The Lazy King

The Lazy King Chapter 7: Superbia

Part 1: To the Supreme Demon Lord

When compared to the human race, a Demon’s life is horribly long.

Their lifespans equate to eternity, and aging from the pa.s.sage of time is a concept foreign to them.
The shape of their soul, the shape of their will, and the shape of their desires is what resolves their being, and seeds of that resolute way of being are the greatest factors that influence this absurdly large Demon World.
At the same time, as Demons continue to utilize their endless lives to delve into their desires, their power can grow with no limit in sight… once they become Demon Lords, they have enough strength to defile the very Heavens that would once be their natural enemy.

The first thing that entered my eyes the moment I was awakened, was a vigor-less man in slovenly garb. His artlessly cut hair fell over dirty clothing stained with dust. Supporting his body was a creaking armchair of faded color.
No life, energy or will, but what he did have was a vast amount of power.

Even for my immature senses, I could feel it fill the world, simple deep and dark, as if it were the air, a natural and quiet magic.

… The King of Depravity.

Survival of the fittest. In a world where Demon Lords elegantly competed with one another, there existed but one who did not interfere, and just by being there, he had climbed the ranks to Demon Lord. A mighty Demon.
Without making any blood flow, a pitiful Demon who had even been left behind by the flow of time.

Leigie the 『Depraved』.

It wasn’t certain that he could grant power to those who desired it.
But the inverse also stood true.
Even if he had power, it wasn’t certain if he could put it to practical use, and as Sloth, it wasn’t even certain if he could use it at all.

The Demon Lord who pursued 『Acedia』 looked at me. Without saying anything, without thinking anything.
No, while his eyes were directed in my direction, perhaps he wasn’t even looking at me. His hollow and s.h.i.+fting gaze held no meaning, and all I was certain of was that the thoughts that dwelled in those eyes were ones that someone like me wouldn’t possibly be able to comprehend.

Perhaps… my origin was a miracle.

As a game, he had tried to use the power he had gotten his hands on for the first time, and for a reason as simple as that, I was born.

Of course, I only realized that after much time had pa.s.sed… After, without meaning, and never once having been ordered from my birth, I continued to suck up the Mana the Demon named Leigie emitted unconsciously. After I gained my own self-awareness, and even my own desires.

Even after seeing me start moving without his orders, Leigie didn’t say anything.
The reason for my existence, the reason for my birth were something I couldn’t understand.
It wasn’t even the Demon Lord’s will. His goal was only to use his power, and he didn’t even hold any interest towards the result.

I simply looked at my master.

Relieving his will of Sloth,
Looking at the pitiful legion of the Demon Lord who had not a single follower,
Who didn’t even eat food, and who simply moved back and forth between a squalid chair he arbitrarily picked up somewhere and a damp bed. I looked at the form of my lord.
Even so, any and all sorts of Heroes, Sages, Demons, Angels, and even Demon Lords didn’t pique his interest when they came for him. Looking at his way of life…

“… Hm… so this is how a 『Ruler』 should be…”

Even now, I can remember it clearly.
That was, those were the first words I ever vocalized.

How useless. How pointless.
Without any goal, his long life of nothingness merely built unto itself, and changed into a ma.s.sive power.
Just how unsightly, how unbearable.

That was the Longing I governed.
As such, I gained the Original Sin of 『Superbia』.
My deplorable creator’s form and the form of the growing number of challengers that faced defeat by his hand, had long surpa.s.sed any comedy.

And at the same time, I harbored an intense jealousy.

His ma.s.sive power that grew in proportion to the flow of time was never even polished with any form of training, but the other seeds… the other Demon Lords were simply driven away with overwhelming might.

That power alone was suited to my creator, and at the same time, if I could 『Overrule』 it, I wondered if I would truly become the supreme being, able to stand above not only people, but everything in existence.

That’s what I thought.
That’s what I couldn’t help but think.

There is no ranks among power.

But even in my mostly-stagnant head, I felt it. His power higher and n.o.bler than all.

At the rate I was going, I knew I would never surpa.s.s it.

I gained life as a Demon. Having spent a lifetime longer than I could even imagine, the being that reached Demon Lord level was, lifestyle aside, too strong.

I can 『Overrule』. Those slovenly gestures, personality, and a way unbefitting a supreme ruler, it was easy enough to think of them as below me.
But I couldn’t win. It wasn’t on a level where good affinity or anything mattered, but a gap in life, experience, even existence.
Overruling can increase battle ability, and bring about enough power to overturn the gap between the Demon Ranks 『General』 and 『Lord』. It’s a superior skill, but even that wasn’t enough
I understood by instinct. The insurmountable gap was simply so great, I couldn’t help but understand by instinct.

… Not yet.

Even while watching me look down on him, the Lord of Sloth doesn’t say anything. It’s always silent.

“… Hm. But if my master is like this, then people will start to see me as the same.”

“… I see.”

The Lazy King let out a bored voice from under the covers. He displays not the tone variation of emotion.
His eyes look up at me, but even now, he holds not the slightest will.

I declare. It is all for my own sake.
It was also like an oath. In order to carve my existence into the world.

“Nominally and virtually, I shall make Father into the Supreme Demon Lord.”

“… Do not want.”

“… Hm, I’ll have you become one, Lazy King. Of all else, for… my sake.”

“… I see.”

Just do whatever you want.
Without letting out his voice, the Lazy King mouthed those words, before he sunk into his covers with sluggish movements.

I was always watching. From back when I didn’t have any decent awareness.
It was his evident reaction.

But so be it.
… As a start, let’s subjugate this region.
I suppressed all the foolish Demon who judged, looked down on, and ignored my Master as harmless, all to make this vast land into my exalted master’s mausoleum.

And by the time I have Overruled everything, perhaps I’ll have become an existence that surpa.s.ses even the Demon Lords of this h.e.l.l.

Part 2: At least leave it Supreme

The Demon World.
Where the strong are respected more than anything, Demons work to fulfill their desires, and Lords fight and steal over the limited resources.

Without any debate, it’s all worthless.

Greed
l.u.s.t
Wrath
Gluttony
Envy
Pride
And… Sloth.

