Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Family Trip (1)
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The road home was long.
As he rode on horseback, the sun set. Demian prepared to camp by the roadside.
He spread out his cloak and lit a campfire. The fire seemed weak, so he tossed in a few more logs.
Gazing at the crackling campfire, Demian fell deep into thought.
‘I can’t seem to get a hold on Dorgo’s tail.’
Demian’s goal had always been just one thing, both in the past and now.
It was to eliminate Dorgo.
Only by killing Dorgo could he avenge himself and prevent the War of Annihilation.
The problem was that he couldn’t find Dorgo’s whereabouts.
‘Even if Dorgo is cautious…… I didn’t expect him to be this thorough.’
He had thought that after capturing a few black mages connected to Dorgo and delving into their souls, he’d quickly pinpoint his location.
But things didn’t go that smoothly.
Since regressing, Demian had hunted many black mages, but he hadn’t found even the slightest trace of Dorgo.
‘At this rate, I’ll have to take a more aggressive approach.’
Ordinary black mages yielded no results.
So, he had no choice but to catch a big fish and extract Dorgo’s location from them.
‘Georak might know where Dorgo is.’
The Georak were the pillars of Pandemonium and Dorgo’s most powerful supporters.
They had maintained close ties with Dorgo for a long time.
The Georak might know how to find him.
‘They were scum I had to hunt down and kill someday anyway.’
During the War of Annihilation, the damage humanity suffered at the hands of the Georak was incalculable.
Along with Dorgo, they were evils that absolutely had to be eradicated. Not a single one could be spared.
Above all, Demian had the greatest reason to kill the Georak.
‘Especially those bastards…… the filthy dogs who took my family’s souls—I can’t let them live.’
The black mages who had claimed his family’s souls.
They were all Georak. Each had toyed with, tormented, and plunged his family into a sea of suffering in their own ways.
Crunch.
Thinking of them made his teeth grind involuntarily. Rage sharpened into a blade, threatening to pierce through his chest.
‘To kill those bastards…… I need to reach Master Class first.’
The Georak were terrifying beings.
They surpassed even the transcendent Great Black Mages and Master Class experts.
To fight them, Demian had to stand on the same transcendent level.
‘The conditions are all in place.’
During his visit to the Pafnir Mercenary Group, Demian had obtained the legendary elixirs Mita Holy Water and Fire Spirit Stone Embryo.
If he fully absorbed them, he could finally ascend to the Master Class he so desired.
However, he couldn’t consume the elixirs right now. His current body was too weak to absorb them.
It was all because Demian had grown too rapidly.
Less than a year had passed since his regression. His body was riddled with imperfections due to the sudden surge in strength over such a short time.
‘For the time being, I need to focus solely on tempering my body.’
Raising his own power.
To confront the Georak, there was one more condition he needed beyond that.
‘I need my own faction.’
Most Georak had built their own independent forces.
Subordinates who acted as their hands and feet, fighting alongside them when needed.
Thus, to face the Georak, Demian needed his own faction.
‘I’ve already laid the foundation.’
Demian already possessed a Death Knight, numerous skeletons, and two additional undead.
For now, compared to the Georak’s forces, it was small in scale and weak in power.
But its potential surpassed any other faction.
Dominico had the talent to reach Master Class, Miya grew stronger with every absorption of living blood, and Mungchi was a monster who would later be called the Beast of Annihilation.
‘Wait. I’ll send every last one of you plummeting to the depths of hell.’
In the darkness, Demian’s eyes quietly blazed.
* * *
After several more days of travel, Demian finally arrived home.
But upon reaching home, he was met with an unfamiliar sight.
The servants were all bustling about, packing luggage.
“What’s going on here?”
Demian entered the manor with a bewildered expression.
He wanted to grab someone and ask, but everyone looked too busy.
Then he spotted Victor chopping firewood in the backyard.
“Hyaat! Haat!”
Victor was swinging his axe at the logs, letting out all sorts of grunts.
“Hey.”
“Hya! You scared me! Young Master! Please make some noise!”
Victor jumped in fright and protested. Demian chuckled.
“More importantly, what’s all this? Everyone looks incredibly busy.”
“Ah, we’re preparing for a trip, sir.”
The sudden words left Demian baffled.
“Preparing for a trip? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know the details, sir. It was decided just the day before yesterday.”
It seemed he’d have to go find the family to hear the full story.
As Demian headed upstairs, he asked Victor,
“By the way, why aren’t you helping with the trip preparations and chopping firewood instead?”
“I’m going on this trip as the Count’s valet, sir.”
Demian couldn’t help but be surprised.
