134 â Elder Lich, King of the Undead â 2
âDid he actually make it himself, or did he pick it up because a copy was lying around somewhere?â
Either of the two makes sense. If itâs the former, then that guy is actively deceiving us, and if itâs the latter, then that guy is also being deceived.
Of course, even if I was being deceived, I didnât feel sorry for him. If you mocked me for not being able to tell the difference between real and fake, I would have ridiculed you.
âItâs a lie! There is no way He died!â
âYou are denying reality even after seeing the evidence thrown in front of youâ¦â¦ I feel pathetic and weakâ¦â¦.â
The 1st Corps Commander was losing his mind in real time right next to him. I felt like I had to step forward before it was too late. I walked a few steps. The hollow eye sockets turned towards me.
âDo not interfere with the devilâs affairsâ¦â¦ Humanâ¦â¦ If you want to be ruled, I will use you as a subordinate at any timeâ¦â¦.â
âI came forward because I couldnât stand to see you talking so much bullsh*t. Wouldnât it be embarrassing if I made a fake joke about being the real devil and all that? Before we do that, we have to prove that itâs really a magic sword. Is not it?â
âItâs a real magic swordâ¦â¦ Iâm struggling to somehow deny the reality in front of meâ¦â¦ Are you saying that there are two magic swords in the world? â¦.â
âThen letâs prove it. Did you know that the magic sword, like the warriorâs holy sword, has special abilities that only its owner can use? âIf itâs real, can you show it to us?â
I learned that the magic sword had unique abilities after hearing it from Elisier. This is the ability to kill that made you feel so scared that you let go when you encountered the hero.
If thatâs fake, let alone letting go of life, you wouldnât even know what ability Iâm talking about, so I would never be able to answer.
âAre you trying to give me, as a human subject, orders? ⦠Thatâs unpleasantâ¦â¦.â
âWell. Isnât it more unpleasant to be in a situation where one holds a magic sword and is questioned as to whether it is real or fake? If it were me, I would have done the same. How to use the magic sword must have entered your mind as soon as you held it. âIs there any reason not to show it?â
As I fired continuously, the guy seemed to hesitate a little. You could dismiss my words as lies, but the fact that you donât does that suggests that you know theyâre lies too.
If you look at the fact that you canât even come up with a proper rebuttal and just keep saying different things, you probably didnât expect a situation where you would be questioned like this. Because the energy I felt was practically real.
In fact, if it werenât for me, Dullahan would have collapsed.
âWhy? âCanât I use it?â
And, the Elder Lich was still doing nothing. Her sunken eye sockets were still focused on me, but she had kept her mouth shut, as if she had realized that continuing the conversation would only increase my distrust.
Distrust does not go away just because you keep your mouth shut. Rather, it only amplifies it. The proof was that Dullahan, who looked like he was about to lose his mind, drew his sword again.
âThen there is only one answer. âIâll treat it as a fake from now on, so if you donât want to do that, prove it.â
Sereung took out his dragon sword and aimed it. Even in this situation, the bastard remained silent, and Dullahan finally seemed to be convinced and shouted in an extremely angry voice.
âYou disloyal bastard! Not only did you dare to misrepresent the Demon King, but you even tried to misrepresent his symbol! âI will never forgive you!â
It seemed like he was really angry all the way to the top, as the nearby floor was cracking like a spider web just from the waveform coming out of his neck. Nevertheless, the Elder Lich was sitting on a throne made of bone and did not react at all.
âDid the magic sword have that kind of ability? ⦠I should have paid a little more attentionâ¦â¦.â
Then, I clicked my tongue, which wasnât even there. In fact, it was an attitude of admitting that he had lied.
âWhat, youâre so quick to admit it?â
âA small crack can bring down a huge castleâ¦â¦ Once distrust arises, it will never go away and will only increaseâ¦â¦ What more can I doâ¦â¦ This is a fake I madeâ¦â¦.â
He laughed, rattling his bones. The magic sword in his hand slowly lost its vitality and he turned into a mere bone.
âBut humanâ¦â¦ You only know one, but you donât know bothâ¦â¦ If I could make a replica so elaborate that it could fool even the demonic army commander, would I have made just one? â¦.â
âAh, I roughly understand what youâre trying to say. So? âWhat did you do by making several?â
âI was picked up by undead who were specially packaged as if they were alive, so they were scattered all over the front linesâ¦â¦ The one that was created with the most effort died at the hands of a heroâ¦â¦ Others are just following my orders and slaughtering humansâ¦â¦.â
The Elder Lich threw away the replica of the demonic sword that had turned into a bone like throwing away trash, and opened his arms wide.
âI will see if you have any compassion left for your own peopleâ¦â ⦠Will you really help your fellow human beings, or will you not help them? ⦠? Rulerâ¦â¦ Iâm done talking, so kill meâ¦â¦ I will rise again from the source of life and come backâ¦â¦.â
After hearing those words, I was massaging my throbbing left hand and was about to take out the spear.
âYes Inooooom!â
The Dullahan rushed in at the speed of the wind and cut the Elder Lich to pieces. The bastard didnât leave a single laugh and immediately turned into bone dust and disappeared.
The evil spirits that spread following the slash went berserk, eating away at the real world. Dullahan shrugged his shoulders as if his anger had eased even though he and the evil spirit had destroyed 2/3 of the room where the throne was.
