Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: Handing Over the Apostle
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“…No emperor?”
Sewoojin scratched his head as he sneaked into the imperial palace with Jenonia in tow.
From the frontier city of Derhan to the imperial capital.
It hadn’t even taken half a day.
Even without using ‘Swift’, Sewoojin’s travel speed had been beyond imagination.
He’d arrived at the capital in the blink of an eye, a speed that amazed even him….
“Where’d he go?”
He spread out his energy, scouring every inch of the palace interior.
But he couldn’t sense the emperor’s presence.
He extended it even further, but still nothing.
It was as if the emperor wasn’t in the capital at all.
Sewoojin frowned.
“I came all this way…. What now?”
He glanced at Jenonia, who still hadn’t regained consciousness.
He couldn’t just hand her off to anyone, so he needed to find someone reliable….
“Should I just take her straight to Crusiel?”
Crusiel might have some secret technique to restrain a powerhouse like her.
It’d be far safer than leaving her with random knights or soldiers.
But Sewoojin soon shook his head.
He couldn’t gamble on mere speculation.
What if he handed her over and Jenonia escaped?
All his effort to drag her here would be for nothing.
‘Then someone who can handle her….’
Five names came to mind.
The Empire’s Five Guardians.
Excluding the Fist Sage he’d never met, he knew the other four.
“Leave her with them.”
But there was a problem.
“…I only know where one of them is.”
He had no idea where the Sword Sage, Shadow Duke, or even the Grand Duke were.
Their energies weren’t detectable, so they’d probably left the capital.
“In the end, only one’s left, huh?”
Sewoojin scratched his head, looking troubled.
Magic Duke Martes.
To meet her, he had to go to the Sky Tower.
“This form feels a bit off.”
No one knew better than he did how alien he looked in his ‘Demon King Transformation’.
If he showed up at the Sky Tower like this?
He might get bombarded before he could even explain.
He wasn’t scared of that, but he didn’t want the hassle.
“Should I just undo the ‘Demon King Transformation’?”
That seemed like the better option.
Something about the Magic Duke made him uneasy.
Unlike the other guardians, he couldn’t be sure he’d beat her in a fight.
To avoid any misunderstandings, Sewoojin decided to release the ‘Demon King Transformation’. First, he took Jenonia and slipped out of the palace.
Then he headed near the Sky Tower and reverted to his original form.
Fwaaaah—!
“Ugh….”
The moment the ‘Demon King Transformation’ ended, an overwhelming sense of loss hit him.
Especially since he’d maintained his reason for quite a while in that state this time, it felt even stronger.
Sewoojin staggered unconsciously before steadying himself.
“Urgh.”
Even Jenonia, slung over his shoulder, felt heavy.
Sewoojin had reached the Superhuman Realm.
He had the strength to lift buildings, yet the drain left him feeling her weight acutely.
With a sigh, Sewoojin set off toward the Sky Tower.
Creak—!
‘I knew it.’
As Sewoojin approached, the door flew open as if waiting.
And as expected, a boy peeked out.
“Huh? It’s the mister.”
The boy looked delighted to see Sewoojin.
Then he spotted the limp Jenonia and flinched in surprise.
“Mister, no way?”
The boy’s eyes widened as he spoke.
“The Sky Tower isn’t a corpse disposal service, you know? You gotta tell that to the guys in the back alleys….”
“It’s not a corpse.”
Sewoojin let out a hollow laugh.
“She’s not dead?”
“She’s still breathing, though she lost a lot of blood.”
He shook his shoulder slightly, and a groan escaped Jenonia’s lips.
“See?”
“Yeah, guess so. No wonder the Tower Lord said to grab a towel and greet you.”
The boy pulled a pristine white towel from his pocket and handed it over.
“Wipe off the blood before coming in. We cleaned this morning.”
“Can’t you use magic or something?”
“…You can’t just leech off the world like that.”
At the boy’s firm refusal to waste magic on this, Sewoojin grumbled as he wiped the blood from Jenonia.
The towel was enchanted, though—it absorbed a ton of blood and stayed spotless.
Sewoojin eyed it curiously before handing it back.
“Can I go in now?”
“Welcome to the Sky Tower!”
Shaking his head at the boy’s cheeky tone, Sewoojin stepped inside.
“She’s in the office today.”
“The top?”
Sewoojin had visited Magic Duke Martes’s office once before.
Even in the endlessly towering Sky Tower, it was at the very peak.
“Yeah. She’s waiting, so hurry up.”
As always, the boy guided him with a teleportation circle.
Fwaaaaaah—!
“Come in.”
The mystical space from before appeared.
In the center, Martes sat reading in a chair. She smiled warmly as Sewoojin arrived.