I have but one goal.

While training, Overruling and struggling, I understood it clearly.

The territory increases. The magic I wear increases. My Pride Tree advances.
As if mowing down gra.s.sroots, a simple task.
Demons of course, as well as Heavenly a.s.sa.s.sins, and occasionally foolish warriors who come from the outside world to subjugate a Demon Lord.
Everything yielded to me. To my power. And my master’s power.

My basic abilities were high from the start.
There’s no way that one made by the Lord of Sloth, who’s basically just a lump of power, could be weak.
And I repeatedly trained.
I forged my own power. Physical power, magic, wisdom, leaders.h.i.+p. To eliminate the million to one chance of me tasting defeat because of some foolish reason.

That was my first goal, and the primary factor that increased my power with Pride at the base.
Other Lords’ desires are fragile when compared to my lord’s Sloth.

Like a flying arrow, time pa.s.sed.

Eventually, a castle was made.
Around the house too small to be called a house my Master lived in, ramparts extended for miles.
The tower built in the center pierced even the heavens.
Named the Castle of Shadows, the Lord of Sloth’s bedroom boasted an overwhelming width and majesty that surpa.s.sed the castles of any kind of Demon Lord.
My Master’s castle. I’m not satisfied. If he’s the man who will stand over me even if it be temporarily, a castle of this extent isn’t enough.

Demons gathered.
The Demons that yielded, the Demons I forced to yield.
I led the useless rabble, and put an army in order. Supreme soldiers that would surpa.s.s any Demon Lord’s armies.

As time pa.s.sed, they came to be famous.
Leigie of Sloth’s Strongest Legion.

Even if I didn’t force them to submit personally, foolish Demons who lowered their own heads at us gathered.
Their numbers increased, and the army grew. First Brigade, Second Brigade, Third Brigade.
But no matter what Demon came in, none of them could even reach my feet.

Weak. Much too weak.
Even without me 『Overruling』 them, they had Overruled themselves, and they were all too weak to amount to an enemy of me.

Unlosing and absolute.
I have no losses, and as such, my master has never faced defeat either.
The more I defeated, the higher I rose, the more the years pa.s.sed, the stronger my power became.

A Pride Demon’s strength is proportional to their battle experience.

Strength is the proof of having overcome. To those you’ve defeated once, you’ll never lose again.
The more you learn, the more you understand, the more distant defeat seems.
The more the years go by, the further defeat becomes. No matter how much desire they pile up, I haven’t fallen low enough to lose to any young Demon. I acc.u.mulate absolute confidence in myself.

… But at the same time, that means I’m granting time to the Lord of Sloth.

Eventually, the Great Demon King came, seeking our surrender.
Unlike the definite gap between Demon and Demon Lord, the Great Demon King is simply the t.i.tle given to the Demon Lord in possession of the greatest territory.
But the fact that they lead such great forces within this Demon World means they have desires to that great of an extent.

I met him. My Lord did not have to go out.
The Sin this King governed was Pride. A Demon like me with Overruling as his foundation. And at the same time, his goal was subjugating the Demon World. Putting the warring Demon World in order, and leading it, he would take in the world above, and even the Heavens. A man with large ambition unbefitting his level of power.

After seeing him with my own eyes, I concluded. He wasn’t anything special.
At the point I met him, I 『Overruled』 that King. Meaning he was no match for Leigie of Sloth.
It seems it’s been a long time since he first came to be, but the King was foolish, and he didn’t even reach my level. In the end, he was just a Demon Lord that was slightly competent.

If I make him yield, will my Master’s position rise?
It was a useless notion. For a Demon Lord of this level, there’s not even any worth in annihilating him.
As A Demon Lord of Pride, if I make him submit, his power level will fall. There’s not even any use in taking him into the army…

My Master’s depraved state simply continued to deepen.
His authority doesn’t grow in the slightest, but his power alone continued to grow, and that form was truly befitting a Lord of all Demons.

I ask him Questions.

He always returns the usual response.
No matter how many years pa.s.s, it never changes from those two words.

The Great Demon King requested a meeting with my Master.

And after they met, he lost his power, and the Demon King seat s.h.i.+fted.
It was too great of a gap between him and a fellow Demon Lord. The will of the transcendent being that merely laid around like a rock was incomprehensible to those around him.

The Great Demon King changed. It changed time and again.

In the end, the Demon World never showed signs of unification.
Demon Lords are born, and Demon Lords die.
The names of famous Heroes change, as they continually try and invade the Demon World.
A large-scale invasion was launched by Heaven. A Large majority of the Demons died out.

… But the Castle of Shadows continued to sleep.

My Master continues to live in his slumber. Never moving, and with that, his power continued to grow. To a height no Demon or Demon Lord would ever reach.
At the same time, the one born from him, my power continues to rise. Without me being able to fulfill the long-cherished desire of my Pride.

The Lord of Sloth who can’t be scratched at all.
The Doll born from his skill is peerless.

Over months and years, the dolls he made to kill time scattered across the entire Demon World. Without knowing their master’s name, those Dolls simply moved across foreign batttlefields.

Leigie the Depraved eventually came to be known as Leigie of the 『Slaughterdolls』.
By the merits of the original body.

A clan of Demons in service to my Master sprung up. I can’t comprehend them. But let it be so.
For my master, having a clan like that isn’t bad. No, it’s natural for there to be one.

Inspectors from the Black Order start to be dispatched.
Let it be so. Observe my Master however you like. In the end, people with your lowly level of power won’t be able to scratch Leigie the Depraved.

Subordinates die. They die one after another, and our personnel continues to s.h.i.+ft.
By a small bit of negligence, the man that was my right hand died. A foolish one. There can be no negligence on the battlefield.
Even without old age, there are many casualties among Demons with the natural instinct for battle.

Demon Lords famed for their strength are done in by other Demon Lords, and the weak climb up the ranks to Lords.h.i.+p.

All that prospers must decay.

Enemies and allies, one after another, faces continue to change. Information about various Demons and Lords flood the library, and a second, and a third library are built.
A majority of them are ones I Overruled long ago, unnecessary doc.u.ments.

Once a year, the symbol carved on the wall fills the room, and covers the hallways.

