novelIra's Resentment: …What Luck
| ← Ch.51 | Ch.53 → |
"Kanon-sama, are you alright!?"
"Yeah."
When I dismounted my dragon, and landed on the ground, Lize rushed over to me.
I'm a bit unsteady, but there's no problems. It was a slight overuse of my powers, however, that should heal up just fine, given the time. It's not a quantity I'll recover over a night or two, but it's nothing fatal.
I could even wage a war right now.
It seems that when I wasn't watching, my level had unexpectedly risen.
There's barely a hindrance to my body's movement. I used much greater an amount back when I liberated the frozen world.
"It looks like all the Angels have been wiped out."
"Yep, I'll bet."
There wasn't a single thing left in the sky. They've disappeared from my Abyss Zone's perception as well.
Lize's expression indicated that she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.
Desire means you must have your own way with things. The more you're in control, the easier it is to use power.
And that's exactly why, even if I were to use too much energy and ruin myself, I wouldn't hold the slightest of regrets.
For some reason, I became excessively mindful of the Castle of Shadows.
I let out some rough breaths, and put myself in order. Supported my staff... Weydhe, I began treading across the ground.
I can only hate how narrow the extent of my own Zone is.
My perception couldn't extend all the way to the Castle. From here, I cannot discern how niisama fares.
"Will you offer assistance to Heard?"
"As if I could assist a Pride Demon."
If I did something like that... Heard's power will drop.
That will only result in me making an enemy of him. There's nothing more trifling than earning his hostility with good intentions.
All I can do is the aftercare.
I watched the cloud of dust rising over the horizon... the army racing forth on grounded dragons.
"Lize, tell Vanity's army to abate. The enemy they chase after no longer exists."
"Yes, understood."
Lize receives my will, and urged her own dragon to take to the skies again.
I don't know that man's will, but there's no doubt Vanity's goal lay with those Angels.
To chase those flying bugs by giving chase on the earth was a foolish notion to begin with.
The running dragons that existed for ground movement could put out speeds equal to flying dragons, and they existed in much greater numbers, so they did make for an exceedingly proficient means of transportation, but they were less than worthy to chase those leaping through the sky.
As long as their power is insufficient to go up against Zebul, those guys will have no part to play here.
Just in case, I closed my eyes, and searched every nook and cranny of my Zone.
As I thought, the only Demon Lords here are Me, Heard, and Zebul; the three of us. There's no question about it.
Vanity... just what the hell is he doing?
I couldn't see him anywhere. And that made me feel somewhat suspicious.
Father's words of warning echoed in my mind, and ate into my heart like a wedge.
"... It reeks. I can't think that Venity would take any meaningless action."
Premonition... no, it wasn't something to the extent of calling it a premonition.
This is... merely unease. I'm just a coward. It's a topic that will draw to an end if I leave it at that.
But at the same time, it's true that it's unnatural, the off feeling that one of my chess pieces had suddenly disappeared.
I forcefully shake off that notion.
"... Well, whatever the case, that's something to think over at a later date."
I pushed down the emotions that were still smoldering in my heart, and looked to the distant battlefield.
Even with my eyes, Heards movements weren't something I could follow.
The distance was around a thousand meters.
With that space between us, I could only see each step of his as instantaneous movement. His speed truly was akin to thunder.
To one constantly clad in a wave of starvation, that would eat into you on mere contact, going at Zebul barehanded was a poor move.
But he didn't even pay any heed to that.
His tactics were simple and clear.
No tricks to play.
Suppression through pure force. That was the very form of his combat. Without any smoke or mirrors, his hands tore the earth, and made mountains disappear.
What's more, from what I can see from afar, even against Zebul, Heard shows not the signs of using a Skill.
He's an idiot.
"Is he preserving his energy? No, it's just his Pride again."
I don't even have any intent to say something about it.
Maybe he's actually stronger without using anything, but... the nature of Superbia's power was something that could only be understood by Superbia Demons. No matter how much I mulled over it, it would be a waste of my time.
Whatever the case, it's already over...
I'll confirm Zebul's death with mine own eyes, and go home.
In the first place, I have more than enough things I should be doing right now.
