Chapter 94 – Nothing Changes

“Kuhahaha! Ah-ha! Kyahat! Kahat! Euhahahaha!!”

“…?”

Has this poor demon finally gone insane? Deus scratched his cheek.

He understands. Those exceedingly powerful beings. Ones that could rightfully call themselves bosses.

Weren’t those the very ones whose name of ‘demon’ was never something to be ashamed about? He admits that much himself.

They were definitely strong. If judged by the standards of that world, excluding himself, they were a calamity in their own right.

And yet, those very ones were now on the verge of annihilation by a single human, whom they had called a lower life form until now.

What’s more, it wasn’t even some kind of equal fight, nor something that could even be called resistance.

It was just like a sandcastle crumbling in the waves. Like a single blade of grass being swept away by an avalanche.

So, it’s understandable that he’s gone insane. It’s something that could very well happen.

“Ahahaha! To think it would turn out like this! Really, I never imagined it even in my dreams!”

But looking at him a little more closely, there’s something a bit different about him than just being insane.

So, he decided to postpone killing him for a bit and see if he could get an explanation, looking down at Belial.

“You’ve been saying strange things since earlier. Is this some kind of survival strategy? If so, I think you’ve passed. To be sure, the desire to get rid of you right away has lessened.”

“Kheuheu! That’s right. No, that’s right, isn’t it? To have such a merciless hand, and to possess overwhelming strength. And to be a being that we can never hope to approach, no matter what we do. So that’s why!”

It seems his body has recovered a bit, as Belial struggles to stand up.

Deus watched the scene for a moment, clicking his tongue, about to clench his fist once more.

“It is merely our great sin that we did not know that the new King has descended to another place.”

“King?”

“But it’s alright, now that you’ve returned. Please, sit. In your rightful place.”

“What is he even saying? Could this be some ploy to muddle my thoughts?”

No need to hear more. Best to finish up and leave. Who knows what might happen beyond that threshold if I linger too long.

“…”

But then, Deus wore a look of outright perplexity for the first time.

‘I… feel no urge to kill. Why?’

These are demons. The source of all the disasters that have befallen that other world.

Beings who, though they started as strangers, now threaten everyone I’ve grown close to.

So I must eliminate them. That’s how I can somehow approach the end.

Whether it concludes this journey. Or begins a new life. Either way, it’s a path to find answers.

“…”

But Deus couldn’t bring himself to strike down the demon prostrate before him.

A sense of revulsion, perhaps? Or doubt? The reason I should blurs.

It’s akin to wanting to ruin something of your own, something rather valuable.

“I wondered why our King kept us waiting.”

Belial, still kneeling, spoke in a raspy but clear voice.

“We thought you were waiting. Or that you were unmoving. But to find the throne empty, and a new King to ascend, was beyond our imaginings.”

“…”

“We did not know you had arrived there first. We did not foresee your return like this.”

He keeps yammering on about kings and whatnot. I want to tell him to cut the nonsense.

Yet, I can’t. Instead, the urge to sit in that dusty seat grows stronger with each passing moment.

Is that seat truly calling to me? Is that, in truth, my rightful place?

A fleeting thought – ‘Do I have the face of a king?’ – reminds me that I haven’t entirely succumbed. Deus then clutched his forehead, groaning softly.

“We have kept it vacant all this time. It is now your seat.”

Belial gestured towards the throne. Though coated in dust, it undeniably felt different.

Not quite archaic, hardly majestic. But a visceral feeling rises within him. This… this is mine!

He takes a step. Leaving the demon behind, he slowly approaches the royal seat.

Brushing across the surface, he clears away a layer of fine dust, revealing a space to sit.

“…”

The feeling intensifies. This seat is where he was always meant to be.

Not there, but here. Not them, but these. This was, by right, his destiny.

‘Ha.’

Thinking about it now, it all seems a little… bizarre. Alliances aside. Even discounting the training from my past life.

