127-128

Chapter 127: Predation 2

Demon King

Predation – 2

Lee Minha had died, but his work was only beginning. From the start, I had been on the lookout for the ominously distorted mana in his body rather than his abilities. Meanwhile, mana was venting in all directions to try and reach an equilibrium. Considering the total amount of it and the way it was expanding, the result could be easily expected. If I couldn't stop it, it would send a destructive force akin to a tactical bomb.

'Those elves…" I swore at them mentally as I moved forward. I couldn't just swallow it all up, I would lose my life, but I had to work quickly.

"Lee Chan-yu."

"Leave it to me." He began to summon hundreds of monsters and spread them out everywhere. They were prepared for any elves that came to investigate the odd gathering of mana here. As a bonus, it would also keep the humans from learning what happened in my battle with Lee Minha, and what I would now be doing.

"Katsuragi, continue using your healing magic. Target this entire space."

[Okay.]

Now his magic would work to inhibit the runaway mana that was filling this space. It would stop the transformation of it, gradually returning the transformed soul to normal. It was a coincidence that I took him under my command, but I was lucky he was here now. If he continued to grow in the future, he would be the perfect countermeasure against Chaos Souls. I took out a suitable item from my inventory to use Lunatic and Belkena Spell. Traps were more effective when manifesting through an object.

I began to pour in the power of Lunatic Trickster on the shawl I acquired from Marcocias, as well as Predation. I used Belkena Spell to amplify it, pushing it as far as I could. The result was dramatic as the shawl's strength grew immensely. The mana, which was flowing out, made a roar as if a vacuum cleaner turned on. The momentum at which the mana was sucked in was terrifying, but the shawl didn't really change much despite it greedily devouring all the mana in the air.

"Just being near that mana makes my skin tingle. Captain, are you really okay?" When I looked up to the sky, ominous purple clouds had gathered above us. The mana deterioration even affected the environment. 'Damn, there's too many influences. Was this what the elves were aiming for?' I put in more mana as fast as I could as if projecting my entire self into the shawl. It didn't matter if the item's durability was exhausted, so long as we safely made it through.

Little by little, the cloying, sticky mana began to decrease. My field of vision, which had been filled with pale gray fog, was gradually brightening.

"Captain."

"I'm focusing." Now it was the most important part. It wasn't any less dangerous even when contained in an artifact; it had to be stabilized. Belkena Spell, Lunatic Trickster, and all of the skills I could manage to use were concentrated into it. The shawl, which had been torn to pieces, began to give off a strange glow as mana flowed through the air around it. It was rushing off in an odd direction, out of Lunatic Trickster's control. This was the dangerous situation I expected. I was anxious about using artifacts I didn't fully understand, but an item any weaker than the shawl would have been destroyed. I had no choice but to use it.

"Kh…" I groaned briefly, looking back at Katsuragi and Lee Chan-yu, who was watching me with concern.

"I'll die like this…You guys get back."

"I knew something bad would happen the moment you made that promise with your sister!"

[Is it dangerous? Should I run away? Where?]

The situation was out of my control. All I could do was delay the energy by using Predation to the max inside the shawl.

[Where? Even if we ran, we couldn't get out of that mana's range!]

"This'll be a serious situation, they're crowds of people near here." Both seemed unwilling to move. They wouldn't be able to live with themselves if they ran without knowing whether I died or not.

"Yes, then let's decide where to die."

[No, I want to run away! Tell me how I can survive!]

"I have something to say to you after we survive, captain. We'll live together."

"You're saying stupid stuff like that now?!" It made me feel better to banter as we were. Our everyday life included confronting death. There was nothing more pathetic than being consumed by fear and confusion when facing it. I began to pull items out of my inventory and tossed them into the air, sharing the energy of Predation with all of them. I then began to share the runaway mana from the shawl with them. I couldn't rely on just one item; I had to spread it out.

I wouldn't be swayed by the power of Lee Minha. I would swallow them all, neatly, without leaving a single thing behind. It was unacceptable to waste any food. Eat, eat, eat. The light emitted by the shawl became brighter. The energy it held was still massive, but now it had reduced a bit. It was affecting me now. The artifact was developing in a new direction in harmony with the soul's mana and the energy of my Predation.

"Captain, is the color changing?"

[Captain is a liar. You said you wouldn't let me die! Damn it; I want to go home!]

Katsuragi was still crying, but Lee Chan-yu noticed the situation was heading in a new direction. I smiled grimly and kept my focus on it. I took out the Twilight sword and the memento of the demon who built the castle, as well as the Pure White Reaper, to help hold the mana. The ominous mana flowing across Incheon was concentrated above us. It was mana that had deteriorated so much, it was unrecognizable. And now it has affected the united artifacts to change their properties. The shawl shined brightly for an instant, as the muffler around my own neck came loose and floated to the place where it was.

