DKIE CH89: Aftermath

As the Saintess was summarizing her defeat, Luka had already reached Quill’s side at top speed.

“Are you okay?”

Most of the mist threads in Quill’s hands were broken. The self-destruction of the old Demon King was no less powerful than a nuclear bomb.

Fortunately, the necromancer’s abilities allowed him to forcibly reverse-control at the last moment, successfully buying two seconds of movement time.

The backlash was severe. Two finger bones under his black gloves had shattered directly, and through the bloody hole in his chest, his internal organs were almost visible.

Facing Luka’s anxious expression, he pointed to his chest and forced a smile. “Doesn’t this look like the first time we met?”

‘Heart-to-heart.’

Luka’s final strike had consumed most of his magic, and his own condition wasn’t much better.

The hundred-patch robe had most of its scales damaged by the cold air released by the Tree of Life.

One was weakened to the extreme, the other was on the verge of having his heart exposed; it was indeed very similar to their first meeting.

Luka was so exasperated that he laughed. While his trembling hands tried to stop the bleeding, he cursed, “Still have the energy to think about this? Looks like you’re tough to kill.”

Tougher than him.

That one joke consumed most of his remaining strength.

The murky air in the sky gradually dispersed, and Quill’s field of vision grew narrower.

His fingers lost their previous dexterity. He rested his forehead against the crook of Luka’s neck and whispered, “I’m going to rest for a while.”

Just for a while.

Hearing what sounded like last words, Luka, while nervously healing him, warmly warned, “If you sleep and don’t wake up, I’ll host a large-scale online matchmaking show tomorrow.”

“Perhaps you’ve heard of If You Are the One?”

His speaking speed had never been so fast.

“The show will find a bunch of male and female guests, completely breaking traditional dating methods.”

Break tradition? A matchmaking show.

Quill couldn’t close his eyes in peace. “…”

He perked back up in an instant.

This scene, in the eyes of the enemy troops being cleared out, seemed exceptionally ironic.

To these races born on the Saint-Demon Continent, you tell them that a magically inferior child, with the help of a necromancer known for his brutal style, grew into a Grand Magus.

Although they had been together for less than a year, their love was real.

This wasn’t a fairy tale; it was a fantasy story.

That was why the Saintess, even at the end of her life, couldn’t accept reality.

What she didn’t know was that her line of thinking was correct. Alex had indeed tried to force Luka to sign a low-level blood contract.

However, the trajectory of fate is always unpredictable, just like love, which follows no logic or reason.

By now, the Saintess was a spent force. The power of the High Priest and other clergy was also waning along with the Tree of Life. The Elven King and the old monster who had rushed over immediately headed for the sky.

The demon generals were not a concern. The biggest threat remaining was one person—
The Demon King.

With three peerless experts attacking simultaneously, even the Demon King couldn’t resist.

That arrogant face was now somewhat ferocious.

Death meant little to him, but failing to kill two birds with one stone, and not even knowing where he went wrong, was what the Demon King could not accept.

He didn’t cast a defensive spell. His blood-red eyes darkened, and he tore open the shell of space as if skinning and deboning something.

“Don’t give him a chance to act!” The Elven King’s expression changed.

With the Demon King’s personality, he would definitely create a spatial self-destruction to drag them down with him.

Below, no one noticed the strange smile on a dying person’s lips.

The Saintess looked at the High Priest who had fallen down, her lips moving silently.

Before her power completely faded, two white figures simultaneously turned into lightning. One rushed towards the altar, the other towards the sky.

The elven elders were the first to notice the anomaly, and the arrows in their hands shot out straight.

On the other side, Luka saw it too, but he had no spare magic to chase them. To be safe, a portion of the elves were even guarding him and Quill to prevent a sneak attack.

“Something’s strange,” Luka recalled that when he had used the ball of faith light to bombard the altar earlier, he had successfully prevented the inscriptions from being activated, but the altar itself hadn’t shattered in the blast.

This was illogical.

One soldier, who was clearly brought by the Demon King, suddenly sent a telepathic message: “Stop him! That altar is the Holy Court’s backup plan against the Demon King. It’s definitely not simple.”

Luka didn’t have time to see who was notifying him, just as everything on the battlefield was happening in a flash.

Seeing that the situation was lost, the surrounding Holy Court soldiers all jumped into the altar. Their wails were horrifying to hear.

