Chapter 102

CHAPTER 3 A Vengeance in Motion I had a dream. In it, the world was saved. Humans, beastfolk, and demons fought no more, and all nations came together to support each other through thick and thin. One day, I was summoned to this world as a result of a mishap in one of Leticia’s experiments. To find a way to send me back, she and I went on a journey together. In the beginning, of course, we fought, we swore, and we clashed, but over time we came to know each other better. We fell in love. There were no heroes, no demon lords. Nobody needed to go through loss or to sacrifice themselves. It was a kind and gentle world. When I woke up, that dream left a sickly taste in my mouth. It was idyllic and naive, too far-fetched for even the wildest fantasy. But that was a good sign. That was the way I had to see it. Because until my vengeance was complete, I couldn’t change. I couldn’t let anything get in my way. I had to keep pressing on, through that boiling pit of tar. “Same old, same old, huh?” Back at the inn, I went through the information Sir Squeaks had gathered for me and let out a huge sigh. The war was still going strong, and Ardelius was still a major player in the battle. “Leticia should have headed over as soon as she heard about that. Lilia, too, of course.” As soon as I had heard that Ardelius was on the front lines, I exited the dungeon with Yuuto and Mai. I had run into Leticia soon after arriving in this world, but I needed her out of the picture to go up against Lilia. So the instant I’d learned that Leon would be coming back to this town to resupply, I decided to go after him first. This meant we could train in the dungeon at least until word of Ardelius spread to this town. Once that happened, Leticia would leave the city. I couldn’t keep tabs on her because of her overpowered magical capabilities, but that was what I predicted. Then I would have all the time in the world to take care of Leon. Then again, perhaps not all the time. I need to start thinking about Lilia while Leticia is still distracted. My preparations were proceeding apace. Slimo was making sure the stage was set. It wouldn’t be long now before we were ready to raise the curtains. “And for the finishing blow…we’ll go with this.” One of my soul blades manifested in the air before me, and I grabbed the hilt. This was the Tempter’s Blade of Polymorphism. It was a relatively short sword, with two thick, daggerlike blades sticking out of the hilt. However, these blades were not metallic but were instead made of a partially transparent material, like the claw of an animal. The blades were hollow, and inside one of them was a mysterious liquid with an indescribable color. The grip and blade trimmings on that side also kept changing color every few seconds. This contrasted starkly with the other blade, which was empty and colorless. I once again confirmed that the sword was set up correctly, then dispelled it back within me, before leaping backward onto my bed. “Fine. If you like fairies so much, then try this on for size.” The Tempter’s Blade of Polymorphism was not designed for combat. It was blunter than a wooden sword, but too small to be used as a club, and too bulky to be concealed. This soul blade had one use and one use only: It could alter a person’s race. However, the process took two weeks to complete. Not something that could be done in the heat of battle. Additionally, the blade was incapable of altering anything other than race. Its targets would still keep their intrinsic abilities even after their transformation. “You can be one of them and get crushed alongside them.” Once Leon heard of my ascent to S-rank, he would come. He would come and ask to test my power. Then I would be able to use this. The Tempter’s Blade required a sample of the target’s mana in order to take effect. “Become one of the very vermin you tried to protect.” I would turn Leon into a fairy. And then… “Heh-heh. Ha-ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!” Oh, I just couldn’t wait. Couldn’t wait to see his face twisted with grief when he realized what I was going to do to him. Couldn’t wait to see what he would choose, when all paths ended in death. “Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha…ha… Phew.” The day I would find out was fast approaching. We were flying around in the sun-dappled forest, as usual, feeling the warm rays on our skin as we went about our daily stroll. “Huh? Didn’t we nap all day yesterday?” “No! Yesterday was the eating competition! We packed in so much meat!” “No, no! Yesterday we made the humans eat! They ate so much, their stomachs burst! The napping competition was the day before three days before yesterday’s yesterday!” “Yes, remember? We decided that wolf fur made for much better blankets than human skin! Human skin is all cold and smelly.” “““Yes, yes! Humans are cold and smelly!””” Actually, that was a good point. This wasn’t a daily stroll at all. Well, we could do a daily stroll tomorrow, then. Just then, we heard a noise, a kind