I Saved the Demon King Who Was About to Commit Suicide – Chapter 52

A week had almost passed since arriving in Terra.

After yet another failed attempt to persuade Minerva, Evan thought he could no longer just sit and wait, so he decided to think of a way to obtain a Divine Artifact.

“So Evan, where did you say Aegis was?”

“Under the largest furnace on the continent.”

“This location seems straightforward. Finding it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Yeah, as you said, finding it itself isn’t that difficult.”

After walking for a while, Evan stopped in his tracks.

What was revealed at the end of the cave was the furnace located at the center of Terra, pouring out a flood of red molten iron.

Looking at the size of the furnace, which could accommodate about three-tenths of the monster’s body he had seen in Cordelia, Lucia was in awe.

“Seeing it up close, it’s even bigger… I now feel a renewed respect for the dwarves who work with this.”

“Dwarves have been wielding hammers since they learned to walk.”

“Being unfamiliar would be strange then.”

“Exactly. Anyway… if the book is accurate, the Divine Artifact is down there.”

Evan pointed to the bottom of the furnace.

Below the boiling molten iron.

Lucia’s expression became serious.

“Entering there seems like a crazy idea.”

“I agree. Normal molten iron might be manageable, but… that’s iron melted from Terra’s unique ore.”

Terra’s iron is imbued with rich magical power, unlike iron mined elsewhere.

Since it was melted from such iron…

The molten metal seen over there must undoubtedly be saturated with high-concentration magical power.

If one were to rely solely on a magical shield and venture into such a place, they would watch the shield melt away like ice.

Soon after, they would experience their body melting away too.

“…I can’t guarantee that even if I use all my magical power on the shield, it will hold.”

Evan wrapped a magical shield around his finger and brought his hand closer to the molten iron.

Almost instantly, the shield disappeared.

Despite his attempt to concentrate magical power, it melted away immediately.

“So what do we do now?”

Lucia asked as she watched him.

“Summoning the Apostle of Protection is the best course of action, but the problem is that he’s been refusing to help.”

“That’s troubling…”

“Still, this isn’t as urgent as in Cordelia. So far, no monsters have appeared in Terra…”

Evan couldn’t finish his sentence.

He felt a sense of unease coming from outside Terra.

“…This is starting to feel a bit urgent.”

Lucia’s expression grew even more serious.

*

Meanwhile, Ketar briefly paused his work and set down his hammer.

It was almost mealtime.

“Is it already time to eat? Minerva, aren’t you going to eat too?”

“I don’t experience hunger because I’m an intelligent machine… But if you command me to eat, then I will.”

“I’ve told you countless times, my daughter. Eat when you want to eat. You’re human, so you don’t have to follow commands.”

“Error. I lack biological gender, and since I’m a mechanical being…”

“Yeah, yeah. I know all that.”

If he knew so well, why did he always repeat the same line?

Why did he call her his daughter?

Minerva couldn’t understand his reasoning.

“Well, I’m going to grab a bite.”

Ketar stood up from his seat.

“Take care on your way back.”

“Sure. I’ll be careful.”

After he left, the workshop fell silent.

Minerva, still holding the hammer, fell deep into thought.

Evan, attempting something she knew to be irrational.

And her master, treating her kindly as if she were a real daughter, even though she was not.

‘It’s truly hard to understand.’

Minerva couldn’t fathom why they behaved in such a manner.

While she was trying to understand them a little, she turned her head upon feeling a tremor from outside.

For a moment, she thought it might be an explosion of iron ore…

But it was something else entirely.

This tremor contained magical power that was incomparable to mere explosions.

To find out what was happening, she sent a drone up high.

Minerva then spotted a gigantic giant approaching from far away.

With a grotesque face reminiscent of a demon and a body seemingly made of lava.

As it drew closer, Minerva realized that the overwhelming magical power it exuded was exactly like the monster Evan had described, one that had appeared in Cordelia.

“…This is a serious situation.”

Quickly assessing the situation, Minerva took off towards the entrance of Efran.

She had the ‘command’ from her father to protect people when their lives were in danger.

Opening the magical power within her, Minerva began to deploy a barrier that enveloped all of Efran.

With a slow motion of her hand, barriers began to materialize from her fingertips.

As she gestured, the barriers continued to multiply, intricately intertwining to form a single wall.

<Power of Protection - Wall of Discipline>

Upon the activation of her ability, the barrier covering Efran was completely deployed.

This barrier was a few dimensions superior to those that could be wielded by high-ranking mages.

Minerva calculated that this might hold up against the giant for at least a month, but…

Boom-!

She quickly realized that this was a flawed calculation.

As the giant began to pound on the barrier, she could feel it being damaged in real time.

If things continued this way, it might withstand for two weeks.

No, it was doubtful it would hold for even a week.

‘Evan clearly said those creatures are here to destroy the entire nation.’

What that meant was, if Terra fell, the giant would vanish.

Minerva quickly made another decision.

‘To prevent harm from spreading to other areas, it seems we must forsake Terra and evacuate its residents…’

*

Meanwhile, the two rushed into Efran.

Upon seeing the giant, Evan could tell that his earlier sense of unease had turned out to be true.

“That giant, was it named Surt?”

“Yeah. It was written that he was a demon who longed for strong weapons and got trapped deep in Terra.”

“Is that monster awakened because of us…?”

“As I said before, the predetermined fate has merely been moved forward a bit. The fortunate thing is that Minerva has quickly built the barrier, buying us some time.”

Lucia gazed silently at Surt before asking.

“Evan, do you think we can stop it again this time?”

“The environment here is better than last time since we’re not underwater, but… judging from the magical power it has, I think it won’t be easy.”

“Even so, you will step forward.”

“Of course. I have to do whatever it takes to save people.”

Evan nodded and began to walk again.

“First, I need to persuade Minerva again, so let’s head to the workshop.”

Hearing his words, Lucia followed Evan as they made their way to the workshop.

As they arrived, they climbed the stairs and heard Minerva and Ketar’s voices.

Since they were clearly together, they could have gone up further, but…

Evan and Lucia found it difficult to go up any higher.

“What did you just say?”

They sensed something was off from the voice they heard.

“According to Evan, that giant aims to destroy Terra. However, right now, it’s impossible for me to defend Terra with my power, and if the remaining barrier also breaks, many people will die. There is, of course, a way to defeat the giant, but we lack the power for that, so it would be rational to abandon Terra to save as many people as possible.”

“Stop, I already know that.”

Ketar sighed deeply at Minerva’s expressionless words.

He then stared at the family photo on the desk for a moment before speaking.

“…Is there really no way to save many while staying in Terra?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way to catch two hares right now.”

“Huh…”

Another deep sigh escaped him.

After a long silence, Ketar spoke again.

“Minerva, evacuate the others.”

“What do you plan to do, Master?”

“I… want to stay here.”

“If you stay here, it’s only death.”

“I know that too. But… this is my hometown, the place where I’ve shared everything. I can’t just give it up.”

“…That’s not a rational choice.”

Upon hearing Minerva’s words, Ketar smiled sadly.

“It’s impossible to always make rational choices, Minerva. We are not mere machines; we are human.”