Chapter 222: A Bumper Crop of Bullshit
The explosion created a very brief lull.
“...That fucking bastard. What the hell is that body even made of?”
Lavinia Arkan, Hero Hillan Cargill, and Rozel Charnte. The princess and the two heroes’ combined assault produced more than enough destructive power. They had dealt sufficient damage.
Jason’s half-lted body bore witness to that.
But as if it had all been a dream, his body regenerated in an instant, and Rozel Charnte ground her teeth.
She had fought countless demons and monsters while living the life of a hero, but she had never heard of or seen regeneration like that.
“Indeed, a Star. Quite impressive.”
But it was shallow.
Hillan Cargill flicked the lingering residue of demonic energy from his sword.
He aid for the neck. He tried to sever it in a single stroke.
However, as it overlapped with Lavinia’s attack, Jason’s body twisted, and the blade pierced his chest instead of his neck.
And that was insufficient to kill Jason. The lightning surging along the sword failed to break through the demonic energy.
Jason, who had already regained his intact form, pushed up his monocle.
“What’s that thing made of that it won’t break?”
“A horn of the Demon Dragon.”
“...What?”
“A smith of the Demon Realm refined a Demon Dragon’s horn to make the fra, extracted an eye, and turned it into a lens. That’s why the glasses can see more things. For example.”
Jason’s gaze turned toward one side of the lake. Other eyes naturally followed.
“That the hero who is coming up now, the one who used to be a hero, is no longer a living hero.”
“...What did you say?”
At that mont, Aina Diaphrin lifted Pablo Barkat, who was seated. Not a trace of vitality could be found in Pablo’s pale complexion.
From the large hole in his chest, a pungent stench of rot wafted out.
“To make sure he was dead, I released a bit of poison. It has the drawback that it must be injected directly into the body, but once that’s done, the effect is certain. It corrodes aura and eats away at the flesh, destroying the nerves. It’s the poison of a demon who once called himself a lich, a demon race mber once known as the Demon King of Corrosion.”
“You son of a bitch!”
“Don’t worry. There’s no need to get so worked up—I’ll be sending everyone to Pablo’s side as well—!”
Kwaang—
Jason’s head snapped to the side.
“Bad.”
“You really are ill-mannered. To think you keep launching surprise attacks while soone is talking.”
The neck that had been half-bent returned to its place.
Lavinia thrust her fist out again. But Jason was not soone who would take it head-on this ti either.
─!
─!
Fist collided with fist. They smashed into each other’s bodies, shattering aura and space alike.
There was no defense, only an exchange of all-out attacks.
It was nothing short of brutish. Each of their fists pounded the other’s body.
Muscles ruptured, and bone and flesh scread.
“...Is this for real?”
Hillan asked Rozel.
“Didn’t you know?”
“What? That Her Highness the Princess was at the level where she could engage a Demon King in bare-handed combat? As a mage, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I had absolutely no idea.”
“Then everyone was perfectly deceived.”
“Well, given the princess’s personality, it’s not like she hid it on purpose.”
She simply hadn’t said anything because no one asked.
“And now is not the ti to be debating that.”
At a glance, the battle seed evenly matched. But that was only a tiny fragnt of the truth.
Lavinia Arkan was losing.
Even if they exchanged similar power and suffered similar wounds, her body was different from falsehood. Unlike the lie that healed all wounds, the injuries carved into her flesh accumulated one by one.
If this continued, she would die.
Hillan tried to separate the two.
In that instant.
Hillan felt a deep sense of foreboding.
Jason’s expression changed. His smile deepened. It was unbearably chilling.
Disgusting demonic energy erupted explosively.
───!
Without even being able to scream, Lavinia, along with Cher, was slamd into the lake.
Jason’s head creaked as it turned.
Toward Hillan, and past him, farther behind.
“Lord Berje?”
The transparent lens of the glasses glittered as it reflected sunlight.
And suddenly,
“Fall back.”
Berje Deias, still concealing his demonic energy, was suddenly standing behind Hillan.
“Are you finished?”
“More or less.”
Guuuurk—
Residue that hadn’t been fully absorbed was expelled all at once through a belch.
The False Demon King noticed it.
“That’s Dorche Astain’s presence.”
And you—
“It’s definitely you, Lord Berje. Isn’t it? I never thought you’d co personally.”
The Demon King’s eyes took in far more than before. No demonic energy was felt, and even though the hair and eyes were different in color, everything about Jason scread it.
