So Let's End It Here (2)
The Ten Thrones demon king. An existence beyond specifications, transcending heaven upon heaven.
Lust, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, had offered herself as a sacrifice to summon Buer, the lowest of the Ten Thrones. Yet even that had only brought forth his voice alone. From this alone, one could discern the truth: the Ten Thrones were the true kings of the Demon Realm.
Having ascended to an incomprehensibly lofty realm, they could not even exchange words with lowly creatures. An insurmountable wall stood between them, rendering any evaluation of a Throne demon king by a mere insect's gaze as futile as appraising the wall itself.
Such a Throne demon king, Buer, was being overwhelmed.
Tremble.
Buer beheld his quivering muscles. It was a perfect summoning. Above all, the source of his power—negative emotions—saturated the surroundings. Yet he was still at a disadvantage.
Clang.
A sword swung. Buer recalled memories. He remembered the countless human masses who had thrust blades toward him: holy knights, weapon masters, sword demons, grand archmages... They were insects barely worthy of memory.
Of course, each had been a figure capable of conquering a world. But that was all. They lingered in memory, nothing more. None had ever scarred Buer's flesh.
Stab.
Yet in this moment, blood spurted from Buer's body. It was no tempered sword aura. No pedantic swordsmanship. No magic conjured at the cost of a soul.
"Hah."
Merely a swing. Like swatting a bug. A casual strike severed Buer's left wrist clean off.
"Most astonishing."
The response of a true king. Unlike common demon kings or archfiends. Buer showed no agitation. No wailing in pain. He merely alternated his gaze between his severed arm and Grandfell, marveling.
Excitement crept into Buer's voice.
"I deemed you a fine companion. For I had never witnessed an insect reaching the realm of heaven upon heaven."
Their first encounter. Buer's words then had been sincere. From a human perspective... it was like the curiosity one might feel toward an ant that could speak human tongue.
But the situation had changed.
"A delusion. I was the fool who mistook the wall for something more. You are no mere insect. Even I cannot comprehend your words... You are undoubtedly a being that transcends even heaven upon heaven!"
By the end, ecstasy laced his tone.
"So that was it...!"
Stab.
Even as he spoke, Buer's flesh was being carved apart. Was it because he had shifted to a form closer to human for easy conversation? Such a question mocked heaven upon heaven. The authority of heaven upon heaven was not constrained by mere physical form.
Buer offered no excuses. He spat blood with his words.
"...You are the 'true truth' itself!!"
Buer recalled. Occasionally, among insects, some dared invoke his name. Curiosity piqued, he would listen to their wishes—only to find them utterly absurd.
-"Help me become king...!"
-"Grant me eternal life."
-"Make her love me no matter what!"
How could insects be so bound to their petty worlds? In pity, he granted their wishes, only for them to repay him with hatred.
-"...Th-this isn't what I wanted! Destroying the world and leaving only me and her... What have I done...? You damned demon...!!"
In that sense, the insects of the Arcana Continent were clever. Some even grasped the true truth. Perhaps that was why Gami Gin had raised his hooves.
"Gami Gin, I pity you now."
In the past, Buer had mocked the horse-headed one's end. But now he understood. Gami Gin had simply been unable to resist.
"Even we cannot defy the true truth."
Thud.
Buer's legs gave out completely. Kneeling, he watched the man approach. No—the true truth approach. His madness-glazed eyes trembled with rapture.
'...From here, it enters the realm of pure inquiry.'
Buer harbored no doubt about his end. What could not be defied was truth. He knew this, no matter how he twisted his words or acted.
Buer dared invoke his authority. The power to pierce minds. Not all secrets could be seen. His authority applied solely to this man.
Fortunate it was a man. Buer felt relief.
'Indeed, truth. It rejects not the seeker.'
A gulf so vast words failed. Had the man—the truth—rejected him, the authority would have faltered. Yet mercy prevailed. Buer wielded it fully.
He glimpsed traces within the man's soul.
Drip.
In that instant, tears welled in Buer's eyes.
Beings of heaven upon heaven comprehended spacetime. Interference was impossible, but observation was feasible.
"...So that is it."
Thus, Buer witnessed. Not just the past. The present and future trials the man would face.
Not tears of empathy for the man's emotions.
"This is the weight truth bears...!"
Merely glimpsing it overwhelmed him to tears.
To such a Buer, the man's words continued.
"□ □□ □□□ □□□ □□□□□."
Buer bowed his head before truth.
"I am too dull to comprehend your words..."
