I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 11

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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 11

 

The wall of a small, cozy store.

 

Various items that would only appear as small stains to ordinary people’s eyes.

 

However, to me with Spirit Sight maximized through Soul Magic, I could see soul fragments burning themselves and spewing out agony.

 

“How…”

 

How could there be more items with fragments attached in this small store than what I had seen while cleaning the barracks all this time?

 

My thoughts froze at this incomprehensible situation.

 

Even the Demon Lord, who would normally chatter with a voice full of mockery, was for some reason only chuckling quietly.

 

“You know, don’t you? What this situation is. What should I say…”

 

Just as I was about to urge the Demon Lord for an explanation.

 

Ding-a-ling.

 

“Oh my.”

 

The door opened, and a caring voice was heard.

 

“Just sit down, why are you standing there like that? Should I get you something to drink?”

 

That voice, that warm smile was so…

 

Frightening.

 

* * *

 

“…I’m sorry.”

“Hm? No, no. You were plenty helpful.”

“That’s right. Rather, we should be the ones apologizing for bringing you somewhere difficult. You worked hard. Is there anything you want to eat? Just say the word. Tonight’s dinner…”

“Honey, you’re going to cook?”

“…”

 

Several hours of cleaning half-heartedly due to my complicated feelings.

 

The couple’s appearance, which had been making me laugh until just a moment ago, had somehow become an incomprehensible, mysterious something.

 

“Go ahead and rest. We’ll organize a bit more before heading back.”

“Yes, then.”

 

I returned to Mike Couple’s home, leaving them behind.

 

The silent room.

 

The space I had become quite familiar with over the past few days suddenly felt awkward.

 

“I’ll ask once more. You know how this happened, don’t you?”

-What are you talking about?

 

A voice filled with bewilderment.

 

However, for some reason, laughter was mixed in the voice. That rather exposed the ominousness he was trying to hide.

 

From the moment Master left, I had been anxious every day trying to hide my identity. I avoided conversations with people as much as possible, and couldn’t even imagine becoming close to anyone.

 

Eating proper food instead of dried, twisted bread, having people who smiled and waved at me. A daily life of falling asleep in a warm room.

 

It was a brief moment of peace I had gained after several years. That peace, that happiness… How far could I really accept it?

 

“If you’re not planning to tell me…”

 

My heightened sensitivity robbed me of patience. Just as I was about to irritably torture the Demon Lord’s soul, the Demon Lord spoke.

 

-It seems you already know yourself. Is there meaning in asking me?

 

Now he didn’t even try to hide his giggling laughter.

 

-Then this time I’ll ask. What do you think happened?

“…”

 

I heard mocking laughter.

 

-I already knew you were dull, but to not even reach this level of conclusion…

“Stop talking.”

 

The Demon Lord paused for a moment before answering.

 

-Fine, do as you wish.

 

Time passed, and I heard the sound of Mike Couple entering the house. Not long after burying myself in the bed, the room door opened.

 

“Looks like he’s sleeping. Should we wake him to eat…”

“Just leave him be. He worked hard today. We can take care of him when he wakes up later.”

 

The sound of them finishing their meal and chatting came through the thin wall.

 

“Wonder if he’ll wake up?”

“He must be very tired.”

“He’s admirable. If we had a child, they would have been just that age.”

 

Long after they had finished preparing for bed and entered their room.

 

I slowly got up from my seat and gathered my belongings.

 

-Are you planning to leave? I told you. You must not leave this city until you face the first trial.

 

It didn’t take long. I didn’t have many belongings to begin with. I didn’t pack the various items the guards had given me as gifts.

 

-Since you’ve become the subject of a ritual that’s already been activated, even if you run away, you can’t escape the trial. Rather, an even greater trial will come to you. I understand your mind is complicated, but…

“I’m not running away.”

 

I had no intention of listening to the Demon Lord anymore. He may not lie, but he had tormented me in every possible way.

 

In that case, I just needed to confirm it with my own two eyes.

 

I hoped everything was just speculation. I hoped I could face people tomorrow morning as if nothing had happened.

 

But if that wasn’t possible…

 

After hesitating for a moment, I picked up the old scythe.

 

‘Just in case…’

 

Because night roads are dangerous. That was all.

 

I quietly opened the door and came outside so as not to wake Mike and his wife. The cold night wind cleared my mind.

 

Though it was quite late, there weren’t few people on the street. It was the aftermath of the execution ceremony that was still continuing.

 

I headed to Amy’s General Store, avoiding people staggering drunk.

 

The door was firmly locked. If I tried to force it open, people’s attention would surely focus on me, but…

 

“Deception.”

-Oh?

 

A small magic circle spread out centered on my fingertips.

 

Deception, the concealment magic I learned from the Demon Lord that hides appearance and presence. He said the range of what could be hidden would widen depending on proficiency level.

 

‘I’m sorry, Amy.’

 

I broke the window and entered the store. A loud noise was heard, but as expected, no one reacted.

 

The magic circle’s revision was already complete. During the short time the mana was maintained, no one could perceive this place.

 

I quickly blocked the window with items from inside the store and looked around the dark interior.

 

It looked much the same as when I came during the day. Though it was organized, the soul fragments lingering in the items remained as they were.

 

-This is the behavior of a thief, not a Hero.

 

Ignoring the Demon Lord’s mockery, I picked up the nearest item.

 

An empty vase that was old but had a fairly neat appearance.

 

However, the dark energy was definitely not less compared to other fragments I had absorbed so far.

 

Now accustomed to it, I absorbed the fragment with soul magic that spread out in an instant.

 

“….”

 

A brief image flashed by.

 

Old walls, an open door, cold wind. Familiar guard uniforms. And a familiar face.

 

-Are you certain now? What will you do?

“No, not yet.”

