Chapter 206: Eve (3)
You bastard… Do you mean to stop the resurrection of this body?
“No. I don’t intend to go that far.”
What?
“Just as that bastard Luce sealed you in my body, there must be a way to move you to a new body.”
I didn't strictly mean to stop the resurrection of ‘the Beginning’ itself.
It’s hard to stop in the first place.
If I really tried to stop it, ‘the Beginning’ would try to take over my body by force, even if it had to force it.
And, it would actually take it.
I wouldn't be able to resist.
Right now, it’s just leaving me alone to make my body into an ‘optimal state’ more worthy of itself, or to put it another way, for the reason of letting it ripen.
Actually, if ‘the Beginning’ had decided to take my body, it would have taken it long ago.
“Luce must have prepared several alternatives besides me. In fact, since I didn't seem to listen, he just pulled out my heart right away, didn't he?”
If I were the only vessel to contain ‘the Beginning’, he would never have done that.
“Doesn't that mean there are plenty of ‘dolls’ to replace me?”
At Luce's base, there were traces of research he had done to take the power of ‘the Beginning’ for himself, including such ‘dolls’.
What rituals needed to be performed, and the necessary materials were naturally all prepared.
So, once the fight at the 「Demon King's Castle」 is over, I planned to go there and separate ‘the Beginning’ from me.
Since I've already removed Luce, who would have taken ‘the Beginning’, I should think about what comes next.
“Let’s stop this now, become independent, and regain our respective privacy.”
First of all, I had no intention of handing over my body from the start.
But I couldn't leave it in a state where we ‘share’ everything like now, so this was clearly the best option.
“You don’t want to be stuck with me all the time either, do you?”
It was then.
……Why?
‘The Beginning’, who had been quietly listening to me from some point, suddenly asked with a face that said it didn't understand.
“What? You want to stick together?”
I smirked at that and acted slyly as usual.
“You said it wouldn't work on you, but did you end up falling for me too?”
If you accept me, you could become far greater than you are now.
But ‘the Beginning’ didn't seem interested in playing along with my light joke.
If we drag down that pretender, I… no, we will take that spot.
We will become the true king and rule this world together.
It wasn't a tone trying to persuade me.
It seemed closer to genuinely not understanding that, from its perspective, I would refuse such glory and want a different path.
Once I take over your body, of course, I will hold the initiative.
But that doesn't mean you will disappear.
You become me.
‘The Beginning’ said.
You become a part of me.
“Although, I consider that part to be my existence disappearing.”
Well, this could actually be called a difference in perspective.
Anyway, as ‘the Beginning’ said, when the two of us ‘become one’, the consciousness of the one who doesn't hold the initiative remains in some form.
The example of that was Luce.
Originally in the story, Luce awakens as a Demon God with overwhelming power after stealing ‘the Beginning’.
At that time, no matter how strong they became through their journey, the reason the Champion of the Malevolent Star and their party, who couldn't cross the human limit (level 20, called ‘max level’), were barely able to seal that 「Demon God Luce」 is actually explained in the work as being thanks to the consciousness of ‘the Beginning’ remaining inside.
For example, ‘the Beginning’, having come to cherish the companions who had been together until this point, the people it formed bonds with, and its ‘vessel’, continues to resist from within Luce who became a Demon God, and as a result, a ‘gap’ to seal Luce is created.
Or, if the player went straight to the 「Demon King's Castle」 via a so-called ‘speedrun’ without companions, the explanation changes to resisting because it hated its plight of being used like a tool by Luce.
Of course, in this route, that resistance isn't that strong so the ‘gap’ is much shorter── in other words, there is a difference that the difficulty is much higher.
Anyway, it was all impossible unless the consciousness of ‘the Beginning’ remained inside Luce.
So as I said earlier, there was plenty of room to interpret it as a difference in perspective.
Even if I hand over the body, ‘I’ would still remain inside ‘the Beginning’ like a trace anyway.
Whether that would be in the form of a voice like it has been so far, or in some other way, I don't know since I haven't experienced it myself.
Are you saying you really don't know how glorious it is to become me?
But right now, that difference in perspective isn't what's important.
And I wasn't trying to separate ‘the Beginning’ from me because of that reason either.
“Leaving aside whether it’s glorious, the life you want to live isn't exactly my taste.”
What?
“I don't really have the mind to become great or anything like that. Being a king or something, honestly, I don't want to do it.”
I answered in a slightly light tone, but I was sincere.
“Just a free Bard’s life is enough to satisfy me, personally.”
…Actually, there is another reason I haven't mentioned, but I don't think I need to say it right now. I don't really intend to say it either.
“And you know, we talked about it once today, didn't we?”
Talk about what?
“Earlier. When checking the operation after arrIbing at the castle.”
“…There’s something I’m curious about.”
To be precise, it’s a story from after we finished talking about the operation, when Ibi suddenly started speaking like this.
“Why are there so many trash here?”
“Huh?”
