I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 44

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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 44

 

Thin branches tangled and intertwined haphazardly, forming the shape of a tall tree. Master, who sat atop it bursting into mad laughter, appeared free at first glance, but also seemed bound by the countless branches embedded in his back.

 

I ran toward Master with all my might.

 

My speed was surprisingly fast even to myself, and it wasn’t easy to maintain balance with my body not fully recovered, but I ran nonetheless.

 

-The victory condition is simple. Wait for that thing’s power to run out.

 

No matter how positively I tried to think about it, the situation was absolutely not good.

 

-Showing such power when the seal hasn’t even been broken yet is praiseworthy, but it requires enormous energy. The efficiency is low. Just prevent additional life force replenishment and wait until everything is consumed, then victory is yours. Of course…

 

The Demon Lord spoke simply, but it was absolutely not an easy task.

 

Master’s power, wielding the World Tree branches with the life force of thousands as fuel, was tremendous, and the only attack magic I knew could only be used four more times.

 

However, fortunately, as the Demon Lord had initially said, I wasn’t alone here. And.

 

-You wouldn’t like that very much, would you?

“Where would I run when I’m not running away!”

 

Just as the Demon Lord said.

 

If I could just dodge well, Master would surely exhaust all the life force he had gathered and lose his power. And that wouldn’t just be the life force of soldiers who died in previous battles.

 

If Master were in perfect condition, perhaps not, but the current Master wouldn’t be able to stop at the precise moment. No, he wouldn’t stop.

 

It was obvious he would eventually burn through even his own life force and die.

 

I couldn’t let that happen. I wanted Master to come to his senses and exist as a Dark Mage until the very last moment. Just as I remembered him, just as I respected him.

 

-Hmm, well. Half his soul has already been lost. He probably lost his reason long ago. He’s no different from a beast rampaging on instinct.

“…Nonsense.”

 

Master isn’t an ordinary Dark Mage. Even if he’s like this now, he’ll be able to regain his senses soon.

 

Even the Demon Lord, who was defeated by the Hero and had most of his soul destroyed, is now talking with me perfectly fine and even planning his own resurrection.

 

If it’s Master, surely…

 

-Are you really comparing me to that human right now? Me, the lord of the Demon Realm?

“Well. That Demon Realm has been destroyed now anyway.”

-….

 

Crash-

 

The giant Tree Giant strikes down the branches that shoot out like a torrent.

 

“Ah, seriously! Tailwind!”

 

Wind blowing from behind pushed my back and made my steps lighter.

 

Kieee-!

 

The Ice Wall created by the Ice Spirit deflected fragments I couldn’t dodge in time.

 

Thanks to that, Master’s figure rapidly drew closer. It seemed Master wasn’t pleased with that.

 

-How dare you!

 

A voice that boomed like thunder. Immediately after, branches pressing in from all directions looked like a massive tsunami with no corner to escape.

 

The moment I’m covered by that, it’s over. Even if the Ice Spirit defends, that’s it. What more could I do but be trapped and die.

 

-Dodge upward.

 

As soon as I heard the Demon Lord’s voice, I jumped vertically. Even jumping until my thighs felt like bursting wasn’t enough. A wave of trees several times taller than a person rushed to swallow me.

 

“Ice Spirit!”

 

A foothold was created in mid-air. Of course, that alone couldn’t possibly support my body weight.

 

“Explosion!”

 

An explosion occurred beneath the ice foothold. The powerful blast pushed the foothold with all its might, and I also kicked off the foothold and jumped upward.

 

-Three more times ahead. No, at this pace, maybe twice.

 

I stepped on the trees that had tried to engulf me and jumped. Branches sprouted from where I stepped, trying to grab me, but it didn’t matter. I was faster.

 

That didn’t mean the situation was good though.

 

“Stop the useless talk and tell me a method!”

-Kukuk.

 

Had it given up on catching me? The branches didn’t extend more than necessary, but protruded very thinly. Like thorns.

 

That was very effective. My soles became covered in blood in an instant. At the same time, my body grew heavy and fatigue washed over me.

 

Though it was a short time, it seemed my life force had been drained.

 

-Pull out the branches.

“What kind of!”

 

Are there just one or two branches? Though they looked more like thorns or stems than branches, all of those were ‘branches’ extending from Master.

 

To pull all of those out would require hundreds of people, and even then it wouldn’t be enough. And if that many people rushed in, it would only end up providing nutrients to Master.

 

-I’m not talking about those things. The World Tree branch, the original one. It’s probably fused somewhere in your Master’s body. You need to pull that out.

 

Come to think of it, when I opened my eyes in front of Master earlier… I remembered the staff held in those skeletal hands.

 

It was something I had never seen once during the months I spent with Master. If my guess is correct, that’s the World Tree branch.

 

Then I just need to tear that off.

 

“Explosion!”

-One left.

 

Using the explosion that occurred behind me as propulsion, I ran toward Master. No, I flew.

 

Master shouted in a language I could no longer understand while controlling the branches to block me, but thanks to the elf’s tree giant, the Ice Spirit, and the mage’s support, reaching Master was a matter of moments.

 

“Master!”

 

I reached out toward the wooden staff.

 

Master wasn’t particularly gifted in physical abilities. Even when living in the dungeon, it was rare for him to leave his room. He tried to avoid my hand by pulling his arm back, but he couldn’t keep up with my speed, enhanced through the trials.

 

“Come to your senses!”

 

Click.

 

His strength was the same. I grabbed the staff and pulled back with all my might.

