Chapter 230: Jealousy (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 230: Jealousy (2)
Lilac was confident.
The Demonic Sword had told him his true desire—what he truly wanted to become.
He wanted to protect.
If he could gain the power to protect everything within his reach, he didn’t care if he broke. He didn’t care if his hands shattered.
No, if he wanted to move forward, he should have made that choice long ago.
What kind of hero was he, claiming to protect things while refusing to stake his all or lose a single thing?
He wanted to be like his friend, who was always covered in wounds yet would smile and say he was fine once everything was over.
Only by living like him—maintaining a smile even when things couldn’t possibly be fine—could one earn the right to be called a hero.
So, he would cast it aside.
First, he would discard his past self, throw away everything he had built until now, and move toward the future.
Until now, he had been a shield, but that would change.
A shield could take a hit for someone, but it couldn’t strike down a threatening enemy.
I shall become a tempered blade.
So… you, the one I’ve tried so hard to resemble, do not deny me.
“I’ve become stronger. If I hone this power further, I’ll grow even stronger.”
However, contrary to his resolve, the only time they stood on equal footing was during the first exchange, when he used a surprise attack with feathers of Demonic Energy.
“Is that so?”
Having closed the distance, the boy swung his arm, and the hilt of his dagger buried itself ruthlessly into Lilac’s ribs.
If he had been holding it with a standard grip, the blade would have sunk right in.
Lilac gasped as the breath was knocked out of him, but the boy showed no mercy, following up with a knee strike to his abdomen.
“You said you got stronger. Then why are you just taking a beating from me?”
Lilac was the one being unilaterally suppressed; he couldn’t even keep up with the boy’s movements.
Why?
The boy was fast, certainly. He was more precise than before. But Lilac didn’t feel like he was failing to keep up simply because the boy had grown stronger.
“Can’t keep up, can you?”
Lilac scattered feathers of Demonic Energy in a desperate attempt to resist, but the boy ignored them, lunging through to kick his leg.
The moment he lost his balance, a heavy impact slammed into his nose.
The boy had also been cut by the Demonic Energy, but the wounds were far from fatal.
“Do you know why you can’t keep up?”
Lilac couldn’t answer.
“It’s not because you got stronger, you bastard. It’s because you got weaker.”
I got weaker?
“It’s flashy. And honestly, the power is decent. It’ll probably work well against mediocre opponents.”
Then what was the problem?
“But that’s it. You’re so focused on looking cool that your stance is wavering. And because your stance is a mess, that disciplined swordsmanship you used to pride yourself on has gone to hell.”
“Urgh…!”
“Don’t ‘urgh’ me, you brat.”
“Are you saying I’m wrong to the very end…!”
“Yeah, you’re wrong.”
“The power of the Demonic Sword is immense…! What’s wrong with using it…!”
“…Who told you not to use the Demonic Sword?”
“…What?”
“Use it. Go ahead and use it, but stop doing this weird shit where you throw away everything you’ve built up, you moron.”
What was he talking about?
“At first, since it’s hard to handle such violent power, you probably thought of attacking with just the energy. But you’ve got good control now, don’t you? Then you should go back to the style you’re actually good at.”
“I… I just wanted to discard my old self…”
“Ah. Is that so? Then keep getting your ass kicked.”
Holding the dagger in a reverse grip, the boy ruthlessly stabbed down toward the fallen Lilac.
Lilac hurriedly rolled across the ground to dodge, but seeing the boy chase after him, determined to land a kick… how should he put it?
Really, how to put it? It felt like the boy had absolutely no intention of going easy on him.
…Wait, isn’t this a bit much?
The thought crossed his mind instinctively.
* * *
At that point, the brat rolled across the ground to dodge my attack and finally took a proper stance.
He wasn’t trying to look cool by stepping through the air, nor was he swinging his sword with a loose grip.
He gripped the sword firmly with both hands, took a mid-level stance, and began to look me straight in the eye.
Right, right. That’s how it should be.
Who the hell strikes a pose full of openings in the middle of a fight? You want to die?
With about two stacks of reinforcement, the current Lilac shouldn’t be getting one-sidedly thrashed like this.
He had been getting beaten because he was busy posing and having pathetic thoughts instead of doing what he was capable of.
To be honest, until a moment ago, I thought he might have been brainwashed by the Demonic Sword or turned dark because he couldn’t control its power, but fighting him directly gave me certainty.
