Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Ch. 121 .｡.:✧ Who Are You? (3) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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This plan was riddled with uncertainty.
Ultimately, no one could predict how the demonic energy infused with Belphegor’s will would react.
In the worst-case scenario, Tay’s life could be in danger.
But I couldn’t just sit around, anxiously twiddling my thumbs.
I had witnessed firsthand the fate of someone whose body had been taken over by an archdemon.
I couldn’t let Tay suffer the same fate.
“Undecided, deploy the 1st stage formation. The one that blocks everything except sound and light.”
“…Okay.”
I took off my jacket and took a deep breath.
Undecided closed her eyes and chanted a spell. A red cube materialized in the center of the spacious room.
I lifted the unconscious Tay and carried her inside the cube.
One of the functions of the 1st stage formation was information blocking. It could tightly control the space within, theoretically blocking everything that entered or exited like light, sound, magic power, demonic energy, and so on.
Of course, the more information it blocked, the more demonic energy it consumed, and the space would look distorted, so it wasn’t a commonly used function.
But essentially, it could be used like a barrier.
That’s what we were going to exploit.
First, we would confine Tay within the formation and offer the black mana stone to the demonic energy inside her.
Due to its limited capacity, Belphegor’s demonic energy wouldn’t be able to do much.
It was likely programmed to react only when it came into contact with the black mana stone.
And the moment it touched the black mana stone…
It would try to contact Belphegor’s main body.
But the communication would be blocked by the formation, unable to reach its destination.
And we would intercept that communication and analyze it to determine where it was trying to send the signal, revealing Belphegor’s location.
We could pinpoint Belphegor’s whereabouts without being detected.
“Ready?”
“…Yes.”
I left all my belongings outside the formation and went back in with the black mana stone, which I had removed from my sword’s hilt.
I had considered using Kali’s soul fragment, but the risk was too high.
I still didn’t know its true value, while the black mana stone could be easily replaced with another top-grade mana stone.
Of course, the performance wouldn’t be the same, but…
I had already mastered magic control, so the difference wouldn’t be significant.
“Let’s begin.”
A crimson formation spread around us.
And in the center lay an unconscious girl.
If you just looked at this scene, you might mistake it for a demon summoning ritual.
Well, I guess that wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Come out, Belphegor.”
I placed one hand on Tay’s chest, monitoring the demonic energy inside her.
With my other hand, I slowly brought the black mana stone closer to her.
Perhaps it was because I had removed the coating that had been concealing the mana stone’s brilliant color, but…
An intense wave of demonic energy emanated from the stone, making me frown.
I hadn’t noticed it when I couldn’t see demonic energy, but…
Emitting this much demonic energy was like advertising its presence to the world.
Now I understood why Transylvania had been so terrified of Kali’s soul fragment.
‘It’s reacting.’
Wriggle, wriggle.
Sensing the intense demonic energy, the demonic energy inside Tay started to move.
It detached itself from her heart and…
Slowly, cautiously, it crept towards Undecided’s arm.
Good.
Now, we just had to extract it.
“Come out! Belphegor!”
Click.
The moment I placed the mana stone directly into Tay’s hand, the demonic energy inside her went berserk.
It burst out of her chest with blinding speed.
I was startled and instinctively grabbed the demonic energy, suppressing it with my hand.
Even though I couldn’t control or manipulate this demonic energy, I could still hold it.
‘My true name! Do not utter my true name so carelessly!!!’
“…!”
The demonic energy thrashed in my hand and a strange voice echoed out.
And then, the mana stone started to change shape.
It melted like liquid, transforming into something else.
“Damn it! What are you doing?!”
‘After a long slumber, I shall be resurrected in a new vessel!’
What a load of bullshit.
The demonic energy and the mana stone hadn’t even touched yet.
The melted mana stone spread out, taking the shape of a human.
A head emerged, then limbs… It was undeniably human-shaped.
I couldn’t let this continue.
If the clone was completed and the demonic energy entered it, it would be a disaster.
