I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 2

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

Chapter 2

 

After being defeated by the Hero.

 

The Demon Lord, who had been waiting for a chance at resurrection with only his soul remaining, opened his eyes in a human body.

 

‘A follower, perhaps.’

 

The faint magical power remaining in the body supported that assumption. Though it was annoying that they hadn’t responded to the Summoning Command, at this level they wouldn’t have been much help even if they had come.

 

Rather, it was admirable that they knew their purpose and offered their body like this.

 

If left alone, he would lose this hard-won flesh once again.

 

‘What a pathetic body.’

 

The completely ruined body was taking additional damage in real-time from holy power.

 

He used the power he had gathered for resurrection to regenerate the flesh.

 

Though using a weak human body wasn’t particularly appealing, what mattered was that a vessel existed to contain his soul. It was much better than reconstructing a body from scratch.

 

‘If I had my way, I’d tear that Hero bastard apart right now…’

 

By his estimation, it would take about three hundred years to fully recover his previous power. Even a mighty transcendent being like the Demon Lord couldn’t do it any faster.

 

‘The moment I fully recover my power, the Middle Realm will learn. The true terror of the Demon Lord. The disgusting Goddess’s true nature.’

 

Thinking of the future hundreds of years hence, the Demon Lord burst into hearty laughter.

 

…No, he tried to burst into laughter.

 

‘What?’

 

But no matter how hard he tried, his mouth wouldn’t open. Only then did the Demon Lord realize that not a single part of his body was moving as he willed.

 

Was it a side effect from losing his physical form? A backlash from completely exhausting the power stored in his soul?

 

Thinking it might be both, the Demon Lord once again checked his own condition. And then.

 

“…My body is healed?”

 

For some reason, he felt his mouth open when it shouldn’t have.

 

* * *

 

The moment I grasped the soul that was emitting beautiful light, it vanished without a trace as if it had never existed in this world.

 

Immediately after, my body was miraculously healed.

 

Broken bones mended, melted skin regenerated. My reddened vision was restored.

 

Breathing was still difficult in the dense holy power, but that was all. My skin no longer melted away, nor did it stimulate the magical power within my body.

 

Truly an amazing miracle.

 

Could it have actually been a type of Spirit Medicine rather than a soul? The legendary Secret Medicine that could even revive the dead—an Elixir—came to mind.

 

If it was an Elixir, the current situation made sense. Though it was literally something that only appeared in legends, this place was the Core of Demon Realm. It wouldn’t be strange for the Demon Lord to have one or two such items.

 

It was truly regrettable. If I could have taken such a treasure to sell, my status as an Apprentice Dark Mage wouldn’t be any problem at all. Depending on who I sold it to, it might even have been possible to obtain Imperial Noble status.

 

“…No.”

 

Thanks to it, I had saved my life, so I should be satisfied with that. I tried to quickly escape this Pit and return after finding something profitable as planned.

 

I would have done so, if not for the voice that suddenly rang in my head.

 

-What are you, wretch.

 

My body froze as I was looking up at the hill that could be called a cliff.

 

‘Was there still a priest who hadn’t returned?’

 

However, I couldn’t sense any priestly compassion in the voice. Only an tremendous level of intimidation pressed down on me persistently.

 

Even when I turned my head to find the source of the voice, there was no sign of anyone. Along with a feeling as if I’d been possessed by a ghost, my memories from moments before came back to life.

 

What if the thing that had revived my dying body was actually a soul as I’d originally thought? Could the words about being pathetic not have been something I misheard in my pain-addled state?

 

The tales of Dark Mages who tried to handle souls beyond their capability and were devoured in return are famous. Therefore, one of the most important things for a Dark Mage is objective judgment of their own abilities.

 

Though I was only an Apprentice Dark Mage, precisely because of that, I knew better than anyone how miserable my level was. If I hadn’t been in a near-death state like before, I never would have carelessly touched a suspicious soul while defenseless.

 

-I asked what you are. Don’t you know how to answer?

