Chapter 409
Chapter 409
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 409
Chapter Title: The Temple of the Demon World (3)
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His limp body shook violently.
In that horrendous ride that churned his guts to the point of dizziness, Miyamoto Ken squeezed his eyes shut and forced down the nausea threatening to erupt.
If he actually vomited here, who knew what his rough-and-tumble boss might do to him.
“Hoo... haa... haa.”
“You okay there, boss? You can hold on a bit longer, right?”
“Kahaha! If you really can’t take it, just say the word! I’ll make it easy for you to hurl!”
A boisterous voice called out to him as he forcibly steadied his ragged breathing.
The three-headed hound that had started out the size of a large dog.
Now swollen to the point where it could carry the completely passed-out Ken on its back—yet Ken had no spare breath to comment on the sudden size change.
‘...Easy? How the hell would you manage that?’
His mind and body rattled inside and out, leaving him too dazed for anything but such idle thoughts snagging on the hound’s words.
Of course, he didn’t dare ask, fearing the answer.
“...Ngh, feels like I’m gonna die. Damn it, what kind of freak accident is this...”
His murmured complaint carried complex emotions he himself hadn’t fully registered.
Well, it was hardly surprising.
How shocking had the truths he’d faced here been?
He’d steeled himself plenty before infiltrating for Hela’s sake, but who could’ve guessed he’d uncover not just the Mad Dragon Duke’s secrets, but the truth of his own origins?
He’d always believed himself a human from Earth named Miyamoto Ken—only to learn he wasn’t the real deal at all. Just a cloned consciousness spawned from his unique skill!
And laced with that horrific curse, no less—this very body belonging to that bastard, to boot. How could he not be reeling?
‘...Well, becoming a demon anyway, it’s not like much changes. I gave up on Earth ages ago.’
Perhaps because he now thought like a demon, far removed from human ways, the turmoil didn’t last long.
Besides, he was too busy focusing his mind to avoid being devoured by the curse.
Rumble—Boom!
That was why he was slow to notice.
An unknown entity—arriving out of nowhere—was battling the curse pursuing them from behind.
“...What’s that?”
At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks.
And small wonder...
That appearance and power clashed so wildly with this world’s aesthetic!
“I-Iron Man?”
Evidently, the shock of his origins had hit harder than he’d realized.
But soon enough, he confirmed it wasn’t a hallucination.
Up close, the resemblance was superficial at best—nothing like the design he knew.
One arm fully exposed, for starters.
‘Magic tool? But way beyond ordinary. And that vibe... dragon tongue magic? Different feel from the Mad Dragon Duke. Must be another dragon’s work.’
Startled by the familiar silhouette at first, he realized design similarities weren’t so odd on second thought.
He surely wasn’t the only Earthling dragged to Outerica... no, the real Miyamoto Ken’s arrival here.
Info on Earth’s superhero tales leaking through someone, inspiring a magic tool? Plausible enough.
‘That aside... definitely on another level from this world’s dragons. Heard Earth versions were unusable in real combat due to material limits.’
Ken gaped in admiration at the sight.
Boosters firing from its frame shattered sound barriers, weaving freely through the air, while beams from its left arm evoked a high mage’s destruction ray.
No mistaking it: a genuine combat suit.
One that could tangle with pinnacle experts just by wearing it.
‘...But even that’s no match for that monster.’
Ken, slung over Davidson’s back, craned his neck to watch and shook his head faintly.
What followed was just as he’d predicted.
The hero held out decently at first, but after taking a hit, it staggered—then fled at full throttle.
‘Survived that? Pilot’s no slouch. Who the hell is it?’
Linked tightly to the curse, Ken could sense it.
That black mist was a calamity even a duke-level archdemon wouldn’t touch lightly.
Whatever the hero’s deal sneaking in here, that power level couldn’t handle it.
‘Mm... I’m hitting my limit soon, too...’
But then.
The twist came.
“Huh?”
Ken blurted in confusion before he knew it.
At the same moment, the halted hero spun back to face the pursuing curse.
Clink—clank—
A low chain rattle echoed in Ken’s ears.
No—not in his ears.
Resonating in his mind... his chest... his soul. An alien chime.
“What... the hell is this?”
He was genuinely flustered.
Instinct told him.
Something had just bound his heart—his soul.
No need to guess who.
“How... can this be?”
His chest stirred.
A baseless reverence and awe welled up, just like facing Hela.
Impossible. Unacceptable.
And the black smoke confronting the hero firsthand felt it too.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [————!] A silent roar spread in all directions.
But laced with unfamiliar emotions: bewilderment, disbelief, denial.
Yet the hero didn’t let it writhe freely.
Aimless against the unknown restraint, the curse squirmed—only for the hero to slowly extend its right arm.
Its bare arm, fully exposed sans metal suit.
The next instant.
A colossal black flame eastern dragon erupted from the arm, barreling straight into the black smoke.
Rumble—!
An overwhelmingly majestic spectacle unlike before.
But Ken, bound to the curse, couldn’t just admire it.
He felt it.
The horrific power forming the black smoke was being voraciously sucked into the black dragon lunging forth.
Like a massive dinosaur yanked by a puppy leash into a doghouse—an unbelievable sight.
“To think the Black Flame Dragon truly held such power...”
Ken, demon with a Japanese man’s memories, murmured lowly.
Then, with a conflicted expression, he eyed the hero’s black-qi-shrouded arm he’d long avoided.
The right arm steadily absorbing energy along the eastern dragon’s form.
Staring made painful puberty memories—buried deep since adulthood—resurface creepily.
