn against the Rulers of Hell, planning to eliminate Memphis and Zhenba. This would leave only two Rulers remaining out of the original five.

‘Even if Hell Man is known for outstanding governance, controlling five Hells would be challenging for him.’ Jun realized he had a chance to claim territories from First Hell and Second Hell, which made him happy.

Then, he received news that Zhenba, the Ruler of the Second Hell, had come to see him.

‘Zhenba is here to see me? Is he planning a betrayal too, hoping to backstab Memphis with my help?’ However, Jun shook his head. ‘Memphis might do that, but not Zhenba.’

Zhenba was all brawn and no brains.

‘He is all muscle; strategy is not his strong suit. Why did he come here unguarded? If he had caught onto my betrayal, he would have brought an army, not come alone.’

Relations between the Rulers of Hell were almost non-existent. They were more enemies or rivals than anything else. Zhenba’s visit was an unusual opportunity.

“He has come alone. Should we kill him?” one of the guards asked.

“No, let him in.”

The upcoming secret meeting was crucial for Jun. Hell Man and Chul-Soo had agreed to cooperate, so there was no need to raise unnecessary suspicions. It was imperative to show Zhenba that he was on his side.

“What brings you here, Zhenba?” Jun asked.

As the door closed, the muscular giant, Zhenba, grinned. “The world sure has become a better place. I can now walk right into the palace of the Fifth Hell, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well…” Zhenba closed the distance between him and Jun with a speed surprising for his size.

Jun’s guard swung his sword, but Zhenba easily blocked the blade with his massive muscles. Metal clashed against the skin with a loud clang, but the blade could not pierce Zhenba’s skin.

“I’m talking about this.” The next instant, Zhenba grabbed Jun by the throat, lifted him with one hand, and squeezed.

“Argh!” Jun’s face turned red, veins popping on his neck and forehead as if his head were about to burst. He gasped and managed to ask, “H-How did you know?”

“Know what?”

With a sickening crack, Jun’s neck snapped. He died instantly, eyes wide open and filled with confusion.

Zhenba casually dropped Jun’s limp body and dusted off his hands. “What did he mean when he said how did you know?”

Zhenba had not sensed Jun’s betrayal. He had simply conspired with Memphis to eliminate Jun. Reducing the number of Rulers meant more territories for the survivors. Just as Jun had betrayed them, they too had betrayed Jun.

“Alright, your king is dead. I will spare those who surrender.”

***

Upon hearing of Zhenba’s return, Memphis was quite stunned. ‘He came back in one piece? Could someone really kill the Ruler of the Fifth Hell in his palace and return as if nothing happened? I thought Zhenba would be buried there.’

Memphis entertained a fleeting suspicion. ‘What if he conspired with Jun and is planning to betray me?’

Memphis quickly shook his head. If that were the case, they would have announced something like, ‘Zhenba was attacked alone and killed in retaliation.’ Then, they would hide Zhenba’s body and strike Memphis from behind at a crucial moment.

‘But Zhenba is not capable of such scheming.’

Zhenba was strong but lacked cunning.

Memphis greeted Zhenba with a broad smile. “Welcome back, my brother.”

“I did as you said and killed Jun. I did not expect a Ruler of Hell to be so weak.”

Memphis walked up to Zhenba and reached out his hand. Zhenba’s torso was so large that Memphis could only manage to embrace one of his legs as a substitute for a full hug.

“Well done. You have eliminated that thorn in our side,” Memphis said.

“It is all thanks to your strategy, Brother. Otherwise, I could not have entered the Fifth Hell so easily, nor could I have faced June alone…” Zhenba began to tremble. “B-Brother?”

Zhenba’s massive frame started to shrink. Long, tentacle-like appendages were embedded in his back. Memphis had used his unique ability, Absorption, to consume Zhenba.

“Thank you for letting your guard down, little brother,” Memphis said.

“You bastard!” Zhenba tried to throw a punch, but Memphis was prepared.

“Your attacks are too obvious.” Memphis knew that Zhenba would attack him with brute force and no finesse. It was too predictable and simple, which allowed Memphis to anticipate the attack’s trajectory.

The necklaces and rings Memphis wore burst all at once with a pop, scattering as dust to the ground— all for this single moment of defense.

‘Even with thorough preparation and anticipation, his attack is very powerful.’ If Zhenba had been just a bit wiser, things could have gone differently. His destructive power far exceeded Memphis’s expectations. ‘It’s fortunate that I absorbed his strength.’

Otherwise, Memphis’s head would have been crushed instead.

The tentacles greedily slurped up Zhenba.

“You wretched dog…!” Zhenba said, as his withered body slumped.

The large mouth on Memphis’s back stretched sideways, and the tentacles that had shot out like a lizard’s tongue retracted into the mouth.

“Delicious.”

