--The most important thing in life is entertainment.


"Melt, the God of Holy Light, and Hades, the God of Fallen Light.
　There were once two gods in Latesia.
　The two gods worked together to create man and sub-human, demon race and demons.

　In order to lead the demons, Hadeer first created a powerful demon race.
　That was the first Demon King.
　And to assist the first demon king, four more demon clans were created.

　--They were the Dead Heaven.

　They were given the name Hilde Garda by the first Demon King.
　He dedicated himself to the prosperity of the demon tribe, and the Watashi and the rest of us helped him do it.
　The prosperity of the demon tribe - that was the first demon king's wish, and mine as well.
　However, as if to step on such a wish, a war broke out.

　It's the battle between Melt and Hardia.

　I don't know what the trigger was.
　But I do remember Hardia attacking Melt, who was trying to persuade him, as if she were possessed by something.
　The struggle between God and God eventually spilled over to Watashi and the others.

　Hardia said.
　Kill all humans and sub-humans, he said.
　For that, I don't care how many of you die," he said.

　True to his words, Hardia treated the demon race as if they were disposable tools.
　Many of them died.
　I remember the first Demon King crying over their deaths.

　A few years later, the first Demon King made a move.
　In order to protect the demon race, he negotiated with Melt in secret.
　In exchange for taking Melt's side, he asked her to help the demon race.

　Melt accepted and gave his protection to the demon tribe.
　That was the start of a major reversal in the formation.
　Hardia was gradually being trapped.

　Even though he had gained the upper hand, Melt continued to call out to Hardia.
　Let's not fight like this, he said, you've made a mistake.
　But Hardia didn't stop.

　It wasn't long before the incident happened.
　The human warrior who was Melt's confidant had betrayed Melt.
　Through an opening in Melt's wounded body, Hardia led his army and attacked him.

　What happened from there on, Watashi didn't know.
　For as soon as the battle began, he fell to the bottom of the valley under Hardia's attack.

　It was a fatal wound.
　His soul was missing and he couldn't recover fully even if he used his healing magic.

''...... I don't want to die, I don't.''

　Fear of death assaulted me.
　Crawling on the ground, Watashi looked for a way out of the valley.
　In the midst of it all, I was truly lucky to find the werewolf species I was hunting.

　The theory was the only possession magic that existed.
　In his deathbed, Watashi used it.
　It was a defective magic with an extremely low success rate - but miraculously, I was able to make it work.

　It possesses the body of a werewolf species and protects its wounded soul from the outside world.
　In doing so, Watashi survived.

(Give me back my ...... body.)

　A strange feeling welled up in my chest at the repeated sound of grief.
　Watashi thought it was guilt.
　But oddly enough - Watashi, reflected in the water running nearby, had a ripping smile on his face.

◆.

　Then Watashi found out about this.
　Melt was dead and Hardia was sealed in the underworld.
　Aside from the sealed Hadeer, Melt, who has the body of a god, will eventually return.
　It seemed that the first Demon King and all the four heavens, except for "Rain", were dead.
　Now, the second Demon King seems to be ruling the demon race.
　They seem to be living in peace, cooperating with each other.

　With the body of a werewolf species, Watashi thought about the meaning of life.
　The first demon king had said.
　He said he wanted to create a world where the demon race could live in peace.
　If so, I thought I should support that ideal.

　Publicly, I'm supported by the rain that has survived.
　That's why I've decided to support the Demon King's Army from the shadows, as my name suggests.
　I prayed that this peace would last for a long time.

　However, the peace was not to last.
　What caused it, I don't know.
　But once again, the war happened.

　It was a war of people, sub-humans and demons, a war of chaos.
　I tried desperately to stop the war.
　Many times I tried to get them to sign a truce.

　But it didn't work.
　We were always one step short of stopping it.
　Always something got in the way.

　It was the human conceit that we were the best.
　It was a single arrow fired by a sub-human trapped in revenge.
　It was the madness of a demon race that had run amok in search of a struggle.
　It was, it was, it was ----.

　No matter how many times I tried, no matter how many times I helped, no matter how many times I tried, no matter how many times I tried, no matter how many times I scrambled.
　It was pointless.
　The war could not be eliminated.

