[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 118
'So they were sent by Duke Graham.'
Zeke recalled giving Duke Graham information about the ancient warlock who had cursed Angelina.
However, listening to their story, there was one problem: the ancient warlock wasn't in the dungeon he had mentioned.
The timeline didn't match up with when Zeke had captured him.
Duke Graham mobilized not only his knights but also experienced adventurers familiar with dungeons to capture the ancient warlock.
Rick continued,
"We heard that there was an evil black mage in this area, so we came to see if it was the warlock Duke Graham was looking for."
At those words, Richmond behind them shuddered as if insulted.
He had been quietly enjoying his research with monster bones in his dungeon, and now an adventurer party had barged in, mistaking him for a warlock who cast evil curses. His pride was hurt.
'Master! I am not some low-level warlock who casts such evil curses!'
Unable to say it out loud, Richmond protested to Zeke in a voice only he could hear.
'Yes, I know, so be quiet.'
Zeke said to Rick,
"Unfortunately, there was no such warlock here. Richmond, the mage, searched thoroughly, but couldn't find any trace of him."
Rick and his companions looked disappointed at Zeke's words.
"Is that so? We've searched every dungeon to find him, but we can't find where he went."
Zeke pondered Rick's words.
'Hmm, they seem to be quite skilled adventurers. It would be good to make use of them if I can.'
"Rick, come to think of it, I have some information about an evil warlock. I'm not sure if it's the same one you're looking for, but there's a possibility."
Zeke selected and shared information that the adventurers could use in their pursuit from the information he had obtained before capturing the ancient warlock in his previous life.
Jason, the mage, diligently wrote down Zeke's words.
After listening to Zeke, Jason nodded.
"Aha, so there's a possibility that he's in the north, not the Barbarian territory."
"Unlike black mages, warlocks mainly seek out traces of forgotten ancient gods or evil spirits. To find the sinister power remaining in those places."
Rick nodded at Zeke's words.
"That makes sense. We should go to the place you mentioned and look for traces of the warlock."
"If you find any traces of the warlock, don't try to confront him. Contact Duke Graham immediately. You could end up being cursed by an evil ancient curse."
Rick and his companions nodded at Zeke's firm words.
They spent the night at the campsite and descended the mountain early as soon as the sun rose.
"Thank you for your help, Zeke. We will definitely repay your kindness when we see you again."
"I hope you find traces of the warlock."
After Rick and his companions descended the mountain, Zeke watched them for a while, then headed up towards the Barbarian territory with Richmond.
While climbing the mountain, Zeke suddenly asked Richmond,
"Richmond, have you ever heard of a place called Abyss?"
Richmond shook his head.
"No, Master. What is that?"
"Never mind. Just thought I'd ask. Then, of course, you wouldn't know what the 'Lion's Book' is either."
"Ah, I know that."
Zeke was surprised.
"What? You really know?"
Richmond was taken aback by Zeke's reaction.
"Yes, I do... Was I not supposed to?"
"No, there's no reason why you shouldn't. Tell me what the Lion's Book is."
Richmond, seeing that Zeke was actually asking him, had a proud expression as he spoke.
"Ordinary people probably don't know about the Lion's Book."
VP"Skip the nonsense and summarize it briefly."
"Yes, sir. In short, the Lion's Book is a book left by the Demon King to humans."
"A book written by the Demon King? Tell me more."
Richmond grumbled inwardly at Zeke, who told him to summarize and speak briefly but then asked for more details.
"I can hear you grumbling."
"Gasp! I apologize, Master."
Richmond started explaining again.
"You know the legend of King Kaisir , right?"
He not only knew the legend, but he was personally taught swordsmanship by the King himself.
Zeke nodded without revealing his past.
Richmond quickly continued,
"Do you also happen to know the story of King Kaisir sealing the Demon King?"
Zeke shook his head at those words.
"No, I haven't heard that story."
