Chapter 50: A Bittersweet Victory, and…
A bone-chilling voice trails down my spine.
It’s the distinctive voice of the undead, unnervingly clear and distinct, which oddly feels more unsettling because of its clarity.
“Tch. Eldritch, you’re quite late to notice. And this is supposed to be your weakness.”
Beside me, the Demon King mutters under his breath. It’s only then I realize who the owner of the voice is.
You’re nobody’s gentleman. Knowing full well you insult yourself, it must mean you’ve arrived.
―Why… Why is my talisman suddenly…!
“Ah, isn’t that Eldritch? How are the folks back home?”
I speak into the crimson gem as if making a phone call. For a moment, the voice on the other side disappears.
Was my comment too groundbreaking?
Or perhaps, as an undead, it simply didn’t get the jab.
―You fool! What in the world are you?! I sense the dignity of a great one… O Black Sun… Art thou there? O my Sun! Hear my plea!!
After a pause, the crimson gem starts glowing fiercely with the booming voice ringing in our ears. Both I and the Demon King briefly shield our ears from the deafening shout.
Frowning deeply, I gesture towards the Demon King while holding up the gem.
“I’m going to break this. Any objections?”
“None at all. Break it quickly. It’s driving me crazy.”
“Got it.”
He talked about betrayal earlier, but his actions are swift.
The Demon King lazily waves his hand, and I feel a strange chill.
Well, in any case, it seems like the owner’s permission has been implied. Now all that’s left is to actually destroy it.
“Hey.”
I clear my mind of distractions, throwing the gem to the ground and stomping on it with my foot.
Crunch. It doesn’t break. Stronger than I expected.
―Raaaargh! Yo… You, you fool… I won’t forgive this… Right now, I shall rally all my forces and crush your bones…!
“Eh.”
I stomp harder.
Crrunch. Still doesn’t break.
―Ghhhaaaaaaargh!! This… This pain reaches to my very bones!
The gem and the voice intensify further.
A good sign. I step it up.
“Heyy!”
This time I draw my sword and strike it with all my might.
Keeeeng! The metallic sound echoes sharply.
―Rrrraaaaaargh! Stop it! STOOOOP!!! Do not, you fool!!!
But still, it won’t break.
At this point, exasperated, I unleash a skill.
“What the hell! Seven Sword Pierce!”
The initial attack triggers my skill, “Powerful Ambush,” causing my blade strike and seven energy swords to pierce into the Eldritch’s vessel at once.
―Raaaauuugh!
Kwajjak! After a moment of ear-splitting screams, the vessel finally erupted in a blinding crimson light and shattered into pieces.
It seems physical damage doesn’t work; it had to be broken by pouring mana into it. Glancing at the now-ruined floor, I think to myself:
… I should secretly repair this later. I don’t want Leira to scold me.
With that thought, I quickly got up.
“Alright, then. Let’s go.”
Eldritch’s threat of bringing all his forces certainly wasn’t an empty one. Eldritch losing a vessel to a mysterious stranger he’d never met before—his motivation isn’t just anger. He will surely want to capture me to find out who I am.
Time is short. I need to resolve everything quickly.
Until I destroy the final hidden vessel of Eldritch’s… my fight isn’t over.
No. In some sense, it could be said… this is just the beginning.
“Hurry up, let’s destroy the rest. Come on, Ruci.”
“Huh?”
I lead the puzzled Ruci out of the room.
*
I walk briskly, heading straight to Seop Baek.
I push the door open. Seop Baek looks up from beneath her blanket and fixes her gaze at me.
After an exchange of glances, she abruptly turns her head away.
“…What do you want? Don’t you and that woman over there have fun enough?”
“Sigh. Seop Baek. Let’s have a talk first.”
“What talk… humph.”
Though she clearly seemed upset, once I sincerely apologized, she blushed and let go of her anger.
I don’t know why she was mad, but at least she’s a good person—thankfully.
“Sorry, Seop Baek. Do you have a dagger or something small like a knife?”
“Huh? A knife… uh… I do have a self-defense dagger but…”
“Could I borrow it for a moment?”
“Uh… sure…”
I promptly borrow the dagger from the reconciled Seop Baek.
She clearly looks curious about why, but without questioning, she generously lends me her self-defense weapon.
Great. That’s all the preparation I need.
I thank Seop Baek and head straight for the throne room.
“So, warrior, you already know where the rest of the vessel is?”
As soon as I left Seop Baek’s room, the Demon King quietly followed and asked.
I nod.
“Eldritch said he hid it in something his greatest rival treasures the most.”
