chapter 98
98 – Abaddon (4)
Abaddon (4)
Belphegor’s decision to ascend to the throne of the Demon King by breaking everything and bypassing the conventional procedures was not simply to find a job.
If that was the case in the first place, they wouldn’t have used such an ignorant method.
Even if she was thoughtless, wouldn’t she have studied the position she wanted to be in?
That’s what she wanted to show.
The ugly side of the guy who just reigns supreme at the top.
It was to completely trample on the image he loved so much.
So, he spared his life and told him to live miserably, but the other person appeared in front of him in an even more ugly form.
“In the past 20 years, only one child from our Manmata clan has survived. Even we, who are classified as a high-ranking demon clan, are like this.”
Recently, the only child of the Manmata clan to survive is Liris.
If you consider that even that release is past the age where it can be called a child, it is a rather precarious situation.
Children are on the brink of death at every moment. And even if they escape that death, isn’t that a hellish situation? Is that what you call adaptation?
“Is it just children? Haven’t you ever thought about the problems of our own race?”
What people call high-ranking demons. Those who have at least some humanity left behind and have left their names behind.
They are nothing special.
These are the people who deeply engraved the moments of misery that were more miserable than others on a racial level.
“Those who had to drink the blood of their friends and family to survive because they couldn’t stand the thirst are still forced to live like that.”
That was the case with the vampire race that Legion Commander First belonged to.
They still cannot survive without consuming the blood of others.
“Those who abandoned their human dignity and lived like animals have truly become beasts.”
The werewolves that the Second Commander of the Legion belonged to. In other words, all those called werebeasts.
They still live without being able to completely suppress their beastly instincts.
“Those who used to lie to survive have now become monsters who don’t even know their own true feelings.”
The tricksters that the legion commander Third belonged to were like that.
They have become a race that is seen as crazy by others and cannot communicate deeply.
“In this way, the brand engraved on us spreads throughout the race.”
A place where individual sins spread to the entire race. That place is the Demon World.
Is this what they call adaptation?
Even if you adapt to a place like this, you will end up becoming nothing but a terrible monster.
“You had to do something for the demons!”
“… … There is no reason why that method would be war.”
“Yeah, there must have been a way even without war. But what did you do? You didn’t even go to war. Let me tell you a little funny story.”
Belphegor forced a smile while gritting his teeth.
“What do you think was the first thing I did after I became the Demon King?”
“… … .”
“I was sending a messenger to the human world. I was petitioning that at least the children be allowed to be raised on human soil. What was the result?”
It was a rejection.
In fact, it was a natural thing.
Even in the human world, the land is not overflowing.
However, even if the demons who have been fighting all along come to ask for reconciliation and a place to live, there is no way they will listen.
However, there was another fundamental reason.
“What the hell have you been doing for the demons?”
Because not even the minimum level of diplomacy has been achieved with the human world so far.
Even Leviathan, who advocated for peace, did not even try to communicate with the people of the human world.
So it was natural that there was no room for dialogue.
Because we haven’t done anything in the past that would show trust in each other.
Leviathan not only didn’t invade while calling for peace, but he didn’t even think about talking to them.
“I will admit my incompetence. However, we have been failing for several generations already. All the demon lords who tried to invade the human world have died. But did it really have to be a war?”
Leviathan also did not choose silence from the beginning.
There was a time when he too prepared to invade the human world.
But, I quit. I had no choice but to quit.
Because I was afraid.
“The warrior will come to kill you. Even if you defeat the warrior, another warrior will appear.”
Because there was a being called a warrior.
This is an entity that inevitably appears whenever the demon world attempts to invade the human world.
Leviathan also met them.
And even managed to knock it down.
But Leviathan was terrified. Was it because the warrior was strong? No, there were many beings stronger than the warrior.
What I’m truly afraid of is… … .
“Until we kill them, the chosen warriors of the gods are born again and again. What do you think this means? Our existence was not even acknowledged by the gods. It means that our original sin still continues!”
That they are immortal.
That a being that holds such miracles will come to kill you again and again, unless you kill all humans.
“So, don’t be stubborn about something that will fail, and… … .”
“Hey, coward. If you’re going to say something like that, don’t just parrot that war is bad. At least tell me an alternative.”
“… … .”
