Chapter 190 – Demon King (5)

They could feel the ground shake. The Dungeon’s owner was the Demon King, and the Dungeon was physically manifesting the unrest being felt by the Demon King. However, any physical manifestation of Demonic energy was all swept up by the magic tome, and it started to revert back into pure Mana.

“Hurry! Run faster!”

“There is a monster over······ Koohk!”

It was a level 381 Demonic beast. It was unknown as to where the Demon King had been able to find such a beast in the Demon realm. It was growling from pain as it attacked the party. However, the Demonic energy in the region had been instantly turned into Mana. The confused Demonic beast flinched. Maetel slashed its leg. The Demonic beast fell to the ground.

“Etna!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

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“Finish it, Regina!”

“Understood.”

Etna and Regina bombarded the Demonic beast with their power, and the Demonic beast died. The other party members, who had struggled to fight level 370 Demonic beasts, looked on with dumbfounded amazement. Artpe put the entire body into his Dimensional Pouch. He immediately resumed running.

“Ignore the traps! They’ll be swept up by the Reclamation magic. They’ll all be disarmed!”

“Move closer to Artpe’s back! A much more dense Demonic energy is pushing into the space where the Demonic energy was purified into Mana…..!”

“Hoo-ooh-ook, hoo-oo-ooh······ It really hammers homes the fact that we are really in a nasty place!”

The Reclamation magic was turning the Demonic energy back into Mana. It was truly powerful. It consumed massive amount of Mana, so he hadn’t been able to use it from the start. Now he would be able to…..

“Deyus, give me your Mana!”

“I should have just killed myself by biting my tongue…..”

Deyus had grown much better than expected. All of Deyus’ Mana was poured into the magic tome! If it wasn’t enough, he would ask for Mana from his other party members. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary.

[Are these the bastards I have to kill!]

“Maybe not!”

[Uht. Really······!?]

“An opening!”

[Koo-ahhhhhhhhk!]

Afterwards, three Demonic beasts appeared to bar the path of the party. They were over level 380, and they possessed overwhelming power and Record. It really was a mystery as to where the Demon King had found these monsters.

If the Demon King had these Demonic beasts, why did he need the Four Heavenly Kings? Moreover, why did he go through the useless process of sending the Demons to the human realm? Why sacrifice them unnecessarily? It made him want to ask those questions when he confronted the Demon King. Despite the Demonic beasts being powerful, Artpe could momentarily steal the atmosphere called the Demonic energy. It wasn’t too difficult for Artpe’s party to kill the Demonic beasts in their weakened state.

“Just push through!”

“The path in front of us is open! There’s nothing more?”

“Of course there is…. The Demon King is there!”

“Kyahhhhhhk!”

In the end, it didn’t take the party too long to reach the Demon King. The party dreaded the possibility of an unexpected surprised, but there was no turning back now.

The Demon King was right in front of their eyes! He was sitting atop a pretty fancy chair!

[That magic tome….. It has a remarkable power. Where and how did you acquire it?]

“You are the one that is remarkable. You really are the same, Demon King.”

The Demon King was sitting in a space filled with Demonic energy. It had been prepared by him. However, the Reclamation power of the magic tome was eating away at the Demonic energy. This created a phenomena where the hero’s party was standing within a pocket of Mana, and the Demon King was sitting within a pocket of Demonic energy.

At that moment, Artpe found the current situation to be hilarious. He hadn’t planned for this, and he couldn’t have planned for this either. However, the magic tome was the biggest variable that could influence the outcome of this fight.

[I’ve been weakened. I can no longer receive support from the Demon King’s castle. I created this space. I should have absolute control over it, yet you were able to mess with this place. You are crafty. Despite all of that, you are surprised to see me. That’s right. This is me. You are just a poor soul trying to escape your fate. You are a devil child trying to act pure and innocent. Oh, Artpe Hirtana Kelduke. You cannot easily offend someone as powerful as me.]

