I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 30

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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 30

 

Leaving the Royal Capital was no easy task.

 

Castle walls incomparably higher than those of other territories, soldiers controlling the city gates. Even the pain from my mana core every time I moved my mana.

 

Even if the soldiers’ attention wasn’t directed at me, revealing my identity to escape wasn’t a good idea.

 

Besides, in a situation where war might break out, it didn’t seem like they’d let me pass just for a few gold coins.

 

“…I have no choice.”

 

What I chose to escape from the Royal Capital were the sewers.

 

After stopping by the shopping district to purchase a bag, food supplies, and other items, I returned to the sewers I had escaped from a few hours earlier.

 

“Phew…”

 

Enduring the nauseating smell, I lit the torch, and a scene defiled with all sorts of filth came into view.

 

No matter how much light I had, it was easy to lose direction underground. The fact that I had been able to escape from the maze-like complex underground passages was close to a miracle.

 

‘Still, since I have a torch… it shouldn’t take too long.’

 

Suppressing another sigh, as I stepped into the sewers, palm-sized bugs fled from the light. Their glimpsed horrific appearance made me naturally frown.

 

Just a few hours ago, thinking that those things had been crawling all over my body while I was unconscious made me feel like vomiting.

 

“Aren’t those practically monsters?”

 

Normally, the Demon Lord’s mocking voice would have returned, but my words became meaningless muttering that came back as an echo.

 

I was newly concerned about the Demon Lord’s condition.

 

The weakened soul connection must be the reason I couldn’t hear his voice. What would I need to do to restore it?

 

Screech-!

 

It seemed not everything living in the sewers was afraid of light.

 

While I was walking lost in thought, a rat charged at me making a horrible shrieking sound.

 

The rat was knocked away by the torch I reflexively swung.

 

Though I had protected myself, the flame that flickered violently as if about to go out made my blood run cold.

 

Having the fire go out now would not be good.

 

I took out the scythe that had been carefully kept in my chest and struck down the struggling rat. The rat, which seemed about the size of a small child, died like that. And.

 

“…A soul?”

 

Near the dead rat’s body, a gray soul rose up. It was smaller than a human’s and its light was also dim, but it was definitely a soul.

 

‘Even such beasts have souls…’

 

A weak soul that I normally wouldn’t have discovered seemed to have been caught by my Spirit Sight, which had become sensitive as my Soul Magic proficiency increased. Like the soul fragments I had found in Belive Territory.

 

Of course, having absorbed valuable souls like those of the Knight Commander and mages, it wasn’t a target worthy of my interest.

 

Just as I was about to leave, satisfied with learning one fact I hadn’t known before, one thought stopped my steps.

 

‘If my soul was damaged, couldn’t it be fixed with a soul?’

 

No, there was no way a soul could be fixed with anything other than a soul.

 

Fearing it might disappear, I contained the rat’s soul in a Soul Vial and began drawing a magic circle with its blood.

 

‘Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I drew a magic circle directly like this.’

 

Though it was a Soul Magic circle I had mastered enough to draw with my eyes closed, it naturally took incomparably longer than when drawing with mana alone.

 

But the mana consumed and the burden on my mana core were greatly reduced.

 

“Phew…”

 

Taking a deep breath and flowing mana into the completed magic circle, a faint light burst forth from the red magic circle.

 

Enduring the pain from my mana core, I opened the Soul Vial’s lid, and thin chains emerged to capture the soul. Without prolonging it, I put the soul in my mouth.

 

“Ugh…”

 

A horrible taste different from when eating human souls. Along with a feeling as if I had scooped up filth flowing in the sewers, brief scenes flashed before my eyes.

 

After shaking my head to dispel the rat’s memories, I checked my physical condition.

 

Though slight, as expected, not only the connection with the Demon Lord’s soul but also my mana core had recovered.

 

“….”

 

Certainly a result worth celebrating.

 

If I continued absorbing souls like this, I would be able to return to my previous state before long.

 

But my attention was entirely focused elsewhere.

 

Because I had concentrated on the changes, I was able to realize something I hadn’t known before.

 

“Demon Lord…”

 

Just as my soul’s vessel had grown, the Demon Lord’s soul was also growing alongside it.

 

In a way, that could be seen as recovery.

 

“I see.”

 

It felt like a considerable amount of time had passed since I made the contract with the Demon Lord, but in reality, only a few weeks had gone by.

 

It was still too early to understand much about him. However, based on the contract terms, I could at least infer what he wanted.

 

What he wanted from me was revenge.

 

To kill those connected to the Demon Lord’s death, including the Goddess and the Hero. It was such a difficult condition that the word “impossible” naturally came to mind.

 

But thinking about it, that wasn’t the only condition he had presented to me.

 

Resurrection.

 

The other condition was to revive himself, the demon king who ruled over all evil things.

 

It was a condition I hadn’t even thought about, being too busy frantically following his lead.

 

That’s why I had been wary the moment he taught me Spirit Summoning.

 

It was natural to worry that he might try to steal my body through it to achieve resurrection. Looking at the current situation, fortunately that didn’t seem to be the case, but I couldn’t be completely at ease.

 

Demons, after all, are creatures that target moments of carelessness.

 

Anyway, through the Soul Magic I used this time, I was able to figure out one part of his plan for resurrection.

 

He was recovering his power by taking small portions of the souls I absorbed.

 

And I had been used by him without even knowing it.

 

I could now understand why the first magic he taught me was Soul Magic, and why he hadn’t tried to teach me any other magic besides Deception since then.

