Swish...
The void energy, once entirely suppressed by the demonic force, now flowed out of Davey and crystallized into a small red gem in his hand. While its power was not constantly running wild, given its infinite energy and consistent output, it was the perfect fuel source for the extensive project reactor that Davey was constructing.
He had procured plutonium from another world as a key material and various rare items from the continent. Now, he possessed even the crystallized power of the Demon King.
The creation of the core reactor proved to be a truly arduous task. However, once the core reactor, the project's heart, was successfully built, over 70% of the construction would be completed.
"Ah... Ah..." Despair and resignation were unmistakable on Marka's face, her source of power stripped away by Davey. "Why... Why has a human become the Demon King?"
In silence, Davey, who had been fixated on the gem, the source of the void energy, placed it into a Pocket Plane. With the original purpose of his visit to the Demon World achieved, he felt a wave of relaxation wash over him.
‘It's fortunate that the Queen of Succubi was collaborating with that fool Deian and had expanded her influence to the underground mountains. Luck was on my side,’ Davey mused.
If things had gone awry, he might have been compelled to venture deeper into the heart of the Demon World.
"It's done. Let's go."
"Already? It seemed like you were engaged in something significant."
"That's exactly why I'm here."
Upon hearing Davey's words, Liline, who had been silent, widened her eyes. She then knelt before him and bowed her head. "Please, Your Majesty, help me!"
Looking down at her, trembling, Davey remained silent.
"Your Majesty, I will follow your every command. Please!"
"What?"
"Please, you have to help! Ahh!"
Boom!
Liline, who had been pleading desperately, suddenly let out a scream as an unexpected explosion erupted. The attack against her consisted of pink magic bullets.
"I must say, I admire your resilience," Davey remarked after deflecting the attack aimed at Liline, his gaze now fixed on Marka, who sneered at Liline.
Marka, whose focus had been wavering, now had an intense and dangerous glint in her eyes.
"You filthy, ignorant traitor!" She spat venomously at Liline. "I curse you! Don't even think about dying peacefully!"
Liline slowly raised her bowed head, tears glistening in her eyes. “You’re…”
"Silence! If you hadn't leaked information to this human about this place, many of the succubi wouldn't have perished!"
In response to her outcry, Davey sarcastically retorted, "To say 'many,' more than half were merely suppressed."
"Enough! Just shut your mouth!" Marka yelled.
Whether from the realization of her imminent demise or some other reason, she remained silent for a moment. Then, she suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. "Haha... Ahahaha! Hahaha!"
Like a madwoman, she bit into her own hand. With a squelch, dark magic oozed from her, mixing with her blood. Simultaneously, a strange pink magical circle appeared on the ground where she lay, slowly turning a deep red with her blood.
"That's right, let's all die together," she whispered, causing Liline's eyes to widen in horror.
"Marka! What are you doing?! You're not thinking of awakening that vicious beast, are you?!"
"Shut up! I won't die alone!"
At her frantic outburst, Davey turned to Liline. "Vicious beast?"
At his question, Liline trembled and looked down.
"Heh, heh... Yes. No one knows what lies dormant beneath this land," Marka said, her eerie gaze fixed on Davey. "Human Demon King, while I admit you're powerful, let's see how you fare against a monster that can devour the world. Even in death, my spirit will watch... Gag!"
Davey watched as the woman, who had been yelling intensely, began to bleed once again. Simultaneously, her body stiffened as if paralyzed, collapsing to the ground. Blood began to pour from every orifice of her body, including her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
"What on earth is that...?" Liline muttered.
The glaring magical circle appeared quite intricate at a glance. Though it was merely infused with void energy and the characteristics of succubus, for Succubus Marka, who was unfamiliar with magic, the circle seemed rather challenging to handle.
The only plausible explanation Davey could think of was that someone had taught her.
"What is she trying to summon...?" Liline pondered aloud.
"She's probably attempting to summon that demonic beast or whatever it is," Davey responded.
Liline’s eyes widened in shock. "The Beast of Predation... Fenril!"
"Fenril?"
"Yes!" Liline, trembling with fear, began to carefully explain. "When the Succubus Castle was first built, the empress of succubi who constructed it left behind records. It said that a terrible monster sleeps beneath the castle. Only one out of thousands of succubi with a particular constitution can enter the dream of the beast and learn how to summon it."
