CH 60

You are advised to be cautioned if you are not comfortable with cheat expressions and gore in this chapter.

(Third person POV)

The cloud of dust that was generated by the dust explosion gradually dissipates.

The Spicy King ponders what will be left after the smoke subsides, and comes to the conclusion that all traces will be eradicated, or at the very least, charred to a crisp.

However, it is not irrational for the Spicy King to reach such a judgment.

After all, contrary to the initial dust explosion, the blow that the Spicy King had just delivered had explosively amplified in intensity in order to ensure Ichiko’s death, rather than limiting the target down to a single one.

Yet, after the plume of dust has dispersed, the Spicy King is taken aback by the sight.

For what he discovers is Ichiko, who is lying there with the unchanged appearance and posture as she was prior to the explosion, and a young girl wearing a sappanwood-colored hooded coat.

(Ichiko POV)

Initially, I surmised that I had died without even having time to register the anguish. But as the sounds begin to return to my circumambient, I open my eyes in doubt.

And what occupies my field of vision is a child confronting the Spicy King.

“Who… are you…?”

When he confronts the child, the Spicy King looks considerably tense than when he faced me. Neither the king’s distinctive composure nor conceit can be discerned in his words.

“Who am I? Well… since you can only produce that degree of speech in front of me, I guess specimen number 493 is a miss after all,” the child says in a flat tone. Judging from the voice, she seems to be a young girl.

“Well, let’s not suspend the communication blockade indefinitely. I’m going to wrap this up right away. ≪Red Elixir≫, ≪Blessing of the Founder God≫, ≪Screenplay of the Ruler≫.”

When the girl bends down and places her hand on my back, she mutters something like the name of some skills.

“What!?”

Then the plethora of wounds that should have formed on my body fade away, and my overall body is imbued with a power I’ve never experienced before, allowing my body to rise up of its own accord.

“Now, it would be a hassle if he escapes. You should finish him off with a single blow. Go on.”

Right after the girl says that while directing her finger at the Spicy King, my body approaches him with such swiftness that even the sound is delayed, and I seize his head with my right hand.

“Ah?”

With my bare hand, I twist off the Spicy King’s head.

Thud!

Papa-la-pappa!

The sound of a level up can be heard in my head just before the Spicy King’s body hits the ground, spewing a fountain of blood.

My thoughts are jumbled, and I’m unable to adapt to the transition of the state of affairs.

“Well, I suppose this means that another Demon King’s seat has been opened up. Then I should designate specimen number 667 as a Demon King at the earliest opportunity,” the girl with the hood mutters such a thing while gazing at me. And this marks the first time the girl’s face has been exposed to me.

The girl has brown hair and yellow eyes, and she is dressed to the nines, almost as if she were a doll. However, within her eyes, it resembles an abyssal world that no one is not permitted to access or an anomalous world in which everything has been contaminated by insanity. At the moment of realizing this, I tried to forget my vow to Lady Ryo and my promise to Kurokiri and opted for death.

Yet, I couldn’t do it. For I am now an actor on stage, created by a flawless script composed by God, and I am unable to move even a finger of my own volition.

The girl inches closer to me, one step at a time.

And with each step, the true identity of this girl unfolds.

With her first step, I understood that this girl possesses a dimension of expertise that I could not even measure up to.

With the following step, I became aware that this girl has gone through a pre-eminent period of years.

And the next step caused me to recognize that this girl is not a person, but something in the guise of a human being.

In another step, I was given insight that this girl is the one who has bestowed us the skills.

At the final step, I grasped that this girl is the source that created the Demon Kings.

“Hahaha. As I expected, specimen number 667 seems to exude more qualities than specimen number 493. At this point, you have the cognizance of who I am,” the girl in front of me carries on her speech as if she can discern everything that I am contemplating.

I am struggling frantically to flee, even forgetting that my body is immobilized. Even though I couldn’t move my mouth, I scream for help. My mind races, urgently striving to find out is there anything I can do. I feel as if I have acquired some sort of skill.

“Hahaha. Resist as best you can.”

The girl stomps through the air as if it were a natural phenomenon and grips my head in her skeletal hands.

“Now, since this is a convenient timing, let’s spend a little time and proceed. ≪Nativity of the Demon King≫.”

From the girl’s hand, I have the sensation of an inexplicable something flowing towards my side. As if it is a conglomeration of all the negative emotions of the world, condensed and kneaded together, my consciousness sinks a morsel at a time into the darkness.

“Where am I…?”

By the time my eyes open again, the unbounded darkness is all around me, and only my figure is visible in the darkness, despite the absence of any source of light.

“!”

And abruptly, my left leg registers pain. When I glance at it, it turns out that my left leg has assimilated into the darkness that surrounds me.

And then a realization dawns on me. Once my entire body has been swallowed up by this darkness, I will be forgotten by all people, my existence will be erased from the records, and I will become a Demon King.

“N-noooooooooooooooooooo!!”

With all my energy, I lift my left leg and begin to dash as fast as I can through the darkness with my right leg and my left leg, which has lost its tip. There is no way out; there is no place to escape. Even knowing that resistance would be futile, I am driven by the urge to run away.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.”[i]

I press on, running inexorably through the darkness. However, the darkness has devoured not only the tip of my left foot but also my left arm and eye. Even so, I keep on running.

“Hah… someone… save me…”

Before I realize it, the left half of my body has been utterly enveloped by the darkness. Nevertheless, I am still crawling to escape with the belief that help would come, that there would be a way out of it somewhere.

“I don’t want to disappear from everyone…”

I could feel the darkness looming over me. I shut my eyes and reminisce about all the memories I’ve been a part of.

The strict days of my training. My encounter with Lady Ryo. My regular life’s tranquil days. My meeting with Kurokiri. The battle with the Ogre King. My farewell with Lady Ryo.

And the last thing I remember is…

“Hey… Like that time… when the Ogre King almost killed me… will you save me again? Kurokiri…”

…the way Kurokiri looked when he was battling the Demon King for my sake.

The darkness is creeping nearer to engulf me. I am sure that that darkness will erode and deprive me of whatever valuable thing that is remaining inside me.

And at the instant the darkness is about to affect me, the fog spreads all around the area as if ripping through the darkness, and before I know it, someone is embracing me in the world where I originated.

A/N:

In case you are wondering about the skills of the God of Calamity, here is an explanation:

≪Red Elixir≫: Skill that completely heals the target

≪Blessing of the Founder God≫: Skill to hyper-enhance all the target’s status

≪Screenplay of the Ruler≫: Skill to perfectly control the target’s actions

≪Nativity of the Demon King≫: Skill to create a Demon King. Has side effects