Chapter 353: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 353
The shark devil, Shanks, stared blankly at his subordinates.
His subordinates appeared and disappeared throughout the library like moonlight shimmering on a river.
"Lord Shanks...!"
"I'm hungry...!"
"...I'm exhausted now."
"Come out! Right now, you cursed magician!"
"Aaaaargh!!!"
As if the timeline was distorted, his subordinates repeated cycles of aging, becoming younger, dying, and reviving.
They appeared in various places, on drawers, under desks, on chandeliers, by wall windows, and elsewhere.
Although Shanks hadn't seen many magical spells, he had never experienced one this bizarre where he could only helplessly endure.
"Come out right now!"
Unable to contain his anger, Shanks put furniture in his mouth and crushed it.
"If you don't come out immediately, I'll chew up and swallow this entire library!"
As Shanks opened his jaws toward the books on the shelves, space flipped. Gravity suddenly inverted, and Shanks' body shot up toward the ceiling.
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
After breaking through the ceiling and passing through what seemed like a dark tunnel, he landed on a hot fireplace. When the firewood flames caught his backside, Shanks jumped out in surprise.
In his hasty escape, sparks scattered on the floor. The sparks settled on the tattered carpet like first snow before disappearing. The first thing Shanks noticed was a wall covered with portraits, and next was a white-haired magician.
"Wh-who are you?!"
"Noah Arch."
"Wh-what?! Noah?"
Shanks' mind froze momentarily, never having dreamed of meeting the head of the Arch family in such a manner.
But Shanks quickly remembered what he needed to do.
"I'll kill you!"
As Shanks charged with his jaws wide open, Noah casually waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.
Boom!
Shanks hit his head against a scorched wall. His backside grew hot again. This was because there was firewood beneath his rear.
When Shanks jumped out of the fireplace, he entered a room full of portraits. Sparks scorched the floor again before disappearing, and Shanks stared blankly at Noah.
"What kind of place is this anyway?"
"There's no sentence or word that can make you understand in an instant. I have neither the obligation nor reason to explain."
"What I'm asking is why are you playing with me and my subordinates!"
"It would be a disqualification as an intellectual to educate vermin who don't know their place, but since this is necessary, I suppose I must speak despite my discomfort."
Noah lightly tossed a letter to Shanks.
The letter slid through the air and arrived precisely in front of Shanks.
"I'll let only you escape alive. Take this letter to Denver."
"...What is this?"
"A ceasefire agreement."
"What? A ceasefire agreement?"
"Yes. Withdraw all devils within 3 hours from now. Then you, Andras, and Bassago will live. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee your future."
Shanks received the letter and burst into laughter.
"Right! So you also know the natural order of this world! That we, Main, will eventually triumph...!"
"Everything has fallen apart."
Shanks sensed emptiness in Noah's tone. It was like the ramblings of a dying old man.
"I've been pondering when things went wrong. It was probably after father accepted Caesar."
Shanks couldn't understand what Noah was talking about. Because of Caesar? Wasn't Noah's relationship with Caesar supposed to be excellent?
"Go to Denver and tell him. Noah Arch wants a ceasefire. If you stop the invasion and retreat, we will no longer pursue you."
Shanks snorted.
"It seems you think you're at a disadvantage? If you're begging, we might consider it. But..."
"Think carefully, Shanks. Why am I letting you go alive?"
Shanks froze momentarily at the killing intent emanating from Noah's body.
"It's not because I fear Denver or the devils. I already know how to exterminate all of you within 3 hours. But the reason I'm not doing so is because this is the only way for both sides to get what they want."
"What do both sides want?"
"If you're curious, look at it first. Though I'm not sure if you have the capacity for that."
Shanks rolled his eyes, considering his options. Noah was originally in his early 30s, but now he looked like he was in his 60s.
Shanks didn't know why Noah had suddenly aged so much, nor what that bizarre magic was that killed his subordinates and toyed with him.
In this situation, what should Shanks do?
"...I'll deliver it to His Majesty."
"Good. I'll send you right away."
"What? You know where His Majesty Denver is...?"
As Noah waved his staff, a spatial transfer magic circle appeared beneath Shanks' feet.
Whoosh!
With the sensation of space distorting, he arrived in the middle of a humid forest.
Surprisingly, Denver and Marbas were right in front of Shanks.
"Huh...?"
Shanks was so startled that he dropped the letter.
Marbas immediately placed a poisoned needle against Shanks' neck.
"Shanks, how did you get here?"
"Ah, um. That is..."
