Chapter 12 (1/2)
The Lazy King Part 2 Chapter 4: Superbia’s Arrogance
Part 1: Abnormal, and Foolish
This was back when I had just developed awareness
There was so oneechan
“Why is it that we only have first names?”
All of those Demons out there were made of both a first, and last name
The first that proved their individuality, and the last that defined their way of life
If they hadn’t decided on how they were going to live on, then in most cases, they took on the last name of their ancestors
That’s why, as Demons, it was unthinkable that those of a house that’s served a Deenerations couldn’t have a last name
And to me, the sister that boasted an identical appearance offered a short answer Kindly, as if to caution me
“The e live our lives is decided by our Lord That’s why our predecessors have no last names”
I simply couldn’t believe it
Once in a distant past…
Me, and eneration even before that lot was born, our continuous line was soend
It’s not like we performed service on the battlefield, and it’s not like we successfully followed our desires
If I were forced to say, then our family’s last name was 『Shadow』
The Lord of Depravity who, as a Demon, boasted a providence much too undemonlike For us, who continued to nestle ourselves close to hi but pure shadows
We weren’t weak, but you wouldn’t be able to call us strong either
Strength was unnecessary to a shadow All that ished for was to serve, and it wasn’t the sort of service ere rewarded for
The existences that continued to serve the Lord who spent his tiless
I remembered back to my ancestors
I didn’t knohat had happened several tens of thousands of years ago I couldn’t even hazard a guess
But killing off the cravings that dwelled in their bodies, they spent an eternity acco their breaths They were likelyaround out there, and much more foolish
That’s why, oneechan included, I sneered at my predecessors
On that day, rained poured to the ground, as if the heavens eeping The violent sound of the rain dru rumble of thunder
In the darkness, the figure of my body reflected back at me was identical to oneechan, but only my eyes were a little different
My ancestors, s, and even the Lord I was to serve I sneered at them all
And as if even to sneer at the girl who did all of that, the blue eyes I saere earnestly probing my expression
Lightning lit the scene
On rainy nights, thethe Deative souls, that was passed as a simple superstition
But on the other side of the glass which interrupted the darkness, I saweven I couldn’t believe it
There wasn’t a hint of miasma in those lips
All those pitch black ement of them was to leak out
Right
That must be my 『Superbia』
Not to raise her platform, merely a heinous vice to scorn all others
Effort was unnecessary
Strength was unnecessary
Friendshi+p was unnecessary
All of it, everything was… just stupid
Even if the result were to isolate rave without even a naht onto myself, as temporary as it may be
Within the polished, led to herself
That should have been me, and yet, she lacked a sense of reality
“Kusu kusu… noyourself back too much…”
A somewhat sweet, and slovenly tone poured out of my mouth
Right This is the shape of Hiero’s soul
If you desire it, then seek it
If your Lord is idle, then take action
Overrule everything in this vast Demon World
In order for me to stay as me
If desire is what’s to decide the power of Demons, then…
There’s no doubt that est Demon
Within the darkness, my lips bent into the shape of a smile
… I
My iht onto listened
It was as if it were the portrait of a fairy, yet for some reason, it appeared tasteless
“… Lord of Sloth, please look at me Please remember me My name, my form, my voice, my soul…”
Spending a pointless lifeti, not recording anything to htest for us, my existence will be…
Kusu kusu kusu
Right Then first co myself
“My name is Hiero Hiero of Superbia”
No last name, no way of life, just a normal Demon
But I’ll accumulate my desire, and show you as I wash out the heavens
I am Hiero of Superbia
But you don’t have to prostrate yourself before me You won’t have to kneel I don’t need your worshi+p
I’ve no need to make you fools out there understand me
I’m on top, and you’re at the bottom That’s all
It’s fine as long as you understand that
But things went beyond my expectations in the blink of an eye
Part 2: They are the Worst
Overrule
It was the most famous power possessed by Pride Demons
I think it’s pointless Skill So like that shouldn’t be necessary in the first place
… If you’re truly Pride
Because even if it didn’t appear to
… Besides oneechan
