Demon King
Chapter 86 Seongju [2]

I stood in front of that amazingly beautiful scene for a while, no doubt it was the castle I had built while resisting L's attacks and temptations. Every wall and fort was right where I put it. The toy castle I built was roughly the size of my upper body, but this one was large enough to hold a thousand people easily. I'm sure it's mine, for some strange reason. That it was connected to me; that it was my home. This is where I have to go back. They were all waiting for me there, both L and A, back to my original task.

I'm not going anywhere just by standing here, looking at him. I stepped forward slowly, adding speed as I moved until I jumped in the air with Ubiquitous, stopping just before the trench. My body was now made of pure mana, and it reduced the boundary between my skills to zero. I considered this as I looked into the trench; it was filled with a dark reflective liquid. I don't know what it is, nor do I want to know. As I stood there looking at it, the suspension bridge was lowered from the castle. I was filled with a strange nostalgic sensation as I crossed over.

“You are here, Destiny.” Rain's voice greeted me, sounding as if nothing had changed. He followed her greeting with a warm laugh.

“How can this happen?”

“What do you mean, didn't you build this yourself? Didn't he tell you? ”

“Do you think he told me?” I raised my head to look at the top floor of the western spire, made of gold bricks, unlike the other castles made of black and dark stone. I felt something up there, some spirit waiting for me.

“If you need time to prepare yourself, how about visiting later?”

How's Mireina doing? I decided to ignore what was waiting for me up there, knowing it was a troublesome woman.

“Hybrid is still asleep. It's okay to let her rest now if you don't want to wake her up. ”

“How about?”

He was looking ahead. I wonder why they left where they used to be, to come here. No doubt it had something to do with the fact that I could not open the door to those places anymore.

“Not yet, Destiny.” Rain decided to speak up, realizing that I had been thinking quite seriously about what was happening.

“Before?”

“Ya, no. What if now, you took the first step toward freedom? ” I feel vaguely aware of what he is trying to say. They are currently in a situation where they cannot act the way they want to, and I have to be the one to solve it. But how? Maybe the answer will come to me as long as I keep moving forward. I followed after Rain, inspecting the castle I made from this toy block. I am very familiar with its structure, both internal and external. Or I should have. But, as I walked, I went out to a place I did not know. We entered the inner part of the castle and started descending to the third floor of the basement. But now that passageway had been cut off, and the stairs that continued to descend had appeared.

“... I don't remember building the 4th floor into the basement.”

This was a secret place that was originally hidden here. He lowered his head without further ado, stepping back for me to continue. I nodded and continued to walk forward.

“I'll be back.”

“I'll wait.”

My surroundings gradually darkened as I went down the stairs. It did not feel like a normal darkness, but rather the light had disappeared upon the will of something in this space. As I continued further down, I felt my own breathing become clearer, harder in my eardrum. But I'm not the only one breathing here, a loud breath coming from far away. I knew that Rain would not lead me to a dangerous place, so I stepped forward into the darkness without hesitation.

I had no idea how long I kept going down the stairs, but eventually, my feet hit solid ground. My head was raised to check what was around me. I was inside a vast cave, with a wall in front of me, no doubt as tall as that staircase. The ground around me trembled along with the breath of the giant creature, the same one before me.

“…”

The body of a giant monster, a huge black bird, was pressed against the wall with chains embedded in the stone.

[Have you arrived, my lord.].

Wasn't this more or less exactly like the scene of the boss on the last floor of the Black Palace? The brief concern that I might have to repeat the battle crossed my mind, but I brushed it off. This monster did not try to antagonize me, and once I considered it, it was easy to figure out why. I could feel a kind of invisible connection between us, tying us together. I am his master, and he is my subordinate. It wasn't something anyone else could tell me; I could feel it where I was.

[I'm happy..my mission has been accomplished, and I can face you once again.].

