Chapter 1623 – 1623. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
“I know what the Demon King has hidden. I’m talking about the powers that the Demon King truly cherishes.”
“……”
What a load of crap. I wanted to retort and kill him, but it was quite a tempting offer.
‘If the Demon King has any sense, he’s likely managing the demons with cherished powers separately. This demon’s proposal is quite credible.’
After some thought, I nodded. If it doesn’t seem right, I can just kill this guy.
The self-proclaimed Isolation Demon, Gargar, grinned. He staggered out of the prison.
“My, my. I don’t know how many decades it’s been since I’ve walked like this. I’m glad I haven’t forgotten how to walk.”
“Who said you could come out?”
“What’s with you? You nodded and gave permission. I have no intention of attacking you, so don’t worry. Honestly, I think I’d lose even if we fought.”
“Don’t do anything suspicious. If you do anything that catches my eye, even a little… I’ll cut off your head.”
“Understood. Please guarantee my life.”
“Don’t worry.”
I had no intention of killing him until everything was over.
I exchanged glances with Elena. I sent her a message that we should kill him if necessary. I don’t know if she understood properly, but Elena crossed her arms and nodded.
“Hmm. I understand. I will attend to your bed tonight. Even if I refuse, you will force me. It can’t be helped.”
“……”
I can’t tell if he’s joking or not. I think he’s joking. Even if he’s not, it doesn’t really matter.
“In that prison, there’s a demon named Chelmik. His power is the power of transformation, allowing him to transform into anything. However, he can’t use the abilities of the transformed target, so it’s just an illusion.”
“A power that doesn’t seem helpful in battle. Why did the Demon King imprison him in the underground prison?”
“He caused trouble all over the Demon Realm while impersonating the Demon King.”
“Indeed.”
This time, Elena used illusion magic to open the door.
There was no structural difference compared to the prison where Gargar was held. The demon was also standing in the center of the room. He had the same appearance as me.
A surge of displeasure rose. Before my head could process anything, my hand moved first.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).
Red lightning flashed through the darkness, beheading the demon. The demon wore a surprised expression. It was even more unpleasant because it was my face.
The demon, now fallen to the floor, returned to its original form. A pathetic skeleton. That was the demon’s true identity.
“You’re ruthless. Were you that displeased?”
“Elena. For someone to take my form… it’s far more unpleasant than bugs crawling on my body.”
I stepped out of the prison.
Gargar took a step back from me.
“You’re scary. Even if he’s a demon, how can you kill him without even trying to talk? Aren’t you curious about what information that demon might have?”
I didn’t answer Gargar’s question and instead asked him a question.
“Why did you betray the Demon King?”
“You’re mistaken. I was never on the Demon King’s side from the beginning. I was captured by the Demon King and imprisoned for thousands of years, so how could I be loyal to him? The reason I call him the Demon King is simply due to the logic of power. He’s called the Demon King because he’s the strongest in this Demon Realm.”
“There seem to be quite a few demons who follow the Demon King.”
“They have to follow him if they don’t want to die. What else can they do? Well, the demons in this prison are mostly like me, demons who have no intention of following the Demon King.”
I extended the Hwaryeon Flying Blade to the side. The blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Blade scraped against the wall of the underground prison. Even with the use of an aura blade, there wasn’t a single scratch on the wall.
“The walls of the underground prison are sturdy.”
“It’s the power of sealing. It’s a power that can seal a target forever if the conditions are met. It’s one of the powers the Demon King particularly cherishes.”
“It seems like a dangerous power.”
“It is dangerous. But it’s also a tricky power. The first condition for using the power of sealing is to subdue the opponent. Whether it’s through battle or a bet, you have to make the opponent feel defeated in some way.”
I think I understand why they didn’t commit suicide even after spending hundreds of years in the underground prison. They can’t commit suicide because they’re trapped in a sealed form.
“Does that mean all the demons imprisoned here were defeated by the Demon King?”
“The Demon King can know a demon’s power if he knows their name. It’s one of the Demon King’s powers. For a demon to fight the Demon King is like fighting while revealing all their cards. On the other hand, the Demon King can use up to three powers simultaneously. The Demon King is also very cautious, so surprise attacks don’t work well. In this situation, how can a demon win against the Demon King?”
I turned my gaze to the next underground prison.
“Do you know who’s in here?”
“Hmm. It must be Groma, the demon of explosion. As his name suggests, he has the power of explosion.”
“How do you know so well?”
“I was once the Demon King’s aide. I pretended to cooperate with the Demon King while plotting to stab him in the back… I never imagined he would have the power of mind reading.”
I couldn’t just ignore that.
My legs, which had been walking down the corridor, stopped abruptly.
“Where is the demon with the power of mind reading?”
If the Demon King can read the minds of his opponents with the power of mind reading, Yuria and the others will be at a great disadvantage. I have to find and kill the demon with the power of mind reading as soon as possible.
