ALL NOVEL Chapter 449
Chapter 450
“Dad, this feels really weird…!”
Yeon-woo’s sword slashed through the shadows. The blade, now entwined in darkness, swept across the area. The wave of shadows crashing towards Yeon-woo was effortlessly split by his strike.
‘What’s going on?!’
“This isn’t about mana or anything like that…!!”
As Yeon-woo’s words sunk in, it became evident that the shadows were flowing into his body. Well, it wasn’t that impressive… or was it?
What did it mean that the Demon King’s shadows weren’t made of mana or magical energy?
‘Is something going wrong?’
“No, it’s clear. This is—well, uh… To put it simply, it’s almost like machinery…!!”
‘…??’
Yeon-woo’s statement was something he couldn’t possibly grasp. Naturally, he’d absorbed the specialized mana of the Doppleganger, hadn’t he?
So, what had I been using all this time? What’s up with Tae-oh?
Before overwhelming thoughts could flood his mind, Yeon-woo managed to clear his head just in time.
He was on the verge of having his brain circuits fry. Spacing out while fighting the Demon King was practically a death wish.
“It’s a sort of product of magical engineering… or so it seems. It feels like it’s a product of magical engineering from another world. I don’t know how that led to the composition of the Demon King’s body, but…”
That was something unimaginable for Yeon-woo. How could a product of magical engineering flow into a prince of a past era, playing a crucial role in transforming him into the Demon King?
‘Is it like some kind of virus or something…?’
“Ah, a virus…! Maybe…!”
With that utterance from Yeon-woo, Shar’s expression lit up as if he’d discovered something significant. He might not have known for sure, but it seemed like an idea sparked in his mind.
“I found the most accurate term! ‘Nanomachines’!!”
Nanomachines, huh? To be honest, I didn’t quite get it, but it sounded impressive.
Are we saying that these nanomachines—ones that even modern magical engineering couldn’t create—had been implemented in this world’s magical engineering?
This just shows that legendary ancient items from primitive times can’t be ignored. Sure, Earth’s history has been documented and preserved without much fuss, but it’s hard to say the same for other worlds.
Perhaps in this other world, there was some sort of catastrophe that buried its history.
The outcome could very well be leading to the situation we are facing now.
But even if I figured that out now, it wouldn’t change anything.
It would have been nice to learn it a little earlier, but frankly, when I looked into the past with clarity, I found only darkness. What more was there to investigate?
If I could discover the origin, it would be an immense help, but the information currently at hand was barely…
Zzap! A spark ignited in the air. From the waves of shadow that surged like a tsunami, lightning crashed down from above.
The crackling energy jolted through the shadows, visibly weakening their intensity.
“…Huh? What’s this?”
To my surprise, Moryo, who was handling the shadows, reacted as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening, which was oddly satisfying.
Even if we consider it a product of magical engineering, its foundation is still machinery. Just like any other machine, it breaks if it receives more electricity than allowed.
Of course, using pure mana as the power source is an option, but that tends to be inefficient.
Regardless, finding a way to fight back against the shadows was encouraging.
‘What would happen if I transformed my body into a superconductor using courage and then jumped in with lightning? That could be fun.’
It might actually be quite entertaining—though it might be better to test it out later.
*
Creak, creak, creak…
It sounded like a tiny noise, reminiscent of ants gnawing on wood, quietly echoed around.
The source of the sound was beneath Tae-oh’s feet. The ground, the stone fragments, and everything else nearby were being gnawed away by something.
It was the shadows. Tae-oh’s shadows had become more active than ever before.
Though the onlookers wore uneasy expressions at the sight, they continued to fight against the encroaching monsters, knowing Tae-oh wouldn’t cross the line.
Tae-oh wished to save them. But something felt different, recognized within himself—the concept of the Demon King.
The Demon King is a title granted to those who either destroy the world or seize it.
That the notion of the Demon King resonated within Tae-oh suggested he had met certain qualifications.
Of course, Tae-oh hadn’t destroyed or captured the world. Up until now, he’d merely assumed it was a misperception from being distanced from the Demon King.
However, given the circumstances, Tae-oh could now understand. This pulse indicated it was a chance to fulfill the qualifications of the Demon King.
The urge to destroy the world that Moryo had taken was now pushing this forward.
Yet, the shadows were a separate issue. They weren’t reacting to his emotions, nor were they influenced by the Demon King’s aura.
They simply moved as if they believed from the start their role was to devour the world.
