I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 27

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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 27

 

The time when the sunset glows.

 

The streets that would normally be filled with the laughter of citizens finishing their day were now echoing only with shouts and thunderous sounds.

 

“Quickly! This way. Hurry!”

“Leave only the minimum forces and gather everyone! It’s a Dark Mage. We found the Dark Mage!”

“What about Mage support? Not yet?”

 

Soldiers running toward the scene where dust clouds had not yet cleared, citizens fleeing from the commotion.

 

Beyond the broken door, there was a man staring blankly at that scene.

 

“Completely ruined…”

 

Though he couldn’t know what had happened, Priests and Knights from the Religious Order had stormed in. It was reasonable to consider that the connections with the Royal Family he had worked so hard to create were now completely useless.

 

“Ha, haha…”

 

Even while intermittently letting out hollow laughter, Dahan’s eyes never came into focus.

 

Rather, his eyes were gradually closing. The reason was simple.

 

His leg crushed under debris from the collapsed building, and the large amount of blood flowing from there.

 

Was Dahan’s body gradually trembling due to blood loss? Or was it because of the cold wind blowing from somewhere?

 

‘Considering the commotion outside, hoping for someone to rescue me would be unreasonable.’

 

Having quickly given up, he closed his eyes.

 

“How disappointing.”

 

Just as he was about to fall into a long sleep from which he didn’t know when he’d wake, a voice came from nearby.

 

Feeling somewhat familiar, Dahan struggled to open his eyes. What caught his blurry vision was someone’s back.

 

It was a man with long hair reaching down to his waist.

 

“To collapse like this. It was a building I had put quite some effort into obtaining.”

“…Who, who?”

“Don’t you recognize me? How disappointing. I remember we were quite close at one time.”

 

The long-haired man spoke as he turned around.

 

Though his face wasn’t clearly visible due to the backlighting, his exaggerated gestures and voice, as if performing in a play, came through clearly.

 

“You’re… Simone?”

 

The man didn’t affirm but just laughed it off, then asked a question.

 

“Do you want to live?”

“…If I ask you to… save me… will you save me?”

 

Dahan knew there was no way that would happen.

 

What he had done to Simone was such that he couldn’t complain even if he were killed on the spot.

 

However, Simone ignored the voice filled with desperation and only spoke irrelevant words while looking somewhere beyond the collapsed wall.

 

“Hmm, as expected of Master. You do things so boldly. It’s a shame I can’t watch from close up.”

“…Master?”

 

Simone seemed to come to his senses at Dahan’s words and shook his head.

 

“It’s nothing. Right, you asked if I’d save you? Of course I don’t want to. But depending on your answer, I might save you.”

 

Dahan coldly considered whether Simone could actually save him.

 

There was no way he could use Healing Magic or anything like that. But if he was someone who had possessed vast wealth, even if briefly, who knows if he might have hidden away one or two effective potions.

 

The moment that thought occurred to him, Dahan used all his remaining strength to shout.

 

“Save, save me. Save me! I want to live. I don’t want to die!”

“If I save you, what do you plan to give me?”

 

Simone asked back with a mysterious smile.

 

He could feel the strength gradually leaving his body, yet the other party was leisurely beyond measure. Dahan couldn’t help but feel urgency.

 

“Anything! I’ll give you anything. The money I embezzled, the Trading Company! If you want, even my younger sister…”

“Anything, you say. Good. I’ll save you. Ah, since we have history together, let me give you one piece of advice.”

 

The man continued quietly while removing the glasses he was wearing.

 

“When making deals with demons, one must be careful.”

“Demon…? What do you mean.”

 

For a brief moment, it felt as if the surrounding noise was growing distant.

 

But the man said nothing more.

 

* * *

 

The world screams.

 

In the blazing flames, Holy Knight Commander Dungkeil certainly felt that way.

 

He could be certain.

 

Over the past few weeks, arriving at the capital while tracking traces of the Dark Mage was absolutely not wrong.

 

His loyalty to the Goddess, his faith was right.

