TWEM Vol. 7 Chapter 7 Part 1
Chapter 7 – The Demon King Fran
Then we arrived on the sixth floor.
This was the highest floor of the Demon King’s castle.
There was only one room with a large double-opening door, and in front of that door was a sleeping dragon that looked stronger than the knights I saw earlier.
Was that the Demon King’s pet?
And then, beyond the door guarded by a dragon, there was a presence.
It was the Demon King.
It looked like both the Demon King and the dragon were sleeping now.
Let’s check the status of the Demon King from the map.
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Name : |
Fran Vampir |
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Level : |
410 |
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Age : |
250 |
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Race : |
Vampire |
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Unique Skills : |
Lord of Vampires Moon’s Grace Abyssal Magic |
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Skill : |
Fire Magic Lv10 Water Magic Lv10 Earth Magic Lv10 Wind Magic Lv10 Darkness Magic Lv10 Lightning Magic Lv10 Intimidation Lv10 Magic Power Manipulation Detect Presence Detect Crisis Flight No Chant Night Vision |
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Title : |
Demon King True Ancestor Vampire of the Demon Tribe Lord of the Demon Tribe Strongest of the Demon Tribe |
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I knew he had powerful unique skills. What kind of effect did it have?
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<Lord of Vampires>
Gains immortality, flight, blood flow manipulation, atomization, super regeneration, Physical Boost, and spatial domination.
Drastically reduces damage from light magic and sacred magic.
Double-strengthen basic Physical Boost and combat skills during battle.
.
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<Moon’s Grace>
In the case of a full moon, light magic and holy magic attacks are nullified.
.
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<Abyssal Magic>
Magic that drags you to hell.
Although it is a powerful magic, it takes time to activate.
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They also had vampire-like abilities, and the second one, “Moon’s Grace”, could be said to be specialized for fighting heroes.
“(Tendo, the Demon King’s level is 410.)”
“(Gah…)”
When I looked at Tendo, he had a look on his face that said he didn’t want to fight.
“(The race on the status says vampire.)”
“(Vampire, huh?)”
I nodded.
“(Yes, vampire.)”
“(Vampires exist in this world…)”
Tendo was surprised, but I understood that feeling too.
Now then, it looked like the Demon King was stronger than expected, so what should I do?
…Well, there’s no need to think about it.
It’s a great accomplishment that we were able to come this far without encountering strong enemies like the Four Heavenly Kings, so let’s do something about the dragon.
So, I put up a barrier and instantly knocked out the dragon that noticed me.
I’ve come this far without killing anyone. Besides, if this dragon were the Demon King’s pet, killing it might make him angry.
“Let’s go.”
I said so while looking at Tendo and opened the door―
At that moment, a lightning strike was right in front of us.
“―What?”
Although I was surprised, I blocked the lightning strike with my sword.
Tendo was stunned, as he couldn’t seem to grasp what had happened.
“Oh, you blocked that one? Intruders!”
When Tendo and I turned our heads in the direction of the voice, there was a beautiful girl with pale pink, peach-colored hair that reached her waist. She looked at me with her scarlet brown eyes and smiled in amusement.
She continued,
“Isn’t it disrespectful to intrude a maiden’s room without permission? And in my room, the Demon King’s room, at that!”
So she* was the Demon King Fran Vampir after all? (TLN: Previously we refer to the Demon King as a ‘he’, but now that we know the Demon King is a woman, we will change the pronoun accordingly.)
A heavy pressure hit me and Tendo, and Tendo let out a “Ugh” sound.
However, I shrugged off the pressure and stared at the Demon King.
Then, the Demon King let out an amused remark.
“You reacted under my pressure. You’re not an ordinary demon, are you?”
It seemed that she believed me and Tendo’s disguise and thought we were demons.
Then I finally opened my mouth.
“I apologize for entering without permission.”
“Huh? In that case, it seems like you’re prepared to take the punishment?”
“I refuse.”
Hearing my words, the Demon King lit a black flame in her palm.
However, the amount of magic power contained within it was unusual and did not look like normal magic.
Perhaps it was the “Abyssal magic” that was in the unique skill set.
Ellis, do you have any more information on Abyssal Magic than what the appraisal I just received?
《Abyssal Magic is a type of magic called “sorcery” that was used long ago. It is extremely powerful and is said to be the basis of Darkness Magic.》
I see. It’s probably best to be cautious.
While we were preparing ourselves, the Demon King turned her palm towards us.
“It’s a pity. You repelled my attack as the Demon King. I was planning to take you on as a subordinate. You will regret that decision until your death.”
Then, I cut the black flame in half.
“—What!?”
The Demon King shouted in surprise.
“…If you’re a demon who’s powerful enough to block my magic, I should have heard of you. Who the hell are you?”
Then I took off my ring and returned to my original appearance.
Tendo looked surprised at my action, but it didn’t matter.
“Are you human…?”
“I’m an adventurer, Haruto Yuuki. You can call me Haruto, Demon King.”
After a moment of delay, Tendo also took off his ring and introduced himself.
