I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 86

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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 86

 

The Hero and Kaella quickly moved away from the capital.

 

A battle that was hard to follow with the eyes continued. Dozens of spells flew toward the Hero simultaneously, and the Hero dodged them or took them with his body while striking sword attacks at Kaella.

 

However, neither of them could inflict fatal wounds on the other.

 

Kaella suffered mana backlash from the shock of her spell being forcibly canceled, and the Hero’s body was deteriorating from the aftereffects of using the Holy Sword that was no longer permitted to him.

 

The damage they inflicted on themselves by continuing the battle was greater than the damage they dealt to each other.

 

“Being like this reminds me of when we were subjugating the Demon Realm. Don’t you think?”

“Do you have the leisure to talk?”

“Let’s take a break. Both you and I seem to be at our limit.”

 

In the end, it was Kaella who raised her hand first. When she sat down on the ground, the Hero also stopped moving quietly.

 

Without taking his hand off the hilt. Noticing this, Kaella shook her head.

 

“It’s been almost half a year since we completed our mission. Those who used to ignore me before we left on our journey can’t even make eye contact now.”

“That’s natural.”

 

Before passing through the trials, they hadn’t accumulated the power or achievements they had now. Each of them had also received titles. If not for this incident, Kaella was scheduled to establish a new Magic Tower in a few years.

 

It was a smooth path ahead.

 

Since they had fulfilled all their responsibilities, only enjoyment remained ahead.

 

“But aren’t you curious about the reason for doing something like this anyway?”

“Didn’t you already explain it?”

“It’s just, it comes to mind sometimes.”

 

There was a time when they were inexperienced. It wasn’t even that long ago. The time when they first met as companions and couldn’t trust each other well. They too had a time when they trembled at a single demon and couldn’t sleep at night after battles.

 

“I miss it, sometimes.”

 

Memories that would never return now.

 

“Why was it us, I wonder.”

 

And they were resentful memories.

 

“Even now when I sleep, I dream of the Demon Realm. I’ve blown up my house in my sleep more than once or twice.”

“….”

“Sitting on the only intact bed in the burned house, recalling the unforgettable screams and shouts, looking at the servants who had become chunks of meat, who had been alive just until morning… When I do that, I suddenly start thinking.”

 

Contrary to the content of her words, Kaella was smiling softly.

 

“Actually, I’m not interested in things like wealth and glory, or great achievements.”

“I know.”

“So, let’s take revenge on those who made us suffer this pain.”

 

It was a smile that carried a murderous aura, yet somehow looked pitiful.

 

The Hero, who had been watching that expression for a moment, said.

 

“You’re broken.”

“As if you’re any better. That’s not something I should hear from the very person who passed through all the trials.”

 

The trials grant power to the Hero and their companions. Power that surpasses humans, power to subjugate the Demon Lord.

 

In that process, the Hero who becomes the center of the trials gradually loses their humanity. Like the Hero before his eyes now, or like the First Hero who founded the Empire.

 

“Recently, a strange fellow contacted me. He told an interesting story. That the real culprit behind all this isn’t any earthly ruler or the Demon Lord. I was about to kill him immediately, but he suddenly pulled out a Dragon Heart.”

 

The Hero’s head tilted slightly.

 

The circumstances behind creating the dragon were now roughly understood. But what caught the Hero’s attention was a different story.

 

“Then, who is it?”

“The Goddess.”

 

Kaella raised her head to look up at the sky. Then she looked straight into the Hero’s eyes again.

 

“He said to make sure no one else experiences what we went through, like Heroes. To create a world where humans don’t remain as toys of the gods.”

 

The Hero answered.

 

“Not interested.”

“How decisive.”

 

Looking into Kaella’s eyes, digging deep into their depths.

 

“And you. You don’t care about other people’s deaths, do you.”

 

Kaella scratched her head, then shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Right. We’ve rested enough, haven’t we?”

 

The two took their stances and prepared for battle once again. But at that moment, both their gazes turned toward the same direction simultaneously.

 

“Did you prepare that too?”

“…No?”

 

It was the direction where the capital was located.

 

* * *

 

The Demon Lord said.

 

The Ice Spirit was a half-wit who couldn’t properly handle even one divine authority. As someone who had consistently received the Ice Spirit’s help, it was hard for me to understand those words.

 

But right now, those words made sense.

 

The Ice Spirit was born based on Eternal Ice, which could freeze even time itself. Naturally, it should be able to use that power to some extent.

 

What it meant to freeze time itself… I couldn’t even guess yet. But I could clearly tell that the range of things it could do wasn’t limited to simply creating ice walls.

 

I felt powerful strength. But I couldn’t maintain it for long.

 

Spirit Summoning inflicted tremendous damage on the souls used. Ordinary souls would disappear without a trace, and even those containing divinity would feel considerable burden.

 

More than that, I myself couldn’t endure it.

 

Breathing was difficult. My mind worked slower than usual. My fingertips, joints, blood, and soul felt like they were freezing.

 

A sensation I had never felt when using other souls. But I could feel tremendous power proportional to it.

 

“Ah, aah…!”

 

I poured out the painful cold energy as if vomiting it. No matter how much I expelled, the cold wouldn’t go away.

 

The Dragon’s slowly flapping wings froze. The Dragon that had been floating momentarily crashed down. Its massive body slammed into the ground, making the earth tremble.

 

It would have been great if I could have turned it into an ice sculpture in one go. But that much was impossible. Freezing the wings was only possible because they were the thinnest part of that massive body.

 

“Aah…”

 

The Ice Spirit and World Tree power seemed incompatible.

 

As the cold energy intensified, the roots lost their strength. The spiritual power I had faintly felt disappeared as if fleeing somewhere. Perhaps it had gone to the Great Forest where the main body was.

