Defeated Doppel Lua! HP 0/263000
Defeated Doppel Lua! HP 0/263000
Defeated Doppel Lua! HP 0/263000
Defeated Doppel Lua! HP 0/263000
Defeated Doppel Lua! HP 0/263000
The moment they multiplied was their downfall. After all, I had never fought alongside myself before. Their movements were all over the place. Eerlich was hesitating, and my experience told me that was the case. Of course, I could adapt quickly, but it would be better if we could respond faster. If I were the enemy, what would I do? It was a fleeting battle against my own self.
“My, my arm! My arm…!”
“Ahhh!”
“Help me! Please, stop! I’m sorry!”
Arms and legs of the thieves flew around like it was a festival. Some crawled on the ground, bleeding and unable to walk. One thief continued to scream, fixated on the blood gushing from his severed wrist. Others begged for their lives, tears streaming down their faces, while some knelt, grinning eerily, simply staring up at the sky. None of them were in a sane state anymore. I was doing things I could never have imagined before, but my mind was chillingly calm. It felt like cutting ingredients for a meal. I was slicing the limbs of nearly a thousand thieves, staining the ground with their blood.
“K-Kyanser! Hurry up and apologize!”
“As the captain of the 12th squad, take responsibility! Hey! Say something!”
“Hehe… Look at all those birds over there, hehe…”
Kyanser, the uncle, was being berated by the other thieves while he waved his hands at the night sky, where there were no birds. The cacophony of the thieves was deafening. I felt a long-suppressed emotion finally erupt within me.
“You see, I’ve fought more than enough in the Abyss Cave. I’ve come close to death countless times. If I couldn’t heal my own Status Ailments, I wouldn’t have survived. Are you all challenging me out of frustration? I’ve challenged myself repeatedly out of frustration too. How many times did it take to defeat that three-headed dog?”
“I-I’m sorry! We won’t lay a hand on you anymore!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really! Kyanser says so too! Right?”
A thief, unable to respond, dragged Kyanser’s body over, using him as a shield. The air was filled with countless pleas for mercy and groans, saturating this battlefield. No one here dared to challenge me anymore.
Dealt 46191 damage to Getou! HP 108/46300
“Ugh, aaah!”
I pummeled him with punches, leaving his body battered and broken. His bones must be crushed, rendering him immobile. I mercilessly stepped on his surprisingly slender body. He looked up at me with resentful eyes, even as he coughed up blood.
“This isn’t a clone, right?”
I dragged Getou out from where he had been hiding behind a distant rock, pinning him to the ground. He had been using spatial magic to keep me at bay, but that was easily dealt with by slicing through it. I had faced monsters in the Abyss Cave that could do the same, so I wasn’t surprised.
“Are you mocking me, the one who conquered a place as dangerous as the Festival of Calamity?”
“T-The Festival of… Calamity?”
“N-No way! It exists somewhere in this world, but… even Mimmy doesn’t know where it is!”
“Shut up.”
Dealt 1100231 damage to Moby! Defeated Moby!
I sliced through the massive whale, sending Mimmy tumbling off. She fell awkwardly, trying desperately to crawl away. Of course, I wouldn’t let her escape. I anticipated her movements and positioned myself in front of her. When she looked up at me, her small body trembled, and she backed away, sitting on her rear.
“Please… forgive me… Mimmy didn’t do anything wrong… sob… sob…”
“If you’re innocent, then you know where the real Eerlich is, right?”
I knew the answer, but I wanted to see if she was lying. If she lied, it would mean she was acting, but if she told the truth, I might consider sparing her.
“I don’t know… because Eerlich has never… used clones to run away like this…”
“Really don’t know? Lying is bad, you know?”
“I-I told you I don’t know! So please help me! Waaah!”
“…Pathetic.”
The bandages covering Getou slipped off. His face was gaunt, wrinkled, and his hair was almost entirely gone, with only a few strands remaining. The only thing prominent were his two horns. His eyes were sharp and cat-like. His ribs were visible, but his belly was slightly protruding. This was the true form of a demon who manipulated space.
“Ugly, isn’t it? Unlike other races, demons hardly have any distinctive features. Some, like Eerlich, resemble black devils, while others, like Mimmy, take on the appearance of young girls. The only commonality is these two horns.”
Gasping for breath, Getou continued to speak. Indeed, the two horns sprouting from his bald head were rather impressive.
“Hehe, but what does that matter? Once we start rampaging, nothing can stop us. How could we coexist with inferior races?”
“I told you there are ways to overpower without fighting.”
