◈ Chapter 373. So, Enough Now (2)
A Demon King of the Ten Thrones.
An existence beyond all standards, a heaven beyond the heavens.
The Great Evil of the Seven Deadly Sins, Lust, had offered himself as a sacrifice to summon Buer, the lowest seat among the Ten Thrones. Yet he had only managed to call forth his voice. That fact alone made it clear.
The Ten Thrones were the true kings of the Demon World.
They had ascended to such an unfathomably lofty realm that they could not even exchange words with lesser beings. Between them lay an immeasurable wall, and for a lesser being to judge a Demon King of the Ten Thrones was no different from judging that wall itself.
And such a Demon King of the Ten Thrones, Buer, was being overwhelmed.
Tremble.
Buer looked at his own quivering muscles. It had been a complete summoning. Above all, the negative emotions that were the source of his power filled the surroundings. And yet he was at a disadvantage.
Clang.
The sword was swung.
Buer recalled his memories.
He remembered the countless humans who had once pointed their swords at him.
Holy Knight, Weapon Master, Sword Demon, Archmage…….
Lesser beings who had somehow managed to remain in his memory.
Then again, each of them had been figures capable of pacifying an entire world. But that was all. They had only remained in his memory. Not one among them had been able to leave a wound on Buer’s body.
Thud.
Yet at this moment, blood spurted from Buer’s flesh.
It was not honed sword aura.
It was not abstruse swordsmanship.
It was not magic manifested at the cost of one’s soul.
“Ha.”
He had simply swung.
As if swatting a bug.
With a blow swung almost absentmindedly, one of Buer’s wrists was severed clean off.
“How profoundly astonishing.”
The reaction of a true king.
He was different from common demon kings and Great Evils.
Buer was not shaken.
He did not howl in pain.
He merely looked back and forth between his severed arm and Grandfell in surprise.
Buer’s voice gradually rose in excitement.
“I thought I would become good friends with you. As a lesser being, you had reached the realm beyond the heavens—something I had never before witnessed.”
Their first meeting.
The words Buer had offered had been the truth. To put it from a human perspective……. It was as if there were an ant that spoke human words, and he had felt enough goodwill to take an interest in that curious ant.
But the situation had changed.
“I was mistaken. It was I who saw a wall and misunderstood. You—so you were no mere lesser being. Considering that even I cannot understand your words……. You are certainly an existence that has transcended even the heaven above the heavens!”
By the end, rapture was seeping into his voice.
“So that was it……!”
Thud.
Even as he spoke, Buer’s body was being cut to pieces. Was it because he had changed his form into something close to human in order to converse more comfortably?
That was a question that insulted the heaven beyond the heavens.
For the authority of a heaven beyond the heavens was not something that could be suppressed by the mere shape of a body.
Buer made no excuses.
He spoke along with the blood spilling from him.
“……
You were the ‘true Truth’ all along!!”
Buer remembered.
At times, there had been lesser beings who somehow managed to call out his name. They cried out his name and made wishes, and when he grew curious and listened, they were all nothing but absurd desires.
-“Help me become king……!”
-“Grant me eternal life.”
-“Make her have no choice but to love me!”
Why were they so bound to such small worlds, lesser beings?
When he granted their wishes out of pity, the lesser beings repaid him with hatred.
-“……
Th-this isn’t what I wished for! To destroy the world and leave only me and her alive……! What have I done……? You damned demon……!!”
In that sense, the lesser beings of the Arcana Continent were clever.
Among them, there had been those who understood the “true Truth.”
Perhaps that was why Gamigin had raised his hoof.
“Gamigin, I feel sorry for him.”
In the past, Buer had mocked the end of that horse-headed fool.
But after experiencing it himself, he understood.
Gamigin had simply been unable to resist.
“Even we cannot defy the true Truth.”
Thud.
Buer’s two legs gave out completely. Kneeling, Buer looked at the man approaching him. No, he looked upon the true Truth. His eyes, stained with madness, trembled with rapture. ‘……From this point on, this is purely the realm of inquiry.’ Buer did not doubt his own end.
That which could not be resisted was precisely the truth.
No matter how he moved his mouth, no matter what actions he took.
He knew that the one who decided all was the Truth.
Buer dared to exercise his authority.
It was the power to see through the mind.
It did not allow him to see through every inner thought.
Buer’s authority was effective only on the man.
Fortunate that he was a man.
Buer was relieved. ‘As expected, he is the Truth. He does not reject an inquirer.’ There existed a difference in rank so vast that even words could not be exchanged.
If the man, the Truth, had sought to reject him, his authority would have had no effect. Yet was it mercy? Buer was able to fully exercise his ability. He could glimpse traces of the man’s inner self.
Drip.
It happened immediately. Tears flowed from the corners of Buer’s eyes. An existence beyond the heavens could understand space and time. Even if interference was impossible, exploration to a certain extent was possible.
“……
I see.”
Thus, Buer ended up witnessing it.
Not only the past.
But the present and future, and the trials the man would face.
They were not tears flowing because he empathized with the man’s emotions.
“So this is the weight borne by the Truth……!”
Merely glimpsing it.
It was so overwhelming that tears flowed from his eyes.
To Buer, the man’s words continued.
“□ □□ □□□ □□□ □□□□□.”
Buer bowed his head before the Truth.
“I am foolish and cannot understand your words…….”
It was not an action born from fear, nor one brought forth by overbearing pressure. An existence that could make even a Demon King of the Ten Thrones truly worship him—that was the man at this moment.
It was Grandfell.
Slice.
Buer’s end was not greatly different from that of other demons. His neck was severed, and with that, he began to be swallowed by the hellfire of Hell.