Before my eyes, Medea-san slowly toppled over Within the swirls of the Demon Lords’ mana, the sht of a lone candle
Even for me, that sudden departure was outside my expectations, and I unintentionally openedsmall stature
A large hole had been opened right in the center of her body It clearly showed that she had been pierced by so
The hole itself ide enough that if I looked through, I thought I ht see the world beyond
Afterher for once in quite a while, Medea had beco for anymore It was too much of a way of life for me to take up In a way, it orthy of admiration
In that sense, I didn’t actually hate Medea-san all that much
Even if, through her narrow escape it looked like Heard-san was going to kill h that just thinking about her existence was enough to elevatewas able to contest for the first and second place of the ht exceeded htly, her chest was even more barren than me There wasn’t even any comparison between her and oneechan
That alone was enough for
And by forgiving it all, it also signified that I didn’t really give a daenuine, tried and true, worthless existence
But, even so, there’s always so that comes to mind the moment a Demon I was acquainted as annihilated
I let out a small voice so no one would here, as I muttered in a daze
“Medea-san… how unsightly”
Not even a dry laugh could escapedealt with before the conference started was quite suiting of Medea-san’s way of life To fulfill her role to the death, we have quite a pro here
… Though that would only be if she did it on purpose
This is the land of death Places where Deets t Demon Lord Level, then that’s not even related to enemy or ally anymore
Har That’s why even I’ myself behind Heard-san…
She didn’t get it at all Even if she was a General class, her behavior full of openings made others want to test their powers on her As a class even lower than her, I can only saugh scornfully at how ill prepared she was
As I was si at the scene froue entered my ear
“Tsk…”
The Prideful Kaiser, Heard Lauder
The Rank One Lord who had served the lone Demon Lord of Sloth lorded over the Demon Lord who remained collapsed over the table
Before the Lord whose dislodged head had recovered itself at a htest of waver His eyes, as if they looking upon garbage, were far different froh verification that he was Pride all the same
I’ll bet there’s a bit of his coie-sama mixed into that
And every time I see that, I think
That way of life… isn’t it tiring?
A strong killing intent, as if those eyes alone were enough to bring all to ruin, lapped at the air of the conference room
“Schitol, I believe I told you to stop”
“? Stop what?”
Face up on the table, the female Demon answered
The arie-sa all the Demon Lords
With that sort of nuather around there, so I did have some recollection of the name Schitol
Schitol Tzuchaser
As a Demon of Avaritia, she held the ie-saie-sa those of the Great De’s army
But that being the case, in as supposed to be her first round table conference, she picked a fight with her senior Lord of Pride I guess that’s what makes a Demon Lord
Of course, it was our firsther nerve to stand before Heard-san, whose honedKanon-san’s, even if it norance, it was an act worthy of praise
But that’s all there was to it She must be all bark, and no bite
I uess, but her breasts are puny
Schitol-san leisurely rose
Her expression seeloss of obsidian, were directed at Heard-san
With no anger for the one who personally crushed her head, her face was like that of a lost child The purity of her expression
I doubt that was really the case, but her face see why it was that she had received an attack
But that’s all there was to it She must be all talk
I mean Schitol-san… her appearance isn’t bad, but her breasts are much too pitiful
As her size was just around the level of Medea-san, her worth as a person le Medea Luxeliaheart at most No doubt about it A useless existence to me
No need to think about it The moment we met, with the for Schitol-san
Heard-san furrowed his brow A proof of his displeasure
Despite this and that, while the Demon Lord known as Heard Lauder was powerful in body, his mind wasn’t as resolute He was a warrior It’s likely that while Leigie-sama was asleep, he had spent his entire life on the battlefield That devotion to his study that surpassed tens of thousands of years of experience definitely had an impact on his personality
But his poas truly absurd As Demon Lords, each and every one of the that, Heard-san was a cut above the rest
He was a typical muscle head
Since he abducted , I had always been watching that
