Demon Castle – 3

The Earth shook violently as the fog began to disappear. The land around the castle began to change color as if the dirt had been wiped away. It left behind a brighter, purer land full of energy.

“It’s growing…” Lee Chan-yu muttered blankly, but he was right. I could feel it, perhaps because I was intricately connected with the castle. This was all my land. Killing the demons who risked life and limb to occupy the castle and devouring them all had given me the right to occupy a wider area of the underground. Immediately after the fog cleared, a huge amount of mana welled up inside of me. It would’ve been difficult to handle before my evolution, but now it was very welcome.

[New Magic increased by 38.]

[Soul Magic increased by 56.]

Because my jurisdiction in my underground had widened, my own level had grown, and I had become even stronger. It felt mystical to me, and I wondered what I should say about it- it was like something was supporting me. At the same time, I could understand why the demons raged during the Devil’s Night. I was, for the first time, recognizing the underground as a place I could stay in. I now also understood why people feared the underground when merged with the Earth.

For now, I would wait for the next Devil’s Night, and I would fight as the black moon led me.

“Whoo…” Another change was also taking place. I wasn’t the only one affected by the expansion of my domain; the same was true for the other entities connected to me.

[Kohohohoh!]

Cain was the one going through the most radical changes from the expansion. What I had expected from the beginning was now happening; he was evolving into the higher system.

[Ahhhhhh!]

Cain’s body, which was already large for an ogre, began to expand even more with the mana swelling inside him. I thought he was going to shrink, just as I did when I evolved from a bugbear into an elf. However, that had only been in my case. He grew in size as if to laugh at those thoughts. His skin turned black, and dark hair grew out from the crown of his head. He grew three meters taller, and the armor protecting his body burst off. Mireina, who had been watching, let out a scream and closed her eyes.

I kept watching the process of creating an existence that dwelled in the higher system. It was an existence different than my own, whose power existed in his body rather than in his magic.

“Don’t watch.” L suddenly caught my collar. Looking back, I wondered if she had been standing there like that throughout the whole battle.

“It was a tough fight, L. Thanks.”

“Well, y-yes…” She stuttered, her cheeks red. It felt embarrassing to thank her, but apparently, she looked more embarrassed to hear it.

“But from the start, I wasn’t prepared for this to happen.”“Is that so?”

“We didn’t know that Andras would appear, or that you would run out to intercept them alone. Perhaps you anticipated everything…” Rain strolled by, saying a bunch of ridiculous words. When L glanced at him, however, he stopped in place and gave an awkward smile.

“Rest assured, I’m not trying to disturb your time together. I just thought I could help elaborate.”

“That’s why you’re in the way!” L flicked at him. A part of the wall turned into a window into which Rain exited from, laughing leisurely. It was obvious that he was running away.

“Old man…”

“So, what was the original goal you were aiming for?”

“…Expansion.” L pouted, and I worried that maybe she might try to stab Rain later.

“The area has grown, so we have to expand the walls. I have more than enough mana now to take care of building.” I looked around the land again. Certainly, it was incomparable to how it was before. But if I left it be, it would be invaded. I needed to build walls in the expanded area to protect it.

“This wall will do, but get rid of the moat. It’s useless.”

“Why was there a moat in the first place?”

“Because you were imagining one here.” This was the very image of the castle I imagined; however, it was different from what I expected when applied in an actual battle. The demons moved with much more ease than a human, and the moat had done nothing to stop them.

“It was important to bring out the castle in your mind, but now that you understand this place better, you will be able to change it.”

“…Okay.” I nodded, and L took a short breath before reaching a hand towards me. It was pale and cold, and I wanted to hug her.

“Let’s do it.”

“Ahhhh! Fate is…hmpff!” Lee Chan-yu moved quickly to close Mireina’s mouth and pull her back. Thinking he was a really nice guy, I held L’s hand. But she suddenly pulled back, eyes narrowing.

“That hybrid is absolutely not allowed.”

“I’m not interested in her.”“Good.” The moment she reached out to me again, an item that had been buried in my inventory popped out at will. It was the memento from the monster who had played the biggest role in building this castle. An old dark sword now stuck on the floor. My mana and L’s started to swell, and the sword began to shine as if it were resonating with us. Without warning, our mana erupted forth and was absorbed into the sword.

“Is this sword…?”

“Quiet. Focus on the mana, remember our game.” L responded with eyes closed. I felt like I would be sucked into her ridiculously beautiful appearance, so I closed my eyes and concentrated. I needed to protect all of us from the demons. The first thing I needed to do was remove the moat, reducing it to mana that I would use to build a wall. An overwhelming wall that would protect all those behind it. I used Lunatic Trickster without hesitation. Although I wouldn’t be able to apply the skill to every corner of it, it wouldn’t be bad to reinforce parts of it. It would gradually absorb mana and increase its power.

“Whoo.” In our previous games, L had always played the role of my opponent. She helped me complete the castle when her defeat was already decided. But now, she helped me from the get-go, supplementing the parts that I lacked in and removing what wasn’t needed. I thought it would feel awful for someone to intervene in the image I had in my head, but it wasn’t. All I could feel was warmth and affection flowing from her as we worked in tandem.

[Little bit more.]

[Alright.]

There was no need for conversation. We were sharing our thoughts as we built the walls together. The black sword assisted us, and it reminded me of the monster that resided in the castle. It relieved me of the fatigue that had been weighing on me from the battle. We had overcome the Devil’s Night and were now using the mana leftover from that to continue in our construction. It continued on long after Cain had finished evolving, and all of those still around came to watch the sight. Rain was still missing after fleeing earlier, however.

“It’s finished.” We opened our eyes at the same time. I was tired from the flow of mana I had been maintaining, but L made it look like it had been a walk in the park.

“I had a hard time.”

“It’s alright.” I knew the results without looking. Lee Chan-yu and Mireina were fussing somewhere behind me. The sword, having completed its mission, went back into my inventory. I could tell it had grown in power from this, but I decided to worry about it later.

Only

“Captain, did you just do it?!”

“Let go of my hand!”

I had just shown up to explore the underground and found an opportunity to grow, but was faced with the Devil’s Night. We saved the castle and expanded our territory. No doubt, the next night would be much harder than today, but it would make me even stronger. Maybe someday, I would fight someone that made Andras look weak. But right now, everything was fine. I would need to listen to Rain’s information first and prepare what I could.

“…L.”

“Hm?” I raised my hand in front of her eyes. It was still held by her hand. Her overwhelmingly strong grip refused to let me go.

“Can you let go of my hand now?”

“Not yet. One-hundred and eighty-seven hours isn’t enough.”

I was able to get away much faster thanks to Mireina, who began to cry and riot. I felt grateful to her for perhaps the first time.