Chapter 149
149 . Butterfly Effect
It had almost been a month since we’ve been hunting while being chased down by the Demon King and Ladin .
As the days went on, their chase became fiercer, and our methods of escape improved .
The hide and seek to increase Belkoseu’s magical energy continued .
Perhaps due to the finite amount of magical energies present in the demonic realm, we could not increase Belkoseu’s magical energy as quickly as we had hoped .
It might be because I had absorbed Berdan and Zekill’s magical energies already .
I basically had at least 20% of the magical energy in the demonic realm .
This meant that no matter how many monsters with the magical energy pool worthy of a possible future demon king he took, if he did not obtain the magical energy of Ladin, then he could never face up against the Demon King Jamon .
Noticing that, the two of them stayed together at all times, moving together to hunt us down .
In order to take down Ladin, we had to separate him from the Demon King .
We had thought that all we had to do was to focus on Belkoseu’s growth, but it was no longer the case .
To summarize our plan, it went something like this .
First, I needed to grow strong enough to be able to keep the Demon King occupied on my own .
Second, make sure that Jong Ho becomes strong enough to be able to face off against Ladin without me .
Third, have Belkoseu obtain Ladin’s magical energy and have him defeat the Demon King .
Fourth, use Eternal Rest to defeat Belkoseu .
Fifth, return back to Earth .
The way to accomplish our goal was that we all had to grow stronger .
Belkoseu, who experienced first hand the results of our hunting, must realize this as well .
At the rate we were going, before he could grow strong enough, he would be captured by the Demon King and Ladin .
While we were returning to base camp, I spoke to Belkoseu .
“You know, our growth rate is too slow as far as I can tell . ”
“Kuhuum… . . It seems that the flow of magical energy is far more concentrated in the demonic realm than I had originally thought . ”
It seemed that he was thinking along the same lines as I .
Stopping his walk, he spoke as he stared intensely at me .
I think I knew what his intense gaze meant .
“I guess one of those sources include me, right?”
“That is correct . That magical energy that you cannot even use… If we could find a way to transfer it over to me… . . ”
“You already know, but life isn’t so convenient like that . I guess there isn’t a way to transfer it . ”
“Kuhuut . Aren’t you the one who knows that fact best? That there isn’t a way to take it without killing the target . ”
“With how things turned out, you have to obtain Ladin’s magical energy… . But to do that, we need to separate the Demon King from him . ”
“It sounds like you’re hinting at me to teach you a way to grow stronger quickly . ”
“You catch on fast enough to scare me, you know? You’re really good at reading the mood . That’s right . A method to get us stronger . We need one that is a surefire way . I think you know why that’s the case, right?”
“That’s right . And one of our conditions for our alliance was that too . ”
“So you’ll honor your word? That’s a welcome surprise for me . ”
“Does that mean that I need to hand over the monsters with massive pools of magical energy instead of killing them myself?”
“They won’t drop that many artifacts . You know how picky are with that stuff, right? What we want is a monster that is one of the strongest of the demonic realm . Someone like you, for example . ”
“Kuhu… . . Kuhahat . To think that we, who have formed an alliance, want each other’s life… . How ironic . ”
“Even if you help us become stronger as I have requested, there won’t be any downsides for you, right?”
“Well… . . You cannot kill me . But when I become stronger than you… . . ”
“No matter the outcome, I lose out . ”
“You’re good with words . I shall search for monsters that drop a lot of artifacts as you have requested . ”
“Now we’re getting somewhere . But do you have a way to do so?”
“I guess this is information that you haven’t heard from even the likes of Karin . ”
As if surprised, he looked towards Karin while speaking .
There’s information that even Karin, our informant in the demonic realm, doesn’t know about?
Under Berdan, Karin was a monster that has obtained a vast amount of knowledge regarding the demonic realm .
For Jong Ho and I, his words were nearly equivalent to the demonic realm’s law .
Karin seemed quite surprised as well .
“Keruuu?”
“Do you really not know? Existences similar to the Chimera, that is… . . ”
“Kerut? Aren’t those types of creatures only able to be summoned by the demon king?”
“That is correct . However, he isn’t the only one who fulfills the role of guardian in the demonic realm . ”
“Kehel… . . ”
“Karin, even you aren’t aware of this?”
“That’s right . I knew of the Chimera’s existence… . . However, what he’s saying right now, I have not even heard rumors of before . ”
“Is that so . Isn’t this getting interesting? Hurry up and tell us . I don’t think you understand just how curious I am about their existences . ”
“Kuhut . I guess you won’t have any reason to regret our alliance . ”
“Ha . Look at you, really throwing a nice sales pitch . I knew that you were anything but ordinary . ”
“Kuhat . Then… . . ”
****
“Demon King . Thankfully, it seems that Belkoseu’s magical energy hasn’t grown that much . ”
“Yes . However, what I am worried about is the growth of the two humans . As long as you aren’t done in by Belkoseu, he cannot obtain the power he needs to take over the demonic realm . However, if the two humans grow in strength and assist Belkoseu in striking you down… . ”
“…… . ”
In an instant, Ladin’s expression became serious .
There weren’t any falsehoods in what the Demon King said .
However, unlike his expression, Ladin wasn’t that worried .
If his magical energy was to be obtained by Belkoseu, who would be the next target?
