Suho was touched.
"Crazy."
Experience points tripled?
The rewards were beyond imagination and dizzying.
"Esil."
Suho put his hand on Esil's shoulder and looked into Esil's eyes.
"I really, really congratulate you on becoming king. We will be together for life."
"My lord... ... !"
Sincerity gets through.
Esil was deeply moved by Suho's words and shed tears with an embarrassed expression.
Isn't that so?
She herself was a failure who had already failed once in the succession ceremony due to lack of qualifications.
She was a sinner who dared to claim to be king without being qualified to do so.
As punishment for her sins, she was destined to be sucked into the primordial darkness and devoured by Nidhogg, rather than becoming a king.
But the one who suddenly appeared and turned all that fate upside down was none other than Suho.
It was the guardian who forcibly grabbed her soul, which was a failure and a sinner, by the scruff of the neck and dragged it up and made it a king!
Bam!
Esil stood up, clenching her fists and shedding hot tears.
"Master! I will do my best from now on!"
[Keeeeeek-! How rude of you! To say such an obvious thing now! How bad have you been up until now!]
The most senior Beru, who suddenly appeared from the side, vomited out his flagship.
But Esil was already a rookie with a lot of military discipline.
"No! I will do better!"
[Your voice is small!]
"More, more, more! I will do better!"
[Lack!]
It was Beru and Esil who were passionately singing their hearts out to each other.
Esil evolved into the Demon King, becoming much more splendid and majestic than usual.
But her attitude was more humble and sincere than ever.
Because the guardian in front of her was the savior of her soul and the master she had to serve for the rest of her life!
[Louder!]
"I will serve you with all my heart! If it is your will, my lord, I will give you my body, my mind, and even my soul! I will give you everything I have... ...!"
"Okay, then let's draw blood."
"Huh?"
"Blood."
Suho, who gladly accepted Esil's feelings, was smiling brightly.
"Please donate blood."
I was waiting for this very moment.
'Purified Demon King's Blood'
One of the three ingredients of the divine water of life.
Now that Esil has finally become the Demon King, she can draw the Demon King's blood indefinitely.
Of course, Suho also knew well how important 'blood' was to the demon tribe.
But if Esil has a conscience, it's time to pay for the meal.
Actually, I didn't say anything in detail until now, but a lot of the money that Suho earned as a hunter went to Esil's food, or
rather, meat.
Perhaps that is why Esil was given the nickname 'Monarch of Gluttony'.
How many leaves of the World Tree have Esil eaten?
Or is it that they eat a lot of meat like crazy in an attempt to somehow recover their lost strength?
The latter is clearly a landslide victory.
It must have been so bad that the owner of the butcher shop in Suho's neighborhood became the building owner.
That boss made as much money as a hunter while sitting there, without even awakening as a hunter.
Even though he was a regular and sold it to Suho at a wholesale price, it was still like that, so that says it all.
'In fact, she may not be gluttonous, but rather the Monarch of gluttony.'
Suho truly thought so.
But anyway, if the result is good, isn't it all good?
It was all an investment for this moment.
The price of that meat?
It was incomparable to the divine water of life.
"I will give it to you! If you want my blood!"
Esil responded with a determined look to the first order given by Suho.
"Purify it and give it to me."
"Yes!"
Shwaaaaak-!
[The King of Demons, the Monarch of Gluttony uses 'Skill: Blood Essence'.]
Fortunately, there was no need to go through the hassle of drawing blood one by one with a syringe.
Swish!
A fist-sized drop of blood rose onto Esil's palm.
The blood of demons is originally black.
However, the blood Esil had refined to such a high degree that the blood Esil had created was glowing red. Even the smell was more fragrant than pungent.
Ooooooooo!
All the demons trembled in awe at the wondrous sight.
"It's blood essence!"
"Blood essence!"
"As expected, you are the Demon King!"
"Your Majesty-!"
If 'bloodstone' is the exclusive property of the nobles, 'blood essence' is its superior version. It was the Demon King's unique power to highly refine the demon's blood.
There are many uses for bloodletting, but for now, it is focused purely on extracting blood.
As if he had been waiting for it, Suho bought a clear glass bottle from a store window and pulled out the cork. Esil's blood immediately flew into the air and was sucked into the bottle.
T-ring.
['Item: Purified Blood of the Demon King' has been acquired.]
[Material Item: Purified Demon King's Blood]
Difficulty to acquire: ??
Type: Material
This liquid is made by refining the blood of the Demon Monarch, 'Esil Radir'.
It has strong magical powers, but its toxicity remains even after refining, so to use it as a medicine, you need a 'Fragment of the World Tree' and 'Spring Water from the Echo Forest' to neutralize its toxicity.
"This is the Demon King's blood..."
Suho raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
The red liquid in the clear glass bottle sloshes at different angles.
At first glance, it looks like a fancy perfume bottle, but its value is incomparably enormous.
