Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Demon King's Castle (3)
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Seeing Se-kyung suddenly turn gloomy, Yuri panicked a little and rolled his eyes.
'...Did he get sulky?'
Unlike the other Goll clansmen who had been dispatched, Se-kyung had been exiled.
He yearned intensely to return to his clan.
That was why he had demanded the Redner family seal in their bet.
Worried that he might have prodded too deeply at his wounds, Yuri felt a bit sorry and scratched his cheek.
At that moment, Se-kyung spoke to him with distant eyes.
“There is an unfulfilled dream I must achieve...”
“Suddenly talking about dreams... Ah?”
Yuri was dumbfounded by the abrupt talk of dreams.
In that instant, he recalled what Johan had said.
[That bastard told me back then. He said he'd unleash a great explosion that would blow the continent away within the next thirty years.]
Yuri asked in an incredulous tone.
“That dream of causing an explosion to blow away the continent? You're still chasing that insane dream?”
“How do you know about that...?”
How would Yuri know?
Of course, Johan had told him.
“You damn snitch, blabbing your mouth everywhere like a rat!”
Se-kyung's eyes widened round before he ground his teeth.
Then he mulled over Yuri's words and glared.
“You bastard! Calling my dream insane!”
“What else would you call a delusional dream about blowing up the continent?”
“You punk! My dream was right on the verge of success! It wasn't some delusion or ravings of a madman!”
“No, the very idea of attempting it is insane! Whether it succeeded or not... Huh?”
Yuri wondered if he'd misheard and fiddled with his ear.
He flicked off the earwax and asked again.
“...What was that?”
“What?”
“So... it succeeded? That crazy stunt?”
“What are you talking about? If it had succeeded, would you and I be standing here unscathed right now?”
“R-right?”
“It stopped right at about ninety percent completion. Precisely, it was sabotaged.”
“......”
“Damn old fogeys! Ruining my great achievement like that! I only had one final bit of research left!”
He seemed genuinely furious.
Yuri's face drained of color at Se-kyung's expression, which held not a shred of jest.
“Ninety percent completion... how powerful was it?”
“By my calculations, it had more than enough power to blow away an entire administrative district with ease.”
“......”
“Ha, I made the thing but couldn't even detonate it... It would've been nice to test it just once for real.”
“Uh... just to be sure, that wasn't why you got exiled from the Goll clan, was it?”
“Why wouldn't it be? Those old meisters saw my masterpiece and claimed it would destroy the entire clan, so they kicked me out! Bunch of filthy bastards!”
“......”
“Overreacting to something like that—does that even make sense!”
...Excuse me? That doesn't sound like an overreaction at all.
Something with the power to wipe out an administrative district... That kind of force could obliterate the Goll clan's territory in an instant!
And Se-kyung was the sort of guy who would set it off anytime.
No wonder they exiled him.
The realization hit Yuri, and he stared at Se-kyung with horrified eyes.
“...And you were so desperate to get back to the Goll territory because...?”
“What else? To finish my unfinished research, obviously.”
Cold sweat trickled down Yuri's back.
He suddenly missed Johan's face.
‘Old man... you were right. This guy's a real lunatic!’
Among all the lunatics in the world, this one took the cake.
‘Whoa, that was a close one.’
If he'd lost that bet with Se-kyung, the world might have faced a serious crisis.
Unwittingly, he'd nearly doomed the world.
And unwittingly, he'd saved it.
A sudden thought struck him, and he asked with trembling eyes.
“B-by any chance... you can't continue that research here?”
“You brute! You think research like that is possible with ordinary facilities? And just building the equipment for that level of research would take decades!”
“Ah......”
“Tsk. You thought I was desperate to get back to my lab for no reason.”
Yuri let out a sigh of relief at Se-kyung's dissatisfied tongue-clicking.
It seemed the world was safe, after all.
Just as Yuri, now privy to the secret of Se-kyung's exile, patted his chest in relief—
“By the way, where's that punk Johan been lately?”
“How should I know? I haven't seen him in ages either.”
“No word at all?”
“You think that old man ever bothered with contact? He always just shows up out of nowhere.”
“True, he's always been like that. So no telling when he'll drop by?”
“Yeah. Could be as soon as tomorrow.”
