I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 28

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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 28

 

Cold air, terrible stench. The sound of rats crying, drawing closer and closer.

 

I opened my eyes to the sensation of bugs and rats burrowing into my embrace.

 

What came with the splitting headache was an intense sense of disorientation.

 

“…Where is this place.”

 

Darkness where I couldn’t see anything ahead.

 

For a moment, fear washed over me that I might have gone blind. Only after moving my mana to create a faint light could I tell that this was the sewers.

 

“Cough…!”

 

Even though I had only moved a tiny amount of mana, unbearable pain rushed through me.

 

The bugs and rats, startled by the sudden light and movement, fled.

 

“Answer me, Demon Lord. Hey!”

 

The Demon Lord didn’t answer.

 

When I closed my eyes and contemplated my soul, I could feel that the connection with him had grown faint.

 

‘What the hell happened.’

 

My last memory before losing consciousness was definitely up to being defeated by the Paladin and then surrendering my body to the Demon Lord.

 

But why am I in a place like this.

 

Perhaps decades of time had passed. After completing all the Hero’s trials and killing the Goddess. The Middle Realm might have been burned to ashes by the Demon Lord.

 

Crack…!

 

I gritted my teeth and got up from where I lay.

 

My muscles screamed in protest, but I couldn’t just stay still. I had to escape from here and then check what had happened to the situation.

 

However, my movement didn’t last long.

 

Something that fell from my chest rolled across the floor, making a loud noise.

 

I sighed and raised my mana to pick up the object that had fallen to the floor.

 

“This is…”

 

It was Eternal Ice containing a very faint soul.

 

* * *

 

Early dawn when the sun hadn’t yet risen.

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Royal Capital.”

“So? You’re not planning to spout nonsense about forgetting the way, are you?”

“As if that would happen.”

 

Two men and women entered the street that was unusually noisy for the time.

 

“I’m tired. I want to rest quickly.”

“I feel the same way, but it seems we’re a step too late.”

 

The man said with a serious face while looking around. The woman with a tired complexion frowned deeply and asked back.

 

“So?”

“Track the mana. You can do it, right?”

“…Here? Now?”

 

The woman’s face crumpled even more, but the man just smiled and urged her on without caring.

 

“I believe you can do it.”

“Ha, as if I’d fall for such words…”

“Please. The situation seems quite serious.”

 

At the continued request, the woman finally snorted and answered.

 

“Fine. I get it. I said I get it.”

 

As the woman chanted a spell, strange waves spread out around them.

 

The woman tilted her head and headed somewhere. The man quietly followed behind her.

 

Before long, what they faced was a massive crater.

 

It was so devastated that it was hard to tell what had originally been there, a space in the middle of the city that was impossible to believe.

 

“What was originally here?”

 

The woman asked with a completely hardened expression.

 

“Well. I don’t remember. As I said earlier, it’s been a long time since I came to the Royal Capital.”

 

Though his tone was playful, the man’s face was nothing but serious. He too had sensed that the crater before their eyes was extraordinary.

 

But their conversation soon came to a stop.

 

“Wait, stop. This area is currently under control. Turn back.”

 

A soldier who had been patrolling the area approached and blocked his way. The man with a troubled expression took out a small medallion from his chest and held it out to the soldier.

 

“What? What is this… Gasp!”

 

The soldier who had been wearing an indifferent expression immediately widened his eyes and bowed his head.

 

“I apologize for my rudeness.”

“It’s fine. Would it be alright if I stay here a bit longer? I have something to check briefly.”

“Yes. As long as you need.”

“Ah, wait a moment.”

 

The man stopped the soldier who was about to step back.

 

“Could you tell me what happened here? I’ve been staying in a distant place and just returned.”

“I will report. First…”

“You don’t need to be so formal. Just the main points briefly, speak comfortably.”

 

The man patted the shoulder of the sweating soldier as he spoke, but the soldier became even more tense than before as he continued.

 

“There was a Dark Mage extermination operation led by the Religious Order that infiltrated the kingdom. Twelve priests including an Archbishop from Balaih Cathedral. And an entire unit of Holy Knights from Church Headquarters, including their commander, were deployed.”

 

A sigh naturally escaped from the man’s mouth upon hearing the soldier’s words.

 

The Holy Knights were monsters that could be considered the nightmare of individual Dark Mages. Especially their commander – even the man himself couldn’t carelessly guarantee victory against such a strong opponent.

 

If a priest order including an Archbishop was added to that, it was obvious what would have happened to the Dark Mage’s life by now.

 

‘What a pity. He seemed like quite a decent fellow.’

 

For the man who had been tracking the Dark Mage for the past few days, it was nothing but regrettable.

 

“And they were completely annihilated.”

“…What?”

 

The man asked back as if it was absurd.

 

The soldier’s words were so shocking that he didn’t even notice the woman who had begun entering the lower part of the pit.

 

“The forces deployed by the kingdom were three hundred soldiers. According to the Religious Order’s demands, most were assigned to crowd control. It was clearly a move that disregarded our nation, but thanks to that, the soldiers’ casualties were limited to dozens…”

“No, wait. Say that again. What happened to the Religious Order personnel?”

“Complete annihilation. Archbishop Sireu and twelve priests, Holy Knight Commander Dungkeil and twenty paladins. Plus thirty-three soldiers. They failed to subjugate the Dark Mage and were completely annihilated.”

 

The soldier answered in a calm voice as he seemed to be gradually settling down, but the man listening to him began trembling more and more in contrast.

 

“You’re asking me to believe that… No, that can’t be right.”

