Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Late Visitor (2)
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1.
The stars in the sky outside the window were shining brightly.
It was a world untouched by environmental pollution to begin with, but gazing up at the night sky from high in the air made the scene even more vividly clear.
《 ~Neutral Stage~ Miresho Lounge 》 "Looks like business went well. Once we head back, the commission's done. I've taken care of all my business."
After finishing up in Arke, the Miresho had wrapped things up and was now heading back to Asral City.
Right now, I was having a quick chat with Stran, the owner of the Miresho. Sure, I'd basically forced the ship to set sail, but we were still client and employer, so going through the formalities made sense.
Call it a routine report, I guess.
Stran seemed thrilled to hear from me—his hands were shaking so hard I could hear it through the magic stone.
No need to be that happy about it.
"Alright, I'll end the call here. Make sure you have my commission fee ready. If even one gold coin's short, I'll yank out a tooth for each one."
-Click!
I set down the receiver-shaped magic stone, ending the communication.
"...Hmm."
Time had slipped by, and it was now 4 a.m.
I sipped the wine a guild staffer had given me while taking in the view outside.
It was late, but I wasn't tired, so no sleep for me.
Truth be told, bad weather had kept us from reaching the floating island at the planned time this afternoon, so I hadn't slept.
Docking at the floating island in the dead of night was pretty risky, so I figured I'd keep watch in case something came up.
Not that there's much I could do about it.
Maybe just give a gentle nudge if it looked like the airship might bump into something.
'Speaking of which, when do we arrive?'
Lost in such idle thoughts, I reflected on everything that had happened so far.
The trip to Arke had been pretty rough.
Wyverns showed up out of nowhere, then a storm hit that wasn't even in the forecast, forcing me and that Demon King to put up barriers so the ship wouldn't get tossed away.
Once we arrived, I had to swat away the massive arrows the elves fired.
Then I stormed their headquarters and crushed them one by one.
'They're late.'
...But those guys never showed up.
Looking back, this adventure had been too peaceful.
Not that you could call wyvern attacks and all that peaceful, but the main villains of this quest—the ones Stran was most worried about—hadn't appeared at all.
"Their name was... what was it again?"
"Richard's Plunder Crew."
Ah, right. Richard's Plunder Crew.
Those guys were on a level where they could rob entire nations, so why hadn't they hit this Turk merchant caravan?
And who was it that told me their name—
'Hm?'
-Footsteps.
"You—"
"High Elf, you've already figured out who I am, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. There's traces of memory tampering in my head, and you're the only one who could've done it."
Huh. I thought I'd wiped it clean pretty neatly, but he noticed.
I'd heard footsteps approaching the lounge and wondered who it was. Turned out to be none other than that Demon King, Silmarion.
I'd known his identity from the start, but since he turned out weaker and more manageable than expected, I hadn't paid much attention.
One of the four so-called strongest in the human realm, but compared to the others, his combat power was... lacking.
He felt like that stereotypical "weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings."
As a summoner by nature, his personal strength was bound to be low, but maybe because I'd faced him as a boss in the game, he felt even weaker now.
Back then, he had the presence worthy of the Demon King title.
"...So, what did you do?"
"What do you mean? I just erased your memories, that's all. I could restore them if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it."
"I don't care about the lost memories!"
Suddenly, he grabbed my collar and yelled.
'?'
At first, I thought about slamming him into the floor, but his hand trembled on my collar as he desperately clung on.
Ah, he was scared.
But why was this Demon King so terrified of me yet still grabbing my collar? Was he one of those who liked getting hit or something?
The type I wanted nothing to do with.
"Then what's the problem?"
"Ever since that day, I can't summon holy-attribute familiars anymore! What the hell did you do?!"
He wailed, eyes welling up with tears.
Can't summon holy-attribute familiars?
'Why's this weak guy even weaker now?'
That piqued my curiosity a bit.
Whether he could use familiars or not didn't affect me, but for a summoner who lived by them, losing a specific attribute was a big deal.
Why complain to me, though?
I wouldn't know why he suddenly couldn't summon them any more than anyone else...
...Wait, could it be?
"Ah."
"Exactly! You know something!"
Come to think of it, yeah, I had a guess.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ [Purified Holy Tentacle – Lv.250] HP: 6,900,000 / MP: 25,000 ▶ A demonic creature that parasitizes the womb, feeding on female bodily fluids to reproduce. Its secreted mucus is said to be good for skin care.
The tentacle I'd used to erase his memories—it had holy power ever since it devoured that hero guy.
Maybe that's why his power was temporarily weakened.
'Demons weaken temporarily when hit with holy power. That tentacle went right inside him, so it's no wonder he's a lot weaker.'
A quick check on him confirmed it.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 【Demon King 'Silmarion' – Lv.500(★)】 ※Special: Weakened (Level Decrease, Skill Seal) Yup, as expected.
Holy power had debuffed him—his effective level was down to the 300s, and some skills were sealed.
Probably high-level magic only available at Lv.500+, now inaccessible.
In the end, it was my fault he was weakened.
"So, what do you want me to do about it?"
What was I supposed to do? He attacked first anyway.
Self-inflicted.
