Book 9: Chapter 32

A responsibility towards life――and the repulsive deeds that Chester had talked about earlier, there was no other concept that didn’t match with each other more than this.

「……I see. By the way, did you know?」

「About what?」

「The monsters known as Elements, they possess a nature that has them take in the living creatures that they kill, and their magical power. It has been said that it was a deed done due to their desire for souls but……for you who has done something similar, just what is it that you are seeking?」

「……」

Ykslaas continued her words to Chester who had fallen silent.

「……The Elements, who were members of mankind that existed in the Spirit Kingdom Lucretio in the past, did not eat physical objects……They lived by eating the magical power that existed in nature.」

「What’re you saying……」

「However, among them, there was an Element that possessed one idea. In order to replace the Spirit King of that time, it laid its hands on a certain taboo.」

That Element, it devoured other living creatures. It sucked up their magical power, and also took in their physical bodies.

Like that, that Element obtained a body called a 「half magical power body」 that was able to interfere with both powerful magical power and matter.

Calling itself the king of all of mankind, that Element challenged the Spirit King to a fight, but it was routed.

And then, when it tried to recover its strength in the middle of its retreat, it devoured various living creatures, and took them in.

Ykslaas, who lived as the Spirit King Ystia in the past, narrated that old tale while expressing a smile.

「Like this, the worst monster called a Soul Eater was born. That monster also perished before long, and it played a part in the Elements ending up in a difficult situation among mankind……Well, even in this wasn’t the direct cause for the Elements perishing, it might have been one of the factors, couldn’t it?」

「……That story, what connection are you saying it has with me?」

「Ara, you don’t know?」

Ykslaas changed the shape of her smile. Her mouth that had it’s corners tightly raised was blatantly ridiculing Chester.

「Congratulations, on the birth of the second generation Soul Eater. I didn’t think that something like that would come out from the Humans, you know?」

「Wha……」

After Chester was at a loss for words, rage was displayed on his face.

「Could you……take that back.」

「Ara, why would I?」

「I……am an existence that will guide mankind! Eventually……eventually, many members of mankind will be brought up to the domain of my current self! And then……!」

「And then, the members of mankind that couldn’t be brought up……you’ll eat them, won’t you?」

Chester’s words, stopped.

His gaze wandered about as if he were searching for the words to deny her, however, nothing came out.

「What a fool. Since you’re pretending to be a Human despite having quit being a Human a long time ago, a logical contradiction is produced. For you, something like mankind is already……seen as nothing more than a meal, isn’t it?」

「You’re wrong! I really!」

「That’s right. You really intended on deep freezing me and then eating me. And after your meal, you would form some sophism within yourself, saying that you tried to make me your companion, that sort of thing is what you wanted to do, isn’t it?」

Ykslaas expressed a whole faced smile……that was darker than ever before.

「Congratulations on graduating from a Human, you damned monster. How does it feel to have become an enemy of mankind?」

「Ah, ahh……GAAAAAAAAA!?」

Ykslaas’s Magic Guard Light repelled Chester who swooped down at her.

「Impossible, impossible! I am……I AM!」

「You are a monster, Chester. A monster that’s been removed from the natural way of things. A former Human mo」

「Don’t say itttttttt!」

Chester’s body changed from one of light in to a huge body made of stone, and swung his fist down at Ykslaas.

「As if I’d let you!」

However, Olred, who caught and stopped that fist, knocked Chester down with his other fist.

「Gaaah!?」

「What do ya mean “gaah”, you scum bastard!」

Olred’s gigantic battleaxe was clad in fire magical power, and pierced into Chester’s body.

「AAAAH, it hurts, it hurts! Impossible, impossible! It shouldn’t be like this! I am, I am the strongest! Even though I could slaughter even that Mazenda if I just got serious! The same goes for that vice-commander! Don’t……don’t……」

Chester’s body transformed into wind.

Forcibly sending Olred flying with the battering of a tornado, Chester approached Ykslaas.

「Don’t……look down on meeeeEE!」

Ykslaas easily evaded Chester’s charge after turning into a tornado.

「GAAAAA!」

He fired countlessly more tornados.

Ykslaas evaded even those as if she were dancing, and smiled.

「Hey, did you know? Calling an idiot an idiot……isn’t looking down on them, you know? I mean……it’s the truth after all.」

「Ah, ahh……」

「Hey, the reason why the Soul Eater was defeated……do you know it? It was because without thinking about what would happen in the phenomenon of changing their own magical power body, it got carried away and repeatedly changed it, you know?」

Chester accurately understood the meaning of Ykslaas’s words.

That’s right, in other words――

「The reason why you ate members of mankind, was in order to replenish the magical power that was lost in the transformation phenomenon. Since you said that it was an experiment and such, you thoroughly tested it out, didn’t you? You ate them because you were hungry. Fufu……it’s like you’re an animal, isn’t it?」

「Stop ittttt!!」

「I’m sorry, I don’t understand the words of an animal. After all, look……it’s because I’m intelligent life.」

Olred, who was blown away, muttered something like 「That was nasty……」, but Ykslaas pretended to not hear him.

「Gi……gigi……AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

Chester’s body, which was a tornado, was clad in fire.

Stones and ice fly about in the surroundings of Chester who had turned into a blazing tornado, and even beams of light were fired towards the surroundings.

「Arara, have you already relinquished your ego? You sure are weak, aren’t you?」

Now that he had turned out like this, the rest was brittle. Just by leaving him alone, he would use up the magical power that he was composed of and he would be extinguished.

「I suppose the problem is that……in the event we leave this alone, if things go poorly, this room would collapse.」

「Not just the room, wouldn’t the castle itself collapse……This place is underground, isn’t it.」

「I think that will be fine. I think this place was probably made so things above would be fine no matter what happens here, and vice versa.」

While being carried by Olred, who came over while letting out a sigh, Ykslaas gave that explanation.

However, Olred, who carried Ykslaas in his arms and ran, couldn’t be so leisurely.

So that they would be able to deal with things no matter what happened, he ran towards the passage that they came in from.

「Yeah, I get it! So, what should we do to stop that nuisance!」

「Wouldn’t it be fine if we just blow it away with magic with a magical power amount that surpasses it.」

「Like hell we could use something like that in an underground place like this!」

「That’s not necessarily the case. If it’s with Darkness Magic, it’s simple to deal with.」

Olred looked at Ykslaas with a puzzled look, glared at her, then immediately averted his eyes.

「You, after having gone to the Southern Army, you’ve become quite cheeky. Won’t you eventually become just like Raktor?」

「Could you stop that……Whoa!」

Evading a beam of light that came flying in, Olred turned his gaze to Ykslaas.

「Then, you can defeat that, right!?」

「Let’s see. I can if you endure things with all of your strength while I am doing my chant.」

「……I should have left this to Shironos.」

「What, how unreliable.」

A very thick beam of light passed beside those two as they had that sort of conversation.

The beam of light that emitted a white radiance pierced into the thing that was once Chester, and chester raised a scream that seemed like it drowned out the thunderous sound.

「That just now was……A Shine Blade?」

「Just when I was sensing the movement of magical power that wasn’t a trivial matter……What kind of situation is this?」

And then, from within the dark passageway, the user of that magic――Vermudol showed himself.