Breakers Chapter 148:

Chapter 148 – Chapter 28: Demon King

The contents of the invitation didn’t change even though he read it again .  The sender was the demon king, and the time was tomorrow morning . The place was the residence of the demon king, called the Black Castle .  

Carack received the invitation from In-gong, and his eyes widened with surprise .  

“P-prince?” 

In-gong had just handed Carack something very serious . This was a natural reaction when it came to anything related to the demon king .  

The demon king—the apex of the Demon World, and the strongest person in the Demon World .  

He had called out to In-gong . This time, it wouldn’t be a public place like the court gathering . According to the invitation, it was an informal meeting .  The other person was the demon king, and this fact preceded their relationship of father and son .  

‘This is the first time . ’ 

An informal meeting with the demon king was something he had never experienced in Knight Saga . In other words, Zephyr was never invited in this way .  

In-gong wondered why the demon king had called him .  Why had he done such a disruptive thing at each court gathering? 

In-gong took a deep breath, and many possibilities passed through his mind . The first thing he thought about was the Four Knights of the Apocalypse .  

In-gong had reported that Gerard had been the Famine Knight . The reason In-gong had been able to find out the specific word, ‘Famine’, was because Gerard had said it himself .  

In the cases of Death and War, it was a little more ambiguous .  

Gerard had been the Famine Knight and had the power of Famine . There seemed to be a commonality between the power of those with the purple aura and the red power which the barbarian king had used . Additionally, the barbarian king had said the word ‘War’ .  

The keyword ‘Death’ hadn’t been said, but this was enough . If the Demon King’s Palace had information on the Four Knights of the Apocalypse, it would be easy for them to make the connection .  

Did the demon king want a more specific report? Or had he realized In-gong was the Conquest Knight? Maybe it could be both . There might also be a reason which In-gong couldn’t guess . It could truly just be a father and son dialogue .  

‘That is hard to imagine . ’ 

Anyhow, the invitation had arrived, and there was no such thing as a veto . He could only accept the invitation .  

“Brace yourself . ” 

Carack said with a serious expression . In-gong laughed bitterly and asked Flora, 

“Flora, who brought the invitation?” 

“It was a knight of the royal guards who was wearing a black cloak . ” 

The classification in the Demon King’s Palace could be determined based on the colour of their cloaks . Among the knights, only the guards of the demon king could wear black cloaks .  

“As expected from the demon king’s invitation . ” 

Carack said with admiration . In-gong nodded .  

“Yes . ” 

The leader of the guards was Reinhardt, one of the five captains . He was a yaksha and didn’t belong to any of the factions .  

‘The Silent Reinhardt . He is a good **** of the demon king . ’ 

In Knight Saga, he had always been a difficult opponent to face .  After thinking about Reinhardt for a bit, In-gong looked at Flora and said, 

“Flora, keep this invitation a secret . ” 

“I will do so . ” 

Flora agreed without asking why . It was natural behaviour as a butler .  

Carack blinked and asked, 

“Prince, are you not going to even tell the princess?” 

He was referring to Felicia more than Caitlin . In-gong slightly shrugged and said, 

“She will only worry about it . ” 

It would be nice to talk to Felicia who was his political adviser, but she couldn’t give any advice regarding the encounter with the demon king . From the outset, he didn’t even know why the demon king was calling .  It was better to keep it a secret because it would just worry Felicia . Moreover, the meeting with the demon king wasn’t in the distant future but tomorrow morning .  

In-gong summarized the situation roughly and said to Carack and Flora, 

“Let’s take a break until tomorrow . And Flora, make dinner a little later than usual . Additionally, Amita, Daphne, Nayatra and Karma will be joining us . ” 

“I will follow your words . ” 

He had been so busy since returning to the Demon King’s Palace that he hadn’t been able to rest . It was necessary for him to think about some things .  

“Carack, I’ll be resting in my room until dinner . You don’t have to come along since I’ll be hanging out alone . ” 

“Understood . Then I won’t be in the same room . ” 

Carack responded with an exhausted face, and In-gong smiled back at him . Carack truly was very helpful .  

‘Then I will take a break . ’ 

After the 3rd Queen’s tea ceremony, there were many things for him to think about . So, he would rest and delay his training until after dinner .  

However, that plan had to be modified the moment In-gong opened his bedroom door . The long day wasn’t over just yet .  

“You came later than I thought . ” 

The 4th Queen Elaine Moonlight was sitting gracefully on a small sofa in his bedroom . As always, Ludwig was behind her .  