I taste the feeling of being a rock.
All that doesn’t change is my Master’s existence, and the Demon World’s pale blue moon.

Even still, I’m no match. I can’t see the end.

I selected Demons of Sloth, and launched attacks.
Most of them were normal Demons. They were nothing to talk about. They didn’t use any skills worth noting.

No matter how many decades, centuries, millennia pa.s.s, another Demon Lord of Sloth doesn’t rise.
Are they resting somewhere under the earth somewhere like Leigie the Depraved was?
Or could it be that Sloth Demons are simply not reaching Demon Lord status?
That is left unknown.

Heaps of bodies, streams of blood.
It’s become troublesome to even count the number of Demon Corpses that have piled up, but the impact I felt when I first saw Leigie of Sloth never dulls, no matter how much of an eternity goes by.
Inferiority. That is a 『Superbia』 Demon’s greatest enemy.

Even more months pa.s.s.
Information gathers. I polish myself. I repel enemy seeds.
By the time I realized it, there was plenty of prey out there, but no one to be my enemy.

As long as there’s no one for me to Overrule, Pride’s power won’t grow. Pride without its foundations is close to worthless.

I had reached the peak. I master my skills, draw my body to the limit, and hone my magic, but my Pride Tree stops one step before reaching Demon Lord Level.
My final and greatest wall. The wall known as Leigie.

… But that ends today.

Medea’s disposal did not even pose a warmup, let alone a rehearsal.
In the end, she’s just an Invidia, capable of nothing but imitating others.
Trying to imitate my Master’s skill was pure stupidity. For a Sloth Skill with low offensive power, it barely has any power once a Greed or Envy Demon takes and uses it.
I sigh. My soul and my gear have been raised to top cla.s.s. Even the hazy combat experience from the corners of my mind have surely acc.u.mulated in a place I don’t know about.

I open the door.
Because it was frequently burned up by that la.s.s Kanon’s subordinate, the often changing room had been renewed. It gave off a faint lewd smell.

While I knew this beforehand, while he should have sensed my presence already, Father doesn’t raise a single word, or stir a single inch.

He slept still as if he were dead.

You sure have fallen… Leigie the Depraved.

You used a skill just to help a single lowly maid.
On top of personally going to battle, you got a scratch from the likes of Zebul.
Moreover, you left yourself to be defiled.
Your recent acts have been much too wretched for my Master.

… No, perhaps it’s about time for you.

It really has been a long time. A stupidly long one.
And Father is supposed to have experienced an even longer time alive. Even if I pile up all my experience, I cannot predict them.
Right now, how many are there out there who know the same Demon World as you?

The magic I feel from his body is immense.
Even if you grouped together all the average Demon Lords, they won’t be a match. But I had a definite understanding.

… Leigie the Depraved is weakening.
A rare sight in the thousands, tens of thousands of years I’ve spent with him.

He went against the 『Acedia』 he governes.

All of it is… as expected.

The more time a 『Sloth』 spends in sloth, the more powerful they get. Contrarily, the more they decide to move of their own volition, the more their power will drop.

I stand by the bed. On my master’s face, with his eyes closed as if he were dead, I see nothing besides nihility.
I take up his limp hand. In his bony fingers in which I can’t even feel the T of Training, his white transparent corpse-like skin had light blue blood vessels running across.

“Father… it’s been many years, hasn’t it.”

Leigie doesn’t give a response. But I can tell.
Father isn’t sleeping right now. To the Lord of Sloth, whether he be awake or asleep, everything is but an ephemeral dream.
As such, I continued on.

It really was our first conversation in a long time.

You’ve fallen, in a way appropriate for me to call a disappointment. Leigie-sama likely has no interest in the reason, though.
In the first place, this was something inevitable since the moment I was born here, long, long ago.
Father is a sharp man. While he governs Sloth, he also has parts in him aside from it.
That is the clear difference between him and other Sloth Demons, and that’s likely the main reason Leigie of Sloth was able to live perpetually.

I have much that I want to say, but I don’t need words.

Of how I increased his followers, and made them the greatest power in the Great Demon Lord’s army.
Of how he foiled countless a.s.sa.s.sinations from Heaven, and had those a.s.sa.s.sins fall to Demonhood.
Of how, while still sleeping, he repelled a raid launched by a dozen Human Heroes.
Of how the former Great Demon King’s daughter, that little girl who didn’t even harbor any desires, Kanon, rose up to be the Great Demon King.

Of how I ama.s.sed tens of thousands of deaths, and being separated from the flow of time.
Of how not a single Demon Lord from when I was created still remain.
Of how friends, companions, enemies died, new ones were born, only to die as well.
With no emotion, and ignorant to the pa.s.sing of time, father was a perfect Depraved King by nature.
And having been born from the Supreme Demon Lord, I can be nothing but the strongest Demon Lord myself.

Next to father, I get down on one knee, and lower my head.
This is resolve. Today, I will become a Demon Lord, and never taste defeat for the rest of my life. No, even if I am to be defeated…

… The kneeling is unnecessary.

But this is the only compensation I can give father as the Prideful Kaiser, Heard Lauder.

“You’ve done enough. Let me bring an end to it. While this may sound arrogant, I will see to your end personally.”

“… I see.”

… So at least stay Supreme until you fall, Leigie the Depraved.

Part 3: How Appropriate for the Curtain Call

Sloth Skills boast powers that cover a large amount of ground.
(TL: As in usability, not distance)
But at the same time, it’s also said that it’s extremely difficult to acquire the sin.
In the first place, as long as they can fulfill their Sin without fighting, the skills they acquire are barely ever fit for battle.

I fill up my body with power. The fact that Leigie had easily destroyed the Gluttony King only served to raise my power higher.

The legs supporting the large, canopied bed break.
The moment the bed swayed from its lost balance, I let out a rending cry as I thrust forward.
My fist hits Leigie’s head oh so easily. The cracking sound of something breaking rings out.
The impact blows away the pillars supporting the canopy, and Leigie’s body is sent flying like a sc.r.a.p of paper.

A thunderous sound.

