The Old Dagger (4)
Umbra watched the dust rising in the distance and smiled. At last. Finally. Demonic was coming.
What expression would that man make when he saw this body that had become a demon?
A face full of despair? Would he rage? Or would he break down and cry?
Even that rotting, festering heart seemed to pound and race. Just imagining it made Umbra's face flush hot, fingertips tingling with electricity.
Demonic's face twisted in frustration! It would be a sight too good to keep to oneself.
Umbra grew impatient watching the dust cloud draw nearer. How long had it been since a moment this anticipated?
—Swish!
The footsteps that had been approaching from afar finally reached Umbra. The sound of feet dragging long. Thick dust spread and obscured vision.
As Umbra's brow twitched and a hand began to rise—
—Slash!
A fierce blade of holy power tore through the dust. Extremely compressed holy power grazed past Umbra's neck.
Scarlet blood droplets trickled down. Bright red blood dripped drop by drop. A little deeper and the neck would have been severed.
So that's your answer, is it?
Umbra wiped the flowing blood with a hand. How long had it been since bleeding such red blood?
Umbra's tongue writhed and licked the blood from the hand. The metallic scent and taste... utterly sweet.
"...Shut your mouth, demon. I will tear your soul apart and feed it to the dogs."
Demonic's reply came from within the dust. He tried to maintain composure, but a demon that parasitizes the human heart was more sensitive to emotion than anyone.
Rage, despair, regret, fear... such sweet emotions.
The demon's ears missed not a single tremor in Demonic's voice.
Soon the dust settled and Demonic's form was revealed. Having run from afar, sweat streamed down as he steadied his breathing.
He tried hard to keep his face blank as he looked at Umbra.
But Umbra could feel it.
The eyes looking at this body, the emotions—
were thrashing violently.
Umbra's mouth split wide in a mad laugh.
"..."
Demonic made no reply and silently leveled his sword. A silent declaration that he would exchange no further words. Umbra laughed with delight.
"...I will not let you die cleanly."
The sound of grinding teeth rang out. Behind Demonic, Ruel spoke in a trembling voice.
"Ke-Kenis is the Paladin's daughter...?"
A tremor full of shock. Demonic did not look back.
"...Later. I'll explain later."
If I can— Demonic swallowed the rest. Facing the demon before him was more important than lengthy explanations.
A brief standoff between Umbra and Demonic continued.
—Whoosh!
Demonic lunged like an arrow. A sword swung light as the wind.
On the blade, extremely compressed holy power had hardened denser than steel.
Clang—!
Ice surged up from the ground and blocked the sword. Crack— ice climbed the blade, then melted under the condensed holy power.
"Hup!"
A barrage of sword strikes plummeting like shooting stars. But Umbra slipped away through shadow and reappeared far off.
"There!"
Demonic kicked off the ground and closed the distance to Umbra in an instant. Speed that could rival light itself.
Umbra kept hiding in shadow, dodging Demonic this way and that. Like a game of tag, making no effort to hide the enjoyment.
"You plan to do nothing but run?!"
Umbra did not merely flee either.
—Sssssss
"...Damn it."
Darkness began to cover the ground across the area. Though the sun hung in the sky, pitch-black dusk began to settle.
"Hup!"
Demonic kicked off the ground and retreated, avoiding the darkness. Those shadows were as good as Umbra's own limbs.
Charge in recklessly and die like an ant in an antlion's pit.
Petty tricks...
Demonic's eyes swept the surroundings quickly. The dusk spreading beyond the road into the forest. Far off, holy knights trapped in pillars of ice.
Reinforcements would still take time.
...But there was no guaranteeing what would happen if more time was given to that Great Demon.
Must I fight somehow.
The locket brooch at Demonic's neck clinked and swayed. He could not lose something precious again.
Demonic clenched his teeth and prepared to leap into the black shadows.
"P-Paladin! Let me help!"
"...Priest Ruel. You have received no combat training, so there is no need to force yourself. Stay back there so you don't get hurt—"
—Fwoosh!
