Shinka no Mi (Shiranai Uchi ni Kachigumi Jinsei)

(TN: It can mean different things, like Devil, but in this case, it would be ‘Demon God’)

“This place is……”

When I entered, I found myself in a dimly lit space.

In terms of atmosphere, it resembles the place where I once fought Zeanos in the 【Forest of Endless Love and Sorrow】.

But more than that, there was an ominous presence that filled the room and a pressure that seemed to crush everything.

Furthermore, in the center of the room, there was something that looks like an altar …… a huge stone staircase was also there.

“Thi,this is……”

“Suffocating ……”

The pressure of this room makes Olga-chan and Zora have a slightly painful expression.

Then, unexpectedly, a voice flew from above our heads.

“You came huh”

『! 』

When we all turned our gazes toward the voice, we saw a figure at the altar at the top of the stairs.

That person, was human in appearance, dressed in very luxurious clothes, and looked like some kind of royalty.

However, the presence on the man’s body is far more powerful than that of a human, and furthermore, the conjunctiva part of his eyes is black, and his pupils are shining red.

The man with the cold-hearted expression on his face looks down at us as he walks down the stairs.

“You are……”

“Don’t you understand? I am the Demon god you seek.”

I knew from his atmosphere that it was the case, but when I saw him in front of me, I was struck by a strange feeling.

I thought he was more inhuman, but in reality, he was not much different from humans.

I activated 【Advanced Appraisal】 against the Demon God.

【Demon God Lv:—-】

As I imagined, even as I activated my skills, I couldn’t know the level of the Demon god.

Then, the Demon God continues in a disgusted appearance.

“Even so…… you’ve really gone out of your way to do what you want. Why, are you being a hindrance to me?”

“Why, you said…… since you are causing trouble for a lot of people!”

There’s nothing particularly wrong with just his resurrection.

But, the 【Demon God’s cult】, continues to hurt and bother various people, saying that it is for the revival of the Demon god.

However, this feeling is just for us ―――― the demon god was different.

“What’s the problem with that?”

“Eh……”

“You lifeforms, were originally created by us. It’s up to me how to handle you. Don’t you think it’s strange that you guys are complaining about it?”

“What do ――――”

Just as I was about to continue to squeeze out words, the demon god snapped his fingers.

Then, mud-like objects gathered and gradually formed, and eventually, a human being stood there.

He looked like a very normal man who could be found anywhere, but…… we didn’t recognize that person, and the man who suddenly appeared was also staring at me and the Demon God with a surprised expression.

“A,a’re? What am I doing here? Or rather, what the hell am I doing……?”

The moment the man with a firm ego turned his gaze to the Demon God with a confused expression, the Demon god snapped his fingers again.

“Eh? ――――Ae?”

『!?』

As the man’s body suddenly began to crumble, he turned into the mud he was before, and finally, he disappeared from the place completely.

When everyone was speechless at the sight that was too shocking, the Demon god told us plainly.

“Thus, I can create life forms, or I can eliminate them. The only thing that exists here is my will to create and my will to erase. The ego of the one who is created is irrelevant. It’s the same for you. Do not challenge me, the Creator god, when you are mere creatures I created.”

Al finally couldn’t take it anymore and shouted at that overly arrogant remark.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re not allowed to play with our lives just because you want to!?”

“Haa…… You are poorly made creatures, after all. Do you not understand my words? I don’t need your permission. My decision is――――”

“――――【Blinking Arm】!”

“Saria!?”

Before the demon god could finish, Saria, who had somehow transformed into her gorilla form, activated her skills and closed the distance between her and the demon god!

“I don’t know what a god is, but as long as I’m alive, that is not a decision that should be made by any one person!”

“It’s the ravings of a weak man. Why should the powerful listen to the voices of the powerless?”

“Wha!?”

Saria seemed to have unleashed a blow with all her might, but it did not reach the Demon god, and was suddenly blocked by the mysterious life form that had been created by the Demon god.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen in my life, and I doubt if it even had a face, let alone arms and legs.

Saria, whose attack was prevented by the mysterious creature, quickly takes a distance.

