Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
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The Earth Spirit King is dead.
Honestly, I didn't care much what happened to him.
From our first meeting, he'd tried to toy with us, and I hadn't liked his attitude one bit.
So I hadn't paid much attention to whether he lived or died.
[But to drop dead so suddenly like this...]
Once I heard the Spirit King was actually dead, though, it was pretty shocking.
-The death of a Spirit King. Heh heh heh. Quite the interesting situation.
[The one who killed the Earth Spirit King... is that the guy you mentioned earlier?]
-Probably a safe bet.
The one who killed the Earth Spirit King was undoubtedly the being Tam had called the death-defier.
After all, those who handled death magic like Tam were famously dominant against spirits in terms of compatibility.
But to actually slay a Spirit King-level being... I'd already figured it was no ordinary foe when it became clear that nothing short of a Spirit King could purify the land's corruption...
But I hadn't expected this level.
[A meeting, huh.]
Then came the part about the emergency meeting after the news of the Spirit King's death, and cold sweat broke out on my skin.
[What do I do...]
I hadn't heard a thing.
When the meeting was starting. Where we were supposed to gather.
Date. Time. Location. Not a single detail.
So there was only one thing for me to do.
Find someone more likely than me to have properly heard the wind's message.
[Silpi!]
With that, I headed straight home to find Silpi.
I figured that as a fellow wind spirit, she'd at least have gotten more of the message than I did.
"El, you're back!"
But Silpi wasn't at the house when I returned. Instead, Cheong greeted me excitedly.
She'd improved a lot, sure, but for a homebody like Silpi to be missing?
Something was definitely wrong.
And it was easy to infer it had to do with the message from the Wind Spirit King.
[Cheong, where's Silpi?]
"Silpi left first! I waited because she said to come with you when you got back."
No way... Was the meeting starting right now?
And if she'd left Cheong behind to go with me, then our destination was probably...
[We're heading to Ceres, right?]
"How'd you know?"
[Just a hunch.]
Cheong knew, and Ceres's place made sense as a meeting spot.
[Then let's head out now.]
"Got it!"
Cheong hopped onto me like she'd been waiting for it.
I made sure she was secure, summoned the wind to lift us up, and flew toward Ceres.
Whoooosh.
"Kyaa!"
[That fun, huh.]
Honestly, the mood wasn't exactly playful right now, but whatever. It didn't concern us.
The seriousness was only for the spirits.
I was going to the meeting out of curiosity about what countermeasures the Spirit Kings would come up with, not to mourn the Earth Spirit King.
Rumble.
"Hey, El! Up in the sky there!"
Thunder that didn't fit the clear blue sky.
A strange bolt from a cloudless heaven—I instantly knew who it belonged to.
[We meet again so soon.]
-Yeah. Didn't expect it'd be like this.
I turned my head and looked at the one now flying alongside us.
As expected, the Lightning Spirit King was the culprit behind this phenomenon.
"Eek, zap zap!"
-Heh heh. Looks like I'm hated again today.
"Get away!"
Cheong flailed her hands at the Lightning Spirit King, her ears and tail standing on end from the static once more.
Crackle.
-You know why there's an emergency meeting, right?
[Heard it straight from the Wind Spirit King.]
-Not sure how much you caught, but things have gotten a bit serious.
[That's why I'm heading there now.]
I kept my expression neutral as I answered the Lightning Spirit King, who had obligingly put some distance between us at Cheong's urging.
Truth be told, I'd planned to hang back during the meeting and just watch what the Spirit Kings had to say.
-You're awfully relaxed today. I thought you were out for a stroll at first.
[Pot calling the kettle black.]
-I'm just matching your speed, El.
[Oh...]
Whoooosh.
Crackle crackle.
"Ah, we're here!"
For some reason—or maybe on purpose—I'd taken the Lightning Spirit King's bait and ended up racing her like last time.
Last time, she'd gone easy on me. This time, she'd given it her all, judging by the sweat beading on her forehead.
Hop.
"Silpi! I brought El!"
-Cheong! You got here fast!
Silpi was already there, as expected.
