Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“W-what do we do now, Master? She looks really mad…”

Nika, who had been so confident a moment ago, now clung to me with a worried expression, her face having changed in just a few seconds.

“You didn’t think about the consequences before provoking her, did you?”

“It’s not that… it’s just that she was so dirty and despicable, leaving out all the bad things she did and talking nonsense, so I…”

Nika tried to make excuses but eventually gave up and burst into tears, sobbing and clinging to me. I glanced over Nika’s shoulder to check on Astaroth.

“I’m the Demon King! I’m the Succubus Queen! I should have been both! It should have been me!”

Astaroth was so enraged that her head seemed to be boiling, causing it to lose her sanity, or perhaps there was another reason. Instead of charging directly at us, she stood there, screaming at the top of her lungs.

It was better this way. The more she lost her sanity, the more openings she would reveal, and with Nika and Elysier by my side, I wouldn’t have to fight alone. I stood up and teased Nika lightly.

“You provoked her because you wanted to deal with her yourself. Isn’t that right? So, I’ll just watch from here?”

“What?! Then I’ll die! Please save me, Master! It’s Nika’s fault! I won’t act on my own again!”

“Would I really ask you to fight something like that? Just get away from here. She might charge at us at any moment.”

Elysier pushed Nika away as she tried to cling to me again. It seemed like Elysier was also worried that Astaroth might charge at any moment, so she reluctantly let her go.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t really ask you to fight something like that. I’ll take care of it.”

I stood up. My left hand was still throbbing. Despite my will, my fingers twitched uncontrollably, and I rubbed them to calm them down. Elysier looked at me with concern.

“Are you well, my lord? You’ve had a very unpleasant expression since earlier. Also…”

His deep pink eyes glanced at my left hand. It seemed that she, too, was having trouble maintaining her composure.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about using it, and it brought back old memories. I’ve been hesitating, but it’s not easy.”

“If it’s difficult, there’s no need to force yourself toㅡ”

“What if I kill her half-heartedly and she resurrects again?”

“. . .”

“And, it seems difficult to fight without getting you two involved. Think positively. It just means that Elysier, you were that strong as a Demon King.”

“How can I think positively when all that strong power has been taken away, causing this mess? This is absurdly pointless encouragement.”

Elysier’s eyes were filled with worry, but she didn’t try to stop me any further. She seemed to realize that it would be futile once I had made up my mind.

Fortunately, just as our conversation ended, Astaroth lifted her head. In that short time, she had transformed into something closer to a monster than a demon.

Her eyes had turned completely black, her eyelids half-flipped. Its arms and legs were covered in dark red demonic energy, and the demonic sword was even more bizarrely twisted than usual.

Her hair writhed as if each strand had a mind of its own, and her wings were also consumed by the dark red energy.

The only things that hinted at her original form as a succubus were her figure and the faint traces of her lewd outfit.

“What’s wrong, aren’t you going to attack? Are you scared because you were mocked by the Queen?”

As Elysier and Nika moved as far away as possible, I created some distance to ensure they wouldn’t be caught in blind attacks and casually swung Eternity.

Mentioning the Queen’s status had the desired effect. Astaroth roared and charged at me. I blocked the swing of the demonic sword.

-Bang!

Or rather, I was flung away by the impact.

The moment Eternity collided with the demonic sword, an immense force shattered the bones in my wrist, and my legs were sent tumbling and rolling across the ground as if they had been flicked away. Despite using body enhancement and the Mana Breathing Technique, I was still no match.

The already absurdly destructive power had increased further now that Astaroth had lost her sanity. With every step she took, the ground cracked like thin ice and shook as if an earthquake had struck.

I dodged a vertical slash from the demonic sword, and a fan-shaped canyon of immense size appeared right next to me, extending to the horizon, so deep that the bottom was invisible.

‘Good. Keep raging.’

I took advantage of the openings she revealed as she attacked, blocking and getting flung away, regenerating my shattered bones and mangled body in the process, buying time. From time to time, I provoked her by mentioning Nika and Elysier, striking a nerve.

I must not attempt to counterattack recklessly. I had to wait for the biggest opening and end it all in one strike.

-Bang

I deliberately thrust my aching left arm into the path of the attack. My left shoulder was torn off, or rather, completely shredded. I immediately cast a healing spell and regrew a new arm.

I had to do this to minimize the impact on my combat abilities.

‘Just a little more.’

With every exchange of blows, my bones broke, my organs were shattered, and my left hand throbbed relentlessly. I somehow managed to defend against Astaroth’s attacks, willing her patience to break before mine.

“Aaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!”

After suffering injuries that would have killed me hundreds of times over if not for the healing magic, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived.

Astaroth raised her sword high above her head. An immense power, far greater than anything it had displayed before, began to condense in the bizarrely twisted demonic sword.

‘Now.’