“Mmm. You still love your fucking long monologues.”

He kept throwing barbs as he talked to the Demon King, but he inwardly felt nervous. The current Demon King was pushed aside by the previous Demon King, yet that brought no solace to Artpe. It wasn’t as if the current Demon King had his power stolen, because he had lost in a fight.

He still looked imposing, and a thick cloud of Demonic energy was surrounding him. It was hard to see his true form. Still, Artpe could tell that the Demon King’s appearance hadn’t changed from his past life, so he instinctively swallowed hard.

He couldn’t help it. The Demon King had refused to let go of Artpe’s body and soul in his past life. Even if he had been able to escape the grasp of the Demon King, it didn’t mean he had left behind all his wounds.

“Am I shaking······?”

“Yes. However, I think the Demon King is shaking too, so it is fine.”

“In such moments, you should say no, Maetel.”

As if it was second nature, the Demon King looked confident as he had waited for Artpe’s party. However, one could definitely see surprise and shock within his eyes. The reaction was to be expected when one considered that the Demon King had felt the power of the Reclamation magic.

[You might be able to stand up against them. You possess the power that is the exact opposite of what they dream of. However, the scale of power is something the first researchers could have never imagined. It shouldn’t be something a single magic tome could handle, yet you possess it. How?]

[Why are you asking me that?]

The most compelling answer was that it was all through miracles and coincidences. Weren’t all stories like this?

It was like a game. There was always an unbelievably powerful final boss at the end. The main character’s party goes through rough times as they grow in power, yet they aren’t quite able to overcome the final boss. At that point, the main character gains some power through an unbelievably coincidental event, and the main character is able to defeat the final boss.

At that point, the main character starts questioning everything.

Why did he work so hard to gain power? The main character’s party used the perfect plan as they were assigned the perfect roles. However, it hadn’t been enough. The final boss fell to something they found through complete coincidence. It ends in the good guys winning, but somehow there was a lingering feeling of crappiness leftover at the end.

This was happening in real life now, so nothing could be done about it. If one really got down to it, was there something in this world that could truly be explained? There were those that quibbled over the probability, and the unlikeliness of an event. They wondered if an event was too coincidental. However, those that thought like that were brats that hadn’t lived a really complicated life that had twists and turns. That was what Artpe thought.

[Let’s fight. We don’t need to say much to each other.]

[Koo-hoo······ I am truly pleased with the light in your eyes. Your eyes! You lack nothing. You truly are the partner I seek for this dance…. It’s that look in your eyes!]

The Demon King stood up from his seat. The Demonic energy, which was draped around his body, suddenly spread out in all direction. It rushed towards Artpe’s party. Artpe held the magic tome open as he chanted a spell. He also started giving orders to his party members.

“Vadinet! Aria!”

“We’re ready!”

The Demon King was an excellent magician, and at the same time, he was toxic. Petra had used Demonic energy to bring about extreme cold. The Demon King’s Demonic energy was poisonous, and he could move it at will! If one was below level 300, just being near the Demon King was life threatening. A single puff of the poison could kill.

In his past life, he didn’t think the holy priestess could block the Demon King’s poisonous Demonic energy. However, there were two holy priestesses in his party now. On top of that….

“Hooo-ahhhhhhp!”

[What······?]

Sienna was an Evil Reflector. She was the first confirmation that Demonic energy could be changed back into Mana!

[What the hell is she? What kind of power······ Haht!]

It was a type of Mana that the Demon King had never seen before. Sienna charged head on as she burst through the Demon King’s Demonic energy. The sight of her was more surprising than Artpe’s Reclamation magic. At that moment, Artpe had a thought.

‘Huh? Wait a moment. Sienna’s Mana isn’t Demonic energy, but at the same time, it isn’t pure Mana either. However, she’s the product of her Demonic energy being changed into Mana. I successfully reverted her Demonic energy into Mana, so she should possess pure Mana….’

