Chapter 8 - Melancholia (2/2)

“!? … Ah!”

Kanon’s face is dyed bright red. I feel Wrath from her.

I shouldn’t have any siblings. Now and in the past.

… No, could it be I’ve just forgotten them? Come to think of it, perhaps they existed.

“L-Leigie… what you’re thinking right now is probably wrong.”

“… I see.”

Then why am I a niisama?

I closed my eyes, and started to think, but it became a pain, so I gave up. That doesn’t really matter.

Call me whatever you like.

“Ahem.”

Kanon awkwardly clears her throat, and bends her hips to match my eyelevel.

“Leigie, I came to clean up after you. No, in the first place, I came because of a report that Heard was going to dispose of your army’s generals, but… finding the entire territory covered in ice was unexpected…”

It’s more unexpected to me that you personally came for such a trivial reason.

Is the Great Demon King really just bored? Please share your good fortune with me.

“Why did you seal your territory, the Castle of Shadows, your people in ice? Why did Leigie-niisama, who left everything to Heard Lauder, and never actively moved perpetuate something like this at this point in time?”

“…”

Anything and everything doesn’t matter. Talking is a pain.

But if you force me to say it, what sealed them may have been me, but it wasn’t me.

The only ones I actively froze were Lize, and that gold-head, and that single man who’s served me since times long past.

The rest of them… simply received the side-effects of Melancholia.

They were merely frozen by that. They couldn’t withstand the very fact that I existed there.

I don’t care about the surroundings, but how sad of a truth it must be.

“Leigie-niisama, I’ve heard that Father was in your care in the past. Father’s father as well, and even the father before that were in your care. I myself, when I was a child, I’m aware that you often looked after me. So if possible, I don’t want to have to dispose of you.”

“Thank you?”

“Your welc… w-wrong. I wasn’t looking for your thanks! The army is yours, niisama, and it’s not like I came to ask you what you would do after losing your generals or anything. The freezing, and the skill you used that I have no recollection of, right now, that doesn’t really matter. All I want to ask is but one, a single simple question…”

Kanon has a serious expression as she looks into my eyes. As if the answer was lying somewhere deep inside of them.

But that’s probably a mistake. I’m sure my eyes are as empty as ever. Looking for it is a waste of time.

“Niisama… do you plan on rebelling against me, against Kanon?”

Those words triggered a vivid flashback from the depths of my memory.

Kanon of Ruin.

One who was able to injure me, a rare Demon Lord of Wrath specializing in attack power.

Regardless of enemy or ally, all that came into contact with her Wrath were reduced to ash; the King of Destruction.

And that was something from quite a while ago. Her current power should be greater than it was back then.

Perhaps even great enough to pierce through my Sloth.

What… a pain.

I’m in despair.

“Wha… niisama!?”

Kanon hurriedly lifts her face.

On her beautiful Glossy hair, and her ruby-like eyes, and everything else, a thin layer of frost descended.

“Could it be… you really plan on opposing me!?”

Flames dance, and cover her figure. Through the flickering crimson flames, I see an expression of shock.

The frost instantly melts and disappears. Flames to melt the ice. Meaning this was what melted the ice on this land, is it?

Kanon’s eyebrows lift for a moment, before going back down. She spoke, as if to reassure herself.

“No… that’s wrong. There’s no way a Lord of Sloth would ever do something so troublesome… right, of all things, niisama wouldn’t do anything that required so much activity.”

That train of thought is strange. Why does everyone keep saying its so strange for Sloth to move.

That’s wrong. The reason I don’t move is, considering the merits of moving, and the merits of not, the latter offers a higher strategic advantage.

And so, if an enemy comes, I’ll fight, and it ends up that moving will get rid of troublesome things easier, I will move. In Tokyo, I would die if I didn’t work, so I worked. To summarize, everything… depends on the situation.

It seems that among Sloth Demons, there are many who will quietly let themselves get destroyed.

Could it be that they’re idiots? Resist, man. Are you guys supposed to be shellfish or something?

No, even a shellfish would offer some resistance.

In particular, Melancholia offers some offensive power to the defensive Acedia. As if to offer that melancholy, that dark depression onto others. It covers Sloth’s weak points quite nicely.

