Demon King

Predation – 2

Lee Minha had died, but his work was only beginning. From the start, I had been on the lookout for the ominously distorted mana in his body rather than his abilities. Meanwhile, mana was venting in all directions to try and reach an equilibrium. Considering the total amount of it and the way it was expanding, the result could be easily expected. If I couldn’t stop it, it would send a destructive force akin to a tactical bomb.

‘Those elves…” I swore at them mentally as I moved forward. I couldn’t just swallow it all up, I would lose my life, but I had to work quickly.

“Lee Chan-yu.”

“Leave it to me.” He began to summon hundreds of monsters and spread them out everywhere. They were prepared for any elves that came to investigate the odd gathering of mana here. As a bonus, it would also keep the humans from learning what happened in my battle with Lee Minha, and what I would now be doing.

“Katsuragi, continue using your healing magic. Target this entire space.”

[Okay.]

Now his magic would work to inhibit the runaway mana that was filling this space. It would stop the transformation of it, gradually returning the transformed soul to normal. It was a coincidence that I took him under my command, but I was lucky he was here now. If he continued to grow in the future, he would be the perfect countermeasure against Chaos Souls. I took out a suitable item from my inventory to use Lunatic and Belkena Spell. Traps were more effective when manifesting through an object.

I began to pour in the power of Lunatic Trickster on the shawl I acquired from Marcocias, as well as Predation. I used Belkena Spell to amplify it, pushing it as far as I could. The result was dramatic as the shawl’s strength grew immensely. The mana, which was flowing out, made a roar as if a vacuum cleaner turned on. The momentum at which the mana was sucked in was terrifying, but the shawl didn’t really change much despite it greedily devouring all the mana in the air.

“Just being near that mana makes my skin tingle. Captain, are you really okay?” When I looked up to the sky, ominous purple clouds had gathered above us. The mana deterioration even affected the environment. ‘Damn, there’s too many influences. Was this what the elves were aiming for?’ I put in more mana as fast as I could as if projecting my entire self into the shawl. It didn’t matter if the item’s durability was exhausted, so long as we safely made it through.

Little by little, the cloying, sticky mana began to decrease. My field of vision, which had been filled with pale gray fog, was gradually brightening.

“Captain.”

“I’m focusing.” Now it was the most important part. It wasn’t any less dangerous even when contained in an artifact; it had to be stabilized. Belkena Spell, Lunatic Trickster, and all of the skills I could manage to use were concentrated into it. The shawl, which had been torn to pieces, began to give off a strange glow as mana flowed through the air around it. It was rushing off in an odd direction, out of Lunatic Trickster’s control. This was the dangerous situation I expected. I was anxious about using artifacts I didn’t fully understand, but an item any weaker than the shawl would have been destroyed. I had no choice but to use it.

“Kh…” I groaned briefly, looking back at Katsuragi and Lee Chan-yu, who was watching me with concern.

“I’ll die like this…You guys get back.”

“I knew something bad would happen the moment you made that promise with your sister!”

[Is it dangerous? Should I run away? Where?]

The situation was out of my control. All I could do was delay the energy by using Predation to the max inside the shawl.

[Where? Even if we ran, we couldn’t get out of that mana’s range!]

“This’ll be a serious situation, they’re crowds of people near here.” Both seemed unwilling to move. They wouldn’t be able to live with themselves if they ran without knowing whether I died or not.

“Yes, then let’s decide where to die.”

[No, I want to run away! Tell me how I can survive!]

“I have something to say to you after we survive, captain. We’ll live together.”

“You’re saying stupid stuff like that now?!” It made me feel better to banter as we were. Our everyday life included confronting death. There was nothing more pathetic than being consumed by fear and confusion when facing it. I began to pull items out of my inventory and tossed them into the air, sharing the energy of Predation with all of them. I then began to share the runaway mana from the shawl with them. I couldn’t rely on just one item; I had to spread it out.

I wouldn’t be swayed by the power of Lee Minha. I would swallow them all, neatly, without leaving a single thing behind. It was unacceptable to waste any food. Eat, eat, eat. The light emitted by the shawl became brighter. The energy it held was still massive, but now it had reduced a bit. It was affecting me now. The artifact was developing in a new direction in harmony with the soul’s mana and the energy of my Predation.

“Captain, is the color changing?”

[Captain is a liar. You said you wouldn’t let me die! Damn it; I want to go home!]

Katsuragi was still crying, but Lee Chan-yu noticed the situation was heading in a new direction. I smiled grimly and kept my focus on it. I took out the Twilight sword and the memento of the demon who built the castle, as well as the Pure White Reaper, to help hold the mana. The ominous mana flowing across Incheon was concentrated above us. It was mana that had deteriorated so much, it was unrecognizable. And now it has affected the united artifacts to change their properties. The shawl shined brightly for an instant, as the muffler around my own neck came loose and floated to the place where it was.

“…” As I watched, I couldn’t help but think Rain was assisting me. I wonder if his power in the muffler was supporting this harmony of mana I couldn’t achieve alone. The same went from the demon’s sword left as a memento; it was like his will still resided in there and was helping me as well.

‘Thank you, Rain. Thank you, one who doesn’t know their name.’ The shawl and the muffler blended together, losing shape and forming into one object. The other items began to rotate around them. Looking at them, I briefly thought of the pure white dagger, which was the best weapon I’d ever held, but it was too late.

Light covered the world, and I instinctively activated magic to prevent its spread. Concealing it would be the best option, after all. The purple clouds that had taken over the sky disappeared, and no more sinister mana or displaced souls lingered around us.

[Belkena Spell became Lv6.]

Only

[Lunatic Trickster became Lv4.]

The rise in skill level served as a reminder that the situation had ended. In the end, the items had merged, leaving only a black dagger and a dark muffler in their place. I accepted that the items fulfilled their role and were lost, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad about it. Holding the dagger, I could tell it was powerful at a glance, however.

“Captain, it has an odd feeling to it.”

[Souls. Countless souls. I’m more scared of that than that guy.]

Katsuragi had calmed down now that the immediate danger of death had passed.

“They’ve solidified into the shape of an artifact.” That meant I could control it with my own power. I reached out for them, and as if they had been waiting for me, the black muffler flew toward me and gently wrapped itself around my neck. The dagger was automatically caught in my hand. A huge impulse struck me like a god’s hammer. Innumerable souls clamoring, instinctive emotions left without a clear sense of reason. Those who had left the path and were now trapped in a narrow prison, trying to provoke me to end everything. They wanted to spread destruction across the world.

I smiled bloodily as the shouts in my head and the will to destroy passed on into my body.

“Wait. You’ll enjoy yourselves soon.”