NOVEL WEB Chapter 74
After the meeting, my father and the Nameless Captain joined me in the Reception Room, along with Balamir Blacos, the head of the Royal Guard, and a woman who looked quite stern.
With these four, I headed toward the Forbidden Library.
Yurasia had to wait in the Reception Room since she didn’t have permission, and the Emperor couldn’t join us due to another schedule.
When we arrived at the Forbidden Library…
“…Huh.”
It was surprisingly ordinary.
It looked just like a storage room filled with useless junk—an actual garbage dump.
Of course, I hadn’t been inside yet, so I couldn’t know for sure, but from the outside, it certainly resembled a dump.
This could be the secrets of the Empire… or perhaps, the secrets of this world, yet they left it so shabby?
Maybe the Forbidden Library is more important than the Treasure House?
As I stood there, staring blankly at the door, the stern-looking woman stepped forward.
“Those who enter the Forbidden Library are the Nameless Captain, Sir Balamir Blacos, and the honorable Lady Eliaernes Eustetia.”
Then she pulled out a transparent key that looked like it was made of glass from her pocket.
Clink!
She inserted it into the air.
And then.
Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom—
A massive barrier unfurled from where she inserted the key, emitting a light so grand it could blind you if you stared at it directly, showcasing another barrier behind it.
The barriers clicked together with a clink, clink.
“…Wow.”
The scenery changed.
The door that looked like a garbage dump vanished, replaced by a massive door that looked priceless—you couldn’t even put a price tag on it.
It was studded with every gem in existence and made of such rare metal that even I couldn’t help but marvel, reinforced with a barrier that seemed impossible to create with current magic.
Standing before that door, the stern woman scanned the majestic entrance and said lightly:
“I will now open the door.”
This time, it was a different key.
While the last one was a transparent blue key, this one was a transparent platinum key.
The key was inserted into the center of the door.
Simultaneously, whoosh— light burst forth, and the key vanished.
And then.
Boom—
The door opened.
“Holy…”
The scenery that unfurled was absolutely… truly astonishing.
The library I had seen in the system was now dwarfed, feeling like a neighbor’s shabby house in comparison to this enormous interior.
It was so massive, I wondered if it might even be bigger than the Academy or the Imperial Palace.
And within this vast space, books were lined up seamlessly.
There were no bookshelves.
They were just hanging in the air.
Different colors, sizes, and shapes; it was a scene you could call a work of art.
Gulp. I swallowed my saliva while gazing at the stern-looking woman.
Sensing my eagerness to enter, she nodded and said, “You have a limit of 4 hours. There are no restrictions on reading, so please feel free to browse.”
“Um… how do I find the book I want with so many?”
“Just touch the crystal sphere in the center, and think of the keywords you desire. It will be transmitted to the nearest platform.”
“Wow…”
“However, all the books matching that keyword will be sent all at once, so you’ll need to search for the one you want among them.”
“Oh… I understand.”
I couldn’t help but be amazed.
Four hundred years ago, such technology didn’t even exist—who in the world could have created this?
I originally thought four hours would be really short; I figured I’d spend over three hours just searching for the book I wanted.
But now, they could find my desired book directly and even transmit it?
Well, with flying Magic Towers outside, I suppose something like this isn’t impossible.
“I will start the countdown as soon as the door closes. If you are ready, you can go in whenever.”
I nodded and turned to my father, who stood behind me.
“I’ll be back.”
“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
My father seemed to smile but also looked a bit worried.
I glanced at him briefly and then stepped forward with a smile.
“Yes, Dad.”
*
Thud. The door closed behind me, leaving only me, the Nameless Captain, and Balamir in the Forbidden Library.
The thoughts of the Nameless Captain were still hidden behind his mask, and Balamir’s face showed a strange wariness.
Huff…
I exhaled briefly and placed my hand on the crystal.
[Please think of the keyword you wish to search for.]
A gender-neutral voice echoed in my head.
Without hesitation, I thought of the keyword.
What I was most curious about right now.
‘Ronan Luzarack.’
[Ronan Luzarack. Confirmed.]
As the voice finished, swish—ten or so books appeared on the nearby platform.
[If you wish to retrieve them, please place your hand on the crystal and think of the word “retrieve.”]
“…Oh.”
I glanced at the books that had been rapidly sent over.
Each was a different thickness.
The cover colors and titles were all different.
Among them, the most striking title caught my eye.
[Fortress of Storms.]
[Imperial Weapon Master.]
[The Butcher.]
[Arch-Enemy of the Demon Race.]
[Blood Demon.]
“Haha… Hehe, ho.”
This is it.
This is it!!
This is me!!
Not that damn Martial Artist Ronan!!
These incredible titles are ME!!!!
I wanted to scream out all the frustrations I had built up, but I couldn’t.
There were only two people watching, after all.
It would be quite awkward if I acted crazily in front of those two…
At least they couldn’t see my face, so I could smirk a bit—if they were right beside me, it’d be a disaster.
I wore a smile so bright it could’ve been called manic.
After soaking in the satisfaction of those titles for a while…
A book with a strangely silly title caught my eye.
[Survey on Hero Party Appearance Rankings.]
…I want to read it.
But, wait… do I really need to?
The number one spot is already set.
Naturally, it’s me, Ronan Luzarack.
There’s no dispute. If you argue, I’ll cut out your tongue.
So, there’s really no need to read it.