　Then one day, Watashi was caught up in a war that nearly cost him his life.
　I survived, but the body I was possessing died.
　That's when I thought again, "I don't want to die," I thought.
　I don't want to die," I thought again.

　Then I thought again, "I don't want to die.

Why should I suffer for these foolish people? And.

　Knowing that all I had done was in vain, I was unnerved by what I had done.
　I didn't feel like doing anything.
　There was no point in living.
　But I was afraid to die.
　I continued to live as if I were dead, invaded by the thirst of boredom.

　I did not want to die.
　So I wandered around trying to find the meaning of life.

　That's when I started.
　I didn't feel guilty about taking over someone else's body anymore.
　I began to feel pleasure in the screams of the person I possessed.

　No, no.
　From the beginning, I've felt joy in someone's misery.
　I just couldn't put a name to this feeling.

　One day, on a whim, I killed someone with my possessed body.
　It was the family of the possessed.
　The owner of the screaming, fuming, crying body felt a pleasure akin to a climax.

　Then.
　I began to take pleasure in trampling others and making them despair.

　I killed a human.
　I killed subhumans.
　Killed demons.

　--was delightful.

　The gasps of agony, the wailing over the deaths of their families, the screams of those fleeing with their ugly faces contorted, the begging for their lives uttered in trembling voices, the howls of the losers calling them cowardly, the sobs of those whose expectations were shattered and crumbled.

　How ridiculous and hapless are the negative emotions of those who come to mind.
　Seeing these people exposed to the ugly end of the world, I felt a heavenly pleasure and a sense of superiority to escape death and continue living.

　Everyone is foolish, stupid and vile.
　They are all just toys for me to enjoy.
　Boredom is a killer.

　--So the most important thing in this world is entertainment.

　The only way to quench your thirst is through entertainment.
　Watching people's misery is the best entertainment.

　But just killing them gets boring.
　It's boring to just take over.

　At some point, I began to imitate the character of the person I had taken over.　
　And then, on top of that, I decided to trample on the people, things, and beliefs that that person held dear.
　This was far more entertaining than I had imagined.
　In just a few days, he would trample everything that he had spent decades building up.
　Nothing could be more fun.

Hilda, a demon with a name similar to Watashi's, was fun to play.
　She wanted to encourage her comrades who were darkened by the war.
　She had a cheerful, clownish way of speaking and encouraging those around her.
　So Watashi was 'cheerful and happy and made others uncomfortable'.

　While I was spending time like that, Ortegia appeared.
　A demon tribe that rose to power after defeating the previous demon king.
　I became interested in him, and I became the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army.
　Because I wanted to see what Ortegia would do nearby.

　And soon after, that d*mned man appeared.
　The heroic Amatsu.
　The man who wielded a sense of justice and crushed a number of the amusements I had prepared for him.

　Do you want to create a world where everyone can hold hands?
　It's impossible.
　After all I had worked so hard for, it was impossible.
　There is no way that someone from another world could do it.

　I don't like it, I don't like it, I don't like it, I don't like it.
　So I decided to step on Amatsu's toes.
　I took over Lucifina's body and betrayed her.
　It felt so good to see Amatsu's face as he was dying that I felt like I was going to jump into consciousness.

　It was a lie, an emotion I wanted to deny.
　The despair of having been betrayed by someone so dear to me.
　The tears in his eyes and that look on his face as if he was about to fall apart.

　It was superb entertainment.
　That man who wouldn't give up and bite back no matter how hard I pushed him, no matter how hard I pushed him!
　My friends betrayed me and my heart is broken!

　Suck it up.
　I was filled with the desire to shout that.
　Well, I refrained from doing that before Liuzas and Dionis.

　After killing Amatsu, I played with Lucifina.
　This woman has as strong a sense of justice as Amatsu does.
　This is the kind of woman who feels great when she tramples on you.

Lucifina has a desire to 'make everyone in the world happy' and 'work for the sake of others, even if it means dusting herself off'.
　That's why Watashi 'took the initiative, trampled on others and made everyone in the world unhappy'.