The entire building shakes greatly. As if the Castle of Shadows was crying out.
The extra strength anti-Lize barrier is broken easily, and even the wall itself is destroyed. What’s more, it isn’t just one or two walls.
In the opened hole, I see un.o.bstructed darkness. Around Leigie’s room, there are no other personal rooms.

I fiddle with the remains of the bed with my feet.
My condition is perfect. There is nothing obstructing me from fulfilling my Pride. The power swelling all over my body is the compilation of all of my own research, as well as the acc.u.mulated history I spent with my Master.

I take a deep breath, and exhale it.

I cannot give Sloth time.

I kicked the floor. My speed instantly reached its climax.

Speed faster than anyone.
Strength stronger than anyone.

… In order to fly higher than anyone.

Such is Superbia’s Original Sin.

Weapons are unnecessary. My body itself is perfection.
Images stream through my vision at the speed of sound.
It didn’t even take a second for me to reach Leigie who was sprawled out on the floor a ways away.
With my momentum, I kick his head. There’s no resistance. He dodged. No, he disappeared.
The Teleportation Skill possessed by Sloth. A skill that lets him transfer himself anywhere within his own territory.

His presence is behind me. Before I even sensed it, my body moved.
It was a high kick carrying forward all my momentum. The tip of my foot collides with Leigie’s head.
I understand. My thoughts understand. How many years, millennium, megaannum. As a result of my service to him, reading the incomprehensible Lazy King’s movements have become possible to me.

The unreadable theory behind his actions was only known to me.
My physical strength broke the ceiling, and a large hole was opened. Blocks as big as my head start to come down.

My body becomes heavy. It’s a skill to convert a Demon’s Longings to weight, and bind them. A Skill of Sloth.
I already know it. I activate 『Overrule』, and break through it without a problem.

What’s frightening is his tenacity, his vitality.
I should have delivered enough damage that it wasn’t strange if a normal Demon Lord was killed, but the VIT that let him activate a skill without issue is the characteristic of Sloth.

Then I just have to hit him with an even greater power head-on.

“… It hurts…”

A slow voice leaks out of the hole that was opened.
I concentrate my power.

Getting into a long range battle with him is foolish. I pierce the ground with my feet, and concentrate power on my core.

“Here I come.”

With my leap, the barrier breaks, and the floor caves in beneath me.
I load my body with explosive power, and jump through the hole in the ceiling.
What enters my eyes is the form of Leigie buried in a mountain of rubble. He oozes tears, as he holds his head. His injuries have already healed.
Seeing me almost instantly close the distance between us, he directs a surprised expression. As always, killing intent, blood thirst, or anything that could be called fighting spirit is completely absent in him.

“HaaAAAAAAAH!”

“Ku…

Yell. Roar.
Using all the power in my body, I send out a strike.
Leigie’s expression warped for the first time. At the same time, an invisible wall appeared around his body.

A Sloth Skill to erect a defense-raising barrier.
Useless. I already know of that one.

(TL Useless means Muda)

As my fist hits it, without offering any resistance, the barrier shatters like gla.s.s.
As long as I’ve Overruled it before, utilizing a barrier is the height of folly.
My heart circulates heat around my body.

Before my fist could touch Leigie’s chin, his figure vanished.
What a troublesome Skill. But a moving Sloth is a contradiction.
His use of that is one of the factors leading to his diminis.h.i.+ng Sloth.

“… Did I do something to you?”

There’s no need to ask. There’s no way our conversations will mesh.
I swung my hand upwards at the voice that came from my side.
Leigie used his arm to guard against it.
I hear his bones grate.
Among Sloth Skills, there’s one to completely shut down their already-slow reaction to pain. Leigie’s expression doesn’t seem to look pained anymore.
And even if I do injure him, with Leigie-sama’s vitality, he’ll heal it in an instant.

“Father, please rest already.”

“… Yeah.”

With eyes that conveyed, ‘What the h.e.l.l is this guy saying,’ he nodded.
He isn’t listening. We cannot communicate.
With this unstable footing, kicking would be difficult. On my clenched fists, I used a body strengthening Skill before throwing it out.

Leigie prepared his arms to take it.
There is no battle theory behind Leigie of Sloth. His attack techniques are laughably simple.

It is… suppression by pure power

A power strong enough to rip apart a normal Demon Lord… a ma.s.s of Soul.
In it, ordinary technique held no meaning, and he has no thoughts to utilize such technique.

With every blow, Leigie’s arms let out ominous sounds.

I’m pus.h.i.+ng him back.

But there isn’t any anguish on his face, and while I may be able to make him use up power with blows of this level, it isn’t enough to deal a decisive blow.
He’s too hard. But I knew that from the beginning.

The fact that I was pus.h.i.+ng back the Lord of Sloth served to strengthen my 『Overrule』 even further.  Power flows up from the depths of my body.
And finally, my kick breaks his guard, and Leigie is sent flying through the last layer of ceiling.

A blood-red sky, and the black structure of the Castle of Shadows… the fortress expanded as far as my vision would permit.
Once per day, I take it to look over it from on top of the tower. We’re not as high up as the tower, but the sight from up here isn’t something to be made fun of.
I’ve always felt a sense of resignation at the fact that this spectacle would crumble one day.

The soldiers keeping watch hurriedly came running to me at having the ceiling be penetrated.

“W-what happened, Heard-sama?”

“There is no need for the likes of you to mind it. Return to your post.”

“Y-yes. Understood sir!”

It’s all a trivial talk.
I leisurely look over the fortress, as I advance towards the falling Leigie.

“Father, don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

“… Yeah.”

Without even taking a glance at his surroundings, the motives behind his answers are something I’ll never understand.
So this is just self-satisfaction.

His suspicious eyes, his black, impure pupils look up at me.
Emotionless eyes. The eyes of a dead fish.
I harden the palm of my hand to create a blade shape with it.

(TL: He’s doing tegatana, , a position usually used to chop. In this instance, he’s using it to pierce)

“Next, I’ll be cutting.”

“… I give up.”

All of this is something I’ve seen too many times.
That conduct, fooled by his sloppy gesture, dozens of Demon Lords have fallen.

