Temple of the Demon Realm (4)
A human from Earth and a demon born in the Demon Realm.
Despite those contrasting origins, the two surprisingly similar men gazed at each other in silence.
“······.”
“······.”
No significant words were exchanged.
They simply shared the complex emotions harbored within through nothing but exchanged glances.
But that alone was enough.
Because although they were now divided into two, they were fundamentally no different from a single being.
It had been over twenty years since he crossed over to Auterika and lost the ability to use the system, but since it had not yet been thirty years, Miyamoto Ken’s unique skill [Thought Transfer] had not completely vanished either.
But—
‘...It’s too late after all.’
Ken slowly closed his eyes at the sight of his original body still lying on the altar, looking up quietly at his demon-self with only its eyes moving.
Yes, both already knew.
That Miyamoto Ken’s life, having become a sacrifice for the ritual, had very little time left before it ended completely.
It was not simply that his body had weakened from lack of nourishment.
From the potential of each individual cell, to the mind composing the ego, and even to the very foundation of the soul—
With all of it exhausted, he was nothing but embers with only a small spark left on the verge of extinguishing.
‘Too late...’
No one could save him.
Whether it was a Saint, a Demon King, or a Dragon—even someone who had attained enlightenment and achieved Transcendence themselves would be no different.
Truthfully, opening his eyes in such a state was nothing short of a miracle.
Perhaps the contact with himself who had come all this way had served as some kind of trigger.
Ken gazed at the original body on the altar with complicated eyes.
He was merely a copy created by the unique skill [Thought Transfer], but transformed by a curse and influenced by the demon’s body, making him quite different from his original appearance.
Yet no matter what anyone said, the subject of the ability was Miyamoto Ken lying there now, and the fact that he himself was an artificially born existence derived from that was undeniable.
That was why.
That was precisely why he could not help but be even more surprised.
“...Is it really okay?”
The will being transmitted from the original body, Miyamoto Ken.
“······.”
Despite the question mixed with surprise, he merely showed a faint smile.
Demon Ken looked at him with a subtle expression—he who could not speak because his vocal cords had completely atrophied.
It was an emotion that he, having become a complete demon, could now never understand.
“Then let us begin at once.”
But there was nothing bad in it for him, so he did not refuse.
Rather, perhaps knowing that time was running out, he no longer hesitated and immediately moved to action.
The “Demon’s Contract,” which took the contractor’s soul as its price.
[Azi DeQure de roTuS Vi···.]
With a low incantation, Ken placed one hand on the forehead of the closed-eyed original body, and with the other he clutched the emaciated, limp hand.
It was a visage far too solemn to be in the middle of a wicked contract.
It even looked like a sacred ritual to comfort one on the verge of death.
And as if rebelling against it.
Oooooong—
As the Demon’s Contract gradually progressed, the altar and even the entire ritual chamber connected to it began to resist fiercely.
As if refusing to let go of something that had once come into its hands.
Since Miyamoto Ken had already been offered as a sacrifice to this ritual, it was only natural.
[DoU keTep JAd ra···.]
He was at a disadvantage both procedurally, due to the priority of the ritual that had already been in progress for over twenty years, and in terms of output, overwhelmed by the massive scale it wielded.
Normally in such cases, the contract attempted later would be repelled, but Ken did not care about such resistance in the slightest.
And for good reason.
Because the subject and object of this contract were not strangers, but one.
Sizzle—!
A crack formed in the ongoing ritual due to the powerful flow of causality, to the extent of ignoring all procedure.
Like a giant clockwork mechanism with interlocking gears, the entire structure began to groan when a single small cog was forcibly removed.
It happened because Ken’s relationship was closer than any ritual priority.
It did not stop at merely interfering with the existing ritual.
‘I did twenty years of unpaid service; I should at least take a meager severance package.’
Ken’s eyes narrowed as he slowly extracted the deeply rooted soul of the original body.
A tremendous amount of energy followed along the remnants of the completely shattered soul.
The energy source that sustained not only the ritual being conducted here, but also this unidentified temple’s existence in the Demon Realm.
