Volume 3, Chapter 14: Unleashed, Part 2
Author Note: Lots of gore again. Entirely in third person.
Kord was confused.
It’s understandable. His Daemon King had spent several years…… if you included the preparation period, Niarly 20 years had been spent on trying to summon this thing, and here it was right in front of him.
“It can not be…”
It couldn’t be that a【Demon Beast】was in front of him. The doc.u.ments that spoke of its existence was thousands of years old.
Who could believe that one would encounter such a legendary existence this easily even if they asked for it?
[ShaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]
However, Kord’s dream was shattered as the small golden cat let out a cry, and the entire castle shook, cracks appearing in the thick walls and stone floors. In the midst of the enormous swirling magic power and miasma, the shadow of the cracks materialized and began to flow and spread, and he could feel a sheer amount of corruption that exceeded that of an 【Arch Demon】.
It looked like a thin, short-haired golden cat.
Along its small back, wings that were the same colour as its golden fur that were disproportionately larger than the body by a few tens of centimeters spread out. then, flapping a single time with its huge wings that exceeded 5 metres, the 【Golden Beast】 slowly floated into the air.
What was this Demon going to do…?
The 【Golden Beast】 let out a low growl as it faced a certain direction, and Kord, noticing that the direction was the [Daemons’ territory], turned pale, even as he bled from his face and side.
“…Oh, Ohhhhh, so this is a Demon Beast!”
Calling out in joy, Duke Kapell forgot himself as he Niared the 【Golden Beast】. He hadn’t noticed what happened, and he hadn’t even noticed that it had been Yurushia.
“Now, Demon Beast, kill the weak Royal family, and all the other obstructive Ducal houses! Obey me, and I will sacrifice thousands to-,”
The foolish Duke Kapell believed Kord’s lies and was convinced that the summoned Demon would obey him.
His grandfather was the youngest brother of the king, so he believed that he had only been unlucky, thinking that if he could become king he would be able to subjugate all the surrounding countries including Shiguresu and Terutedo and lead them into being a true Holy Kingdom.
Duke Kapell had tried several strategies, and was related to both Demon summoning incidents: supplying money and information to the one thought to be the mastermind, Marquis BruNiau.
Since his plan that had taken him such a long time at last to reached its final stage, Duke Kapell lost his calm and became talkative, and in the middle of his words, and carelessly stepped into the blanket of [Darkness] that spread across the floor.
*splat*…
“…GyyaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHHHH, aAAaaAAa, Aa……”
Duke Kapell turned into a skeleton as thousands of years seemed to pa.s.s in an instant, the man who had been secretly maneuvering behind the back of the Holy Kingdom crumbled away like a pile of dust in the wind, closing the curtains upon his life.
His soul was inhaled by the 【Golden Beast】 with great relish, who chewed it for a bit before swallowing.
Whether [She] was in the form of the 【Golden Beast】 or not, she was still a gourmand, and there was a hint of pleasure as she pulled out all the weak-willed humans’ [Souls]. All the subordinates who knew of Duke Kapell’s plans simply ceased to live without a single outward injury.
For an upper-cla.s.s Demon that’s beyond the realm of mere Greater Demons (Arch Demons), there wasn’t even a need for her to even lift a finger to take a human’s [Soul], just like a believer would dedicate [Offerings] to their G.o.ds, so did the weak-minded humans offer up their souls.
Their dead faces showed not joy, but an [Anguish] that caused one to wonder just how much pain they went through.
No one would ever think of wanting to die like this.
The only one who survived was Kord, who believed not in G.o.d but the Daemon King, and Callisto, who was able to use a little Holy Magic.
“Th-that… I… G.o.d……why…”
Frozen in fear from seeing that unbelievable thing, Callisto shook his head like a small child while crying.
Callisto had believed that everything would be perfect if G.o.d descended.
If G.o.d descended, this world would find peace, so he had no qualms about destroying the little peace of the people who lived happily now.
He believed with all his heart that if the Holy Kingdom threw away all of it’s military for a G.o.d, even the Daemons would relent.
Not realizing that he had merely replaced [Military] with [G.o.d] to protect the people, he couldn’t understand the reason for his exile from the Holy Kingdom, and didn’t realize the contradiction of harming others’ happiness for peace.
Finally given the means to make his ideal a reality by Duke Kapell, on the verge of seeing his dream a reality, Callisto preached an incredible dream.
Before him, with the beauty and power of G.o.d, was a Demon……
Unable to accept reality, Callisto’s spirit gave way to the fear from the miasma, foaming at the mouth with bloodshot eyes wearing a thin smile.
As a matter of fact, this loss saved Callisto’s life.
Callisto’s soul that had suffered a mental collapse and had no more value and so became of no interest to the gourmand【Golden Beast】.
But with all of the living humans gone and only the grating rasp of a mentally deranged human, a hint of annihilation was shortly aimed towards him, but then,
“GaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA!”
Kord’s greatsword slashed down, releasing a shockwave toward the 【Golden Beast】.
