That was the very place she had ordered the exorcists to defend a few hours ago, and where Duke Cilianni was already stationed.

"…Miaoshan?"

In an instant, Elaine vaguely understood something.

She had already received reports from Artemina regarding the resurrection of Hinata Haruna and the appearance of the Magical Girl Cahill.

Elaine had also heard rumors about the mysterious nature of the Lionheart Society.

Coupled with the power of Jingo Rin…

Perhaps that Magical Girl Miaoshan was also undergoing something… changes beyond imagination.

————————————

Putting that aside, let's return to the heavens.

After Magic City Tokyo was cleaved open by a single slash from Rin's giant divine fire sword, the main body of the Greed Demon seemed to have retreated into his own Heart Chamber.

But Qi Xing did not feel that this was a sign of fear or defeat on the part of the Greed Demon.

On the contrary, judging from the behavior of the Greed Demon so far, while this guy might seem adept at calculations on the surface, in reality, he was a twisted and impulsive fellow, with almost every step driven by rampant desire.

His retreat into the Heart Chamber was likely not to escape.

Thus, Qi Xing and Rin exchanged a glance, then, filled with vigilance and fighting spirit, they broke into the deepest part of the Greed Demon's Inner Realm.

Heart Chamber.

The core of the Inner Realm, the mental landscape of the creator, the embodiment of the most fundamental desires, a purely personal world.

Here, the power of the Inner Realm's creator would reach its peak.

The Greed Demon's Inner Realm was a grotesque kingdom pieced together from fragments, created by copying and pasting worlds everywhere and devouring all living beings.

So what should his Heart Chamber look like? Towering skyscrapers? Or an extremely luxurious palace?

Yet when Qi Xing and Rin kicked the door open, the scene before them took them both by surprise.

Because, before them was a quiet and simple, traditional Japanese-style mansion full of Japanese aesthetics.

A breeze brushed past, causing pine trees to sway. There was a wooden corridor, a courtyard paved with gravel, and a meticulously maintained pond. Several stone lanterns were placed by the pond, and one could hear the crisp, elegant sound of a bamboo fountain clacking against stone.

What felt even stranger was that in the center of the courtyard, three beautiful women with distinct figures were standing quietly, motionless.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that those three "women" were actually all stone statues.

They were all young women with gentle and quiet expressions, their demeanor slightly alluring.

The first was a young lady in a kimono with long, straight black hair reaching her waist, possessing a temperament as cold and pure as snow; the second was a woman with a great figure, even somewhat seductive, radiating a sense of motherhood; the last was a petite loli character.

Their styles and appearances were completely different; regardless of which "archetype" they represented, they were clearly distinguished, yet all were quite beautiful.

There were many beautiful women in the Sasa universe, but these were at least an 8 out of 10.

Qi Xing swept his gaze over them and immediately recognized their appearances:

"It's them, those three giant statues."

—These three stone statues were the prototypes for the three giant nude statues supporting Magic City Tokyo.

Whether it was their figures, hairstyles, or facial features, they were completely identical. The only difference was that these three statues were not nude.

"…So, is this the ideal 'harem' in the Greed Demon's heart?"

Rin frowned.

[You're still too amateur, Valkyrie.]

Sasa, perched on Qi Xing's head, glanced at the three statues of women and sneered,

[These three stone statues contain souls. They are his prisoners.]

[He probably used the silver coin to separate their souls from their original bodies and sealed them into these three stone statues.]

Unlike the hundreds of thousands of Greed Demons from before, the original bodies of these three women were likely truly dead, or at least completely separated from their souls.

Who exactly were they? Why didn't the Greed Demon devour their lives like he did with the others, instead separating them and sealing them here?

At this point, even if Rin used the Yellow Divine Fire to break their statues, their souls would only meet a normal death.

—That said, Rin still raised her flame sword, preparing to slash at them directly. How terrifying!

"Do not be so rough with my wives, Jingo Rin."

…However, at that moment, a low voice like an echo from the abyss came from deep within the mansion, interrupting Rin's movement.

The Greed Demon stepped slowly out from the corridor by the courtyard.

Wearing the same face that Qi Xing and Rin had both seen in Aomori.

Fujiwara Eiga… was that really his name? Qi Xing had no way to judge, but at least, that face should indeed be his.

The Greed Demon was still the same as before, dressed in a sharp, well-tailored suit. But compared to earlier, his complexion had become even gloomier, and his smile held an extra touch of sinister violence.

This was definitely not the look of someone who had lost the will to fight, but rather a wounded beast about to make a desperate final stand.

Therefore, Rin did not continue to strike the stone statues. Both she and Qi Xing were already prepared for battle.

—The more cornered a person is, the more dangerous they become. They both understood this principle well.

On the contrary, the Greed Demon himself seemed completely unconcerned about their vigilance. He simply walked into the courtyard and spoke in an indifferent tone: "Master Leipu, do not trust women too much."

"You won a round against me today by relying on Jingo Rin, but tomorrow she might stand on someone else's side. What will you do then?"

—This question left Qi Xing feeling quite surprised. He glanced at the three stone statues of women and couldn't help but ask: "Did you get cheated on?"

The Greed Demon: "…"

"The last Silver Coin Messenger I took out, his mom left him, so he hated women so much that he split the feminine elements within himself out—and ended up becoming weaker."