I reach out my hand, and touch Kanon’s.

On that gesture, Kanon’s movements stopped.

… Just like this.

“Freezing Grave.”

“Eh…?”

Kanon raises a stupid sound, before being sealed in a coffin of ice in the same position she was in.

Her expression was somewhat innocent, and it’s hard to think of her as the Great Demon Lord, the recipient of everyone’s awe.

Even if you call her the Great Demon King, she’s only at this level.

And of that, I felt sorrow. I let out a sigh.

Just what is to become of this world.

“Hah… how depressing…”

“Wai… W-what the hell are you doing! K-kanon-sama!?”

Lize, who had just come through the door, frantically runs over to the sealed Kanon.

She touched the transparent high-quality ice that enclosed the suspended Great Demon King. Her cramped face looked down on me.

“Leigie… of Sloth. Like hell… this is a fraud. Even the one who dominates destruction and flames, Kanon-sama was… even if it was a surprise attack, in a single blow!? Lord of Sloth, why is it that you continue to resign yourself to Rank Three!!?”

“…”

How troublesome.

I don’t want status. I don’t plan on becoming some Great Demon King, and I don’t need the world. If I can continue living without it, then I don’t even need power.

… I merely ask for a rest deeper than all.

My mood lowers. Nothing matters at all.

It was Sloth along with Melancholy. Nihility is truth, and depression.

That is the longings that I govern.

Depravity and resignation, escape and decay, suspension and stagnation, inertia and dejection.

The Melancholy Soul Core that had grown within me some day or another covers my body in a chilling, cold power.

Something like this has never happened before. Is it because my Sloth has grown dim, or that they’re out of balance? Well, that is yet another thing that doesn’t matter.

What’s done is done. The power that had flowed out once, as if the dam had been broken, sinks everything into a hell of depression.

Answering to my feelings, ice spreads out, and the fortress Kanon thawed was iced over once more. The moisture solidifies, and the air turns cold.

The Flames of Wrath Lize had hurriedly let out wrap around my body, but without being able to break through my Sloth’s resistance, they disappear without giving me a single wound.

In this annoying world, at least a little peace and quiet.

I manifest a fist-sized ball of white light on the palm of my hand.

It’s a Skill I’m using for the first time, but I can understand. The power coming from it is incomparable to before. Melancholy Skills can’t even save the User from being part of their target.

I guess even I’ll be locked in Ice that will never melt. But I won’t die from it. Perhaps that’s fine, in and of itself.

Oh world, fall into depraved suspension.

The ball of light lets off a silvery flash as it’s deployed.

Now sleep if you will.

『Absolute Requiem』

“Wait… nu…”

Lize, who tried to deploy flames, was sucked in by the power, and frozen in the same posture.

The silver arrows pouring out from the rising ball of light spread over the world like shooting stars. Its scope far surpasses the extent of my Zone.

Wherever the arrow sticks into, the cold air deployed around it automatically takes control of the area without a sound, and changes it into a white world.

It didn’t take long for all moving things to have disappeared from the world.

It’s not like I can perceive the outside of my Zone, though, but its influence should extend beyond it.

The only thing I didn’t expect was…

“… So my Sloth’s resistance is the stronger of the two…”

… In a world where all creation was put to sleep equally, I was the only one who didn’t experience the effects.

Well, so be it.

If that’s the case, then I’ll just sleep normally.

Alone, in solitude, I’ll sleep quietly.

When I was about to close my eyes, I noticed.

It seems the world won’t let me sleep so easily.

“… I. Get. It… I got it, I understand, niisama. Your goal is…”

“…”

The ice that Kanon was locked in had silently melted. The Great Demon King’s slim figure was wrapped in a thin layer of high heat. It’s a heat that even exceeds my Melancholy.

But in her eyes, there’s no anger. Kanon’s Wrath is only ever pointed at enemies.

Does she not see me as an enemy yet? Well, that’s true. I have no enemies.

… No allies either.

To escape from reality, I turn my face away.

But what a pain.

She broke it. The ice seal.

So she can break it by herself. My power.

