Chapter 405
Chapter 405
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 405
Chapter Title: Miyamoto Ken (2)
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In the span of a fleeting moment, a torrent of events unfolded in rapid succession.
This ritual chamber was a workshop under Sodian's absolute dominion.
Every hidden mystery within it was infused with her will.
Thus, linked to her main body, it wasted no time in a sudden crisis, immediately asserting its presence.
Rumble—
Countless roots erupted from the floor, blanketing the entire underground barrier, and they promptly warped and twisted the space inside.
Shackles meant to bind the intruder's flesh activated, while horrific curses rained down upon it.
Innumerable mana barriers rose to block the beast's path, and interlocking magic circles like meshed gears materialized, swiftly completing black magic spells to repel the foe.
Boom!
A near-flawless counter that sealed the sudden ambush tight.
Truly the splendor of a high demon who had trod the path of sorcery for millennia, far surpassing even the average transcendent archmage.
"Kahaha!"
"Keuhung!"
Yet for Sodian, it was a profoundly bitter turn.
Merely "near-flawless" was woefully insufficient against that opponent...
Crunch— Slash!
The curses were devoured whole.
The barriers in its way shredded like rags under razor-sharp fangs, and the barrier enforcing distance began to groan in protest.
The straining shackles shattered under brutal force, and even the black magic laced with malevolent energy inflicted scant harm on the monster.
"Kuk! Ken, you dare...!"
Yes, a monster in every sense.
Nothing in its path mattered to it.
It barreled straight ahead toward its sole target: Sodian.
"Begone! This is my domain! You think I'll fall easily?!"
"Kakakak!"
"Kauwool—!"
Furious, she fought with all she had, but no one could say how long it would hold.
She was barely clinging on thanks to the workshop's aid; her defiance wouldn't endure long against this onslaught.
'...Impressive. I knew Davidson was strong, but this level?'
Ken, observing from a safe distance, squeezed his eyes shut.
Davidson thrashed about in manic glee, looking oddly thrilled like a pup on a stroll.
The ritual chamber crumbling into chaos around him evoked memories of his beagle turning the house upside down out of boredom—pure PTSD fuel.
'No need for me to butt in. I'll leave it to him entirely and handle my own business.'
Steadying his breath with a calm inhale, Ken turned away.
He'd considered teaming up if things got dicey, but it looked handled.
"...Here?"
The barrier's activation had left it rattling from Davidson's frenzy, making navigation easy.
More than that... he just had to follow the eerie pull beckoning him, same as before.
Glancing past the colossal balrog—War Demon Duke Karakul, still bound head to toe—he approached a door embedded in the pillar's face.
War Demon Duke later.
Peek inside first.
Thump thump—
His heart pounded fiercer with every step toward the door.
Tension bubbled up from deep within his chest.
Crackle!
Ignoring the violent backlash, Ken wrenched the door open with mana-charged hands.
Stepping through the gap, the scene that greeted him was...
"This is...?"
A vast expanse unimaginable within the pillar.
A grand temple, pristine white throughout.
Towering pillars and statues lined both sides, crowned by a majestic mural on the lofty ceiling.
Pure gold engravings of indecipherable script—arcane tongues even Ken, long a denizen of this world, couldn't parse—adorned every surface.
By the vibe, sacred texts venerating some deity.
He frowned, scrutinizing them, then shook his head.
'A temple? Here? And no way this worships a demon god. ...What the hell is the Demon Dragon Duke scheming?'
His steps carried him unerringly inward, toward one direction.
So instinctive he only realized it belatedly.
Yet he pressed on without pause, traversing the temple's corridor in silence.
He'd scour every inch anyway; starting point hardly mattered.
He arrived in a chamber lined with what looked like hospital beds.
"Where they offer up sacrifices?"
No—closer inspection revealed small altars, not beds.
Though with one person sprawled atop each, the distinction felt moot.
'...About what I expected.'
The victims' forms varied wildly.
Every gender, age, race imaginable.
Common threads: all seemingly adults, all gaunt and lifeless as corpses.
'Some still clinging to life is the real surprise.'
A few barely breathed on, sustained by potent ritual magic, but most had long crossed the threshold—corpses withered beyond limits.
Some reduced to bare bones.
'Scratch that. Not a sick ward—a morgue.'
And there—he, Japanese Miyamoto Ken, Demon Realm's count-class demon Ken—
uncovered what had drawn him here.
He stared down blankly.
"...Huh? What the hell?"
Amid dozens of aligned small altars.
One held a man, shriveled like the rest, breaths ragged and fading.
"...Why?"
Despite the skeletal frame, the face was unmistakable—a dead ringer for...
Ken in his human days.
***
"Reunion after ages, and you're back already? You could've stayed longer, no issue."
In the office sat Heinz 2nd, the vampire with a frosty demeanor, tilting his head faintly.
