Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Hell's Heart
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A somber color filled my vision.
Beneath a green sky, the likes of which I’d never seen, stretched a dead city.
The unpleasantly towering buildings had bizarre shapes. How should I describe them?
They were twisted, as if someone had wrung them out.
Despite looking like they could collapse at any moment, the buildings stood firm.
*Whoooosh—.*
The blowing wind was as foul as a monster's belch. Though I was outside, it felt as stuffy and damp as the inside of a cave.
*Kek, kuhuhut…*
A red light flashed from a window of a twisted building, followed by the sound of wicked laughter.
I could feel gazes peeking at me.
The presence of these gazes snowballed, and my heart grew heavy knowing that not a single one of them was small fry.
*Is Eldest Martial Brother in a place like this?*
I’d felt something similar before.
Right after the Demon King of the Black Swamp descended.
The faces of ghosts were carved into the bark of the forest trees, and an ominous wind had swirled from all directions.
The bad part was that the pressure I felt now was at least several times stronger than back then.
[Successor, are you… out of your mind?]
The Martial God spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
[Do you have any idea what this place is? It's hell! The very headquarters of demonic energy, a twisted homeland! A place teeming with death!]
*Seems like it.*
Was it due to the demonic energy?
My body already felt a bit sluggish.
In the Butterfly Forest, which was submerged in demonic energy—a place that merely mimicked hell—I hadn’t lasted long and almost died.
So, in the real hell, how long would my body hold out?
Half a day?
An hour?
*More importantly, are you sure I can return to my original world?*
[…It is a primordial rule that one cannot stay in another world for long. If that weren't the case, the Calamity God wouldn't need to be summoned through a descent ritual. The same applies to you, Successor. No matter how long, after staying here for a while, you will be forcibly repatriated at some point.]
*If you say "at some point," when exactly—*
[The timing of repatriation varies from person to person! That's why I said it's dangerous, because I don't know!]
The Martial God said, uncharacteristically angry.
[There's no guarantee you'll last that long, Successor! Why on earth would you do something so reckless—]
In that moment, the Martial God's voice completely vanished.
*Martial God?*
[…]
No answer.
This felt different from usual.
It wasn't that he'd fallen asleep, but rather that our connection seemed to have been forcibly severed…
*…*
To be fair, it's not like I threw myself into hell without any thought.
It wasn't without its risks, but I judged it was a risk worth taking.
*Speaking of which, where's Juan?*
He should have come with me, but I don't see him.
That's when I heard a strange sound.
*Thump… thump…*
The moment a sound like a bouncing ball came from somewhere beyond the buildings, the unpleasant laughter stopped all at once.
I felt the owners of the gazes hastily hiding, as if they were terrified.
At the same time, I felt an unsettlingly immense energy approaching me.
It was an oppressive presence I had experienced before.
Before my regression, when I saw Nine, the Demon King of the Black Swamp.
*A Demon King.*
The moment that word crossed my mind, I took a discreet deep breath.
Finally, will I be able to meet Eldest Martial Brother?
[Hah…! Hah…!]
Finally, from the entrance of a deserted alley, the source of the presence revealed itself.
Against the backdrop of gloomy darkness, a figure with a bloated body was running toward me.
While kicking a ball, no less.
[Hah…! Hah…!]
Its waddling movements were as ridiculous as a clown's, and the sight of it panting for breath was unsightly, but…
Strangely, I didn't find it the least bit amusing.
Finally, the being reached me.
[Ho, hohoho…]
Its physique was roughly three meters tall?
It was much larger than a human, but it was bipedal and had two arms.
It was even wearing clothes.
Of course, that didn't mean I could treat this being as a person.
[Ah, g-greetings…! Human! N-nice to m-meet you.]
In short, it was a green tongue wearing clothes.
The clothes, ill-fitting for its obese frame, were stretched to the bursting point, and its thick belly and flab spilled out unpleasantly through the tears in the fabric.