As I thought, Wrath is the power to deal with Sloth and Melancholy. I myself have no enemies, but Wrath can be called the natural enemy of the Sins that I govern, I guess.

“Niisama… you just want to sleep, right?”

Those were eyes filled with pity. A transparent voice.

Nothing really matters.

And her niisama, niisama is getting annoying. She has no intentions of healing that habit, does she.

“… Niisama…?”

“T-that doesn’t matter right now, does it!? Ah, dammit. Why is it that after all this, I don’t feel any hostility or killing intent from him!? Niisama always has to… dull my Ira.”

“… I see.”

If it really feels that way to you, then it’s simply because I have no hostility or killing intent.

Up until now, I have never killed another of my own distinct will. Probably, it should be like that.

I mean, in order to spend days in Sloth, I don’t need to kill others.

Having completely recovered, Kanon stabbed her staff into the ground. Her body has no injuries.

And after hesitating for a moment, she made an announcement with a clear voice.

Her tone held a strong will in it. Just like the Flames of Wrath she governed, with bright energy, power on the level that I could understand why she was the Great Demon King.

And miraculously, it was what Serge possessed, long ago.

“… Leigie of the Slaughterdolls… As the Great Demon King, I hereby declare. You are a failure as a Demon Lord. Even if you may be a Demon, doing something as outrageous as freezing over your own land, and covering it in ice and snow is something difficult to forgive.”

“… I see.”

“As punishment… niisama’s rank will be demoted to the very lowest.”

“… I see.”

“Your land will also be confiscated. All you’ll keep is this Castle of Shadows.”

“… I see.”

From the start, that was all unnecessary to me. I don’t have any particular feelings for it.

Ranking and place, go give it to someone worthy who actually wants it.

Without a sound, golden flames flow out of her staff. It isn’t hot. But the Fortress’s ice melts, and it touches all the earth as it expands. It’s a volume of power worthy of the Great Demon King. I feel power equal to or exceeding the Demon Lord I fought not too long ago.

In a voice tinged with fatigue, but without letting it spread to her expression, Kanon continued on.

“The seized land will go to the new Demon Lord, Heard Lauder… The Prideful Kaiser… I thought it wouldn’t be strange if he became a Demon Lord at any moment, but it sure took a while. That’s just how strong he built up his 『Superbia』, I guess…”

“… Yeah…”

Exactly. That’s exactly how it should be. Not that I really know.

He’s a Demon that could keep up with me over the years. There’s no doubt his way of life is a cut above other Demons.

“So just sleep in silence, Lord of Sloth.”

“Yeah.”

I’ll do just that.

And there, I quietly closed my eyes. Within my sinking conscious, it felt like I heard the Great Demon King’s Voice…

… Something good will definitely happen tomorrow.

Part 4: Iyo

And once more, my daily life continued.

“Leigie-sama, it’s time for your meal.”

“Yeah…”

I eat the food Lorna made, and let her clean the room.

Once the room has been cleaned, she makes the bed, and in that time, I leisurely doze off in the armchair.

My soul is at peace, and I barely have any stress.

Without a need to work, even the enemies that had invaded at regular intervals stopped coming. It sure is nice.

“Eh? Hya…? L-Leigie-sama… this is…”

But today, Lorna raises a rare scream.

She had cleared away the covers, and her facial expression had become stiff. Her body had solidified in that position.

No, this isn’t my Melancholy at work.

On the bed was a small girl. Stark naked at that.

Embracing my pillow, she slept with a peaceful expression.

I don’t know her name.

“W-why is Medea… inside Leigie-sama’s bed…”

“… No idea.”

No, I have a vague recollection of her coming in, but I didn’t have any interest, so I let her be.

It’s not like she was going to harm me, or do anything, and the bed is more than large enough. I had no reason to refuse. No wait, it was just a pain.

I don’t know the reason, but just go wherever you want.

“Medea? Medea!? Wai… Wake up!!”

“Nyaa…”

Being shaken left and right, the female Demon named Medea painstakingly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were quite clouded and stagnant. She rubbed them in a sleepy gesture.

“…W … what?”

“D… don’t what me! W-w-why are you in Leigie-sama’s room…”

“I’m a pillow. That’s all. Sleepy. Good night.”