His gaze fell on a boy who looked late teens, lounging on the guest sofa with hands clasped behind his head, playing coy.
But ignoring the new master's overture outright was impossible.
He met the steady stare with a soft sigh, straightened up, and spoke cautiously.
"We have plenty of time ahead together, right? So much to do—catching up over a few days suffices. With the presidential election looming, Mother's swamped anyway."
"Hmm, truly all?"
Temiran McClaire pursed his lips at the probing.
Then glanced away, grumbling under his breath.
"...Truth be told, a bit awkward too. I'm a grown son now; can't cling to Mother's skirts forever. But she still sees me as that little kid from back then..."
So he'd bolted here on a fieldwork pretext.
Heinz smirked at the petulant whine.
Who'd peg that look as adult?
Pure awkward teen incarnate.
'Fair enough. Holed up under constant brainwashing till recently—makes sense.'
Maturity isn't just years stacking up.
It's mingling with folks, learning, stacking experiences.
Reclusive mountain geezer outfoxed by a net-savvy kid; Temiran's clock was only now ticking normally.
'Spoiled him enough. Time to fend solo. Not some average brat.'
Ex-apostle prowling world's shadows, now Sacred Blood vampire and Hybrid upper brass.
Only Mom Kayla McClaire could baby him.
"Fair enough. Business first, then. Spill more on that Demon Realm bit."
"Ah... that?"
"Yeah. Rough sketch before—might've missed details."
Temiran snapped to attention at the directive, dipping his head.
"As I said, I just mopped up. Predecessor handled most; my role was minor. Knew little inevitably."
Revolutionary perished sans handover; Temiran emerged half-baked apostle.
Gaps in intel were par for course...
Still, apostles grasped the broad strokes to execute.
"Kidnapping otherworlders, shipping 'em to Demon Realm by force..."
One thread: Earth awakeners snatched covertly till a few years back.
"Goal?"
"Mediums, obviously. Just hearsay for me, but leveraging otherworlder quirks sidesteps world laws handily. Opens infinite doors."
Ongoing since Earthlings first hit Outerica, up to recently.
Cloaked ops to mask culprits—no mass grabs, but span meant heaps of victims.
'Tons of Earthlings must've suffered.'
Likely tied to Outerica's dimensional reveal lag.
Fresh transfer realm, sparse dispatches; one slip, poof—abducted. Low returnees unsurprising.
'Me... Hans too, maybe snared if first drop elsewhere.'
World-ignorant plus Earth oddities? Bullseye.
Ken's visage flickered through Heinz's mind.
Undeniable kidnappee by tale.
So why demonized settler?
"Huh? Demonization? What's that mean?"
The reply birthed fresh doubt.
"Wipe otherworlder traits clean...? Tanks sacrifice value, no? No clue on fully stripping 'em. Predecessor clueless too."
Upshot: Ken's dispatch factual; rest? Unrelated.
'Hmm. What gives? He fibbed?'
Plausible.
Back then, mere first-met Earthling to Hubert.
「Analysis」 vetted truth, but skill gap muddied perfection.
'Nah, cross-checked with Hela later. Post-Earthling reveal, why bother lying...'
Brow furrowed in tangle, Heinz shook it off.
Overcomplication bred knots.
Go simple now.
Like Harley—deeds over words.
'Demon Realm beat expectations, fun-wise.'
Harley lately, as Davidson, reveling in savage beast bliss.
Whim-driven baseline; beast-gene body swap (brain included) cranked it up.
'Fight's done. My move.'
No red flags cooped up, but tails-up surveillance'd yield fruit.
Worst case, alternatives abounded.
'High demon? Finger regrows in a snap.'
Chill smile curled Heinz's lips.
Temiran, mood-reading, ghosted quietly.
Home rest winning.
***
A felled titan of a tree sprawled across the floor.
Davidson perched atop, gnashing branches betwixt his trio of heads, then pivoted.
"Kehung~!"
"Kahat!"
Prone-stretch complete, he trotted lightly to the pillar door Ken vanished through.
Behind: ritual ruin, splintered demonwood—Marquis demon Sodian's wreckage.
Yet he halted shy of entry.
Right before: the hulking balrog shackled tight.
War Demon Duke Karakul.
Six eyes lifted to the scantily breathing form.
No demon-lord awe, no pity in that gaze.
Gulp—
Pure hunger.
Drool cascaded from three maws.
Unplanned veg binge left him ravenous.
And here, prime rare eats plated up—pass on this banquet?
Spit on 「Gluttony」!
'Busy path ahead. One nibble suffices.'
One per, technically.
Semantics.
Creak—
Heads ballooned monstrously in a blink.
Unlike prior combat-scaled tweaks.
Mutation mana all-in on girth.
Crunch! Crumble! Grind—
For the record.
Meat left for Harley? Never happening.