I realized the King had returned. No, he had intended to remain behind from the start while letting everyone else escape. With his tattered cloak billowing, he stepped forward and crouched before Getou.
“To return after demonstrating such a power gap takes guts.”
“What kind of kingdom is it if the king doesn’t stand until the end? Don’t you ever think about coexistence?”
“…If there are bugs, you crush them, right?”
“What of it?”
“If a bug is flying or crawling, you crush it. No particular reason, except that it’s unpleasant. Do you think you can coexist with such bugs?”
They cared nothing for anyone but themselves. Even in this dire situation, Getou was laughing, as if it were perfectly normal. He could be killed at any moment, yet he remained unfazed. That was something I could never do.
“Damn it! Let me go!”
Eerlich struggled against the grip of Balbus and Nice, who had brought him here. And behind them stood Aslat, the chief of the Giant Race. Even Eerlich couldn’t match their strength; he looked like a child throwing a tantrum.
“We caught him while he was disguised as a soldier. This must be the real one.”
“Heh, who knows? I might be a clone too.”
“Then shall I kill you?”
“Whoa there! You’d better not! If you kill me here, another clone might attack the Royal Capital next! That would lead to a catastrophe, and the kingdom would be finished. The Kingdom of Kashiram would perish today!”
“You talk a lot. This must be the real one, right, Balbus?”
Balbus nodded at Nice, who had easily seen through Eerlich’s bluff. Eerlich fell silent, his face tightening—this was proof he was the genuine article.
“D-Damn it! I won’t let it end like this!”
Doppel Eerlich has appeared! HP 65000
Eerlich appeared above us, launching an attack to catch Balbus and the others off guard. The three finally reacted just in time for a collision.
Blast Chimera’s Triple Blaster!
Dealt 3412 damage to Doppel Eerlich! HP 61588/65000
“Ugh! Wh-what the…?”
The creature that had carried us unleashed something from its three heads. Flames and lightning lasers struck Eerlich directly. While it wasn’t a fatal blow, it certainly chipped away at his life. His body burned and flew back; even Eerlich wouldn’t come out unscathed if he continued to take hits like that.
“Grrooo…”
“Y-You’re just a failed clone of Pansard!”
Doppel Eerlich’s Bloody Slider!
Blast Chimera’s attack! Dealt 1595 damage to Doppel Eerlich! HP 58883/65000
The Blast Chimera lunged at Eerlich, tearing into his shoulder and dealing damage while simultaneously immobilizing him. Eerlich, unable to exert any strength, slid helplessly to the ground.
I can’t believe it; she’s fighting evenly against Eerlich. Of course, that’s just a clone, so if the real one joined in, it would be a different story. Still, that last strike definitely read Eerlich’s movements and sealed them. They say she was training with Pansard in the Garden of Beasts, but maybe this girl was holding back. Her movements are incredible.
“Y-you filthy beast!”
“Enough. You should stop summoning clones. It’s like draining your own life.”
“W-what?! On what grounds?”
“There’s no way you can use that level of skill without any drawbacks. If that were the case, you could create thousands of clones right here, couldn’t you? So why don’t you?”
“Are you stupid? There are limits! I can only summon about seven or eight at once. And it’s pretty exhausting… ah.”
“That’s what I thought.”
That wasn’t a clever remark from Nice; Eerlich just blurted it out himself.
“Damn it! I’ll kill you all!”
【Rua’s attack! Dealt 13,942,345 damage to Doppel-Eerlich!
Doppel-Eerlich has been defeated! HP 0/65,000】
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you hit Kurinka. I’ll take care of you soon enough.”
With a single swing, I silenced the noisy Eerlich. Not only did he close his mouth, but he also vanished without a trace, leaving behind only his clone. With no more clones to summon and if that was the real one, he had no choice but to stay quiet.
“Stop it! D-don’t come any closer!”
“No.”
“I’m sorry! I was wrong! I apologize! You’re the best! The demon race is second! Is that good enough?”
“You’re definitely not reflecting on your actions. And I will never forgive you for transforming into Kurinka.”
“I’ll apologize for that too! It was terribly rude to transform into my precious partner!”
“What do you mean by ‘precious partner’? It’s infuriating.”
“Ah… ahhh…”
“Then I’ll kill you.”
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Pigyaaa!”
Amidst Eerlich’s scream, something fell from my pouch. Shin! I had completely forgotten about him. I was relieved he had survived that fierce attack.
“Shin… you idiot!”
“A-aah! I-I was just overwhelmed by fear…”
“You traitor! This is all your fault! I swear I’ll kill you someday! Remember that!”