“Hah? Wai… wake up~!”

The form of her embracing the pillow again as she tried to sleep no longer held a fragment of her pride as a Demon.

Lorna tries shaking her again, but this time she shows no signs of getting up. And from her body, I feel a deep and quiet presence.

It’s one that I know all too well.

It’s nothing other than the power of 『Acedia』.

And as long as that’s true, I doubt Medea will be waking any time soon.

Sloth gives bonuses to sleep. No, it isn’t a Resistance, just…

“Lorna, leave her be.”

“Eh? A-are you serious?”

“… Yeah.”

I can understand the feeling of Sloth Demons all too well.

Waking her up forcefully won’t work. And it’s not like she’s causing any trouble.

After shifting her gaze between me and Medea for a while, Lorna eventually let out a deep sigh.

It was quite a rare expression from her.

“Understood. Leigie-sama… but as I thought, for a man and woman not in a relationship to sleep in the same bed, I cannot recommend it…”

“I see.”

This Demon sure says some ethical things.

Well, I don’t have any particular objections to those words. I’m not approving either, but to me, it was actually something that didn’t really matter all too much.

“I will be carrying Medea to another room’s bed. Is that alright?”

“… Yeah.”

It was a bloodcurdling expression I couldn’t say came from the living.

She’s not letting out any anger by any means, but her rare words backed by a strong will made me nod immediately.

As if she were carrying a large package, She hoisted up the unmoving Medea, and bowed before departing from the room.

It must be hard, being a maid.

As I faintly considered such things, I shrunk my body inside the chair.

It’s a new chair Kanon sent over. The previous one suffered too much ice-related damages, and became unusable, but this one isn’t bad in itself.

At that moment, the door opened, and yet another Demon stepped in. It was an everyday occurrence.

A Demon that governed Wrath, and one that seems to be observing me: Lize Bloodcross.

I don’t get what’s so fun about observing me, but if you’re just going to quietly watch, then observe all you want.

“Leigie-sama, so you were awake…”

“Yeah.”

She usually moved around with a suprising amount of vigor, but now, on her face, there were some rare signs of fatigue.

And as if her body was collapsing, she lowered her body into the chair by the table. Without saying anything, she slumped down.

“… You look tired.”

“… Yes. Observing both you and Heard Lauder simultaneously is going to make my bones break some day…”

I see. It seems she’s been charged with two subjects this time.

My deepest condolences.

“… Can I complain?”

Do whatever you want. I doubt there’s any meaning in complaining to me, but I’ll at least quiet down and listen to your words.

It’s not like I’ll take it to heart, and rather than listening, it’ll just be entering my ears, though.

“That Heard Lauder is a monster. Perhaps more so that Leigie-sama… on top of that, he moves around way too much. Even though he’s barely become a Demon Lord, He’s managed to annihilate all Demon Lords who set even a foot in his territory without fail… Even if they may have just wanted to rile him a little, he personally marches to the enemy headquarters, and perfectly destroys them.”

“…”

“On top of that, he seems to be intent on finding a chance to aim for Kanon-sama’s neck… He never gives me a single moment’s rest. Do you know just how many inspectors have been dispatched to his place? Ten. Ten people! Even if Pride is the most dangerous by nature… this is too much. It’s as if I can just see the anxiety on Kanon-sama’s face…”

“…”

“And he’s really loud, protesting to get her to raise Leigie-sama’s rank.”

“…”

“I mean, in an instant, he overruled all the Demons above him, and he’s already Rank One.”

“…”

“For the unmoving Leigie-sama, there was barely anything I had to do in the means of inspection, but having this much to do is troubling…”

“…”

I see. You’ve got it rough.

Then you don’t really have to come observe over here, you know.

I mean, I don’t have any enemies, and I don’t do anything but sleep. I don’t even move.

Even though I didn’t say it, as if she felt my will, she directed a tired, and stiff smile at me.

The power I sense from her body is incomparable to the Lize of my oldest memory of her. It’s truly increasing.

“… No, I’m just here for a little rest, so…”

“… I see.”

Then do whatever you want.

If you’re not going to get in the way of my sleep, then I mind not whatever you do.

