20
Chapter 20
Of course, speaking so fearlessly isn't just because I'm feeling bold.
As I mentioned before, I'm a demon who knows exactly where I stand in the food chain. Unless it's within a calculated range of safety, I would never dare offend a demon stronger than myself.
The reason I dared to be so brazenly sarcastic with Southern Grand Duke King was...
"Ho?"
Precisely to catch his attention, just as I have now.
"You're quite the oddity."
King, an old demon who lived long enough to be tired of living.
Having weathered every storm the world could throw at him, he possesses a level of sloth even deeper than my own.
He was there for the Divine-Devil War, the ancient clash between angels and devils, and the Great Upheaval that twisted and split the continent from the Demon Realm.
He served hundreds of Demon Kings and clashed with thousands of Heroes. While they lived bloody lives, killing one another, King felt the futility of it all and chose to spend his time solely within his own estate.
Even the Demon Kings of the past did not treat King lightly. Even if a Demon King possessed greater power, they respected King's independent authority and treated him differently than other dukes.
In essence, he was practically the unofficial elder of the Demon Realm.
"Well, 'oddity' is a subjective term, isn't it?"
"Even from a societal perspective, you are plenty odd."
"In a demon society known for being utterly vicious, I can take being called an 'oddity' as a compliment, right?"
"Do you often get told you're shameless wherever you go?"
"I plan on hearing it quite often from now on."
King's tomato-like eyes glinted as he looked at me.
He examined me thoroughly with a look of curiosity.
Though that curiosity faded quickly, I needed it—to actually hold a conversation with King.
"For what reason have you come to seek out this old, forgotten relic of the Demon Realm?"
"I have something to ask."
The statement that no one dared treat King lightly...
...means that for the past several hundred thousand years, that is exactly how King has always been treated.
When even the Demon King, the highest authority in the Demon Realm, acts that way, what brave demon would dare be rude?
In the midst of that, a little brat like me appeared.
A brat who looks to be barely eight years old.
What would happen if such a green demon showed a level of guts and composure no one else ever had? What if he even threw teasing jokes his way?
"Haha... you have something to ask, do you...?"
I haven't lived as long as he has, so I can't be sure.
But likely, he finds it incredibly intriguing.
This wouldn't work on other demons who have a hot temper as a racial trait, but it's possible because King is the pinnacle of sloth.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am Oscar, the youngest of the Lucifer Northern Duke Family."
"Ah, so you're the baby of the Lucifer family who was born not long ago?"
"That 'not long ago' was actually nearly ten years ago... but well, you're not wrong."
"Oscar Lucifer... it has a nice ring to it. Who named you?"
"My father did, of course."
"I didn't know that friend, the Northern Duke, had such a sense for naming. I'm seeing a new side of him today."
My father, the current Northern Grand Duke, is a very cold and bloodless man. That is why King spoke in such a manner.
"However..."
King's lips, made of corn, twitched.
"Did you think this old man would provide the information you want for free?"
At first glance, it sounds like he's asking for something in return, but there is no greed bleeding through the question.
I expected this, but it seems simply being arrogant isn't enough to fully hold King's interest.
"You've lived a long life, yet you're still quite greedy."
"I never mentioned anything about wanting wealth."
"Is that so? Then what should I do for you?"
"......."
I asked innocently, pretending to know nothing.
Upon hearing the question, King pondered for a moment, then replied with a smirk on his bizarre, plant-like face.
"Just play a game of chess with me."
"Keke."
The answer I expected.
"Why, do you dislike the idea?"
"Not at all. I happen to love chess."
"I happen to? That sounds as if you're saying I also love chess."
"Isn't that right? That's how I understood it."
"...We've certainly only met for the first time today, yet you act like a demon who has known me for a very long time."
King's smile vanished, replaced by a puzzled expression. I simply gave him a cheeky grin.
Chess is King's only hobby. Additionally, though it's a story from my previous life, it was a pastime for both of us.
Whenever I didn't want to hear the orders issued by the Demon King, I would intentionally visit King and play chess. When the Demon King would contact me to demand why I wasn't on the battlefield, I could just say I was in the middle of a battlefield and hang up.
