Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Demon King Kidnapping - 1
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After finishing our lengthy speeches, we held a private meeting with the Emperor.
The Emperor lightly wiped the sweat from his forehead and said,
"That was truly an impressive speech, Hero."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
"Now my task is clear."
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
"Preparing a venue for the trial, I presume?"
"Yes. Ideally, one where as many people as possible can observe."
"The capital already has more evacuees than residents... I see. We'll set it up beyond the capital's borders. There's a suitable plain nearby, conveniently enough."
"How long will that take?"
"How long would you like? We'll make it happen by then, no matter what."
No, that's not the point—it's a burden.
I glanced at Adwin.
He picked up on it instantly, as expected now that we were in sync, and used soul conversation.
[Neril, when did you snap off that Branch of Corruption?]
[Two weeks exactly, as of today.]
[Then let's go kill Velosian and Aktihon today.]
At those words, the party's eyes widened.
Serein asked,
[This suddenly?]
[Think about it—there's no reason to drag it out. Before, we didn't know how much fame we'd need to take down Velosian...]
[Now we do. 4.8 million.]
[Yeah. And now we're over 5.6 million. We just got a little bump from the recent fame gains.]
In fact, Imperium had managed to half-kill Velosian and Adin with around 5.2 million fame.
With over 5.6 million now, it was impossible for me to fail.
Jenia said,
[Perfect. When do we go?]
[Right now.]
[What? Now?]
Ignoring her stunned question, I turned to the Emperor.
"Please make the preparations in the meantime. We'll handle Velosian and Aktihon real quick and be back."
"I know of Velosian, but who's Aktihon?"
"Oh. Uh... just some guy. Nothing for you to worry about."
"If I'm not mistaken, Velosian is the Great Demon King of Falsehood, who existed even before Idria. And you're speaking of him so casually."
"We've grown transcendentally stronger in the meantime."
The Emperor burst into hearty laughter.
"Very well. The imperial underground is always open to you, Hero."
"Thank you. We'll be right back."
I stood up immediately.
I started to bow out of courtesy to the Emperor, but he bowed to me first.
"I wish you good fortune, Hero."
Imperial Palace Underground.
We stood in that place, still plastered wall-to-wall with countless pure white doors that made your head spin.
Ophens spoke up.
"Come to think of it, how much fame did we rack up from this mess?"
"Hm? Oh, right. Hang on."
I checked the screen window right away.
[Neril Slaine Cumulative Fame: 3,413,820]
[Jenia Side Cumulative Fame: 3,398,700]
[Adwin Ain Cumulative Fame: 3,251,000]
[Risel Vaint Cumulative Fame: 3,188,300]
[Serein Magnus Cumulative Fame: 3,103,500]
[Ophens Dayk Cumulative Fame: 3,079,900]
I shared everyone's fame totals.
Serein let out a joyful cheer.
"I'm not last!"
"Why not? Why am I last?"
"It's the difference in our usual character, I suppose. So smile more, Mr. Ophens. Like me."
"If only people knew your dark insides."
"I'll take that as a compliment. I'm in that kind of mood right now."
I chuckled to myself.
'They've all gained an insane amount. Way more dramatic than when we toppled the Heavenly God.'
[Means your ideas were that good.]
'Yeah. Glad to hear it.'
Jenia's eyes sparkled as she pulled the Branch of Corruption from her bosom.
"My turn now."
"Do it inside. Do it inside."
"It'll be quick anyway."
"Think about what kind of world this is. No guarantee you'll find Velosian or Aktihon that fast in that crazy place."
When we rescued Idria, we'd used a wide-area search spell fueled by Phirensha and Serein's blood.
But this time, we had no such clues.
Of course, no matter how well they hid, I didn't doubt we could find them now.
Jenia nodded, convinced.
"You're thorough. Got it."
"Good. Let's go in."
I grabbed the handle of the special chamber door.
Click.
It wouldn't open.
After fiddling with the handle a few times, Risel said,
"Maybe it's a push door?"
"You pull from outside, push from inside. ...We talked about this last time, didn't we?"
"Did we?"
"They didn't lock it, did they? No, stupid question."
Of course they did.
We already knew he hadn't died last time.
If he survived, he'd naturally prepare for us coming back.
But who would've thought that preparation was just 'locking the door.'
Neril said,
"Force it open. With your power now, you should be able to."
"Hm."
"You have to be able to. If you can't open a door Aktihon locked, it means even with your current fame, you can't handle him."
"Hearing that makes me feel the power surging."
My muscles twitched.
All 5.6 million-plus fame converted to raw strength.
A power unlike anything I'd ever felt surged through my body.
"Hngh. Grk."
But the door wouldn't budge.
Bang. Boom.
It looked unsightly, but next I punched the special chamber door.
I tried kicking it, even unleashed a Hero's Sword technique.
But the door showed no damage at all.
The party's consistently light mood began to harden.
Adwin spoke up.
"Uh, hey. Should we all push together? If we combine our fame..."
That was when it happened.
