Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Every Moment, Every Time (1)
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The demon sat upon a throne carved from rock.
His legs stretched out long, one hand draped over the armrest while the other pressed against his forehead in a languid pose. Above the white mask, a pattern of azure light rippled like gentle waves.
Demons neither slept nor dreamed. Even in such utter stillness, the demon wasn't simply dozing off. But if falling unbidden into uncontrollable visions could be called dreaming, then perhaps this demon was dreaming just like any mortal right now.
In the dream, the demon stood upon a pale wasteland soaked in demonic energy. He was one of the lowliest creatures there. Fitting his station, his face was pressed into the ground, inhaling the faint violet dust as he desperately begged someone for his life.
"P-Please... spare me... I d-don't want to die... Keeek, a worthless demon like me... it won't even make a difference if you let me live..."
"......"
Before the demon loomed a colossal shadow like a mountain.
Compared to truly massive greater demons, its body wasn't all that large. Yet the overwhelming killing intent and presence that seemed to carve into flesh made the demon perceive the giant's divine form as far vaster than it truly was.
Raising his gaze revealed bottomless, shadowy eyes like an abyss. In its hand gripped a battle axe radiating a ferocious edge, and shadows forged of blood and darkness cloaked its face. If only the giant would swing the axe down or release him to flee—anything to deliver a verdict. Instead, it stood in stony silence.
He felt buried under a mountain of boulders. The pressure crushed him so utterly he could scarcely breathe. Bile and tears surged up together. All the demon could do was grovel in terror, palms scraping raw as he begged.
"Keeek, please spare me... I'll do anything... Keeek, I'll tell you everything... Keeek... I'll do whatever I can, just please spare my life..."
Then, abruptly, voices from beyond drifted in.
"Kadim, where are you! Are you all right?!"
"Lord Kadim! Lord Kadim! Where are you?!"
"Sister Melissa! Hurry with the tracking spell..."
"Whew, just hold on a moment... I'm preparing it now..."
Clang!
Color bloomed on the demon's face. The giant had lowered his battle axe upon hearing the voices. It seemed he'd decided there was no need to bother killing such a pathetic wretch. A slender ray of hope pierced through the thunderclouds like sunlight.
...But it was a fatal miscalculation.
"......"
The giant didn't turn away. Instead, he approached right up to the demon's face, his hollow eyes brimming with madness like burst blood vessels.
He tried to flee, but it was too late. The giant seized his head and gaped his maw like a vise.
"...K-Keeek, keeeek!! N-No, nooooo!"
The demon thrashed wildly in a deathly frenzy. But the grip held fast like the racks of hell. Every desperate struggle proved futile, until blunt teeth finally engulfed his entire face.
Kwachak!
His vision went pitch-black.
- ......
A faint ache spread behind the mask.
The worn nightmare always ended in such horror. No matter how much he revisited or tried to forget it, the memory remained unchangeable.
But... the story from here on would be different.
Click, click, click...
In the demon's left hand gleamed a small blue pocket watch. He shook it lightly, and whirr—the hands spun. In an instant, weeds and flowers sprouted and bloomed from the cracks between the stone floor and throne, as if time itself had been compressed.
This time, he shook it so the hands spun backward. The growth reverted to seeds. He shook harder still. Verdant leaves unfurled, only to wither black at once. With each gesture, the plants withered and bloomed repeatedly.
The blue pattern atop the mask twisted into a hooked arc.
Birth and death, strength and decay, aging and rejuvenation. The cycle of life was clutched in his grasp. He was no longer a lowly being. Not even that giant could escape this inexorable order of life.
How long had he awaited this moment? The horns sprouting from his forehead were the legacy of eons of hatred and endurance. Even after all those years, the chance for vengeance remained—and for that, he was grateful.
The stage was set. The adversary's arrival was imminent. The pattern on his mask flared with intense blue light amid roiling fury and anticipation.
The greater demon, Pebilatus, slowly rose from his rocky throne.
*
- Ahh, exalted one! You truly deserve the worship of all creation... or so I thought...? Why, why would I ever fear a mere human...
