Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 400

400.

Among the numerous possible outcomes, it’s inevitable that the bad premonitions weigh heavily. The Mors were a specialized force that inflicted immense damage on the Divine Realm during the ancient Great War. Even angels with similar powers struggled against them, so it was clear that the human-dominated race of Arkhadon would be no match.

Meanwhile, Deron had already strode out of the cave. Sibelius swallowed a curse and awkwardly stood up. He looked back at As, but the tightly wrapped cocoon showed no change. Hesitating about what to do, Sibelius hurriedly followed after Deron. Soon, he found Deron standing at the end of the passage.

“What? I thought you’d already left. Why are you still here?”

“Why did you come out then? I thought you’d stay with As.”

“I need to keep an eye on things too. There’s only one entrance anyway. What good am I inside?”

Since he wasn’t wrong, Deron frowned but remained silent. Sibelius stepped further forward and took a deep breath. Coming outside, he felt his senses were much sharper than inside the cave. Countless smells, sounds, and energies were mixed in the passing breeze. He hadn’t realized how much information the wind carried until it was blocked off.

“So, why are you stopped here?”

“Look there.”

Deron gestured in one direction. As soon as Sibelius turned his gaze, his face hardened. Below the cave they were in, a dense forest stretched out, and a group was moving swiftly across it as if flying.

With enough training, humans could reach that level. They could generate sword energy or split rocks, and some, though rare, could become stronger than ordinary dragons. So, one couldn’t hastily conclude they weren’t human just because they displayed special abilities. But the energy they exuded was something humans could never possess: a thick, eerie darkness, different from bloodlust. The only race in the world born with something akin to unrefined poison. Moreover, their dark hair, easily noticeable even from a distance, clearly revealed their identity.

Demons.

Sibelius and Deron looked at each other simultaneously.

“Are those Mors?”

“Probably.”

“Looks like about a thousand of them… Is that all of them?”

“Maybe.”

“What’s with the vague answers since earlier?”

“The Mors are the Shadow Army. They are only loyal to the Demon King and only follow his orders. Because they don’t appear on the surface, I don’t know their faces or their exact size. They must have gathered after hearing the summoning horn, so they’ve probably all come over.”

“Hmm, that’s quite something. Does that mean the Duke’s orders are useless to them too?”

“Of course. My orders are worth less than a discarded bean to them.”

Sibelius wasn’t sure why Deron answered with such pride, but his expression was smug. The years he had known Deron weren’t entirely useless, so Sibelius could easily understand his state of mind. He was clearly thinking about As’s future glory as the Demon King, who would receive the Mors’ loyalty, rather than his own dignity as a Duke.

“I heard demons crave power. Don’t you have any desire to become the Demon King?”

“I swore to serve As.”

“You swore? That’s it?”

“I keep my faith with those to whom I pledge loyalty. Isn’t that obvious?”

“It is obvious, but it feels strange to hear a demon say something so obvious. I heard demons fight each other all the time.”

“We enjoy competition, not betrayal. It’s just that our standards are different. I sincerely follow those I acknowledge. Besides, demons aren’t the only ones who betray.”

“……That’s true.”

Rather, betrayal was committed by his own kind, the unicorns, who were symbols of sanctity. As the one who paid the price for that betrayal with his whole body, Sibelius decided to admit that he had been trapped in a rather narrow-minded way of thinking. Apart from that, the fact that they were an incompatible type wouldn’t change, though.

“But something’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“The Mors summoned to another dimension move to annihilate that world. They scatter randomly and aim to kill everything in sight. But it doesn’t feel like that now.”

Sibelius quickly understood what he meant. Since they started watching, the Mors had been moving in formation in one direction. It was as if they had a destination in mind.

“Where do you think they’re going?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it doesn’t seem good for us.”

“Ugh, I hate agreeing with you, but I thought so too.”