　Together with Dionis, I even destroyed a village that I had been to in the past.
　Lucifina's voice was nectarous as she shed tears in her heart each time she did so.
　It was an unearned pleasure to feel the stout Lucifina's heart chipping away.

''Why are you doing this ......?''

　I reply to Lucifina's voice that asks me.

''--because it's delightful. It is pleasant to feel you crying and screaming. I take pleasure in seeing people suffer from being killed by you. There is nothing sweeter than the misery of others. I just lick that sweetness. So will you suffer more?　The more unhappy you are, the more I can lick off the sweet honey.'

　Lucifina's cries, which were stifled, echoed inside Watashi.
　Lucifina, who is sobbing, occasionally calls out that man's name, 'Iori-san, Iori-san.

''Huh, hmm. You guys are all the same. When you can't help it, you put your trust in a dead man. That man is already dead. You killed him, remember?　And yet you put your trust in that man, it's ridiculous. It's utterly hapless.''

　I'm going to tell you to trample your stronghold.　
　It was a pleasant feeling to see that stout Lucifina's heart crumble.

　This world is my toy box.
　I will play and live in this world forever.
　So please visit ----.

◆

Wake up.

　As I finished my preparations, I crushed Hilde Garda's unconscious foot.
　With a small moan, Hilde Garda regains consciousness.

''---uh.''

　Grasping the situation, Hilde Garda immediately tried to escape.
　To no avail.
　Pulled by the chains that bound itself, Hilde Garda fell to the ground.
　With a cracking sound, Hilde Garda's white skin cracked with a crack.

''U......ah. Quickly ...... the next body .......

Do you think that opportunity will ever come around?

　I've chained him up so he can't escape.
　While she was asleep, the magic inside her body was stripped.
　I also retrieved the magic items that I had hidden inside my body.
　And right in front of Hilde Garda, Elfi and I are standing right in front of her.

It's a good thing that you're not ....... Watashi is ...... in a place like this.

　Hilde Garda's white skin paled and fright was reflected in her eyes.
　But it was only for a moment.
　She holds out her hand with a bang and tries to launch something at herself.
　But nothing happens.
　The magic is disabled.

"...... Hmm. It would have been easier if I could kill myself with this. I guess that's not going to happen.

　Hilde Garda said in a voice that had regained its composure.
　What, you tried to kill yourself?

Hostage, running away, and then choosing suicide. You don't know what you're talking about.

Ha, I hope you're looking down on me, former demon king.

　Hilde Garda turned her black eyes to me as she spat it out.
　There was no fear in those twin eyes, but resignation.

''Well, Iori Amatsuki. If you're going to kill me, you'd better do it quickly. It's about you. You're going to try to save the sub-people down there too, right?　If you fidget, the Void Labyrinth will crush the Great Forest.

For someone who said he didn't want to die ......, you're cool with it.

'I wouldn't have been able to save myself from this situation in any case. I've stopped scrambling for nothing.

　With an enlightened smile, Hilde Garda continued to speak quickly.

'Now, what kind of revenge are you going to show me?　From the way you talk, you've imposed sanctions on those who have betrayed you, haven't you?　As a matter of fact, I was curious to know how they died. How did Dionysus kill them?　That's him, ranting and raving inelegantly, isn't it?

　Wordlessly, I'm going to crush the safe one's foot.
　Despite a small grunt and greasy sweat, Hilde Garda did not break into a smile.

''...... I guess I've been hurting them like this and lowering the pool of betrayal. If that's the case, I'm ...... sorry, but I'm not living up to your expectations.

　Hilde Garda says, with black eyes that seem to boil over with the malice of this world, and a hideous smile that seems to split open.

'I have had the pleasure of trampling on many. That's why I think I've got the knack of saying 'I can't enjoy it if you do this to me'.

............

'Now, you can hurt me and kill me as you please. But I won't disappoint you. I won't let you die as ignominiously as all the people you've killed in the past. --I'm not going to let you die as haplessly as you have killed them, right up to the very last moment.

　I looked at the victorious Hilde Garda and thought.
　Ah. I'm really glad that I chose this method of revenge.
　It was the right thing to do to quickly absorb the labyrinthine core he had obtained and regain his strength.