â⦠â¦.â
After that, he slowly put the sword into his body, pulled out his helmet, put it on his side, and returned in front of me again in his headless form.
âYou showed disgrace. Sorry.â
âThatâs enough. Rather than that, we need to think about what to do now. You probably heard it too, right? âThey spread replicas of the magic sword on the front lines.â
âOf course I heard it! How dare you defile and insult His symbolâ¦â¦ ! âHe wouldnât mind being torn to death a thousand times!â
My tightly clenched fist was shaking.
âYou find it and destroy it. On top of that, he also killed the undead that he had specially created. Instead, never kill humans.â
âNever kill humans? Hmm, I understand. âIs it because youâre human?â
Seeing Dullahan saying that he understood out of kindness, as if asking why he had to do that, I realized once again that he was also the commander of a demon army. Still, seeing that reaction, it seemed like they would just cover it up and not reject it.
âWhat is the reason he copied the magic sword and spread it on the front lines with humans?â
âOf course itâs not to kill humans, is it?â
âI know well. Then, if you go around killing humans, you will be accomplishing his goal instead. Is not it? âAre you going to do the same thing as a guy who doesnât know honor or loyalty?â
âAbsolutely not!â
Dullahan jumped up. Not as a metaphor, but in the literal sense of the word.
âThatâs why you shouldnât kill humans. Not for me, but for you. âYou understand, right?â
âI understand! I will never kill humans! âThank you for protecting my honor, dear!â
The helmet on his side was nodded up and down several times. Was that something that could be remotely controlled?
âIf you understand, letâs go first and destroy the replica. âI will also tell the humans not to attack you.â
âWe donât attack each other? Itâs a strange feeling. Doesnât that make it seem like an alliance has been formed? âWhy should I do that with a race full of scum like you who are not honorable and donât know honor?â
âI think itâs dishonor for the sake of fame. Recall the situation of protecting your master who was falsely accused. âThe situation itself is shameful, but can it really be called a dishonor?â
âOh! Is that so!â
I was fortunate that he was easy to understand.
Really.
âI see. Even if the 1st Legion Commander and his ghost cavalry appear on the battlefield, they must not attack, huhâ¦â¦.â
âCurrently, the entire Demon World has been invaded by the Elder Lich. 1St Corps Commander Heo Ja-man is almost the only one who prioritizes killing undead over humans. So he has no reason to attack us either.â
âI heard the report. âThey say that only the entity holding the magic sword and the undead around it were cleared away, and the humans disappeared without even being touched.â
The emperor glanced at the ghost Ma, who was clinging to my right and waving his hand, as if he was scared by the chairman, and then asked another question.
âLet me ask you one question. âCan we take the fact that the Elder Lich has encroached on the Demon World to mean that the Demon King who was supposed to control the legion commanders under him has disappeared?â
âI guess youâve already come up with your own answer?â
ââ¦â¦ I get it. Take it as a positive sign. What do you think, Chairman Erestica?â
â⦠â¦.â
âErestica Chairman?â
âHuh? Ah, Iâm sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment. âWhat did you say?â@@novelbin@@
âI asked what you thought of that manâs proposal.â
âOh myâ¦â¦ Huh. If thatâs what that person says, I donât think thereâs anything wrong with accepting it. âAs long as you donât have to worry about the 1st Corps Commander attacking you first.â
âAt least that wonât happen until I say the alliance has been resolved. âI assure you.â
âYou donât look like youâre lying.â
When the chairman noticed that he was actively giving strength to my words, the emperor said he would think about it for a while and issued an order to congratulate the guests.
I went out first, and the chairman followed behind me. Several royal guards escorted me to the outside of the imperial palace with uncomfortable eyes. As soon as the Royal Guard left, the Chairman cast a soundproof spell and asked with a smile.
âHow do you feel about speaking informally to the emperor, child?â
ââ¦â¦ Well. It doesnât really feel like it. âAfter meeting Laura, he seemed to me more like a father than an emperor.â
I put the mask in my pocket and took off the hood. The ghost horse, which completely recognized me as its owner, disappeared as if melting into the shadows. The chairmanâs wide smile grew even deeper.
âI asked him why he came to me like that and asked me to have an audience with the emperorâ¦â¦ There was a reason. Are you feeling okay? âIf you get hurt, you will never, ever be allowed to do it.â
The chairman bent down and looked around my body. Breasts of absurd size were shaking boisterously before my eyes.
âItâs okay. âIâve never been hurt while traveling around the demon world.â
âThatâs right, thatâs right. âYou are a great man, you are a great man.â
A large hand stroked my head with a bright smile. I didnât say that you can recover even if you get hurt anyway. Because the result was obvious.
The chairman stroked me here and there and hugged me several times before stepping back as if he was satisfied. I felt like I could still feel the soft texture all over my body.
âHave you made any plans for the next time, child?â
âI am trying to figure out how to find the Life Vessel. âI think if thatâs resolved, the rest wonât be a problem.â
It was a shame to reveal the location of the Life Vessel at that time, but it was the best choice at the time.
The reason he was convinced of Astarothâs betrayal was because the location of his lifeline was revealed. Otherwise, he might have thought it was something he could check later.
âItâs a life vesselâ¦â¦ Yes. âI have a good way.â
âWhat method are you talking about?â
The chairman smiled slightly and hugged me again.
âDonât you want to ride me, kid?â