The word patience didn’t exist in his dictionary For whatever the reason, he had been overly sullen as of late, and his boiling point was getting exceedingly low His pure physical strength that was, for argument’s sake able to knock down a Lord of Sloth once, was, to Demon Lords that were no match in defense, definitely fatal
But regardless of being crushed by Leigie-sahtest tumble
To Heard Lauder, even if she was a for but trash
But to the Lord of Superbia, that wasn’t enough of a reason for him not to eliminate the Demon Lord who didn’t listen to his orders
His words were the words of Pride The words of God
Unable to find satisfaction unless me made any Demon he met prostrate themselves before him, from my point of view, he simply looked like a narrow-minded man worried over all the finer details, but while I couldn’t sympathize, I could understand
As if to support the thoughts in ure blurred for a moment
At about the same time, Medea-san’s body that had been left in the corner of my vision faded away as if it had been an illusion
In the span of the blink of an eye, Schitol-san’s head and liht red mist erupted out of her body All that was left, an obsidian Soul Core the same shade as her eyes let out a dry sound as it rolled desolately across the round table
His means of attack lay only in his fists But his incoave off a power much too barbaric to be called Pride I couldn’t even follow the slightest of it with my eyes
And those apart from me probably couldn’t follow it either I saw the Demon Lord who picked up Schitol-san’s dise his spit
He should have been a Demon Lord of Pride as well… now that he’s seen those fists in action, the probability of hi Heard-san has become close to zero
How unsightly If your heart loses, then there can never be pride There’s nothing but a slow destruction in store for him
The old withered tree-like Lord sitting right across frohastly spectacle, nor did hedown on him With a fed-up tone, he muttered
“… Phantoirl… so she was a Luxuria De illusion… no wonder it ended so soon”
“… Dammit Medea… when you’re the substitute for a Demon Lord, for you to send in a phantasm…”
Heard-san’s eyebroere quite clearly stiff It was as if his anger was clearly visible How scary…
Demons Round was also a place for Demon Lords to demonstrate their power As it is, Superbia already detested those ould taint their pride
Especially when Medea-san was just a replacement
Originally, that was Heard-san’s role… no,in place of her own Lord Leigie-sas, there should be a limit to tomfoolery
I can do nothing but secretly praise her needlessly high auts
She really is just a precession of failures She was ignored by Leigie-saht by Heard-san, and even after surviving all of that, I could tell froirl edy
“Kusu kusu kusu…”
And being thrown around like this by the Lords, how pitiful
A laugh flows out of est, those of the De If it was just in battle ability, then no rouped up, there’s no e’d be able to oppose
But in exchange for that, they were coenerates
One of the seated Demon Lords sent his eyes over here
The pressure I could feel just froh to rock my soul, made my shrink back behind Heard-san
My instincts inforap that surpassed whatever enhanceain withthat, if I were given the time, I could close all too easily
The only thing I was lacking in was tiroith the desires of my soul as fuel
Heard-sanover here, but he corrected his field of vision immediately
Kusu kusu Right, right I’irl If you hit me, I’m sure to die…
It appears that the situation was out of Kanon-sama’s expectations She scowled a little as she stared at the position Medea-san had disappeared froh
“… Well, so be it Lize, as his inspector, you will be infor the Lord of Sloth of this matter at a later date”
“… Understood”
Receiving the will of the Great Deie-sama’s observer Lize-san offered her affirmation She wasn’t surrounded by a tense air, and she held an aura you could call grand as she stood upright behind the seat that had become vacant
They had found coie-sama holed up in the Castle of Shadows, perhaps the safest place in the entire Des were unrelated to him
Continuing on, Kanon-salared into the table, as if to pierce a hole into it
At the one who should have received enough da Demon Lord
I ing my spit behind Heard, but neither Heard-san nor Kanon-san showed and disarray in their attitudes
As if it was all a complete natural occurrence, they looked at the Demon Lord who had been reconstructed whole at some point in time
“Schitol Tzuchaser… Then next time you lay your hands on an allied soldier, I will dispose of you in the name of my Ruin Know your place”
“…? What place?”