As he thought about the current situation, In-gong suppressed the desire to close the door and pretend not to see anything . Why was Elaine here? And why didn’t Flora tell him about Elaine’s visit? 

“I came in secret . You should pay more attention to security . ” 

In-gong smiled and closed his bedroom door .  

“It is nice to see you again . ” 

“This is an informal place, like the tea party, so there is no need to talk like that . ” 

Elaine was the one to relax the formalities . She invited In-gong to sit in the opposite chair, and he didn’t refuse . He pushed back his fatigue as he faced Elaine .  

“Did something happen?” 

He suppressed it as much as possible but a little bit of displeasure showed . Elaine seemed to catch a glimpse of it and made an apologetic expression .  

“I couldn’t talk to you properly at Sylvia’s tea party . Shutra, you know why I came to the Demon King’s Palace, right?” 

It was just like how Sylvia couldn’t talk about the fairy .  

In-gong nodded instead of answering, and Elaine let out a long breath .  

“Gerard Moonlight . My dear brother, whom the lycanthropes were so proud of . ” 

In-gong was a little bit disconcerted by the affection which dripped from her voice . Did she have a grudge against In-gong like Felicia was worried about? 

However, fortunately, it was groundless . Elaine waved her hands and said, 

“There is no need to stress . I want to thank you . It is a really funny story, but… I’m glad . Once again, I don’t have to risk my life fighting against Gerard . ” 

Her brother had gone crazy . She had known there was no way other to stop him, other than to kill him .  However, even so, he was her brother, and even now, pleasant memories rose when she closed her eyes .  

Elaine was good at hiding her feelings, but not this time . She gave a low sigh as her eyes became damp .  

In-gong didn’t dare say anything and just waited . Elaine hid all her emotions with a smile, and In-gong felt in awe as he looked at her .  

“You are becoming stronger really quickly . Like Caitlin said, you are completely amazing . ” 

At the end, Elaine smiled brightly in a way which was different than normal . However, it really suited her .  She looked just like Caitlin, so In-gong flinched involuntarily as she spoke in a manner similar to Caitlin .  

‘Master, do you like the word ‘amazing’ that much?’ 

Green Wind whispered into his ears . As a result, In-gong regained his spirit and fixed his expression quickly .  

Elaine just laughed . She let out a long breath once again and stared straight at In-gong .  

“I just wanted to thank you, Shutra . Thank you very much . ” 

It was just like Sylvia at the tea party . Elaine had an innocent, pure heart .  

However, that didn’t last long . Elaine restored her confident expression and leaned back against her chair .  

“This isn’t enough . You have helped resolve a longstanding problem of the lycanthropes . If you have something you want, tell me . If I can do it, I will try hard to give you the appropriate compensation . ” 

It was a very pleasant speech but confusing as well . In-gong faced Elaine as he started thinking, and the first thing that came to mind was being hit by Divine Beast Authority .  

‘Be reasonable, reasonable . ’ 

It was a very attractive reward, but there was no way to convince Elaine . Being hit as a reward… nobody would be crazy enough to make the suggestion .  

It was at that moment— 

“Do you want to be hit with aura?” 

Elaine asked playfully, and In-gong flinched reflexively . Then Elaine’s expression became one of embarrassment .  

“Uh, did you really think of that?” 

In-gong was equally embarrassed and couldn’t answer right away . Elaine became more embarrassed as he stayed silent .  

“Uh, um . Yes . I respect your taste… Yes, I respect you . ” 

“Ah, no! That’s not it!” 

In-gong stood up and waved his hands .  

“I would like to learn Divine Beast Authority a little deeper . I would like a spar with Queen Elaine and the leader of your guard . I was thinking about the spar and became surprised when I heard you mention aura . ” 

Ludwig narrowed his eyes at In-gong’s clarification, and Elaine laughed . As In-gong sat down again, she said, 

“Hmm, it isn’t hard, but it isn’t really a reward . You will learn it anyway . A spar with Ludwig is too heavy as a reward . ” 

Elaine was troubled for a moment, then finally, she sighed .  

“It can’t be helped . I will think about a separate compensation . I thought it would be easy, but it has become more difficult than I thought . ”

However, there was a subtle pleasure on her face . It seemed like the process of thinking about a present was fun for her .  

As the story about the reward came to a close, Elaine pulled out a new topic .  

