Book Eater

Chapter 311: Nastrond’s Demon King (1)

Theo’s expression stiffened before he could feel any pleasure at Pluto’s Palace being destroyed.

It was because he heard a word that shouldn’t be said.

The evil dragon, Nídh?ggur! The name of the amethyst that Gluttony swallowed was Nídh?ggur’s Bloodstone, and the message that said the evil dragon was aware of Theo’s presence was eerie. Above all, Nídh?ggur was the demon king of Nastrond, an external dimension adjacent to this material world.

A long time ago, Theo read a prophecy related to him in a book in the library.

Remote from the sun,?

On the shore of corpses,?

Venom drops through holes in the roof.?

The backbone of the snake is woven into the frame.?

The deceitful, murderers, and adulterers are gathered.?

Nídh?ggur devours their bodies.?

Wolves tear at the wreckage.?

Do you still seek to know?

They were horrifying sentences that described a hell that didn’t permit the entrance of the living and killed the sinners. However, Hell was mellow compared to Nastrond. Hell was a Buddhist place where, after punishment, the sinners would receive enlightenment and be reincarnated. It might be painful, but it was a place to rehabilitate sinners and wasn’t meaningless.

But the sinners who fall into Nastrond are said to have their souls captured in the abyss and that they would suffer for a long time.

Theo couldn’t argue about the dualism of good and evil with an infinite dimensional world, but he could say one thing. Nastrond was a dimension based on evil, and Nídh?ggur was the demon king on top of such malevolence. Theo couldn’t even imagine that this demon king and Jerem were in a contractual relationship.

- All the lacking puzzle pieces have been collected.

In contrast, Gluttony seemed to be rather pleased.

- The capacity of the warlock, Jerem, was high, but it wasn’t at the level to write a grimoire and restore his soul. It is appropriate to think that someone supported him.

Theo asked, “That supporter was Nídh?ggur?”

- It is more like a patron than a supporter. In general, a transcendent like Nídh?ggur rarely cares about mortals in other dimensions, but he likes eating people.

Eating people?

Theo made a strange expression and Gluttony answered.

- Nídh?ggur’s true nature is about necrophilia.

“... What?!” Theo let out a horrified exclamation.

Gluttony added in a seemingly mocking tone.

- Of course, that desire is limited by his appetite, but he enjoys collecting and eating dead bodies. That is why, since time immemorial, he frequently has associations with cruel tyrants, slavers, and necromancers.

A demon that transcended life... As a peak existence among transcendents, Nídh?ggur had no need to eat or breed. Yet the demon still ate purely out of a desire to consume. He wanted to do it. Nídh?ggur liked corpses because they were his favorite food. He chewed on the worthless bodies of humans, who had enjoyed harmful alcohol and cigarettes, and he enjoyed the taste.

“If he helped Jerem write Death’s Worship, is it a plan to obtain bodies to eat?”

- Well, I guess so. For him, the struggles in this world are just a cooking process. He chose a warlock who can fill his table in a larger and more luxurious manner.

“... A genocide for gourmet purposes. I feel sick.”

The horror faded away, and rage filled the void. Theo had seen a lot of ugliness in his life. Robbery for the sake of money, men of power being swayed by lust... Humanity’s history of struggle had always come about through greedy hearts. Theo didn’t deny it. Humans were born with desire, and it was their choice and responsibility to restrain or wield it.

But I can’t accept this.

It wasn’t enough that people were killed overnight without knowing why, but after death, they had to suffer forever in a world worse than hell. This was what being eaten by Nídh?ggur meant. Nídh?ggur was an unforgivable evil that pushed life to the edges of the cliff. If he descended, many lives in the material world would fall down to hell.

“I have to go to Elvenheim.”

It was too late to chase after Jerem. Theo’s movements were too inefficient compared to someone who had been planning this for a long time. He would rather arrive at the destination and defend the world tree. It wasn’t the best choice, but it was second best. Theo made a decision after listening to the advice of several great men.

Veronica interrupted, “I understand the current situation. Theo?”

Theo turned to her. “Huh?”

She was looking at the horizon, “I think it will be difficult to stay here any longer.”

Theo looked in the direction she was indicating and gave a long sigh. Undead were flooding in like a swarm of ants. Was it because the core of Pluto’s Palace had disappeared? Initially, the low-level undead hadn’t been able to get near the magic circle. This changed after Gluttony ate the core.

The two magicians looked at each other and rose through the ceiling.

Kwaaaang!

Theo and Veronica plowed through several layers of marble and quickly left the building. The magic circle was gone, so the building could no longer be an obstacle. Theo looked at the bodies on the ground and realized one difference from earlier.

... They are getting weaker. It isn’t enough to disappear in a day or two, but they might self-destruct within a month.

The magic circle disappearing was to blame for that. An infection type undead couldn’t recharge its body unless it received power from outside. It had to eat other living creatures or get a supply of magic power from somewhere. Most of the undead in Lairon were of the latter case. They were now losing power because their power source had suddenly disappeared. Most of the senior undead had been killed by the two magicians, and the lower undead would collapse before crossing the border.

