Volume 7, The Ninth Chapter to Ending the Demon King: Confrontation Between Demon Kings
Translator: ErodingPersona
I firmly tied up Illu in layer upon layer of Chains of Darkness. When I was done, he looked exactly like a huge snowman, with a small head on top and a great round body below. The only thing missing was a carrot for a nose.
Under Illu’s murderous glare, I observed him all around. After determining that I had tied him up tightly, I nodded my head in satisfaction.
After that, Awaitsun brought Tyler in. In contrast to my firm bindings, Awaitsun had only handcuffed Tyler and tied up his ankles.
After the both of them entered, they looked towards Illu simultaneously and exclaimed, “Isn’t that too extreme?”
I answered unhappily, “Aren’t your bindings a little too simple?”
Awaitsun hurriedly explained, “These chains are made from special materials. There are lots of binding spells placed on them. It will make a person completely helpless, so there is no way that he can escape from this.”
“Who cares whether Tyler is helpless or not? I’m worried over the fact that Roland could rip off those cuffs and chains with one hand!” I frowned and said, “Being extreme is far better than being inadequate. If Roland destroys those shackles and saves these two in one move, then we don’t have a chance!”
“I see.” Awaitsun nodded his head and said, “You’re right. We should tie him up more securely.”
Hearing this, Tyler blanched. Before he could finish his sentence of “Wait a min-,” numerous Chains of Darkness appeared around me and scuttled towards him like a nest of snakes. The chains wound their way up from his legs, stopping only when they reached his neck.
Now two snowmen stood side by side, looking like a pair of twins. Their expressions were also surprisingly similar – similarly ugly.
I dared to swear that even if Roland were the perpetrator, he too would be unable to remove the chains binding their bodies… At least for a short while.
Awaitsun looked at Tyler with a guilty expression, then told me, “Tying them up like this, they won’t be able to walk. How about I go look for someone to move them?”
“That’s not necessary.” I shook my head and added wind element to the two snowmen, letting them float. I then formed two chains and tied them onto the waists of the two snowmen. Like this, I could drag them along.
I handed a chain to Awaitsun and said, “We can just lead them along like this.”
Awaitsun looked down at the chains, contemplated something for a while, then raised his head and begged, “If I do anything wrong in the future, can you please not tie me up like that? Beating me up or locking me in the dungeons are both fine!”
I thought for a moment and then warned, “If you dare to disobey my orders, I’ll tie you up just like that and parade you around the cities.” After saying that, I thought that the threat wasn’t terrifying enough and added, “Also, I’ll take your children along and let them play with their snowman dad.”
Awaitsun paled. He seemed extremely regretful that he had chosen me… You should have chosen Charlotte in the first place! With your good looks, Charlotte definitely wouldn’t have chosen to punish you by embarrassing you to death!
“So you better remember to be more obedient in the future! Let’s go, Ceo and the others must be waiting for us.”
Awaitsun answered helplessly, “Of course.”
Dragging the two snowmen along, we conversed while heading towards our destination. It was mainly Awaitsun reporting things to me.
“In accordance with your wishes, we have moved to the Cathedral of the Shadow God and cleared out the Cathedral and everything within a one kilometer radius of it. But do we really not need the help of other dark knights?”
“No!” I frowned and said, “If Roland caught them and used them to threaten you to release Tyler, would you let him go or watch them die?”
Awaitsun stopped, nodded and said, “You have really thought of everything.”
“Of course! So don’t let any extra personnel near the ceremonial site, especially that wife of yours!”
Awaitsun nodded, forcing a smile. “I have already asked my comrades to take care of her. Alice will definitely be unable to come here from the Shadow Cathedral.”
After passing through great double doors, we arrived in a hall. However, this was not the hall of the Shadow Cathedral, but the Cathedral of the Shadow God.
Compared to the Shadow Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Shadow God was a lot more simplistic. It would not tempt a holy knight upon first glance, making him feel he had chosen to devote himself to the wrong religion.
