69novels Chapter 301 : Demon King (9) (End)
Chapter 301 : Demon King (9) (End)
The Demon King was certainly a being who had instigated the War against Demons and threatened the peace of the continent for a long time.
Rallying countless armies of Magical Beasts and creating a massive power known as the ‘Demon King’s Allied Forces,’ his influence across the continent was something no other Magical Beast from the Upper Plane had ever achieved before.
But did that mean everything would be resolved just by defeating the Demon King?
It did not.
Of course, it might have a temporary effect.
However, the existence known as the ‘Demon King’ was a secondary problem that could arise again at any time as long as the Primordial Demons and the grimoire known as the ‘Necronomicon’ existed.
The more fundamental problem lay within the Necronomicon itself.
That ancient grimoire was the root of all evil, granting the Authority of dominion to a peripheral hybrid Magical Beast and bestowing upon him the title of ‘Demon King.’
This was the very reason why U-jin, despite already knowing about the Demon King’s ‘Transfer Ritual,’ had fallen for his scheme without any resistance.
He had waited for the Demon King to encroach upon his body and personally pull out the ‘Necronomicon’ he had hidden away.
Of course, in ordinary circumstances, this was a method that would be impossible to even attempt.
The Demon King’s Transfer Ritual boasted the highest level among the bloodline Authorities possessed by the Demonic Species; unlike a Succubus’s ritual, which merely pushed the consciousness aside, it was designed to annihilate the target’s soul itself.
That was why the Demon King had been able to move into U-jin’s body without a shred of doubt.
He believed that even if U-jin had prepared some sort of device, the deterrent force of the ‘Transfer Ritual’ would be more than enough to handle it.
However, that was an arrogance born from the Demon King overestimating his own abilities.
Just as he had obtained a status and power he normally could never have aspired to through an absurd object like the ‘Necronomicon.’
In this world, any number of things could happen that were absolutely impossible to understand within the bounds of ‘common sense.’
【…If you rose by the power of an Outer God, you should fall by the power of an Outer God.】
“……!”
At U-jin’s murmur echoing in his head, the Demon King’s eyes flew wide as if they would tear, and the dark purple Necronomicon held in the right hand of U-jin’s body suddenly shrieked.
Kieeeeeeek!
“You… You bastard! Stop this instant!”
The center of the Necronomicon split in half, opening like a maw, and small tentacles protruding from the gap struggled to escape U-jin’s grasp.
But then.
【ωºαijĿ? ÞŒijα-】
Soon, the pupils disappeared from U-jin’s eyes, replaced by a profound, majestic light, and a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
A mysterious voice, belonging to neither U-jin nor the Demon King, muttered in an incomprehensible tongue.
The air in front of them tore open vertically, and the giant eyeball that U-jin had previously seen in the Madman’s Mine inside the Darkest Dungeon appeared.
Squirm—
The eyeball soon moved, quietly gazing at the Necronomicon placed before it.
With just that.
Kueeeeeek!
“Sto… Cough— Stop……!”
The Necronomicon began to tremble like an aspen tree in a storm.
From that point on, the Demon King’s consciousness was also pushed aside.
Having lost control to some unknown entity that was not U-jin, he could do nothing but passively accept the situation.
Of course, it was only to the extent of ‘perceiving’ it; even the Demon King had no idea what this situation was.
He did not know what would happen next.
However, the one thing he did know was this.
According to the ‘Soul Contract’ he had made with the Necronomicon, the moment the Necronomicon was torn, his soul would also be torn to shreds.
And that the unknown eyeball appearing before him radiated an aura identical to the alien gods he had occasionally seen in his dreams.
No, it radiated an aura even more filled with awe and dread.
Kueeeeeek—!
The intensity of the Necronomicon’s trembling under that gaze grew even stronger, and finally, after struggling and screaming.
Riiiiiip!
Its side burst open, and it was torn in half.
