I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 53

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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 53

 

“Where are we going?”

 

Birutta glanced at Jude, who was hanging on her shoulder trying not to bite his tongue, and answered.

 

“We’re going to the Mother Tree.”

“…Mother Tree?”

“Yes. There we should be able to catch our breath for a while. There will be pursuit, so we can’t hold out for long though…”

“Wait.”

 

Birutta frowned as Jude tapped her back, forcing her to stop. The position might be quite uncomfortable, but this was an urgent situation. To shake off the pursuers sent by the King, they couldn’t afford to stop even for a moment.

 

“We don’t have time to waste unnecessarily…?”

 

A brief gap created while speaking. Jude suppressed his motion sickness and drew a magic circle in the air. Birutta’s eyes wavered at the magic circle that appeared in an instant.

 

“This is…?”

“I’ll hide our appearance and traces for a while. It should buy us more time than initially thought.”

“You’re saying this is stealth magic.”

 

Birutta muttered blankly. Even knowing it was an urgent situation, she couldn’t help herself.

 

Tree Searchers who wander human territories for long periods necessarily require exceptional abilities. Naturally, Birutta’s talent, having been included among the Tree Searchers at a young age, was among the finest even among Elves.

 

Even for someone like her, she couldn’t fully interpret the magic circle before her eyes. She knew several types of magic for stealth, but even combining all of them wouldn’t compare to what was before her.

 

But what was even more surprising was that the entire process occurred in the blink of an eye, and without any preparation process at all. Drawing magic circles was a system that required considerable time and wealth even for skilled mages.

 

“What? Wasn’t this urgent?”

“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

 

Birutta shook her head to clear her thoughts.

 

The other party was none other than one who acts on behalf of the World Tree itself. Showing exceptional abilities was natural. She shouldn’t judge him on the same level as ordinary humans.

 

Certainty filled Birutta’s face, which had been worn with fatigue and anguish.

 

Some time later.

 

Birutta landed in a clearing. Jude, who was staggering and struggling to maintain balance, asked.

 

“This is the Mother Tree…?”

“Yes.”

 

What appeared before their eyes was a single tree standing somewhat apart from the other surrounding trees.

 

It wasn’t particularly large in size, but rather gaunt as if diseased, with even some bark peeled off.

 

“I was expecting something a bit more special.”

 

Birutta smiled bitterly.

 

Elves worship the World Tree as a god. It’s not uncommon for them to call it Mother as well. Naturally, she could easily guess what Jude had been expecting.

 

And also that the gaunt tree before their eyes fell short of those expectations.

 

“….”

 

However, Birutta arranged her clothes without answering and stood before the tree.

 

A tree that moved as if it had will, like the other trees. Birutta, who had entered between the split trunk, quietly looked back at Jude.

 

“…Got it.”

 

Jude sighed and followed Birutta inside, and the tree closed the gap it had opened.

 

“Thanks for saving me. It was a bit dangerous.”

 

Jude, who had dismissed the magic circle that had been floating faintly around them, spoke with an awkward smile.

 

Birutta looked back at the path they had come through a small gap.

 

No matter how much of an Elf she was, she couldn’t move while carrying a sturdy human man without leaving a single trace. This was why she had expected pursuit to come instantly, unlike the past few days.

 

‘As expected…’

 

It was clean.

 

Even though the magic had clearly stopped, not even the small traces that should have existed remained. Jude had called it merely stealth magic, but it wasn’t magic that should be described that way.

 

Birutta, who breathed a sigh of relief, looked back at Jude.

 

“Where have you been all this time? I was waiting.”

 

Jude asked in a dignified voice. Birutta smiled slightly at his awkward appearance, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit, same as before, and answered.

 

“I was being pursued.”

“Pursued?”

“…Yes. Just like now.”

 

Jude, who had been looking at Birutta as she erased her smile, asked as if he couldn’t understand at all.

 

“From their perspective, didn’t you bring back treasures they had been searching for a long time? Naturally, you should receive appropriate treatment. I can’t understand it. And where are the other Tree Searchers…”

“….”

“…They’ve already been dealt with.”

 

He probably found the answer in Remal’s words calling Birutta a fugitive.

 

Birutta’s face contorted in pain. In the brief moment she had gone to the Central Tree to meet Jude a few days ago, all the Tree Searchers who had wandered outside the Great Forest with her for years had been captured.

 

Fugitive.

 

Those words were truly fitting. All Birutta could do was hide and watch their final moments. If she had tried to rescue them all, she would certainly have met the same fate.

 

“What do you plan to do now?”

 

At Jude’s voice, Birutta came to her senses and stared at him intently.

 

“What. Why.”

 

Unable to hide her sullen expression, Birutta regained her strength once more.

 

“…If the Proxy can restore the World Tree’s complete power. No, if you can draw out even a part of it, all the Elves in the Great Forest will submit to you.”

 

A resolute voice. Jude reflexively stepped back at the mad conviction in her eyes and bumped into the wall.

 

“Even if it’s that arrogant King.”

“…I need time.”

“I’ll wait. It’s fortunate that I’m an Elf.”

 

At Birutta’s appearance, having completely regained her strength, Jude hesitated for a moment before answering.

 

“…It won’t take that long.”

 

* * *

 

How much time had passed? Two days? Three days?