"…" As I watched, I couldn't help but think Rain was assisting me. I wonder if his power in the muffler was supporting this harmony of mana I couldn't achieve alone. The same went from the demon's sword left as a memento; it was like his will still resided in there and was helping me as well.

'Thank you, Rain. Thank you, one who doesn't know their name.' The shawl and the muffler blended together, losing shape and forming into one object. The other items began to rotate around them. Looking at them, I briefly thought of the pure white dagger, which was the best weapon I'd ever held, but it was too late.

Light covered the world, and I instinctively activated magic to prevent its spread. Concealing it would be the best option, after all. The purple clouds that had taken over the sky disappeared, and no more sinister mana or displaced souls lingered around us.

[Belkena Spell became Lv6.]

[Lunatic Trickster became Lv4.]

The rise in skill level served as a reminder that the situation had ended. In the end, the items had merged, leaving only a black dagger and a dark muffler in their place. I accepted that the items fulfilled their role and were lost, but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad about it. Holding the dagger, I could tell it was powerful at a glance, however.

"Captain, it has an odd feeling to it."

[Souls. Countless souls. I'm more scared of that than that guy.]

Katsuragi had calmed down now that the immediate danger of death had passed.

"They've solidified into the shape of an artifact." That meant I could control it with my own power. I reached out for them, and as if they had been waiting for me, the black muffler flew toward me and gently wrapped itself around my neck. The dagger was automatically caught in my hand. A huge impulse struck me like a god's hammer. Innumerable souls clamoring, instinctive emotions left without a clear sense of reason. Those who had left the path and were now trapped in a narrow prison, trying to provoke me to end everything. They wanted to spread destruction across the world.

I smiled bloodily as the shouts in my head and the will to destroy passed on into my body.

"Wait. You'll enjoy yourselves soon."

Chapter 128: Predation 3

Demon King

Predation – 3

[Echo of the Soul (???/???) – ???. ???]

[Annihilation of the Soul (???/??? )- ???. ???]

A useless notification window popped up before me. The pitch-black muffler, the Echo, didn't assert itself once quieted. The dagger- the Annihilation, however, buzzed with a low-pitched hum. I knew why very well.

"You're still fighting." I threw all of it into my inventory, including the memento of the nameless monster bird who built the castle. No, it wasn't quite a memento. If he had died, his name should have returned. But I still couldn't recall it, which meant his existence remained somewhere in the world. That was the greatsword.

I was convinced his help blended the other weapons into the single dagger that was Annihilation. But there were two items, the Echo and the Annihilation of the Soul. The Echo banded souls together, but the Annihilation destroyed them.

'For me, with my Predation, it'd be a bit more suited to me if they were all combined into one.' While muttering about things that didn't matter, I put away the dagger. There was nothing left to be seen here, no hint of the disaster that had occurred. Katsuragi was shaking, and Lee Chan-yu was collecting his monsters. Beyond that, the humans who had been fighting One Flag still remained.

"You didn't run away."

"No point in trying to." The guild master laughed and gave me a shrug before lowering his head to me.

"I still don't like you. I can't grasp what you are with my abilities, and I don't understand your power." I hadn't thought much of him. To be honest, I thought he was a human driven by the situation just like that man with the balding head. But as I listened to him, my perception of him changed.

"But, you saved us all. Thank you. Thank you very much."

"Even if I got rid of One Flag?"

"If we're damned without them, then it's better to go to ruins quickly." He responded firmly and turned his head away.

"We'll pay you back sooner or later in some way."

"Hmm." He walked off. I couldn't help but think that humans were curious creatures. An angel and a devil lurked in each one of them, making them impossible to control, and sometimes, both would pop out at once. It was impossible to judge or determine one human being at will, which was the way it should be. They were like smoke, unbound to a set form. That was why it was so fun, even though I didn't really like it sometimes.

"Captain, let's go back."

"Yeah."

[Do we have to continue doing such terrifying things in the future?]

"Katsuragi, you did a good job today. If you increase your abilities, you'll be able to overcome the crisis of death just like today."

[Okay, okay. I'll try it. I can do it.]

I fired a few blackmines toward Katsuragi's head to get him out of his weeping, then finally looked around. There was no sign of the Elakatra, not a trace. They couldn't have predicted the souls' mana running away at the last minute. Besides, it would've been too dangerous to approach. But I couldn't hide the fact that I cleaned up this situation from them. I'd have to prepare for it.

"Come on."

As soon as I arrived back at my fortress in the mountains of Seongbuk-gu, my younger sister ran out to greet me. She looked tense; Han Jia and Mireina stood near behind her, looking even tenser than her.

"Oh, you're still here."

