Demon King – Chapter 424 – The Tragedy of the Elderly Village

No one knew the conditions, no one knew the method, and no one knew the timing. Although the blue monstrous stone revered as a divine stone had never had its logic or rules understood by anyone to this day, there was one thing that everyone could be certain of.

That was that once the divine stone began to operate, before a certain designated wish was fully fulfilled, it would continue to influence everything around it, driving all of it in the direction of realizing that wish.

Although the village had already been destroyed, there were still survivors. The existence of these living people was still judged as the continuation of the village. And so, the divine stone did not stop its operation toward the wish of destroying the village.

The people who survived rebuilt the village. However, under the influence of a certain stone, life in the newly established village became abnormally difficult.

Mountain floods and severe droughts affected the harvest of the fields. Wild beasts from the mountains threatened their livestock. One disaster after another continuously threatened the villagers’ survival.

Perhaps it was only trying to force the villagers to leave this place, as the divine stone did not directly bring down a catastrophic calamity. But amid the unending challenges, the new generation of villagers displayed astonishing perseverance. They forcibly pushed through the adversity and stabilized the situation of the village.

“Then… what is the situation now? Why is there no one left in the village?”

Sitting at the table with her hands propping up her chin, after listening to the old man’s story, the little Demon Lord only found her doubts growing deeper.

Wasn’t it said that things had stabilized? So what kind of trouble did that cursed stone stir up again in this unlucky village? According to Ziyu, even if the current situation was unclear, there should still have been quite a few people living here just a few years ago.

“Do you remember those children from the landlord’s family who never came back?”

The old man sighed.

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“These past few years, the divine stone once again adopted this method. Not a single one of the young people who went out to seek development ever returned.”

It wasn’t that these people encountered accidents outside. Rather, all of these young people, without realizing it, were influenced by the divine stone.

Some wanted to prove themselves. Some had the family conflicts in their hearts amplified. Some were living too miserably outside and were unwilling to return home. Others indulged in pleasure outside and forgot their hometown entirely. In short, over these years, not a single young person who left the village ever came back.

Among the remaining elderly and children, some were taken away by their children who had developed lives outside. As for those who stayed behind in the village, even during holidays and festivals, they could not wait to see the people they longed for.

As the last batch of children grew up and left the village, day after day passed, and the village truly became an elderly village in name and reality.

“Do you know what the greatest wish in the hearts of these lonely old people who stayed in the village is?”

Rhe old man spoke in a calm tone, but the desolation and loneliness in his heart were impossible to hide.

“To… see their children and younger generation who are outside again?”

Yuki answered uncertainly, receiving a nod in response.

“And that cursed stone heard those wishes? So what kind of bizarre method did it use to realize them this time?”

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Eiru’s eye twitched. Having read plenty of anime and novels, she was very clear that these so-called wish-granting devices all shared one common flaw. Their brains and logic were not very functional.

If you did not specify a clear method for the wish’s fulfillment, these miraculous wish machines would freely display their talent for causing trouble, driving people insane in all kinds of ways.

No wish-granting device would ever fulfill two opposing wishes. Just like the current situation. Those young people left because of the divine stone’s influence, so it was naturally impossible for those young people to return.

“Yes… we old, useless geezers, the only wish in our hearts was to see our children again before leaving this world. But…”

The old man let out another deep sigh and said something that made the two of them break out in goosebumps.

“If you had come a few days earlier, perhaps I could still have poured you some tea and hosted you properly. But now, that’s no longer possible.”

Although the old man was sitting across from them at the table, the pair of hands that could freely pass through the tabletop had already confirmed his current identity. A pitiful soul bound to this land by obsession.

“I was the last one in this village to leave. The aftermath was handled by everyone together.”

Stroking his beard, the old man showed no awareness of just how terrifying his words were.

“As for us old bones now… although we can’t leave our houses for too long, going to visit each other is still possible. Because outsiders came to the village today, everyone is very happy. But they stay at home and don’t dare come out, so I’m the only one who can greet you.”

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The old man laughed heartily for a while, then suddenly his expression changed. Putting on a serious face, he earnestly warned the two of them.

“Remember this. No matter what business you have, do not stay on this mountain after nightfall. You are outsiders, and you are young. Before it gets dark, you must go down the mountain.”

“Oh… okay.”

Eiru and Yuki hurriedly nodded in agreement. And even without this warning, just the atmosphere of the village alone was enough to make anyone unwilling to stay the night here.

“But… if outsiders coming makes everyone happy, why don’t they dare come out?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the little Demon Lord realized she had asked a stupid question. If a whole group of them came running out, wouldn’t the two of them be scared stiff on the spot?

“On one hand, it’s because they’re afraid of frightening you. On the other hand… too much time has passed, and they have a bit of trouble controlling themselves.”

The vague answer left the two of them confused. Just as they were about to press for details, the old man waved his hand, signaling them not to dig any deeper.

The divine stone listened to their wishes and magnified the emotions in their hearts into obsessions. But aside from longing for their children, these elderly people naturally also harbored resentment and blame toward those young people. These emotions, magnified together, became the shackles that kept them trapped here.

So not only were they earthbound spirits born under the influence of the divine stone’s power, a large part of their composition was also made up of vengeful spirits.

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Under the influence of this inhuman power, as time passed, the part of them that was human was slowly worn away.

During the daytime, under the sunlight, they could still maintain their human side. But once night fell, the magnified resentment would cause them to transform into evil spirits that only knew how to intimidate and attack outsiders.

Even so, they still retained a fragment of their humanity. Although their instincts were uncontrollable, the conscience in their hearts did not allow them to commit truly heinous acts. And so, the divine stone once again listened to their wishes and bound them within the houses of the village.

That was why the ghosts of these elderly people could usually visit each other, but truly could not remain outside their homes for long. Using this method could be considered a way to ensure the safety of people in the surrounding area.

This was the pitiful current state of this nameless little mountain village. Over endless years, a group of undeads who missed their children waited for a group of people who would never return.

Translator Note

So it’s really a ghost story after all!!!