I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 14

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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 14

 

Dark streets.

 

The laughter and cheers that had filled the air just a few hours ago had vanished.

 

Rampaging shouts, corpses scattered across the roads.

 

“P-please spare me!”

“What is this…! I’ve never heard of such a thing…”

“A demon, it’s a demon. It must be a demon enraged by its minion’s death…”

 

Citizens barricaded themselves in their homes, praying for this time to pass, while soldiers lost their will to fight.

 

The reason was one: a pale, ghostly monster wrapped in chains around its body.

 

-Let me see. Its instantaneous strength is about that of an orc.

“Orc?”

 

I asked quietly.

 

It seemed like a name I’d heard somewhere before, but one that didn’t come to mind easily.

 

-It’s a race that went extinct in ancient times. They worshipped combat and possessed high loyalty. Along with the strength to match it.

“Why did such a race go extinct?”

-The Hero exterminated them. Most orcs lived in our Demon Realm, you see.

 

As the Demon Lord said, the monster’s strength was powerful. But if that was all there was to it, the soldiers would have subdued it long ago.

 

-An orc that can’t be seen or attacked. To humans, it’s a disaster incarnate.

 

That was right. The monster’s true identity was a Military Spirit. It was a spirit entity through and through.

 

Those without Spirit Sight cannot see it with their eyes, and attacks without mana cannot harm it.

 

An existence that even well-trained soldiers had absolutely no way to deal with. This was why the soldiers could only be helplessly defeated.

 

“The efficiency is poor.”

 

Each time the Military Spirit exerted its power, its spirit form scattered bit by bit.

 

Though it was recovering by drawing in the souls of the soldiers it killed, from my position of absorbing souls to build up my level, this wasn’t a particularly welcome situation.

 

-It’s actually the opposite. Since you can’t absorb souls right now anyway. Aren’t you making thorough use of them without any waste?

‘I feel like I could do more…’

 

Though there was quite a shock when absorbing the soul fragments, it didn’t feel overwhelming.

 

However, I didn’t voice my thoughts and picked up a spear that had fallen to the ground.

 

The soldiers weren’t all just standing around getting beaten foolishly.

 

Everyone knew that the current situation was caused by a Dark Mage.

 

Even if they didn’t know the Military Spirit’s true identity, it wasn’t difficult to conclude that it was a familiar controlled by the Dark Mage. If so, there would definitely be someone targeting the Dark Mage who was the root cause.

 

“Die!”

 

A soldier who had approached while avoiding the Military Spirit thrust his spear.

 

I moved one large step and swung my arm. Spear shaft clashed against spear shaft, causing them to shake.

 

The soldier’s spear was deflected away.

 

-Quite useful. To have embodied it to this degree already. It wouldn’t be bad to make the spear your main weapon.

 

The spear technique I’d trained over the past few days. I had filled in my lacking talent with the Guard Captain’s soul.

 

Though it was still insufficient to be called excellent, it was at a level that couldn’t be carelessly ignored. But what the soldier faced wasn’t the spear blade.

 

“Guh…!”

 

The scythe held in my other hand pierced through the soldier’s neck. Blood burst forth as the life drained from the soldier’s eyes.

 

“As expected, this side is more comfortable.”

 

I threw away the spear shaft and wiped the blood that had splattered on my face.

 

I hadn’t known before, but now that I had absorbed the Guard Captain’s soul, I could tell for certain.

 

The spear was too large for my body that hadn’t finished growing yet to handle. The reason he had taught me the spear despite this was probably because he thought I wouldn’t need to use a spear immediately.

 

If I grew for just a few more years, I could have built a body suited for the spear. But for now, the old scythe was much more comfortable to handle.

 

“Over there. Shoot!”

 

Right after hearing a shout from somewhere, a barrage of arrows came flying.

 

They never reached me.

 

[Kieeeee-!]

 

No existence is as unrestricted by location as a spirit entity.

