Chapter 45. The Demon King's Name (2)
Chapter 45. The Demon King's Name (2)
2
[You have entered the Boss Stage.]
This was the second time.
Entering a Boss Stage—this made it the second time.
Comparing then and now... there was much that was the same, and much that had changed.
[The challenger is Death King (死王). One person.]
[May fortune be with you all.]
First, the notification chime.
Just as when I had challenged the 'Blazing Hell Manor,' I was still a lone challenger. A solo player. The Tower quietly wished the challenger luck, wished me luck, as it always did.
But.
There were also clear differences from back then.
[Clear rewards are being granted.]
[Rewards from Floor 11 through Floor 19 are being settled in a lump sum.]
I was no longer a mere challenger.
I was a conqueror who had subdued Floors 11 through 19 and climbed all the way here.
The Tower welcomed me, a conqueror, and gladly sounded nine trumpet blasts.
[Settling Floor 11 clear reward.]
[Calculating 12th-floor clear rewards.]
[Settling Floor 13 clear reward.]
[Settling Floor 14 clear reward.]
[Settling Floor 15 clear reward.]
[Settling Floor 16 clear reward.]
[Settling Floor 17 clear reward.]
[Settling Floor 18 clear reward.]
[Settling Floor 19 clear reward.......]
Step.
I took a step forward.
[Settlement complete.]
Listening to the melody that welcomed my steps.
[The Tower acknowledges your great achievement.]
[You are granted the right to modify a skill!]
[Any skill below EX-grade can be enhanced.]
It was like a hymn blessing me.
The Tower had prepared the stage in advance. The quest route had also been set. But I had not walked the already-paved path. I had created a completely new stage and cleared it in my own way.
The Tower had acknowledged my strategy.
As if to say, 'That works too.'
[Adjusting the authority of Death King!]
It was the same this time.
[Apostle (使徒) authority is granted to you on a limited basis.]
[For this reward only, you possess limited administrative authority.]
[Which skill to enhance and how is left entirely to you!]
A stage not predetermined.
A strategy not predetermined.
Therefore, naturally, the reward was also not predetermined.
'...I see.'
I nodded inwardly.
'So it leaves the choice to me.'
I do not know why the Tower was built. I do not know who built the Tower. I also do not know why the Tower is filled with life from another world.
There is still much I do not know.
But I can now guess what kind of [existence] the Tower is.
'An existence that watches over our choices.'
And an existence that remembers my choices.
'Good.'
Shing!
I drew my sword.
'This time, too, I will show you my choice.'
The relic said to have been used by the founder of the Empire.
[Lefanta Aegim's Holy Sword of Protection] resonated with my Aura and emitted a white light.
I pointed my sword at the [enemy] before my eyes.
"Well then."
The entrance to the twentieth stage.
It stood at the crossroads leading to a small village.
"It is time to bring about your ending, Demon King."
-.......
It let out a low growl.
It was like a beast that had suffered irreversible wounds.
A beast swept up in the world's flames and driven out by the fire now had nothing but a tiny refuge. It was the crossroads leading to the village.
-My......
A road lined with acacia trees on both sides.
In the middle of the road hung with white flowers, the beast stood alone.
-My village!
It cried out.
-Do not dare destroy my paradise!
And the voice resounded.
[The Boss Stage begins.]
The stage opened.
The stage for defeating the weakest boss in the world.
"......."
I looked up at the sky for a moment.
It was clear. It was blue.
The sky had always been a territory of blue.
Looking up at the cloudless sky, I was certain.
Today.
No rain would fall.
3
Acacia petals fluttered white.
When they scattered, the petals made no sound.
The road was painted white with silent petals.
Only the breaths passing along the road filled the emptiness of the world.
-Unforgivable!
The breathing that filled the world was ragged.
-Absolutely, unforgivable! In my eyes, the burn marks still remain! The stench of burning is seared into my mind! That fire! You bastards! Did you think I could ever forget your malice!
It shrieked, swinging a red sword.