Obviously, it wasn't my Eldest Martial Brother.
"…And you are?"
[Ah! I am… that is… in your language, uh…]
The monster pulled a notebook from its bosom.
After flipping through it, it exclaimed, "Ah!"
[I am… Tang, ta, ta…!]
"…"
As I recalled, that was the name of the green-tongued Demon King.
It obviously wasn't someone with the same name.
The oppressive aura I felt was emanating from this thing, and indeed, the unsettling gazes had vanished as if washed away the moment this monster appeared.
Facing a Demon King, I had countless questions, but for now, I simply nodded and spoke.
"I am Ruan Bednicker."
[I see. Oh, ohoho! Ru, Ruan…]
Tangtata stammered, pulling a rag from its bosom.
And it wiped away the unpleasant liquid—what could be called either sweat or saliva—that was dripping from its entire body.
Perhaps it wasn't a rag but a handkerchief.
I had only seen two Demon Kings, but this one's impression was worlds apart from the being called Nine.
Of course, that didn't mean I could let my guard down.
*Thump… thump…*
Tangtata played by kicking the ball by itself.
For its obese frame, it handled it quite well.
It was bouncing the ball with its feet, knees, and even its head without using its hands. Seeing this, I couldn't help but ask.
"What is that?"
I used formal language since it was a divine being.
Though, as I expected, it probably wouldn't care much whether I spoke formally or informally.
[Uh, uhm? A-are you interested in my, my ball?]
Tangtata seemed pleased as it smiled and rolled the ball toward me.
[Here, here…! P-pass…! Ohoho…]
*Roll, roll…*
The rolling ball stopped when it touched my foot.
"…"
I looked at Juan's empty eyes and spoke.
"Did you do this?"
[Yes!]
"Why? This man was supposed to be your subordinate…"
[S-subordinate? N-no! He, he was my… uh…]
Tangtata pulled out its notebook again, flipped through it, and said.
[He was my partner!]
"Partner?"
[Or… partner…? Uh, uhm. The continental language is… so difficult…]
"…"
[Anyway, I made a… 'deeeaaal' with that, that human.]
"A deal… You and Juan?"
[Yes…! I, I… respect the living beings of the continent…! I, I envy them!]
Tangtata said, constantly wiping its sweat with the grimy rag.
[Isn't, isn't it wonderful? The… respect and… trust… between individuals! Without it, a deal… can never be made…! Wh-what reason would one have to trust another with their belongings? Ho, hohoho…]
"…"
[D-deals… are a good system…! A system we… should learn from…]
This was not a being suitable for conversation.
I clicked my tongue and asked.
"What deal did you make with Juan?"
[It's s-simple… This, this human… said he would entertain me…! He said he would grant… my wishes…! In return, he borrowed my power—]
Tangtata said with a grin.
[S-so… I recently… learned about something called a toy, and I wanted one… so I made a 'Juan Ball'…]
"…"
[Ru, Ruan? Will you pass the Juan Ball to me?]
I didn't.
When I just sighed and stood still, Tangtata became visibly dejected.
[H-hmm… You don't seem to like… this game… I-I must… respect your preferences…]
"Where is this place?"
[Th-this is my domain…! I, I call this place a city… and I've even given it a name…!]
Tangtata spread its hands theatrically and exclaimed.
[Hell's Heart…! Hell's only, and largest, city…!]
I grew curious and asked.
"…If it's the only city, isn't it naturally the largest? There's nothing else to compare it to."
[Ahem…!]
At my words, Tangtata coughed violently and changed the subject.
[Ah, rest assured…! Ruan Bednicker… I know you people call this world… hell…! But here, this place at least… is not a dangerous place…!]
"…"
A city in hell.
At this point, even I had to let out a hollow laugh.
Seeing my laugh, Tangtata laughed back.
Since its facial features were the size of millet grains, the sight was rather repulsive.
