Chapter 13: It’s an Unwritten Rule That the Transfer Student Is the Singularity (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: It’s an Unwritten Rule That the Transfer Student Is the Singularity (1)
Gehenna's map changes every hour.
The terrain where the rioters had struggled desperately was no exception. Before anyone realized it, the ferociously steep cliff had turned into a vast plain.
Naturally, there was no vibrant landscape like golden wheat fields. Instead, a sea of pure white reeds stretched across the land.
Bending flat under the southerly wind, the sight evoked a unique atmosphere peculiar to the Demon Realm, unattainable in the Human Realm.
Where did this wind originate? Perhaps a woodpecker deep in the mountain springs generated it while slicing raw fish.
Whoooooosh!
The wind, blowing from far away, brushed past the reed field and leisurely climbed up the mound.
Let’s follow the tail of the wind.
It reaches the peak of a low hill.
The wind gently ruffled black forelocks.
It was a meeting of Valerion, Metatron, Leon, Lycan, and Kang Geomma—the five strongest beings in the entire world. (The Dark Elf Elder had been carried away on a stretcher, foaming at the mouth.)
Rumbleeeee.
Below them, demons regardless of tribe formed a circular formation. Kneeling on both knees, they surrounded the five beings as if revering them, adding to the solemnity of the scene. They looked just like believers visiting a holy land.
"...Ghhhrrrrr..."
"Shut up if you want to keep even one more finger, you green pig bastard! My ears hurt from your squealing!"
"I, Stugal, feel insulted! It's not that my voice is loud, it's that your ears are uselessly long! And isn't this whole mess entirely your fault, point-ear?!"
"You pig bastard! Why are you suddenly so articulate?! Act like a pig if you're a pig. When we give orders, you just swing that chipped axe of yours!"
Waves created by internal strife. The reeds swayed spitefully at the eye level of the groaning demons.
The demons listening to the squabble burned with anxiety, but they clamped their mouths shut, carefully gauging Kang Geomma's reaction. Every single one wore an expression as if they had swallowed a hot ember.
"Hmm..."
Leon let out a low hum as he swept his gaze across the crowd.
The young demons had limbs—or, for the unluckiest ones, all four limbs—severed. They were foolish creatures who had just received a harsh lesson from a storm of Sashimis infused with lightning.
They brought it on themselves.
Since they had been wiped out without being able to put up a fight, let alone utter a cry of resistance, he almost felt a tiny bit of pity.
The crime of messing with Kang Geomma.
Demons possessed excellent self-healing abilities. Even if their limbs were cut off, they often regrew like lizard tails.
High-ranking demons like High Elves could easily recover within a week even if their internal organs were damaged. However...
Getting sliced by Kang Geomma's Sashimi is a different story.
Leon narrowed his eyes, enhancing his vision.
An elf whose ears had disappeared caught his eye. She was trying desperately to heal her wound, breaking into a cold sweat as the flesh refused to grow back.
"Why did you have to..."
Leon muttered under his breath and shifted his gaze.
Opposite him stood the absolute pinnacle, even among the five strongest beings in the world.
Kang Geomma.
He looked out over the reed plain with sunken eyes before turning his head. Leon felt a chill. It was because a dark, dreary gleam trailed behind his eyes.
"My apologies, Dragon Lord."
Then he bowed his head to Valerion.
"I should have informed you before doing something like that, but I fired off in a fit of temper. I'll be more careful next time."
"Please raise your head. Anyone else might, but you shouldn't act like this toward me."
Valerion didn't know what to do. His entire face contorted as he expressed his embarrassment.
"Weighing the fault, my negligence is far greater than yours, Heavenly Sword. If I had suppressed the rioters early on, this wouldn't have happened in the first place. Because of me, you had to come all the way back here when you only recently left the Demon Realm. I am truly ashamed for troubling you..."
Kang Geomma shook his head.
"The Dragon Clan has been a neutral faction for generations. Though you are currently acting as the ruler of the Demon Realm out of necessity."
"The situation being what it is, after all."
"I should have respected that situation, but I threw it away in anger. I'm sorry."
