Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 60: Sky City

Chapter 60: Sky City

Sky City.

Deeper than the outer city, at the heart of the central ancient castle.

The throne room, once splendid, now faded, weathered, and eroded.

Floating above the throne is a massive magic stone, the core of the Sky City.

A special magic stone that absorbs magical essence from the surroundings and converts it into buoyancy.

It is an artificial magic stone created by ancient people.

Even after the fall of their civilization, it is the reason Sky City continues to fly.

Seated on the throne is a middle-aged man with pale, lifeless skin.

His ears are longer than a human’s, matching the features of an elf, a being now only found in fairy tales.

On his head is a crown, and he wears ancient but fine clothing.

He is, without a doubt, an elf king.

It has been about a thousand years since the civilization collapsed.

The ghost of an ancient king who once ruled Sky City—Baaldel Lu-Ciel.

The elf king, who should have lost all reason and fallen into a state of attacking the living like a monster.

Yet, for some reason, his eyes are unusually rational.

His eyes faintly glow with emerald magic.

The elf king, resting his cheek on his hand, speaks in a troubled tone.

“Following ‘Krishna’, now even ‘Despia’… again, you—Rofus Ray Lightless!”

The name Rofus was spat out with disdain from his mouth.

“It was supposed to be on our side. Everything it does is inconvenient… Could it be the Six Gods guiding it…?”

The elf king mutters to himself, tilting his head.

“No, the Six Gods shouldn’t be aware of our movements… In that case, is this Rofus acting on his own? What is his purpose for coming to Sky City…?”

The elf king narrows his eyes and sighs wearily.

“In any case, it’s time to leave. This was a good hiding place. Damn, two years wasted…”

As he spat out these words, the emerald magic in the elf king’s eyes vanished.

Immediately, the elf king stood up with force, and his eyes turned red.

“Intruders… Destroy intruders, kill humans… Return my daughter to meeeee!!”

The elf king’s demeanor drastically changed as he roared like a beast.

＊

Dark wings pierced through the layers of thunderclouds.

Beyond the thunderclouds lay a calm with not a breath of wind.

A vast city floating in the air, glittering ominously in the moonlight.

The giant griffon, Despia, had been turned into a shadow familiar by Rofus’s “Shadow Eater” spell, carrying Rofus and Riruka on its back.

Despia, which was over 50 meters in length when it spread its wings, had significantly shrunk to just under 10 meters when it became a shadow familiar.

Whether this reduction was due to the loss of emerald magic or its original size before becoming one of the four demon beasts is unclear.

Nevertheless, it was still about twice the size of a regular griffon.

If Rofus wanted, he could inject magic power to enlarge its body to the size of when it was one of the four demon beasts.

In fact, Rofus, who had previously struggled with the oversized Straaff, found this a welcome miscalculation.

Incidentally, the other members of the “Scarlet Wind” were left outside the thunderclouds.

Originally, they planned to enter Sky City together, secure the magical crystal ghost they were after, and collect ancient artifacts from within the city.

However, considering that Despia was much stronger than before, the possibility of unforeseen events occurring in its lair, Sky City, was high.

For Rofus, bringing along potential hindrances was only a disadvantage, and Riruka also opposed bringing the “Scarlet Wind family” into such a dangerous area.

Rofus initially planned to go alone, but Riruka wouldn’t allow it.

To the “Scarlet Wind” members left on the airship, Riruka told a rather strained explanation, “Rofus and I are going on a Sky City date, so you all wait here.”

Rofus listened, exasperated, thinking it was a weak excuse, but surprisingly, the only response from the airship was a single understanding word from Hawk, “Got it.”

However, Hawk added later.

“Riruka, even without a blood connection, we are family. I won’t ask now, but when the time comes, I want you to talk about it.”

Perhaps there had been doubts earlier, such as the use of advanced magic that shouldn’t have been possible.

But Hawk said he would accept it for now.

Riruka could only nod with teary eyes in response.

Then, inside the thunderclouds.

Holding onto Rofus’s back, Riruka looked down at the Sky City shining in the moonlight with wide eyes.