Following betrayal upon betrayal, the ultimate victor was Memphis, the Ruler of the First Hell.

***

On the day of the secret meeting, as previously arranged, Jin-Hyeok, Hell Man, and Memphis gathered at the venue.

“I am currently livestreaming. You know that, right?” Jin-Hyeok mentioned, just in case.

“Of course,” Memphis smirked.

Hell Man calmly said, “It seems the others are running late.

“Unfortunately, they won’t be able to come,” Memphis said.

“What do you mean?”

“I killed those dirty traitors.”

“Dirty?”

“They were plotting a filthy betrayal against me.”

Hell Man nearly flinched at this revelation; Memphis was aware that Jun, the Ruler of the Fifth Hell, had secretly come to meet with Jin-Hyeok and Hell Man.

‘I don’t know how our encounter was leaked,’ Hell Man thought.

Memphis confidently continued, “So, that’s why I took them down, and here I am alone. Isn’t this for the best? I am more favorable to you than they were.”

Memphis was keeping tabs on the shifting dynamics in the Third and Fourth Hells. It was obvious that the other Hells would eventually fall under their influence. He resolved to establish a solid cooperative system before that happened, seizing some control over the Second and Fifth Hells in the process.

Hell Man turned his gaze to Jin-Hyeok.

Memphis noticed that Jin-Hyeok held the key to this meeting.

‘Hell Man is just a puppet. The real power lies within Chul-Soo!’ This was favorable for Memphis. ‘You should be happy with how things turned out, IntenseMan!’

Memphis was not particularly concerned whether Jun had committed betrayal or not. If Jun hadn’t, he could simply claim Jun had proposed a betrayal to him. If Jun had, he could proclaim that he had executed a traitor in the name of justice. From the moment Memphis realized Chul-Soo was the real power, he was certain everything would go his way.

‘You are the IntenseMan of Justice, after all.’

Memphis saw Chul-Soo as someone who risked his life for just and honorable causes. That was probably why he was striving to integrate everything so peacefully and ethically, even planting his Guardian Trees in Hell.

‘Well, what do you think of my gift, Chul-Soo?’

Jin-Hyeok slammed his hand on the table. “Traitorous bastard…!”

“I agree. Traitors must be dealt wit—” Memphis could not finish his sentence.

“How dare you kill your friends?”

Memphis felt something was off. ‘Is he angry with me?’

Jin-Hyeok glared at Memphis, his aura so menacing it seemed he could attack Memphis right then.

“And Jun was also my friend,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“What?”

“Get out. I want to kill you right now.”

“I do not understand what you are saying, Chul-Soo. I was acting righteously…”

Bang!

Jin-Hyeok slammed the table again, and it disintegrated into dust. “I said get out.”

“You are making a mistake, Chul-Soo.” Memphis found the situation baffling but shifted his gaze to Hell Man and said, “It seems there has been some misunderstanding. Let’s end the meeting here. We should talk again after Chul-Soo’s inexplicable rage has subsided.”

Though Memphis left the meeting, his mind was heavy with doubt. He had thought his plan was perfect.

‘Why was he angry with me?’

***

Han Sae-Rin smiled brightly, pleased with Jin-Hyeok’s growth.

“Good job. You realized that Memphis was trying to monopolize the territories by eliminating the Rulers of the Second and Fifth Hells, didn’t you?” she said.

“...”

When Jin-Hyeok did not respond, Sae-Rin became slightly puzzled. “You didn’t know?”

“It was Zhenba who killed Jun, not Memphis.”

“Exactly. Memphis manipulated Zhenba, who is not known for his intellect, into recklessly storming the palace of the Fifth Hell alone.” Sae-Rin pinpointed the truth as though she had seen it herself.

“Is that what happened?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“Didn’t you know?”

“No, I didn’t. Should I have?”

“Well, you didn’t need to know, but…” As a competent Ruler, Sae-Rin found it difficult to read Jin-Hyeok’s intentions. This made her wonder why he had reacted in such a way at the secret meeting. “I’ve been thinking, and I just can’t figure it out. Why did you so abruptly dismiss Memphis at the secret meeting?”

“Well…” Jin-Hyeok found Sae-Rin’s question odd. The answer was so obvious. “I acted that way because that would get better viewer ratings.”

“What? And the bit about Jun being your friend…”

“Well, it makes for a better storyline.”

As they conversed, Sae-Rin suddenly realized something else was off. “Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“How did you know it was Zhenba who killed Jun, not Memphis? And how did you know about Jun’s death so early on?”

Jun’s death had been kept a strict secret, a decision the leaders of the Fifth Hell had taken to prevent chaos among its residents.

“Ah, I was about to show you something and discuss it with you,” Jin-Hyeok said, taking something out of his inventory.

When Sae-Rin saw it, her eyes widened in shock.

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