Thwack!
The effects of "Enchantment" wore off. Before Kadim fully regained his senses, he shattered the skull demon's cranium. The deaf-mute demon had already been slain, leaving only the translucent woman.
- Hah, quite the clever trick you pulled... But what now? No matter how sharp that blade, it can't harm me.
She was right. "Spirit-type" demons had ethereal bodies impervious to physical attacks. To deal real damage required holy magic, curses, holy relics, or divine weapons.
Conveniently, Kadim possessed one such tool.
Whoosh!
- Kyaaaaah!!!
The hellfire dagger was originally forged as an arch paladin's divine weapon. Flames blessed by Elga could incinerate even spirits. Upon contact, her dress hem ignited, and her translucent flesh charred black.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Kadim hurled the dagger repeatedly at the demon. Wherever the blade grazed, sulfurous flames erupted. Gradually engulfed in fire, she vanished into ash with a fading scream.
- Aaaah...
All five demons dispatched. Kadim retrieved his daggers and caught his breath briefly.
"...Whew."
He desperately wanted to sit and rest, but he couldn't afford more delay. Having absorbed so much potent blood, his berserk state could erupt at any moment.
The battle's spoils were bountiful. In one fight, he'd harvested blood from three types of greater demons. He regretted not getting any from the woman or skull demons due to their natures, but he wouldn't dwell on it. Kadim swiftly carved the remaining corpses, filling empty vials and leather flasks.
Of course, he didn't forget to charge "Blood Spirit" with demon blood.
Stab!
The blade's slash was already proven devastating. Even a greater demon would struggle to survive a direct hit.
However, it couldn't always unleash such power. The slash's potency scaled with the quantity and quality of stored blood. This time, brimful with "greater demon" blood, it wrought massive damage. Such demons were rare, so routine slashes of this caliber were impossible.
'...Doesn't matter right now.'
Greater demon corpses and blood littered the cavern in abundance. Even after filling his containers and fully charging the blade, plenty remained.
Rumble...
Like before, "Blood Spirit" brimmed with creeping crimson aura, humming as the blade quivered. Kadim stroked the blade to soothe its will, then sheathed it at his waist. This slash was his sole trump card to end a demon—reserved for moments they couldn't dodge.
A small hole gaped at the cavern's rear. Following the foul demonic energy's pull, he entered. The tunnel was so narrow only a goblin could pass comfortably. Kadim hunched low, half-crawling forward.
Demonic energy permeated the entire passage, thick and cloying.
His skin stung, and each breath felt like arrows piercing his lungs. Even his tempered body struggled against the dense miasma. Yet Kadim inhaled it without hesitation, like a gladiator entering the arena swallowing dust.
The tunnel widened abruptly at its end, revealing a massive stone door. It looked newly carved, yet already corroded by demonic energy, edges worn smooth.
The moment to confront the one who'd lured him here had arrived. Kadim took a deep breath and shoved the door with all his might.
Like a dam bursting, miasma poured out from beyond.
Rumble...
Whoosh—his vision blackened.
For an instant, he felt nothing. As if his brain had shut off his senses, cast adrift in the void of space.
Kadim didn't panic. This was a symptom of excessive miasma erosion. He knew the countermeasure. He meticulously visualized his body in his mind's eye: bronze skin, thick arms and legs, shoulders and torso, waist, head, toes, the weapon in hand, and the tattoos brimming with vitality.
Slowly, his senses returned. The space illuminated gradually, like kindling catching flame.
"......"
A vast chamber rivaling the prior cavern. It wasn't empty; rows of pillars stood aligned, a rocky throne and dais carved out, bizarre reliefs sculpted into the ceiling—evoking the profane temple of a secret cult.
And atop the dais with the throne stood the source of it all.
A build like an average adult man. Immaculate blue formal attire with coat, glossy high-end shoes, a white mask with rippling azure patterns over his face. No weapons save a lone pocket watch—unthreatening at first glance.
Yet the miasma so potent it briefly numbed his senses, and the three horns on his forehead, betrayed his stature.
