Kurifot continent.
Situated far enough to be called the farthest end of the world, lacking in sunshine, and surrounded by stormy seas, which makes sailing problematic.
In the first place, although it was named『Kurifot continent』by the demon race, humans refer to it as『Kurifot island』.
In the end, it was only that big.
It was only named as a continent to retain demon’s pride.
Precisely because of its worthlessness, the existence of demons was allowed here.
As long as they don’t leave the island, humans won’t eradicate them completely as a show of mercy.
For demons and their cult of power, it was a terrible humiliation.
That’s why demons spent the last millennium trying to come up with a way to eradicate humans.
On the other hand, it seems that humans nearly completely forgot about their existence.
A race that though against humans a long time ago, which now obediently lives on a faraway island — demons were remembered in such a way.
Which was, once again, irritating in its own way.
However, demons have finally completed their ultimate weapon, Iris Crisis.
She was ordered to eradicate humans and departed beyond the seas.
However–.
「–What on earth is happening? It’s been about five months since we sent Iris–there is no sign of her working at all. Two opposing armies destroyed by a mysterious force, cities disappearing overnight, are there any such good news? 」
The Great Demon King grumbled to his subordinates.
「No…..no such things…..」
A subordinate reported as sweat dripped from his forehead.
「Strange……If Iris were to work properly, something like humans would have been destroyed long ago. What happened……? 」
「If I might……apparently, the spies working undercover amongst humans managed to locate Iris-sama’s whereabouts but…….」
Hearing the report, the Great Demon King became excited.
「Oh, good job! So, what she’s been up to? Could it be, there are some especially strong beings amongst humans and she struggles to defeat them!?」
「……According to the spy’s report, she shut herself in an abandoned church where she eats and sleeps, eats and sleeps, every single day. Even more, it seems that she maintains a good relationship with humans living nearby……」
「Haaaaaaa!? What the h.e.l.l is she thinking!?」
「Not only that, she made a human prepare her meals and clean the church…….to be honest, it doesn’t seem like she has any intentions to destroy them」
「This must be a lie, hey!」
The Great Demon King accidentally let out an undignified remark.
He cleared his through and fixed his posture as if nothing happened.
At that time, an old demon shrugged his shoulders.
He was the director of Iris’ development project.
「Iris-sama, in the end, is just a prototype. Her specs might have been off the charts, however, you could also say that she didn’t have anything but those specs. If she doesn’t intend to destroy humans, she nothing more than a defective product. The decision to make 『second body』was indeed a correct one」
「Umu…….but would the second one be fine? Please spare me from the strong but useless ones」
「There is no need to worry. The one in the capsule was thoroughly educated」
「Ho, how exactly?」
「First, I let her eat sweets, which became her favorite food」
「U-Umu……」
「After that, she wasn’t given any until the arrival of her withdrawal symptoms」
「So…..?」
「In such a manner we imprinted the preciousness of sweets in her mind and continuously whispered『if you kill lots of humans I’ll give you some sweets』. Thanks to that, she can’t wait to go out and kill. The perfect anti-human biological weapon is finished! 」[1]
「I-I see………Well, the method doesn’t matter, as long as she kills humans that’s fine」
Although the Great Demon King said so, his face betrayed his doubts.
「Great Demon King-sama. Are you that unsettled? 」
「Ah, no, I mean. Did she turn out well in the face? 」
「Yes. Very much so. But that was to be expected. Let me show you the real deal. Eclipse-sama, please come here 」
Following the command of the development head, a girl appeared in the throne room.
She opened the door and walked inside.
However, even that little action carried with it a sense of incongruity.
Even though she stood right before him, her presence was exceptionally thin.
There was no sound of breathing, nor footsteps.
Her appearance didn’t help either.
She had white skin and silver hair, like that of the Great Demon King and Iris.
In addition, her whole attire was white.
Face – expressionless.
Even dolls have a bigger presence than she does.
One can easily perceive her as a gla.s.s decoration.
「So this is Biological Weapon Mk-2…….」[1]
「Yes. Same as Iris-sama’s, her creation was based on your genes. Her name is Eclipse-sama! 」
「I understand……even still, she’s quite the quiet fellow……completely different from Iris」
Iris too was calm while she was still inside the capsule but, the moment she came out,「I want to eat that」「What is that?」「Anyway, I’m sleepy」she couldn’t keep quiet at all.
「Kukuku……this is the result of my education. Eclipse-sama’s head is full of sweets and sweets only. Her sudden change when given sweets…….almost like she is a completely different person」
「Ho. I’d like to see that」
The development head’s words picked the Great Demon King’s interest.
The development head grinned and pulled out a lump of sugar.
「Eclipse-sama. Let me give you this」
At that moment, the expressionless Eclipse opened her eyes wide and wrestled the lump of sugar from the hands of the development head.
She put it into her mouth and chewed with a loud crunching noise.
「Sweeet~~!」
Indeed, it was a tremendous change of character.
Completely different from her expressionless self a second ago.
Eclipse revealed a smile of ultimate happiness, her cheeks turned red, and she said in a sweet voice.
「More, more! Give more! 」
「No, that’s it for now. You have a duty to fulfill」
「Why!? Meanie! Gimme! 」
「Not allowed. I won’t. Not giving any」
As the development head shook his head in denial, the blush disappeared from Eclipse’s face, along with her smile.
「…….Understood. Then I shall kill humans. Will I get sweets that way? 」
A voice sharp as ice.
As if her bright expression was never there.
Expression – bloodthirsty.
The eyes full of resolve to kill for sweets.
「Great Demon King-sama, what is your opinion? Should I order Eclipse-sama to eradicate humanity? 」
The development head sought approval.
Of course — almost answered the Great Demon King, but suddenly came up with a new idea.
「Wait. Before that, you should bring Iris back. As long as you re-educate Iris and attack together, you would finish much faster. If you don’t do that, it might escalate into something bothersome」
「I see. Indeed, even if Iris-sama has zero motivation, her specs are supreme. If she were to stand against the demon race, she would be a great threat. However, be at ease. Eclipse-sama won’t lose to Iris-sama. Probably」
「Mn? Did you just say probably…….? 」
「Ah, no. It’s alright. Both their magical power amounts can’t be measured by us, well, it should be around the same」
「Wait, wait, wait. If their magical power is above measurable, does that mean that we have no idea about the exact amount? It might very well be that Iris is overwhelmingly more powerful」
「No, no way. They shouldn’t differ that much. Most likely」
「It seems I have no choice but to trust your judgement」
The Great Demon King gazed at the development head.
And he looked away.
Apparently, he was fully aware.
「That being said, I can’t win against Iris. I have to rely on Eclipse………」
「You words hold true! Eclipse-sama, it’s time to depart! As long as you bring Iris back and destroy humanity together, you can have as much sweets as you want!」
「…..Roger. I’ll bring Iris back」
Eclipse’s magical power burst out of her body.
It erased light and turned it into shadow.
Erasing the opponent’s magical power, Eclipse Wave.
Even if Iris were stronger than her in regards to magical power, she would still emerge victorious — supposedly.
ReferencesFor some reason, it’s strangely intimidating. ↩ ↩