NOVEL NEXT Chapter 107 - Volume 6
Volume 6, Chapter 16: The Demon-God War, Part 4
The glass on the building cracked from the shockwave, rather than the tremors, fell from the buildings.
People looked up into the sky uneasily as the earthquake settled down, dark clouds spiraling overhead, they seemed to be stunned into silence at the battle between tens of thousands of Oni and Demons.
How could they escape? Where was there that was safe to escape to?
No matter where they fled to in Tokyo, if they looked up towards the sky there were ‘monsters’.
A few courageous people took videos on their phones and put them up onto the net, though many of them seemed like dumb videos that only showed the clouds and nothing else, for those that could see – about one in a thousand – the eyes of people all across the world were focused upon [Tokyo].
People with strong souls… Mostly, it was the celebrities with talent, and decent politicians.
The battle between the [Greater Demons] and the [Oni] was turning into one of annihilation.
It was not a one-sided massacre. It was not a war where one could surrender and be captured by the other, and they could only smash at the sanctity of each others’ souls for so long as they lived.
The Oni were greater in number, but the Demons were of better quality. In a fight where souls couldn’t be obtained from the winners, the Demons were gradually being beaten back, but that changed in the middle of the battle.
[Fushururururu……]
“Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhh, they’re coming ahhhhhhhhhh!”
Some of the Demons had found a temple with the monks who were manipulating the Oni, and attacked them, drinking of the Monks’ blood, stealing their souls.
Each had a superhuman physique that exceeded 2 meters, and black bristles like a monkey that covered their whole body. Against the Demons who had come to eat them with muddy yellow eyes and fangs, the monks who had only ever fought evil spirits could only run.
The Demons, too, had to collect the souls on-site.
After all, today’s daily allowance was two souls and 4 kilograms of dry seaweed per person.
Although it was little for a daily allowance, if they were able to distinguish themselves, then they would be able to get the right to shake hands with the Devil Idol that they had never been allowed to directly see before.
That was why the Demons were looking for souls. To increase their daily allowance, and to gain the right to a handshake.
Above the clouds, the four [Arch Demons] and the ten underlings of the god was unfolding.
Only the great eight-headed snake had as much power as the Arch Demon, but the other snakes had less power than the attendants.
However, the underlings who gained power directly from [True God Tokyo] were able regrow themselves in an instant when they lost bits.
“……What a pain in the rear.”
Tina, who had the highest combat power among the attendants, had released her full power as a [Demon Gorgon]and was fighting with four of the underlings at the same time.
The remaining five were being suppressed by the twins Noa and Nea, the [Incubus] and [Succubus], but they weren’t able to defeat them soundly.
As for the last one…… Fannie was fighting alone against the eight-headed hydra and didn’t seem to be able to attack head on despite nimbly evading all of its attacks.
Given that it was the strongest enemy, it was great that Fannie, who wasn’t good at physical attacks, was able to pin it down.
“Fannie, are you still not done?”
As Noa called out, Fannie had just dodged, and blew away one of the eight heads with one of the clown masks spawned from her [Nightmare].
“Ehh? Is playtime already over?”
“It’s not playing—.”
As Nea who had grown out jet-black goat’s horns replied her without any urgency, Fannie’s mask twisted, and she gave a bright smile.
“Then I’ll send you the analysis”
“I await it—”
Fannie examined the ‘graffiti’-like structure of this enemy for the first time,
although the analysis had already been done thirty minutes ago.
“Here, take it—.”
Holding the golden magic sword that he’d gotten from the mistress, Nea charged in alone into the middle of the enemies.
Stopping a number of attacks from several of the bodies with [Absorption] and the sword, she passed the power to her older brother, Noa.
[……Decay……]
As he uttered in the spirit language, the breath that Noa released from his mouth exterminated a number of the underlings, cutting a line through the clouds.
＊＊＊
Crap, Onzada-kun got stabbed.
My clone separating went alright and managed to repel Matsuri, but the magic power that I put in the feather I sent has run out.
I wanted to send it again, but it took quite a bit of magic power, so if I use it now, I’ll have trouble dealing with [True God Tokyo].
Ah, that’s right, I still had the [Contract] on, so if I helped Onzada-kun, his soul would be completely bound.
