C464
“The Demon King requests a meeting.”
The Mediating Alliance’s leader, Aurora, rushing into the room, stopped upon seeing Cale awake.
“You’ve woken up! The Demon King’s army has gone to the hidden branch—”
She was about to continue, but couldn’t articulate a word upon seeing Cale’s state. They had already confirmed that Cale, after fainting, suffered from a high fever. But…
‘Normally, he would recover upon waking, so he’ll be fine.’
Unlike what the Ancient Dragon said…
‘…It seems his condition has worsened.’
Cale’s face, flushed with fever, as he gasped. He was sweating profusely and couldn’t stand due to dizziness. He seemed to be in a critical situation.
“Hmm.”
Seeing him like this, she didn’t know what to say. Because she knew why he was in this state.
‘Yes, this time wasn’t a normal case.’
His body was contaminated by the Pope’s Chaos, and it’s said he even absorbed the Sacred Object that caused the gray disease. On top of that, he alone confronted the power of the sea, a calamity, from the Dragon King, one of the Three Emperors, buying everyone time to escape. That’s why she couldn’t question Cale’s condition, who had arrived there unconscious after vomiting blood. She could only pray for his recovery.
“…The Demon King—”
Cale, gasping, managed to say something.
“…He, how—”
Unable to articulate his words well, Cale’s distorted eyes stared fixedly at her.
‘Ah.’
Aurora felt like she was going to exclaim. Even in this state, he wanted to know about the Demon King’s matter. What should she do? After looking around, she opened her mouth upon seeing Eruhaben nod. To prevent Cale from speaking further, she told the whole story.
“In the Demon Kingdom, there’s a secret branch of ours classified as an important city. A message from the Demon King was received at one of them.”
Aurora’s expression distorted for a moment, because the Demon King’s side had realized the Mediating Alliance’s secret branch. Her hardened expression didn’t relax.
“The fact that the branch was discovered is due to an incident that occurred in that important city. The information about that incident was something we were going to classify as level 1 information, and while we were verifying it, an agent was discovered, causing this situation.”
Cale listened silently. Because he knew it wasn’t an irrelevant explanation. There weren’t many incidents the Mediating Alliance could classify as level 1 information right now.
“…A demon with the gray disease was discovered in that city.”
“!”
Choi Han’s eyes widened, and he stopped. Gray disease? Hadn’t Cale-nim absorbed the Sacred Object to stop that?
“Currently, the city is under quarantine, and according to intelligence agents, there doesn’t seem to be any contagion. However, it’s unknown if contagion will appear in the future.”
Aurora hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“That’s why the Demon King said he wanted to personally invite Knight Cale Henituse to the city. And that he himself would go.”
That the Demon King, the Demon King who looked at everything indifferently, said he wanted to meet Cale! Aurora was surprised knowing the Demon King’s cruel and indifferent nature. But at the same time, she wondered. She saw Cale’s state and couldn’t speak, but as she was a demon, she had to ask.
“…Hasn’t the gray disease stopped?”
Choi Han, who was in a corner, approached and opened his mouth.
“I clearly saw Cale-nim absorbing the Sacred Object.”
Aurora looked at Choi Han after hearing his reply and stopped. Because she saw his sharp eyes. Aurora was paralyzed at Choi Han’s determination not to allow anyone to blame Cale.
“…How many days have passed?”
Cale opened his mouth. Raon, who was picking up the apple pie that had fallen on the bed, instinctively replied:
“2 days, 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 9 seconds have passed!”
Ron, the servant, helped Cale sit up against the bed’s wall. Cale nodded at Raon’s reply and opened his mouth.
“Haa. I had a dream.”
Cale recalled what Hitellis had said in the Pope’s memories he had seen in his dream.
‘Even so, although it’s a very low probability, sometimes, among the humans in whom the seeds have been planted, those who have good compatibility with Chaos make the seeds germinate on their own and spread Chaos around them, right?’