“He died before I was imprisoned. I heard he committed suicide. The reason for the suicide… well, it’s obvious. He must have read the Demon King’s mind and decided there was no future.”
If he’s already dead, that’s a relief.
‘If he had the power of mind reading, the Demon King would have already used it to gain an advantage. I was a bit hasty.’
Clank!
Elena opened the door to the underground prison.
As soon as the door opened, an explosion occurred. I had been prepared with a protective aura thanks to Gargar’s words, so there was no damage.
“Kekekekekekeke!”
The demon, laughing strangely, was a furry creature about the size of a watermelon. Very small arms and legs appeared between the fur. It was hard to tell where its mouth and eyes were.
“Groma! It’s me!”
Gargar waved his hand at Groma.
“Kekekekekekeke!”
Groma laughed strangely and used his power. A light flashed in front of Gargar. Gargar used the power of severance in front of him. Soon, an explosion occurred, but Gargar was unharmed.
“Hey! Stop it and listen to me! Why don’t we join forces and take revenge on the Demon King?! If it’s you….”
“Kekekekekekeke!”
Groma didn’t listen to Gargar. He continuously caused explosions within the prison. It was a distraction. He was trying to escape the prison by bouncing around.
“Stop.”
I used telekinesis to grab Groma.
“Keke… kekekeke…!”
Groma struggled. I increased the power of my telekinesis and burst Groma. Groma’s corpse pieces fell to the floor with a thud.
“That’s a shame.”
Thud.
The blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Blade pierced Gargar’s small shoulder.
“Ouch. That hurts. If I weren’t a demon, that would have been a fatal wound.”
“This is your last warning. Your only job is to guide me. Don’t do anything presumptuous.”
“Understood. I accept your last warning. Could you please remove this sword?”
I pulled out the sword. The wound on his shoulder was instantly sealed and healed. It was a demon-like recovery.
After that, we walked down the corridor and opened the prisons. I killed every demon I saw. I didn’t even talk to them.
Most of the demons didn’t react properly to the surprise attacks. Perhaps because they had been imprisoned for so long, their reactions were dull. Among them, there were demons who had lost their will to live due to the long period of imprisonment and even desired death.
After killing about 70 demons in 20 minutes, I pointed the blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Blade at Gargar.
“Congratulations, demon slayer. You’re the first human in history to kill so many demons. How do you feel?”
“I don’t feel anything. Now, tell me about the demons the Demon King has hidden.”
Most of the demons imprisoned in the underground prison had powerful and troublesome abilities. However, there were no demons who used the powers of domination, possession, or space that the Demon King mainly used. They must be somewhere else.
“There’s a secret place somewhere in the Demon King’s castle. It’s a place that the Demon King has isolated using my power. The demons the Demon King cherishes are likely imprisoned there.”
“Lead the way.”
My voice was cold.
Elena approached me. She grabbed my shoulder as if pressing down on it.
“Calm down. There’s no need to feel impatient. You’ve killed a lot of demons. Even the Demon King can’t be completely unaffected. Maybe the Demon King is already dead.”
Elena’s words made sense. The Demon King’s opponent is Yuria. If the Demon King is even slightly careless, it will lead to a fatal wound.
“I have never felt impatient.”
“Sure you haven’t.”
Elena chuckled.
We followed Gargar to the back of the Demon King’s castle.
Behind the Demon King’s castle was a building that looked like a temple. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the temple. Unlike the Demon King’s castle, which was smashed to pieces by the Meteor Sword, the temple was intact.
“I didn’t know there was a temple behind the Demon King’s castle.”
“It’s the result of using various powers such as the power of distortion and the power of invisibility. It only revealed itself because you killed the demons in the underground prison.”
The temple was more beautiful than magnificent. It was unbelievable compared to the gloomy Demon King’s castle.
Elena crossed her arms and let out a low laugh. It was a sneer. She didn’t like gods very much.
“The Demon King built a temple and hid it? There was a devout Demon King here.”
“The Demon King doesn’t serve any gods.”
“Then why did he build a temple here?”
“It’s a temple for himself. The Demon King. He wanted to become the god of demons. He was a guy who thought he was qualified to be the god of demons.”
“If he can use all the powers of demons… well, it wouldn’t be strange to call him a god.”
Elena nodded as if she understood.
I asked Gargar a question.
“Is it related to his invasion of the human realm?”
“It’s to increase the number of demons. Unlike other creatures, demons naturally arise in places with high concentrations of impure mana.”
“The more demons there are, the stronger the Demon King’s power will be.”
“His goal is to invade the human realm, build a Demon King’s castle, rebuild the Demon King’s castle into a temple, and reign as a demon god. But there aren’t even a handful of demons who actually worship him.”
“Why?”
“He’s a guy who captures demons with powers he likes and imprisons them. Who would like such a guy? Demons may fear the Demon King, but they don’t respect him.”
Gargar walked forward and opened the door to the temple.
