Chapter 300: The Demon King, Until His Advent (3)
“Your Holiness! Your Holiness!”
Priest Batali came running in, flinging open the door to the Pope’s private chambers.
“Why such haste, Father Batali?”
The Pope was in the middle of getting dressed, his arms outstretched.
Nuns were adorning him with dazzling golden ornaments, from his clothes to the smallest accessories.
“We are about to begin the holy war in the name of God. Surely, Father Batali, you have your assigned role? No, this is perfect. Father Batali, I want you to serve as my attendant during the holy war.”
After receiving news that Kyung-joon had obtained the Hero’s Mark even from the Half-and-Half Dragon, the Holy Cross was in full preparation for the holy war.
Their objective: to lay siege to the Study’s territory with a holy army.
Furthermore, they planned to convene a Canton meeting under the auspices of the Holy Cross, holding a religious trial to determine whether Kyung-joon was truly worthy of the Hero’s Mark.
They had even made preparations for an inquisition, in case he resisted fiercely during the process.
However, Father Batali brought news far more grave than the holy war or Kyung-joon.
“The seal……! The Demon King’s seal……! It has begun to break..!”
A sensitive topic.
The Pope, mindful of prying eyes, addressed the nuns with a gentle smile.
“Sisters, I shall entrust Father Batali with the remaining preparations for the Mass. Please, all of you, attend to your own duties.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
As the nuns withdrew, the Pope turned to Father Batali, a hint of displeasure in his voice, and spoke in a chiding tone.
“Father Batali, the Lord gave man only one mouth for a reason. You must be more cautious with the words you speak, having seen and heard with two eyes and two ears.”
“My, my apologies.”
Batali wore a remorseful expression.
“So, you say the seal is breaking?”
“Y, Yes. That is correct.”
Father Batali repeated what he had said earlier.
The news that the Demon King’s seal had suddenly begun to unravel.
The Pope listened intently but, surprisingly, his expression remained unfazed.
“Father Batali, I had thought you, of all people, would understand the trials God sets upon us, the unwavering faith we gain by walking those trials, and the golden kingdom of God built upon that very faith.”
The Pope’s roundabout and cryptic words held this meaning:
The breaking of the Demon King’s seal was also part of the Holy Cross’s plan, a means to garner faith through the ensuing chaos.
This was the secret behind the Black Stones and the mutated monsters, a secret unknown to ordinary people.
It was a scheme orchestrated by the highest echelons of the Holy See.
“Do you still waver in the face of His profound design?”
“Of course, my faith is as strong as a pillar of steel. However, Your Holiness, this trial is unfolding far too abruptly.”
“Abruptly, you say?”
“Yes. It is progressing far too quickly, deviating greatly from our projections.”
The seal was unraveling at a pace several times, perhaps even dozens of times faster than the Holy Cross had planned and anticipated.
The Pope’s brow furrowed in an instant, a look of apprehension crossing his face.
And Father Batali voiced the very concern that had dawned upon the Pope.
“It seems there are forces meddling in our Holy Cross’s affairs without our permission.”
“…Is that truly the case? I trust you have a basis for such an assertion, Father Batali.”
“Firstly, the current rate of unraveling is simply impossible with the Black Stones we’ve released into the world. And…”
There was one more, very concrete piece of evidence.
“Do you recall the jet-black energy we felt emanating from the heart of Whale Forest a few months ago? Back then, several of the 72 Devils were nearly released due to a sudden weakening of the minor seals…”
“Yes, I recall. The heart of Whale Forest… that would be the 67th, Amdusias. I also have rather trying memories of dealing with the 53rd, Kaym, and the 61st, Jagan, in other locations.”
A few months ago, when Kyung-joon first formed a contract with the Demon King at Fael University.
As a ripple effect of that contract, the seals on several Devils across the world had nearly broken.
Fortunately, the Holy Cross, with the Pope himself taking charge, had managed to contain the situation and reinforce the seals.
“Amdusias, sealed within the heart of Whale Forest, has been fully resurrected! Someone must have broken through our Holy Cross’s resealing techniques!”
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
A few hours before the 67th of the 72 Devils, Amdusias, awakened.
Kyung-joon had reached deep into the Whale Forest, far past the tail and torso.