A small, broken voice reached everyone’s ears amidst ragged breathing.
“They say demons with good compatibility with Chaos can make the seeds germinate on their own. And that they can also spread Chaos around them.”
“Hmm.”
Many immediately understood with just that. Eruhaben approached Cale and said:
“The God of Chaos’ sect is truly evil. In the end, they had no intention of completely eliminating the gray disease from the Demon Kingdom.”
The God of Chaos’ sect, trying to spread faith in the God of Chaos and expand its power in the Demon Kingdom using the gray disease. They intended to endlessly shake the Demon Kingdom with Chaos even without the Sacred Object.
“Then, the seeds that have appeared in the important city now are that case.”
“Hmm.”
Aurora, after a moment of hesitation, continued:
“The fact that it’s spreading Chaos means it’s contagious.”
“Probably.”
Cale nodded with difficulty.
-I’m too full.
-There’s still a lot left to digest.
As the Glutton Priestess and Super Rock’s words were heard, Cale thought:
‘I must go to that city.’
No, it wasn’t to meet the Demon King, but to stop the gray disease that had appeared in that important city as soon as possible. As it was a large city, it was unknown what kind of calamity it would cause if it wasn’t stopped.
‘In this situation, only I can purify it.’
Cale, who could use Chaos purification, had to go purify the gray disease.
‘And anyway, I have to meet the Demon King to make the deal.’
He had a lot to talk to that guy about.
“…I must go.”
The moment Cale said that, Eruhaben immediately opened his mouth.
“That’s secondary.”
Eruhaben firmly told Cale.
“Purify your body first. You’ll meet the Demon King after you recover.”
At those words, the others also silently nodded. Aurora’s expression hardened slightly, but she also couldn’t refute his words.
‘How can I ask for more sacrifices after everything he’s done?’
The Demon King. Even that cruel existence, despite discovering the Mediating Alliance’s branch, had requested a ‘meeting’ instead of attacking. They didn’t respect the Mediating Alliance, but Cale.
‘Yes, that’s right.’
The Demon Kingdom demons, at least, wouldn’t harm their benefactor. The Demon Kingdom has survived as one of the three great powers, even under the subtle disdain and pressure from the Divine World and the Celestial Kingdom. They don’t betray those who have helped them. At least, that’s what Aurora believes.
‘If the Demon King wasn’t like that…’
In that case, Aurora wouldn’t stand still. When she, as a demon, made that decision…
“No.”
Cale said in a weak but firm voice.
“I’ll go to the city.”
“That—!”
Choi Han was going to refute those words immediately. But Cale’s words were a little faster.
“My current state isn’t due to contamination.”
Amidst the tense atmosphere, Cale calmly said, not avoiding the worried gazes.
“I’ll get better with time.”
It’s just indigestion.
“Simply, hmm.”
How should he explain it?
“It’s a side effect of using too much power.”
Yes, he couldn’t lie without reason. Cale honestly told his companions, who were worried about him as if it were their own body.
-Yes. It’s from eating too much.
For the Glutton, eating is her job. So it’s correct to say she’s used too much power.
-The Glutton just needs to digest her indigestion, and she’ll be fine soon. She just needs time.
While Cale listened to Super Rock’s words, there was a moment of silence.
“That’s impossible, how can he be alright after being contaminated by Chaos…?”
Choi Han opened his mouth. Cale looked at Choi Han and stopped.
‘Why does he have that look now?’
Cale looked into Choi Han’s eyes and stopped. He remembered the beginning. Choi Han, who had arrived at the Henituse mansion after the death of the people from Harris village. The guy who was full of revenge and anger was in front of him now. Why has this kind guy returned to back then? Cale unintentionally said:
“Are you alright?”
At that moment, Choi Han’s face contorted. With an expression of not knowing what to say, he opened and closed his mouth and bit his lip.
‘Why is he like this?’
Cale observed Choi Han’s state and responded to what he had said.
“Yes. The contaminated parts aren’t alright.”