“…Who?”

 

I needed to identify the voice first. Only then could I think of how to respond.

 

‘Judging by how my body recovered instantly, it’s a priest’s soul. And the soul of a considerably High Priest at that. Being at the center of this fierce battle means they were active even in the final fight. In that case…’

 

I recalled the Hero’s companions from the rumors.

 

The candidates narrowed down instantly. Though I hadn’t heard they were dead, that was understandable since news of victory would have taken priority.

 

-Answering my question with a question. You’re quite a spirited one.

 

I got goosebumps instantly. I had the intuition that if I didn’t speak immediately, I would face something unpleasant.

 

“My name is Jude. I’m an adventurer who came here after hearing rumors that the war had ended.”

 

It would be better to hide the fact that I’m a Dark Mage. Though I’m not sure if that’s even possible.

 

“Excuse me, but are you a Saint…?”

 

The overwhelming presence that only those born to stand above others could possess. The compassion and ability to instantly heal a dying body. The divine power that no longer destroyed my body—all these factors led to one conclusion.

 

‘This soul definitely belongs to a Saint!’

 

I couldn’t understand why the soul of a Saint, the Goddess’s foremost servant, was trapped here in this Underground Demon Realm.

 

At least the fortunate thing was that if she was a Saint, she would follow the Goddess’s order and wouldn’t try to steal my body.

 

-So you weren’t a follower who came seeking this body’s resurrection. How insolent, but since I’ve heard quite an amusing story, I’ll let it slide. To think there’s someone who would mistake me for the Goddess’s Saint.

 

‘You’re not… a Saint?’

 

-But be careful. There won’t be a second time.

 

My mind became complicated. I was certain she was a Saint, but the voice was denying it.

 

There was even subtle pressure to guess her true identity correctly…!

 

I tried to identify her by comparing her to each of the Hero’s companions one by one, but none matched. As I desperately recalled names I’d only heard in rumors, a possibility vaguely emerged.

 

‘No way…’

 

My heart denied that possibility, but my reason whispered that it was the correct answer.

 

“…Demon Lord?”

-You’re not completely stupid after all. Yes. I am the Demon Lord. The source of all evil and misfortune, and the rightful ruler of the Demon Realm.

 

Alarm bells rang in my head. The Demon Lord was a destroyer of order. Someone who wouldn’t hesitate to steal a human’s body for their own resurrection.

 

-With your body, I will tear the Hero apart and destroy the Middle Realm. In the end, I will drag even that detestable Goddess down from her Divine Throne.

 

The pinnacle of evil incomparable to anything else. A transcendent being that the Hero barely managed to defeat by gathering the power of the entire continent. His resurrection meant that disaster would once again cast its shadow over the world.

 

My simple intention to find something profitable and live a carefree life had inadvertently brought about a catastrophe that might destroy the world.

 

-Congratulations, Jude. Through you, I have been resurrected upon this land once more.

 

At the same time, I felt an tremendous aura.

 

“Ah, aah…”

 

It wasn’t physical force or magical power. Just a natural phenomenon caused by revealing an overwhelmingly superior soul.

 

-I don’t know how your soul hasn’t been annihilated yet after taking me into your body, but that ends now.

 

Death.

 

-Souls inherently possess tremendous power. I used quite a lot of power healing your body, so I’ll replenish the consumed power with your soul.

 

No, the Demon Lord would devour my soul.

 

An act that was taboo even among the soul-manipulating dark magic. However, if the subject was the Demon Lord, doubting the truth of those words would be foolish.

 

Tremendous fear and despair washed over me. My body, already beyond control, lost its strength and collapsed to the ground.

 

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain that would come.

 

“…”

-…

“…?”

 

And nothing happened.

 

-…What is this? What the hell is this!

 

There was no pain of my soul being devoured, no loss of will. Only the Demon Lord’s incomprehensible outcry disturbing my head.

 

I tried moving my body as a test, and my legs that had been buried in sand moved perfectly fine as if they had never lost strength.

