Chapter 209: The Warriors Arrive at the Ancient City

Ios, who should be dead, sharply raises the corner of his lips.

However, his appearance is slightly different from the last time.

The prosthetic hand on his left arm looks different, it is so distinct that it is not so difficult to go unnoticed. The clothing he wears under the cloak is also of high quality, but in a duller tone that I don’t think is to his taste.

—I didn’t come here to fight. I saw you by chance and just came to say hello.

—What’s the guarantee that you won’t?

—You have a good point. There’s nothing I can give you to guarantee something like that, but I’m serious, I have no intention of fighting. And while we’re here… What do you say we share some information about that black monster?

It’s a very tempting proposal.

I wonder if that guy knows anything about it.

More importantly, what are his intentions? I keep wondering how he survived our battle.

Many doubts arise in my head.

Kaede clung to my arm trembling.

—Master… That guy is level 580,000….

Hearing that figure made my body shudder.

What’s going on? His level is very different from last time.

Is it possible to improve so much in such a short time?

Or did he hide his true power?

Ios’ laughter did not take long to appear.

—Hahahahahaha, what a cute reaction on your face. But enough of the games, let’s get to the point.

—And what do you want to talk about?

—To show you I’m serious, I’ll be honest… I’ve used a trick I’m well known for on the battlefield.

He jumped onto the bridge railing as lightly as a feather.

Then, as if he was about to begin a theatrical performance, he stretched out his hands in an exaggerated manner.

—In a nutshell. The person with whom you fight, was not the real me, but a clone created by me.

…A clone?

On second thought, it’s not a far-fetched idea at all. Besides the little difference on his arm at that time, his level was lower than now, although it was still ridiculously high.

—I have a relic that manipulates memories. And I’ve been using it to get my personality and memories transmitted to that clone. Although, it’s not enough to fool the appraisal ability. And I’ve been hiding for over 20 years while that thing impersonates me. How about my trick, boy?

I’m speechless. I can’t believe you’ve manipulated your own memories and wielded a puppet for so many years.

The Ios I defeated was a completely different person.

What is this feeling of confusion?

—Don’t worry about what happened to that body. It was imperfect, besides being a sinner.

—But you were there, weren’t you? Otherwise, how come you know about me?

—I’ve always been watching you from a distance. Although, seeing Tamamo struggle and resist like that was too much for my eyes. Everything got out of control at that moment, as much as we may have looked alike in appearance, what makes us human lies in the essence. After all… Flowers are appreciated with the eyes, not with the touch.

Ios said with a smile on his face.

Well, let’s get down to the matter at hand… That black monster.

Swallowing saliva was unavoidable.

Not only me, but also Kaede and Frau looked nervous.

—The monster you are looking for is a clown whom my clone agreed to take care of in my castle. I could tell at first glance that inside him harbored an abomination.

—Could you explain it more clearly?

—It’s all right. That jet-black armor is armor opposed to sacred armor. In it dwells the consciousness of a monster created by the ancient races.

An armor with consciousness?

—Don’t panic. You see, they created that armor with the purpose of being used in wars, at the time there were great hopes for the power it unleashed and the performance it had in terms of protecting soldiers. But then it was discovered that it was difficult to control, for that reason it was put to sleep under multiple seals of confinement.

Ios continued his story

—The monster over time imposes itself on the body of its owner, the roots take hold of it until it comes to gain complete power of its body and mind, causing the victim to become part of the armor.

Is that the reason why Sain was acting strangely? Is he being consumed by that thing?

More importantly, how did a forbidden armor like that that even the ancient race itself feared, come into Lisa’s hands? Though, no matter how much I wondered, I wasn’t going to get the answers now.

—Does that armor have any weaknesses?

—No. If it is not destroyed until there is not a single piece left, it will reappear no matter what form it takes. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be defeated at all. Your sacred weapon is your trump card.

—This?

I touched the hilt of the large sword.

I hadn’t met anyone who noticed this sword since I arrived on this continent.

Would you know anything about it? If so, I would like to know.

—These are weapons that were once used by the ancient races themselves. However, after the war they were also strictly sealed. I guess they must have very overwhelming power so they decided to also seal them and not use them again…

—Weapons used by the ancient races….

—Not even Tamamo could stand up to the power that weapon harbors. For the celestial beasts, too, have a great fear of it. Once the power is unleashed, it can bring a peaceful era like ours, to inevitable chaos… To many it sounds like a bad thing, but in my case, I would enjoy it very much.

