212
It stings
“···Twelve imperial knights died?”
“yes.”
At the question heard from inside, the first Balhar Khan bowed his head deeply. Of course, it was not visible through the sky, but it was a behavior that had become a habit by now.
Balhar Khan was certain that the culprit was the third.
To begin with, there weren’t many strong enough people to handle twelve imperial knights, and among them, only the third one was willing to do such a thing.
“And he even spread rumors about the king of demons… What a strange man.”
A soft laugh was heard. The first one shivered slightly at the laughter he had not heard in a long time.
“For a guy like that to come so easily… He must have other thoughts.”
“Yes, there must be other intentions.”
Balhar Khan gave his advice sincerely. Ever since he saw the strange appearance of the bastard, Balhar Khan had been disgusted by him.
Moreover, he claimed to be the king of demons and beat up the fourth eldest son who opposed him without hesitation. I didn’t want to encounter him unless absolutely necessary.
I wanted to use the royal family to deal with him, but he wanted to see it for himself.
‘The master of the sword was also holding the sword···.’
Balhar Khan chewed his lip in anxiety. He was a man he wanted to avoid meeting.
“A guy who looks exactly like the third eldest son wants to meet me… I’m looking forward to tonight.”
A soft laugh could be heard from beyond the sky.
Balhar Khan opened his mouth and then lowered his head.
“I obey your orders.”
He was merely receiving orders.
“······Your Majesty.”
Let me add a little, a hearty laugh could be heard from inside.
“Yeah, it was that easy.”
At that moment, the shadow beyond the sky rippled greatly.
At first glance, it looked small, but behind it, something huge and hazy was rising.
Balhar Khan bowed his head deeply to him.
***
As the coronation ceremony approached the next day, the capital was more crowded than ever.
Although the topic of rebellion was not mentioned, all attention was focused on the news of the coronation rebellion.
A tense atmosphere hung over the capital, threatening to burst at the slightest touch.
Then, a certain rumor spread.
The story was that ‘the king of demons who was going to destroy the empire came to the capital.’
The King of Demons was a pretty famous prophecy. The fact that the King of Demons appeared on the day before the coronation was bound to be a heated reaction.
Even the King of Demons is said to have killed twelve imperial knights.
Some people say that the rumors are false because such things happened and the imperial family took no action.
Others said the royal family simply placed more emphasis on the coronation ceremony.
If he’s the one who killed the imperial knight, he’ll definitely cause trouble at the coronation ceremony. I plan to deal with him all at once at the coronation ceremony.
The water began to boil gently. This was a rare event for the wealthy, occurring only once in their lifetime.
The luxurious Evrian smiled broadly at him, bragging that ‘the man who gets up early listens to what’s said during the day, and the man who has embraced a prostitute listens to what’s said at night.’
Standing by the roadside where the workers were going to work, Evrian almost screamed with joy at the news.
The central question was, ‘Who is the king of demons?’
Some say it was an eight-armed monster, each armed with a sword, capable of hunting twelve enemies at once.
Hosagi Ebrian shook his head.
“If you’re going to fight twelve men, you need twenty-four arms, you idiot!”
It was just a stupid story from a guy who couldn’t even do simple math.
Those who think that having a lot of arms is everything…
“Then how about this? He’s the master of the sword! The secret son of the master of the sword! Something like that.”
A handsome man nicknamed “Pink” because of the large mole between his eyebrows made a rather interesting suggestion.
Ebrian shook his head.
“Isn’t the sword master famous for only walking the path of the sword? It’s dangerous to go against established rumors.”
The one with the particularly dirty personality, the fist-nosed one, raised his voice.
“Then what does our great Ebrian think?”
Ebrian cleared his throat for a moment. He had to get the attention of the gentleman before he could open his mouth.
Suddenly, I saw the guys sitting at the table behind me.
No, it was a combination that was impossible not to look at. A large man who looked like a monster and a handsome man who was classy.