Of course, not on foot, but by air.
[Epic Skill 『Vector Calculus (Lv.6)』 ]
The skill level had reached level 6, thanks to frequent use in both reality and the game.
Now, Kyung-joon could move freely through the air even without using Improved Wings of the Sylph.
“Hmm, I thought I’d find it easily since it awakened before, but I can’t seem to locate it.”
Kyung-joon scanned the forest below from the sky.
Indeed, when he formed the contract with the Demon King back at Fael University, several of the 72 Devils had awakened.
He had come to the heart of Whale Forest to find and completely break the seal on the 67th Devil, Amdusias, said to be sealed here.
“If it’s awakened, there should be jet-black energy leaking out.”
However, no matter where he looked, he couldn’t sense any jet-black energy.
He even wondered if he had misread the status window that had popped up back then.
<I have visualized the Master’s memories from that time.>
A picture appeared before Kyung-joon, displayed by Teemo.
It showed the ruins, the Demon King, Kyung-joon, and a status window.
<As you can see in this status window, it clearly states that Amdusias has awakened.>
“Maybe my memory is wrong?”
<That’s possible, but it’s more likely that someone else resealed Amdusias before the seal could fully break.>
“Someone else… Well, that’s the only possibility.”
<Yes. It was probably the Holy Cross. According to worldly records, there were frequent unexplained expeditions by the Holy Cross around that time.>
“They must have been in a real panic back then.”
Although the Holy Cross was responsible for weakening the Demon King’s seal, their goal was only to weaken it, not to break it completely.
Their plan was to simply weaken the seal, unleash hordes of mutated monsters, and repeat the process to cause all sorts of disasters in the world.
Through this, they aimed to gather faith for the Holy Cross.
“I wonder how they’ll react when the seal completely breaks this time.”
Kyung-joon chuckled at the thought and adjusted the mana flow of Vector Calculus, beginning to descend diagonally.
<Have you found the location?>
“Nope. I’m just going down to ask.”
The monsters living near the heart would surely know the location where Amdusias was sealed.
Even if they didn’t know a Devil was sealed there, they would at least have information about a sudden surge of Jet Black Power a few months ago or the visit from those Holy Cross humans.
Once he had that, pinpointing the exact location wouldn’t be too difficult.
Thud!
Kyung-joon landed in the middle of the forest.
It was a massive village, or rather, a city.
Primitive yet grand structures, reminiscent of Mayan civilization, stood tall all around him.
━Chwik! Chwiiik! (Something fell from the sky!)
━Chwik?! Chwiiik! (A human?! A human fell!)
━Chwik! Chwiiik! (He’s unharmed! And quite strong!)
The orcs were startled to see Kyung-joon, who had fallen from the sky, standing perfectly upright.
That’s right.
This was an orc village.
━Chwik chwik! Chwik! Chwik! (Proud Orc warriors! A human has invaded! Gather at once!)
Orcs from the surrounding area began to gather around Kyung-joon, one by one.
They were all armed.
They were probably planning to surround him.
Before they could do so, Kyung-joon spoke first.
“Chwik, chwik. Chwik! (Greetings, I am Kyung-joon. A kind human passing through on my journey through Whale Forest.)”
━Chwi, chwiiik?! (Our language?!)
━Chwiiik! (The human speaks our Orcish tongue!)
The orcs were surprised, then bewildered, as Kyung-joon began speaking Orcish fluently.
Undeterred, Kyung-joon continued in Orcish.
“I’d like to ask for directions, if you don’t mind.”
━D, Directions?
“Yes. I’m usually active around the tail of Whale Forest, so this is my first time this close to the heart.”
━Ah! The tail of Whale Forest! I, Butakan, have heard of it!
━I, Buokan, have heard of it too! The human who roams the tail of Whale Forest!
━I heard he’s even recognized by the spirit Arliv! Is that you?
News of Kyung-joon had already spread far beyond the tail of Whale Forest, reaching even the heart.
“Yes, that’s me. Arliv, forest horned rabbits, wolves… they’re all my friends. And of course, I believe I can be friends with all of you orcs as well.”
━Chwik! Friends are good! If the spirits and the inhabitants of Whale Forest acknowledge you, then you must be a trustworthy human!
━But we orcs don’t befriend just anyone!
