I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 149

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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 149

 

“The world is….”

 

The man muttered in a daze. He had no choice but to do so.

 

Gentle waves. Falling raindrops. Perhaps it could even be called a somewhat sentimental scene, but who could harbor such sentiment upon seeing the sight visible from afar.

 

Beyond the horizon. The distant ocean was collapsing. The world was collapsing.

 

From the dim edge of the world, little by little. Everything was scattering as faint clusters of light.

 

People screamed and fled.

 

However, the man could not flee. If this was indeed the world itself collapsing as he thought, it would be useless to run anywhere. And.

 

“….”

 

The man turned his gaze away from the beautiful clusters of light and looked down below.

 

His severed legs. Blood flowing endlessly.

 

It wasn’t just his legs. His right arm, which had been firmly trained, had also been gruesomely torn off. The fact that he was clinging to life in what should have been an instant death situation was probably thanks to the life force overflowing on the continent.

 

‘At this rate, wielding a sword again would be impossible.’

 

The process of finding the Spirit’s Tears and breaking its seal was by no means an easy task. Even for him, who prided himself as the kingdom’s finest swordsman, it required considerable sacrifice.

 

The man who let out a sigh opened his mouth.

 

“Stop crying. It’s not like you, Melissa.”

 

The Witch was clutching the man’s clothes and shedding endless tears. Regardless of what was happening around them, without caring that her robe was getting soaked and ruined by seawater and blood.

 

“Run away. There’s nothing good about staying here long.”

 

“…First, to a priest.”

 

“What can you expect from those who have lost their holy power. I’m telling you to give up.”

 

“Ator…!”

 

The Witch’s face was a complete mess, not even thinking to wipe away her tears and snot.

 

Ator wiped her face with his remaining hand and smiled.

 

“I told you. Crying is not like you.”

 

“But you…!”

 

“For the end, I want to be with you smiling.”

 

The Witch contorted her face as if angry, then shed tears, then soon burst into bitter laughter.

 

“Yes. Much better to look at.”

 

The two leaned against the sand wall the Witch had created, facing the waves and watching the collapsing world.

 

The clusters of light that had been gradually scattering from beyond the horizon were getting closer. At this rate, in just a few hours. Even this place where they were seemed like it would disappear.

 

What would happen to them when that time came?

 

Would they fall into nothingness and struggle helplessly, or would they become one with those clusters of light?

 

It was when such questions arose.

 

“You were still alive.”

 

“You are….”

 

Someone approached and stood beside them. Ator, who had turned his head with blurring vision, could only recognize him after frowning deeply.

 

“…What business brings the Empire’s chancellor all the way to the edge of the continent?”

 

“I came to commend you for completing your mission well.”

 

“Mission, you say. This is.”

 

“Something my younger sibling requested. Right?”

 

He smiled freshly and pulled out a bottle from his chest.

 

“Drink it all down. It’s good for your body. Even if it can’t regenerate lost limbs, it’ll keep you from dying immediately.”

 

While looking at him with a bewildered expression, Melissa snatched the bottle and glared at Dahan with a suspicious face.

 

However, Dahan shrugged as if it didn’t matter and sat down beside them.

 

“Miril. She’s an outstanding child, incomparable to Dahan. Already controlling the golden star and having enough influence to affect even the Dawn Organization.”

 

Melissa, who was feeding the potion to the dying Ator, coughed. Thanks to that, some of the potion spilled onto Ator’s clothes. Dahan, looking at it as if it were a waste, said.

 

“But she couldn’t reach the wisdom of a demon who has lived for thousands of years.”

 

“Are you admitting it? Your true identity.”

 

“What would be the point of denying it now?”

 

He raised one hand and pointed to the approaching clusters of light. Melissa, who was drawing up mana, shook her head.

 

“The First Hero. Founding Emperor Epeldor was truly a hero.”

 

“What?”

 

Ator felt as if his mind, which had become quite clear thanks to the potion’s effects, was becoming dazed.

 

To think that words acknowledging the First Hero would come from the mouth of one who revealed himself to be a demon. If a priest had been in this place, he would have clutched his head, claiming to be under a mental attack.

 

“He killed the mutated monsters, executed the Dark Mages, and destroyed the demons that were scheming in the Middle Realm.”

 

Regardless, the demon continued speaking.

 

“They saved those who had fallen into despair and purified the world. What they did next was invade the Demon Realm.”

 

It was a story everyone knew. There were too many variations of the First Hero’s tale, but the common storyline was all the same.

 

“The vast Demon Realm. It took a long time to completely destroy an entire world. But he, he and his companions didn’t give up and accomplished it. To prevent the seeds of evil that would threaten the Middle Realm.”

 

However, a story heard from a demon’s mouth couldn’t be the same as human history.

 

There was no such story in history. How much time they spent in the Demon Realm. Perhaps there wasn’t even the leisure to record such things.

 

“And they defeated the Demon Lord.”

 

It was a tone that felt no emotion, as if telling someone else’s story.

 

“The Hero had already consumed much of his power, but he succeeded. Because fate, the world was helping him. Yes. The Demon Realm helped the Hero.”

 

Ator suddenly realized something strange in his words.

 

“Everything that made up the vast Demon Realm collapsed, leaving only a small piece of land. The once abundant nature became barren, becoming a world where living beings could hardly survive.”