"Haha... dear me..."
The Lord scratched his forehead with his purple claws.
Thus, a mutually polite exchange of pleasantries went back and forth. The gust of wind tested their apologies.
In the meantime, Metatron raised the corners of his mouth sillily, Lycan—who had shifted his spot onto Kang Geomma's shoulder—yawned, and Leon scoffed inwardly.
Kang Geomma. The more I see you and the longer we spend time together, the more incomprehensible you become.
When striking down the rioters, he showed a brutal lack of mercy, yet he was infinitely gentle toward Valerion.
He was always like this.
Leon looked at Kang Geomma's side profile.
While he can be so cruel to demons, he gets completely helpless around Abel and Ryozo...
He measured and returned emotions in equal proportion to how the other person treated him. Even so, he felt that Kang Geomma went a bit overboard just now, but regardless.
He wasn't someone who was cowardly to the strong and cruel to the weak.
In terms of the dynamics of power, Valerion was also far beneath Kang Geomma. Leon had crossed swords with him before.
That's why he was certain. At present, there was no one who could stand on equal footing with Kang Geomma. Only someone like Leon himself or Metatron could even attempt to measure against him.
And even then, only for a few moves.
Furthermore, Kang Geomma's growth was still a work in progress. Time was on his side.
As time passed, the gap between him and Kang Geomma would widen uncontrollably. As the thought crossed his mind, he felt bitter yet inwardly respectful.
Perhaps the reason Kang Geomma has such a fiery temper...
...is the lingering aftereffect of stubbornly suppressing that mighty power under the lid of "humanity"? Once his thoughts reached that far, another imagination stimulated his brain.
What if he ever gave up on suppressing his power? Wouldn't that truly be the end of the world? If that happened, should the world willingly accept it?
I have no right to worry about such things.
He was a sinner with a history of driving the Human Realm to the abyss of destruction. Even if it had been for his father Metatron...
In the end, it was merely a personal reason. In the past, Leon had succumbed to selfishness and betrayed humanity and his friends.
Leon shook his head to disperse the ominous thoughts. He then focused on the conversation between Kang Geomma and Valerion. Their conversation was reaching its end.
"I suppose I do need to fix my habit of reacting so rashly. Come to think of it, I recently heard reports that exchanges between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm have been turning cold. Maybe that's my fault too. It makes sense for the demons to harbor grievances."
"I can't say... there's no such influence, but it's honestly unavoidable. Our natures and dispositions are fundamentally different. It's natural since we evolved that way. Like oil and water..."
Oil and water...
"Oil and water, huh..."
From that clichéd metaphor, a bolt of lightning struck Leon's mind anew. Just a few days ago, he had discovered a mixture of two unmixable properties.
"Um, sorry to interrupt, but..."
He chimed in before this old man could disappear.
"A while ago, I discovered traces of the Human Realm inside the Demon Realm."
"What do you mean...?"
Scanning the faces with his clear blue eyes, he spoke again.
"And I just happened to inspect an anomaly with my father recently."
Even if his contribution was humble, he wanted to be of help.
To the world he had almost broken.
Even if he had to lay down his life if necessary.
* * *
After sensing an oddity in the Sword Emperor, Medea headed to the peak of the world via Subspace Warp.
Whoooooosh...!
Cutting through the flesh-searing snowstorm, she stopped before a massive iron door. With trembling hands, Medea touched the heavily frost-covered auxiliary screen.
[Entry verified for Medea Poison.]
Even after entering, she passed through several thick iron doors. Only then did a subtle warmth greet her, along with a handsome young man welcoming her with open arms.
"Medea! What brings you here without calling?!"
"Is that coming from someone who cut off all external communication networks...? More importantly, got any warm tea? If I leave them like this, I feel like a few of my fingers will freeze and rot off."
"That's why I ask, what's with your outfit? You're showing more skin than you're covering. If nothing else, your older sister dresses neatly and looks presentable."
"Where's Mesther—no, Sashimi?"
"Wait a moment."
Watching the man tuck tail and run at the word "Sashimi," Medea let out a sour sigh.
