I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 5

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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 5

 

People commonly think of Dark Mages as evil beings who hole up in damp, dark dungeons researching wicked magic, or raid villages to satisfy their greed.

 

To some extent, that’s true.

 

Before coming to the Demon Realm, I did spend three years living in Master’s dungeon.

 

However, I paid proper attention to ventilation so there was no mold, and I never raided villages. When I needed something, I simply paid fair prices and purchased it legitimately.

 

I don’t know about other Dark Mages, but Master never attacked people without reason. I was the same way.

 

In the first place, I hadn’t even learned spells useful for attacking others, but that’s not the point.

 

Even as a Dark Mage, I’m merely an Apprentice, practically no different from an ordinary person who hasn’t learned magic.

 

The result is right now.

 

“What’s this? Just a kid? A kid like this in the middle of the Demon Realm. Is it a Demon?”

 

As soon as I heard the voice, I tried to hide, but there was nowhere to properly hide in the wasteland-like terrain of the Demon Realm.

 

Yellow teeth and bloodshot eyes. The scythe pointed right at my face was enough to prevent me from moving carelessly.

 

“That can’t be. The Religious Order announced it, didn’t they? They dealt with every single Demon without exception.”

“The Priests are human too, they could make mistakes. Right?”

 

A situation where I was instantly captured and my life threatened. Normally I would have trembled thinking about the approaching future, but now I wasn’t particularly worried.

 

And why wouldn’t I be? Who am I, after all? Aren’t I the one who subjugated the Demon Lord and will later defeat the Goddess?

 

-I don’t sense any special power from either of them. Looking at their equipment, they’re not mercenaries. Farmers, perhaps.

 

As the Demon Lord said, the men’s appearance was utterly shabby.

 

In the first place, if they were skilled mercenaries, they’d be looting the dungeons of Dark Mages who died in the war by now. The only people who would crawl into the Demon Realm after the Allied Forces swept through once would be riffraff like himself.

 

-I’m not in a good mood. Now even such small fry dare to trespass on the lands of the Demon Realm.

 

They weren’t mighty enemies like the Empire’s Knight Order or the Hero, just two farmers at most. It would be disgraceful to tremble before them.

 

“Deal with them.”

 

I spoke to the Demon Lord in a quiet voice.

 

According to our contract, he couldn’t just watch me die, so the Demon Lord’s magic would make their bodies explode…

 

-You don’t mean you’re talking to me, do you?

 

No such thing happened.

 

“What’s he saying?”

“Did he go crazy from fear?”

 

An unexpected situation.

 

The farmers looked at each other in confusion, but I had no capacity to worry about that due to the Demon Lord’s shocking statement that followed.

 

-That won’t be possible.

“…What?”

-I used up all my accumulated power to revive some dying human, you see. My soul itself was damaged from forcibly activating magic. I can’t use magic for a while.

 

At the Demon Lord’s amused voice, I felt the blood drain from my head.

 

“You’re joking, right?”

-It’s true that I enjoy jokes… Don’t you remember? The contract binds me to tell you only the truth.

 

If I couldn’t receive the Demon Lord’s help, the severity of the situation changed completely.

 

Even the Continental Strongest Swordsman or the Supreme Sage would die the same way if a blade pierced their body. Probably.

 

Right now I had neither a transcendent body nor world-covering magic. I was just a pitiful Dark Mage placed before weapons.

 

-Or perhaps you want me to use magic while accepting the destruction of my soul? Of course, I could kill those guys that way. But you know what would happen, don’t you? If I did that…

 

By breaking the condition to revive the Demon Lord, my soul would be annihilated. I realized I had to escape this crisis without the Demon Lord’s help.

 

‘Can I do it?’

 

I counted my options. There was no time to pull items from my bag, and at my waist were only a cheap dagger I’d bought just in case and a water pouch.

 

But the moment I moved my hand to draw the dagger, that sharp scythe would strike me down.