The big guy’s face was so terrifyingly fierce that my heart sank. Judging from his attire and behavior, the handsome young man was a high-ranking nobleman.
‘If I do well, I’ll make money.’
Originally, the luxury was to brag like this and then explain in detail to those who showed interest while receiving silver coins.
“Listen carefully. I checked this morning while I was running around. The bodies were in different alleys. Dark and deserted alleys. What does this mean? They were ambushed. One by one-.”
Ebrian quietly waved his hand. The others quietly exclaimed in admiration. This was the difference between the ordinary hossaga and Ebrian.
A story is more interesting when it has a basis.
“Why one by one? Isn’t it possible that they attacked all at once?”
The fist nose was again asking questions. It was a timely question.
“I thought about doing it as a group, but-. Even if it was an ambush, how many people would be capable of quietly dealing with the imperial knights?”
As I whispered that, the big man at the back table turned his gaze this way.
‘Oh my, that table is really scary.’
Even for Ebrian, who had seen his fair share of bad guys, it was a sight that made him cast his gaze down.
“So what happened?”
“Oh my, these guys are trying to eat me alive. I’ve been running around since before the rooster crowed to get these things.”
When the other gentlemen urged him on, Ebrian coughed and tried to explain away the matter.
“How vulgar it is to be so luxurious.”
The men muttered curses and placed Cooper in Ebrian’s hat on the table.
Ebrian quickly grabbed his hat and continued talking, glancing sideways at the rough guy at the table behind him.
“The King of Demons···.”
There was a brief silence, and I looked around.
All attention was focused on Brian.
A thrilling feeling ran through his whole body.
Don’t splurge on this taste.
Gulp, the sound of someone swallowing. It was the right time.
Ebrian continued.
“What a beauty with big breasts!”
Puhahaha! Kwaang-! A heavy sound was heard from behind along with laughter.
I turned my head and saw that the bad guy’s table had fallen over.
Why was it so fine until just now···.
“The king of demons is a big-breasted beauty?”
“Oh, I heard there was a really cute drawing on the corpse. And the dead imperial knights naked. What does this mean?”
Since these people were also luxurious, everyone sighed quietly even without explanation.
“there.”
Then the evil man raised his voice.
‘What kind of person’s voice is that…’
At that low rumble, Ebrian shivered slightly. After thinking for a moment, he got up and headed towards the evil man.
As he got closer, the fierce face became clearer and clearer, and Ebryan regretted his decision.
“The king of demons is a big-breasted woman?”
“Sigh···.”
A noble-looking man covered my mouth. He must have used quite a bit of force, and veins were rising on his hand, but laughter kept leaking out.
Ebrian gulped at the sight of the vicious bastard’s beastly eyes.
“Yes, that’s for sure.”
Ebrian nodded, glancing towards his master.
“Khuhhh······.”
“···Why do you think the king of demons is a woman?”
The vicious man glared at the young man who was holding back laughter and asked back.
The pressure made his heart shiver, but Ebryan was a seasoned gentleman. He opened and closed his mouth slightly. He smoothed the hat in his hand.
At that, Ebrian quickly shook his head at the crumpled eyebrows of the man.
“The reason the King of Demons is a woman with big breasts is because of this. First, the knights of the royal family were naked in a dark place, and there was even a cute picture of them! It’s so obvious! Before the knights of the royal family, they were men······.”
Ebrian just lost consciousness.
***
‘This is fucking sick.’
I looked at the fallen man and shook my hands.
“Kuhhh···.”
I turned my head to the sound of laughter and saw five elders coughing with polite faces. They had been holding back laughter for so long that the veins in their necks were even rising.
The king of demons···.
‘First of all, it’s not bad since it has nothing to do with me. Yeah, it’s not bad, but···.’
I put two silver coins in the unconscious man’s mouth and got up.
The royal family seemed intent on covering up the problem.
He must be thinking of focusing on the coronation ceremony. He was sure that the guy who caused the problem would show up at the coronation ceremony as well, so he clearly intended to deal with him all at once.