"Fate!"

[Captain, I'm glad you're safe…but what is that terrifying power?]

"It's some artifacts I've reinforced; I'll tell you later." Cain nodded and stepped back into his dwelling place inside the wall. I waved at him and then took a deep breath.

"Let's go inside.

"Yes, yes." My younger sister moved stiffly. Lee Chan-yu let out a sigh, touching his forehead, and Katsuragi kept staring at Mireina, so I fired a few more blackmines at him.

"What were you talking about earlier?"

"It's better to just listen to everything at once."

"…" She went quiet, and I continued to hesitate. I gathered my resolve as best I could.

"First of all… I'm sorry I've been hiding it so far."

"No, that's a weird way to start!" I was having a hard time understanding what I should say. I still wanted to hide that I wasn't originally human, but it was awkward to only reveal bits of the truth. With a sense of guilt and anxiety, I decided to spit it out quickly.

"Si-yeon, I'm your brother."

"…Huh?" She raised her head, and the air seemed to change.

"I'm your brother."

"…"

"Si-yeon, he is your brother…?" She opened her mother, as did Han Jia. I felt something strange happening at that point.

"Huh?"

"…Brother?"

"Yes. You didn't notice?"

"…" Her face burned like an active volcano gearing up for an explosion. She muttered faintly as if holding back a wave of immense anger.

"Notice…"

"I should've admitted it right away, but I couldn't easily say it because I was worried it would put you in danger. But you've become this involved already, and hiding it any longer felt meaningless."

"…"

"I'm sorry, Si-yeon. I'm so sorry."

"Eh..uh…" Tears filled her eyes, and I felt shame. I knew her feelings, how I hurt her by hiding it. There was nothing to say. But, contrary to my thoughts that she might immediately do something, she took a few deep breathes as if to hold onto something, anything. Her face was still as red as a tomato. Once silence had claimed us, she finally opened her mouth slowly.

"Brother."

"Yes, Si-yeon."

"I need to think for a moment."

"Okay."

"So get out."

"…Huh?"

"Get out now!" Everyone was kicked out, including me, leaving only my sister alone in the castle.

"That was a shock." That was natural. No matter how much I had expected it, hearing it from me must've been different. Lee Chan-yu was wondering aloud near me.

"Definitely a shock. The captain really goes in for the kill."

"I was just worried about her, so I was kept quiet. Not that it means I'm innocent…" With the Elakatra, I still wasn't sure if this had been the right thing to do, but it was almost impossible for her not to collide with them sooner or later regardless of me. It would be better, then, to be near her.

"No, maybe for a different reason…well, you wouldn't know it, and you wouldn't want me to tell you." Lee Chan-yu shook his head. Han Jia and Mireina mimicked him for some reason. Then, Han Jia raised her head and spoke up.

"Isn't Si-ha's brother a fallen?"

"Yeah. Also don't call her Si-ha."

"Uncle Lee Chan-yu, too?"

"Why am I uncle- Yes, that's right." Han Jia's eyes became strange.

"It was around here you two showed up. The mountain with the Black Palace."

"…" I didn't think she would be so sharp! I knew who she was asking about.

"Right?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Even if the place was the same, it was hard to imagine me as that weak goblin. I was making up some nonsense to make her retreat from that line of questioning.

"Si-yeon needs some time for now."

"You didn't even say you're sorry."

"Ah, I apologize for that." I gave up understanding at that point.

"The captain is the captain, as always. It might be a good thing to do this."

"Yeah?! What are you talking about? Maybe this elf isn't an elf?!"

"Why do you think I'm not?" While Lee Chan-yu spoke with me, an argument quickly arose between Han Jia and Mireina. I couldn't tell if it were a good thing they could talk so casually when angry. Lee Chan-yu calmed the two and quietly approached me.

"Captain."

"What?"

"Before, there was something I wanted to say when the battle was over." I remembered.

"Actually, there was a meeting of fallen before I met the captain."

"Okay." Someone sold the information about a group of fallen, which included Lee Chan-yu, to a guild. The guild moved, and Lee Chan-yu, the only survivor, fled to the Black Palace. That incident brought us together. I couldn't have anticipated his next words, however.

"I succeeded in tracking down those who sold that information to the guild. They were connected to One Flag." When he first came out to human society, he wasn't focused on digging up the past. But, at some point, that had changed.

"I would've moved faster if you'd spoken about it."

"I couldn't, because of my personal circumstances. I thought I shouldn't get the captain into such a huge fight."

"I see." I smiled bitterly and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You fool."

"I don't want to hear that from you." He hit me on the shoulder, which hurt quite a bit, given his growing strength.

"Thank you, captain."

"…Keh." It hurt to say anything, so I didn't. I just stood by him.

That was enough for now.