Vol 1 Chapter 3.3 (1/2)

39—Legend of Sun Knight Volume 1

Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 3 Secret… Part 3: The Demon King is… Shh!—translated by lucathia (proofread by Lala Su & Arcedemius; C/E edited by Doza)

He took a step forward. Upon hearing rustling sounds, he lowered his head and saw that ashes completely covered the ground.

Where is this? He was a little puzzled. He raised his head to look around, but a strange, black fog surrounded him. He couldn’t see anything at all.

“Elaro…”

Elaro turned and cried out in surprise, “Teacher? Have you returned?”

“Returned? Hehe…”

“Teacher?” Elaro could faintly see a dark shadow. He fumbled his way in that direction, and, at the same time, asked, “Teacher, why haven’t you returned yet? Have you gone to complete another mission along the way?”

When he was close enough to see his figure, Elaro abruptly froze in his tracks. He stared in disbelief at that shadow.

The person was facing the side. His long hair was loose and covered most of his face. In the midst of the black fog, his figure wasn’t very clear, but Elaro could still tell that the long hair draping downwards was black.

Elaro asked cautiously, “Teacher, is that you?” He hoped it wasn’t. It was trivial and normal for other people to have black hair, but whenever his teacher’s hair turned black…

It meant that the Demon King had once again resurfaced.

The person’s lips quirked up, and he said with a smile, “You’ve seen my true self, and you’ve been my student for so many years already. Elaro, don’t tell me you still can’t recognize me?”

Of course, I recognize you. Elaro just didn’t want to admit it. He was not surprised to receive a confirmation, and he was no longer shocked out of his wits. Rather, he tried his hardest to calm down as he asked, “Teacher, where are the others?”

“Relax.” The Demon King was obviously not surprised that Elaro would ask this question. He answered disinterestedly, “They’re alive and breathing.”

When he heard this, Elaro truly let out a big sigh of relief. However, he was immediately scared into retreating the very next second. Both of his teacher’s feet suddenly left the ground, and he flew right up to him. His eyes stared directly at him too. It was a pair of completely black eyes, without even a shred of white—the eyes of the Demon King!

“Is it scary?” He chuckled and said, “I remember in the past, when you saw me like this, you immediately screamed ‘monster!’”

“Teacher, aren’t you bearing that grudge a little too long?” Elaro tried his hardest to maintain how they usually interacted. Based on his experiences living in the Demon King’s Castle many years ago, this was the best way to avoid angering the Demon King.

“It’s because you suddenly appeared, and I was greatly shocked that I said that. Afterwards, when I figured out what was going on, didn’t I leave with you?”

“That is true. You sure have more guts than even the sky can hold!” The Demon King laughed, and then his voice turned cold. “Otherwise, how would you have dared to join hands with Adair to trick me back then?!”

Elaro’s heart skipped a beat. At first, he wanted to hide his reaction and remain calm on the outside, but then, he abruptly remembered that he wouldn’t be able to hide it from his teacher. It might be better to directly show his reaction. He breathed in deeply and smiled painfully, “Teacher, please don’t scare me! You have already taken revenge against Adair and me several times. Are you still not finished taking revenge?”

“With something like revenge, even exacting it ten times wouldn’t be overdoing it,” answered the Demon King as if it were a matter of fact. Then, he tilted his head and looked curiously at Elaro. “Are you really not afraid of me?”

“Of course I’m afraid. Even your usual self is very scary…”

The Demon King immediately scolded, “Nonsense! If you were actually afraid of me, how would you dare to always force me to correct doc.u.ments?”

Elaro answered helplessly, “Teacher, that has always been part of your duties. I only ‘asked’ you to do ‘a little bit’ of it. Besides, you are the Sun Knight, and I am only a holy knight-in-training. How could I force you to do anything?”