Shanks' mind was in chaos, struggling to understand the situation. Where was this place, and why was Denver here?
Beyond Denver and Marbas, he could see Homigraph and Sapientia. Explosions and screams were coming from various directions.
"Your Majesty, were you here all along?"
Marbas pressed the needle into Shanks' neck.
"Which magician sent you here? Did you beg for your life? Shanks?"
"No! I..."
Shanks immediately picked up the letter and handed it to Denver.
"Ah, Arch Duke suddenly wants a truce......"
Denver's eyebrows twitched.
"What? A truce?"
"Yes, yes! That's right! I don't know the exact details, but it seems that Arch Duke and Caesar have had a falling out. So it seems he thinks he cannot hold out."
Denver picked up the letter.
Based on the fact that there was no magical power emanating from it, it didn't seem like there was any trap.
"Was it Noah Arch who sent you?"
"Yes! That's right."
Noah knows Denver's exact location.
How on earth?
Besides, if he knew, wouldn't it have been much better to drop magic on this place? Why did he send this letter through Shanks?
Whatever the reason, there was no choice but to open the letter and check.
Denver immediately tore open the letter.
"Your Majesty, it could be a trap."
"I know. Nevertheless, I need to know what Noah is thinking by proposing a truce."
Denver quietly read the letter.
[To Denver, King of Niflheim. Caesar is currently coming to Homigraph along the Eileen River with the mer people. If you want to know his exact location, immediately pull back your devils and prepare to strike Caesar. Isn't Caesar more tempting to you than Homigraph and Sapientia? I will give you Caesar, so do not touch the ships and magic stones coming with him. If you do not withdraw within 1 hour, I will not tell you Caesar's exact location.]
Denver folded the letter and put it in his pocket.
"It seems certain that his relationship with Caesar has been damaged."
"What? Really?"
"It seems Noah wants magic stones in exchange for giving Caesar."
"Why on earth would he want magic stones?"
"That's something nobody knows."
Marbas carefully opened his mouth.
"What are you thinking of doing? Your Majesty?"
"I will follow Noah's proposal."
"It could be a trap!"
"Even if it's not a trap, having this letter would definitely ruin the relationship between Caesar and Noah."
Marbas realized Denver's thinking.
Whether this is a trap or not, the content written in this letter is clear. It's as plain as day that just showing this letter to Caesar and letting him know that Noah and Sapientia have abandoned him would ruin their relationship.
"Then what do you plan to do with the magic stones?"
"We won't touch them. A promise is a promise."
Horns grew on Denver's head.
"Of course, the ship might accidentally sink while capturing Caesar."
***
Bassago clicked his tongue and backed away.
The number of magicians in Sapientia had increased too much.
Moreover, somehow the magicians knew the locations of all the swamps of decay that Bassago had hidden everywhere, and they had burned them all, forcing him to hide.
At that moment, a flame spell exploded above Bassago's head.
"Damn it."
Bassago immediately drew out a decay knight from the swamp of decay to block it. While the decay knight melted and disappeared in the flame spell, Bassago immediately fled. The situation had become much more unfavorable from about 2 hours ago.
Other devils who had invaded Sapientia died too easily and were pushed into a corner.
'I should escape to Homigraph for a while.'
At that moment, a shadow reaper appeared in front of Bassago. The shadow reaper opened its mouth with an eerie voice.
"Hu, huhu...... Retreat. E, everyone."
"What?"
"Lo, Lord Denver's orders...... Everyone must...... follow."
"What? His Majesty is here?"
With those final words, the shadow reaper dissolved into the shadows and disappeared.
In fact, Bassago didn't think that Denver would entrust Homigraph and Sapientia to just Andras and himself. But he hadn't expected that Denver would come personally and be waiting.
Bassago cast a communication spell to Andras.
"Andras, did you receive the contact?"
-Yes.
Andras had become less talkative since being subdued by Denver.
He probably thought there was no reason to respect Bassago anymore. That point did provoke Bassago's anger, but since that was his current position, he swallowed his anger.
"What are you thinking of doing?"
-It doesn't make sense to miss this good opportunity to at least destroy Homigraph.
Honestly, it's infuriating. After fighting to death, suddenly ordering a retreat without energy.
Moreover, he didn't even clearly explain the reason.
"Shall we pretend we didn't hear it?"
Although he had bowed his head to Denver to survive, Bassago had a negative sentiment and didn't want to comply with Denver's retreat order. It seems Andras felt the same way.
-Not a bad idea.
