Spirit Hotel

Thats right, so what? Feisha was completely baffled by the rather complicated stare he was being given.

Beelzebub turned and looked at the elevator control panel.

Isefel helped answer. Since Noahs Ark was first established, youre the first.

So he created a miracle? Feisha allowed himself to feel a little smug about it.

In the silence, the elevator doors opened.

You dont look particularly special. Beelzebub said.

Jealousy, it must be jealousy. If he wasnt special, how would he have been the only one in so many years?

Feishas good mood remained completely unaffected. Lalala

One can see how low Noahs Arks standards for recruitment are. Beelzebub adjusted his sleeve cuffs and stepped slowly out of the elevator.

Feisha looked over at Isefel woefully. Do I really have to stand this in silence?

Isefel stepped out of the elevator and spoke at Beelzebubs back. Changed those old habits yet?

Beelzebubs whole body suddenly shook, his hair stood up like a hedgehogs, and his hands clenched tightly. A pair of pure black wings suddenly spread from his back, the root of each feather standing stiff in fury.

But during the entire time, his back remained turned to them.

Feisha shrunk back into Isefel arms, struck dumb by the sight. What is he doing?

Hes throwing a tantrum. Isefel replied.

Would this kind of tantrum be considered awkward or cultured?

After a while, the black wings slowly receded and his hair softened and fell back down. Beelzebub loosened his fists, readjusted his cuffs, then continued walking forward at a steady pace as if nothing had happened.

Feisha pulled at Isefel, waiting until he had walked quite a distance away before quietly asking. Whats his old habit?

Hes got a nickname, the King of Flies.

King of Flies? So the habits would be referring to habits of flies? Which would be Blood sucking? Or the other kind?

The other kind.

So it was the stinky kind of thing then? Feisha automatically imagined what Beelzebub would look like perched like a fly on top of a ma.s.sive, reeking pile of garbage. No wonder he Fell. A place like Heaven probably wouldnt be able to fulfill his desires. His mind formed the image of rather gloomy Beelzebub in a clean, white room.

Beelzebub stopped at the entrance and opened the door. A ma.s.sive wave of cheers sounded out from within. Feisha believed that it definitely wasnt a tape recorder in there. That had to be a whole stereo sound setup.

Beelzebub stepped to the side. Welcome.

Feisha whispered to Isefel. Dont you feel like his hairline receded a bit just now?

Just as he said that, he felt Beelzebubs gaze flash towards him. Isefel guided him inside. This time it wasnt a tape recorder. It wasnt a stereo system either, but instead, several thousand real spectators were sitting in the audience cheering on the people gorging themselves on stage.

The Eating Champion of the cow-headed men is currently facing off against the third place food master. Beelzebub said.

This cow-headed man was five or six times larger than the ones Feisha saw just before. And he was about the same width all around, a truly spherical shape. In comparison, his opponent was basically a toothpick, liable to be blown away by a gust of wind, but the rate he was stuffing food into his mouth was definitely not slow.

What race is he? Where did all that meat he was stuffing down go?

Beelzebub replied. Abyss demon.

The abyss demon seemed to overhear their conversation- his ears twitched and he glanced over in their direction between bites.

Feisha shivered. Were those supposed to be teeth? They were basically saw blades.

Isefel frowned and said. Doesnt the abyss demon live below the blood waterfall in the ninth circle?

Recently Lord Lucifer hasnt been in a great mood, so they escaped up here.

Feisha scratched his head. When Abaddon appeared in Genesis, he also heard that Lord Lucifer wasnt in a good mood. In fact, he hadnt ever heard of Lucifer being in a good mood before.

Thats right, hows Houllier? It seemed like Abaddon was only dragged back because Lord Lucifer was in a bad mood. If Lord Lucifer was in such a bad mood that even the abyss demon were forced to move, thenthe image of the Ten Tortures suddenly filled his mind.

Beelzebub thought it over for a moment before replying. Hes living in the ninth circle.

Regardless of how it went down, the two of them were acquainted after all. Feisha prayed sincerely for him.

Isefel asked. Can we place bets?

Beelzebub replied. If youre betting on the abyss demon, the payback isnt very high.

If I put in ten thousand, could I win one hundred and one gold pieces? Isefel asked.

One thousand will do, you can consider the last gold piece a gift from me.

Although Feisha hasnt been to Macau or Las Vegas, but he was quite into soccer so he still understood this. He asked, Wont you guys end up losing a lot that way? Normal people wouldnt bet against the abyss demon right? The ox-headed man might have an enormous stomach, but that paled against the bottomless pit of an abyss demon.

Beelzebub replied. Every casino has its own way to keep a steady profit.

If soccer had corrupt officiating and fake plays, then this must have Feisha suddenly began to understand. Just then, the winner was already being decided on stage.

The ox-headed man finally couldnt hold it back any longer, and the meat began spilling out from his oxen mouth. Ugh

The sound of him vomiting was quickly drowned out by cheers. The abyss demon stood up slowly, and pa.s.sed his bright red tongue over his teeth. Bits of meat were stuck between his teeth in a sort of indescribable disgust, at least to Feisha. In the eyes of the audience, he was an endless money-making machine.

You said he was in third place? Then whos in first and second? It was hard to imagine someone with an even more bottomless stomach than the abyss itself.

Isefel replied. First place is standing right next to you.

Beelzebubs lips finally moved, forming a smile.