That the opponent before him was the nesis who had ruined all his plans.
“That’s right. And you must be the traitor of the Demon Realm who’s been lurking in the shadows for centuries. What should I call you, Jason? Or Doppelgänger?”
“...Haha.”
Jason laughed.
“It seems Daniel’s mouth is cheaper than I thought. After all the ti we spent together, to betray so easily.”
“He didn’t seem to feel anything that romantic toward you.”
“You haven’t killed him yet?”
“He’ll die soon. After you die first.”
“Do you think you can?”
“Do you think I can’t?”
“I don’t know how you grew that much in just two years, or how you perfectly concealed your demonic energy.”
But.
“I don’t think my ti is worth less than your two years.”
“I won’t deny it.”
A dragon’s eyes pierce many things. A dragon’s senses feel many things.
The Jason Kokemundo the heroes saw and the Jason Kokemundo Berje perceived were different.
That thing was an indescribable mass.
A grotesque hybrid, forcibly fused together with countless lifeforms clinging to it.
“Just how many heroes and Demon Kings have you devoured?”
“Are you curious? Then how about we have a little conversation?”
Jason lightly snapped his fingers. Subspace spat out chairs and a table.
“A dragon’s authority is indeed harder to accept than others. Still, while I couldn’t possess a subspace as vast as yours, it’s serviceable enough.”
“What are you plotting?”
“Exactly what I said. I have a great many things I’m curious about regarding you, Lord Berje. And I imagine you have many things you’re curious about regarding as well, don’t you? Why not have a serious conversation, Demon King to Demon King?”
“If it’s a Demon King to Demon King conversation, the heroes will have to withdraw.”
“Of course.”
“Do you think you’ll lose?”
“That’s not it. But I won’t say it’s absolutely impossible.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“You’ll find out if we talk.”
“Nonsense. Why should I do that?”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“With Daniel as an alternative, there’s no need for to hear it from you.”
“Everyone here.”
Jason pointed at the humans.
“I can kill them. Ah, if the contractor of the Spirit King were to make up their mind and flee, it might be difficult for the mont, though.”
“Are you threatening ?”
“I’m rely stating facts. Or else, abandoning everyone else and killing only the Spirit King’s contractor would also be a fine choice.”
“Why Ernan?”
“I know that Lady Ernan is quite precious to you, Lord Berje.”
“I am a Demon King. Toward a re human—”
“Are you taking for a fool? I have many eyes and ears. At first, I never imagined that a princess would be one of your Four Heavenly Kings, so I misunderstood a bit.”
Jason’s gaze swept quickly over Ernan. Feeling as if insects were crawling all over her body, Ernan wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
“Now it’s not the case. That woman is a very important asset to you, isn’t she?”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Then it can’t be helped. But there will be no falsehood in what I said.”
“....”
“What will you do?”
“Withdraw everyone except Ernan. She’s not a hero.”
“Hm, well, I’ll allow one exception. In that case, I should add one as well.”
Jason gave a small whistle. The sound, filled with demonic energy, reached even the island.
A mont later, his adjutant, Aina Sermyun, appeared.
“You called for , my Demon King.”
“Shall I introduce you? This is my adjutant. Ah, she even shares the sa na as that mage over there.”
“If you’re going to spout nonsense, I won’t go along with it.”
“You’re no fun. Lady Aina, please brew so tea and bring out refreshnts for our guests.”
“Yes.”
At the bizarre sight of tea being brewed in midair, Berje snorted, then gestured to the heroes and Lavinia.
“But, Demon King.”
“Withdraw and prepare for battle. Whether I win or lose, tens of thousands of troops will try to move out of the lake.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for us to stay with you?”
“He said he’d only tell what I’m curious about if you all leave.”
“Understood.”
Hillan gathered the heroes.
“Leave?”
“Go.”
“To the Tower?”
“Wait outside the lake.”
“Cher, it hurts.”
“Get treated properly. I’ll give you so blood later. Are you okay?”
Lavinia flexed her biceps.
“Sturdy.”
“That’s a relief. Go for now.”
“Okay.”
Lavinia followed after the heroes.
When everyone had disappeared, Ernan stood beside Berje and whispered.
“He’s strong.”
“I am a great Demon Dragon.”
“Of course.”
She said that, but Ernan could tell.
Berje was always full of confidence. He never spoke of defeat.
For him to even ntion defeat as a possibility ant—
“...Do you have a contingency plan?”
“I do.”
Berje nodded.
“Is the small talk over? Please, take a seat. The tea will get cold.”
