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“Hey, what does it say?”
“It says that ten thousand years ago, the Demon King and the Great Heavenly King entered into a pact.”
“What kind of pact?”
“I’m about to find out.”
Ion touched the sentence on the holographic window. A detailed explanation attached to that sentence popped up, but it was all locked.
「Access restricted to Guardians only.」
“It says only Guardians can see it.”
“Hey, wait here. I’ll go snatch one real quick.”
“Calm down. I’ll handle it.”
Ion closed his eyes tightly and recalled the energy from earlier. The power called ‘Qi’ that the white-robed Angel had injected into his forehead through a fingertip. It was subtly different from Won-gi, yet subtly similar. Having experienced it twice now—from the Great Celestial and the Angel—he felt he could mimic it.
‘Like this?’
A small clump of shaped light rose above his hand. Sure enough, Ion successfully forged the Angel’s Qi on his very first attempt.
“…Ugh.”
The problem was the excruciating pain. It felt like when he cast magic using only Won-gi without mana. It was as if a hammer was striking his head and heart simultaneously with full force.
“Damion, are you all right?”
“I’m… hngh…”
“Hey, what’s wrong? Mana depletion?”
“Haah…”
Ion leaned his forehead against Baba’s arm. To be precise, Baba let Ion lean on him.
“Phew—”
Ion took deep breaths in that position. He wanted to finish this business in the Heavenly Realm quickly so he could rub his cheek against Sanse’s leaves or squeeze Baba. Fortunately, because he had experienced mana depletion side effects so often lately, he grew accustomed to the pain quickly.
Looking at the holographic window, the lock was released. Ion’s eyes scanned the newly revealed sentences rapidly.
“What on earth does this mean… Baba, translate this for Blan.”
“Understood. But are you truly okay? You are dripping with cold sweat.”
Ion was so focused he didn’t even hear Baba’s concern.
At first, since it was called a pact, Ion thought it was a peace treaty to end a war. He assumed the alliance proposed by the Demon King was an unfair, one-sided one—after all, it was an alliance between an invader and the colonized. But something was strange.
“There’s no mention of war. It only says he led a vast army…”
“Maybe they didn’t write it down because they were ashamed.”
“A race that treasures records enough to build a whole temple wouldn’t omit something just because it was shameful.”
Ion sifted through the orbs Baba had brought. He checked several orbs with the ‘war’ keyword, but they all dealt with the Human-Demon War. It said that after forming a pact with the Great Heavenly King, the Demon King headed to Idea, started a war there, and was subsequently sealed.
The war between the Heavenly Realm and the Demon Realm was recorded nowhere. However, in just one orb, there was a description like this:
「The Great Heavenly King ordered the Demon King’s visit to be recorded as a war.」
“Does that mean it wasn’t originally a war…? The Demon Realm didn’t rule the Heavenly Realm?”
“It seems so. In fact, seeing that they talked, formed an alliance, and pledged resolve, it feels more like they joined hands to oppose a common enemy.”
“I knew it.”
He knew? Ion and Blan looked at Baba. The nobleman, with a face so noble one felt they should kneel and look up at him, spoke.
“The Demon King likes bats. There are no bad people among those who like bats. Thus, I was certain that the story of the Demon King invading the Heavenly Realm was a distortion.”
It was a comment not worth listening to. Ion examined the orbs containing the ‘pact’ keyword.
A pact that even the King and Guardians couldn’t read. For now, it seemed they had to go to the place where the pact was sealed. Ion searched the orbs, but the location of the seal appeared nowhere.
‘I can’t exactly… ask the Great Heavenly King.’
By now, news that Ion’s group had infiltrated the North Wing and stolen orbs would have spread.
“Hey, seriously, I’ll just go grab a Guardian. Wait here.”
“Blan, stop.”
“Gah!”
Blan tumbled over at Baba’s command. Baba held out an orb to Ion. It was the orb containing the location of Mount Baba.
“Damion. I am drawn to this place. It is a mountain with the same name as mine.”
Come to think of it, it was said that the unsealed Demon King ran a grape farm at Mount Baba. It was also suspicious that the location of Mount Baba was written in an orb containing keywords like Demon King and Pact.
“Blan, we’re going to Mount Baba. Whether it’s the place of the pact or not, we have to check it out.”
“Then what are we debating? Let’s go!”
“Wait. I’m leaving all the data here.”
“What? Hey! Do you know how hard it was to get those? At least read them all!”
“I already did.”
“…….”
Ion made a basket out of vines and placed the stolen orbs inside. Then, he grew the vines high so they could be seen from a distance. Since what they needed was the information, not the physical orbs, it was right to leave them behind now that the knowledge was acquired. If they stole them forever, exchange between the Heavenly Realm and Idea would be gone for good. The Great Sage who introduced them would also be in a difficult spot… well, he probably already was.
‘By the way, how are we going to fly?’
Ion looked blankly at Blan.
“What? Why are you looking at me?”
“Carry me. I need to save mana.”
“Ugh.”
Blan grimaced and bent his knees. Just as Ion was about to hop on his back, his body was suddenly hoisted up.