Time froze again for a short moment.

Under the sacrificial incantation, the Saintess’s body in the sky shattered violently. The white light she turned into scattered around the Demon King, protecting him from the time stop.

“Take the altar and go,” her tone was somewhat ferocious and venomous. “I want them all to pay the price.”

An echo of unwillingness drifted in the air. There was one more thing the Saintess didn’t say.

In the worst-case scenario, she wanted their family of three to be ‘reunited’ underground.

With that, her soul completely dissipated.

Seizing these few breaths of time, the Demon King forcefully tore open space and arrived beside the altar.

Just a few tenths of a second behind him, a ferret suddenly shot out from mid-air.

The Saint, worried about the Demon King’s spatial abilities, had specifically let the ferret lie in ambush. From a distance, it began to continuously spit out chess pieces.

Thwip thwip thwip thwip.

It was like a machine gun. Unfortunately, the Demon King had his back to it, so it couldn’t help Luka attack his weakest spot.

With no time to cast a defensive spell, the Demon King’s back and wings were mangled, the damage comparable to Luka’s.

This was probably the most pathetic moment of his life.

He didn’t pause for a moment. With a flap and a fold of his bloody wings, he took the altar and entered the spatial rift at the speed of light.

The instant the time stop ended, the Elven King’s beam of light followed closely behind. The spatial rift closed, and the Demon King’s figure vanished.

That tracking arrow was, in the end, half a beat too late.

The Elven King frowned.

“No need to feel regret,” the Saint’s expression was serious, but his tone was still gentle. “The aura on the chess pieces can’t be erased. We’ll find him sooner or later.”

His previous severe injuries were not something that could be healed in a short time.

He turned his gaze towards the Tree of Life.

The white frost in the sky was dissipating bit by bit. The space dominated by the Tree of Life was collapsing.

A death throes is the most terrifying. The two powerful tree souls were engaged in the most primitive, beastly struggle.

During this, a third of the Wisdom Tree’s area was frozen by frost. The Tree of Life, needless to say, had been shaved bald by Luka’s two sword strikes. Bald and much weaker.

Being completely devoured was only a matter of time.

The Saint said, “Absolving the undead and digesting the energy, the Wisdom Tree will probably need a considerable transition period to accomplish these two things.”

A rare joy appeared in the Elven King’s emerald eyes, and he nodded.

The wait was definitely worth it. Once the Wisdom Tree finished its absorption, it would be enough to support the elven race’s standing for the next thousand years.

A faint golden light suddenly appeared in the distance.

Where the golden light shone, a magic circle appeared under the feet of Luka, who had overdrawn his magic power.

There was no thunderous tribulation, no earth-shattering event. He was quietly leveling up, breaking through to become a true Legendary Grand Magus.

“…”

“The Wisdom Tree is feeding him back,” the old monster from the Boulder City saw what was happening.

It was more than just feeding back.

The Wisdom Tree’s intense power of faith was being channeled through the tree core it had gifted to Luka, helping him break through the most difficult barrier to becoming a Legendary Grand Magus.

Under the watchful eyes of several powerful experts, color finally returned to Luka’s cheeks.

A pharmacist was treating Quill.

Luka  stood up, his legs a bit wobbly. After confirming that Quill’s foundation wasn’t injured, he looked up and, without even a moment’s pause, rushed to the place where the Saintess had disappeared.

Only a shattered sword and clothes remained on the ground. Luka  tried to find their fragments, gathering them all together.

He looked so anxious, so helpless.

The Sage’s Sword, which should have instinctively devoured the Saintess’s remaining sword, was now uncharacteristically hovering quietly, gently patting the young man’s back as if to comfort him.

The old monster sighed, unable to bear watching the scene, and turned to pursue a fleeing prince.

Even though it came to a life-or-death struggle, the ties of blood cannot be severed. How could this child not be in pain, not be sad?

The Holy Court soldiers had self-sacrificed, and the demon generals had scattered like birds. In the distance, the human army could already be seen entering.

The Saint and the Elven King went over to try and help him find the Saintess’s remains.

Their faces clearly said: We’re here, don’t worry.

Luka didn’t look up. “Watch your step, don’t tread on them. They’re already hard enough to repair.”

Repair?

The Saintess had clearly used a sacrificial incantation at the end. Frankly, finding one or two bones would be a miracle. What was there to repair?