I channeled mana into my legs and pushed off the ground. Even with my body enhanced to its maximum, I couldn’t withstand the backlash, and my leg bones shattered. I healed them with healing magic and recalled Eternity.

Astaroth, who had been relentlessly attacking and defending just moments ago, was caught off guard by my sudden offensive move. Her eyes, bloodshot and swollen, widened in surprise.

‘I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it… I…’

I kept repeating these words like a mantra in my mind, gritting my teeth and bearing the pain in my head and the relentless trembling in my left hand. As I did so, I channeled the Holy Spear into my left hand.

‘Huh?

The Light…

‘This is… Mus…’

As soon as I recognized the familiar feeling emanating from the power Astaroth was drawing upon, a deep-seated hatred began to rise from the depths of my mind, consuming my sanity.

I had seen it too many times, and because of that, I could never forget. Memories long buried deep within my heart began to surface one by one.

Savior.

‘Savior of the humans.’

“Ugh…”

My head hurt so much that I couldn’t bear it. My legs lost their strength, and I stumbled, using my hand to steady myself as I almost fell to the ground.

Due to my forward momentum, my fingers bent and shattered, and the skin on my palm was torn off, but compared to the primal pain in my head, it was negligible. All I could think was that something was being shredded.

‘Why…’

What was this demon, this thing that had possessed Astaroth, that caused me to feel the power of the previous world’s Demon King, whom I had killed with my own hands, within the demonic sword?

As I had this thought, the demonic sword, imbued with a power that was all too familiar to me, was brought down towards my head.

.

.

.

Astaroth sensed something amiss.

When Mira Crate, who had been charging at an incredible speed, suddenly clutched his head in pain and smashed into the ground, Astaroth initially thought nothing of it.

Seizing the opportunity, Astaroth swung her sword, confident of victory as the blade was about to make contact with Mira Crate’s head.

But.

“It… can’t be…”

Astaroth couldn’t understand why Mira Crate, who should have been reduced to nothingness, was unharmed, why the world, which had been torn apart by a mere slash, remained intact despite its full-powered downward strike.

And it didn’t understand why a light was gathering in Mira Crate’s right hand.

“It… can’t be…”

With a tiny whisper, a brilliant light exploded.

It was a light that Astaroth couldn’t comprehend with her meager intellect, a light that seemed not of this world. Astaroth felt truly overwhelmed by that light.

The anger and greed that had consumed her sanity suddenly vanished, and her rationality returned. Like a river meeting the ocean and realizing its own insignificance, Astaroth realized how insignificant her power was.

‘No.’

Astaroth clenched her teeth as she realized the thoughts that had just crossed her mind. The motivation that had driven her this far began to stir again, overwhelming her sanity with desires.

The desire for life. The desire for the Queen’s position. The desire for the Demon King’s throne. The desire for power. The desire for authority. These desires swirled chaotically within her.

“I don’t want to do that again…”

“Huh?”

It was a futile effort. Even the desires it had forcibly summoned were instantly scattered by the light in Mira Crate’s hand.

Overwhelming fear was imprinted on Astaroth’s chest, which had been filled only with anger, hatred, and desire. She instinctively realized that she couldn’t win against that light, no matter what she did.

The jealousy that had exploded with the appearance of the new Queen, the jealousy that had compelled it to reveal herself despite knowing that she should wait for a more perfect opportunity, melted away powerlessly.

Free from jealousy and anger, her rational mind quickly reached a conclusion.

‘I need to run away.’

No, this wasn’t running away. It was a tactical retreat. It was a strategy to divert attention by targeting weaker beings first, as a direct confrontation was impossible.

So what Astaroth was about to do wasn’t running away; it was a strategy, a tactic, and a way to win the war. That’s why Astaroth tried to open a dimensional portal to escape.

“W-why is this…”

Before Astaroth realized it couldn’t draw out any more demonic energy, she tried to gather more power. Nothing changed. Denying the situation, she tried to gather power again, but then she realized something.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t draw out more power; the demonic energy had been melted away by that light. Just as light banishes darkness, and the sun melts the snow, it was natural for the demonic energy to melt away in the presence of that light.

Astaroth knew of a concept that possessed such power.

‘…The Holy Sword?’

As Astaroth was shocked by the possibility that had come to mind, the light took on a form. The golden radiance shone like the morning sun at dawn, radiating a brilliant power.

“No.”

A voice filled with fear spoke.

Astaroth denied it. No, Astaroth denied it several times. But this wasn’t a denial in the conventional sense. It wasn’t denying the existence of that power; it was denying the fact that even the Holy Sword, compared to that light, was like a candle in front of the sun.

In the brilliant radiance, Astaroth saw Mira’s face for the last time. Tears flowed down Mira’s cheeks. Mira’s lips were constantly moving, as if trying to say something.

An arm moved. The sun in the sky faded before the overwhelming light, the moonlight disappeared, and the starlight expressed awe.

There was only light there.