The Demon King Who Draws

Chapter 97

Step…

Step…

‘How strange.’

Someone who had just been alive in front of him had now returned as a weapon.

‘…Is this the power of a demon?’

Among the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed, in particular, has a strong inclination towards martial prowess, even among the seven bloodlines of the demon race. Given that the bloodline itself is oriented in that direction, it naturally developed accordingly.

Since this demon is under the command of Greed’s second-in-command, his abilities must be extraordinary as well.

‘Is the scabbard meant to be worn on the back?’

If it had to be worn at the waist like a belt, it would have been somewhat inconvenient. It seemed even my wish was reflected in this aspect.

The silver scabbard emitted a subtle glow. Grasping the scabbard, he drew the blade.

Sssssshhhk-!

With a clear, resonant sound, a blade with a bluish hue flashed into view. The sharp, angular blade, along with the skull carved as a decoration on the handle, left a strong impression.

Whooooong…

As soon as he grasped the sword, countless things he could do with it came to mind.

“Hmm….”

Slaaash-!

As he swung the sword, the entire length of the blade froze over.

Crack-crack-crack-crack-!

‘It’s only natural, given that it’s imbued with pure cold….’

Ssssss…

He gripped the sword more tightly.

Whoooosh…

A purple aura began gathering from all directions, converging on the blade.

“What the….”

“Life force….”

He understood.

What this purple aura was.

‘A sword that absorbs the life force of others.’

This life force was transmitted to him, creating a result entirely different from the days when he would swing the sword a few times and collapse in exhaustion.

‘But this life force… just how….’

The life force flowing out of Akad was dozens of times stronger than that of others.

“That’s enough.”

Click-

At some point, the bluish sword had returned to its scabbard.

‘…How did that happen?’

He hadn’t seen it happen, and he couldn’t even recall sheathing the sword himself.

‘Is this the power of the Seven Deadly Sins…?’

It didn’t feel like they were the same race of demons at all. The only similarity seemed to be the outer shell they wore.

“A sword that drains life force just by being drawn….”

Akad murmured, and Aita suddenly leaned forward.

“Wanna trade with mine? Want to see what mine can do?”

“…Aita.”

“I guess not, huh? Alright, Akad. I’ll leave it alone.”

Click…

He slung the scabbard over his back and asked.

“Are you sure it’s okay to give this to me?”

“If you can’t claim the reward for what you’ve achieved, then that’s a problem. Well… maybe the other members of the Seven Deadly Sins would have reached a different conclusion, but not me.”

Akad smiled slyly.

“Just know that I’m not the type to focus on short-term gains like getting rid of you here or subjugating you with force.”

A clean deal.

No, in fact, given that Akad had to keep an eye on me as if he were constantly worried about a child near water, it was clearly a deal that tipped the balance in my favor.

“Thanks, I’ll use it well.”

Well, since he referred to it as a bribe, I didn’t plan to think much more about it.

“Have you decided on a name?”

“A name….”

A series of events that had unfolded in the Frozen Lands flashed through his mind like a panorama. Over a hundred people were caught up in the incident and were annihilated; there were no longer any witches or witch hunters left in the Witches’ Land.

“Snowfield. Snowfield sounds good.”

A barren, empty snowfield.

That would be the name of this sword.

“A good name. Hmm!”

After Aita’s brief appraisal, Akad gave his instructions.

“Erase all traces, and in a few days, we’ll leave this place. Make sure everything is ready by then. If you delay, Lust will catch your trail.”

* * *

With some unfinished business left in the Witches’ Land, I moved through the Snowfield with Enis. Ruby, the three giants, and Bill were guarding me, so I had less to worry about in case something unexpected happened.

There was still a task that needed to be completed in this place.

‘Now that I think about it… my condition isn’t bad.’

In the past, just having fought Eckelart would have left me bedridden for a week.

‘Is it because I absorbed life force?’

It seemed especially significant that I had absorbed Akad’s life force, even if I set aside the others.

‘I’m fortunate that my body is fine this time… but I need to control it so I don’t absorb the life force of my allies.’

If I drew the sword and both allies and enemies collapsed, it would be a ridiculous situation.

“Do you see that?”

“If you’re talking about the peak, then yes, I see it.”

“That must be it.”

“…Let’s go.”

The path was so rough that we had to keep our mouths shut and focus on moving. The road hadn’t been maintained for a while, and snow had piled up, forcing us to proceed slowly.

The good thing was, it wasn’t cold.

Gripping the handle of Snowfield seemed to keep the cold at bay. It must be one of Snowfield’s powers.

In a way, it might have been fortunate that Eckelart’s attempt to subdue me had failed, considering the benefits I gained.

What Snowfield absorbed was merely the magic Eckelart left behind, while his soul was absorbed into the Dungeon Core that resonated with my heart. As a result, my magical power had increased to an unimaginable level.

Having devoured the soul of a Transcendent, the monstrous body of Faust must have evolved once more. This meant I could act with even more freedom than before.

Reflecting on my battle with Eckelart, the most shocking aspect was the power Peshua had displayed.

‘Drawing the Dragon’s Eye… It was an ability I’d never seen before.’

That ability wasn’t part of Peshua’s usual skill set, nor did it exist in the general fire skill set. If the server hadn’t been shut down and had continued, it might have been introduced, but… that’s just speculation.

In other words, Peshua had created an ability that didn’t exist in the game. This realization brought both joy and a sudden wave of anxiety.

‘It’s impossible that Peshua is the only one capable of something like this.’

