I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 38

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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 38

 

Soldiers were dying helplessly in the continuous explosions.

 

Explosion – undoubtedly one of the mid-tier spells with both power and range. It was an attack magic that showed excellent power in large-scale battles, but it was also one of the widely spread spells that could be learned not only at the Red Magic Tower but also at other magic towers or the Academy.

 

So there was nothing surprising about it. If only it weren’t continuing relentlessly like it was now.

 

As if multiple mages were coordinating to deploy magic, the Dark Mage’s spells never ceased.

 

“Indeed, so that is Six Arms.”

 

Silobel Om, the mage who participated in the subjugation as a representative of the Red Magic Tower, muttered without hiding his greedy expression.

 

Bone arms protruding through the black robe.

 

Those things that moved their joints ceaselessly while forming hand seals were precisely the secret magic of Sevian, one of the twelve High-rank Dark Mages.

 

“The promise to give me a chance to interrogate him if we capture him remains unchanged, right?”

 

Most talented mages belonged to magic towers, but occasionally there were gems among wandering mages too.

 

Since collecting them to gather all kinds of spells and laws to reach the truth was also one of the main duties of magic towers, the interrogations by magic tower mages were notorious for being harsh.

 

From Silobel’s perspective, it was a matter he had no choice but to confirm again.

 

“Of course. He’s the one who massacred my territory residents. There’s no need to show mercy.”

 

Count Andril, who answered thus, showed not the slightest change in expression even while watching soldiers continue to die.

 

“For someone saying that, you don’t seem particularly moved.”

“Those aren’t my territory residents. They’re either cowards who tried to flee abandoning the country in crisis, or bastards who wanted to make money through war… Every single one of them is trash. I’ve positioned the territory’s soldiers back there.”

“Ah, I understand.”

 

Silobel smirked while pretending to look back.

 

‘The Count Andril family has been a loyal family guarding the border for generations, wasn’t it? It seems the talk of war with the Holy Nation isn’t entirely baseless rumors.’

 

From the Count’s perspective, those who tried to flee before the war couldn’t possibly look favorable. It seemed he had used them for the subjugation while cleaning up the territory that was already chaotic with the influx of people. Of course, it felt somewhat extreme…

 

‘Anyway, it’s none of our business. We just need to get our hands on the target secret magic. Besides…’

 

In Silobel’s field of vision, he could see Melissa’s face frowning from a somewhat distant position.

 

“What are you looking at?”

 

Melissa, a high-ranking mage from the Green Magic Tower. She possessed such excellent magical skills that the title of witch wouldn’t be awkward for her at all, but her current status as belonging to a magic tower was somewhat ambiguous. If he could find an opportunity to deal with her, he might be able to obtain additional unexpected spells.

 

However, Melissa herself wasn’t concerned about such things at all.

 

“Stop watching and join in?”

 

She chanted spells to block the magic pouring down on the soldiers, while frowning as she watched the massacre scene the Dark Mage was creating.

 

‘This is strange.’

 

As a result of investigating the Dark Mage known as Jude using all of the Dawn Order’s intelligence capabilities, they were able to confirm that his activities began here in Count Andril’s territory.

 

When additional investigations revealed that Sevian was using Andril as his base, everyone in the Dawn Order believed that Jude and Sevian were the same person.

 

And for good reason – Dark Mages were sensitive about territory.

 

Considering that Engkul’s territory, one of the fellow High-rank Dark Mages, had remained a forbidden zone that no one could approach for decades until it was subjugated by the Hero, it was obvious that no matter how fearless a Dark Mage might be, they wouldn’t establish themselves in Andril.

 

As expected, finding Sevian in Andril wasn’t difficult. Though it seemed he had hidden quite thoroughly, the discovery of traces of a recently relocated dungeon in recent years was significant. However, Melissa couldn’t be happy at all.

 

‘Is that Dark Mage really the Sevian I was looking for?’

 

There was a sense of kinship as mages who had both once belonged to the Green Magic Tower. Normally, she would have felt displeasure at news of a fellow mage falling and becoming a Dark Mage, but now that she was moving to oppose the Religious Order, it was different.