“This is…”
Tae-oh’s heart filled with sorrow. Drip, drip—black tears nobody could see began to flow. A single drop hit the ground and started to gnaw at it.
The child’s wish to accomplish what his father couldn’t end in an utterly unforeseen form.
Given the child’s origin, it stood to reason it didn’t quite fit the notion of saving the world.
Suddenly realizing that what composed his body wasn’t just an ordinary shadow, but rather a virus crafted by someone from ancient times, was perhaps due to the unbroken connection with his father.
It was his exceptionally clever sister, who, through investigating Moryo’s shadows, arrived at such a conclusion.
Upon hearing that conclusion, Tae-oh realized that his purpose of existence extended beyond just that.
It was, quite literally, a virus. The ultimate dismantler created by wise beings of an ancient era.
Born of goodwill towards humanity, yet turned into a calamity for the unworthy inheritors.
Thus, what Tae-oh could do was not save this world, but rather the opposite.
There was nothing left for Tae-oh but to completely annihilate this world.
“…What’s going on?”
Concerned about Tae-oh’s immobility, a man approached him and spoke. Tae-oh looked up.
The scythe in his hand was smeared with the shadows of the monsters. It was obvious who this man was—the first farmer he had met in this world.
“Uh, well…”
“Take your time. It’s okay, I’ll listen. Just like you did before.”
The farmer smiled. Tears streamed down Tae-oh’s face.
He noticed that the fallen tears were moving unlike regular tears, but the farmer said nothing. He simply waited patiently for the child to speak.
There wasn’t much time. Even now, countless people were being devoured by shadows. Those consumed would turn into more monsters, and they would attack the living.
Yet, the pain that seemed to echo eternally calmed the people instead.
Thus, they quietly listened to the truth the boy stumbled through his tears.
Honestly speaking, they barely understood half of it. As he choked on his words in his usual manner, mixed with complicated tales from the past, it was nearly impossible to grasp.
But they understood the important gist. He wanted to save them, yet felt powerless to do so.
In reality, that alone sufficed. What more was there to gain from the details?
“I see.”
“I’m so sorry… I really, really feel like I might die from the guilt…”
Big tears overflowed from Tae-oh’s large eyes. Seeing him like this, he seemed like an incredibly cute child.
Truthfully, the child before them had no reason to apologize. When one thought about it, it was plain to see.
He was just a child. A child who hadn’t lived long, upon whom adults with hundreds of years of life relied. That demonstrated how far they had sunk.
When considering it, it wasn’t the child’s problem, but that of the adults. Instead of the child reassuring the adults and leading them, the adults should have paved the way and the children followed.
“Well then, this works out. Let’s do it this way.”
Saying this, the farmer extended his hand toward the ground. There was a pool formed by Tae-oh’s fallen tears.
It was a puddle created by the nanomachines that were still nibbling away at the ground.
Splash. With a sound of water, the farmer’s hand submerged in the nanomachines’ pool. There was no pain, even as he was being nibbled alive.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Startled, Tae-oh jumped up and pulled the farmer’s hand from the puddle. But the shadows clung to him, diligently gnawing away.
As he hurriedly commanded it to stop, the shadows hesitated.
“It’s alright. This is right.”
Saying this, the farmer gently patted Tae-oh’s head with his other hand. Tae-oh looked utterly bewildered.
“What should I call you…? Hmm, let’s see… Tae-oh, Prince. Honestly, you and we were looking at different things from the start.”
“…Different things?”
“You thought you wanted to save us, but we didn’t feel the same. Listening to your story and embracing you made us realize—we were already dead. The Demon King only kept us alive forcefully.”
That was no lie. Consumed by Moryo, their world had met its end.
Moryo, who still hadn’t given up on humanity, had merely clung to their consciousness by sheer force.
But now, Moryo had given up on humans. He had become a monster, attempting to turn the people of this world into monsters too. That death was not what they desired.
This world lacked warmth. Therefore, people could not acknowledge their own death.
Yet, behold, the warmth born into the world through Tae-oh’s unhesitating embrace evidenced their deaths. They were brought face to face with their frigid selves.
“You are salvation. You’re not here to destroy the world. You’re saving us.”
Thus, the moment arrived for the world to embrace death. It didn’t matter what form that death took. They merely wished to die as humans.
“I ask this of others too. No matter how it turns out, I wouldn’t want to die as a monster.”
The farmer, smiling faintly, gradually faded into a handful of droplets, disappearing.
Drip—like tears, the shadows fell to the ground.
(To be continued in the next episode)