Separately from that, security seemed to have been strengthened, with three times as many imperial knights roaming around as yesterday. The objective was achieved.
“Before the sun rises, when it is darkest.”
As I was leaving the bar, the grandiose mutterings of the five elders followed me.
‘You could have just said it was dawn…’
I was used to his boastful words, so I just let it go.
The atmosphere on the streets of the capital was strangely different. It was so quiet.
I looked at them and headed towards the tower.
I was planning to start by finishing the magic circle transplant on Park Daegari and sending Kanna to be the abbot.
When I arrived at the rooftop and headed to the place where the transplant was done before, I was greeted by Kanna, who had an anxious look on her face.
Kanna, who kept turning her head as if looking for something, found me and ran towards me.
Knock. Kanna clung to me. The face looking up at me was more rigid than usual.
He seemed to be feeling burdened by the second magic circle transplant. I looked at him and pressed my head down.
I wanted to say something nice, but I couldn’t think of anything, so I just kept my head down.
Still, it seemed to help, as Kanna’s expression brightened.
At that moment, the door opened and Guo Bao Rou came out. Guo Bao Rou, with a look of exhaustion on his face, gestured to Kanna.
“You can do it.”
As I spoke while pressing Kanna’s head, Kanna nodded vigorously.
I carefully placed the bucket around Kanna’s neck. Then Kanna walked back to Kuabarou with a confident gait.
“If you fail-.”
When I waved at Kuabarou who was looking at me, he frowned slightly and went into the room.
I headed to the room prepared on the side.
Just like last time, it was a place where the process could be seen through a glass window.
However, today there was only me. It seemed like Kua Bao Rou, who had become the leader of the tower, had chased everyone away.
The inside was clearly visible through the glass window.
It was a fairly large and empty room, and unlike before, there were many difficult words written on the walls and floor.
Park Head was sitting comfortably on the large chair in the center. Park Head had the ritual device for extracting mana inserted into his heart.
Kanna and Kuabarou, carrying buckets, were moving busily around it.
‘···But isn’t that too comfortable?’
I smiled faintly as I looked at Park’s smiling face.
Kkwobarou and Kanna looked more nervous than the person in question, Park Daegari.
Then, when his eyes met with Park Daegari’s, Park Daegari waved his hand.
Then I clicked my tongue slightly and waved my hand in response to the winking picture of myself.
‘What kind of picture are you drawing this time…’
According to Kuobarou’s explanation that it was absolutely necessary as a symbol, there was a high probability that something similar to me would be drawn again.
‘Well, it’s already been drawn.’
Thinking back to Cassidy, I started to have a headache for no reason.
First, there were things to worry about after dealing with the things in front of me.
“The second magic circle transplant is starting.”
After a lengthy preparation, the transplant began in earnest.
Kanna pointed with a transparent stick. Kuo Bao Rou followed him and moved the stick that looked like a pen.
Park Daegari was biting his lips without smiling.
There was nothing to do but watch him.
Then suddenly, I thought that since I was the abbot, even though it was an honor, it might be of some help.
He put his hands together and clenched them into fists.
please-.
I muttered softly, but before I knew it, I was holding the hilt of the knife out of habit.
***
How much time has passed?
As I was walking around the room with numb legs, the door opened quietly.
The one who came in was a guy wearing a fox mask.
“hello.”
The masked man greeted me lightly as if he had just met me on the street.
‘···Why is that guy here?’
I glanced at Kua Ba Rou while touching the hilt of the knife.
Guobarou seemed to be concentrating so hard that sweat was running down his forehead.
Kuo Bao Rou had repeatedly emphasized that this was an extremely sensitive task and that he must not lose focus.
I clicked my tongue and ran my finger along the hilt of the knife.
“Oh, didn’t you hear the story? I got permission from Swallows. I helped you.”
The guy introduced himself calmly.
“You were the gray magician.”
When I said that, the guy nodded as if that was the right answer.
