"Are you truly, truly resolved?"
"..."
Inquired Reivaj.
Aged Kimchi did not answer.
He merely looked at the underground training chamber he had decided to enter.
"To say that you won't come out for at least three months from this place... Even the most determined knights of our house don't push themselves to that extent in training. Let alone you, Sir Aged Kimchi... So, is there truly no room for reconsideration?"
"...."
A small nod from Aged Kimchi.
Seeing that, a look of regret spread across Reivaj's face.
And how could he not feel regret?
This man before him had safely escorted him to the royal capital.
The one who, through accounts of that journey, gained unexpected fame. The one now regarded as a prodigy, a young and faithful swordmaster.
...Was rejecting the King's offer of knighthood!
Instead of choosing the path of success, which had been laid out openly before him!
He would lock himself away for months in a dim underground training chamber, swinging his sword alone!
"But Sir Aged Kimchi, please think this through. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A direct appointment by His Majesty the King, no less. The fact that His Majesty openly favors you, a commoner, and wishes to keep you by his side... this is not something that happens often."
".....I know."
"Then why? You're already strong enough. What further training could possibly be needed…"
Reivaj felt genuine regret.
Aged Kimchi, turning down a royal offer that might only come once in a lifetime. Choosing instead to shut himself away in a training chamber.
Perhaps...
'Is that why he's so strong? No, he should be at a level where further training isn't even necessary. He's probably already surpassed the level of a swordmaster.'
Yes.
He was certain.
Having traveled with Aged Kimchi, and hearing what his servant witnessed in the underground chamber—the true form of Aged Kimchi—was far beyond the scope of any swordmaster he knew.
'A prodigy destined to become a swordmaster, as the rumors say? No, the rumors are wrong. People don't know. They don't know how strong he truly is.'
Swordmaster?
What a joke.
Perhaps Aged Kimchi was already close to becoming a Grand Master—a figure of legend, a level that exists only in theory.
At least, that's what he firmly believed.
"...."
So what kind of training could he possibly need?
What more could change through such training?
Even the terms proposed by His Majesty when offering knighthood were shockingly simple and generous.
Just please—please—stop wearing that frilly princess dress with the floating skirt that caused subtle eye strain every time he saw it.
Just change your outfit.
If he did, the King would gladly make him his right hand beside the throne.
"..."
The more he thought about it, the more painful it felt. Reivaj repeated his thoughts in regret.
Of course, he didn't know.
He too was underestimating Aged Kimchi's true strength. The truth was that Aged Kimchi had already reached a level that stirred interest and faint wariness even from the archangels and the king of hell.
It was then...
Suddenly, Aged Kimchi opened his mouth.
"...To be honest, a realm I want to reach has appeared."
"What?"
"..."
Aged Kimchi didn't say it again.
Instead, he recalled the sight he had witnessed in the underground storage of Daparachia.
Kim Jangcheol.
The moment when Kim Jangcheol awakened a power he didn't even know he possessed, hidden inside his Heart-Sparkle Magical Girl Wand.
"....."
Honestly, it was shocking.
On the other hand, it felt like a scolding.
As if Kim Jangcheol were rebuking him for being arrogant about his own strength.
"....Homework. Yes. It feels like homework."
"Hm? Homework? What do you mean by that?"
"...Never mind. Forget it. That was unnecessary chatter."
Yes.
Homework.
The massive assignment thrown at him by that being who bore the Summon of Duty. Or perhaps a feeling, a conviction.
Aged Kimchi turned away.
And he offered thanks to Reivaj, who had provided him with an excellent training ground.
"Then, until a few months later. See you again."
...Clang!
The iron door of the training chamber closed tightly.
And behind that closed door, Aged Kimchi let out a quiet sigh and thought,
Phew. Good thing no one found out I can't take this outfit off.
***
"...Phew."
A sigh escaped on its own.
And there was good reason for it.
'How, how in the world... is my Demon King's Castle… not visible?'
The former Demon Queen of the abandoned land.
The merciless Witch of Melody.
Artanis scanned her surroundings with trembling eyes. But she could not find what she was looking for.
'My castle should be visible around there.'
But it wasn't.
It couldn't be seen.
It just… wasn't there.
In other words… the Demon King's Castle that should have been intact—had disappeared!