It wasn’t that Kord was going to help Callisto. Rather, that his warrior instincts told him that if he didn’t use his greatest attack during this small gap in its defense, he wouldn’t even be able to scratch this Demon Beast.
As the impact crushed the stone wall, and enormous rubble fell, Kord felt a little chill and dodged, the 【Golden Beast】 tore off his right arm, and broke apart his greatsword.
“GowaaaaaaaAAAAAA”
Kord released his [Human] illusion, and reverted to the figure of a [Daemon] with grey skin. Along with that, he released magic power to heal his injuries, also raising his offensive and defensive power, but that 【Golden Beast】 tore through it like thin paper.
Daemons couldn’t use Holy Magic, but they could use Water Magic to close wounds and improve healing. In the first place, Daemons had way more physical strength than a human, but every strike from the 【Golden Beast】 on his flanks and his arms left a curse-like miasma coiling about them, which degraded his body from the inside.
“……Monster…”
“Master!?”
As the attendants who sensed that enormous presence returned, they were surprised by Yurushia returning to the form they dearly missed…… the 【Golden Beast】.
“Tina!”
[ShaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]
As Nia raised her voice, the 【Golden Beast】 struck the exact same moment with terrifying speed and bit off Tina’s arm clean off her shoulder.
“……Ah!”
“……*kuu*”
Instantly Noa used 【Unleash】 and stopped Tina from collapsing using his magic power, but Tina who had turned pale refused to believe her eyes about her [Master]’s body.
“Can you still move? Tina?”
“…Ye, Yes, but leaving that aside, our Master”
“We’ll be back!”
Fannie’s voice brought everyone to attention. Having a taste of a lower-rank Demon, the 【Golden Beast】brimmed with a brutal presence, and, spreading its golden wings, it attacked them again.
“Yurushia-sama!”
Nia immediately took the blow with her Cursed Blade, but was unable to fully 【Absorb】 the power of the blow and was blown off into the wall, falling to her knees.
“*cough*……so strong”
“You brats!”
Kord called out to the attendants who were somehow able to battle that [Monster].
“Help me! I am General Kord of the Daemon King’s army. If you leave this monster be, the human nations will be finished!”
The only thing in Kord’s mind, was the Daemon King’s territory and the Daemon King himself.
Why the [Saint’s] disappearance would cause the [Demon Beast] to appear was beyond his understanding, but when the 【Golden Beast】 turned its head toward the direction of the Daemons’ territory, Kord knew that it was seeking out the magic power that he had transferred.
{I won’t let you get to the Daemon King-sama…!}
He prided himself as being one of the top five of the Daemon King’s subordinates, but he was being trampled to his wits’ end by this little Demon.
Kord had already resolved to die, for the sake of the Daemon King he chose to throw away his pride and work together with the [Humans].
“…… Monster…?”
“…!?”
As Kord turned to the sudden voice coming from behind him, he saw a boy wearing an enraged expression staring at him.
Noa didn’t even give him the time to raise his voice, and used the greatest force of【Unleash】to instantly pulverise his body and soul.
“…Low-life.”
As Noa spit out the words, half the castle collapsed under the force of the 【Golden Beast】 and his 【Unleashing】.
*Gagin*
“…kuhh”
Meanwhile, Nia who held the power of 【Absorption】 was barely taking the attacks of the【Golden Beast】.
The attendants couldn’t strike Yurushia.
However, since Tina and Fannie couldn’t even take a single blow from the 【Golden Beast】, and Nia suffered increasing damage with every single blow that she 【Absorbed】, as it stood, they would be overwhelmed.
“Fannie, supplement Nia’s magic power! Tina! We will stop Yurushia-sama, so attack with full force.”
Tina’s eyes went wide at Noa’s instructions.
“Wha-what are you saying!? To attack our Master…”
“…A half-baked attack won’t do any damage. In order to wake up Yurushia-sama who is the fastest in the Demon World, the instant that Nia takes the blow we counterattack with full force. Even she should stop moving then. ”
“………”
Tina gritted her teeth as her left shoulder regenerated, her curly golden hair turning into countless snakes.
The other three also shed their human forms and raised their magic power to their maximum.
For these four Demons, neither the affairs of this country, nor the affairs of the world mattered to them.
If Yurushia wished it, they would be happy to turn the whole world into their enemies and reap the souls of all the living beings.
As a result, even if they had to perish, they felt a joy rather than fear at the thought of dying for their [Master].
However, the current 【Golden Beast】 was different.
It was different from their Master [Yurushia] who was like a mother to them, the only source of warmth in the Demon World like the sun.
Their true Master …… [Yurushia] had to be recovered. Even if they had to perish.
“I’m startingー!”
The Harlequin-masked Fannie focused a mental a.s.sault on the 【Golden Beast】to divert its attack even a little.
When it came, Nia jumped into the line of fire and took the blow, whilst Tina’s snakes coiled around the body of the 【Golden Beast】, tying it up until it couldn’t be seen.
“Now”
“【Unleash】!”