He was in a too dire of a situation to think too hard on this subject. Sienna was fearless as she swung her sledge hammer against the Demon King. In a flash, the Demon King created three layers of barrier to block the attack.

Afterwards, Maetel shot through the path opened up by Sienna. She destroyed the barrier!

“Demon King!”

[We meet again, hero. You’ve grown so much compared to before. You are almost unrecognizable. Will you be able to get past me to this time to reach the next stage!]

“Stop saying things that I don’t understand! Just fight me!”

[Koo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!]

As he was fighting the two girls, the Demon King suddenly boosted his Demonic energy. Artpe instinctually realized that this was the precursor to a great magic.

“Regina and Etna!”

“I’m ready.”

“Me too!”

Regina possessed the power of an Ice Elemental and Etna possessed the power of a Fire Elemental. Of course, both girls were strong enough to fight the Demon King. However, they couldn’t avoid their powers from adversely affecting each other. Their powers were incompatible.

This was why a middle man was needed for them to maximize their power. This was what Maetel’s Record Divide accomplished. Their Mana, power and Record was transferred to a third person.

Of course, it was transferred to Artpe.

“Hoo-ooh······! Sienna! Maetel! Don’t back down!”

“I always believe in you, oppa!”

“I’ve never….backed down from an enemy!”

[······!?]

Even the Demon King couldn’t hold back a groan as he felt the quality of Mana being cultivated by Artpe. Artpe, who was handling the Mana, was at ease. The Mana overloaded his body a little bit, but it was a lovely feeling.

“Materialization!”

Both girls had reach the pinnacle of their power. One dealt with fire and the other dealt with ice. Even if they received Mana through Maetel, the Mana couldn’t be completely purified. However, Artpe possessed the biggest legacy left behind by the previous hero. Even the previous hero hadn’t expected the spell to be completed. Artpe used his Unique spell called Materialization.

All Mana followed his command, and the image in his mind manifested within the world. This spell was being supported by a matrix formed by the Reclamation magic! Artpe had seen the great magic being performed by the Demon King in his past life ad nauseum. He knew its structure.

The only reason why Artpe hadn’t been able to do this before was the fact that he had been lacking in Mana and ability. He could do it now.

“I’ll remove it all!”

[Kuhk!?]

“Hahhhhhhp!”

The Demonic energy swelled as if it was about to bring down the Dungeon. However, a sharp spear of Mana pushed through the Demonic energy. The Demon King didn’t back down as he increased the output of his Demonic energy. Sienna and Maetel matched the Demon King’s move.

Sienna activated a holy spell using her own Mana. Maetel borrowed Vadinet’s power as she struck out with her longsword. Their presence made the Demon King delay the manifestation of his spell.

[You are going to defy my Authority by attacking me straight on!]

[Authority? You were born with that power, so you shouldn’t put such a grandiose name on it.]

Artpe compressed his lips. The Mana spear pierced through the wall of Demonic energy. Artpe was successful in destroying it completely. He hadn’t defeated the Demon King, but he had stopped the Demon King from using his spell. It made him feel an enormous amount of exhilaration.

[So this is what you are able to achieve with the Mana you possess…..]

“Materialization!”

Artpe’s Materialization magic wasn’t a one-off spell. If he maintained the Mana, he could continue to change the shape of the spell without consuming additional Mana. This was the reason why the Materialization magic was a cheat!

The Mana spear had pierced through its target, and it had put a stop to what the Demon King had intended to accomplish. Afterwards, it changed its shape. The Mana condensed within the Mana spear exploded forth in an instant, and it [Reclaimed] the Demonic energy in the region into Mana.

[Ka······ Ka-hoo-hoo! You are quite good, Artpe!]

The Demon King had been covered by the Demonic energy up until that moment.

His true form was finally revealed, and one could see a black collar on his neck.