''Yeah. As you wish, let the revenge begin. It's about time the brainwashing magic I used on you takes effect.

What ......

　Hilde Garda gave a huff.
　He made a jarring sound as he tried to reach his chained arms to his head.
　He must have sensed the traces of magic in his own head.

'To watashi, what ......

'You said you wanted to keep on living, playing with others.

What have you done, I ask you?

So I'm going to let you live for a while.

　As I said this, I thrust the blade into Hilde Garda's thigh.
　I pushed the blade deeper and gritty, moving it around to gouge the flesh inside.

'............. ...... Oh, d*mn.

　After a strange pause, Hilde Garda let out a belated groan.
　Seeing that, she was sure of success.

'It ...... keeps ...... torturing me ...... and torturing me ....... You mean ......?

　Hilde Garda asks in a raspy voice.
　Well, you're not wrong.

'I used some magic on your head. It's an application of brainwashing magic.

　In order to wake up Lucifina, I poured my magic power into her brain.
　In this way, the brainwashing spell can be applied in this way.
　This is the magic we created by applying it.

I used a spell to make your brain gradually lose its sense of time.

What about ..................?

The bottom line is that you're going to get my revenge for decades to come, hundreds of years.

......... yeah, yeah.

　Understanding my words, Hilde Garda opens her eyes.
　Her face pales, her forehead is wet with sweat, and her lips quiver with a wannabe.

'It's ...... a lie. ...... That's not ...... possible, it can't be.'

You don't have to believe me. You'll find out soon enough.

　Using his sword, he lightly stabs Hilde Garda's body.
　Be careful not to cause a fatal wound, but take care to experience the pain to the fullest extent.

''Ah...... geez.''

　Hilde Garda's face contorted in pain as she paused for a few seconds after the stab.
　And I guess that's what made me realize.
　That what I said was right.

'Stupid ...... then, really .......'

　As Hilde Garda uttered this, the roominess from earlier had disappeared from her face.

''It's about time. In another minute or so, the experience time will slow down to the point where we can't talk properly.''

"Wait for me at ................... ......!

I thought you were going to scoff at us until your last moment?

　Hilde Garda shakes her head, buzzing and spitting, and shouts.

'Please ......!　Kill me!

Don't be shy.

"I don't like this!　Please, please ...... please kill me with one thought!

You told me.　He doesn't want to die.

　I say to Hilde Garda, who has tears in her eyes and repeatedly pleads with her ragged, hyperventilating breaths.

'So, you know,'

----

I'll let you live. I'll let you live.

　I'm sure I'll have a ripping smile on my face at that moment, I thought.


◆

(No.)

　The change is disappearing from my vision.
　I could see that time was slowing down.
　My body doesn't move as it should.

(I'm going to continue to have fun in this world, I don't want it to end like this! I don't want it to end like this!

　The gouged out wounds are jiggling and emitting a strong pain.
　I can't even use my healing magic even though it hurts so much.
　The pain continues for a long time.

(Stop!)　(Oh, ouch, ouch!)

　Iori is moving slowly, slowly, gently.
　Over the course of hours, Iori peels off the wattles' nails with a wicked grin on her face.
　The pain of the meridian and the nails being ripped away from my flesh.
　It stretches out for hours, and then hits Watashi.

(Stop ...... agh, stop it ......!)

　Gently, Iori peeled off the nails one by one.
　It took her nearly three days to finish removing the nails on both hands.
　In the meantime, the wounds all over her body continue to ache, and the sensation of the nails being peeled off is added to it.

(Don't be silly!)　Aah!　I'm a shade!　There's no way you could be this ...... stupid!

　It doesn't stop there.
　They'll break your bones.
　The flesh is broken.
　Slowly, Iori shakes my body and shakes me.

(Hi, i, gi.)

　Ouch.
　Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.
　Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!

　My stomach can't keep up with the intense pain that makes me want to throw up.

(Ahhhh!　I can't speak!　I can't talk!　(No, no, no, no, no, no!

　At the same time, I could feel my senses being stretched further.
　Sensory time continues to slow down.

(This is too much. Why do I have to go through this?

(Shit, shit, shit, shit!)　(Can't we get out of this situation somehow?