of terrible clanking. It wasn’t the trees, and it wasn’t the monsters. It was our toys. Three of us, including me, raised our hands in excitement. “The toys are here!” “The toys are here!” “The toys are here!” “I want to nap.” “I want to play tag.” “I want to play hide-and-seek.” “I want to eat.” The others had no interest in the humans and went away somewhere else. They were probably bored with humans already, after all the fun we’d had with them lately. I’m not bored! I’ll never be bored! The humans are so silly, and they’re always fun! They’re fun to surprise, fun to control, and they make such good emotions when they find out what we made them do! “Let’s go! Let’s go!” “Is it just us?” “Let’s go! Let’s go!” Here we go! Onward! We flitted through the trees, bountiful and replete with mana. Flapping our wings, even though we didn’t need them to float. “There they are!” “There they are!” “There they are!” Looking down from atop the canopy, we spotted a human trekking laboriously through the forest. His cloak was ragged, and he carried a large sack. Many humans like this got lost in our forest from time to time, seeking the powerful herbs that grew here. Hmm? But something’s strange. He doesn’t seem like the others. I suddenly recalled the words of our queen. “My darling children. Spread your wings as you please. We are the guardians of this land. Wherever the Angellight Tree grows is our domain. Our garden. There we can play to our hearts’ content.” The queen was rather fond of me, and I got to speak with her often. I once impressed her with a musical performance using an instrument made out of a living human. The queen complimented my style, patted my head, and called me a good boy, and ever since then, a tiny part of her favor had gone with me. After that, I loved playing with humans, so I tried to play with them every chance I got. But why? Why? Why? Something felt strange. I wanted to play with him, but I also didn’t want to play with him. Why was that? “Shall we pluck out his eyes?” “Tear off his nose?” The other two didn’t seem put off at all and were happily discussing what to do while I was thinking. Humans are silly, so usually when we show ourselves, they smile and come closer. We talk and laugh, and when we stick our hands through them, they make these funny faces. The confusion, the surprise, and the pain are delicious to us. We slurp it all up. Then the games begin. We make them play tag with the monsters in the forest, or strip them naked and make them walk into a cave of venomous insects, or make them fight each other. The emotions they release excite us and fuel our power, and it’s great fun as well. But this time… “Wait, you two!” As if struck by divine inspiration, something occurred to me. I remembered what the queen told me! Sometimes, there are very special toys who share an affinity with us! If they want to, they can become fairies, too! “Wait?” “Why wait?” The two other fairies stopped. Happily, I flew over to the human myself. Wouldn’t it be great if we had even more friends? “Hey, human! Hey, human!” I called out merrily. “…” The human didn’t respond. I could barely see his face beneath his thick hood. “Talk to me! Talk to me! Let me see your face!” But in spite of my words, the traveler pulled his hood down even farther. Wasn’t he hot, with those long sleeves and gloves? Maybe he couldn’t hear me? Perhaps I wasn’t shouting loud enough? He must have seen me flying in front of his face, right? “Listen to us!!” “Don’t ignore us!” “We don’t like that!” The three of us united to pull back his hood, when… His face engulfed us. “““Wha…?””” Where we expected to see a human face, we instead found only featureless slime. The slime extended several jellylike tentacles and grabbed each of us, leaving only our heads free. We screamed in pain as the acid melted our skin. “Aieeeeeeeeeeeee!” “Ow! Owowowowowow!” “I’m melting! I’m meeeltiiiibbbbblllglglgl…” “Bbb…bb…blblb…” Like blocks of ice left in the desert, the other two melted instantly into magical energy and were absorbed by the tentacles. “What? Why? What’s happening?!” I was melting away, too, but at a much slower rate. Why? The queen’s blessing should be protecting me! Her gift was the only reason I was still alive. I desperately summoned all my strength to free myself, until I heard a voice. “Oh? Looks like this one’s got a blessing. What a lucky catch.” The voice made me freeze. Alarm bells went off in my head. Look out, look out! He’s trouble! My blessing was telling me to get out of here in any way I could. What do I do? What do I do? I need to escape! I began to panic. I was running out of options. O-of course! Our powers! No living thing can resist them! I could eat his emotions, devour his mind. Just like I did to every foolish toy who wandered into this forest before him. This ought to stop him, whether he’s a human or a monster! Eating emotions was not difficult. So long as there was a conscious entity nearby to connect to, the process was simple. And our wings were a reservoir