The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 8 - Chapter 99

CHAPTER 99

The Ex–Demon Lord and His Journey in the Underworld (Part 1)

A scene from his past had sprung to life before Alvarto Egzex’s eyes. In front of him was a room within the Gladsheim palace dedicated to tea parties. The cozy little chamber lacked opulent decoration and elegant furniture. All that sat in the center of the room was a small table with space enough for a handful of people. Four people, including Alvarto, were seated there.

“Exactly as planned. All is proceeding as I’ve foreseen.” Alvarto crossed his legs as he leaned his weight back against his chair.

“Heh-heh. Well done, lad,” said the man across from him. It was Lucius, the great general known as one of the Twin Jewels, who rested leisurely and chuckled.

“No, no. It’s all thanks to your hard work. Despite our overwhelming advantage, defeating the Lizer Bellphoenix is still quite the feat. I’m impressed, Lucius.”

“Yeah. It’s a good day to die.”

“Indeed, indeed. Truly a great day.”

Something was off. Alvarto understood this, yet he continued to indulge in the conversation.

“Garp. I’ll have you participate in the next step. I’m looking forward to seeing your great might brought to bear against them.”

“Y-y-yes,” replied the giant of a man who looked like he might crush the chair beneath him. Lucius’s counterpart in the Twin Jewels glanced down with his tiny eyes and nodded.

“Ahh, the tea is delicious. Yes, when enjoyed in your company, it has a different—”

“Alvarto.” It was the woman who suddenly spoke his name. The woman who was his mother. The one who had once given his life meaning. The one he loved more than anyone. Luminas wol Croft quirked her lips in a gentle grin and gazed affectionately at him. “Alvarto.”

“Yes, yes. Of course, my mistress. I have no intention of boring you. However—”

“Alvarto, Alvarto.” She repeated his name, and she wasn’t the only one. All the others gathered in the room reiterated the same words over and over.

“Yeah. It’s a good day to die. Yeah. It’s a good day to die. Yeah. It’s a good day to die.”

“Y-yes. Y-yes. Y-yes. Y-yes. Y-yes. Y-yes. Y-yes. Y-yes.”

The light had disappeared from their eyes, and there was no trace of consciousness on their faces. Luminas was no exception.

“Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto.”

Her face was frozen in a smile as she endlessly repeated his name.

They were broken. Completely, irreparably shattered.

“Yeah. It’s a good day to, well done, lad. Riiiiiiiiii, yeah, to die, tsssssaaaaaah, lad, die, ah, well.”

“Ye…sss. Y-y-y-yes. Es. Es-es. Ye-ye. Yes.”

“Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto. Alvarto.”

Voices melded together in a chaotic chorus. Everyone’s expressions were fixed. None of them moved in the slightest.

Continuously, endlessly. They continued to show their shattered selves. The sole witness, Alvarto…

“Heh…heh…ha-ha—ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

…gazed up at the ceiling and laughed. Even as he did, the others continued in their loop.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Alvarto cackled as though he had lost his mind. Madness shone in his eyes, but he couldn’t maintain the act forever. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha—haah. Pointless.” All color drained from his face. Alvarto kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the others closed their mouths and froze. “…Perhaps it would’ve been easier if I really had gone insane,” he muttered, arms dangling at his sides. His dim eyes were filled with pain and despair. “Hurry up, Varvatos.”

There was no one to stop our progress. It was all thanks to Lizer’s efforts. As he held that great army at bay, we ran through the desert at night and leaped into the rift in the middle of the sky.

After a brief feeling of weightlessness, the scenery changed dramatically. It was a jungle unique to the underworld. There was a floor, but nothing about the surroundings was normal. The tree trunks were made of the bones from every imaginable living creature, while the grass and flowers were formed from the furs and hides of animals.

It was a nightmarish sight, but it wasn’t enough to throw us off our stride. We remained calm and discussed our next step. The first one who spoke up was Olivia.