Yuuki-kun could also use recovery magic, and since it’s a hospital he’d be saved…… right?
“[HELP ME……!!!]”
“Kuu.”
*ZUN*…… Once again, it attacked me with a shockwave.
My children are doing their best, so I shouldn’t be distracting them.
The battle situation is still even. My four Demon attendants had reduced the numbers of the ten underlings, but the battle continued. The Greater Demons were doing their best, but their numbers had decreased considerably……
Well, even if they were defeated, unless they were completely destroyed, they would just resurrect in the Demon World.
But thanks to the fact that the children bought some time, the core of [True God Tokyo] came into sight.
Deep underground in Tokyo…… Was it found while sleeping in such a place?
Well, I’d like to mount an attack now, but I’m a little worried about my remaining magic power thanks to the skirmishes with [True God Tokyo].
Should I have Noa and Nea replenish me? …… No, it’s not good to break the balance of their battle there.
If I poured all of my remaining magic power into the [Spear of Darkness], would it be able to break through all of the barriers of [True God Tokyo], and penetrate the ground to hit the main body………?
If I could at least break the barrier then……
“……nn?”
Something reacted to the words in my heart…… What is…
＊
After the incident occurred at the hospital, several of the fake doctors were being detained by the police.
The black masked person who seemed to know the details of the incident and the man who had been stabbed by the fake doctor had disappeared without a trace and the patient in the ward where the incident occurred was moved to another room with the family.
However, the old man who wasn’t able to get up from his bed, even during the incident, had his already-short life expectancy run out even further, and his life was exhausted.
“…… It seems that I’m being called……”
Old man Toukaki put his hand on his chest and gently smiled.
When he said that he was being [Called], the rest of the family thought that he was [Nearing death] and gathered around the old man.
“Grandfather, we’re here for you.”
“Yes, that’s right, please come and eat ramen with me again. Come here, Karin.”
“Yes”
At the grandchild who came to his side, old man Toukaki stared at the gaze that resembled his deceased wife and granddaughter, and gently stretched out his hand to stroke the head of Karin.
“……Was it…… scary…… for you?”
“No, it was alright. A golden girl helped me and that uncle.”
“…… is that so”
Old man Toukaki, recalled that beautiful golden [Demon] and smiled quietly, looking up at the ceiling from the bed as he gently closed his eyes.
“……I’m going to sleep……”
And old man Toukaki muttered his last words, closing the curtains on his life quietly.
“……Now,…… I’m off to join you……”
＊
“This is……”
One of the chains stretching out from my hand from the [Chains of Obligation] was broken, and suddenly, it was entwined with a black sphere that appeared from that space. “Grandpa’s…… no… Geas’ soul?”
Regardless of how it was when I was Yuzu, now that I’ve returned to being Yurushia, I feel like there’s something wrong about saying [Grandfather] somehow.
With thousands, no, tens of thousands of Demons dedicating their lives to him, a contract with a [Demon Lord], one who had his soul robbed by a contract with me, a [Devil], he was shining black with misfortune and sin.
It truly was a strange destiny……
Dying in this world, transmigrating into another one, being cheated by Demons, he had been thrown outwards by me so that I could find this world, and I feel like fate was very strange, reincarnating again and having him becoming Yuzu’s grandfather.
With so many souls, he was worth well in excess of several thousand normal souls.
If I ate this, I’ll not only be able to fully recover my magic power, but my own power would even increase, but using it that way is too wasteful.
“You sure are useful…… Geas.”
As I spoke, the soul of Geas shone brighter for a moment as if answering me.
“……[Demonic Reincarnation]……”
Ignoring the minor price, I forcibly reincarnated Geas’ soul into a [Demon]. As expected of a soul so steeped in sin, it’s easy to Demonize.
In the twinkling of an eye, the soul reincarnated, and now trembling in my hand was a black-slime like Demon larva.
My attendants and I, forcibly stuffed information into the Demonic larva, remodeling it.
This considerably accelerated growth, and I think Geas’ soul should be able to take it. Furthermore, I fed half of my remaining magic into it, and forcibly evolved him, giving him an image to mold his existence to.
“Destroy my enemies, Demon Beast [Behemoth]……!”
[GuGAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!]
As my servants tore up the dark clouds, it roared and took off.