And when the life form that prevented the attack, finished preventing Saria’s attack, it disappeared as mud just like the previous man.

“Fumu…… you can’t even understand the difference in power huh. The reason why you poorly made creatures exist here is because the old-self me and the gods were not perfect. Well, that also ends here ――――”

When the Demon God said so much, he noticed something.

“That’s right…… this is also a sideshow. I will destroy everything anyway, and the world will be mine alone. If so, it’s not a bad idea to try and create the perfect creature before destroying it.”

The Demon god snapped his fingers again, and everywhere in the room, mud-like things gathered, which transformed into various shapes.

The room was filled with a wide variety of creatures; some humanoid, some insectoid, and some quadrupedal beasts.

Moreover, all of them have a form that I have never seen before, and I immediately invoke the 【Advanced appraisal】, but――――

【????】

All of it was filled with question marks​, and in the end, it was garbled.

“Now, which of these life forms do you think is superior? In times like these, omniscience and omnipotence are inconvenient. Since you’ll know the result. But it will be a good way to pass the time to see the results.”

“Are you trying to tell us we’re going to lose?”

“Don’t you understand that you’re at this level if I don’t even mention it?”

“That composure you have, I will definitely destroy it!”

As Al shouted this, the Demon god spread his arms and announced leisurely.

“If you’re saying that much ―――― then show your struggles”

At that moment, all the life forms that had been created attacked us all at once!

“Let’s go fight!”

However, we can’t keep silent either.

While suppressing my power to the extent that this hideout will not break, I swing the 【Fine Sword of Swirling Hatred (Black) 】 and 【Fine Sword of Overflowing Benevolence (White) 】.

Then, a slash flew at a speed no one could recognize any longer, and the life form’s body was slashed apart.

“Wha!?”

“How could an ultimate life form die from a single slash?”

However, the scene that unfolded after my attack was different from what I had imagined.

As the Demon god said, the life forms that were hit by my slash didn’t just fall down, they multiplied from the cut parts and increased their numbers even more.

“【Blinking Arm】!”

“【Power Slash】!”

In the midst of all this, Saria swings her fist and Al swings her axe down.

However, Saria and Al had seen that my attack had increased the number of the opponents, so Saria’s attack did not penetrate the lifeform’s body, she kept the impact inside its body, and Al swung down to crush it with the blade part of his axe instead of slashing it.

“……Hah!”

“Ple,please solidify!”

Olga-chan threw a kunai, piercing the bodies of the lifeforms one after another, while Zora utilized her petrifying eyes to stop more and more lifeforms from moving.

“Seeing that cutting them will increase them, you use attacks other than slashing, huh …… Well, even if you have low intelligence, you can take measures to that extent. However, it’s the fact that you think you can handle it that makes your incompetence all the more remarkable.”

“!”

Then, I thought that the life forms that were attacked by Saria and others had collapsed this time, but …… to my surprise, they started moving as if nothing had happened.

The life form that received the petrification of Zora was certainly petrified, albeit for a moment.

However, soon the petrified parts of its body began to crumble and it move as if nothing had happened to it.

“No,no way……!”

“……Hmm. My kunai isn’t working either?”

Olga-chan’s kunai was a legendary weapon called the 【Cursed Snake Kunai(Juja)】, and the target damaged by this kunai had the effect of causing some kind of abnormal state.

And, as its effect worked, some of the lifeforms developed some abnormalities in their conditions, but they seemed to recover quickly and attacked us.

On the contrary…….

“Something’s wrong. My attack, seems to be ineffective.”

“Ah…… The more you attack, the less damage you’re doing to this guy. ……”

It’s as Saria and the others have said, at first, the lifeforms were blown away greatly by Saria’s and Al’s attacks and spewed out their bodily fluids, but now they were taking their attacks head-on, and in the end, they themselves don’t even defend.

Moreover, they didn’t seem to be having any damage at all, and they never stopped walking towards us.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would create the perfect life form. Naturally, it has the property of evolving so that it can nullify the effects of the ones that it is exposed to.”

