Chapter 204
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Demon King Kidnapping - 3
I spoke first.
“I never thought a day would come when I’d be glad to see you.”
“Cut the bullshit and get to the point.”
“The point?”
Kaild crossed his arms.
“There’s no way you’d help me for nothing. You want something from me.”
“......”
“And conveniently, I want something from you too. Let me start with what I want.”
“......”
“I want your fame, Maide Mohan.”
Ah.
Already starting to hate this.
No, honestly, I never liked him to begin with.
Let’s take back the welcome.
He continued, flashing a slimy smile.
“So......”
Thwack.
I slammed a kick into his jaw.
“Gurk!”
The bastard soared a hundred meters into the air before crashing back down.
All his teeth were gone, his eyes rolled back.
He’d even bitten his tongue a bit, gurgling deep in his throat.
Serein spoke up.
“Should we kill him?”
“Hold off. I’m going to completely obliterate Acteon.”
Before Acteon got possessed by Kaild, it had said this.
Even if not in this era, it would return in another.
Could anyone stop Acteon from spreading its tentacles in a world without me, Maide Mohan?
Almost as if she’d read my mind, Jenia said.
“Do you really need to handle everything yourself, Mr. Maide?”
“Hm?”
“That screen thing told Lady Repia the same, right? Leave it to the heroes of the future and accept the world’s gift.”
“That’s true.”
“Maybe you should leave it to the ones after you too, Mr. Maide......”
I shook my head.
Then spoke to everyone in a resolute tone.
“The Lady Repia you just mentioned turned down that screen’s offer too. I need to follow her example.”
“......”
“Besides...... this isn’t arrogance, but I just can’t see future heroes stacking up fame like mine. Even the fame I’ve built took a mountain of insane luck and coincidences.”
“That’s fair.”
Of course, I’m not denying our hard work.
But it was undeniable fact that my current fame was the product of countless strokes of luck and assistance.
“That’s why Kaild can’t die right now.”
“Hm. If we kill Kaild now, Acteon will just find another body to possess. Like it did after we took out Bartore.”
“Exactly. It could even be one of us standing here.”
“......”
“The thing that revives will hide and build its strength until I die. This bastard needs total annihilation.”
“So we need to push your fame past ten million? Guess we’re back to the original plan.”
I nodded at Offense’s words.
I lightly dragged my finger through the air, ripping space.
The space-tear technique, now activating effortlessly.
We tossed Kaild inside.
“He won’t get out, right? The guy tried crawling free from the starting line.”
“My fame now is easily four or five times what it was then. No chance he breaks out.”
“Fair enough.”
“Well, if he swaps back with Acteon...... but given Kaild’s personality, he’d never hand over his body again. Not even if it was his one shot at escape.”
That bastard could never cooperate with Acteon.
I knew his character well enough to say it with certainty.
We left the place behind.
We’ll come back once the final preparations are done. Acteon.
Oh, and Kaild too, while we’re at it.
We found Velosian easier than expected.
Risel had mobilized every spirit on the continent to pinpoint his location.
With Neril’s flight magic and Mime’s assistance, we reached him in the blink of an eye.
He was sleeping soundly in bed.
I stared down at the somewhat slender man.
‘There was a time I was overwhelmed by this guy.’
[Heh. I pulled off some big plays back then.]
‘You’re right.’
[You affirm it so easily, it’s kinda embarrassing.]
No, it really was.
Without Trail, my party would’ve been wiped out before I even returned from the underworld.
But instead of expressing fresh gratitude, I drew my sword with a shink.
Stab.
I plunged it deep into his gut.
Flash.
Velosian’s eyes snapped open.
Could he even make sense of his situation?
He’d been sleeping to recover his strength, only to wake up surrounded by heroes.
I grinned.
“Feeling awake now?”
“......No. Feels like I’m still dreaming.”
“Want to wash up? I’ll wait.”
“Save the nonsense. Why are you here?”
A hint of anxiety—maybe the first I’d ever seen—flickered across Velosian’s face.
Neril spoke.
“Take a guess. You look smart enough.”
“No way. Acteon’s guarding this place.”
“......”
“No matter how impressive you are, Acteon’s on another level entirely. Even Imperium fell to it!”
The guy got worked up.
Chin.
I casually sat on the corner of the bed.
Crossed my legs and said.
“Wonder if you realize this. I’m stronger than Imperium now.”
His agitation drained away in an instant.
He scanned every one of us with tense eyes.
“Fuu.”
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled with resignation.
“I’ve lost. To Imperium...... and its successor.”
“......”
“What now?”
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to beg.”
I thought it was a joke, but he stayed dead serious the whole time.
“I won’t leave the special chamber until you die.”
“......”
“Not good enough? Fine. Then a thousand years.”
“......”
“No, ten thousand. I won’t leave this special chamber for the next ten thousand years. Will you forgive me with that?”
I pretended to mull it over for a moment.
Soon grinned and said.
“One condition.”
“......Speak.”
“To be honest, Acteon’s not dead yet. And I plan to kill it for good.”
“Not just destroying the body.”
“Right. Chopping its head off would just rack up more innocent victims. But right now, my fame’s a bit short for finishing it off.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You can transfer fame, right?”
He cautiously glanced around.
“You want me to transfer my party members’ fame to you? With my authority?”
“Are you insane? To transfer fame, the target has to die.”