But for me, I, his son, am the only one who understands. This man actually pulls through when the time calls for it.
He needs no fighting spirit or killing intent. Just so that he can slack off further, Leigie uses his power.
Therefore, he hasn’t fled yet. Even though he could have jumped far away with his teleportation by now.

… It’s because he thinks running from me here holds no meaning.

Let it be so.
Thus is what signifies him as the Lord of Sloth

He doesn’t want to fight, but I’m a pain, so he’ll try and crush me.
His impure motives that paint out the Fighting Spirit of most Demons is the proof of his desire.
The contrast between him and what most would think of Sloth is what has made many Demons, Demon Lords fall. I always observed that aspect of him in great detail.

Even now, Leigie’s power is gradually declining. He’s acc.u.mulated enormous reserves, so it’s hard to notice, but while his power may seem close to infinite, it is infinite by no means.
If I retreated here, and challenged him again once my condition was perfect once more, I’ll bet I would be able to gain an even greater advantage.

But that choice is impossible. Leaving to gain an advantage?

Why must I draw back for a petty reason like that!?

“… Hm, you have no need to offer me that treatment. There’s no way I would ever lose regardless.”

“… Yeah, you’re the strongest.”

The flaming sun of the Demon World s.h.i.+ned on us with its blood red light.
It was a sight that had been there from the moment I was created, and at the same time, it’s a scene Leigie has looked upon for long before that.

Leigie speaks with a troubled voice.
At the same time, ma.s.ses of power are lowered on me from the sky.

『Sky Right Hand』 and 『Sky Left Hand』.

A telekinetic power that works in tandem with his arms. It’s a worthless skill used to pick up items without having to move, but its explosive power are a threat as they try to crush me.

But the ma.s.s of power dispersed. I 『Overruled』 that skill in a time long pa.s.sed. My preparations are perfect.
Leigie makes an obvious frown.

“… This is a pain.”

“… Hm, I think you just take life too easily, Father.”

It’s likely that in his endlessly long life, this is one of the first times he’s had one of his Skills nullified.
I’m the opposite. Because 『Superbia』 is a nature of pride, I already know most skills. The opponents I fight often try to make countermeasures for me, but I was able to crush them all head-on.

Father has merely lived life without aim. Just how useless of a truth.

In just a step, I made contact with him. I stomp on his head. There is resistance. There is, but he hasn’t been crushed.
I stick my hand into his shoulder.
It’s a dull feeling, as If I was cutting through metal. The level of hardness caused my palm to be the one creaking this time.
A wet and cold sensation. Leigie looked up at me with meaningless eyes, and looking at his shoulder, he raised a short scream.

It’s working. I’m able to pierce his defense.
I remove my hand from the hole in the shoulder, and shake off the blood on my hand before starting a series of consecutive attacks.
Leigie disappears. But my soul hardened through battle made me perceive his next location instantly.

Ten meters behind. That’s a distance I can span almost instantaneously.
As I turn around, I lunge with my hand blade.
It pierces through Leigie’s prepared arms, and fresh blood flies.

Slow. Way too slow.
He can probably follow me with his eyes. But his body that he rarely moves is unable to dodge.
As long as he doesn’t use that teleportation with high energy expenditure.

I nullify the 『Sky Hand』 he sends straight at me.
To still try and use it after coming to this point, does he really have no other offensive skills?
That seems right. A Demon’s Skills have rules. It’s impossible to specialize in both offense and defense at the same time.
And Sloth skills are made to spend time in Sloth. They’re mostly pa.s.sives, and few can be actively called upon.

Even without a sense of pain, thinking it was bad to take attacks consecutively, Leigie disappears again.
I perceive. A ma.s.sive power moved to the top of the tower.

On top of the tallest building within the Castle of Shadows.

Sprawled out on top of the conical roof, the eyes of Leigie as he looks down on me are sleepy, meaning he wasn’t leaving a break in his defenses.
The distance is a few hundred meters. But to me, that distance is close to Zero.
The second I was about to jump at him, a strange breaking sound resounded through the fortress.

A brown object stands up.

Much less an expression, its brown head doesn’t even have eyes, nose or mouth.
Its long and narrow body, as well as its long limbs were all made of dirt-like material, and by barely glancing over its body, it’s easy to see it was made to resemble human form.
No matter how vast the Demon World may be, I doubt there exists a Demon with this shape.

A Skill to produce a Doll that grows.
The skill that const.i.tutes the reason Leigie’s t.i.tle is Slaughterdolls.

『Slaughter Doll』.

I remember myself when I had just been born, and frown.

“… Hm, useless.”

There’s no way a freshly born Doll made by a hard-pressed Leigie would be a match for me.

Even if…

I look over the army of dolls being constructed around me without any emotions or sense of pain.

… their numbers surpa.s.s a hundred.

I bring my hand down on the closest Doll, and split it in two.
There was some resistance, but I don’t even need to dodge against things of this level.
I confirm the brown substance left on my hand.

“… Dirt… no, a Doll with sand as the base…”

He probably used the traces of sand that had built up on top of the fortress as the base to create them.
Truly, to be able to birth this much at once is a threat.

But for him to use up his own power for such a useless skill was an option I thought he wouldn’t choose.
Even is this skill was all he had left.

I look up at Father standing high in the heavens.

“… Father, is this supposed to be your final struggle…?”

Having been born first, there’s no way I’ll lose.
If you add on 『Superbia』’s characteristics, then more so.

The clay dolls rus.h.i.+ng at me are definitely fast, and their power isn’t weak.
But that’s it. Without any desire, and no experience.

But still, crus.h.i.+ng this amount will be a pain.
I close my eyes, and activate a skill.

『Hard Pressure』

A higher cla.s.s Pride Skill.
It’s a worthless skill to force others to kneel. But it’s a useful one for thinning out the weak.
Unable to stand the pressure, the limitless Dolls fell to the ground.
I step on the nearest Doll’s head, and crush it.
How useless. Or is it that he thought those numbers would be able to defeat me?

“… I’ll be up in a moment, Father.”

I put power into my legs. I circulate my magic. I deliver a strong kick to the stone pavement.
Mighty physical prowess. The pitiful clay dolls prostrated on the ground and everything else on earth is left behind me, and my field of vision instantly ascended.