“…Should we continue heading west, then?”

“Hrrrm. The direction we’re supposed to go may be different from the last place.”

“Yes. It may not work, but this might be worth a try.”

With that, I activated a detection spell… As expected, it didn’t work. Some of the laws of magic operated differently in the underworld, making several spells like detection or teleportation unavailable. That was why it was impossible to figure out Alvarto’s location or the way to get there.

“All right. For the moment, let’s head west like Lord Alvarto mentioned.”

I looked at each of my companions in turn to check for any disagreements.

“…We’ll follow you.”

“No objections, none at all.”

“Well, guess we’ll let things fall as they may.”

It was when I checked with Ginny…

“I…” As she spoke, the strength drained from her. Her body swayed forward. “…Ah!” Evidently, she regained her senses at the last moment and stepped forward to keep from collapsing.

“Wha—? A-are you okay, Ginny?”

“Y-yes. I felt…a little faint at that moment is all.”

She made a show of chuckling to demonstrate that she was fine, but…the reality was probably the opposite.

Stepping into the underworld while still in a living body was an act that went against the laws of nature—an unforgivable rule infringement for an ordinary person. Olivia, Verda, Sylphy, and I were far from regular, so we were fine. However…

…as I’d feared, Ginny didn’t have the strength to endure the underworld.

“…We’re probably entering deeper realms with each rift. Meaning the miasma of the underworld grows stronger with each step.” I gazed steadily into Ginny’s eyes with a serious expression. “Miss Ginny. Unfortunately, you don’t have the strength of soul to be able to move in the underworld. At this rate, you might end up being swallowed by these lands, and your existence would be lost forever. Before that happens…when I feel you’re in danger…”

“…Yes, I understand.”

While we couldn’t turn back now, Ginny could still wait somewhere, if necessary. If I felt she was reaching her limit, then I had no intention of worrying about her frustration or regret. I’d take the necessary measures to secure her safety, then leave her as we moved forward.

After she had accepted that…we continued westward. We ran between trees made of bone and over grasslands of fur before we arrived at a riverbank. Of course, calling it a river was generous. The color was a reddish-black, and the air was filled with the scent of rusting iron. It was a familiar smell for those of us from the ancient world, but it seemed too much for Ginny, because she turned pale at it.

Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and we continued on our way. Our legs carried us upstream until we happened upon a waterfall. We climbed up a cliff to resume our westward progress. It was as we started that leg of the journey that black drops began to fall from the sky.

Rain. As it sporadically fell upon us, a thought came to mind.

…Are these Alvarto’s tears?

I felt the man’s sadness within those dark droplets as I kept running.

Westward, ever westward. We left the river in our wake and found ourselves in a jungle of bones and fur again. At the summit of a barren sheer cliff, we finally found it—another rift in the space.

“Compared to the desert, this is far too easy, so it is,” Sylphy remarked.

“Well, that’s not a bad thing, right? I mean, no unnecessary battles is—”

As Verda spoke, I felt the presence of someone behind us.

“…Finally.”

Turning in reply to Olivia’s comment, I faced the new arrival. Two men stood before us. One was lanky and appeared nearing old age…Lucius. The other was a giant warrior who had to be the general that was the second half of the Twin Jewels—Garp.

“…It seems the Twin Jewels are both here this time.”

“Wait, wasn’t Lizer fighting that white-haired one?”

“If he’s here, that means…”

It was easy to imagine what had happened to Lizer. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t believe that he had suffered the worst possible outcome.

“I don’t have any evidence, but I believe Lord Lizer is fine. So let’s keep our hearts level and respond calmly to this situation.”

“…That goes without saying.”

“We don’t have the time to be fretting about him, no we don’t.” Sylphy readied her Holy Sword, Demise-Argis, her entire body tense. She didn’t know how strong the Twin Jewels were, yet her sharp instincts as a warrior told her that they weren’t opponents to be trifled with.

