Interlude
---The curtains had been drawn for the first day of the Harvest Festival, which left everyone in high spirits.
By late night, peace had returned to the underground City and the silence pervaded into the surroundings.
The rustling of tree leaves could be heard near the river as a cool night breeze brushed past the branches. Since all the bonfires had burnt out, the only light was from the stars and moon that were reflected on the rippling water surface.
A figure could be seen sitting at the top of the tree, toasting to the moon and stars that were his only companions.
That was a man with an eye patch across his left eye---Saurian Demon King. Kouryuu looked over the quiet water city as he mumbled softly:
“Ah… How many years has it been since I last recounted my past to others……..”
In the end, Kouryuu had been badgered by the [No Name]s to recount his past. He had only managed to escape when they have all fallen asleep, too tired to hold him back anymore.
The incident where all seven of them, brothers and sisters had gone to challenge King Enma[47].
The incident where the Golden Rod was forcefully taken away from the palace of Dragon King of the Eastern Seas.
Then came the defeating of Prince Nezha and the declaration of war on the Jade Emperor.
And the various stories revolving around the core character of all the seven siblings---Handsome Monkey King “Great Sage Equalling Heaven”.
“--------.”
Lifting his head skywards, he looked towards the new moon longingly.
No matter how many thousand times he had looked up at the moon, it would still make him recall that person’s back. Without fail.
Gold wheat colored hair that flowed beautifully like a wheat field waving in the wind.
A laugh so strong and vibrant that it felt like the life force that flowed within Earth during springtime.
Even though that person had been branded a Demon Lord by Heaven---- That person continued on with the self-proclamation of being a saint and was an idiot that kept aiming for justice.
[The Demi-Celestial Being of Earth……Sun WuKong Onee-san]
Kouryuu cast his gaze downwards towards his cup, swirling his memories around in the hazy reflection of moonlight, he downed it in a go.
---What the term Demi Celestial Being meant was to refer to someone who was born with a calling in life that was different in nature of what Celestial Beings would have. It was also the term for the highest level of Spirits.
Born with the Favor of Earth and from Earth, they were to be tasked with the mission as the protectors of Earth, which would be in the form of Mountain gods, Sea gods, Gaia the Earth goddess and Ape God Hanuman. After many light years, one of them would then awaken as a Celestial being. To put it simply, they were all candidates for the position as a Celestial Being.
Even so, Sun WuKong was different. No, it was more accurate to say that she would attain the position of being a Celestial Being that was hers from the very beginning.
As the legend goes, Sun WuKong was born from a magic infused boulder that stood on Mount Huaguo’s apex. However, this was just an exaggerated mistake.
Basically, the magic infused boulder that Sun WuKong had popped out from, had been formed at the same time as Mount Huaguo---in other words, it had been around since the formation of land itself. She had been transported along a conduit in a volcano and shot out together with lava to the surface. Hence without the knowledge and mission that would have been nurtured in her if she were to be born within Earth, she appeared on the Earth’s surface.
Neither a god, nor a deity, much less a demon.
Stepping up onto the journey of self-discovery, she finally found an answer---To use the huge amount of power that flows within her body to calm the chaos in the world and bring peace to the Human World.
Hence, she gave herself the name that would best express the task she burdened herself with.
Declaring that she was equalling to the sages in the plane of Heaven--- [Great Sage Equalling Heaven][48], she accepted the brand of a Demon Lord.
“……Sadly, in the end it was all just a dream…. A dream that couldn’t even last for a hundred years.”
Kouryuu laughed at himself as he swirled the wine in his cup.
Even so, it sure was quite enjoyable to pass time with those people who looked at him with wide eyes that shone with wonder while listening to his old valorous accomplishments during his youth. Despite it being just a short while.
“Floating wherever the waves brought me until now…Ke. How long has it been since I felt this happy?”
Two intertwining serpents were painted upon the red cup that he held in his hand.
