Chapter 193: Demon Train (2)
Chapter 193: Demon Train (2)
When I opened my eyes, there was only darkness.
It was the same as always since entering the Otherworld. However, it wasn't a void of nothingness.
An alien presence stood before me.
A mass of black smoke, nestled within the darkness, was speaking to me.
“…There are quite a few Sentient Beings to categorize today.”
Despite its appearance, it spoke with a delicate voice.
No, it was likely talking to itself.
It wasn't addressing me alone.
Though obscured by the darkness emanating from that entity, countless others were present in this place.
The shimmering smoke in front of us was making an announcement to everyone.
“Welcome to the artificial world, Demiurge, fellow stowaways.”
As it uttered the word 'stowaways,' the smoke bound us.
“Urgh.”
“Kgh…!”
“What on earth is…?”
Perhaps the interference blocking us from one another vanished when the smoke moved.
Through the thinning mist, I saw others groaning.
A being that looked like a beastman. A formless entity like a shadow. Even a faintly glowing orb of light.
Tiny particles of smoke, clicking like insects, clung to all of them, tightening their movements.
Except for me, of course.
…Is this supposed to be a restraint?
It didn't feel particularly tight, nor did it hurt.
Perhaps because I showed no reaction, the smoke-bugs tried to burrow under my clothes to bind me further.
Get lost.
With a single shrug of my shoulders, the smoke crumbled and scattered around me.
At that moment.
“Hmm? It seems we have someone quite powerful here. Please, undergo the screening quietly. I won't treat you poorly.”
The smoke’s gaze shifted toward me.
I wasn't sure if 'gaze' was the right word since it had no eyes, but at the very least, the awareness of that smoke-bug colony was fixed on me.
“‘Won't treat us poorly,’ you say?”
The wolf beastman over there looked like he was being strangled to death.
“—!”
Perhaps because the sound was blocked, no screams reached me, but the way he clawed at his own throat with his talons to strip away the suffocating smoke was enough to convey his desperation.
Even as he peeled away his own skin and tore at his flesh to survive.
The wolf beastman repeated the action over and over.
…I don't like this.
That smoke bastard doesn't even seem that strong. Maybe I should just flip the script on him.
With that thought, I swung my hand to clear the surrounding smoke.
“Gah… cough… wheeze…”
“I’m… I’m alive…?”
Voices drifted in from the surroundings.
“Ho-oh.”
The smoke’s attention focused entirely on me.
I met its gaze, glaring back with clear hostility.
“Hmm. The screening isn't even finished yet. Does the stowaway mean to fight? Very well. If you intend to turn every being in Demiurge into your enemy… that, too, is a form of entertainment.”
Entertainment, my ass. I’m already annoyed enough; why don't you die first?
Just as I was about to summon my hammer with that sentiment.
‘Lee Ha-ram. Lower your weapon and quietly follow his instructions.’
A familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Al’shel?”
‘Yes, I am speaking to you via magic… It seems you’ve already caused trouble. I suppose I should have explained things beforehand.’
Hmm. Explained beforehand, huh?
At those words, I looked back at the smoke.
“What is it? Are you not going to attack?”
The smoke grew denser, its massive body swaying as it spoke.
I ignored it.
“…That thing looks weak. Can’t I just beat it up?”
I whispered in a low voice that no one else could hear.
‘He is certainly weak. However, the passengers of the Demon Train are different. So, please, follow his lead. We should be able to pass the procedures.’
Procedures, right.
Hearing that, I looked up for a moment, staring into the distant gloom.
A space where only profound darkness existed. There was nothing. It was a good place for thinking.
And so, I made my decision.
“It’s annoying, but…”
I shook out my hands and dropped my combat stance.
“I’ll do as you say.”
I spoke loudly enough for the smoke beyond to hear.
Of course, this was also directed at Al’shel. I had left the judgment to him.
“Hmm. Good. Then I shall continue the explanation.”
Satisfied with my behavior, the smoke thinned its density again and proceeded as if nothing had happened.
However, it no longer strangled the surrounding lifeforms.
Instead, there was only a faint force supporting my entire body, as if it were being considerate of my space.
Feels like a chair.
A zero-gravity chair, with my whole body floating.
It was a bit vague since there was no sensation of being held up, but I could at least feel a sense of comfort.
And amidst my critique, the smoke’s explanation continued to flow.
“…Normally, as stowaways, none of you would be qualified to board this Demiurge. You would merely enjoy the honor of being granted a unique existence by becoming nourishment for our world.”
He sure has a fancy way of saying he’ll kill us and use us as fertilizer.
“However, the Great Sophia, who created Demiurge, once said this.”
Grin.
For a moment, I felt as if the smoke was smiling.
“Let those who are qualified to ride… ride.”
The moment those words ended.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
An endless succession of noises followed.
Black pillars plummeted from the ceiling.
So many pillars they were impossible to count.
They fell faster than my reaction speed—as fast as the Lord of Infinite Castles could generate them.
One of the pillars crashed down right to my right.
It brushed past me narrowly, failing to hit me.
Instead, it crushed the beastman who had been struggling for breath just a moment ago.
Beyond the darkness and smoke, the last thing he left in this world—scraps of furred flesh—splattered against me.
“Now. The Trial of Knowledge is over. Those who could not even understand these words are not Sentient Beings. They are mere beasts.”
Then, as if nothing had happened, the smoke spoke.
It sounded joyful. Its voice was filled with a sense of happiness.
“…Al’shel.”
I whispered.
‘…Yes.’
Al’shel replied immediately, as if he had expected it.
“I’ll endure it this time.”
Grit.
I felt like a tooth might have cracked.
Something white flickered away.
“But if you make a choice like this again, all bets are off, promise or no promise.”