[Ru, Ruan Bednicker. Please follow me…! I, I have always longed to invite a guest…!]
"A guest?"
[Yeees…! A guest…!]
Tangtata smiled.
In the brief glimpse of its mouth, I saw countless serrated teeth.
"I'm not a guest."
[Hmm…?]
"The one I intended to meet was the Colorless Demon King."
[Co, lor, less… uh…]
After thinking deeply for a moment, an exclamation mark seemed to appear above Tangtata's head.
[Ah…! S-so that was it…!]
"According to Juan, I should have been able to choose the destination… so why did I end up in your territory?"
[Th-that is… Juan was mistaken… The moment he used the power he borrowed from me… the destination was fixed to this place…]
"…Hmph."
So that's how it was.
I felt a bitter pang inside.
It felt bad that things had turned out just as the Martial God had said.
[But… you are truly… an interesting human…]
Tangtata said, looking at me.
[When a human sees me… it's one of two things… They either bow… or go mad…]
"…"
[You are the first… human who can… converse with me… Ohoho… H-how amusing…]
I could sense goodwill in Tangtata's eyes, but I felt a strong sense of unease.
Goodwill from a Demon King.
[S-so, how about it? Ruan Bednicker… Won't you become… my partner?]
"Partner?"
[Yes, yeees… In place of that human from before… I mean.]
I nodded and spoke.
"It's an honor to be held in such high regard by a being like a Demon King. What would I do as your partner?"
[N-nothing much. You just have to entertain me from time to time.]
"Entertain you?"
[Yes…! The human from before… said he had someone he loved…]
Tangtata suddenly clenched its two fists.
[L-love…! I, I… long for that emotion…!]
"…"
[That, that human… was afflicted with some disease… and didn't have long to live, I heard… Ah…! H-how fragile these creatures called humans are…]
Tangtata let out an exaggerated sigh.
[S-so… I told him… To give me that woman’s… heart… The, the expression on the human's face at that time… was s-so delicious…! *Slurp*, ex-excuse me…]
Tangtata wiped away the drool streaming down its face and continued.
[Wh-when I demanded the heart, the human wailed… He said he could give me anything else… but, I couldn't do that. Th-the expression on someone's face when they lose something precious… is the most entertaining, isn't it…?]
"…"
[In the end… the, the previous human… entertained me often… E-even in death, you see…]
I looked down at Juan at my feet.
It was just a thought, but.
Back when he joined the Cult… the man named Juan might not have been so corrupt.
His reason for becoming a member might have truly been his resolve to save the woman he loved.
Then perhaps the trigger for Juan's complete descent into madness and becoming a High Priest was that woman's death.
But now, there was no way to know.
Because the only man who knew the truth was already dead.
"By the way, there's something I'd like to ask."
[Ho, hoho… Please ask anything…! I, I have a duty… to sincerely answer… everything my pa-rtner is curious about…!]
Tangtata said, even clapping its hands.
Since it seemed so willing, I could ask comfortably.
I ask while looking at Juan's head, still at my feet.
"Do you happen to remember this man's name?"
[Hmm?]
Tangtata blinked its millet-sized eyes.
"The name of this person you turned into a ball."
[Uhh… W-well…]
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Despite giving him the disgusting moniker 'Juan Ball', this being had already erased Juan's existence from its mind.
It was proof that it didn't treat people as people.
In fact, when this demon called Tangtata spoke to me, I had a thought.
If communication was possible, couldn't a conversation be established?
Wasn't turning Juan into a ball just a result of its lack of common sense?
It wasn't.
Just because something has emotions and can speak doesn't make it the same kind of individual.
Humans and demons were fundamentally designed to be incapable of understanding each other.
For some reason, in this moment, I could understand a little of the Iron-Blooded Duke's infinite hatred for demons.
*So… what should I do?*
I thought, fiddling with the coin in my pocket.