The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 212

Usually, an invitation is good news. But when it’s from Valhalla, it’s different.

Valhalla sends invitations for two reasons: first, to welcome guests. Second, like with Roman Dmitry, to show they have bad plans.

Roman Dmitry read the invitation.

[Roman Dmitry. We wish to invite you as the representative warrior for the festival honoring the souls of warriors. The deadline is one hundred days from now, and failure to arrive in Valhalla by the day before will be considered a refusal of the invitation.]

Every year, Valhalla held a festival with loud drums and warrior songs to honor dead fighters.

On that day, all of Valhalla celebrated. They chose warriors to fight and spill blood, which was a Valhallan tradition.

They believed that the dead warriors’ spirits would be happier if the battle was very bloody and exciting.

It was supposed to be a happy time.

The problem was who Valhalla chose as their warrior this year.

Chris said,

“This year, Valhalla’s warrior is Barbossa, one of the Twelve Swords of the Continent. He clearly wants to take revenge for Count Denver’s death.”

Barbossa was famous across the land as one of the Twelve Swords of the Continent. People said his sword could cut through steel like butter.

He was a 6-star swordsman and ranked 6th in Valhalla.

A monster ranked 11th on the continent.

Barbossa represented the Valhalla Empire.

This invitation showed how different Chronos and Valhalla were.

Both empires wanted revenge for what happened in Cairo, but the Chronos Empire openly planned assassinations, even though they knew it was wrong.

The Chronos Empire would do anything to win, even cheat.

Valhalla chose a more direct way to fight.

If Roman Dmitry accepted the invitation, he would fight Barbossa.

Logically, he would die. But if he won, Valhalla said they would forget the past.

Of course, no one had ever survived Valhalla’s invitation.

The warriors Valhalla sent were famous, and Valhalla enjoyed watching their opponents die by their swords.

Valhalla’s plan was clear.

They wanted to punish him for the Count Denver incident.

It was just an invitation in name. Valhalla, like Chronos, showed its power.

It was a death sentence.

If he accepted, he would die.

Even Chris, who believed in Roman Dmitry more than anyone, was deeply worried. His face was pale as he spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

“Master,” Chris began, “you don’t have to accept this dangerous invitation. Things are different now. So many people depend on you. Please, for Dmitry’s sake, avoid this fight. You bravely avenged Ecorche yourself, but you can’t always take on every risk alone.”

Chris’s words were full of concern.

Roman Dmitry listened, understanding Chris’s fear.

Roman Dmitry said.

“The invitation…” he paused, his eyes serious, “…is just that, an invitation, on the surface. If I refuse Valhalla’s invitation, there won’t be a problem. But Valhalla values honor. If I refuse, they’ll see it as their victory and use it to hurt my reputation. Valhalla pretends to be honorable warriors, but they are actually sly and cunning. If I accept, I die. If I refuse, I will be safe. They must have planned this perfectly.”

The choice was Roman Dmitry’s.

Refusing would be the safe choice, but he didn’t think it was the best one.

“Chris, I must be someone my people can trust. To face impossible enemies in the future, they need to believe that victory is certain when they are with me. If I refuse Valhalla’s invitation, what will people think? Even if it seems natural to avoid danger, a single refusal will create doubt in their minds. That’s how Dmitry will be divided, and that’s what Valhalla wants.”

So far, Dmitry had always won.

At first, it was because of Roman Dmitry’s skill, but later, the soldiers also became strong.

They were driven by trust.

They believed they could beat any enemy if they followed Roman Dmitry, so they were willing to die on the battlefield.

Even if they died, they knew they would be honored and their families would be taken care of. That’s why they won battles that seemed impossible.

Roman Dmitry was the god of Dmitry.

He knew it was important to keep that faith for the future.

Roman Dmitry said.

“In a hundred days, I will accept Valhalla’s invitation. Chris, you have a role to play, and so do I.”

Chris couldn’t speak.

He always thought he could never be like Roman Dmitry.

Around that time, a rumor spread in the assassination world.

“Ecorche was hired to kill Roman Dmitry but was destroyed.”

The rumor started with Dante.

Dante told everyone what he had seen and heard, and the rumor spread quickly.

“I saw Cort after a long time, and Dante was embarrassed. Cort, the famous assassin, was shaking and covered in bruises, clearly tortured badly. He said that all the assassins who attacked Dmitry had been killed. Cort died like that. Dmitry poisoned him and cruelly let him go. Cort fell to the ground, his body shaking, and dark blood poured from his mouth. And, as everyone knows, Roman Dmitry not only killed the assassins but also attacked Ecorche’s base.”

It was a clear story.

People who heard Dante’s words talked about it a lot.

Everyone knew about the fall of Ecorche.

People were shocked to see Brakan’s head hanging in the street.

It was unbelievable.

Ecorche’s failure was one thing, but attacking their base was another.

Also, the Chronos Emperor had ordered Roman Dmitry’s assassination.

