Debuff Master-Chapter 1037

Chapter 1037
“So... what brings you here?” Siegfried asked.
“
Ah,
I heard today was your coronation, so I came to congratulate you. Congratulations on becoming an emperor, Siegfried,” Beowulf replied with a smile.
“Thank you,” Siegfried replied with a warm, friendly smile.
But on the inside? His thoughts were the complete opposite. ‘
You conniving bastard!’
Siegfried couldn't help but be filled with hostility at the fact that Beowulf had come all the way into the Proatine Kingdom, even though he was in the Holy Alliance not too long ago.
In Siegfried's eyes, Beowulf’s nonchalant attitude of pretending that nothing had happened came off as unbelievably shameless. But of course, he couldn’t show his thoughts on the outside.
Siegfried shook Beowulf’s outstretched hand and replied, “It means a lot to me that you came all the way here just to congratulate me. Thank you very much.”
“No need to thank me,” Beowulf said, waving his hand.
“I’m always grateful to you for helping me and Woo-Jin all the time,” Siegfried said with a warm smile, but his eyes were focused elsewhere.
“I was just doing what needed to be done.”
“It’s truly reassuring to have you around.”
Siegfried was smiling broadly and putting on his best act, but his gaze was sneaking glances toward Beowulf’s waist.
‘
I want to take a peek at his inventory...’
He eyed the accessory that resembled a rabbit’s foot.
‘
Is that really the Rabbit Foot of Regression? Should I take a look?’
Tempted, Siegfried subtly leaned in closer to Beowulf, brushing against him.
“Shall we?”
“Ah, yes.”
And so, they began walking together toward the hall where the coronation would be taking place.
Seuk... Seuk...
While walking, Siegfried deliberately brushed against Beowulf, hoping that Kleptomania would trigger.
If it activated, he could peek into Beowulf’s inventory and see all of his items.
But...
‘
Tsk... No luck.’
Unfortunately, Kleptomania was not something that triggered so easily. It had a notoriously low activation rate, and it activated often at the capital city of the Hadashite Kingdom only due to the sheer number of people around him.
Compared to the number of people he bumped into, the times Kleptomania had activated were quite low.
‘
Ugh... Is there nothing I can do?’
Siegfried grumbled inwardly as he brushed against Beowulf.
“Are you feeling alright...?” Beowulf asked, baffled by the physical contact.
“Well, the thing is... I just came back from the Hadashite Kingdom,” Siegfried said, feigning lethargy.
“What?”
“I paid those Holy Alliance bastards a little visit and left a nice little gift for Bismarck. By now, he’s probably loving my gift—or wait, maybe he’s already dead?
Hehe!”
“
Hahaha...
So you went and stirred things up?” Beowulf asked, letting out a half-nervous and half-amused laugh.
“Well, I didn’t fight, per se. But it was quite exhausting regardless.”
“I’m sure it was.
Hahaha...”
“Anyway, I’m just a little worn out, that’s all.”
“It must have been tiring.”
It was then.
A notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[Alert: Kleptomania has been activated!]
‘
Yes!’
Siegfried cheered inwardly after reading the notification.
Unfortunately, his joy was short-lived.
[Alert: Unable to use Kleptomania on the target!]
[Alert: There is a significant gap between you and the target!]
[Alert: A Master cannot steal items from a Grandmaster!]
It was then.
‘
Son of a bitch! Fuck this shit!’
Siegfried cursed inwardly.
It had been quite a while since he cursed like this. He was not the type to swear, but he really couldn’t help it this time. It was not just that Kleptomania failed that annoyed Siegfried. The fact that he was ranked lower than Beowulf annoyed him far more.
‘
Is this damn system trying to say that he’s better than me?! Damn it!’
To be fair, it was true.
Siegfried was just a Master while Beowulf was a rank above him—a Grandmaster.
Back then, Beowulf was someone he considered to be a friendly rival. He felt a sense of friendly competition with him, as he was the top-ranking player, someone he wanted to surpass.
