I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 45

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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 45

 

My body rolled frantically across the ground.

 

If it hadn’t been for Andril’s land that was infinitely close to desert sand, the impact alone would have been enough to crush every bone in my body.

 

Of course, just because the impact was reduced didn’t mean my body was in normal condition. It was only natural, having bounced several times like a stone thrown into a river.

 

‘What about Master?’

-Still going on about your master even in this situation. You’d be better off taking care of your own body.

 

The Demon Lord spoke in his usual voice filled with mockery.

 

-Your spine is out. The bleeding and burns are severe too. Even though you wrapped your body in mana, you took the explosion with your back, so it can’t be helped. You’ll die soon at this rate.

 

I was dumbfounded by his nonchalant attitude, as if he were talking about someone else’s business.

 

‘Wouldn’t it be bad if I died?’

 

It wasn’t just a matter of belonging to me, but a contract that absolutely guaranteed my safety. Just by watching idly now, terrible pain should be inflicted on his soul…

 

“Kuaaaaaaah…!”

 

A scream echoed through the air.

 

It was an agonizing, desperate cry. Parched and cracked, as if every last bit of strength had been mustered…

 

It was Master’s voice.

 

“Jude! You bastard, how dare you…!”

 

Though I didn’t have the strength to move a finger, I used what little mana had recovered to lift my head.

 

Master was cursing me with a horrible voice I had never heard before.

 

His face, which had already been gaunt and distorted, now bore a form several times more terrible. If I hadn’t been facing him just moments ago, I might not have recognized him.

 

-He’s not dead yet. He’s not just screaming from unbearable pain. He’s moving little by little.

 

The Demon Lord warned me as I stared blankly at that sight.

 

At the end of the direction Master was heading were his severed right arm and the World Tree branches writhing as they searched for prey.

 

-You wouldn’t want the monster you worked so hard to deal with to rampage again, would you?

“You’re telling me to… kill Master. *Cough*!”

-That would be the cleanest solution. If you can’t do it, you’ll at least have to separate them.

 

But I couldn’t move.

 

As the Demon Lord had said, my body was in the worst condition. I had no sensation below my legs, and my arms wouldn’t move properly either. Meanwhile, I felt tremendous burning pain in my back.

 

If asked which of us, Master or I, was closer to death, nine out of ten would probably choose me.

 

-Hmm? It seems blood isn’t circulating to your head properly.

‘Damn it. What are the elves doing? What about that mage from earlier?’

 

The distance I had been thrown after cutting Master’s arm was by no means short. Even if it was a distance that could normally be covered in a few steps, right now.

 

Just using a little mana nearly shattered my already cracked mana core. Could I really reach there before Master, before my mana core broke?

 

Just then, the Ice Spirit popped out from a corner of my vision.

 

-Kyeee!

 

The Ice Spirit poked at Master’s body like a child prodding food they didn’t want to eat.

 

“You, from earlier…!”

 

Master swung his arm as if annoyed, but such sluggish movements couldn’t stop the Ice Spirit.

 

Whenever Master’s arm was about to touch the Ice Spirit, an ice wall would appear to deflect his hand, and soon tree roots sprouted from the ground.

 

I tensed for a moment, but judging by the roots wrapping around Master’s body, it seemed the elves who had been watching had stepped in.

 

‘For now, is that one worry off my mind…?’

 

Once Master’s body was bound, the Ice Spirit toyed with Master even more actively. The Ice Spirit couldn’t be allowed to play with Master indefinitely. As I crawled across the ground toward Master, I heard shuffling footsteps.

 

“You…”

 

It was the mage who had introduced herself as Melissa.

 

She twisted her expression as if it was absurd that the body she had painstakingly restored with expensive potions was ruined again, but soon took out a new potion and poured it on my back.

 

“Ah, it hurts…”

“Bear with it.”

 

Then she sighed and helped me up. The broken bones moved around causing pain that made my head go white, but thanks to her, I was able to reach Master sooner than expected.

 

“Master.”

“Die! Damn Religious Order bastards, release me right now! Ah, mother… Kill them!”

 

Master was not in a state where conversation was possible.

 

Though better than before, he kept shouting things that didn’t match the current situation at all. Even though his already damaged throat was cracking and spitting blood, he didn’t seem to care at all.

 

“…”

-It’s because his soul is damaged.

 

The World Tree branch that had taken root in Master. The soul fragments that scattered each time it collided with the tree giant. Had that taken away even the last chance to speak with Master?

 

“To think this is the end of Sevian, who was once mentioned as a candidate for the next Tower Lord. How pitiful.”

 

Melissa spoke with a somewhat melancholic tone.

 

“You know Master?”

“Of course. I’ve read papers written by Sevian before. Even if they weren’t groundbreaking, they were pretty well-executed. But wait, is that guy actually okay?”

I absorbed fragments of my master’s soul and examined quite a few memories, but it seems this woman’s face wasn’t among them.

Come to think of it, I can’t really recall the faces of others either. That’s probably not just because the souls I absorbed were damaged.

He let out a small sigh and opened his mouth, looking straight into his master’s eyes.

“Die! Die! You filthy bastards. How dare you touch Seri… Seri, Seri!”

 

Bone arms that had appeared behind Master’s back moved about, clawing at the trees that bound him.

