Chapter 154: Demon World Auction (3)
It wasn’t difficult to find the fire spirits.
It was enough to go to the place where fire magic power was gathered.
The strange thing was that I didn’t meet any demons in the huge castle. It seemed like the demons had gathered into their factions after arriving at the Demon World Auction.
'The grand dukes aren’t idiots...’
It was clear they wanted to talk to each other about the items they would sell at the auction and develop a plan. I moved as an individual instead of a faction, so I could take one step faster than them.
'The security is poor.’
The most suspicious thing was that the security level of the castle was very low. Unlike before, the dark spirits were hardly visible. The spirits of the other elements were inside the castle so their intention was to ‘stand by.’
“My Dungeon Master. Is the interior of the castle supposed to be this quiet?”
“No. It is quieter than usual.”
"Why...I feel animosity everywhere.”
That’s right. I couldn’t trust anyone other than Chrisley here. The demons and spirits felt a similar way. Of course, it wasn’t just hostility.
Soon Chrisley and I arrived at the place where the fire spirits were staying.
There was a huge door comparable to the one at the auction.
-Is this information true?
-This is...an unforgivable problem...
-’Kerpi’ is the representative.
-This damn year?
-I am suspicious of their motives in sending Kerpi.
-Taking the initiative first...
-Quiet. A visitor has come.
The other side of the door was noisy. It instantly became silent after someone warned them.
Kkiik.
I turned the doorknob and opened the door.
Then...I witnessed huge flames all over the place. There were 20 existences that could be described as fireballs. Each of them had already reached the high class level. I felt it before opening the door so it wasn’t surprising.
‘The elite of the elite.’
They were the fire spirits. Each one could not be looked down on. A power that could turn a situation upside down! The king didn’t seem present but they were certainly his close aides.
'I might be turned into a fireball when dealing with the fire spirits.’
In other words, I had to be wary.
Did they recognize me?
Of course, they didn’t notice I was transcendent but that I was a formidable enemy. The spirits were amazingly hot and sharp.
“My Dungeon Master.”
Chrisley sought my understanding. She wanted to take a step forward.
The fire spirits were already tense after seeing me. Even if I went forward it wouldn’t do much good. Conceding to Chrisley was the right step.
“I’ll allow it.”
After hearing my words, Chrisley stepped forward and bowed.
“Fire spirits. My name is Chrisley. We are not your enemies. My flame is more intense than anyone else and I am seeking your goodwill.”
-An amazing aura.
-However, the other half is water.
-No...the fire side is stronger.
There was a short exchange of opinions. The fire spirits stared at Chrisley and measured how much fire and water energy she had.
Soon the largest fireball in the middle spoke.
-Child. I know that you have a strong fire aura, but this is too abrupt. Especially when the person behind you is a demon.
"This is my master. He is a person who is taking a completely different path from the other demons. Master is someone who hunts demons and is the owner of vast knowledge. He will be able to answer your questions.”
She saw it right away. Chrisley was familiar with some parts of the Demon World Auction. She managed to identify and use the theme of the transaction.
The spirits became noisy once again.
-A demon hunting other demons?
-Demons originally hate each other.
-It is inconsequential.
The response was mediocre. This was the attitude of the spirits whenever dealing with demons.
Then the leader of the fire spirits said.
-What makes you think we want your information and goodwill?
"I don’t mean any disrespect but I overheard you talking when I was outside. I take it that Kerpi is the name of a water spirit that you are at odds with for some reason. This meeting is because you suddenly received some information upon arriving. I guess that someone gave you information that would make you have a conflict with the water spirits.”
Chrisley’s speech was fluent.
Her ability to reason after only listening to a few words of conversation was great.
‘I did well to bring her.’
Showing her off to Pandemonium wasn’t the only reason why I brought Chrisley along. She was quick-witted. I acknowledged that she was a better delegate than me.
There was nothing wrong with that. Recruiting great subordinates was also a talent. Bringing her was the correct answer.
-Hoh...so you can solve our problem?
"Before that, I would like to hear your story first. If it can be solved then we will do it.”
-No, from the beginning you said you came here out of goodwill. If we accept right now then will it achieve your goal?
“I’m not the type to shamelessly accept without giving anything in return.”
Huuuuong!
The flames gradually weakened.
A moment later, a man appeared in the flames. A man with red hair.
His eyes flashed and he opened his mouth.
“Okay. I will tell you. Anyway, this is a problem that we can’t solve alone.”
The man looked back.
"Everybody take your other forms. These guests aren’t enemies.”
Huuuuong!!
The 20 fire spirits changed forms. Instead of fireballs, they took the form of men and women who gave off strong impressions.
Once all the transformations finished, they sat down at the table. Chrisley was naturally seated on the other side. I was sitting next to her to hear the story as well.
The rest of the spirits stared at our side.
"I’ll just say it once. We received information that the ‘Great Fire Essence’ would unexpectedly appear in the auction. The Great Fire Essence is one of the nine fires we worship, and was stolen from us thousands of years ago. And we assumed that the water spirits were the culprits who stole one of our nine fires. This is because the water spirits greatly expanded shortly after the fire was stolen.”
"Yet the stolen item showed up here.”
“That’s right. The fire gods will never cease to exist, but 20,000 years have passed already. Little by little, the power will weaken. ‘They’ intend to sell it here before it loses all its power! Indeed...it is unacceptable behaviour.”
“But only demons can contribute to the auction goods.”
“Bah! There is no rule that the water spirits can’t cooperate with demons. Just like you and your master coming to us. Maybe...you came directly here in order to manipulate us.”