Right. He was the founder, the boss, the originator of sin. Feisha nodded. And second place?

Beelzebubs smile froze on his face. Borja.

. Nepotism really was everywhere. Hed not believe within an inch of his life that Borjas tiny stature could outeat the abyss demon.

Beelzebub continued. Because nothing good can come of anyone that wins against him.

So Borja wasnt just a rich, prodigal son, he was considered actual n.o.bility, His Highness, a prince. (1) Feisha finally understood how dangerous his previous behavior towards Borja was.

Beelzebub said. Want to give it a try? If its you, Isefel, you can challenge him immediately.

Feisha couldnt even begin to imagine the ever graceful Isefel going up there and gorging himself ravenously.

Borjas methods waste too much time. Isefel replied.

Some people would always hold tournament rules in contempt.

Then come have a taste of all the delightful food of the third circle. We have delicacies from across the Nine Realms. Beelzebub said.

Including rotten eggs? Isefel asked.

Beelzebub suddenly rushed into the corridor, his wings spreading and his hair standing up like a hedgehog again. Blue veins popped visibly along his neck and arms.

Isefel pulled Feisha along, walking past him. Lets go have a look on the fourth circle.

If the second circle could be considered luxurious, the fourth circle in comparison was extravagant to the extreme. There were neon lights were made of crystals, and a colorful gleam shining from precious gemstones. Tall buildings were all gold and silver, and if there was anything black visible at all, it must have been black crystals.

Feisha looked upon the rows lined with glittering diamonds, his eyes glazing over at it all. Are you sure what we got from Mammon was valuable? Compared to the scene before him, why did it feel like it was just a tiny drop in a vast ocean?

Isefel replied. All these are artificial. They look nice but dont hold any energy and arent worth much.

That made sense. Otherwise there definitely would have been chunks missing left and right. Speaking of energy, Feisha couldnt help but think back to the Black Star Stone. He sighed and said, Mammon was too stingy, out of all those gifts, there wasnt a single Black Star Stone.

Isefels hand suddenly tightened around his, and he stopped mid stride.

Whats wrong? Feisha turned and looked at him, surprised.

When he thought of how his chest had once been pierced straight through, he always felt a little out of breath. There wont be another Black Star Stone.

Huh? Could it be that the Black Star Stone was in such short supply that its already completely extinct? That really was a pity. It felt quite trendy to carry around the ability summon an angel to your side.

No matter where you go, Ill always be with you. Isefel gaze remained fixed on him, a promised made within that stoic expression.

He never thought Isefel could say something like that. Feisha felt his heart melt at how sweet it was, and he couldnt help but grin secretly to himself. Ah, wait a sec, where are you going? He could at least give him a moment to indulge in it instead of walking away so fast.

On both sides of the street were windows that stretched fix or six meters up from floor to ceiling. Inside were clothing, jewelry, carriages, trunksall sorts of products, and the only thing they had in common were the gleaming gemstones embedded in them that made it impossible for anyone to tear their eyes away.

Feisha was complete dazzled by it all. Goes without saying, most of these stores were definitely opened by Mammon. This was absolutely the touch by the richest man. Wine, s.e.x, avarice, and tempereven if you were to head east, Mammons sin would still be great. (2)

Isefel nodded. Mhmm.

Thats right, you said the bracelet was not the most valuable item there. So what exactly was the most valuable item?

The trunk of the tree of knowledge.

What?

Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge and thus obtained knowledge of good and evil. Thus G.o.d burned the tree of knowledge down, leaving only a burnt piece of the tree trunk.

Feisha was a bit stunned. So the trunk of an apple tree is worth more than all these gemstones? The value of things here seemed a bit distorted. He decided he would go down to the human world and bring back a ma.s.sive truck full of apple trees.

Isefel asked. Does eating apples make you smarter?

No. He paused. But taking melatonin probably wont either. (3)

So although the fruit from the tree of knowledge may look similar to an apple, its not an apple. Isefel said. Because it grants intelligence. When fallen angels first arrived in h.e.l.l, many of the races had IQs that werent nearly high enough, including the ox-headed men, the ram peopleit was very difficult to order them about. Thus Mammon sc.r.a.ped off a bit of the charred wood from the tree of knowledge, dissolved it in water, and boiled it into a broth for them to drink.

Feisha asked in disbelief. So they became smarter?

Like they are now.

Feisha was quite annoyed as he spoke. Ah, if Id known I wouldve asked for that. Hmph, hed been just one step away from an Einstein Stone.

It can only be used to grant intelligence to undeveloped species.

Then why is it worth so much? Was there anyone who just happened to be rich and also had an underdeveloped brain? Wouldnt you just be able to swindle them?

There are people who would buy it.

Feisha didnt understand. Why?

Its an antique.

That makes sense. Its just like humans and dinosaur eggs.

Translators Notes

1. In Chinese, Feisha says Borja is not a but instead a . The first is sort of a derogatory slang term that refers to a second generation (kids) that were born into money and just spend their time living off their inherited wealth, lounging about, etc. The second is a derogatory term referring to the son of n.o.bility- it literally translates to something like His Highness in reference to a prince, said sarcastically.

2. I believe this is a reference to Journey to the West, where the East is the land of sin, hence the Buddhist sutras must be brought back from the West.

3. Melatonin is called in Chinese, which literally translates to brain platinum. With a name like that, theres plenty of old wives tales about taking melatonin to become smarter.