I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 133

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

Chapter 133

 

My consciousness returned to the laboratory once again.

 

It was only a brief time of just a few minutes, but it was enough to grasp what was happening outside.

 

It was an absolute mess beyond belief.

 

As I had expected, the world was spinning out of control. The Hero’s Party was fighting against Kaella, a companion of the previous Hero, and Kaella had dropped meteors as if she intended to destroy the continent.

 

I don’t know how much time has passed since the Demon Lord took over my body. I realized there was a good chance that time was flowing differently from what I perceived. This wasn’t something that could happen in just a few days.

 

Thanks to that, I ended up using all the mana I had gathered.

 

What I used was Deception.

 

He had taught it to me in the form of magic. Since I shared body and soul with him, I could learn it easily, but other Mages couldn’t even interpret it.

 

That was only natural.

 

It wasn’t simply about creating illusions and deceiving others’ senses. The true power of Deception was that it could deceive anything. That target even included this world itself.

 

A lie told to the world. The power to alter even reality as a result. That was truly the Demon Lord’s Divine Authority.

 

Naturally, it wasn’t an easy thing to do.

 

The amount of power consumed varied depending on the target, range, or concept you were trying to deceive.

 

‘What exactly is his purpose?’

 

Even if I could continue gathering mana and casting magic from within here, it would be at an extremely weak level. There’s no way I could perform the miracle of eliminating meteors meant to destroy the continent.

 

I was only able to accomplish that because of the Demon Lord’s help. A considerable amount of the power the Demon Lord had gathered was consumed just moments ago.

 

That was strange.

 

I thought I understood the Demon Lord’s purpose to some extent.

 

In the fight with the Hero, at the crucial moment, he would sacrifice my soul instead. With that, he would end the Hero’s fate and defeat the Hero. As a result, the Demon Lord would survive by circumventing the laws. The Goddess, having lost her power, wouldn’t be able to handle him.

 

That’s why I tried to deceive him.

 

I tried to make him believe he had sacrificed my soul and let him fall to the Hero’s sword.

 

But what happened this time shook my conviction.

 

As a result, what he and I saved wasn’t just the Hero and his party. We prevented a catastrophe that would have probably killed more than half the continent’s population.

 

It wasn’t something the Demon Lord, of all beings, should do while consuming the power he had gathered all this time.

 

The only reason I could think of was to fulfill my wish. I didn’t want to see people like Shtidy and Albeng die before my eyes, never mind Johnny. But if it were the Demon Lord… I thought he would enjoy watching me suffer from their deaths.

 

But why? For what reason?

 

Just as my head was about to ache, the door opened.

 

“Come out.”

 

A Researcher was standing at the door. My reaction was slow due to my contemplation, but it didn’t matter.

 

What he dragged out wasn’t me, but someone who looked exactly like me.

 

I slowly followed them.

 

On the way to the laboratory, I encountered other Researchers and Test Subjects, but no one noticed me. This was my achievement. I had created an illusion in my form and hidden my real body to secure autonomous time.

 

Thanks to that, I was able to secure quite a lot of mana and explore other spaces besides the laboratory and room. The mana I barely gathered was all used to stop those meteors earlier. But I should be able to gather it faster than before.

 

I quickly slipped in before the door closed and arrived in front of the laboratory. Then I suddenly saw a face I had seen a little while ago pass by.

 

‘That’s…’

 

Kaela Rowan.

 

The companion of the Second Hero, the master of the Black Tower. Though she had a youthful face, it was definitely her.

 

* * *

 

Kaela Rowan had a thoroughly displeased expression.

 

The battle with the Hero’s Party was over, but the real work was just beginning. Because she had unnecessarily vented her emotions, the surrounding landscape was terrible. She had to erase the traces of battle and restore the path.

 

Filling the ground with magic, breaking ice, and so on. She was leading Dark Mages and repeating mechanical work when she suddenly spoke.

 

“I remembered.”

 

The Old Witch who was closely following behind Kaella and commanding the Dark Mages looked at her with a puzzled expression. Noticing the Old Witch’s gaze, Kaella shrugged her shoulders.

 

“That demon. I thought his face looked familiar. I was wondering where I had seen him before.”

 

“Are you saying it’s a face you know?”

 

“I had passed it off thinking I must have seen him on a battlefield. Was it there? How interesting.”

 

“When you say ‘there’?”

 

Kaella, who had kept her mouth shut for a moment at the Old Witch’s question, answered.

 

“There’s a place. A place overflowing with guys who are more like Dark Mages than actual Dark Mages.”

 

“….”

 

A smile appeared as if it were meant to be a joke, but it was an extremely awkward smile. The composure she hadn’t lost even while facing the Hero had disappeared.

 

Kaella, who had been casting magic with excessive gestures as if trying to shake something off, began to mutter.

 

“Did he even obtain a demon’s soul? Or was his body taken after the experiment?”

 

“Tower Master.”

 

Only then did the Old Witch realize where Kaella was talking about.

 

The Old Witch was also a Dark Mage. Moreover, she was a High-rank Dark Mage who could be counted on one hand across the Continent. Even so, after being defeated by Kaella, the reason she voluntarily became her subordinate was simple.

 

She wasn’t interested in the immense power and wisdom she possessed. It was because she felt pity for this woman who held such tremendous power. Because she knew what kind of past Kaella had lived through.