 

The Military Spirit that had been slaughtering soldiers appeared before me and caught the arrows. According to our contract, it prioritized protecting me above all else.

 

The arrows fell to the ground with a thud. Crumbled soul fragments scattered like smoke from where they had been embedded.

 

As if asking for praise, the Military Spirit thrust its empty face toward me, and I handed it the soul of the soldier I had just killed.

 

The soul screamed in agonizing pain as it became one with the Military Spirit.

 

-You shouldn’t trust the current method too much. When the composition of a collective changes, the collective is bound to be affected by it. In the worst case, there’s a possibility the Military Spirit could escape your control.

“I’ll have to be careful about that.”

 

Once this was over, it seemed I’d need to inspect the contract I made with the Military Spirit. But that was a story for later.

 

What I had to do right now was fulfill the terms of the contract, just like the Military Spirit.

 

Just as I was about to support the Military Spirit charging at the soldier with a bow using a Mana Bullet.

 

“Goddess, bless them!”

 

After an ominous energy flew in from somewhere, the expressions of the soldiers who had been groaning in pain became peaceful.

 

At the same time, energy flew toward me as well.

 

“Goddess, purify the darkness!”

 

There was no time to dodge. Like lightning striking down, the moment I recognized it, it had already reached me.

 

“…!”

 

My body felt heavy. My fingertips tingled. I felt suffocated as if I had fallen into the sea.

 

“What, what…!”

 

But that was all.

 

“How is a seed of darkness withstanding the Goddess’s power!”

“Is he such a powerful Dark Mage…!”

 

Holy Power, an energy that was like a natural enemy to Dark Mages.

 

It was a force that could melt the body of anyone with mana just by touching them, but I was already prepared for it.

 

-How unpleasant.

 

The moment the Demon Lord tried to attempt resurrection through my body. He had regenerated his body through Holy Power, gaining considerable resistance to it.

 

Even so, it was still painful. Unlike what had been merely remnants of power, this was clearly a type of attack that was hostile toward me. If I kept taking it, I wouldn’t remain unharmed.

 

I fired a Mana Bullet to stop the priest’s incantation, but.

 

Clang.

 

“The attack’s power is pathetic. He doesn’t seem to be a high-ranking Dark Mage. Perhaps he’s a novice who was lucky enough to obtain a good familiar.”

 

The figure of a man who had somehow blocked the priest’s path.

 

“Priest Roil. May I request your assistance?”

“Sir Narid! Why are you only coming now!”

“I apologize. I was delayed waiting for the Lord’s orders.”

 

A calm voice. Plate mail glinting in the torchlight. People in the same attire lined up behind him.

 

-Knights.

 

Knights.

 

Monsters who had transcended humanity using the aura accumulated in their bodies.

 

Weapons that subjugated demons and were active in wars.

 

They were already overflowing with confidence as if they had subdued me. It was natural, if it could be called natural, since priests and a Knight Order had gathered together to face a Dark Mage.

 

-Knights won’t be overpowered by orcs in terms of strength.

 

Even a Military Spirit with superhuman strength would have difficulty facing multiple knights. Of course.

 

“Graaah…!”

 

That was only when they could see it coming.

 

A knight screamed as the Military Spirit’s attack came from behind the knights. His body and armor were torn apart like paper by the powerful force.

 

Up to this point it was the same as before, but their response was on a different level from the soldiers.

 

Shriek-!

 

A blade embedded in the Military Spirit’s body as it revealed itself while attacking. The mental fortitude to target the enemy’s opening without being afraid of what happened to their comrade.

 

-What will you do?

 

The Demon Lord asked in a voice without laughter.

 

-If you’re going to run, now is the only time. If a contract is involved, I’ll tell you how to work around it. You should be able to finish before the sun rises.

“I told you. I have no intention of running away.”

 

If I was going to run, I would have run long ago. Facing the Knight Order this early was unexpected, but this much was well within my anticipated range.

