Chapter 51 : Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Demon King (3)

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…Where am I?

The surroundings are dark.

I couldn’t quite grasp what had happened.

Derix was gone, and the crumbling clearing was nowhere to be seen.

I was alone, collapsed in a dark void.

I staggered to my feet.

My heart beat faintly, a sensation I’d never felt before.

It felt as though my heart might stop.

I looked around.

Soon, I realized I was in a magical space.

It felt similar to when I first met Hike, when he pulled me into an unknown realm—a faint trace of the same mana flow lingered here.

But I couldn’t deduce more than that.

I quickly understood this was an incomprehensible magical space, beyond human perception.

This place was created by Dragon Speech.

- Polarin.

A voice echoed from the darkness.

A nostalgic voice—no, a hateful one.

It was Adjak’s voice, the one who brought me here.

Funnily enough, my first thought was what to call him.

Since he was the progenitor of the body I inhabited, should I call him Progenitor? Or Adjak-nim?

I didn’t know what was appropriate.

But then, a memory surfaced.

When I, out of habit, played Tune World and first unlocked Adjak as a hidden character, I felt an odd certainty.

If I played as him, I could see the end of Tune World.

From the moment I got him, Adjak became my favorite character.

He wasn’t just a game character to me.

Like calling a friend, a simple name I’d mumbled to myself came to mind.

“You…”

There was no response from Adjak.

He’d thrown me into this world and hadn’t shown himself once. Clenching my teeth, I shouted,

“You’re Adjak, aren’t you? What’s going on? Are you alive?”

I yelled, demanding an answer, but there was no reply.

No matter how long I shouted, nothing came back. My voice only echoed in the void.

Pouring mana into Derix had already strained my Dragon Heart immensely.

My weakened heart pulsed faintly, and my legs gave out.

Thud. Exhausted, I collapsed, catching my breath, when Adjak’s voice rang out again.

- Are you still the one to inherit my will?

…Since when did you ask for my consent to drag me here?

Anger surged, but memories of my days in this world flooded back.

The times I struggled to survive, to protect the companions and family who had become part of my life.

I had come to inherit Adjak’s will.

“Of course, I’ve inherited it and I will go forward.”

I glared into the void and spoke.

“Tell me! How do I kill the Demon King?”

I was getting angry without meaning to.

Before I sensed Adjak’s death, when I first came to this world, I thought I might meet my favorite character.

I had so much I wanted to say to him.

But for some reason, the words I’d long thought about wouldn’t come out.

I was angry because Adjak wasn’t giving me any clear answers.

- Train your mana to overcome demonic energy and eradicate all beings imbued with demonic energy. Destroy all evil so that no new Demon King can arise.

If I killed all demons, if I conquered Myeolji in that way, would it mean demons could no longer open their jaws at the world?

- As my successor, you can drive out demonic energy. Realize the power you possess.

Something seemed to awaken within me.

It wasn't a new power granted by Adjak.

It was the latent power within me, the ability to freely wield my mana, coming to life.

I shouted loudly toward Adjak, whose whereabouts I didn’t even know.

“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll inherit your will, but not in your vague way. From now on, I’ll do it my way.”

Then, a faint, deflating chuckle echoed, like a soft smile.

* * *

It felt like I’d lingered in that magical space created by Dragon Speech for a long time, but when I returned, my hand was still on Derix’s forehead.

Despite foaming at the mouth, he held on with sheer willpower.

Even as blood and sweat dripped to his lips, he didn’t collapse, panting heavily.

“I won’t die even after receiving Polarin-nim’s mana. Your mana, inherited from Adjak-nim, is stronger than demonic energy…”

But I had no strength left to respond to Derix’s words.

The Demon King’s majestic demonic energy had surged from Derix’s body into mine, infiltrating and stirring within me.

My Dragon Heart greedily absorbed the surrounding mana to avoid depletion, while also wrestling with the Demon King’s demonic energy targeting my heart.