(...... No, I can't use magic. I can't even move my body!)

(I can't believe this ...... wannabe has been exposed to such haplessness. Iori Amagatsuki, Elfiszak, Lucifina!　I won't allow it. I'll kill you. I'll shake him hard and then he'll do to me what I did to you!

　In my mind, I burn hatred to drown the pain.
　Imagining how I'm going to kill those guys, I endure a long time.

　As I did so, Iori moved slowly and pointed the cutting edge of the blade at me.
　It wasn't until a few days later that I realized that the spearhead was pointed at my right eye.

(No way.)

　Slowly, slowly, the blade comes closer and closer.
　It doesn't come soon enough.
　I can only stare at the blade as it approaches my eyes in stretched time.

(Lie, no.) Don't. Don't come here!

　Nothing can be done.
　Slowly, slowly.
　The spearhead of the blade comes into my eyes.

(Oh ...... aaaaah ......)

　Eventually, the blade stabbed into his eyeball.
　A sizzling sensation.

(------!!!)

　The intense pain makes me jump in consciousness, but I can't even pass out.
　The pain is so intense that a foreign object enters the eye.
　The blade doesn't advance at all, only the pain continues.
　It was several months after the experience that my right eye was completely blinded.

(Hee, ahhh. My eye, ahhh!)

　My vision is cut in half.
　The pain is so intense that it's driving me crazy.
　I couldn't pass out, I couldn't sleep, and I had to think of something to drown the pain.
　And then it dawned on me.
　What would happen if my left eye was also crushed?

(Nothing, you can't see anything: ......?)

　Darkness.
　Darkness that only lasts for the pain and you don't know when you can die.

(Hi, oh ....... Wow, oh ...... oh, wow!　　No, no, no!　I don't want to do that!)

　Iori's movements were so frightening.

(I was just having fun as a reward for all the hard work I did for everyone.

(Why do I have to go through this?!　Funny!　(This isn't right!)

(Because you messed with Iori Amatsuki?　Because you were involved in Elfiszak?　(Because she was possessed by Lucifina?

Wouldn't this have happened to me if I hadn't done something?

(If I had known, I wouldn't have done this!　I didn't touch him!

(Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!)

I'm sorry!　(Let me go already!!!)

(I can't stand that this goes on forever!　I don't care about entertainment anymore!　(As long as it doesn't hurt, whatever!)

(Forgive me ...... please, forgive me!)

(I'm sorry, I'm sorry.) I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

I hate the dark. I hate not being able to see anything.

My eyes hurt. My fingernails hurt. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!

(When will she destroy my left eye?　(When can you not see anything?)

(Scary, ouch, ouch, ouch, scary, scary, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, scary.)

(Don't go there ...... that part, oh no!　(Ouch, ouch, ouch)

　The pain continues.
　It's never going to end.
　I don't even know how many decades have passed.

　Eventually.

(-- ah.)

　Iori pointed the blade at his left eye.

(Ah.)

　Over the years, the blade slowly comes closer and closer.

(Yada, yada, yada. ....... Yada yada yada yada.)

　Over the decades, the blade loomed in front of me.

(Hiccup. Stop, don't close your eyes.)

I don't want to be invisible.

Don't make it hurt any more.

(Zank, Surface, Randolph, and the Witch King, please help me ......

I was wrong!　(I'm sorry, I'm sorry ...... forgive me)

(My eyes are yah! ......!)

　With a bump, the vision in my left eye was covered in darkness.
　I couldn't see anything anymore.
　All I was left with was pain.

　I couldn't see anything.
　I don't even know when the hell is going to end.

(Oh no! ...... scary!)

　Please.

Kill me.

　No matter how many times I begged.
　Hell, it never ended.


◆

...... seems to be dead.

Yeah.

　After shaking my entire body, I killed Hilde Garda.
　Hilde Garda is dead with a look of horror on her face.
　The time it took me to kill him was less than enough, but this guy must have felt thousands of times more than that.
　I wonder what kind of hell he's in right now.

　Hilde Garda's body cracked and shattered into pieces.
　His soul must have reached its limit.

'I've put the pain on others too much,'

　I look down at the wreckage and say.

'-- this time, you keep taking the pain.