Demon King
Chapter 149 Black Palace [4]

''What about ... fallen humans inhabiting monster bodies?”

[It was Satan who laid the foundation for the technique of injecting souls into the monster body.]

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. It felt like I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't. Breathing out, I opened my eyes again.

“Why?” I cannot ask him to empathize with my humanity. He does what I tell him to do; I direct him. I wanted to let go of everything, but I still had to hold on to the rope of consciousness. The sins I committed were clear in front of me. Not only for the farmer Fate, but many others I killed either directly or indirectly. I even created a creature called the Fall and was behind the Rookie Battlefield. Which means I also influenced the creation of Chaos Souls. That's too much to be achieved by just an individual.

[Are you okay?]

“No...” I shook my head and pushed.

“Why do the battlefield and underground still exist?”

[As I said, it's because of Satan and the arrogant man. The representatives of those two worlds had lost their power, and therefore they were unable to connect completely.]

That is the cause of the problem of the underworld — dungeons connected to the Earth and soul monsters born on the battlefield. Undoubtedly, more side effects occurred that I was not aware of.

[If you let it go, both worlds will disappear sooner or later.]

The twisted connection from which the blunt one between the two remained.

“How do I fix this?”

[You can forcibly connect one of the two worlds with the other to merge them. You've done that.]

‘Alright, I did that.’ Maybe the next battle will be the last.

[When you regain your strength, the arrogant person must also regain his strength. You have to be careful, because the battlefield is filled with distorted human souls.]

“Ah Yes. Fine.” Only after listening to him did a thought come to my mind. The goal of developing Chaos Souls. I thought they were meant to cleanse mankind and fight demons, but now I know. Knowing that an arrogant person was weak like me, it became possible for me to think of a new way of thinking. Perhaps Chaos Soul, from the very beginning, was learned to recover the strength of my enemies. Chaos Soul's forces were only a byproduct.

“Hahaha ..” He is very cruel, but I cannot completely blame him. I feel like a criminal, no different from him. I have a single goal to survive. I live by trampling others. But, even so, I still want to live. In this world, I want to survive. It's not that I don't want to confess my sins. To deny my past is to deny myself. Even if I have to carry everything on my back, I want to survive. Despite knowing how bad I was, how many died because of me, I still wanted to live.

It was a selfish and ugly desire, but I wanted to live with people that were precious to me. I know now how precious and brilliant life is. But I would destroy that bright and beautiful life if it meant protecting myself and my loved ones. I hate myself for thinking that, but I can't help it. I remember when I woke up as a goblin. When I moved only with the desire to survive. Nothing has changed since then. So I made a decision. I accepted my ugly self and faked a new desire that no one would break.

I'll hold on, Batsago.

[Do that. Satan will rule the land.]

Even after calling his name, his strength could not be restored as it was tied to the battlefield. However, he nodded, happy to get his name back.

[Then, I will tell you about the present and the future.]

“...” Actual tasks I have entrusted to Batsago begin now.

[Heaven is starting to move. They realized that Great Fusion might have even worse consequences for them.]

“…”

[It split the underground in two, but at the same time, it gave them a chance. They were unable to show their strength due to the conflict, but whoever would win that fight would have access to an enormous power above Heaven. They began to prepare an army to destroy each side.]

What about a group of self-proclaimed soldiers?

Is that Heaven?

[This is an area separate from the physical world. It is thought to be distinct from Earth or underground, where individuals gather with a sense of self.]

“Angels that fall are just a part of it. Does it have a sense of desire? ”

[Maybe so.]

I can imagine a rough outline of what Heaven is like, although there is still much I do not know.

“Black month..”

[That's true. It's similar]

A united will and a huge pool of power. It did indeed resemble a black moon and an annoying sound that made itself known every Devil's Night.

“I've felt it now.” My enemy, Lucifer, is the master of arrogance. He himself was expelled from Heaven. It rejected the parts that were displayed; no doubt, the black moon was part of it as well. Distant despair and anger flooded into me. I was filled with the desire to get rid of that black moon. As this emotion overwhelmed me, a burst of mana shook me from within.

[New Magic increased 187.]

[Soul Witches increased 284.]

[Predation to Lv8.]

[Reaper to Lv7.]

It was a very sudden growth, it felt like an explosion. I became more aware of myself and what stood before me, which caused me to grow. As the threads of memory recorded in my soul slowly detached, its power melted into me.

[Three weeks from now is when heaven will draw their swords. The humans supported by them will arrogantly point the sword at you. So, dear Satan, you must hurry.]

“Ha, so.” Broken angels, demons, humans, and the heavens. All beings who hate each other face each other in this world. How wonderful. They will continue until one or none is left, condemning and punishing each other while avoiding their sins. I myself cannot avoid it, and I have no intention of trying. I have decided to survive.

[The first thing you need to do is clean up the other Black Palace.]

Batsago, are there demons in other areas of the Black Palace?

[There are demons with their goals in seven zones, but the most important ones are seven and one. From zones one through six, the most important thing was not the demons but the chains that bound them.]

“Chain?”

[Yes.]

Batsago pointed towards the chain that bound him. At that moment, I impulsively reached out to it. When my hand touched it, it stuck to me. Batsago, now freed, politely sat in front of me. The pocket watch I always carry shines a little. The chain hanging at the end was attached to the chain I now held in my hand.

[You have obtained the sealing chain.]

[5/6 of the sealing chain remains.]

Two notification windows appeared in front of me as I looked at the pocket watch. The chain hanging on its end was reduced to a fraction of its previous size as if it had lost a sixth of it. By removing that chain, I have removed a portion of this watch seal. If I collect the others, the seal on the watch will be completely broken.

As an obscure guess, the watch must contain such immense power that it required six sealing chains. What he will do, however, I'm not sure.