 

I knew only three spells. Spirit Sight, Soul Contract, and Air Manipulation for Ventilation.

 

Air Manipulation might be helpful, but magic requires preparation to activate. As merely an apprentice mage, I needed to draw a magic circle even to cast the lowest-grade magic.

 

“Wait. This kid, isn’t he that guy?”

“That guy?”

“You know, the one who worked serving at Louis Inn for about a week. The one Louis was cursing about for skipping out at dawn without paying rent.”

“Ah, that kid?”

 

Louis Inn was the inn where I stayed for about a week while waiting for the Priest Order to completely leave the battlefield.

 

Come to think of it, one of the men’s faces looked familiar. It was a face I’d seen a few times in passing at the inn.

 

I’d suspected it from when I saw them holding farming tools, but they were from that village.

 

-Ho. This is quite interesting. To think my master was a dine-and-dash criminal.

 

This is unfair.

 

It’s true that I didn’t pay money. However, I had agreed to work at the inn in exchange for room and board. Even when I left at dawn to enter the Demon Realm as quickly as possible, I left behind a letter thanking them for everything.

 

But they badmouthed me for not paying?

 

-Anger! A good emotion. If you refine it well and add it to magic, you can amplify its power. With the lowest-grade Air Manipulation… the air would become slightly more refreshing than usual.

 

The Demon Lord’s mockery cooled my head. Getting angry uselessly wouldn’t help anything.

 

If there was anything positive, since we were acquainted, there might be a chance things could work out amicably…

 

“Should we take him to Louis? He might pay a decent price.”

“Forget it. He’ll just be a nuisance. Let’s kill him and take his bag.”

 

That slight hope was crushed before it could even sprout.

 

It was obvious that the black stains on the rusted blades weren’t dirt or anything like that. They were marks of dried blood stuck to unmaintained metal. In other words, these were people who had already drawn blood.

 

Though I didn’t know much, it was probably enough experience to not choose to increase their burdensome baggage.

 

-It would be troublesome if you died, so I’ll give you a little help. I’ll teach you how to draw magic circles using mana. Once you become proficient, it’s quite a useful trick.

 

What came to mind was the miracle the Demon Lord had performed a few hours ago. The dozens of magic circles he had drawn in the air to subjugate me.

 

-You know how to use Mana Bullet, right?

 

Mana Bullet. A basic technique that could hardly be called magic, where you condense mana into a small point and throw it. Depending on the amount of mana used, it was usually so weak that just punching would be stronger.

 

-The basic framework is the same. You condense mana to fix its form, then draw a magic circle you know.

‘That’s possible…?’

 

It was surprising news, but I couldn’t just stand there in admiration. Those dirty farmers had already decided to kill me.

 

“I-I’ll give it to you. Everything.”

“Hm?”

 

I slowly untied the bag I was carrying and set it down in front of them. Even while doing this, my mind kept thinking continuously.

 

Mana Bullet is a simple technique that anyone who can handle mana can use. You just need to concentrate mana above your hand.

 

But to draw magic circles with that.

 

“Good thinking. Let’s see. Anything worth money… doesn’t look like much. What’s this? Bone? Kid, did you put this in to gnaw on when you’re hungry?”

“Hand over that thing at your waist too. Don’t get any funny ideas.”

 

I hoped their guard would drop while one of them picked up the bag and examined its contents, but unfortunately, the scythe in front of me wasn’t lowered.

 

“But have you been over there? Beyond the hill…”

“I told you not to get funny ideas, didn’t I? Do you want to die painfully?”

 

Mana tends to move on its own if your concentration wavers even slightly. Magic circles are also delicate things that won’t function properly if they’re even slightly distorted.

 

It instantly becomes a high-difficulty technique requiring tremendous concentration, memory, and mana manipulation ability all at once.

 

-It’s simple work for me though. Well, if you practice for a few years, you should be able to draw at least one simple magic circle.

