“—Young Master! The item you requested!!”
Gurba’s loud voice reached the Corpse King’s ears clearly.
Instantly.
“Fu-chan, the location!”
“The Guild! The Guild!!”
“I knew it!”
Confirming the location of the source, the Corpse King glided just inches above the ground.
“Garm, we’re going to save them!”
“~~! Yes!!”
He picked up Garm, who had been worried about “that child”—who seemed to be a Primordial Species—and then asked:
“Nifl, how much time?”
“Only about five minutes until reconstruction is complete.”
“That’s plenty! Nidhogg! In the meantime, take care of the mid-tier demons!!”
“Understood.”
The Corpse King flew through the air, heading for the Guild.
“—Huh, so that’s the Corpse King?”
“Mm.”
“I came after Furcas, but I didn’t expect to see him here. By the way, what was that dome? I broke it because it was in the way.”
Suddenly, those voices rose from behind Nidhogg and Nifl.
Two young people, a boy and a girl, stood there.
Crimson and Azure.
They were not ordinary. Their majesty was evident just by looking at them.
The two Helheim members braced themselves against the mysterious intruders—when suddenly:
“He looks… a bit more pathetic than I thought.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, if he calls himself a King but isn’t in the ‘Hall of Reid Kings,’ it means he’s beneath us, right? He’s being boosted by a spirit’s power… but he himself isn’t all that—”
Snap.
The boy’s words were cut off by a sound like a clap of hands.
Nifl’s left hand had struck Nidhogg’s right hand.
—Coordinate setting.
In a fluid motion, Nidhogg gathered magical power in her right hand—and swung with “full power” into empty space.
“Huh?”
As the boy’s face distorted in confusion at the incomprehensible sight, Nifl placed a hand on his back.
“Teleport.“
“What? ———Bugyooh!!“
The 9th Seat of the Hall of Attacking Kings, [Retsu-oh] Ander, was pierced through the stomach by the Black Dragon’s full power.
Nifl activated Teleport on the target, setting the coordinates to Nidhogg’s right hand.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Nidhogg finished all her preparatory movements before Nifl’s magic even triggered, slamming her Tyrant Strike into the target.
An unavoidable first-move kill. A combo of the world’s highest-class Eight Precepts (Cheats) that could never be anticipated unless known beforehand.
However, a film of water had formed over Ander’s stomach. [Water king] Lyara had reacted even to that speed and deployed defensive magic, while Ander himself had managed to wedge his greatsword in at the last moment.
“Guhhh… Hahaha! I don’t know who you are, but you’re one strong la—”
—Nidhogg’s Tyrant Strike increased its output by another level.
Nidhogg’s [Unique Ability]: [Penetration]. A tyranny of the strongest race that completely ignored the effects of magical power.
“A film of water is—no more than a sheet of paper before my Tyrant Strike.”
Her eyes turned black, her fangs were bared—and flames leaked from the corners of her mouth.
The Strongest of the Eight Precepts twisted the stomach of Ander, who had touched her “Reverse Scale”—
BOOM!!!!
She created a crater with him at the center.
—Silence.
“A-Ander…?”
Lyara gasped in shock at the sight of Ander looking up at the sky with his eyes rolled back.
“Take this away quickly—let no monkey-like creature insult my King. Isn’t that right, inferior race?”
Nidhogg’s toe lightly kicked the unconscious Ander, rolling him over to Lyara’s side.
“The ‘Hall of Raid Kings,’ was it? Insolent humans who call themselves Kings based on a ‘strength’ that gets replaced every few years below the 5th seat. I’ve disliked you for a long time—shall I kill you both right here?”
Ander had unknowingly stepped on a landmine.
“Tell the old man in the 1st Seat—to not neglect the training of his pet dogs.”
The Evil Dragon, Nidhogg.
Lyara realized that the dragon frequently mentioned as the worst calamity in heroic tales was manifesting right before her eyes as a female monstrosity.
I’m lucky not to be killed, Lyara thought, kicking the careless Ander as if to vent her frustration.
But Nidhogg clicked her tongue.
She had meant to kill him with that punch. And yet, the boy was still alive.
Seeing him endure a full-strength strike from a Dragon with his bare body, she recognized the anomaly of the monkeys known as the “Hall of Raid Kings.”
■
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Above the Guild.
Gurba ran up to me as I landed, holding a large water jar in his arms.
The interior of the Guild, where evacuation was complete, was deserted and looked as if it had been ransacked by robbers.
“As requested, I have received the Holy Water from Zeno-dono, Young Master.”
“Received…?”
“Details later. Settling the matter is the first priority.”
“King, hurry!”
Garm pulled my right arm with an expression that looked like she was about to cry.
And then,
“Hel-kun… Fu-chan saw ‘that child’ too… help them quickly.”
Even Hraesvelgr pulled my left arm, leading me there.
Part of the floor had been peeled away. Exposed beneath it was a familiar ore.
“Black Onyx, is it? No way… is the entire space under the floor filled with this…?”
Gurba, who was likely the most knowledgeable about the value of ores, let out a rare voice of pure disgust.
“Can you break it?”
“Hmm… a unique ability that processes all materials; I didn’t think it would be useful in a place like this.”
[Unique Ability]: [Template of Gods and Demons].
Anything Gurba struck using his ability would have its properties changed, no matter what it was.