“No? Why not? Because you have no intention of changing this damned reality. Right? Isn’t it true that you came here not because you had something to say, but because it was a show to solidify your position?”
Belphegor glared at Leviathan as if he were not one of them.
“If the gods call us sinners, will you just accept that? Accept that we must die for reasons we don’t even know about?”
Hurrruk!
As if responding to Belphegor’s anger, the conference room where the two were was instantly engulfed in blue flames.
Leviathan was astonished at the miracle he had never seen before, even when fighting him.
What I thought was just a rumor.
What I thought was propaganda.
“Why didn’t it occur to you to drop that damned god?”
That it was all true.
***
The Leviathan that Jim saw.
And what Esmeralda came to guess from that was surprisingly similar to the conclusion Belphegor had reached.
Leviathan is not a trustworthy entity. If anything, he is like a bat that can stick to anything, so if you are not careful, he could easily turn his back and take Belphegor’s side.
When she reached that conclusion, Esmeralda turned her gaze to the extra who was lying still.
My hometown, where I still want to return.
It was a situation that was no different from criticizing the king there, so I didn’t feel very good about it. Even if they were enemies, weren’t they cooperative now?
Esmeralda scratched her cheek, choosing her words.
“Well, I know that too. That’s probably mostly true.”
However, the extras confirmed the assumption as if it were no big deal.
“The author has no enemies for the demons.
Of course, he was a spy who was hiding in the Demon King’s army, so how could he not have expected something like that?
That’s the reason he moved to the Eye of Truth in the first place.
The Abaddon that Extra had hoped for was the life before Leviathan.
A life where the weak gather together and plow the fields and raise livestock, rather than fighting.
I want that life back.
He also did not wish to deny and be hostile to the current Demon King’s army like he was doing now.
If you want to go to war, do whatever you want.
Instead, the weak wanted to be protected. That was the kind of world they wanted.
I was just trying to make that sound, but before I knew it, the group called Abaddon had started to change.
“In fact, they are all the same. The Leviathan, who opposes war but secretly increases the size of their group. The Demon King’s army, who uses soldiers like expendables. They all look like the same to me.”
So he betrayed the entire demon world.
However, this newly found group was not much different.
He had been promised massive support from the Demon World through a contract with the <Eye of Truth>, but he was not very happy with their actions.
In the end, he too compromised with reality.
How can he be blameless when he has done all sorts of dirty things in return for receiving support?
“Then why do you want to return to Abaddon?”
“Well, maybe it’s because I’m disillusioned. I just want to go back to my hometown. It’s already a lot different from the hometown I knew, but there must be some things that haven’t changed.”
“okay.”
“However, the area around Abaddon was under particularly tight surveillance by the Demon King’s army, so it wasn’t easy to go back even if I wanted to.”
So I tried to hold Jim’s hand.
After all, a clash with the Demon King’s army is inevitable.
The extra thought was that he wanted to get some beans and eat them during the process.
“I see. I understand.”
“……what?”
The extra sighed as if he had no idea what Jim was trying to understand.
“So, Colonel, you’re on a journey to find a new goal. In a way, you’re similar to Garnet. The journey to find a goal is always arduous.”
“How can it be so… … even by comparison?”
“Wait a minute, Garnet… … Did you talk to Jim C. Five?”
“We did become close.”
Esmeralda, who had been listening to the two people’s conversation, suddenly interrupted. I thought it was a serious matter, so I stayed quiet, but it was a story that I just couldn’t ignore.
“Why…? Why would you do something so crazy?”
“Phuhat!”
When Esmeralda looked as if she didn’t really understand, the extras burst into laughter as if they agreed with her.
“Are you crazy because you want to die? What would other people say if they found out?”
“Compassionate?”
“Are you going to kill me?”
Garnet, not luggage.
Esmeralda couldn’t help but tremble, as she had experienced similar things many times before.
The way back is already scary.
Because she was already afraid that Irina and Milia, who had come to their senses, would harass her through some political means.
Esmeralda had beaten the two men like an animal, but now that she had come to her senses, she realized how dangerous it had been.
It would be a big deal to just knock down the two people who are the symbols of each group, because both of them are in unusual mental states.
“I, I didn’t hear anything. Do you understand? Do you understand?”
So today, Esmeralda made an unheroic choice again.