Tap.
The screen window appeared.
Trail spoke in a fluster.
[What the hell's wrong with this thing lately?]
'Calm down. I told you it has a will of its own.'
[Ugh.]
As I stared into empty space, the party's chatter died down.
They couldn't see it, but they knew what I was doing.
[With your current fame levels, you cannot open this door.]
"Even if we all push together like Adwin said?"
[Yes. Fame doesn't add up just because you're using strength together. At minimum, one of you needs to surpass Aktihon's fame.]
I shrugged.
"So Aktihon's fame... from when he was a hero, right?"
[Exactly. Hard to believe, but Aktihon performed his hero duties quite diligently and amassed tremendous fame in his home world. Back then, he was truly pure.]
"Keh."
[I understand the reaction.]
"Just get to the point. How much is it?"
[10 Million.]
....
I must have misheard.
[I cleaned up the peanut gallery first.]
"What nonsense is that? 10 million?!"
My shout got a reaction from the party.
They couldn't see the screen, but they inferred the flow from my words.
Everyone's faces turned pale.
All the achievements we'd piled up since vowing to become heroes.
Toppling the Heavenly God.
Defeating the Demon King of Falsehood.
Making the Demon King face human judgment.
Despite all that, we'd barely crossed 5.6 million.
"10 million..."
Hearing Neril mutter that, I snapped back to reality.
I shot at the screen window urgently.
"There must be some mistake. Wait, did he steal fame from others like Velosian?"
[No, Aktihon had no such ability.]
"Then I can't believe it. I don't know what amazing feats he pulled off as a hero, but I refuse to accept our accomplishments fall short by that much."
[Of course Aktihon was impressive, but the stage was too favorable. His original world's population was three times that of this one.]
My boiling head cooled instantly.
I marveled at how calmly I accepted this absurdity.
'Hoo. Fair enough.'
Getting mad wouldn't change a thing.
Then Neril spoke.
"What'd it say? Maide."
"Hm. Population... Anyway, can you show yourself to my party?"
[I'm hero-exclusive...]
"Make an exception. My party members would've been legendary heroes in another era."
[Normally no, but I'll allow it this once.]
Swipe.
The screen window spun around to face the party.
Their eyes changed.
"That's the thing Imperium showed us before."
"Second time, but still not used to it."
"And these lines. Clearly a sentient being with a will, no matter who looks."
They were intrigued but didn't freak out.
'Wonder if they'd be shocked knowing its name is Bion.'
They would.
Especially Trail.
Lately, he'd been pondering his own identity deeply.
The screen wouldn't let me answer, so I'd hold off for now.
Neril said,
"Wonder if we can reach 10 million. We scraped by over 5.6 million after all that hardship, even playing our trump card of the Demon King trial."
She muttered to herself, but the screen gave a cold reply.
[Difficult. From what I see, you've already claimed nearly all the fame available from this era's people. No innovative strategy will boost it much now.]
"..."
[And without 10 million, you can't beat Aktihon. You couldn't even open this door, win or lose.]
I see.
Last time, when we came for Idria, the door opened easily because Aktihon allowed it.
He was confident he could kill us once we entered the special chamber.
Adwin asked,
"Bro, what now?"
"Stack up 10 million fame and come back, I guess."
"No, but this... thing? Just said it's hard."
I thought for a moment.
The screen window... aka Bion... said gathering 10 million would be tough.
But my gut said there was a way.
Had anything in our journey ever been easy?
And then it hit me.
"Aah. Aaaah!"
"Maide, what's wrong?"
"I get it. I feel like I'm going crazy too."
"Maide's fine. You think he's Serein?"
"Weird. Lately, I feel like I'm hearing harsher stuff from you than from Mr. Ophens."
"Finally understanding my pain."
I trembled with exhilaration.
A way to surpass the seemingly impossible 10 million fame and kill Aktihon.
I'd figured it out.
Text appeared on the screen window.
[From that look, Aktihon's days are numbered. Good plan in mind?]
"Huh? How'd you know?"
The screen window left one last line before vanishing.
[Familiar sight.]
With the screen gone, I could see the party's faces.
Neril looked a bit sulky.
"What'd it say?"
"You two bonding already? Great affinity."
"Shut up. It bugs me how it talks like it's known you forever."
"Forget the small stuff and focus."
The party's eyes locked on me.
I grinned and said,
"Aktihon's body is dead. Bartore killed himself."
"Right. But his soul wasn't in the afterlife. Probably lingering here in soul form?"
"No. Think about what he's been doing for 50,000 years. Jumping bodies to survive. He's definitely possessed a new one in a new special chamber."
"What? There's no body in any special chamber for him to... Oh, no way!"
Exactly.
A name we'd long forgotten.
It flashed through everyone's minds.
I grinned and said,
"Our hope. The precious enemy who's always bailed us out in tough spots."
Kaild Wake.
No need for the Eye of Omniscience to confirm.
Aktihon had possessed Kaild.
'And that...'
Would be the perfect opportunity for us.