“Your mother’s remains…”

“The mandarin duck jade pendant,” Luka said, searching the ground for fragments like a scrap collector.

The mandarin duck jade pendant, the token of love heavily featured in My Demon King Father, allowed the wearers to sense each other’s location.

The Saintess had only self-annihilated, but her belongings were still around; they were just shattered.

If he could find the fragments, he could have the dwarves help repair it. Using it to find the Demon King would be much more specific and faster than tracking some aura.

The Saint, the Elven King, and the Sage’s Sword all fell silent.

Luka’s wings were severely damaged. He outsourced his filial piety: “Then I’ll have to trouble you all.”

Then he asked the pharmacist to check him over again, to make sure there were no hidden injuries.

“…”

You’ve already broken through to become a Legendary Grand Magus. You could kill a million bulls with one punch. What kind of injuries could you have?

Quill had regained some consciousness by now and was also worried. “What about mentally?”

They had forcefully severed the contract at the last moment. Although it was an equal contract, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Luka: “That’s right, please check both of us.”

The high-level pharmacist’s mouth twitched. “I can swear to the heavens, you are both in excellent mental health.”

Only then did Luka relax. Finally, he used a recording stone to document the places where the Saintess disappeared and the The Demon King vanished. “While the hype is still fresh, I’ll do a reprint of My Demon King Father.”

The copyright fees would be sent to the fallen soldiers. It could be considered a form of filial piety, helping his mother’s spirit in heaven do some good deeds.

Quill said nothing, just looked at him with an expression that said you’re too kind.

The pharmacist, at any rate, couldn’t stand it anymore and flew away from the two of them.

Spring was almost over, and the Holy City welcomed a true melting of the ice and snow.

Light descended from the sky. After countless years, sunlight finally shone on this space again.

In the distance, the once magnificent Holy Court was now just ruins. The army was doing the final cleanup, and the Tree of Life was now no thicker than a pillar.

The blood of the corpses on the ground had spread out. The wounded were being carried away for treatment. The magical beasts and the newly arrived Dylan were communicating in their unique language. Nearby, General Carol was reporting the casualties from the earlier inner court battle to the Saint.

There was no shortage of things to do after the war.

As everyone dispersed, Luka, in a moment of solitude, looked at the scene, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.

The potion applied to his wings was starting to work, bringing a stinging pain. He came back to his senses and remembered the demon soldier who had warned him.

The soldier hadn’t been purged. Instead, he swaggered over. “Good day, Your Excellency.”

As the disguise was removed, his identity was revealed.

This was the demon who had first belonged to Lilian, then to the Saint, and had recently successfully infiltrated the soldiers brought by the prince, acting as a triple agent.

Luka gave him a deep look, for the first time feeling genuine admiration for a demon, and asked casually:

“Have you seen Lilian recently?”

“The young lady is busy recording the glorious deeds of the soldiers.” Only by being recorded can one be remembered.

Luka nodded. His wings were both painful and itchy, the itch seeming to travel from the roots into his lungs.

He coughed lightly and said, “Go find the inner-field soldiers with recording stones. Edit it into a documentary later.”

Those who should be remembered will be remembered. Those who should be nailed to the pillar of shame will be nailed.

There were many people to interview. The reporter quickly went off to get busy elsewhere.

Quill was still sitting on the ground, one leg bent. He was conscious, but love hadn’t yet given him the strength to stand and walk.

Luka took the initiative to sit beside him, looking up at the sky, enjoying a moment of sunlight.

It was a racial instinct.

Quill hadn’t missed the sun during his long time buried underground, but sitting side by side now, for the first time, he used the word “beautiful” to describe it.

“With the Demon King defeated, you will soon become the new backbone of the demon realm.”

Quill turned his face, his pale eyes holding a trace of gentleness. “Relying on the fame of felling the Tree of Life with your sword, a continuous stream of faith from those who admire strength will gather towards you.”

Becoming a god was just a matter of time.

Luka didn’t say much, just gently took his sunken, bony hand, and they basked in the sunlight together.
…

So much had happened that day. Luka was already exhausted when people were still arriving one after another.

The first to arrive at the main battlefield were the medical personnel, followed by more front-line reporters.

The Saint did not block the reporting, having the army dispatch special personnel to proactively engage and answer some questions.

In the following days, the media for the first time detailed the dark side of the Holy Court. The intern priests also came forward one by one to recount how the Holy Court had tried to get them to participate in a plan to incite self-destruction.