However, it was different now, as Beowulf was no longer a friendly rival, but rather, someone he wanted to beat the living shit out of.
‘
Just you wait,’
Siegfried gnashed his teeth, as he swallowed his pride and vowed revenge. He recently escaped from the rut he was stuck in and started leveling up again, so he would soon catch up to Beowulf.
‘
Come to think of it... I hope this guy isn’t plotting anything...’
Siegfried activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and scanned the entire royal palace just in case. Fortunately, there was no indication of any imminent threat to the coronation.
‘
Well, he would risk exposing his identity if he pulled anything now. I’m sure he’s waiting until Cheon Woo-Jin and I have blind trust in him. Once he feels that we are on his side, he will strike,’
Siegfried thought. He smirked, believing that he had seen right through Beowulf’s game plan.
‘
You’re already screwed, pal. I’m going to hit you with the biggest payback in the history of all paybacks.’
With that thought in mind, Siegfried walked away while plotting a very special payback for Beowulf.
***
Meanwhile, the ceremonial hall for Siegfried coronation was in a state of confusion.
Even though all the preparations were complete, the guest of honor, Siegfried, was still missing.
“Did something happen? Why hasn’t His Majesty arrived yet?” Brunhilde asked, looking worried.
“T-That is...” Michele stammered, sweating profusely.
He couldn’t provide a proper answer, as even he had no idea where Siegfried had gone.
Based on the he had received from Metatron and Chaos, Siegfried told them that he was going to the restroom, only to disappear without a trace.
“I hope nothing bad happened to him...” Brunhilde muttered, clasping her hands together.
Meanwhile, the dignitaries attending the coronation were just as puzzled. High-ranking officials from all across the continent were present, and even the rulers of the Allied Forces were present.
But most importantly, Emperor Stuttgart himself was present.
Yet there was a delay in the coronation?
Any sane person would never do such a thing...
“What’s going on here, Duke Michele?” Emperor Stuttgart asked.
“Y-Your Imperial M-Majesty... I...” Michele stammered.
He was on the verge of fainting from stress after being interrogated. He felt like he was being interrogated, but the emperor was merely asking him a question. Unfortunately, the question was from Emperor Stuttgart.
At that moment, an unlikely savior appeared.
“Did you say you’re Emperor Stuttgart? His Majesty must have something urgent to attend to, so he’s running late. Please be understanding,” Metatron said casually, stepping.
“...?” Emperor Stuttgart tilted his head in confusion at the old man who had addressed him so casually.
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty! P-Please, do not be angered!” Michele shrieked in horror. Then, he rushed over and whispered, “That old man is actually our kingdom’s Chief Chamberlain and...”
“
Hm?
”
“He is the ruler of the 7th District of the Demon Realm, the Demon Lord of Vengeance, Metatron.”
“A demon lord?”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. He is the Demon Lord of Vengeance, which is why he speaks to you so casually. I was concerned that his demeanor might anger Your Imperial Majesty, so I thought I should explain.”
“A demon lord...” Emperor Stuttgart murmured, left speechless.
Everyone knew that the demons were extremely powerful, but a demon lord was on a whole different level compared to ordinary demons. Even a single one descending upon the Middle Realm would cause the mightiest creatures of this realm, the dragons, to rush over.
Their battle would surely cause widespread destruction.
Yet, such a powerful being was a mere chamberlain here?
“What in the world...?” Emperor Stuttgart muttered, realizing that the Proatine Kingdom held more secrets than he was aware of.
However, there was one more thing the emperor was unaware of.
Among those gathered for the coronation, Metatron was not the highest-ranking
individual.
The true ruler of the Demon Realm, the Demon King, Baal, was also present.
Even Deus was in the ceremonial hall...
Deus had personally come to witness his disciple ascend to the imperial throne, while the Demon King, Baal, came to celebrate Siegfried’s rise to power. Of course, he also came here to enjoy the Middle Realm. It had been a while since he was here, after all.