At first glance, there was nothing wrong with their thoughts. There was a chance that water spirits could form an alliance with a demon in order to sell items at the auction.
But it was all without evidence. Even the part about who stole it was just a guess. What was the reason for the water spirits stealing it 20,000 years ago? Maybe it was because they were afraid...but no one could say for sure.
The same was true for the second part. It was ridiculous.
Chrisley also seemed to notice this.
"Once you start to suspect your surroundings, there will be no end to the doubts. I want to make one thing clear first. Who told you that information?”
“Dubolong said it. He told us that everything was in place for the sale of the Great Fire Essence.”
Dubolong. His name came out. I really couldn’t trust anyone.
Chrisley opened her mouth.
"Did the water spirits really do it?”
"Why else would they appear here?”
Chrisley closed her eyes for a moment.
She was thinking very hard after hearing the fragmented story.
Chrisley frowned and declared.
"I would like to hear more about the Great Fire Essence.”
“What do you want me to say? It is an eternal flame. One of the nine sacred flames. To be specific, the Great Fire Essence is in charge of ‘domination.’ Thanks to this power, the water spirits suddenly expanded their power.”
“......”
"Now, have you come to a conclusion? If not, we have to make a decision. We have to take care of the water spirits who tried to deceive us."
The man prompted. Chrisley sighed.
"The information is too fragmented. I need to know the story from the side of the water spirits. Unless you tell me more details, I won’t be able to solve it until I meet with the water spirits."
“Child, I can only tell you up to here. If you want to meet with the water spirits then I won’t stop you. I am certain we are right!”
There were more worries. After a moment, Chrisley asked cautiously.
"Perhaps...do you know someone called Arshilla?”
"How does a dark elf know that name? It is one of the ancient water spirits. I acknowledge their skills but they are already gone. They were a close aide to the Water Spirit King.”
Chrisley seemed to sense something and nodded.
“I understand. Then I will go meet with the water spirits.”
"Be warned. If this isn’t solved then it will be a full-scale war!”
Indeed, the fire spirits.
They were vigorous and valiant.
“...My Dungeon Master.”
Chrisley got up from the table and said to me. She seemed to want to say something. It would wait until we exited.
Suuk.
A man cried out as I got up.
“My name is Jives! The fire spirit Jives.”
His eyes were staring at me. He was looking at me with a strange expression. Jives had also been glancing at me in the middle of the story. It seemed he wanted a confrontation with another ‘powerhouse’...
“Randalph Brigsiel.”
I turned around and ignored him afterwards.
After moving a considerable distance from the room, Chrisley spoke.
"If my thoughts are right...the water spirits aren’t the culprits.”
"You seem certain.”
“Yes. It seems to be going in a good direction. Originally I had planned on using my father’s name to impress them...”
True Demonic Dragon Aojin.
A dragon could be called the incarnation of fire so it wasn’t strange to use him against the fire spirits. It would be enough to establish a relationship with them.
However, they had a problem and she had a lead to solve it.
“The Great Fire Essence. Its power is ‘domination’ and that won’t go away forever. I know someone who owns something similar. I don’t know if it is true, but it is very likely if it has shown up at this auction.”
“Who?”
“Pandemonium.”
Pandemonium?
I hadn’t expected that name to pop up here.
The question naturally formed in my mouth.
"Wasn’t it stolen thousands of years ago? Despite Pandemonium’s age, he certainly hasn’t lived for that long.
Age. He was the oldest among the grand dukes. But thousands of years was too long.
"To be exact...it was just after Okullos’ dungeon collapsed. As his dungeon was falling down, everyone except me turned away. I watched the dungeon while hiding my body. Then one day, I saw Pandemonium arrive and pull out a small fire essence.”
"That doesn’t make sense. How is it connected to Okullos?”
"That's right. The person who is truly connected...Contegonom.”
Contegonom was king of the yetis!
The name of the one who confronted me.
Thanks to the use of Corruption, I couldn’t remember the last part of my battle with Contegonom. However, I was convinced that I killed him.
Chrisley continued while I was still puzzled.
“Contegonom was king of the yetis. He stole the sacred fire. As a result, he became king of the yetis and ruled the continent as ‘king.’ However, yetis originally have the water attribute. Arshilla is the water spirit contracted with Contegonom. A contract must have been formed in order to use the power of the Great Fire Essence. Then things would fall into place.”
Tak.
I clapped my hands.
“A contract. There was a contract. But why don’t the fire spirits know about Contegonom?”
"The spirits don’t pay much attention to the Middle World. I wouldn’t have known these things if I hadn’t read a book about Contegonom written by Okullos. Furthermore, Contegonom only acted for a short time as king of the yetis. It was only 15 years. He only ruled the continent for a short time. His obsession...”
After I disappeared, Chrisley tried to investigate the reason behind it. Then she came across the story of Contegonom.
“Then the Great Fire Essence was left behind after Contegonom died and Pandemonium picked it up?”
“My Dungeon Master. That is my guess. I can make a more accurate judgement after meeting the water spirits.”
I touched my jaw.
I never expected that Contegonom’s name would pop up again.
But...it was strange. My stomach felt weird after hearing the name of the Great Fire Essence.
Duguen!
My heart also jumped.
It felt like there was a foreign substance in my stomach.
It hadn’t happened until now, but hearing Contegonom’s name made me feel nauseous.
“My Dungeon Master...what is it?”
“Nothing. Let's go."
I hadn’t eaten anything strange and it wasn’t painful. There was nothing that my transcendental body couldn’t digest.
It might be a mistaken feeling. I had been in many tense situations.
It was odd but I denied it.
I shook my head and kept moving.