This entire hall could be said to be nothing worth mentioning, even more frugal than the Church of the God of Light. Although the floor and walls were constructed with sturdy stone, it was not extravagant, and there weren’t any superfluous decorations. The only thing that the middle of the hall had was a divine statue. Although I call it a divine statue, it was just a person wearing a cape and holding a staff aloft.
I couldn’t help shaking my head and saying, “Isn’t the difference between the Cathedral of the Shadow God and the Shadow Cathedral a bit too much? Couldn’t you all have used some of the funds for the construction of the Shadow Cathedral to improve the Cathedral of the Shadow God? After all, the Shadow Cathedral is far too extravagant.”
Awaitsun smiled and explained, “The more extravagant the Shadow Cathedral is, the more likely the Demon King would want to use it as his base and not choose some other place. That would cause unnecessary trouble.”
So that was the reason. They really have thought of everything. If I were the Demon King, I would probably use that place as a base once I saw how extravagant it was.
After all, building a castle requires a lot of labor and time. The more extravagant the castle is, the more time is needed. For a castle as extravagant as the Shadow Cathedral, even if the groundwork was laid the moment the Demon King ascended, when the job was finally finished, the Demon King would probably have one foot in the grave by then.
At this time, Awaitsun walked to the side of the divine statue. He drew out his sword, leapt and used the sword to push one of the carvings on the staff. The carving sunk down, and below the statue’s long robes, an entrance around the height of a person opened. Within the entrance was a long flight of stairs.
So this is the entrance of the ceremonial site. If I hadn’t agreed to work together with Awaitsun, I probably wouldn’t have found the site even after a lifetime of searching!
Even if someone realized that there was something strange about the staff, most people would try and push the staff about or touch the inlaid jewel on it. Who would think that any of the carvings were suspicious? Not to mention that the carvings on that staff were as numerous as the stars in the sky!
We walked into the entrance and down the stairs. Both sides of the staircase were nothing but an empty cave, because below this was a cave full of stalagmites!
When we finished walking down the stairs, a long corridor of granite came into view. Normally, there would be a whole line of dark knights standing there, but all of them had been transferred. The only things left behind were the empty stalagmite cave and flickering candles. It was dauntingly eerie, completely unlike some place that a church would have… But, on second thought, the Demon King is the representative of the Cathedral of the Shadow God. It should be normal that the entire cathedral would seem eerie.
I looked up. The ceiling of the cavern was very high, and made completely of stalactites. I felt that a stalactite could fall down at any time and smash me into a pulp. How dangerous! I couldn’t help shaking my head and saying, “Building a cathedral above this cave, aren’t you all afraid that it would collapse?”
“That won’t happen. This cave was created by god. How could it collapse?” Awaitsun answered devoutly.
Even if it was the Divine Sun Sword, I am always afraid that it would one day break in my possession, let alone a cave.
After walking past that long granite corridor, a broad empty space roughly shaped like a triangle appeared before us. The surroundings were natural stone walls. There was no sign of the walls being smoothed out; they were left rough and uneven.
In the middle was a humongous magic sigil, and, like the space around it, it was triangular in shape. At a glance it looked like it was carved into the floor, but the lines were actually floating above the floor by about ten centimeters. In addition to that, there was a small magic circle at each point of the triangle.
Although I called the circles small, that was actually in comparison to the triangular magic sigil. The circles were actually about the length of a man, and they were standing upright!
The entire thing was a partially transparent object floating in mid-air, untouchable. No wonder the liches and Awaitsun said that this magic sigil could not be copied, so the ceremony has to be held here. And only gods can create something like this, right?
Although I had never before encountered the God of Light, I have never doubted His existence… Holding the Divine Sun Sword, this holy item full of holy element, made it truly difficult to doubt the gods’ existence.
At this, Ceo, Vival, and Laica ran in from another side. Vival demanded, “Why did you take so long? We’ve already done all the necessary preparations. The chains have already been secured to the walls.”
