Chapter 173: Kaen (2)

The ruined central tower of the Demon Castle of Altelore.

It was the site of a great battle in the past, where the hero sealed the Demon King.

For the demons, it was a mark of shame that imprisoned their god for decades.

Half of the Demon King’s soul was torn apart by the power of the Holy Sword, and to postpone complete annihilation, the Demon King sealed himself in his final moments.

Like a giant crystal pillar, stretching high into the violet sky, seemingly supporting the world.

Sleeping within it was the incarnation of the demon that was once the terror and fear of all.

“It has been a long time.”

The demon standing before it looked up at the pillar with a trembling voice.

Solemn like a baptized believer, yet innocent like a child opening a gift box.

If someone had seen the eerie expression where two incompatible emotions coexisted directly, they would have been astonished.

The number one among the archdemons, Azekel.

The ruler of the current Altelore who reunited the divided demons with overwhelming power after their defeat.

The demons who witnessed his true power thought there was no need to resurrect the Demon King; they believed he would be enough to ascend to the throne.

The body of the hero, who was severely injured in the battle against the Demon King, was not in its prime.

With Azekel’s presence, the current forces without the Demon King would undoubtedly be enough to engulf the world.

However, Azekel didn’t do that.

Anyone who dared to mutter such impious words was completely eliminated.

In secret, he meticulously explored and gathered the demon seeds, preparing only for the resurrection of the Demon King. Because he knew.

What the true power beyond the heavens was, the pinnacle of the demon race.

A god who could create their own paradise in the world and fulfill the demons’ desires.

“Let’s begin. Unleash the demon seeds.”

In the midst of numerous demons, including the archdemons, they gathered, bowing their heads.

As Azekel’s command was given, some of the demons began to move.

Beside the pillar lay a large black gemstone.

In response to the demons’ energy, a black aura started to flow out of the gemstone like beads, one by one.

Soon, the beads intertwined and merged with each other, and like a waterfall, they were drawn towards the pillar.

Kugugugugu.

With a heaven and earth opening vibration, the pillar began to crack.

***

‘I’ll be back soon, Seventh Lord. I entrust the successor to you.‘

The hero left with only those words, quickly disappearing somewhere with a wounded body.

Returning home, I could only remain lost in thought.

“Hey, Ran. Why are you staring into space instead of eating?”

From across the table, Kaen waved a spoon in front of my eyes.

I pushed her hand away.

“It’s nothing.”

…There was no appetite. The Demon King had been resurrected.

Only that fact was circulating in my mind.

Since the hero wouldn’t mistake something like that, it meant that the Demon King had truly been resurrected in Altelore.

After finishing the meal, I went back outside and wandered the streets.

Just going wherever my feet took me. The area where the snow was still falling was peaceful, in complete contrast to the turmoil in my heart.

The worst crisis had suddenly arrived. No, it wasn’t sudden.

The hero had clearly mentioned that it wouldn’t be strange for the Demon King to be resurrected at any time.

I just tried not to force myself to think about it.

What should I do now?

I had no idea. To be precise, I couldn’t figure out what I should do.

The final showdown with the Demon King was a storyline that remained unresolved, even until the end of the game.

So, I had never experienced how powerful the Demon King was or what abilities he used.

It was just consistently emphasized in the story that only the power of the Holy Sword could defeat it.

I stopped walking and looked up at the sky. Many thoughts rose and fell in my mind.

Your power can reach the Demon King.

It was what the Holy Sword had said before.

With my instant-kill ability, the Holy Sword had assured me that I could even kill the Demon King.

Of course, there was no guarantee that I could kill the Demon King.

Even if my instant-kill ability reached the Demon King, the condition was that I had to physically touch him.

Moreover, the Demon King would undoubtedly be stronger than any enemies I had faced so far.

I had no confidence that I could do it.

Fighting him would be like risking my life entirely. After all, from the beginning, my sole purpose was to survive.

The idea of sacrificing myself to protect this world? I had never considered it.

Even if the [Soul of the King] erased my fear, the instinct of not wanting to die wouldn’t disappear.

I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to risk my life and fight the Demon King with no assurance at all…

“…”

And I also didn’t want to sacrifice Kaen. I didn’t want her to go through the remaining succession conditions.

I just wanted to let her live happily as she was doing now.

Wasn’t it too late for the succession at this point, anyway?

Now that the Demon King had been resurrected, the invasion of demons was a foregone conclusion.

Shouldn’t I reveal my instant kill ability to the hero and think about defeating the Demon King together?

If I proposed such a thing, the hero would surely accept it.

After all, she’s not exactly thrilled about passing on the Holy Sword to Kaen.

…But, could I really do that?

Could I truly defeat the Demon King without going through the inheritance process?

The reason I had considered inheritance so important until now was that it followed the flow of the game.

Could I defy that flow and defeat the final boss of this world’s storyline?

Amidst conflicting emotions, the conclusion was not easy to come to.

I turned and started walking back home.

Once back, I found Kaen building a small igloo-like structure in the courtyard.

It looked like it was about to collapse, so I said, “Use magic to freeze it, or it’ll collapse.”

“I’m not going to use magic. Just wait and see.”

I left her and entered the house.

While trying to boil water for a warm cup of tea, I sensed a familiar presence and turned my gaze toward the window.

Ah.