 

“Um…”

-Why can’t I absorb your soul? Even though I may have lost my power, this is just a human soul!

 

An outcry directed at no one in particular. For some reason, that tremendous pressure from before seemed to have diminished somewhat.

 

I didn’t die. I’m not dying.

 

The moment I realized that, a question naturally pushed itself into my mind.

 

‘Is this really the Demon Lord?’

 

I knew from my Master how terrifying the Demon Lord was.

 

The Middle Realm would be thrown into chaos just by the appearance of Lower Demons, and he was the ruler of a world composed of such demons. A being of literally different dimensions. A transcendent existence beyond human comprehension.

 

For such a Demon Lord to be unable to steal the body of someone who was merely an Apprentice Dark Mage, even if he had fallen after being defeated by the Hero, was absurd.

 

My thoughts naturally flowed toward the possibility that the voice’s identity wasn’t the Demon Lord.

 

-What is your true identity?

“As I mentioned earlier, I’m an adven…”

-An adventurer? Don’t lie to me! Aren’t you just like a crow that came to the battlefield looking for scraps! How can someone like you resist my soul?

 

My revered Master had said to ‘be wary of those who don’t hesitate to lie.’ At the same time, he also taught that ‘all intelligent beings are prone to lying.’

 

This would be no different even for demons. Even the saying that devils don’t lie was a falsehood spread by the demons themselves.

 

‘Probably just a lower demon impersonating the Demon Lord.’

 

The most common scam that those who walk the path of dark magic fall for is when summoned demons deceive about their abilities to exploit contracts for excessive profit.

 

With each one claiming to be some count or duke, the attempts by Dark Mages to document the hierarchy of demons in writing had repeatedly ended in failure.

 

-Yes, Goddess! You sent this one to mock me!

 

Without even realizing that its true identity had been exposed, the demon was bursting with rage.

 

-Not content with trying to eliminate me using a mere Hero, you dare to toy with me like this. I will definitely erase you from this world…!

 

Demons are extremely dangerous even if they’re lower demons, but the one that had arbitrarily entered my body was at most a soul entity. Even that didn’t seem capable of affecting me.

 

While it was surprising that it healed my body, it seemed to have exhausted all its power doing so. Or perhaps even the memory of being injured was an illusion shown by the demon.

 

Thinking this way made me feel much more at ease.

 

“Sorry to interrupt while you’re talking.”

-What is it, dog of the Goddess!

“Can’t you even sense the mana in my body? I’m a Dark Mage, even if just an apprentice, so there’s no way the Goddess would have sent me.”

 

Mana was power that mimicked the demonic energy of devils. Using a Mana Core to process atmospheric mana into magical power was a well-known characteristic of Dark Mages.

 

If I had been a Goddess’s Minion, what would have occupied that place would have been divine power.

 

-…!

 

The self-proclaimed Demon Lord flew into a rage as if hit where it hurt, but there was nothing left to fear.

 

“You seem to be a Lower-rank Demon that barely avoided annihilation, but if you’re going to impersonate someone, you should do it a bit more properly. Of course, that’s assuming there’ll be a next time.”

-Insolent fool! How dare you, how dare you…!

 

Just as I was tuning out the demon’s voice and pondering how to escape this pit.

 

-To use this level of power in my current state, I’ll have to accept great losses, but…

 

The divine energy that filled the surroundings began to change. Tremendous power was converted into magical force. The air rippled as magic circles drew themselves.

 

-You seem to be a rather elaborate toy. I’ll make you submit and repay the Goddess with humiliation.

 

Black light flickered from dozens of magic circles. I’d never heard of magic operating in this way. Just as the thought that something was wrong was about to cross my mind.

 

-Submit to me, insignificant thing.

 

Darkness radiating an ominous aura covered the world.

 

“…?”

-….

 

As expected, nothing happened.

 

-Don’t tell me…

 

No.

 

-I’ve been subjugated in reverse…?

 

Something had apparently happened after all.

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