Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 448



Only Noblemtl

448. Dachion (5)

Almost everything went as he remembered. Sungjin was able to meet Giacomo Milo, who was struggling to escape the sewers, in the same place as before.

“Hey, you?!”

Giacomo, who suddenly encountered Seongjin and his group, was greatly embarrassed and tried to take something out of his bosom.

Of course at the same time-

WHEEK – PHOOK!

The dagger flew at lightning speed and mercilessly sank into the back of Giacomo Milo’s hand.

“Huh?”

The pain came late.

“Kuaaaah!”

While Giacomo Milo was rolling on the floor in pain, Sungjin slowly walked over to him and retrieved the fallen elixir.

It was the black elixir that he had traded with Dacianus’ secretary, and which almost brought about a terrible disaster on the continent.

“Ugh… Bird, Salos!”

Giacomo Milo gritted his teeth and called out to the devil he had made a pact with.

He had been holding out for revenge against the world until now, but now that the elixir of conversion had fallen into the hands of the enemy, he had no other choice.

“Please come down here and protect me! Defeat my enemies! If you do that, I will give you my body right now!”

But why? There was no response from his demon at all. It was as if he was greatly afraid of something, and he had even firmly closed the channel connected to the contractor.

“… Salos?”

As Giacomo muttered in vain, the boy who had been examining the elixir looked down at him arrogantly.

“This time, it doesn’t seem like it’ll cause immediate erosion. I thought about it before, but the devil you made a contract with is quite cunning.”

“… … ?”

“Well, I promised you before, so I will help you save your soul somehow. But you will have to pay the price of almost causing great harm to the continent.”

A red light flashed in the boy’s pupils for a moment.

“So, shall we start by getting fit?”

Kkaaaah!

Soon, Giacomo’s desperate screams echoed through the damp sewer air.

* * *

After safely capturing Giacomo Milo, Sungjin and his party headed to the center of the sewers, following another faintly felt presence.

The speed was not very fast, because if any animal carcasses were seen along the way, they had to burn them without leaving a single one behind.

“Your Majesty. The sound is getting farther and farther away. Wouldn’t it be better to catch the author first and then call the priests to purify him later?”

Masain asked, seeming impatient.

“No, Sir Marsain.”

Seongjin had already sensed the disappearance of the movement a step ahead of him, but he shook his head firmly.

Sungjin already knew that even if they found the wizard who had done this, they would eventually lose him because of the moving corpses.

In that case, there was no need to reveal their identities to him.

“Besides, these are more dangerous than they look, Sir Marsain. Not a single piece of the body can be left behind.”

“Yes. I think so, but… … .”

It was obviously the work of an evil demon. Masain made the sign of the cross in a grave manner towards the stray cat writhing in flames.

So when the party finally arrived at the wizard’s laboratory, the evil wizard had already left long ago.

Roughly damaged magic circles can be seen here and there on the walls. Various research materials, including Dacianus’ secretary, are also missing.

and-

Crack! Crack!

Woof woof! Krrrrung!

Kwaaaaaaa… … .

A variety of corpses released from our cells fill the laboratory.

“Oh my God, my goodness!”

Martha sighed.

“They don’t just touch animals. They even do such things to people… Who on earth could they be? How could they do such horrible things… …!”

“hmm.”

But Marsain did not know that the sight Sungjin was seeing now was even more miserable than what he could see with his eyes.

[… My… body… Why… Shut up… … .]

[… Save me… Someone… Please… Save me… … .]

The souls writhe in agony, bound by Bion to their rotting bodies, their very essence consumed by corruption.

Ugh!

Seongjin tried to suppress the strong feeling of discomfort rising inside him. Although he had already experienced it once, it was difficult to maintain composure in the face of such a blatant denial of death.

Then, as if it had been waiting, a soft voice came from inside my head.

[Son.]

Yes, I know. I know very well, Father.

I don’t repeat the same mistakes even though I know the consequences.

“Phew… … .”

After exhaling softly, Seongjin placed a small lamp on the floor and called out to the Demon King.

In order not to lose myself in front of the spectacle that constantly stimulated my inner essence, the strength of this rat-sized guy was absolutely necessary.

“Hey, Demon King.”

[…huh.]

I was worried that he would shrink and eventually disappear, but fortunately, the Demon King answered me, even if it was only in the form of a crawling sound.

“From now on, you have to help me.”

[… … .]

“I’m going to burn them all down now. Come burn this place down with me.”

For a moment, Owen’s displeased gaze landed on the back of his head, but Sungjin simply ignored it and continued speaking.

“You’ve been feeling suffocated all this time, being stuck in the lamp. Now that you have the chance, you should show off your strength to the fullest.”

[… … .]

“Now more than ever, I need your strength.”

The Demon King did not answer, but the flames flickered as if reflecting the disturbance in his heart.

Seongjin, who discovered a glimmer of possibility there, began to coax the guy a little more gently.

“It’s okay, Demon King. I know what you’re worried about.”

Yes. I know what he’s afraid of. Every time I looked down at his lamp, I felt the light shining in my head also looking in the same direction.

‘I’m sure you feel your father’s presence strongly.’

The reason why the demon who made a contract with Giacomo Milo doesn’t come near him like before is probably the same. The existence of a father is like a death sentence to the demons.

“But we’re okay. You know that, right? Father is always on our side.”

[… … .]

“You are my subordinate, and your power is my power. Attacking you is the same as attacking me. But, Demon King, can you even imagine the sight of your father harming me?”

The Demon King’s flame flinched at that question.

[…no.]

The Demon King’s flames began to visibly regain their color. It was as if a sudden change of thought was taking place within him.

[No, Lee Seong-jin.]

“Yes, that’s it. So come out here.”

[…huh!]

Phong!