Whenever someone screams, the world shrinks by that much.
The twentieth stage was especially cramped.
Floor 20.
Looking at the minimap, it was not even 1/100th the size of the other stages. Checking the world map changed nothing. There was merely a single red dot, one pixel, marked on the world map.
That was the Boss Stage of Floor 20.
-Go back! Turn back time!
It was just an ordinary rural village.
-Are you trying to burn my paradise again!
The narrowest stage in the world.
And.
The weakest boss monster in the world.
-Again! You people, you people always! Always like that!
On the road where acacia petals fell, it was howling. A single scream. A frail voice. Yet this world was so cramped that even one person's shriek could fill it completely.
A small world.
A tiny village.
"The roles have completely reversed."
I deflected the Demon King's sword.
Blade clashed sharply against blade.
"Do you remember? On Floor 12, you were the Demon King and I was the hero. You invaded, and I stood in your way. Hey, life is full of strange twists, isn't it? Now you're the one defending."
-Die!
"Sorry, but, Demon King."
I twisted my blade.
"Those words mean nothing to me."
My sword pushed aside the Demon King's sword without difficulty. The strength itself was different. The Demon King's physical power was already pitiful. The Demon King could not withstand my push, and as a result, exposed its torso like a wide-open path.
An opening.
My blade easily split the Demon King's upper body.
-Kraaaaaa!
Red blood burst out.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
Blood flowed.
The white of the acacia petals fallen on the road.
Red fragrance pattered down onto those petals, staining them.
"You've weakened. Demon King of Fall Rain."
I walked one step forward.
Red petals were crushed under my feet.
"You've truly weakened."
-Ugh, keup... uheuk... keueuk...!
"But it's still not enough."
I swung my sword.
"Become weaker."
-This......
"Far weaker than now."
The blade cut through the Demon King.
The white petals grew a little redder.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
The road leading to the village.
The road stretching beyond the Demon King's back was white.
But the road stretching behind my back was dyed redder and redder.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
One step.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
Another step.
Each time the Demon King retreated one step, the white of the petals diminished.
Each time I advanced one step, the single acacia road grew a little redder.
That was not all.
-Keuk... uueuk.......
The Demon King's entire body was gradually revealed.
Resentment. Grudge. Curses.
The clotted filth was being stripped away.
-No......
The Demon King's instep was revealed.
-No......! No more, not anymore......
The two legs planted on the road were revealed.
-Ugh.......
The left arm and right arm were fully revealed.
Below the waist and above the waist were revealed.
The long neck was revealed.
-Tower, no... no......!
I swung my sword.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
At last.
The face began to be stripped away.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
The chin.
The lower lip and upper lip.
The philtrum and the tip of the nose, both cheeks.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
Red eyes.
A white forehead.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
Finally.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
Hair resembling a lion's mane.
Strand by strand, the hair lost its black color.
Even the last of the filth flowed away.
-Ah.......
It let out a groan. Its slender arms trembled.
It could no longer bear the weight of the sword.
-Uu, uh.......
Standing beneath the acacia tree, it was no longer a Demon King. No one in the world would call someone who could not even properly lift a sword a Demon King.
And.
[The existence of the Demon King of Fall Rain grows faint.]
[Demon King of Fall Rain can no longer maintain its authority.]
The Tower also no longer called it a Demon King.
[Commencing grade adjustment.]
[Stripping the epithet of Demon King of Fall Rain.]
The thing that had been a Demon King trembled.
-No......!
White light enveloped it.
As if surrounded by a swarm of bees, it thrashed.
-No......! No! No, no!
But it was useless. The light wrapped around it without dimming in the slightest.
[We inform you once more.]
It was executed.
[Stripping the epithet of Demon King of Fall Rain.]
[Stripping the authority of Demon King of Fall Rain.]
It screamed.
-Aaaaa......!
Fallen from heaven (墮天).
The Constellation that had boasted absolute martial might had now fallen.
-Aa, aaa! Aaaaa!