 

“It’s been a long time. Breathing the air of the Middle Realm.”

 

The Knight Commander definitely knew the figure visible beyond the dark blue flames.

 

“Still utterly and endlessly unpleasant.”

 

Even as he spoke those words, the wounds remaining on the man’s body were rapidly disappearing.

 

It wasn’t just his body. As if time was being reversed, his torn clothes and damaged scythe transformed to look like new.

 

At this sight that could only be called miraculous, the Knight Commander couldn’t control his trembling body. There was no mistake. Having witnessed that battle directly, even from a distance, he could assert it with certainty.

 

One who was utterly beautiful, yet even more hideous than that.

One more noble than any bloodline, yet whose very existence is blasphemous.

“M-My lord…!”

At the beast-like howling voice, the Demon King’s head tilted to one side.

“Kugh, kughheuk…”

 

It wasn’t because of fear. It was because of ecstasy.

 

The Great War, during the Demon Realm subjugation. The Hero who appeared from somewhere took the lead in every battle, slayed the Demon Lord, and monopolized the Goddess’s favor throughout all those moments.

 

He recalled how powerless he had been as the commander of the Holy Knight Order, praised as the Goddess’s sword.

 

“I will kill you and elevate the Goddess’s honor!”

 

It was definitely the Demon Lord. But it felt different from what he had seen in the Demon Realm.

 

‘I don’t know how he’s alive, but he must not have recovered from the damage inflicted by the Hero.’

 

He had no interest in the honor that would go to whoever defeated the Demon Lord. He only hoped to receive even a little of the Goddess’s attention.

 

However.

 

“You speak of interesting things. Does that vulgar thing have anything that could be called honor?”

 

As a sneer formed on the Demon Lord’s lips, the Knight Commander felt his body’s trembling completely stop.

 

What replaced it was tremendous rage.

 

“How dare you insult the Goddess!”

 

With rage he had never felt once in his life, the Knight Commander charged forward.

 

Strength several times greater than usual.

 

The sacred relic he had taken out appropriately transformed the surrounding environment, and the Archbishop’s prayer amplified his holy power.

 

He was filled with confidence that now he could cut down anyone in a single blow. Even a legendary dragon. However.

 

“…!”

 

His sword was deflected by the movement of the scythe in the Demon Lord’s hand. The strike he had considered fatal was too easily rendered useless.

 

“Do you want to punish me? But you see.”

 

The Knight Commander tried to continue his attack without being flustered, but the sword caught between the blade and handle couldn’t be easily withdrawn.

 

“Now! Attack…!”

“Now! Attack…!”

“Where could you possibly go? While you were making all that noise, all of your subordinates have been burned to death.”

Only after the Demon King’s words did the knight commander look around, and he could see the archbishop struggling to hold on amidst people who had been completely consumed by the dark blue flames.

“Archbishop!”

“M-more, Lord Dunkel….”

“Archbishop!”

“Don’t worry. …I can endure it. Your Majesty, please quickly deal with that demon…”

Flickering flames obscured the archbishop’s figure.

“Demon Lord…!”

The knight commander screamed at the top of his lungs and drew his sword.

Even as he was consumed by rage, one question lingered in his mind.

‘With flames this intense, even I wouldn’t be able to escape unharmed. But why… why can’t I feel even the slightest bit of heat?’

I didn’t think I wouldn’t be able to withstand it given all the spells and enchantments imbued in my armor, but some degree of damage was unavoidable.

Yet what could it mean that I couldn’t even feel the heat, and that breathing was also comfortable?

“Curious?”

“Originally I intended to kill you instantly. But there’s a human saying quite interesting things, isn’t there?”

 

The Knight Commander swung his sword and shouted, but the Demon Lord didn’t listen and only continued his own words.

 

The knight commander shouted while swinging his sword, but the demon lord paid no heed and simply continued speaking.

“Just a moment’s entertainment. While I’m at it, I have something to say to the one watching this situation through you lot.”

“What…?”

 

Ghostly wails echoed through the air.