 

“Deception.”

 

While the knights were distracted by the Military Spirit, I activated Deception Magic. I quickly concealed my body and then dispelled the magic.

 

“Where did the Dark Mage go?”

“Did he run away?”

“Vice-captain! Lead half the men and deal with the familiar! I’ll search for the Dark Mage.”

 

Even having the luxury to divide personnel in this situation. Indeed, a knight is truly a knight.

 

“The attacks aren’t working!”

“It disappeared!”

“There, over there! That thing is a spirit!”

 

The priest’s cry.

 

Even if he was a bastard who conspired with the lord to help execute citizens, a priest was still a priest. It meant he possessed at least Spirit Sight.

 

“A spirit, then. All personnel, permission to use aura granted.”

 

Blue energy bloomed from the knights’ swords. It was aura, the source of power that made knights into knights.

 

-Aura would be lethal to spirits too. Since it’s not a single entity, the shock would be less, but the situation is different from before.

 

The priest who could see souls would reveal the location, and the moment its form was revealed, they could attack with aura capable of dealing effective damage.

 

It was certainly an effective response. However.

 

“Deception.”

 

Once again, a magic circle bloomed from my fingertips.

 

“What, what!”

“What’s wrong, priest? The direction…”

“It’s gone. Reverse summoning?”

 

Even with Spirit Sight, one couldn’t see through deception.

 

About 2 seconds until the Military Spirit escaped the priest’s sight. My mana was sufficient.

 

-I did teach you deception, but… I don’t remember teaching you how to apply it to objects other than yourself?

“It wasn’t difficult.”

 

The Military Spirit was connected to me through a contract binding our souls. Though not physically connected, from a magical perspective, it belonged to me. It could be considered part of me.

 

Even though the mana consumption was nearly double the usual amount, using it intermittently like this posed no problem at all.

 

-That’s not as easy as it sounds…

“More importantly, do I have to give verbal commands every time when handling enslaved souls?”

-No, that’s not necessary. If you focus on the connection, you can substitute commands with will alone.

“Then.”

 

That was fortunate. The current Military Spirit was certainly powerful, but completely inefficient.

 

Its movements were erratic, and it took too long to withdraw its physical force after attacking, making it a target.

 

If I could control that…

 

“Go.”

 

As the Military Spirit headed toward the knights, the knights who sensed the attack prepared themselves.

 

The moment its form was revealed, blades filled with aura would surely slice the Military Spirit to pieces.

 

That didn’t happen.

 

“Gaaaah…!”

“Wh-where is it!”

 

The magic circle flickering at my fingertips. Though the time was certainly short, it was enough to prevent the Military Spirit’s form from being revealed to the world.

 

“There, no there! To the right…!”

 

Only the priest, who could see the Military Spirit besides me, stamped his feet and screamed.

 

It was useless.

 

The knights wreathed in aura swung their swords frantically but couldn’t hit it. There was no way they could.

 

The Military Spirit, which wasn’t greatly constrained by physical limitations, displayed bizarre movements according to my will. It overlapped with knights’ bodies, entered the ground, or floated in the air.

 

The magic circle continuously flickering at my fingertips concealed the spirit’s form that briefly appeared.

 

-Ha, hahaha!

 

While the Demon Lord’s hollow laughter disturbed my ears, most of the knights were dealt with.

 

What remained was one Knight Commander.

 

Perhaps because he was indeed a Knight Commander, he somehow managed to dodge attacks he couldn’t even see. Rather than having extraordinary senses, it felt like he was predicting where attacks would come from.

 

Had he figured out the pattern while his subordinates were being defeated?

 

Seeing his movements gradually show more composure, I deliberately kept the Military Spirit at a distance.

 

“…”

“S-Sir Narid…!”

 

The Knight Commander continued moving his body. His appearance looked somewhat like he was dancing.

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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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