Nightfall DLC - Advent of the Demon King (3)
When Yujin first played Nightfall, defeating Ariandel in the tutorial allowed him to enter the hidden route.
After that, by fulfilling every condition that followed, he succeeded in witnessing Nightfall’s true ending.
But reverse that statement, and the truth becomes clear: if Yujin had made even one wrong choice, or suffered defeat in so much as a single battle, he would never have seen the true ending at all.
And so, right here, one could pose a series of “what ifs.”
What if Yujin had failed to take down Ariandel in the tutorial?
What if, seeking greater power, he had borrowed the strength of grimoires like the Livre d’Ivon or the Book of the Receiving God?
What if, in the final battle, he had ultimately fallen to the Calamity God?
The existence that embodied the production team’s IF-style fantasies of exactly that sort was the DLC’s final boss: the Demon King.
His concept design was a Yujin from some other world who never reached the true ending and collapsed halfway. More specifically, the setting held that within a singularity that suddenly appeared in Arkham, the shadow of “Yujin from a failed world” had merged and transformed into the Demon King.
That was why Yujin had logged into the DLC with considerable anticipation. Just how skilled would a boss monster built from his own combat data turn out to be?
And now, the Demon King standing before him was imperfect—yet interesting enough to hold his attention.
This guy… crude as it is, he’s using Willpower.
Even Yujin found it absurd, but the Demon King before him was indeed wielding Willpower. More than that, through Willpower he could momentarily employ one of Yujin’s own abilities: Combat Foresight.
That fraudulent power Yujin had forged through countless real battles—the ability to read an opponent’s movements a step ahead and answer them perfectly.
Using Willpower alone was surprising enough. On top of that, to predict every attack with Combat Foresight? Even though the creature had been built from Yujin’s combat data, Yujin himself had never imagined it could copy his abilities, however imperfectly.
However—
“Crude.”
Clang—!
[Guh…!]
The same Holy Sword. The same trajectories. Physically, Yujin’s strike and the Demon King’s were equals. Yet every time their blades met, the damage piled one-sidedly onto the Demon King.
“Full of openings.”
Yujin swung without a trace of tension in his voice. The Demon King foresaw the attack through Combat Foresight, yet Yujin’s blade still punched through his guard like paper.
[What the hell is this—]
At the last instant the Demon King twisted and managed to evade. …No. He had not dodged Yujin’s attack. Yujin had simply swung in a way that allowed him to dodge.
The Demon King knew it, and his face twisted with rage.
[You bastard…! You’ve been toying with me this whole time…!]
After reading Yujin’s movements with Combat Foresight, the Demon King poured Willpower into his blackened Holy Sword and brought it down with everything he had.
“I already told you it’s useless.”
Claaang—!
That all-out blow was blocked as if it were only natural.
[Th-this—]
He could not understand. Same sword, same strike—yet something of an entirely different dimension separated them.
“Don’t tell me you actually thought our attacks were equal? Your use of Willpower is still terribly unskilled. No matter how much Willpower is the power to realize one’s mental image, the moment it touches reality, constraints apply.”
The tone was that of a teacher correcting a student. The Demon King’s guts churned even harder.
[What the hell do you know to spout that crap!]
Finally enraged, the Demon King revealed the trump card he had kept hidden.
Demon-Slaying Sword
New Moon
“Oh?”
Yujin’s expression turned genuinely intrigued. Even with permission to harvest his combat data, to reproduce a form of the Demon-Slaying Sword he had barely used until now?
A crescent of light scattered toward him. New Moon was an attack powerful enough to bisect the body of the One Who Gazes Upon the Stars. If it landed, even Yujin would take serious damage.
But—
“I told you. It’s crude.”
Crunch—!
A casual swing from Yujin shattered the New Moon. Not only that—the blackened Holy Sword in the Demon King’s hand cracked and broke as well.
Thud.
Unable to withstand the blow, the Demon King was hurled back and collapsed to the ground. The impact tore away his hood, revealing the face beneath.
“Ha…? No way?”
A sound of pure bewilderment escaped Yuria’s lips the moment she saw that face. Yujin’s own brow furrowed hard. Of course it did.
Because the face hidden under the hood was not merely similar to his own—it was identical.
…Well, “identical” might be a stretch. Silver hair, utterly unlike Yujin’s black. Crimson eyes. The mark of an apostle of the Ruler was carved into one cheek, and a black aura like demonic energy seeped from his entire body.
It was the classic corruption cliché itself—and the main reason Yujin’s hands and feet were curling in secondhand embarrassment.
Fuck.
If he had known he would see something like this, he never would have signed that contract when they talked about making a boss from his combat data!
While Yujin was lamenting inwardly, Yuria’s expression shifted into something subtle.
“This is… not bad.”
“What?”
“No—not just ‘not bad.’ It’s excellent. Truly my type.”
“.....”
Now was not the time to discuss Yuria’s hidden preferences. The Demon King still glared at him with venomous eyes, clearly unwilling to give up.
[Hehehe… As expected, it’s “me.” To think the gap would be this overwhelming. Indeed—to defeat the Calamity God, one must be at least this strong…]
“So, is that all? Nothing more to show?”
He wanted to kill the thing right then and there, but the general director had asked him to “draw out the Demon King’s limits,” so he could not.
[No… I still have a trump card. However… I did not want to use that method if I could help it. Because the more I use it, the more it feels as though I am falling into the demonic…]
“.....”
[But I cannot give up here… I did not accept the demonic only to be defeated in a place like this…!]
As he spoke, demonic energy far denser than before poured from the Demon King’s body. At the same time, the human form he had maintained until now began to warp and transform—
But then—
Demon-Slaying Sword: Unsheathe
Moonless Cloud Radiance
Boooom—!
Mid-transformation, Yujin drove the fastest technique he knew straight through the Demon King’s heart.
[Kyaaaaak—!]
Caught mid-change and pierced through the heart, the Demon King could not even manage a proper counterattack before he was annihilated.
“…Uh, is this okay? You asked if he had more to show, then you suddenly ambushed the guy who was about to show it…”
Even Yuria muttered as if the move were absurd. Yujin turned to her with a rigidly stiff expression.
“Did you see?”
“…Yes? See what?”
“That guy just now. The form he was trying to transform into—did you see it?”
Faced with that utterly serious look, Yuria shook her head.
“No, I didn’t. Master finished him so instantly I couldn’t properly make out what was what.”
At her answer, Yujin let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
Thank goodness.
At least in front of Yuria, he had not wanted to show the Demon King transforming into that.
He knew perfectly well the concept was a fallen version of himself—but who could have imagined the production team would stick something like that in as a phase-two pattern?
Fuck… I should have known something was off from how much they paid for the contract fee…
Despair welled up in his chest. Yujin squeezed his eyes shut.
No matter how he looked at it, starting phase two by putting on a half-face mask and sprouting black wings from his back was way over the line.
Way, way over.