"Now that I think about it, where"s Rigor?"Lucille asked to particularly no one. She liked the way he was earnest in the things he was doing and she knew about his ma.s.sive potential.
"He"s preparing for after duty as always. The incapacitated demons aren"t going to get in healing coffins themselves."
"It"s a bit of a shame. I"ve always wondered what his fully Demonized form looked like."
"He"s told me that it is..."
Clyde paused, not entirely sure how to describe it. During the time, Rigor had spoken with much fervour but Clyde wasn"t the type to gush about the one thing about themselves they thought were incredibly cool.
"...Quite a sight to behold."
"I wonder if that was meant in secretly cool fashion or the embarra.s.singly pitiful fashion."
"Your Majesty, you know--"
Before Clyde could give a quick snide remark, a tiny voice from the embrace of his arms interrupted him.
"Hey, stupid Queen."
"Stupid?! Such insolence--"
Clyde raised his voice at the child inside his arms. He glared at Eva and she swore that she could feel her little back scorching but she did her best not to mind it. No matter how many times she cried in her mind at her foolishness for saying such rude words.
She was merely following what Felicia had told her once before. If you want to get a person"s attention, be rude to them.
"...Fine, child-endangering Queen."
Lucille raised an eyebrow at Eva"s words. She didn"t remember her being this p.r.i.c.kly when they had first met. She was more like a normal child back then.
"Or was she really? She hadn"t immediately started bawling out for her parents after all."
Eva turned to Lucille. Her eyes were still that of a child so she wouldn"t be able to clearly see the battle happening down there anyway. Not to mention the fact
"If Papa is a descendant of yours... And you"re a Demon..."
"Does that mean Papa can turn like you too?"
Eva"s eyes scanned Lucille"s current form. She wasn"t overly frightened by her current appearance since not much changed. It also reminded her of a character in one of the books she"s read.
Lucille was intentionally only keeping the changes to such an extent because personally, she didn"t like her fully Demonized form too much. She put a hand to her chin and thought for a bit.
"Hm? No, it shouldn"t be. After all, the bodies of the people of the〈Avant Zone〉don"t have any sort of magical affinity whatsoever... Wait."
Lucille then realized just one, teensy, important fact. The body Cole was in...
Was not one of the〈Avant Zone〉.
Lucille clutched her head, unable to believe her oversight.
"Oh f.u.c.k again. Why does my intelligence suddenly drop at times like this? I"m normally quite a competent ruler? Or maybe that"s the field my intelligence applies too?"
Lucille calmed herself down, she could study this later. She had a lot of time and there were other matters she had and could focus on. She decided to put the thought off for later and paid attention to the battle royale happening on palace grounds.
Cole was starting to get tired swinging the humble spear around. He decided to go with something with a bit more power and kick for a change of pace.
"〔Hollow: Halberd〕"
The black spear in his hands shortened slightly and changed into the intimidating sight of a halberd.
Cole wielded his new weapon as if it was as light as a feather. He could freely manage its weight since it was made entirely out of mana. Light enough to swing around like a stick and then suddenly the heavy power of an axe would come flying your way.
He could"ve gone with the reliable form or a spear but...
Cole could feel the bloodthirsty beast inside him growing. He didn"t just want a kill count, he wanted to see heads fly. But even so, Cole"s mind stayed composed and every action he took still carried the same clear cut coldness he had when doing anything really.
It was something Cole never really understood about himself. Whenever he would find himself on the battlefield, facing against the enemy"s soldiers, the same feeling would well up in his chest.
Fighting someone one on one, directing the army from a safe distance, silencing simple-minded fools.
It was never the same. He would wear his cold and indifferent self and would do what had to be done. He would follow his orders and see his missions and a.s.signments to their end.
Regret? Remorse? Guilt?
Cole felt all of those. He would bear those feelings on his shoulders for eternity if need be. Even with the excitement and enjoyment, he was faced with the horrors of the aftermath. He remembered every single face, twisted in fear and dread at their imminent death.
It was very different from the nearly euphoric expressions on the
Facing their elated faces and feeling the smile that had blossomed on his face the moment he had entered the fray, Cole already knew that he was no different from the sinners d.a.m.ned in this place.
It wasn"t some kind of dramatic realization, he knew it straight from the start.
"After all, I"m a..."
Screams and howls of both terror and chaos mixed together. Popping in between Cole"s thoughts and his enemy"s demise.
"A monster built for battle."
Underneath his mask, Cole"s face showed a grin that revealed his inner madness. His swirling black eyes threatened to devour everything within its sight, just like a neverending abyss. And due to the presence of his mask, the laughter that soon exploded out sounded nearly robotic.
Was it mockery against himself or against the place that had made him so?
Either way, it didn"t matter. In the palace courtyard, the city, the outskirts and in the wastelands of the〈Demon Realm〉, there was always someone that was laughing. The reason didn"t matter, they couldn"t change the fact that they had fallen into the〈Demon Realm〉.
And the only thing they could do was create even more sinners or wreak havoc once a year.
The day continued with manic laughter and howls of insanity welling up throughout the sky. Eventually, the eternally purple sky had drifted into a dark crimson before pitch-black covered the sky. There weren"t even any stars to accompany the lonely black sky.
As it ended, Cole stood atop a tower of mangled bodies. Despite how gruesome their "deaths" had looked like, not a single face had been stilled in fear.
This was the〈Demon Realm〉, and he was a perfect fit.
A tea party of madmen and women pretending to be able to live in a normal society. Filled with lords, kings, queens and the almighty Emperor or Empress. Home to people who have ruined the lives of dozens and maybe even the thousands.
And this was their special celebration of the confusion in their hearts. It was why the day was called Pandemonia.
It was the wild and noisy confusion of both their bodies...
...and the screams of their pitiful, regretful hearts.