“Hmm... In that case, let's speed up the construction a bit. Squeeze your slaves a little harder.”
“Should I?”
“Do it.”
For a moment, Yuri and Se-kyung's eyes met.
Low chuckles bubbled up from their mouths simultaneously.
“Puhuhu.”
“Hehehe.”
The two, who understood each other without further words, let out sinister laughs for a good while.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the four people outside could only shudder with an inexplicable sense of unease.
* * *
Rewind time a little, to a certain day in June.
Thud- thud- thud-!
As always, Ralph Schnell slammed down his hammer, his massive muscles rippling.
Thud-!
Sparks flew in every direction with the crisp sound.
Sizzle-.
The red-hot iron dipped in and out of water, turning a sooty black.
After staring at the lump of metal he'd hammered for a long while, Ralph carefully set it down.
“...A guest.”
A guest approaching openly, radiating an aura as if announcing their arrival.
And one with a terribly familiar energy at that—Yuri washed his hands lightly and stepped outside.
He tilted his head back slightly to gaze at the sky.
‘He's coming.’
Far in the distance, a tiny speck entered Ralph's view.
The speck grew larger by the second until it took the shape of a person.
Whoosh-.
An old man strode down from empty air, stepping on it like stairs.
Tap-.
Ralph addressed the unannounced Johan in a gruff voice.
“What brings you here, senior?”
Even with the unwelcoming tone, Johan responded nonchalantly.
“You punk, don't you have something to offer a guest?”
“If it were an invited guest, sure.”
Johan shot Ralph a glare as he grumbled.
“What?”
“...Water, at least?”
“Water? Got any booze?”
“So that was your real goal.”
Grumbling all the while, Ralph left Johan standing outside for a moment and returned with two bottles of liquor.
Johan beamed at the sight, then asked with a puzzled look.
“But why bring it out here? Let's drink inside.”
“Got business.”
With that, Ralph started walking.
Johan hurried after him, not keen on entering the house alone without the host.
He uncorked his bottle lightly and took a swig to wet his throat.
Pop-!
“Kuh! Feels like I'm alive again.”
Ralph tossed a sly question at the genuinely delighted Johan.
“Anyway, what's the real reason you're here?”
“Hey, do we always need a reason to meet?”
“...Then start by explaining that suspicious box you're lugging on your back.”
Ralph's gaze fell on the sturdy wooden box strapped to Johan's back.
An extraordinary aura wafted from it.
Feeling the stare, Johan grinned.
“Heh, getting on in years, but your instincts are sharper than ever.”
“It's suspicious as hell. So, what's the deal?”
Urged on, Johan took another swig before speaking.
“Since you're asking so directly, I'll cut the crap.”
“...?”
“Got any elixirs? Hand 'em over if you do.”
“......”
...So that's why he came—to mooch.
Ralph's eyes narrowed.
The moment he grasped the truth, a chill settled over him.
“Elixirs? If I had any, I'd have used them to bolster my own health ages ago.”
“Is that so? Damn, what a shame. I was planning to brew some ‘mishmash’... Was gonna give you a ladle if it turned out right, but oh well, no dice.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ralph's steps came to an abrupt halt.
He whipped around, eyes wide with shock.
“Did you just say... mishmash?”
Only then did Ralph realize what was in the box Johan had mentioned.
At the same moment, an angry bellow erupted from his mouth automatically.
“You said you had none! When I asked to see some, you claimed it was all used up!”
“Hoho, this is the real last one. Didn't realize—turns out exactly one was left.”
“You expect me to buy that?”
“It's true, I swear~”
The sly Johan winked at the trembling Ralph.
“So, really got none? Elixirs?”
Ralph's trembling stopped at the question.
Instead, it shifted to his eyes.
He swallowed dryly and asked.
“Brewing mishmash takes way more elixirs than you'd think, doesn't it...?”
“Don't worry—I've been hitting up all my contacts, mooching far and wide.”
“...Mooching. You mean robbing people left and right.”
As if he'd come specifically for him.
When Ralph grumbled like that, Johan glared again.
“Yeah, I robbed 'em! What're you gonna do about it!”
“......”
“I just straight-up took from the others, but I was gonna hook you up with a ladle... Eh. Forget it!”
