The Old Dagger (5)
How long had he pushed through the darkness, chasing that tiny glittering light? He advanced through the lightless deep, trusting only that faint glow.
At the end of the light…
"What is this…"
Black, repulsive snakes… snakes coiled and knotted together into a sphere. Or were they even snakes at all?
Snakes blacker than the deep-sea dark itself, as if they drank light. He had never seen or heard of anything like them.
"Ugh, disgusting."
As he drew closer the snakes writhed, lifting their bodies with a wet, slithering motion. They moved like tentacles. He had once watched a documentary of snakes mating in a mass—this looked exactly like that.
The mere sight made his stomach turn. He gagged before he could stop himself. The snakes were foul enough, yet something deeper and more nauseating than their appearance pressed in on him until he could barely look.
"Urgh! Gonna throw up."
Bile rose in his throat. Revolting. Sickening. He started to turn away.
—Twinkle.
"Ah."
Inside the mating ball a tiny light flickered. The same light that had drawn him here.
"Tsk…"
He hesitated. That light nested inside the repulsive mass… unlike the snakes that made his skin crawl, it felt faintly warm up close.
If the ball was a heap of garbage, the light was a dandelion blooming among the trash. What was it, to make him feel that way?
"Just once. Just one look."
Curiosity beat disgust. Curiosity—and the way the little light kept dimming and flickering. A restless urgency stirred in him.
"Ugh—"
His hand touched the edge of the ball and met a soft, yielding slickness. A chill raced up his spine. Cold, clammy, utterly vile…
"God, no."
He swallowed another wave of nausea and began peeling the mass apart. Up close they were not snakes at all—only something shaped like snakes.
Snake-forms made of pure black ink. The longer he looked, the worse they felt.
"Ugh, I hate this."
Grumbling, he tore them free in long strips. The more he ripped, the angrier the snake-things became, thrashing roughly.
—Thud! Thwack!
No eyes, no mouths, yet they whipped their bodies about as if they truly were snakes. Already nauseated, he felt rage rise as they writhed.
"Just stay still!"
—Riiip! —Riiip!
He seized them with both hands and ripped them apart. Piece by piece he shredded the tightly knotted mass. Once torn, the thrashing stopped.
He kept tearing, digging deeper into the ball for a long while.
"Haa… almost done."
What had been the size of a gym ball had shrunk to a basketball. Shredded black carcasses drifted lazily on the current. He wiped imaginary sweat, oddly proud.
—Twinkle.
The mating ball… with only one left, was it even a ball anymore? The final snake had wound itself tightly around the light.
Alone it was still basketball-sized. How huge was this thing? He slipped his fingers into a gap where light leaked and pried it open a little.
—Ssssp.
The space inside was pure darkness—an abyss where nothing could be seen.
Within it a warm golden light flickered without rest. Beside that golden glow he now noticed an even tinier light.
The golden light shone as fragile as a dying star, as small as a firefly in the night sky.
The tiny light clung to it, refusing to let go.
—…s
"Huh?"
A whisper came from the tiny light. Soft. Faint.
—…nis!
What? What was it saying? He pressed closer.
Ke…—s! …shin—cha…!
A little girl’s voice. Desperate, searching, calling someone’s name with all her heart.
"…Kenis?"
The name slipped out before he knew it. The moment he spoke it—
—Fwoooosh!
"Ah!"
The faintly flickering golden light erupted. A dying star blazed with sudden brilliance. Dazzling rays poured through every gap.
The radiant golden fire pushed back against the abyss inside the snake, lighting the dark as if in contest.
"Th-this is…"
Gold and darkness ate at each other’s territory in a fierce struggle. Little by little… the light was losing ground. He threw himself at the gap, trying to force it wider.
"Ghhhk!"
He poured every ounce of strength into it, yet nothing moved. Fingers jammed into the crack, pulling, prying—every method failed. The snake did not budge.
Meanwhile the golden light continued to be swallowed, bit by bit, by the snake’s dark.
"Damn it, isn’t there anything?"
He scanned the surroundings in frantic haste. A tool, a rock—anything. But there was only water.
—Ssssss…
The darkness began to devour the golden light in earnest.
Life and death flashed past in seconds. One enemy, many allies—yet the foe was a Great Demon, king of demons, who made numbers meaningless.
A single punch sent several paladins flying. A kick uprooted trees by the roots.
On a battlefield thick with death, Ruel raised the Morning Star Staff and kept scattering tiny star-lights.
Kenis… can you hear me? Please wake up…!
She prayed that the light, true to the staff’s name, would reach Kenis—that this star-light would find her trapped in the Abyss.
She prayed and prayed that the smallest star-light would pierce the dark and become a guide for her.
—Fwaaah.
The morning star hanging from the staff glittered with light that seemed ready to snap yet never did. The first star to shine in darkness guided someone through the dark.
"That filthy demon bastard…"
Umbra was a storm of slaughter, an incarnation of destruction. He swept the field, scattering the blood and screams of paladins. He dodged Demonic and Friga while picking off the knights alone.
