NOVEL NEXT Chapter 554
Chapter 554. A Broken Heart
Antedeixis’s horns were gradually being converted back into magical energy after being severed from his body.
As if evaporating, they disappeared into the void.
“Oh, this saves me the trouble of smashing and grinding them. What a relief!”
Ainz exclaimed cheerfully.
“Uhoho♡!”
The demon god felt a sense of unease at the current situation where his dignity was being treated as mere materials.
“I’ll mix this magic right away… and incorporate it!”
Ainz transformed Avalon back into a hammer. He placed the evaporating horn of Antedeixis next to Adamas and began to collect the released magic with the hammer.
Meanwhile, Adamas flickered in bewilderment, saying, “Wait a second! What are you doing with that strange horn—”
“Hmph!”
And without mercy, the hammer came crashing down. Ainz’s 【Smithing Magic】, infused with the demon god’s magical energy, blew into Adamas.
Adamas began to emit a brilliant light, scattering sparks of holy silver magic all around. If he were human, he would probably be screaming, “Aaaaaah!!!” while rolling around in agony.
…Being infused with the demon god’s magic must be quite painful…
I totally understand… When I contracted with Antedeixis, I felt like it was the end of the world…
Still, those sparks of holy silver magic were something else. I unleashed my dark magic to fend off the silver sparks flying everywhere. I’m going to have to inject the dark magic dyed with holy silver into Adamas now, but that seems like it will require a lot of focus…
“Phew… That was quite enjoyable.”
After indulging in the forbidden activities for a while, the perverted great demon god stirred and stood up as if nothing had happened.
Even after losing one horn, he showed no sign of diminished magic.
“Doesn’t seem like the loss of a horn has much of an effect, does it?”
“Indeed… this is merely a fragment of my being.”
Antedeixis patted his chest triumphantly.
“It’s more like a shadow projected by my massive existence— a part of it. Unfortunately, it seems that the fragment being somewhat damaged doesn’t have much impact.”
He huffed, as if bored.
“Scratching a shadow cast on the ground won’t damage the original body, one might say.”
Hearing those words made me suddenly remember Zelia, the 【Demon of Jealousy】, who had come into this world alongside the green guy.
“The Demon of Jealousy was said to be a fragment, but it seemed to take quite a bit of damage, didn’t it?”
“That one had a larger proportion of the original connected to it. In other words, it was weak.”
“You’re not ‘weak’ or anything, right…?”
“Indeed. Even when rotten, I am still a demon god.”
Nodding haughtily, Antedeixis continued, “Therefore, I have the right to call other beings weak.”
“However, having tested this like this, my options have increased… or rather, perhaps a certain option has become easier to take.”
With a slightly serious expression, Antedeixis spoke.
“What do you mean by options?”
“My existence. I have always been able to enact the 【Taboo】 hiding within you, but now, when it comes to dire situations, the choice of having myself participate has become easier to grasp.”
If Antedeixis himself were to intervene… just like when I fought Faravgi, he popped out and physically blinded him.
“Even if the symbols of demons, like horns, are broken, if they’re merely fragments, then even if this fragment is defeated, the impact on my consciousness will likely be minimal. Until now, I had thought that even when a fragment died, I would become unconscious—hence, losing consciousness for a while—but with this condition, it seems I would wake up quickly.”
While tapping his own neck with a karate chop, Antedeixis said that.
“By the way, in this context, ‘a while’ means at least several decades in this world, perhaps even over a hundred years. I wanted to avoid the situation of waking up and finding you either a frail old man or long dead… Sacrificing my fragment would always be a last resort.”
“….I also want to avoid the possibility of you losing your assistance as much as possible.”
You’ve been supporting me from scouting to establishing 【Taboos】; not just in battle, you’ve also been correcting me when I tend to narrow my perspective, so I appreciate that.
And if Antedeixis disappeared… well…
“Hehehe. You’d be lonely, wouldn’t you?”
Antedeixis poked my side with his elbow. Shut up!
“So, in the worst case, it seems there won’t be much of a problem even if the fragment is defeated?”
While shaking off Antedeixis’s elbow jab, I continued talking.
“Indeed. In any case, if we find ourselves in such a situation, we’ll need to regroup via the Dark Portal. It’s a hassle, and I don’t want to do that too often, but it’s worth keeping in mind.”
If the original regains consciousness in the palace, he’d need to swiftly move to the Demon World’s Dark Portal and wait for me. It’s certainly troublesome, so I don’t really want to do it, but conversely speaking, we could reunite with that extra effort.
“Using Antedeixis as bait to slaughter a tough enemy” is something I should remember…
“If I were battling a high-ranking demon, then out of nowhere, a fragment of a demon god appears to ambush me, well, that’s the worst scenario…”
Barbara muttered with a weary expression. The surrounding Holy Spirits nodded in agreement.
My apologies, but demons really have way too many cards up their sleeves… And this implies that other demons could do the same, so I need to be cautious about that.
“Hey! Things are going well!”
Meanwhile, Ainz shouted joyfully while swinging the hammer, mixing Antedeixis’s magical energy vigorously.
“I’ll need your horn soon enough too! Get ready!!!”
“Yesss…”
I nodded, feeling heavy-hearted.
I knew it… next is my turn…
“Um… If you need help, I can assist!”
Leila said, holding a saw and a hammer while grinning. I appreciate the sentiment. However, thinking calmly, my horns are sturdy both physically and magically, so regular tools might be challenging…
“Avalon’s saw had quite the cutting edge, you know. Hehehe…”
Antedeixis, with a sinister smile, said he could chop it off himself.