It would be the Demon King .
Ladin knew well that to prevent such a thing from happening, the Demon King would protect him well .
As Ladin had expected, the words that he wanted to hear began to come out from the Demon King’s mouth .
“However, what you are worrying about won’t happen . I shall stop it from happening . Ladin, it has been a month since we have dropped everything to hunt down these humans . ”
“……”
“But what have we obtained during this entire month!”
“That’s……”
“We weren’t able to focus on the war we had planned and prepared for at all . ”
“You are right as rain . We must take them down as soon as possible… . . ”
“You have seen it yourself . Their crafty trickery…… Using strange magic, they have escaped us time and time again . On top of that, they have allied themselves with a monster to detect our magical energy ahead of time . We have no way of catching them at all . ”
The Demon King was talking about how Min-Cheol and Jong Ho were using Warp to escape his grasp .
For the demonic race that had no information regarding the Awakened and their skills, it was no surprise that the only way they could refer to them as strange magics .
“It is as you say . ”
“We carry enough strength to upheave this entire realm yet we cannot catch them . ”
“I apologize for my ineptitude . ”
“But you are still against releasing the seal on the Chimera… . . ”
“Demon King, anything but that… . . ”
While Ladin spoke with the Demon King, his gaze was only pointed at the floor .
However, at the mention of the single word “Chimera” by the Demon King, Ladin stared at him while looking as if he was going to convulse at any given moment .
It was unsettling for the Demon King to see Ladin like this .
“I cannot understand why . The release window on the Chimera isn’t that long . You know of this as well . ”
“I am aware . However……”
“Are you afraid of its ruthlessness? Are you afraid that you and I will be done in by it?”
“……”
“Speak . ”
“Demon King, are you aware of how I rose to the throne of Demon King before?”
“Hm? Even I am not aware of that . But why do you ask all of a sudden? Well, you aren’t the type to waste time taking a trip down memory lane… . Continue . ”
“Then… . I shall proceed with the information that you are not aware of how I rose to the seat of Demon King . ”
“That is correct . ”
“Before a lowly one such as myself rose to the throne of the Demon King, the demonic realm was dominated by the one named Seu Reol . ”
“Hm… . . I think I have heard of this through rumors . ”
“Is that so? The demonic realm in the past was quite different from the current one . Six leaders, each with their own demonic tribe, were present before, unlike now, where a single ruler rules with absolute power, such as yourself, oh great Demon King Jamon . ”
“… . . ”
“The war to take the throne of Demon King continued, and the title of Demon King changed hands dozens of times every single day . A single victory from battle could determine who the next Demon King was…… But even during all these battles, there was one thing that the leaders forbade doing . Despite how heated the battle was, they still refused . ”
“Hm……”
“That was the act of unsealing the Chimera . Even if it meant losing the seat of Demon King, they refused to use their Authority to unseal the beast . ”
“This is making me uncomfortable . So what are you trying to say?”
“The one I spoke of before, Seu Reol, broke that taboo . The moment that he obtained the title of Demon King, he immediately unsealed the Chimera . He did so to obliterate the other leaders… . . ”
“Get to the point . ”
“All the leaders perished . ”
“What… . . ? Is that the truth?”
“That is so . The 5 leaders, as well as the Demon King Seu Reol . None of them survived, dying to the Chimera . The Chimera’s instinct is to search and destroy anyone with a high amount of magical energy . The range and accuracy of its ability to search out its targets cannot even be compared to that of any other monsters . ”
“Kuhmm…… . ”
Jamon was unable to hide his surprise, and at the same time, felt greatly insulted .
Ladin was comparing him to the weak demon race of the past .
However, barely pushing down his boiling anger, the Demon King waited for Ladin to finish his story .
“Just like that, all those with massive amounts of magical energy in the demonic realm perished, returning the demonic realm to a state similar to ancient times . The newly born demonic races began to compete for the seat of Demon King instead . During that time, I was the one to rise to the seat of Demon King . ”
“Is the Chimera’s strength…… Is it really that powerful?”
“That is the case . That is why I still caution you of this idea . So Demon King, please consider this once more . ”
“However, you said that the six were evenly matched, right?”
“……”
“Look at me now . I am the Demon King Jamon! I have nearly half the magical energy of this realm . You say that even I will die to it?”
“I cannot be sure of… . . ”
“You! Such insolence!”
The Demon King finally blew up with fury .
He was upset that Ladin did not acknowledge his strength .
He stared down Ladin and spoke .
“…… . ”
“It is the Authority and right of the Demon King to be able to release the Chimera! It is one of the many Authorities the Demon King carries . Thus, the monster is nothing more than a slave, serving me at my whim!”
“D… . Demon King . Please calm yourself . ”
“However, you say that I, Demon King, will be done in by a mere slave? Tsk! You speak like a fool, Ladin!”
“…… . ”
“10 days from now! If we’re unable to capture them till then, I shall release the Chimera . ”
“Demon King……”
“Silence! This is a command, Ladin . If you wish to disobey, then you shall pay with your life!”
“…… Understood, Demon King . ”
At last, Ladin bowed down to the will of his Demon King .
However, the Demon King had no idea of how much chaos and destruction the words he spoke and the choice he made would cause .
For the humans… . And even to his kind .
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