Manuela's Eyes Flew Open

Manuela's eyes flew open.

The trembling that had wracked her body subsided. Whatever else it had done, the property-conversion herb had clearly taken effect.

I hope it shifted into something positive.

Yujun spoke.

"Feeling any better?"

"It feels like whatever was sitting on one side of my chest has been washed clean away…."

That she had opened her eyes at all was, fortunately, a good sign.

"Anything changed, besides the pain going away?"

"Yeah. I think I might even be healthier…? Like I'm overflowing with strength?"

"Hold on."

Yujun laid his hand on Manuela's arm once more and sent his mana through her again, searching the inside of her body. He already knew his destination: where her heart was.

His eyes went wide.

The mana in her heart has increased.

It was no small rise. Set against before, it looked as if it had multiplied several times over—though only the mana gathered in the heart, not the whole of her reserves.

He told Manuela, of course.

"Really? Just lifting the curse would've been more than enough to thank you for…. Thank you, truly! I'll do anything for you later! I mean it—I really, really mean it!"

"Sure."

Yujun turned toward Duke Jonas.

"So what happens now?"

"The Demon King's seat stands empty. Whoever currently commands the strongest faction in the Demon Realm—or whoever simply wields the greatest force of arms—will become the new Demon King."

"And who is that?"

"By martial power alone, it would be you. There is, however, no precedent for a human becoming Demon King. The benefits are hardly worth mentioning, besides. And the longer a human body remains exposed to the Demon Realm, the more it wastes away."

"I know."

"The Demon King shall be me."

In his heart, Yujun wanted that throne for himself—but taking it would bind his body to the Demon Realm.

"You betrayed me, though. Doing you a favor like this leaves such a foul taste in my mouth."

"……."

Duke Jonas clamped his mouth shut. Cross the man now, and he would not escape the same end as the Demon King, already gone cold.

"I had believed it the more efficient course, but my thinking was shallow. I am truly sorry."

His life hung on it. Jonas went so far as to drop to his knees and apologize in earnest.

Thud.

Yujun scratched his head. He had not expected the man who would soon be Demon King to kneel. This was not what he had wanted.

In truth, Jonas moving on his own had also handed Yujun a lead on where the Transcendent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Stone lay. The greater gain was his.

So he played the magnanimous man.

"Fine. I wasn't all that interested in the Demon King's seat to begin with."

"You have my thanks!"

"In return, hear out a request of mine someday."

"Of course I shall. Had it not been for you, not only I, but every soul who follows me, would already be dead."

"Most of them did die, though."

"……So they did."

"Once you're Demon King, what do you mean to do? Invading the Continent—that sort of thing isn't allowed."

"For the next hundred years, I shall not so much as look at the Continent. The Demon Realm is vast. Countless challengers will come for me, the new Demon King. Merely weathering that will be more than enough. I will have no leisure whatsoever to invade the Continent."

"Then we're good."

Yujun moved at once.

Time to get the Transcendent Stone.

He had no intention of wasting time.

I need to use the Fruit of Evolution, too.

Not only the fruit. He had also obtained an S-Rank random skill book, and wondering what skill would come of it was a pleasure all its own.

The Transcendent Stone came first.

The hologram message he had seen a moment ago. At some point, a single sheet of paper had come to rest in his hand.

Yujun left the great hall with the others.

Do Jiyun, her face drawn and haggard, was the one to speak.

"For having killed the Demon King, it's astonishingly quiet."

"That's because so many died. You look exhausted, Jiyun."

"I must have worn my heart out. All I did was watch from a distance. I didn't actually do anything."

"He was the Demon King. It's only natural."

"You look perfectly fine, though."

"Yeah. He was surprisingly manageable. I thought a Demon King would be something special."

"Isn't that only because you're strong? I was terrified of him."

Yujun gave an awkward laugh.

"Anyway, we should finish what's left."

"The Transcendent Stone?"

"Yes."

"Did you get the hint?"

"I received a piece of paper."

"Paper?"

"Here."

Yujun showed Do Jiyun the Paper Inscribed with a Clue to the Transcendent Stone's Location.

The message was even shorter and simpler than the paper's name. What it meant, however, was clear.

Do Jiyun tilted her head.

"Is this Transcendent Stone connected to the System?"

"What makes you think that?"

"It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strange, isn't it? Kill the Demon King, and you're handed a hint on a slip of paper."

"Right?"

He had already felt a little uneasy about it. It had the flavor of the System paying out a reward for killing a powerful enemy like the Demon King.

War of the Gods had never had anything like milestones. With no fixed path, one could say its freedom overflowed—and it was unfriendly enough that it had never drawn many users.

Am I moving the way someone else intends?

An idle thought. Yujun let out a short laugh and walked on.

The middle floor. Its backdrop was nothing like the rest of the Demon King's Castle, and they had already been there once, so reaching it gave them no trouble. Yujun's party arrived in a flash and searched first for the mechanism.

"Thankfully, it's still just as it was."

"Doesn't look like anyone touched it. It is in a hard place to find."

"But getting to the Garden isn't the goal, is it?"

"No. It told us to be at the place before that, so if we wait here……."

He never got the chance to finish. A grinding groan ripped through the chamber, and with a sharp crack the solid mechanism crumbled all at once—so completely that it lay heaped on the floor as powder.