The fact that any match with King was always thrilling also played a part.
"Bring out the chess set."
"It's been a long time since I've played chess with another demon."
King waved his arm, which was composed of grape berries.
Whoosh—
Purple energy billowed out and opened a chest of drawers tucked in the corner.
Soon, a chessboard floated up from inside and began gliding toward us.
Sixty-four contrasting black and white pieces crossed paths upon the board.
"I've played chess with countless heroes, but this is the first time I've played with a brat under ten."
"Is that so? When was the last time you played with someone?"
"The hero before the last, Odrias. That fellow was quite skilled at chess."
Hah, playing chess with an enemy general. I wonder what he'd do if the Demon King caught him.
Seriously, he's an unpredictable demon.
"Now, enough chatting; players speak through their chess pieces."
That's why I need to focus from here on out.
In this single game.
Because I have to somehow pique the interest of our slothful and lazy Grand Duke.
Clink-.
"I'll take black."
"You're conceding white, are you?"
The start is to boldly give up white, which generally has a higher win rate than black.
*****
Chess is like the life the player has lived.
At least, that's the theory of Southern Grand Duke King.
The pieces move, and the pawns, rooks, bishops, and knights take turns playing across the square chessboard.
A small war clashes violently on a flat battlefield of eight by eight squares. Each side unleashes their schemes, moves, and tactics without reserve.
By playing chess this way, one's life becomes visible. The path they've walked, their attitude toward life, their perspective, and so on.
Everything is revealed.
Tap-.
'I had some expectations, but it turns out there's nothing special here.'
That was why King had suddenly proposed chess to Oscar, whom he was meeting for the first time.
What kind of ideology does this bold demon live by to act this way toward him?
He wanted to dig into that.
'Just pawns from the beginning until now... no ingenious moves. Was he just an ordinary fellow?'
Tap-.
The way he stood before the estate, calmly cracking jokes.
That amusing appearance, constantly trying to throw out frivolous remarks.
It had been a little intriguing.
'Boring. I should end this quickly.'
Tap-.
The movement of King's hand as he shifted the pieces quickened.
Tap-.
Thinking through every single move is something only beginners do.
Tap-.
For King, who had learned the chess of the gods by watching from the sidelines since the dawn of the world, thinking was a luxury.
Tap-.
As soon as Oscar made a move, King immediately played his next, as if he had been waiting. This pattern continued for dozens of moves.
A few pieces were taken, but neither side held a clear advantage. The tide of the board remained evenly matched, as if predetermined.
......Tap.
It was then that King felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
'Why... is it still even...?'
When the young demon before him made his first move.
Specifically, when he moved a pawn slightly forward.
King was certain. This demon had little experience handling chess pieces. The slight awkwardness in his hand movements was the proof.
The guts to concede white or the bluff of acting as if he'd played countless games were merely a mask.
He thought that once the mask was removed and he stood upon the chessboard of truth, his insignificant true self would be revealed.
He really thought so.
'I haven't made any mistakes.'
Every move he made was the best possible move for each situation. His memory, which never deteriorated regardless of age, proved it.
Yet, why on earth was the situation still so similar?
By now, he had arrogantly assumed he could have eliminated at least one of the opponent's bishops.
Two pawns.
That was the only achievement he had managed over dozens of exchanges.
'I should slow the tempo down. Carefully... let's be just a bit more cautious.'
Tap-.
Changing his mindset, King made another move.
Tap-.
This time, Oscar responded immediately.
......Tap.
As planned, King pondered the board for a moment before moving.
Tap-.
Oscar followed suit immediately this time as well. Just as King had been doing until a moment ago.
......Tap.
Tap-.
......Tap.
Tap-.
Suddenly feeling curious, King asked a question.
"Why have you become so impatient?"
Oscar brought a finger to his lips and gave a short reply.
"Shh."
"What?"
"The dawn before Chaos arrives must be silent."
"You speak in riddles."
King wondered if he had mistaken the boy for an oddity when he was actually just a crackpot, before shifting his gaze back to the board.
It was at that moment.
'Huh?'
