Elric remained silent for a while.
An alchemist who had pursued the Demon King all the way to the Western Frontier.
And a school that, while inheriting the knowledge of the Western Frontier for generations, sought to settle their grudges somehow.
It was impressive enough that this had lasted for over a thousand years, but how deep the grudges ran... Elric found it hard to even guess.
'If they harbored such grudges, it wouldn't be strange at all for them to meddle with non-human powers.'
The reason why Augustine had undergone the transplantation of a Dark Elf's arm onto one of his arms seemed vaguely understandable.
『The one who hunts monsters becomes a monster, and the one who gazes into the abyss becomes the abyss itself. It seems fitting to describe the Night's Chronicle in that manner.』
[Do you mean to say that the Night's Chronicle is closer to non-human than magic?]
『If one insists on distinguishing between magic and non-human, then perhaps. But can one really divide them clearly like that?』
The boundary between magic and non-human powers.
If it had been Elric before inheriting the arrangement of the family, he would have confidently declared them to be "different." But now, he couldn't do that at all.
Because his right hand bore two seals imbued with demons.
Elric silently gazed at the Demon King leaning against the common wall.
If it weren't for the swirling demonic energy, it was so large that one would have believed it to be an extinct race of giants.
Even though he had his head down, he felt so alive, as if he would stretch and stand up at any moment.
"What is the name of this Demon King?"
"I don't know for sure either. From the East to the Empire, the names people called it varied every time it appeared. But in our Night's Chronicle, we call by name of."
Augustine's eyes, gazing at the Demon King, were deeply sunken.
"'Yu(獝).'"
"What does it mean?"
"It means 'savage beast.'"
"Savage beast...."
"What will you do? Will you make this old man's new wish come true?"
Elric pondered for a moment.
Actually, in hindsight, it was the right answer to say "I will."
Yu is a Demon King even recognized by Mephistopheles. To be able to absorb the seal of such a being? It was a welcome prospect, arms wide open.
Moreover, he would now begin to receive teachings from Augustine, a skilled individual who had defeated such a Demon King.
There was no reason to hesitate, even if he had to prostrate himself and ask for instruction; he wouldn't be lacking in any way.
But Elric had some concerns deep down.
A request to determine superiority and inferiority.
"If you didn't know I had a way to absorb the seal, what would you have done?"
"What could I have done? I would have just forced you to learn it."
"You mean you would have forced me to learn black magic? But then..."
Isn't there a high chance that my reason would have been tainted by the darkness?
Elric wanted to ask that question, but Augustine cut off the conversation and spoke firmly as if there was no problem.
"Didn't I say it? If Night's Chronicle could become stronger generation after generation, it didn't care about means and methods. But would it have turned out any better if it had just gobbled up whatever it could get its hands on? There are means to protect the mind, so there's no need to worry."
Elric felt a little relieved.
"But because of that, there may be limits to learning the power of Yu. So determining the victory between the two skills would be a very difficult task."
Elric nodded silently.
"But even though I don't know what talent you have, now that I know that you can accept the demon seal intact and use it without any problems… this old man can't afford to lose you even more."
Elric somehow felt that there was an excessive amount of lively energy and vitality in Augustine's eyes.
No, at that level, it was almost close to madness.
"And with your genius shown so far, you'll be able to master both Night's Chronicle and the seal completely."
Augustine grasped Elric's hand tightly.
His hands, wrinkled with age, brimmed with strength.
"So please, help this old man's wish come true."
Since the request was so earnest, Elric couldn't refuse.
'I'm curious about the power of Yu, after all.'
Still, he couldn't just accept it blindly.
"Understood. I will do my best to make your wish come true."
"Then...!"
"But, as I mentioned before, there are a few things I want clear answers on."
"What?"
Augustine seemed ready to rip out his own heart.
Elric held up three fingers.
"There are three things in total."
"Speak then."
"Firstly, before becoming the successor of Night's Chronicle, my status was that of the head of the Melvinger family. I want to firmly address this point."
"You mean the family's succession should come before Night's Chronicle?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that matter already settled? This old man doesn't care whether you merge Night's Chronicle with Melvinger or find a separate successor. Just make sure the lineage doesn't break. Anything else?"
"Please don't harass me suddenly like this again. I genuinely thought I was going to die."
"Hehe! I will be mindful of that too. However, the techniques of Night's Chronicle are all meant for practical use. How can I not harass you?"
".....Then at least give a warning or a heads-up. Isn't it necessary to cultivate the mindset?"
Elric let out a short sigh.
No matter how much progress he made, even just dealing with the labyrinth was challenging. Could the difficulty possibly increase beyond this?
"Fine. If that's all. Then what's left?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Hm?"
"It doesn't seem like the right time to talk about it yet."
Augustine narrowed his eyes before chuckling softly.
"Planning to save it for when it's needed, huh? Well, fine. As long as it's not my life or the fate of the family, I'll entertain anything."
"I won't make such unreasonable demands."
"Alright then. Shall we get started?"
Augustine spoke eagerly.
Elric nodded silently and slowly approached the demon king Yu.
Swish!
