Primordial Regression
Zzzzzing!—Cracklecrackle!—Rumble!—
“Kyaaak!”
[Guhk!—]
“Halphas! Amdusias!”
“You’re coming to hell with me! Contractor of Dantalian! [He] is calling for you!— ”
“Damn it! Shouldn’t have come here?! No choice but to go Asura Mode...”
Whoooosh—
“Dodge!”
Boooom!—Splaaash!
“Kuh! Tough?!”
“Sword Master? Not bad for a human, but you can’t cut me down with that level of skill!”
I’d come here on purpose to keep the others out of it, but I never expected him to blast Halphas and Amdusias away and charge straight at me. The bastard reached out with his massive hand to grab me, and Gerhart stepped forward to block, but it only left a shallow scratch on Azazel’s hand. Even a Sword Master’s blade couldn’t pierce his body.
I pulled out Ostis’s skin and the other face skins from my pocket, ready for my last desperate gambit. This was the only way I had a shot against the monster who’d just sent Halphas and Amdusias flying, even if just for a moment. I was staking everything on it.
“I don’t know who this big shot in hell is looking for me, but here’s a warning! Anyone who messes with me or my family gets purged without mercy!— You wanna see me? Tell ‘em to come find me themselves—in hell!— ”
“A pathetic worm like you has its limits on arrogance!”
Bang!~ Crunch!—
...
“Gaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!—— ”
Thud!—
““Huh?””
The King of Depravity, Azazel, reached out his hand. But his attempt ended with a gunshot from somewhere, and his massive arm vanished without a trace.
Clutching the spot where his right arm had been, Azazel screamed in agony, dropping to his knees and howling loud enough to shatter eardrums.
“Gaaaaahhh!!—— ”
“Man, what a set of lungs!”
“North Face! What was that just now...”
“Beats me! Gunshot from somewhere... Huh? Vanessa?”
“Hm?”
I turned toward the direction of the shot, spotting Vanessa on the building rooftop, gripping two muskets. Her eyes burned with murderous intent.
Twin pistols... no, twin muskets? Whatever! With a cigar clenched in her teeth and her arms crossed in an X, holding the two muskets, she radiated sheer dominance.
“Phew~ Boss. How am I supposed to do my job if you wander into dangerous spots like that? As the head of the organization, please prioritize your own safety.”
“Whoa... double muskets! So badass...”
“Kh-hm!~♪ I know I’m cool, so no need to tell me. Regardless, submit a reflection report later.”
“Yep!”
“North Face. Who the hell is that...”
“Shh! Don’t ask, Gerhart. You’ll only get hurt if you know.”
“And Boss... Crunch! Stay away from strange women you don’t even know! Got it?!”
“Huh? Oh, yep!— ”
Vanessa had clocked Gerhart as a woman at a glance. But why was she so pissed?
Thud!—
“Kuhuhuhu... You fallen Ruler of Time! You dare sever my arm!”
Click!
“I let you climb all those years without a word... and now you stab me in the back? Traitorous bitch!”
“Ha! Traitor? In hell where strength is everything, what’s betrayal? To us demons, evil deeds are virtues, aren’t they?! Isn’t that right? Ruler of Time, Your Highness Baal?”
“Hup! Rank 2 Hierarchy. B-Baal?!”
“Gerhart. You absolutely don’t tell a soul about anything that happened here today. Or Vanessa will really kill you.”
Nod! Nod! Nod!
Azazel spilling Vanessa’s identity left Gerhart trembling in shock. I emphasized silence is golden, and she clamped her mouth shut, nodding furiously.
Vanessa shot Gerhart a dirty look before aiming her guns at Azazel and speaking.
Whoosh!
“Who gave you permission to stand here? King of Depravity, Azazel. If you knew whose land this is and showed up anyway, you’ll pay for that arrogance!”
“Hahaha!— Of course I know! The land of those who once believed in and worshipped you. But now it’s empty, isn’t it? Forgotten and fallen to hell—the god of time, Your Highness Baal?”
“Good. Then you know you’re standing on my land, my domain! My temple!— ”
!!!
‘Temple? Vanessa called it a temple last time too? What the hell does that mean?’
Vanessa’s domain declaration. Azazel’s smug retorts crumbled into panic.
Whatever. Vanessa pulled an hourglass from her pocket and flipped it.
In that instant! Blue flames flickered around her, spreading outward and shooting sky-high before fading. Our plaza transformed into somewhere else.
[Temple]? Or ancient ruins? We stood inside a crumbling, damp, silent temple devoid of life.
“Wh- the Primordial Hourglass?! Y-Your Highness Baal! Since when?!”
“Since when? Since the moment I claimed this land. You know my power is absolute in my temple, right? Think a mere demon of the Seven Deadly Sins—overseer of life’s depravity and corruption—can defy the law of time?”