Things that hadn't been visible while he was deeply immersed in the game began to creep slowly into King's field of vision.
'Was it... always this dizzying?'
The pieces on the board were mingled to an eerie degree. Completely haphazardly.
He didn't know when the board had shifted into this state, but King shook his head as if to clear his mind and focused on the chess again.
'First... I should take a rook. He's practically handing it to me.'
Tap-.
Rook. The most valuable piece after the King and Queen.
Just now, one of Oscar's rooks vanished from the board.
Tap-.
In return, Oscar took one of King's knights. Since a rook is far more valuable than a knight, it was an exchange that was clearly a win.
'Now he's left a bishop wide open. Let's see, if I take that... the opponent will probably take one of my pawns... Why is he making such irrational trades? Does he not know how to read the board?'
If it had happened once, he would have dismissed it as a blind spot, but twice made it strongly suspect as intentional.
However, that didn't change anything. A gain was a gain, and even if there were a move he hadn't seen. A bishop was a piece well worth the risk.
Still, wanting to be sure, King stole a glance at his opponent's expression.
The boy was merely wearing a thin smile, as if something about this were amusing. It was a smile that shielded his inner thoughts.
"Strange brat."
Tap-.
Muttering quietly, King took Oscar's bishop.
Tap-.
Exactly as he predicted, Oscar took King's pawn.
Then, one of Oscar's knights was left open, and after a brief moment of contemplation, King reluctantly took that knight.
Oscar immediately took King's pawn.
King felt a sliver of anxiety again.
Tap-.
......Tap.
Tap-.
......Tap.
Tap-.
......Tap.
In that manner, after about fifteen moves of rapid exchanges, unlike before.
'What is this?'
King stopped making moves for a moment, overwhelmed by a growing sense of unease.
'Why... is it so confusing?'
The exchanges were certainly beneficial. Every single one was an absolute gain.
'I feel lightheaded.'
However, the overall state of the board was strange.
By chasing immediate gains, he had ventured too deep. It wasn't necessarily dangerous, but the peculiar part was that the opponent had also entered his own territory.
As things stood, it felt as though simply swapping their positions would cause no dissonance at all.
'Why does it feel like my own army is facing my allies?'
Enemy facing enemy, ally facing ally. King was certainly choosing the best possible moves, yet he felt as if things were flowing according to someone else's intent.
Despite having captured so many pieces, the numbers remained similar. King had many more high-ranking pieces left, but he began to wonder if they were truly his own. Even though they were clearly painted white.
Chaos.
Disorder.
Confusion.
A melee.
Bedlam.
The chessboard was exactly like that right now.
As if the dozens of dull moves were a distant memory, the board became violently turbulent. No matter what move was made, someone lost a piece, and the other side lost something similar.
The weight and rank of the pieces seemed to have vanished. It was bizarre. The Queen should be better than the Rook, the Rook better than the Bishop, the Bishop better than the Knight, and the Knight better than the Pawn, but because the board was in chaos, the pieces couldn't exert their power.
It was fortunate that he was viewing this from above.
If he were a soldier caught in this war within the chessboard?
He would have been wandering aimlessly, unable to distinguish friend from foe or tell his own camp apart from the enemy's.
A chain of command would have been nowhere to be found on the board. Everyone on the battlefield would have been ruthlessly cutting down anything in sight for the sake of survival of the fittest.
"Huff, huff...."
Of course, that was only assuming it were an 'actual war.'
What they were commanding now was not a war, but chess. He could overlook the entire situation at a glance and move the pieces omnipotently within the rules.
............Tap.
'Why is my head so tired...?'
Nevertheless, the fact that King's breathing had become noticeably labored...
...showed just how deeply he was immersed in the current game.
Tap-.
......Tap.
Tap-.
......Tap.
As the chess game, which had transformed into a tension-filled battle, continued.
"Do you know?"
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Oscar spoke, a playful smile curling his lips.
"The greatest virtue of chaos."
"Why are you trying to chat in the middle of a game?"
"It is this."
After a brief pause, Oscar spoke.
It was as if he were explaining the life he had lived to King.