‘Resurrection! Resurrection! Resurrection!’
“Ugh!”
The demonic energy in my hand started to thrash wildly, trying to break free.
I had hoped to subdue it and interrogate it, but…
It was nothing more than a lump of desire, driven solely by the urge to obtain the black mana stone.
There was no information to be extracted from this thing.
Reaching that conclusion, I tightened my grip, crushing the demonic energy.
‘A vessel! A new vessel over there!’
“What?”
But just then…
The demonic energy, which had been lunging towards the almost-completed clone, suddenly changed direction.
Towards me.
I was taken aback, and then, in an instant, the demonic energy seeped into my hand.
“Aaaaagh!”
Even though it was a minuscule amount, it was still demonic energy infused with an archdemon’s will.
It had been repulsive to even touch it from the outside, but now that it was inside my body, I felt nauseous, my head pounding.
My body trembled, and strange voices echoed in my mind, threatening to drive me insane.
“This… is even better!”
But this was actually good news.
I wasn’t sure if I could destroy an archdemon’s demonic energy with my own power, but…
Now that it had entered my body on its own, I could just trap it.
I channeled my magic power, sealing off all exits.
Belphegor’s demonic energy could rampage all it wanted inside my body, but it would never escape.
It was free to enter, but not to leave.
“Hahaha! I did it! I saved Tay!”
“…Yoo-jin.”
Fighting back the nausea, I checked on Tay.
There was no trace of demonic energy inside her.
And she was unharmed.
Tay was sleeping soundly, her breathing even.
She must have been sleep-deprived for a long time, because she was even snoring…
I chuckled.
“It’s over. You can deactivate the formation.”
“…Are you… okay?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. No problem. It just feels like a really bad hangover.”
The formation deactivated.
Undecided came closer and tugged on my sleeve.
I looked down, and she placed her hand on my forehead.
“…Hot.”
“Of course it’s hot when you touch it with your cold hands.”
“…Hotter… than usual. Give it… to me.”
“No way. I can’t imagine what would happen if your talented body was taken over by Belphegor.”
I couldn’t transfer this to Undecided.
Unlike me, Undecided had talent in everything, curses, magic, and even martial arts.
Belphegor’s demonic energy would gladly take over her body.
I had to deal with this myself.
I had the ‘Mental Fortitude’ trait, so I would be fine.
Somehow…
“Anyway, did you catch the communication signal?”
“…Yes. A brief… high-frequency… signal… was sent.”
“The coordinates?”
“…I don’t know… the exact… coordinates… I can only… tell the direction.”
Undecided pointed her finger towards one side of the room.
“…That way.”
“Good job.”
I ruffled Undecided’s hair and walked in the direction she had pointed.
I pulled back the curtains, revealing a panoramic view of Basel.
The direction Tay had pointed to was west.
West of Basel… the central region of the Southern continent.
The Holy Empire’s territory.
There were at least three major cities along that straight line…
‘At least we’ve narrowed it down to five candidates.’
It was a huge improvement compared to when I knew nothing.
The search area was significantly smaller.
But I was a little worried…
Two of the candidates were Hameln and Cologne.
The current and former capitals of the Holy Empire…
Where the Saintess and Cornelia resided.
I didn’t know what Belphegor was up to, hiding there.
I had to catch him and beat the answers out of him as soon as possible.
‘A vessel! A new vessel!’
“Shut up…”
The voice echoing in my head was annoying.
The demonic energy had been swimming freely inside my body, treating it like a pool, and…
Now it had moved to my brain and was causing a ruckus.
It seemed to be trying to take control of my body, constantly shaking my consciousness, but…
Thanks to the ‘Mental Fortitude’ trait, I was still holding on.
I hadn’t given it anything yet.
Not my subconscious, not even a fragment of my memories.
It was just floating around inside my body, unable to do anything.
‘A new vessel! A new vessel!’
“It’s no use, you know. You think I’ll go crazy? I spent over a month in Clockwork City without sleeping a wink.”
‘It’s done! It’s done!’
“…?”