 

Perhaps even longer. Sitting with his back against the wall all day, struggling to feel the World Tree’s spirituality that had supposedly been absorbed into his body, his sense of time had long been ruined.

 

Thanks to the fruits Birutta brought from somewhere, he didn’t feel thirsty or hungry, but the aching in his body was unavoidable.

 

However, unable to abandon the conviction and hope in her eyes, he had no choice but to sit down again and immerse himself in meditation.

 

-Kekeke…

 

The Demon Lord’s laughter grew worse the more he focused on meditation, and finally Jude, unable to bear it, opened his mouth.

 

“What is it.”

 

Fortunately, Birutta was away. He was confident he wouldn’t be caught if he didn’t overdo it while alone.

 

-It seems I overestimated you.

“What?”

-In this state, as that Elf said, awakening the World Tree’s spirituality would be impossible even after hundreds of years.

“….”

 

The Demon Lord was right.

 

Jude’s efforts to feel the World Tree’s spirituality had yielded no results whatsoever.

 

Having learned magic without any obstacles until now, Jude felt the current situation even more keenly. It was more hopeless than when he first learned the spear from Mike.

 

-As I said before, the method is simple.

 

The Demon Lord spoke with an amused voice.

 

His poor innate detection ability couldn’t explain the current situation. The souls he had absorbed through Soul Magic so far numbered in the hundreds.

 

Among them were the souls of excellent mages like his Master, and those of knights from the Holy Knight Order. Given the lack of progress despite this, it might be impossible for humans to feel the World Tree’s spirituality in the first place.

 

“If I absorb an Elf’s soul…”

-It would be possible. As that Elf King said, they’re uniquely specialized in sensing the World Tree’s energy. Not to mention their innate detection ability.

 

The problem was that he hadn’t found a single soul so far.

 

When led by Remal to the Elf King, and even when carried here by Birutta, he couldn’t find even small Soul Fragments, let alone souls.

 

That was quite strange.

 

No matter how long Elves lived, they weren’t immortal. Perhaps their emotions dulled over their long lives, leaving no fragments… but even so, Elves weren’t the only ones living in the Great Forest.

 

“I guess I need to go out once.”

“Where do you mean?”

“…When did you come back?”

“I just returned, but outside is dangerous. All the Elves are thoroughly searching the Great Forest.”

 

Birutta, taking out several fruits from her bosom and handing them over, spoke with a tired face.

 

“Thank you. But this place is safe, right?”

“…Yes. The Mother Tree is using her power to help us.”

“….”

 

Birutta stroked the tree roots with a somewhat sad expression. Though it hadn’t looked good when he first saw it, the tree had been withering rapidly over the past few days.

 

“It can’t hold out much longer, can it?”

“…About a week more should be possible.”

“Then I definitely need to go out.”

“Where exactly are you talking about going? As I mentioned just now, outside is dangerous. The King’s power is strong. If you face him directly…”

“I’m thinking of going to the place where your companions, the Tree Searchers, were taken.”

 

Birutta’s voice, which had been actively dissuading him, stopped. As he looked at her while putting the unknown fruit in his mouth, Birutta opened her mouth haltingly with a stunned expression.

 

“There, why on earth…?”

 

If the Elf King’s words about emotions wearing away with age were true, perhaps Birutta belonged to the quite young category.

 

She might be around the same age as Remal. Of course, even so, she would have lived several times longer than her appearance suggested.

 

Jude couldn’t bring himself to tell Birutta that he was going to absorb the souls of her dead companions.

 

“There’s something I need to check. If all goes well, it should be possible to awaken the World Tree’s power within a few days.”

“…I understand.”

 

After pondering, Birutta soon let out a sigh and approached Jude. Jude reflexively stepped back and asked.

 

“W-wait. Are you planning to carry me like last time?”

“So what?”

“What’s the distance to where the Tree Searchers were attacked?”

“…About 10 minutes at your pace, Representative.”

“Then let’s walk.”

 

Jude said firmly.

 

Birutta was fast, but the experience of being carried by her could hardly be called pleasant. Even with his body strengthened through the trials, it was hard to endure the motion sickness. An ordinary human would have long since lost consciousness.

 

His mana capacity had steadily increased during this time, and the duration he could maintain deception had greatly extended. There wouldn’t be any major problems with walking.

 

“…I understand.”

 

* * *

 

The place they arrived at under Birutta’s guidance wasn’t far from the giant tree where he had initially been imprisoned.

 

However, no matter how much he concentrated on his Spirit Sight, no souls were visible.

 

There were only a few trees growing there, the kind that existed everywhere in the Great Forest.

 

-Kekeke.

 

The Demon Lord’s suppressed laughter could be heard.

 

‘Didn’t “being attacked” mean death? Were they simply knocked unconscious and moved somewhere else? But even so…’

 

Jude felt his mind becoming complicated.

 

If he couldn’t obtain souls here, awakening the World Tree’s spirituality would become a difficult task once again.

 

‘Should I attack the elves who are searching? But what if they swarm me in groups? Even if I absorb souls, I don’t know how long it will take to awaken the World Tree’s spirituality. Deception magic isn’t omnipotent either. I’ll collapse from exhaustion while trying to escape.’

 

At that moment, Birutta, who had silently walked forward, knelt before a small tree.

 

“…?”

 

Jude couldn’t understand the situation.

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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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