Ruin marked every direction. Umbra was a cunning demon. Aside from that unpleasant axe and Demonic himself, nothing here required caution.
"Gyaaah!!"
A paladin collapsed with a fist-sized hole punched through his gut.
"…I will tear that soul of yours to shreds. I swear it."
Demonic’s teeth ground together with a harsh scrape. Umbra licked the blood from his hand and grinned. Was it not amusing?
Demonic swung without a moment’s hesitation, yet the demon’s eyes saw everything clearly.
The lingering attachment Demonic could not cast off.
Because it’s his daughter’s body, is that it?
Umbra did not bother hiding the snicker that burst out. Demonic could have aimed cleanly for the neck on the first strike—yet he had not. Could not, more likely.
How could it not be laughable?
Mid-taunt, Umbra’s movement locked. Even so, Demonic and Friga moved on pure instinct.
—Now.
Friga and Demonic lunged at him.
"Tseaaah!"
The world Umbra saw began to slow. Friga’s axe drifted through the air; Demonic’s blade froze mid-swing. Color drained away until everything was black and white, every motion crawling as if time itself had nearly stopped.
Not by Umbra’s will—by another’s. He was being dragged, forcibly, into the Sea of Souls.
What the hell is this?!
He could not resist the power yanking his consciousness. Who would dare drag the king of demons against his will?
Splash—!
The sound of plunging into the Sea of Souls rang in his ears. His body remained on the ground, yet his mind had fallen into the sea.
Down, down, deeper still—toward the lightless deep.
Insane! How deep is this going?!
No one entered the deep of the Sea of Souls lightly. The crushing pressure could erase a self in an instant.
Even a king of demons was no exception. When he had swallowed Kenis’s soul he had prepared countless safeguards before descending.
—Blub-blub-blub…
Umbra kept sinking. At last his consciousness reached the deep.
This is…
The fragment of his own soul he had left behind to digest Kenis—his avatar. His consciousness settled into it and the body moved as one.
What vermin dares touch this body?! Who the hell are you?!
Someone approached from afar. Umbra shifted threateningly. Whatever insect dared—
Wh-what is that…?!
A vast light was coming. In the pitch-dark Sea of Souls, a colossal radiance that lit the deep itself drew near.
Umbra’s instincts screamed that this being stood on an entirely different plane. What… what was it?
What are you?! Stay back! Don’t come near me!!
He thrashed desperately to drive the light away. The great host of light paid him no mind and simply advanced.
—Riiip!
KRAAAAAAH!!
The vast light moved and began tearing him apart. Not the body—the consciousness dwelling in the avatar was being shredded. Bright hands ripped his mind to pieces.
—Riiip!
AAAAAAAH!!
Umbra screamed as his consciousness was torn. A casual gesture shredded both mind and rank. The true body in Hell would surely feel it. The being of light tore him like paper without a shred of mercy.
…Aaaah, aaaaah!! Spare me, spare me! Please just let me live!
An eternity seemed to pass. Umbra’s vast consciousness was reduced to a pitiful scrap; his lofty rank lay in scattered fragments. He whimpered through the broken pieces of mind.
Aaa… uaaa…
In that eternity he realized not a single moment had passed on the surface. Friga’s axe was still slowly falling toward his head.
…D-danger!
With his consciousness in tatters, if the body on the surface died, he would die for good. The true body in Hell, already diminished, was surely dead already.
Umbra forced the surface body to move with everything he had left. In that agony, for reasons unknown, the giant of light no longer touched his mind.
Kraaah!
To make matters worse, Kenis’s soul—still being digested—began to wake. Umbra was losing his mind. How could a human soul awaken inside a demon’s belly?
I’ll kill you all! Every last one of you!
Rage toward Friga and Demonic on the surface. The giant of light was a being so far above him he dared not even meet its eyes; he could only be grateful it had stopped tearing him.
Umbra’s consciousness rose swiftly. The force that had dragged him down was gone.
The slowed surface time began to move again. Color flooded back into the monochrome world.
—BOOOOM!
"Whoa!"
"Kh!"
Friga and Demonic, mid-charge, leapt back. The frozen Umbra detonated a massive explosion centered on himself.
—Boom! KRA-BOOM!
Countless ice pillars erupted; pitch-black darkness surged from the ground. Dust billowed thick.
"…Something’s changed."
Demonic’s brow twitched once. The crushing pressure that had radiated from Umbra… had suddenly lessened. Had something happened in that brief halt?
I don’t know what, but… this is the perfect chance.
Demonic wrapped his sword once more in dense holy power. From the depths of his heart something whispered.
—Can you truly cut?
…I can.
—Are you truly free of attachment?
…
Faced with the doubt soaking his heart, Demonic gripped the sword harder. He could… he had to.
The swirling dust settled.
And from within it, Umbra… no. Kenis appeared.
"P-Paladin…?"
Demonic’s sword trembled violently.