Just then, one of the Mors stopped moving and looked in their direction, so they immediately hid. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have noticed anything, as he tilted his head for a while before being called by another and rejoining the moving group. Sibelius and Deron held their breath and completely silenced their presence until they disappeared into the distance.

“……Can we stop that with just the two of us?”

“If you channel Kanos, it might be possible.”

“You keep subtly trying to get me to do something impossible. It’s not that I don’t channel, it’s that I can’t. It’s dangerous to open the gate now. The evil gods might notice.”

“Tch.”

“If you understand, don’t bring it up again. We should follow those guys for now.”

“You stay here and protect As. I’ll track them……”

The sentence wasn’t finished. Deron suddenly flinched and quickly turned around. His gaze was fixed on the invisible interior of the cave. Sibelius, who had been puzzled, soon realized something and looked towards the cave as well. He opened his mouth in a daze.

“……Maybe it’s not just the two of them.”

* * *

Time is like elusive air, and the past cannot be undone by any means. Even now, as we approached the realm of the gods, that much remained unchanged. Therefore, rather than falling into helpless regret, we had to focus on the best we could do in the moment.

As expected, Karyuan was already gone when we arrived at the place where the purification circle had been. The golden magic circle that had been dazzling in the video was nowhere to be found either. Instead, all that was visible was a desolate scene covered in black soot. Black liquid, burnt and congealed, bubbled everywhere the eye could see. Smoke from the burning earth filled the air. It was like a fire scene just after suppression. Of course, it was in a much worse state than that.

“El, don’t touch it, it’s dangerous.”

I was about to examine the liquid when I heard Ellyuen’s voice stopping me. I cleanly gave up trying and stepped back. In fact, even without examining it, I could feel the pervasive poison all around. We were fine because it was us, but ordinary humans would be poisoned and die instantly before even getting close. Even Lapis seemed reluctant and retreated far back when we entered the center.

“This place will have to be sealed off for a while. Even if I purify it myself, it will take over a hundred years to function properly again.”

Trowell, looking around, showed a rare expression of anger. It was natural for him, the Earth Spirit King, to be angry that a healthy field had turned into a land of death, but there seemed to be another reason.

“It’s a shame to lose this place. Pink reeds bloomed profusely here in the fall.”

“Pink reeds? That sounds pretty.”

“Yeah, really pretty. Minerva and I made it together. Minerva happened to find a naturally growing one and brought the seeds, and I propagated them.”

There was no need to confirm that Minerva he was talking about here was the previous generation [of Spirit Kings]. His expression filled with longing was enough.

“Now I’ll never see it again.”

Trowell, muttering to himself, looked bitter. His eyes were empty, as if something had been emptied out.

“Can’t you make it grow again later?”

“Hmm? Ah, it’s possible to grow the reeds again. I have seeds stored separately. I’ll fill it up again after the purification is over.”

“Then…….”

“But even if I restore it, it won’t be the same as before.”

‘Ah.’

Only after hearing those words did I realize that he wasn’t talking about the reeds. What he meant by not being able to see it again was the memories with Minerva. Even if this place was filled with pink reeds again, it would no longer be something he made with Minerva. I felt like I knew what filled his eyes with emptiness. It was a sense of loss.

Suddenly, the inside of my chest tingled, and I reflexively touched it with my hand. Minerva’s passing was sad and regrettable for me too, but I couldn’t feel the same way as Trowell. I hadn’t had enough time with her to deeply cherish the memories. The feeling of looking back and confirming the empty space of someone who was always there, someone who was always with you, was overwhelming just to imagine. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve ever properly experienced the feelings of the one left behind. Even with Taejin’s passing, I was the one leaving.

“A high-level god has to die?”

“Yes.”

The short conversation kept bothering my mind, probably because of that. I glanced at Ellyuen. He had told me not to touch it, but he was actually reaching out and grabbing a small piece of the black mass. I heard a burning sound and looked over to see his hand gradually turning black. Surprised, I tried to approach, but Ellyuen immediately shook his head. The warning not to come closer was clearly read on his expressionless face. Immediately after, a white light burst from his hand, and the light began to drive out the black energy at a rapid pace. Soon, the completely pushed out black energy disappeared, emitting smoke as if evaporating.