“W-Wait! I’ve always been loyal to Your Highness Baal...”
“Shut up. You pervert worse than a bug! No mercy for you. I’ll make you pay dearly. With Primordial Regression, I’ll erase you from existence—as if you never were born in this world!”
Reverts target to pre-existence—erased from the world's history.
Hummm!—Whoosh!—
“Guhk! M-Mercy! If you spare me, Your Highness Baal, on the day you battle [Him]! When you reclaim hell’s throne, I’ll give my all...”
“I said shut up! You dare... touch the Boss? You’ve lost any right to exist in this world!— ”
Hummm!—
“Kuaaaaaahhh! I won’t vanish like this!— Even if I die, Baal! I’ll take you and...”
“[Stop Time]”
Bang!—Bang!—Fizz! Fizz!
...
...
“What?”
Blue flame bullets fired from Vanessa’s muskets hit Azazel square. His movements froze.
As time passed, his body grew translucent, starting from his toes and fingertips, slowly dissolving away.
A Rank 10 demon lord. The primordial sin-made-flesh, King of the Seven Deadly Sins symbolizing depravity. He couldn’t even resist, frozen in place, fading to nothing.
“Hehehehut!~♥ Impressive, right? Boss?”
“Halphas. What the hell? I get stopping time, but why’s Azazel’s body vanishing?”
“Primordial Regression—Your Highness Baal’s power over time, the absolute law that existed before the world’s creation. The Seven Deadly Sins are the first demon lords born from life’s desires and negatives, but time predates even them. No defying Her Highness. She regresses that pervert lord to before his birth—making him something that never existed~♥”
“Total cheat bullshit... So how’d the demon of justice beat Vanessa? If time trumps justice as a concept, she shouldn’t lose, right?”
“Hehehehut! Exactly. But what is justice to you?”
“Hm?”
“Commonly, justice means right, fair, orderly... that’s justice (正義). But there’s a homonym, right? Definition (定義)—as in defining a law or concept.”
“Wait! You mean Lucifer’s power...?!”
“Kyahahaha~♥ Bingo!— He defines the enemy’s power using his and heaven’s smug god’s standards, nerfing Your Highness Baal’s ability! Then deems it justice (正義), so Lucifer—a madman who warps even world laws with his justice—wins!”
“Even more bullshit OP character!!—— ”
I never imagined that punny justice (正義) could twist into definition (定義)! The temple records said Lucifer was narrow-minded, arrogant, dogmatic—hated by god and cast to hell. His bigotry lets him redefine world laws on a whim. No wonder Vanessa lost. Hell’s 666 demons? No one stands a chance!
Hummm!—!!!
“Vanish. You worthless scum!”
Vanessa’s death sentence. Azazel’s form turned translucent, dissolving away. A demon lord who could level mountains faded without a fight.
Crack! Shatter!
“Hm?!”
“Grraaaaaahhhh!!!—— I won’t die alone!!—— If I go, Baal! You and that precious human go too!— ”
“This psycho?!”
Cornered to deletion, Azazel’s final spasm forcibly broke Vanessa’s time stop, reaching for me in a murder-suicide grab. Vanessa looked shocked—she hadn’t expected him to break free and rampage.
“Kyahahaha! Never give up, huh? But it’s tacky, so I’ll grant you an honorable end!”
Boom!Slash!—
“Kuuuuhhh! Haaaalphaaaas!!—— ”
“Die already! This war with you’s gotten boring!”
“Nice one, Halphas!”
Boom!—Crunch!
“Guhk!— ”
“Godfather!”
“Boss!”
“North Face!”
“Damn...”
“Krhahahaha!! Me vanishing over one puny human?! So unfair—I won’t go quietly! Dantalian’s contractor! Vanish with me!— ”
Hummm!—Shooo!—
...
...
...
“Godfather... Godfather!”
“Your Highness Baal! Hurry, rewind time!”
“Too late... It’s gone again... I thought I could save the Godfather this time... Aaaah— ”
“Your Highness Baal! Pull yourself together!— ”
“Noooorth Faceee!!—— ”
Just when Halphas’s halberd severed both arms, Azazel used his tail to coil around me, dragging me into exile beyond space-time with his fading body.
Vanessa collapsed, legs giving out. Halphas, Gerhart, and Amdusias searched everywhere, but couldn’t find me.
** ... ... ...
“Ow ow ow... Fuck. That pervert mongrel bastard! Azazel, you worthless shit... Should’ve died alone! But... where the hell am I now?”
After cursing the suicide-attempting Azazel, I finally noticed the changed surroundings and looked around. Some cave? Temple? Ruins? I’d been flung to some weird place.