Chapter 211 – Things You Only Know When You Recover (2)
Adela was staring blankly at me with her dazed face. As if she had forgotten that this was the battleground between her life and death, she stood there with her big eyes wide open.
Astonished
A variety of other emotions were swirling on her face, but the most apt emotion would have been shock.
It was worth it.
“Yes, bastard…”
Vassago’s trembling voice. It was a mumble that leaked out as if suppressed, mixed with anger and bewilderment.
Both Adela and Vassago seemed shocked by what had just happened.
That would be too.
“… The power to devour power.”
Yes.
Just as Vassago quietly recited the identity of what she had seen, just as Adela was shocked, I manifested my authority and broke Vassago’s authority.
They collided force-to-power, and my authority was stronger than Vassago’s authority——it wasn’t.
As if dispelling the magic composed of the Dispel method. My authority, Vassago’s authority, was turned off.
“I have never heard or seen anything like that. It’s impossible…”
Adela shook her head. In her trembling voice, there was subtle joy and anticipation.
It was the desire to be acknowledged as having seen the existence of something that could not exist faster than anyone else, even while saying that it could not exist.
As an analogy, would it be similar to asking a family member next to you to pinch their cheeks after winning the lottery to see if it was a dream?
“Impossible. Normally.”
“Then.”
I decided to answer Adela’s question. Vassago’s surprise attack didn’t worry. He, too, was appalled at what I had just done, and rather seemed to be waiting for me to tell him.
That would be too.
“There is already a precedent.”
“Yes? Who the hell…”
“Devil.”
Demon King Baal. The king of all demons, with the power of 〈 Destruction〉.
If I had returned Vassago’s authority to the void with the power of 〈 Void 〉, Baal would have completely tore the thread woven by Vassago’s authority.
Similar but different, but in the end, the power of me and the demon king that derives the same thing.
So, it was not strange that Vassago opened his eyes wide.
“Well, that’s it, that’s all.”
Adela urged me on as if her doubts were still unanswered. I felt a little pleasant, but unfortunately I couldn’t completely clear Adela’s question.
It was unavoidable.
What is Power?
Authority is a qualification. A qualification obtained by superhumans who reached the grand class, or by transcendentalists who reached a different stage.
The rules that make up the world are overhauled. Achieve what you want That limit is what is called ‘authority’.
I hope it always goes the way I want it to.
I wish everything would stop.
I want to break everything.
I want to be alone.
Such desires. Or, their own territory they have built up throughout their lives. The essence created by squeezing all of those things is called authority.
Vassago’s 〈 leader 〉 Nikolai’s 〈 Extreme Sword 〉… The devil’s 〈 destruction 〉 and my 〈 futility 〉 are also the same.
And so, all powers are equal.
The power to make the world equal, to fix the laws. Even if there is a difference in the power and vessel of the person who handles it, and even if the superiority is gained and the superiority is determined by the output, there is no up or down in the power itself.
In a game where level 100 is the upper limit, there is no such thing as level 101.
However, exceptions have been made.
Baal.
‘And me.’
The authority of 〈 Destruction 〉 and the authority of 〈 nothingness 〉 are naturally superior to other authority. Better in some ways, not the same thing.
Just high class
If they collide, regardless of the size of the force, 〈 Destruction 〉 and 〈 Void 〉 win.
This is also the reason why the fate of 〈 leader 〉 and 〈 Piljung 〉 collapsed so easily.
Even if Vassago uses the power of 100 to exert its authority, I can destroy it with only the power of 1.
───This is the reason why Baal, the demon king, is truly the demon king, and why I am the only one who can counteract the power of the demon king.
But.
How is that possible?
Why did the demon king and I get to have powers of a far higher rank among them because we couldn’t fix the laws of the world, which are no different than these irregulars?
I don’t know why.
I don’t know, so I can’t explain.
Just realizing that I was given strength. There is no one who has a natural talent and wonders, “Why is it that only I have this talent?”
That’s why I can’t resolve Adela’s question.
“So, sorry.”
“… Phew. It’s not something you’ll be sorry for.”