Not just anyone could accompany a noble on a trip. Only those with exceptional ability or recognition were allowed.
“Then why is the guy coming on the trip chopping firewood here?”
“Well, if I leave the manor, we’d run out of firewood in no time, right? I’m making a few days’ worth in advance to prevent that disaster!”
Demian looked at Victor with an incredulous face.
If they ran out, couldn’t he just order someone else?
The thought crossed his mind, but Victor’s face was so earnest that he couldn’t bring himself to point it out.
“Got it. Keep at it.”
“Yes, sir!”
With that, Demian headed upstairs.
“Have you packed plenty of clothes? Double-check, just in case.”
There, he saw his mother giving instructions amid the maids.
Demian approached her and called out loudly.
“Mother!”
“Oh, Demian!”
Mother rushed over and hugged him. Demian tightly embraced her with both arms.
“Have you finished your business? This time it took especially long.”
“Well, it’s all sorted.”
Demian brushed it off vaguely. He couldn’t tell her exactly what happened at the mercenary group. It would only worry her.
“By the way, what’s this about a trip? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Oh, you were out, so you wouldn’t know. Your father’s inside—ask him directly. Mom’s too busy to explain.”
Mother pushed Demian’s back. In the end, he had no choice but to head to his father’s study for answers.
“Father, it’s me.”
Demian said as he entered. Count Haksen looked up from his writing.
“I thought I heard a voice. You’re back now?”
“Your reaction’s too dry. Isn’t that a bit much?”
“You’ve run off and come back who knows how many times. I’d be thrilled if it were just once or twice.”
Count Haksen grumbled. Demian felt a pang of guilt inside.
“I heard we’re preparing for a trip? What’s with the sudden trip?”
“His Grace the Duke sent an invitation. Said he’s secured the best seats for the Starlight Jellyfish spawning season, which starts around this time every year.”
At his father’s words, Demian recalled a memory he’d set aside.
Starlight Jellyfish were only named as such—they weren’t actually related to jellyfish.
Their bodies were transparent, they floated in the air, and at midnight, they glowed.
Extremely rare creatures, nearly impossible to spot even one normally.
But once a year, during spawning season, hundreds would soar into the sky all at once.
A spectacular sight viewable only in the Apple Kingdom.
Thus, every year, tens of thousands from foreign lands flocked to see the Starlight Jellyfish.
Even nobles of the Apple Kingdom struggled to get prime seats for a close view.
Handing over such seats made preparing for the trip a given.
“A family trip without me? What if I hadn’t come back today?”
“We were just going to go without you.”
Demian made a hurt face. Count Haksen smirked and added,
“But luckily, you made it just in time. We can all leave together. Truth be told, I was worried we’d have to leave you behind.”
Count Haksen set down his pen and said,
“It’s been ages since the family went on a trip together. Let’s make the most of this rare chance and enjoy it.”
As his father said, Demian could barely remember the last family trip.
For Demian, who had lived a previous life, it felt even more distant.
“I’ll leave the escorting to you.”
His father said to Demian, lost in thought.
Demian shook off his melancholy and replied.
“Leave it to me. If I sense any troublemakers, I’ll step in first and bury them.”
His father nodded at Demian’s words.
“……But if you bury them first, doesn’t that just make it a crime?”
* * *
“Starlight Jellyfish Festival?”
In an inn built in a rural village.
At a table there, a woman spoke with a dissatisfied expression.
“I was excited when they said we had a new target…… but this is it? What’s fun about ruining some stupid festival? Don’t you all agree?”
The woman looked around as she spoke. The others at the table nodded.
“Instead of this lame-ass place…… there are way more fun targets. Like raiding a noble’s territory and blowing up all the people gathered there at once.”
The woman said, staring straight ahead.
There sat a man gazing out the window, his chair turned around.
“Sukle, my small and pretty kitten. Don’t use such harsh words.”
“Cut the bullshit and explain already.”
The woman snapped irritably. The man raised both arms as if to say okay.
“The Starlight Jellyfish Festival isn’t just any festival. It’s so popular that nobles from foreign countries flock to it.”
“Really?”
“If you don’t believe me, go to the city later and check it out yourself. You’ll see how famous it is and how many people come.”
Intrigued by the man’s words, the woman shut her mouth.
“Imagine it. Thousands of nobles who’ve come from distant lands, enduring hardships to see the festival. Then you blow them all up with your magic.”
The man clasped his hands together, then spread them wide, mimicking an explosion.
“Can you picture how awesome that scene would be?”
At the man’s words, the woman pondered for a moment.
Then she grinned brightly.
“Let’s start right now.”