She clenched her teeth as if the memory of the creature was painful. Davey said nothing in response to her explanation.
"She and I, Succubus Empress Marka, have the unique ability which allows us to make contact with the beast in dreams. And I've seen it in the dream," she elaborated.
The creature she described, known as the Beast of Predation Fenril, was originally a kind of demonic beast. However, it transformed after consuming a branch of the Divine Tree, becoming a monster among monsters. It grew limitlessly and gained strength without bounds. The most terrifying thing about Fenril was its ability to devour everything and convert it into its power. Having absorbed the power of the Divine Tree, it had become a true object of horror.
If it were the Divine Tree of old, there might have been a way to handle it. But with the current Divine Tree, Al, Davey could see no obvious way to kill it.
Suddenly, the magic circle began to activate, initiating the process of unsealing. A tremendous gravitational force began pressing down on the entire area.
Illyna instinctively protected herself, but she could not completely escape the effects, her legs trembling weakly. Liline, on the other hand, struggled to breathe, her face turning pale. Davey, who had been silently watching the magic circle, calmly used anti-gravity magic to counteract the oppressive force.
[Die.]
A whisper began to reach Davey's ear.
[All who hear my voice will know. The seal weakens, and soon, my voice will resonate not just in dreams but in the waking world. Flee in terror. I will consume the world, devour the continents, and turn all to ashes to be my prey.]
The frantic voice grew more powerful, pressing down on their surroundings. Simultaneously, the magic circle began to expand. From the sheer intensity of the force, Davey concluded that if the creature were set free, neither the continent nor the demon world would survive. Realizing this, he shifted his gaze toward Illyna, who met his look with concern.
"Da...vey." Struggling to speak, Illyna reached out to Davey.
Davey approached her and gently patted her head.
"What...?" she gasped as the oppressive force lifted. She looked around in a daze and then shouted at the expanding red magic circle. "Davey! You have to stop the magic circle! I can hear its voice... I can hear it!"
"I hear it too," Davey admitted. "But cutting it with a blade won't be easy, considering the creature's power after consuming the Divine Tree."
Furthermore, there were multiple traps set all over the magic circle. Blindly attacking it might result in the entire area being destroyed. The magic circle was so complex that it seemed unlikely that Marka, who only knew how to manipulate Succubus traits and void energy, had created it. Davey was convinced that Marka was not responsible for its creation.
"So... what do you plan to do?" Illyna asked.
"It's over. It's all over now..." Liline muttered.
When the destruction of the Divine Tree began, it was a catastrophe. Neither magic, sacred power, nor devil mana would work against it. Probably, Illyna and Liline had the same thought, which was why they said so.
"How many people know about that magic circle?" Davey cynically inquired.
Shaking, Liline looked up at him and then lowered her head after shaking. "Excluding those present here..."
"Then that's fine," Davey said calmly, then flashed a big smile at Illyna.
"You can't just destroy the magic circle."
Typically, magic circles were severed with a Blue Ribbon. Doing so would disrupt the opponent's power flow. However, tampering with a magic circle created by a monster that had absorbed some of the Divine Tree's power could lead to disastrous consequences.
"So here's the question: How can we resolve this ridiculous situation?"
In response to Davey's question, Illyna shouted with a face that looked like she was about to cry. "How would I know! Is this the time for jokes?!"
"Always so temperamental..." Davey clicked his tongue, turned his back on her, and walked away. He scanned the floor, stowed away the Divine Spear Longinus he had been holding, and drew out his Blue Ribbon. "Being powerful doesn't necessarily mean you're smart. Blue Ribbon, are you ready to demonstrate your skills?"
There was a glint in Davey's eyes. Marka was not using the magic circle while alive, nor was she infusing the circle with her own power to activate it. Fenril, the monster, was recklessly channeling power into a sealing magic circle while being sealed. So…
"Just remember, situations like this end when you unplug the power cord."
Swish!
The blade of Blue Ribbon left a streak of blue in the air as it sliced through the magic circle.
Whizz…
Simultaneously, the red light of the magic circle, as bright as blood, dimmed. Davey had severed the connection between the creature that had been continuously powering it and the circle. The result was quite evident.
[...]
"Oh dear, it seems like you'll have to remain sealed inside there for a few more millennia."
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