However, looking again, seeing my right horn missing felt incredibly off. Antedeixis seductively traced the cut-off edge with his finger.
“I wonder what kind of voice you’ll make when you scream… just imagining it gives me shivers.”
Blushing, Antedeixis licked his lips. He seemed to be having a lot of fun earlier, but now… he obviously enjoys both ways.
After all, he’s the one who subjected Sophia to the hellish torture that’s like the world’s Taboo, so naturally, he must be eager to savor every moment of ‘tenderly’ grinding my horn too…!
“Sorry, but I can’t lend you Avalon for a while. We’ve already started.”
Ainz suddenly mentioned. “Huh, that’s boring,” Antedeixis pouted playfully.
“Ah, how about we cut it with Excalibur right away?”
Arthur suggested while brandishing the magical sword—【Legendary Holy Sword】.
“With this, we can do it smoothly without grinding.”
“Maybe I’ll go with that…”
Thus, the cutting of my horn was entrusted to Arthur.
However, when the time came to “do it,” I suddenly felt nervous. I lay on the floor and placed my cloak rolled into a pillow under my head to protect the smithy’s floor.
But… while waiting like this… something feels…
“I feel like a beheaded prisoner…”
Helena muttered softly.
No, I was feeling exactly that way too!!
“Alright, here I go!”
Arthur swung Excalibur around in rehearsal.
“Which side—right or left? Your choice?”
“Hmm…”
Asked with a smile, I mulled over my response.
…I know losing my horn means a weakening of magical power. It’s clear that there will also be mental anguish and other kinds of disadvantages.
The Reiju tribe had been responsible for treating horns with Teleportation Magic, so they probably had some insights about this…
But I learned nothing!
Absolutely nothing was conveyed!!
Even if someone lost their horn, it would just be a “Haha, he lost his horn!” reaction from my peers!!
I don’t know the specifics of what kind of negative impacts there might be or even how the horn acts, what functions it has beyond the sensory aspects. There hasn’t even been any research from the subject’s perspective!
Well… I, too, laughed when I saw Gerumadios from the Anitos tribe when he had a little chip in his horn, saying, “Haha, looks like he broke it!” So I can’t judge other demons.
No way… I never thought I’d end up in a situation like this…
Until something happens to you, it’s always just a concern for others, isn’t it?
“…I’ll go with the left.”
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t help to keep worrying. I thought it might be better to protect the right horn, my dominant side, since it might have fewer negative effects, so I asked for that.
“Understood, the left then!”
Arthur readied Excalibur.
“Here we go… One… two… three!”
“——–!”
“And then, I’m cutting!”
“Hurry up and do it!!”
“Alright, one, two, three!!”
“Wait!”
Swish!
“Ah…”
I felt like the world had jolted.
At the same time, it felt like part of my body was completely taken away, an overwhelming feeling of loss and… an ice-cold, piercing pain—
“UUUUGGGGGGHHH!!!”
Aaaaaaaaaah!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Aaaah――――――!!!
……………….
……………..
……….
To conclude, it hurt tremendously.
I was cut cleanly from the root. Blood poured out. There are nerves and blood vessels solidly running through horns. I had no idea.
So, that’s why it hurt. Now I understand completely.
It felt like the pain of having a tooth knocked out multiplied fifty times.
Or, for any man, that familiar pain when you hit your groin.
That feeling radiating through your body would make cold sweat burst out.
I absolutely could not stand.
Also, my confidence has vanished. I couldn’t muster the energy to do anything.
Gerumadios… and the other guy from the Anitos tribe whose name slipped my mind…
This truly was unbearable…
My apologies for laughing…
“Are you okay…?”
Arthur asked worriedly, and I replied, curled up on the floor, trembling.
Leila offered her lap as a pillow and patted my head. Also, Helena used a miracle of healing, so the pain subsided, but…
“My magical power… feels drastically weakened…”
“Half—might be an exaggeration, but it’s weakened more than I imagined…”
Antedeixis somewhat hesitantly agreed.
“Your magical power has dropped to around that of a marquis now…”
“Well, even so, that’s still a significant threat.”
“If your power weakens this much from just your horn, it may be worth aiming to take them out more actively.”
“There’s also the potential for a mental blow…”
The Holy Spirits were quietly discussing my condition.
Wow… that was seriously dangerous. If I weren’t accustomed to the feeling of magical power weakening from human transformation magic, I would have faced even heavier damage.
“Alright, this is good. Let’s dry it a little then grind it to use. Wait, roasting might be faster… Someone, grab a frying pan from the kitchen!”
Meanwhile, Ainz was cheerfully upbeat.
“I’ll get it!”
Leila dashed off to fetch the frying pan.
Thus, my freshly harvested horn was to be roasted in the frying pan placed over the furnace.
“……”
I wonder… losing the ability to sleep on my side, being the symbol of my non-human nature…
There should have been feelings about the existence of horns…
But it’s all become an integral part of my body now…
What is this feeling…?
I found myself dazed, feeling twilight. Oh, wait, what’s this? Is that sweat coming from my eyes…?
“Is it really that hard? Losing your horn?”
“What does it feel like? What does it feel like?”
Barbara, gesturing modestly, hopped around as she twirled near me, pestering me.
“If I had to say… I’d say it feels like…”
While taking down Antedeixis, I honestly replied my feelings.
“It feels like having one of my balls yanked off…”
The guys grimaced as if they could feel the pain.
The women had expressions that seemed like they understood, yet also didn’t.
Antedeixis burst out laughing.