… In the distant past, I’ve made it so I could fly anywhere.

Even if Father doesn’t lend me a hand.

I grab onto the tower’s pointed tip, to kill my momentum and stuck my feet into the roof tiles.
The sprawled out Leigie comes at me with quick movements I’ve never seen before. But even that is too slow.
By that time, my hand had already pierced father’s left breast… a Demon’s heart, the place where his Soul Core lay.
Leigie’s eyes distort in shock, as he looks at his chest.

“Good night, Father. Please leave the rest to me.”

“… Yeah…”

My hand has definitely crushed his heart.

His Abyss Zone fades.
When I removed my hand, the Lord of Depravity leisurely fell to the ground.
And like dried leaves, he began to fall down to the bottom of the tower.
I Overruled him. But I don’t feel the slightest sense of achievement.
Having fulfilled the final piece of my 『Pride』, my instincts told me I had finally reached Demon Lord Level.

At the very least, for now, let me offer a prayer to the Great Lazy King.
Thus, I will rule over everything, and offer it up to my late Master.

There is nothing more appropriate for the curtain call.

Part 4: … How Useless

In this world, everything is nothing but a trifle.
That little girl Kanon becoming the Great Demon King must be the end of the world, and with her trying to suppress not only the Heavens, but even the Demon World, this situation really is the worst.
For me, who even took down my Supreme Master, they’re no enemies of me. It’s obvious.

If it’s now, then even G.o.d can fall by my hand.

I clench the palm of my hand. My power has increased.
My Pride Tree which had stagnated because I was unable to become a Demon Lord suddenly experienced frightening growth.

Enlarging perception. The new Skill I obtained, 『Abyss Zone』 instantly spread to cover the Castle of Shadows that had lost its master.
Differing from the Acedia Father released, a Superbia power that seemed to push down on people from above.

But in it, I didn’t feel exaltation or anything. Not even a feeling of achievement.
Even though there should be nothing standing above me anymore.

“… Hm, everything is useless, I see.”

Not a single enemy for me exists within this Demon World.
Even the one selected as the most powerful Demon Lord, Kanon of Ruin… for me that’s known her since her childhood, I doubt she can rival me. For my Pride, it was an overwhelming predominance.

The Demons I pa.s.s look at me, and kneel as they lower their heads.
What useless folk. Without even proceeding their desires, they’re fools who content themselves in naught but what is given to them by others.

After fulfilling my pride, I only had one place to aim for.

I wandered to the Lord’s Throne Room. The throne that no one had ever sat in before stood there silently.
Metal that was exceedingly rare, even in the Demon World was skillfully worked on by artisans for many months and years to construct the jet-black throne.
I’ll bet it’s cleaned regularly. In that s.p.a.ce without a speck of dust, as if it were sleeping just like father, the air was filled with a quiet and tranquil atmosphere.

Without faltering, I lowered myself into the seat that had never been sat on once. The throne was merely hard, and cold.
I have no suitable enemies in this Demon World. I also don’t have the incentive to go bully that little girl Kanon.
I put my elbow on the armrest, and thought.

“If there’s nothing for me in the Demon World… then should I go invade Heaven…”

I recall the small, hateful, pure-white wings of G.o.d’s vanguard.
By nature, those ones have a large superiority complex against Demons. I’ll destroy them head-on. It’ll at least help kill some time.
And even in the heavens, it will resound in every direction.
My name. And the name of the Great King of Depravity.

The door is violently thrown open.
The one who entered was a crimson-haired Demon by the name of Lize Bloodcross. At the same time, like Kanon once was, she’s the woman who was Father’s inspector.
Her fiery glare that was like a raging fire incarnate, and her looks were that of an angry soul.
She’s a foolish female Demon who, of all things, asked a Superbia like me to preserve the lives of Deije and Medea, who had failed their mission.

“…! Heard Lauder. What is the meaning…”

“… Hm, Father has perished.”

“Perished!? Leigie of Sloth!? Just what could possibly…”

She’s a woman who says useless things.
There’s no way father could be taken down by an existence apart from mine.

“I killed him. Go tell that little girl Kanon. Leigie-sama’s authority… will be succeeded by me.”

I use Evil Eyes.
Lize’s body goes rigid.
I see, so this is 『Evil Eye』. This is the first I’m using it, but what a useless Skill.
Subjugating an opposing force holds meaning only if it is by one’s hand alone.

“You are… a Demon Lord!? Gu… Heard Lauder. Could it be that by killing your Lord…”

Killing one’s master. That is Superbia’s long-lived desire.
Pride become pride by overruling everything superior to them.

“You’re a slow woman, aren’t you. That’s what I just told you. There won’t be a second time. Go tell Kanon. Don’t bring trouble to my hand.”

“… Why did Leigie-sama… to the likes of you…”

What an obstinate woman.
I stand, and use a Skill.
The Skills I obtained upon reaching Lord Cla.s.s will definitely come into use in the upcoming war. There is nothing to be lost in training them.

My thoughts accelerate. The world stops for a moment.
My body is light.
In a single step, I approach her, grab her by the neck, and lift her.
It wasn’t until her neck was strangled that Lize showed surprise for the first time.

“Gu… wha… go…”

“I told you there wasn’t a second time… Hm, to be lead inspector at this level, their quality sure has dropped over the years.”

Frail. Way too frail. Compared to Leigie-sama, just how frail is this world?
If I just put in a little power, it feels everything will break.

Lize’s face is tinted purple. Her Flames of Wrath lick my arms, but for me who’s even Overruled Kanon’s flames, there’s no way it would work.

…Hm, useless. There’s not even any worth in killing her.

With one hand, I throw her at the wall. I did make sure to hold back. I doubt she’ll die from that.
You still have the crucial job of reporting my words to Kanon.

Everything is moving slowly.
This is one of the Skills of a Demon Lord of Pride.

『The Only Lord』

It greatly elevates one’s speed of perception, to make the world your own.
It’s the furthest land of pride that holds meaning only since I’ve trained my body to this level.

Me sitting back on the throne, and Lize hitting the wall happened almost simultaneously.
The room shakes greatly, and pebbles fall from up high.

