I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 89

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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 89

 

Along with crackling sounds, I felt a faint warmth.

 

Before I could even lift my heavy eyelids, I reflexively sat up. I saw a red blazing campfire and a night sky without a single cloud. Starlight twinkled and shone.

 

“…Where is this.”

 

A cracked voice burst out on its own. I couldn’t grasp the situation due to my jumbled memories.

 

My body was better than I thought. So much so that it was hard to believe I had been trapped in ice for a long time. Perhaps what I felt was just an illusion, and only a brief moment had actually passed.

 

The sound of insects chirping came from the distance.

 

The peaceful noise told me that was just my wishful thinking. It had been winter with falling snow right up until I faced the dragon.

 

Then why am I here? Who saved me and brought me to this place?

 

While urgently looking around, our eyes met.

 

Under the tree shade where the campfire light didn’t reach, sat one elf quietly. However, her ash-tinted black skin and ominously glowing red eyes made me question whether she was really an elf.

 

The woman was looking at me without saying a word.

 

Part of my memory returned belatedly. It was she who had caught me in midair as I was falling endlessly.

 

“Please explain the situation.”

 

I asked while relaxing my body.

 

Though her demon-like appearance was unsettling, I vividly remembered the moment my mana core was destroyed. Right now, I was powerless.

 

If she had bad intentions, she would have done something already.

 

“The dragon has vanished.”

“….”

 

The answer that came back was concise.

 

So, it explained nothing at all. Add to that her inexplicably respectful attitude. I was more confused than before hearing the explanation.

 

“The one who saved me was….”

 

The elf slightly turned her eyes. There, a single sprout of unknown origin was swaying, showing off its presence.

 

I could intuitively tell that it was the World Tree.

 

“The World Tree led me to this place.”

 

Her red eyes held an emotion akin to reverence.

 

Even after being driven to the Great Forest by the Eternal Ice, the World Tree seemed to have worked to save me. My better-than-expected physical condition was probably thanks to it too.

 

Then, this elf is… an elf from the Great Forest?

 

Since the Great Forest was originally elven territory, it was natural if you think about it, but I naturally had questions.

 

That black skin would inevitably stand out if mixed among the elves.

 

Afterward, I briefly heard the story of what happened while I was trapped in ice. Since it would be difficult to blend into the capital with such an appearance, there wasn’t much to hear.

 

Following the guidance of the World Tree roots, she had departed for the Empire and discovered the frozen dragon. Since mages and workers had already set up camp around the dragon, she couldn’t approach and had been circling the area for a couple of months gathering information.

 

On a day when researchers were gradually leaving due to lack of progress over time, she sensed an anomaly, rushed over, discovered me, and caught me.

 

“Thank you for that.”

 

Thanks to her, I could live. No matter how powerful the World Tree’s life force, it couldn’t revive a corpse shattered from falling hundreds of meters.

 

“So, who are you?”

 

The elves in my memory all had pure white skin. Yet, why did I feel somehow familiar with her?

 

“…Ah.”

 

The elf who had been answering calmly throughout suddenly blinked as if she hadn’t thought of it.

 

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Remal, the sinner who tried to offer my benefactor to the King.”

“…Remal?”

 

I realized the reason for my discomfort. That elf was the King’s close aide who had called Birutta a fugitive.

 

What had happened to her? The ash-colored skin and blackened hair made it hard to believe she was the same person, but examining her features one by one, it was indeed her.

 

-What a rare sight.

 

The Demon Lord seemed to know what had happened.

 

-Elves are beings born from the World Tree. They cannot help but be strongly influenced by the World Tree. Long ago, when it withered, the entire species degenerated.

‘Degenerated…?’

 

A superior species with lifespans incomparable to humans was actually in a degenerated state? What kind of race were the elves of the Mythical Age?

 

-This time, the changes occurred due to the influence of your resurrection of the World Tree. Perhaps the birth of a new species.

 

I wanted to ask what my resurrection of the World Tree had to do with an elf changing into such an ominous appearance, but…

 

It wasn’t completely without precedent.

