I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 50

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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 50

 

“Did you find her?”

“Not yet. The trees haven’t been able to locate Birutta’s position either.”

“Tsk.”

 

The Elf relaxed his deeply furrowed expression and spoke.

 

“It can’t be helped. Even if she runs, she’s still within the forest. As long as she doesn’t leave the Great Forest, finding her is just a matter of time.”

 

Birutta. An individual who possessed outstanding talent even among the Elves, selected as a tree searcher at a young age. She was supposed to play an important role in the ritual as well.

 

“We’ll proceed with the ritual as is.”

“Is that alright? We’ll be short of the planned number.”

“Are there any volunteers?”

 

The trees swayed in the wind. The Elves stirred restlessly. One Elf stepped forward.

 

“Jaldam. Wise seeker.”

“I am suitable to fill Birutta’s vacant position.”

“Isn’t your turn supposed to be much later?”

 

The Elf called Jaldam didn’t answer and walked into the magic circle. The magic circle that had been dimming began to glow brightly again.

 

“…Let us begin.”

 

The Elves chanted their spells. The dark sky mixed with murmuring sounds created an eerie atmosphere, but only the Elves hanging from the trees responded to it.

 

When the light of the magic circle, which had been growing stronger, finally disappeared completely.

 

What remained before their eyes were several small saplings.

 

* * *

 

Jude stared at the scythe he had placed on the ground.

 

Though it was sharp from frequent sharpening, it was an old scythe covered in hand stains. He had opportunities to handle various weapons in the subjugation force, but this was also the weapon that remained in his hands until the very end.

 

“I wonder why.”

 

Thinking about it, there must have been plenty of better methods. However, what decorated the finale in the battle with Master was neither a famous sword that made it into history, nor the spear he had practiced with quite diligently, but the scythe.

 

-Hmm.

“What, do you have some idea?”

-You said it before. That when you held that scythe, it felt as if the scythe and you had become one.

“I think I might have said something like that…”

 

As Jude rested his chin on his hand, the Demon Lord clicked his tongue and spoke.

 

-I laughed it off at the time, but perhaps it was an important matter after all.

“An important matter?”

-First experiences leave intense impressions on humans, no matter what they are. Choosing a farmer’s soul as the first target for soul magic might have been a mistake.

 

The first soul he absorbed. Moreover, it was the soul of the first person Jude had killed. Naturally, it had extraordinary symbolism, and it couldn’t help but be a magically significant target.

 

But Jude frowned as if he didn’t understand.

 

“You said that wouldn’t happen unless it was a soul like the Legendary Farmer.”

-You remember that quite well. Well, it’s not wrong. Normally, that wouldn’t happen. However…”

 

The Demon Lord paused for a moment, then spat out reluctantly.

 

-Your aptitude for soul magic was considerably higher than I had thought.

 

Considering the evaluations that had been almost like verbal abuse until now, this was quite a surprising statement.

 

Jude blinked with a dumbfounded expression for a moment before asking.

 

“What, did something go wrong? Like my soul got damaged or something…”

-Ha. That damn fool. With just this level of evaluation, he’s already…

 

The Demon Lord muttered incomprehensible words and changed the subject.

 

-There were various reasons for choosing soul magic as the first thing to teach you, but the biggest one was to expand your vessel.

 

Jude, who had been worried about whether some major problem had occurred, bit his fingertip and focused on the Demon Lord’s words.

 

-In any case, since you harbored my soul, I thought your vessel would have reached its limits too. It seems my soul was quite damaged at the time. It shouldn’t have been something to get through with just that much.

“So there really is some problem…”

-There’s no problem. You’re just beyond reason, that’s all.

 

Unlike the other souls he had devoured so far, the Demon Lord’s soul wasn’t absorbed by Jude. With two souls contained in one body, it was naturally a situation that would cause burden.

 

But that wasn’t the case. Jude had never once felt burdened by the Demon Lord’s soul.

 

To begin with, the idea of Jude, a human, subjugating the soul of the Demon Lord, a transcendent being, even if it was just a fragment, was absurd.

 

“Then, I didn’t need to learn soul magic at all?”

-Tsk.

 

At the sight of him showing no interest in how incomprehensible an existence he was, the Demon Lord clicked his nonexistent tongue.

 

-That’s not right. Having a solid soul doesn’t mean your talent is outstanding too.

 

From the clearly different voice and tone than usual, Jude felt like he was being treated like a child, which made him feel bad.

 

-If you hadn’t absorbed the Holy Knight’s soul, do you think you could have even imitated aura? You would have obviously wasted the physical abilities you gained by passing the trial.

 

Recalling his memories of receiving guard unit training in Belive Territory, Jude couldn’t deny the Demon Lord’s evaluation filled with strong conviction.

 

-I don’t think it’s bad.

“…What?”

-Your current direction, I mean. You’re still lacking in many ways and it’s clumsy, but if you fill in a bit more, it’ll be quite decent. There’s no law saying mages can’t use their bodies.

“I’m not a mage…”

-Right, right. Dark Mage.

 

The Demon Lord spoke to Jude, who wore a satisfied expression.

 

-So now, shouldn’t you stop the self-criticism and think about what lies ahead?

 

Though sudden, considering the current situation, it was a necessary statement.