━I, Buokan, do not befriend those weaker than myself!
━I, Butakan, do not befriend those weaker than myself either!
The orcs began flexing their muscles like bodybuilders.
A display of strength.
<Master, if no one befriends anyone weaker than themselves, wouldn’t that theoretically make it impossible for anyone to have friends?>
“I guess so.”
If you win, they’re too weak to be your friend, and if you lose, you’re too weak to be their friend.
By that logic, the only way to befriend an orc was if both parties were equal in strength.
“Well, friendship aside, could you at least tell me the way? I’m looking for a place……”
━We orcs do not give directions to those who are not our friends!
━If you wish to be our friend, prove your strength!
━Prove it to me, Buokan!
━Prove it to me, Butakan!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The surrounding orcs all dropped to the ground, assuming an arm-wrestling stance.
“Looks like we’re starting with the friend-making game, huh.”
Kyung-joon rolled up one of his sleeves.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
A short while later.
Kyung-joon was walking through the forest, having earned the recognition of Buokan, Butakan, Laokan, and Hatakan.
━I, Buokan, am 15 stronger than Butakan!
━I, Butakan, am 18 weaker than Laokan!
━I, Laokan, am 20 stronger than Hatakan, but Hatakan is 30 weaker than Buokan!
“But then the equation becomes 17=30, which has no solution. At least one of you is lying.”
━What…?! How did you…? Actually, I, Buokan, am not 15 but 28 stronger than Butakan!
━Grr… Buokan! How dare you try to spare me! You insult me!
━Wait! Then it becomes Kyung-joon=Buokan=Butakan=Laokan=Hatakan, which makes no sense!
“Then we need to introduce inequalities. In reality, I’m either stronger than or equal in strength to Hatakan, and weaker than or equal in strength to Buokan.”
━Ohhh!
Kyung-joon and the orcs had become so close that they were now engaged in an interesting mathematical discussion.
Kyung-joon used Vector Calculus to control his strength, neither winning nor losing in his arm-wrestling matches with the orcs.
He ended up in a draw with all four of them: Buokan, Butakan, Laokan, and Hatakan, eventually becoming friends with all of them.
━This way, human.
━We felt a dark energy surge from here before.
━And then it suddenly disappeared.
The orcs led Kyung-joon to a massive boulder, presumably where Amdusias was sealed.
He could sense a faint holy power.
It seemed the Holy Cross had been here and left.
“Did any other humans come here besides me back then? Anything you can remember, even if it’s vague?”
━Don’t know. It was just gone when we came back.
The orcs didn’t seem too interested in this place.
━Well, we’ve shown our friend the way, so we’re off to grab a bite.
“Ah, hold on a second before you go.”
Kyung-joon took out the ‘Anchovy’s Tooth Ring’ from his inventory and handed it to Buokan.
He had obtained this item during the defense of Luxemb.
━What’s this?
“I found it on the road. Maybe you know who it belongs to? If so, you could return it to their family.”
━Never heard of Anchovy, but alright.
━Chieftain Liok knows the names of all orcs. We’ll give it to him.
“Got it. Thanks.”
━See you around, friend.
“Yeah, see you later.”
After bidding farewell to his new orc friends, Buokan, Butakan, Laokan, and Hatakan, a while later.
Kyung-joon placed his hand on the boulder.
He had confirmed that the orcs were gone. It was time to break the seal.
The method was simple.
Woosh!
He immediately activated the Jet Black Power bestowed upon him by the Demon King!
Kyung-joon continuously channeled that power into the boulder.
And then, before long.
Boooom!
A massive pillar of black energy erupted from the boulder, shooting high into the sky.
[The seal of the 67th of the 72 Devils has been completely lifted.]
[The Singing Silver Unicorn, 『Amdusias』, has fully awakened.]
━Khahaha… Such power… The Demon King’s power flows through me…!
A Devil with the upper body of a human, the head of a horse, a single pitch-black horn like a unicorn protruding from its forehead, and a body the size of a building.
Amdusias looked down at Kyung-joon as if he were an ant.
“Was it you, human, who awakened me?”
“Yes. You’re going to sign a contract with me and become a resident of my territory.”
“…??”
Amdusias, having just awakened after 700 years, was bewildered.
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