The Castle of Shadows is, in itself, father’s mausoleum.
I’ll have to fix it up and renovate it. In place of a fortress, a splendid palace.

I’ll also have to reorganize the army.
Neither Medea nor Deije are here anymore.

Naturally, there’s also the option of me venturing forth alone.
The reason three brigades existed was largely because father never went out himself.

“… The world is in my hands, is it?”

Just how much value does the world hold?
If I get my hands on all of it, will I understand that? Just what was the Superbia Great Demon King of old thinking of when he tried to get his hands on it?
It sounds to me like a completely worthless notion, but so be it.
Dominate the entire world, and making my name known across it doesn’t sound bad as a temporary goal.

“… Heard-sama…”

“Enter.”

A reserved knock came from the door. I already recognize this existence. A demon Lord’s perception is far wider than a normal Demon’s. But even if I weren’t a Demon Lord, I probably would have noticed.
That’s just how excited that presence was.

The one who entered with a slightly stiff face was Hiero.
A Demon of Pride. The younger sister of Lorna of l.u.s.t, and a woman who pursues pride with a path different to mine.
Perhaps because the door was opened, or because a hole had been made in the wall, a cold air drifts in.

“… You crushed Leigie-sama, didn’t you.”

“Yeah, Leigie-sama was strong.”

“… Congratulations, your Demon Lord Excellency. I, Hiero will serve you with all my might.”

“… Hm, cease with the useless babble. What business do you have with me?”

“Ye… yes!”

Her expression as she kneeled was pale, and there are tears surfacing in her eyes. Even without looking at her, I can tell her arms and legs are shaking lightly.

Fear… is it?

What a useless Demon. Even if you hold reverence for the strong, if you remain fearful, you’ll never be able to Overrule them.
That is the lone taboo among Pride.

“The truth is… well…”

“Make it short. You won’t get another chance.”

“… Medea escaped.”

“… I see.”

I glare at Hiero. What a useless woman.
To let an Envy Demon that had weakened to that extent escape, just how incorrigible is she?
Disgrace. That is the most unforgivable deed to me. This doesn’t change even if the other side’s a Pride Demon like me.

I stand before her.
I understand the true colors of the fear on her face.
I’ve seen it countless times in my long years of life… The eyes of prey as they look upon their predator.

A smart woman.
She thinks much better than her sister.

And she is likely correct.
If she tried to run away for her failure, even if she fled to the greatest depths of h.e.l.l, I would chase her down and kill her.
Kill her with all certainty. Slay her gruesomely. Make her regret being born into this world.

But since she reported it herself, I’ll bury her in a single blow.

“Let’s hear your final words.”

What returned from Hiero’s lips wasn’t a plea for life.
With a shaking voice, she looked up at me.

“… Please tell my just one thing. After overruling even Leigie-sama, what is there left for you to do, Heard-sama.”

“… Hm, that’s obvious, is it not? I’ll…”

… Take the world in my hand, and have Leigie-sama’s name ring true through it.

When I was about to say that, Hiero let out a light sneeze.
I knit my brow. Seeing my expression, she hurriedly makes an apology.

“I-I deeply apologize. It’s just that… it’s so cold…”

Hiero holds her arms, and not out of fear for me, shakes her body.

It definitely is cold. Before I noticed it, Frost had begun to set in on the floor. The room’s temperature is already well below freezing point.
The hole in the wall is quite far, and until a little while ago, it shouldn’t have been this cold.
This is a clearly abnormal situation.

“… Strange. What is happening?”

If I look back on my few million year of existence, I don’t think something like this has happened before.
Unlike Hiero, as a Demon Lord, I have a Resistance to cold. This level poses no problem.
But it’s unsettling that I don’t know the cause.

Hiero sneezes once more, and offers another excuse.

“… T-today sure is cold, isn’t it…”

“… Don’t be stupid, there’s no way the temperature can drop this low in the middle of the day.”

In the first place, even normal Demons should have enough Resistances to let them pay no mind to fluctuations in temperature on the level of natural phenomena.
I probe through everywhere within my Zone.
But searching with a Skill I was using for the first time didn’t really feel right in my hands. The further I tried to look, the duller my senses became.

Abnormal Weather? It definitely is winter, but this is…

Lize finally gets up from the crushed wall. Her hair clings to her face due to the blood flowing from it, but I can see a sharp glare coming from the gaps in it.

“Heard Lauder. I won’t accept it. To kill your lord…”

“… Hm. I never had the intention of getting you to accept it.”

The right to decide lies with Kanon alone.
And even if Kanon doesn’t accept me, then I just have to rule everything and all will be settled.
Lize’s body is clad in crimson flame. The frost on the ground instantly evaporates, and disappears into the air.

It’s a higher cla.s.s Ira Skill.
『Breath of Flame』.

What useless power. For you, who hasn’t even become a Demon Lord, you won’t even be able to scratch me.
That’s the simple gap in our magic. Unless the difference is great enough, you cannot overturn an Overrule.

Our eyes clash. Compared to Kanon, just how thin is her Wrath. Diminutive. Your Wrath is lacking greatly in something called weight.

Onto the Raging Lize’s side, Hiero shook as she walked.
Based on her positioning, I thought she was going to ask for help, but she just began warming herself.

I look at her dumbfounded. Lize is the same. Hiero’s eyes are open wide, and she squats.

“… What the h.e.l.l are you doing?”

“…Uu… it’s cold…”

The form of her shaking as she held up the palms of her hand to the flame could only be looked on as a joke, given the situation, but the individual was quite desperate.

But even so… the temperature has fallen even lower than before.

Lize doesn’t matter anymore. I can kill her in an instant, and her attacks can’t even be compared to a deteriorated Kanon. I can Overrule her.
But this cold is dangerous. That’s what my acc.u.mulated and sharpened experience was telling me.
As she shakes, Hiero looks up at me.

“… Heard-sama, did you properly deliver a finis.h.i.+ng blow to Leigie-sama?”

“I crushed his Soul Core. He’s perished without a doubt.”

Once their Soul Core heart is destroyed, a Demon cannot continue to exist.