“Let’s go to Soldun.” Theo shook off his thoughts and moved.

The two magicians in red robes shot through the sky above the divine king’s palace. The ruined city and church of Lairon was below them. It was the last of the Lairon Kingdom.

***

The capital of the Soldun Kingdom, Arundel.

It had been a year or so since the Elsid Civil War, but the inner city had regained its former vigor. The kingdom was clearly recuperating from the damage it had sustained. People laughed as they talked, while the merchants were busy raising their voices to solicit customers.

Arundel enjoyed a boom after a long time as they received honored guests.

“It has been a while, Sir Theo.” Elsid had the look of a king as he spoke first. He didn’t know how to treat one of the main contributors in the civil war, an important character in the alliance and one of the leading magicians on this continent. “You have reached a higher level since the last time I saw you. It is a joyous thing. I’m sorry for my carelessness in not congratulating you earlier.”

"It isn’t a problem, Your Majesty. Your words are enough,” Theo accepted the praise and looked around at the nobles in the room, indicating that he didn’t want to talk in front of them.

It wasn’t difficult for Elsid to notice, so he quickly dismissed everyone with a wave. He knew that if Theo tried to kill him, there was no way to stop it. “Everybody leave. I will talk with Sir Theo.”

“B-But Your Majes...”

Elsid’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t tolerate any objections. Or will you be responsible for the consequences? You can stay here if you say you are willing.”

Once the word responsibility was mentioned, none of the nobles wanted to stay. Veronica hadn’t accompanied him to the throne room, so only Theo and Elsid remained in the room once the nobles were gone. Elsid looked around the room and laughed. The nobles had fled like rabbits before a fox.

Elsid mused, “I don’t know if they are quick-witted or have no guts.”

Theo smiled. “Isn’t it both?”

“Hahahaha! Sir Theo’s words are correct.”

However, this didn’t mean that Soldun’s domestic affairs were a mess. The trustworthy nobles were heavily active outside the capital, while Elsid guarded the ones he couldn’t believe in. Unlike the kings of other kingdoms, Soldun’s king was in a completely superior position. After the collapse of Duke Cornwall and his cronies, the nobles were almost destroyed. The ones who remained were those loyal to the royal family, like Marquis Piris. The situation had completely reversed.

Elsid laughed for a while before asking, “As I recall, you aren’t someone who likes empty courtesies. I will cut to the chase. What is going on?”

“It is a long story, but I will try to cut it down as much as possible.”

Elsid didn’t speak while Theo gave a long explanation. He talked about the destruction of the Lairon Kingdom and the presumed cause. The story lasted for over two hours. However, Elsid’s concentration wasn’t disturbed at all as he listened to Theo’s words.

“... Hmm.” Elsid gave a heavy groan and leaned back on his throne. His heart was heavy from hearing the news. “I didn’t know that such a big thing was happening. For the moment, I will follow your advice and move troops to the western and northern borders. Do you think it will be appropriate to station them for one month?”

“Let’s do two months just in case. My calculations might not be correct.”

If he couldn’t believe the counsel of a great magician, who could he believe? Elsid nodded in agreement without hesitation. He would reorganize the position of the troops so that they could move at any time to the northwest where Lairon was located. Elsid could hide the real purpose and simply move the troops under the pretense of training.

After Elsid came to this decision, Theo left the palace. The situation wasn’t leisurely enough for him to enjoy a dinner with the king.

“Theo.” Veronica was waiting outside the palace and hooked her arm in his. “Why didn’t you talk about Nídh?ggur?”

They had been far away. but Veronica had heard the conversation between Theo and Elsid. Theo replied calmly, “It is hard to obtain cooperation, and it probably won’t be much use anyway.”

“Oh, Theo is cold.”

“I’m not trying to ignore Soldun. The opponent is so strong that it would be useless drawing in Austen, Kargas, or even the entire central part of the continent.”

It was cold but true. Austen’s sword master, Mujak, wasn’t a match for one of the Four Horsemen. The same was true for Marquis Fergana of Soldun. If the number of troops increased, they would each just be one more body to become part of the enemy’s puppets.

When dealing with necromancers, they shouldn’t take an excessive number of people.

An elementalist who can support from a distance without becoming a corpse will be less burdensome. Are the elves the ‘squirrels that repay the favor’ from the prophecy?

Theo moved toward where Randolph was waiting. Once they met up, the group would return to Meltor. Then he would lead the elves and recruit people to participate in the defense of Elvenheim. The tasks were piling up, and the situation of the enemy was unclear.

“Okay, let’s try it,” Theo said as he clenched his fists, “If that damn dragon sees us as food, I will treat him to the worst meal ever!”

With that, Theo declared war against the evil dragon, Nastrond’s demon king, Nídh?ggur, that even the transcendents from the Age of Mythology feared.