of power. If I directed all my power into destroying my assailant’s mind… “Aaaaaaaghhh!!” Just then, my head went black. The slime’s mind was as dark as blackest night, darker than any mind I’d ever seen. It crushed me as if between two hard boulders, grinding me and everything else to dust, until nothing was left. “…You flying little shits. That’s what you get for touching someone’s mind without asking.” “Agggghhggghhgghh!” I was scared. So scared. It was like a monster was chewing on fairy bones right before my very eyes. Why can’t I escape? Why have I stopped trying? Stop! Let go! Let go! Let go! I had severed the mind-link, but I still couldn’t escape that inky black world. It was pulling me in. First went my eyes, then my ears, then my nose, my arms, my legs. One by one, my parts unraveled from the outside in, disappearing, being absorbed into nothing. Nothing. Nothing… “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you just yet,” came the voice. “This time, we’re going to be patient. Whatever happens. Even if the world is rewound once more.” My consciousness was clear until the very end. Just then, my head popped back into existence. Before my eyes now was the face of an ordinary human. No, it wasn’t an ordinary human at all. His black hair and black eyes were as dark as the deepest of pits. “We’re going to drain your soul until there’s nothing left.” That was when I realized what I was feeling—it was an emotion the humans called “despair.” Alone in the forest stood a single monster. Its face quivered, and from it issued the most ear-piercing screams, but strangely, the monster itself looked almost happy. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. Not a bad skill, Slime Possession.” “Kyupie!” “Yes, of course. Thank you, Slimo.” The monster stopped moving and sat down on the ground. “All right, Slimo. Time to make the next one.” “Kyupie!” At those words, the monster lost its humanoid form, returning to a normal slime shape. Its clothes, unfilled, fell to the ground. Its body shifted through red, blue, yellow, green, white, black, all while roiling as if in pain. At last, a second monster was born, expelled from the first. “““Gobyoh! Gobybygggbygaaaaaahhh!””” The new monster looked utterly sinister. If you saw it at night from afar, you might mistake it for a giant of a man. It had two arms, two legs, a large and muscular torso, and an even bigger head. However, that was where the similarities between it and humans ended. Its black-green skin oozed mucus, and the upper bodies of several small figures appeared to be growing from its head: the fairies it had absorbed. Even more bodies hung around its neck like a scarf. Any human who saw it would have been frozen stiff by its evil. “That makes thirty,” said the voice. “Yep, everything looks good on the status board. Race: fairy, and there’s that skill I want.” This voice came from the smaller slime, which had shrunk to half its original size after disgorging the second monster. It crawled back into the discarded clothes and readopted a humanoid form. The voice was much clearer now. “Now then,” it said. “I wonder how many more of these I can make.” “““Geggbybyeaaa…””” The newborn monster left, shaking the earth with every step. The one that stayed behind may have looked human, but in every way that mattered, it was as monstrous as the first. Just as I predicted, the day came sooner than the guildmaster had said. “Excuse me, would there be an adventurer by the name of Mr. Ukei here? I had heard he was staying at this inn.” “There he is.” I was sitting on my bed as the sun streamed in, fiddling with some old junk I’d picked up in town, when I heard voices from downstairs. Someone was looking for me. “I don’t know from where you hail, but around these parts it’s considered good manners to give your own name first.” “Oh, pray, pardon my rudeness, kind sir. I am a messenger on behalf of the Adventurers Guild. Could you tell Mr. Ukei that he is wanted at the guildhall for some important business?” “That right? Well, if we do have anyone stayin’ here by that name, I’ll be sure to let him know.” I heard the messenger speaking with the innkeeper through the floorboards. The old man had earned my respect with his cautious response, and I really hoped he wouldn’t get tangled up in what was to come. However, I already knew the guild envoy was coming today, because I had learned as much from Slimo and Sir Squeaks. That was why the three of us, Yuuto and Mai included, had been hanging out at the inn all day, making ourselves busy. “Still, a week. That’s longer than I expected.” To be completely honest, I’d been imagining somewhere more in the region of three days. Knowing that the guildmaster needed royal assent, there really wasn’t anyone he could ask at a time like this besides Leon. And if I knew Leon, he would have dropped everything at once as soon as he heard of me. As you could tell from the fact that he traveled around by himself in search of powerful foes, he wasn’t the stuffed-shirt kind of