 

Didn’t the Demon Lord say so himself? That soldiers are in a profession that easily earns someone’s resentment. Everything was just speculation. I needed more evidence to be certain.

 

I slowly reached for the next item.

 

My body’s trembling grew worse, but I didn’t stop moving. Rather, I moved faster.

 

-Stop! You’ve absorbed too much in a short time. No matter how much they’re fragments, this is too much!

 

Repeated magic, repeated visions. Different memories, same face.

 

-Moreover, at this level, traces will remain. If those priests discover them…

“Really?”

 

Perfect timing since I was getting tired anyway. If traces were already left behind, there was no need to absorb them one by one like this.

 

Having succeeded in miniaturizing magic, the mana consumption had greatly decreased.

 

Even after using magic dozens of times repeatedly, it was enough to fully recover even the mana that had decreased from the deception magic.

 

-You bastard, don’t tell me…

 

I poured out all the mana that filled my mana core, and using even what rushed in real-time to fill the empty space, I drew a massive magic circle.

 

Bright light burst forth from the magic circle, and simultaneously thick chains extended in all directions.

 

The items didn’t move even slightly despite being pierced by the chains. Rather, in the swept areas, only clean appearances remained with the soul fragments that had been dwelling there now gone.

 

And chains carrying dozens, hundreds of fragments lay obediently before me.

 

-This is too much. You haven’t adapted to the spell enough to handle this quantity yet!

 

A moment of hesitation. But I closed my eyes and opened my mouth.

 

“Kuh, kuhuk…!”

 

The feeling of chains piercing through me via my open mouth. The fishy and bitter taste of souls. Memories pouring out continuously without a moment’s gap.

 

“Urgh…!”

 

The nauseating disgust that made me want to vomit wouldn’t stop.

 

When absorbing complete souls, it wasn’t this severe. What I saw then was that soul’s entire life. Scenes that had greatly influenced their lives. I saw happy memories as much as painful ones.

 

But Soul Fragments were different. Being traces of souls harboring powerful resentment, they mostly showed only scenes right before death.

 

The reason I could endure receiving the emotions and pain of the dying directly until now was because it was that brief.

 

Absorbing hundreds of fragments continuously like now was agonizing beyond endurance.

 

My legs gave out and I wanted to collapse, but I couldn’t even do that.

 

Soul Magic, which clearly doesn’t affect matter, was somehow supporting only my body, making me unable to move.

 

Amidst all this, there was one face that kept appearing.

 

Not everyone was the same. I often saw other faces too. But more than half wore the face of someone who had become all too familiar over the past few days.

 

As always reliable, with a stern expression…

 

-Pull yourself together.

 

A splitting headache. Amidst the nausea that made me feel like I’d throw up any moment, the Demon Lord’s voice reached me.

 

Only after checking ahead with blurry vision did I realize I had collapsed on the floor. The Magic Circle that had been emitting bright light had completely disappeared without a trace.

 

-Get ready to move. We need to get out of here.

“What do you…?”

 

Just as I was struggling to get up, pressing against the floor.

 

“Is it here? The place where the light came from.”

“The window is broken. Did a thief break in?”

“Ha, what a bold bastard. To rob Amy’s store.”

 

Light and voices flowed in through the broken window.

 

“How long was I unconscious?”

-Not that long. Though you almost would have been on the execution platform tomorrow if you’d been a bit later.

 

Meanwhile, the voices grew closer, and I could sense movement as if they were trying to peer inside through the window.

 

‘Good thing I blocked it in advance.’

 

The sound of the door rattling echoed several times.

 

“Hey, someone go to Mike’s house. Tell him something happened.”

“Already went. He’ll be here soon.”

 

I loosened my stiff body and checked my Mana Core.

 

My mana had recovered considerably in that short time. Though it was a pitiful amount of mana, focusing on improving recovery rate had paid off.

 

I sighed and walked toward the door.

 

“Over here! I cleared the window side. Let’s go in this way!”

“Why don’t we just wait until Mike comes? They can’t go anywhere anyway.”

“Who knows what they’re doing inside? Hurry, come help support me.”

 

After all the people outside the door had rushed to the window side, I could see a Fat Man trying to enter through the broken window.

 

The man who barely made it over the window had fallen face-first on the floor but quickly got up.

 

‘Now.’

 

I undid the lock and opened the door.

 

“Hey, thief! Who are you!”

 

I heard the man shouting from the side, but.

 

“Deception.”

 

Thanks to becoming quite familiar with it, activating the magic didn’t require much time.

 

“Where, where did they go!”

“Did you see wrong? Check inside!”

“…Why is the door open?”

 

I carefully slipped out, making sure not to bump into anyone.

 

I had time to spare. In chaotic situations like this, just hiding my appearance was enough.

 

As I turned the corner and leaned against the wall to rest, I could see Mike running from afar carrying a torch.

 

-What are you planning to do now? It seems like it wouldn’t be too late to go back now.

“Not yet.”

 

As the Demon Lord said, if I returned to Mike’s house now and hid in the room, I could probably live as if nothing had happened.

 

Things could get complicated if someone who detected traces of dark magic followed me, but the probability of priests, who are high-level personnel, rushing in just to catch a mere general store thief was low.

 

However, right now, I couldn’t just act like nothing happened.

 

“There’s still something I need to check.”

 

Just confirming fragments of the souls’ memories wasn’t enough to understand the detailed circumstances. As the Demon Lord said, he was a soldier, and there might be some situation I didn’t know about.

 

-Well, since things have come this far, it wouldn’t be bad to do whatever you want until the end. But what are you trying to confirm?

 

The place I needed to go was a location I had witnessed by chance during countless repeated deaths.

 

“The prison.”

 

It was the prison where the prisoners who were executed daily were confined.

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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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