"Fairness. Absolute fairness. The ranks and hierarchies created by fixed rules and order become meaningless in the face of chaos."
Upon hearing this, King let out a scoffing laugh.
"That may well be true."
Tap-.
He played a confident move with absolute certainty.
"But in this game of chess, it seems that logic won't apply."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because even in this long melee, the end finally seems to be in sight."
"Is that so? I'm not so sure."
Tap-.
"It's over now."
Tap-.
King's bishop captured one of Oscar's few remaining pawns.
Now, all Oscar had left were three pawns and a single knight.
In contrast, King still had his rook, bishop, and queen alive.
King was certain of his victory.
Even a single rook can render lowly pawns powerless. That is a natural 'law' of the chessboard.
If he simply pushed forward, his victory would be a foregone conclusion.
Every trace of anxiety had vanished. The victory within his reach only solidified his belief.
Tap-.
"Checkmate."
Until one of Oscar's pawns approached his most important piece.
When he tried to escape to the right, he saw a knight positioned perfectly to intercept him.
When he tried to escape to the left, he saw the opponent's king within two squares. A king cannot move within one square of another king.
Behind him was his own most powerful piece, the queen. However, the queen, facing away from the king, was useless in this situation.
Trapped on all sides.
The weakest pieces had breached the defensive wall of the most valuable ones and surrounded his king. In truth, they had been approaching for a long time, but the chaos and melee had blinded his vision.
"Haha...."
No matter how he looked at it, there was no way out.
"I've lost."
King let out a hollow laugh.
When exactly did it happen?
When exactly had he lost the game?
Chess is not a game that is overturned by a single move. Over dozens of turns, a player constantly sets traps and calculates moves toward a single 'possibility.'
"I told you. In the midst of chaos, the rank of the pieces disappears."
"At what point did you envision this scene?"
"Envision it? What do you mean?"
"I'm asking when you started designing this. While I was drowning in the arrogance of victory? Or when you lured me into capturing your pieces one by one? Or perhaps when the board descended into a melee?"
Before he knew it, King's face was filled with curiosity and intrigue.
King, who had lived for over a million years and stored all the world's knowledge in his head.
He now felt an uncontrollable thirst for curiosity toward a young demon.
"Since we were trading those boring moves earlier? Or... if not that..."
Oscar still wore that cryptic smile on his lips.
Looking at Oscar, King spoke in a dazed voice.
"Could it be, from the very first pawn capture? Was your clumsy hand movement intended to lure me into complacency?"
To this, Oscar replied with a giggle.
"Now, how could a mere demon foresee such a distant future?"
"Then what?"
"I just focused on the situations right in front of me. I wondered how I could shake the board further. How I could make the war situation as confusing as possible."
"Impossible... You beat me like that...?"
King muttered to himself with a vacant expression.
Oscar found the current situation utterly delightful.
'I've played thousands of games with you, thousands. I'll probably be on even footing after a few more... but surely I wouldn't lose the very first game?'
A game of chess with King was as natural as breathing to Oscar.
Whether King knew Oscar's inner thoughts or not, he could only continue to marvel.
'This is not the wisdom and execution capability a child should have.'
King was still ruminating on the match that had just ended. The demon famous for his sloth was nowhere to be seen.
'It's as if... I'm looking at a monster who has weathered every storm imaginable. He claims he just played randomly, but this brat led me by the nose from the start. Those first dozens of moves were likely just stage settings for the final few.'
As he continued to think, King began to harbor a fundamental doubt.
'But can someone that age actually possess a mind like that?'
No. There was no need to think deeply about it.
Ultimately, the mind is a fusion of knowledge and experience.
There was no way a demon not even ten years old could possess such knowledge and experience.
"Could it be......?"
And King, who had lived for over a million years.
Had encountered a few beings who, like the one before him, possessed a youthful yet seasoned spirit.
Each one was bizarre and moved as if they could see the future clearly.
As if they possessed the power of omniscience from the All-Knowing. Even if their innate brain power wasn't superior, they moved with information a dimension higher than others.
The odd little brat before him exuded a similar atmosphere.
"Are you... a Regressor...?"