"..."
Is this even possible?
Am I dreaming or something?
But… that couldn't be it.
There was no way this was a dream—her ears were currently being assaulted by an unbelievably loud noise.
…..KIIIIIIIEEEEAAANG!
A sound like screeching metal tearing into her eardrums.
The alarm had been ringing for some time now.
In addition, a semi-transparent barrier blocked the path ahead.
Well, that alone wasn't surprising.
That treacherous bastard Moderato, who had betrayed her—he was the type who would definitely prepare such a barrier. She had fully expected that level of defense from him.
However...
'I didn't expect the Demon King's Castle itself to be gone.'
Gulp.
She unconsciously swallowed dry.
"...."
To be honest, at first, she thought she had come to the wrong place. She thought that's why the Demon King's Castle wasn't visible.
It had been so long.
Three hundred years, in fact.
So she thought she and her three loyal vassals had somehow confused the path in a most ridiculous and unprecedented way.
But...
'No. We didn't get the path wrong.'
She cast her trembling eyes all around.
Then she saw it.
A familiar hill.
A wasteland etched in memory.
Landforms she had longed for even in dreams.
Everything pointed to this place being the Demon King's Castle, Chavin de Huantar.
And yet...
'How could the Demon King's Castle possibly not be here?'
It was absurd.
And it made no sense.
Then it happened.
"....U-um... My lord?"
One of her three loyal vassals, a young demon race boy holding a harp—the rampaging strings, Andante—spoke carefully.
"That thing over there… that oddly stacked pile of rubble… it kind of looks... familiar?"
"...."
What?
"If you look closely, I think there's a broken railing… maybe a roof too… its shape is just… really familiar…"
"....."
She stared at the pile of rubble he pointed to, her gaze piercing with growing dread.
No way. Come on. It can't be. There's no way. Ugh. That's ridiculous...
But—
"....."
Huh?
"....."
Huhhh?
"...."
Huhhhhhh...?
Artanis' eyes grew wider and wider as she stared at the rubble pile.
She saw it.
She didn't want to recognize it, but she couldn't help but see it for what it was.
That was...
'That's... the balcony railing that overlooked the Hall of Destruction... That emblem… is from the row of columns that connected the Hall of Gluttony… and that over there… the rooftop of the Demon King's Castle...?'
DENG
A thunderous chime of realization slammed straight into the third cervical vertebra!
'So... that pile of rubble... is my Demon King's Castle's remains? That's what it is...?'
She couldn't believe it.
She rubbed her eyes again and again to check.
But the reality didn't change.
"..."
It was certain.
That was, indeed, the wreckage of the Demon King's Castle.
The Witch of Melody, Artanis, felt a chill that nearly drove her mad(?).
'Something… is terribly wrong.'
What could have happened for the Demon King's Castle to be reduced to such devastation? And even more baffling—why was no one rebuilding it?
The horror didn't end there.
Turning her gaze from the shock of confirming the castle's true state(?), more and more visual cues began feeding into her brain.
The grotesquely stacked ruins of the Demon King's Castle.
And around them—neatly organized rectangular plots of land. On each of them, something green was growing vigorously. In other words—
'Surely, those are… plants?'
DENG
Another chime of horrified realization rang out.
And now, she finally understood.
Chavin de Huantar.
The land of death ruled by the Demon King.
That land was now filled, packed tight, with farmland.
"...."
Something was wrong.
The Demon King's Castle had fallen.
Farmland had been established.
This... this scene was no different than a landscape from the human world!
'What the hell...'
What did that traitor, Moderato, do while I was imprisoned? Why has the Demon King's Castle been destroyed? And why, why are human weeds openly growing in this place?
Come to think of it, that wasn't the only suspicious and ominous thing.
'Now that I recall… while passing through all those zones to get here, I barely saw any demons at all.'
The Stormy Wasteland of the Fourth Star Master.
The Eternal Volcano of the Third Star Master.
The Swamp of Decay of the Second Star Master, and the Cliff of the Dead of the First Star Master.
There should've been legion soldiers guarding each of those areas—but almost none were in sight!
'...What on earth happened?'
Could it be that the Demon King's Castle was taken over by humans?
Then what about Moderato?
Surely he wasn't taken down by humans?
"…...."
That can't be.
