I Want to Kill You (3)
Something was wrong.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more the Heavenly Demon felt a growing sense of unease.
The Sunken Emperor.
The countless insects that creature commanded.
At first, he had taken them for something like mana-devouring parasites.
They consume mana and make it their own.
The insects multiplied without end, replenishing their master's spent power. In that sense, they operated on a principle not unlike the realm of the Sutra of Life and Death, which drew ambient mana from the surroundings.
But there was a clear difference as well.
They're draining my internal energy too.
Wherever the insects touched him, his internal energy scattered and was stolen away. It felt exactly like being struck by a qi-dispersing poison. He could no longer freely wield the surging power within him. Worse still, the insects were seizing that power for themselves.
That should have been impossible.
He had long since surpassed the realms of the Diamond Indestructible Body and Immunity to All Poisons. No trivial force or entity should have been able to invade him, scatter his internal energy, and steal it away.
…Truly incomprehensible.
It should have been impossible.
The insects were so insignificant in size that even the Heavenly Demon had to focus intently just to see them. And yet calling them mere insects felt wrong. He could sense no life force from them at all. They were tools that obeyed their master's commands — closer to machines executing predetermined orders than living creatures.
One thing was certain: the longer this fight continued, the more the disadvantage fell on him.
Without the Cheonmado, he could not fully break free of the endless swarm's encirclement. He could not punch through the infinitely multiplying insects to reach the Sunken Emperor himself.
I'm at a disadvantage. Me?
It was the first time such a thing had happened since he abandoned his humanity and set foot in the Abyss. Even without the Cheonmado, he had to acknowledge the truth.
The Sunken Emperor.
That creature was strong. Stronger than any monster he had encountered in the Abyss.
But being at a disadvantage did not mean he could not win. In the past, there had been many beings stronger than him — and every last one of them had lost their heads before him.
But I've figured it out.
In an instant, the Heavenly Demon's expression settled into calm.
What had looked like reckless, indiscriminate blasts of force had all been for the purpose of analyzing those insects' nature. And as a result, he had grasped it — the secret of the Sunken Emperor's power.
The insects operate under specific behavioral protocols, and they signal one another.
He had caught a sound that should have been impossible to detect. A sound that only their master, the Sunken Emperor, should have been able to hear. It was less a sound than a wave — a frequency. The wavelength of the brain. The resonance of the Upper Dantian!
He's opened his Upper Dantian.
Opening the Upper Dantian granted mysterious powers — supernatural abilities akin to reading the future. One saw farther, thought deeper, and generated far more phenomena. For that reason, such individuals were sometimes mistaken for gods and worshipped. But those who opened the Upper Dantian invariably died young. The Upper Dantian itself was a power that demanded the source of one's life as its price.
Even sinking into the Abyss did not change that. To continuously command so many insects, he must have offered up the source of his life — or something even more precious.
Just what had that creature sacrificed to the Gate of Truth?
"I acknowledge it. You are strong."
The Heavenly Demon opened his mouth and admitted it — something that, looking back over all his years, ranked among the rarest of occasions, countable on three fingers. Yet ease bloomed across his face. Because the Sunken Emperor was not the only one who had opened his Upper Dantian.
"But I am stronger."
The Heavenly Demon smiled. Thinking more deeply in the face of danger — and in that instant, identifying a weakness and devising a method to break it — that was his ability. And just then, a way to counter those insects had come to him.
What would happen if he disrupted the signals the insects exchanged?
Heavenly Demon Dominion Step.
He opened his Upper Dantian and generated the same wavelength. The Heavenly Demon planted his foot against the ground.
A short, deep rumble.
At the same time, the black shroud surrounding him began to unravel. And then—
A hissing rush, like smoke dispersing — the insects scattered in every direction.
And there, clearly visible, stood the Sunken Emperor.
The invincible shield was broken. All that remained was the spear to drive into the creature's heart.
Raging Dragon Quakes the Heavens.
