I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103

 

What should a person known as the Demon Lord do when facing a Hero in the dead of night?

 

The correct answer is to run away.

 

‘Deception, deception, deception, deception, deception…!’

 

I didn’t want to use the magic the Demon Lord had taught me unless absolutely necessary, but I had no choice.

 

In my hazy memories remained Johnny’s attack with the Holy Sword. No matter how unreliable Johnny might be, he was still a Hero recognized by the Holy Sword. Though it would be embarrassing to compare him to the Second Hero Ruin Epeldor, I would die if I got hit right now.

 

I gathered all the reluctant mana I could muster and drew a magic circle. The sluggish speed compared to before didn’t please me, but considering Johnny’s reaction speed, this much should be enough…

 

“W-wait…!”

 

Johnny reached out his hand and shouted, but I didn’t stop. Deception activated successfully.

 

A sigh of relief escaped me naturally. Thank goodness what he extended wasn’t the Holy Sword. I almost died a sudden death in the middle of the night.

 

Leaving Johnny to frantically look around, I took a moment to calm my startled heart.

 

“Did I see wrong? I have been lacking sleep lately…”

 

It was fortunate that Johnny wasn’t such a bold person. If he had recklessly swung the Holy Sword, it would have been a disaster. The trading company would have collapsed, and I too would have had difficulty saving my life.

 

It seemed wrong to sleep in a warm room. I quietly returned to my room, packed my belongings, and called Remal.

 

Since the Holy Knights might search the area, we had to leave the village quickly.

 

“I was hoping to sleep on a soft bed for once in a while, but it’s regrettable.”

“Oh, really?”

 

If Remal, who was always stoic, said this much, she must be quite disappointed.

 

“I’m joking.”

 

Remal stretched and smiled slyly.

 

“An Elf who enjoys the luxury of sleeping on World Tree leaves would be unique in all of continental history.”

 

True. Though it didn’t contain spiritual power, these were leaves directly permitted by the World Tree itself. For Elf fanatics obsessed with the World Tree, it would be an invaluably precious experience.

 

For some reason, I left the village with Remal, whose steps were slow.

 

I couldn’t say goodbye to Dahan and Miril, but they would understand.

 

* * *

 

We could only return to the campsite when the sun was almost rising.

 

Was it after meeting Johnny? Or did the rich meal help my brain function? While lying on the ground tossing and turning, at some point I realized the identity of the doubt that hadn’t been resolved during my conversation with Dahan.

 

The Demon Lord had said:

 

By proving the seven virtues, one could gain the qualification to draw the Holy Sword, and by transcending the seven desires, one could freely wield the power of the Holy Sword.

 

Therefore, there were a total of fourteen trials for the Hero.

 

Even I hadn’t achieved half of them yet, so there was no way Johnny had completed all the trials. Yet he was wielding the Holy Sword.

 

Unless the Demon Lord had deceived me, such a thing should have been impossible.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

I looked briefly at Remal, who was sleeping buried in leaves, and spoke quietly. But even after enough time to take a few breaths passed, no answer came back.

 

“Hey, answer me.”

-You seem to be getting more and more rude.

 

The Demon Lord clicked his tongue.

 

As someone who had reigned as king of the Demon Realm and lived through countless eons enough to look down on Elves, he seemed flabbergasted. But I had something to say about that too.

 

“Didn’t you say I was you?”

 

Where in the world would you find someone who speaks formally to themselves… Well, there might be some, but I’m not one of them.

 

The fact that the Demon Lord was deflecting like this must mean there was definitely something he felt guilty about.

 

“I know there are many things you’ve been deceiving me about.”

 

Demons must not be trusted. Demons try to drive humans to ruin by any means necessary. Some claim that is their pleasure and life’s goal.

 

I too would prefer not to listen to the Demon Lord’s words if possible. Most of the time, listening to him only increased my confusion.

 

“Tell me. What I’ve achieved so far…”

 

However, I had to hear about this.

 

“What I’ve achieved so far, are they really the Hero’s trials?”

 

The Demon Lord had been deceiving me all along, but thinking about it, he had never actually lied.

 

He induced misunderstandings and enjoyed watching me despair.

 

That’s why, even while hating him, I trusted him to some degree.

 

But if what I had been achieving wasn’t the Hero’s trials, if his telling me to become his Hero was a lie from the start.

 

I cannot coexist with that bastard for even a moment.

 

-Calm down.

 

The Demon Lord spoke leisurely. His tone was insufferably smug, as if he would have been shrugging his shoulders if he had a body.

 

-I have not lied to you. About becoming my Hero, about undergoing the Hero’s trials. All of it is true.

“How can I believe that?”

-If you won’t believe it, that’s your choice. How disappointing that my sincerity doesn’t reach you.

 

He was confident, his voice and tone showing no hint of disappointment. Even knowing I shouldn’t trust a demon, it sounded convincing enough to seem true.

 

It wouldn’t be too late to judge after hearing him out.

 

“…Explain.”

-This Hero, Johnny, did not legitimately pass the trials. Yet he can wield the Holy Sword for two reasons.

 

The Demon Lord began his explanation.

 

My brow naturally furrowed. Though I had asked for an explanation, his willingness to answer so readily bothered me.