As I listened to the Demon god’s words, I was convinced that that’s what my body normally does on its own.

Unlike myself being influenced by evolution, it is extremely troublesome when a similar existence appears in the other party.

“Well then, what will you do now? Your attacks can no longer penetrate them, right?”

“―――― What a jumbled, troublesome bastard”

“Rurune?…… Rurune!?”

Rurune, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth, and when I looked over at her in surprise, I saw an even more shocking sight.

“Ki,kie……eh……”

“Mogu…… perfect …… mogu …… since it’s called a living thing. …… mogu mogu…… I have my expectations, but…… mogu…… It’s outrageously unpleasant …… mogu”

“You’ll even eat this!?”

Somehow, she was eating the tentacle-covered life form without hesitation.

Moreover, the life form being eaten, while emitting a faint scream, is finally chewed and swallowed by Rurune.

“Ufgh! It tastes bad! If it’s a perfect life form, it got to stick to its taste!”

“That’s not the place you need to worry about! Wait ……. A’re? Will it revive?”

To my surprise, the life form that Rurune had eaten had completely disappeared, with no sign of it increasing or reviving.

“Yes, that’s right! I thought I’d be able to eat an infinite amount of food since he said it’ll increase infinitely, but after I eat it, it’s over!”

“……Nn. Is Glutton’s appetite greater than God?”

“I wonder if God tastes good too.”

“You’re gonna eat that too!?”

Upon closer inspection, Rurune’s gaze towards the Demon God was suspicious. Uh,uhmm, He only looks like a human being, but is he even certified as an ingredient?

…… No, it’s too late now. I’ve eaten an Evil god before.

“On top of being unpleasant, it doesn’t increase…… it’s far from perfect. Start again.”

“It’s the standard of perfection!”

“No…… isn’t it an excellent decision not to increase the number of beings because it tastes bad ……?”

“Would you mind stepping away from your appetite?”

I finally found a way to defeat it completely, but it’s impossible except for Rurune.

Perhaps, I need to eat them all up?

Well, I’m sure Rurune can eat them all up on her own, though……

With that in my mind, the Demon God looked at Rurune, who continued to silently devour the life forms, and his eyes widened slightly.

“……Apparently, some of you have deviated from the laws of this planet.”

The laws of this planet?

The demon god was muttering something meaningful, but I didn’t know what he meant.

“Well, whatever. When you dare not to know with all your heart and see the result, there are many unexpected things which you can enjoy. However, the end result remains the same. In the end, it’s your death…….”

As if in response to the Demon god’s words, mysterious life forms were being created one after another.

Moreover, at the same time, this room itself seemed to be expanding, and when I noticed it, we were surrounded by all kinds of life forms.

“Kuh……! If our attacks don’t work, we’ll be swallowed up!”

“It is as Saria said! If we don’t do something, we’re gonna get crushed!”

Even though they couldn’t defeat it, Saria and the others’ attacks prevented the mysterious life forms from getting closer, but the distance between them gradually narrowed, and at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before they were swallowed by the hordes.

“Hah!”

I didn’t just sit back and watch, I attacked them too, but unlike Saria and the others, only my attack continues to pass, but I couldn’t attack them carelessly because their numbers increased every time I cut them into pieces.

“Daaaaaahh! Why can’t you just destroy yourself at a time like this!?”

These days, I don’t know what the logic behind it was, but they often destroyed themselves on their own.

For example, if the opponent used magic, the magic would have a will and move for me, or if someone attacked me, their body would somehow snap in strange directions, and they would often be defeated without me directly attacking them.

However, the life form that was approaching us now showed no such signs and was simply trying to kill us.

“It’s useless. This is my space. It is separated from all worlds and dimensions, the only thing that exists here is the absolute, which is me. Besides, those life forms are outside of your common sense. It has no cells, no genes. They’ll try to faithfully reproduce my decisions. …… Therefore, there is no way for you to defeat them.”

“What a foolish thing…… to say that we can’t beat you, but I’m sure I’ve eaten ――――”

“……Glutton?”