A man came in with light steps, leaned against the glass window and looked down.
“It’s going well. That’s amazing. A magic circle transplant into your body-.”
“Lower your voice.”
I gave a soft warning to the braggart.
“aha.”
He shook his hand lightly. Then, unintelligible letters appeared around his fingers and scattered.
“The noise won’t get through anymore.”
“Really? That’s good.”
I raised the corners of my mouth and measured the distance between us.
‘The casting speed is extremely short.’
It didn’t seem like he had used any magic tools. I tapped the handle of the sword, recalling the bastard’s magic.
If I cut off his head, will the spell be broken? Then I’ll have to cut off his head and catch his head when it falls.
While I was making those calculations, the guy sat down on the chair.
The guy was looking down.
“Do you know why seeds are called seeds?”
The guy suddenly said something out of the blue.
However, it was a topic that piqued my interest.
‘Seed… was a word that called Park’s head.’
I slowly took a step closer and pulled out my sword. The soft sound eased my mind.
Then the guy stared at me.
The blue eyes behind the mask looked familiar. Of course, this was only the third time I had met him, but he seemed even more familiar than that.
“I have a lot of magic tools on my body. Be careful, they will burst if you hit my neck.”
The guy raised both his hands and lamented.
I couldn’t tell if it was true or not, but I had a feeling that it would be true.
More than anything else, the bastard’s intentions were still unknown. Kuobarou and Kanna had clearly said that the bastard had helped them.
I glanced down. Blue light was pouring out. Everyone was concentrating.
He sat down without letting go of the hilt of the knife. He was close enough to cut off the bastard’s head before he could finish a word.
“So why seeds?”
“Why is that?”
The guy asked back with a smirk in his voice. As I pulled out the knife slightly, the guy raised both his hands. There was something about him that made me feel bad.
“A seed is just a seed. Some people pray for the end to sprout, while others wish for the end of the empire to blossom. Of course, you will only know what it is when it sprouts. This is a secret, but it is actually neither.”
The guy whispered in a soft voice as if he was telling me the answer.
I touched the hilt of the sword without asking. The bastard touched my neck and coughed softly.
“Anyway, if the environment is right for a seed to germinate, it will definitely sprout. Definitely.”
He said in a voice without any humor.
Then a bright light burst from below.
“Like now.”
It was loud and rumbling with light, and I felt an enormous power.
It was similar to the previous rampage, but it felt completely different. Kanna and Kuabarou next to him were fine too.
I aimed my fully drawn sword at the guy’s neck. Then he slightly lowered his robe, exposing his neck.
The guy was wearing a necklace that looked quite expensive.
‘It was real.’
It was something I had experienced before. Sure, it was a little hot, but it was clear that it wouldn’t be good in the current situation.
…That’s why the wizard was difficult.
“If I stop breathing, there will be a huge explosion. Please be careful.”
Even though the sword was pointed at him, the bastard’s voice was light.
Only then did I understand why he had been so annoying.
‘This guy has no attachment to life.’
It was the most difficult category.
The bastard bowed his head slightly. In response, I lowered my sword slightly.
“They really did succeed in transplanting the magic circle. If it had been the original, they would have been boasting of their success by now. If it hadn’t been for the compulsion of fate.”
The bastard’s voice was getting louder and louder.
The overwhelming fragrance coming through the glass window. It was a different kind of sweetness from the devil’s candy.
If the devil’s candy was junk food, then that was like samgyetang boiled with a lot of luxurious ingredients. It seemed very good for the body.
Crack. I bit my teeth and pulled myself together. Before I knew it, I was leaning against the glass window. The glass that my hand had touched cracked into small pieces.
I clicked my tongue and turned my gaze. The masked man’s blue eyes sparkled. As if he was observing me.
“Why do you put up with it?”
He asked in an excited voice, as if he was really curious.
I swallowed the blood that had pooled in my mouth and forced a smile.
“I think I’ll do it.”
