episode_0173

As I continued to explore the Demon King’s Soul research facility Calozium, I was able to find out a few more facts.

The pseudo-demon soul created here has characteristics similar to the real demon king’s soul, to the extent that it reacts to the holy sword.

And the demon king’s soul had similar characteristics to the ‘magic power’ of the demon world.

Three more experimental monsters devouring magical power appeared inside, but Mileia, holding the holy sword, took care of them instead.

Unlike the first one, Mileia quickly and quickly defeated the second monster.

He had already made his fighting experience his own, and was now able to effectively avoid attacks and stab his sword.

“Would it be better for me to learn swordsmanship?”

“Except for unusual cases like this, Yunoa is strong enough right now, so don’t worry too much.”

Mileia said, perhaps sensing that she felt a little sorry for continuing to delegate the task of killing experimental monsters.

“And without Yunoa’s holy sword, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat these monsters.”

“Umm.”

Now, almost all of the rooms in Calogium visible from the passage have been investigated.

Unlike the room full of stone tablets and records, most of the rooms were places to confine test subjects or extract souls to be used in experiments.

In some rooms, pure white bones that appeared to belong to demons were scattered haphazardly on the floor, giving a scary feeling.

“Now there is only one room left.”

“Now, Yunoa. Step back.”

Mileia tried to break down the door with her long sword again.

Now that I think about it, there was something a little strange.

Even though the door was closed, why didn’t the monsters come out?

Until I met the actual, hideous-looking test subject, I thought it was simply because it was too deep underground to come out.

However, after meeting the test subjects a few times, there was no way a stone gate like this could stop them from running out.

If they had wanted to, they could have rushed out to the demon world and caused trouble for the demons.

However, it was strange that not a single monster had leaked out of this facility for all those years.

Suddenly! Rumble-!

Mileia swung her long sword and broke down the stone door of the last uninvestigated room in Calozium.

There was a loud noise that made me worry that the entire facility might collapse.

“This is… … .”

It is the largest room I have ever seen.

And in the center of the room was a large, eerie device.

The large cylindrical device, which resembled Mariel’s large magic power charging device, had something like unknown energy swirling inside.

“What is that… … .”

That wasn’t all.

The surrounding area was filled with the white bones of demons and the corpses of test monsters like the ones we had killed.

And in front of the large device in the center, a skinny, twisted person who looked like a demon but gave off a strange feeling was hunched over, looking intently into the device.

“Woo… Wow… … .”

The scene was something that gave goosebumps to those who saw it.

A stooped, skinny demon is constantly looking at the cylindrical device, surrounded by a large amount of white bones, broken remains, and the rotted corpse of a hideous experimental monster made of flesh.

On the outside, it seemed like I was seeing Xaviel, who had failed to transform and was now in the body of a 150-year-old man, but of course there was no way that demons in this place and environment could communicate with each other.

Yes, I should have thought about it when I encountered the test subject here.

There is no way that this facility that studies the Demon King’s soul conducted experiments using only one method.

If what was transformed by inserting the pseudo-demon lord’s soul into a monster was that horrible flesh test subject, then it could have been inserted into something else as well.

『As Yunoa expected, the old demon in front of me was one of the demon soul test subjects.

Since there are almost no bodies that can withstand the surge of power in the pseudo-demon spirit, most experiments were conducted on monsters.

However, at the same time, they did not stop experimenting with implanting pseudo-demon souls into demons in order to create the same environment as the demon lord.』

At that time, a narration came out about a strange demon who looked like a withered old man.

Then that… … .

『All demons injected with pseudo-demon souls died.

The body was twisted, burst, and broken, making it unrecognizable.

There was no way an ordinary demon could withstand the power of a pseudo-demon soul that could distort even the body of a powerful demon.

Except for one person here.』

Even though a long time had passed since we entered the room, the demonic test subject was looking at the central device without even looking away.

It seemed like that was the only demon entity that survived despite being injected with a pseudo-demon spirit.

It feels somewhat ominous… … .

“Yunoa, please take the holy sword… … .”

Mileia said, extending her hand to me.

Even though his appearance was different, it was not difficult to recognize that he was a demon lord soul experiment.