I'll have to take another look over the Angels' peculiar movements. I'll have to ascertain the reason they aimed for the Castle of Shadows.
When I think of it like that, perhaps I should have spared an Angel or two.
Well, all of it's already passed. And those guys aren't once I could think of to spit anything out under interrogation or torture.
More importantly, Serge's death will be a huge asset.
The fact that an Angel of that level was able to take down Rank Seven is already a point of concern, but there would be nothing I could do by thinking over that one.
I carefully laid out my worries in my head. My biggest headache has gone away, but that doesn't mean that everything's been resolved.
I'll have to question Vanity as to why he vanished at the critical moment.
Because my greatest goal isn't suppressing heaven, but unifying the Demon World.
But it's fine if I take my mind off that from time to time, right?
I mean, I'm on the road home anyways. How about I stop by the Castle of Shadow for the first time in a while...
"..."
The next moment, when I had just grown a little lax, it occurred.
My zone naturally captured those presences.
It definitely wasn't anything so important.
I didn't hold any fear of my own death, nor did I sense the presence of anything strong.
The only emotions I held were slight hints of resentment and resignation.
Ah, this really is... a pain.
I took my eyes off of Heard and Zebul's battle.
In the direction Lize set off in. I don't have a clear sight of it, but of all things, there's no way that I would mistake those presences.
How many of them are there... they really just keep coming forth like cockroaches.
I can easily destroy them, but there's no helping them ruining my mood.
I unintentionally clicked my tongue.
"Tsk... so they appeared again. Just how many of those guys did they send out, anyways..."
They were certainly the presences of Angels.
As if launched, and propelled, a white light came down vertically from up high. Within it, I saw a swarm of Angels.
The distance wasn't far. It's as if I could take them in my hand.
The number was five. Their power wasn't great. They didn't even reach General Class. It's possible they were even below Knight.
But to be honest, it was really quite depressing.
It would be simple if they came at me of their own accord, but when they thoughtlessly fly about like that, it's truly a pain. No matter how low class they may be, if I let them free, there's no doubt it would become troublesome.
It was annoying, but I reluctantly raised my staff.
If it's only five, then I doubt I even have to deal with it personally. They aren't even that far away, so Vanity's army should be able to handle it one way or another. Lize's more than up to the task.
But without their Lord taking command, it's unknown whether Vanity's Legion would even engage in battle in the first place. There's also the report of an ordinary Angel suddenly climinb up to Lord status.
Then it would be more reliable if I just did it myself.
I need not anything to high class. I select the lowest Skill on my tree, and activated it.
"Angry Arrows."
It's a lower Wrath Skills to shoot out flaming arrows of rage. A trifling one normal non-Lord Demons could use as well.
I made a few dozens. The red lights that came forth in the air around me shot forth.
I'm not sure what those Angels were trying to accomplish, but I shot them all down, and left not a single one behind.
If I just have to target them before they gain any speed, then I barely use up any power. No matter how you look at it, they're mocking me. That was completely pointless.
Unsure of whether more would be coming, I remained poised with my staff, but there was no sign of another wave of Angels. Have I shot them all down with this.
Just what were those last five supposed to be? Was there some meaning to that?
Are Angels merely idiots? Even for that, that was much too foolish.
It only elicited useless questions where I didn't even know if an answer existed. If that was supposed to be psychological warfare, I must admit it was quite effective.
Is it best if I just assume their actions held no meaning?
Still...
"It's a pain..."
The painful thing is how I don't know my enemy's forces.
Should I just retreat already, or is it best if I remained? I want to head for the Castle of Shadows with all due haste, you know... at the very least, I have to see to the end of Zebul's battle.
In the worst case, if it's Angels of that level, I could easily repel them, even from the castle.
While I thought that, there was still no signs of the ground to stop shaking.
"... How long do they plan on going at it..."
While feeling restless at the battle that showed no signs of ending, I looked towards Heard once. The Demon's fight... the contest of desire seriously didn't seem to be ending any time soon.
Heard... he better not be biding his time, having finally found a worthy foe.
Zebul's face was covered with her hunger-turned-dark-aura, so I couldn't' make it out, but I can see Heard's.