Splat—!
As if proving it was no mere book, blood splattered in all directions, and the torn remains turned into black smoke.
“…….”
A moment of silence followed.
“…Whew.”
The light in U-jin’s eyes returned to normal, and he let out a deep sigh.
“…Is it over?”
* * *
The Necronomicon is not simply a tool that can undo the resurrection of Primordial Demons.
It was closer to a medium connecting the ‘True Body’ of an Outer God to its physical manifestation.
In truth, the Primordial Demons existing in the Upper Plane were not their true bodies.
“…….”
It was a domain I didn’t know much about for certain, but from what I had heard, the Outer Gods existing in the ‘Transcendence Plane’ could not cross the dimensional boundaries themselves.
Thus, the identity of the ‘Primordial Demons’ was their attempt to exert influence on the Upper Plane using ‘avatars.’
That was why they possessed out-of-scale power that could not be explained by the common sense of the Upper Plane.
Since they couldn’t send their power down across dimensions through orthodox methods, they used a loophole called the Necronomicon.
Releasing the seal wasn’t fundamentally about removing the Messiah’s seal; rather, it was about strengthening the connection through the Necronomicon so that the ‘Primordial Demons,’ the avatars, could escape that bondage through their own strength.
“…….”
Therefore.
The fact that this book was torn did not just mean a single book was destroyed; it meant that the connection between the ‘Outer God’ of the Transcendence Plane and the Primordial Demon of the Upper Plane was severed.
‘…….’
In the end, the reason I underwent Regression was not just to catch the Demon King, but to remove this ‘Necronomicon’ and fundamentally cut the connection with the Transcendence Plane.
Though I couldn’t see it, it was certain that by now, the Primordial Demons that had been tormenting The Order across the continent had also collapsed.
“Cough…….”
Of course, accomplishing such a massive feat did not come without a price.
“…Hey.”
【…….】
“The One Who Lurks at the Boundary.”
The giant eyeball that appeared after tearing through dimensions gazed at me.
The reason I could transcend time and space and undergo Regression was because that being, who was of the same class as an Outer God, had reached out first.
I didn't know the reason.
I didn't even know its proper name, and I had no idea why this being, referred to by the embarrassing title of ‘The One Who Lurks at the Boundary,’ was helping us.
I knew nothing of its relationship with the other Outer Gods.
The only thing I knew was that I had sold my soul to him in exchange for ‘Regression.’
Because I had borrowed that being’s power in the process of resolving this matter, I knew that I would also meet my end here, where the Demon King met his.
“What happens now?”
I had never sold my soul before.
Well, that goes without saying.
Smirk—
I could tell instinctively.
That a peaceful rest after death would not be waiting for me.
【…You will find out soon.】
As expected.
Not very kind until the very end.
Well, I had no regrets.
It was an ending I had already known was coming.
I had a small hope that it wouldn't be too terrible if possible… but that wasn't something I was in a position to demand.
Slide—
My eyes closed just like that.
The world was dyed in darkness.
I felt my soul floating into the air.
A dark and murky vision.
A muffled hearing, as if submerged in water.
A helplessness where I couldn't move a single hair.
In the midst of that supreme lethargy, several familiar voices reached me.
「Take care… Hero.」
「…See you on the other side, Partner.」
「Ho-ho… what are you dawdling for, kid? Hurry up and go.」
「…Thank you, Brother.」
「Go quickly, meow.」
Smirk—
A smile formed automatically.
Their characters were so distinct that I could tell who they were just by their voices.
Precious friends.
Reliable comrades-in-arms.
And…….
「…….」
「…….」
The welcome voices that reached my ears soon began to drift away.
It seemed they were feeling quite regretful about the farewells we couldn't properly say because we were moving in such a hurry.
‘…….’
The voices grew distant, like the outro music of a movie transitioning into the ending credits.
「Surely…….」
The voices that were growing faint eventually ceased altogether.