The place she visited was the Antarctic Base. It was the location where her father, Victor Poison—the former Association President—had spent decades living in seclusion, conducting research.
"Warm yourself with this."
Victor returned holding a steaming towel.
"Ew, smells musty."
"That's how a bachelor's house is."
"I told you to get out of Antarctica."
Medea pouted her lower lip coyly for no reason. Even so, she thawed her frozen hands and feet with the towel her father brought.
"So, what's the matter, Medea?"
Setting aside his warm smile, Victor asked.
"Am I only allowed to visit when something big happens?"
"It's not that, but that's usually how children's visits go, isn't it? Especially in your case. You're an Ancient whose lifespan is several times longer than others, yet you live frantically as if you have a terminal illness. Who do you get that from? Certainly not my side of the family."
"That statement about Ancients having longer lifespans than others."
Medea spoke, pressing the towel against her cheek. Her skin, which had been bleached white as paper, began to flush with color.
"It might not be something exclusive to us anymore."
"...What do you mean...?"
"Just before coming here, I used the Poet's Blessing to peek into what lies ahead."
Her next words...
"Human lifespans are extending."
...felt colder and more chilling than the Antarctic cold snap.
"...Except not like Ancients—like 'Majin.'"
* * *
I moved as soon as I heard Leon's explanation.
I had already been feeling uneasy ever since meeting Se-in. On top of that, I just heard news about a suspicious egg. I wasn't reckless enough to ignore something like this.
Since the rioters were quelled for now, the demons wouldn't bare their fangs again anytime soon either. When it came to survival, they were quick learners. If they were slow learners, they'd just have to pay the tuition fee—with their lives.
The four of us—me, Ramji Thunder, Leon, and Metatron—dashed through the Demon Realm. Wherever our feet struck, the ground caved in deeply. Whenever we kicked off simultaneously, the very earth shook.
As a side note, Valerion didn't join this party. He said he would catch up after sorting out the rioters.
We had long since broken the sound barrier. However, we couldn't reach our destination in just a few minutes. Naturally, that was because Gehenna's geography had changed in the meantime.
Still, our pace remained swift. That was because our group had an excellent guide.
– Left from there.
"..."
– Right over there. Ah, I told you that's not it! What am I supposed to do if you won't listen when I tell you directly!
Lycan made an absolute fuss on my right shoulder, his soft fur bristling up.
At first, he threw a fit asking if he was a navigation system or something.
Now, frustrated, he leaned his upper body forward and issued orders via telepathy. The former 1st Corps Commander of the Demon King's Army, Lycan. Is he really a demon?
"Haha, my, my. Quite faithful to his role as a guide. Makes me want to catch him and raise him as a pet. As long as he's washed properly, I doubt he'd catch any diseases."
– That angel bastard!!
"Father, looking at how that squirrel is clinging to Kang Geomma, I think he got chosen. Geomma, how about taking it in as a pet while you're at it—"
"..."
– Aaaaaaaaaagh...!
Lycan's scream pierced my eardrums. I asked why he didn't cancel his transformation, and Lycan explained.
To sum it up, he missed his window of opportunity to reveal his true identity.
Nothing can be done about it.
– Kang Geomma! Not you too!
You're the one who chose to be Ramji Thunder. Grasp your teeth and suck it up.
– Are you truly a devil?!
Since the owner of this body is a devil.
– ...
Either way, all roads lead to Rome.
After a few minor twists and turns, a massive pit opened its maw before us.
Nod.
We leapt down in our own respective ways.
After landing and proceeding cautiously for a few minutes, I came face-to-face with an utterly bizarre egg.
"Was it like this originally?"
Except it was cracked open. Panicking slightly, Leon thoroughly examined the eggshell, the zigzagging cracks, and the interior.
His conclusion:
"...It seems to have hatched while we were away."
"Now that's convenient timing. Any footprints?"
"None... I don't see any. Nothing picks up even when I spread my energy sense. Should I head out right now and search?"
"Hold on for now. Running off blindly isn't going to give us a magic solution. Formulate a plan before acting."
"...If you say so."