Then—

“Yeah. It’s a good day to die.”

“Y-y-yes.”

Our foes spoke calmly before striking.

“Scatter!”

Everyone had already been in motion before I gave the order. That was to be expected of Sylphy, Olivia, and Verda, but Ginny also reacted in time with them. It seemed that her exposure to countless battles had helped refine her as a warrior. As the enemies approached, we all spread out and drew back. A moment later…

“Raaaaaah!”

“Grah!”

…twin blades cut through empty air while a giant war hammer slammed into the ground. They had missed. I felt conflicted at that sight.

“…These aren’t even attempts to re-create them.”

While the Twin Jewels looked as they had during their peak, the same could not be said of their combat abilities. There was none of the strength or heart that had made them so formidable.

“It’s a good day to die. It’s a good day to die. It’s a good day to die.”

“Y-yes. Es. Yes. Ess. Ye…”

A closer look revealed a distinct hollowness to the enemies’ gazes.

The sight of them stirred both my and Olivia’s emotions.

“…Pitiful.”

“…Yes, indeed.”

Flesh dolls that had been crafted with the faint remnants of their souls’ information that lingered in the underworld. They had no self-awareness or will, which was why they were only capable of reflexive, pre-programmed movements. At best, they spoke words that they had been programmed to say.

“…What a terrible sight. I can’t bear to look at them.” Olivia had respected these two men in the past. To her, they were both proud, honorable combatants, and they were opponents that she had been proud to face off against. “…To live as a warrior and to die as a warrior. There’s not a trace of that fervent, almost mad faith. They’re both fakes that only resemble them in appearance.”

It was precisely because she had known them as foes that Olivia felt that keen sadness as a fellow fighter. That was the only thing that Olivia saw in them. I, however, sensed something more.

Isolation.

Alvarto’s sense of loneliness drove him to create them.

Undoubtedly, he was aware of how futile his efforts had been. Things lost would never return. Despite knowing that, he couldn’t help but try. He still dreamed of the past and clung to that bit of hope. Yes. That was the same as my past…when I had chased after Lydia’s shadow and revived her in appearance only.

“But whatever his feelings, right now…” I discarded my sentiments and issued instructions to the others. “Miss Sylphy, Lady Olivia. Can you two handle Lucius, please? Lady Verda, please deal with Garp. Ginny and I will support you from the back.”

No one argued, and so the second round began. The first ones to act were Olivia and Sylphy. They stood side by side and faced Lucius, drawing him away from Garp. Then Verda moved in front of Garp.

“Hahh. I seem to end up overseeing violent solutions lately. That’s really not my role, you know?” Verda sounded less than motivated, but she was doing her best to fulfill her duty.

Just like Olivia and Sylphy, she garnered her opponent’s attention and led him away. Now the preparations were complete. A few moments later…

“Raaaaaaaah!”

“Graaah!”

…the Twin Jewels kicked forward with a loud battle cry. Lucius struck at Olivia and Sylphy, while Garp went for Verda. Each charged in a straight line. The moment they entered range, the battle had begun.

“Follow my movements, Sylphy!”

“Leave it to me, yes indeed!”

Having already seen Lucius’s slashes, they worked perfectly in sync as they dealt with his blades.

“Hrrrrm. There’s no real data I want from him. So I guess I can just improvise,” Verda muttered as she easily dodged the war hammer that was swung in her direction.

As I carefully watched the skirmish, I let out a soft breath. “How overly simple and foolish.” After witnessing the genuine Lucius and Garp in their prime, these fakes broke my heart. The Twin Jewels under Luminas’s command were great warriors and generals who everyone knew and respected.

They were a nightmare to the rebel armies of the human races, and their very presence was said to have slowed the restoration of humanity’s dominance by at least two hundred years. While the pair were skilled generals, they were also nearly unmatched in direct combat.

“Graaaaaah!”