His voice was raucous, his body was full of wounds. Some parts of his body even seemed to be completely gone. If it was just a physical wound, Jinma's strength could heal him. But the injuries he suffered were caused by high-level magic that I could not even dream of. His new magic and his soul magic were both injured, reaching an irreversible level of damage. I know he's having trouble breathing.

“Ha... ha.. ha...” Without a second thought, I could feel something forcing out of my throat. The more I tried to force him out, the more the repulsive force prevented me from doing so. I knew there was a name, somewhere in my mind, for this creature. But it is impossible to achieve it. It left me frustrated, angry, and resentful filled me as I reached for memories that were not there.

[You remember my name.]

[I'll be dead soon. That you remember my name is enough.].

A deep wound marked his body, a wound caused by his enemy. By enemies? Yet he persisted until now, for this final purpose.

[Sir, are you going to accept this last request from this stupid subordinate?]

“Tell me.” I have never been able to use my leadership power until now. This castle, which was built from a game, had turned into an enormous fortress.

[I will ask you for the destruction and death of all our enemies .. for victory at the end of the path of blood and death.]

“Good.” Since my days as a goblin, this creature has been connected to me as my subordinate. It makes no sense to me that my poor leadership skills have grown so strong even though I am less useful to them, but now it is clear. My skills have grown tremendously because such a powerful being is connected to me as my subordinate.

[I will be reborn at the end of that road. After your victory, I will support you once more.]

“I believe.” The incredible magic power that this creature possesses is poured out to create the fortress that L and I built through our game. All of us, together, have created this incredible fortress.

[May your future be blessed as you move forward on this path.]

“...Thank you.” I stared at this giant bird-like monster once again. If I can't evolve into Jinma, will she be left like this? I'm glad it didn't happen; that now he can rest. I can't remember anything about my past or him, but I do know that he is my subordinate. That he has survived decades, if not more, here, in this place for me.

[So now.please let me rest, Master.].

I took a deep breath, looking at the chains hanging around him. It was the same as the Seal Chain that I found in the boss room on the 7th floor. Looks like I've found the other half, here. I pulled it from my inventory and placed it on the floor. It had shrunk to a size I could hold, but the power within it remained the same. I began to fuse it with mana, moving instinctively to recover it. I can't make a chain like this but connecting the two parts together is something I can manage.

[Ahh, finally.thank you, Master.].

The chain embedded in the wall slowly began to unplug, joining the chain that was in my hand. The voice that reverberated in my mind was filled with excitement, but I felt a hint of regret as I released the chains holding the monster back. It all happened in haste once the chain was pulled out of the wall, shrinking to fit the size of the chain I was holding in hand. It let out a brilliant light, fading to reveal the persimmon chain in my hand. I kept it in my inventory, realizing I wasn't ready to handle it.

When I looked up, the bird was gone. I could feel the break-up between us, confirming his death. A huge void had formed in my heart. I tried to convince myself that a new person could now fill the place, but I couldn't help thinking about how he might never return.

“Without one goodbye.” I removed this thought from my mind and looked around, realizing the black sword was stuck on the ground for the first time. It looked rather shabby compared to the Twilight sword I had, but the power contained within it was no joke. The magic circulating through it reminds me of that bird, like mine.

“...” I gathered the sword with a bitter smile, not even bothering to check the stats. I know I won't be able to do it. This is the monster that has been watching and protecting me until now, until his own death. And here, he left me a part of himself in his sword form to continue guarding it. I want to get back at it, to get back all that was lost. I will see the end of the road I am on.

When I returned, Rain's gaze was still pointing downwards.

“Today is heavy for you.”

“Rain, I want to drink.”

“Are you okay?”

“No.” I shook my head and murmured weakly in response.

“Alright, it will be the memory of those whose names are not mentioned. It's okay to get a little drunk. ”

“...Good.” He smiled gently at me, and I tried to laugh.

This is the first step I take from past evolution. I lost myself before, but got a lot of results.

That's how I became the lord of this castle.