I don't have that much spare time, you know...
I took in one deep breath, and glared at the battlefield.
"That's enough! Heard Lauder!! Finish up already!!"
At the very least... use a Skill!
The more time you try to buy... the more my time at the Castle of Shadows decreases!
Of course, I won't voice those concerns.
My scream swept over the expanse of the obstruction-less wasteland.
Heard's movements stopped for a moment. I get the feeling our eyes met briefly.
Without even paying any heed to the Wave of Starvation covering Zebul, the kick he lowered from above came down, and sent her body flying.
Towards me.
It held an energy I couldn't think of coming from an ordinary kick.
While carving a deep fissure along the ground, the Devourer's body flew accompanied by a cloud of dust.
The brushed past me a few meters to my side.
The wind loaded with those black pebbles surged up like a tornado, and spread out in a wide radius.
I instinctively covered my face from the black storm suddenly expanding before my eyes.
I take no damage. That was just that aftermath. I'm not sure about an ordinary Demon, but a Demon Lord wouldn't have gotten any wounds from that.
But it's as iff he were making fun of my lack of preparation.
The wind died down in a moment.
"..."
I silently brushed the hair that came down on my face to one side.
I put my unkempt locks in order with a hand comb, and remembering the scene, my vision was dyed bright red.
I've had it.
"DON'T DRAG ME INTO IIIIIIT!"
From here on, I'm totally going over to niisama's place, okaaaay!?
The anger that should have been used up sprung forth again like a fountain to fill my body.
Calm down. I just have to put it in order again.
I doused my thoughts, and pushed them back deep inside.
The flames of Wrath birthed from my Soul Core flare up as if to cover over my entirety.
It's a sensation I've felt time and again from the moment I was born. A state that Wrath Demons often fell into.
The space around me was baked by my sinful blaze, and let off a blood-red luminescence.
I don't even need to hold the staff.
My raging Ira was merely taking shape.
Black lustered armor. What spread around my body was light and durable, and hot enough to burn through my soul.
I don't have a recollection of having used a Skill.
No, I'll bet I did.
What I had unconsciously put on was a phantasmal armor worn by Demon Lords of Ira.
A manifestation of malice to bring as much destruction to the masses as possible. Its meaning for existence was merely to lead all those that made fun of me to ruin.
I glared at the body that was lying a few meters from me.
A mass of countless poisonous purple tentacles. The liquid dripping from the ends of every one of them, and the ink-black Mana coating her entire figure.
Being dragged along the ground, a number of those tentacles had been destroyed, but she seemed to be healthy enough.
A voice came out. A tired voice.
Her tone was like that of a young boy. But it was a female voice I remembered.
"... Good grief, that Vanity... this is completely different from what he told me, is it not... that's some courage he has for him to be getting in my way."
As if bursting open, the tentacles disappeared.
All those protrusions covering up her form disappeared, and the monster of endless appetite finally showed her form.
It took on the shape of a giel, but I knew she was more than what she seemed.
There's no way she's just any brat. There's no way a brat could stand so calmly before Kanon.
The young girl's lips were formed into a cynical smile.
"What's more, fufufu... for even Kanon-sama to be in attendance. Even with Heard here, I'm already full, and sill, such a splendid menu is set out before me. Have I perhaps been a good girl?"
"Zebul Glaucus..."
And even like that, her expression held no fear, and her gestures, no waver.
Her deep green eyes simply continued to observe me.
J-just whose fault do you think it is... that this pain-in-the-ass situation came to be...
Even when I know I'm wide open, I hold onto my head. I can't help but hold my head. If I don't I feel as if I'll explode.
I let out a rough breath. I'm not fatigued. It's to let out as much of this enormous heat in my body as possible. In order to wash over my waves of emotion as much as I can.
My rationality and emotions were having a bout in my narrow skull.
"Hah hah..."
There's no sign of Zebul raising a hand.
Only the red that painted out my thoughts continued to hone itself.
My instincts for battle started calculating the information around me.
Heard's location. Zebul's. Lize's. Vanity's army's. I understood it all.