 

Not only had he frequently clashed with the Religious Order from the beginning, but recently hadn’t he rescued those who suffered from the Religious Order’s evil deeds? She actually felt favorable toward his past actions.

 

But his current appearance of massacring soldiers without hesitation was far from the heroic conduct he had shown in Belive Territory.

 

‘Of course, that’s…’

 

Since these were people gathered to subjugate him, it wasn’t particularly strange. But more than anything else, the reason she had come here personally – she couldn’t see any trace of the magic she had witnessed in the Royal Capital, which was strange.

 

Neither the vicious level of precision that burned only those desired, nor the perfection that wasted nothing in the process.

 

Certainly Sevian’s magic was powerful enough to be overwhelming alone, but it was far from the beautiful magic that had captivated her last night.

 

“Is there really a need to waste your strength right now, senior?”

 

Silobel asked Melissa with a smile.

 

The power of Six Arms was formidable as they were currently witnessing, but its limitations could be said to be clear.

 

No matter how much the number of spells that could be used at once increased, the one using them was ultimately the caster himself. The fatigue felt from using magic couldn’t be ignored, and above all, the overwhelming mana – in the case of Dark Mages, they had to bear the mana consumption entirely.

 

Though dozens of soldiers were exploding with each spell, ultimately time favored them.

 

“Does that look like it’s weakening to you?”

 

At Melissa’s voice, which showed signs of gradual strain, Silobel’s expression hardened.

 

He also knew that some Dark Mages consumed the blood and souls of the dead to substitute for mana, but such crude methods couldn’t produce magic with sufficient power.

 

But now it even felt like the explosions had become stronger than at the beginning. Even with decades of accumulated knowledge, he couldn’t understand the current situation.

 

‘Unless the caster is using their own life force…’

 

Silobel let out a quiet laugh at the thought that suddenly occurred to her.

 

Unless they were receiving an infinite supply of life force from somewhere, they would have already collapsed coughing up blood long ago.

 

“Let’s start moving.”

 

The Lord’s voice, heard at just the right moment, interrupted Silobel’s thoughts.

 

* * *

 

“Don’t run away! I’ll personally kill anyone who deserts!”

“Charge!”

“His Lordship has promised a great reward to whoever takes the Dark Mage’s head!”

 

The commanders’ shouts echoed from afar. Occasionally, screams could be heard from soldiers who had been struck down by their own allies’ swords while trying to slip away.

 

But my guard members and I were only watching the movements of the knights who had finally started moving from a distant location.

 

“Really, we got out…”

“It seemed like they were pretending not to see us even though we were right in front of them…? There must be some connection with the higher-ups…”

“What did I tell you? I said to just trust the Squad Leader, right?”

 

I could see my guard members rejoicing at their unexpected survival, but I couldn’t bring myself to celebrate with them.

 

Though the Demon Lord had told me about it as if it were nothing special, Deception was a delicate magic. Using it on more than ten people, especially those constantly moving, put tremendous strain on my mind.

 

‘At least I was able to endure it thanks to becoming accustomed to complex thinking while learning Master’s Secret Magic…’

 

The practice of moving the newly acquired Six Arms had been tremendously helpful for manifesting magic. Without that, the magic would have broken long ago and more than half of these people might have lost their lives to the commanders’ swords.

 

But the reason I couldn’t smile wasn’t because of the aftereffects of excessive magic use.

 

It was because I realized that the Dark Mage who was massacring soldiers over there and beginning to clash with knights was my Master.

 

The joy of reuniting with Master, whom I had thought was dead, was only momentary.

 

It had been about three years. Would Master be able to recognize me in such a chaotic situation?

 

‘If I called out loudly to Master, he might notice me, but…’

 

I thought about it, but honestly, only negative conclusions came to mind. If I shouted for Master in this situation, I would become a prime target not only for the surrounding soldiers but also for the knights and mages who were finally starting to move.

 

Six Arms was ultimately Support Magic that enhanced the user’s magical abilities. As someone who didn’t know a single decent attack spell, I couldn’t demonstrate proper power.