 

Birutta, who had promised to visit every night, wasn’t coming.

 

After sending her away, Jude had waited exactly two days. Being confined in a narrow space, he might have misjudged the time.

 

However, when the sun rose and night fell again, he had no choice but to accept the fact that she wouldn’t come after all.

 

“Is she dead…?”

 

That couldn’t be.

 

Elves were a race with small numbers, but each individual possessed considerable martial prowess.

 

It had to be that way.

 

Mana affinity several times superior to humans, innate flexibility and agility. On top of that, lifespans lasting centuries.

 

They were born with several conditions that would be sufficient to become strong with just one. Naturally, each elf had no choice but to become a strong knight, a stealthy hunter, and a wise mage.

 

What could happen to such elves in the Great Forest, their own territory no less?

 

-Your pathetic acting might have been exposed.

 

…They might have noticed that Jude couldn’t handle even a portion of the World Tree’s power, let alone be its representative. If so, things would become quite complicated.

 

Surrounded by enemies, he would be completely isolated high up in this tree.

 

‘Or maybe they were lying to me from the beginning.’

 

Just as elves were hostile toward humans, the perception of elves among humans wasn’t much different.

 

Elves possessed beauty that was absolutely unbelievable, but were those who absolutely should not be believed. This was due to their basic attitude of despising humans and their willingness to hesitate at nothing for their purposes.

 

Since seeing elves wasn’t easy, for Jude it was just stories picked up on the streets. But there were always reasons why such stories circulated.

 

“Haah…”

 

Though frustrated, nothing would change just by sighing. Jude picked up a fruit from the basket and asked.

 

“That thing you mentioned before. About reviving the World Tree. Just how am I supposed to do it?”

-I said using your body wasn’t bad, but I didn’t say not to use your head. If you’re going to call yourself a Dark Mage, how about thinking a bit more magically?

“…I have no idea. You’re the one who said the World Tree can’t grow because the Demon Realm is ruined.”

-I am the Demon Lord.

“Why are you stating the obvious…”

 

The Demon Lord ignored Jude’s sarcasm and continued.

 

-The source of all evil and misfortune, and the legitimate ruler of the Demon Realm. Though the Demon Realm was subjugated by the Hero and his soldiers… tens of thousands of demons and the Demon Realm itself all exist for my sake.

“…”

-Wouldn’t the place where I reside be the Demon Realm itself?

 

After hearing those words and pondering for a moment, Jude said.

 

“So you’re saying if I stick the World Tree into you, it’ll grow?”

-…No.

 

The Demon Lord seemed momentarily speechless, unable to continue for a while.

 

-The place where I reside. That is, your body. Of course, this doesn’t mean your body has literally transformed into the Demon Realm, but the magical symbolism is sufficient.

“Symbolism… That’s.”

 

Jude could find what those words meant in Sevian’s memories.

 

“That’s something you talk about when dealing with Primitive Magic, isn’t it?”

-It’s somewhat unfamiliar to today’s mages who chant spells and calculate formulas.

 

Primitive Magic. Also called sorcery, it was an ancient magical system.

 

Now that systematic education was conducted at academies and magic towers, it had completely died out, remaining only in records.

 

-There’s nothing special about it. When you think about it, everything just developed from Primitive Magic.

 

Pictures depicting all sorts of symbols became letters carved into magic circles, objects with sorcerous value were ranked and used as catalysts, and formulas were introduced to control the direction and power of unpredictable magic.

 

Of course, hearing explanations about Primitive Magic didn’t make Jude feel any more at ease.

 

“I heard that somewhere on the continent, in another country, there’s a custom of burying the dead and planting trees over them.”

-What are you suddenly talking about?

 

It wasn’t Jude’s memory. One piece of information that his master Sevian had encountered at the Magic Tower naturally came forth.

 

“I think they said it was a method learned from elves that remained as culture. They claim to be descendants of elves.”

-That’s the elves’ funeral method.

 

Then that country might really be a nation founded by descendants of elves.

 

“They say trees planted that way grow larger than other trees, using the dead corpses as fertilizer.”

-Hmm… Fine. I’m starting to understand what you’re trying to say. Don’t worry, I have no intention of telling you to become fertilizer for the World Tree while still alive.

 

The Demon Lord spoke slowly.

 

-The World Tree doesn’t physically mean a gigantic tree.

“What…!”

 

Shocking news. Wasn’t the World Tree naturally supposed to refer to a tree of enormous size?

 

-I told you. The World Tree is a spirit that takes the form of a tree. Though it does possess physical power, its essence is spiritual.

 

Jude sat collapsed on the ground, gazing for a moment at the Ice Spirit whose thoughts were unreadable.

 

A spiritual being.

 

Then did that mean spirits were simply souls with slightly special and powerful abilities?

 

-Similar. It’s just that spirits possess a spirituality that doesn’t exist in ordinary souls, which makes them special. The branch you absorbed is a materialized fragment of that spirituality. If it had been a real tree branch from the beginning, no matter how it coincided with passing the trial, there’s no way you could have absorbed it into your body.

“Then what exactly do I need to do?”

-It’s simple. Awaken the fragment of spirituality sleeping within your body. Don’t leave it in this half-hearted state like now.

 

The Demon Lord declared.

 

-Take on the dignity of the World Tree.

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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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