Book 2: Chapter 364
Immediately after leaving the dark cave, they were met with a grey world.
The sky was clear as if there was no ocean to reflect colour from, and the ground was covered in something like dry sand.
The reason it was ‘something like’ was because while it had the appearance of sand, it clearly wasn’t. It had a unique, near white colour that was similar to the sky above— the latter also seemed to be wriggling as if it were alive.
“Follow me.”
Kasajin spoke up again in an indifferent tone.
He’d told him to see this place for himself. Even if Lukas asked him any questions, he probably wouldn’t receive an answer.
So Lukas followed him in silence.
Stranger to him than the unfamiliar texture of the ground and the desert-like surroundings over which there wasn’t a single hint of breeze, was Kasajin’s very existence.
He wasn’t used to it.
The rag-like garments he wore did not detract attention from his arms and legs which looked like the withered branches of an old tree. It felt like even if he dressed a scarecrow in the same way, it wouldn’t be as thin as him.
This thought made him bitter. Was this man really Kasajin?
At that time, he could not feel any of the charisma of the Warrior King who had polished his body to the limit in the past.
…No. Now wasn’t the time for him to worry about that.
Without a doubt, Kasajin probably had the same thought when he saw Lukas.
Coo… oo… oo…
Suddenly, a strange sound drifted over.
Taking his eyes off of Kasajin’s back, Lukas turned to find the source of the sound. And immediately after almost leapt away.
A strange creature he’d never seen before in his life was slowly moving past.
“…”
What was that?
He couldn’t think of anything to compare it to. He had never seen an animal or a monster that had a similar appearance.
It walked on six legs while a pair of degenerated wings hung uselessly on its back. There were no eyes or ears on what appeared to be its head, but two protruding noses moved around busily.
Sniff, sniff…
The busiest part of the creature’s body were its noses. The huge pair of noses moved around like an insect’s antennae, and its nostrils opened and closed constantly. It turned its head to them as if it sensed their presence.
Depending on the perspective, it looked quite creepy.
Of course, Lukas paid more attention to the sharp claws on each of its six feet than its noses.
“Leave it. Two noses is harmless.”
“Two noses?”
“That’s that guy’s name.”
“That’s a weird name.”
“That so?”
Despite his words, Kasajin continued walking with an even pace.
Lukas hesitated for only a moment before following behind him. And as Kasajin said, the creature didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking them.
When two noses had completely vanished from their sight, Kasajin finally spoke up again.
“Is it really weird?”
“…”
The name two noses.
You came up with it.
* * *
After that, strange creatures began appearing one after the other.
A bed with hands and feet.
A monster with a huge body that looked like a tongue and was covered in tentacles.
A giant whose face was in the middle of his chest.
All of them were monstrous creatures that even Lukas, who had visited countless universes, was seeing for the first time.
Whenever Kasajin saw them, he would tell him the name he had given them.
That was sleeper, that was bunch of tongues, that was face giant…
But unlike the countless monsters that appeared, the surrounding landscape changed very little.
They were still strolling across the pale grey desert with a similar coloured sky hanging above their heads.
How many monsters had they encountered so far?
How far had they walked?
Shortly after crossing over a sand dune that was more like a sand mountain, Kasajin spoke.
“We’re here. Do you see that castle?”
“…castle?”
Lukas looked where Kasajin was pointing, but there were no castles in his sight.
However… there was something there. Noise? No. It would probably be more accurate to call it a mirage. It was as if something was trying to hide itself away.
“I guess you can’t see it.”
Kasajin tilted his head to the side.
“It seems it still isn’t enough.”
“What’s not enough?”
“It shouldn’t be because of Diablo… Ah. That’s right. It’s probably her.”
Lukas’ expression changed at his sudden words.
“…you know about Diablo?”
“I already told you. I’ve been watching everything from here. Anyway, I guess you’re still lacking the qualifications.”
“Qualifications?”
