I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 110

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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 110

 

Despite the excruciating pain that felt like her entire body would burst, Amelia did not move.

 

If she moved even a single step, it felt like the souls inside her body would tear through her flesh and burst out.

 

‘Oh Goddess!’

‘Kill me.’

‘I’m hungry. At least some water….’

‘I’m cold.’

 

All kinds of voices rang in her head. Each one was nothing more than an insignificant, dead soul. But when their numbers exceeded ten thousand, the story was different.

 

She was both prison and jailer.

 

Terror-stricken soldiers, nobles fallen into despair, priests who had lost their faith. Everything that had died in this darkness flowed into her. Tens of thousands of souls mixed together chaotically, forming a whirlpool of chaos.

 

The struggle was always the same. Amelia considered this too as part of the experiment.

 

‘…Experiment?’

 

This was only when she occasionally regained consciousness. Even she, the owner of this body, could not maintain her sanity in this chaotic whirlpool. Most of the time she didn’t know who she was or what she was doing. The moments she could consider herself awake lasted only an instant.

 

It was rather fortunate. If it weren’t so, she would have gone mad long ago.

 

One could say she was already mad, but it was certain that her condition would have been worse than now at the very least.

 

‘Experiment….’

 

When she realized someone was approaching, her consciousness surfaced. It would be a new experiment. She struggled to calm the raging souls and attacked the opponent.

 

And just as she was about to take their life, another entity intruded.

 

What was happening? As she struggled to grasp the situation and calm the raging souls, she suddenly realized the intruding entity’s face looked familiar.

 

‘The one who was introduced a few months ago….’

 

A fairly high-performance entity. But more than that, a person she had known from even before.

 

Test subjects received names when the experiment ended and their value was recognized. No researcher gave names to entities that were marked for disposal even after completing all experiments.

 

But occasionally, there were those who received names before all experiments were even finished.

 

Ruin, who possessed the most outstanding data and ultimately completed the Artificial Hero Project. And.

 

-Jude.

 

She opened her mouth and uttered the word that came to mind. That was all.

 

Amelia’s soul was swept away by the waves again.

 

* * *

 

“…You know me?”

 

No answer came back. She simply raised her hand with an emotionless face. The movement was slow, but the resulting consequence was anything but light.

 

I rolled on the floor to evade. Without even a moment to get up, the Holy Sword that had somehow circled around the Great Demon came flying in.

 

“Damn it!”

 

The World Tree roots moved to block the attack. Thanks to that, I managed to preserve my life.

 

“Ugh!”

 

As soon as I got up, I pushed Johnny away. The Holy Sword that was about to attack again staggered. It was difficult, but manageable for now.

 

But I didn’t know how long even that would last.

 

The Holy Sword was manageable as long as Johnny didn’t actively cooperate. But facing the Great Demon in that state was nearly impossible.

 

Right now she was attacking slowly, as if toying with me….

 

Thinking back to a few months ago, she would eventually unleash an absolutely unavoidable attack. No, it had already begun.

 

The darkness moved as if alive. Even the World Tree roots covering the floor gradually turned black.

 

And they twisted. Breaking and tearing apart. The space itself became hundreds of invisible blades threatening me.

 

I couldn’t let my guard down. She might have heard my name a few months ago, or overheard Remal or Johnny calling me. Right now I shouldn’t worry about that and only think of ways to deal with that thing.

 

“Remal! Take care of Johnny!”

“Should I kill him?”

“Grab him and fall back!”

 

The Holy Sword’s power was the key to attacking that thing. I created a massive ice barrier to block the Great Demon’s view. Remal grabbed Johnny by the collar and retreated.

 

I thought the Holy Sword’s attack could pierce through that twisted space and strike the Great Demon. But that thing was worse than even the empty shell of the Second Hero.

 

‘Is it because Johnny is holding it….’

 

This was a major setback to the plan.

 

No matter how weak, a Holy Sword was still a Holy Sword. It was impossible for my ice to pierce through defenses that even it couldn’t break.

 

Power. I needed strong power.

 

I dodged another attack and formed hand seals.

 

“Explosion.”

 

One of my most confident spells, Explosion, burst forth right in front of the Great Demon.

 

“Damn it.”

 

But it was woefully inadequate.

 

It was because mana had weaker offensive capabilities than mana, and I couldn’t even control it properly.

 

“Don’t you have anything stronger?”

 

Remal asked while grabbing the collar of the half-dazed Johnny and jumping around. Even though most of the attacks were focused on me, wasn’t she dodging too well?

 

“As if I would…!”

 

Looking closely, the Holy Sword reacted before the Great Demon attacked. When Johnny’s arm holding the Holy Sword moved, it would see that and determine its direction.

 

What monstrous reaction speed. Indeed, she was worthy of reaching the position of the Elf King’s closest aide. That side didn’t seem to need much concern for now.

 

The problem was this side.

 

No matter how much I racked my brain for available methods, I couldn’t think of a way to pierce through that defensive ability that twisted space.

 

No, there was one. Using Spirit Summoning to call upon the Demon Lord’s soul again.

 

-I decline.

 

The moment it crossed my mind, the Demon Lord answered sharply.

 

-To think of summoning the Demon Lord in front of the Holy Sword. I am not pleased.

“You’re scared!”

-A petty provocation.

 

The Demon Lord spoke as if truly displeased. Then clicked his tongue and added.

 

-You cannot pierce through that with your abilities alone.

“I know that…!”