“I shall carry you, Damion.”
Baba, who had lightly picked Ion up in a bridal carry, leaped into the air. Blan followed behind with a relieved expression. Ion wrapped his arms around the nobleman’s shoulders. The position wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. Baba’s strength was so great that it didn’t feel unstable either. Even if it were uncomfortable… the posture wasn’t the issue right now.
“Damion, what is it? Have you realized my greatness and competence anew?”
“……Yeah, you’re a great bat.”
“Then pet me. I have not been petted even once while in human form. This is an act I could rightfully protest.”
“Keep going straight, then turn right at the 3km mark.”
“Kyu.”
‘Asking how he’s flying without wings is probably useless.’
Blan made wings out of Demonic Energy, and Ion grew transparent wings when using flight magic. Perhaps because of that, Baba had used bat wings for a while, but now he was flying through the sky without any wings at all. He was indeed a helpful, great, and cute bat, but he had just as many secrets. The biggest problem was that since he had no memory, asking him wouldn’t yield an answer.
Mount Baba was very close to the River of Light. So close, in fact, that the distance between the island and the river seemed less than 1km. It made sense why the Heavenly person at the temple didn’t know the name Mount Baba. Since no one but Guardians could approach the River of Light, it was natural not to know the names of places near it.
“Hey, what should we do with these guys? What if they wake up in the middle?”
“They won’t wake up unless there’s a significant shock. Just tie their hands.”
Blan tossed the Heavenly Guardians, who had fallen asleep due to Ion’s , onto the ground. They were the Guardians who had been protecting Mount Baba. After clashing with Guardians a few times, Ion realized they were roughly equivalent to A-rank hunters on Earth. Meaning, they were no match for these two.
After laying the neutralized Guardians in one spot, they headed deeper into Mount Baba. Because the brilliant pillar of light was right next to them, the surroundings were bright even though it was night. The grape farm mentioned in the records was nowhere to be seen. However, they did find a place that looked like it could have been a farm in the past; it was incredibly vast.
“Let’s scatter and find the sealed object. It could be a sealing site, a sealing stone, or a sealing tree. Anyway, tell me if you see anything strange or mystical.”
“No need to scatter. I feel a significant amount of Demonic Energy from over there.”
Blan strode forward. Ion could see what Blan was talking about. There was a stone monument engraved with a magic circle similar in shape to the pattern on Baba’s bat wings. Ion, following Blan, meticulously examined the monument, which was as tall as he was.
“It looks suspicious, but I don’t feel any Demonic Energy.”
“Really? I guess they made it so only Demon Realm races can sense it. How about you, Lord Baba? Do you feel it?”
“I feel a faint Demonic Energy. There are five such monuments in total.”
With an elegant gesture, Baba pointed in four directions one by one. Upon checking, there were monuments in all four spots, each with slightly different magic circles. If you connected the five monuments, they would form a perfect pentagram.
“Hey, I’m activating all five monuments first.”
“Yes.”
As Blan injected Demonic Energy, the magic circles on the monuments reacted. The surroundings turned pitch black, to the point where even the brilliant light of the River of Light was invisible. To be precise, the light was blocked by the black aura flowing from the magic circles.
Rumble—
A low altar revealed itself at the center of the pentagram. On top of the altar was an orb. It was identical to the data storage orbs in the temple. Ion touched the orb, but nothing happened. Just in case, he channeled mana and Qi into it, but to no avail. Even when Blan sent out Demonic Energy, it was the same.
‘Could it be Won-gi…?’
If the Great Heavenly King and the Guardians failed to access it, it might require Won-gi. Moving Won-gi caused intense pain, but he had to break the seal before more Guardians appeared. Ion gritted his teeth and prepared to move his Won-gi.
Flash—
A brilliant light burst forth from the orb. The change occurred the moment Baba touched the orb.
“As expected, I am a helpful bat.”
“Well done, Lord Baba!”
“Damion, did I do well?”
“Uh… you did well, but why did it activate when you touched it?”
“I am a special ‘ba’. Therefore, pet the special me as a reward.”
While a short conversation took place with the praise-seeking bat, the blinding light gradually faded. Until a moment ago, the place they stood was a plain grassy field, but the landscape revealed as the light vanished was a farm overflowing with grapes.
“What? Was it a teleportation device?”
“No. This is a mental world.”
Ion could tell immediately because he had experienced it once through the World Tree.
“It seems it’s showing the past memories stored in the orb through a mental world.”
“Hey, over there…”
“Yes. I know. Quiet.”
Not far away, a handsome man with long black hair and black eyes was conversing with a Heavenly person. The Demon King and the Great Heavenly King of that era. Since they were merely memories of the past, they naturally could not see Ion’s group. Nevertheless, feeling a pressure that pricked his skin, Ion approached with bated breath.
The Demon King, who looked exactly like Baba, elegantly tilted a teacup and spoke.
— A thousand years from now, the Demon Realm and the Heavenly Realm are destined to perish.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Struggles of the Shut-in Boss. Start reading now!
Read : The Struggles of the Shut-in Boss
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