Normally, he used this to craft Demon Armaments. It had no use outside of blacksmithing, but…
“Hmph—Aaaah!!”
Clang!!
The hard sound produced by the small hammer echoed strangely, like a bell… ring, ring…
Squelch… The surface of the Black Onyx distorted, and something like mud began to bubble and boil.
The moment a hole opened—the stench of death permeated the Guild.
“Ugh… blegh.”
I reflexively gagged from the physiological revulsion.
I covered my nose with my cloak and began pouring the water from the jar into the hole.
The clear Holy Water turned into a thick, metallic surface like mercury, and the way it sucked up the curse was horribly eerie.
The inside of the hole was very dark, and I couldn’t see the bottom.
“King, just a little more…”
“Yeah… whew…”
The “child” Garm and Fu-chan said they saw.
I knew they were a Primordial Species, but… to have been trapped in a place like this for years.
The story Kaguya told about the “Beast God Faith” crossed my mind, tightening my chest.
I knew from looking at Garm and Nidhogg. Primordial Species had intelligence no different from humans. To imagine a child like that unable to die, spending hundreds of years in this dark, cramped place… an uncontrollable anger bubbled up within me.
After continuing to pour the Holy Water for a while, it finally remained clear, no longer absorbing the curse.
The Holy Water must have completely purified the curse trapped in the Black Onyx.
“Alright. Garm, Fu-chan, let’s go in. Gurba, stand by in case of an emergency.”
“Be careful, Young Master.”
“I will.”
As I prepared to jump into the hole to the basement, Garm dove in ahead of me.
“Hel-kun, carry me.”
“Yes, yes.”
Holding Hraesvelgr, I jumped down. The thick, viscous sensation of the Holy Water that had absorbed the curse hit the soles of my feet as it welcomed me.
There stood a crude shrine and a torii gate, looking as if they were made by a child.
I set Hraesvelgr down and moved through a low-ceilinged side tunnel where I couldn’t even walk without crouching—Garm was already kneeling, staying close to the child.
“…A cat?”
Waiting for me was a tiny kitten.
It was so dirty I couldn’t tell what its original fur color was. It was emaciated, yet it continued to breathe shallowly.
It was shivering, and I couldn’t tell if its eyes were open or closed.
A Cait Sith. Among the Primordial Species, they were relatively weak, but in exchange, they were the race most abundant in magical power.
They rarely showed themselves to humans and were known as beasts of good luck.
What was unique about this child were its tails.
Two tails, reminiscent of a Nekomata. Perhaps this change had occurred because it had lived for so many years.
…Cait Siths were also a race hunted by humans for their weakness and rarity.
“…Hyuu…”
The child let out a single, raspy cry, as if its throat were crushed.
To think such a small body was made to carry the negative magical energy of hundreds or thousands of lives.
I approached the child slowly, so as not to startle it.
■
I thought a God had appeared.
“It’s okay… the King is here.”
A girl who smelled just like me gently stroked me.
It’s a dream… I’ve had dreams like this many times.
Someone saves me from this hell—and then, the dream ends.
The next time I blink, I won’t be able to hear this kind voice anymore.
“…Hyuu…”
Don’t come… I don’t want to have hope.
And yet.
“Uu… Kyuu…”
Save me… I found myself wishing.
Then, I blinked once.
When I opened my eyes again, no one should have been—
“…—You did well. You worked hard.”
I was wrapped in warmth.
Gently, as if touching something fragile… softly, as if holding something precious.
That person held me tight.
“Drink this… you’ll feel better.”
Water.
The moment I saw it, my body remembered its thirst.
“Nn… nnh, nnh.”
With enough force to bury my face in the water, I desperately continued to drink.
Tears began to overflow.
I had probably been crying the whole time. But when my body ran out of moisture, it just stopped.
Is this… a dream?
“It’s not a dream… Garm was like that too. But it’s real, truly real.”
The girl’s tail wrapped around me.
My body felt lighter and lighter.
–Avenge the resentment… avenge the resentment… u… ra…
The voices were disappearing.
Starting to move.
The world was regaining its color.
When I looked up, that person was looking down at me with a smile.
“You’re okay now.”
That day, I met a God.
■
The reconstruction of the Beast Curse stopped.
Watching the magical energy vanish like mist, everyone realized.
The nightmare of the Sleepless Country was over.
“It’s over… it’s over…!”
[————OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!]
The cheers of the people echoed through the sky.
“There were some strange intruders, but… everything’s fine! It’s our King’s victory!!”
“Let’s go to the Corpse King, Useless Dragon.”
“Hmph, I’m going first!”
“There’s no way you can go faster than me…”
Nidhogg glared back at Nifl’s exasperated face.
But there was no ill will in the air.
The cause of the Sleepless Country’s nightmare.
The severing of ties with Hraesvelgr.
Our King had resolved them all brilliantly. The two of them looked at each other and laughed brightly.
Kaguya, having witnessed the end of everything, squinted at the morning sun shining from outside the dome—which had completely disappeared shortly after Seere’s death.
“…I have received a debt I can never repay, Corpse King.”
“Oh, what’s this? Does Gremory like Shiou-kun now too~?”
“…I suppose so. To put it simply, I ‘want’ him.”
At Kaguya’s blunt statement, Furcas laughed for a while—and then…
“No way. Shiou-kun is my—and the Majesty’s—favorite.”
He dropped those ominous words right there.
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