 

Self-loathing washed over me.

 

The situation before my eyes was developing rapidly, yet there was nothing I could do. I had met the Demon Lord and experienced quite a lot since then, but perhaps nothing had actually changed…

 

“Thank you, Squad Leader.”

“…?”

“If it weren’t for you, Squad Leader, we’d be waiting to die over there right now. Or already dead.”

 

When Billy spoke in a rarely serious voice, the other guard members began to chime in as well.

 

“That’s right, Squad Leader. Thanks to you, we survived!”

“From now on, I won’t even piss in the direction of Andril. Thank you.”

“When we return, I’ll repay you greatly.”

 

Suddenly, memories from Belive Territory came to mind.

 

When I had rescued those who were imprisoned, the voices of those who had expressed their gratitude overlapped with my guard members’ voices. And that overlapped again with my own voice from when I first met Master.

 

“If I ever perform in a play, please come watch. I haven’t gotten a proper role yet, though.”

“I’ll come.”

 

Right after answering, I stood up. While we had been talking, the overload on my mana core had been somewhat resolved.

 

“Right. Let’s go back quickly. Though it’s a bit dangerous being deserters, the news probably hasn’t reached the territory yet. If we hurry back and prepare…”

“No. You go first. I still have something to do.”

 

I deployed Deception to hide my appearance and walked toward the Magic Bombardment that was dangerous enough to threaten my life just by approaching.

 

I could make up my mind with my guard members. Just as Master had saved me, this time I would save Master.

 

Kiiiii-!

 

The Ice Spirit that revealed itself caught a soul rising from a corpse in its mouth.

 

It’s a bit awkward to say this as a Dark Mage’s disciple, but I hadn’t had many experiences witnessing mages’ battles with my own eyes in my life.

 

The magnificent magic circle that guy had deployed when I first encountered the Demon Lord, or the mage I met in Belive Territory – those were about all I had witnessed of others’ magic. This was because mages were that rare of an existence.

 

For that reason, the scene before my eyes could be called the first battle between mages I had witnessed in my life.

 

A relentless Magic Storm.

 

Multiple mages coordinated to attack Master. Fire Pillars erupted, Lightning fell, and the ground split apart. Wind that was visible to the eye swept through like blades.

 

Every disaster one could experience in life was simultaneously directed at one person. I was certain that without the Ice Spirit’s assistance, it would be impossible to endure even a single moment in there.

 

But Master didn’t retreat a single step.

 

He blocked Fire Pillars with Water Shields, weapons and armor gathered to absorb Lightning, and rather than falling into the split ground, he used Levitation to float in the air. At the same time, he didn’t stop attacking and launched Explosion Magic at his enemies.

 

Watching that scene, questions began to arise little by little.

 

‘Come to think of it, Master didn’t like to show me magic in front of me either.’

 

This was partly because the time I spent with Master wasn’t very long. But more than that, it was mainly because I hadn’t yet reached a level where I could witness Master’s magic at that time. Therefore, the only time I saw Master’s magic was when we formed the Soul Contract.

 

I wondered why. It was strange that he hadn’t come to find me even once, despite being nearby.

 

Kieee-!

 

No matter what disaster was unfolding before my eyes, no matter what worries I had, the Ice Spirit seemed delighted.

 

And rightfully so. The corpses of soldiers scattered everywhere were as gruesome as those found in the Demon Realm, but that meant there were just as many fresh souls lying around. It was several times more than what we had absorbed on our way to Andril.

 

The Ice Spirit snatched up the souls scattered everywhere, putting them in its mouth and expanding its body.

 

‘I can worry about it later.’

 

I too set aside my worries and deployed Soul Magic at full power, absorbing the souls that came flying while pierced by grayish-white chains.

 

Perhaps because most were common soldiers, or perhaps because I had grown accustomed to it, the shock of absorbing souls was only slight dizziness.

 

How long had I been absorbing souls like this?

 

-You’re carrying something cumbersome on your body.

 

A familiar voice echoed in my 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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