After answering like that, Adela put on a very serious face like a mathematician who witnessed that the answer to a difficult question of the century had been left unanswered, and she was lost in thought.
Should I not touch it anymore?
Then.
“I think the time for small talk is over for us now.”
“… Right.”
While talking with Adela for a while, Vassago’s face returned to peace as if he had sorted out his thoughts.
“I will admit you. You are the true enemy worthy of our king…”
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The ground roared. With my daughter… The sound of bells resounding beyond the faint distance, and the sound of turning over the bookshelf is loud.
“The name I made for myself from time immemorial is Vassago, I inherited the third rank from our king, and I am the commander of the twenty-six corps, and my nickname is 〈 Scion of Prophecy 〉. My enemy standing here now, who are you?”
Standing upright, Vassago gazed at me with his back straight. The light in his eyes leaking out of the darkness stared piercingly at me, not blinking as if he would not miss my appearance.
His posture was very upright, and he looked very dignified. If he were a room in a well-decorated mansion rather than a ruin torn to shreds around him, he would look very good with him.
Is it.
I straightened my back again as well. For a while, I thought about whether it would be good to start by saying something, and then I opened my mouth thinking that this would be appropriate.
“The name given to me by my parents is Scarlet, but by biting them to death, I myself renamed myself Scarlett. The duke of the empire, the master of the night, the head of Chepes, the true ancestor, the archenemy of the demon king… All of that is meaningless.”
Vassago’s eyebrows twitched. In particular, it seemed that he was angry at the way that even the modifier of the devil’s nemesis was useless. Nonetheless, I continued to speak.
“From the moment I named myself Scarlett, I am Scarlett Tepesh alone, and at the same time, I am the only Scarlett Tepesh in the world because I love myself and am with the people I love.”
“… What does that introduction mean now? It’s against the rules…”
“Since when.”
I cut him off. Binggrae, I thought he smiled to make the viewer feel warm, but it didn’t work out anyway.
Maybe it will look like ridicule. It didn’t matter anyway.
“Since when did we need etiquette between us?”
“… Flaw. Haha…”
The devil laughed. The third-ranked archevil laughed as if he couldn’t stand it. Despite being insulted by me, he laughed cheerfully, as if it didn’t matter.
“… Is that so, are you just Scarlett Tepesh? Too bad… Unlike you, I don’t have ‘myself’ to introduce in that way.”
“Okay.”
“So instead, when I met the king later. Tell the king about the introduction you just made.”
“Why?”
“Well. Just, for no other reason. I just had a wish to do that.”
After listening to that, I really had to laugh this time. Laughter built on genuine delight, not ridicule.
“Your words are strange.”
“What?”
“To ask the enemy for such a favor.”
“Right. Surely… , That’s strange. I will admit it.”
“Between death and death, you know what it means to say ‘next’.”
The loser in a fight dies. There are no exceptions. I will kill him here. Likely, if I lose, I’ll die here.
Still, talking about the premise of ‘if you meet the devil’.
“Are you going to die?”
“Then, will you let me live?”
“No.”
“Then I will die.”
“Can the nobleman of the prophecy, the commander of the twenty-six corps, and the great devil of the third order admit his defeat so easily?”
“… Simply, does it look like?”
I closed my mouth. Even at this moment, it’s like crazy——! It was because I could see the bookshelf being turned over.
Vassago sees dozens, hundreds, thousands of futures, and despite trying to capture the ones that knock me down, he fails.
He wasn’t stopped by me after using 〈 leader 〉’s power.
From the beginning, it was a failure to see a future that would win me.
Complete, crushing, unquestionable defeat.
“I, I am——I, Vassago, will die here. No regrets. If it was defeated by none other than the king’s nemesis, I wouldn’t be ashamed of it even if I perished forever.”
Charreuk.
Chareuk.
…
The sound of turning the pages stopped.
There was only silence.
I raised my hand. Vassago, too, felt defeat, but as if he would not die easily, as soon as he closed the book, he fully prepared for battle.
And.
Feeze.
───!
