Chapter 149 – Chapter 28: Demon King #2
White floors, pillars and ceilings—other than that, it was just a lot of space, and the demon king stood out from where he was standing in the center.
He didn't look back. His black hair was longer than In-gong had thought it would be as it reached his waist. The dark blue cloak made the presence of the demon king even clearer. In-gong had always been looking at his seated form in the court gatherings from a distance, but he now approached the back of the demon king.
In-gong swallowed his saliva. His mouth was dry. Just approaching the demon king made his breathing rough. Was it due to the huge pressure? The demon king wasn't emitting power. He kept silent just like he did in the court gathering.
However, as he narrowed the distance, the demon king simply maintained his position. In-gong understood the presence this man had and the reason why he had the position of the demon king.
The demon king turned around, and In-gong stopped walking reflexively. The distance between them was about five meters, so there wouldn't be any difficulty in communicating.
In-gong looked up at the demon king. It was the first time In-gong had been so close to him.
The demon king's eyes were red, and In-gong was reminded of Felicia. Felicia's and Silvan's red eyes resembled the demon king. However, the demon king's eyes were quite different from the two of them. His red eyes were more similar to that of the sword duke. The sword duke's eyes seemed to be able to see through anything. What did the demon king see? How far did he see into In-gong?
“9th Prince Shutra, I greet the demon king."
Tension filled In-gong as he opened his mouth. He had practiced this many times in advance, so he didn't go too fast or stutter. Instead, he spoke in a calm voice.
In-gong was facing the demon king, someone who had so little contact with his children that just simply talking at the court gathering was a shock. Why had the demon king demanded a clandestine meeting?
The demon king opened his mouth to reply. His voice sounded slightly more emotional than it had been at the court gathering, but it was still dry.
“You have come, Semita's child."
Semita Ignus, the 5th Queen who had now left the world—she was the daughter of the gandharva king, Karuta, and Shutra's mother.
It was an unexpected title. Did the 5th Queen have a larger presence on the demon king than In-gong thought? Or was it a title that indicated some distance?
In-gong was reminded of the tea party he had with 3rd Queen Sylvia. Sylvia truly loved the demon king. There was a slight change in her eyes and voice every time she mentioned him. 4th Queen Elaine was different. For her, the demon king was a business partner who couldn't be avoided. She didn't hate the demon king, but she didn't love him.
What was the relationship between the demon king and the 5th Queen? Was it due to his memories of the 5th Queen that In-gong was called here today?
It couldn't be. It wasn't possible.
In-gong simplified the complex thoughts in his head. Rather than avoiding the demon king's gaze, In-gong faced him like it was the court gathering.
The demon king smiled. It was a small smile, but he definitely did it.
In-gong was able to understand the minds of those who attended the court gathering. He hadn't understood why they were amazed every time the demon king spoke, but In-gong understood now. He felt his head go blank just because the demon king smiled.
The demon king gazed at In-gong calmly and said,
“Semita's child was born into this world without a soul. Poor Semita thought it was a heavenly punishment for the sin of the gandharva."
In-gong took a deep breath. The words contained a story which couldn't be overlooked. A child born without a soul… The gandharvas' sin…
He couldn't understand the 'no soul' part easily. What did it mean? Had Shutra been incompetent because he had no soul?
The sins of the gandharva were easily linked in his head. Currently, the gandharva as a whole species were confined, and the reason for such a punishment was due to the 'sin of the gandharva'. If so, what did they do wrong? When thinking about the cause-and-effect, it was a crime committed before Shutra's birth.
There were many things In-gong wanted to ask, but he was patient. The demon king hadn't finished speaking yet. He was still looking at In-gong.
"But now a strong soul is present. If Semita saw you now, she would have liked it very much."
Shutra had become In-gong. The empty vessel was filled with In-gong's essence.
How much did the demon king know? Had he noticed that In-gong was a separate person from Shutra? Or did he think it was just Shutra's transformation? The latter possibility was slightly higher. There was no reason to add that 5th Queen Semita would be delighted with this.
'No, this is meaningless.'
In-gong had become Shutra; they had already become one. Standing here were both Shutra and In-gong.
The demon king's gaze moved away. It was a gaze which was looking at both In-gong and the surroundings. In-gong understood instinctively that the demon king was different from the sword duke. It was clear the demon king was looking at something the sword duke couldn't see.
The demon king's gaze turned back to In-gong again. His voice was low and heavy, but it wasn't cold.
"Shutra, Semita's child, you have become strong very quickly. I look forward to you becoming stronger in the future. The torrent of destiny is swirling around you."
The modification of fate—
The demon king felt it. It had been there since he first encountered In-gong at the court gathering, and it was the same with every meeting after that.
Thus, the demon king made his decision.
“I called you today to see if the sword duke's words were true and to make a judgment."
Those with purple energy and red energy were attacking various places in the Demon World… And someone who claimed to be the Famine Knight had appeared in this world. In-gong had encountered all of them. The torrent of destiny was swirling around them.
“The strongest person must rise to the demon king's throne. This is because the demon king isn't the one who rules the Demon World, but the one who protects it."
In-gong was reminded of the destroyed indigenous species. How much did the demon king know? How much did he know about the Four Knights of the Apocalypse? Or did he consider the Four Knights of the Apocalypse a challenge, just like the sword duke?