Once again, his question was left unanswered. Depending on who it was, when their questions were avoided so many times, it could bother them more than being lied to.
It was something that would’ve driven most to anger, but Lukas just let out a deep sigh instead.
“This isn’t like you, Kasajin.”
“Isn’t like me?”
“You’ve been avoiding my question all this time. Of the questions that I’ve had since coming to this place, you haven’t answered a single one.”
Where was this place?
Why did you look like that?
Are you even real?
Regardless of how many times he asked, Kasajin always remained silent.
But this time, his expression was a bit different.
Lukas slowly opened his mouth.
“I saw you.”
And started talking.
About Kasajin, but not Kasajin.
About the Demon King, not the Magic Warrior King.
“In a different universe… You were the subordinate of the Black Horned Demon King, a Ruler, and you slaughtered countless humans.”
“…”
“I would like you to answer this. Was that really you? The Demon King, was that really the Kasajin I knew?”
“No.”
The answer came without hesitation.
It was the answer Lukas wanted, but the more he listened, the more confused he became.
“That wasn’t me. However, that guy, the Demon King you knew, was Kasajin.”
“Then you…”
“I’m just the dregs, Lukas, trash that doesn’t even deserve to talk to you.”
For the first time, Kasajin smiled bitterly.
“You said I was avoiding answering? That’s not it. It’s that I can’t answer. Just like you could preach about the endless multiverse to the mortals in this world and no one would understand a word you say, similarly, you cannot understand my situation. That’s the kind of place this is.”
“…is it because I don’t have the qualifications yet?”
“…”
Kasajin’s silence was as good an affirmation as any.
“…this is the second time you’ve come here. You even wandered around for a while before leaving. You don’t understand just how ridiculous that is.”
“…”
“However, I, we, saw a possibility. Lukas Trowman, even if I am dregs, I will help you walk that path again. Just like 4,000 years ago.”
For a moment, Lukas had a brief sense of nostalgia.
The last time he’d had this feeling was when Kasajin had reminded him of the existence of Frey Blake…
Lukas’ expression became urgent.
That was usually a sign that he was about to leave this world.
“Wait a minute. Kasajin, I still—”
Another question would remain unanswered. No. That wasn’t all.
Lukas definitely had more to say to Kasajin.
“You will definitely do well, Lukas. The next clue is the box, and Diablo.”
“What—”
With a bewildered expression, Lukas disappeared before he could even finish his sentence.
Kasajin stood alone on the dune and stared out across the landscape. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground in an exhausted manner. He couldn’t help but feel that it would have been nice if there was even a little wind.
Unfortunately for him, that was not the case.
* * *
Asilla didn’t feel like Deukid was a sword. Instead, it was more like a large building, like a castle, was compressed into the shape of the sword and swung around.
Bang!
With every swing, the ground shook and there was the sound of an explosion.
Krrr…
The tall, splendid buildings that had surrounded them gradually crumbled like sand castles. And with each one that crumbled, it felt like a piece of her heart crumbled with it. She really was deeply attached to Yuterdam.
[…]
Lucid suddenly stopped moving. The head that was completely wrapped in black armour also seemed to be a bit tilted. It wasn’t strange for him to be puzzled.
Asilla, the platinum blonde woman in front of him, had almost no fighting ability.
Diablo’s words ‘fragile body’ hadn’t just been a mockery, they were true. And yet, Lucid had failed to hit her three times in a row.
[I see.]
0
Diablo, who was observing from the side, quickly understood the reason for this.
He could see Asilla’s lips moving slightly just before each attack hit.
[So you can still use Dragontongue, Gold Dragon Asilla.]
“…”
As expected of a Great Wizard.
It was impossible to fool the eyes of a being like Diablo more than three times.
[I’m amazed. Dragontongue is a power that’s engraved onto the very souls of Dragons. Even if your body is changed, that power won’t disappear, but… you shouldn’t have the power to use it.]