 

The Demon Realm helped the Hero. The world itself gave power to the Hero even as it collapsed.

 

That somehow felt similar to the current situation. He didn’t know if it was exactly the same, but quite so.

 

Melissa, who glanced back, also had a hardened expression. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.

 

“The Demon Lord finally made a decision. He realized that if they continued fighting like this, the beloved Demon Realm would disappear without leaving a trace. He acknowledged defeat.”

 

“Love, you say.”

 

“You may not believe it, but he was quite an idealistic ruler. A monarch respected by all demons.”

 

As if telling an amusing joke, the demon spoke with a smile.

 

“Thus the Hero achieved victory.”

 

Only after briefly containing the laughter he had been letting out for a while did the demon speak.

 

“The Demon Lord promised a future reckoning. But the Goddess. She who had dealt the most devastating defeat to the king was no fool. Before the Demon Lord could take revenge, she manipulated his followers to conquer the Demon Realm. It was the birth of the Second Hero. Ruin.”

 

“The Artificial Hero Project. Are you saying the Goddess was behind it.”

 

“Ah, that’s not it. Even without the Goddess, that would have inevitably happened. You know, don’t you? That human greed has no end.”

 

As the heir to a kingdom, Ator knew this well.

 

It wasn’t entirely untrue that he had fled because he found it disgusting. Like the Hero who had embarked on a noble journey to save the world, not for personal gain. He too had wanted to harbor the same feelings.

 

Of course, it didn’t go as he wished. Melissa would be no different. She had to watch her father sacrifice the Tower’s mages to satisfy his own greed.

 

“If the current Hero truly wished to save the world, he shouldn’t have fought in the Middle Realm.”

 

“….”

 

A world falling apart.

 

If the demon had been telling only the truth, this would be because of the battle between the Hero and Demon Lord.

 

The laws surrounding this world, fate itself. It was pouring all the world’s resources to send to the Hero.

 

The longer the battle continued, the more the world would race toward destruction. Even if the Hero won in the end, what would remain?

 

“Of course, the current Demon Lord is weak. Compared to his prime, that is, before his defeat to the First Hero… Well, it would be embarrassing to even compare. Originally, he could have easily sustained at least one Hero opposing him.”

 

The demon’s words offered a bit of hope.

 

If the Hero succeeded in defeating the weakened Demon Lord right away, the collapse of this world might stop. If the entire world wouldn’t disappear, perhaps hope would remain.

 

However, Melissa asked with a suspicious expression.

 

“Then?”

 

Even if he had no immediate hostile intentions, she knew well that a demon wouldn’t tell them good news.

 

The demon hummed a tune and then uttered a single word.

 

“Gods.”

 

For a moment, both felt as if their breath had stopped.

 

“In the distant ancient times, six beings who made the Middle Realm prosperous.”

 

One ominous imagination came to mind. If what came to mind was correct, they might never be able to forgive themselves.

 

However, the demon, with a demon-like smile, confirmed that their imagination was true.

 

“If those awakened beings try to regain their power once more. The Middle Realm would have to consume enormous resources. Because that’s what divinity is.”

 

The reason why a world that originally would have had no trouble supporting the Hero had to send him power even while collapsing.

 

If it wasn’t only the Hero who coveted the world’s resources, if the world had already reached its limits. Just adding the small stone that was the Hero on top of that would be enough for everything to collapse.

 

“Are you saying it’s our, my fault.”

 

They had awakened the divinity that had been sleeping in the Spirit’s Tears to the world. There had been many sacrifices, but they believed it would be the key to saving the world.

 

Miril, the vice-leader of the Golden Star Trading Company, had said so.

 

But if that was a lie. If her words, actions, and even thoughts were all within the demon’s plan, then what had they done all this for…

 

“No.”

 

The demon declared firmly.

 

That it wasn’t their fault the world was racing toward destruction. Rather.

 

“You have saved the world.”

 

He said that.

 

Never trust a demon. It was a widely spread maxim that even three-year-old children knew, let alone Dark Mages.

 

But at this moment, facing destruction and death, could there be any sweeter words than these?

 

How could one not believe such sweet words?

 

“How can you say such a thing?”

 

“Well, because the Demon Lord’s purpose isn’t the destruction of the world.”

 

“You expect me to believe that…”

 

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it.”

 

Ator, who was about to argue back, closed his mouth.

 

Because the demon’s face saying those words looked somewhat sad.

 

“Hah…”

 

Ator sighed and rummaged through his belongings.

 

What he pulled out was a small water bottle. The demon who caught the water bottle Ator threw wore a puzzled expression.

 

“What is this?”

 

“Drink it.”

 

When he opened the lid, a strong alcoholic scent spread out. It was low-quality liquor, too crude for a kingdom’s prince to drink.

 

“It’s infinitely cheap compared to the potion you gave me, but the taste is decent.”

 

The demon let out a hollow laugh, took a sip, and stood up from his seat.

 

“Are you leaving?”

 

“Yes. Watching that from here is quite charming, but I have many things to do.”

 

Then he said with a mischievous smile.

 

“I’m not tactless enough to interfere with other people’s dates.”

 

And so the demon departed.

 

At the now quiet seaside, the two people burst into laughter while feeling the incoming waves.

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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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