The flames of Hell made no exceptions for anyone. Demons, in particular, could not endure the pain brought by hellfire.
“Hehehe.”
Yet Buer was submerged in a catharsis greater than his pain. How pitiful, Gamigin. He sincerely mocked the Demon King of the Fourth Throne, who stood no fewer than six ranks above him.
“I beheld the true Truth.”
The attitude of a Demon King of the Ten Thrones was different from that of other demons.
All streams return to one source.
Because he had reached the summit. He had transcended species, and even petty emotions, allowing him to pierce through to the essence. That was why Buer had not the slightest regret over his own death.
“I witnessed the birth of the true Truth before anyone else. For that alone, I will gladly be cast into Hell. Hwahahahaha.”
Fwoosh.
In the endlessly deep darkness, only the jade glow of Hell flickered.
A high-ranking demon king had fallen into Hell.
Step.
But Grandfell’s steps did not stop.
“…….”
From the very beginning, his gaze had not been directed toward the flames of Hell.
He merely advanced through the darkness.
In order to find the single ray of light.
The one whose whereabouts were unknown.
Step.
Step.
Step....
The Iron Castle beheld a horrifying sight.
“Holy shit…….”
『Behemoth’s Maw』
It was the name given to one of the largest permanent rifts connecting the Arcana Continent and the Demon World. Chainwalker pulled himself together. It was a scene he had heard about countless times through Gunner, but the shock of facing it in person was considerable.
“Ch-Chainwalker, sir. What is all that……?”
Nam Taemin, who had likewise been looking down at the scene below, trailed off.
It was an unfamiliar sight.
Over the thick darkness spread in all directions, only fragments of crushed flesh filled the view.
Chainwalker said,
“I heard that rifts exist in the world of you adventurers as well. However, permanent rifts likely do not exist there. The Arcana Continent is the same. That is a rift being forcibly maintained. It could not be more unstable. Thus, whether it is those heading to the Demon World or those crossing over from the Demon World, they often fail to endure the unstable rift and scatter into chunks of flesh.”
“……!!!”
Leoni frowned and opened her mouth.
“Then those pieces of flesh are…….”
“That’s right. They are all demon flesh. After all, no madman—or hero—who has gone from the Arcana Continent to the Demon World has ever been known until now.”
“I see. Now I finally understand.”
Hisagi nodded quietly.
The Arcana Continent, the Demon World, and even reality.
Demons originating from the Demon World had spread widely.
That was why Hisagi had been seized by a question when he saw a demon king.
Why did demon kings need such troublesome things as sacrifices?
“Because demon kings, those high and mighty beings of the Demon World, would have no reason to enjoy such perilous adventures. Not when they have the classic and safe method of sacrificial summoning.”
The [『Anomaly』] possessed by rifts.
There was still no one who could properly explain it. Even Hoyeol, called its founder, had said that the Anomaly was still an unconquered domain.
The same must be true for the demon kings.
In other words, they had no reason to refuse sacrifices and throw themselves into the uncertainty of a rift, risking being turned into lumps of meat just to reach the Arcana Continent. Skal assessed the situation coldly.
“So that instability was what had been saving the Arcana Continent.”
The amount of scattered flesh was vast. It was no exaggeration to say it formed mountains and seas of blood and flesh. Without a doubt, at this moment, everyone aboard the Iron Castle was thinking the same thing.
They wanted to pass through Behemoth’s Maw quickly.
But that wish did not come true.
Because they saw it.
A silver radiance shining brilliantly from within the thickly spread darkness.
Nam Taemin shouted,
“……
Hoyeol!”
There was no one who tried to turn away from the cruel sight.
Clank!
No orders were necessary. The Iron Castle immediately descended, and Nam Taemin’s party, along with Chainwalker and even Wallsweil, put on their equipment.
Gunner’s warning rang out.
-“Behemoth’s Maw is dangerous. No one knows what kind of demon may spring out, or when. Moreover, we do not fully understand the Demon World.”
It meant that they could not be certain a demon king-class demon would not appear through Behemoth’s Maw. Gunner, as the head of the reconnaissance unit, had watched over the Arcana Continent more broadly than anyone else.
-“I have seen countless demons who surpass demon kings in sheer combat power alone. Demon kings—they were merely those who possessed the qualities of a monarch.”
The players could understand without difficulty.
In short, demon kings were similar to the [Monarch] class.
But not a single one of them hesitated in the slightest.
Of course, the same was true for Gunner, who was relaying the information.
Gunner shouted,
-“Then let us give our lives, gentlemen!”
Clank─the Iron Castle fired mana bullets toward the ground.
The bullets were made of pure magic stones.
Engraved upon those magic stones was a magic circle by the Tower of Magic’s senior enchantment mage.
Kiko Armin.
『Mass Teleport』
Soon, the mana bullets embedded in the ground shone and released mana. Amid the scattering mana particles, members of the Holy War Alliance began appearing one by one.
[You have entered the Hidden Piece, ‘Behemoth’s Maw.’]
[Warning: Your Mental Strength is too low.]
[The Demon World is watching you.]
Throb.
The dizzying messages that appeared were not important. What mattered was Hoyeol. They endured the pressure of the Demon World and urgently swept their eyes around. And then they saw him.
“……?”
Silver hair flowing long past his waist.
A side drenched in blood.
At the moment everyone lost their words and faltered.
“Wait…….”
It was none other than Nam Taemin who spoke.
He murmured softly.
Because he was a barbarian with senses as sharp as a beast’s.
Only Nam Taemin realized it.
“That isn’t the Commander-in-Chief I know. No, that isn’t Hoyeol…….”