“Then why is it so cold… it’s definitely related in some way…”

I understand what she’s trying to say.
Let it be so.
With this timing, it’s unthinkable that there’s no correlation.
But there should be no Sloth Skill to drop temperature. At the very least, I’ve never bared witness to one in my many years of life. In the first place, a Demon’s Desire can take shape in the Flames of Wrath, but there is no variant that controls ice.

The moment I begun to frown, I sensed something unbelievable happen.
As if a pillar of ice had been inserted into my spine, a cold impact ran up my body.

“… My 『Zone』 was broken, you say…”

“… Kusu kusu, see~ it’s because you didn’t see Leigie-sama off ‘til the end… achoo.”

“… You, I’m surprised you can laugh at a time like this…”

The atmosphere is repainted.
From a heavy pressurized air… to a frozen, dark and gloomy one.
It was definitely not the familiar 『Acedia』 of my father.
It’s not Greed or l.u.s.t or Wrath or Gluttony or Envy or even Pride.

Lize’s face distorts.

“Wh at… this presence is…”

“What Demon Lord is this… no, is it even a Demon Lord?”

The instant I perceived it, my legs arbitrarily began to race towards it.
My vision flows by with great speed.

I hold no interest in either Lize or Hiero.
There’s no way any interest would rise towards existences I could just kill off at any time.
Silver curtains had been lowered on the Castle of Shadows.
White piled up snow, and large pillars of ice that even extended to the ceiling.

And… the suspended form of the retainers.
With pale expressions of fear, the hardened retainer’s body shook.
Cold… He’s been completely frozen.

“… Hm, this definitely isn’t natural.”

The magic lurking here is the same as what broke my Zone.

Sloth and Greed and l.u.s.t and Gluttony and Pride, and even Wrath that had the corresponding flames to deal with it, everything had been frozen indiscriminately.
The closer and closer I got to the ma.s.s of power, the lower the temperature fell.

On the way forward, I spotted a familiar Demon, and stopped for a moment.
Lorna had been frozen with a peaceful expression as she pushed a cart.
There was no fear on her face. Without being given the time to fear, she had been frozen instantly.

What frightening power.

This output rivals the flames of Ira.

This scope rivals the wave of Gula.

Interesting.
How suitable for my first opponent as a Demon Lord.

I’m starting to see the future my new power holds.
I can’t help but start to see it take shape.

Hiero already said it, but for an opponent to be able to use skills with this output, if you ignore the possibility of an outside invader, there’s only one within the Castle of Shadows.
No… there should only be one.

The door had been frozen shut with pale blue ice.
I forcefully ripped open the door to Father’s room.

It was as if all time in the room had stopped.

On the sight that entered my eyes, I felt my own heart become astir.

Everything was covered in frost, and the temperature pierced even through my cold Resistance. Within that frozen land, a single man sat on an armchair with his knees hugged close to his body.
It’s definitely my father, whose Soul Core should have been crushed. It’s so quiet I cannot even tell whether he’s alive or dead.
… I try to take a step forward, and instinctively recall my leg.
I look down on my foot, and open my eyes wide.

“… What… is this…”

My leg had been completely frozen over.
I have no feeling in it. There’s not even any pain. As if it had been reduced to inorganic substance, its smooth and s.h.i.+ny surface catches the light in a dubious way.
I try putting the palm of my hand to it. It’s extremely hard, and cold. A dim pain runs up my arm.
Resistance type skills generally grow the more you take damage from that attribute. I did have a resistance to the flames of Wrath, but I only have a low level one for ice.

If you ask why… of the skills permitted to Demons by the Seven Original Sins, from the start, there were no ice attribute attacks.
I unintentionally sighed.

“Father… for you to be hiding a trump card this severe…”

It’s a power I never antic.i.p.ated.
My sigh freezes in the air, and a faint sound rings out as it falls to the floor as small beads of ice.
I take a step into the room. A silver world close to absolute zero. Without sound, or dust or anything to exist to taint the pure air.
By the time my half-frozen feet had stepped forward, ice quickly began encroaching all over my body.
It’s as I thought. The temperature in this room is on another level from that outside. The area ahead’s sealed off with a barrier, it seems.

“… But there is nothing more suitable for the one that is Master.”

That’s right. I thought I had won all too easily. I thought that there was no way that was all he had.
I mean, when it looked like it was over, there wasn’t a single wound on my body.

The encroaching ice stops.

As if I would be done in by something like a barrier.
My pride alone is the only thing I’ve taken with me into this dead world.

Every time I take a step ahead, a wave of power burns my skin.
Its outputs falls in no way short of Wrath. The zone doesn’t permit resistance, and this frozen-over stagnant world can be none other than Father’s perfect world.
A cruel world where neither my speed nor my power hold any meaning.

If I don’t exert all of my power, I would turn to ice in an instant. Just like the Demons outside.

“… Well, well… how useless am I…”

But breaking everything head on is my Superbia.
Plans are unnecessary before my Pride.

My memories resurface.
Always alone, the one who stood above me. My absolute creator.
No matter how much his actions and appearance were of Sloth, that all was irrelevant.
The power of Sloth. Just having that was enough.

Ah, just how strong, how beautiful it is.
In the vast Demon World, and even the heavens, there cannot exist something this complete, this beautiful.

And that’s exactly why I have meaning.

“… I will surpa.s.s this.”

I really know not when to give up.
I don’t know by what theory he still lives when his Soul Core was crushed, but once more, I’ll sink you into the depths of Sheol.

I declare to my Master, whose head is lowered into the knees he hugged to himself.
His unmoving arms, which were already white, have surpa.s.sed that, and they’ve become transparent like ice.
White frost has descended on his hair as black as mine.

His form was so lifeless, I almost lost interest in attacking.
The distance is half a meter. If I extend my hand, I can reach him easily. But his fleeting existence was one that felt as if it would break if I set my hand on it.
At that moment, father’s face slowly rose.

Like gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s, his emotionless eyes looked at me without any meaning. The glint in them had much more color than before, and his eyes were filled with much more dark despair.
Even for one who had served him forever, it was the first time I saw that expression.

And Father’s mouth that barely did any work opened ever-so-slightly, and began to move.