While I was scratching my chin, Lycan muttered:
– This is unusual in many ways.
Do you suspect something too?
– I didn't tell you, but there was a similar phenomenon near the Academy's Special Pavilion.
There was an egg there too?
Lycan furrowed his brow.
– Not an egg, but traces of demonic energy, just like that hero wannabe mentioned. On top of that, a weird egg here. Something is definitely going to happen.
Hmm...
– You should head back to the Human Realm. Isn't this supposed to be your day off? Overworking yourself like this will break your body.
Oi, oi, damn it. A sudden moment of sentimentality?
You're the only one who worries about my health.
– That's because that body belongs to me.
Heartless demon bastard.
– Just in case, I'll stay in Gehenna for a while to investigate the egg. The inscription I saw earlier keeps bothering me.
"Excuse me, Heavenly Sword."
At that moment, Metatron approached and asked.
"If you don't mind, I would like to conduct this investigation with this little squirrel. Would you grant permission?"
– I take it back. I'm going back to the Human Realm too.
I ignored him.
"You personally, Archangel?"
– Hey!
If humanity launched a full-scale investigation into these ominous signs, numerous problems would erupt.
It would incite anxiety in human society and pour fuel on the demons' dissatisfaction.
A bad move on multiple levels.
Staying in the Demon Realm for long was also difficult. There were plenty of headache-inducing people back in the Human Realm too. The nobles were eagerly waiting for me to disappear.
I said:
"I'd certainly feel relieved if you did."
"Though I don't know if this compensates for it..."
He abruptly yanked Leon over with a hand the size of a pot lid.
"Could you give this boy a tour of the Academy for a bit?"
"Me...? Why all of a sudden—"
"You rascal, it's been over three years since you last smelled the air of the Human Realm."
"I don't really care about things like that..."
Just as Metatron said, Leon von Reinhardt hesitated to set foot in the human world.
Shackles called guilt kept his ankles chained to the Demon Realm.
"Sounds good."
Leon looked into my eyes.
"G-Geomma, why are you doing this too all of a sudden? Of all people, I... don't have the right to enter Joaquin Academy."
"That's not for you to decide. That's up to the Academy Principal. And she'll grant permission as long as there's a valid justification."
"Do I have a justification...?"
"Of course you do."
When I smiled, the hero took a step backward.
I was trying my best to give a bright, pleasant smile.
– Truly spoken like a hero candidate. Fearing the Demon King, that is.
Lycan snorted slightly and smirked.
* * *
The following morning, the auditing students of the Heavenly Sword gathered at the training ground with bewildered expressions.
However, the gathering place wasn't the dirt field of the training ground, but above it—in the spectator seats. Since it was the Heavenly Sword's final lecture, the cadets, filled with equal parts lingering regret and soaring expectations, pressed their buttocks into the seats with confusion.
A circular arena modeled after an ancient gladiatorial colosseum. It was usually a place where cadets busted their tails rolling around, but elevating their perspective made it look like a true arena.
"Is this... no way?!"
One cadet gasped in shock, quickly turning to the female cadet seated next to him. Stars swelled and shrank in his eyes.
"Are they showing us a subspace sparring match?!"
"Ugh, you idiot."
Crossing her arms, the female cadet sneered.
"A sparring match can only take place if two people can actually exchange blows. But right now, is there anyone who can cross swords with Lord Heavenly Sword—or even breathe properly in front of him?"
"At most, maybe five..."
"And all five of them are in Gehenna."
"Who knows, maybe...?"
Feeling it wasn't worth replying to, the female cadet turned her head away. While her heart fluttered with excitement at the prospect of seeing Lord Heavenly Sword, she couldn't help feeling suspicious about the lesson's content.
What could it be? What on earth was it?
Just as the atmosphere reached a crescendo, on the verge of exploding—
The stone entrance set into the wall of the training ground rose with a heavy thud. Following that, two people stepped out, walking toward the center of the arena one step at a time.
Dozens of pairs of eyes opened as wide as lanterns.
Uh, huh? What! Ack—!
Bizarre, distinct screams filled the training ground.