And these two beings were chatting among themselves...
“You really did a great job raising that disciple, Elder.”
“He’s still just a fool. He’s hardly reliable, you know?”
“
Haha...”
“To think he’s making me wait like this.
Tsk...
He’s lost his manners. I think it’s time for a little lesson.”
Deus clenched his fists in frustration as if he was about to teach Siegfried a lesson.
“
H-Hiiik!”
Baal jumped back after being startled by Deus’ fists. Having experienced firsthand the devastating force behind those fists, even the Demon King was terrified at the mere sight of it.
Just as Deus was about to decide to give Siegfried a lesson, the door to the ceremonial hall suddenly burst open.
“S-Sorry! I am sorry for being late!” Siegfried entered, repeatedly apologizing to the guests.
“So, he was late after all,” Emperor Stuttgart shook his head in disbelief, realizing that Siegfried’s delay was not because of any special circumstances, but rather, him simply being tardy.
Never had he imagined that anyone would be late for their own coronation ceremony, much less one where they were going to be crowned an emperor.
***
Just moments before the coronation ceremony was about to begin—
“My disciple.”
“Y-Yes, Master!”
Siegfried rushed over in a hurry at the sound of Deus’ voice.
“My disciple.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Have you been busy lately?” Deus asked.
“N-No, Master! Not at all!”
“Then, you haven’t been busy?”
“I have not been busy, Master!”
“So, you’re saying... even though you weren’t busy, you dared to keep me waiting?”
“N-No, that is not—!”
“Then? Were you busy?” Deus asked, flashing a sly smirk.
“Y-Yes, Master! I was busy!”
“Oh? So what you’re saying is... you had to deal with something so important and urgent that you made me, of all people, wait?”
“T-That is...!” Siegfried stammered, realizing that he was being cornered.
He would get hit for being late if he said he was not busy, yet he would also get hit for prioritizing other things to keep Deus waiting.
Either way, he couldn’t escape the upcoming
lesson
he was about to receive.
“I have committed a grave sin, Master,” Siegfried knelt and groveled.
He decided to cut his losses and admit fault, all in hopes of taking at least one less punch. He knew that making flimsy excuses would not work against Deus, so just owning up to his mistakes and taking a couple of blows was the better choice.
“What are you doing?” Deus asked, furrowing a brow.
“P-Pardon...?”
“I’m aware that you were doing something in the name of protecting this world, and that is why you were running late,” Deus said with a gentle smile. Then, he added, “My mood may be foul right now, but I would never hit my disciple who’s been off doing such great things.”
“M-Master?”
“Or do you think I’m a ruthless, merciless master?”
“N-Not at all!”
“More importantly, my throat feels a bit dry. I seem to be rather parched.”
“Huh? There is water right beside you–”
“I said, I’m
parched.”
“...?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that my throat feels dry?” Deus grumbled, frowning as he clenched his fist after Siegfried failed to grasp the meaning of his words.
‘
Ahem...’
Baal sent Siegfried a subtle telepathic message.
‘
Why are you being so dense? Remember what you gave me as a gift that time?’
‘Ah!’
Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, realizing what Baal meant.
Deus was basically asking for a bottle of Essence of Gold as an offering in exchange for forgiving him for being late.
“Master! Please, accept this humble gift from your unworthy disciple!” Siegfried exclaimed, quickly pulling out a bottle from his inventory. Then, he offered it to him and said, “I sincerely hope that this will quench your thirst, Master!”
“Oh?” Deus raised a brow, visibly happy after seeing the Essence of Gold.
“I hope your anger has subsided, Master,” Siegfried said with a bow.
However, Deus did not respond.
“Mmm...”
He was too busy savoring the Essence of Gold to even care about Siegfried anymore.
“
Hahaha...”
And so, thanks to a well-timed bribe, Siegfried managed to survive what could have been the beating of a lifetime. The coronation ceremony proceeded without any further problems, but unbeknownst to Siegfried, another miracle was waiting to occur.