“Of course, you can!” The Demon King roared, “Everyone has been tricked by your appearance and conduct! They don’t know at all that youare the most despicable and shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Always, each time…”

“Always? Always what?” Elaro asked innocently.

The Demon King’s face twisted, and he growled, “You always make me want to hit you!”

As he scolded him, he ruthlessly smacked his student on the back of the head. Elaro let an “ow” escape, and he rubbed the back of his head, his face full of grievance.

In actuality, his teacher had never been strong, so his smack didn’t hurt at all. Letting him hit him a few times was always better than having his teacher take revenge later on.

Seeing his student’s grieved expression, the Demon King laughed. “What are you pretending for?”

Hearing such a familiar phrase, Elaro couldn’t help relaxing. Other than the eyes and the hair, the Demon King in front of him was no different from how his teacher usually was. Back then, the Demon King had actually treated him very well, too. Although he had been young and hadn’t been able to do much, and it had been impossible for him to complete any missions, the Demon King had still fed him well and let him sleep well. His lifestyle had probably been even better than a king’s.

“Elaro, let me ask you. If I want to take you away from the Holy Temple with me, would you agree to leave with me like before?”

The Demon King extended his hand, his long fingernails lightly scratching Elaro’s face. “Although you have betrayed me once, you are still my cute student. Besides, I’ve already spent so much time teaching you. Tossing you away seems like such a waste.”

“T-Teacher…” Elaro couldn’t help stepping away. Those black eyes without any glimmer of light were right in front of him, making him feel like he was about to suffocate.

“I can’t leave with you.”

“Why not?” The Demon King froze for a moment, and then his anger erupted along with the dark element. “In the past, you didn’t even hesitate before agreeing to leave with me. At the time, I wasn’t even your teacher. Now that I’ve taught you for so many years, you’re actually unwilling to leave with me!”

Elaro felt really uncomfortable being engulfed by the dark element, but what was even more difficult for him to bear was his teacher’s wrath and… his forlorn expression.

“T-Teacher, that’s because at the time, I was merely a knight-in-training, who had just joined the Holy Temple, and Ludia had only just become a cleric-in-training. The Church would take care of her, so I could leave with you without any worries. But it’s different now.”

Elaro clenched his teeth and continued, “Teacher, if you truly plan to leave the Holy Temple, then I will have to immediately succeed the position of Sun Knight. I will become the leader of the Holy Temple, to continue leading the Twelve Holy Knights on the path of light!”

The Demon King stared fixedly at Elaro, but he then slowly moved away and flew backwards. He sighed, “Elaro, you have really grown up. You no longer need your teacher anymore. It’s time for me to leave. If I don’t, I might not be able to stop myself from… killing you!”

“Nothing of the sort! Teacher, don’t leave!” Elaro hurriedly ran to catch up, shouting worriedly, “Please don’t leave! You have to think of Charsia—“

“Don’t mention them!” The Demon King finally stopped, but he agitatedly roared, “Do you want to cause their deaths?”

Elaro began to panic. He hadn’t wanted his teacher to leave, so he had thought of using his teacher’s most treasured people to stop him from leaving. However, he had forgotten what his teacher had previously mentioned—the more concerned about a person the Demon King was, the more easily that person would become his target!

“Charsia and… I can’t bear to part with… I should take them with me… No!”

The Demon King appeared conflicted and growled, “Tell them to go. Leave Leaf Bud City! Elaro, you haven’t forgotten what I’ve instructed you, have you? If something happens, you have to make them go far away. No one is allowed to know their location!”

“Teacher!” Finally, Elaro rushed before his teacher and tightly grabbed his shoulders, not giving him the chance to leave.

The Demon King raised his head. For a brief moment, the darkness in his eyes receded, turning into a listless blue.

He finally recovered! Elaro was elated, but before he could even utter, “That’s great,” he was suddenly sent flying by an immense power…

“Elaro, help me protect them. Don’t ever let them get harmed. Don’t let them… get hurt by me!”