Fuu. Cale took a deep breath. The dizziness was less than before, but his condition was definitely bad. He didn’t know how long he would be like this.
“It hurts.”
The parts contaminated by Chaos, of course, hurt. He felt pain.
“So I need to purify myself. But most of the symptoms you see now aren’t related to the contamination. You’ll get better with time.”
He couldn’t give the Glutton indigestion medicine, right? As she said she would heal herself, he could only wait.
“I intend to purify the gray disease in the city at the same time as I purify myself.”
Choi Han was going to refute his words, but Cale firmly said:
“In this state, that’s the only option.”
Ron, the servant, who had been silently listening, opened his mouth.
“Young Master. As we don’t know when your condition will improve, I think your body won’t be able to withstand two purifications.”
“Yes.”
Ron perfectly understood. Cale didn’t know when this indigestion would resolve. Of course, it would gradually improve with time, and although it was an intuition, it didn’t seem like it would take long.
‘I must stop the gray disease quickly, and I must also purify my body.’
It was much better to do it at the same time. Of course, the pain in his body would continue during that time.
‘That’s alright.’
It was nothing compared to when he used ‘Instant’ or when his vessel broke. If he couldn’t purify the gray disease in time due to his body purification and lack of energy, that was more likely to have worse consequences.
“Please contact the Demon King.”
Cale told Aurora, and Aurora, receiving his gaze, couldn’t reply. Cale looked at Aurora with disbelief, then saw her respond with a serious expression.
“Yes. I will.”
Then, she slowly bowed.
“…Thank you very much.”
“Eh?”
Why is she like this suddenly? Cale felt curious, but Aurora straightened and said with a serious expression:
“…From now on, the Mediating Alliance, no, I personally, will ensure that Knight Cale is safe until he meets the Demon King.”
“Ah, yes, well. Do it.”
It would be good if the Mediating Alliance took care of that. Cale added to Aurora, who seemed very serious:
“I’ll go to the Demon King as soon as possible, so tell him to prepare the purification. Also tell him I don’t want to waste time.”
Yes. He had a fever and dizziness, so he didn’t want to waste time on useless disputes. It would be good to quickly purify his body to alleviate the pain.
‘And maybe I can improve the Glutton’s indigestion.’
Because this happened after eating Chaos, if Cale purified the Chaos in his body, wouldn’t the Glutton Priestess feel better? He thought it wasn’t an unfounded assumption. Of course, as he couldn’t be sure, Cale intended to purify the gray disease in the important city at the same time as purifying himself.
‘And the Demon King has no choice but to do as I say now.’
As the Demon King couldn’t act recklessly while the Sacred Object was in Cale’s hands, he would do as Cale wanted. The situation was in Cale’s favor.
‘Then, when we make the deal, I’ll also use the gray disease purification to get a lot.’
Cale intended to get a large compensation for the damage he had suffered and for his effort.
“…Yes. I will let him know without fail.”
Aurora left the room with a serious expression, and Cale looked back at his companions.
“And the others?”
Some weren’t there.
“They’re receiving treatment for their wounds.”
Sui Khan, Choi Jung Soo, and Clopeh Sekka weren’t there. Remembering their wounds, Cale frowned.
“Ugh. When will they recover…”
Cale murmured his thoughts and raised his head, stopping.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
The average 10-year-old children. Cale stopped upon seeing Raon, Hong, and On staring fixedly at him.
“…Human, don’t you want to eat?”
Raon offered him an apple pie. Cale wanted to eat it upon seeing Raon’s drooping eyes, but…
“…….”
He couldn’t help but ignore the apple pie.
“Young Master. Should I prepare lemon tea?”
“…Yes.”
Tea would be better. He couldn’t eat anything because he felt bloated. The children moved away from Cale and gathered in a corner. It seemed they were whispering something, but Cale couldn’t hear it, so he ignored it. Cale thought it was good they weren’t crying.
“This is serious.”
“It’s truly serious.”
