Detective in Another World: Solving Crimes with Necromancer System-Chapter 104: Demon King

It wasn’t long before the East Gate rose ahead of them. Massive stone archways curved from either side, holding a pair of massive gates that were already broken. Edward urged his horse forward; the closer he got, the louder the faint hum from the ritual array became.

At the gate, the elves had formed a line. Their longbows worked overtime, sending endless waves of arrows toward the ritual location. Edward’s breath caught at the sight. He hadn’t expected to see them here, in the human capital, and yet, their presence carried a strange comfort, a reminder that they had allies in this fight.

"What is going on here?" Edward finally asked as he approached close enough. There was a moment of hesitation in the elven faces at first, as if debating whether he was an ally or an enemy, until one of them called out, one that he knew quite well.

"Edward?" Elarien’s voice echoed from behind the rows of elves. She pushed forward, stepping toward him with a surprised expression on her pale face.

"Elarien? What’s going on? How are you here?" he asked.

The elven girl blinked a couple of times, her gaze shifting to Seraphine for a moment before turning back to him and replying. "We received news of the king’s passing and Auren’s actions, but we didn’t expect to find this..." she said, her gaze moving toward the massive fracture in the sky.

"Then... Arthur and Aeris?"

"They already went inside, looking to stop this thing alongside our frontline."

Edward’s stomach twisted, his fist clenched at his side to stay composed.

Edward’s stomach twisted at the words. Though he had expected as much, he hated to see anyone close to him near that thing. His fists clenched as he tried his best to stay composed before turning to Seraphine.

"Stay here with Elarien, I’m gonna go in alone."

"What? No! I need to-"

"Please, just listen to me," he said, cutting her protest short.

The girl stared at him speechless for a couple of moments before leaning over from her horse and pulling him in for a kiss. "Come back safely," she said.

"I will," he replied before turning toward the gate.

The streets of the capital were desolate.

Shops were set on fire, shutters torn from their hinges, and the occasional shadow-creature skittered from the alleyways. Edward kept his senses sharp, hurrying his horse toward the ritual. The oppressive hum of the ritual above sent shivers down his spine as he rode.

Finally, as he took the last and final corner, he saw it. The main square was covered by a ritual array which pulsed in a rhythm that seemed to fasten with each moment. The three keys were now in the middle of some sort of merge, each stretched toward the others.

At the front of the array, he saw elves battle the Crimson Oath forces, and at their sides were his two companions, Arthur and Aeris.

For a moment, he felt a faint smile curve across his face, but that expression was quickly wiped as a new figure caught his attention.

It was massive and almost formless, hovering a few meters above the array. It had dark smoke for a body, eyes like coals, energy thrumming in waves that made the ground tremble. Edward froze. Every fibre of his being screamed at him, but he forced his legs to move.

At the centre of the square, beneath the Keys, stood Auren.

The moment Edward saw him, a chill ran down his spine. There was something about Auren’s eyes that he hadn’t seen before. The way they were fixed on the formless figure, the quiet determination in there, sent shivers down his spine.

"My liege!" Auren suddenly called out, dropping to his knees as the formless figure descended toward him. "Take me as a vessel! Show this world the might of the Demon King!"

The formless shadow stirred at Auren’s plea.

For a suffocating second, nothing happened.

Then it lunged.

It struck him like a collapsing wave, slamming into his body and forcing his head back. Auren’s jaw wrenched open far wider than it should have, a broken gasp tearing from his throat as black vapour poured into his mouth. It did not flow gently. It forced its way inside.

His veins darkened instantly.

Thin lines of black spread beneath his skin like fractures in porcelain, racing up his neck, across his face, down his arms. His fingers spasmed violently, curling inward until his nails bit into his palms hard enough to draw blood.

The smoke pushed in through his nose next, then his ears. Auren’s scream built in his chest, raw and animalistic, but it was smothered as more shadow flooded into him, choking the sound before it could escape.

His spine arched back with a sickening crack.

For a moment, he stood balanced only on his heels, body bent in an impossible curve as though something inside him was stretching him beyond human limits. The stone beneath his feet fractured in sharp bursts, cracks spiderwebbing across the ritual array.

At the same time, the three keys connected and a sudden, final crack cut through the air.

Edward’s attention snapped toward the sky, only to look back toward Auren and find something else standing there entirely.

Instead of the villainous man he once knew, there stood a figure wrapped in black armour, its greathelm covering its entire face. only a pair of gleaming crimson eyes escaping the dark metal. By its side was a longsword made of the very same black metal, decorated with intricate engravings that pulsed faintly with a crimson hue.

Edward staggered. The moment his gaze turned toward that dark figure, a heavy presence settled over the entire city. Most soldiers, both elven and human, simply dropped to their knees, taking ragged gasps, trying to force oxygen into their lungs.

Only he, Aeris and Arthur managed to stay on foot, though each of them was struggling to keep balance under the pressure.

"Millenniums of wait..." Demon King’s voice boomed through the city, "...but now, this world will bow before me."

Just as the Demon King finished speaking, Edward arrived at the side of his two companions. Their brows raised at his sudden arrival, but with how dire their situation was, there was no time for a warm reunion, only a quiet recognition of what was ahead of them.

At the same moment, beside Edward, his two summons materialised. Each, fully recovered after their last battle, each ready for whatever was to come next.

Demon King’s eyes swept across the city square until their crimson gaze landed on them.

For a second, it simply stared before suddenly vanishing and reappearing in front of them, his sword mid swing.