“Those guys called Legion Commanders or whatever. Whether it’s that dirty pig bastard we killed today, or that undead bastard who is Toric’s enemy, or the bastard who sold a ‘contract’ to sacrifice thousands to that damn kain and died. Ah, of course, that bastard Luce too.”
Ibi, who continued speaking while folding her fingers one by one, let out a scoff as if she found it absurd herself after saying this much.
“Somehow, other than Lilith, there isn't a decent guy.”
That not all demons beyond the barrier are beings like ‘devils’ spoken of by humans could be known just by looking at Lilith, one of the representative runners of those ‘devils’.
“Why are they all such stereotypical ‘devils’?”
But most were beings that reinforced such prejudice.
Sure enough, Lily, who had been listening to that story silently, glanced at me, wondering what answer I would give.
Lily, who realized the fact that the ‘devils’ spoken of by people inside the barrier were just beings full of prejudice and eventually decided to fully accept herself as half-demon, probably still had questions about such parts.
“If they aren't beings like that in the first place, it’s hard to stand above others.”
The society of demons is a thorough meritocracy.
A world where only the strong can survive.
Even Lilith, a counterexample to the prejudice that ‘demons are evil beings’, had to show… ‘devil’-like cruelty at times to be in her current position of Legion Commander.
Even if it was for a kind of noble purpose that she needed power── a position where she could wield that power to protect her kin, not for personal greed.
SurvIbing in a world of the weak falling prey to the strong ultimately means you ate ‘meat’.
One of the easiest ways to survive in such an environment is to discard humanity.
You become able to see the opponent not as the same person, but just as ‘meat’.
Then, is it because demons are truly evil beings from birth that their society formed such an atmosphere?
No.
It was just the result led by natural survival instincts as lIbing creatures.
To live amidst limited resources, conflict is inevitable.
“Because it’s an environment where they are forced to be extreme.”
First of all, literally, most demons were placed in a barren environment.
Beyond this barrier, it was generally too cold or too hot.
Because of that, it was a place where it was hard even to obtain basic ‘food’ needed for survival.
“Think about the Dark Elves of Krom.”
The reason most Dark Elves there grow up as warlike warriors is because they have no choice but to do so to survive in the barren environment of Krom where not even a blade of grass grows properly.
Then one might ask why they live hard in such a place, but isn't that why they actually kept attempting invasions of the continent to live elsewhere?
The demons were the same.
Cultural differences and whatnot aside, objectively, this was a ‘hard place to live’.
It’s just that thanks to lIbing for so long, their bodies adapted (had no choice but to adapt) to this barren environment; compared to the land inside the barrier, this place was practically no different from ‘hell’.
“If history has taught us one thing, it’s that in extreme situations, extreme forces easily gain power.”
The history of the ‘world’ I lived in was also like that.
“Even if it’s a place like Sista Village. Actually, they tried to burn us at first, remember?”
I saw Lily flinch upon hearing this, so it must have been even easier to understand.
“To the demons here, the humans who drove them into this ‘hell’ and surrounded it with a high barrier to prevent even approaching must look like the true devils.”
The reason the Demon King's army led by the current Demon King can unify this Demon Realm and receive overwhelming support is, of course, because he showed overwhelming power, but from the demons’ perspective, the real devils are actually separate.
“Right. The humans.”
So no matter if the guys at the top are devil-like bastards who ate a lot of ‘meat’ and threw their humanity, who knows where, if they can really bring down that high barrier, if they can just let them escape this ‘hell’, anything is fine.
“To the demons here, humans are probably just monsters lIbing beyond the barrier.”
Just as demons are perceived that way by humans.
“There isn't really a chance to meet the other party properly, and the only way to know is through stories passed down.”
So without a chance to understand each other, they just continue to reproduce and expand such prejudices.
“──So, I want to break the barrier.”
“──What?”
Only by breaking the barrier blocking each other can we properly face each other.
“Everything starts from there.”
Such was the conversation we had.
“To do that, the current method won't work.”
I looked straight at ‘the Beginning’ sitting on the throne and spoke firmly.
“Even if we physically break the barrier and invade, we’ll only be erecting another barrier.”
Even if it’s invisible to the eye.
“Once you take my body, you will surely try to ‘conquer’ beyond the barrier in the exact same way as in your previous life── in a way not much different from the current Demon King. Right?”
‘The Beginning’ didn't refute.
After all, knowing the current Demon King and the beings who have aimed for the barrier calling themselves Demon Kings until now, it would know all too well who they learned that from.
“I want to stop that. So for that sake as well, I can't give you my body.”
I smirked and added.
“In the unlikely event that you don't bend your opinion to the end and try to repeat the same mistake, shouldn't someone stop you then?”
Are you saying that is you?
“Well, yes.”
Since the one who knows about you as well as I do in this world right now is me.
At the words that were practically a declaration of war that I would fight even it if necessary, ‘the Beginning’, who had been listening with arms crossed the whole time.
──Ha.
Soon distorted the corners of its mouth.
Try it if you can.
And laughed as if finding it ridiculous.