After a moment's silence, the demon descended the dais slowly. A refined tenor voice overlaid his footsteps.
- Long time no see. Honestly, I'm surprised. Didn't expect you to still be alive. A human living over 300 years... Not just demon blood—did you drink elf blood too?
"......"
- Well, whatever... At least your temperament hasn't changed. I worked hard sending demons and spreading miasma, fretting you'd never show. Turns out it was needless worry. To think you'd come charging in not even two months after my descent...
Kadim furrowed his brow. This was clearly a stranger, yet he acted familiar.
"Who the hell are you."
- ......
"Never seen you before, so quit pretending."
The blue pattern on the mask etched violent waveforms. Miasma pooled at his feet surged to the ceiling. He gripped the pocket watch tightly to calm himself, but the pattern's trembling persisted.
Finally, the demon traced a sleek arc across the mask.
- Pebilatus, demon of birth and age... and the one you owe a debt to.
Then, with one hand on the mask, he slowly removed it.
- ...Recognize me now?
"......"
Beneath lay a flayed face.
Empty sockets, ragged flesh and exposed cheekbones. Viscous blood and pus oozed from split muscle fibers. The mask's interior was caked in dark scabs and pus.
The demon bared red teeth in a grotesque smile.
- I could regenerate a face like this anytime. But I chose not to. Through bitter years of endurance. To seize transcendent power and meet you again.
"......"
- To never forget my hatred for you... in every moment, every time.
From his words, Kadim had apparently contributed to that mangled visage. But no matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't recall meeting this demon. After all, who remembers every meal they've eaten?
So Kadim responded casually.
"Don't remember, but sorry about that. Half-assed job on my part."
- ......?
"Guess I'll peel off the rest of your skin now."
Whirrrrr!
The furiously spinning axe blade hurtled forth. The demon froze in shock, then casually extended a hand.
Vmmm—thunk!!
Miasma welled up, forming a gelatinous shield. The axe blade splashed viscous droplets, halted at the surface. Sinking like in quicksand, Kadim swiftly yanked it back with mana pull.
The demon donned the mask again. The light pattern roiled like angry waves.
- There. My mistake. You treated me like vermin and slew me, so I should've done the same...
"......"
- Enough talk. Learn true pain and despair in the inescapable cycle of birth, age, life, and death, you pathetic worm.
The demon tossed the blue pocket watch into the air. Miasma swirled around it like saw teeth, coalescing into a massive scythe with the watch at its tip.
Shrrr!
Gripping the scythe firmly, he swung it fiercely.
――――――――――――― Shwing!!
Without delay, a vast afterimage rent pillars and walls asunder.
Rumble...
Stone segments crumbled. Walls split, severed pillars toppled into the black miasma, dust mingling in.
And it didn't end there. Twirling the shaft, the black afterimage burst from the gashes, retracting to the blade.
Shwing ――――――――――――― !!
A technique akin to Kadim's axe throw and recall, but incomparable in range and power. One swing severed four pillars, scarring half the chamber.
Kadim scowled faintly. He'd dodged by a hair's breadth; otherwise, he'd have been bisected before retaliating. To land "Blood Spirit's" guaranteed slash, he needed close range—but such wide-area attacks made that impossible with normal physical prowess.
――――――――――――― Shwing!!
Shwing ――――――――――――― !!
He dodged behind pillars. In that fleeting instant, he pondered deeply. Swiftly deciding: dragging this out only worsened his position. Better a solution with heavy backlash.
Full dope.
Kadim poured all the greater demon blood down his throat. Focusing his mind, he activated "Hydra's Tattoo" as well.
"......"
The tattoo flickered unstable crimson. A vicious, searing heat like swallowing fresh lava coursed down his throat.
His heart pumped like a raging river. Vitality boiled, blazed, rampaged within.
Adrenaline cascaded through his brain. Muscles ballooned like balloons stuffed with lead. Molten iron surged through veins. His eyes flashed wide, then blood vessels burst, dyeing them scarlet.
The berserker exhaled red steam through clenched teeth, poised to launch.
"...Grrrh."
Time to clash full-force with the greater demon.