The struggle dragged on without a clear victor.

But my mana, the trace amounts leaking from my Dragon Heart, never yielded to the Demon King’s demonic energy.

…After a long contest, I finally devoured all of the Demon King’s demonic energy.

My mana had overcome it.

I withdrew my hand from Derix’s forehead.

I could barely stand.

Derix, who must have endured immense hardship, was the one worrying about me.

“Are you alright?”

“….”

“My energy has changed. Within me… Polarin-nim’s mana flows.”

His words were incomprehensible.

I struggled to lift my head and looked at Derix.

As he said, demonic energy no longer flowed through his body.

What happens to a demon without demonic energy?

Neither I nor Derix had anticipated the outcome of this experiment.

Derix didn’t die.

Breathing lightly, he examined his changed body with a sense of wonder.

On his eyes and forehead, the imprint of my palm remained.

A white pattern, shaped exactly like my palm and fingers, was branded on his forehead.

Looking at me, Derix spoke with difficulty.

“Can you feel it?”

I nodded.

The mana flowing through Derix’s body wasn’t demonic energy or the ambient mana in the air.

It was unmistakably my mana.

“I will follow your orders from now on.”

“…Why?”

“Because of your mana, I’ve been reborn. We are deeply connected.”

Now that I thought about it, it was strange.

As I looked at Derix, I could vividly feel his sensations.

I could clearly sense what he was thinking.

- Hmm… You do carry the scent of a demon.

Derix’s presence felt more vivid than even Arandir, who was bound to me by contract.

I could also tell that Derix was deeply loyal to me.

My mana was coalescing in his heart.

But experiencing this phenomenon only raised more questions.

“Then tell me everything you know about the new Demon King and the new demons.”

Though I could read Derix’s thoughts, it wasn’t convenient enough to rummage through his mind and extract the information I needed.

“Understood. First…”

I thought he’d already spilled everything, but it turned out he was holding back quite a bit.

Derix began to reveal all the information he knew without restraint.

Each piece was useful.

But since Derix had left the Dome long ago, he didn’t fully know the current situation.

Tracking down the demon who escaped the Dome became a priority once again.

“For now, can you prioritize tracking the demon who escaped the Dome?”

“Your command is my duty.”

“Can you stay here for a while?”

“Yes.”

Thump-thump.

My overworked Dragon Heart was refilling with mana.

Perhaps due to the recent strain, its beats were unsteady.

I had learned that a new Demon King had been born and that to kill him, I needed to increase the density of my mana.

I felt the need to deeply explore mana.

To overcome demonic energy, I had to strengthen my mana, and I believed studying mana was one of the keys to fulfilling both Adjak’s and my own aspirations.

* * *

Blaze, Siriel, and Kiyot’s group finally arrived at the Hamdel Desert.

Though Polarin had left, complaining that “the desert is tedious,” the fastest route to him was through the desert, so they had no choice.

“…It’s understandably tedious.”

“Wow, how did Polarin endure this? It’s tougher than being at the front line of Myeolji.”

Kiyot and Siriel stuck out their tongues under the scorching desert sun.

No matter how much they wiped their sweat or fanned themselves, the heat wouldn’t relent.

Every gust of wind stung their faces with sand.

“If it’s tough, wear a mask and saying this is harder than the Myeolji front is an insult to the Crows.”

Blaze, who kept his mask on, spoke with dignity.

He was struggling too, but the pride for the Crows welling up in his chest helped him forget reality.

“Enemy ahead, Grade 5 beast, Filu.”

“Alright! I’ll take the lead!”

Unlike their earlier grumbling, Kiyot and Siriel instantly took positions and charged as soon as the beast came into view.

They had fought beasts day and night at Myeolji’s front.

Compared to their peers who went through the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, they prided themselves on having faced far more beasts.

“More coming from behind!”

Blaze soon joined the battle.

Beasts swarmed from the desert’s entrance, but the Crow trio subdued them with ease.