Peshua could accomplish it, so it was something that someone else could also achieve. But if the enemy managed to do it… it would be quite a headache.

‘No… Anyway, the history of Lemegeton that I knew is almost coming to an end.’

After Faust reached Malasis, there were only a few episodes left that I knew of.

To begin with, this game didn’t progress much. You could say it ended with everything still shrouded in mystery.

So, I can’t rely on foresight.

‘I’ve never even seen Scala, whom I was supposed to encounter in the Frozen Lands….’

It felt like a significant part of both the future and the present had changed.

‘But… what happens when the server shutdown time that I knew arrives?’

Will the updates end?

What about the pickup schedule?

Or does this world itself disappear?

‘I have no idea….’

Anyway, it’s something that I’ll be able to confirm directly in a little while.

“Here it is! I found it!”

The door, which likely concealed a staircase leading underground, was locked with a padlock.

“It doesn’t seem to have any special curses… Can you break it?”

“Step aside.”

Sssrrrnnng…

Clang!

As Amon swiftly drew and swung Snowfield, the padlock was cleanly cut off.

Thud…

Clatter…

‘Good.’

The feel of the blade slicing through and its weight were satisfying. And thanks to the significant increase in magic power, he no longer had to worry about his body weakening unnecessarily.

Creak…

“Let’s go in.”

Ruby and Bill moved together, while the three Glacier Giants kept watch outside.

“Ugh….”

The smell wasn’t pleasant at all.

When he tried to figure out what it was, Enis explained for him.

“These are the vessels used in developing curses. They mainly use small life forms… If they don’t fit well, they let them rot and turn them into poison.”

“So, it was the smell of rot.”

“It smells like a poison frog. That’s rare in this area.”

The scale of this place was similar to the treasure vault of the Blue Witches.

“There, those are magic stones. You’re taking them, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Two boxes of top-grade magic stones.

The rest were magic stones of lower grades.

Still, combined with the magic stones obtained from the Blue Witches, it was a quantity large enough to stock a decent-sized store.

‘Hm?’

He was drawn to a strangely shaped doll and reached out for it, but stopped midway.

Srrrrk…

It was a bracelet relic left behind by the White Witch Peshua. He had heard that it would warn him if there was poison nearby.

Fortunately, it seemed to be working properly.

“It seems like a trap. It’s best not to touch it.”

“Agreed.”

As Enis organized things, she packed the items that were worth taking into a chest for him.

“Enis, are you planning to leave?”

“…….”

One of the things to settle here was Enis’s departure.

“That’s right.”

She glanced back at him and spoke.

“Both the witches and the witch hunters are dead, right? So no one… will know that I’m a witch? Only you guys… and I know.”

Then, while subtly covering her mouth, she added,

“Oh, I’ll never tell anyone who you are, no matter where I go. Actually, I’m not even sure what your true identities are.”

“…That statement just saved your life.”

“What? Pfft… Heh… I thought you were an ice person, but you can crack jokes too?”

It was a fitting remark for the situation, but whether it was a joke or not was uncertain. Sometimes, Faust’s emotions felt as if they were like a hard, unyielding mass, difficult to perceive.

Still, it probably was a joke.

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

“There’s… a small chest here… Ugh….”

It was a small chest hidden in a secret space, wrapped in cloth inscribed with numerous curses.

“Wait a moment. Even if I’m not the Purple Witch, I can still undo something like this since I’m part of the witch’s coven.”

Fwoooo…

Muttering under her breath, Enis proceeded to neutralize the curses woven into the cloth, one by one.

Clack…

As the chest opened, a single book of moderate size was revealed inside.

“This is….”

Enis examined it closely before informing me of the book’s identity.

“It’s The Art of Puppetry. The Purple Witch’s secret technique….”

“If it’s puppetry, then it doesn’t concern me.”

“No, it’s different. Even without directly controlling puppets, the Purple Witch’s Art of Puppetry is a secret technique that has reached the pinnacle of hypnosis and brainwashing. There are countless ways to utilize it without necessarily creating puppets….”

Thud.

She placed the book back into the chest.

“Take it with you. It’s better that you have it than me.”

“…Alright.”

An unexpected find.

“Let’s go. There’s a place nearby where they’ve gathered the puppets.”

As she said, there was a wooden structure resembling a warehouse where the puppets were stored.

“The lock is open… huh?”

“…Step back.”

I pushed Enis back and opened the door to the warehouse where the puppets were stored.

Creeeak…

“…They’re dead.”

Inside the warehouse were only corpses.

Frozen solid… too rigid to even decompose.

Around ten bodies of various species… all mixed together in death.

“They left only those who couldn’t be used in battle.”

“…It looks like they ended their lives before the deployment. Perhaps that’s a small mercy for them…?”

I let Enis do as she wished.

“…Let’s burn them.”

“Alright.”

Burning the entire building wasn’t difficult.

Lacking the loyalty to bury them, the intention was at least to give them a cremation.

However, leaving them scattered around like this would make it seem more like a disposal than a funeral, so I dragged the bodies out and laid them in a line. While lightly patting down the bodies to check for any explosive items that might be hidden in their clothing,

Thud…

‘…What’s this?’

Upon closer inspection, it was a demon’s corpse.

A demon… a male with a prosthetic eye.

From his belongings, I pulled out a small note and a tiny glass vial that could only hold a few drops. The liquid inside the vial hadn’t frozen despite the cold weather.

Shrrrk…

I read the first sentence of the note.

– Finally, I’ve stolen the blood of Gluttony.

A demon… a man…

This is…

‘The Blood of Gluttony from The Seven Deadly Sins!’