prince. Still, we used the time to rest and prepare for our vengeance a bit more, so it wasn’t all bad. I had Slimo and Sir Squeaks to thank for the assistance on that front. As a result, we had used our extra time efficiently, and Yuuto and Mai got to stretch their wings as well. They hadn’t rested much since coming to this world, so that was nice. Yuuto made good use of the time, heading into town to peruse the bookstores, and even heading into the dungeon from time to time. Not too deep, of course. Mai, on the other hand, stayed at the inn and never left my side, so I was starting to worry about her a bit. I suspected she was a little homesick, and if that was the case, then I didn’t see why I shouldn’t let her do whatever helped her deal with it. It certainly seemed to cheer her up anyway. Meanwhile, I was beginning to grow impatient. “You know, if you wanted to,” said Mai, “we could always just hang out here some more, and you could spend some time with your darling little sister.” “No, we’ve rested enough, I think. Too much, in fact.” I sighed. Wasn’t it usually Mai who blamed me for being lazy? In the end, it was Yuuto who intervened. “Ah-ha-ha, well, I don’t mind. After all, we won’t be getting another break for a while.” At that moment, there was a knock on the door. “Anyone in? A message came for you just now.” I tossed all the junk I was messing with into the Squirrel’s Blade of Holding. Mai handed back the herbology book she had borrowed from Yuuto, while he closed the book he had been reading; it looked like a fairy tale of some sort. “Let’s go,” I said. “It’s time to get to work on the next stage.” Upon arriving at the guild, the three of us were shown to a private meeting room. The people I saw waiting there were exactly the faces I’d predicted. The first was the jolly guildmaster, who greeted us warmly. “Oh, glad to see you could make it. Please, take seat.” And secondly, a man whose very being seemed to fill the room, even more so than the guildmaster himself. “Hmm. I see.” A man with an iron body and a lion’s face—Leon. I wanted to kill him so bad. “Let’s get straight to the point, Valeria. We don’t have time to waste on idle chitchat.” He stood from the sofa and presented himself before us. I wanted to kill him so bad. “My name is Leon,” he said. “Second in line to the throne of this realm.” His imposing aura alone made him look even larger than the Cetaceanid gentleman standing beside him. I wanted to kill him so bad. “We face an unprecedented threat in the form of the demon invasion,” he said. “All life in these realms is at risk.” His eyes were tinged with sorrow, with a burning will to make things right. I wanted to kill him so bad. “In times like these, you must understand the duty that falls to all powerful warriors of these realms. A duty you accept in seeking an S-rank certification. If you do, then it matters not whether it is money, fame, or the thrill of battle that propels you.” He spoke of duty. Of righteousness. Of saving the world. I wanted to kill him so bad. “If you really are as strong as I’ve heard, then your presence on the battlefield will be invaluable.” A mind that put the many above the few without even thinking about it. I wanted to kill him so bad. “However, an adventurer of rank S must be a beacon of hope for our people. They must be worthy.” If there was any hero in these lands, it was him, and only him. I wanted to kill him so bad. “Therefore, I expect you will be able to prove your worth to me.” This man would pay any price, endure any hardship, and suffer any pain. I wanted to kill him so bad. “If you can prove that, then I will grant you the rank you seek.” He would do anything to save this world. Uphold the grandest virtue…and commit the basest sin. That was why… …I wanted to kill him so bad. “I hereby extend my warmest welcome to this realm’s newest hero.” Stop smiling. Stop smiling. STOP SMILING STOP SMILING STOP. SMILING. He extended his hand for a shake. I wanted to rip his arm off and beat him to death with it. I wanted to tear out his throat, whittle down his arms and legs, and cave in his chest. I had to keep it under control. I had to be patient. Don’t smile. Don’t offer me your hand. Don’t humbly ask my assistance. “Thank you, Your Highness,” I said. “It’s an honor. We all share a dream, you see, and we need to be S-rank to achieve it. I’ll gladly put my life on the line if that’s what it takes.” Oh, I made myself sick. How had I become this duplicitous? Hiding my emotions, keeping all the burning anger bottled up inside my heart. I know it was what I needed to do, but something within me was screaming to forget it, to let it all out. So I built it up. Bit by bit. Piece by piece. Bone by bone. So that the next thing you knew, it was already far too late. There’s a tiny pile of corpses. A tiny, tiny pile of skulls. A tiny, tiny seed of hate. Leon. Do you have any idea how much hatred I’m carrying around with me every second of every day? I’ve had a lot of time to think since then. A lot has happened. I