 

Truly befitting a Demon Lord. To be able to say that work as difficult as completing a masterpiece painting with your eyes closed is simple.

 

“No, that’s not it! It’s a complete mess over there, so it’s kind of dangerous. I’ll give it to you. I’ll give it, but…”

 

I took out a dagger and water pouch from my waist and raised them above my head. When I felt them let their guard down, I stabbed the water pouch with the dagger.

 

Immediately after.

 

-…To succeed already. You, what kind of person are you exactly?

 

Light rose from the ground. A strong wind carrying sand blew from behind me, scattering the water that had been spilling onto the ground.

 

Drawing magic circles with mana, which I had practiced while buying time. It was a narrow success.

 

“Ugh, suddenly the wind…!”

 

The man holding the scythe staggered and covered his eyes with his arm.

 

In that gap, the water that had been filling the water pouch flew directly toward the man holding my bag. More precisely, toward the Acid Troll Bone inside that bag.

 

“Kuh, kuaaak…!”

 

In an instant, the acidic water melted the bag and covered the man. The items in the bag spilled out, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

 

Dealing with the man in front of me was the priority.

 

“Gale? What’s wrong! Gale!”

 

The man covering his eyes screamed and swung his scythe in all directions. I couldn’t approach carelessly, but the magic’s duration wouldn’t last long. Just standing still would only result in being counterattacked.

 

Immediately after, I fired a Mana Bullet toward the back of the man’s head.

 

-Even Remote Magic Manifestation? You’re naturally gifted in mana manipulation ability at least.

 

Even gathering all the mana I had, it only produced about as much power as a child’s punch. But however, it was enough.

 

“There you are!”

 

The screaming man turned around and swung his scythe.

 

Not missing that moment, I threw my body forward and collided with the man. At the same time, I stabbed the man with the dagger I was holding.

 

The dagger seemed caught on bone, not going in deep. Pain felt in my wrist.

 

-You seem to have no talent whatsoever for using your body.

 

But I didn’t stop, stabbing repeatedly two, three times. Until the struggling body’s movements ceased, until I felt something sticky in my hand.

 

“Haa, haa…”

 

My heart felt like it would burst, but there was no time to rest. One man with half his face melted away was staggering to his feet.

 

I got up and approached the man. With his terrible stench and appearance, he was horrific enough to be mistaken for Undead.

 

“Keu, keuu…”

 

Killing him wasn’t that difficult. At most, he could barely stand. He might have died on his own if left alone.

 

I picked up a glass bottle that had spilled from the bag.

 

-Soul Vial. A glass bottle for collecting souls, I see. Doesn’t seem like a particularly valuable soul though. Well, it’s not bad.

 

My first kill, my first spoils of war.

 

* * *

 

Drawing water from the well and splashing it on my body, the heat of battle washed away along with the blood. Only then did I realize my palms were completely scraped raw from the belated pain.

 

I realized it clearly.

 

I wasn’t even a veteran mercenary, and I nearly died to two farmers.

 

I am weak.

 

I’m merely an Apprentice Dark Mage. Even having obtained the Demon Lord’s soul, nothing has changed.

 

If I hadn’t brought the Acid Troll Bone. If the Demon Lord hadn’t taught me how to draw a magic circle with mana, I would have been the one defeated.

 

“Someone like me, kill the Goddess?”

-Don’t worry. If you just follow my plan well, you’ll become a great Dark Mage that no one can compare to. Even that Goddess won’t be able to ignore you.

“….”

 

Do not listen to the whispers of demons.

 

It was an old saying, but right now there was no story more sweet than this. Truly the king of demons, the Demon Lord.

 

“Teach me magic. Dark Magic so powerful that nothing can pose a threat.”

-I was planning to do that even without you asking. It’s a favor too good for a freeloader.

“Ugh, I told you…”

 

I’m not a freeloader.

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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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