Chapter 187 - Demon King 2 (1/2)

Chapter 187 - Demon King (2)

“It is a trap.”

Etna made the assertion.

“The Dungeon was made in a short amount of time, yet an unbelievable amount of work had been put into making it.Moreover, there is a message that only Artpe can see.It is clear who the Demon King is aiming for!That means the current Demon King has already….”

The Demon King had already awakened to the memories of his past life.Etna almost blurted those words out.She was barely able to swallow it.There were those in her present company that didn’t know about this fact.She exchanged glances with Artpe as they nodded their heads.

‘It might be like what happened to Etna.Some event might have triggered his awakening.It is a possibility.Or maybe, the current Demon King met one of the past Four Heavenly Kings after he fought the previous Demon King.He might have regained his Record through the Innate Ability called Record Keeping.’

This was very unlikely, but there was also the possibility that the current Demon King had regained his memories much faster than Artpe had realized.There was a scenario where the current Demon King had possessed his past life’s memories from the moment Artpe’s Rewrite ability had activated.

‘No, that doesn’t make any sense.If the current Demon King remembered his past life, he wouldn’t have been pushed back so easily by the past Demon King.If he lost knowing about his past life, does that mean that the previous Demon King was that powerful?’

The previous hero possessed powerful magical energy, yet he wasn’t able to kill the past Demon King.He had been a powerful foe that had to be sealed.Maybe, the current Demon King couldn’t do anything despite knowing about the seal being broken.It was possible.The conflict between the current Demon King’s faction and the past Demon King’s faction might have started from the beginning.

However, the most important fact was that the current Demon King’s personality had remained the same.It was the one that Artpe knew.That meant….

“Let’s head in.”

After thinking over it for a long time, Artpe made the declaration.For a brief moment, his party members couldn’t process his words.They were frozen in place.Maetel let out a shout in dismay.

“Artpe!?”

“The bastard said it is the last recipe.It means we will become stronger if we enter that place.”

“Isn’t it a declaration saying that he’ll eat us after cooking us….?”

Elrick’s worry was well founded, but Artpe snorted as he shook his head from side to side.

“The only thing I’m worried about is the previous Demon King, since he is an unknown foe.I’m not afraid of the current Demon King.At our power level, we can take on the current Demon King.It’ll be a fair fight.”

At the very least, he wouldn’t have to sacrifice anyone even if they were on the defensive.They would be able to run away without losing anyone at their current power level.Etna also nodded her head.

“The Demon King can’t simply be judged using his level.Of course, that is true for this party too…..Still, we shouldn’t purposefully go into a trap prepared by an enemy.”

Usually, the hero charged towards danger.The hero was like a moth drawn to a flame.Up to that point, Artpe’s party had done well in deftly maneuvering through danger.Artpe let out a bitter laughter as he answered Etna’s questioning words.

“I thought about what the Demon King is thinking right now.”

“What do you mean?Isn’t he thinking about destroying the heroes?”

“No.He purposefully created the Dungeon on the road to the Demon King’s castle where only I could detect it.There is a barrier over it that won’t allow even the previous Demon King to detect it….It makes me think that something else is going on.”

“Mmm······?Wait a moment.Are you trying to say the current Demon King doesn’t share the same goal as the past Demon King?Is that what you are trying to say?”

“Yes.”

The ruling power of the Demon realm had changed hand.Artpe had witnessed Petra working on behalf of the previous Demon King’s faction.He assumed that all of the Demon realm had fallen into the hands of previous Demon King.However, if he thought back on it, he couldn’t find proof that the current Demon King was a follower of the past Demon King.

Moreover, he had appeared in front of Artpe’s party by himself right now.The current Demon King had cut all ties with the previous Demon King’s faction, and he had deftly maneuvered to appear in front of Artpe’s party.The current Demon King was trying to focus the spotlight on himself.

If he just wanted to slaughter the hero’s party, he would have joined up with the previous Demon King.He went out of his way to make a splash by himself!He truly acted like the Demon King from Artpe’s memories.

‘The bastard is almost obsessed with the notion of controlling everything.That trait is oddly fused with the need to be an exhibitionist.Maybe, he…...’

When Artpe was about to come to a conclusion, Silpennon suddenly spoke.

“Maybe, the current Demon King really doesn’t like what has transpired right now?”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Silpennon had thought about his last moments.At the time, the Demon King had spoken these words.

[I never expected myself to be part of the stage.]

His voice had carried anger and annoyance that he couldn’t fully dictate the situation.Silpennon clearly remembered it.

[I do not welcome this.I do not welcome this.This isn’t fun at all.]

What else did he say?In Silpennon’s head, he heard the Demon King’s resolute declaration ring out once again.His words weren’t directed at him.It hadn’t been directed at Maetel either.Maybe, it was directed at himself.He might have been making a promise to himself.

[The degree of completion of this story is lacking.It’s a failure.The fact that I had to watch all of this up until now had been boring.Now I have to dance to the tune of someone else?I refuse to do that.]

Silpennon raised his head.There was only one conclusion he could make.

“This thought exercise is based on the assumption that the current Demon King isa complete psycho.”

“He is a complete psycho.”

“He called it the final recipe.Does it mean that he’ll sacrifice himself to make us stronger?”

“Mmm······.”

If it was a holy priest or a holy priestess, one might be able to believe a being was capable of such self-sacrifice.However, they were talking about the Demon King right now.When the other party members heard Silpennon’s words, they had an expression of slight disgust on their faces.Silpennon did his best to convince the others, who looked taken aback by his assertion.

“You should think hard on it.It is true that Artpe is such a cheat that everyone in this party grew at an unbelievably rate.However, you have to look at it from the perspective of the current Demon King.When the past Demon King and his forces appeared, the composition of the fight between the hero and the Demon King was flipped on its head.”

“So what?”

“His stage was destroyed before the match could end.Then to add insult to injury, the current Demon King was weaker than the past Demon King, so he was pushed into playing a minor role.In such a situation, the only choice he could make…….”

Artpe spoke instead of Silpennon.

“He’ll help us grow more, so we’ll have a fighting chance against the previous Demon King?Is that what you want to say?”