165. Towards the Demon King (United by Steak)
Karin"s search for the magical energy signatures began.
Laying down on the ground, he was sweating quite profusely as he toiled away.
After such a long time had pa.s.sed since our arrival in the demon realm, I finally obtained the strength needed to face the Demon King.
Everything would now return to normal.
Things would go back to how it was 40 years ago when monsters and portals did not exist.
Leaving behind Karin who was working hard to find the location of the Demon King"s magical energy signature, I spoke to Jong Ho.
"Hyung-nim."
"Oh, right. I should return you these."
"Yes. Without them, it"s still difficult."
Jong Ho took out the King"s Marbles from his pouch.
With this, I had 7 marbles in my possession again.
This meant that I could obtain immortality for 7 minutes.
In other words, I had to defeat both the Demon King and Ladin within 7 minutes.
7 minutes. It"s not a lot of time. However, it wasn"t that short either.
On the contrary, with the magical energy I possess, Archangel"s Fall that allows me to deal more damage against monsters, the ability to freely use mana as I pleased, and the power I"ve obtained via the Piece of Time and s.p.a.ce, it was more than enough time.
I was even beginning to wonder how many King"s Marbles would be left.
A wicked smile appeared on my face. That was when Karin called for me.
"Keruru. Min-Cheol!"
"Did you find it?"
"Keru. I found the Demon King"s magical energy signature, but I cannot find Ladin"s."
"That"s probably because he"s hiding his magical energy due to being scared of the Chimera."
"Kel? What about the Demon King? Why is he not hiding his magical energy signature?"
"Either he doesn"t have the Authority to do so, or……. He must have some kind of plan, right?"
"Keruk. I have confirmed the location of the Demon King. What will you do?"
"Let me ask you as family. Karin. What do you think I"ll do?"
"Kelkelkelkel. That"s obvious. You"ll….."
Karin was a monster who was completely on our side now.
He would follow me no matter the path I took.
At first, it was to stay alive, but that wasn"t the case anymore.
Somehow along the way, we had become the family that he kept on referring us to every day.
As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, he linked his arm with mine and answered with his chin raised high.
"Kel! We go! We go to kill the Demon King!"
"Whew. You corrupted another innocent monster."
"Pfft. I didn"t want to go! However, we shall follow your will this time, Karin. To the so called distinguished Demon King."
"Kel! Understood!"
Thanks to Karin"s previous coworker Barun, we were able to establish trade between Earth and here.
Karin was able to eat steak made from fresh beef, and Jong Ho and I was finally able to escape canned food for some real food instead.
Guide goblin Barun and the Guide Through Time and s.p.a.ce Barub.
Not only did their names sound similar, so were their jobs.
Was this also another mean spirited prank from the G.o.d I met?
"Kehhehel……"
"Wow…… Min-Cheol, look at Karin"s belly."
"His belly might reach the floor. The floor."
"Kel kel. Do not give up, humans. There is no such thing as impossible."
"I"ve told you this before many times. That"s not how you use that phrase."
"Kel kel."
"He"s really enjoying this… tsk."
Everything was going well.
I was sure that Belkoseu wasn"t pleased at this sight in the slightest.
I could clearly hear him mutter a complaint under his breath.
"Hey, Belkoseu."
"What is it….. Sir….."
"Tsk!"
"No……"
"Instead of complaining, come join us and eat some of this. You"re going to be in charge of the bloodstone factory. If I don"t take care of you, who will, right?"
"I am not interested in such things…. Sir."
"Kel kel. Then the great Karin shall do so. Hurry and try a bite."
"You lowly goblin Karin….. Sir….."
"Kel! Hurry up and eat!"
"Kuhu….."
Karin moved his small body swiftly, launching himself over 2m and shoving a steak to Belkoseu"s face.
Belkoseu had declined with his words, but it didn"t seem that he disliked the attention.
With a frown, he bit into the steak, and then his expression began to brighten.
I noticed that whether humans, demonic race, or even those of the angelic race, everyone came together in front of good food.
"Kuhuhuh!"
"Kel kel. You also have opened your eyes to a new power."
"What…… What is that stern, serious, dignified line that doesn"t fit you……"
"Kel. I also did not know of this until I met Min-Cheol. The power outside of the demonic realm, that is….."
"Ha…. Such a pointless seriousness….."
"However, I have come to the realization! I have come to the realization that what I"ve seen, heard, and eaten in the demonic realm isn"t everything!"
"No…. No more….."
"Great human!"
"What. Why are you addressing me so respectfully all of a sudden?"
"There is one more request that comes to mind!"
"You asked me to not come to the demonic realm. What else do you have in mind?"
"T…. This….. This food that I am chewing in my mouth……"
"Kel kel. The name of it is steak! Call it steak!"
"Please give me more steak!"
"Wow. At this rate, I feel like we could convince the Demon King with steak alone, you know?"
"I know, right. Don"t worry about that. I"ll send you more than enough to eat and still have leftovers."
"Oho….. Then please be on your way, great human! Quickly defeat the Demon King, and allow me to provide as many bloodstones as you need, please! I shall attend to Sir Jong Ho and Sir Karin."
"……"
"Kel….."
"Hyung-nim. Are you sure that you haven"t done something to this steak?"
"Not at all…."