The last time she visited to defeat the four demon beasts Despia, it was daytime, so this was her first time seeing the illuminated Sky City at night.

She was captivated by the beauty of the night view.

“Wow… Sky Park glows at night.”

“The entire city is filled with high-density magical essence. The moonlight reflects off the essence, making it seem like it’s shining. The buildings themselves are not glowing.”

Rofus explained dully to Riruka, who was leaning out to look.

Riruka responded with half-closed eyes.

“…Thanks for the detailed explanation. Just so you know, it’s better to simply say it’s beautiful at times like this, instead of lecturing.”

“I appreciate your advice. As expected from someone with far more life experience than me.”

“What, are you calling me old? And ‘far more’ is just a few years. Also, physically, I’m the same age as you, Rofus.”

As they bickered on Despia’s back, they passed over the outer city’s sky.

Their destination was the ancient castle where the physical magical crystal ghost they sought was wandering.

＊

Rofus used his magic to blow a hole in the castle wall, and he and Riruka entered the castle.

In response, countless ghost soldiers appeared, attacking to eliminate the intruders.

Each of the ghost soldiers had been exposed to high-density magical essence for many years, turning them into magical crystal ghosts.

Since what they sought came to them, Rofus took advantage of it, slashing them with his dark scythe, Dark Scythe, and turning the remaining corpses into shadow familiars with “Shadow Eater.”

Thus, the goal was achieved rather easily.

At this point, there were no abnormalities in Sky City or within the ancient castle.

Riruka, who had been prepared for irregularities different from the previous encounter with Despia, tilted her head in disappointment.

“…The inside is unexpectedly normal. I thought there would be much stronger enemies than last time.”

“Magical crystal ghosts… they are supposed to be stronger than regular ghosts, but honestly, I can’t tell the difference. They are just weaklings.”

Riruka was exasperated by Rofus’s disappointed tone.

“Of course, they would seem that way to you. We’ve already got the magical crystal ghost we came for… huh? So, mission accomplished?”

“The primary goal, yes. The secondary goal remains.”

“Secondary goal?”

Rofus was exasperated by Riruka’s puzzled expression.

“All you can think about is curing Iz? Do you remember why we couldn’t find Sky City for two years?”

The reason the “Scarlet Wind” couldn’t find Sky City despite searching for two years.

According to the oracle of the saintess, Sky City moved according to some will, avoiding the airship’s flight path.

This meant that there was someone controlling Sky City.

“The Demon King… So, somewhere in this Sky City…!”

“Still here or not, who knows. They might have fled when Despia died. That’s what I would do.”

“Did you detect any magic?”

“I’ve been detecting it constantly… but Sky City is so densely filled with magical essence that it’s hard to tell. If anything, I can sense a huge mass of magic in the center of the castle.”

The ominous word that Rofus spoke made Riruka frown.

“A huge mass of magic…?”

“Don’t be so tense. The magic reaction is non-living, probably a magic stone. Most likely, the power source of this Sky City.”

“Power source… then there might be someone who was controlling Sky City.”

“It’s worth investigating.”

Rofus and Riruka made up their minds and proceeded to the throne room where the power source was located.

Absorbing the ghost soldiers attacking them as shadow familiars along the way.

＊

The massive doors to the throne room were broken down.

Cutting through the rising dust, Rofus appeared with his dark scythe, Dark Scythe.

Riruka followed, looking wary.

The ghost of the elf king, Baaldel, who sat on the throne, stood up to greet them.

“So, you’ve finally come, intruders.”

Rofus and Riruka narrowed their eyes at the speaking ghost of the elf king.

Normal ghosts only groan and cannot speak, let alone hold a conversation.

A ghost that understands language indicates an upper-level species.

“Was there anything like this before?”

“Hmm, I don’t remember. Well, we were too busy fighting Despia last time, so we didn’t really explore the inside of the Sky City.”

“This is the first time we’ve come to the throne room,” Riruka added.

“Wait… does that mean this king-like figure was controlling the Sky City since it’s near the power source?”