 

“Come to your…”

 

Master’s body, fixed by thousands of branches, naturally didn’t come along. But the staff…

 

“…!”

 

Likewise didn’t come along.

 

-I told you, didn’t I? That it would be fused.

 

It felt like pulling a massive castle wall. Even with strength that easily surpassed ordinary knights, there wasn’t the slightest movement.

 

Looking closely, countless thin lines were connected between the World Tree branch and Master’s hand, as if sewn together.

 

That thing, which could no longer be called a branch with its horrifying appearance, writhed for a moment before approaching me.

 

Kieee-!

 

Perhaps because of the earlier experience, the Ice Spirit, which had been passively focused on defense, went on the counterattack.

 

Dozens of ice spears grew from the ground and shot toward Master, and the branches approaching me intertwined with each other to defend against the spears.

 

Thanks to that, I survived. I quickly retreated and shouted toward the Demon Lord.

 

“Isn’t the difference too extreme for materials of the same Holy Sword?”

 

The Ice Spirit could be called my greatest fighting force. Having once blocked even the Holy Knight Commander’s attack, I thought no one could match it in defense.

 

But the World Tree branch that Master possessed felt like a superior version of the Ice Spirit in every aspect. Even if it was the World Tree branch, a legacy of the mythical age, wasn’t this too much?

 

-If you could fully utilize the power of Eternal Ice, you could freeze that incomplete World Tree branch in an instant. Of course, that’s before it merged with the Military Spirit and became that state.

“…”

-I’m not trying to blame you. Rather, that thing’s growth potential is limitless. Its immediate power isn’t weak either, and especially the fact that it has some degree of autonomy. If there’s a problem… Yes. It’s the caster’s capability.

 

Ignoring the Demon Lord who spat out obvious mockery, I looked at Master.

 

Every time the Ice Spirit let out a shriek, massive ice erupted, and the Ice Spirit casually swung them around. The elves’ tree giant also repeatedly threw punches at Master as if cooperating with the Ice Spirit.

 

Master seemed to have all his attention focused on blocking those attacks.

 

Dozens of branches as thick as my height whipped around like whips, deflecting ice and fists. He even caught the Ice Spirit and swung it toward the tree giant.

 

At that rate, Master’s life force would be running out quickly.

 

Perhaps sensing the crisis, the elves who had summoned the tree giant and watched from afar began shooting arrows at Master.

 

The powerful mana contained in the arrows made me feel that the attacks were definitely not ordinary.

 

“Confuse!”

 

The mage, who hadn’t shown any particular movement since casting support magic on me, used a new spell.

 

Through Master’s memories, I could tell it was mental magic that caused powerful confusion in the target.

 

But none of it worked.

 

Master, even while affected by mental magic, didn’t seem flustered at all, spewing out even more branches than before to knock away the arrows. The arrow attacks that had bewildered even the Red Tower mages were deflected so helplessly.

 

-It’s almost time now. If you don’t run right now, your Master will die.

“Melissa!”

“Huh, what?”

 

The mage whose name was called looked at me with a stupid expression.

 

“That thing from before, one more time!”

“What, ah… Tailwind!”

 

As I shouted while running, mana settled into my body shortly after.

 

Like wind pushing my back, my feet became light. Up to this point, it was the same as before. But that wasn’t all. After that, I felt mana settling in several more times.

 

Air resistance weakened. My entire body felt light. The world seemed to flow a little slower. In that state, I was the only one moving at normal speed.

 

When I turned my head toward where I felt a slight trace of mana, I saw the elves.

 

I didn’t know why they were helping me, but for now I was simply grateful.

 

While the Tree Giant and Ice Spirit drew Master’s attention, I had to reach Master even a little faster.

 

-Hmm. A bit late.

 

With each step I took, my heart pounded heavily two or three times. My ears felt muffled. I felt like I might vomit at any moment.

 

-Because those things charged in to draw attention, it seems your life force consumption has intensified. Soon now….

“Stop!”

 

The Ice Spirit responded to my command and retreated. However, the Tree Giant didn’t stop and struck Master with its fist.

 

-That hit properly.

 

Since the battle began, this was the first effective strike that landed on Master. The tree pillar Master was hanging from shook greatly. Branches broke as Master’s body was flung away.

 

It was encouraging. With the connection severed, the life force consumption needed to maintain that should have decreased for now.

 

The problem was that he might try to create it again soon. Then several times more life force than simply maintaining it would be consumed.

 

My current speed wasn’t enough.

 

“Explosion.”

 

I quickly formed hand seals and activated the magic. The ice wall the Ice Spirit created just in time pushed me forward, adding to my running speed.

 

-Now you’ve used it all up. You’ll need to rest for several minutes.

 

But it wasn’t enough.

 

Without releasing my hands, I activated the magic once more.

 

Due to insufficient mana, life force was consumed. My body felt heavy and strength drained away. I forced my drooping eyes wide open.

 

Immediately after, I felt tremendous impact. Because the Ice Spirit’s reaction was slow, I took the full shock of the explosion with my body. It felt like my internal organs had burst.

 

Thanks to that, Master’s figure approached faster than ever before.

 

With trembling hands, I drew the scythe from inside my clothes. But I lacked strength. As the scythe was about to fall to the ground with my grip loosening, I caught it with Six Arms.

 

I placed both hands over the fragments I had used to form hand seals.

 

I took a short deep breath.

 

I could see Master stirring and raising his body. I smiled and without reducing my flying speed, just like that….

 

Slash.

 

I cut off Master’s arm.

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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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