Once the sounds stopped, a total void followed.
A complete void with no sound, no smell, no sight, and no sensation.
In the middle of it.
I continued to float.
Further and further.
Into the hollow air of nothingness, its height unknown.
How much time had passed like that?
A sound was heard from somewhere.
「…ake.」
‘Huh?’
The voice that suddenly reached me was too small and too far away to understand properly.
「…ook a…….」
The voice was heard again.
‘What on earth are you saying?’
This time, too, it was small and distant.
It was hard to make out, but it felt a bit closer than the first time.
「I told you to… wake up……?」
The third voice I heard was somewhat understandable.
‘Wake up?’
“Haha. This fellow is the type who sleeps a lot.”
With the final voice heard clearly, my blocked five senses awakened.
Flash—
Is this heaven?
“…No, it feels closer to hell.”
It was a scene that defied a simple description.
A shattered moon and an atmosphere that was both burning and frozen.
Islands overturned in the air and a vision jumbled in total disarray.
From all directions, sounds that could be either screams or cheers erupted.
Shift—
“…Who are you?”
I asked the person who had spoken to me.
He had snow-white hair and a long beard that reached his navel, and he was leaning on a staff.
The answer that followed was unexpected.
“I am called Moses.”
“……?”
It was definitely a name I had heard before.
‘If it’s Moses, then surely…….’
The religious leader and national hero of ancient Israel who received the Ten Commandments directly from God and preached them.
The savior who laid the foundation by delivering the Israelites who were held captive in Egypt at the time.
“…Have you also fallen into hell?”
When I spat out the question that came to my still-dazed mind, he laughed as if it were absurd.
“Well, if you say it’s like hell, you wouldn't be wrong, but this place isn't hell.”
“…Then.”
“It is the Transcendence Plane.”
“……!”
The Transcendence Plane.
The unknown space that the Floating Territory could have reached at the end of the First Round.
Understanding the words wasn't difficult, but it didn't make sense.
“…Why am I here?”
I had clearly sold my soul because of the contract with the Outer God, ‘The One Who Lurks at the Boundary.’
I didn't know beforehand where I would end up, but I never imagined it would be the Transcendence Plane.
Glance—
“…And with a body as intact as this.”
The fact that I would reach here was something I hadn't known at all.
It was a development I couldn't make sense of, but at Moses’s subsequent explanation, I felt as if I had been hit on the head with a hammer.
“The tutorial has just ended. Now we are entering the main game.”
“…….”
A tutorial.
Having gone through even a Regression and having personally witnessed the end of the Upper Plane twice.
That was something I couldn't simply accept.
“Why do you look so surprised? Did you think the crisis of destruction in the Upper Plane would only happen once or twice?”
“…….”
“I thought you’d be sharp since you passed in just two tries. You’re more of a novice than I thought.”
Passed in just two tries.
He said it as if it were natural, but the nuance brought me a shock beyond words.
It was as if ‘Regression’ wasn't a rare, once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
It was as if it were a natural event that anyone might experience at least once.
“…That means.”
“There are plenty of fellows here who have gone back more times than that. Though I only did it once.”
Shrug—
“We can talk more as we go.”
“…….”
“You have the face of someone with many questions.”
Moses, who stood up leaning on his staff, took the first step and walked away.
He looked back at me, who still hadn't regained my senses, and warned.
“Pull yourself together. This place is full of Outer Gods who are dying to swallow your soul. You’d better not fall too far behind.”
I was stunned.
That long journey.
I thought I had finally put a period on it, but it was merely a tutorial.
I thought I had arrived at the very end, but it was only the beginning.
The confusion brought by the overflow of information was quite overwhelming.
Vroooooom—
The moment I felt gazes from the sky watching me in indescribable, grotesque forms, just as he had warned, I could realize one thing for certain.
In other words—
‘It’s starting.’
…That this was the real beginning.
[End]