Chapter 31
Chapter 31 - Resurrection
I quietly slipped the Demon King's egg into my pouch.
Still worried that Border Duke might see it, I hid it behind my back while pretending to clasp my hands.
I awkwardly smiled and stammered.
"By the strongest 4 Demon Kings... you mean they rank among the top 4 of all summoned Demon Kings... something like that?"
"That's right. In fact, she's both the strongest and worst among those 4."
Border Duke nodded and shuddered. Naturally, my complexion grew increasingly pale.
"Well... I understand strongest, but what do you mean by worst?"
"She cannot be killed by any means. True to her title, she's called the Immortal Demon King because she doesn't die."
Indeed, an unkillable enemy deserves to be called the worst.
Like how cockroaches have the worst image among pests because they keep coming back no matter how many times you kill them.
But wait, what did he just say?
She?
"... Border Duke. The Immortal Demon King is female?"
"Woman... I've never thought of her that way. But I heard she takes the form of a female demon."
That seems to mean he doesn't see her as a woman because she's a hated demon, but she is technically female.
As I was processing this new information, Border Duke began explaining while repeatedly nodding his head.
He spoke quite excitedly, probably because he finally had something to tell me about.
"The Immortal Demon King. It's no exaggeration to call her the archenemy of the entire continent. No matter how many times you kill her, she resurrects as if nothing happened after some time passes. Countless legendary heroes have put their lives on the line to subjugate the Immortal Demon King, and she has been subjugated countless times."
"I-I see."
"However, although we may have temporary peace now, no one knows when the Immortal Demon King will resurrect and throw the world into chaos again."
... I think I might know.
Probably in 3 days.
I broke out in a cold sweat at Border Duke's increasingly serious words. Not noticing my state, he continued speaking in a grave voice.
"No one yet knows how to completely destroy the Immortal Demon King. Perhaps even the Immortal Demon King herself doesn't know. All we can do is kill her again before she regains her former strength after resurrecting."
"I... see."
`What should I do?`
`What am I supposed to do about this?`
`What kind of crazy nonsense! What kind of ridiculous thing have I been entrusted with!!`
After internally wailing in despair, I carefully asked border Duke.
"Excuse me Border Duke."
"What is it?"
"What if. Just what if."
"Yes. What if."
"If someone was in a position where they had to hide... or rather protect the Immortal Demon King due to unavoidable circumstances. What would happen to that person?"
"What a horrifying hypothesis."
Border Duke rubbed his arms with a genuinely disgusted expression. Even this mighty Border Duke seemed unable to handle such a reality.
After frowning deeply, he soon returned to his previous serious face.
After thinking for a while, he finally spoke.
"If I discovered them, I wouldn't let them live."
"......"
"They would be an enemy of humanity. In some ways more dangerous than demons, a traitor to all humanity who deserves death. I deeply despise such types of humans. As you know, I've had my share of experiences with them. Hahaha."
Border Duke concluded with a bitter laugh, but I couldn't even twitch my lips.
My mind went blank. I felt dizzy and couldn't see anything. Border Duke was still saying something but his words were muffled and inaudible.
Oh shit. I can't take this anymore. I feel like throwing up.
I immediately bowed my head.
"Th-th-thank you. Oh my, I'm sleepy! So sleepy! I'll go get some sleep!"
"U-uh? Go ahead then..."
I was already running away at full speed before Border Duke could finish speaking.
* * *
The next day. I dragged my tired body out of the room.
I barely slept last night. After learning such shocking facts and coming to terms with my even more alarming situation, it would be surprising if I could get any sleep.
Moreover, when I woke up this morning, that unsettling panel from yesterday appeared before my eyes again.
[The immortal's checkpoint has been updated.]
[Time - Mittelland Kingdom Calendar/Year 547, December 19th, 7 AM]
[Location - Halcenberg Castle, Knight Rudrik's Room]
[Notice - The Immortal Demon King is approaching hatching.]
[Notice - The checkpoint will update every 12 hours until the Immortal Demon King fully resurrects.]
Seeing that made me wide awake and unable to sleep in.
Is this the time to be sleeping? It felt like it was scolding me.
"An enemy of humanity..."
I muttered, recalling border Duke's words from last night.
The moment it's discovered that I'm the guardian of the Demon King's egg, that becomes my title, huh? Even thinking about it again, my life in this world is intensely dynamic. Damn it.
'Well, at least things make sense now.'
Like why the egg suddenly grew to the verge of hatching.
And why they revived Minerva's discontinued test just to send me here.
I learned these things for certain from yesterday's conversation. So it wasn't without gain.
'My coming here... was all intentional.'
Minerva had anticipated that the northern undead legion and the Immortal Demon King would have some kind of interaction. And the egg interacted exactly as she predicted.
In the form of the egg absorbing the energy when I kill the Immortal Demon King's subordinates.
In other words, the heavenly officials, including Minerva, were aiming for the egg to change in some way through me.
I'm not sure if they predicted it would lead to early hatching.
‘... Is that so?’
Flash. I furrowed my brow at a thought that rushed to my head.
I figured it out. The best way to escape this castle.