Rurune was about to say something when she suddenly held her stomach.

“Wha,what’s this? This is…… my stomach…… hurts!?”

“……No way…… Glutton……!?”

To my surprise, Rurune raised a complaint of a stomachache!

“I,it hurts! Wha,what the heck is this pain!? Well, it’s as if I am being rampaged from the inside…… A,anyway, it hurts, Milord!”

“Ah, jeez! It’s because you’ve eaten something you don’t understand!”

“…… Picking up food and eating it, no good”

“Be,becauseeeeeeeeee!”

Well, in Rurune’s case, it’s more than just picking up food.

That’s what happens when you’re a former donkey and you try to eat everything you encounter! No, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t try to eat it regardless of being a donkey, though.

“You seem to be outside the laws of any world, let alone this planet, but …… it is meaningless in front of me. I am the law. There’s no one who can escape this law. No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to defeat me.”

“No,no way……”

Rurune was so shocked like I had never seen her before.

That’s right…… Rurune was so outrageously out of control, that she was able to get through any situation.

However, when that doesn’t work for the demon god in front of us, she becomes flustered ――――

“This me…… can’t eat it, is it……!?”

“Ah, it’s that!?”

I thought you were scared of the strong enemy that you couldn’t help but be scared. Well, it’s just like Rurune, though.

“Being tasteless and inedible, they don’t deserve to exist! Milord, these things are evil, you know, evil!”

“Your mouth is getting bad just now.”

Maybe she still has a stomachache, while distorting her face, Rurune is pouring abusive language.

Up to this point, when I was talking while defeating the other party so that they couldn’t get close to us for the time being, the Demon God had an indescribable expression on his face.

“……It’s, strange…… You are in front of me, but you are not in despair. ……? What’s, with the lack of tension …… Or, have you lost your mind in despair? I don’t know…… even not including omniscience, I don’t know…… Being too incompetent creatures, Is this the reaction?”

Isn’t he making fun of us a lot?

Until now, while being looked down on, I was told that I was incompetent, but does it hurt the most when I’m told while being somewhat pitied, though?

Perhaps the Demon god himself isn’t aware of it, but I can tell from his every word that he’s questioning our sanity!

I might be proud of it if I think that even the omniscient and omnipotent god could not understand me. Positive, be positive.

While I was thinking about such a thing, Rurune was kicking down the mysterious life forms one after another alongside Saria and the others, instead of eating them this time, as if she was retaliating for her stomachache.

“Milord! If I can no longer eat them, then there’s no need to show mercy! Please defeat them quickly!”

“No, you, are technically my knight, aren’t you More importantly, if I could defeat them, I would have done it by now! But when I attack, the number of opponents will increase ……”

“Don’t use your swords, use magic!”

“Magic?”

“Yes! If it’s Milord’s magic, they will disappear in one shot!”

“Eeh? When you say magic, what kind of magic do you mean ……”

Do you want me to create something new? Unfortunately, I don’t think I can make an image that can defeat such ridiculous creatures, you know?

“There it is, isn’t there, that magic! It’s the magic that was used against the army of monsters that attacked the Royal Capital before!”

“Tha,that magic!?”

“Yes! That magic is a sure thing! After all, it’s a magic that bears the name of Milord!”

I understood what kind of magic Rurune was talking about.

Certainly, we were now fighting mainly with physical attacks and not using magic.

…… I don’t know what will happen, but let’s just use it.

If this doesn’t work, I have no choice but to ask the world. No, I don’t know what it means to ask the world, though.

Would it even respond in the first place? The other party is a God who claims to have created the world, so it is possible that the world cannot interfere here. ……

While thinking about this, I raise my right arm up into the air to activate the magic.

――――【Judgement】! (TN: It is classified as Seiichi Magic)

I didn’t need to chant the name of the magic, since I had already invoked it once, and I activated it silently.

Then, despite the fact that the space was indoors, a large magic circle unfolded on the ceiling, and pillars of light poured down from it one after another, hitting the mysterious life forms.

