Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Play - 3
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The Demon King must fall by the hero's hand.
But it can't be too easy.
Even before my regression, Idria had put up quite a fierce fight against us back then.
At the end of that battle, Kaild had severed Idria's neck.
For a moment, even I thought, "It's over."
'Idria back then was probably...'
Trying to deceive us until the very end, squeezing out more lies.
That's exactly what I'm doing now.
"Haaaaah!"
"Urk."
My sword barely grazed past Idria.
She leaped high into the sky.
Then she spread her arms wide.
Her purple hair shot up toward the heavens.
"The games end here."
Ugh.
That's a line Adwin wrote.
I admit it sounds pretty cool, but for some reason, my face feels hot.
A black curtain draped down from under Idria's outstretched arms.
Pitch black, like a blackout curtain.
From that curtain poured an uncountable horde of grotesquely shaped monsters.
They're probably pumping smoke in from behind the blackout.
"No matter how many of these you bring, it's useless!"
"Heh heh. Let's see how long that bravado holds."
The monsters charged at me.
I swung my sword like a madman, slicing them apart.
Lions, snakes, goats, deer.
Monsters of all shapes and sizes crumpled with wet thuds.
But several times more came swarming over them.
My momentum building, I shouted the skill name.
"Amazing..."
[Shut up! Everything we've built is crumbling!]
'...That serious?'
[That serious. This was a real crisis for humanity.]
No, really that serious?
Anyway, I shouted inwardly.
'Amazing Slash!'
A curtain of sword strikes endlessly carved through the endless monsters.
"Krarrarl."
"Kweeeek."
"Kieeeek!"
Their bodies crumbled, flesh splattering.
For a while, I pushed them back like that, giving Idria a glance.
As if she'd been waiting, she shouted.
"Not bad at all. But!"
From the blackout curtain emerged monsters on a whole other level, massive in size.
Including the Worm King Helneim I'd slain once before, they were so enormous you had to crane your neck just to see them all.
I put on a shocked expression at their majesty.
"Urk. To think it'd be on this scale."
"Maide! Don't give up!"
That was when it happened.
My party members had already rushed up behind me.
Right. That's how we'd staged it.
In the final moment, heroes must stand by the hero's side.
Jenia said.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine. More importantly, the Demon King's minions?"
"We took them all out. Now we'll help too!"
Jenia said that and clasped hands with Serein.
Some grand purification ritual or whatever.
Of course, it wasn't a real grand ritual that required a price, but it was meant to look like one to onlookers.
"...With this, we purify all unclean things in this place."
"In the hero's name!"
Soon, a whoosh of golden light rained down.
Idria visibly panicked.
"Th-this? Purification... no, it's different somehow."
"We did our own research to slay you."
"Urk. To think you'd go this far."
Adwin shouted.
"That guy's soul is weakening. Offense... bro."
Finally hearing "bro," Offense looked somewhat moved as he drew his dagger.
"Risel, if you would."
"Yes. Amira. Donir!"
Offense's dagger flew at terrifying speed, aided by Risel's spirits.
Puk.
It pierced Idria right between the eyes.
The black curtain vanished, and Idria plummeted.
Neril tied hand seals like lightning and shouted.
"Transcendent Decomposition!"
The massive spear that could erase even mountains.
It flew toward the remaining monsters.
The leftover monsters were gigantic, but they couldn't withstand Transcendent Decomposition.
"Krurrrr!"
"Kraaaah."
"Kweee."
I closed my eyes for a blink and opened them to find only a freshly paved new road.
"Huff huff."
Neril staggered and leaned against me.
[She could fire thousands more of those without breaking a sweat, yet she's pretending to be weak.]
'I asked her to act like that.'
[And in the middle of it, she leans on you. Wasn't that in the script?]
'Little ad-libs are fine.'
I caught Neril's shoulder.
"Neril, you okay?"
"You pushed yourself too hard."
With those words, Jenia and Serein collapsed too.
"You guys!"
"Sorry. It's a ritual that surpasses ordinary purification..."
"Even if we die, we leave the rest to you."
I widened my eyes and shouted.
"No. I can't lose you all. Adwin!"
"Yes."
"Hold onto everyone's souls. Offense, you watch for any surviving monsters."
"Got it."
"Risel, grab potions from my bag and give them out."
"Will do."
That should make me look like a leader making quick judgments and orders in a dire situation, right?
Anyway, the party focused on recovery after the intense battle.
I made a face like I'd breathed a sigh of relief, then muttered.
"But where's Idria?"
As if she'd heard my question... well, of course she had.
Anyway, Idria rose from the smoke.
She pulled the dagger from between her eyes.
Bluish veins bulged across her entire face.
"Vicious poison."
"My party member made it."
"Looks like I don't have much time left either. Let's settle this. Maide Mohan."
At those words, Neril made a show of trying to force herself up.
I stopped her.
"Lie down."
"B-but!"
"Thanks to you all, the Demon King is weakened. I'll finish her myself."
Neril looked at me with a mix of worry and emotion.
The others did too.
They cheered on the hero right before slaying the Demon King.
"Maide. We believe in you."
"Do your best."
"Bro. You can do it, bro!"
"Leave this to me. We'll join once we're recovered."
"Don't worry about us."
"You got this, Maide."
Nice shot.
I nodded heavily and charged at the Demon King.
"Idriaaaa!"
"Maideeee!"
No need to, but we shouted each other's names anyway.
Clang. Kagang!
