Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 386

Chapter 386

“Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose. There were… circumstances.”

“Of course, there would be. So, who is it?”

“Huh?”

“Who’s the bastard who almost reverse summoned you?”

Unlike his calm tone, Lapis’s eyes were burning intensely. Now that I see it, he seemed angrier about the fact that he almost got reverse summoned than the fact that I secretly did something else. Well, when I got hurt, it would have affected him too. It was more dangerous than other times, so the damage he received would have been greater.

“Um… did it hurt a lot? Is your stomach okay? Let’s get you healed first….”

“Do you think what hurts right now is the problem? For a moment, the string of our contract became faint.”

“……!”

The contract became faint? I didn’t know that at all. Oh, wait. Then, what about Isana? Startled, I hurriedly checked the connection with Isana. If Lapis had faded, I thought Isana might have been terminated altogether, but fortunately, it seemed she was fine, either because I hadn’t directly connected mana to her, or because Isana had grown in the meantime. Come to think of it, I would have felt it right away if it had been terminated. How could I not think of something so obvious? I must have been flustered. As I was sighing in relief, Lapis glared at me fiercely.

“I feel like I already know the answer, but… You didn’t happen to confront it head-on, did you?”

“…….”

Why is this guy always so quick to figure things out unnecessarily? Before I could even think of a response, I was already speechless. Seeing me unable to even make excuses, Lapis seemed to have already made his own judgment. A bright smile reappeared on his face.

“From beginning to end. Explain everything without leaving anything out.”

* * *

As the explanation continued, Lapis’s eyes became increasingly fierce. He was clearly furious, but he was clearly holding back his anger, probably because he wanted to hear everything first. By the time the entire explanation was over, he seemed to have lost the energy to be angry and just stared at me with calm eyes.

“Elquines are said to have a long lifespan in general. Your vitality is tenacious too. It’s amazing how you keep doing things that will get you killed and still don’t die.”

Of course, his words were followed by harsh sarcasm. But compared to what I had expected, it was a fairly mild reaction. Still, I didn’t let my guard down. It was obvious that he would flare up again if his mood soured again. There’s a reason why the saying, ‘Look at a dead fire again,’ exists.

“I am deeply reflecting on my actions.”

Answering respectfully was a very wise choice. Lapis, who had paused for a moment, wore a much softer expression.

“So, what about the Demon God?”

“I parted ways with him there for now. I knew you would get angry if I didn’t come right away, and only I can pass through the Spirit Summoning magic circle.”

“So, he could still be inside that blue-haired elf bastard?”

“He’s not an elf, he’s a unicorn. And before that, he has a perfectly good name, Sibelrius.”

“I don’t care about that.”

“Ugh, why do you guys have such a bad relationship? Anyway, he’s probably still in Kanos. He said he would take Sibel to a safe place before returning.”

“Safe place?”

At his questioning look, I nodded. The conversation I had with Kanos just before we parted flashed through my mind.

“Gods can sense the ‘door’ anywhere. Karyuan won’t give up on this body easily. He can’t stay possessed forever, so he’ll wait for me to leave. I’ve strengthened the ‘door,’ but that alone will have its limits, so I’m thinking of putting in place a stronger device.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to mix in other energies to slightly change the nature of this body. Then the path connecting to the door will also become blurred. Think of it as setting up a screen.”

“That’s good. But how do you mix in other energies?”

“I can always create a method. For example, by making a contract with someone.”

“Ah! Then a Spirit Contract?”

“That’s not bad either. If you can.”

“……Can’t I?”

“What do you think?”

I can’t. As soon as I saw his grinning face, I was sure of it. And then, naturally, enlightenment came. Unicorns belong to the God race, and the God race and the Demon race cannot make contracts with spirits. It’s not that there are other problems, it’s because they don’t have the most necessary condition for Spirit Contracts—the attributes of nature. As I frowned in dismay, Kanos seemed to realize that I had realized the truth. The smile on his face (or rather, Sibelrius’s face) deepened.

