Chapter 172
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: An Unwilling Alliance
"Do-jae... I'm scared..."
Sari, terrified, stuck close to Do-jae as they walked.
Having entered the village, the two moved through a cold hostility they had never experienced anywhere else.
"Should I take out the Black Scale again?"
"No! They'll just get possessed again! Their glares are intense, but we have to endure it. To them, we must look like heretics."
The village's Dark Elves shot menacing glares at Do-jae and Sari.
It stemmed from the suspicion that Do-jae, in his High Elf form, and Sari, a Gray Elf, had come to oppress them once more.
"This way..."
The guiding Dark Elf led them to a house.
While Gray Elves generally lived in trees and wooden houses, Dark Elves resided in buildings made of stone.
Still, being elves in tune with nature, their homes were made of earth and stone rather than cut rock and chemical treatments.
*Knock, knock—.*
"Elder, it is Curtin. May I come in for a moment?"
The Dark Elf named Curtin removed his skull helmet.
Long black hair cascaded down, and as expected of an elf, his features were strikingly handsome.
—Enter.
The voice of an elderly woman came from inside.
Upon opening the door and entering, they saw a Dark Elf with a skull necklace, leaning on a staff and watering a plant.
*Screeeech—.*
"It's all right."
The screeching plant quieted down as the Elder poured water on it.
With its sharp fangs, it was clearly no ordinary plant.
"So... what brings a High Elf and a Gray Elf all the way here?"
The Elder's voice was gentle, but her eyes were sharp.
Do-jae saw no need for a long explanation and immediately took out the 'Black Scale'.
*Vwoom—.*
"Hooo..."
As the Black Scale appeared, the Elder began to tremble.
The staff she was leaning on also vibrated violently.
*Crack—.*
*Crumble—.*
The bark of the staff peeled away, revealing the white core beneath.
It was the leg bone of some unidentifiable monster.
*Thud—.*
"I greet the Great Demon Lord Kerperaos..."
The Elder fell to her knees and bowed her head low.
The Black Scale pulsed, glowing an even deeper black than usual.
"So you don't lose your mind. I guess an Elder is an Elder for a reason."
Do-jae waved the Black Scale from side to side.
Unlike Curtin and the other Dark Elf from before, the Elder remained motionless, her head nearly touching the floor.
"Do-jae, I don't think this Dark Elf can do anything while you're holding that. How about putting it away?"
Sari said, nudging Do-jae's arm.
Do-jae nodded and returned the Black Scale to his subspace.
Only then did the Elder straighten her back and look at Do-jae.
"Why does a High Elf carry the sacred relic of Lord Kerperaos?"
A good reaction.
The Elder had immediately switched from informal to formal speech.
"A sacred relic... I came upon it by chance."
The Black Scale was more of a demonic object than a sacred one.
In any case, it was a remarkable item, but he was a bit embarrassed to explain how he'd acquired it.
He didn't know how it had ended up in the hands of a Gray Elf blacksmith, but in the end, hadn't he traded it for a cup of instant noodles?
"The master I serve is the 13th-ranked Demon Lord, Dankeyron. I will follow every command of the High Elf who holds the sacred relic of the Great Demon Lord Kerperaos."
Do-jae's expression relaxed.
Sari also broke into a wide smile.
They had come prepared for some level of conflict, but things were resolving easily.
Taking this opportunity, Do-jae decided to learn more about the demon lords he was curious about.
About the one named Kerperaos sealed within the Black Scale, and about demon lords in general.
The Ascetics had been reluctant to speak of them.
"The Great Demon Lord Kerperaos stands at the pinnacle. He was a great demon lord, powerful enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the nine Ascetics of the past."
According to the Elder, Kerperaos was the number one ranked demon lord. In the demon world, where the logic of power prevailed, he held absolute influence over all demon lords and their followers.
Even while sealed.
As long as his existence wasn't completely extinguished, the hierarchy was absolute, and Kerperaos remained the eternal monarch.
"Naturally, we Dark Elves of the Black Lake have no choice but to obey the words of the higher-ranking Lord Kerperaos."
The two Dark Elves they had first met.
They were said to be low-level black mages.
Therefore, the moment they sensed Kerperaos's demonic energy, they were not just subjugated but completely mind-controlled.
The Elder, on the other hand, was a top-tier black mage.
As one who could directly receive a demon lord's revelations, she was able to hold onto her sanity even in the presence of the Great Demon Lord's energy.
"Unless chosen by the Great Demon Lord, one cannot handle the sacred relic... You have appeared to save us."
The Elder expressed her wish for Do-jae, the wielder of the Black Scale, to lead the Black Lake village.
She also mentioned that a magic circle to summon the 13th-ranked Demon Lord, Dankeyron, had just been completed.
She said that with Demon Lord Dankeyron's power, they might be able to release Kerperaos from his seal in the Black Scale.
"Break the seal on the Black Scale..."
The Elder's eyes gleamed.
It would surely be better to be subservient to the number one ranked demon lord than the 13th.
The stronger the demon lord, the more powerful the black mages became.
But just then.
The voices of the Ascetics echoed in his mind.
—You must not.
—That would be... rather troublesome.
—No! Do you know what we went through to seal him!
