175
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 175
The landslide completely transformed the mountain's terrain. Hills became valleys, valleys became hills, and new streams and waterfalls formed. Finding Raven among this was extremely difficult, especially while being pursued by numerous Black Horn tribe members.
"What is that..."
Thud!
Barre smashed through the heads of those blocking his path, advancing in a straight line.
'Please be safe, Raven. Please...!'
Barre felt his heart constricting terribly. The cave couldn't have survived a landslide of that magnitude. If Raven died trapped in that cave... Barre's eyes blazed with murderous intent. Elijah would definitely die by Barre's hands.
***
After running for some time, Barre reached the landslide's origin where visibility opened up. Ancient trees that had never known a woodcutter's axe were all broken, shattered, and lying sideways. Barre used the Path of the Wind. Though awkward at first using it with Barre's body, he quickly adapted.
'Where are you?'
If trapped in the cave struggling to escape, ground movement sounds would be audible. Or if Raven had somehow escaped and was just breathing outside, Barre could track her. He would recognize Raven's breathing anywhere. Barre surveyed the landslide terrain, desperately praying for Raven's survival. Through the chaos of countless Black Horn tribe members' excited breathing, the rough sounds of still-moving ground, and breaking trees...
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
He instantly picked out Raven's anguished scream cutting through the complexity. Barre shifted his gaze down the mountainside. There stood a girl with blazing green eyes. Blood flowed from her head, but the killing intent emanating from her body caused the surrounding magic to surge wildly.
"A Wizard!"
"Food!"
The Black Horn tribe members discovered Raven and charged forward drooling, their muzzles reaching out before their legs to taste her tender flesh. The punishment for presenting their tongues first to an enraged wizard, consumed by greed, was not light. Raven's wand moved. Dozens of dark green magic circles appeared in the sky. The Black Horn tribe members froze at this majestic sight, unable to predict what calamity these magic circles would bring.
Soon, millions of cold raindrops passing through the magic circles transformed into falling fireballs. The blazing rain of fire, burning as intensely as Raven's rage, slowly melted their flesh and corroded through to their organs. Skin, hair, and fur melted together, eyes dissolved, bones charred black, and their flesh and blood became like firewood, making the Red Mountains even redder.
Barre stopped running and stepped back. Entering that area in Barre's body wouldn't be a problem. Though Raven's magic was cruel, Barre's body could somehow endure it. But what would Raven think if Barre, who said he'd leave for the wilderness, suddenly appeared in the Red Mountains? Could he find any excuse? Yet he couldn't enter that magic as Caesar either. Caesar hadn't consumed many potions that increase ‘magic resistance’ yet. Entering through the falling fire raindrops could result not just in serious injury but death.
He needed to think. What way was there to help Raven safely escape through the gaps between tens of thousands of surrounding fanatics? As he thought, Raven's magic intensified. This time magic manifested without circles. The falling rain of fire danced through the air. The fire rain pursued the fleeing Black Horn tribe members like schools of fish. Beast people magic.
"Run, run!"
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
As soon as the Black Horn tribe members were engulfed by the schools of fire fish, their bodies turned to ash and scattered. The Black Blessing couldn't even activate. How could they resurrect when the ashes had scattered in the wind? Despite this amazing miracle, Caesar's expression wasn't good. While Raven's impressive firepower was fine, it wouldn't last long. There were limits to Raven's stamina and computational ability.
Then, a dangerous sound echoed from above.
Rumble!
Sensing danger, Raven immediately stretched her hand toward the sky.
Crash!
A bolt of lightning struck down toward Raven's head. It scattered in the air, blocked by Raven's green shield. Blood trickled from Raven's nose.
"Ugh..."
Due to the sudden attack, Raven became overloaded from rushing to calculate defenses.
Lightning struck Raven mercilessly multiple times.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Raven's shield was gradually breaking.
Caesar immediately found the creator of that lightning.
"Wizard...!"
It was Geotech.
Geotech struck down lightning again.
BOOM!
Raven's hands trembled.
Raven didn't have much time left to endure.
Grr.
Barre threw Thunder towards Geotech while grinding his teeth.
Then he flew straight towards Raven while switching bodies.
The flames Raven created clung to Barre's, or rather Caesar's, body.
While Barre's body could withstand Raven's flames, Caesar's gradually changing skin could not endure them.
SIZZLE!
Terrible pain raced through his nervous system.
However, the body that was both Caesar and Barre did not stop.
Even if he burned to death, he couldn't watch Raven die.
"Die, wizard!"
Geotech's hand slashed downward to create the final lightning bolt at almost the same moment Thunder crushed his head.
Caesar screamed.
"URIAAAAA!"
Berserker 6-stack.
This was the first time using 6-stack with Caesar's body.
The muscles throughout his body tightened as if they would shatter bones, and blood vessels burst leaving droplets of blood suspended in the air like afterimages.
Even the aura accumulated in his core poured out instantly like water being dumped from a bucket.
But the effect was amazing.
Caesar pushed away all the rain of flames flying at him with a roar, and advanced towards Raven like lightning through that gap.
Finally, Caesar succeeded in grabbing and running with Raven.
CRASH!
Lightning struck belatedly where Raven had been.
THUD!
Caesar caught Thunder he had thrown earlier with his left hand and looked at Raven.
Raven's eyes met Caesar's.
"...Barre?"
Caesar felt like his heart dropped with a thud.
Caesar saw Raven's eyes sparkling like olivine.
The eyes and hair of Caesar reflected in those eyes were dyed black like Barre's.
Caesar found it difficult to face those questioning eyes.
When Caesar's hair and eyes changed from black to red, Raven's eyes grew even wider.
"...You."
He needed to say something but words wouldn't come out.