As Johan pouted like a sulky child, Ralph sneaked a glance and ventured.
“...Two ladles.”
In an instant, Johan's expression shifted to one of 'knew you'd cave,' as if he'd never been upset.
He flashed a sly grin.
“Hey, one ladle!”
“One and a half...!”
“One and a half of a half!”
Like hagglers at a market, Johan and Ralph bickered fiercely over the mishmash.
In the end, they settled on a compromise of 'one ladle plus half a ladle plus five drops extra' and shook on it.
Having reached an amicable agreement, Ralph voiced his curiosity.
“But why the sudden mishmash? For the kid?”
“The kid? Yuri?”
“Who else would you be looking out for?”
Johan snorted at Ralph's words.
“Looking out my ass. Why would I waste something this precious on him? It's for me.”
“You?”
“Some leech-like bastard left me all drained. Time for a little health boost.”
“...?”
Johan patted his waist.
Ralph shot him a look that said, ‘What nonsense is this old coot up to now?’
At last, their footsteps reached the destination.
It was the open clearing where Yuri and Mu-chi had sparred before.
In the vast space, a hulking figure was swinging a spear.
Whoosh- whoosh-.
Gales whipped up each time the massive axe-spear cleaved the air.
Bulge- bulge-.
The muscles on his bare upper body—each the size of a child's head—swelled with rage.
Johan let out an admiring gasp at the sight of the sweat-drenched figure deep in training.
“Ho, he's bulked up even more since last time. Definitely your spitting image.”
Mu-chi was only just fourteen now.
Yet his height had already surpassed two meters.
Ralph wore a satisfied smile at Johan's assessment.
“Course he takes after me—he's my blood!”
He gazed at his grandson with eyes brimming with affection.
Johan snorted at the blatant favoritism.
“Looks like more than just his body has changed. His aura... it's gotten awfully sharp.”
Gone was the boy who once dreaded even spars; now Mu-chi carried a razor edge like his grandfather, the man nicknamed the Butcher.
The transformation had truly accelerated after his encounter with Yuri.
“Ever since Yuri left... he's been training like mad, vowing not to embarrass himself next time they meet.”
“Hmm... You really planning on sending him to Yoram?”
“The boy's dead set on it, and he's already got the White Dragon Medallion.”
Ralph probed slyly as he spoke.
“What do you think?”
“Of what?”
“The kid... he's grown a lot, hasn't he?”
Johan knew full well this wasn't just about physical growth.
The subtle probe probably meant, ‘My grandson's this impressive—how's Yuri doing?’
Johan chuckled inwardly.
‘Inherited Ralph's talent, already past certified rank one... gunning for rank two.’
With a master grandfather's genes and intensive one-on-one training to boot, rapid progress was only natural.
Still, achieving this much growth in less than a year from uncertified grade one was nothing short of astonishing...
“...He's gonna cry again.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
Johan shoved the image of Mu-chi losing to Yuri and bawling out of his mind and changed the subject.
“Anyway, with next year's entrance looming, shouldn't you start moving soon? Want a ride?”
“...No need. We'll head out before long ourselves. A good run, and we'll make it in plenty of time.”
They needed to arrive by November twentieth for the entrance.
Johan grinned at Ralph's plan to cover an eight-month journey on foot in five.
“Forget that—I'll take you. Two days, tops.”
“No thanks.”
“Why not?”
“I'd have to be insane to climb aboard that thing again under my own power!”
Ralph practically had a fit at the mere thought of the ‘cloud spinner.’
Johan smacked his lips in disappointment.
After some idle chit-chat, Johan pocketed Ralph's elixirs and hurried off to mooch from his next mark.
A few days after the uninvited guest departed.
“Time to go. We'll have to run hard to make it on schedule.”
“Yessir!”
The massive grandfather and grandson locked up and left their home behind.
Though the owners were gone, their abode stood quietly alongside the forest and the seasons.
Shwaaa-.
A late summer downpour lashed the vibrant green leaves, bringing summer to a refreshing close.
Plip- plip- plip-.
Vibrant, multicolored leaves drifted naturally to the ground, ushering in a brief autumn.
And finally.
The first white snowflake drifted down through the bare branches...
Winter had arrived.