The Holy Court had accumulated power for a long time. In the past, if such things were exposed, there would have been no shortage of people coming out to whitewash and refute. Now, the approval was almost one-sided.

The literary youths on the Spark platform even dug up previous statements, proving their foresight.

The topic #BreakTheGods# once again topped the hot search list.

As Luka had hoped, the remnants of the old powers couldn’t rally any support. Even if they wanted to raise the banner of restoring the Holy Court, they couldn’t find many willing to answer the call.

News reporters from all races scrambled to interview and report on this war of the century. Both the human high command and the elves praised Luka endlessly.

“A Million-Mile Journey to Scatter the Holy Court’s Main Force”, “The Demeanor of the Ancestor of Humanity, Felling the Tree of Life with Two Strikes”, “Relationship Confirmed! On-site Footage of Hand-in-Hand Moment”…

They were supposed to be filming a war documentary, but a soldier had deliberately taken a close-up, capturing the final hand-holding scene.

Along with the relationship gossip, another piece of news began to spread like wildfire: the mysterious man dating Luka  was suspected to be history’s greatest loser—Alex!

Since no high-level official had given a direct response, the authenticity of this matter could not yet be confirmed.

There was much discussion among the common people. Due to the necromancer’s proficiency in manipulation and being a race that specifically targeted souls, most people only dared to grumble internally.

Despite this, related, veiled search terms continued to cycle on the hot search list.
#TheOneAndOnlyMan#
#TheContinentalShadowReturns#
#RealOrFake#

On the other hand, since the demon ore incident was not yet fully resolved, after a short rest of less than half a week, Luka got up again to get busy with his work.

He first discussed the distribution of post-war resources with the Saint, then immediately took a beast-drawn carriage with Quill back to the demon realm.

The griffin flew high in the sky. Quill’s bones were recovering well. Leaning against the carriage wall, he played with a misty ball of energy in his hand.

“The negative energy coming in now is even more than when the internet was lagging.”

Luka was very calm upon hearing this. “It’s normal for people to have a meltdown over a celebrity’s relationship.”

He had to admit, the timing of the news leak was perfect.

With the collapse of the Holy Court’s power, the public’s sense of the inviolability of authority was being eroded by the rise of the internet.

“Tolerance is born from comparison.” The Holy Court could do all sorts of shameful things. In contrast, the sense of crisis brought by a necromancer who advocated for war in the past was not as significant.

Luka suddenly realized that Alex had once been dedicated to unifying the continent by force. Besides reaching a certain level of strength, emotions like disgust, fear, and dread were probably the nutrients he needed for his cultivation.

Just as he was about to turn his head to confirm, he found that the turbid energy in Quill’s hand was expanding.

The birds flying nearby sensitively dodged. After seeing too many comments wishing for their breakup, Quill’s killing intent began to rise.

“What on earth are they dissatisfied about?”

Strictly speaking, Luka had only starred in two movies. As for God of Forging, his screen time was only a few minutes.

His nationwide attention was mostly due to his role in connecting the internet and the demon script profession. When faced with some very unpleasant comments, Quill naturally felt they were being unreasonable.

Luka  was thinking about how to change the subject when Quill suddenly pulled a polite smile.

“What do you think would happen if I directly announced my cultivation secret?”

Luka was startled. “What?”

“Tell them I can use negative emotions to become stronger.”

“…Those who wish for our breakup will all become the foundation of my ascension to godhood. They get angry, then have to remind themselves not to be angry, otherwise they’ll benefit me twice. But disgust comes from the heart and cannot be controlled by will, so they still have to rage impotently. In the end…”

Quill reached out his hand and intertwined his fingers with Luka’s. “…they can only watch us hold hands on the other shore, both becoming gods.”

Luka: “…”

Stop it.

Even the most toxic solo stans don’t deserve this!

Excerpt from Quill’s Diary:

Casually changed my community signature: Every moment of opposition is paving the way for our eternity.

Visitor: Luka’s diary entries are all about his career, how come yours are all about romance? [question mark]

The Demon King doesn’t have much of a role left, no need to pay him any mind [wicked smile] The main thing is there’s still one plot point to resolve, he serves as a catalyst for becoming a god. The next two chapters will deal with some unfinished business first—randomly dropping one hundred celebratory red packets [red heart]

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