 

“Hmm…”

 

I sat in front of the dimmed magic circle and stared at it for a long time.

 

The Soul Magic he taught me was real. It had grown my soul and opened up possibilities.

 

But some part of it was also sharing those benefits with the Demon Lord.

 

In the end, I reached a conclusion.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

No matter how much I looked, I couldn’t figure it out.

 

My knowledge of magic was infinitely shallow. Analyzing a magic circle to understand what each part meant was a difficult task.

 

Especially if it was something the Demon Lord had deliberately hidden.

 

‘Is there no way?’

 

Modifying the magic circle before had been possible because it wasn’t much different from reorganizing messily written notes.

 

Magic circles work organically with their contents, so if you modify one part, the whole thing gets distorted.

 

If there was a way, it would only be to accumulate sufficient knowledge about magic.

 

While devising new magic was something difficult to achieve even with a lifetime of effort, analyzing already known magic was something a skilled mage could certainly accomplish.

 

One thing was certain: for that, I first needed to recover my body.

 

“For now…”

 

I brought down my scythe toward a rat that was rushing to devour its kin’s corpse.

 

I needed souls.

 

A great many souls at that.

 

* * *

 

“Did you hear that news? They say the Religious Order committed terrorism in the Royal Capital this time.”

“What? Does that make sense? How devout are the Priests?”

 

Rumors spread quickly.

 

“I heard the opposite. That the Royal Family joined hands with a Dark Mage and attacked the Archbishop of the Religious Order…”

“You! You’re saying dangerous things. Are you insulting the Royal Family?”

“Ah, no, when did I ever do that? I’m just saying that’s what the rumors are.”

 

There were those who believed in the Royal Family, and those who supported the Religious Order.

 

The claims from both sides were so contradictory that people couldn’t tell what the truth was.

 

Those who were dissatisfied with the taxes collected by the country, those whose faith in the Goddess was devout, believed the Religious Order. Those whose patriotism was stronger than their faith, those who had memories of being unable to receive healing from Priests due to lack of money, believed the Royal Family.

 

Amid the confusion, there was one thing that was certain.

 

War.

 

That thing which many people didn’t want to think about would soon arrive.

 

Indeed, it was widely known that the Royal Family had been stockpiling supplies on a large scale for several weeks, and that the atmosphere within the Religious Order was unusual.

 

Because of this, there was a place where people flocked to, which was the border city of Andril in the eastern part of the kingdom.

 

Most of them were those who secretly fled in fear of war, but that wasn’t all.

 

With peddlers trying to sell goods at high prices, slave hunters trying to capture and sell those who were fleeing, and mercenaries wanting to participate in the war, Andril was enjoying unprecedented prosperity since the founding of the nation.

 

The Wind Wolf Mercenary Group was also one of those who came to find such Andril.

 

“The atmosphere has been ominous lately. Did we really have to come all the way here?”

“If you don’t like it, go back, Gelly.”

“Why do you say such things? You’re making me feel hurt.”

 

Even though the number of monsters had decreased recently, the story was different for border areas far from the center like this.

 

If you wandered around alone and encountered a group of goblins, it would be hard to survive. Moreover, wasn’t this a time when you had to worry more about people than monsters?

 

The mercenary called Gelly pouted his lips and turned his horse around.

 

“So it’s true that it’s around here? The Dark Mage’s dun…”

“Shh!”

 

The Mercenary Captain glared and looked around. Realizing that fortunately there was no one around to eavesdrop, he sighed and scolded.

 

“How many times have I told you to watch your mouth?”

“I already checked around before saying anything. Haha…”

 

The mercenary called Gelly laughed awkwardly while scratching his head. The Mercenary Captain watching him felt another sigh coming on.

 

Among the people who came to this city for various reasons, the Wind Wolf Mercenary Group’s reason was a bit unique.

 

“Dungeons that are commonly found in other places haven’t been discovered at all in this area. The center of that is right here, Andril.”

“So what does that mean?”

“…It means there’s a high possibility that there was a powerful Dark Mage who made this area his territory. Such a Dark Mage would naturally have been mobilized for war. I’ve already explained this several times, haven’t I?”

 

At the Mercenary Captain’s words, Gelly instead beat his chest as if he was more frustrated and asked back.

 

“No, if such a thing really existed, other guys would have found it long ago. How can we find something that others couldn’t find?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t tell me you trust that woman?”

 

Gelly asked while gesturing toward the back.

 

Where his gaze was directed, there was someone completely wrapped up. That figure, keeping some distance from the other Knight Members, looked out of place to anyone who saw it.

 

“I told you. Trusting other races is…”

“Stop!”

 

The Mercenary Captain grimaced and covered Gelly’s mouth.

 

Although they were quite far apart, he shouldn’t judge that she couldn’t hear based on human standards.

 

“She’s different from other races.”

“How is she different?”

“Because she’s an Elf.”

 

Gelly made an expression as if to say ‘so what,’ but the Mercenary Captain looked around nervously in case she had heard.

 

However, she actually seemed uninterested in their conversation.

 

“….”

 

In the eyes of the Elf who stopped and looked back at the path they had come from, she could see the figure of a man walking alone through the wind in the distance.

 

The deeply pulled robe had bloodstains so thick they had changed color, and his steps were unsteady as if he might collapse at any moment.

 

“Hey! Andril is close. If you don’t want to sleep outdoors again today, move quickly!”

 

The Mercenary Captain’s shout from quite far away. The Elf immediately turned her attention away from the man and walked toward the city.

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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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