“That’s true, but......”
“I’ll prepare the target. Just say yes or no.”
He swallowed hard.
Who could’ve ever imagined it.
Heroes and champions surrounding a Demon King, cornering it.
Velosian had no choice.
He wasn’t the type to nobly declare, “Then kill me,” like some fairy-tale knight or general.
In the end, Velosian spoke.
“I’ll do it.”
“Good.”
“Once it’s done......”
“Yeah. Swear you’ll hole up for ten thousand years, and I’ll let you live.”
His expression darkened.
A face that screamed he couldn’t trust it.
But a face that knew he had no other options right now.
“I trust you.”
Yeah. Trust me plenty.
Demon King of Lies.
We took Velosian and left the special chamber.
We slipped back to the inn, avoiding prying eyes.
Clack.
The moment we entered the room, Serein said.
“He’ll die even faster outside the special chamber, right? Already frail, and now even weaker.”
Velosian said nothing.
But it was a question that didn’t need an answer.
The penalty for leaving the special chamber: weakening.
On top of that, his body hadn’t fully recovered.
No exaggeration—I could kill the Velosian right now with a single finger.
Velosian spoke in a raspy voice.
“Finish it quick and send me back.”
“Needs preparation. If you’re bored waiting, go shopping.”
“......”
“Kidding. Stay put here.”
Swipe.
I tore open space once more.
Velosian wore a deeply conflicted expression.
The guy outside the special chamber couldn’t possibly escape my space prison, forged from 5.6 million fame.
When he didn’t budge, Neril said.
“Need a push?”
“......Ngh. No, I’m fine.”
He walked into my space on his own two feet.
As I sealed the space, I said.
“Won’t take long. Use the time to repent for your sins in there.”
He didn’t bother replying.
Once the space fully closed, Jenia said.
“What an unlikable guy. So glib when it suited him.”
“That’s why you always gotta think from the other person’s shoes.”
“But he’s a Demon King.”
“Anyway, everyone listen up.”
I drew the group’s attention.
“You probably know already, but I’m going to ask for the fame from past heroes and champions to be transferred to me.”
That’s right.
Velosian could only transfer the fame of the dead to others.
I prioritized those from past eras with the highest fame.
And filtered for ones that’d meaningfully help me.
The task was over so fast the word “filter” felt wrong.
“Heroes and champions from the first to the third generations. No one tops their fame.”
“There were heroes before the first Grade, right? Imperium was the twenty-fourth, so that means twenty-three more. Why not call them all?”
I started to respond to Neril, but there was no need.
Clack.
The screen popped up without being called.
[Getting their fame is impossible.]
“Why?”
[The past twenty-three...... no, twenty-four heroes including Imperium all received the world’s gift and left for their own worlds.]
“Oh, right.”
[In other words, the so-called ‘Maide World’ served as the foundation for a whopping twenty-four new worlds. That’s an overwhelming number compared to other past heroes’ worlds.]
Come to think of it, Imperium’s world had only just birthed its fourth hero.
Looks like my world had some seriously deep history and roots.
Though I still remembered nothing.
Jenia spoke up.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve been curious about that ‘Maide World’ thing......”
[Then go ahead and talk.]
Clack. The screen vanished again.
It felt like it had peeked ahead to a tricky question and dipped out.
Jenia got annoyed.
“No manners. And it’s not even Offense.”
“Why me again?”
“Ms. Jenia, don’t tease Mr. Offense too much. I tried it, and it pisses you off big time.”
I changed the subject.
“Anyway, bottom line: I need the fame from the first through third generation heroes and champions.”
“What about the fourth generation champions?”
“Ah...... Let’s call them too, at least. But since Padania turned out to be a fake hero, they probably got dragged down in the evaluation. Their fame’s gotta be way lower now. Shame.”
“That’s why the leader matters.”
Neril said that, giving me a sly sidelong glance.
I cleared my throat for no reason.
“Ahem. Anyway, we’re borrowing their fame, so I can’t just bully it out of them. That’s why I’m planning to meet them one by one from here on out and ask.”
“I’ll handle it, bro.”
“Yeah. First through fourth generation heroes and champions—that’s eighteen in total, right? Meeting one by one...... means no sleep tonight.”
“I’m in my growth spurt. Can’t pull an all-nighter.”
“Sorry.”
“So why not just call them all at once?”
Everyone’s eyes went wide at that.
Adwin looked more shocked at their shock, his mouth slightly agape.
“Why the surprise?”
“You can summon eighteen souls into your body at once?”
“No. Not into my body—just calling the souls themselves. Normally, it’d shatter the basics of necromancy, totally impossible...... Heh heh, but nothing’s impossible for this body.”
“You just realized it’s a massive feat and switched up your tone, huh.”
It would’ve been impossible before my regression, and even up until recently.
But the fame surge from declaring the Demon King trial must’ve made even absurd feats like this possible.
Risel said.
“When you think about it, the guy messing around from the underworld all the way to the bubble world—what can’t he do?”
“Fair. There’s even a Spirit King who summons every spirit on the continent at once.”
“Who’re you talking about? Oh, me.”
“Good. Call them now. Convincing them all at once should save time.”
Adwin nodded.
“Got it. But shouldn’t we move first?”
“Hm?”
He glanced around the room.
“Feels too cramped here.”