Garp the War Hammer. A man who, despite being a demon, had forbidden himself from using magic of any sort and fought only with his physical strength. There was nothing his powerful arms couldn’t shatter, and the war hammer he swung was strong enough to split a continent in two.

“Raaaaaaaaaah!” Lucius the Sword Apostle. As his nickname indicated, he was the world’s greatest swordsman, both in name and in skill. None could match his extraordinary swordplay. Olivia had fought him countless times… In a sense, he had practically been a mentor to her.

“…Nothing of who they were remains, though.”

The sounds of battle that rang through the air. The sheer intensity of their will. Compared to what the real Twin Jewels had been, these were pitiful imitations, akin to children pretending. Which was why…

“This is the end, imposter.” Having set up a series of flowing attacks, Olivia loosed her final strike, splitting Lucius’s torso in half.

“All right. BOOOM!”

…I wasn’t sure how Verda had done it, but at that moment, Garp’s giant body exploded from within, and the scattered pieces of his body were splattered across the area.

The battle was over. At least, that’s what a casual glance suggested.

“Is it truly…over?” Ginny wondered aloud, and I shared the sentiment. There was no way that Lizer would have lost to an opponent this weak. Which meant…

“We’re not done! There’s likely another—” It was right as I was trying to voice my warning.

“D-di-die. G-g-good day to…d-d-d-d-die die die die.”

“Y-ye-ye-ye-yesssssssss.”

Lucius, whose guts had spilled onto the ground. Garp’s head that lay on the ground. They spoke like broken dolls and began to twist and warp. Their bodies wiggled and twisted into grotesque forms, churning like clay figurines before fusing together.

The pieces of Garp’s body and what had been his head collected around what had been Lucius just moments earlier. They combined, they churned, and in the end, they became a single giant monster.

“Such a hideous sight…!” Olivia cried out, enraged. Her usual calm was gone, replaced with anger over what her old rivals had become for the sake of Alvarto’s sick game.

Most demons possessed a human and a demon form. When engaging in all-out battle, it was common for demons to take the latter form, but Lucius and Garp had never done so. It had led me to believe they didn’t possess them. Unfortunately…

“They went out of their way not to reveal them.”

To live and die as a soldier. They had concealed their demonic forms to stay true to that ideology. Viewing the horrific entity they became made that conclusion come naturally to mind.

Simply put—it was a giant slug. An ash-colored body that secreted a black ooze. Lucius’s and Garp’s heads occupied the ends of the eye-stalks, and they continued to utter gibberish. We were all overwhelmed at the nauseating sight.

“Ye, day, day…scree…screeeaaaaah!”

When Lucius’s and Garp’s mouths let out a piercing screech, the slug’s body shuddered…and unleashed a swarm of tentacles.

“Pull back!” I shouted and leaped away. Everyone else had done the same. However, the horde of slimy limbs continued their hunt, arcing menacingly through the air as they sought out prey.

“Danged thing!”

“Take that!”

“…Hmph!”

“Ewww, gross!”

Each of my friends responded with their preferred ability.

Ginny swept away the tentacles with her crimson spear, Sylphy and Olivia stopped them with cuts from their blades, and Verda opened a black gate and summoned the head of some strange monster. It spewed flame from its maw and incinerated the pursuing tentacles.

I managed to avoid any harm by using my Wind Blade spell to lop off the tentacles, but…

“As expected, it regenerates.”

…the large number of writhing limbs that had been sliced off or incinerated immediately regrew. Defense was meaningless against this sort of enemy.

Destroying the main body with an overwhelming offensive barrage was the best response. Sylphy and Olivia must have come to the same realization. They kicked off the ground in unison and lunged at the hideous monster.

The horde of tentacles danced and lashed out to try to stop them. There were so many of them that they blocked out every other sight, but none of the tentacles so much as grazed their skin. By combining athleticism and swordplay, they dealt with the limbs sent their way, continuing toward the main body. They eventually reached it and…

“Shhph!”