‘...No, that’s not my past. Got nothing to do with me.’
Denying ties to his original self, he firmly closed his eyes.
Even as the inflated Black Flame Dragon ravenously devoured the curse, the breather it provided let his mind wander—but that wasn’t important now.
“Black Flame Dragon, huh...”
An embarrassing memory he’d thought forgotten.
Yet from his reborn demon perspective, it felt different.
“Maybe I should make one too... no, no way!”
A mysterious power dwelling in one arm—perfectly devilish, utterly demon-friendly!
He’d blurted it unconsciously, then hastily swallowed his words, cursing his stirring demonic instincts lowly.
“Hm? You into that stuff too, boss?”
“Oho, so that’s your taste! Pretty cool, huh? Kahaha!”
“No need to be shy! I get it completely!”
Davidson, paused since the shift, bellowed a hearty laugh.
Looking oddly pleased, almost proud.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [————!] They stared endlessly down the vast temple corridor.
At the spot where the black smoke that had filled the space had just fully vanished.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hesperon clicked his tongue, gazing quietly at his right arm.
‘Can’t fully digest it after all, huh.’
The arm the black dragon had coiled around was now pitch-black, patterns invisible.
Backlash from reining in power beyond his level.
A hazy dragon shape darted busily within, like prowling thunderclouds—but its extreme instability was obvious without close inspection.
He’d forcibly recalled it via Covenant Chains, but the unsubdued beast lurked for rebellion.
“Well, gotta accept some risk.”
It was only natural he struggled; his pure prowess—sans Titan Suit and Right Arm of Craving—hadn’t reached pinnacle yet.
‘Though... this is normal, really.’
Excluding demon and heavenly realms with their constraints, transcendents were rare on the continent—pinnacles represented national power.
Hesperon’s growth was insanely steep; he just wasn’t satisfied from constant big-league rubs and fortunes.
“...Hah, since when did I grow ‘normally’ anyway.”
A wry chuckle escaped.
Since Hans claimed the Immortal King Fragment and skyrocketed, his path was set.
Maximize Avatar and skill synergies, ignore risks, force-feed fortunes.
Such acceleration demanded side effects—he didn’t care.
Like now.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and attained enlightenment. Acquired special skills 「Dark Soul Control」 and 「Dark Soul Liberation」. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The curse-infused Dark Soul’s erosion has begun. If erosion reaches a certain threshold, control of the contract will reverse. Current Flesh Erosion: 7% / Mind Erosion: 0% Hesperon massaged his stiff right hand with a bitter smile.
‘Won’t suppress this as easily as before.’
He’d grown stronger as planned, no doubt.
This curse in his arm, ‘Dark Soul,’ could kill even transcendents.
Liberating it alone might curse the surrounding lands.
“Mm, this won’t cut it.”
But management got trickier.
Mind erosion? No issue with Mind Hub and Soul Firewall.
Flesh erosion was another story.
Black stains crept onto the sealing bandages; he frowned.
Fine for now, but neglect it and disaster loomed.
‘Need a dedicated seal ASAP. Throw everything I’ve got at it.’
Manpower? Plentiful.
Immortal King, Saint, High Elf, Demon King, Dragon, master Dwarf artisan—at his beck.
‘Hm, mix in Horus’s Heavenly Flow Taoism demon-sealing sigils. Dark Soul shouldn’t resist strong karmic arts much.’
Materials via Hubert and Karma Shop; fallback to Riley Crown Princess, Riesta Saintess.
World Tree byproducts, Golden Treasury treasures—limits? None.
“Alright, got what I came for.”
Hesperon glanced aside.
Far off in the giant-built temple’s corner: Davidson the three-headed hound and demon Ken watching him.
‘Gave the help needed just in time—’
Time to bounce.
He smirked inside the suit helmet.
No intent to join them.
Just a rude guest who bolted here for one curse.
‘They’ll handle the rest. I’ve got seals to craft.’
Having snagged only what he wanted, the mystery hero vanished without a backward glance.
Silently, as he’d arrived.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “...What the hell was that?”
Ken muttered blankly, utterly baffled.
He’d double-, triple-checked: yep, really just peaced out!
“No way he dips without a word? Real secret hero vibes or what?”
Frustrated, he thumped his chest and tousled his hair.
Expected at least intros—hadn’t foreseen ghosting.
Who was he? How’d he enter? Why help? Who built the suit? What were those soul chains? How’d he devour the Mad Dragon’s curse? Questions galore!
‘More importantly, how’d he exit? Not easy escaping this temple.’
No spatial warp detected.
Existence simply winked out clean.
One possibility came to mind.
‘Unique skill... Awakener after all. Suspected from the suit and eastern dragon.’
Outerica dragons were classic western style.
To Ken with Japanese memories, the hero’s Black Flame Dragon screamed alien.
‘...Jealous. Seals calamity curses, buddy with a dragon suit-smith. Living large back on Earth, bet.’
While he was this mess.
Kidnapped to demon realm as sacrifice; mere clone inheriting memories, artificial demon.
Curse gone let him coldly assess his lot; bitter smile.
“Ah! What about those Earthlings?”
Thought hit the sacrifices—including his original!
Chaos since black mist; he’d blanked till now.
“Finally notice? Let’s hurry.”
“Pulled out before it closed in, so probably fine...”
“Grand Law sacrifices come with safeguards, yeah.”
Ken rushed back with Davidson to their start point.
And there faced...
“......”
“......”
A man staring wide-eyed, seemingly lucid.
The real Miyamoto Ken.