Ah, dammit. This world can go to hell.
I prodded my staff into the ground. It let off an explosive sound.
The earth below it melted.
The high temperature earth splashed onto my armor, and let off a peculiarly bad smell.
I raise my face.
All that was left was a single point of resolve.
It's fine. I'll just deal with all of it, and return as quickly as possible.
My trembling lips produced a voice. I'm not thinking of anything. I've no time to think.
That's the declaration I made must have been a cry straight from my soul.
"... I condemn you to ruin."
"... So you've no intention to talk this out..."
I shot down the countless tentacles she sprouted with flames.
Burn through her? Na?ve. Ruin isn't anything like that.
"Delete"
"Tsk"
My inexhaustible stream of emotion passed through my staff to birth physical phenomena in the world.
I don't need an aria. Ira is my entirety.
The moment those humble tentacles were to touch my countless lights of Wrath, they disintegrated.
Zebul has a lot of them at her disposal. But I could bring forth just as much fire.
The attacks coming at me from all three hundred and sixty degrees were met by the flames produced by the armor, and erased.
I'm not sure what extent of control she had over them, but at some point, they even started coming out from the ground below me. Even those were easily dealt with by the fire. Those hands of hers are never to touch me.
Having finished burning through all her tentacles, the flames onverged to delete the girl herself.
The swirling wave of fire caused her face to turn a little pale, before she took a large leap back to avoid it.
Reflexes, and experience. I can't deal with her through ordinary means. Perhaps she even has the experience of devouring a Wrath Lord of my level.
But I know. I knew this would never be so straightforward. Then I'll just destroy that spirit of hers.
Without learning a thing, the tentacles came at me from all directions again, to be erased by the flame.
I saw her form a slight grimace.
"Oh my, could it be that thing runs on auto? How unfair..."
"Die."
Flames spiral up my staff, and emerge as a blast to burn up the air.
My power is grinding away, and all that was shaved off was supplemented by the beating of my soul core.
If you're going to get in my way, then you'll have to pay for that with your body.
"Fufufu, I won't hold up like this... I never thought that I would end up being personally scrapped by Kanon-sama..."
As she said some irritating lines, Zebul directed the palm of her hand downwards.
The number of feelers extending from her decreased. Did she give up on offense? No.
With her right hand at the center, I felt a fearsome amount of power amass. It was of the same nature as what she had been wearing up to now. But it had a greater depth than anything she had displayed.
Even within this armor of Wrath, I could feel chills enough to pour water over me. There was no doubt she was to show her fangs.
What appeared was a blade.
Its height was close to two meters, and its body was colored in a sinister black miasma. An oversized longsword.
It was a form of disruption that came forth from a series of Skills specialized to attack.
The ominous feeling from it made me forget my anger for a moment.
Zebul Glaucus easily brandished the great sword that exceeded her own height, and pointed it at me.
It was as if to make a proclamation of war.
"Have you ever seen this one before? This is... my 『Fang of Origin』."
"Like I care."
It's strong. A feeling of death lingers over my trembling soul.
I shuddered at her power, that exceeded my expectation.
Especially that blade... is dangerous. The alarm bells wrung by the experience I had stored up to now were telling me that.
It was of the most feared line of Demon Lord Skills.
To materialize an equipment with one's cravings at the base, a Phantasm Armament Skill.
It was of the same sort as the 『Ruin Robe』 I wore, but that blade was clearly on a higher tier.
I can't see myself being able to block it.
It wasn't a problem with the quantity of power amassed, but of its nature.
I'm pretty sure that's a Skill to ignore defense. One blow would be fatal.
In my mind, painted out by anger, only my thoughts turned at a level pace.
I calculated the damage that blade would afford me. If it ate into me, it would most likely be fatal.
And after a few seconds of calculation, I threw the result out the window.
As if I care.
I licked my lips to wet them.
I looked at Zebul Glaucus, and smiled.
"... A guaranteed fatal blow... what luck."
Ah, I'm thankful for having met you here.
I'm thankful I can bring about your end here.
That power... has the worst affinity with niisama. At some point, it would likely bring calamity to him.