Her conduct was as if nothing had happened at all
Schitol-san’s sharp gaze didn’t seem to hold any care for the force that seemed to try to wither her away, as she returned to her seat
The Pride Demon Lord who still had both his arms stolen tried to stand, but when Heard-san shot a look at him, he silently sat
To regain control of the area, Kanon-san sent a silent glance around the table
That burning pressure spread about to suppress the fighting spirit, the instincts, longings these Demon Lords had probed to their depths
The Great De position didn’t have the qualifications of wisdom or status, or charisma, or talent It was a spot that came to be by pure power alone, and that display was plenty to demonstrate that fact
Of the De, there is said to be nineteen in all But less than half of that nuathered here
As if that shaht hadn’t ever happened, Kanon-san offered her thanks to the Lords present
That was the signal of the conference’s start A weak Demon Lord had no worth In that sense, even if she may have been an illusion, for her to have been killed before the start, Medea-san had done an insufficient job of filling the role of Leigie-sama’s representative
“So we’ve all gathered… I thank you forthe journey here Lords”
“… Hm, so this is all that’s left The numbers sure have dwindled”
Heard-san’s head shook in lament
The nu that fluctuated so easily
The race known as Deer the longer they’ve lived At Deher than other Demons
“The two that the Devourer, Zebul, ate, and Zebul herself els Hels… how deplorable”
Heard-san sent around an intilare to those present
It was like he was offering to end thes
Heard-san’s way of life was much too severe I would never be able to i but stupid
So please don’t try dragging me into it No, seriously
“But we really have faced a considerable decline It no one beyond Rank Ten is in attendance…”
The old man spoke
His height wasn’t even half of Heard-san’s, and he was a Demon with a slim stature like a dead tree’s His frailtywith a breath of air
But his glare held a viscous and sticky darkness
The ranking syste based solely on strength
While it was usually taken as an equivalent, the primary factor that influenced it was that Lord’s service to the army That’s why compared to those below Rank Ten, the other Demon Lords simply lacked achievements
They were young
That doesn’t mean they had lived short lives, but that not too much time had passed since they became Demon Lords
Fresh Meat
Even so, it’s quite likely they had lived longer than els What a pointless life
“Yes, this is Rank Eighteen here”
“Yep~ Rank Eleven over here”
“Ho ho ho, ies It looks like not all of them have perished…”
Schitol-san raised her hand, and raised a high pitched, tension-less voice towards the empty seats
Her lack of nervousnessfrom my body
“Hle Valkyrie, they’ve not the qualifications to be De’s death eventually There’s no need to pay it any mind”
“Don’t be like that, Heard Lauder This time’s enemy is… quite capable The reason I’ve convened you all is also about that matter”
On Heard-san’s words, Kanon-san let out a tired sigh
The Great Dereat to sier scorched the heavens, and reduced the ground to ash Always under such an extreme amount of stress, it was said to be only natural that she beca systee
“Oh?”
Oh Kanon-san’s words, Heard-san’s eyes widened a little
I noticed a faint fire burning in them
The light of fighting spirit
It was because Heard-san was Pride, that the stronger the enemy, the more likely he was to take the initiative
It was in order to forge his oer, or so he called it, but I do believe that’s a little extreme
It was likely because he lost to Leigie-saiven as a result, so that’s all fine and dandy, but that doesn’t change how troublesome it is
Once athered faces, and spat out words backed by eh to make existences quiver
“A few days ago, at the hands of the Valkyrie in question… Serge Serenade, the Seventh Rank was destroyed”
“Seventh… Rank…”
It was the first death of a Demon Lord within the top ten
Even when the death of a Demon Lord was a rare occurrence, it was even rarer for one of the higher ranks to perish
On that note, the air in the conference rooot heavier
The old man opened his eyes wide, and scowled at Kanon-sama
“Oh… Rank Seven… Ciel Afreide, was it? So the Haughty Youngun died…”
“… Hm, I see… it truly seems that she is sufficiently capable Kanon, I shall approve of your anxiety”
I’d never met her before, but apparently Heard-san knew her
Even so, why does his arrogance act up so htest
I don’t think there’s a single ht with her, you know…
Standing behindsigh, as if he had become accustomed to the man’s behavior
The King in question has probably beconored his dauntless wording, and moved on
“Ciel Afreide was not a weak Lord At the very least, no els came at him at a time, he would never be at the risk of defeat”
A Deels lived
But in exchange, our De
“And, what of it? Kanon-sale Demon Lord has died, correct?”
With a bored expression, the balloon-like
His swelled ball-like large torso was enough to surpass Heard-san’s height, and at a conspicuously high level, his sorry excuse for a head sent down a look with its white eyes, and colorless pupils
“Just as you may have heard from your inspectors, on this occasion, where one within the top ten ranks has been killed off, we cannot sier It will be a hindrance to my world domination”
Kanon-san looked around again
While she looked cal heat, and even when she didn’t look directly at me, I could feel it
… World domination, is it?
I think that’s just plain idiotic For those out there, those fools out there, what point is there in gaining command of them?