-Thud!
"Guh, urk?!"
-Thump!
I drove my knee into his gut.
His grip on my collar loosened, and he collapsed, drooling and writhing in agony.
"Ugh, kuh... Hah, that hurt... Damn it!"
Tested on Lewis—it was the simplest way to neutralize someone.
'...Disgusting.'
One downside: they always drooled all over the floor.
Seeing it reminded me of Arena and Diavela.
Both filthy—one licking my feet, the other slobbering over my whole body...
'Stop thinking about it.'
Sigh. Now I felt grimy just recalling it.
Good thing I bought soap in Arke. Better head to my cabin and shower for the remaining time.
About an hour till arrival—perfect for a quick rinse.
"You idiot... I didn't board this ship just for you, ugh."
-Click.
No business here, so back to the cabin—
But the Demon King grabbed my ankle, blocking me.
"Hah, says the guy who spent all day rolling in bed with a man?"
"There were circumstances... Wait, how do you even know that?!"
"Think I'd miss it if I wanted to? It was loud."
[Nngh, ah... Siwoo, harder there—hng?!]
I didn't eavesdrop on purpose.
Whenever I showered quietly in the bathroom, I'd hear the bed creaking nonstop from the Demon King and hero going at it.
From what I knew, outside work hours, they were always glued together, biting, sucking, you name it.
No audio enhancement magic needed—the sound leaked through the bathroom vent.
'Soundproofing's good elsewhere, but not the bathroom.'
My sharp ears helped too. Lewis never heard a thing, so probably only keen senses like beastkin would notice.
Just me, then.
"What, are your ears rabbit-level or something?!"
"Rabbits suit you two better—they're in heat 365 days a year. Pretty similar, huh?"
"Demons can't help it! You wouldn't get it since you're not one, but heat cycles suck for us too!"
"Hah, really... Wait, what?"
What did I just hear?
Demons have what now?
"Of all times... What am I supposed to do when it hits during vacation? It's only about a week a year, but it started two days ago."
The Demon King sniffled, face flushed.
I felt a slight dizziness too.
A week out of the year?
Demons were demons, but I was a special case—more like high elf to elf, probably similar physiologically...
'...How long since I possessed Cyan?'
Half a year plus a month.
'No, too early to worry.'
But this wasn't in Novel Online.
Though no game details that anyway.
"Whatever! That's not the point! I boarded for another reason—what are you gonna do about this?!"
Plus, I'd seen stuff here beyond any setting document—completely unknown elements.
Eh, probably nothing.
"Not just me—everyone on this ship could get killed! You too, High Elf!"
Now pointing at me.
Demon heat cycles sounded headache-inducing; think on it later.
"...Sigh, fine. What's this grand reason? Let's hear it."
Figure out why the Demon King was so desperate first.
A Demon King wouldn't freak over nothing; needed to know why he was this on edge.
Something I didn't know was going on.
"...He's coming soon. The one who killed Skul. Those pureblood high demons from the Demon Realm—the old bastards!"
"High demons? Who're they?"
"You don't know the Seven Great High Demons?! You're a High Elf—even frogs in a well like elves should know them!"
"Sorry, no clue. And who said you could yell?"
-Thwack!
"Ow! I said no hands to the face!"
"That was my foot."
"You damn High Elf..."
I ignored the noisy Demon King and pondered these Seven Great High Demons.
Any Demon Realm bosses by that name? Never heard it in Novel Online raids.
So, either totally unknown monsters or race-specific quest ones. Even then, unlikely I'd miss any in Novel Online.
'A Lv.500 Demon King this worried.'
Who the hell?
"Hey, aren't you the Demon King? Shouldn't you be stronger than other demons, high or whatever?"
"...Normally, yeah, but without holy summons, I can't win. Especially not this one!"
Silmarion bit his lip.
But it didn't faze me much.
I'd just faced a sage who could reset the world and the transcendents who made him—how strong could a demon be?
'Still, no slacking. If the Demon King's warning, he's got real skill.'
Especially after getting caught off-guard last time—those two sages sandwiching me gave me chills and fever.
"Don't worry. I'm contracted to protect this ship and crew, so I won't just watch. And how strong could he be? Your level at best—no issue."
So if this Seven Great whatever shows, take him out before he acts.
Like with Diavela—pummel nonstop, no magic chance.
Or one-shot him. Unless he's key to future Novel Online story, killing's fine.
"You arrogant High Elf, he's the worst matchup for mages like us! The Seven Great have unique authorities, and his is—"
-Thud!
"Hm?"
It happened then.
"Ugh, already?!"
A massive jolt hit the Miresho.
No barrier damage, so not an attack—better check it out.
"I'll step outside. Barrier's fine."
"Wait! Alone against him—"
-Flash!
"...Hmm."
I teleported to the deck.
Same starry night sky above.
Looking around, we'd arrived at the floating island.
Ruone—the one we'd reached in a day heading to Arke.
That jolt was probably docking...
《 ~Neutral Stage~ Floating Island Ruone 》 "This island—wasn't it pretty bright even at night?"
But something was off.
The island was unnaturally dark—no lights from the village.
...And no presence from the villagers either.