As Yujun stood there, thrown, a hologram window appeared.

That was all. It was more than enough to set his heart racing.

Finally…!

Do Jiyun and Manuela both turned expectant eyes on the Transcendent Stone. It was something won only after the ordeal of killing the Demon King. There was no way its effect would be mediocre.

"So now we get to see a Transcendence-grade item?"

"Yes. One moment."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Yujun checked the Transcendent Stone's information first. He wanted to know whether it could truly raise an item's grade.

At last.

How many twists and turns had he endured to get his hands on this? He had cut down everyone who came at him—cut them down, and cut them down again.

When I think about it, all I did was shut up and kill them, didn't I?

On reflection, it hadn't been twists and turns at all.

The description was nothing special, but the option was exactly what he had hoped for.

"Before I use the Transcendent Stone…."

There was something he still had to do: use the S-Rank random skill book. He couldn't leave the Fruit of Evolution sitting forever, either.

Yujun drew the random skill book from his inventory and opened it at once.

Fwaaah—!

Pure white light burst from the pages. As everyone shut their eyes, a single line of hologram appeared before him.

Absolute Dominion.

A skill he had obtained once before, back in War of the Gods. It was famous for an effect that far outstripped its grade.

Funny timing—picking up a skill like this right after the Demon King Slayer title.

Absolute Dominion was a skill, and yet it was classified as a trait, because it manifested from the player on its own even when it was not used. All it cost was a continuous trickle of mana, the barest trace.

Its effect was to lower, by a percentage, the stats of everyone he regarded as an enemy. The easiest way to think of it was as an area curse.

What made it better than a curse was that there was no separate means of resisting it. Unless one's Constitution was higher than that of the skill's owner, one's stats fell without exception.

Lucky.

Absolute Dominion was not a skill one obtained without unusual fortune.

A satisfied smile crossed Yujun's face.

And if I use the Fruit of Evolution on it…

The rise in every stat was nothing but a bonus. What he looked forward to was the climb in skill grade. Even SS+ would count as a great success.

I've never raised Absolute Dominion above S-Rank.

Yujun drew a deep breath. There was no need to drag it out.

He used the Fruit of Evolution on Absolute Dominion at once, ignored the hologram that surfaced before his eyes, and checked the skill immediately.

His eyes widened.

Absolute Dominion (SSS).

The grade had jumped two stages in a single breath.

I don't know if it's the Ring of Fortune, but it feels like luck just keeps siding with me.

Having gained an SSS-Rank skill in an instant, Yujun broke into a grin.

Now all that's left…

was using the Transcendent Stone.

He drew his weapon. The keen blade caught the light and gleamed.

Seeing it again, it was an item of tremendous effect. The attack power went without saying, and the bonus options were absurd.

No wonder the Demon King was no match, with me using this…

And this weapon's grade was about to climb even higher?

Then he would hold martial power no one could approach. His body was already trembling with excitement.

"Hurry! Come on, hurry up!"

Manuela watched him, her face bright with anticipation.

He nodded and brought the Transcendent Stone to the weapon.

Flash!

Light ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠burst once.

This is…

The Absolute Sovereign's Sword changed in appearance first. It had not grown longer or larger, but its color had deepened, and the weapon as a whole felt calmer. He liked it from the look alone.

Now it was time to read the options.

First, its attack power had increased roughly tenfold. That alone was an astonishing change—and yet the scale of the options had widened as well, and even the Stone of Omnipotence's effect had grown.

A new option had appeared, too: it could never be destroyed.

Yujun's mouth fell open.

"Insane…."

The word slipped out on its own. The item's effect was that good. He had never seen anything like it in his life.

This is balance-breaking.

A fine sword alone would not make him invincible, but it was fair to say no one alive could withstand a single blow from him. On top of that, he never raised a shield when he fought. The sword's attack power amounted to nearly two million—and its power climbed every time he swung.

He felt dazed, wondering if this was even allowed.

"W-why? Is it bad?"

At Do Jiyun's question, Yujun shook his head.

"……No. The problem is it's too good."

"Too good? Would you mind if I looked?"

Yujun hesitated a moment, then opened his inventory.

I should use that on this item.

The Branding Stone of Permanent Ownership was a consumable painfully difficult to obtain, which was why he had been saving it. But he felt not the slightest regret at spending a branding stone on the sword that had just become Transcendence grade.

Yujun rubbed the Branding Stone of Permanent Ownership against the Absolute Sovereign's Sword.

The stone vanished without a trace. Only after he confirmed the effect had taken hold did he share the item's information with the others. Even if they coveted it, it had become something they could not take.

Do Jiyun, Manuela, and even Paranet came over to look.

"This is insane. That attack power is just…."

Do Jiyun sounded as if she could not believe it. She was not the only one aghast. Manuela was, too.

"……."

"You've never seen one either, have you?"

"Nope. And that weapon already seemed exceptionally good, even for Mythic grade."

"Yeah. It's the best weapon I know."

"…I'm jealous."

Manuela smacked her lips, staring at Yujun's weapon.

He put it away at once.

"Aw, why~! Let me look a little longer."

"No."

"It's not like it wears out."

"Your eyes are up to no good. Not a chance."

"……."

Manuela's face crumpled, on the verge of tears.