‘Thank you for enduring it…’
Even while I was suppressing my emotions.
“Mmm. It seems someone is in a foul mood, so let’s proceed faster than usual this time.”
The smoke continued its actions with a sly voice.
“Submerged in the void…”
A wind blew, and the smoke embraced everything around us.
Whether it had infused some special power, all my senses were momentarily stripped away.
After about five seconds by my count.
“We have no need for ‘those who forget themselves.’”
With that voice, the wind blew again.
The smoke cleared away.
And along with that smoke, particles of countless colors flew through the air.
The sight of multi-colored particles fluttering like a rainbow was beautiful.
But I soon realized what they were.
The people who had been around us.
Something the smoke did to them had turned them into that state.
“The Trial of Will is over. As expected, many are filtered out here.”
Given that it called it a trial of will, the smoke must have interfered with the others, much like how the Mosaic Being had interfered with me.
“…”
I simply stared at the smoke in silence.
Watching the scattering particles.
“Hmm. No matter how much this is my duty, I feel like I might die. Let’s move quickly.”
The damn smoke didn't stop its cheerful babbling even in this situation.
“Now then, let’s skip all the tedious bits and move to the final procedure. I hope to see you alive! It is the Trial of Strength!”
Flash.
A blue light enveloped my vision.
Startled by the light, I reflexively closed and opened my eyes.
I found myself in a blue place.
Not a refreshing blue like the sky.
A melancholy cobalt world tinged with black.
And within that endless blue.
Only two things held a different color.
Myself.
And a red version of me standing on the opposite side.
The Red Me was in a combat stance, but it didn't show any sign of lunging at me.
I stared at it for a moment, thinking.
The Trial of Strength.
Then that must be a clone of me or something.
It’s a scene I’ve seen often in manga, games, and movies.
Fighting a duplicate of oneself.
Just a glance told me it was filled with a massive amount of Otherworldly Power, and it felt insanely alien.
So much so that I felt the presence before me was completely disconnected from the world.
Right. So this is how other people feel when they look at me?
That’s one thing.
But this is boring.
“Sigh.”
Exhaling a sigh, I swung my arms around to loosen up without even summoning my hammer.
Did it judge that as a hostile action? The Red Me lunged at me, swinging its hammer.
While I continued to rotate my arms, the Red Hammer aimed for my head.
The Hammer flew toward me with incredible speed and precision. I fixed my gaze on it and stared straight ahead.
Even as it blocked my vision, right before it struck my head, I took no action.
And then.
BOOM.
The Hammer slammed into my head.
Since I hadn't moved, it hit with all its might.
If I had been hit by such a hammer, I should have been shattered into pieces.
“Hey.”
However, I wasn't hurt.
My vision blurred slightly along with a bit of pain, but that was it.
My head wasn't crushed.
It wasn't even dented.
“Where did you sell your emotions?”
That is my essence.
That is my power.
Without that, I am merely a lump of Otherworldly energy.
So, with The Hammer still pressed against my head, I quietly reached out my arm.
Toward a being slower and weaker than me.
Filled with a soul-burning rage and irritation, I thrust out a powered fist.
An enemy lacking that.
This expressionless entity.
“Get lost.”
Thwack.
The sensation of hitting thick rubber traveled up my fist.
Pop.
With a sound like a balloon bursting.
Blue light erupted from within The Enemy.
Once again, the blue light embraced me.
* * *
Back inside the black hollow filled with smoke. Only three of us remained, including myself.
Al’shel, who stood silently with his hands clasped and eyes closed.
“Go away! Get lost! You fake! Those are my dates!”
And Un-ho, who was biting his own tail, his fur half-scorched.
And finally, me.
Clicking my tongue, I was about to speak to the two of them.
“Congratulations. You have passed all the trials—albeit roughly.”
The black smoke appeared and spoke.
Not knowing how to respond, I looked at Al’shel and Un-ho.
Al’shel kept his eyes closed and showed no reaction.
And Un-ho…
“Wha? Where did the black me go?”
He was still out of it, babbling nonsense.
Nothing for it, then.
“So, is it over?”
“Yes. You are no longer stowaways, but official passengers residing in Demiurge. Please, go out there and live your lives.”
As the smoke said that.
From somewhere on the far side of the dark hollow, a square of light seeped in.
As if that place were both the entrance and the exit.
Regardless of that… did this smoke just call us passengers?
True to its words, the black smoke’s tone had become strangely polite.
There was no insolence, nor any hint of mockery.
It spoke without emotion, like a civil servant just doing his job.
To him, I opened my mouth.
“You called this a screening, right?”
“Yes. It is my responsibility.”
“How many people usually pass?”
“Zero, naturally. Maybe one person makes it through once in a blue moon.”
“Then, how many were here just now?”
“I believe it was something like four multiplied by four, four times over. Is there a problem?”
…I don't know how large a number that is.
But I know one thing.
“Last question. How are disputes between passengers handled?”
“Do as you please. We do not interfere outside of specific zones.”
“Is this a specific zone, then?”
“It is not.”
Having received that confirmation, I turned to Al’shel.
As if he understood what I wanted to say.
He peeked at me with one eye and gave a quiet nod.
“Hey. Smoke.”
“My name is not Smoke. It is Si—”
I don't give a damn what your name is.
You killed too many.
CRASH.
I swung my hammer before even hearing his name.
It struck the smoke, and its energy rapidly dissipated and vanished.
The dark clearing became a bit cleaner.
At least to the point where soot wasn't fluttering around anymore.
“…Is it dead?”
“No. Being a colony and made of smoke, it’s the type that is completely immune to physical force. However, since it lost most of its mass, it will likely need thousands of years to regenerate.”
A shame.