“What did you do?”

“I was just checking the state of his awakening.”

“Did you have to check it that way?”

“This is something you can only know by touching it.”

He had a nonchalant look on his face, but my mouth felt dry. Ellyuen gave me a look that said he knew what I was worried about.

“You seem to have forgotten again that I’m a capable father, son. I only tested it because I could handle it. It’s true that his power surpasses mine, but it’s not to the point where I’m helplessly pushed back.”

“……So what did you find out?”

“Kanos’s seal is still on him. Some purification has been done, so he won’t awaken immediately.”

That was hopeful news. The Demon God’s seal wouldn’t be released on its own, so he wouldn’t be able to hide and wait for the right time. Karyuan would be exposed in some way, and the chances of catching him would be higher.

“Still, we need to make a Demon God extermination circle, right?”

“It’s not just that his power isn’t complete, his soul is already as good as a Demon God. We were too late in discovering him. If we had been thirty years earlier, we wouldn’t have come this far.”

That period overlaps with the time when I wasn’t even born on this earth. Karyuan exponentially gathered sacrifices by using the drought to accelerate his awakening. I was afraid to even count how many children died. The thought that I had contributed to that ugly and terrible process made me feel endlessly depressed. But Ellyuen said something unexpected.

“But that’s also why we were able to stop it. He may think he’s exploiting a loophole, but choosing Arkhadon as the awakening place was a mistake. He chose the longest way around.”

“Huh? Why?”

“This world is special. Because it has an owner.”

“By owner…… do you mean us?”

“Yes. The Middle Realm has its own designated managers, but Arkhadon is different from that simple concept. This world belongs entirely to the Spirit King. The flow of the world revolves around the Spirit King. Isn’t that quite clear? He touched the Water Spirit King, and in the end, he was prevented from completing his plan by the Water Spirit King.”

I had never thought of it that way. Was that why everything the Archduke did was so connected to me? I thought it was a tiresome bad relationship, but it was a strange feeling to think that Karyuan had brought it all on himself. I tilted my head, feeling a little dazed.

“Hmm, but we didn’t completely stop it, did we?”

“Well, from another point of view, we should interpret it as being able to stop even that much because it was here.”

“Wow, is that so?”

“You’ll only be complete when you realize that yourself.”

What he meant by complete was the moment when I fully became aware as the Spirit King. Is it because I’m still immature that I feel a sudden sense of resistance? Maybe it means I still need more time. And there was a part of me that felt relieved at that thought.

“Ellyuen made a good point.”

Then Trowell suddenly joined the conversation. Seeing his clear, shining golden eyes, I remembered what he had said before: that I and the evil god were deeply intertwined in a bad relationship. Therefore, there would be meaning in the direction and place I went. I guess that’s what he meant back then. I frowned slightly and tried to recall my thoughts.

“If there’s anything I’m worried about now…… it’s the disappearance of Mine’s barrier?”

“Hmm?”

“I think we need to find out what happened to the demon army inside…….”

In fact, I was already looking into it. But the fact that I couldn’t see anything made me even more anxious.

“Indeed.”

Trowell smiled as if he found it interesting. It was an ominous smile, so I flinched.

“Why?”

“I was worried too, so I looked into it. It would be easier to judge if they had made a fuss, but the quietness bothered me. Now that El has pointed it out, I don’t think we can just let it go.”

“Trowell looked into it too? So it’s not just me who can’t find them?”

“Yeah, I can’t see them either. The flow going straight north was the last thing I saw before the traces were completely cut off.”

“Which direction is that from here?”

“Southeast.”

Trowell answered Ellyuen’s question immediately. At that moment, I felt goosebumps all over my body. Trowell looked puzzled at my hardened face.