The swirling vortex of demonic energy along the barrier was still fierce, but...
"[Push out]."
Elric opened his soul speech magic after a long time, pushing back the demonic energy with a transparent shield to avoid harm.
However, the intense pressure emanating from demon king Yu only seemed to intensify as he got closer, almost suffocating.
When he reached a distance of about one meter, Elric had to raise his head to look at Yu.
Yu's presence felt even stronger up close than it did from afar.
[Mephi.]
『What?』
Mephisto, seemingly unaffected by the demonic energy, was already a few steps ahead of Elric, looking at Yu.
A face full of thoughts and intentions, similar to what Elric had seen when facing the Snow Mountain King.
[How do I absorb the seal?]
Mephisto's serious expression twisted into a smirk.
『So, you were putting on air without knowing how to absorb the seal?』
[Why? You speak as if absorbing the seal is something obvious. It would be embarrassing to admit ignorance, wouldn't it?]
Elric chuckled.
The tone implied, "Why bother saying that when you'll tell me anyway?"
『You lunatic...!』
Mephisto was clearly annoyed but, as always, he sighed deeply and suppressed his frustration.
『Sigh! Even I don't know.』
[What do you mean? Don't demon kings often steal seals from each other?』
『Do you learn 'how' to eat when you start to eat?』
[Who learns that?]
『It is the same for us. We just kill fellow demon kings and demons and seize their seals. It's as natural to us as having meals when you're hungry. How would you teach that?』
[Oh, no.]
Elric scratched the back of his head.
He had thought he would figure it out somehow, but he couldn't imagine how to obtain Yu's seal.
It had been easy to absorb the Seal of Cruelty when there was guidance from the Ancestor, but Yu was already dead, and no method came to mind.
'The Magical Amulet is also unresponsive.'
Elric pondered while gently massaging his neck with his hand.
Then, with a sudden thought, he reached out towards Yu.
"[Absorb]."
A low voice uttered the command.
Since the seal was linked to soul speech magic, Elric attempted to absorb it in the same manner, wondering if it might work.
The result exceeded his expectations.
Boom!
Yu's body emitted a dazzling light as a violent demonic energy storm swept through the area.
Thud!
Sizzle...
The body crumbled like a sandcastle, being sucked towards Elric.
'Done!'
Elric realized that this phenomenon was a result of absorbing the seal and widened his eyes.
"Wow!"
Augustinee exclaimed in awe, witnessing such a spectacle for the first time.
And then...
As the fragment of Yu's essence touched his fingertips...
Crackle!
Elric felt as if his vision was suddenly filled with blackened haze, and he found himself in another world.
Mind Realm.
No, to be exact, it was the world of residual consciousness left behind by the demon king Yu.
'Do I always have to get some kind of test or qualification to get a seal like I did during the time of the Snow Mountain King?'
Perhaps it would not be easy to absorb the true name of a being of such high rank.
"But what am I supposed to do here?"
Elric found himself in a dense forest, completely shrouded in trees. The canopy was so thick that not even the sky was visible.
The forest floor was covered in various debris, resembling a swamp, making walking difficult.
Despite the potential danger of encountering beasts like leopards or anacondas, there was no sign of any living creatures.
'I can't sense anything here.'
Elric tensed up, trying to heighten his senses.
In such a place, he should have heard the chirping of birds or the buzzing of insects, but there was nothing.
No sign of any animals either.
'It's as if this entire place has been devoured by something...!'
Elric's eyes widened in realization.
It was evident that somewhere in this jungle, there was a predator that even the creatures of the forest dared not approach.
"[Magic Armament]."
Elric swallowed his breath and forcefully circulated his mana.
According to the unique circulation method of Night's Chronicle, both the body strengthening art and magic martial arts were activated, resonating together.
"[Unlock]."
Whooosh-
A much stronger and larger amount of mana spread out, creating shockwaves.
In the areas reached by these shockwaves, vast amounts of information poured into Elric's mind.
His senses became much sharper, his cognitive abilities expanded, and he could process a larger amount of information.
As a result, the number of resolutions formed in his mind also increased significantly.
'Where is it?'
Based on this, Elric quickly scanned his surroundings.
The sound of the wind.
The bubbling of the swamp.
Even the sound of leaves colliding...
Beyond that, he sensed something ominous and fierce.
A ferocity filled with intense hostility towards all living things.
It was clearly focused in one direction.
Elric tensed up, ready to activate his magic at a moment's notice, but he couldn't find the creature's location, so he had to keep scanning his surroundings without rest.
'In the forest... in the sky... nowhere to be found. It's definitely hiding nearby, watching and waiting. But where could it be?'
He meticulously searched every location within a radius of about 100 meters, even checking underground, but found nothing except solid ground.
Feeling the gravity of the situation, he shivered involuntarily.
Suddenly, Elric realized there was one thing he hadn't examined yet.
'The shadow!'
At that moment, Elric glanced down at the ground beneath him.
Snick!
Just then, a menacing set of teeth was revealed by the faint light filtering through the leaves, casting a shadow.
As if it had discovered a delicious prey.
『An interesting human has appeared.』