The reason he’d turned weird was purely psychological.
Which meant the solution was simple.
“Since ancient times, this has been the best medicine. History proves it…!”
You just have to beat the crap out of them.
However, lunging into the range of a Lilac who had regained his stance was a different story than beating the version of him from moments ago.
“Oh, contestant Lilac! It seems he’s finally stopped messing around and is getting serious. Professor Cathy, what is your take on the current situation?”
“Huh? Oh, uh. Yes, Cadet Kang Han-hee. In my opinion, he consumed too much stamina in the early stages, and that Demonic Sword power seems to drain more energy than the previous Holy Sword, so I don’t think he can last long.”
“Oh, as expected of an expert’s opinion!”
Hey, Ha-ni. I know you’re excited, but is this right? Shouldn’t you at least pretend to hide while watching?
It wasn’t just Ha-ni; everyone was watching openly, cheering for either me or Lilac. It was a dizzying sight.
…Well, it’s not like I was trying to keep this a secret.
But in that split second when my attention shifted to the audience…
Lilac, seizing the moment my concentration wavered, lunged in.
It wasn’t the slow, condescending movement from before, but the movement of a mature swordsman. I was momentarily flustered.
And then came a strike from the Demonic Sword, which boasted higher destructive power than the Holy Sword.
This brat. He’s good when he tries. I don’t know why he acts so pathetic sometimes.
But he’s still a bit clumsy.
Using a shadow trap I’d pre-set with the Power of the Black Shadow, I broke his stance as he approached and swung my dagger.
He hurriedly raised his arm to block, but he no longer had the shield made of Holy Sword light on his arm. Realizing this, he tried to mimic a shield using Demonic Energy feathers, but a makeshift shield couldn’t possibly have enough defensive power.
I struck with the flat of the blade, but my current strength wasn’t something to be ignored. His arm was likely throbbing painfully.
“Hey, keep it separate. What you’re using now isn’t a power meant for protecting. You can’t just charge in blindly like you used to.”
“…Didn’t you just tell me not to throw away what I’ve built?”
Oh, his way of speaking has returned to normal.
“You blockhead, that doesn’t mean you should use the Demonic Sword to mimic the Holy Sword.”
Now, come on. Don’t stall and just do it. If you can’t pull out the Holy Sword now, I’ll have to start looking for a new solution tomorrow.
Fortunately, my worries were in vain.
“…Whew.”
The moment he corrected his stance and raised his sword again, a holy aura began to ripple around him.
Right, just do it the same way you did when you pulled out the Demonic Sword.
So that one day, you can naturally choose and use the power you need…
[Lilac~]
…What the, whose voice is that all of a sudden?
[Youuu~ You didn’t even answer when I called!]
…Seriously, whose voice is it?
Something sparkling popped out from the brilliant light surrounding Lilac.
Wait. Is that the Spirit of the Holy Sword?
The one the Setting Book said would appear when Lilac tries to draw the Holy Sword after subjugating the Demonic Sword…?
What, you didn’t just get better at handling the Demonic Sword, you actually subjugated it…?
No, wait, did you just subjugate it right now?
According to the Setting Book, once Lilac completely subjugates the Demonic Sword, the Holy Sword stops dedicating its power to suppressing the demon and can finally lend its strength to Lilac in the truest sense.
And the being that helps Lilac at that moment is the Spirit of the Holy Sword.
…So this guy just awakened because we had a little scuffle?
The onlookers also seemed to sense that Lilac’s Holy Sword aura had grown deeper than before; they stopped their noisy chatter and watched us in silence.
“Yeah, sorry. I guess I was too impatient.”
[As long as you know!]
Lilac, who had been looking at the Spirit of the Holy Sword, turned his gaze back to me.
“The Demonic Sword told me. Not to think I could save anything without sacrifice.”
“What a load of shit.”
“That’s why I thought of you. You always saved someone, even if you ended up covered in wounds.”
“…You think I got hurt because I wanted to? I got hurt because I was weak.”
“Is it okay for me to keep doing things the way I always have?”
“It’s not just okay, it’s what you must do. If you get hurt, at least that Pink Chihuahua over there is going to cry her eyes out.”
“…Right, Yu-na. Yu-na was really worried.”
“Oh, so you knew that and still acted like that?”