If something happened in Chronos’ territory, he wouldn’t be able to leave alive, but Roman Dmitry got his revenge anyway.

It sent a clear message to everyone.

People in the assassination world were scared.

“Roman Dmitry has always been consistent. When the Barco family fell, people thought it was because they lost the war, but those who know the truth know that Roman Dmitry killed them all. That’s how cruel Roman Dmitry is. If you’re thinking of accepting a job to kill Roman Dmitry or his people, remember that you could be putting yourself in danger.”

Roman Dmitry showed the price of assassination clearly.

Crossing the border proved Roman Dmitry was not making empty threats. It showed how determined he was.

Because of this, people who thought about killing Roman Dmitry changed their minds.

The Cronos Emperor offered rewards for this job, like money and respect, but it was too risky.

So, fewer people asked to be hired to kill people in the northeast.

They were afraid of making Dmitry angry and suffering for it.

Roman Dmitry’s judgment was correct.

Just one example, the destruction of Ecorche, made people truly afraid of Roman Dmitry. Words could not have done a better job.

Some felt admiration.

Some felt astonishment.

Some felt fear.

Kevin, who was always by Roman Dmitry’s side, felt useless.

He watched his lord leave and thought, ‘Will I always be too weak to help him when he’s in danger?’

This time.

He wanted to go with him.

As it was a matter of risking one’s life, he wanted to be of help, but Roman Dmitry did not want to bring anyone with him.

At that time, Roman Dmitry didn’t add any special words.

At the words to do what each other could do, people including Kevin couldn’t dare to say that those words were wrong.

Everyone knew.

That if they followed Roman Dmitry, they might become a hindrance rather than a help.

He suppressed his true feelings.

He could only watch Roman Dmitry leave for this dangerous mission.

Kevin thought, ‘People say we are improving very quickly. But it’s still not enough to help Lord Dmitry with what he will face. The Cronos Empire and the Valhalla Empire are powerful enemies. We need to become much stronger.’

So, every day, Kevin went to train.

He trained until he was completely tired at sunset.

But he knew just training normally wouldn’t make him strong enough.

He needed a new way to improve.

Accepting Roman Dmitry’s teachings, practicing Roman Dmitry’s martial arts, and additionally, a way to promote growth.

Then suddenly.

He remembered what Felix had said a while ago.

Felix said, “I’ve made a magic circle that makes magic power stronger in one area. It’s not perfect yet, and we need to fix some problems, but it should be very useful. It will make magic spells stronger, and it can also help people who use aura to train. If aura users train in a place with extra magic power, they might be able to absorb more magic into their bodies and become more powerful.”

It was a conversation with Chris.

Felix had conducted many experiments for Dmitry, and as one of them, he succeeded in developing a magic circle.

In fact, it was a part that he had been researching since he stayed in Franck, but he finally succeeded in doing what he had been putting off due to financial conditions not being met.

Still in the unfinished stage.

He said that half a year would be needed to determine definite results and safety, but Kevin couldn’t sit and wait.

He found Felix.

In order to become stronger even a little bit.

He was willing to do anything.

Even if he was reduced to an experimental subject for the magic circle, Kevin needed a way to show noticeable results right now.

But.

There were already guests there.

Other followers, like Henderson and McBurney, were also there. They were eager to improve and catch up to the others who followed Roman Dmitry.

Due to the Ecorche incident, they also came to the same conclusion as Kevin.

Felix said.

“……You are really reckless people. As I have repeatedly said, this is a technology whose safety has not yet been secured. Just in case. The example of failure could be you, but do you still have to use this for training?”

It was Henderson.

He understood.

Felix also felt powerless, so he looked at the people and nodded.

“Okay. But keep in mind. The top priority is safety. If you become disabled before you can do anything for your lord, you will have no face to see him, will you? Even if not, the Phoenix Magic Tower has received a lot of money from my lord, so I absolutely don’t want to deliver bad news to him.”

They also knew.

That they couldn’t expect big changes.

Even so, they chose to move forward little by little.

Fifteen days later.

One of Dmitry’s iron mines.

Workers were digging a new iron mine, making a tunnel, when suddenly, disaster struck.

BOOM!

RUMBLE!

“The tunnel is falling in!” someone yelled.

“Run!”

The ground shook, and the tunnel started to collapse.

They had checked everything to make sure it was safe, but this accident was something no one could have stopped.

People quickly evacuated.

In the past, tunnel accidents were disasters that claimed many lives, but now there was a safety net installed to protect them.

[Air Shield!]

WHOOSH!

A rush of wind suddenly blew upwards. It was like an invisible wall appeared above them, holding back the falling rocks and dirt from the tunnel ceiling.

Thanks to that, people were able to secure time to escape.

After a long time and the ground stabilized, Morkan, the chief manager who was checking the tunnel, witnessed a strange sight.

“……What is this?”

Deep below the ground, Morkan saw something strange. A hole had opened up in the earth. And beyond it, there was a tunnel. It looked like someone had built it.