That emblem looking design could very well be the emblem of “Great Sage Who Devastates Seas”.
Lightly swirling the wine in his red cup, the reflection of the moon was distorted by the ripples……At this moment, he felt a presence approaching from his back.
*Ding Ling*---Hearing the clear tinkle of the bells, Kouryuu turned to welcome the person with a surprised look still on his face.
“……Oh, it looks like a person whom I’ve not seen for a long time.”
“Nn. It’s been a long time since we last met, Kouryuu. It’s been a few centuries since, right?”
“Let me think…… It should be around the time when WuKong Onee-san decided to convert to Buddhism until now?”
Kouryuu gave his usual smile[49].
Shiroyasha gave a wry smile as she used her hand to press on her silver hair that kept dancing in the strong winds.
“…Yea. After that, you disappeared without a trace unlike your other siblings.”
“Eh? Were you looking for me? I totally didn’t know!”
“Cut the pretense. Didn’t you get past all the people I’ve sent to look for you with that glib tricky tongue of yours?”
Shiroyasha sighed in slight frustration.
Apparently it was the right thing to bring them to find a person. ‘Laplace Little Demons’. If it were left to other less experienced familiars, there would be no way to find the precise location.
Striding over to Kouryuu, Shiroyasha sat cross-legged beside him.
Flourishing a wine bottle out of thin air, she solemnly poured herself a drink before continuing:
“Jade Emperor, Taoists, Deities, Buddhists……Never was there a Demon Lord that could make an enemy out of so many gods and Buddhas at the same time. In the end, you guys forced out 3 of the 12 Devas and that young one, Shakya Muni was also forced to appear. Clearly having wreaked havoc to that extent and yet managing to survive intact for many more centuries to come, it really is an amazing feat.” [50]
“You said it. The strongest warrior gods were not a laughing matter. If it wasn’t for Onee-san who singlehandedly held back the Taoist Faction… keke, I guess we would all be wiped out then.” With grief reflected within his exposed eye and a mirthless smile lingering at his lips, he downed the rest of his wine from his red cup.
Even if one were a Demon Lord---a tragedy would still leave a huge scar in their hearts.
Bull Demon King and Roc Demon King’s hatred towards the Buddhist World should also be the result of this scar.
Watching him act this way, Shiroyasha realized: Though it may seem that this guy always wear that smile on his face, he’s actually a person riddled with wounds that are still aching after such a long time. A patient deserving of sympathy. For his wounds run too deep to be healed easily.
“Oh well, the polite greetings will have to end here. After all, I’ve been tasked to deliver a message to you by my Onii-san.”
“Bull Demon King? He asked you to look for me?”
“Yep. He asked me to pass a message to you regarding the previous attack on the Floor Masters.”
Shiroyasha was apprehensive as she leaned her body forward.
“…What kind of information?”
“The Demon Lord masterminds and the Demon Lords that invaded the South. The details have all been written in this letter.”
Saying that, he took out an envelope from his robes.
Passing the envelope with the wax seal of [Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven] to her, he gave a stretch before slowly getting up on his feet.
*Hu~* “With that, my task from my elder brother is accomplished. Come to think about it, to think that he would call on me after several hundred years just to make me a runner for this letter. My Onii-san just likes to assign tasks at random.”
“That’s nonsense. He must have valued your capability to have handed you this task. And if the things said in this letter is true, then the message carrier would most probably be waylaid by a Demon Lord.”
After all, the masterminds of the previous attack hasn’t been identified yet and if this letter was one that recorded such information, he would have to consider the possibility of it being snatched away while the letter was on its way.
So he decided to entrust his sworn younger brother to accomplish the task for him…
[…However, the reason should not only be that.]
Bull Demon King had left a letter for Shiroyasha to find for her successor at [Underwood].
And coincidentally, she found Kouryuu---Saurian Demon King in this place. This was a clear sign that it was no coincidence and Shiroyasha decided that this was a chance to pull him over to her faction no matter what.
