Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 443 (Part 1):

[It felt like something was trying to burrow into me.]

The voice was drained of strength.

The moment Igrelle faced the strange radiance emanating from the sacred barrier, it was as if a black box had enveloped its vision.

For a fleeting instant, her sight turned pitch black, and her mind floated free.

Then something seized that lost consciousness with a jolt.

It wasn’t a gentle capture. It was a forceful, oppressive power.

Igrelle’s instincts demanded submission to it.

To the master of all who bore demonic energy!

In that moment, its demonic nature snapped Igrelle awake.

There seemed to be only one way to escape.

‘I have to get away from that thing!’

Filled with that single thought, Igrelle unleashed her demonic energy and flapped her wings frantically.

Only after crashing to the ground did her senses return. She had no choice but to come to her senses.

A sharp, electric pain surged through her body.

[It wasn’t intentional. You’re alive, so isn’t that enough?]

It was fortunate that the humans riding on her back were strong enough not to die from such a crash.

[You’re supposed to say sorry! Idiot! Hurry up and bow your head!]

At Elaga’s fierce insistence, Igrelle reluctantly dipped her head slightly.

It was less a bow and more a slight nod.

[Sorry, but I’m in pain too! I’ve never landed that recklessly before. Do you think I’d do this if I had any other choice?]

Pain surged again. Igrelle trembled.

The impact had damaged the feathers she cherished like gold, leaving them broken and mangled.

The lower feathers, imbued with demonic energy, were so damaged that its skin was exposed—proof of just how desperate she had been.

“Shall I take a look?”

Heike approached and cast a healing spell. Igrelle meekly accepted her magic.

The feathers wouldn’t be restored, but it would help ease the pain.

Only then did Elaga’s anger subside slightly, tilting his head in confusion.

[I didn’t… feel much of anything?]

He felt uneasy, but sacred barriers were inherently unsettling, and that strange black circle was unsettling too.

But he didn’t feel like it was trying to do anything to Elaga in particular.

[You were on my back! I was the one close to it! And you…]

Igrelle swallowed her words, but Elaga quickly picked up on them.

[I’m stronger than you.]

Elaga’s power, having consumed Naho’s demonic energy in its entirety, was formidable.

Though he had expended some energy causing havoc at the temple recently, his total capacity had grown even larger during recovery.

It was as if he had drawn in more to fill the void. It seemed that strength didn’t just grow from exertion alone.

With greater power came a stronger demonic nature—the control over dark energy, the will of a demonic beast.

It was only natural that Elaga’s mind was stronger than Igrelle’s.

[So, what was that thing?]

“The Demon King.”

It was Helmut who answered. He placed a hand over his chest.

Just before Igrelle went wild, he felt the Seed of Darkness stir.

It wasn’t a struggle to break its seal, merely a faint movement.

But how could it react when it was supposed to be completely isolated from the outside?

It could only be described as instinct.

An instinct of submission to the master of demonic energy!

A command to raise its head and greet its master. It was like a spell.

A chilling sensation, consistent every time he experienced it.

The Seed of Darkness was rooted in Helmut’s core, but it was Vis that dominated his body.

With Vis, he suppressed the Seed of Darkness. Helmut had done so his entire life.

Thus, at this point, having reached the realm of a Sword Saint and sealed the Seed of Darkness, its influence was limited.

The Seed of Darkness could not dominate Helmut. Not unless his mind was broken.

But for demonic beasts whose entire beings were filled with demonic energy, it would be different.

Alea furrowed her brow.

“Then the hypothesis that the Demon King can control demonic beasts… must be true.”

[Yeah, if it affected me that much, most of the demonic beasts in the Forest of Roots would likely fall under the Demon King’s control.]

Igrelle shuddered as she uttered the words “Demon King.”

As a ruler of the Forest of Roots, she had never experienced mental domination before.

The near experience—and the fact that it could happen again—sent chills through her body.

[Just keep your wits about you. You only felt it because you let your guard down.]

Elaga spoke as if willpower could solve everything, brimming with carefree optimism, as if believing he would be unscathed no matter if the Demon King conquered the world.

Helunit pointed out, “What we saw wasn’t his full power. Once the sacred barrier falls, then he will become complete.”

At that moment, they would witness the Demon King of a thousand years ago with their own eyes.

The temple’s dominance over the human world was justified by the immense sacrifice of Lumen and the temple to seal the Demon King.

Alea spoke decisively.

“And there’s no guarantee Elaga could resist a fully realized Demon King.”

[What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’d become that thing’s lackey?]

“If your mind is dominated, that could happen. It might be hard to resist. Even Helmut, with just a small Seed of Darkness, felt it. How much more so for a demonic beast filled with demonic energy?”

If they fought the Demon King, these beasts could become enemies rather than allies.

Elaga was stronger than Helmut. Who could stop him?

His destructive power would be immense.

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