fled, I died, I got sent back, I killed, I took vengeance. Now when I think back to what you last told me, something about it feels…wrong. Perhaps you know something I don’t about this world. Perhaps that was important enough for you to betray me. But that’s no excuse. That doesn’t make it all right. No matter how airtight your argument, no matter how just your cause, I will kill you. So wait for me. Just a little longer. “See you on the battlefield, Your Highness.” I took his hand, and I shook it. After a moment of silence, Valeria stepped in. “Er, excuse me, Your Highness. I wonder if I might ask you to refrain from making any promises until the whole thing has been discussed? This is already a highly irregular case, as you well know.” “Hmm. Apologies,” said Leon. He frowned, then sat back down on the sofa. Yuuto and Mai had been silent this entire time, though their fists trembled with my anger. My precious little sister and my closest friend had both decided to join me in the deep, dark pit I’d fallen into. As much as I wished for them both to live happy, peaceful lives, I was humbled by their presence. However, even the boundless gratitude I harbored was only a helpless drop of water in the raging whirlpool of my hate. I had to be careful. If Leon got a whiff of my true feelings for him, everything would be for naught. I took a small breath to steady myself and cut off my conscious mind. “Now, then,” said Valeria. “Though I fear the prince has given the game away somewhat, we summoned you here to discuss your guild rank. We have decided to confer upon you a rank of A, to be raised to S temporarily, in light of the current crisis. As I’m sure you know, with a higher rank comes…” Valeria went over the benefits, including the ability to take on more dangerous requests for higher rewards, higher-level access to the guild’s store of information, and a larger discount on all goods sold by the guild. “Lastly, the guild may also make some requests of you as an adventurer. You can exercise your discretion in accepting, of course, but be aware that refusal may impose some restrictions on your guild privileges.” That appeared to be the end of his little spiel. Valeria crossed his arms and continued speaking. “Of course, being that we are currently at war, you would be expected to leave for the front lines immediately. We find that S-rank adventurers work best by themselves without any red tape slowing them down, so you will be acting not as a platoon commander but on your own initiative.” “Of course,” I replied. “Well, that’s no problem for me. There’s someone I want to kill out there.” “…Hmm. I see.” I wasn’t lying. “Now, moving on to the test. We will need to assess your strength.” “Prove myself, huh?” I said, standing from my seat. “All right, bring it. I haven’t got all day. Who am I fighting?” I stole a crafty glance at Valeria. Of course, I was familiar with Leon, and I knew that he’d want to test my skills personally, but I couldn’t let him know that I was aware of that, so I waited for Valeria to say it. Here we go. The first step. The first sip of a deadly poison. The first loose brick of a crumbling castle. The first step of a path on which I would trample your virtues to mush and pour your life into a vessel of despair. And for me, it was the final step of my preparation. After this, the only thing left was to watch you stumble along the road to destruction. Say it. Say it. Say it, already. Say you’ll be my opponent. Say it. “Well, in fact, you’ll be fighting…” Edging closer and closer to the brink of despair. I had to do this to obtain the mana I needed for the Tempter’s Blade of Polymorphism. That way, Leon wouldn’t realize what I was doing until it was already too late. The race transformation magic only worked if the target was prepared to feel pain. That was why we needed to fight, even if it was only a mock battle. That will be where it all begins. My plan, and your doom. So say it. Say it. Say that… “Sorry I’m late! So, who’s the nincompoop I’ll be facing?” “Grah!” “Ta-daa! I’m here! Oh? Why, if it isn’t Kai! What a coincidence, running into you again!” I should have known. I should have always known. “Ah, there you are.” Fate always dealt me the joker, a devious smile spread across her lips. “Now then, you will be fighting these three.” Dammit. Goddammit. Just when I thought I had the upper hand for once. The trio who had appeared and stunned me into silence were as follows: First was Leticia, her hair a flaming scarlet and her face a determined smile. Beside her was her pet dragon pup, Guren, belching a fireball. And alongside them both, with radiant golden hair and a sadistic grin, stood Nonorick. Didn’t I kill you once already, Nonorick? Give me a break. My mind whirred but failed to spit out the optimal solution to this unexpected conundrum. There were just too many unknowns. Too many unsolved mysteries. Too many unanswered questions. And to top it all off, while I was still reeling, my second symbol of calamity walked into the room.