***
When the devils suddenly disappeared to the west, Raven stopped her wand. She had thought they would definitely cross over Homigraph and invade Sapientia, but they were all retreating as if fleeing midway.
'What is going on?'
Why are they retreating when the situation is so favorable to the devils? At that moment, a communication spell was cast on Raven.
-Come to the Arch Great Library.
The voice in the communication spell was clearly Noah Arch's voice.
"Waaaaaaaa!"
"The devil bastards are running away!"
"We won!"
The soldiers who knew nothing shouted with joy, while officers including Jerry just tilted their heads as if something was strange.
Gloria approached Raven.
"Why are the devils running away?"
"I don't know either. But Arch Duke might know."
As soon as the devils withdrew, Noah contacted her. Noah might definitely know something.
"I'll go see Duke Noah. Be prepared as the devils might invade again."
***
Swoosh!
Raven immediately arrived at the front entrance of the Arch Great Library.
The front door was open. Raven was about to enter through the front door right away but hesitated. This was because she could read the 'Dragon language’ hanging in the middle of the Great Library's entrance.
『Move to the 36th Gallery.』
Before, such Dragon language weren't even visible, so why can they suddenly be seen now?
Is it because Raven is now able to read Dragon language?
Whatever the answer was, it was clearly inside, so Raven put her hand into the Dragon language. Then she was transported to a room where the faces of all the past Arch Dukes were drawn.
The fireplace was burning warmly, and Noah Arch was sitting in front of it. Unlike the outside where life and death were at stake, he looked very relaxed.
The reason Raven's heart didn't burn with anger was that Noah's appearance had not only become very emaciated but also aged.
"......I see you, Duke Arch."
"Sit down."
He looked sickly at the inauguration ceremony as well, but he still looked like he was in his late 30s, but now he looked like he was in his late 60s.
Raven saw the Dragon language hanging around Noah.
『The price of multiple regressions...... Rapid aging and weakening in progress.』
'Were these Dragon language active?'
Why are such Dragon language active in the Great Library, and why is Noah talking about regression?
Could it be that he knows how to use Dragon language like Raven?
Raven looked around.
『36th Gallery.』
『The bonfire is scheduled to go out after 12 hours 25 minutes 13 seconds.』
『The portrait of the 1st Arch Duke, Prime Arch drew it himself while looking at his own face.』
『The portrait of the 2nd Duke Arch, Prime Ark drew the portrait for him.』
Information poured in that was so confusing that Raven almost wanted to close her eyes.
Raven focused on Noah Arch, not on anything else.
"Regression......? Did you regress?"
"I didn't count. But subjectively, it feels like it's been about nine days."
"By nine days, you don't mean......"
"I repeated exactly 6 hours 36 times after Homigraph was invaded. How to defend Sapientia and Homigraph with minimal damage. I wandered looking for all those methods."
Raven couldn't understand at all.
If that were the case, shouldn't Noah have helped when they were first invaded?
"Homigraph is as good as half-destroyed. The Cork Magic Tower also collapsed."
"I know."
"Are you saying this was the best we could do?"
"That future cannot be changed. It was already written in the Akashic Record."
"The Akashic Record?"
The surrounding magic trembled violently. The desk and chair twisted, the fireplace flipped over, and unknown people appeared and disappeared repeatedly.
『The one who has reached the truth, $#@ approaching the record.』
『@#%*@#』
『@##$%@!#』
Unknown incomprehensible Dragon language floated around Raven.
The space twisted and the trembling became increasingly severe.
"What is happening?"
"I don't know either."
The person saying he doesn't know is far too calm. Raven read the magic waves flowing from Noah's body.
"Don't lie. You anticipated this would happen, didn't you?"
"I mean I don't understand the phenomenon itself. But I knew this future because it was recorded in the Akashic Record."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
At that moment, a vision appeared in Raven's eyes.
Caesar taking a sip of wine. Raven sitting in front of Caesar, leisurely drinking wine.
-What happens when a time paradox occurs?
-I don't know.
-Are we going to be blankly dazed for 2 hours?
-Barre that guy is different
-He's pure. And stupid. It's like raising a big dog. He likes to eat and laughs loudly. Hahaha! Like this.
It's a conversation Raven doesn't know. But Raven definitely felt like she had such a conversation.
-We call that point a singularity.
-We are looking for that singularity.
-We don't know if that singularity is an object, a person, a devil, an animal, or a single event.
Conversations with Laar Arch also come to mind, and everything is in chaos. Raven felt nauseous.