 

At the final moment of facing the Elf King, using the World Tree as material for Spirit Summoning must have been the problem. I suffered fatal wounds to my soul, and in that state, I even used Dark Magic.

 

…Though the current me had completely lost my mana.

 

Remal didn’t seem to resent me.

 

“The King’s sins were deep. No, our clan’s sins were deep. We dared to try to recreate the World Tree, God, with our own hands, and tried to offer you, our benefactor and representative, as a sacrifice. We have nothing to say even if we face the World Tree’s wrath.”

 

Rather, she seemed to consider the changes that occurred to her race as being due to the sins they had committed.

 

“You gave us a final chance to atone. You commanded us to protect and nurture the World Tree again.”

“….”

“Just as you wished for the World Tree’s well-being, the World Tree also seems to wish for your well-being.”

 

Remal said this and bowed her head.

 

“In that case, we have no choice but to protect our benefactor.”

 

I couldn’t speak for a while.

 

To think that the action I took because I didn’t want to give divinity to the Demon Lord would save my life like this.

 

Even this wouldn’t be a situation the Demon Lord intended at all.

 

I closed my eyes and focused on my body again.

 

The completely destroyed mana core had disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed. Instead, a massive flow of mana was spreading throughout every corner of my body.

 

Feeling regret that I could no longer be called a Dark Mage, I tried to gather mana to form a mana core again, but it wasn’t easy.

 

It was because of the divinity mixed in with the mana.

 

The divinity that I could easily handle when using Spirit Summoning was now becoming shackles, blocking even the movement of mana. Moreover, the Ice Spirit was also asleep for recovery.

 

My immediate combat power was greatly weakened. Though it felt uncomfortable due to past memories, it seemed I would have to rely on Remal for a while.

 

“…I’m thinking of going to the Holy Nation now.”

“As you wish, benefactor.”

 

The next destination was decided that simply.

 

* * *

 

It was just overnight.

 

The cold energy that had allowed no one’s approach melted away in the spring warmth. Only a huge puddle filled with muddy water remained where the dragon had been.

 

“Quickly, move quickly!”

 

The Mages moved busily from dawn. They tried to quickly collect any remaining parts of the dragon before they could be contaminated.

 

But it was useless work.

 

There was no Eternal Ice, no dragon bones or heart.

 

The massive body formed by Dark Magic had melted away along with the ice. What they found during the search that lasted several hours was only small bone fragments that had exhausted all their power.

 

Even those, they couldn’t be certain were dragon bones. It was the moment when the past few months of enduring the cold and guarding the place became meaningless.

 

“No, it can’t be…!”

 

The Red Tower Master, Vaidel Al Mahib, let out a cry of despair. He had forgotten the dignified attitude he usually maintained.

 

“What, what did you do!”

“What did we do? Same as usual. We couldn’t even approach beyond a certain distance, just watched.”

 

The Green Tower Master answered while removing the hand that had grabbed his collar.

 

“I understand your feelings, but this place is under the Green Magic Tower’s jurisdiction. Give us time until we properly assess the situation. We’re quite confused too.”

“Now, you call that…!”

“Go back for now. You’re too agitated.”

 

But the Red Tower Master couldn’t control his emotions.

 

It wasn’t for academic reasons about traces of the Mythical Age disappearing. It wasn’t about losing means to achieve success either.

 

What filled the Red Tower Master’s head was the land and buildings he had purchased just yesterday.

 

Thinking they would only rise in value, he had poured all of the Magic Tower’s budget into them.

 

But the dragon, which had been the cause of the capital’s real estate boom, had disappeared without a trace. Even as a Tower Master who had devoted his life only to magic, he could easily guess what would happen next.

 

He felt like burning everything, including the Green Tower Master before him.

 

But he couldn’t handle the consequences.

 

Until recently when the Green Magic Tower was in decline, he could have somehow covered up disposing of one or two of their Mages. But now the Red Magic Tower was on the verge of ruin like the Green Magic Tower had been back then.