Idria's sharp claws clashed with the hero's sword.
We fought like that for another 10 minutes or so.
Neither Idria nor I were using even 10% of our power.
If we went all out, we wouldn't even register in the eyes of those watching our fight.
It had to be visible to them.
'Trail. I'm busy, so check my fame for me. How much has it gone up?'
[Hmm... 150, 180, 200. Just crossed 200.]
'Not enough.'
Far from enough.
One of the conditions to be chosen by the world.
Gain fame beyond what the world demands.
In my case, it was 1 million. But that was for killing Idria.
'The threshold for Imperium was over 4.8 million. Meaning, to kill Velosian, I need at least 4.8 million fame.'
[Urgh.]
'I was hoping we'd hit 4.8 million in this fight, but no dice. Stick to the original plan.'
[Yeah. The fame gains are slowing down anyway.]
We fought for another 5 minutes.
Then 5 minutes later, Trail said.
[2.4 million. It's not going up anymore. This is the cap.]
'Exactly half. Damn it.'
No helping it.
I gave Idria a look.
She nodded ever so slightly, in a way only I would notice.
Then she subtly exposed an opening in her abdomen.
"Haaaaah!"
Roaring ferociously,
Puk.
I plunged the hero's sword into Idria's belly.
"Cough."
Idria spat blood.
She staggered back a few steps.
Soon, her movements stopped completely.
"Huff huff."
I staggered and braced my hand on the ground.
My companions rushed up behind me.
"Maide!"
"You okay?"
"Urk... I'm fine. Cough."
I bit my tongue once and let blood trickle from my mouth.
Jenia feigned surprise and quickly cast a healing ritual on me.
Whoosh.
Golden light swirled, and I felt my complexion improve.
Though I'd been perfectly healthy from the start.
I pushed her away and stood before the fallen Idria.
Adwin said.
"Did she die standing?"
For a moment, intense embarrassment made my spine tingle.
'He really insisted on including that line.'
[The response is good, though. Adwin's fame went up a bit more.]
'What an inscrutable sense of drama.'
Anyway, I said to the group.
"No. She's not dead."
"Huh? But she's not moving at all."
"The Demon King requires destroying her core. And Idria's core is her heart."
Offense nodded and said.
"Guess we stab the heart. The sword's in her gut, so pull it out first."
"..."
"Maide? What's wrong?"
I put on a thoughtful expression.
The group pretended to look anxious.
This anxious expression was probably on every face across the continent right now.
Good.
Thinking the mood was ripe enough, I said.
"If we just kill the Demon King, is that the end?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Do her crimes just vanish like that?"
"..."
"Idria's victims number in the countless. Not just this era, but the innumerable sins from the past. Does slaying the Demon King make all that go away?"
The group made half-understanding faces.
I continued.
"This one hid in the shadows for eons, toying with humanity. If we just kill her and call it done, what about the injustice of her victims?"
"But we have no choice."
"No. We do."
I pointed at Idria.
"Idria. Answer me."
"..."
"You're still alive. Stop playing dead."
Idria spat black blood and opened her eyes.
"Urk. What nonsense. Just kill me."
"Of course I will. But it won't be by my hand."
"What?"
"People."
"What are you saying."
"Humanity will judge you."
I leaned in close to her.
And growled.
"We won't let you off easy. You wicked Demon King."
"...!"
"As long as the hero's sword is in your gut, you can't use your original power. Right?"
I deliberately pulled back.
To show her expression to the whole world.
'Nice. Perfect.'
The most crucial moment of this play.
Idria's acting in that instant was flawless.
Her lips were deathly pale, her pupils trembling endlessly.
Her face testified to the truth of what I'd just said.
'With the hero's sword lodged in her, Idria can't use her power.' It confirmed it.
"Urk. S-so what!"
"Didn't I just say? Humanity will judge you. Accept your judgment quietly."
I'd said something similar to Sobia in the deep sea of the special chamber before.
It was already agreed upon.
Decided when we planned this play and joined hands with Idria.
Idria bit her lip.
"What drivel. Speak plainly."
"Fine. I'll spell it out."
Suuup.
Would this method boost fame even more?
It should.
It has to.
I shouted.
"We'll hold a trial! A trial to judge Demon King Idria!"
"...!"
"I'll request the Emperor to preside. I'll expose every single one of your crimes there. The entire continent will witness the trial."
"Urgh."
"And you'll atone for every revealed sin with your own hands. You'll restore the damaged lands yourself, visit the graves of your victims and beg forgiveness."
"Kill me. Just kill me!"
"And at the end of all atonement, you'll die by the 'verdict of the trial.' Not by this hero, but judged by humanity!"
The Demon King of Destruction died by Grade's hand.
The Demon King of Greed died by Repia's hand.
The Demon King of Corruption died by Leon's hand.
Yes.
All slain by heroes, proxies of humanity.
No Demon King has truly been slain by humanity itself.
But by opening a 'Demon King Trial,' I'll achieve what past heroes couldn't.
-Humanity judged the Demon King.
That feat.
'I wonder how people will take my idea?'
That's the real question.
Right then, as if on cue, Trail said.
[It worked.]
'Oh! Nice. How much?'
[Heh. See for yourself.]
Tap.
Trail displayed the screen.
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 2,503,100]
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 2,918,400]
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 3,601,800]
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 4,500,600]
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 4,771,600]
And.
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 5,357,200]
The minimum requirement to slay Velosian.
We'd blown past 4.8 million.