[The Divine Being of Life]
-ingredients
Purified Demon King's Blood (1/1)
Fragment of the World Tree (0/1)
Spring of Echo Forest (1/1)
[Keeeek! Now there is only one ingredient left! If you just have the 'World Tree Fragment', you can create the Divine Water of Life!]
"Oh. What a shame. I should have brought those branches back somehow."
[Keeek?]
Beru tilted his head.
In a situation where he should be happy, Suho suddenly frowns and smacks his lips.
Thinking back to the World Tree branches that had fallen down with a crash as Nidhogg struggled earlier, it was such a pity to think about it again.
But at that time, I simply couldn't afford to do that.
Nidhogg's six huge heads were gaping here and there, trying to devour Suho, and just dodging their bites and gathering leaves was a huge challenge.
But I needed to think positively and reconsider.
In reality, even if you somehow managed to get your hands on those branches, it might have been impossible to actually bring them into reality.
Because in the first place, only my mind had gone to the sea of the afterlife due to the 'Unknown' skill.
Even when I think back to when I returned from fighting Quresha, not a single piece of the wings of the venomous insects that were fluttering around came stuck to Suho's clothes.
The best thing Suho could do was to claim a mental victory. But it was still too early to give up.
"Master! Is there anything else you would like me to do?"
[What a great attitude!]
Finally, Beru gave a passing grade.
Even after handing over the blood to Suho, Esil's eyes were burning with a sense of mission.
When he saw those eyes, Suho had a good idea.
"Esil."
Suho's eyes sparkled.
"Could you please come back to that place again?"
"The World Tree? Are you talking about that?"
Esil frowned at those words and tried to recall her memories.
A tree that glows on its own in the darkness.
The impact of the World Tree was so strong that I couldn't remember exactly what the surroundings were like.
but.
"Maybe it might be possible."
"Oh! really?"
This was the majesty of the gluttonous monarch who had devoured an enormous amount of the leaves of the World Tree.
"Ugh,"
said Esil, as she confidently pointed to her heart with her thumb.
"That fragrance flows through my blood."
"Somehow the smell of blood is so fragrant. Then what if you let other demons smell your blood too?"
"Of course."
Shh.
Before he could finish speaking, Suho and Esil looked at each other and smiled meaningfully. They noticed each other's thoughts.
"All the demons under my command will be able to wander the sea of the afterlife and track the scent of the World Tree."
Demons are sensitive to the smell of blood.
Moreover, a demon who does not remember even after smelling the blood of the Demon King deserves to die.
If the scent of the World Tree is mixed with the scent of Esil's blood, the demons will be able to search for the World Tree much more effectively than the shadow soldiers who are still wandering aimlessly through the sea of the afterlife.
"Demons wandering the sea of the afterlife... There really is no hell like this."
It was a strangely well-matched combination.
"But is that really okay? If you go to the afterlife sea, the weeds will be after you."
In fact, the demons gathered here had just been invaded by the residents of the gap.
But, for the residents of the gap, jumping directly into the sea of the afterlife teeming with weeds meant going to find a place to die on one's own feet.
but.
"The demons who have overcome trials are strong."
"Yes. Because the scent of the World Tree still fills my body."
Even if the eyes don't remember, the body remembers.
All the demons gathered here were warriors who had overcome trials and survived.
On their behalf, Esil dismissed Suho's worries with a confident expression.
"The reason I am strong is because through trials I have come to realize how weak and pathetic I am."
Gooooooo-
At Esil's words, the spirit of the surviving demons was quietly burning like flames.
"That's why we, being weak, desire to become stronger. If there is a way to become stronger than we are now, we will do so without regard to the means and methods, because that is the basis for ruling the demon world."
But now Esil has found out.
'The leaves of the world tree'
"I have personally confirmed that the legend of the 'Demon of Greed Vulcan' evolving by eating the leaves of the World Tree is true, so we demons will definitely find that place, wherever it is."
To become stronger!
That purpose alone would be sufficient.
For demons, strength meant survival.
Moreover, weren't most of the demons led by Esil lower-level demons?
"For the survival of the demon clan, not just me, but all demons must become stronger than they are now."
"Then we need to divide up the roles."
Since he couldn't sacrifice the innocent demons to the weeds, Suho devised a strategy.
"Demons track your scent, and shadow soldiers escort you."
"No. We will fight ourselves. We cannot leave our survival to others."
"I told you, there's the sea. Do you have wings?"
"...ah."
It was Esil who forgot the important part.
Looking back, there weren't many winged demons.
As Suho had said, even at this moment, all the shadow soldiers drifting across the sea of the afterlife were winged creatures.
"Then let's fight even if we have to swim... ... ."
"No. There's a better way."
From the perspective of someone who has already been to the sea of the afterlife twice, Suho brought out an idea he had been thinking about.
"Build a boat."
... !
Esil's eyes widened at the unexpected words.