Not from fear. Not from oppressive pressure. It was genuine reverence from even a Throne demon king. That was the man now: Grandfell.
Slice.
Buer's end differed little from other demons. His head severed, hellfire consumed him. Hell's flames spared no one. Demons especially could not endure its torment.
"Heh heh heh."
Yet Buer drowned in greater catharsis than pain. Poor Gami Gin. He had sincerely mocked the fourth throne, six seats above him.
"I beheld the true truth."
A Throne demon king's demeanor set him apart. At the pinnacle, he transcended kin, petty emotions—piercing essence itself.
Thus, Buer felt no regret in death.
"I witnessed the birth of true truth before any other. For that alone, I gladly cast myself into hell. Ha ha ha ha ha."
Whoosh.
In endless abyss, only hell's jade flames flickered.
A upper demon king had fallen to hell.
Step.
Yet Grandfell's steps did not halt.
"......"
His gaze had never turned to hellfire.
He simply advanced through darkness. Seeking a single ray of light, vanished to who-knows-where.
Step.
Step.
Step.
...
The Iron Castle Ho confronted a horrific sight.
"Insane..."
Behemoth's Maw. The term for one of the largest permanent rifts linking the Arcana Continent and the Demon Realm.
Chainwalker steadied his mind. He had heard descriptions from Gunner, but facing it directly was another matter.
"Ch-Chainwalker, sir. What the hell is all that...?"
Nam Taemin, peering at the spread below, trailed off. An alien vista. Amid thick darkness carpeting the ground, only pulverized flesh fragments littered everywhere.
Chainwalker explained.
"I've heard your world of adventurers has rifts too. But no permanent ones, I wager. Same for the Arcana Continent. That one's forcibly maintained. Utterly unstable. So those heading to the Demon Realm, or coming from it—they often fail to endure the rift and scatter as minced meat."
"...!!!"
Leoni furrowed her brow and spoke.
"Then that flesh down there is..."
"Aye. All demon bits. No known madman or hero from Arcana has ever crossed to the Demon Realm."
"I see. It makes sense now."
Hisagi Kazuma nodded slowly.
Demons from the Demon Realm had spread across the Arcana Continent, the Demon Realm, and reality itself. Thus, upon seeing a demon king, Hisagi had wondered: Why did they need cumbersome sacrifices?
"Demon kings, the high lords of the Demon Realm, have no reason to risk perilous adventures. They have the classic, safe method of sacrificial summoning."
The rift's [anomaly] remained unexplained by anyone. Even Lee Hoyeol, dubbed its pioneer, called it an unconquered domain.
Demon kings likely felt the same. No reason to reject sacrifices and gamble on rift uncertainty, becoming meat lumps to reach Arcana.
Skal assessed coldly.
"That instability is what saved the Arcana Continent."
The scattered flesh was vast. Enough to form mountains and seas of blood and meat—no exaggeration.
Undoubtedly, everyone aboard the Iron Castle Ho shared one thought: Pass Behemoth's Maw swiftly.
But that wish went unfulfilled.
For they had spotted it. Amid the oppressive darkness, a brilliant silver glow.
Nam Taemin shouted.
"...Hoyeol!!"
No one averted eyes from the brutality.
Click!
No orders needed. The Iron Castle Ho descended immediately. Nam Taemin's group, Chainwalker, and Walls Whale donned gear.
Gunner's warning rang out.
Meaning a demon king-level fiend might emerge unscathed. Gunner, reconnaissance leader who had patrolled Arcana widest, knew.
Players grasped it easily. Demon kings akin to the [Monarch] class lineage.
Yet none hesitated.
Gunner, relaying intel, matched them.
Gunner bellowed.
Click— The Iron Castle Ho fired mana shells earthward. Pure mana stones formed them, engraved with magic arrays from the Mage Tower's enchantment senior, Kiko Armin.
Mass Teleport.
Soon, the embedded shells glowed, releasing mana. Amid swirling particles, Holy War Alliance members emerged one by one.
You have entered Behemoth's Maw.
Warning: Your mental strength is too low.
The Demon Realm watches you.
Throb. Dizzying messages were irrelevant. What mattered was Hoyeol.
Overcoming the Demon Realm's pressure, he frantically scanned. And met it.
"...?"
Silver hair cascading past his waist. Blood-soaked flank.
All froze, speechless. Then,
"Wait..."
Not anyone else—Nam Taemin spoke. Muttered softly. As a barbarian with beast-like senses,
Only he noticed.
"That's not the Grand Commander I know. Not Hoyeol..."