“Take that!”

…their blades flashed. The sharp cuts threatened to split the slug in half—and landed a direct hit.

But at that moment…

““Ah?!””

…Sylphy and Olivia both let out a gasp of shock.

The Holy Sword and Demon Blade. Each weapon was a true masterpiece with few peers, yet even they were unable to damage the slug’s flesh. The gelatinous skin deflected the blows and kicked them backward. Because so much force had been placed behind each blow, they both suffered a massive shock and found themselves exposed in the most dangerous possible position.

This is a problem.

By the time I understood as much, my body was already in motion. I immediately threw up a defensive shield. The barrier protected my allies from harm, and a subsequent wind spell brought them back to me. Even a slight delay, and things could have ended very differently. I looked intently at the enemy’s horrendous visage as I unleashed my next move.

“If physical damage is impossible…then…”

What about magic? In order to test that prospect, I rained down a torrent of attack spells. Explosive Heat. Flash Freezing. Thunder Strike. Gales… Not only did I use such simple elemental spells, but I combined them in various ways to amplify their effects and tried countless variations in my attacks. Unfortunately…

“That doesn’t work, either.”

…none of the magic I cast did the slightest thing.

“H-how are we supposed to…deal with this…?!” Ginny wore a look of terror and despair. Still, it seemed she trusted that I would find something. She looked at me pleadingly, and I nodded softly in response.

“Let’s try them. All the possible steps we can think of.”

Fortunately, the demon slug’s own attacks were extremely simplistic, and defending against them was easy. So we were able to remain on the offensive, but…

“…I see. No wonder Lord Lizer lost.”

…the monster’s toughness was almost unfair. It nullified physical attacks such as sword slashes and kinetic impacts. It had complete immunity to magical attacks, from elemental attacks to others. What’s more, it was immune to alternatives, such as sealing, pushback, or brainwashing. Ultimately, it even deflected my supernatural powers of analysis and domination.

“Is it…invincible…?”

I shook my head at Ginny’s despairing remark.

“No. That’s impossible. Every creature, no matter how powerful, has a weakness somewhere. This is not an exception.”

The issues were the questions of what that vulnerability was, and if we could determine it in time.

Of course, that came with a certain amount of risk. Using all of my power reduced the chance of anything bad happening, but considering what likely awaited us ahead, I wanted to avoid going all out so soon. However, it was also true that this situation could not be solved while holding power in reserve. As I pondered on how to deal with this…

“I’ve fought something like this once in the past, so I have. Honestly, I don’t want to try it…but guess we don’t have any choice, no we don’t.”

Before I could confirm her intention, Sylphy dashed toward the monster. She elegantly repelled the tentacles and quickly closed the distance. Once she circled around to face the creature head-on…

“Hiiiii-yaaaaaaa!”

…she lunged forward with a stabbing blow that had her entire body weight behind it. The attack struck the slug’s face. Sylphy had succeeded in finally landing a damaging blow against the body that had thoroughly withstood all the attacks leveled against it from the start of the battle.

“Not deep enough.”

As Olivia had observed, Sylphy’s blade had only just managed to puncture the slug creature’s face, and it was far from a lethal blow.

“I figured I’d just poke around until I found a weak spot, but I really didn’t expect to locate it on the first try, that I didn’t.” Sylphy’s expression was lit with triumph.

Of course. The sword she wielded wasn’t simply a masterful piece of craftsmanship. It was Demise-Argis, one of the three Holy Swords. With its power, just getting its tip under a foe’s hide was enough to inflict lethal damage.

As though to prove it, Sylphy said, “Vel (May Interlopers)! Stena (Vanish with One Stroke)! Olvidius (Of My Blade)!”

A chant using the ancient language. With it, the blade of Demise-Argis shimmered brightly and loosed an overwhelming wave of energy from the tip. It was an incredible display of violence that could be felt even from where I was standing.