During his training with Kaisir's spirit, he had heard various stories, but he had never heard any about the Demon King.
Richmond nodded and said,
"It's not a well-known story. Actually, to be precise, it wasn't King Kaisir's achievement, but that of the 'Sage' who was like a father to him."
"Sage?"
"Yes. You probably know that Kaisir was born between the Sage and the Elf King, making him half-human, half-elf."
"Yes. He wasn't very happy about it though."
At Zeke's words, Richmond tilted his head and continued,
"The Elf King created Kaisit with the Sage to stop the Demon King."
"Wait, they didn't give birth to Kaisir out of love, but created him?"
"Elves are not beings of the physical realm, so how could they fall in love with a human? The Elf King, with the help of the Sage, created a being infused with his power. The Sage entrusted Kaiser, who received his and the Elf King's powers, to the Fire-Breathing Wolf King to be raised as a hero."
"In the storybooks I read, it said he was abandoned as a baby because of an evil wizard and raised by wolves."
"What? Surely the Sage wouldn't have lost the Hero King so absurdly."
Now that he heard it, it made sense.
It was a complicated family matter that he couldn't bring himself to ask Kaisir about directly, and perhaps for that reason, it wasn't mentioned in the chronicle videos Kaisir left behind either.
The chronicles mostly contained information about how Kaisir founded the Chronos Kingdom and how he met and gathered his subordinates.
The story about the Demon King that Richmond mentioned wasn't in there.
"Anyway, when the King established the Chronos Kingdom and human kingdoms were formed, the Demon King attacked the physical realm with his demonfolk."
"Wait, demonfolk? Aren't they imaginary beings that adults use to scare children?"
Richmond gave Zeke an incredulous look.
"Demonfolk are imaginary beings? Then how would black mages learn black magic?"
"Through corrupted souls and forbidden techniques, I suppose."
"Those are methods taught by the demonfolk."
"Huh?"
At the story he was hearing for the first time, Zeke had an even more dumbfounded expression than Richmond.
"Anyway, the one who created all the methods of handling corrupted souls, including the black magic I just mentioned, is the Demon King, and the demonfolk, as the Demon King's followers, tempted humans and spread that black magic throughout the world."
"Why humans specifically?"
"Well, maybe because humans are the easiest to tempt?"
"That makes sense."
"Since one could easily gain strong power by offering their soul to the demonfolk, the number of black mages in the world surged. And eventually, they even performed rituals to summon demonfolk to the physical realm."
"Those crazy bastards."
"The demonfolk, summoned to the physical realm by the black mages, used their wicked power to create magical beasts, bringing chaos to the world. By the time the King tried to stop them, it was already too late. Eventually, the Demon King himself descended upon the physical realm."
"Why wasn't this story passed down to later generations?"
"W-well, when I was in the world, this wasn't hidden information..."
"Anyway, what happened then?"
"The Demon King was too powerful to come to the physical world directly. He needed a strong body that could handle his power. There was only one such body in the physical realm that could withstand the Demon King."
"What is it?"
"A dragon."
"What?"
"Only the body of a corrupted dragon could withstand the Demon King's power."
Richmond continued,
"Even after possessing the dragon's body, it was difficult to withstand all of the Demon King's power. In the end, the Demon King created a book containing his power, and that is the Lion's Book, officially known as the 'Necronomicon.'"
"So that book really exists?"
"It's a story from the Hero King era, so there might be some exaggerations or omissions. It's a legend passed down, but even if not all of it, some of it might be true, right?"
"Hmm..."
Having been personally taught swordsmanship by Kaiser, the legendary Hero King, Zeke knew that not all legends were fabricated stories.
Zeke asked Richmond again,
"Were there people who tried to find that Necronomicon or whatever it's called?"
"It's an interesting legend, but no one believed that the book actually existed. Even if it did, it would be something impossible to handle. It's a legend secretly passed down among black mages, along with the story of the King in Yellow..."