 

As always, he would tell the truth. But he would hide the most important fact within it. I needed to figure out what that was.

 

Would he really do that?

 

Could his past words and actions have been a trap laid to make me believe him when he finally told a lie?

 

-One is the Achievement you accomplished. Most of the continent believes he achieved it. Such widespread belief holds power. Using his name in Andril brought about this result. Of course, that alone wouldn’t be nearly enough.

 

Belief holds power.

 

That connected to the principles of what was called Ancient Magic, or Primitive Magic. Even so, no one could have predicted that merely using an alias briefly would come back like this.

 

…Did really no one know?

 

When did the Demon Lord start planning this? Was there no involvement from the Demon Lord in my use of Johnny’s name?

 

I felt like I was losing my mind. I could no longer trust even my own actions.

 

-The other factor. The Goddess’s direct intervention was significant.

 

Whether he knew of my confusion or not, the Demon Lord continued speaking.

 

-The Papal Court Underground Chapel. Nowhere on the continent is easier for the Goddess to intervene. You didn’t know, but entering there directly was taking considerable risk.

“…?”

 

As expected.

 

The Demon Lord manipulates even minor habits to guide my actions. If he had let out that ominous laughter before I went underground, I would have seriously reconsidered attending the grand service.

 

-Naturally, the Goddess sensed my presence and saw it as a golden opportunity to completely annihilate me. However.

 

If the Demon Lord was speaking like this, the danger must have been higher than anything I’d faced before.

 

What I thought was safe was actually the most dangerous thing. Cold sweat ran down my back.

 

-You’ve been going around unsealing treasures from the Mythical Age, and as a result, intervention from the Other Realm into the Middle Realm has become difficult. Yes. That’s why the Priests’ Holy Power has been weakening.

 

That was puzzling.

 

Didn’t they say the World Tree’s revival strengthened the world’s barriers? I had heard something similar before, if not exactly the same words.

 

But that was all, wasn’t it?

 

The Eternal Ice didn’t possess proper power, and I hadn’t intervened in the revival of the Dragon and Great Demon.

 

Were there other conditions?

 

-The Goddess couldn’t directly annihilate me either. So she needed a being from the Middle Realm who could exert full power.

“That being…”

-That being is the Hero.

 

The Demon Lord let out a sneer.

 

-Recycling something that had already served its purpose would have many complications. Then something that wasn’t quite satisfactory but had just the right causality caught her eye.

 

Right there, of all places, was a being called a Hero.

 

-Never appointed by her, never completed a single trial. But a being the whole world believed to be one. Sufficient conditions to steal the Hero’s achievements you accomplished and create a new Hero.

 

This was only possible because the Goddess was the one who created the law of Heroes in the first place. But somehow, it didn’t seem like the Goddess’s way.

 

The Goddess creates laws and carves them into the world. Conversely, the Demon Lord twists and uses them as he pleases.

 

-Not knowing it might be strangling her own neck.

 

Stealing the Hero’s achievements and creating a new Hero wasn’t the Goddess’s way. Trying to do something unfamiliar would inevitably place a heavy burden on her.

 

-It hasn’t been long since she selected a Hero anyway. She obviously hasn’t fully recovered the power consumed then. Yet she forced herself to create a new Hero… and gave the Holy Sword to someone who hadn’t even completed the trials.

 

The Demon Lord declared.

 

-The Goddess, that foolish wretch, can no longer intervene in the Middle Realm. No. Even her Believers using Holy Power would be a burden to her.

 

The Demon Lord laughed for a long while before closing his mouth.

 

Indeed, the Demon Lord accomplishes tremendous things with just small Soul Fragments. How could the Goddess find it impossible to let someone skip a few trials?

 

Many questions were resolved. And many questions remained.

 

“Then, next. What about when you told me to become a Hero?”

-It’s no different now. Having lost the Hero’s calling, it would be impossible to achieve any more trials though….

 

At the Demon Lord’s words that achieving more trials was impossible, my mind went blank for a moment.

 

Trials grant appropriate rewards each time they’re completed. Wasn’t I still benefiting greatly from the enhanced physical abilities I gained when I completed the first trial?

 

Did I feel regret?

 

Not at all. Whenever trials came, I always had to lose something.

 

To me, trials were struggles. Not struggles to gain power, but struggles to avoid losing even more. The words that I no longer had to endure them brought me a sense of liberation.

 

-A Hero is a savior.

 

A Hero is the first name those in despair call upon. An existence that brings hope to a continent destined for destruction.

 

-From the moment you saved me from the crisis of extinction, weren’t you already sufficient to be considered my Hero?

“Ha. So it’s just wordplay in the end.”

-I won’t deny it, but that is the essence of Dark Magic.

 

It was a statement that made me laugh bitterly.

 

This is why you should never trust demons. They play with words as they please and act brazenly as if they’re innocent.

 

But still, yes.

 

“You’d better keep this in mind.”

 

Hearing the Demon Lord’s words, I could finally understand his plan.

 

He didn’t call me his Hero, but used the future tense, telling me to become a Hero.

 

It meant that just picking up the Demon Lord’s soul wasn’t enough to reach the form of salvation he desired.

 

“The fact that you’ve escaped the influence of the soul contract means, in other words, that I also have no need to uphold the contract.”

 

He intended to make me a scapegoat.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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