What was it talking about?
Then, both Undecided and I froze in place, our heads snapping towards the source of the voice.
Something was standing before us.
“Holy shit.”
Long limbs.
Slender fingers.
A narrow waist.
And thick horns protruding from its head.
The black mana stone had transformed into a demon.
Its surface was still black, but…
It was practically complete.
‘A new vessel!’
The new vessel it had been talking about…
Wasn’t my body.
It had been pretending to try to take over my body, but all along, it had been diligently crafting a clone.
Thud, thud.
The clone, resembling a black mannequin, walked slowly towards me.
I drew my sword and slashed at its waist, but it was useless.
The severed parts instantly reattached themselves.
“…Flame magic-”
“No.”
I stopped Undecided, who had raised her hand to cast a spell.
We couldn’t use magic.
The clone was currently in an unstable state, neither mana stone nor demonic energy, nor a living organism.
If we hit it with flame magic, it would immediately collapse into demonic energy.
And if that massive amount of demonic energy was released into the air, it would be the end.
It would be enough to suffocate everyone in this building.
‘I’ve got it.’
Just as I was wondering what to do, a solution came to mind.
This would work.
‘A vessel! A vessel!!!’
“Fine. I’ll give you what you want.”
“…Yoo-jin?”
“It’s okay.”
I walked towards the clone and grabbed its neck.
A thick, sticky, repulsive sensation clung to my hand.
And then, I opened one of the exits I had sealed off within my body.
‘Finally! My long-cherished wish! My burning desire! Resurrection!!!’
Whoosh!
The demonic energy shot out of the exit like lightning, heading straight for the clone.
My dizziness vanished, and…
The demonic energy entered the clone.
‘Aaaaaah! This refreshing feeling! The same level as my main body! The same power! I’ve regained the power I lost long ago!’
The clone’s surface, which had been entirely black, started to change.
Starting from its fingertips, its skin turned into a tanned, copper color.
Its black horns gained texture.
But just before the clone fully transformed into Belphegor…
I tightened my grip on its neck, and the transformation abruptly stopped.
It reverted back to its black mannequin form.
‘Huh?’
“Sorry, but… I’ve been using this mana stone for months, taming it.”
The control over the clone had completely shifted to me.
How much magic power had I poured into this mana stone?
I had been carrying it around, treating it like a part of my body.
Even if its form had changed, its essence remained the same.
And now that I had learned to manipulate demonic energy through curses…
This ‘something between a half-formed organism and a mana stone’ was completely under my control.
‘No! No!’
I squeezed its neck, and the clone’s form contorted.
I could reshape it as I pleased, just like manipulating a formation.
Even though I hadn’t been able to evolve my formations beyond the 0th stage…
This mana stone was so familiar that I could mold it as I wished.
I twisted, compressed, and condensed it.
Belphegor’s demonic energy screamed inside the stone, but it was useless.
Its will had already been absorbed into the mana stone, rendered powerless.
It was just a noisy voice now.
“I’m reverting you!”
My goal was to return it to its original form.
To turn it back into the mana stone embedded in my sword’s hilt.
It would be a hideous thing, occasionally emitting strange voices, but…
At least it would be reusable.
“Huh?”
I thought I was transforming it back into a mana stone, but…
The shape that emerged from my fingertips was slightly different.
It condensed into a small gem, then stretched out horizontally.
I was puzzled, but then…
I tightened my grip on the stone, and it flashed with light.
The unstable state between demonic energy and mana stone had stabilized.
“Wow…”
I opened my eyes, and a black blade was in my hand.
A deep black, as if it was made of high-carbon steel.
I was admiring its beautiful form when…
“…Wow. A Demonic Sword.”
“Hey, Demonic Sword? What kind of name is that? Watch your mouth-”
[Item name registered.]
[Demonic Sword]
› A sword made from an archdemon’s demonic energy.
It has the properties of metal, but also conducts demonic energy and magic power.
A skilled user might be able to transform it into an unstable state.
It had been given a hideous name in an instant.
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