Black horn tribesmen filled the surroundings and some were blocking Caesar's path.
Caesar leaped onto a tree and ran across the branches.
"You... Are you really Caesar? You..."
Raven found this situation of being held by Caesar terrifying.
It was like seeing a different person from the Caesar they had known until now.
Raven tried to break free somehow but was so weak they could barely move a finger.
Just maintaining consciousness was the best they could do.
"Are you... A doppelganger?"
Caesar's heart sank.
So it had come to this after all?
He didn't think he could hide it forever.
Though he would be discovered someday, he didn't want to reveal his identity without being mentally prepared.
But now he couldn't lie anymore.
"Yes, I am a doppelganger."
"What... What did you do to Caesar? Where is Caesar now?"
Raven was misunderstanding the current situation.
Should he say they hadn't even considered the possibility that Caesar's true nature was that of a doppelganger?
For a moment, Caesar wondered if it would be okay to maintain this misunderstanding.
But thinking about it more deeply, continuing such a lie seemed meaningless and would only hurt Raven more.
Caesar decided to be honest.
"And I am also Caesar, Raven."
"What are you talking about?"
Caesar stepped on an incoming spear and leaped high into the sky.
He flew following the Path of the Wind.
"I'm saying I've been a doppelganger since I first appeared before you."
"...What?"
"You must be very confused right now. I'm sorry. Originally I didn't want to show you... No."
Caesar thought there was no need to continue using formal speech now that he had been discovered.
"I didn't want to show you my true form like this."
Raven found it hard to believe.
But Raven's eyes were accurate.
The stable magic waves emanating from Caesar's body were telling the truth.
Raven finally fainted.
***
Raven woke up in the middle of the night.
The red moonlight shone into the cave, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Raven jumped up and searched inside her clothes.
Then she drew her wand and surveyed the surroundings.
"...Where is this?"
The cave seemed to have been used by a giant bird-like creature, like a large eagle, as there were straws and feathers everywhere.
There was also a distinctive smell of birds.
Looking outside the cave, she could see quite far.
It appeared to be a small cave located on a cliff.
Raven, in a tense state, first checked her body.
Her physical condition was fine.
Her head was a bit dizzy but not to the point where she couldn't use magic.
Just then, there was movement outside.
Raven tensed up and prepared to cast magic.
Thud!
A large man jumped down and landed at the cave entrance.
His face wasn't visible as he was backlit by the red moonlight.
Raven reflexively shot a magic bullet.
Unlike regular magic bullets, Raven's was thin, long, and sharp.
It was practically like a sharp spear, but the man dodged it by turning his body sideways.
"Don't shoot magic. There are many Black Horn tribe members around."
Raven became more tense upon hearing the familiar voice.
"...Caesar?"
Caesar put down the man he had been carrying on his shoulder.
The man's hands were tied behind his back with handcuffs, and his limbs were tightly bound with what looked like sturdy vine stems.
"You... What is this. Really."
Raven's mind was too confused to make rational judgments.
"I definitely saw it. I definitely saw your form change. Now..."
"I told you clearly that I'm a doppelganger."
When Caesar tried to approach slowly, Raven shot a magic bullet at his feet.
"Don't come closer. I could kill you right now."
"You must be confused. That I'm a doppelganger."
"Since when were you a doppelganger? What exactly are you?"
"Who I am..."
Caesar had thought deeply while Raven was unconscious.
The fact that he was a doppelganger had already been exposed.
So what should he do now?
Caesar decided to reveal everything since things had come to this.
Caesar's body changed.
His hair turned black, his build grew larger, and his skin turned bronze.
Raven looked at the man with unbelieving eyes.
"...Barre?"
Raven felt not just mental shutdown but fear at how alien this whole situation seemed.
Raven gripped her wand with both hands.
"...What did you do to Barre and Caesar, doppelganger?"
"I am both Barre and Caesar, Raven."
"Stop talking nonsense. What did you do to them?!"
"If it's hard to believe, you can check the magic you cast on me yourself."
"What?"
"You cast a 'retrieval' spell on both Wilderness and me because I kept losing Wilderness, didn't you?"
Barre pointed to his right hand.
"You should definitely recognize the magic since you cast it yourself. Right, little one?"
Raven couldn't believe their eyes.
Barre's hands really did have Raven's magic remaining on them.
"...Don't casually use that name, doppelganger."
Raven found it hard to accept that this doppelganger was using the nickname that only Barre had called her by.
Raven started casting magic in their mind.
Since it would be difficult to blast away that guy, Raven planned to escape this place through spatial movement.
"You killed Barre and took his body, transplanting the magic, right? That's why it remains."
"Complete body replacement is impossible. If I had such an overpowered ability, why would I have gone through the trouble of finding and taking the elixir?"
Barre thought he shouldn't give Raven any more time.
If he wasn't careful, Raven might escape through spatial movement magic.
"I am the Barre you know."
"...That's a lie."
"Don't doubt your eyes. You know my words are true."
Barre was right.
Barre wasn't lying.
Raven just couldn't accept it yet.
"And I am Yan's companion and Mitchell's friend. I also threw Wilderness myself and blew off the Demon King's head."
For the first time, Raven began to doubt her own senses.
She wondered if her ability to perceive magic, which she had believed in until now, might be wrong.
"And I am Caesar. The butcher who went to the continent, cleaned up the Homigraph mafia and slaughtered devils, and received command of 300 wizards from Arch Duke and the Emperor to establish order in the demon realm. I am all of those."
"...How."
Raven's wand slowly lowered.
"How is that possible? No, since when have you been deceiving us?"
"I'm sorry."
Tears rolled down Raven's cheeks.
"Don't give me that! When did you start deceiving me?!"