If this plan works, it could bring temporary peace to this land. Plus, we can escape smoothly without straining relationships with either Leila or the Margrave.
It will bring the most ideal results for the Margrave, Leila, me, and Seolbaek.
'But... the chances are so low. Is it possible?'
For a moment such doubt crept in, but soon I shook my head with a smirk.
It's difficult. But thinking about it objectively, it's not impossible. That's enough.
After all, I'm an immortal who can't even die.
Nothing is impossible for me as long as it's not completely impossible.
I touched the pulsating egg in my pouch and wore a challenging smile.
'Whatever, I'll just try again.'
I'll take on the challenge. To achieve the most ideal ending.
Since I've become someone who can't die anyway, it would be a waste not to use it.
I nodded and walked out with confident steps to meet the Margrave.
It was the first time I felt this excited about going hunting.
* * *
"Seven Sword Pierce!!"
I shouted the skill name loudly as I thrust my sword forward.
... Actually, there's no need to shout skill names when using skills. If anything, shouting skill names feels similar to using shortcuts to input complex commands.
Gathering mana inside me. Condensing it into the sword. And shaping it into a specific form.
Rather than controlling it by feeling, you can lump it all together by shouting one phrase. During battle, you end up shouting skill names even if you hate it because it's embarrassing.
―Gu... Ooooh.
In front of me was an undead in knight armor, emanating a gloomy aura.
[Monster Information]
[Name: Ghost Knight]
[HP: 141/420 MP: 98/230]
[Strength: 92 Agility: 88 Intelligence: 32]
[Details: Elite undead. Resurrected from knight armor where fighting spirit and obsession converged after death in battle. Classified into cavalry type riding ghost horses and infantry type mainly engaging in close combat.]
It's considered relatively high-ranking among undead. Similar in appearance to what's commonly called Death Knights in games.
High-ranking undead like this don't get swept away by the Margrave's area magic, so we always had to have individual consultations(?) after the Margrave's magic barrage ended.
'Rotate. Scatter!'
Pasasak! Mana was released from seven directions taking the form of swords. The blue-glowing blades flew simultaneously in a straight line following the direction of my thrust.
The Ghost Knights wavered as they took defensive stances to block my mana blades.
'Too slow!'
In an instant. The rotating spiral blades scattered like shotgun pellets all at once, disrupting its vision.
More mana blades rained down from all directions on the bewildered Ghost Knight. It was a snake-like thrust with intricate trajectories.
―Kuaaaargh!
The Ghost Knight screamed.
Sparking mana blades were stuck between every gap in its armor. As the skill level increased, it naturally found and struck the weak points.
―Gu... uuuh....
The red light visible through the Ghost Knight's helmet gradually faded. Clang! Soon the armor collapsed and scattered on the ground.
It died. Since it's undead, it will revive after some time.
'Stealth!'
I immediately used a skill and took a step back. At the same time, Whoong!, an eerie sound of cutting air rang behind me.
Another Ghost Knight that had approached from behind was caught swinging its sword.
It was incredibly fast. If not for my Hero sense sharpening my intuition, I wouldn't have been able to dodge.
"I was trying to avoid doping if possible...."
I smiled precariously while quickly bringing an ether bottle to my mouth.
As green light burst from my body, the Ghost Knight's movements began to feel slower.
―Die... flesh... ling....
Whoong!
The Ghost Knight charges at me again. Still fast. But I can react sufficiently.
I twisted my body according to the incoming sword strikes, blocking appropriately.
Kang, kakang! Kagagang! A fierce exchange of attacks and defenses continued. High metallic sounds rang out continuously as swords clashed.
―Guooooh!
At that moment, the Ghost Knight raised his sword high to prepare for a big attack.
Now's the time. I dove forcefully into the enemy's reach like an arrow.
‘Lotus Flower!'
Swoosh! The moment the Ghost Knight's swung sword came before my eyes. My vision was engulfed in darkness and then the scenery changed.
I had somehow moved to the Ghost Knight's rear. The Ghost Knight swung his sword aimlessly, unable to detect me who had vanished in an instant.
'Back Stab!'
I immediately thrust Bestak. A lightning-fast thrust that far transcended any speed I could normally achieve exploded forth.
Squelch! Bestark pierced straight through the back of the helmet. Originally I had planned to pierce through the seam, but even I didn't expect to penetrate that thick steel plate directly.
―Gu, uuuu....
The Ghost Knight let out an undead's characteristic wood-scraping groan and collapsed to the ground. As I sighed looking at the scattered pieces of armor lying about.
Without time to rest, faced with suffocating fighting spirit pressing in from all directions, I raised my sword again.
―... Not bad... for a... breathing... flesh....
Clank, clank. There were still five Ghost Knights surrounding me. I felt like I would be crushed under their pressure as they each poured out gloomy fighting spirit in abundance.
Damn. These numbers are hopeless. I desperately started looking for an opening to escape.
"Lord Jeong! Get down!"
And at that moment. Countless blades of magical power were created behind the Ghost Knights.
As the massive convergence of magical power filled the sky, the Ghost Knights turned around startled.
There stood the border Duke, glaring this way while holding his greatsword at full draw.