In the silence that followed, I held the hilt of my sword firmly.
The cool sensation I felt made me try to suppress my excitement.
At that moment, the cracked glass shattered with a sharp sound.
The scattered debris stopped and floated in the air. It seemed to be his magic.
“Ah, back to the seeds. Do you know what it means to be loved by Mana? What is Mana in the first place-.”
The man who turned his gaze downward muttered. Even in this terrible state, he was still the same.
It was as if he had known this would happen.
“Isn’t magic amazing? Shooting fire from your hands, creating water—it’s definitely not a human power.”
He waved his hand lightly. Then, strange letters appeared around his hand.
The letters were bolder and brighter than before. They continued to multiply without stopping, encroaching upon the space.
It spread like ink dripping on white paper.
“Mana is the corpse of a god that was scattered long ago. Magic is about picking it up and using its powers. Now, what does it mean to be loved by Mana?”
The guy kept spouting nonsense. I looked back and forth between him and down.
I didn’t sense any hostility from him.
No, rather, it was full of goodwill that could not be hidden.
However, goodwill did not always work out in a positive way.
“That would be someone who is loved by a dead god.”
At that moment, the endlessly long letters began to resonate.
Things that looked exactly like Chinese characters expanded and pulled in things around them. The letters that had been growing continuously suddenly stopped.
“Oh, did you happen to get some boots?”
He asked a question out of the blue.
“no.”
The blue eyes behind the mask swung.
The guy pointed upward with his finger.
Then the letters disappeared upwards in an instant.
The concentration of mana that had been suppressing me became lighter.
‘Were you helping me?’
I praised him inwardly.
He looked a bit sinister, but he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
At that moment, the guy clapped his hands slightly and pointed downwards.
“Oh, that’s going to explode any minute.”
The guy was pointing at Park’s head-.
The face of that park head was one of desperately holding back vomit.
Anyone who looks at it has the feeling that something is going to go wrong.
“Bam!” That’s right. I’ve cast a defensive spell, so you should be safe as soon as you leave the room.”
I jumped down, canceling my compliments to the bastard.
“Huh? I said it’s going to explode-!”
I heard the bastard’s panicked voice, but I lightly ignored it.
The closer I got, the heavier the weight became. I held my breath and headed towards the transplant site.
“how is it?”
Kanna turned around to answer my question.
Her face was wet with tears, her eyes were filled with despair, and her hands were shaking.
“Aaron! The mana concentration is increasing…! If this continues, Vivian will probably explode!!”
Kanna cried out with tears streaming down her face-.
“There was clearly no error in calculation, so why is this happening all of a sudden······.”
Kuo Bao Rou muttered with a pale face, blood gushing from his lips.
They both looked panicked. They looked like soldiers who had just entered a war zone for the first time.
“Transplant?”
I looked at Park’s head and asked.
Park Dae-gari had his eyes tightly shut. His pale skin was covered with veins. He looked like he was desperately suppressing something.
“It was definitely going according to plan! It was definitely perfect! But why all of a sudden-!”
Quo Barou was talking nonsense, unlike usual. His voice was full of guilt. He even recited his calculations.
He looked at Kanna again. Kanna’s eyes met mine and sparkled faintly.
The faith in those eyes was somewhat heavy.
I smiled bitterly and nodded. I grabbed the iron skewer, whatever it was. I touched the connecting part with my hand, which I had taken off when I plugged it in before, and a cool feeling came up.
Kanna’s eyes widened slightly when she saw him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but I shook my head slightly.
“It’s okay.”
Kanna nodded deeply, her face looking like she was about to cry.
“The mana coefficient is definitely···.”
Kuobarou was still unconscious. I hit him hard on the cheek, and he blinked while caressing his reddened cheek.
“Keep going.”
“But- if this continues, it’ll explode soon! It won’t even be comparable to the previous outburst······.”
“Okay, just drain the mana.”
As I laughed and twirled the iron skewer, a look of shock appeared on Kua Ba Rou’s face.