Come to think of it, it was about time for Asher to show up too, right?

Since I had returned the communication device to the hero earlier, I wouldn’t receive any prior notice of Asher’s visit.

I went back outside again. Carefully stacking the igloo, Kaen asked.

“Why do you keep going in and out? What are you doing?”

“I’ll be back soon.”

I moved to a less crowded alley and met with Asher.

Asher brushed off the accumulated snow from her robe and lowered her hood.

“You’ve been through a lot. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, Sir Ron.” Curiously, Asher asked with a puzzled look, “Your face seems a bit troubled. Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Having known each other for a long time, Asher quickly sensed my mood. I decided not to mention anything about the Demon King for now.

We exchanged greetings briefly, and I shared some recent updates with her. There was nothing significant happening in the monarchy, either.

“Also, the Shadow brought some additional information.”

“Shadow?”

“Yes. She said they followed the target’s trail as far as they could, but she has reached a point where she can’t investigate further.”

I accepted the information sheet from Asher and bid farewell before heading back home.

I guess this is the least of my worries now.

It was about the whereabouts of the person with the power of possession, whom I had entrusted the Shadow to investigate.

He would become a villain who would terrorize the capital of Santea in the future, but I didn’t care much now.

I didn’t have time to worry about this anymore, not when the Demon King was about to rise and the world was about to end.

Still, since the investigation had been done, I thought I should confirm the results. I sat down on a chair and unfolded the investigation report.

Let’s see.

According to the information the Shadow had gathered, the man was said to be a former member of a secret organization within the Santea royal family.

He harbored resentment towards the royal family, which led him to seek revenge in Santea.

-Ten years ago, traces of his past were discovered in Shampeo City in the northeast of Santea. The investigation started at this point.

-Relatively trustworthy testimonies were confirmed by the innkeeper of the inn where the target had stayed.

-The target’s gender is male, and his age at that time was estimated to be between 30 and 40 years old. His face was said to be extremely worn out with a tired appearance.

I took out the map and found Shampeo City to the west.

-As a result of investigating the nearby villages around Shampeo City, I confirmed another piece of information from a place called Hooter Village to the east of Shampeo.

-It is presumed that the target moved in the direction of the capital city. I gathered information about individuals resembling the target from the villages along the path leading from Shampeo to the capital city.

-The investigation was briefly interrupted in the capital city, but judging from the path the target had taken so far, it is assumed that he moved westward. I continued the investigation westward.

-Further west, in the small town of Nadarita, located in the Voldot territory, I reconfirm the target’s passage.

I paused for a moment as I read on, realizing something odd: the area near Voldot that was described in the report was where the village of Azeta was located.

The village of Azeta was the village that Kaen had once told me was her home.

By the way, even if she was only on the tail end of something, she had done a pretty good job of researching a person’s whereabouts from ten years ago.

I shrugged it off and continued reading, amazed at the Shadow’s skill.

-Confirmed traces in Kamrel City to the west. It is presumed that the target had an unexpected companion.

-The companion is a young girl, estimated to be around 5 or 6 years old. There are no clues about the companion, so the investigation is inconclusive.

As I continued to trace the route, new information popped up.

Companion?

Suddenly, a companion? And a young girl at that?

I was puzzled, but soon I had a guess.

Ah, could it be that he brought the girl so he could possess her later?

The mystery of possession. Considering the requirements to use it, it was highly likely.

Information about the mystery of possession was not even mentioned in the game’s storyline.

From the beginning, he was a character with hardly any revealed background.

However, since the setting book contained information about the mystery of possession, I knew about it.

To use the mystery of possession, there were two necessary conditions.

First, the possessor of the mystery and the body to be transferred must belong to the same species.

Second, the one whose body would be possessed must harbor a deep intimacy with the possessor of the mystery.

The first condition may not be difficult, but due to the second condition, one couldn’t just use the mystery to switch bodies with anyone.

So, perhaps to fulfill these conditions, he tried to find orphans and raise them as vessels for possession?

If he cared for them like parents from a young age, it wouldn’t be too difficult to build that intimacy.

I didn’t know why he would go to such lengths to use the mystery of possession.

It could be that his original body was afflicted with an incurable disease or suffered from a severe injury.

Alternatively, he might have needed a body with much greater magical talent than his original one.

Of course, I didn’t know the exact reason.

“…?”

Suddenly, I felt a twinge of recognition and looked at the map.

He suddenly got a companion in the city of Kamrel.

The town of Azeta was right between Kamrel and the Voldot territory that he’d passed through.

Was it a coincidence? It couldn’t be…

-The target moved back toward the capital. Presumably continued eastward from there.

.

.

.

-Eventually, all traces were lost in a village near the Ramon Mountain Range to the east.

Ramon Mountain Range.

That’s where Kaen lived since childhood with her father.

“…”

After reading the remaining contents, I became frozen and speechless.

If, if it’s true. If he really found and raised a young child as a vessel and had been taking care of her without moving for 10 years until now…

“…She’s probably around fifteen now.”

With a creak, the door opened noisily. Kaen came in and shouted in an excited voice.

“Hey, Ran! Come out quickly and see! I’ve made an amazing igloo!”

“……”

“Why are you just standing there? Stop daydreaming and come out! Hehehe!”

I watched her figure running out of the room, still dazed.