Chapter 239 : Chapter 239
Chapter 239 - Demon Realm (9)
There was one more reason I had decided to trust the Holy Sword.
The very purpose for which the Holy Sword had been forged was the extermination of the demonic. Since this place happened to be the Demon Realm, I thought it would not be a bad idea to follow his instincts.
At the moment, I did not have any particularly sharp move to make anyway.
And so, I went to the place where Armand, ranked second in Pandemonium, was said to be staying.
“Where are you running off to in such a hurry?”
As it happened, he had been preparing to leave right before I arrived.
If I had been even a little later, we might have missed each other.
Armand checked my rank and gave me a look as though he had already known.
“Are you the one who newly entered the rankings?”
“Yes. Just a little while ago.”
“You have come to pay your respects.”
In the general perception of Pandemonium, the difference between rank 2 and rank 8 was practically meaningless.
In fact, rank 8 even had a slight advantage.
Because the lower-ranked party could strike first.
Perhaps because of that, Armand did not seem to think I had come to take his rank.
“I have come to pay my respects, yes. But where were you about to go?”
“You must not know because you are new. It is the rule of our group that we do not interfere in one another’s personal affairs.”
“I do not know about that rule, but I do know there is a Pandemonium rule that takes precedence over it.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That only lower-ranked people can issue challenges.”
In that instant, Armand’s expression stiffened.
“Do not tell me you came to kill me.”
“If you have any last words, leave them now. Who knows? Perhaps the Demon King will help you.”
“One thing is certain. You are not sane.”
“Then I will take that as meaning you have no last words.”
I immediately summoned the Holy Sword.
At that, Armand suddenly began laughing like a madman.
Then, before long, that laughter turned into a sneer.
“You will not be able to kill me. But even if you could, you would regret it.”
“Regret……”
“There is such a thing. A regret that may bring terrible solitude upon you. Not that you will ever learn of it.”
There was definitely something there.
I still did not know what his words meant, but he knew something.
Whether, as the Holy Sword had said, the Law of causality here had changed when I entered the Demon Realm, or whether it had been like this from the start, I did not know. But I could guess that there was something only rank 2 knew.
“It seems I came to the right place.”
I raised the corner of my mouth and lifted my sword.
My concern now was only one thing.
Should I kill him right away, or should I probe a little more?
“Why are you dawdling? After speaking so grandly, are you afraid now that it is time to attack?”
Armand gave me a greasy smile.
It was the confidence that he would never lose to a mere newcomer.
At that moment, the Holy Sword relieved me of my concern.
My friend! I think it is fine to simply cut him down!
‘On what basis?’
It is simply a feeling!
Since I had decided to trust him, I would trust him to the end.
SWISH!
[Your Pandemonium rank has become 2.]
***
In the end, I learned that the Holy Sword had been right.
A message window that had not existed before was activated.
[Remaining time: 17 hours, 3 minutes, 52 seconds]
I did not know what this message meant, but I became able to see it the moment I reached rank 2.
“Does it mean there is something I have to do within 17 hours?”
My friend! I do not think that is it. If that were the case, the Abyss would have given you a separate message!
“But it was not a mission assigned to Armand either. I inherited it immediately after he died.”
My friend! I belatedly find myself thinking that perhaps we should have questioned Armand first!
“Why are you saying that now?”
Since I could not revive someone who was already dead, I rewound my memory by a few minutes.
Armand had clearly been preparing to leave even before I came here.
‘It had nothing to do with me.’
Judging by the circumstances, there was a high chance that Armand’s haste was also related to the remaining time shown in the message window.
But the point was that this time limit had not been assigned to Armand, nor had it been assigned to me.
In that case, the only thing I could do was simply wait until all this time passed.
‘I cannot make heads or tails of it.’
However, about 17 hours later, the meaning of this time limit became clear.
I also learned why Armand had been trying to leave somewhere in such a hurry.
My friend! Armand was trying to go into hiding. And for a very long time, at that!
Armand had been scheduled to become rank 1 the moment the time limit expired.
“Yes. He was probably planning to hide while avoiding the challenges of the other rankers, until he cultivated enough power to challenge the Demon King.”
Just as Abel, the previous rank 1, had done.
[Abel’s challenge against the Demon King has been forcibly executed.]
[Your Pandemonium rank has automatically become 1.]
At last, I had risen to rank 1 and gained the right to challenge the Demon King.
But there was one thing Armand had miscalculated.
His plan to hide away for thousands upon thousands of years and cultivate strength had now become impossible.
[Due to a change in Pandemonium’s Law of causality, a time limit for challenging the Demon King will be forcibly assigned.]
[A random die is being rolled to determine the time.]
[Remaining time: 4,608 hours]
I had heard that Abel, the previous rank 1, had lived in hiding for a full 370 years.
And perhaps that period of hiding would have continued for another thousand years.
Armand had probably planned to do the same, but now the Law of causality had been twisted, and a time limit had appeared.
Whether that was because of me, I did not know. What mattered was that Pandemonium’s rules had changed.
