137th Episode: Reunion
We stopped in front of an inn called ‘Giant’s Footsteps.’
Just as Kern, close to the Promised Plains, featured the word ‘promise’ in its inn names, nearly all the inns in this area bore titles with ‘giant’ in them.
In short, it was a typical ordinary inn you might find anywhere. If anything, it leaned a bit towards the run-down side.
“One word – elderly Eldericha is everywhere.”
I reminded myself of what Gray told me as I confidently strode inside.
Behind the counter sat an old man of considerable age.
“Hmm…”
Upon seeing our group, he immediately began to tut, apparently already contemplating how to turn us away—presumably since the inn was already full.
I rushed up to the counter, dumped a handful of gold coins, and said,
“I know there are no empty rooms, Elder. I just need to see a guest briefly; I won’t take long.”
Whether he was startled by my stern demeanor or enticed by the sight of all the gold, I don’t know.
Regardless, the elder surprisingly agreed with a quick nod.
“Uh… alright then?”
“Thank you. The change will go towards sweets for your grandchildren.”
“That… that’s very kind of you, young man.”
Though the proper way to toss the money and say “The rest is for kids’ snacks!” would have been worth 100 points, my Eastern etiquette made me hold back. Half the bucket-list line succeeded this time.
While lost in irrelevant thoughts, I climbed the stairs and knocked on the furthest room on the second floor.
“Gena! It’s me, Park Jeong-yong! If you’re in there, open up!”
Bang bang bang! I nearly hammered the door down, but there was no response. I pressed my ear against it, trying to detect any sounds from inside.
I eventually retreated, clicking my tongue. Even with my heightened senses from becoming a superhuman, I couldn’t detect a single trace.
“There’s no one inside. There’s absolutely no sign of movement.”
“Maybe she stepped out for a while?”
“She might have….”
Beside me, Seseona tilted her head in confusion. On the other side, Ruci smirked cynically and added,
“You could be like the hero you mentioned, perhaps kidnapped by bandits. She seems awfully naive. Even I could have taken her if I wanted.”
“…”
Given the current circumstances, it was a highly plausible assumption, especially now that I had directly witnessed what Zenon had become. I couldn’t refute this theory.
With serious determination, I stood quietly, lost in thought, strategizing my next course of action.
But then, a beep echoed suddenly as a panel popped up.
[Quest Activation (Epic)]
Damn it! How typical!
This rotten world didn’t even spare Park Jeong-yong his moment of serious contemplation.
[Quest Name: Demon King Emergence! – The Final Holy Sword, Pope Castor]
[Details: Mandatory quest. Until the primary target is defeated, all your actions are restricted, and you will be forcibly teleported to the target’s vicinity within an hour. Use any means necessary. Eliminate the primary target.]
[Reward: All stats +3. 500 gold coins (additional rewards based on contribution ranking)]
“What!? Why now…!”
I instinctively activated Anishiation.
The timing pissed me off so much.
“Hmm.”
I pinched my forehead until it made a satisfying “tsak” sound.
Come to think of it, natural disasters on Earth didn’t respect schedules either. It’s reasonable for them to occur during special events, like the World Cup or the Olympics, and yet I had forgotten about this in the midst of my busy schedule.
So, was it possible that in my previous life, demon kings used to emerge during this exact commercial district period every time?
Did I not realize it because I was always at the No-Gods Festival stadium, out of range of their influence?
“Mr. Yong! Where exactly will we be summoned? Do you have any idea what this is?”
Seseona playfully tapped in front of me, her voice full of excitement. It seemed this might be her first emergency quest, and she was indeed a lucky girl.
I briefly explained the Demon King hunting quest, after which she audibly gasped.
“Ah, so then, a Demon King will appear around here soon?”
“That’s right.”
“Should we leave it be for an hour? Won’t the damage become too severe? People are so densely packed here. Let’s hunt him down and destroy him first!”
“Hmm…”
Though her suggestion to transform her hands into a chainsaw and “destroy” sounded a little eerie, it wasn’t entirely wrong. I stayed silent for a moment, chewing on it.
It wasn’t wrong per se, but that doesn’t mean I was going to search out the Demon King to kill him.
“There’s plenty who’ll step up. Are the knights going to just sit around waiting silently during Daeborum?”
Ruci, listening to my reasoning, began to tut disapprovingly.
“Tsk tsk. And they call you a hero… Kids these days aren’t like the heroes of the past.”
“Shut it, your damn mouth.”
What do you know about the struggles of a modern-day hero? If you’re not paying wages, then just shut up, old-school Demon King.
Firing up from the snipe, I was about to engage Ruci in a glaring match when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, Seseona pointed towards something and exclaimed,
“Ah, Mr. Yong. It looks like we might need to step forward after all?”
“… Seseona. Did you not hear what I just said?”
“Nope, I heard you, but… isn’t that the Demon King?”
“Hmm?”
I looked in the direction Seseona pointed.
Sure enough, within 10 meters of us, a bloody red magic circle rapidly engraved itself on the ground. Rising from it was the silhouette of a humanoid figure.
“Guh… ugh…!”
The rotting fangs of the summoned Demon King grinded together, emitting an eerie groan.