 

It was atonement for her past cooperation in the experiments.

 

“You mean that demon was a test subject in the artificial Hero project.”

 

“Wouldn’t that be the case.”

 

The Old Witch bowed her waist and spoke.

 

“I understand that most memories regarding that experiment were erased. I find it questionable that they’ve surfaced now. The possibility that you were hit by the demon’s mental attack is…”

 

“Me?”

 

“I misspoke.”

 

Kaella moved her mana to stop the Old Witch’s body from prostrating on the floor.

 

“It’s true that I had forgotten most of the experiment. But we’ve broken through quite a lot of trials, you know. I started regaining my memories at some point.”

 

After being finally selected from the experiment. Her brain was completely bleached, and she lived a well-crafted fake life until she faced the Hero and became his companion.

 

Therefore, when she regained her memories, all her companions were confused. They even suspected it might be a demon’s mental attack. Until they concluded it was breaking free from physical limitations in the process of transcending humanity.

 

The memories were so unbelievable that even the Hero holding the holy sword was confused.

 

“I also came to realize what part of my soul was.”

 

Kaella’s brilliant mind succeeded in reconstructing the experiment she couldn’t understand at the time. The experiment to artificially create Heroes. In the process, to artificially manipulate souls, they used past Heroes.

 

Great figures in history had already been dead and gone for a long time. However, the lingering thoughts contained in the objects they used were preserved even after hundreds of years. They had preserved them.

 

Those lingering thoughts were mixed into the souls of fetuses. Most couldn’t endure it and were stillborn, but the few who survived had to undergo lengthy experiments to awaken those thoughts.

 

What entered Kaella was from the First Magic Tower Master. It belonged to an Archmage and Sage.

 

It was at a speck-like level, and it wasn’t unique either. There were dozens of people like her in that facility alone.

 

“Perhaps that guy. He might have the same roots as me.”

 

Of course, it was meaningless now.

 

That guy was a demon, and among them, his body had been taken by the Demon Lord. His weak soul that couldn’t possess divinity would have long been absorbed by the Demon Lord and become nourishment.

 

However, that alone was enough to leave Kaella with a strange sentiment.

 

“I should have a little talk with the other kids.”

 

* * *

 

“You worked hard.”

 

A building in the Holy Nation. Locking up a warm and luxurious office tightly, a woman spoke.

 

What she held in her hand was a small crystal orb. Considering that artifacts engraved with Communication Magic boasted considerable prices, it was a treasure that not just anyone could possess.

 

However, she wasn’t someone who cared about such things. She was the vice president of the Continent’s largest Trading Company. On top of that, she was also in charge of the Holy Nation Branch Office.

 

“Don’t worry too much about it. Just returning alive is already amazing enough.”

 

Miril said so to the woman beyond the crystal orb.

 

Anyone would have said the same. The fight between the Hero and the Black Tower Master. That was more dangerous than anything the woman had experienced before.

 

“So. You couldn’t figure out who eliminated that meteorite?”

 

Miril asked, unable to hide her impatience.

 

“It would be nice if we could find them.”

 

Hearing the woman’s answer, Miril spoke gloomily. When the woman panicked and tried to console her, Miril soon smiled and asked.

 

“It’s okay. It can’t be helped. What about the search for him?”

 

The woman shook her head this time too.

 

“…Haah.”

 

A deep sigh burst from Miril’s lips.

 

“Right. I think those two might be the same person. As Ator said, maybe I should have gone there in advance even if it was a bit dangerous.”

 

The figure that came to her mind was one person. The Hero who always appeared at moments of crisis and solved everything.

 

“It’s okay. He’ll definitely appear.”

 

An existence whose grace couldn’t be fully repaid even if she devoted her entire life and soul. Someone she felt sorry for not being able to do much for when they met again…

 

“Of course, he’s the Hero. Even without the holy sword, nothing changes.”

 

She wasn’t talking about Ruin Epeldor who became Emperor, or Johnny who was a fake Hero. A Hero is a savior. She was talking about the benefactor who willingly saved her life in the face of death.

 

“I’ll tell Melissa about it. Yes. Then, please hang in there just a little longer.”

 

Miril let out a deep sigh after finishing the communication.

 

Should she consider it fortunate that her brother Dahan had become the Empire’s chancellor? Though she hadn’t inherited the position of trading company owner yet, she could gain much more autonomy than before.

 

Thanks to that, she could begin a full-scale search. She had discovered quite a few trading company secrets that only the trading company owner could access. It all started from her suspicion about Dahan, who had changed like a different person one day. But….

 

Miril, who had been sighing while processing documents, suddenly spoke.

 

“Who’s there? This is the Golden Star Trading Company. It’s not a place just anyone can enter….”

 

She reached out to activate the artifact under her desk while warning at the presence she felt.

 

However, Miril stopped without activating the artifact. It was because of the face of someone who revealed themselves from the shadows.

 

“Remal…?”

 

The Dark Elf who had last visited the trading company with Jude. Someone she had briefly shared a room with and formed a friendship.

 

“This is serious.”

 

It was also a face she never thought she would see again. More than a year had passed since they hurriedly left the trading company.

 

Remal looked around urgently and said.

 

“I need help.”

 

“Lord Jude is in danger.”

 

Miril shot up from her seat.

 

Miril shot up from her seat.

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