“We were transporting these snowmen.” I tugged at snowman Illu.
“Tyler, you, how did you become like this?” Laica looked Tyler up and down and mumbled, “Fat and round, he really looks like a gigantic snowman, but a darkened one.”
Hearing this, Tyler’s face darkened too.
“Since the chains have been secured, Awaitsun, you go tie up Ceo and the rest of them.” I turned and said to Awaitsun, “Roland said that once I brought Illu to the ceremonial site, he would appear, so he could appear at any time now. We have to hurry up and make our preparations.”
“Right!”
Ceo, Vival, and Laica walked to the stone wall. There were three pairs of chains there. Besides the hands and feet, there were even chains for the waist and neck. After the three of them were in place, Awaitsun tied all three of them up.
Although Ceo and the others were the ones who set the chains within the walls, the chains were provided by the Cathedral of the Shadow God. Awaitsun had already adjusted them. They looked firm and sturdy – that was to trick Roland, when in reality the chains were actually easily detachable – that was to trick the trio, but there was a secret lock to them. Once that was locked, this adjusted chain was still a firm chain.
Woooow. It really is a complicated bit of work!
“I have locked it.” Awaitsun walked to my side, took in a deep breath and announced, “Now, we only have to wait for ‘him’ to arrive.”
If we waited for him, we would have no idea how long we would need to wait. Taking the initiative to contact him was far safer. I had found him twice… There’s no reason why I can’t do something while awake that I could do while sleeping!
I closed my eyes and called out urgently in my mind. Roland, Roland! I want to find Roland, like before… I want to see Roland!
“If I may ask, have you fallen asleep?” Awaitsun asked, perplexed. “Shall I get a chair for you?”
I opened my eyes and said blankly, “No. I was just resting my eyes.”
Awaitsun nodded his head doubtfully.
What the hell? I was able to do it while sleeping, but I really can’t do it while awake!
Bah! That’s because you’re someone who uses instinct when using magic!
… Scarlet? That’s great! Hurry up and teach me how to find Roland like how I did before!
No!
I want to become the Demon King, really! So teach me how to summon Roland. Then, I can quickly become the Demon King!
Whoever believes you is an idiot! Argh, you actually used the Summoned Door by yourself…
“What door?” I asked hurriedly.
Before Scarlet could reply, I saw the door. It was an arched door about twice the height of a person. The scene in the door had no connection with the stalactite cave. It showed the volcano from before.
“What, what is this?” I asked, stunned.
The most basic step of summoning is to open a dimensional door besides the creature that one wants to summon, to allow it to arrive immediately by your side, however… This is the first time that I have seen someone with the courage to summon a death monarch.
Death monarch? I flinched and saw a gigantic black shadow descend and fill the entire door. That wasn’t because he was fat, but rather because the six wings of his really were enormous.
“Sun?”
Roland seemed astonished and surveyed the door carefully. Finally, he shook his head and said, “You always do such inconceivable things.”
That’s right, summoning a death monarch. Even I think that it’s inconceivable… And very suicidal! I hurriedly said, “Because I have already brought Illu to the ceremonial site, but there was no sign of you. So I had to open the door and invite you over.”
Roland said blankly, “Aren’t you a little too anxious? You must have just arrived there. No matter how powerful I am, I still need time to track down Illu’s position.”
“How can I not be anxious? In three months’ time, the entire world will be swallowed up by lands of darkness. Even now, as we speak, there are numerous people fighting against creatures of darkness. They might be close to dying!”
Roland was silent for a moment. Then, he nodded his head, “That’s true.”
He folded his six flesh wings and returned to his human appearance, then stepped through the door and walked forward a few more steps. He stopped around five paces away from me.
“I think that you probably don’t want me to be too near you.” He said lightly.
Hearing this, I purposely walked forwards a few steps, shortening the distance between us to around two steps.
Awaitsun immediately walked before me, turned his head and told me in a lowered voice, “This is too dangerous!”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed, “Calm down. If he wants to attack, two steps distance won’t make a difference. Get out of my way now!”