It reached out its hands as if trying to grasp the scattering droplets of light. It tried to seize the light frantically. But the light would not be caught. It only slipped through its fingers.
The white light scattered and scattered again.
-Ah.
There.
"Ah."
Only a single frail beast remained.
"Ah, uh... no, euk, uh... aaaa......."
Not Demon King of Fall Rain.
Not the master of nightmares.
Not the Saintess of the frontier.
A delicate existence.
"Yes."
I gripped the hilt of my sword.
"Now you are sufficiently weak."
"Don't come... don't come near......."
"Then stop me."
Step.
I took one step forward.
"What will you stop me with? Rights? A sword? Try stopping me with anything. If you don't."
One more step.
"I will stand before you just like this."
It retreated one step.
To me, approaching, it spoke with difficulty.
"You... you people, to me, to my children....... And yet, you have no right to do this to me,"
"Wrong."
I advanced one more step.
"As you said before, I am a stranger who crossed over from another world. Yes, the alliance of the subhumans and the temple, the monarchs and even the emperor—everyone living in this world joined together to burn you and your village. Let's say there is not a single person on this continent free from that responsibility. But I am not. Because I am a complete outsider. Hunters like us are free from that responsibility."
"Eut......."
"You have no right to hold me accountable. And of course."
To it, retreating one step, I advanced one more step.
"You no longer have the strength to stop me."
It trembled. The trembling leaked out from its lips and flowed.
"I... I did nothing......."
"You're saying you did nothing wrong?"
"I! I only, the sick......."
"[Estelle] was afraid just like you are now."
It flinched.
"She screamed for her life. She cried out that she didn't want to die. She called for her father. What did you do to that girl?"
I spoke calmly of what it had done before it became Estelle, before it gained human memories.
"You sank your teeth into the neck of a struggling girl. You devoured her as you pleased and became Estelle. That's not all. You swallowed a newborn baby that a woman had treasured and entrusted to you in trust, and yet you acted high and mighty, claiming you saved people. You betrayed the woman who trusted you and left her baby with you."
"I... that's not. That's not it. I......."
"You hid the truth. You hid that you had become Estelle, and you did not say that you had swallowed the child. Even knowing people would misunderstand, you deliberately remained silent out of fear of being treated as a monster. You deceived people."
I advanced one more step.
"Making excuses is useless. There is no one in this world who knows you as well as I do. I know in detail what you went through, what emotions you felt, and how you changed."
"......."
"You are not an immaculate Saintess. You are not an innocent victim. There's no need to even bring up the woman and the baby. As I said, the moment you swallowed Estelle, you lost any right to claim your own infallibility......."
"I!"
And then it screamed convulsively.
"I didn't know!"
I stopped.
Clenching its teeth and trembling, it covered its face. Howls leaked through every gap between its fingers.
"I, I didn't know. I didn't have human memories then... knowledge, so I didn't know......."
The meaning of the plea for life.
The struggling.
The begging.
"Back then... back then, what it meant, I......."
"So you're saying it was a mistake because you didn't know."
"Yes! So I, if only I had known, I would never have eaten Estelle,"
It was about to say that it would never have eaten her.
I spoke before it could.
"That's what humans do."
It lost its words.
"The monarchs who burned you could make the same excuse. No, they certainly would. They probably actually did, didn't they? When the world was covered in blood and they stood before you, what did they say?"
I did not know.
We did not know that you bore no malice.
We only thought you were a wicked witch. We thought you were a monster.
So, therefore, if only we had known—that is what they said.
"Obvious, lies......."
"Of course, there were surely some who lied."
I acknowledged it.
"There were certainly those who ordered you and your followers burned out of lust for power, arrogance, and prejudice, and then made excuses. Why wouldn't there be? It's what humans do. But can you be certain that all of them were merely such people? Can you say clearly that not a shred of truth resided in those excuses?"
"That......."
"Even if all the monarchs gave those orders with such thoughts, it's the same."