“I have no excuse…”
[Hey, friend!]
“…Me?”
[Thanks for helping Lilac remember me again!]
Wow, I’m actually getting thanked by the Spirit of the Holy Sword.
[But I can’t forgive you for hitting my Lilac…!]
…What do you want me to do about it?
[Gratitude is gratitude! Lilac, you have to win this fight!]
“…Of course!”
The awakened Lilac, clad in divine light, manifested a sword made of Holy Sword light in his right hand and a sword of Demonic Sword light in his left.
Seriously. If he was going to shake it off this easily, why did he mope around so much?
“Here I come.”
It didn’t seem like he could handle Holy-Demonic Energy yet, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a threat.
Dealing with someone who possessed both the destructive power of the Demonic Sword and the sturdiness of the Holy Sword wouldn’t be easy.
I stacked a third reinforcement, and the Touch of the Devil clashed with the Holy Sword.
This brat. Making people worry for nothing.
After that, Lilac surprisingly managed to hold his own against me even with my triple-stacked reinforcement, successfully earning a draw from the spectators.
* * *
Around the same time, a massive battle had just concluded in the Demon Realm.
Belphegor, the Demon King of Sloth.
One of the goat-like horns he took such pride in was brutally snapped off, and the throne he always sat on out of laziness was shattered into pieces.
On the other hand, his opponent had a bit of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and a few minor scratches, but no wounds that could be called fatal.
To anyone watching, the winner was clear. The victor, the Demon King of Pride, was slowly contemplating what punishment to hand down to the loser, the Demon King of Sloth.
“Now then, what should I do with you, Belphegor?”
Conversely, as the loser with nowhere to look for mercy except from the victor, Belphegor was trembling in terror.
He knew there was a difference in power.
He knew she was at a level he couldn’t defeat.
Even so, he never imagined it would be this one-sided.
He cursed his past self, who had been so certain that he could at least fight her to a draw and escape if things turned sour.
Dammit, I should have just sucked it up and bowed my head. I should have taken the chance when it was offered.
“Hmm? No answer. Does that mean I can decide as I please?”
What was that aura in the first place?
When she was using only Demonic Energy, they were clearly evenly matched. At the very least, he wasn’t being pushed back.
But the moment she suddenly mixed divine energy into her Demonic Energy, creating something entirely different, the balance of power collapsed instantly.
“Answer me.”
“…Hieek…!?”
“Are you not going to?”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
What could he possibly say right now?
The victor smiled pleasantly as she looked down at the trembling loser.
“Well, first of all. I don’t like the way you look.”
“What?”
“No matter how important tradition is, demons need to survive, and to make contracts, you need to make a good impression. Who’s going to like a horned old man sitting in a chair?”
…To a demon who could change their appearance more or less at will, what did anything other than their essence matter?
“First, why don’t you try becoming young, small, and cute?”
“…What?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
“If you don’t like it, then die.”
But of course, he didn’t want to die, so he manifested the form of the youngest woman he could manage.
The body of a woman in her twenties.
It was his first time taking a female form, so it was strangely humiliating, but fortunately, the humiliation was worth enduring.
Lucifer seemed to quite like the look.
“Hmm, good. Good. Since you’re being obedient and your face has become cute, my desire to kill you has faded a bit.”
Belphegor felt goosebumps when Lucifer’s hand touched his broken horn, but he endured it and kept his gaze lowered.
“Right. Now that you’ve learned what it means to prostrate yourself, I might forgive you if you do me one special favor.”
The moment he heard those words, Belphegor couldn’t help but look up with a glimmer of hope.
As it was for any species, survival was a matter of utmost importance for a demon who had established their rank.
“I wanted to try an experiment, but I didn’t have the right means. But while I was about to kill you, I realized you have a rather good method.”
However, what the King of Pride desired might turn out to be a greater calamity for him than simple death.
“That project you were preparing in the human world. Give it to me.”
It sounded like a request, but it was a threat.
A threat that was no different from saying she would dispose of him right here if he refused.
He wanted to live.
And so, the Demon King of Sloth accepted Pride’s proposal, unaware of the future that awaited him.
“Yes, good boy.”
And Satan and Asmodeus, who had been watching the scene while preventing the damage from the battle from spreading across the Demon Realm, made a silent vow.
If they ever had a reason to fight Lucifer, they would just apologize instead.