The Demon Goes to Work Today As Well - Chapter 176

Chapter 176: A Hopeless Fight (5)

“…D-Did this guy just talk back to me?”

Raphael couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the insubordination she’d experienced for the first time.

“A mere higher being dares to talk back to me?”

And that feeling, following the bewilderment, soon turned into anger.

“To think I chose this guy as the Hero…”

She had given up on other talented higher beings and chosen him, but it was absurd that what she got in return was insubordination.

“If I knew this would happen, I would have chosen a different one as the Hero.”

Back then, although other higher beings were talented, they had a strong rebellious spirit, so she had chosen the current Hero. It seemed she had made a misjudgment.

“If I had overlooked their rebelliousness, I wouldn’t have had to go through this.”

Most of them harbored ambitions for power, so they would have tried to get on her good side to maintain their power.

“Should I just take back all the Holy Power?”

For a moment, a strong urge to take away the Hero’s Holy Power arose, but…

“No… I can’t do that.”

Raphael shook her head, barely suppressing the urge.

“I can’t leave a stain on my reputation.”

Taking away the Hero’s Holy Power was the same as giving up on the planet.

If rumors spread that a 1st Rank Bat had invaded the planet, she would be ridiculed by the angels for the rest of her life.

“It’s not too late to take it back after stopping the invasion.”

Since she couldn’t live with that stigma, Raphael decided to swallow her pride and yield this time.

― I-It seems I was a bit on edge because of the Fallen Angels who attacked earlier.

At Raphael’s apology, the Hero softened his contorted expression and replied.

“No matter how on edge you were, your words just now crossed the line.”

The thought that there was a line a higher being couldn’t cross with her crossed her mind, but…

― I-Is that so? I was shortsighted.

For now, she decided to appease the Hero’s feelings.

T h i s w as c o pi e d fr om k i n g m t l . o r g
If she lost her temper here and the Hero gave up on everything, there would be too much to lose.

“Then, would you please apologize for the verbal abuse you hurled at me, calling me incompetent?”

― …

However, at the Hero’s subsequent demand, Raphael had no choice but to seriously reconsider.

T h i s wa s c o p i e d fr om k i n g m t l .or g
“Apologize to a higher being? Is this right?”

She was appeasing him because she didn’t want to live with a stigma, but…
T hi s w as co pied f r o m k in gmtl . o rg

T h i s w a s co pi ed f r o m ki ng m t l . o r g
“Me? Apologize to that guy?”

Apologizing to a higher being was as humiliating as living with a stigma for the rest of her life.

“Should I just kill him?”

She couldn’t directly use her power, but if she took away his Holy Power and gave an oracle to another higher being, killing him would be entirely possible.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Perhaps the time she spent contemplating was too long, as the Hero made a disrespectful expression.

“Don’t tell me you don’t want to apologize?”

T h i s w a s cop i e d f ro m ki n gm t l . or g
He crossed his arms and pressed for an answer.

“The things you said earlier, were they all lies? You can be honest with me now.”

He implied that if she didn’t apologize, their relationship would be irreparable.

“Ha… I guess I have no choice…”

Raphael let out a deep sigh.

― I apologize for my harsh words. I think I took my frustration out on you because I was on edge.

Finally, she apologized to the Hero.

“…As long as I don’t talk about this, no one will know.”

The planet being invaded would be revealed as information, but the apology wouldn’t be known unless she told others about it.

In other words, no one would know about this humiliation unless she told them.

“Damn it, I’ll repay this humiliation as soon as I drive away the Bat!”

Anyone who saw this might wonder why she was so ashamed, but…

“To think that I, who never apologized even to the angels… would apologize to a higher being for the first time. It’s a bit shocking.”

It would be easy to understand if one thought of it as an elephant apologizing to an ant.

“I’ll accept your apology. I hope you’ll think before you speak from now on.”

― …Th-Thank you for accepting my apology.

As the situation came to a close for now…

“Then, let’s find out why this happened.”

The Hero said he would figure out the current situation.

― Please do.

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

Then, as the Hero went around gathering information…

“You’re saying the non-believers blew themselves up…?”

He was able to hear the whole story from a survivor who had been caught in the explosion.

“To think they entered the Holy Empire as Candidate Heroes…”

He had thought it was the work of the invaders, but the fact that it was someone else’s doing made his head pound.

“…No, how did they even get through?”

The fact that they had passed the tightly secured checkpoints and inspections made him feel a sense of emptiness, wondering why he had prepared so diligently.

“Ha… This is karma coming back to bite me.”

The thought that the Holy Empire had to suffer because of what Raphael had done irritated him.

― Tsk, those bugs are putting up a fight until the very end.

And when Raphael, who was listening to the conversation beside him, added her words, his irritation doubled.

“I can’t get angry over this after receiving an apology…”

The Hero was trying to calm his agitated emotions when…

― With things like this, I have no choice but to take drastic measures.

Raphael uttered meaningful words.

T his wa s c op ie d f r o m ki ng m tl . o r g
“…Drastic measures, you say?”

― Yes, I think I can sufficiently stop the invaders, but it will be a headache if the bugs get involved, so I need to take measures accordingly.

“May I ask what kind of measures you’re taking?”