—So, if I use the true power of this holy weapon, will I be able to defeat Sain…?

I could not hide my surprise at this unexpected fact.

So, this weapon was made by and for the dragon race. It would be no wonder why I feel so comfortable with it.

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From what Ios said, its power is sealed, but if I manage to break it, I will be able to defeat this Sain.

It seems to be sealed now, but if we can break it, we can beat that guy with his ridiculous regenerative abilities.

What worries me is the fact that Ios, who is supposed to be the enemy, has told me all this lightly.

—Why are you telling me all this?

—Because this monster also represents a problem for me. I’m about to start a long journey around the world, and I don’t like the idea of a monster like that ruining the places I want to go.

—Travel, but aren’t you a demon king?

—Yes, but I’m very bored of being cooped up. As effortless as it may seem, being on the throne for the last few hundred years has been excruciatingly painful. That’s why I’m telling you all this, it’s my way of thanking you for freeing me from my clone, now I’m a free man.

He got bored of being the king of a country, and wants to throw it away as if it were a mere toy.

It’s not good for the world to have such a man on the loose. I should kill him here.

A moment later, I drew my sword and swung it at Ios.

But he had anticipated my move and jumped back.

—If we get the chance, we will meet again. Son of destiny.

—Tch…

Ios had disappeared into the forest with a wry smile on his face.

Damn, I let him get away… Although, I think my blood went to my head. I had completely forgotten the level difference between us.

I have to reflect more on my actions.

—Shall we chase him?

—No… We won’t stand a chance against him if we fight.

—That demon king is a strong man, I didn’t think he was still alive.

He said about seeing us again, but honestly, I hope that’s not the case.

***********

Several days of travel have passed, but the end of the bridge was already in sight.

Perhaps it is because we are arriving at the city of the ancient race, but many decaying stone statues appear on both sides of the bridge to attract the gazes of passersby.

Pione, who was riding beside me on horseback, speaks to me.

—Perhaps there will be adventurers from other countries when we reach the ancient city. I have heard that a lot of money is paid to kill Sain.

—I wouldn’t be surprised, it’s the perfect opportunity for them to get rich.

—There are also countries that have sent their military. After all, they see Sain as a real danger to their security.

Ironic, Sain, who has always sought glory, to be noticed and to be feared by everyone when they see him coming.

He finally got it… But not in the way he would have wished.

That countries send the army must be a way to alleviate the pain and resentment of their people for all the damage caused to their cities.

By the way, this ancient city does not belong to any country, it is as if we were in international waters, there are no rules, and no one rules over anyone. Anything can happen here, and it will go unpunished.

It seems that the ancient demon kings were okay with this. So there are no problems even if armies from other countries invade.

Continuing on our way, we passed a huge and battered walled city, followed by a meadow with countless swords stuck in the ground, and through the forest, lay the remains of golems.

Finally, we arrived at the city of the ancient race.

Ancient buildings in decay. Crumbling walls and roofs, stone statues and pillars worn down by wind and rain. Huge human bones lie everywhere, as well as huge golems. It seems that the ancient city was ridiculously large.

And we have not yet reached the city center as such. Many things to see and explore await us.

We continued to walk deeper into the ruins, chasing away the monsters that came out of their hiding places one after another.

—…Water?

The closer we got to the center, the more the amount of water on the ground increased.

Gradually they are increasing in number and finally it’s like walking in a shallow pond. So we decided to abandon the carriage and continue on foot.

Soon we reach the center of the ruins.

—There seems to be no end to it.

As soon as we reached the place, a large lake appeared in front of us. And in the center, there was a solitary island covered with vegetation.

Numerous ruins protrude from the water, so it seems possible to use them as stepping stones to reach the place.

We looked out to see the depth of the lake, and it didn’t seem to be that deep, however, many fish and aquatic monsters inhabited it. So, swimming across seemed to be a bad idea.

Looking around, we could see many groups of adventurers and knights from other countries.

They all want to defeat Sain.

—Toru, you originally planned to come here for a different purpose, right?

—That is correct.

—In that case, we’ll look for Sain, so you go do what you need to do.

I hesitated for a second at Pione’s suggestion.

As soon as I got here, I had a feeling that my mother was calling me, it was as if she was telling me that I should find something here.

Takagi stepped forward all at once.

—Toru-sama, let us take care of this task, do what you have to do.

—…All right, I’m sorry to have to leave you. But, if you feel you are in danger, take Pione and get everyone out of here, understand?

—gotcha, commander!

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