"Enough, so you're saying that the Sage sealed the Demon King who had descended?"
"Yes. The Sage, the Hero King, and the Clock Tower knights joined forces to seal the Demon King, and in the process, the Sage sacrificed his soul, according to the legends."
"Where did they seal the Demon King?"
"Where else but in the Necronomicon? It's said that the souls of both the Sage and the Demon King are sealed within it."
Thanks to Richmond, Zeke unexpectedly found a clue about the Lion's Book.
'Is Abyss trying to find that book and break the Demon King's seal?'
The phrase "Demon King's seal" sounded like something out of an ancient legend, so it didn't quite register with him.
What would anyone do by releasing the Demon King in this day and age?
'Unlike the Hero King, is it just a legend?'
Not all legends were based on actual events, so it was possible.
'I guess I'll have to catch those Abyss bastards to find out.'
Anyway, he had a lead now, a clue to track them down.
Zeke continued climbing diligently towards the Barbarian territory with Richmond, engaging in various conversations along the way.
Perhaps because Zeke had killed so many monsters the day before, the monsters didn't approach even when Richmond used his magic.
Zeke smacked his lips, having missed out on a large number of points.
Richmond cautiously asked Zeke,
"Master, do you have some sort of grudge against monsters? Why are you so eager to kill them...?"
Just then, something caught Zeke's senses.
'This energy... a monster?'
Leaving Richmond behind, he leaped and ran towards where he sensed the monsters energy.
Whoosh!
Richmond gaped at Zeke, who was running on the tree branches.
"W-wait for me, Master!"
***
Roar!
Giant monsters charged towards the Barbarians.
"Grrrr!"
The Barbarians let out even louder war cries than the monsters and charged with giant hammers in hand.
Bang!
The hammers, imbued with powerful force, struck the monsters m bodies.
Thud!
The magical beasts, hit by the hammers, were flung into the air and crashed against rocks.
If they were ordinary monsters, their brains would have splattered, and their bodies would have been shattered, but monsters were different.
Crack!
Their broken bodies and heads reattached, and they opened their giant maws once again, baring sharp teeth.
Among the Barbarians, one with a particularly large and well-built physique stepped forward.
“King Fist!”
King Fist, the warrior of the Rock tribe, appeared.
King Fist stood before the magical beasts, clenching his fist, which was the size of an average Barbarian warrior's head.
"Die!"
He threw punches at the magical beasts.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The monsters, even more mangled than when hit with hammers, collapsed, spewing black fluids.
They were slowly regenerating, but at a slower pace than before.
King Fist said to the other Barbarian warriors,
"Too many monsters. We must retreat."
Then, the other warriors said excitedly,
"Scared?"
King Fist glared at the other Barbarian warrior and gritted his teeth.
"Want to die?"
While the Barbarians were arguing amongst themselves, the monsters recovered and got back up.
King Fist and the Barbarians once again let out war cries towards the Monsters.
It was a roar that would make even ogres flee, but it had no effect on the Monsters.
King Fist felt that this might be their last stand.
King Fist and the Barbarians charged towards the magical beasts, prepared to die.
Screech!
Just as the monsters and Barbarians were entangled in battle,
Suddenly, a powerful light poured down from the sky behind them.
Crash!
The Mace of Light that Zeke activated struck the monsters directly.
Screech!
The monsters, hit by the Mace of Light, were startled and retreated as the malice dispersed.
Whoosh!
Zeke swung his aura blade towards the monsters.
Keeek!
The Barbarians looked at Zeke with bewildered eyes as he suddenly appeared and attacked the monsters.
Then, King Fist, who was assessing the situation, raised his fist and shouted,
"Zeke!"
Zeke turned around and recognized King Fist with his raised fist.
"King Fist?"
King Fist spread his arms wide and ran towards Zeke with a welcoming expression.
Zeke, having cut down a magical beast's neck, said to the approaching King Fist,
"Forgot? I'm your older brother."
"Ah."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]