“It’s always fun when you ask such obvious things.”

“I know I’m stupid, too.”

“It’s okay. You’re still cute.”

So that means I’m stupid, right?

When I glared at him, Kanos laughed shamelessly. It was clear that he had said it expecting me to get angry from the start.

“Well, don’t be too heartbroken. Actually, even if a Spirit Contract was possible, I wouldn’t have chosen it. It’s not bad, but it’s not the best.”

“Then what’s the best?”

What came back was a meaningful smile. He had been showing unfamiliar expressions ever since Kanos came in, but this was the most unfamiliar of them all. Maybe that’s why. He looked somehow sinister.

“The more extreme the change in nature, the better.”

“Hmm, the Demon God said that, huh. So that safe place must be related to that?”

“Yeah, maybe? I couldn’t hear any more explanations after that.”

I asked him outright, but Kanos just vaguely laughed it off. As I was about to frown thinking about the situation at the time, Lapis nodded nonchalantly. He looked like he had guessed something, so I quickly asked.

“Do you happen to know where Kanos went?”

“What? Ah, roughly.”

“What is it, where is it?”

“Where else would he be? He told you everything.”

“Told me……?”

“What kind of being can contract with others and has an extremely different nature from a unicorn?”

Oh, is that how it’s abbreviated? Hearing this, my mind seemed to clear up in an instant. Even if I don’t know anything else, there was only one being that came to mind as having the opposite nature of a unicorn.

“……A demon?”

“You know it well.”

As if his nonchalant voice was a signal, the faces of familiar people began to be drawn in a chain reaction before my eyes. As and Deron. The figures of the two demons, from whom I had no news since we parted ways.

My mouth slowly opened at the realization that came to me. I think I know for sure where Kanos went now.

* * *

The man was walking in the darkness. It was the deepest part of a deep cave where not a single ray of light penetrated. Following the sloping path down to the deepest part, he soon stopped at one spot. Something lumpy was nestled in a corner. Red light was seeping out from the inside, regularly repeating the process of fading away. It was like the heart of this cave. The man walked closer to it. Something was submerged in the red light. It was a boy curled up in a ball. The boy was naked. Like frost had settled on him, white threads covered the boy’s entire body. It looked like he was wrapped in a spider web, or like he was inside a cocoon. It was clear that the boy could not move his body on his own. The man bent down towards the inside.

“My lord.”

At his low voice, the boy, who seemed to be asleep, slightly opened his eyes. Unclear red pupils wandered aimlessly before slowly gazing at him. It was a gaze as if asking something. The man opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.

“There are still no changes. The path has not opened.”

It was the report the boy had been waiting for. His red eyes, curved as if satisfied, closed again, unable to overcome his sleepiness. The man—Deron—who had been staring at him, sighed. It seemed that he also needed more time.

As and Deron, the two demons, were originally chasing Mors, the Demon King’s special forces. At first, they were able to clearly capture the presence of demons crossing over through the cracks in the dimensions. But at some point, they felt enveloped in a strange energy, and after that, they couldn’t feel anything. The surroundings were wide open and there was nothing blocking their path, but no matter where they went, no path appeared. It was quite some time later that they realized they were trapped. Fortunately, he knew the structure and terrain of this world to some extent, so if it had been his first visit, he would have been completely unaware that he was trapped until now. All they could see wherever they looked were ordinary mountains and fields, but there was no room for doubt. They were now trapped in a maze. In a transparent maze that could not be caught or seen.

At first, they couldn’t understand the returning situation, but it didn’t take long to figure out the situation. There was a being near them who could naturally cause such strange things. At one time, they had even received help from a similar power.

“Concealment is the power of wind. It seems that Minerva, who recognized the intruder, took some action against Mors.”

“So, we were unlucky enough to get caught up in it.”

As soon as Deron made his judgment, As immediately agreed. It was clear that Minerva had spread a wind barrier throughout the area to obscure Mors’s vision. It seemed that As and Deron, who were chasing them, were also mistaken because they were demons. It was literally really bad luck.