 

It’s not like I was mocking anyone. I knew well enough that there was no hope unless I could handle divinity.

 

-Moreover, that thing isn’t using all the power it possesses. It’s a calamity rivaling a Dragon. The moment it harbors malice toward you, you won’t be able to withstand it.

“Ha.”

 

The Demon Lord spoke, but I didn’t think of impossibility. Strong belief was no different from magic itself.

 

It was possible. I believed so.

 

-Countless fools stake their lives on that single thought and lose them. It’s no different from a low-probability gamble.

 

I ignored the Demon Lord’s words and racked my brain.

 

For the Demon Lord’s purpose, I couldn’t die yet. The fact that the Demon Lord wasn’t moving meant there was a way for me alone.

 

‘What could it be?’

 

Ice Spirit Power wouldn’t work. With the power of that creature who hadn’t fully recovered yet, I couldn’t reach that thing.

 

World Tree Power was also impossible. Though it had absolute authority over life, it was impossible to drive roots into that thing. Moreover, there was no guarantee that draining its life force would stop it.

 

What remained was the Demon Lord. And the Dragon’s divinity sleeping within me.

 

‘Would it work?’

 

I suppressed the rising doubt. I had never once succeeded in handling the Dragon’s divinity. Rather, I could barely use even the mana influenced by it.

 

-Even if you draw out the divinity within your body, it’s the same. If that thing is a fragment of a Great Demon, what you possess is a fragment of a fragment.

 

But I had to do it. I needed to increase the number of moves I could use, even like this.

 

This wasn’t my first time handling divinity. When destroying the Great Forest, when defeating the Dragon too. Through Spirit Summoning, I accepted the World Tree and Ice Spirit respectively, and handled divinity. That’s why I could win.

 

That was because the World Tree and Ice Spirit cooperated with me. The divinity of the Dragon I killed harbored malice and was interfering with my handling of it.

 

But my experience wasn’t limited to just then.

 

‘Demon Lord.’

 

The Demon Lord, who was now silent, had handled the Dragon’s divinity with my body. Though they said the Dragon’s malice toward me was dormant, there was no problem when he handled it. I vaguely remembered that.

 

In the end, it was a difference in proficiency. Handling divinity wasn’t impossible for me either. If it was something I could do, I could definitely do it.

 

Handling mana was easy. Others said it was rough and dangerous, but to me it was an incredibly kind energy.

 

On the other hand, mana was frustrating. Though it was more pure than mana, it was unfriendly and weak in power.

 

The Dragon’s divinity sleeping within me now was the same. If so…

 

I moved the mana. The mana moved little by little according to my will, but it was slow as if something sticky was clinging to it.

 

“Agh…!”

 

The Great Demon’s attacks became faster. My left wrist disappeared.

 

I felt like I was going to lose my mind. Naturally my concentration dropped, and my evasion was hindered.

 

I had no choice. I would only focus on protecting the legs I absolutely needed, or vital points necessary to maintain life. Without giving up, I rotated mana around my heart as the center. The faster the rotation, the more mana followed along.

 

My right eye burst out. Just as I was about to grab the roots still connected to the surface to heal my body, the roots exploded.

 

The amount of rotating mana gradually increased, and soon the divinity that had been holding onto it began moving together.

 

Rotation, rotation, rotation.

 

A sharp pain struck my heart. It felt like it would burst at any moment.

 

‘It wasn’t like this when I made my mana core….’

 

The moment that stray thought crossed my mind, my right shoulder was severed.

 

I bit down on the torn World Tree root and absorbed what little life force remained.

 

Having lost too much blood, my head felt hazy. My reaction speed gradually slowed.

 

I’m going to die.

 

The moment I thought that, an arrow shot by Remal flew toward the Great Demon and struck it. Naturally, it was blocked without dealing any damage, but it seemed sufficient to draw the Great Demon’s attention.

 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I can buy you time, urgh…!”

 

At this rate, she’ll die first.

 

But thanks to that, I succeeded. The mana and divinity that had been frozen solid and immobile in my body were now all rotating around my heart as the center. It was already beyond my control.

 

“Hah….”

 

What the ritual needed was blood.

 

Since my blood was already pooled all over the floor, I raised my trembling finger and drew a small magic circle.

 

-Hooh….

 

The rampaging mana reacted to the magic circle. Mana and divinity compressed into one place. A core formed in the deepest part of my heart.

 

-A divine core made from dragon mana. Ha…!

 

The Demon Lord rarely let out an exclamation.

 

The mana core that symbolizes a Dark Mage. To have created it with divinity.

 

“Cough…!”

 

I pressed my chest with my remaining wrist.

 

My heart stopped. My condition wasn’t good enough to accept a core made of divinity. I wasn’t even sure if a human body could accept such a thing in the first place.

 

Hastily grown World Tree roots burrowed into my body. As if one wasn’t enough, dozens of thin branches pierced me in succession.

 

My severed wrist regrew. My shoulder recovered. My vision returned. But soon my body collapsed. My heart beat, then stopped, repeatedly.

 

Suddenly, a cold energy seeped into my heart.

 

My heart froze. It no longer beat. However, since the movement of mana didn’t stop, I didn’t die. The collapse of my body ceased.

 

-This is truly the most excellent imitation of a Dragon Heart.

 

Dragon Heart.

 

The heart of a dragon that contained infinite mana. Though it was an imperfect thing made from gathered fragments, it certainly possessed the same properties as that.

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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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