“We must investigate the side effects.”
The children, at Cale’s different appearance, stopped crying. He said he would get better with time. Didn’t that mean there was no medicine or solution? They couldn’t allow this to happen again. The idea that it wasn’t the time to worry filled the children’s minds. They had always learned how to solve problems from Cale. That’s why they began to look for their own way to solve the problem.
“All this is Chaos’ fault.”
“That’s right! But the Wanderers are also a problem!”
“…We can’t leave them like this.”
“That’s right! We’ll destroy the God of Chaos, the Five Colored Blood Family, and the Demon King!”
“I’ll also spread poison!”
“…First, we have to get stronger. At least, we must be able to destroy the Three Emperors with our own hands.”
Of course, if Cale heard their conversation, he would get more dizzy, but they couldn’t help it.
“Young Master, rest for now.”
Ron, with a kind smile, put Cale back down on the bed.
“Hmm.”
Ron smiled at Cale, who groaned.
“Young Master, you’re a troublemaker both as a child and now.”
Along with a low chuckle…
“Of course, now you’re even more troublesome, making this old servant worry.”
“!”
Cale’s eyes snapped open.
‘Now.’
The moment Ron said that word, Cale was speechless, feeling oppression and surprise.
‘As expected—’
Does he know? No, how far does this ruthless old man’s intuition reach?
“Jaja.”
Ron kindly smiled, or rather, with a killer smile. Cale, without realizing it, shrunk inside the blankets. Ron couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Cale’s trembling pupils.
“Rest for now.”
As Beacrox hadn’t returned yet, he said as he went to prepare lemon tea.
“Our Young Master gives a lot of work.”
Cale cautiously looked at Ron. In fact, his condition wasn’t normal to say something.
“Choi Han.”
Before leaving the room, Ron called Choi Han.
“…….”
When Choi Han stared fixedly at him, Ron pointed to the door.
“Will you help me?”
“…….”
Choi Han frowned for a moment, then left the room following Ron.
“Young Master, sleep until we move.”
Ron said as he closed the door, and seeing Cale immediately closing his eyes to sleep, smiled.
Klik. The door closed, and Ron headed to the kitchen, saying to Choi Han, who was following him:
“We must get stronger, right?”
“…….”
Without Choi Han saying anything, Ron continued:
“Has the Heavenly Demon still not arrived?”
“…Why?”
Choi Han replied, and saw a cold smile on the kind elder’s face.
“I’m curious about that unique energy.”
“…….”
Choi Han stared fixedly at Ron, the servant. Ron, who had carried Cale on his back. Cale probably hadn’t seen his face. But Choi Han was close, so he clearly saw it in the darkness. His face full of despair and urgency.
“Will you tell me?”
At Ron’s question, Choi Han nodded. And he replied:
“I can’t allow Cale-nim to continue suffering.”
Ron silently nodded. And in the place where those two arrived, Beacrox was.
--------------------------
“…You—”
Mol, one of the eight swordsmen loyal to the Demon King, the leader of the third army. The master of betrayals, called the hand behind, couldn’t continue.
Cale Henituse. General Mol had come out to greet them upon hearing that he and his group, along with Aurora, were coming. He still remembered Cale’s gaze, which hadn’t died even before the sea of the Dragon King, one of the Three Emperors. His bright eyes, which wouldn’t give up in any situation. And the rock shield he had created. That shield, although it broke, disappeared, protecting everything. Mol couldn’t forget that scene, but…
“…You, why—”
But why is Cale Henituse now…
“How did you come to be like this?”
Seeing Cale, who was in a wheelchair, General Mol was speechless. And Cale, who only had indigestion…
“What do you mean?”
Cale’s frown deepened at General Mol’s tone.
“Haa. Haa.”
Of course, he was gasping, sweating profusely on his forehead, his body slumped weakly against the wheelchair, and he had a pale face. But, anyway, Cale had arrived in Telia, an important city, to meet the Demon King.
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