“I am Koji Tendo.”
The Demon King lit her magic in both hands and asked me and Tendo, while keeping a wary eye on us.
“What are you doing here? Are you here to kill me?”
“No, no. I just came to talk to you.”
“…To talk?”
I nodded at the Demon King’s curious voice.
“There’s no way a mere human could come this far. It’s impossible to get through this security network and get here.”
“Mere human? Don’t get me wrong —Tendo.”
At my signal, Tendo restored the color of his armor.
The armor was a shining divinely white color.
“Are you a hero…? Then you are one of his friends. No, are you a servant?”
“That’s not true either. No, you’re right about Tendo being a hero, but I’m not. As I said earlier, I’m an adventurer.”
“Hmm. So, you said you came all the way here to talk? What’s your purpose?”
“Demon King. I wanted to ask if you want war with humans.”
“Is that so? Then I will answer. I don’t want a war with humans. Only some of my men want war… And don’t call me ‘Demon King’. My name is Fran Vampir. For those of you who have come this far, I will allow you to call me Fran.”
“Then, Fran. So do you mean it?”
“I’m not lying. Now that you know, just leave.”
“Even though I was told to leave…I still have a business here.”
“Business?”
Fran raised her eyebrows.
“Yes. First, the Four Heavenly Kings Gheel attacked using a horde of monsters. Next, the Dragon Knight Damnatio attacked the empire. We defeated them, but another one might attack us next.”
Fran looked surprised.
“I heard that the two of them were defeated, but the way you said it… I was wondering if you were the one who defeated them, the hero?”
Fran turned her head towards Tendo.
“It wasn’t me. I wasn’t there at that time. Haruto, who was next to me, took care of them all by himself.”
“I can’t believe it. How did he defeat them? Regardless of Gheel, Damnatio is the strongest demon after me. I don’t think he can defeat them that easily.”
Fran glared at me.
“But it’s true.”
The next moment, Fran released intense pressure on me.
“Fuck…”
It wasn’t just me. It was also directed at Tendo, who was standing next to me. Perhaps because of that, Tendo let out a pained sound.
Then I fired back an Intimidation in retaliation.
Intimidation collided with Intimidation, and the space screamed.
“――!?”
I guess she sensed my power from the Intimidation I had released.
Cold sweat dripped down from Fran’s forehead.
“…I never expected you to be this powerful. It seems like I was underestimating you.”
“You believe me?”
Fran nodded.
It seemed like she believed me.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of them since they left on their own. I had received a report that they had been killed, but it was hard to believe, and I thought they were hiding somewhere. I see. You said your name is Haruto?”
“Yes.”
“With that kind of ability, it’s only natural that you can defeat the two of them. Even I, I’m not sure if I can defeat you.”
“I’m glad you understand. So, please…”
Fran tilted her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Could you please erase the magic in your hands? We have no intention of fighting you.”
I was about to talk but the magic was a bit disturbing.
No, it’s my fault, so I couldn’t complain.
“Mm, my bad. But can I ask you one question?”
“If I can answer it.”
“Did you kill anyone in the castle before you came here?”
Serious eyes were directed at me.
Depending on the answer, she was probably prepared to fight.
However, Fran should have known.
“You already know, right?”
“Yeah. There are signs of life, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe.”
Yes, it was possible that some of them were seriously wounded or poisoned, but I didn’t know anything about poison or such magic.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t kill anyone. They are just unconscious, and I’m sure they’ll wake up in the morning.”
Fran was relieved when she heard that.
“I don’t condone trespassing without permission, but you have something to say, right?”
“Yeah.”
Fran erased the magic in her hands.
“Then you can sit there.”
Tendo and I sat down on the sofa.
And once again, I talked to Fran about what happened so far.
Being attacked by Gheel and being attacked by Damnatio. What did Damnatio come to the Empire looking for?
I also spoke of the talks that took place among the human nations after Damnatio was defeated.
“That’s why I’m thinking of setting up a venue for peace negotiations.”
After Fran finished listening to the story, she closed her eyes and fell silent.
She must have been gathering her thoughts, while Tendo and I waited quietly.
After a while, Fran opened her eyes and opened her mouth.
“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
I was surprised by her unexpected words.
Even though she said she didn’t want to fight, she refused the opportunity to conclude a peace treaty.
“Fran, why would you refuse? We both don’t want to fight, and this talk shouldn’t be bad. It should be mutually beneficial for both of us in the future.”
I nodded at Tendo’s reasonable words.
If you refuse here, each country would take it as an indication that you are willing to fight.
“The conditions should not be so bad for you either. It would also reduce the risk of being killed. Tell me. Why should you refuse?”
I asked, and Fran’s cherry-red lips opened heavily.
“You know why.”
“We do? What do you mean?”
“Don’t you understand? Damnatio, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was aiming for the throne of this Demon King. Even Gheel acted outside of my orders. Hero, think carefully about what that means—Haruto, the adventurer over there, seems to get it now.”
Tendo looked at me, and Fran’s words certainly made sense.