My friend, what do you think? Was I not right?
“Did you not simply get lucky?”
Lucky? Hurry and praise my insight!
I stroked the Holy Sword’s blade.
Then another message was delivered.
[The time limit you have been assigned for challenging the Demon King has also been sent to the current rank 2, Morris.]
That was probably the very reason Armand had grown desperate.
“Still, this Morris fellow has been given nearly two hundred days.”
Of course, that time limit would never expire.
I intended to challenge the Demon King as soon as the result of Abel’s challenge came out.
My friend! Is the result not obvious?
I nodded.
Abel had been forced into an unexpectedly early challenge, so no upset would occur.
[The duel has ended.]
It seemed the battle between the two had ended blandly.
The result message was sent more quickly than I had expected.
[Abel has been defeated.]
[The Demon King has maintained his current position and recovered all of his lost authority.]
As expected.
Abel had not caused a reversal.
However, an unexpected reversal came in an entirely different form.
『Welcome, human from another world!』
For the first time, the Demon King communicated with me.
『And it seems I must thank you!』
“I think I roughly understand what you mean.”
Because I, a human, had entered the Demon Realm, Pandemonium’s Law of causality had changed.
As a result, the Demon King had successfully accepted Abel’s challenge and recovered all of his authority.
When I recited my thoughts, the Demon King immediately expressed admiration.
『How astonishing. You saw through everything!』
“Then shall I tell you something even more astonishing?”
『I am eager to hear what it might be!』
I raised the corner of my mouth slightly.
“About the sudden appearance of Zombies in the Demon Realm. Whose work do you think that was?”
At my words, the Demon King did not react for quite some time.
“You must be very surprised.”
Silence continued a little longer.
『Do you mean to say it was your doing?』
At last, he erupted.
But I merely smiled leisurely.
『Answer me!』
“Yes. I did it.”
Then I continued calmly.
“So there is no need to thank me. The reason your authority weakened when the Demon Realm became a complete mess was because of what I had done in the first place.”
『I will not forgive you! How dare you, a mere human!』
I could picture the Demon King trembling with rage.
But what could he do?
There was still one more thing left to surprise him.
“In any case, it is good to see you again.”
『What does that mean? Again?』
“So you did not know after all. We have met before.”
『Tell me at once what trickery you are trying to pull!』
The Demon King shouted at me.
“You died by my hand once. In Hardeon. Does that still not remind you?”
『Hardeon?!』
Then silence continued once more.
It seemed he had finally remembered me.
It had not been a complete descent, but the destruction of his avatar alone must have been a great shock to the Demon King.
『So it was you!』
“Now that I think about it, you are the one who should be issuing the challenge, Demon King.”
『Prepare yourself! I shall imprison you in hellfire and torment you for all eternity! No matter how much you beg me to kill you, it will be useless!』
How had such a talkative fellow managed to hold back until now?
It seemed that after recovering all his authority, he had finally found his courage.
***
The Demon King’s defensive battle unfolded immediately afterward.
Messages must have been sent to the demonfolk of Pandemonium as well, so they were probably all bewildered, wondering what was going on.
『I shall ask one thing.』
“Anything.”
『What in the world were you thinking when you entered the Demon Realm? You humans are beings who cannot become the Demon King!』
“There was no particular reason. A path to the Demon Realm had simply opened.”
The Demon King wore an incredulous expression.
『The result of that paltry curiosity will be death.』
“Then let me ask one thing as well. What happens to the Demon Realm if the Demon King disappears?”
Since I was not one of the demonfolk, I could not become the Demon King even if I won this duel.
That meant the Demon King’s seat would be vacant in the Demon Realm.
『It is not worth answering, but if it is your final wish before death, I shall tell you. A Demon Realm without a Demon King cannot exist. Does that answer your question?』
“So the Demon Realm will vanish.”
It was a satisfying answer.
『Now then! Begin! I am curious to see the basis of your confidence!』
The Demon King was already raising his power.
Thousands of soldiers from the Demon King’s army rose from beneath the ground.
Demonic energy boiled throughout the world in every direction, and the Demon King’s army roared.
『Only death awaits those who challenge the Demon King’s authority!』
At the Demon King’s command, the soldiers began charging toward me.
Even more astonishingly, the Demon King’s army was still being endlessly generated from beneath the ground.
Hundreds of archers drew their bowstrings and fired arrows of demonic energy.
Sinister energies gathered like dark clouds and began encroaching upon the area around me.
My friend! This attack, which is difficult even to call magic, is rather bothersome!
If I had not obtained the trait of Immunity to All Poisons in Murim not long ago, it truly might have been troublesome.
The dark cloud surging toward me without pause was a kind of dreadful poison.
『Soldiers! Charge without hesitation! Once every sword you hold has been thrust into him once, this battle will be over!』
At that moment, the Holy Sword left my hand and soared upward.
My friend! The Holy Sword was made to exterminate the demonic. This is most enjoyable!
Then a baptism of Sword Qi began to pour down.
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!
The Holy Sword’s fierce resonance shook heaven and earth.