“You’re still creatures without the ability to learn. I told you, didn’t I? No matter what you do, your attacks will not work on them. Even with that magic, these beings will gain resistance ――――”

The demon god was about to say that much when he noticed something strange.

Yes ―――― the mysterious life forms aren’t reviving.

“What? What’s happening!?”

The sight in front of him seemed to be completely unexpected for the Demon god, and for the first time here, he showed clear signs of being agitated.

“What is this unpleasant light! Disregarding me, are you saying that it’s God’s judgment!?“

As the demon god have said, the name of this magic is 【Judgment】, and it is a magic that I created based on the vague image of God’s judgment.

That’s why it would be uncomfortable for the Demon God who doesn’t doubt that he is absolute.

“I won’t recognize it! There should be no judgment other than mine!”

The Demon god swung his arm, and as if to replenish the lifeforms that had disappeared, mysterious lifeforms were created again.

But beyond the speed that the Demon God can generate, my magic is destroying the life forms.

“This is insolence! Don’t underestimate the power of God!”

This time, the situation changed; while the room had been gradually expanding and the number of life forms increasing, the Demon God simply spread his arms and the room instantly became so wide that the edges of the room became unrecognizable, and the life forms filled the room as if to match the size of the room.

“O,oy,oy, you’re kidding, right!?”

“Is he…… going easy on us before……?”

While Al and the others were stunned by the unrealistic scene, the Demon God smiled broadly.

“Fuhahahaha! After all, it was a sham! You’re just powerless before the power of the true God!”

“Thi,this would be really tough, even with Seiichi’s magic. ……”

The moment Al said something faintheartedly because the Demon god’s power was so strong, I felt that the 【Judgment】, which was being activated, become offended.

……No, I don’t know what it means for a magic to be offended, but I can only say that, you know.

Anyway, the 【Judgment】 reacted to Al’s words in a way that seemed disconcerting.

And ――――

“Eh?”

At that moment.

A bright white light filled our vision.

But we were completely caught off guard, or rather, we weren’t prepared for it, so ――――

『My……my eyeeeeeeeeees!? 』

We all held our eyes.

No, can you please stop shining light on us so suddenly!? What kind of light is it in the first place!

Even though we were facing a powerful enemy in the form of a Demon god, we made a huge mistake of being deprived of our vision, and just waited for our sight to return.

“Uh,uhhn…… my eyes are flickering ……”

“I,I’ve had a terrible experience ……”

When my eyesight was finally restored, I looked at Saria and the others, and before I knew it, Saria was back in human form, holding her eyes and head just like what Al and the others were doing.

Then, Zora seemed to notice something and shouted in surprise.

“Eh!?”

“Hmm? Zora, what’s wrong?”

“E,everyone, please look!”

Prompted by Zora, when I raise my gaze ―――― the mysterious life forms that had filled the room to the brim had disappeared completely.

“Maybe …… that light just now……”

“I,it might be, but I wondered if all the life forms were erased with that single blow ……”

Not only me, but Zora also seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and she was pulling her cheeks.

I, I didn’t expect that Al’s words would trigger such an outrageous result. ……

Moreover, since 【Judgment】 is originally only activated against the harm that I recognize, of course, it didn’t cause damage to us ……. No, our eyes were damaged, but not badly, and the room and altar didn’t collapse.

“……Wait, what about the Demon God!?”

I was almost relieved that the mysterious life forms had disappeared, but the Demon god still remained.

I can’t afford to get distracted here ――――

“Hey, Seiichi.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong? Saria.”

“That”

When I looked in the direction that Saria had pointed to …… the Demon God was standing there, whose body was about to collapse.

“Thi,this is stupid…… impossible ……! This me…… this me……!?”

Parts of the Demon god’s body have turned into mud, like when the Demon God himself created the man or the mysterious life forms, and is still gradually losing its shape.

“Thi,this me cannot perish! I shouldn’t be! I’m the true God! I transcend all and am the one and only ――――”

“Ah”

Before the Demon God could finish his words, a pillar of light fell on him out of nowhere, and when the light disappeared, the Demon God’s figure vanished without a trace.