It appeared, a huge beast that filled the sky. A monster with bull-horns that looked like a black bear: the [Behemoth].
“[OH GOD! HELP ME…!!!!!]
*[GroOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!]*
The shockwaves burst forth from both [True God Tokyo] and [Demon Beast Behemoth]at the same time, and as the earthquake shook Kanto, the barrier protecting [True God Tokyo] and Tokyo itself was blown away.
“[The Darkness that the light fears]……”
I started chanting the incantation for [Spear of Darkness] with the last of my magic power. By my calculations, it will pierce through the center of [True God Tokyo] that’s deep underground beneath the rock.
“……EEEHHHH?!”
For some reason, in a straight line between me and [True God Tokyo], Matsuri was laughing madly with her face half-burned off.
How in the world did she get there?! Didn’t she fall out the window of the hospital!?
…… Was there residual power in Matsuri that had brought her to [True God Tokyo]?
She sure uses it easily…… It’s a nuisance to shave off her soul, and it seems like she’s got some sort of magical barrier. ……Then in that case her soul should have been annihilated.
Even when Demons ate souls, only their ‘experience values’ were absorbed, the rest of the soul was returned to the world, but it seems that hers has completely vanished.
It’s not for me to worry, but it’s a pain.
“[Yurushia!]”
“Rinne ?”
Rinne landed onto my shoulder, having recovered somewhat.
“……It looks like it’s still not complete?”
“[Nonetheless, I’ve recovered enough that I can return a blow to that thing. But first.]”
“N?!”
Rinne who was sitting on my shoulder, suddenly poured magic power into me by feeding me… mouth-to-mouth.
“[I guess you want to settle things by your own hands?]”
“……… Well, thanks.”
Touching my lips lightly with my fingertips, I completed the chant of the spell with the magic power I’d received.
“[Spear of Darkness]……!”
GoooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……
The jet-black spear flew with a roar, piercing the still-shrilly-cackling Matsuri through her barrier and continuing through the rest of the asphalt and bedrock to smash into [True God Tokyo].
[GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaAAAAAaaAAAaAAAA, HELP ME!]
In an instant…… the city of Tokyo appeared to fade out slightly.
[…… He…lp…… H…elp…me… …He…l…p……]
The sound of [True God Tokyo]‘s thoughts grew gradually softer, and the figure that was overlapping Tokyo city also sunk into the ground as if melting.
That voice, it was crying out for help……
“……From the very beginning, it was actually begging for its life from ‘me’…”
As long as there was human desire from the people living within the city of Tokyo, [True God Tokyo] couldn’t be destroyed.
However, you can sleep now. Only for another, about, 5.6 billion years?
“……ah,”
But I realized that I’d done something bad.
When [True God Tokyo] and [Demon Beast Behemoth] collided, a huge dimensional rift was created in the Tokyo skyline.
And worst of all, because Behemoth had exhausted its power, it had begun to shrink, and even for those who could see, only I could be seen in the sky, with my angel-like wings.
“…………”
Most of them were looking up at me, who was looking at them on the ground.
Well, isn’t that just great…… It’s difficult to open another rift if I repair this dimensional rift, and I also have things I want to do.
“[Listen well, human beings!]”
By exerting the Spirit Language in the air, I transmitted my message to the whole world. It’s impossible for every single person to hear it since I don’t have enough magic power, but they should hear it if their souls are strong enough.
“[I will be returning where I came…… but, I will come back one day. One hundred years from now…… or one thousand years from now… the Demons will surely return to this world, and we will devour all of you, along with your gods.]”
As I widened my golden wings and covered the dimensional tears, I went inside, camouflaging it to look like the sky.
The humans have surely seen and heard it. Those whose souls were strong…… the decent politicians and the top leaders of each country should surely have heard it.
The people in this world would know. That humankind had an unknown ‘natural enemy’. That there were ‘predators’ hiding in the dark that were aiming at them.
The hearts of those who knew fear would create darkness in this world, and with that, they would create a source of magic power.
This, this was my parting gift to this world, the claw-mark of a Demon……
A Demon’s blessing.
“[For whatever little time, enjoy your peace. Next time, I will return with an even greater Demon army……]”
Author’s Notes:
The serious parts are over now. It’ll become relaxed for a little while now.
Next time, the final chapter of this book.