Qi Xing continued, referring of course to Romanie,

"If all Silver Coin Messengers are like this, I finally understand why no Demon King has conquered the world in two thousand years—they either self-destruct or fall to human heroes."

The Church had previously told Qi Xing that throughout history, Silver Coin Messengers basically just caused a big stir and ended up destroying themselves. Qi Xing now understood the reason more and more.

Their desires were too deep, and their Inner Realm too heavy. Once they had a city or a nation, they couldn't even move it, and they couldn't trust anyone else.

Eventually, their desires spiraled out of control, the silver coin's power went haywire, and their combat ability plummeted. Even if the Demon King didn't self-destruct, being alone and isolated meant they would die to a team of heroes.

…As for whether the hero would pick up the Demon King's silver coin, and the dragon slayer eventually becoming a dragon, that was just another cycle.

"Heroes?"

After hearing Qi Xing's words, a brief, twisted smile flashed across the Greed Demon's lips,

"Master Leipu, actually, in the past, I was also a hero. Can you believe it?"

Qi Xing shook his head: "No."

"Thank you for your honesty, but regardless, it is a fact."

The Greed Demon chuckled coldly,

"A long time ago, before you had even started wandering the world, I was once hailed as a savior, a hero of the world, guarding a place and fighting against endless, terrifying enemies."

"Then your wife cheated on you, so you changed careers to become a Demon King?" Qi Xing frowned. "That sounds a bit low."

This made the Greed Demon's smile even more pronounced; at least now, half his face was twisted in a mocking grin:

"Strictly speaking, that's not how it happened. But Master Leipu, if I had never tried to be a hero, and from the very beginning, I had acted recklessly, heartless and loveless, doing whatever I pleased, treating all women as disposable flesh-weapons, and finally obtaining the silver coin to become a Demon King—would that sound 'cooler'? Less low?"

Qi Xing shook his head: "That's just a race to the bottom."

"Fair point." The Greed Demon sneered lightly. "But this is a world of comparing who is worse."

"Master Leipu, the birth of a Demon King is because this world of five turbidities is simply unworthy of heroes."

The Greed Demon declared as such.

But upon hearing this, Qi Xing suddenly realized: "Oh, no wonder the mythological archetype you drew from the silver coin was Beelzebub (Lord of the Flies)—because you think the whole world is a cesspit, so you want to become the King of Shit-Eating."

The Greed Demon: "…"

"Viewing the world as filthy dung and delusional enough to become the King of Dung by adopting the form best adapted to this world—in the end, you're just passively adapting to the world."

Rin also commented quite unceremoniously, although she was just casually voicing her current thoughts,

"No wonder Father doesn't even want to look at what you write. As a villain, you're only third-rate."

"Have you thought of your death poem?"

It was time to meet your death; recite a haiku, evildoer.

To some extent, Rin's aggressiveness was even higher than Qi Xing's. For a moment, the Greed Demon was so angry he laughed.

"Heh, hehe, two naive brats who have never eaten shit."

"But if you want to call me out for adapting to the cesspit, so be it."

He shook his head with a sigh, then raised his right hand. Not to adjust his suit, but to reach into his coat and take out a silver coin.

"Let me show you the capabilities of the King of Dung."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised the silver coin high and slammed it into his belt!

Click!

The sound of a mechanical lock engaging, as if the entire world had stalled along with it.

In an instant, the Dream of All Living Beings cracked. From behind the Greed Demon, a giant phantom suddenly emerged—it looked like both a fly and a locust, sitting atop a hill of dung, its body pitch-black and bloated, with compound eyes on its face, and a giant mouth split open on its abdomen. The mouth opened and devoured the Greed Demon whole!

"I am crowned upon dung, reigning in filth,"

"Flies circle my crown, putrefaction is my censer."

"The rain and dew are still my daughters, the morning star still calls me brother;"

"Though kingdoms change, I still sit high atop the peak of filth!"

His voice was low, yet as clear as if it were being chiseled into a stone tablet, every word resonating with the shockwave of divine power.

"The Sovereign of the Cesspit, the King of Flies!"

"Ten thousand insects obey my command, death and poisonous winds accompany me!"

The Demon King's incantation was now complete. As if responding to his declaration, the phantom of the King of the Dung Hill collapsed, turning into millions of buzzing, flying black flies.

And the Greed Demon, who reappeared from the swarm of flies, now had a completely different appearance.

The suit on his body had peeled away like dust.

On his pitch-black, cold, hard metal carapace, red lines like circuits outlined his entire body.

His eyes, styled like a fly's compound eyes, flashed with scarlet light, and two insect-like red antennae stood upright.

A white scarf, extending like fly wings, fluttered and stretched in the evil wind.

"[Transform]."

He was the Kamen Rider of Greed and Poison.

The King of Flies, Beelzebub.

"Go ahead and deny me, you brats who know nothing of the hardships of the world."

He stood there, declaring that he would devour both heroes and Demon Kings alike!

Volume 4: Evil Magic City Tokyo: 164: Fly, Cicada, Locust (HaSeBa)

The Greed Demon, Fujiwara Eiga… this was certainly not his real name.

But he had abandoned his real name long ago. Eating the real "Fujiwara Eiga" and stealing his name and identity had been over ten years ago, marking the beginning of his path as a Demon King.

He told Qi Xing and Rin that he, too, had once been a hero.

This was not a lie. But as for whether he could really be considered a "hero" back then—that is a matter of opinion.