I Saved the Demon King Who Was About to Commit Suicide – Chapter 21

After everyone except Charon entered, the door closed.

Evan slowly looked around to see if there were any dangers nearby.

However, there was nothing in sight.

What lay before him was just a black landscape.

It was a different sight compared to what he saw outside.

‘If I consider the density, the time scale compared to the outside world is… about 100 times, maybe.’

This meant that even if 100 days passed here, only about a day would pass outside.

Calculating that, one could say they had plenty of time.

“So, Evan, where exactly are we going?”

“Well, for now, I’m thinking of searching for the undead… but is there another way? If Helen had the power to find the undead we need, I’d change the plan.”

With a bit of hope, Evan looked at Helen, who was standing next to Lucia, but she shook her head timidly in response.

“I do have that ability… but the mana in the air here is too dense, making it really hard to find the undead. I thought it would help, but I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. Anyway, time flows slowly here. If we keep moving forward, something should come up.”

Evan gently patted Helen’s hair and turned back to the front.

“For now, we stay together, Chloe. There’s no rush, and if we end up scattered in a place like this, we might never meet again.”

“I think the same as you. I will follow your words.”

Lucia nodded in agreement.

“Alright, then let’s move right away.”

*

After that, they kept walking.

While they were walking straight to avoid getting lost.

Evan, who was ahead, noticed something and drew his sword.

What came into view was a huge dragon, sound asleep without even a twitch.

It looked almost skeletal, similar to regular undead, but the magical power emanating from it was enough to make one shiver.

More than just the ghostly knight he saw earlier.

“…Chloe, this dragon.”

“Yeah. It’s quite strong. I don’t particularly want to wake it up, but since it’s so big, it might be an old dragon.”

“Then it’s best to wake it up. I hope to avoid a fight.”

After making that decision, Evan immediately infused his sword with magical power and swung it at the dragon.

Boom—!

Thanks to the thick mana in the air, the attack hit much harder than usual.

The shock was so great that the sleeping dragon opened its eyes.

[Who dares to disturb my deep slumber…!]

As it rose, its enormous body emerged, even larger than the gates of the forbidden zone.

At the same time, a roar that seemed to resonate with the soul echoed out.

Hearing that, Helen fainted immediately, and Lucia staggered, unable to maintain her balance…

However, Evan stood relatively steady.

It was because he had previously experienced the roar of a dragon that was far more terrifying than this one.

‘That damned dragon actually helped me out, huh?’

He briefly thought of Inferna and then addressed the dragon before him.

“It’s me. I have a few questions.”

[Human…?]

The awakened dragon turned its gaze toward Evan.

And then, filled with rage, it roared and charged at him.

[Human, gaaaan!!!]

It was evident that it was not quite in its right mind.

Whether time had damaged its sanity or it had originally loathed humans, he didn’t know…

But it was clear that the situation was not good, and Evan’s expression grew grim.

“Tsk. It has already lost its sanity.”

Lucia, who was watching the dragon, also clicked her tongue with a serious expression.

“Yeah. It seems we can’t avoid a fight.”

“Then I’ll handle it alone. I need one of us to protect Helen, so you shouldn’t fight.”

“Can you handle it alone?”

“Even though I’ve lost a lot of power, I was once a ruler of Armageddon. If I can’t deal with a dragon like this, I wouldn’t have made it to that point.”

Lucia stepped forward and continued.

“And my sword is focused more on cutting opponents than on defense. You know you’re better at defense; this time I’ll fight.”

Seeing her firm determination, Evan nodded.

“…Just be careful. If you die here, things will get troublesome.”

“Ah, of course. I won’t die, so don’t worry about it.”

The magical power flowing from Lucia began to ripple blackly.

Her eyes shone a deeper red than usual.

[Human-aaaaan!!]

“Look properly with your eyes, you four-legged beast. I am not human.”

[All you humans must die!!]

“It seems this one isn’t going to listen to reason.”

While still wearing a serious expression, Lucia infused the rippling black mana into her sword.

Then, she swung her sword.

Swoosh—.

The dragon’s front leg bones were severed cleanly.

Evan didn’t even notice the process.

He could only see the result of the vanished process.

Lucia’s attack on the dragon was beyond his perception.

It seemed the dragon, whose bones had just been severed, was similarly stunned.

Swoosh.

Before there was even a chance to be surprised, both wings were cut off.

Swoosh.

…and soon, its neck was severed, rolling on the ground.

This was the sword of the former Demon King, Lucia von Astrea.

A sword optimized only for slaughtering the opponent in front of her.

It was a technique beyond what the term ‘sword demon’ could encompass.

Among all the swordsmen he had seen on his journey, none had executed such swordsmanship.

‘If Lucia had fought seriously from the start…’

He thought to himself that perhaps everyone would have been dead before he even connected with Inferna.

No, surely everyone would have perished.

As Evan shuddered at the thought, Lucia approached him after smashing the dragon’s skull.

She was panting heavily.

“Huff… I overdid it a bit to finish quickly.”

“Are you okay?”

“I can still move, just barely. But… given the mana felt here, it seems there are more creatures like the dragon we saw earlier swarming around.”

Hearing her words, Evan’s expression worsened further.

It was quite a problematic situation.

If those creatures were swarming around and not in their right minds, they would have to fight each time they awakened them, just like just now.

If they weren’t careful, not just Lucia, but he too could experience magical exhaustion when he participated in a fight.

“This is troubling.”

Evan spoke with a stiff expression.

“I wish we could just find and awaken one that’s in its right mind.”

“I think so too. It’s difficult to continuously execute swordsmanship like we just did in our weakened state. What to do…”

In a situation where no suitable method came to mind.

As they continued to brainstorm for the best solution, Helen spoke up.

“I, I have a way…”

“What is it?”

“The dragon’s soul we just saw was strangely torn apart… but other undead aren’t like that. Generally, the souls of undead are in complete spherical forms… So… if we look for an undead with an intact spherical soul, it might be a sane one…”

It was a plausible idea.

There had been a similar story Helen had related that echoed what Ophelin had spoken of regarding souls in the past.

“That’s a good idea. Then let’s give it a shot?”

Could she be of help?

Feeling good about being praised, Helen smiled subtly and began to walk ahead.

“Pl-please follow me… I’ll try to find one…”