The seal device was still clamping down on her lips—she needed Moderato's heart to break it and reclaim her power of melody.
That's what the seal was.
A cursed artifact inscribed with a binding curse, etched every second with Moderato's own heart as collateral. Only by using his heart, the one offered as guarantee, could the curse be broken.
"....."
No, this wouldn't do.
She needed to confirm it.
Whether Moderato was still here.
Whether he was still alive.
Artanis, sensing danger, lit up her eyes. The chain dress that wrapped around her entire body moved in sync with her will.
And like dozens of vipers gone wild, she struck the barrier.
Ping-!
The barrier absorbed the impact, releasing a deafening boom.
But Artanis didn't stop.
Kwang! Bang! Boom! Bang! Bang!
A relentless flurry of destructive strikes aimed only at breaking the barrier! It shook over and over. The alarm, which had been ringing for a while, grew more urgent.
Then—at that moment.
Between the consecutive explosions, something strangely lazy and lighthearted wormed its way in.
"Aigoo, my ears. Um, excuse me? Helloooo?"
".....!"
Artanis' brutal chain-smashing came to a halt.
Thanks to that, she was able to see it.
The figure of a man, now standing beyond the barrier. Waving both hands lazily, as if telling her to stop the attack.
"..."
A face she'd never seen before.
But... he was a young demon.
Realizing that, Artanis was slightly relieved.
Because he was a demon. That meant the place hadn't been overtaken by humans. That, in turn, gave her hope that Moderato might still be alive.
While she was thinking that, Kim Jangcheol calmly asked,
"Um, may I ask what brings you here?"
"....."
"It's just, things were getting kind of loud out here, you know?"
"..."
"And this thing in front of you here—it looks like a barrier, right? Since you can't get past it, I figured maybe you had some kind of situation? Maybe a grudge? Anyway, it seems you clearly have business here?"
....
Unable to speak due to the seal, Artanis answered with gestures.
Sssrrrrk.
Her pale fingers moved, and magic letters appeared in the air.
—I have no business with a young demon like yourself. Bring me the Demon King you serve.
"The Demon King?"
—Indeed.
"I'm the Demon King, though?"
—...What?
"I said, I'm the Demon King?"
—...Are you joking?
"I'm not joking, though?"
—How dare you.
Artanis muttered in quiet anger.
An unfamiliar, young—no, childish brat of a demon. Yet this fool had the gall to act so casually before her?
This was wrong. So incredibly wrong.
Even setting aside the fact that she once held the Demon King's position—such behavior was unacceptable toward a long-lived elder demon of the Abandoned Land.
'What's wrong with the younger generation these days?'
Back in her day, this would've been unthinkable.
She gestured again with a stern glint in her eyes.
—I won't speak at length. I'm not in the mood to banter with some brat like you. While I still maintain a minimum of courtesy and respect toward you, I give you this final chance. Bring me the one you serve—the one who dares to usurp my throne and falsely claim the title of Demon King—Moderato. Only that act will serve as your sole path of redemption for the disrespect you've shown me.
"Uhh, didn't you just say you weren't going to speak at length? That was the whole speech."
—....What?
Artanis' elegant eyebrows twitched. But Kim Jangcheol, beyond the barrier, didn't seem to care one bit as he replied nonchalantly,
"Also, that Moderato guy you're looking for—he's no longer around."
—No longer...?
"He died a while back."
—…He died? Moderato did?
"Yep."
—Impossible.
"It's true."
—How?
"I killed him."
—What?
"I took him down."
Kim Jangcheol wasn't lying.
Moderato—his name appeared in the setting book as the former Demon King. And before Kim Jangcheol arrived here, the Demon King Credos had already taken care of him.
That was how Credos became the current Demon King.
So he simply answered with facts.
And even kindly confirmed it.
"Here, look at this—on my shoulder… see? This thing right here?"
"....."
"This mark appears automatically when someone ascends as the Demon King. You know what it is, right?"
"..."
She did.
That was the problem.
It couldn't be forged.
Which meant that the fact that this brat bore that mark on his shoulder... meant…
'So, Moderato really was… killed by this punk?'
Then…
His heart?
My seal?
How do I… break it now?
Ding—
The third chime of pure horror struck the Witch of Melody, Artanis, straight in the mental core.
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]