If you’re going to do so the top of the broth sounds best Get everything under your control, find a way to scoop out nothing but the beautiful substance, and leave the rest of the meal to the wolves
Kusu kusu…
“Ah~… with the Seventh Rank being killed… does that mean I’m next~?”
Rather than… sitting in a chair, a young lady floating right above it raised a hysteric voice
I secretly frowned, as I committed her form to memory
Appearance-wise, she was a sliirl that didn’t seem likewas one where she swayed back and forth in the air
Hers was an unco from a Demon
But she was one I had to be wary of
I row to that size…
Her pale-blue robe-like dress, and deep blue sash were, ifof a peculiar province… it did fit the lines of her body quite well, but only her breasts swelled unnaturally from it
As expected of a Demon Lord…
“There won’t be a next That’s e’ve been gathered Right?”
“Yes, that’s exactly right Up to noe let her run free, believing whoever died by her hand was fated to die off either way, but… now that Ciel has been slaughtered, we can no longer postpone thedown on us like this…”
A gathering of De that happened all too often
While her cal Wrath, in truth, in her body, the Great Dee
Kanon-san was severe What’s more, she kne to use that fact
“We’ll strike first Other than that Valkyrie… I’ve also read the report of the skies showing strange ht, Vanity?”
“… Yep”
A steel-like body apart from Heard’s, wrapped around a mountainous build of a man roared out
Vanity Seidthroan
Next to Heard-san, the second strongest Demon of Pride
Why are all these Prides these shameless masses of htest
Of course, that metal body over there is also out of the question
Out Of The Question!
“Attacks… caels, and ten the next Our casualties… roughly one hundred”
With uninterested expressions, the surrounding Lords listened in
The nureat, but it definitely wasn’t small
But it’s not that we assembled a force, but that one of our forces was assaulted, and faced annihilation An exception
Ain their desires, I doubt there’s really anyone who understands theof those words All these Lords are idiots
And Heard-san was the saht have known, his lack of interest made his disposition even more ill-natured
With his arrim expression
“Hrown soft? Even if it may have been just a hundred, while you were there, for you to have failed to destroy a els…”
“… No… est”
Vanity-shot down the glare with a look that didn’t fall short at all in terms of malice There was no hesitation in him
The class of wills between two Demons of Pride caused the air to shake
As if to blow that away, Kanon-san let out a deep sigh
“Please don’t make this any more of a pain than it already is Heard, Vanity… Vanity, I heard that the enemies were of Saint Lord Class, but is that true?”
“Saint Lord…”
That was heaven’s finest If Dehest rank, then that hat took its place in the Angel race
And at the saht to find in the Demon World
I’ve only ever heard of them, and never seen one for real No, I doubt even a majority of Demon Lords have ever seen one
But on the other hand, with the appearance of a Saint Lord, having only a e
They’re supposed to beValkyrie … and with but a hundred casualties, the Lord was able to repel the?
I’ve always been going through bridal training in order to serve Leigie, so I’eable in that field
Vanity-san gave his solemn consent
With just that, the other Deun to understand the abnormality of the situation
The ones that didn’t change were Vanity-san, Heard-san, and Kanon-san Those three Those were the only ones who had understood as going on from the start
The balloon ave his opinion
How unsightly It’s unsightly, but… that man’s Rank Two That means he was the former Rank One Demon Lord This world must be at its end
“So that roups What are your thoughts on the matter, Kanon-sama?”
“Right…”
Kanon-san had likely already reached her conclusion
No, she likely had done so far before we had gathered
This was just a dispatch order under the guise of a conference
“I have no intent tothe Deht… to is h”
“The Angels… I’ll destroy them”
With fiery sparkling silver eyes, Vanity-san’s gaze pierced through Kanon-san
That wasn’t… Anger But his voice like the ru thunder definitely had some power behind it
On that voice, Kanon-san grinned
“Hu… so be it, Vanity Swing about your powers as you please”
“Then on Serge’s matter… I’ll step forth”
Before another Demon Lord could open their mouth, Heard-san made a declaration
He had a somewhat unpleasant expression on his face
It seems both of them had wanted to take on the previous matter I’m not sure if they were afraid of Heard-san, but Deether, as of late
Even so, he decided to take the initiative, and go forth to crush his enemies one by one, but they were all too weak for him to feel any resistance, apparently
The frustration fro more and more absurd, and I was just at my wit’s end