“Relaxed, aren’t you?”
“Is there any reason to rush?”
“No.”
Berje and Ernan sat down.
* * *
“What should we start with.”
Jason savored the tea.
─!
Then he put force into it and crushed it.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, my apologies. I suppose I still prefer wine to tea.”
“Here you are, Lord Jason.”
Aina Sermyun handed him a glass and poured wine into it.
“That said, if you’re leaving a human princess here, your mutual trust must be deeper than I thought?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“How could it not be? What a rare sight this is. That arrogant, dogmatic, utterly greedy and selfish Demon Dragon, who looks down on everything but himself, trusting a re human.”
Jason laughed. Then he stopped abruptly. His expression vanished.
“Though I suppose your nature is still that of a Demon King.”
A chilling gaze swept over Ernan.
“When I first t you, I never thought things would turn out this way.”
A Demon Dragon. A Demon Dragon was a rare existence, but Arein was a place where dozens of Demon Kings had co and died. Among them, could there not have been a single Demon Dragon? Of course there had been.
“Once I experienced it, it was easier than I thought. Cater to their mood a bit, prod their pride, and they move exactly where you want them to. But you were different.”
A Demon Dragon, no less.
“You cursed the Standard and hated it. A Demon Dragon that hates the Standard—what kind of nonsense is that? Like mixing oil and water.”
“Oil and water do mix. You just need to add a little magical intervention—”
“I didn’t ask you. Ernan Hilderan. Please refrain from intruding in our conversation and faithfully remain in the position of an uninvited guest.”
“....”
Ernan tried to say sothing, but at Berje’s restraint, she closed her mouth.
“There’s a Demon King like you who deceives everyone. Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
“I’m the one who’s curious. How did you survive?”
“What do you an?”
“The Great Extermination. You Doppelgängers are criminals of the Demon Realm. I clearly heard that all Doppelgängers were captured and executed.”
“That did happen. Because of ignorant demons, my kin had to suffer oppression and persecution.”
“That’s a funny thing to say. You’re traitors to the Demon Realm. If you committed cris, it’s only natural to be punished.”
“Is it really strange to call that a cri?”
“What?”
“For demons to harbor a desire to grow stronger is only natural.”
And not just demons. The desire for strength was a universal urge shared by all living beings.
It was just that the demons’ thods were more extre.
“Devouring one’s own kind, killing heroes, and altering the power of dinsions—demons are simply specialized in that sort of thing. It’s efficient. What’s strange about that? If all demons do it, why must Doppelgängers be forbidden from doing so?”
“You crossed the line.”
“And who draws that line?”
“No one.”
No one at all.
“You do not touch the Demon Emperor.”
“The Demon Emperor is also a demon. The Demon Emperor can also be killed. The death of a Demon Emperor is being slain by a stronger demon.”
The Demon Emperor was the strongest being in the Demon Realm. Thus, the weak were culled and t death.
For a Demon Emperor, retirent ant death. But the position itself symbolized supremacy in the Demon Realm, a sacred ground that could not be easily trespassed.
“That duel is conducted fairly, before everyone.”
Thus, the Demon Realm accepted rightful challengers and held duels. The defeated died, and the victor beca the Demon Emperor.
And the challenger had to obtain the tokens of more than half of the ten Archdukes. Whether by force, intrigue, or theft, the thod did not matter.
Even if the challenger was a lower demon, the duel would be accepted.
That tradition had never changed, never wavered, since the First Demon Emperor unified the Demon Realm.
“Fair? Do you think such a word can stand before demons? How laughable. Demons who conquer dinsions and commit every filthy deed imaginable, yet insist on fairness only when it cos to the Demon Emperor? On keeping the Standard? I can’t help but laugh.”
“So that’s why you pulled that kind of stunt.”
“Demons worship strength.”
Thus, everyone longed to grow stronger.
And to that end, they stopped at nothing.
“That Doppelgänger rely pursued that thod. It was the Demon Realm that was petty—pinning cris on a demon who acted in the most demon-like way possible, and erasing the entire race.”
“Fine. I understand.”
So your way of thinking is simply different.
“No, you don’t understand anything, Lord Berje. First, that Doppelgänger succeeded in killing the Demon Emperor, which ans you should call him the previous Demon Emperor.”
And the other thing—
“That the current Demon Realm is a world of traitors, blinded by power, who murdered the rightful Demon Emperor.”
“Bullshit.”
Yeah. A real bumper crop of bullshit.
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