“No, Vivian’s mana is beyond what I can handle right now! Her body will explode the moment she touches it! Even if I bring the mana converters of all the magic towers······.”
After slapping Kuobarou’s cheek once more, he became quiet.
I took a deep breath and looked down at Park’s head. Perhaps because of the conversation, Park’s head opened its eyes slightly.
Park’s head was puffed out as if he was going to vomit, and his veins were bulging out.
When their eyes met, Park Dae-gari shook his head roughly.
It seemed like he was telling me to stop being so annoying and run away.
Anyway, he was kind to the point of being stupid.
– This is dangerous.
At that time, even the tenant was warned.
It seemed more dangerous than expected, to the point where even tenants had to come forward.
I took a deep breath and looked at the situation one by one.
Kanna’s eyes filled with burdensome faith and Kuabarou’s terrified face with reddened cheeks.
‘The more you tell me not to do something, the more I want to do it.’
I muttered and stared at the masked man.
The bastard’s blue eyes were cold and crumpled.
“Stinging.”
I chuckled and stabbed the skewer.
Then, to the huge and enormous thing that came over-.
‘Oh, this could kill me.’
I forced myself to hold back the scream that was about to burst out.
As expected, there was a reason why they told me not to do something.
It really stung like hell.
***
“Eww!! Eww!”
Swallows, who came to his senses at the sound of Aaron’s loud scream, was shocked by the unfolding situation.
I’ve seen Aaron’s antics many times, but what he did now was insane, far beyond anything he’d done before.
Why would the Magic Tower purify mana through that expensive mana converter?
It wasn’t like she was using mana like Kanna to create magic, and receiving someone else’s mana as is was no different from suicide.
Even now, Vivian’s mana was running wild and she was on the verge of exploding. The moment she put the mana purifier in, it was clear that it would explode.
But Aaron put the mana collector directly on Vivian.
It was a crazy thing, something I never imagined.
It was a great thing that my body didn’t explode right away, but it would explode any moment…
Then Aaron opened his mouth.
Mana burst out between her thick lips, and her yellow eyes shone brightly like the sun.
He looked like a guy who had been struck by lightning repeatedly. Or like a guy who had become lightning.
The guy who had his mouth wide open for a moment slowly moved his mouth.
What on earth could you possibly be trying to say that makes you move your mouth in that pain?
Swallows concentrated without realizing it.
“red···”
“red?”
“······lee”
“lee?”
“Hey! This dog… you little bastard! Aaaah!”
At the harsh insults, Swallows hurriedly grabbed the engraving tool.
Kanna was already pointing to the next point.
My body felt heavy from the overflowing mana, and the mana in my body resonated and radiated, causing pain-.
“Eww! Eww!”
Would that stupid and ignorant guy be the only one to do that?
“Ahhh! Aahhh!”
At that moment, Kanna suddenly screamed. It seemed like it wasn’t in pain, but just following Aaron’s lead.
Normally, it would have been a noise that would have interrupted concentration, but Aaron was already screaming loudly.
‘Yeah, this is crazy.’
The Swallows followed suit and started screaming.
“Kkieeeeeek!!”
The rising tension seemed to melt into screams.
At that time, Kanna’s hands were fast, perhaps because of Aaron.
“Don’t rush. In times like these, you have to take it slow!”
“Ahhhh! Aah!”
I tried hard to ignore the murderous gaze coming from in front of me.
‘But what if, after receiving all that mana, he survives…’
It’s very unlikely, but if it were that ignorant guy-.
‘I can use magic… no.’
Swallows shook his head at the thought that came to mind.
Even so, he probably can’t use magic for similar reasons to Vivian.
Weasel… No, Dylan opened the door slightly at the sound of screams coming from inside.
“Eww! Eww!”
“Ahhhhh! Ouch!”
“Keeeeeeeek!”
I closed the door, feeling a strange sense of disappointment at the sight of such a tight-knit group.
Dylan was upset.
