I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 42

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

Chapter 42

 

Every time those shoulders shook, the surrounding branches rubbed against each other, creating an ominous atmosphere.

 

“Haha, ha, hahaha!”

 

As if proving that Master, merged with the World Tree’s branches, was gradually departing from humanity, his booming laughter was like thunder striking down.

 

After bursting into world-shaking laughter for a long while, Master slowly lowered his raised head and spoke to me.

 

“Stop me? Me?”

 

Through his scowling face, considerable displeasure was conveyed.

 

“I’ve been so lenient with you, and now you look down on me completely.”

 

Master stretched his hand toward me. His grip slowly clenching.

 

“Gasp…!”

 

Pain is familiar. I’ve endured pain that others would find hard to bear so many times.

 

“Kgh, kgaaah…!”

 

But the pain of thin tree branches piercing my entire body, penetrating and moving through each organ, was unbearable. With the simultaneous pain inflicted on my soul, I couldn’t help but scream.

 

“My disciple, my disciple. My incompetent disciple. What will you use to stop me? All you can do is hang there screaming, isn’t that right?”

 

The thought of wanting to die crossed my mind, but I couldn’t die. The thorns embedded in my body were healing me almost simultaneously as they wounded me.

 

-Watching you suffer is quite an entertaining spectacle, but it’s getting boring now.

 

This can’t continue. Master seemed to want my mind to completely break down.

 

“Ice, Spirit…!”

 

I cried out as if screaming. Perhaps I only thought I did.

 

Kieee-!

 

Fortunately, the Ice Spirit responded. Fist-sized hail fell across the wide space.

 

“Hmm?”

 

The impact was minimal. At most, only a few thin branches broke. Instead, a small interest appeared on Master’s face as he thickly layered branches for defense.

 

However, it wasn’t meaningless. Thanks to Master’s attention being diverted, the pain greatly subsided.

 

-As you know, the situation is hopeless. The power of the Soul Contract is absolute. Even if you use Spirit Summoning, you can’t harm that bastard.

 

Even if I directly summoned the Demon Lord’s soul into my body, the Demon Lord couldn’t defeat Master. He’s subordinate to me. If he tried to harm Master, my soul would inevitably suffer damage as well.

 

“What is that? To have such power as a spirit form. You possess something quite fascinating.”

-Ki, kieek!

 

The same goes for the Ice Spirit currently fleeing from Master’s branches.

 

“If I hadn’t discovered the Divine Tree Branch, I might have made it a research subject for a while.”

 

It was fortunate that the initial attack didn’t cause significant damage, but if it had been threatening enough to Master, my soul would have suffered irreversible fatal wounds.

 

-Still, let me tell you a few things that could be considered fortunate. One is…

 

While the Demon Lord’s words continued, low voices echoed from here and there.

 

“Spirit.”

“It’s a spirit. Not a fragment.”

“Certain.”

 

The murmuring wasn’t brief. But it didn’t feel annoying at all; rather, it felt harmonious like listening to music.

 

-That we’re not the only ones here.

 

The scent of flowers wafted from somewhere.

 

“That one handles a complete spirit.”

“Should we preserve it?”

“Judgment reserved. First, separate from the plunderer.”

 

Dozens of arrows flew in instantly. The arrows imbued with powerful mana persistently pierced through the branches connected to me.

 

“Elves? What are those who were just watching doing?”

“Plunderer. Leave the tree and retreat.”

“Leave the tree and retreat.”

 

The supporting branches broke and my body rolled on the ground. It was quite rough force, but they didn’t seem to harbor hostility toward me.

 

-Tree Searchers. Among elves, they’re particularly insane specters chasing traces of the dead World Tree. Their purpose… isn’t much different from that thing you call Master.

 

I struggled to get up and pulled out the branches embedded in my body.

 

This was possible because the branches that had been piercing even my organs until just moments ago had somewhat withdrawn when Master’s attention focused on the Ice Spirit.

 

Even so, I couldn’t be fine. Blood gushed from torn and peeled skin. Muscles throughout my body were damaged, and some branches I didn’t even dare to pull out.

 

“Foolish ones. Plunderer? Look! I am now one with this! I am…!”

 

A voice like splitting dead wood burst forth, shaking the world.

 

-It’s your very god!

 

A massive tremor. The ground split apart, and from beneath, thousands of root strands shot upward.

 

Each one was about as thick as an adult’s forearm, incomparably thicker than what had pierced me, but they were equally cracked, withered, twisted, and faded in color.

 

They looked like a snake’s shed skin, or a witch’s hair, or stretched-out entrails. Their grotesque form was so disturbing that just looking at them could drive one mad.

 

“Dryad.”

“Dryad.”

“Dryad.”

 

Dozens of voices resonated as they called out a single name.

 

Similarly, the ground split and hundreds of roots shot upward. The branches, each as thick as a human torso, soon merged together to form the shape of a giant tree.

 

“How dare you…”

 

My enraged Master collided with the tree giant. Each impact sent powerful shockwaves through the ground and air.

 

Master was completely focused on that thing. There seemed to be enough time. Two problems remained.

 

“To witness a battle that only a Hero’s party would experience. Ha, this is truly ridiculous.”

 

Then, right beside me, I heard a voice that seemed familiar from somewhere.

 

“That side is…?”

 

I barely managed to lift my head. What caught my blurred vision was the face of a woman who looked quite irritated.

 

“Tsk. Drink this.”

 

When I vaguely recalled that this voice was what I had briefly heard before losing consciousness while fighting the Red Tower Mages, the woman pulled out a glass bottle from inside her robe and threw it.