It was impossible to know how long this invisible maze would last. But once they were trapped, there were not many ways for them to get out peacefully. Either Minerva would notice that they were innocently caught up in it, or El would notice. Both seemed unlikely to happen anytime soon.

“We can’t wait indefinitely.”

After spending some time aimlessly, As made a decision.

“It’s a good thing. Anyway, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but kill Mors even if I faced him like this. I thought that was too inefficient. We have to solve it in a different way.”

“What are you thinking?”

“A way to obtain the Demon King’s mark.”

At his calm answer, Deron’s eyes deepened. It was what he wanted more than anyone else, and it was also the most urgent part.

“I think all the conditions are complete. I already have enough power. There is no one among the demons who can surpass me.”

“I also think so. My lord has no more room to grow in terms of ability.”

“That’s right. If there’s anything I lack here, it’s only one thing. So Deron, I need your help.”

“Give me your orders.”

At the low voice, Deron immediately knelt on one knee. As silently looked down at his hand. It was the smooth hand of a child who had not yet fully grown.

“I need to fully grow my body.”

The body of a demon is completed within 10 years at the latest. Among them, As was growing faster than average. But even so, it was an undeniable fact that it would take time to fully grow.

Originally, you couldn’t grow your body at will just because you wanted to. But now As had reinforcements. Deron, the Duke of the North and the manager of the Karten Forest of Life. The unique magic power of the Duke of the North, which creates the essence of the Demon God, is specialized in caring for fluids. His energy protects the fluid and helps the body grow. If you pour it into a single entity, it was possible to grow it in a short period of time. The only problem was that both the one receiving the energy and the one injecting it would be significantly weakened during that time.

In an environment where you never know when you will be attacked, it was no different from inviting danger. If someone attacked, they would be helpless without even having time to respond. Nevertheless, Deron accepted As’s offer without hesitation. He also judged that it was the most reasonable method. If a new Demon King appears and takes over the sovereignty, Mors will also be included in his faction. The orders given by the previous Demon King will be invalidated on the spot. It was the most reasonable and least damaging way to resolve the situation. Above all, a new king was needed as soon as possible to stabilize the ruined Demon Realm.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the mark of the king would really appear just because the body was completed. Lucarrem, the Demon God, had only said that it would happen naturally when the time came, and had never given a perfect answer. Still, they had to try what they could.

Fortunately, there was an empty cave nearby, so the two demons immediately set up camp there and proceeded with their work. But when they actually started trying in earnest, the speed was slower than expected. They felt that something was not going smoothly, but it was difficult to identify the problem. Deron himself had not been the Duke of the North for long, and there were bound to be many trials and errors since it was his first time trying.

“……!”

At that moment, Deron suddenly hardened his face. An unfamiliar presence was lingering nearby. Something seemed to have entered the cave. Deron slowly drew his sword and was on guard. It didn’t matter if what came in was a lost human or an animal, but it would be troublesome if it was one of the Mors. But it seemed that the situation was not going to turn out well.

He had hoped that it would just wander around the vicinity and then turn back, but the presence was gradually entering the cave. It was not a wandering step, but a clear and regular step. It was clear that it was targeting this side.

Deron stood with his back to where As was and gripped his scabbard more tightly. He was planning to attack as soon as anyone appeared. But when the opponent’s figure was revealed, he couldn’t do anything.

“You…….”

Deron’s eyes widened. The darkness that filled the cave had no effect on his vision as a demon. Thanks to this, he was able to recognize his opponent at a glance, but his identity was too unexpected.

“You were in a place like this? You’re a mess.”

At the cheerful voice, Deron blinked for a moment. He felt like he was dreaming while standing, even though he wasn’t dozing off. He calmly scanned the opponent’s appearance. Even though not a single ray of light was coming in, his pure white silver hair was clear. His bluish skin, his long, straight height, and the shape of his long ears were all exactly as he knew them.

“Sibelrius?”