 

The man held his head with one hand and organized his thoughts.

 

What he and his companion had been chasing was the Dark Mage who had killed the lord and knights in Belive Territory.

 

The investigation results suggested his nature wasn’t bad, so they had planned to nurture him and naturally draw him into their organization. But.

 

‘An entire unit of Holy Knights would be a force capable of subjugating mid-level demons without difficulty. If an Archbishop was added to that?’

 

They could even aim for the head of a high-level demon.

 

Of course, given the characteristic of demons where the gap becomes vast as they reach higher ranks, there was no guarantee that calculations would be absolute.

 

Even so, it wasn’t a force that a mere Dark Mage could handle.

 

“Were they chasing a demon…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. Thank you. That was quite helpful. You may go.”

 

The soldier bowed in greeting and left.

 

The man shook his head and looked for the woman, then immediately jumped down into the pit.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Even at the man’s question, the woman didn’t answer and looked around with her mouth agape.

 

“Hey, I say. Melissa!”

“Ah, yes. Did you call me?”

“…Do you know how many times I called you? Why are you acting so unlike yourself? Did you find the location of the dem… I mean, the Dark Mage?”

 

As the man pressed her, focus gradually returned to the eyes of the woman called Melissa. But she still answered in a voice that seemed lost in dreams.

 

“No. I couldn’t find him. I can’t find this.”

“Then why are you acting like this?”

“There’s no residual mana at all. All I can sense is a faint level of holy power. Just from the traces, it seems like the Religious Order guys might have self-destructed among themselves.”

“…That can’t be.”

 

That couldn’t be possible.

 

What the man saw as he looked around again was a crater so completely burned that he couldn’t even guess what magic had been used.

 

It was a terribly destroyed space where the original form was unrecognizable.

 

“It’s extremely sophisticated mana manipulation ability. How on earth did they do this? What kind of magic did they cast? If I could figure out even the slightest bit, my skills would improve by several levels instantly…”

 

The man grabbed Melissa’s shoulder with a serious face.

 

“This isn’t the time to be thinking about such things.”

“This is why those who only use their bodies… Do you know how important this is?”

“It’s war.”

“…What?”

 

“Religious Order figures were massacred in the heart of the Royal Capital. If it were just a few priests who died, they might let it slide, but…”

 

Not only the Archbishop, but an entire Holy Knight Order had died.

 

Damage too great to cover up even if they tried. The Religious Order absolutely could not remain idle.

 

Even to protect the authority of the Goddess they boasted about, they would have to avenge the dead.

 

“The damage the kingdom suffered in the operation was just a few soldiers. And the Dark Mage disappeared without a trace. From the Religious Order’s perspective, they’ll have no choice but to think he and the kingdom are on the same side.”

 

Then the place the Religious Order’s sword would be directed at was none other than the kingdom.

 

This was the reason the man had foreseen war.

 

Starting another war immediately after the great war ended would be a great burden for the Religious Order as well, but even so, it wouldn’t be strange to hear news of an invasion as early as tomorrow.

 

“The Royal Palace must be in complete chaos by now.”

“The Balaih Kingdom can’t fall yet, right? …No, wait. If we use that as a foundation to shape public opinion in neighboring countries, could we shorten the organization’s plans? But if we push too hard, the Dawn Order’s existence might be announced to the world already…”

“Stop. Stop with the useless thoughts. Your head isn’t meant for politics, is it.”

 

The man pulled away the woman’s hand as she muttered and bit her nails, then laughed while ruffling his hair.

 

“Then what are you going to do? It’s too late to inform headquarters and prepare.”

“First, let’s go to the Royal Palace.”

 

Looking at the sun beginning to rise, the man smiled.

 

“I should play the role of a son for once in a while.”

 

* * *

 

Holy Nation, Church Headquarters.

 

In a hall spacious enough to easily accommodate thousands of people, only two individuals were present.

 

An elder sitting in a red-decorated chair asked with an indifferent expression.

 

“So, the Demon Lord appeared?”

“Yes. The aura I felt, the magic he used, his words and actions as if he already knew the Goddess. It was definitely the Demon Lord, Alderion.”

 

The shocking story that Demon Lord Alderion, who had been defeated by the Hero not even a few months ago, had been resurrected.

 

Despite hearing what should be the most terrible news for the Religious Order, the elder only rested his chin on his hand and thought.

 

“The Saint said that the enemy the Goddess prophesied about was a new Demon Lord.”

 

A low, slow voice.

 

As if his throat was parched, the elder picked up a cup placed beside him, moistened his throat, and continued speaking.

 

“But now a dead Demon Lord has returned. How should we accept this?”

“…But it’s the truth.”

“Right. It must be. Information brought at the cost of abandoning an Archbishop shouldn’t be false.”

 

The elder looked down at the prostrated woman.

 

“Then that girl must be malfunctioning now.”

 

At the blunt statement, the woman drew in a sharp breath.

 

“Why are you so surprised? It’s a joke.”

“…”

“Go and tell them. Prepare for war.”

“Will that be alright? At such an important time.”

 

The woman who had been prostrating slowly raised her head and expressed her concern.

 

“It’s a holy war. This is for greater glory.”

 

A voice that felt no emotion whatsoever even while speaking of war.

 

The woman simply bowed her head and left her position.

 

One question kept circling in the departing woman’s mind.

 

‘Who was His Holiness making the target of his joke?’

 

From the context, it seemed like he was referring to the Saint, but somehow there was an even more blasphemous atmosphere…

 

The woman shook her head and quickened her pace.

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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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