Shin, intimidated by Eerlich’s insults, sat down on the ground. Normally, he would be floating around, mocking others, but it seemed this time it hit him hard.
“Shin isn’t at fault. What are you talking about?”
“Y-yeah! I wasn’t at fault!”
【Rua’s attack! Dealt 12,432,983 damage to Eerlich!
Eerlich has been defeated! HP 0/65,000】
It was already at its limit. No matter how many times he apologized, he clearly didn’t think he was in the wrong, which only proved how much I couldn’t forgive him for hitting Kurinka.
“…Eerlich. You disgrace of the demon race.”
The nearly dying Getou opened his mouth again. And I noticed a massive hole forming high above him. A swirling black void, an enormous gap in the sky.
“Ahhh… Getou! Mimmy is still here!”
“It’s already over.”
Dust from the ground began to swirl toward the vortex. Small rocks were slowly being pulled up from the ground.
“Black Hole. My ultimate and strongest skill… to consume everything into the Black Hole…”
“Getou! Don’t involve Mimmy!”
“That’s why it’s over.”
“If we demons can’t dominate, then this world is worthless.”
Large boulders were sucked into the black vortex, and we were in serious danger. As Aslat, Balbus, and Nice braced against each other, they were nearing their limits. I too pondered how to resist the force pulling me upward.
“Heh, die along with this world…! Aboro! You must avenge my regrets!”
“To destroy just because things aren’t going your way…”
That’s just childish. If things don’t go as planned, you should ponder it and strive harder. Even if you’re hurt and frustrated, you should rise again and again. The demon race, who couldn’t find any other path than to dominate humans, had lost their way.
“Mimmy isn’t at fault!”
As we froze in place, even when I reached out to help, Mimmy was being sucked into the Black Hole. In that moment, I thought it was hopeless. The demon race couldn’t coexist with anyone; if they couldn’t dominate, they chose death. They said it was better to die than to join hands with us.
“Haah… haah… now, this is my full power…!”
Floating once more, only Getou was not being drawn into the Black Hole. He spread his arms wide.
“O spirits of the demon race who perished in the great war! Can you hear me? This is my… final stand!”
“Shut uuuup!”
【Rua unleashed the Sonic Ripper!】
The slash of the Sonic Ripper engulfed Getou, heading straight for the Black Hole. I couldn’t just leave the Black Hole, which threatened to consume human history, bonds, and hope, unchecked.
【Dealt 201,549,212 damage to Getou!
Getou has been defeated! HP 0/46,300】
The Sonic Ripper sliced diagonally into the Black Hole, and a beam of light shot through. The Black Hole split in two, dispersing like mist.
“Wooooah! I-I can’t hold on!”
Suddenly, the black mist seemed to be swept away. The gust from the Sonic Ripper’s aftermath eroded the ground again, sending even Balbus and the others tumbling. The typhoon-like aftermath lasted only a moment, sweeping away the rocky terrain before finally settling down.
The stillness after the storm arrived, enveloping the night’s darkness. It was hard to believe that just moments ago, a battle had raged in this desolate place. The valley opened by the Sonic Ripper and the land cleared by the wind from that strike reminded me of just how much destruction my anger could cause.
“Heehee, hyaaa! K-Kyanseru-san?! Where’s home?!!”
“Over there in the flower field, that way!”
“Ahhahaha!”
The thieves were in an even worse state. Some were crawling like babies, drooling, while others were unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Many were wandering aimlessly, with hardly any of them in a decent state. And those who had lost limbs were completely motionless.
“They’ve experienced a terror far beyond what one would encounter in a lifetime. Even if left alone, they won’t return to the battlefield. In fact, they won’t be able to lead a normal life anymore. At that point, they hold no value as slaves.”
“Wait… does that mean I killed them?”
“…I believe Weiss mentioned this before. They have attacked countless villages and taken many lives. Is it not far crueler to let such beings live among good people?”
He was saying the same thing as Weiss. But it felt different; my heart was lighter than when I had heard it before. Even though I had effectively killed those thieves, it felt as if I was being supported by something. Perhaps it was because Ikana Village had safely returned to normal.
Indeed, I hadn’t had that dream in a while. That meant I had finally managed to overcome that trauma. At the same time, I had become able to look at death with a calm perspective. If that’s the case, what am I becoming? Will I be able to kill people and remain unfazed?
“Rua-chan!”