Just like when dealing with the test subjects up to now, Mileia is going to handle it on my behalf.

But somehow I had a bad feeling.

I am concerned about the rotted corpses of flesh test subjects scattered around.

This demon seemed to be different from other test subjects.

Looking closely, the demonic test subject was wearing a belt that was almost completely destroyed and a sword whose blade had turned dark red due to rust.

The white bones of other demons all around, and the corpses of the test subjects… … The atmosphere is so quiet that it gives you goosebumps.

Everything was sending me signals that I was in danger.

“Wait a minute, shall we step back.”

Instead of giving Mileia the holy sword, I stopped her and stepped back.

『Yunoa’s judgment in forcing Milleia to step down was appropriate.

Yunoa may not have been particularly intelligent or acted with proper basis, but it saved Mileia’s life.

The magic test subject in front of me was like a mutant when compared to an animal, or a subspecies when compared to a monster.

Demons capable of withstanding the power of a pseudo-demon soul should not have existed in this world.

But for some reason, that demon was able to overcome extremely slim odds and withstand the power of a pseudo-demon soul.』

It’s true that I stopped Milleia based on intuition, but there’s no need to pinpoint it.

Anyway, it’s true that it looks dangerous… … Since that side is not paying attention to this side at all, there is a solid basis for saying that there is no need to hastily approach it first.

『Of course, the spirit of the surviving demon test subject was not intact.

And in this research facility, he became the closest thing to a ‘real devil’.

To be precise, it would be correct to say that he has become something close to the true Demon King’s soul.』

He is truly a being close to the devil’s soul… … .

As a result, it appears that the experiment to amplify the Demon King’s soul was successful in creating a being that is most similar to the real Demon King.

However, looking at the scene here, I felt like I could roughly understand what the fatal ‘accident’ that occurred here was.

Clearly, that demonic test subject is involved.

And the research at this facility, including the amplification of power, may have stopped forever after that demon test subject.

『The demon experiment that Yunoa was seeing was the entity most similar to the demon lord whose soul was currently awakened in this world.

Their characteristics, tendencies, and even personalities were similar. It is truly a perfect backwards compatible imitation of the Demon King’s Soul.

Even though its power was far short of the true Demon King’s soul, it was enough to turn the Demon World or the Kingdom into a waste with a single act of blood and blood.』

I swallowed quietly while listening to the narration.

What is before my eyes is a living disaster.

That test object that looks like a skinny, twisted old man possesses that much power.

If it had that kind of power and the ability to consume magical energy like other test subjects, we had no chance of winning.

『But the fortunate thing among the misfortunes is that that test subject does not have the ability to consume the magical power expressed by other monster test subjects.

The quasi-demon soul that became a parasite on the demon’s body granted him abilities similar to those of a demon king, but he had no other alien abilities.』

that… Are you really lucky?

I guess it’s fortunate that there aren’t any annoying abilities that don’t work at all with my magical skills.

I honestly had no idea how strong he was, as he had a power similar to that of the Demon King.

“Mr. Milleia, it seems that unlike other monsters, this guy doesn’t have the power to consume magical power.”

First, I explained to Mileya what I had learned.

“I see. also… Did you recognize it right away when you saw it?”

“Yes, because my magical vision is unique.”

Actually, the narration told me everything, but I agreed with Milleia’s words and glossed over it.

Milleia never doubts me, so just saying this was enough for her to accept what I said.

Anyway, what should I do?

That monster test subject was hunched over with its gaze fixed on the strange device in the center and did not move at all.

Even if we cover this place and retreat, there is no sign of him coming out.

But the narration’s words bothered me.

The real Demon King in existence, and the closest being to the Demon King’s soul.

Such a being is currently not moving as all its attention is focused on the device in the center.

Then, the mysterious device in the center is… It may have the same effect on the true Demon King’s soul.

What if we could find out from Mariel what that thing is, and use the same principle as a means of attracting the true demon lord’s spirit?

『To put it simply, the method Yunoa came up with was actually possible.』

The narration gave a clear and refreshing answer that I thought was rare.

After all, you couldn’t have led me to this place without any reason… … .

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