One of those pillars was uprooted entirely.
Rumble—
The silent temple shook as if struck by an earthquake, but Ken paid it no mind.
Because he knew that the energy he extracted could not completely collapse even the ritual, let alone the temple.
Unfortunately, the original body’s condition was too poor to intervene any deeper.
‘Still, at this level... It should make for a decent severance package.’
With that thought, Ken quietly looked down.
Perhaps because of the massive energy that had surged in momentarily, the real Miyamoto Ken looked up at him with eyes that had become much clearer.
But that was merely a temporary phenomenon that would vanish the moment the contract was concluded.
As if the person himself knew that fact well, he opened his mouth with effort, as if this were his only chance.
“...Ah.”
A voice that seemed about to fade away leaked from his mouth as he moved his lips.
Necessary communication could have been done through the connected [Thought Transfer], but he did not rely on it this time.
As if trying to leave behind some trace that he had existed in this world.
“...Good... bye... Ken...”
A voice completely cracked from disuse for over twenty years.
But those words forced out with effort were all there was.
And Miyamoto Ken... no, the man who had now given over his last ember and was left as nothing but ash smiled faintly.
Oooooong—
Immediately after, the contract was finally completed.
The Earthling who had passed his name to the demon as his final will quietly closed his eyes.
“······.”
The demon who had become the only ‘Ken’ left in the world quietly looked down.
At the empty altar where only the clothes someone had worn remained.
“...The contract is complete.”
The soul received during the contract was so damaged that it held almost no value to other demons, but to him alone, it held an entirely different meaning.
A deficiency he had possessed since birth, one he could never do anything about, was filled, and a sense of fullness welled up from deep within his chest.
Crack—
The body, which had remained Count-rank despite bearing the Demon King’s flesh, was rapidly reconstructed based on the vast energy it had seized.
Though he could not skip multiple levels at once, with the incompleteness that had blocked his growth resolved, he had established the foundation to keep growing from now on.
“The price is everything of Miyamoto Ken. And the wish is...”
Now he was no longer a copied ego created by someone else—
“...To live in his stead.”
Because he was a true demon existing alone and wholly in this world.
Count-rank demon Ken slowly looked around his surroundings.
This place was virtually the heart where the Demon Dragon Duke was carrying out some scheme.
He had been delayed by an unexpected encounter, but what he had to do had not changed.
“Finally finished?”
“Kahahat! Seems like you got quite a lot too, buddy?”
“Then let’s move quickly! It’s about time the Demon Dragon Duke bastard returns.”
Just then, Davidson, who had been busily moving around the temple interior while Ken was conducting the contract, approached him.
He did not know how Davidson knew the outside situation from within here, but he just accepted it and nodded quietly.
Since he was someone sent directly by Lady Hella, it would not be strange for him to have such abilities.
“...Yes, it took longer than expected. Let us hurry.”
The mission was not over yet.
Had he not come all the way here in the first place for intelligence gathering and sabotage to mess with the Demon Dragon Duke?
With his original purpose coming to mind after finishing personal business, a fierce light shot up from his eyes like flames.
“Take everything we can take, and destroy everything we can’t.”
“Ooh! I really like the sound of that!”
“Kng! Is there no meat here?”
“Already finished that side, buddy. No matter how big this place is, the space that bastard mainly used is limited!”
Davidson, the self-proclaimed best hunting dog of the Demon Realm, snorted proudly with three keen noses and three sharp pairs of eyes.
Ken nodded at his words and looked around again.
“Good, then shall I start by taking care of the sacrifices here?”
He had clearly grasped how important this space was just moments ago when he forcibly extracted energy.
If you have infiltrated enemy territory, destroying their core facilities first was common sense.
Drawing upon the faint power of [Thought Transfer] he felt within, he slowly moved his steps.
Of course, this was only for the mission.
There were no special personal feelings.
***
“Heron! Where on earth did you go to make your arm look like that?”
“Ahaha. Well... it just kind of happened?”
“Haa— The hospital director contacted me urgently, so I wondered what was going on...”