 

Since there was no contract relationship or anything from the start, I couldn’t blame it. But I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

 

“Now’s our chance!”

 

As if its pride was hurt, the Dragon roared amidst the silence.

 

The Knights who didn’t miss the opportunity rushed in, slashing at the membrane. Consecutive Magic Bombardment shattered the frozen parts.

 

However, it didn’t last long. The Knights gradually slowed down in the unbearable cold and began collapsing one by one. Those who still had strength to move retreated, carrying their fallen companions.

 

The pouring magic lost its power. By the time it penetrated the cold and reached the Dragon, it was already barely maintaining its form.

 

In the end, only the strongest-looking Knight and the Blue Tower Master remained.

 

Could we defeat the Dragon with just those two?

 

‘It’s possible.’

 

The answer came immediately.

 

I could win even without the World Tree’s help. I could win even without that Knight and Tower Master’s assistance.

 

Complex calculations weren’t necessary. It wasn’t even possible to calculate with my dulled mind. I simply trusted the omnipotent feeling that divinity conveyed.

 

I still couldn’t fully control the power dwelling in Eternal Ice, but the same was true for the Dragon.

 

Dragons were complete beings in themselves. If it had been possible to reproduce one perfectly, it wouldn’t have ended up in such a hideous state. There must have been some problem, and to compensate for it, they had used Dark Magic or whatever else.

 

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

 

I had to move. If I just stood still, I felt like I would freeze too.

 

I lifted my foot with difficulty. My body creaked like a long-unmaintained machine part. Each time my foot touched down, the viscous fluid seeping between the scales froze.

 

Each time, the Dragon roared in pain.

 

But it was just noisy. It seemed even weaker than right after its resurrection.

 

-No, the fused divinity is protecting you. Your status has temporarily risen. Right now, you are…

 

The Demon Lord spoke in a subtle tone.

 

-You could say, a demigod.

 

A demigod.

 

-Well, the same goes for this Dragon though.

 

It was shocking enough that devout believers would immediately cry blasphemy if they heard it, but I felt no particular emotion.

 

I thought slowly. Perhaps even my emotions had frozen in this state. Even knowing I needed to escape this condition quickly, I didn’t feel the necessity to do so.

 

I extended my right hand and gathered power. Snow swirled as a spear was created.

 

Recalling spear techniques I seemed to have learned somewhere, I thrust it into the Dragon’s body. The Dragon thrashed violently and shrieked, but I wasn’t satisfied with the result.

 

Short daggers, long swords, pointed maces, and even arrows – I continuously created whatever weapons came to mind and drove them into the Dragon.

 

Its body froze. Each time it struggled, the frozen parts shattered. Black tentacle-like things disgustingly filled those spots. Of course, those tentacles would soon freeze and shatter again in repetition.

 

Slowly, I expanded that domain.

 

-This seems like it’ll never end.

 

I knew that. But I continued repeating the process of creating ice weapons and driving them into the Dragon’s body. I wanted to know why I wasn’t satisfied.

 

Rather than finding an answer, the dragon adapted more quickly.

 

-Gather your strength and attack all at once. You must finish it without giving it time to heal.

 

The frozen wings shattered all at once. Wings that grew faster than they could freeze again flapped wildly. It twisted its body, trying to shake me off.

 

It seemed to have finally realized that what had been merely a bug crawling on its skin was actually a venomous pest that bit far more painfully than anything else.

 

However, my legs, frozen solid and firmly attached, wouldn’t fall off so easily. The massive body, hundreds of meters in size, rolled across the ground. Tremendous impacts struck the earth in succession. The accumulated snow scattered through the air.

 

And at some moment.

 

The dragon’s belly swelled up.

 

Was this venting its anger? This was the precursor to the breath that would bring destruction to cities. While that would be meaningless to me, clinging to its body…

 

What would happen if it thrashed about frantically like this and unleashed that breath in all directions?

 

Could the defensive barriers of the Magic Tower and the capital truly withstand it? So far, they had only managed to block indirect damage from roars and wing beats.

 

If they could have blocked even the Breath of Destruction, what need would there have been for a Hero?

 

The thought that suddenly occurred to me also instantly faded into the distance.

 

Whatever this was aimed at, there was only one thing to do. As the Demon Lord said, gather all my strength and deliver the Final Strike.

 

I contained the cold energy I had been endlessly releasing within my body.

 

‘Is this enough?’

 

No, it’s still not enough. Even the Hero’s strike that split the sky couldn’t finish off the dragon. The power I’ve gathered so far falls far short of that.

 

My vision became hazy.

 

‘Is this enough?’

 

At some point, I could no longer feel the cold energy. Instead, I felt a burning heat, an unbearable itching sensation.

 

On my skin, in my eyes, in my brain, in each blood vessel, I had the illusion of ants crawling. I could understand why the dragon was struggling so desperately.

 

‘Is this enough?’

 

More, more.

 

How much time had passed?

 

When I realized I was no longer breathing, when I thought this might be enough.

 

If the dragon was going to breathe its breath, wouldn’t it have done so already? Perhaps the capital and the Magic Tower had already been burned to nothing. With my dulled senses, I barely managed to gauge the direction the dragon’s head was facing.

 

It seemed to be toward where the capital was located. I couldn’t tell whether it was intact or not.

 

Such things no longer mattered.

 

Perhaps everything had truly stopped, as the saying goes that it could freeze even time itself.

 

I released the cold energy I had gathered with all my might from my body.

 

The shape of a massive, completely unrefined stake. It was equally unsatisfactory, but the moment I drove it into the dragon, I felt it.

 

It reached.

 

The Dragon Heart, hidden in the deepest part of its body.

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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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