Lightning erupted across his entire body as the form of a blue dragon took shape — ten separate force blasts organically linking and fusing into one. It was a technique that consumed such vast internal energy that his whole body felt hollowed out for an instant. But for that very reason, a direct hit left no chance of survival. It was a technique that had slain even gods. Could the Sunken Emperor fare any better?
The raging dragon opened its jaws and shot toward the Sunken Emperor.
A colossal explosion followed, mushrooming smoke that filled the sky. An overwhelming spectacle.
…And yet the Heavenly Demon frowned.
It should have punched straight through. Why an explosion?
With the shield gone, it was impossible for the Sunken Emperor to stop Raging Dragon Quakes the Heavens. In a flash, the Heavenly Demon confirmed the figure standing at the heart of the blast.
Someone had protected the Sunken Emperor — with their own life as the price.
"…Who are you?"
Damn it.
It was a truly damnable situation.
"Cough!"
Before he could even think, his body had moved on pure instinct — to protect the Sunken Emperor, who wore the Emperor's face. As a result, his entire body was a wreck. If he hadn't instantaneously released every seal on the Fifth Gate, he would have been torn apart down to the cellular level. He supposed he should take comfort in the fact that he was still alive at all.
"Are you… all right, Your Majesty?"
"…"
The Sunken Emperor did not answer. His eyes and expression were deeply sunken. Raiga could not tell what the man was thinking — but there was no mistaking that face. Seeing it up close only confirmed it further.
It was the Emperor.
The first Emperor of the Holy Arhon Empire!
Raiga could never mistake the face of the long-sleeping Emperor. Of course, the situation defied understanding. Why was a man who should have been sleeping within the Empire awake and present in the Abyss?
"I will protect you, Your Majesty."
Raiga drew a deep breath. Of course, he could be wrong. It could be a delusion. But Raiga trusted his instincts. This man — the Sunken Emperor — was the same person as the Emperor of the Empire.
And Raiga, commander of the Palga Knights, was the Emperor's sword. From the beginning, the Palga had been a group created to protect the Emperor more than the Empire itself. The Emperor was the Empire, and the Empire was the Emperor — so protecting the Emperor was protecting the Empire.
This works out for the better, then.
Every single one of these creatures was a monster that threatened the Empire. So he would hunt every fragment of Ruin gathered here — with the exception of the Emperor. He had already released the seals on the Fifth Gate. Even if he lived, he was no longer truly alive. If he was going to die anyway, he would take every fragment-bearer assembled in this place with him.
Release.
Raiga opened every last one of his Blessings. Golden light immediately surged through him, rapidly healing the wounds across his body. Once fully restored, Raiga leveled his sword at the Heavenly Demon and spoke.
"Monsters. I am your natural enemy — the hunter."
Isabella swallowed hard.
Everyone was watching the clash between Raiga and the Heavenly Demon — the participants and the Night Spirits alike. The reason both the participants and even the spirits had forgotten their duties and simply watched the duel was simple.
You have to understand your opponent down to the bone if you want to win.
Even if you caught someone at night, all it did was transfer them to the Star's Prison for a single day. For a Night Spirit to achieve final victory, they had to fully grasp every participant and then perform. The participants, likewise, needed to completely understand their opponents' capabilities to win.
Of course, more than any of that, watching the strong of the Abyss fight was simply fascinating…
Thunderous impacts. Crash after crash. Attacks traded without pause, so fast they were nearly invisible.
One thing was certain.
Raiga has the upper hand.
The Heavenly Demon was being pushed back. He had scraped his internal energy down to the dregs, but Raiga's martial power was the real thing. With all five Gates fully opened, Raiga was nothing short of invincible.
"Ahh, so that one is the infamous 'him' from the rumors?"
"The human fragment hunter?"
Apparently Raiga was rather well-known even among the residents of the Abyss. The participants, too, were watching him with keen interest.
"Fascinating. Why is the fragment hunter protecting the Sunken Emperor?"
The Multiplier of the Storm seemed to find the situation thoroughly entertaining — the ironic spectacle of a human defending a ruler of the Abyss. At this rate, though, Raiga would be able to kill the Heavenly Demon. And if only the Heavenly Demon died, the sole remaining threat to this cave would be the Owner of the Tomb. That was something Isabella could handle alone.