 

The glass bottle I failed to catch rolled on the ground. Seeing this, the woman shouted irritably.

 

“Do you know how much that potion costs?”

“…Potion?”

 

I had heard of it. The crystallization of alchemy that heals the body. The elixir that could even revive the dead was also a type of potion.

 

Its effects couldn’t compare to a priest’s spells, but its price was dozens of times what one would need to donate to the Religious Order. It was a luxury item that only the wealthy carried around.

 

“Why would you give me that?”

“You’re that guy, right? The Hero of Belive Territory. The one who caused a commotion in the Royal Capital.”

“…”

“Your reaction confirms it. I’m Melissa. I have something to discuss with you. Of course, before that…”

 

The woman’s gaze turned toward Master.

 

“We need to survive this place first.”

 

The unmistakable tension in her voice. The woman quickly uncorked the potion and held it out to me.

 

“Drink it quickly. I’ll help you pull out what’s stuck in your body. If we don’t hurry, we might not be able to escape.”

“No. I have no intention of escaping.”

“What?”

“I’m going to stop Master here.”

 

The woman seemed speechless, let out a hollow laugh, then shouted.

 

“Are you sure you’re looking at the same thing I am right now?”

 

As I swallowed the potion, vitality quickly returned to my body.

 

I had no attack method powerful enough to penetrate Master’s trees. The magic I knew was merely basic, and the aura I could barely manifest was nothing more than imitation.

 

‘Something else?’

 

The Demon Lord had said there were several fortunate things.

 

One of them. I wasn’t alone in this place right now. The elves were blocking Master, and this mysterious woman had helped heal my body.

 

It was fortunate, but that alone couldn’t stop Master.

 

-Naturally, the fact that I’m awake.

 

I recalled the still vivid memories from the Royal Capital.

 

I had been able to deal with the Religious Order’s forces, who seemed absolutely insurmountable, by using the Demon Lord’s soul for spirit summoning.

 

But now I couldn’t use that method.

 

-Kieee…

 

Like the Ice Spirit that had fled after failing to inflict any significant damage on Master, the Demon Lord also couldn’t harm Master as long as he was subordinate to me.

 

If I forced such an attempt, both my soul and the Demon Lord’s would simply be annihilated.

 

-That’s a foolish thought. You don’t think I wouldn’t know about soul contracts, do you?

‘Then what is it.’

-There’s a way to circumvent the contract.

 

The Demon Lord spoke as if it were no big deal.

 

-As I’ve said many times, the power of soul contracts is absolute. Normally, just thinking of defying it would destroy one’s soul and cause death.

‘I know that. So what…’

-Isn’t it strange? That you’re still alive until now.

 

I felt a shock as if I’d been struck in the head. That was because of Master’s affection for me…

 

-Because your soul has changed from when you first made the contract with that fool.

 

That wasn’t it.

 

-To be precise, because it has grown. Since your essence hasn’t changed, you couldn’t completely escape the contract, but you were able to reduce its influence to some degree. Of course, this much isn’t enough to kill your master.

 

The Demon Lord paused there and made a sound as if suppressing laughter.

 

-Focus on your Spirit Sight. Do you see it?

‘What the hell is that…?’

 

I could see something glittering. Small, black fragments that were gradually trying to fade away. Soul fragments that I had seen in Belive Territory were scattering in all directions every time Master and the tree giant collided.

 

-You remember the Golden Star Trading Company Owner, don’t you?

 

The Demon Lord spoke with a voice full of amusement.

 

Of course I remembered. His final moments too, and what the Demon Lord had said back then. Something about precious treasures having mana, and being dangerous for those without qualifications.

 

-Using a power-sealed branch to that extent is certainly impressive for a human, but he’s become so broken that he can’t even notice how the consequences are coming back to him.

‘…!’

 

Master’s soul was breaking down. Then his hideous appearance, his incomprehensible words and actions… I could understand why Master had changed like that.

 

-Absorb those.

“What are you…”

 

It was an absurd suggestion.

 

It was Master’s soul. The very thought of absorbing it was ridiculous, and even if I did, there was no way I could remain unharmed afterward.

 

-What are you talking about. Your master’s soul is fragmented and scattered like that. It will disappear with time. As his disciple, shouldn’t you properly collect it?

 

Unrestrained laughter echoed in my head, making me dizzy.

 

I felt nauseous. I felt a revulsion I had never experienced when absorbing other people’s souls before.

 

-After that, you might gain soul homogeneity and the restrictions could weaken a bit… but that’s not what’s important right now. That’s just how it is.

 

However, I endured it and deployed a magic circle.

 

“What is this…! Deploying a magic circle with mana alone? And this speed and precision…”

 

I heard a panicked voice from beside me but ignored it.

 

The magic circle emitted light, and silver-gray chains rose up to pierce through the scattering soul fragments.

 

The chains writhed and returned before my eyes. The pierced black soul fragments.

 

I took a moment to steady my breathing and put a small piece in my mouth.

 

-You, can you see this? …It’s a waste to let you rot in such a small village. Won’t you come to the Magic Tower with me?

 

Suddenly my vision changed completely as a voice echoed in my head.

 

A green forest, a beast collapsed and bleeding, a woman with a kind smile. But it was only for a very brief moment.

 

When I blinked, the original scene had returned.

 

“This is…”

-How is it. Can you feel the restrictions being eased? Of course, you’re still far from done. Hurry up. Even if you absorb all of that, it’ll be close.

 

As if entranced, I reached out toward the next fragment.

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