― Of course. The measure I’m going to take is to turn all the citizens of the Holy Empire into Heroes.
T hi s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k i n gm tl. o r g

Heroization of all citizens of the Holy Empire.

If this happened, the significance of bringing the Candidate Heroes would disappear, but it meant an incredible increase in power, so it could be considered an even better situation.

― Of course, there will be differences in their capacity, so the total amount of power they can exert will vary, but they’ll become a great force.

“You’re absolutely right.”

― With the increased power, we’ll be able to restore the damage and even eliminate both the invaders and the bugs.

Although he didn’t like her calling the non-believers bugs…

“That’s wonderful news.”

He decided not to point it out.

“But why didn’t you use this method from the beginning?”

His joy was short-lived as a question arose in the Hero’s mind.

If such a thing was possible, couldn’t they have turned the citizens into Heroes from the beginning to reduce the damage?

― It’s not an easy decision to make because turning all citizens into Heroes is a taxing choice.

Thi s w a s c o p i e d f rom k i n g m tl . o r g
As if she noticed his question, Raphael kindly explained.

“I see. I understand completely.”

The Hero nodded as if he thought it was understandable to be concerned for that reason.

“Do you really think she didn’t do it for that reason?”

However, this was just an excuse; in reality, she hadn’t done it for a different reason.

The reason Raphael didn’t do it even though she had an abundance of Holy Power was…

“Those who lack the talent and capacity will pay the price.”

Because they would have a shortened lifespan.

“They’ll live for 10 years at most and then die.”

It was a method she was reluctant to use because, although she would gain immense power in the short term, their lifespans would be short.

There was a reason why she went through the selection process to choose Heroes.

Furthermore, there was no other way for those with little talent and capacity to handle Holy Power without consequences other than going through a formal training process like Paladins and Priests.

“If we can’t stop them within 10 years, we’ll face a manpower shortage, but by then, we can just turn the higher beings of other nations into Heroes.”

Since she was going to abandon this planet anyway after repelling the invasion and completing the occupation, she didn’t care how many higher beings died.

If he knew this, the disrespectful Hero would jump up and down and cause a scene, but…

“If I make up an excuse, he’ll believe it.”

If she said they died because of the invaders, he would believe it without a doubt, so there was no need to worry.

― Then, since time is of the essence, let’s proceed right away.

Raphael determined the range to distribute the Holy Power.

― Please fight for humanity!

She gave an oracle to the higher beings of the Holy Empire and simultaneously distributed Holy Power.

Hwa――――――ah.

Following that, the entire Holy Empire was enveloped in a holy light.

Flash―

Holy Power began to be sucked into the bodies of the higher beings.

From newborn babies to elderly people nearing the end of their lives.

Perhaps because all the citizens had gained Holy Power, a sacred energy surged throughout the Holy Empire.

“Ah…”

The Hero gazed at the miraculous sight with hazy eyes.

“Beautiful.”

He trembled slightly and let out a low exclamation of admiration.

― Heheh, it’s not called the power to perform miracles for nothing.

“I sincerely thank you for blessing the citizens of the Holy Empire.”

Unaware that it was poison that shortened their lifespans, the Hero expressed his gratitude to Raphael.

― I can endure this much for your well-being.

“I will definitely drive out the invaders with the citizens of the Holy Empire!”

T h i s wa s co p i e d f r o m k i ng mt l. o rg
As if he had never been insubordinate, the Hero looked at Raphael with bright eyes and expressed his determination.

Kwa―――――ang!

An explosion occurred from the direction of the city gate.

― Oh my, it seems the invaders have arrived.

Raphael made an unpleasant sound at the attack, which was faster than she had expected.

“…They’re not giving us time to recover from the damage.”

The Hero ran his hand through his hair roughly with a tired face.

“Now that the citizens have become Heroes and there’s nothing left to protect, I think we need to make a strong impression.”

And unlike before, he showed a willingness to fight, drawing his holy sword from its scabbard.

― That’s a good idea.
T h i s w a s c o pie d f r om ki n g m t l . o rg

“I’ll be back.”

― Please punish evil with that power.

“Yes!”

As the Hero ran towards the city gate…

“Now, there’s no need to be swayed by the Bat.”

Raphael, who was watching him, raised one corner of her mouth.

“I should have done this from the beginning.”

Before, she had many restrictions because she planned to defeat the Bat, occupy the planet, and manage it. But now that she had decided to abandon the planet immediately after the occupation, there was nothing to hold her back.

In other words, she could now push forward recklessly.

“Pfft, he must be panicking right now, right?”

The thought of Jung Minwoo’s flustered face brought a sense of exhilaration.

Who would have thought she would turn all the citizens into Heroes?

Raphael was convinced that no matter how clever Jung Minwoo was, he wouldn’t have anticipated this.

However, contrary to her expectations, Jung Minwoo had no reason to panic.

No, he would even be grateful for Raphael’s actions.

This was because, thanks to Raphael skipping the selection process, the brainwashed higher beings had become Heroes.

In other words, the pawns that would have been used and discarded had transformed into excellent pawns that he could use for a long time.

“You thought this was your world, didn’t you? Just you wait. I’ll make you regret touching my planet.”

Unfortunately, Raphael, unaware of this fact, simply strengthened her resolve.