"That's right. You might want to release this Kerpe-whatever, but unfortunately, that's not going to happen."
At Do-jae's words, the Elder's eyes flashed.
"Why... Why would the one who holds the Great Demon Lord's sacred relic say such a thing?"
"I told you. I got it by chance. I haven't experienced what a demon lord is firsthand, so I can't really comment, but this lady here doesn't seem too keen on the idea."
Do-jae looked at Sari.
Like the Ascetics, she didn't seem to want the Black Scale's seal to be broken.
"We can't summon a new evil to defeat another! It was always the demon lords who brought chaos to Tranpeion before the time of the Ascetics!"
Sari clenched her fists.
Her eyes trembling, she continued to speak.
"Do-jae, I'm sorry for changing my mind, but I think I was wrong. I only wanted to borrow their power, not summon a demon lord. If a demon lord descends upon this land, these people will become his slaves..."
This was exactly what Do-jae had anticipated.
The possibility of betrayal after the war ended—no, even during the war, the demon lord's minions were highly likely to betray them.
But hadn't he prepared for this when he came here?
He had a contingency plan in mind.
"Sari, calm down. This is what we were worried about. The seal on the Black Scale won't be broken, and I won't let them summon a demon lord. We arrived at just the right time."
"What... What! High Elf! What did you just say?"
As the Elder tried to grab Do-jae by the collar, he lightly slapped her arm away and spoke.
"At first, I came to ask for help. Your lives are important too, aren't they? But after hearing you talk, I've changed my mind. I can't ally myself with someone who has ulterior motives."
Do-jae once again took the Black Scale out of his subspace.
*Thud—.*
Again, the Elder bowed her head.
It seemed unavoidable for a being who served a demon lord.
"Originally, I planned to use a blood contract to guard against the demon lord and any potential betrayal. It's called a blood contract, but it's really a mana contract, right? With Mangol's mana, I could form a contract with every Dark Elf I can sense here."
In truth, this plan was a huge burden for Do-jae.
If they were to violate the contract, Mangol's core itself would take a hit.
If all the Dark Elves here were to betray him, it could put a tremendous strain on Mangol's core.
Even with that risk, the strange magic Sari spoke of—black magic—was highly effective against large numbers of monsters.
Altein had said that black magic not only amplified the destructive power of attack spells but also included various curses and debuffs.
"But, the moment I saw you and the other Dark Elves earlier, I realized it would be much simpler to control you with the Black Scale."
Do-jae looked down at the Elder.
In a way, it was an incredibly arrogant statement.
He used the less provocative word 'control', but to put it more bluntly, he was saying he would treat them as 'slaves'.
Despite this, the Elder couldn't even retort and kept her head bowed.
"From now on, I will issue commands to you black mages through this Black Scale. Haa... Gellahan is one thing, but now I have to worry about demon lords too..."
Do-jae couldn't help but sigh.
Gellahan was a foe he had to eliminate, but these beings called demon lords were also a threat to the continent's peace.
Of course, it might be different in an era where gods like the Ascetics held sway, but that wasn't the case now.
He needed to think about it.
"Anyway, first things first, we need to stop the summoning of that Dankeyron demon lord. Elder, lead me there."
The Elder rose to her feet.
Her expression clearly showed her displeasure.
"I'll say it one more time. Guide me to the place where the summoning ritual is being held."
"Yes..."
Do-jae said forcefully, gripping the Black Scale.
Only then did the Elder finally begin to lead the way.
***
*Drip—.*
*Drip, drip—.*
Underground, where drops of water fell.
The air was thick with the stench of rotting corpses.
"If I had brought Sari here unprotected..."
The moment they entered the cavern.
Do-jae immediately clad Sari's body in Golem Armor.
It was obvious her body wouldn't have been able to withstand the thick corpse poison that permeated this place.
"I could have waited outside."
"It's too risky. The Black Scale's effect doesn't seem to reach that far."
Sari had said she would wait outside because of the poison, but Do-jae had brought her in.
The range of the demon lord's control embedded in the Black Scale was about a 10-meter radius.
And even then, it seemed a black mage of the Elder's caliber could resist the control to some extent if she put her mind to it.
Therefore, he judged it was too dangerous to leave Sari alone.
"It's huge..."
"Indeed..."
Arriving in a wide space carved out of the earth, they saw a large magic circle drawn with white powder.
A massive hexagram was drawn inside a giant circle.
An essential shape for a summoning circle.
"The ritual must have been almost ready!"
The inside of the circle was filled with runes and polygonal symbols.
An enormous amount of blood was held in jars.
It was prepared to the point where a simple infusion of mana would be enough to begin the summoning.
"The summoning ritual is canceled. Clean all of this up."
"......"
Do-jae said, pointing the Black Scale at the Elder.
But the Elder bit her lip and didn't move.
"I said, clean it up. Before I destroy it myself."
"......"
*Drip—.*
The Elder resisted fiercely.
Do-jae decided to just erase the summoning circle himself.
"Wind Arrow."
*Swoosh—!*
He shot a Wind Arrow at a jar filled with blood.
He intended to blow away the white powder of the summoning circle and shatter the jar at the same time.
However.
"Dark Barrier!"
The Elder raised her bone staff and blocked Do-jae's spell.