His hulking blackened flesh was covered with a tattered robe, his decaying face marred by maggots wriggling out of one eye socket while a giant centipede peeked through the eyelid of the other.
“Oh… light… ah, how long has it been since I’ve seen… light… the Goddess Prophecy’s…! That light… which used to stay with me…!”
Hsssssluurrrg…
In his hand, rested an ethereal longsword, faintly releasing an intense, dazzling glow.
Its blade looked thinner than my Vestark, but the intense halo surrounding it made it look as wide as a greatsword.
“Thus… Schultez shall be… mine to protect…! Neither the witch nor the saint… but I… the supreme… kr…!”
His mouth kept opening and closing, babbling unintelligible words.
All Demon Kings have been the same—spouting some nonsense that’s impossible to understand.
What happened in Schultez, what’s so special about a saint, about Diana? And of course, there was the ever-repeating repertoire of the Demon King.
At that point, I checked his status window.
[Name: Demon King Castor]
[HP: 860/860 ? MP: 700/700]
[Strength: 230 ?Agility: 77 ?Intelligence: 151]
[Details: The last official Pope of the ancient Holy Country of Schultez. After being killed by the first Demon King Strato Helix, he was resurrected as a Demon Lord by Diana. He wields an artificial Holy Sword imbued with the power of “Pama” (Demon Breaking).]
Based on the scale of the reward, I had roughly expected this… it’s exactly like the cookie-cutter Demon Kings I’ve seen before.
I chuckled bitterly.
‘Almost all of them have been like this so far.’
After all, entities on the level of the Four Demon Kings, like Ruci or Astarte, only appear every few decades, or even centuries. Statistically speaking, this guy was standard fare.
I stretched and glanced back at Ruci and Seseona.
“Wait here. I’ll end this quickly.”
“Ahh, you’re going to handle this yourself, Mr. Yong?”
“Since I need to do it anyway, it’s better to get a bit more pay, right?”
“Ah!”
Seseona giggled as if confirming something, and I gave her a knowing smile in return.
I then modified my Evolutionary Dark Wings into a mask and pulled my hood over my face. I’m glad I brought the spoon just in case.
Why did I transform into ‘Piejatdal’ right here?
“Kiyyaaaak!”
“The Un-Gods Festival officers! Summon the officers immediately!”
“Those willing to fight, step forward! Evacuate quickly!”
Because the surrounding citizens had noticed the Demon King’s summoning and were staring.
Anyway, since I’m going to kill him, I decided to take this as a chance to improve my image for the upcoming loser’s revival tournament tomorrow. After all, in my past life, my reputation tanked after a spineless surrender.
…Though right now, simply surviving until tomorrow is a blessing.
“Kr… Ugh… Move aside….”
The undead-like figure of Demon King Castor turned his attention toward me.
Or… did he? The centipede in his eye socket wiggled toward me, but it’s unclear if it served as an eye.
Without responding, I showed him through action.
“Nnn… slow.”
I muttered my signature line with cool indifference, subtly revealing my identity as Piejatdal.
Simultaneously, a loud ‘Phuuhwaaak!’ sounded. Castor’s arm was violently torn off and tossed through the air.
In an instant, I had already moved behind him, my spoon at the ready.
“Ugh… wha?”
The severed arm landed with a heavy thud on the ground alongside his sword.
Castor stared at it in disbelief, watching the blackish blood ooze from the gaping wound in his shoulder, before falling to his knees. He then groaned and struggled to turn his head toward me.
“That movement… a cloak… dark… shadow… as black as the night sky…”
“Hmm?”
“…It has returned… the guiding… crow. You are… the prophecy…”
Just as Castor continued muttering, his incomprehensible words abruptly cut off.
‘Schhh.’ A chilling slicing noise echoed, and his head shot up into the sky. It plummeted after a brief moment, rolling uselessly on the ground.
“Huh.”
I looked around sharply. This moment wasn’t part of my planned closure—I was supposed to let him spout a line before finishing him off.
Quickly, I lifted my gaze. I sensed a figure approaching from nearby.
A familiar silhouette emerged.
“…”
A woman in hanbok-style dress with lush black hair and deep sapphire eyes. She wasn’t wearing a mask this time, so her finely defined thin lips and delicate jawline were clearly visible.
“… Portia.”
She gripped twin iron fans in both hands, their ends sharply honed.
Back in my previous life, I had struck her too quickly with my knife-like attack before she could bring out her weapon, so I didn’t know—these two fans appeared to serve as her tools of combat.
“…?”
Seemingly surprised to hear her name uttered by me, Portia stared at me with wide eyes.
Then, she remained silent for a brief second.
‘Oh dear.’
I realized my mistake—right now, I was wearing a mask, and I hadn’t met her during the competition in my past life. Given Portia’s involvement in top-secret missions, it was natural for her to suspect me.
I clicked my tongue lightly in this awkward situation.
[163417413th Hero Park Jeong-yong Contribution Rank: 2nd]
[All stats increased by 3 points.]
[500 gold coins acquired.]
[Special Rank 2 Bonus: Additional 500 gold coins received.]
[Special Rank 2 Bonus: Hero Sense +1 acquired.]
After glancing at the sudden panel notification and grimacing, I glared at Portia.
Damn that last hit rusher; she ruined the perfect ranking bonus.
