Game of Divine Thrones

Chapter 273: The Rise of the Demon Lord 1

“Ah…!”

The God of Blacksmithing groaned and fell to the ground.

Woohyuk climbed over his head and gave a final blow.

Slice!

The weakened God was easily beheaded using Verserios.

Afterward, a system message came into Woohyuk’s eyes.

[You killed the God of Blacksmithing!]

[Legendary Quest: Soul Quenching has been completed.]

[As a reward for completing the quest, you have acquired the defensive skill, Soul Quenching.]

[If you use Soul Quenching, you momentarily gain additional physical strength and defense whenever you overcome the damage inflicted on you with your mental power.]

‘That’s a pretty good skill.’

Being able to withstand greater amounts of damage by overcoming mental hurdles was a cheat-like ability.

Of course, this ability may be useless for ordinary humans, but Woohyuk was a person who had overcome numerous physical limitations so far with his mental powers.

If it was overcoming difficulty through mental strength, he was more confident than any other being.

“Okay, you’ve completed the epic dungeon, so I’ll reward you. Let’s open this treasure chest,” Archangel Michael said as he summoned a small gold box over his hands.

Woohyuk opened it with the key he got from the forest.

Click.

He could see a small crystal lying in the box.

[You have obtained 1 Elixir of God.]

[Epic Quest: The total number of materials required in the future to complete the Demon Lord’s Throne is two.]

The reward was the same as that from the ruins of the Wind God.

He was still unable to transfer the Divine Throne seat to any of his party members.

It was unfortunate for Woohyuk, but there was nothing to gain from arguing and fighting with Michael.

“I’ll see you again later, Michael.”

“I’ll look forward to that day, Rafael.”

Woohyuk felt that Michael’s last words and parting look were unusual.

Soon, a pure white flash covered the area.

***

The floating God of Blacksmithing ruins, which was situated in a dense elven forest, lost its shape and poured down to the ground.

He had now completed two epic dungeons.

The rest were left for the 72 Demon Kings. He was expecting an update report from them at any moment.

Woohyuk returned to Inotia and helped Dexter with his work.

A few days later…

“It was one of the most difficult productions in my life. I would have wasted time and precious resources if it wasn’t for His Majesty providing me the recipe and technique.”

Dexter wiped the sweat that was dripping from his brow as he looked down at his finished product.

Epion, the God Killer weapon.

It was a tremendous artifact that was amazing to behold.

Woohyuk put it on his shoulder like a bazooka.

“It’s heavier than I thought.”

“It was made according to the recipe, so I’m sure the heft was intended. Probably as much as it is heavy, its power will be overwhelming and dominating.”

“Hmm…”

Woohyuk wished he could actually shoot it and test out its power, but then a small kingdom would disappear.

Furthermore, it took 30 days to recharge. Therefore, it was necessary to use it sparingly and carefully.

When Woohyuk was touching Epion, Baal, the 1st rank Demon King, appeared.

“Asura, we have attacked all the epic dungeons you entrusted to us.”

“What about the Elixir of the Gods?”

“Here you are.”

Baal politely presented two mysteriously colored crystals.

[You have obtained all the ingredients for the Elixir of the Gods.]

[Epic Quest: You have completed Step 1 of the Demon Lord’s Throne.]

[Epic Quest: The second stage of the Demon Lord’s Throne shall begin.]

[New Challenge and Achievement]

Name: Demon Lord’s Throne

Type: Epic (2/3)

Content: After processing the Elixir of the Gods ingredients, drink it. The processing of the ingredients requires high alchemy skill.

Others: One time only. Failure to complete the task makes a retry impossible.

‘Is it asking me to develop alchemy skills this time?’

Runesmith Dexter was part of the blacksmith class, so he was only talented in crafting, repairing, and enhancing equipment.

Woohyuk called Aris to study how to make the Elixir of the Gods.

“Can you do it?” Woohyuk asked.

“I’ll try it first, Asura. I’ve been studying alchemy for a long time,” Aris answered.

Aris was a typical researcher type.

As she entered her laboratory, Hans appeared with a tray of specialty dishes.

“Your Majesty. We are almost ready for the banquet.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

He planned to have a banquet with his allies to commemorate the end of the ongoing preparation and questing that had piled up.

Currently, the Eeth Continent had returned to a sense of calm and the epic dungeons had been attacked and overcome.

There was some time left before the Elixir of the Gods would be complete.

As he entered the banquet room, Woohyuk saw Sieg and Brynhildr having a conversation.

“You went through a lot of trouble protecting the epic dungeon in the cold weather,” Woohyuk said.

“I just did what was expected of me, Lord,” Sieg replied respectfully.

“If you feel like you owe us, why don’t you take my daughter as your wife? Hohoho…”

Brynhildr wanted to raise the status of Tinia and Sylvia.

As soon as her words were spoken, the two daughters appeared in front of Woohyuk with bright dresses on.

“Your Majesty, how have you been? Every night I missed your Majesty and couldn’t sleep.”

“It was a little disappointing that I could not follow you on the Eastern Conquest Expedition.”

Each of the two women had a considerable level of combat power.

Empress Eleanora appeared alone in the banquet hall, wearing her formal battle dress armor, while Woohyuk was struggling with Tinia’s overt show of affection.

“Oh, it’s Empress Eleanora,” Tinia quietly murmured as she backed away from Woohyuk.

“You really look beautiful today,” Woohyuk complimented.

As soon as she saw him, Eleanora hung on his arm and began to complain, “Hero King, now that you’ve conquered the East, let’s have our wedding~.”

“Well… there’s still one important task left…”

“For this girl, each day is like a hundred or thousand years of waiting. I only have eyes for you Hero King. Please take my delicate heart…”

Eleanora wasn’t embarrassed as she seemingly threw away her social status and openly begged Woohyuk to quickly have a wedding.