In-gong realized it was useless to think about this as it was all the same to him. The demon king was the one who protected the Demon World, so all threats were the same to him. Just like the sword duke said, he had to become strong enough to defeat them.
The demon king raised his right hand slowly.
“The accomplishments I've achieved —the sword duke called them extreme nothingness. I don't like putting down a name for it, but Shutra, you should know. It isn't easy to defeat his stubbornness."
The demon king gave a small laugh. It was hard to imagine since the demon king had only be seen at the court gathering, but this could be called the true image of the demon king.
“I will leave something to you. It is the Seed of Extreme Nothingness. I hope you will be able to germinate it someday. I hope to see you reach beyond the limits of what I have achieved."
It was one of the reasons for calling In-gong here. The demon king was suffering from a deep illness and wanted to place a bet on the future that the sword duke saw.
The demon king stretched out his hand. The distance between In-gong and the demon king narrowed, and the demon king laid a big hand on In-gong's head.
“The only ones who have received this are Zephyr and you. Even if the sword duke guided you here, you made it this location with your own strength, unlike Baikal and Anastasia."
The demon king didn't speak anymore.
In-gong closed his eyes naturally. It was the same as when the sword duke gave him the Sura Heart Law. The demon king's blue aura enveloped In-gong's body.
It was like a lightning bolt, and In-gong shrieked silently in pain.
At that moment, the white woman's desperate voice was heard from far away. It was similar to Green Wind's howling.
'Conquer. Obedience and rule.'
Divine Sura Authority responded. In-gong opened all his powers, including the dragon heart and Moonlight Core. He needed to accept something he couldn't bear.
It was only for a moment, but it also seemed to last for eternity. It was engraved deep into In-gong's soul. Then a woman's voice rang in his ears,
[Extreme Nothingness Lv 0 has been learnt.]
It was like when he first encountered Conquest's power. This was a power which wasn't available to him yet, but it was obvious to In-gong that it was inherently strong.
Extreme nothingness—this was the demon king's greatest treasure even when he was dying of illness. It was natural that the power of Conquest couldn't dominate it.
However, that didn't mean it wasn't successful. In-gong felt a change to his body—the balance within had been shaken due to the addition of the dragon heart. That balance was completely broken and aligned into a new balance. It was the effect of Extreme Nothingness which In-gong hadn't even opened yet.
The demon king saw such a change in In-gong. Even Zephyr had found the Seed of Extreme Nothingness hard to accept in its sealed state, so the demon king couldn't help admiring In-gong.
"I'm amazed, but don't be unreasonable. There is no need to be too hasty."
However, the demon king's voice didn't reach In-gong. In-gong had already lost consciousness as a white light shone from his body. It was in order to endure the physical changes more efficiently.
The demon king looked at In-gong and cast a magic spell in the air. The sword duke came like the wind and grabbed In-gong. He observed the changes taking place in In-gong's body and laughed.
“Once again, he really is amazing."
Instead of replying, the demon king smiled. However, that didn't last long. He staggered like he had felt a sudden dizziness and cast magic. A chair sprouted from the ground to support his body.
"Are you okay?"
The sword duke asked with a frown. His worried eyes and voice showed the warmth of a teacher toward his disciple. Rather than immediately replying to the sword duke's question, the demon king sat down. He didn't miss the other meaning in the sword duke's question.
Was it okay to pass the Seed of Extreme Nothingness to the 9th Prince like he had also shared it with 2nd Prince Zephyr?
It was a question which didn't even need to be discussed. The demon king closed his eyes and rasped,
“Sword Duke, you should know. It is enough for the strongest person to rise to the seat of the demon king. Whether they are blood related or not, it doesn't matter."
It was the law that only the demon king's children could become the next demon king. Although every child of the demon king followed this law, it was meaningless to the demon king.
The sword duke nodded silently. He agreed with the demon king's idea that the strongest person should become the demon king. Furthermore, the sword duke knew about the secret of the 9th Prince's birth. He knew how much 5th Queen Semita had loved the demon king.
The fact that the demon king's blood didn't flow in the 9th Prince wasn't important to the sword duke, since the 9th Prince had already been acknowledged.
“I will return to the Holy Land after bringing 9th Prince back. Stay healthy until we meet again."
“You too."
The sword duke disappeared like the wind after the short exchange of farewells. Once alone, the demon king looked up at the dark sky slowly.
The demon king read the fate of the Demon World…
And he felt the strong torrents of destiny around both Zephyr and In-gong.
The demon king's illness was progressing faster than expected. The demon king closed his eyes, and he fell into a deep sleep for a while.
&
Guardian Queian raised his head.
In the south, he looked toward the north and knew he could no longer delay.
Of the six elder dragons who guarded and maintained this world, there were only three remaining. Watcher Ainkel and Violet Kaltein were no longer present. Recorder Torres had fallen into a deep sleep he couldn't wake up from.
The only ones left, aside from Queian, were the Great Enkidu and Cruel Talia.
Soon, there would be a great fight, and the fight had to end the burning of the Demon World. It absolutely couldn't reach the Human World.
"Go, my child. Become the sword and shield to protect the Human World."
His voice was filled with magic. The words of blessings went far away from Queian's lair.
From south to north…
The child of Guardian Queian, the warrior Locke moved with his colleagues.
They headed toward the Demon World.