Hesperon simply scratched the back of his head awkwardly at the woman’s deep sigh.
Since he was aware that he had caused worry, he could not bring himself to say anything.
He did know that the reason she spoke like this was because she cared about him that much.
“...Honestly, I worry myself sick. Are you really okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”
“Of course! The old man just made too much fuss. There’s really no problem at all. I’m preparing other solutions just in case, too.”
At that boastful declaration, Crown Princess Riley of the Azerion Empire, the next Empress, looked at him with narrowed eyes.
She had been spending busy days as the successor to inherit the empire when she was startled by the sudden contact from the hospital director.
Having rushed over after hurriedly handling only the most urgent matters, she could not find his confident words very reassuring.
‘Where on earth does he go and what does he do? He seems so stifled inside the Imperial Palace, so I tried not to pay too much attention...’
She wanted to lock him away somewhere safe for life if she could, but could not bring herself to do so.
Because he was not her partner or her possession.
And considering his ability to escape even the Undead King’s stronghold, it did not seem possible to imprison him anywhere.
‘...Wait, come to think of it...’
But suddenly, as she thought about the past, one fact crossed her mind.
Recalling it, she quickly turned her head away and covered her mouth.
Blinking her widened round eyes repeatedly.
‘We definitely made a contract when escaping, right? Us? The condition we set then was...’
He was not her possession, but conversely, she was virtually his possession.
That was the kind of contract they had made then.
In fact, no matter how far apart they were, if he wanted to, he could communicate with her anytime, anywhere, and even summon her, could he not?
‘Ugh, I knew that... but is this really okay? I am the next Empress. For someone like me to be someone’s possession...’
Thanks to the otherworlder’s special ability, fortunately no one including the Archmage had noticed, but this fact could be a fatal disqualification as the next Empress.
Having thought that far, she unknowingly swallowed hard.
Of course, she had been aware of it before, but thinking about it seriously again made her feel newly worried.
‘No, I should not think so negatively. I have received a lot of help thanks to this.’
In a way, it was the best insurance there could be.
No matter what dangers she faced in the future, if he continued to stay by her side, she would be able to overcome crises easily as she had until now.
His abilities had been proven by various past incidents, so there was no need to question further.
‘Yeah, well. Past events can’t be helped. Yes, looking at it that way, this might actually be good...’
Riley’s face, lost in such thoughts, gradually turned red.
The image of herself as Empress and Hesperon standing steadfastly beside her flickered in her mind.
And that imagination soon expanded beyond just the two of them...
“Riley?”
“Ngyat?”
Startled by the sudden call, she jumped and turned to him with a flustered face.
But Hesperon was equally surprised by that violent reaction.
He had simply called out to her as she groaned to herself.
Sensing the mood with quick wit, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth again.
With an air of nonchalance, as if it were nothing.
“Ahem, please take care of your body from now on. Heron isn’t alone anymore.”
“Huh?”
“Ah?”
But it was inevitable that a slip of the tongue would come out because of what she had been thinking about moments before.
After that slip of the tongue.
Riley hurriedly made one excuse after another, then recalled unfinished business and rushed back.
Leaving behind only the words to tell her if he needed anything.
Hesperon saw her off with a chuckle as she came and disappeared like the wind.
Then he quietly looked down at his right arm and fell into serious contemplation alone.
“Hmm, surely this isn’t affecting those around me?”
The black stains that had grown even larger before he knew it.
But for now, this sealing bead was still fulfilling its role sufficiently.
‘But since what’s inside is so tremendous, you never know.’
It was the remnant of an existence that had even served as Demon King.
It was not impossible that even minute energies leaking out unnoticed could affect those nearby.
He might not have noticed because he was immune to mental attacks.
“...I should hurry and make a new sealing bead just in case.”
He smacked his lips lightly and clenched his fist hard.
The enormous power felt even while sealed.
‘I think I could use this to summon Ken. Could I use it on Earth too?’
He thought of the Count-rank demon firmly connected to the dark spirit in his right arm, and smiled softly.
Wondering how to make this excellent slave grow faster.