A golden dragon with large wings flew in from the Royal Capital, kicking up a whirlwind of dust as it approached me. Was she so oblivious to her surroundings that she transformed in front of everyone? The moment she reverted back, she tightly embraced me.
“I’m safe, okay? So please don’t be too angry…”
“Kurinka…”
Feeling responsible for the situation that had unfolded due to my anger, she held me tightly. As I stroked her fragrant golden hair, I pulled her head closer to me.
“It’s okay now. Here, wipe your tears.”
I scooped up Kurinka’s tears with my fingers and placed my hand on her soft cheek. I held her face gently, not taking my eyes off her.
“I couldn’t protect Kurinka.”
“I couldn’t protect Rua-chan.”
“I’ll become stronger. I won’t let anyone like Eerlich hurt Kurinka again.”
“I’ll become stronger too… if things stay like this, we can’t be happy together.”
“Why not?”
“If one of us gets hurt, the other will be sad. That’s not happiness. So if I become stronger, Rua-chan can feel at ease.”
I didn’t want to burden Kurinka with my worries; I wanted to say that, but I held back. Since Kurinka had decided that she would be protected by me, I couldn’t say anything against her own choices. So, all I could do was ensure that she followed through with her decision.
“I understand. I’ll be right here with you, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you…”
Kurinka’s shy smile was irresistibly cute, and I pressed myself against her, wanting to absorb every bit of her warmth. How could she be this adorable? I really do love Kurinka; I want to kiss her right now. Should I? I pulled back for a moment, contemplating.
“Ahem, could you save that for later?”
I thought we were alone, completely forgetting that Balbus, Nice, and Aslat were also here. The three of them wore strange expressions, but it shouldn’t have been anything too outrageous. Still, if even the King looked awkward, it must have been quite something.
“Leave the rest to me. I truly appreciate your help this time, and I will prepare a reward for you shortly, so please wait a moment.”
“That’s not necessary…”
“Given that you saved us, I feel it would be rude not to offer something in return. A feast will be prepared at the palace, and a place to rest will also be arranged.”
“A feast!”
I was relieved to see the spark return to Kurinka’s eyes. It was getting late, and I was starting to feel sleepy. Tonight, I would sleep in the soft, fluffy bed of the palace.
“Lua-chan, the palace bed is really big, you know? I want to sleep together tonight…”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I want to sleep in the same bed.”
“That’s fine, but won’t it be cramped?”
“It won’t be cramped!”
Kurinka’s cheeks were still faintly flushed. If the bed was big enough for both of us, it would be fine, but it felt like Kurinka was being unusually clingy.
“Then, Your Majesty, can we return to the palace?”
“Yes, we will handle things from here.”
“Seriously, what is happening?”
I had completely forgotten until just now who had brought the Beastkin and the Giant Race here. And the fact that they had been standing there throughout this fierce battle. The area around Elmera remained untouched, as if nature had preserved it.
“El, Elmera… This is bad.”
“Both of you, please escape immediately.”
“W-What’s wrong, Nice? Even Balbus looks flustered…”
“That human king over there needs to move away. I will handle Elmera myself.”
It wasn’t just Balbus and Nice; even Aslat seemed shaken. The Blast Chimera had been growling at Elmera the entire time.
“Elmera is in a foul mood. Let me say this again: run.”
“In a foul mood? If anything, this is all Elmera’s fault. I’m going to tell her that she can’t just do whatever she wants!”
“Stop. Listen carefully.”
Balbus’s presence as the King of the Beastkin felt diminished. His large frame seemed so small in that moment.
“No one can defeat Elmera.”
As Balbus spoke those words, Elmera turned to face us. Despite being angry, she wore an incredibly cheerful smile. She approached us with a light step, while the three of us instinctively took a step back. Aslat was even sweating profusely, his breath coming in quick gasps.
“Hey, Lua-chan!”
“W-What is it?”
“I really wanted you to be more adorable. You’re ruining the image of a lady!”
“I don’t understand, but thank you…”
“So, I have a proposal…”
With her hands clasped behind her back, she spun around on one foot. Her every gesture seemed childlike, and she didn’t look angry at all, yet Balbus and the others were keeping their distance.
“How about a strength contest with me?”
Elmera said this while flexing a tiny muscle. With a playful wink, she looked like she was inviting us to join in on some fun.
◆ Shin Report ◆
The black hole leads to an unknown destination.
With this, only Shin and Aboro remain in this world.
I can’t count how many times I’ve wanted to get rid of those guys.
Those who bully Shin, those who ostracize the weak Shin.
But…
Even so, we are the same kind of demon.
Just a little, my forehead feels hot.