I never thought I'd see the day I'd be rooting for Raiga.
Live long enough and you see everything. Who would have thought she'd end up cheering for that insufferable Raiga?
But the cheering did not last long.
A wet, piercing sound.
"Y-Your Majesty… why…?"
A hand had driven straight through Raiga's chest. None other than the Sunken Emperor had attacked him — Raiga, who had broken every taboo to protect him!
But the Sunken Emperor spoke with eyes that still did not waver.
"You're in the way."
In the way. Do not stand before me.
"Gah—!"
Raiga coughed up black blood. At the same time, the golden light embroidering his entire body rapidly faded — a sign that nearly all of his life force had been exhausted. The side effect of opening both the Fifth Gate and every Blessing at once.
In the end, Raiga collapsed unconscious to the ground. At this rate, he would not live much longer.
"A creature without a drop of blood or tear in him. Killing the one who tried to protect you."
Watching the scene, the Heavenly Demon snorted. This was a creature that had thoroughly abandoned its humanity. He felt not the slightest shred of pity.
But mockery aside, the Heavenly Demon's own condition was poor. Facing Raiga had forced him to draw even on his primordial core energy. Meanwhile, the Sunken Emperor was already regrouping his insects. The invincible shield had been reconstructed once more.
At this rate, certain defeat.
There was no way out. He no longer had the strength for one. If only he still had the Cheonmado… Yes, if only he had the Cheonmado, the entire situation would have been different.
"Hup!"
The Heavenly Demon steadied his internal energy — and then kicked off the ground.
Was he fleeing, having realized he could not win? That thought lasted only a moment.
"…?!"
Urgency flooded Isabella's eyes. The Heavenly Demon was not heading for the Sunken Emperor. He was charging straight toward the cave where she stood!
But Isabella herself was not his concern. What the Heavenly Demon was after was something inside the cave — without a doubt, he was trying to reclaim the "precious thing" that had been taken from Randolph.
The Night Spirit initiates an Expedition Duel against the Heavenly Demon.
The Night Spirit is victorious.
The Heavenly Demon's second most precious possession has been taken.
A "precious thing" stolen by a Night Spirit can never be reclaimed.
The Heavenly Demon is transferred to the Star's Prison.
The victorious Night Spirit cannot initiate another Expedition Duel until the following evening.
Isabella had desperately initiated a duel against the Heavenly Demon. In the blink of an eye, the defeated Heavenly Demon evaporated — but Isabella saw it clearly. The smile that bloomed at the corner of his mouth. He had lost and had a precious thing taken from him, but at least he had not died.
A low, grinding rumble.
That was not the end of it. The Owner of the Tomb began to move.
"…"
The Sunken Emperor, too, fixed her with a frigid gaze. Isabella bit down hard on her lip.
No more duels?
Upon victory, consecutive duels on the same day were forbidden. Another rule she was only learning now. But Isabella did not move. Neither did the Owner of the Tomb or the Sunken Emperor. They were waiting for her to vanish.
Even if it means my death…!
Already, the night sky was gradually changing color. The sun was rising over the horizon. Isabella stood firm, guarding the cave. After all, they had no way of knowing she could no longer duel.
As the sun became visible, Isabella's entire body began to burn. The moment her transformation came, her identity would be exposed to them — and she would meet her annihilation.
Isabella looked up at the rising sun and thought:
I want to kill you.
It felt like a cruel joke of fate. Then she shifted her gaze toward the interior of the cave. Even if the memories she had seen were true…
…It was fine.
It was all right. She knew Randolph. She understood better than anyone what kind of person he was. He was no villain. He was certainly not someone who would freely manipulate others and drive them to ruin. Randolph must have had his own unspoken reasons.
So if there was a god who had created this entire situation — she wanted to kill that god.
Lord Randolph. My star, my king.
Isabella closed her eyes.
And in that moment—
"…Step aside."
From within the cave, Randolph's voice rang out.