As if my fighting spirit acted as oil, my flames blazed higher. In proportion to my feelings, the armor around me scattered sparks to my surroundings.
Zebul made quite an obvious grimace.
"Damn, I would have been happy if you pulled back there... why is it that each and every one of you have to be so quick to fight..."
I don't want to hear that from you!
There's a distance of ten meters between us.
That great sword has an extensive reach, but even so, she'll need a few steps to be able to cut at me.
My Ruin Robe is a Skill that autonomously carries out attack and defense to intercept enemies. There's no set reach to the intercepting flames.
I have the advantage.
Is what I should be thinking. Normally, that is.
But there's no way the blade in her hand is an ordinary sword. She can likely alter its reach at will. Common sense doesn't apply to Phantasm Armaments.
No, , even if she can't change its form, I should expect such a thing. Predicting beforehand, or taking it as it comes will create a large gap in reaction timing.
I concentrate on every step and action of my opponent.
She has no openings. She should have just carried out an intense battle with that Heard Lauder, but let alone fatigue, I couldn't see a single scratch on her.
I tried to fathom the reason for the fighting spirit in her eyes. What was there was the very same as mine... impatience.
She had just used the word 'scrapped'.
As I thought, her goal is... the Castle of Shadows. It's an idiotic tale, but the target of her gaze passed right through me.
Why is she so panicked? Why is she in such a rush?
"Kanon, that over there is my prey."
"Heard Lauder..."
I looked to the other devil who came to my side at some point in time.
Pure black eyes to look down on everything.
Just as with Zebul, there wasn't a wound carved on his body.
Without a single weapon, or the use of a single Skill, yet regardless ot that, I felt an oppressing weight pressed over me.
And whose fault do you think it is that I ended up fighting her!?
Zebul's frown intensified.
But still, there was no sorrow in her expression.
All that shined was her intent to kill. Before me, and the Rank one, her unclouded will was worthy of praise.
But at the moment, that was detestable enough for me to want to slay her.
The devil of hunder directed a dumbfounded look at the two of us.
"... Fufu, now, now, I can't say I approve of bullying the weak, you know? 『Prideful Kaiser』."
"Hm... I'll admit it. Your desire is splendid. You are... my enemy."
Heard raised his power even higher. So the requirements for his pride were met.
Just how high does it go? I can't understand that man.
Compared to that, Zebul seemed much better behaved than what I'd heard of her.
"... I've no business with you guys. Are you sure there's no way you'll let me pass?"
"Hm... a foolish query."
She'll pay the compensation for bringing shame to Leigie.
That's what his earnest eyes were telling me.
Silence.
There was no starting signal.
Perhaps Heard's fighting spirit made her give up on negotiations, as Zebul's Mana swelled.
At the same time, her small stature kicked at the ground with all her might, and she flew forth like a bullet. In a single step, she surpassed the speed of sound. An impact rocked my body.
That blade of dusk that ate up light itself, extended like a snake. Its tip was aimed at me.
Is she looking down on me? Wrong. Even with Zebul's speed, it would be impossible for her to land any normal attacks on Heard.
But...
"That's the same as looking down on me..."
I pushed the staff's body into the floor, and back stepped before jumping into the sky.
The sword's body shaved away at the ground I had been at before. The land broke down without the slightest of sound, and I found certainty that my own hypothesis had been correct.
A dragon composed of fire spiraling around the body of my staff was released towards the ground to confront it.
Hellfire.
The jaw of that dragon made to turn all to ash closed down on Zebul and Heard altogether.
And it was all sucked into that Fang of Origin. Without a clash of power or anything of the sort, a portion of the power I released was simply shaved away. As always, there's no doubt that Gluttony is a step ahead when it comes to eating.
But my fire wasn't just a straight line.
Sensing she couldn't block it with the sword alone, before she was devoured whole, a black wave was released from Zebul's body. they competed for a moment.
After going through the slight bit of resistance, my flames reduced the darkness to cinders.
"Tsk, what a pain!"
Zebul retreated even further.
The flames follow her, but their output decreases the more waves she releases. She was eating them.
She just couldn't take them all in at once. Knowing that was plenty.