The absurdly overwhelming power, the improbability of black hair.

I think I now understand why I’m cursed with such a fearsome visage, one that makes even a smile seem threatening.

I thought I was merely mistaken about the genre, but perhaps I even misidentified who I possessed?

I was supposed to possess a demon, but in my misapprehension, I possessed the role itself?

The mind refuses to accept it. Yet, the body embraces it.

“We have long awaited your return. And we rejoice in your arrival.”

“…”

Deus silently stared at Belial. And then, at the space filled with black smoke.

He was supposed to be here originally. If he hadn’t been mistaken, he would have been here, for something entirely different. With entirely different people.

“Now I understand why every demon sent has been defeated so utterly. I see the inhuman power you wield. Since you have opened the door, we need only rebuild what has been broken.”

While you’re at it, please take care of this mess I’ve become as well. My King.

At Belial’s last words, Deus gazed down at him with a blank stare.

First of all, this place… it’s remarkably comfortable. Just sitting here feels somehow perfect.

The feeling that this is mine is bubbling up inside. He’s never felt this way before, and he doesn’t understand why. But the catch is, it’s not entirely unpleasant.

If he wanted to, he could restore everything he himself had ruined.

No one told him, but instinctively, he simply knew it. That’s how it felt.

Conversely. It meant that he could completely bury this place as well.

‘Then what about the monsters? The Gate?’

At first, he thought that blowing this hellhole away would make them disappear along with it.

But it doesn’t seem that way at all. No, this is a gut feeling.

“I heard they were out of energy.”

“That is correct.”

“What happens when it runs out?”

“They will be plunged back into the Abyss. It will take a very long time before they can emerge again.”

The monsters are being sent by them, but the Gate is different.

Even if this hell descends further down, it will not disappear.

A type of impurity. Dregs. Through it, they were slowly gathering energy to rise, and eventually, the demons were planning to advance into a completely new world.

“That’s fortunate. Or rather. I shouldn’t say it like that.”

“What do you mean?”

He strokes the armrest, then grips it and rises from the throne.

And then, for a brief moment, he seems to contemplate something, before suddenly turning his head.

He mistook the genre and the place he was supposed to be. Everything was a chaotic mess.

So, does he regret it? If you asked that, not really. It was a bit of a mental scramble, but somehow he worked hard on his own way and that path has became his past anyway.

“Honestly, I had no intention of working out.”

“Then.”

“I wanted to draw.”

“So, everything you’ve done has been a wasted effort?”

At the old coot’s question, the past self was conflicted for a moment.

Then, without warning, his fearsome back slap came swiftly.

“Everything you did was the right path, you rascal! Nothing’s wrong, nothing’s wasted!”

So don’t ruin the taste of my drink for no reason and hurry up and drink!

Deus smiled without realizing it, thinking about that time.

Alright. He doesn’t care about anything else. Whether he was mistaken or whatever. It’s all fine.

But just one thing. Really, truly. Why is there a connection between the novel he knew and this place? He just wanted to know that one thing.

He thought he might get a hint if he caught the final boss. But no. The final boss is himself.

More accurately, it was himself. But even that was a mistake, and he ended up in the ridiculous situation of the final boss clearing the game.

“My King?”

“Not King. Deus.”

A smirk twisting his lips as he gazed upon him, Belial felt a shiver crawl up his spine.

It didn’t take long to realize that it was no mere misunderstanding or trick of the light.

―*Shhh*

Deus rose from where he’d been seated, clasping a handful of the ground in his fist.

The clutched earth crumbled instantly, transforming into dust that scattered from his palm.

“Regrettable, our demon friend. Hell’s on hiatus, you see.”

“Let’s call it a season finale. Try again later, should the opportunity arise.”

“Don’t give up. There’s such a thing as…persistence, you know? Grind at it, and you might just make it.”

After the parting words, Deus tightened his grip on Belial’s shoulder.