“Yes, Eldritch himself mentioned that clearly.”
“Then it’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“Obvious? What?”
“Pretty much.”
“Where?”
“The Countess.”
“…”
The Demon King gasped in realization. Calmly nodding, I continued organizing my thoughts.
“Eldritch’s greatest rival is the Margrave of Halsenberg. And what the Margrave cherishes most is his Countess, Isabel von Halsenberg. The final vessel must be hidden within her corpse.”
Possibly, Eldritch implanted the vessel during his cooperation with the old knight alliance.
Witnessing how the Margrave spared no expense and fought even his comrades to retrieve his Countess’s body, Eldritch instinctively realized:
“This is it. This is the safest place.”
The most powerful opponent, the Margrave, would do everything in his power to safeguard and not harm his Countess. The ideal hiding place for life force vessels.
Embedding his own weakness into his enemy’s weakness.
What a novel and, thus, cruelly clever idea.
“And if my prediction is correct…”
I might have no choice but to fight the Margrave.
Why? Because I am about to damage the corpse the Margrave treasures most—his Countess.
Ironically, the final boss who can finish Eldritch might be the Margrave himself.
“From the Margrave’s point of view… I’m just a lunatic.”
A lunatic who’s lost it entirely.
Imagine approaching someone in the dead of night and saying, “There’s an Eldritch vessel inside your wife’s corpse. Let me tear her body apart to destroy it?”
The Margrave will obviously demand evidence. He would at least ask for reasonable proof.
And my response?
“One: Lie.”
This won’t work.
It’s entirely my fault for lacking the ability, but I can’t think of a convincing lie.
How could I possibly fabricate a story that justifies desecrating the otherwise untouched corpse of the Margrave’s wife? There’s no way my brain could conjure such a story.
Damn.
“Two: Tell the truth.”
That also won’t work.
To tell the truth would necessarily mean revealing my time-loop ability and the Demon King Lucy. I’ll die before the Margrave could defeat Eldritch.
No thanks.
“Three: Pretend it’s based on a hunch.”
No worth reconsidering that.
Who cares about some unfounded feeling? If I were him, I’d probably punch the person who proposed such nonsense right in the face.
“Last Four: Just plow ahead recklessly.”
Thus, it boils down to one option.
Clash with the Margrave and forcibly destroy the vessel.
Currently, there’s no way to prove the truth, but once the vessel is destroyed, all undead under Eldritch’s control will vanish, and unfortunately, so will the Countess.
Only then will the Margrave have no choice but to believe my words.
“If talking doesn’t work… I’ll use force if necessary.”
I clenched my fists and solemnly muttered, and the Demon King walking silently beside me interjected.
“By the looks of it, you’re expecting trouble with this Margrave character, but warrior, you can’t even scratch that guy’s claws.”
“…”
“I’ve seen you fight.”
“Stop using facts.”
The Demon King is making me tense up while he’s trying to intimidate.
I clear my throat and fix my gaze on him.
“…”
The Demon King, sensing something unusual in my suddenly intense stare, quickly steps back.
“What is that stare?”
“That’s why I need you. Eternal Demon King.”
“What?”
I explain my plan to the wide-eyed Demon King and firmly thrust the small dagger borrowed from Seop Baek into his hand.
As she hears my plan, her expression twists into an increasingly baffled grimace before finally turning confused.
“Will this really work?”
“If it doesn’t, we’ll try it again until it does.”
I respond casually, causing the Demon King to sigh in exasperation.
“Indeed. A fitting answer from the guardian of the Eternal Demon King.”
“Compliment?”
“Not at all.”
“Would you like to visit the Truth Chamber?”
“Eeeek….”
We exchange light-hearted banter as we walk down the desolate corridors of the ruined castle of Halsenberg.
Our footsteps finally cease in the center of the audience hall, filled with corpses.
There sat the Margrave, as always, clutching the Countess’ hand, neutralizing the curse.
“…Look. The moon is unusually bright tonight.”
The Margrave noticed my presence in the pale moonlight, giving me a faint smile, and welcomed me with a gentle wave.
I accepted his greeting with a complex expression.
“Is there something, Master Jung Yong? And who is the woman beside you?”
“…Just some… complicated entanglements, you know.”
“Haha. That’s true. With Miss Seop Baek and all. You’re quite the womanizer, aren’t you?”
“Thanks for the words. But… let me…”
Vaguely avoiding the topic, I kneel on one knee in front of the Margrave.
And unilaterally announce,
“Lord Margrave. May I borrow your wife for a moment?”
… Misunderstand me not.
This isn’t an NTR declaration.