Inferring my will, my flying dragon took off, and caught my back in the air.
I directed the staff below. I've no time to play around. I'll just burn it all away from up high.
"Looks like it's unavoidable."
Having easily evaded what was akin to a surprise attack from the stream of fire, Heard appeared behind Zebul.
Hi lowered his locked fists like a hammer.
It wasn't a metaphor, the desert literally split apart. The earth let out a rumble incomparable to all the quakes I had heard before.
Even from the sky, a massive and deep fissure had been carved into the ground.
On the unexpected spectacle, I swallowed my breath.
"That can't be..."
Heard is scary.
The man who could do that barehanded was scary, but more than that...
"Oww... you're way too merciless..."
Even after receiving an attack tat split the ground like that, Zebul's continued existence showed off her extraordinary endurance.
It's not like she didn't take any damage. Her head had caved in, and her blood had stained the surrounding pebbles a dark red.
But even that... her broken cranium started regenerating as if rewinding a tape.
Regeneration is fine. That's a single skill of Gluttony. They could use the power they had eaten as a means to heal themselves.
But I can't see the reason why she persists on. That one blow would have easily destroyed the cores of even Demon Lords above the average.
Just... what did she eat?
And I realized it. Heard had not been playing around.
Because of her tenacity, he wasn't able to take her out despite his advantage.
Like a tempest, consecutive attacks from all sides made sport of her small frame. Even when she brought out a sword, she was losing in a pure battle of close quarter combat. The one-hit-kill blade in her hand was completely pointless if it didn't hit.
Each and every one of those blows seemed to be accompanied by a flash of light, and even I couldn't determine how many hits he had put into it.
But it's not like Zebul was just quietly taking them. She received them by converging the tentacles sprouting from her body on single points.
She blocked them. The fact that she could do that meant her endurance wasn't endless.
I won't let the chance Heard created get away.
"I'm not sure where you got your hands on it... but I'll reduce you to ash all the same."
It's useless.
Even if that Vitality is... something you gained upon eating a slice of niisama.
My Ira can even burn away that Lord of Sloth.
I summon countless bullets of fire, and pour them onto the ground like meteors.
Each and every one of them should be lethal. They'll turn all to ash without even leaving a Soul Core behind.
They're not at a speed she couldn't dodge, but their numbers made her extend her tentacles to knock them down.
It's useless.
I already know you can't eat it all at once.
"Gu..."
Zebul raised a scream.
Her burned tentacles already regenerated. But I was sending down my fire at a rate exceeding that.
"Go to hell!"
The feeling of raining these down from the sky was truly the worst. The way she was barely dealing with all of them was all the more irritating.
As I thought, that blade is dangerous. After sucking in fireball after fireball, it shows no hint of breaking or melting.
It's a weapon that causes them to dissipate with a single touch.
There's no doubt it's a physical manifestation of her hunger.
Zebul used that sword, and dodged with as little movement as possible. Heard exceeded her, and got out without even being grazed.
He easily avoided the flames that would have burned through regardless of enemies or allies, and in just a step, he closed in on Zebul.
Only a tremor was left to prove the result.
Heard's eyes pierced through me. He was clearly pissed.
That malice of his would usually make my fighting spirit blaze up in order to try and stop him.
But fine, so be it. What a wonderful day it is.
That I can eliminate my enemies all together.
"... Fine. I knew it would come to this one day. There's no problem if I take care of it here and now."
It's fine as long as niisama isn't to find out. Given the time, even this matter will eventually be forgotten.
The Devouring Lord lying flat on the ground leisurely rose.
Her arms bent in an ominous direction and her crushed skull set off strange cracking sounds, as her small form returned to normal.
What a monster.
As I thought, my power is necessary.
There's no way I can let this monster enter the Castle of Shadows. As long as she lives, niisama's peace will never be attained.
After coming this far, I could understand. Annoyingly enough there was barely any difference in power between us.
With the sins we embraces differing to this degree, the battle wasn't something to be decided by size of power, though.
I summon my flame bullets again.
I can't call a single one my comrade. From up high, I looked down on the two Demon Lords.
| ← Ch. 51 | Ch. 53 → |