After the fight, the three collapsed onto a sand dune.

Siriel, stretching her legs, felt something bump against her foot and moved her weary body.

“…There’s something weird here. It’s a stone tablet.”

At Siriel’s curious words, Blaze stopped her in alarm.

“Don’t touch it! I heard there are many ateliers of dark mages in this desert!”

Kiyot let out a groan.

To the Crows, fully armed with resolve, dark mages were humans who willingly became dogs of demons—humanity’s trash.

They wanted to storm in and destroy the atelier, but Kiyot lowered his raised axe.

“Our priority now is tracking demons. We can deal with dark mages later.”

Siriel and Blaze agreed.

The problem was that the dark mage had other plans.

The three stared at the tablet without touching it, but soon, something strange happened.

“Wait, it’s moving!”

The tablet suddenly began to vibrate.

The Crow trio held their breath, gripping their weapons tightly.

Before long, the tablet’s trembling stopped.

“It’s collapsing!”

The ground around them crumbled with a roar.

Swept away by the cascading sand, the three fell into a trap connected to the atelier.

“Heh heh heh, such young, fresh hearts. How precious.”

A chilling voice of a dark mage echoed toward the trio, forcibly invited to a filthy laboratory.

The problem was that it was hard to pinpoint where the voice came from.

“For now, triangular formation.”

“Back to back!”

“…Got it.”

Their response was swift.

In the darkness, only the sinister aura of the dark mage pulsed.

They stood in a familiar formation, ready to block attacks from any direction.

“This darkness isn’t normal. It’s dark magic.”

“…Obviously.”

No matter how accustomed the Crows were to combat, it was only against beasts.

Facing a dark mage was a first.

Though inexperienced, they steadily prepared for the battle that could start at any moment.

“Hahahahaha!”

A sinister laugh filled the atelier, but the trio’s stance didn’t waver.

Their experiences at Myeolji’s front made this level of fear insignificant.

Blaze’s forearm, gripping his axe, twitched. His arm bore numerous scars from Myeolji.

Whoosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

Kiyot swiftly raised the axe he’d gained in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony’s maze and slammed it into the ground.

BOOM!

An explosion roared the moment the axe struck.

The battle began, with the Crows and the dark mage each believing they were hunting the other.

* * *

“I’m not a babysitter, yet here I am doing this.”

“But they’re Crows in action, so saving them will definitely be helpful!”

Eidon grumbled, but Keldric shouted cheerfully.

Eidon noticed his subordinate seemed unusually excited but didn’t scold him.

This is a strategy Agamben-nim is personally invested in. If I handle this well…

Agamben, the legendary leader of Tello within the intelligence division.

He had directly given orders to Nofen and Eidon.

Though the two had been building their reputation in the intelligence division, meeting Agamben was no easy feat.

Even this time, it wasn’t a face-to-face meeting.

Agamben had merely given orders to Eidon through a communication orb.

Still, it was an immense honor for Eidon.

He dreamed of one day being recognized by Tello and becoming a proud pillar of the Adjak family.

For that, he’d even abandoned his established position at the magic tower to return to the family.

It was puzzling that newly initiated Crows were involved in this mission ordered by Agamben.

But no matter the obstacles, Eidon had to resolve this mission flawlessly.

Polarin’s name never fails to come up.

Eidon looked at his subordinate diligently searching the desert.

Keldric, with talent second to none, also took pride in being Polarin’s friend.

“Found it!”

Keldric’s shout rang out.

The two immediately descended underground.

Fighting a dark mage, especially entering an atelier, required thorough preparation.

But time was short.

They had to rescue the initiates as quickly as possible.

“Hmm…”

As soon as they descended, Eidon was taken aback.

His resolve felt pointless.

“They’re too unscathed.”

The laboratory was in chaos.

A dead witch lay there, and traces of fierce combat were everywhere, yet the three Crow-masked figures rummaging through the lab hadn’t shed a drop of blood.

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