“Shutra, I saw your report to the Demon King’s Palace . Gerard was the Famine Knight?” 

“Yes, he said so . ” 

In-gong studied Elaine’s response . Based on her frown, she didn’t know anything about the Famine Knight .  

“I am currently collecting information . Gerard was able to escape from the Grey Tower because he had become the Famine Knight . If I find anything, I will let you know . ” 

It wasn’t just information sharing .  In-gong realized that this was the support he hadn’t received in the past . Maybe the dark elves also had some information to tell In-gong .  

“I think it is time to go back . Sorry for breaking into your bedroom . ” 

“It is okay . Just don’t do it often . ” 

Elaine laughed at In-gong’s careful answer .  

“I really can’t say anything . ” 

As though it was punishment for the joke, Elaine kissed him lightly on the forehead like he was her own child .  

“Oh, and Shutra, can I ask one more question?” 

“Tell me . ” 

In-gong looked up at Elaine . Elaine came closer with a wicked expression and asked In-gong, 

“Between Caitlin and Felicia, who do you think is cuter? Well, it makes no difference if they are cute or pretty . ” 

“Huh?” 

Who was prettier? What type of question was this? 

However, Elaine was quite serious .  

“It isn’t a joke . I’m serious . ” 

“Uh…” 

In-gong was unable to answer . Then Elaine clicked her tongue and increased the distance .  

“I am satisfied with just that answer . It is obvious, but I am looking forward to getting to know you better . Then I’ll see you next time . ” 

Elaine knocked on In-gong’s shoulder and walked out of the bedroom . It seemed like she was going out the front door, unlike when she came in .  

Flora was shocked to see her, but saw her off . In-gong apologized to Flora briefly before lying down on his bed .  

 

&  

 

The long day was over, and a new morning shone .  

In-gong had gone to bed early and started the day with his usual routine .  An informal meeting with the demon king was an extraordinary event, but it was important to maintain his composure .  

In-gong postponed meeting Felicia and Caitlin at the Merits Department to the afternoon and left his house with a calm mind . He travelled to the Black Castle, the demon king’s residence, in a carriage .  

“I’m nervous . ” 

Carack said what In-gong was thinking . He had visited the Black Castle every time for the court gathering, but it felt different today .  The invitation had only stated that the location was the Black Castle, so In-gong thought someone would come out .  

As expected, there was someone waiting for In-gong .  

“It has been a while . In the meantime, you’ve become stronger . ” 

“Sword Duke!” 

In-gong had thought a guard would be waiting for him, so he was full of pleasure at the surprise . The sword duke sent him a relaxed smile .  

“I heard about your activities . Everyone at the court gathering was astonished . ” 

The sword duke was suddenly standing right in front of In-gong . In-gong couldn’t grasp the movement and stared with admiration . He still had a long way to go before he would reach the sword duke’s level .  

“It is just a little trick, so don’t be surprised . Frankly, Prince is more amazing from my perspective . ” 

The sword duke had grasped it almost immediately . In-gong’s current strength was no comparison to when he had been at Thunderdoom Fortress .  

“I’d like to talk to Prince more, but unfortunately, I have to give priority to my mission . From now on, stay focused as I guide you . ” 

The sword duke then spoke to Carack, 

“Please stay here . You won’t be able to follow any further . ” 

Carack looked at In-gong instead of replying to the sword duke . In-gong nodded once .  

“Understood . I’ll wait here . ” 

Carack replied to In-gong with a determined expression, but he couldn’t hide his worried gaze .  

“I thought it before, but Prince really has a good aide . ” 

The sword duke laughed before stepping forward . The surrounding landscape changed instantly .  

In-gong focused his mind like the sword duke had said to do . In-gong was sensitive to magic and could feel the strong torrents of magic power rushing around like a storm . If he was just a little bit distracted, he would get lost in the torrent of magic power .  

The sword duke continued walking, while In-gong triggered his quad-core . This process of moving along with the sword duke seemed like a test to see if he had the minimum qualifications .  

Some time passed by .  

The surrounding landscape then became fixed .  

There was a white building, reminiscent of a temple under a dark blue sky . Other than that, the darkness was so thick that In-gong couldn’t see anything other than the building . In-gong and the sword duke were standing on the stone stairs leading to the building .  

“I can only go with you up to here . The demon king is there . ” 

The sword duke pointed to the white building .  

Taking a deep breath, In-gong took a step forward .  

Then finally, beyond the staircase, the demon king was there, standing in the middle of the building .