Riruka alternated her gaze between the large artificial magic stone floating above the throne and the elf king, tilting her head.

Rofus frowned. “Hmm, I don’t sense much strong magic power from this guy…”

As Rofus spoke, the elf king widened his eyes in surprise.

“Y-you… why are you here…?”

The elf king’s reaction suggested he recognized Rofus, which made Riruka look at him curiously.

“Do you know him?”

“Of course not.”

The elf king’s shoulders trembled, and he unleashed a wave of magic that shook the entire throne room.

“You… you… you…! How dare you show yourself here!? Give me back my daughter!!”

The elf king let out a beast-like scream, seemingly on the verge of madness. His body was enveloped in wind magic, forming armor around him.

The high-density wind magic took the shape of an armet helmet with an eagle’s head, its eye slits glowing red and fixating on Rofus.

“I am Baalder Le-Ciel, king of the forest people! You, a mere human with some skill in magic, shall fall before the abyss of my arcane power!!”

The elf king charged with terrifying speed, conjuring a huge battle axe in his hand and swinging it down at Rofus. Riruka quickly cast a magic circle to counter the attack, but Rofus stopped her with a hand.

The next moment, a tremendous impact and a violent gust of wind erupted. The blade of the elf king’s axe was blocked by Rofus’s thick magical barrier.

The elf king’s eyes widened in shock at the effortless defense. Rofus gazed at him with a look of boredom.

“So, where is this abyss of arcane power?”

“…”

A gasp came from the elf king, muffled by the eagle-helmet. Rofus sighed in disappointment.

“This technique of wearing magic like armor reminds me of my father and Valm. Yet, you’re this weak.”

The elf king tried to retreat, but his axe was ensnared by the magical barrier and couldn’t be withdrawn. Surrounding the elf king, dark soldiers materialized—shadow familiars created from the crystal ghosts Rofus had absorbed earlier in the castle.

Rofus smirked. “Now, for a test run—drain him.”

At Rofus’s command, the soldiers launched a mana drain attack on the elf king, who writhed in agony as his magic was rapidly sucked away. For a ghost made mostly of magic, this was akin to having one’s skin forcibly peeled off.

The high-density magic armor quickly disintegrated and was absorbed, leaving the elf king emaciated and skeletal. Soon, he collapsed, drained of all magic.

Rofus showed no mercy, swinging his dark scythe down on the lifeless body of the elf king, which was then consumed by the formless darkness of Shadow Devourer and turned into a shadow familiar.

Riruka watched in shock. “That’s harsh.”

The seemingly formidable elf king had been thoroughly beaten and turned into a familiar. Though she didn’t blame Rofus, it was a painfully pitiful sight.

Ignoring Riruka’s gaze, Rofus scanned the throne room. “Hmm… nothing else, it seems.”

Of course, there was no sign of the one who had been controlling the Sky City. Rofus searched for any clues, but found none—only the large artificial magic stone floating above the throne.

“Hey, Rofus. The king we just defeated spoke, right? Can we get any information out of him since he’s a familiar now?”

Rofus shook his head. “Shadow Devourer isn’t that convenient. Shadow familiars are like puppets that follow my commands. They don’t have a will.”

As he spoke, Rofus recalled the familiars guarding the Tomb of the First, which continued to function even after the death of their summoner. What was driving them if not the summoner’s will?

With narrowed eyes, Rofus summoned the ghost of the elf king he had turned into a familiar. The elf’s pale skin was now shrouded in darkness, and his faintly glowing red eyes were unfocused.

It didn’t seem like he had a will, but Rofus addressed him. “There should have been someone controlling the Sky City. Tell me everything you know. That’s an order.”

At the word “order,” the elf king reacted, turning his vacant gaze to Rofus, but said nothing.

“…Looks like it won’t work.”

“Hmm, I see. Well, it can’t be helped,” Riruka murmured in disappointment.

As Riruka came into view, the elf king’s eyes widened slightly. He opened his mouth.

“L-Lily…”

Hearing the elf king’s word, both Rofus and Riruka were stunned.