Demonic's next words were cut short by spreading light. The writhing dusk sizzled and burned away under a small light.
"This is..."
The Morning Star Staff Ruel had raised was emitting a small light. Like the morning star rising in the dark dawn, a small star that banished darkness had risen upon the earth.
"Hnnngh!"
Ruel raised the staff high with both hands, sweating profusely as she shook it hard. The hanging morning star swung like a pendulum, scattering light widely.
—Sizzle
Holes punched through the shadows covering the ground as they burned away. The ice pillars that had risen far off slowly melted where the light touched them.
KRAANG—!
Bursting through a melting ice pillar, Friga charged out. Friga with the air of an enraged beast. Her axe gleamed with a vicious edge.
"You son of a bitch! Stick your neck out! You're fucking dead!"
Behind the furious Friga appeared the captain and the holy knights. The holy knights quickly gathered behind Demonic.
Umbra's eyes, watching the scene with composure, narrowed slightly. No sense of crisis in those eyes. An expression of mere annoyance.
Even as the small morning star that had settled on the ground erased the shadows and the ice melted, Umbra remained unfazed.
Umbra was a Great Demon of Hell, king of demons. Though the full power of the true body could not be used, there was no chance of losing to worm-like humans.
Even if by some chance this body falls... it will not affect the true body in Hell.
This was nothing more than entertainment. A fun, amusing game.
—Crrrack
Black ice slowly climbed and began to cover Umbra's body. Like armor, a carapace of ice grew.
A black helm that completely covered the face. Its form was like the face of an enraged demon.
Faint-hearted Ruel trembled at the sight.
Umbra's voice resonated unpleasantly through the helm.
"D-Demon! Wh-what did you do to Ke-Kenis!"
Ruel shouted with a face gone pale, but both eyes fixed straight on Umbra. Both hands gripping the Morning Star Staff were clenched so tight the blood couldn't flow.
Umbra in the black helm tilted its head for a moment.
—Spliiit
Umbra's belly split open vertically. On either side of the split torso, ribs writhed like teeth, and a long, bright-red tongue wriggled. A landscape like the inside of a monster's maw. Within it was filled with the Abyss.
And inside, deep in the darkness within the body—
there was a small golden orb.
"You goddamn demon!!"
Before anyone could stop him, Demonic charged out. His eyes had rolled back from Umbra's provocation.
—KRAANG!
Umbra blocked Demonic's sword with the armor on an arm. A small shockwave spread centered on the two of them.
—Thud-KRAANG! —KRAANG!
Then the two continued their exchange of blows, leaving blurred afterimages. Dozens of exchanges came and went in the blink of an eye.
"Captain! Let's go too!"
"Yes! All holy knights! Raise your swords!"
Friga took up the Dragon Hunter's Axe and leapt into the heart of the melee.
A battle where life and death passed in instants continued, and from far away Ruel diligently shook the Morning Star Staff.
—Fwoosh!
Hoping that this small starlight would reach Kenis, who was lost and wandering.
She shook the staff hard with her short arms.
My body feels light, floating. Is this what lying in water feels like? With a gentle push, I drift and float.
The comfort of being in a mother's womb... I want to close my eyes forever and enjoy this peace.
Bubble-bubble—
"Mmph?!"
I snapped my eyes open at the sound of rising air bubbles. Air bubble sounds? What is that. Why am I hearing that.
"Hup?"
I turned my head this way and that, looking around. Water, water, water.
Nothing but black water and dirt. The deep sea in documentaries looked like this.
Bubble-bubble—
"Mmph."
I'm underwater, but I can still breathe. Another dream?
After looking around, I relaxed my body and just lay still. With the heart of seaweed swaying in the ocean. Right now I am a single strand of kelp.
This comfort isn't bad.
—Twinkle
"Mph?"
Far off, in the pitch-black water, a small light twinkled. I ignored it and kept lying still.
—Twinkle —Twinkle
A light that kept twinkling. Just what is over there?
Curiosity beat laziness. I slowly worked my feet and pushed through the darkness toward the twinkling light.
And at the end of that light...
"...What is this?"
I found something strange.