“It’s not been long… actually.”
Sewoojin started to greet her reflexively, then awkwardly smiled, remembering their recent meeting.
“That child behind you is the divine beast, isn’t she?”
Sewoojin looked slightly surprised at Martes’s words.
Hwirateon was currently concealed.
Even in ‘Demon King Transformation’, she hadn’t been visible, yet Martes spotted her instantly.
“Hwirateon.”
At Sewoojin’s call, a gentle breeze stirred.
Then Hwirateon, resembling a blue-furred rabbit, appeared.
Squeak—!
She hopped straight onto Sewoojin’s shoulder and nuzzled his head.
Martes nodded at the sight.
“A wind divine beast, indeed.”
She gazed at Hwirateon with endlessly affectionate eyes.
“Want to pet her?”
Sewoojin asked cautiously.
But Martes shook her head.
“Seeing her born safely into this world is enough. Besides, don’t you have a more pressing matter now?”
At her words, Sewoojin turned with an “Oh!”
On his other shoulder, opposite where Hwirateon sat, Jenonia lay breathing faintly.
“You probably already know, but….”
Sewoojin set Jenonia down on the ground.
She looked like she was just sleeping now that most of the blood had been cleaned off.
“This woman’s an Apostle.”
Sewoojin said.
And as expected, Martes knew that much.
But….
“Her name’s Jenonia? So I’ve heard.”
She hadn’t known who exactly.
“…Jenonia?”
Martes’s eyes bulged wide, judging by that reaction.
“The witch of Grander, for sure?”
What’s that?
Sewoojin blinked, not understanding Martes’s question.
“Uh, not sure about that far. She introduced herself as Jenonia, and I heard she’s one of the strongest Apostles, with almost no one stronger.”
Sewoojin scratched his head as he replied, and Martes nodded.
“It’s her, then.”
Martes’s eyes widened even more in shock.
Jenonia was one of the Demon King’s followers with few equals in strength.
Martes felt both astonishment and unease that Sewoojin had captured her alive.
“How did you capture her? With your current power, it should’ve been impossible.”
Martes had precisely gauged Sewoojin’s level.
Possible because she was on a higher plane.
And at Sewoojin’s true power as she assessed it, capturing Jenonia was still out of reach.
Killing her would’ve been easier.
“Eh, it just kinda happened?”
Sewoojin shrugged.
Martes sighed.
“You transformed into that being, didn’t you?”
His heart sank a bit.
‘She knew.’
Of course. It’d be odd if the Sky Tower’s lord didn’t know what Crusiel and the emperor had figured out.
She’d even hinted at knowing his identity multiple times before.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Sewoojin nodded.
With the emperor’s promise, there was no need to hide it desperately anymore.
“That power you wield is dangerous.”
Martes began to advise him.
But she soon shook her head, as if rethinking.
“I can only trust you’ll handle it wisely.”
Sewoojin felt grateful for her consideration.
It was utterly different from the emperor or Crusiel.
“Don’t worry. What you fear won’t happen.”
Like the lion’s prophecy—no world-ending, no becoming the king of chaos.
Nothing like that would ever occur.
Sewoojin just wanted to catch the Demon King and go home.
“…I understand.”
Martes nodded slowly, smiling.
Her expression seemed oddly deflated somehow.
Before he could ask why, Martes spoke first.
“You brought Jenonia here hoping the Sky Tower would take custody, right?”
“Ah, yes. Exactly. Other places feel too risky.”
With Martes and the Sky Tower mages, locking up an injured Apostle should be no problem.
And fortunately, Martes agreed.
“The emperor’s left for Derhan. Until that child returns, the Sky Tower will hold her.”
“Thank you.”
Sewoojin replied, inwardly surprised.
The emperor was a white-haired old man.
At least eighty, for sure.
Yet Martes called him “child”.
‘How old is she?’
He knew she’d lived long despite her young girl appearance, but….
He hadn’t expected her to treat the emperor like a kid.
“So, you’ll head back to your comrades now?”
“Yeah. I’ve been away too long; time to return.”
“Visit often after the subjugation ends. Our conversations mean much to me.”
Unsure what she meant, Sewoojin promised he would and turned.
As he stepped toward the teleportation circle, Martes added one pure piece of advice.
“Cherish Hwirateon. At the time of the final choice, she’ll aid you greatly.”
‘The time of the final choice?’
He had no idea what it meant.
But Martes wouldn’t spout nonsense, so Sewoojin nodded obediently.
“Got it.”
With that, Sewoojin left the Sky Tower.
It felt like only a moment, but outside, dusk had already fallen.
“…Shall we go?”
Sewoojin glanced at the sky, then started walking.
His destination: Derhan.
Where his comrades waited.