 

Returning to the tower powerlessly, the Red Tower Master saw the chaotic scene of the Magic Tower.

 

They must have realized the dragon had melted away. The situation would be similar anywhere near the capital.

 

However, among them, none could guess the crisis that would befall the tower. Only the secretary who had proceeded with real estate purchases yesterday on the Tower Master’s orders was pacing in front of the office, pale with fear.

 

“To-Tower Master…!”

“….”

“We’re ruined. If the Merchants refuse to renew contracts, starting from next month’s operating expenses…”

“Go back. Don’t make a fuss.”

 

The Tower Master spoke coldly.

 

“I have it all figured out, so don’t worry.”

“But….”

“I want to be alone for a while.”

 

The Tower Master who sent his secretary away slumped into his chair as soon as he entered his office and let out a deep sigh.

 

‘What should I do.’

 

If he did nothing like this, he would be recorded as the worst Tower Master in the thousand-year history of the Magic Tower. But he couldn’t go to the seller and threaten him to withdraw from the deal either.

 

The other party was quite an important figure in the Empire.

 

Knock, knock.

 

“Didn’t I say I wanted to be alone?”

 

He snapped at the knocking sound, but his secretary slightly opened the door and poked his head in.

 

“The Golden Star Trading Company Owner!”

 

The Red Tower Master, who was about to burn him in his anger, stopped his spell right there. From his secretary’s mouth came the very person he had been thinking about just moments before.

 

“The Golden Star Trading Company Owner has come to visit!”

“…Let him in.”

 

Tapping the desk with his finger, the Red Tower Master looked at his opponent.

 

Young. So young that it was hard to believe he was the person who had built one of the continent’s leading great trading companies in less than a year.

 

“So, what’s your reason for coming all the way here? Did you come to mock me?”

“Before the Tower Master of one of only three Magic Towers in the Empire, how could I, who am merely a merchant, do such a thing.”

 

The Trading Company Owner waved his hands in surprise.

 

But the Red Tower Master didn’t soften his expression. Merchants were all demons wearing human skin.

 

He thought even that meek attitude harbored other intentions. However.

 

“If you wish, I’ll cancel the deal just by receiving the penalty fee.”

 

At the Trading Company Owner’s following words, he shouted, forgetting even his dignity.

 

“Really?”

“For the advancement of magic, by all means. Isn’t the Red Magic Tower a solid pillar of the magic world?”

 

Watching the Red Tower Master who couldn’t continue speaking in bewilderment, the Trading Company Owner added as if making an excuse.

 

“Since my time at the Academy, I had no great talent for magic. I eventually gave up and inherited the family business, but I’ve deeply admired the Tower Masters who reached the pinnacle of magic.”

“I, I see. If that’s the reason, by all means. Our Magic Tower isn’t so impoverished as to be obsessed with such small change, but I’ll accept it considering your heart.”

 

The Red Tower Master answered belatedly. His wariness toward the Trading Company Owner had long since disappeared without a trace.

 

“Ah, and.”

“Do you have more business?”

“I enjoy collecting unusual items from here and there. Among them, there’s one whose identity I cannot determine, so I’d like to request the Red Magic Tower to investigate it. Ah, of course, if you don’t accept….”

“Bring it out.”

 

The Tower Master nodded without much thought, and his gaze soon fixed on the Trading Company Owner’s hand.

 

“Th, is…!”

“Do you know what it is?”

 

Having directly faced a dragon and researched Mythical Age relics quite a bit, the Red Tower Master could recognize its identity at a glance. But the Tower Master belatedly managed his expression and shook his head.

 

“I’ll look into it and contact you. Regarding the contract, talk with my secretary.”

 

The Red Tower Master, who snatched the item from the Trading Company Owner’s hand as if grabbing it, issued an order to leave.

 

“With this…!”

 

The Red Tower Master, who knew what power the revived dragon and Eternal Ice possessed, trembled.

 

Any mage would have done the same.

 

Before the Essence of Hellfire.

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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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