The Holy Sword’s power ran through the demon slug’s body and…caused it to burst. The bloated ashen body ruptured like an overinflated balloon. Chunks of its flesh and black ooze fell upon us like rain, and Sylphy rested her sword on her shoulder.

“Hah! Easy enough with Demise and me working together, so it is!” Sylphy reveled in her triumph. Ginny was probably about to compliment Sylphy, her face brightening as she opened her mouth, but before she could speak…

“Miss Sylphy! It’s not over yet!” I shouted as a shiver ran up my spine.

“Huh?” Sylphy let out a squeak of surprise. She had been entirely confident in her win and was unable to respond to the sudden continuation of the fight.

“Ye…day, day, aaahhraaaaaagh…”

…the chilling voice seemed to come from nowhere. An instant later, the scattered remains of the monster reassembled and came back to life.

“Wha…?!” Sylphy stared wide-eyed as her felled opponent regenerated.

Oh no! I need to help her.

“Ye…screeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!”

Before I could move to help, the giant slug’s face split apart like jaws. And then…

“Ah!”

…with incredible swiftness that left no time to flee, the slug swallowed Sylphy’s compact body.

“T-that can’t be…?!” Ginny covered her mouth. The joy that had colored her expression moments before was gone.

Olivia and Verda both wore tense expressions. I was the only one to remain calm. Sylphy’s situation looked grim, but I immediately understood there was nothing to fear.

As if in answer to my confidence, the monster…

“Ieeaaaagggaaaaaaah!”

…began to thrash and jump, lashing out in every direction with its tentacles. It looked to be in agony. That had to be her doing.

“…She’s attacking it from the inside.”

“Nice, Sylphy. Seriously, what a tough cookie.”

We had two options in this predicament, of which only one was worthy of serious consideration: We could simply twiddle our thumbs and wait until Sylphy cut through the slug, or we could take the opportunity to make progress toward our destination.

The one I chose…was the latter.

“All right, it’s time for us to move on.”

“…Huh?” Ginny squeaked in surprise, like she had abruptly been struck from the side. I knew why. I had just said we were going to abandon one of our comrades.

“We’ve no cause to worry for Miss Sylphy’s safety. Instead, we should take advantage of the opportunity she’s created for us.” Before anyone could answer, I broke into a run toward the goal that was the rift in the sky. I hurried toward it at full speed.

“Mmm, yes, it’s logical.”

“Yes, true. But…now’s not the time to be picky.”

Although troubled by my decision, Verda, Olivia, and Ginny followed after me. The monster tried to reach out with tentacles to stop our escape, but…

“Ye…grahh…screeeee!”

…an instant before it could catch us, it began to squirm in pain, and the slimy limbs suddenly lost their momentum.

“We should be able to make it now…”

Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have gone this well. Escaping into the rift while being pursued by vicious tentacles would’ve been impossible if not for Sylphy’s rampage inside the slug.

The tentacles were now clearly slower and less precise, enabling us to reach our target and leap into the air together.

Success.

My body reached the rift.

I felt faintly guilty about abandoning Sylphy, but…that was outweighed by my conviction that she would be okay. I was confident of that.

“Grreee…gyaaaaaah…”

I heard the monster’s pained shrieks, but there was no use paying it any heed. It couldn’t reach us now.

An unthinking doll could never be anything more than that.

The slug creature’s limbs groped in the air futilely…

“Ye…eee…agh…raaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

…or so I thought. But a split second later, I felt a passion in the enemy’s scream. It was only for the briefest moment; however, it was enough for me to wonder: Had that empty flesh doll been imbued with the souls of the real warriors? It seemed determined to keep us from Alvarto.

One tentacle grabbed Olivia’s leg.

“Tch…!”

No one could react to the completely unexpected development. By the time we realized what had happened, the rift was looming in front of us.

“I’ve made an error…,” Olivia said regretfully. At that point…

…we had no time to consider how to save her, and our bodies continued into the portal.