Jealous of Eleanor’s affectionate actions, Tinia stared at her with a cold expression.

“That foxy bitch is playing around with my Majesty…”

“Tinia, be patient, sister…” Sylvia said as she pulled Tinia out of the banquet room. Sylvia noticed that Tinia was about to pull out Cardion, the Sword of the Storm, so she hurriedly reacted.

“You came back safely, Your Majesty,” Joanna said as she came into the banquet hall.

“How is the Rhine Kingdom these days, Joanna?” Woohyuk asked.

“Fortunately, the same conspiracy hasn’t happened again. However, we’re still keeping alert and paying attention to any abnormal occurrences.”

After she was almost assassinated by Jonathan Adler, the Black Dragon King, Drake, had been taking care of her.

Subsequently, various figures such as Ganiev, the representative of the Beastmen tribe, Hong Yuri, the Blood Queen, and Ophelia, the Elven Queen, entered the banquet hall and had a conversation with Woohyuk.

“There are so many people. It’s so hard to remember everyone’s name,” Leifina commented as she saw the steady stream of people still entering the hall.

“Real politics requires at least this much, Leifina. Remembering everyone’s name and managing all of them is a crucial part of diplomacy.”

History briefly describes the trend of the contemporary times with only the activities of a few notable figures, but in reality, the major shifts and changes begin when numerous and diverse groups of humans come together to form their own dynamic relationship.

Therefore, Woohyuk invited influential figures throughout the Eeth Continent to attend his banquet.

“Anyway, it feels like we’ve enjoyed peace for a while, so I feel at ease. How much longer can this enjoyable routine last?” Leifina asked.

“Well, in the grand scheme of things, it will only be a moment,” Woohyuk answered truthfully.

Regardless, he had to keep moving forward.

Soon, he’d arrive at his final destination.

If he took the Demon Lord Throne and the power that came with completely lifting all the seals on Verserios, then the true war with the Creator would start.

“Lord, I have one thing to confess.”

“What is it?”

“Would you like to go to a quiet place together for a moment…”

Leifina stared at him with a serious look.

Woohyuk nodded his head and followed her to a balcony.

“Now talk.”

“Actually… I stole a glance into Lord’s memory. When we fought the ancient demon Harpes in the Floren Province of the Rhine Kingdom…”

Leifina honestly told Woohyuk what she saw at that time through the Memories Pendant.

Woohyuk couldn’t hide his shock. He opened his mouth multiple times but was unable to say anything. Finally, he responded, “So, you know.”

“Sorry for hiding this from you, Lord. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you until now.”

“I understand. And I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to treat you honestly so far.”

After he returned, Woohyuk hadn’t told Leifina anything about himself or their previous relationship.

He didn’t want current things to be twisted after telling stories of his past.

As Woohyuk retold his past, Leifina gently lay her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t want to be separated again from you, Lord. That is my only wish now.”

“… And I will surely protect you no matter what.”

‘Even if I lose everything.’

Woohyuk muttered this in his heart and hugged Leifina.

“If peace comes, what are you going to do then?” she asked.

“Well. I’ve never given it much thought since it was always such a distant aspiration,” he softly replied.

If possible, he wanted to return to the Earth with Leifina and run a small shop in a remote place.

He wanted to get as far away from this world as possible so that he could focus only on her.

However, there was no guarantee that the current situation would work out in his favor.

“I used to picture it in my head every night. I wake up in the same bed as my Lord. We eat and share the smallest of life’s joys…”

“… It’s good to imagine, but I hope you don’t start cooking again.”

“Well, that goes for me as well…!”

Leifina looked at Woohyuk with a red-colored face.

Afterward, the two exchanged glances without saying anything.

When Woohyuk decided to break the silence…

Creak.

Agnes, the Dark Spirit, came into their room. She was still trapped within the figure of a ball-jointed doll.

“A-Asura. I have something to report.”

“What? At such an important moment…”

“I-I’m sorry to disturb you. Anyway, I think I’ll be able to use a different body with Song Anna’s ability.”

Song Anna had the ability to transform the spirits of animals and plants into anthropomorphic entities.

Woohyuk nodded his head and spoke to Agnes, “Good. Rather than such a doll, it would be more helpful to get a human body.”

“B-But, Song Anna said she’s ready to do it now…”

As Agnes was stuttering, Song Anna appeared from behind her.

“Ugh, here you are. So, will you sign a contract with me now?”

“Yes, Let’s get started. I’m curious about what I will look like after the transformation.”

“Wait a minute.”

Song Anna put her hand on Agnes’ shoulder.

Then, blue energy radiated from her hands, circling Agnes’ body.

“H-Huh…?”

Agnes looked down at herself, as she felt something strange.

The dull doll figure slowly disappeared, and a pure white skin began to take its place.

In time, she became a pretty girl with black hair and red eyes.

“Now, look in the mirror,” Song Anna said after finishing the transformation process.

“Wow! A-Are you saying this is really me?”

Agnes turned her figure back and forth and from side-to-side in front of the mirror. She seemed immensely impressed and satisfied with how she looked.

Then Anna Song smiled and said, “Actually, Ari, who was adopted by Erica, changed her appearance in this way too. She’s probably attending the banquet with Erica now.”

“Are you talking about me? What happened?” Ari asked as she poked her head into the room.

As soon as she was spoken about, a silver-haired girl with fox-like entered the room.

Leifina burst out into laughter as she watched Ari wiggle her foxtail.

“It’s the desert fox form that the Master brought back from the desert.”

“… Song Anna keeps creating children that she’ll eventually have to raise,” Woohyuk added on.

While thinking about the adversity coming soon, Woohyuk stroked Ari’s head.