 

These were roots that even the Ice Spirit’s attacks couldn’t completely pierce. There was no way they could be easily broken. Master seemed to realize this too, as his hands soon began moving to form hand seals.

 

“Master!”

 

When I shouted loudly, his erratic pupils moved to focus on me.

 

I couldn’t be certain if what Master saw in his eyes was really me. But it was definitely different from just moments before.

 

“You are…”

 

Various emotions surfaced on his face that had been consumed by inexplicable rage.

 

Anger, shock, despair, jealousy, disgust, boredom, bewilderment…

 

Was it because I had absorbed part of his soul? I could vividly feel all sorts of emotions that I hadn’t noticed during the time I spent with Master.

 

“Master, to you I am…”

 

There were many things I wanted to ask.

 

But was it the bleeding from his severed arm, or was it because the World Tree branch had drained his life force?

 

I instinctively realized I had to choose my words carefully.

 

“…Who are you?”

 

The words I came up with after much deliberation.

 

I could feel Melissa looking at me as if wondering what kind of question that was, but I stared directly into Master’s eyes and waited for an answer.

 

“…I am.”

 

Was it just my imagination that I felt Master’s eyes tremble slightly?

 

“I am a Dark Mage.”

 

But that was only momentary. Master answered with clear pronunciation.

 

“Dark Mage Sevian.”

 

However, in contrast, strength rapidly drained from his face and voice. Life drained away. The bone arms that had been floating behind his back crumbled to dust and scattered in the wind.

 

“And…”

“And….”

I waited for a moment, but no answer came. What had my master been trying to say at the end?

-Curious?

The Demon King spoke to me in a subtle tone.

Would they even bother to tell me? If he’s the king of demons who toy with humans, he might well be able to guess what my master’s final words were.

Or I could absorb my master’s soul as another option. The overloaded mana core would be completely destroyed, but I’d be able to see my master’s remaining memories.

He shook his head.

“That’s enough.”

In the end, I couldn’t understand why my master had changed. Perhaps I simply hadn’t known, and my master had never changed from the beginning.

But I decided not to dwell on it any longer. No matter what kind of person my master was, in the end, he was certainly the master I remembered.

“What’s left is….”

When I turned my head, I saw a group of elves that had appeared silently behind me.

It’s true that we cooperated just moments ago, but elves are fundamentally hostile beings toward humans. Except for a very few, they’re extremely dangerous.

If we clash with them in our current state, it’s over.

“We’re retrieving the World Tree.”

However, the elves seemed to have no intention of being hostile toward us.

The master’s arm, reduced to nothing but bone. And the elves drawing magic circles while surrounded by the still-writhing branches of the World Tree looked almost reverent.

So this is how the branches of the World Tree are taken away. It was regrettable, but thinking of it as the thing that had made my master like that, it wasn’t really a loss.

-Hmm….

 

Before the magic circle was completed. Master’s bones shattered into pieces, and the writhing branches paused momentarily.

 

-Be careful.

 

Several elves who had been chanting spells coughed up blood.

 

The branches explosively extended, stretching out in all directions.

 

The elves who sensed the danger quickly retreated, but those who had collapsed while coughing up blood couldn’t avoid it and were pierced through their bodies. They rapidly withered away.

 

I too would have met the same fate if not for the Demon Lord’s warning.

 

“….”

“It’s not over yet? What’s wrong with that thing?”

The branch that grazed his head struck the lifeless body of his master.

-Do you remember what I told you before? About how to unseal the holy sword materials.

The pierced soul that had been trying to escape from the body in wisps was sucked into the branch.

-Due to excessive life force, the seal has been partially broken in a crude way. It’s trying to completely undo the seal on its own.

However, the seal could not be completely broken just by absorbing the master’s soul.

Because I’ve already absorbed the remaining half of the soul.

The branches of the World Tree reach toward me. I’m not sure if it’s right to say this about tree branches, but they seemed to be instinctively drawn to me.

And I couldn’t avoid it.

His body was already broken beyond repair. He received emergency treatment with a potion, and Melissa, who had been supporting him, guided his body, while the ice spirit erected an ice wall, but in the end, they couldn’t avoid it.

I felt my back being pierced through while still in the position I had been fleeing in.

-Hmm….

The Demon King let out an exclamation with composure. Even as he could feel himself dying, a hollow laugh escaped him.

Damn demon lord.

That thing that will perish along with me when I die is acting like that.

-I’m sure I made it clear, didn’t I? I won’t allow you to die until you’ve fulfilled all the terms of the contract.

The Demon King said so.

-Congratulations. You’ve passed the second trial.

His vision blurred. Through his fading consciousness, he thought he heard those words.

Warm sunlight, soft touch. A languid body.

I opened my eyes to the chirping of a small bird coming through the open window. The ornately decorated ceiling and the fluttering thin curtains were the first things that caught my eye.

-You seem to still be half asleep.

 

I heard the Demon Lord’s voice.

 

He wouldn’t have followed me even into death, so perhaps I was still alive. Come to think of it, if I had died, my soul would have been annihilated that instant for breach of contract.

 

“Where is this place?”

“To the Lord’s Castle…? No, more importantly, what about the World Tree branch? How am I still alive….”

 

Just then, perhaps responding to the sound of my voice, I heard knocking at the door.

 

“May I come in for a moment?”

“May I come in for a moment?”

A voice I’ve never heard before in my life.

When I remained silent and frozen, the door slowly opened.

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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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