And here's the surprising part:
All the other Spirit Kings were already gathered by the time we arrived.
-Father, you're here?
"Grandfather, I trust you're well."
[...You both look exhausted. You okay?]
Ceres's vibrant leaves had wilted, and Keter had faint dark circles under his eyes.
No need to ask what happened—the emergency meeting was probably the cause.
[Here, eat this at least.]
"G-Grandfather..."
I carefully fed Amrita to Keter.
She'd already eaten her fill for the day and shouldn't have more, but how could I say no when she looked so worn out?
Munch munch.
[Tasty?]
"Yeah..."
-Oh my god, the Water Spirit King!
As I watched her tiny lips work on the Amrita, a shriek-like cry from the Lightning Spirit King echoed from afar.
[Hm?]
I headed over, wondering what was up, and found the gravely wounded Water Spirit King catching his breath.
-Ho, that aura from the wound. Still trash, but a cut above dust. Did he kill a Spirit King in the meantime and grow stronger?
Tam's voice reached only me, the owner of the Yeouiju.
So I kept quiet and closely examined the Water Spirit King's injury.
A long gash across his chest.
Just like the Wind Spirit King's unhealed wound before, faint blue vapor leaked from the site.
-Everyone's here. Water Spirit King, explain. What exactly happened?
-Cough. That guy's a monster who raises the dead again.
-The dead? You mean he revives the deceased?
Raising the dead.
If that's possible, even all the Spirit Kings together couldn't guarantee victory.
But to the Wind Spirit King's question, the Water Spirit King shook his head, thankfully denying it.
-No, not reviving the dead. He just manipulates their corpses at will.
-Such a power... exists?
It does. One no fantasy fan would miss.
Not now, but in the future, wielders of this power appear frequently.
The most famous is the Undead Mage, the Demon King's left hand, who commands the tireless undead legion and covers nearly half the Demon King's forces alone. The Lich.
'Then this one's gotta be the primordial Lich from history. The Death Tyrant.'
The Lich who became the Lich King's right hand and inherited his name.
Only detailed in lore, so his power level is a mystery.
Tam keeps calling him trash, but since even the Earth Spirit King fell to him, I can't let my guard down.
-Water Spirit King. You managed to escape him somehow.
-Dunno. Feels like he let me go on purpose.
-What?
-The death aura leaking from the Water Spirit King's wound is flowing somewhere. That's probably the culprit.
-So he let the Water Spirit King go to lure us all together? Using him as bait?
Sure enough, the death aura from the Water Spirit King's wound was blatantly heading in a specific direction.
-That's the truth.
And Tam's conviction to boot.
'Wait a sec.'
Doesn't that mean the guy's heading here right now?
Crack.
Now I get it.
Why Ceres and Keter looked so drained.
It was because the Lich King was heading straight for Paradise.
Crunch.
-Gahhh!
[You trash bastard. You dare try to drag filth into Paradise?]
Realizing the truth, I gritted my teeth and poured lightning into the Water Spirit King's wound.
-Wait! That's a misunderstanding!
-Yeah, Imoogi friend! We just realized it too!
-What are you doing to a patient?
The Spirit Kings trying to stop me didn't look so innocent either.
Did they really not know?
No way.
The Lightning Spirit King was avoiding my gaze, wasn't she?
'So brazen.'
Was I blinded by Silpi's behavior around Jijiyong?
How should I react to these guys trying to wage war on our turf?
-Why not just kill them all?
'Shut up.'
No matter how pissed I was, I wouldn't go that far.
-Shame. Even as a divine beast, you're just a baby snake at heart. How do you control your emotions like this? The more I learn about you, the more intriguing you become.
'Whatever. Tam, got any countermeasures for the Lich King?'
-Countermeasures? You think trash like that needs any?
This guy...
-Fine, one tip: You could take that trash necromancer solo.
Tam said.
No one here could, but I could handle him.
'Until he gets here?'
-About an hour left.
Time attack.
One hour from the Earth Spirit King's domain to here.
I needed a plan from these Spirit Kings within that time.