 

So many souls were screaming and rushing in that even the Knight Commander, who originally couldn’t see souls, could see them with his own eyes.

 

Their identity was easy to guess. They were the souls of soldiers and Holy Knights who had burned to death in the flames the Demon Lord had unleashed.

 

“Are you watching? You lowly thing. I have returned.”

 

The Knight Commander gritted his teeth, instinctively knowing who those words were directed at. Immediately after, he could feel an enormous amount of Holy Power pouring down, unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

 

“Goddess!”

 

He felt his body breaking down from the unbearable Holy Power, but the Knight Commander didn’t care at all.

 

Only this moment.

 

Moved by the fact that the Goddess was watching him, he focused on burning himself even more.

 

The Holy Power covering his entire body began to take physical form and rampage. A form that could itself be called an aura, transcending common sense.

 

‘I’ve never seen anything like this, not even from that Hero. With this, even I can defeat the Demon Lord…’

 

However, far from retreating, the Demon Lord erased the smile from his lips and frowned in displeasure as he spoke.

 

“As expected, that voyeurism of yours remains unchanged.”

“Die!”

 

As he charged at the Demon Lord, the Knight Commander’s Holy Power amplified greatly once more.

 

‘This Holy Power is…’

 

The Archbishop’s Holy Power. He had disregarded his own life and transmitted all his Holy Power.

 

“…This is getting a bit dangerous.”

 

His enhanced body moved at tremendous speed and rushed toward the Demon Lord. However, what had become even faster was the Knight Commander’s consciousness.

 

In a world where even the flickering flames seemed to have stopped, the Knight Commander paradoxically felt cold.

 

“Ice Spirit.”

 

The moment he came to his senses, an ice monster was placed before his eyes.

 

“How, how is this possible…”

 

It was screaming as it blocked the Knight Commander’s attack.

 

Of course, it wasn’t invincible either, as it rapidly melted and shrank in size. When the souls hovering around the Demon Lord inhabited it, it seemed to gradually recover, but that too soon reached its limit.

 

What remained at the tip of the Knight Commander’s sword was a single small Ice Fragment.

 

The moment he realized it was exactly the same shape as what the Golden Star Trading Company Owner had been trying to protect.

 

“Tsk. What a waste.”

 

What was that comment directed at? The Demon Lord clicked his tongue, picked up the Ice Fragment, and tucked it into his chest. At the same time, the flames that had been burning the surroundings completely disappeared.

 

‘Now’s my chance…!’

 

The Demon Lord’s power must have been exhausted from blocking that last attack.

 

Even though his strength had greatly diminished after encountering an obstacle midway, the Holy Power remaining in his body was still sufficient. With that judgment, the Knight Commander’s sword slashed the Demon Lord’s neck.

 

The Demon Lord fell, scattering blood.

 

A vision of the smiling Goddess seemed to appear before his eyes. Soon the Knight Commander realized it wasn’t an illusion.

 

‘The Goddess has personally descended to this place to commend the achievement of slaying the Demon Lord…!’

 

The Goddess, scattering pure white radiance, spread her arms and slowly approached. The Knight Commander threw down his weapon and tried to embrace her, shedding tears of joy.

 

But he couldn’t.

 

“Did you expect that?”

 

A blade piercing through his chest.

 

What the Knight Commander met was not the Goddess’s warm embrace, but cold metal.

 

The Knight Commander turned his head with difficulty. His rigidly frozen neck cracked and broke, but he could see who had stabbed him.

 

“Why would the Goddess embrace someone like you?”

 

The Demon Lord, who should have died from being cut by the sword, mocked the Knight Commander as he spoke.

 

Unable to endure, the Knight Commander fell to his knees on the spot. Though he had sufficient Holy Power to heal his body, his collapsing body would only be damaged even more severely by the Holy Power.

 

“Deceiving enemies is one of the few pleasures of demons.”

 

The Knight Commander’s body slowly began to burn.

 

As he writhed in agony and died, only the chilling laughter of the demon echoed in his ears.

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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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