The Demon King finally seemed to have gained courage and lightly jumped out of the lamp. Then he slowly circled around Sungjin and looked around. To be exact, he was not looking at Sungjin, but rather at the existence inside his head.

The Demon King, who had been circling around like that for a couple of times-

[Hehe… … .]

When he realized that nothing was happening, he finally felt relieved and let out a groan.

[Hehehe!]

[… … .]

For a moment, a slightly unpleasant feeling came over him without any filter from the salt crystals in his head, but Sungjin pretended not to notice it for the sake of everyone else.

“Okay, shall we go then?”

Sreung!

Seongjin slowly pulled out the nutcracker. With the familiar feeling of the hilt wrapping around him, he realized once again where he was.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the thought occurred to me, a crimson aura quickly covered the sword.

“Owen. Sir Marsain.”

I feel like the two people who had already drawn their weapons are quietly listening to Seongjin’s voice.

“Let’s start by cleaning those up.”

* * *

The wizard’s laboratory was instantly suppressed when three powerful auror users launched an offensive.

The Demon King’s red flames covered the miserable remains and burned fiercely.

[Heh! Heh heh! This much is easy!]

The guy who was acting relatively well-behaved compared to usual burned the flesh of the corpse as well as all traces of the magic circle.

‘Yeah, everything is going well.’

Seongjin, who had shaken the nutcracker vigorously, scattering blood and flesh, looked around while sharpening his sword.

“Newbie. If you still have trouble controlling your aura, stand back. The end of your cloak is on fire.”

Owen lightly pulls Sungjin back. He had been a mess the other day, dealing with corpses and doing quests at the same time. Compared to that, he looks much more relaxed and neat now.

“Your Majesty. It seems that we have eliminated all the monsters in the sewers. If we hurry, we may be able to chase down the escaped wizard.”

Of course, it goes without saying that Masain Kyung, who seems to be in a sane state, has come and blasted several times, but he looks at Sungjin without any sign of fatigue. In his eyes, you can no longer see the deep-rooted guilt that eats away at his soul.

Seongjin muttered with great relief.

“Everything is going well.”

[Huh? What?]

The Demon King, who had finally escaped from his fear and was having fun setting fires, asks as he lands on the lamp as a prisoner.

Yeah, we can’t leave this guy out either. Needless to say, his condition is better than before, right?

When I was wandering around setting fires alone, I was busy calling out my name, not knowing what to do.

“Considering how you just cried like an idiot, this is the right path, even if it takes a little longer.”

Then the Demon King asked again, looking puzzled.

[… What the hell are you talking about? Lee Seong-jin. Who said you were crying?]

ah.

At that moment, Sungjin realized. Did the Demon King also not remember anything that happened in the past?

Then, a new question arose again.

‘Did I really go back in time? If not, then I am now… … .’

Then, as if to interrupt his thoughts from deepening uselessly, a familiar voice came into his head again.

[Son. Is that really that important now?]

Seongjin quickly shook his head, clearing his doubts.

No, Father, absolutely not.

“What should I do, Your Majesty? Are you going to chase the wizard even now?”

At Masain’s question that happened to be overheard, Seongjin looked back at him and smiled brightly without realizing it.

“Huh? No, Sir Marsain. This is fine as is.”

“…yes?”

Seongjin spoke again with emphasis to him, who was flustered by the unexpected reaction.

“Leave it alone, Sir Marsain. I think it’s better to just leave it like this.”

So, after thoroughly cleaning the sewers of Furiano, they returned to the village entrance late at night.

The group, who had once again boarded the ‘special delivery’ carriage, were able to leave Furiano much later than before.

But Sungjin wasn’t too worried. He knew exactly where his next destination was, so this time he just had to ask the coachman to head straight to Teresa.

“Owen.”

“huh?”

“I’m hungry. Go and get me something delicious.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Owen, who was absentmindedly holding the milestone in his hand, suddenly looked back at Seongjin with a “Huh?” expression.

“… But are you a newbie?”

“uh.”

“You know, why is it that you so naturally seek food from me?”

“Well, that’s because you can bring something to eat. Why is that?”

Owen looked embarrassed at Seongjin’s confident answer.

“That, that’s true.”

“okay.”

Seongjin nodded, then suddenly remembered something and added, “Ah!”

“And by the way, you should probably give me a limited edition blindfold.”

“Blindfold?”

“Yeah, if you hand it over to me, maybe the status window will open a sale window?”

“…omg?”

For a moment, Owen looked into space with a puzzled expression.

“Really? There’s a limited edition blindfold floating around, and it’s practically free! Newbie, how did you know?”

“Stop talking nonsense and just buy the blindfold first. Oh, and while you’re at it, take out the stamina potions you’re not using.”

“Stamina potion? Why that?”

“I have to make tea later.”

“car?”

Owen’s expression grew increasingly suspicious, but Sungjin ignored his doubts and leisurely leaned back against the carriage.

What do you think? Everything is different than before. Everything is going well!

Seongjin, who had finally relaxed after a long time, put the Demon King’s lamp down next to him and stretched.

“Bethelah… … .”

Of course, there were some things that didn’t change much from before.

“Ah, you who are prepared!”

Giacomo Milo, wrapped tightly in ropes, was looking at the Holy Spirit fervently, repeatedly chanting the sign of the cross. If he had his eyes open properly, he would have already figured out who had used a powerful fairy to purify the wizard’s laboratory.

As expected, the venom and resentment that had filled Giacomo’s eyes had soon turned into awe and delight.

“O vicar of mighty monarchs! Please accept my soul, and let it serve your purposes… … .”

“… … .”

Seongjin made a disgusted expression.

Well, it seems like the result of that guy getting a little carried away is inevitable. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to have completely lost his mind like before.