The same goes for the other books.
Honestly, I’m curious but…
There’s not enough time to read them all now.
I’m sure there’s a book among these that explains why I became ‘Ronan the Martial Artist,’ but it’s not worth reading right now.
I just need to know that my history hasn’t completely vanished.
There has to be some reason.
What that reason is, I don’t know, but I confirmed that Arisa didn’t maliciously turn me into a Martial Artist.
Retrieve.
Swish. I wished to retrieve all the books, and they vanished.
Then I thought of the next keyword.
‘Truce, Hero Party, Whereabouts.’
Thud, thud, thud.
Three books were transmitted.
[Return of the Battle God.]
For some reason, our real names weren’t mentioned anywhere, but I could still recognize it.
The Battle God is Arisa’s alias.
And I learned about her return from Flora.
Next was.
[Seal of the Demon King.]
And then.
[Revival of the Legion Commander.]
“…Huh.”
I was starting to have doubts…
The revival of the Legion Commander.
Rubbing my throbbing temples, I picked up the book titled [Revival of the Legion Commander].
I didn’t have time to carefully read it.
I needed to flip through quickly, stuffing the necessary information into my mind.
Fortunately, Lady Eliaernes Eustetia, my mind is very sharp right now.
I can’t show any reaction after reading.
I shouldn’t give away the fact that I know something.
Steeling myself, I turned the pages.
“Damn it…”
I couldn’t hold back my curses right from the first page.
[The first resurrection was the Legion Commander, Krahal of Gluttony.]
[However, it is not the resurrection of Krahal himself.]
[A demon possessing the powers of Krahal has appeared.]
Krahal of Gluttony was the first demon lord we defeated.
Krahal of Gluttony.
His power is the Gluttonous Chalice.
This power absorbs the souls of living beings—both human and demon—and stores them as extra lives.
And he can release them all at once to elevate his powers to the limit.
This was the exact method a half-demon used in the labyrinth.
It took us fifteen days to kill him. We didn’t sleep for those fifteen days, drinking blood instead of water and eating dust instead of food.
And we killed him.
We burned his body with Luna’s sacred fire, and the remaining traces were completely erased from this world through Kaloso’s dimensional magic.
And now, a demon with Krahal’s power has appeared.
But this doesn’t qualify as a resurrection.
There must be a reason they’re calling it resurrection.
Gathering my thoughts, I gritted my teeth and turned the pages.
And I found it.
[That demon’s nature changed over time.]
[Speech, actions, voice, appearance, even magic, all became similar to Krahal.]
[This nameless demon was originally intermediate but, in just three years, surpassed the upper tiers and reached the position of Legion Commander.]
[Now, that nameless demon claims the name of Krahal of Gluttony.]
[Based on this research, it seems the identity of demons changes based on their powers.]
When Krahal died, the Gluttonous Chalice vanished.
No, to say it vanished is incorrect—it turned to ashes.
I saw it with my own eyes, as did Paulo, Luna, Arisa, and Kaloso; we witnessed its destruction.
Yet, now that chalice has reappeared.
When Krahal died,
Did the Demon King retrieve it?
If so… did Krahal store his soul in it at the last moment?
“…No.”
That’s not all.
Soul storage.
It’s not just Krahal’s soul stored in there.
“Ugh…”
The souls of the other three Legion Commanders we killed.
Their souls could be stored in that chalice as well.
No, I’m certain of it.
With my eyes tightly shut, I suppressed the boiling anger.
I felt like I was about to crush my teeth.
Krahal’s appearance was sudden.
At that time, we weren’t going to kill Krahal.
We had been preparing to kill Labyrinth instead.
We were searching for traces of the dragon eating its own tail and tearing apart its lair.
But what we found there was Krahal.
Thus, we had an unexpected battle with him and ended up killing Krahal.
But…
I couldn’t help but think it might have been part of a scheme.
Perhaps we were merely walking a predetermined path laid out by the Demon King’s grand design.
Such a damnable thought.
Was it predetermined that we would lose from the beginning?
“…This is bullst.”
I bit my tongue to return to my senses.
I shook off that sinking thought, opening my eyes.
Thoughts can come later.
Right now, I need to extract information.
Exhaling deeply, I swiftly turned the pages in search of critical information.
[Revival of the Legion Commander, Luxrina of Lust.]
[Revival of the Legion Commander, Gulaka of Gluttony stopped.]
[Revival of the Legion Commander, Ankanius of Envy stopped.]
[The offering for resurrection is a pure human with pure mana.]
[Finally, the demon race seems to have found a way to break the seal of the Demon King.]
I focused on the last line I read.
[What the Sage managed to momentarily create was known as the first element, the Fifth Element.]
[Akasha.]
[If they complete it, the demon race believes they can achieve everything they desire.]
The Sage is Kaloso Behrhaigen.
And he couldn’t complete Akasha.
For the first time, I acknowledged it.
That it’s impossible to achieve with his own power.
And so, he gave up.
However, even now…
The demon race is plotting the resurrection of the Demon King.
They might even be planning to sit on his throne themselves.
To do that, they need to complete Akasha.
How could they achieve what the most outstanding magician, that fking bastard Kaloso, couldn’t?
Kaloso Behrhaigen.
Behrhaigen.
At that moment.
“…Stella Behrhaigen.”
The missing pieces in my mind clicked into place.
It’s not the Dark Mage.
The demons are targeting Stella.