No, if there’s something you have that can get in my way, then just try it.

“… I’ll ask just in case, but have there been any problems on your side?”

“… None.”

“I see… that sounds about right.”

Her face changes in relief.

that’s a lie. Just a single one, it’s not really a problem, but a bit of a change. A single thing has happened to the stagnant me.

I only noticed it quite recently. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but it was probably after I was deprived of my territory, and I returned to my quiet life.

The truth is, I’m not a Demon Lord anymore.

Class: 『Evil God』

My Demon Lord Class changed, and that’s my new one.

I never thought that was what came after Lord, and Evil God isn’t even a governmental position anymore.

Well, even if my class changes, what I’ll be doing stays the same.

I just live by existing as I am. Up ‘til now, and probably from here on as well.

Until the day someone annihilates me.

To change the topic, Lize spoke.

“… Come to think of it, recently there’s been a strong one among the Assassins Heaven’s been sending to provoke the Demon World.”

“…?”

And so?

As if she sensed a change in my thoughts, Lize shook her head.

I don’t even have to let out words anymore. The perception ability to be able to pick up everything. Lize is quite a hard-to-get existence for me.

“No, well… it seems they have the frightening power to even be able to annihilate those of Demon Lord Class… additionally, they can use their wings to soar through the sky. Their mobility is high, so perhaps even that Heard would let them slip by. Right now, Kanon-sama is preparing countermeasures, but I thought I would at least spread what’s become common knowledge…”

“An angel strong enough to kill Demon Lords…”

That definitely is a frightening existence.

In the first place, an Angel’s powers are the natural enemy of Demons. The magic wafting around the Demon World is said to give high enhancements to a Demon’s abilities, but even so, there are angels strong enough to kill Demons repeatedly. It’s a pain. That’s also the reason why, while Heaven occasionally invades the Demon World, Demons rarely go up and attack Heaven.

On my words, Lize slumped her body over the table, and turned her head to look at me.

“No, it’s not an Angel… Well, they’re still classified as angels, but… do you know about 『Valkyries』?”

Nope. Never heard of it.

Well, I may have heard the word once or twice in my previous live, but… It was a terminology from the fantasy genre, I think.

On my attitude, Lize let out a sigh.

“『Valkyries』 are a form of Angel, and a special type of unit that comes when the 『Einherjar』 called to Heaven experience an aberration. Compared to Demons and normal Angels that store up power over many years, they’re born with a vast amount of battle experience, so they can be quite troublesome… well, there shouldn’t be that many fallen warriors that can knock down a Demon Lord, though…”

Hmm, so there are things like that.

Good for them.

Seeing I had absolutely no motivation, Lize shrugged her shoulders.

“The Blade of the Silver Blue, Serge Serenade. She’s confirmed to be the strongest 『Valkyrie』 up to date. I think it would be best if you at least store the name in your memory banks.”

“… Yeah.”

An unexpected name. I try to lift my body for a second, but it won’t move, so I give up.

But the sight of battles long past revive in my head all at once.

I can’t believe it. Why is she still alive?

Dammit. So unlike Japan, the Dead can come back to haunt you in this world.

Even death is reversible. No, this time might be a bit different from reversal, but whatever the case, what a Fantasy.

I looked at my own class once more.

『Evil God』

It’s probably the highest class a Demon can attain.

“? You seem happy.”

“… No.”

But so be it.

I’ll wait here for you no matter how long it takes. That’s my field of expertise, and probably, as a single Demon Lord, as the Last Boss, my obligation.

Can you match up to the Evil God?

Show me your gallant figure.

Iyo.

Satisfied, I close my eyes. I dozed off soon enough.

I am the Lord of Depravity.

Who lives just by being there, a Needless King.

And I bring Depravity unto others, an incarnation of evil who will sink all of God’s creation into an abyss of despair

By the time I realized it, I had reincarnated into another world.

I kept sleeping, and at some point I became a Demon Lord.

Even though I never wished for it.

But for me to not have to work, this world is the best. It must be true that good things happen to good people.

The flavor of Sloth is as sweet as honey. Glory, diligence, virtue, or honor. I have no interest in anything like that.

What’s there to hide? The Lazy king is… none other than me.