“I still think that it’s quite a surprise to find you living in [Underwood]. Could it be that you had a hand in helping them recover so quickly?”
“Nope. I was just wandering around before deciding to stay here for a while just on a spur of the moment. I totally didn’t help out….oh, wait. The most I did might be to take a disciple.”
Maybe because of guilt, the smile on his face wavered before resuming its usual place.
Pretending not to notice the subtle change, Shiroyasha placed her cup down as she looked up towards the new moon.
“…… Are you the leader of some Community currently?”
“Nah, not possible. I guess you would also know that I’m just not cut out for that job.”
“Your words are too humble. Having meditated for thousands of years at the submarine volcano of the Star Abyss to obtain the spirit level of a Dragon, there should be no shortage of people looking for you to fill that role with that level of spirit power.”
“And that is too troublesome. Anyways, this flag [Great Sage Who Devastates Seas] is too small and can only hold one member, me.” Though keeping his usual smile, he effectively distanced himself from the topic.
Mirth couldn’t be found in that eye of his. Only a clear rejection.
“--- Shiroyasha, though I may not know what you are trying to hint at, I would like to advise you from holding too much expectations. As you can see, I’m one who has abandoned his worldly desires and will not give my utmost in anything. I would like to continue my aimless wandering life. This once is all because of my Onii-san having tasked me this job. I decline participating in anything troublesome.”
“….Really? Then it’s my bad.”
Shiroyasha quietly closed her eyes for a while before getting up on her feet. Since the other party was this determined, talking further would be for naught. Since coaxing wasn’t useful, she would just need to think up another plan. Having this in mind, Shiroyasha turned to leave.
However, at that moment, her eyes were drawn to a curious bruise that could be seen at Kouryuu’s back, just a little away from his lumbar spine section.
“……Kouryuu, what happened to your back?”
“Oh, you mean this? When I tried to stop a fight, a girl managed to land a hit on me.”
He lifted his left arm to show the bruise on his side.[51]
The bruise on his back looked painful and looked blue-black in color. Judging from the severity of the bruise, it was even possible to have one or two fractured ribs.
“Ah, that girl really was quite something. Though she had already fallen unconscious, she was still able to see an opening in my defenses to land a punch way below my armpit. That kind of person can only be called a genius.”
Kouryuu’s voice carried a slight tone of amusement that wasn’t detected in his words before.
And there was only one girl whom the Saurian Demon King had to knock unconscious in the Harvest Festival---
“---Hey, could it be that you laid a hand on Kuro Usagi?”
“Wha? Wait…No, it’s not her! The one that I stopped the fight was between that little lad, Griffith and another short haired girl! Her name was….. Kasukabe I think.”
“What?” It was now Shiroyasha’s turn to be surprised.
From what Shiroyasha knew, just with Kasukabe’s power, she shouldn’t be able to land a hit on Saurian Demon King.
“Kasukabe actually injured you?”
“I won’t use the excuse that it was my carelessness, after all the one who struck first was me. However in that state of losing her consciousness, she retaliated with a punch. And this kind of talent that only appears once in a while makes the lower levels such an interesting place.”
Though he was giving off a dry laugh, the tone was completely different from his forced laugh earlier.
A fierce pride hung on the edge of his mouth--- A smile that was comparable to an earlier time when he was a Demon King seemed to appear on his face.
Seeing that smile, Shiroyasha’s mind was struck by an idea.
[This is it……Even though he has become a ‘floating withered log’ now, it would seem that he still retains the spark that thirsts to battle with the strong.]
Then, there would still be some hope for this man.
As long as she can revive the fire in his heart through battle to feel alive again-----Then, she would just have to send a strong opponent to him.
Facing her back to the moon, Shiroyasha smiled as she walked over to Kouryuu.
“…Oh…Saurian Demon King. I still have another thing that I would like to discuss with you.”
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