Nia took the power absorbed from the 【Golden Beast】’s a.s.sault, and channeled it straight into Noa’s attack as magic power.
The full manifestation of the four 【Greater Demons】 and their special characteristics in a combination attack.
[KiyshaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA!]
As the 【Golden Beast】 cried out in pain, half the snakes crushing it solidified and stopped moving. …But…
A huge amount of magic power was released explosively from within, tossing off the golden snakes, smashing Nia’s cursed sword, and tearing up the four Demons.
“………”
The Demons fell to the ground and looked up silently as the 【Golden Beast】 calmly fluttered into the air as if nothing had happened.
They knew better than anyone that Yurushia was [Superior] to them. But, because her everyday self didn’t feel threatened, her usual magical power was only somewhat larger than theirs, split from the Demon Beast form, giving her human self an unexpectedly large [Magic Power].
Would everything end without them being able to recover [Yurushia]……… Just as the Demons were thinking that…
*plop*……
” ” ” “…eh?” ” ” ”
The golden cat suddenly fell, and a naked [Yurushia] rolled on the ground.
Daemon King Hebrad was born as a Daemon more than 30 years ago.
His father was the previous Daemon King, and his mother was killed by the other wives after giving birth to him.
In addition, Hebrad had a secret he couldn’t tell anyone, he had memories of a previous life as a human.
If this was to be known, he would be killed by the Daemons that hated humans. Even so, he never considered himself an ally of the humans.
In his past life, he had been a corporate slave to a black company, had been exploited by everyone around him, and had lived being held in contempt.
His parents had died while he was still in school and his uncle’s family cheated him of the insurance money, so he despaired and hated human beings despite being one. One night he spit blood into his futon, dying without ever being cared for.
He thought that he had been given a chance at last to avenge himself on human beings by being reborn as a Daemon.
His hatred was seen as strange among the Daemons and the previous Daemon King, who had no affections for his own children, made use of that hatred, so Hebrad was given a harsh and elite education.
But as Hebrad gained the knowledge necessary to command the Daemon Army, his despairing thoughts began to change.
Daemonkind had already reached the limit.
Humans were hated, and the Daemons were descended from persecuted humans.
Despite his attempts at reform using the knowledge from his previous life, the Daemons only knew how to take from others, to deceive others, and to pull others who aspired to rise in society down, so the reforms were all in vain.
After that, he changed.
At the age of ten, he killed the previous Daemon King, united the foolish Daemons, and realised that a strong power was necessary to get his revenge on human beings.
And now, it’s 20 years later.
The plan began, the summoning formation had collected magic power for over ten years.
“What…… this is…”
The magic power sent from General Kord was approximately 80% of all the magic power collected thus far, all put together, Hebrad had exceeded the amount of magical power that he needed for the summoning.
“What happened…”
It was clearly an abnormal situation. The amount was abnormal, on top of that, he had never seen such pure magic power with such a golden colour before.
Although Hebrad rejoiced over Kord’s results, he worried for the man.
“……Naa”
The abnormal things didn’t end there.
To summon the upper-cla.s.s demon, a variety of constraints were applied, and not only magic power, but a large amount of sacrifices were prepared as [Offerings] and it was necessary to repeatedly check through each preparation step.
The huge summoning magic formation filled with magic power suddenly started shining.
“Who started it up!? Stop it now, even if you have to break a part of the summoning circle!”
At Hebrad’s shout, the technicians started to panic and moved even as the Dark Knights moved to prepare their weapons.
Such a thing was impossible.
In response to the golden magic power that was being poured in, [Something] was forcing its way through to manifest from the Demon World.
“d.a.m.n it!”
Hebrad began to cast magic without even bothering to hide his frustration and impatience.
Using his otherworldly knowledge, he forcefully attempted to contaminate the area being used for the trial, unleashing a magic that would diminish his lifespan.
” [Nuclear Destruction]! ”
Even if the plan had to be restarted because the summoning formation was destroyed, it would be better than letting whatever that [Thing] was inside out without the restraints.
As the bright light engulfed several of the mages, during the instant he tried to destroy the magic formation…… It manifested.
[GaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]
The angry roar shook the entire Daemon territory.
Countering the nuclear strike magic with only a roar, it was an inky black leopard that was well over 10 metres to a side… darker than darkness itself.
“……It…… can’t…… be……”
Hebrad numbly muttered as he collapsed with an expression of pure despair.
He knew what that [Demon] was.
An ancient Demon recorded in ancient texts that had only been seen once in the distant past, and had laid waste to several countries.
“……【Demon Beast】… 【Dark Beast】… ”
The Daemons would perish today……
In front of Hebrad who was having such thoughts, 【Dark Beast】 crushed all the mages and Dark Knights with a single roar, and then suddenly raised its head as if it had noticed [Something].
[……Guruu…]
In an instant, the 【Dark Beast】 broke through the bedrock ceiling of the underground altar and leaped out, flying away without devouring their souls.
And thus the plan that the Daemon King had taken several decades to execute vanished, and the Daemons escaped their extinction.