I simply said what needed to be said.
"What about the soldiers who followed their orders? What about the common people who lived day to day in their territories and then had to flee? Among them, was there not a single person who could say, like you, 'I didn't know'?"
More than when it had been struck by the sword, its face contorted wretchedly.
I advanced one more step.
"What did the one-eyed giant sitting on the mountain ridge say to you?"
"......."
At last, it fell completely silent.
Toward it, now silent, I spoke quietly.
"Sorry, but I haven't learned much. I'm ignorant, you see. There is only one justice I know in this world."
One more step.
"Retributive justice."
Its shoulders trembled.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If you believe that what you swallowed into your shadow and spat back out was human, then fine. You suffer the same thing. At least that would be fair, wouldn't it?"
"Wh... what are you saying...?"
"Tower!"
I looked up at the sky.
"I wish to use my clear reward!"
I took out a golden card. The clear reward obtained by breaking through Floors 11 through 19. I had decided to use it on this skill, of all things.
+
[Hundred Ghost Summoning]
Rank: SS
Effect: Summons those you have personally killed as monsters. The dead do not inherit the abilities they had in life. They do not inherit memories either. They are merely summoned as monsters such as goblins, orcs, zombies, or skeletons.
※However, you may only summon once per week.
+
Hundred Ghost Summoning.
An SS-grade skill.
I gripped the card and thrust it toward the high heavens.
"You clearly said I could modify a skill however I wanted!"
[The Tower affirms your words.]
A voice answered my cry.
[However, excessive modification is not possible.]
[To aid your understanding, the Tower will use an example.]
[An SS-grade skill evolving into an SSS-grade skill is within the permitted range.]
I nodded.
The part I would request had been just one thing from the start anyway.
"I request modification of the skill Hundred Ghost Summoning!"
[The Tower asks your intention.]
"You don't have to touch anything else! Only the memory. I want you to modify the part that says 'does not inherit memories'! Only in cases where I wish it, so that the summoned inherits the memories of their life!"
Flincch.
It hesitated.
"You... what are you trying... to do...?"
"How about it! Isn't this a reasonable request!"
I ignored Estelle and shouted.
"I'm not asking for the abilities of the dead to be inherited! I'm not demanding that skills be inherited. I'm not even asking for the cooldown to be reduced. Memory! Only memory. I want the dead that I have killed to remember their lives!"
It was quiet.
The sky had fallen silent.
[Measuring the level of your request.]
[Currently measuring.......]
A moment later.
[The Tower acknowledges that your request is of an appropriate level.]
Permission was granted.
[Confirming request details.]
[Will you use the privilege obtained as a reward for clearing Floors 11 through 19 on the skill 'Hundred Ghost Summoning'?]
"Yes."
[The modification you request for Hundred Ghost Summoning is as follows.]
[If you wish it, the dead will inherit the memories of their life.]
[Are the above request details certain?]
"Yes."
[Confirmation complete.]
[Requesting approval from Zurakua.]
[Approval complete.]
And.
[The request of Death King is approved.]
White light wrapped around my skill card.
A storm of light swept through once.
After all the light had settled, I examined the card carefully.
+
[Hundred Ghost Reincarnation (百鬼還生)]
Rank: SSS
Effect: Summons those you have personally killed. The dead do not inherit the abilities they had in life. However, if you wish it, the dead inherit the memories and appearance of their life. If you do not wish it, they are merely summoned as monsters.
※However, you may only summon once per week.
+
Hundred Ghost Reincarnation.
That was the new name of the first SSS-grade skill I had obtained.
'Good.'
Everything I had wished for had been perfectly accomplished.
I turned my head and looked at it.
Our eyes met.
"From now on, I will kill you."
"......."
"If you don't like the word 'kill,' then think of it as [devouring], like your method. Just as you thought when you swallowed Estelle, the sick, and the children into your shadow. I will swallow you in the same way......."
Slowly.
I raised my sword.
"And I will spit you back out in the same way."
It trembled in terror.