Diablo calmly continued his speculation. There were absolutely no signs of tension.
Perhaps it was because of his blind faith in his own or Lucid’s power. Or perhaps there was another reason.
In any case, it wasn’t a bad thing for Asilla at that moment.
Because she needed to buy every second that she could. If Diablo had decided to intervene, she would not have been able to avoid Lucid’s attack three times.
‘How long has it been?’
She’d been so focused on holding on for one more second and avoiding for one more second that she wasn’t conscious of the passage of time.
She hoped it had at least been five minutes… No. Wait a minute. If it was 5 minutes, it meant that she still needed to buy more time.
Are you crazy, Asilla? You, can you even do that?
‘I can’t.’
After answering her own questions, she slowly raised the corners of her lips. It was close to a smile of resignation.
Right. If she made any mistakes, she would die.
Bang!
With a splatter of mud, the fighting began once again.
Despite the chaotic mess, Diablo’s eyes remained locked onto Asilla.
A curious mind.
That was the greatest strength and weakness of Wizards.
Currently, Diablo was focused on analysing Asilla. There wasn’t any special reason for this. As mentioned before, he was just curious.
Dragon.
The Absolutes of the continent comparable to Demigods. However, after losing the Great War of Fate, they were deprived of their powerful bodies and their prides were castrated.
Diablo was naturally interested in Dragons. Beings who were blessed from birth with extraordinary sensitivity to mana and its manipulation. Any Wizard would be interested in them.
[Indeed.]
Clack.
White finger bones intertwined, creating an unpleasant sound.
[That body, is that of a golem.]
Like a mathematician who had finally found the answer to a particularly difficult problem that he’d been struggling on, there was a hint of satisfaction in Diablo’s voice.
[It would be more accurate to call it a puppet. It wasn’t inputted with memories and a personality, instead, it is a combination of artificial flesh and a soul… I know of only one being capable of such a feat.]
Without a doubt, it was Hector’s work.
Diablo had a faint interest in the relationship between them, but it was very faint.
The question that had interested him the most had already been answered.
How a Dragon had managed to use Dragontongue without a Dragon Heart.
[That’s it.]
Diablo gave his sentence.
[You can finish it now.]
Shuk-
With that one sentence, Lucid’s momentum changed.
“…!”
Asilla didn’t even have the chance to use Dragontongue.
Lucid, who appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye, swung his sword without hesitation.
Crack!
From her left thigh to her right shoulder.
Asilla’s body split apart in an instant, but there was no scream. There wasn’t even a splash of blood.
Instead, a liquid the same colour and consistency as molten iron, slowly dripped out.
[So the resemblance to a human ends at the appearance.]
He wasn’t sure exactly how durable the body was. But even if the entire body was made of steel, it would have ended the same way before Lucid’s swordsmanship.
“Kuh…”
Nevertheless, Asilla was still alive.
It seemed that as long as the head was still intact, there would still be a chance of survival. Or at least, there was a chance for a golem to survive.
But no such chance would be given.
Because Deukid gradually moved towards her head.
Just before the sword pierced Asilla’s head.
Lucid’s head snapped to the side.
Deukid, which was still in motion, was quickly pulled in front of his chest.
Bang!
A heavy sound came from Deukid. Lucid, who was unable to withstand the force of the blow, was sent flying. His body skipped across the ground a few times before crashing heavily into a three story building.
[…]
As if he couldn’t believe the scene that had just unfolded before his eyes, Diablo remained frozen in place.
His gaze locked onto the young girl who had sent Lucid flying.
She had a small slender body. In addition, she was currently naked.
However, the pressure that was currently being exuded from her body made it difficult to pay attention to those factors.
“I didn’t believe it when I heard it, but it’s true.”
The girl, Anastasia, glared at Diablo, her silver hair fluttering.
“You bastard… What the hell did you do to my friend?”
Needless to say.
Her turquoise eyes burned with rage.