Awaitsun hesitated. He stepped off to the side, leaving from his position between us, but he still stood beside me, hand on his sword, as though ready to draw his sword at any moment.
Roland looked between Awaitsun and me and then focused on the two giant snowmen. He gave a start and called out, confused, “Tyler? Why are you here?”
“Captain!” Tyler shouted emotionally. But after he called out, he stopped, as if he had no idea what to say. He just looked at his own captain.
But Roland turned away from Tyler, no longer looking at him. Instead, he looked at me and asked, “Sun, were you the one who tied him up?”
I admitted bluntly, “Yes.” This snowman-style of tying people up was far too obvious. Even if I denied it, Roland wouldn’t believe that it wasn’t me who had done it, right?
Hearing this, Roland frowned and looked at me with a confused expression, but my attention was on Ceo and the others. From the moment they were chained to the wall, they kept on trying to secretly unlock it but realized that it was impossible. They stared at me in bewilderment, but they didn’t dare to make a sound.
“Sun!” Ceo finally could not stand it and yelled aloud, “Didn’t you say that you were going to secretly tamper with the chains and let us go?”
Awaitsun turned his head and said, “He lied! What he really wants is to become the Demon King. To prevent you all from getting in the way, he-”
At this, I held out my hand. Countless Chains of Darkness shot out and tied up Awaitsun as the third snowman. Awaitsun could not even finish saying “What are you doing” before the chains wrapped around his mouth.
Seeing this, Ceo, Vival, and Laica all sighed in relief. Laica even mocked Awaitsun. “I think the person who’s been lied to is you!”
Roland, not understanding the situation, looked at Awaitsun and asked me, “Why did you tie up Awaitsun?”
I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Oh, that’s because I lied to him, saying that I wanted to become the Demon King, so I needed him use Illu and Tyler to threaten you to give up the qualifications to be the Demon King.”
Roland was stunned. He turned his head towards Ceo and said, “Then why did you lock up Storm and the others?”
“Because I also lied to them saying that I actually lied to Awaitsun and that the person who would really be giving up the qualifications to be the Demon King was me.”
When I finished, Ceo and the rest along with Awaitsun blanched immediately. Roland asked in curiosity, “Then exactly who is it that you wanted to trick?”
I answered honestly, “Both sides.”
The moment the words were out of my mouth, the tied-up Ceo, Laica, and Vival started raging. Awaitsun whose mouth was securely bound by the chains also glared at me with a burning expression.
Seeing this, Roland laughed. He really laughed out of joy, and even the flames in his eyes flickered.
“Sun, you are still so…” He laughed, shook his head, and said, “How in the world should I describe you?”
I suggested, “You can say that I am astonishingly wise and astute!”
“You are shameless and despicable!” Laica roared.
Laica, you’re not a princess! Only princesses like to describe me with ‘shameless’ and ‘despicable.’ I summoned the Chains of Darkness and bound Ceo, Laica, and Vival’s mouths to prevent them from cutting in, although this made their expressions even scarier.
I clapped my hands and said, “Great, now no one will interrupt us. We can have a nice chat.”
“Do we actually have anything to talk about?” Roland asked coolly, and then understood. “That’s right, you said that you wanted to ask me a question and it must be done face-to-face. Well, I’ve arrived. You can ask now.”
I shook my head and said, “No, I want you to swear that you will tell me the truth!”
“You don’t believe me again?” Roland said but immediately frowned after speaking. Then, he said blandly, “That’s right, I said before that I would never harm the Twelve Holy Knights, but then I killed you with my own hands. It’s obvious that you wouldn’t believe me.”
I opened my mouth but couldn’t say anything.
“You can ask now.” Roland said calmly, “I will tell the truth. But I swear that I will only answer truthfully to this one question.”
I nodded my head and looked straight at Roland, unwilling to miss a single one of his reactions. Then, I opened my mouth and asked.
“Roland, do you actually want to be the Demon King?”