"Everyone back off! And leave this steak alone! I"ll have to send this in to check if it was tampered with the FDA. Just what is this piece of meat that has gotten everyone up in a tizzy……"
Just how much abuse did these monsters go through in terms of taste that they can"t resist a simple steak?
Following the desperate urging of Belkoseu asking to hunt down the Demon King, we loosely cleaned up our surroundings and headed for the his castle.
"Ladin. How long will you keep your magical energy signature hidden and cower."
"Please, Demon King….."
"Tsk!"
"AHH!"
"Hm….."
Chimera"s whereabouts were unknown at this point.
Letting out his magical energy, the Demon King was trying to call the Chimera back.
However, since the Chimera was defeated by Min-Cheol, there was no way that it would appear before the Demon King.
The two of them then sensed a powerful energy radiating near them, causing them to reel back in shock.
The power was the same as the Chimera"s, if not stronger.
The Chimera did not have a magical signature, but it did have an incredible killing intent.
This time, however, the shape of this power was a bit different.
With a frown, the Demon King asked Ladin.
"Is… Is it the Chimera?"
"No, my lord. This killing intent…. And this magical energy I sense….."
"So it is the human…. Tsk. Pathetic."
"However, great Demon King, this human is far different from before we released the Chimera."
"Even so, it is just a pathetic human. You saw how easily he lost his limb from a simple attack from me, right?"
"……"
"If you will continue to hide like so, then I shall go out myself! You"re pathetic."
"D…. Demon King……"
"Shut up!"
After berating Ladin, the Demon King walked outside.
To avoid the Chimera, they had hid inside the big castle.
In the demonic realm, this was one of the few buildings that existed.
This was where the demon kings and their tribe leaders of the past had resided, but you could call it an abandoned building now.
It was being used by the weaker monsters as a refuge.
Ironically, it was where the current Demon King and his second in command was hiding.
Kicking the castle doors open, the Demon King went outside, only to be greeted by Min-Cheol standing there.
Jamon stared down at Min-Cheol while talking.
"Thanks to that idiotic Chimera, you still keep your life, human."
"Whew. And to think that you"ve ended up fleeing to such a rundown place due to that very same idiotic Chimera, Demon King?"
"I shall pull that insolent tongue from you mouth!"
"Here you go."
Min-Cheol threw something at the feet of the Demon King.
What fell to the ground was but a steak.
The Demon King was looking at me with a ridiculed expression.
"Eat. Seems everyone likes it."
"……"
"Putting up a false front just because you"re the Demon King. You don"t need to keep up appearances."
With a smug look, Min-Cheol spoke while making the gesture of putting his hand near his mouth and whispering.
"I"ll keep it a secret to the other monsters. Shove it down, Demon King chump."
"You little….."
"Aw. You"re letting me down. I brought it just in case, but I guess this is stretching it a bit too far, right?"
"I won"t let you die so easily!"
"I probably won"t die to you so easily either."
"I know of your recovery ability well. I shall bring you to death"s door. Then I shall heal you back. Despite knowing endless torment, you won"t be able to die, all because of me. You will be thoroughly enslaved and conquered by me, the Demon King!"
"I get it, so where did your subordinate Ladin go? A duo can"t be without the other."
"You shall soon see him. I was going to make him take care of you anyway."
"So that means that he"s hiding in the castle behind you? Ladin! Your master is going to die! Come out!"
Min-Cheol shouted loudly enough to shake all of the demonic realm.
Almost as if I had used Lion"s Roar from a martial art novel, all the monsters in the field were stunned as if shocked by lightning.
The monsters were near p.i.s.sing themselves with the Demon King"s presence alone, but since Min-Cheol had now arrived, they were far beyond that.
Following their instincts, the monsters fled.
With their instincts set only on survival, they ran as fast as they could.
"Good. A monster that listens well is loved."
"Hm?"
"Demon King. I shall take care of this."
"Have you reconsidered, Ladin?"
"That is the case, your highness. The Chimera won"t be coming here."
"What do you mean?"
"The Chimera has been defeated, Demon King. By… by that human there!"
Ladin pointed at Min-Cheol.
While his strength was weaker than that of the Demon King, it seemed that he was far smarter.
Ladin continued to speak calmly.
"I"m not sure how he was able to destroy the Chimera. However….."
"……"
"Despite defeating the Chimera, there was nothing that this human could gain from it."
"I told you already. Monsters defeated by humans drop something….."
"I am aware, Demon King. However, the Chimera does not even possess magical energy. This means that the Chimera is something that exists, but does not at the same time, similar to nothingness."
"Then what is that power that he"s exuding right now….."
"This is just my guess, but he has opened his eyes."
"Opened his eyes?"
"That"s right. He has awakened to a new power. He is now able to wield magical energy freely."
"……"
"Are you Conan? Sherlock? You could probably do well reading fates and communing with spirits."
"Demon King. It has not even been a day since he has learned how to wield magical energy. I shall defeat him myself, so please give me the opportunity."
"Good. However, Ladin."
"Command me as you will."
"You cannot kill him. He must live until the day that the demonic realm is no more. And he must exist with overwhelming pain the entire time."
"I understand."
After walking out from behind the Demon King, Ladin"s form instantly grew huge.
Also, his body became hardened like a fossil.
Holding a mace far larger than his height, he went towards Min-Cheol.
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