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“Here we go! Breakthrough! 【Earth Misdirection Shuffle】!”
“Nu!? This brat… just shuffles about! I aaaaaam, emineeeeeeeeeent!
A measly trick… such disillusioned swaying… makes me more frustrated and hurts my head.
Moreover, the extent to which he darts about, there is no opportunity to cast great magick… no… I’m losing my focus… but ‘that’…I must ingest ‘that’… but if I try to do anything other than attack…
“【Great Demon Sonic Flicker】!”
“Tch, 【Mega Wind Wall】!!”
His fists fly. Even though blocked by the wall of wind, if not careful, even this wall will be pierced lightly.
Drat…… once again…… if only I… could take that again… nay! What am I thinking?
“Heavenly King, try to catch me!”
I need not rely on such a thing for this lowly brat… I’m a king!
“【Mega Wind Cutter】! 【Mega Wind Cutter】! 【Mega Wind Cutter】!”
“Whoa…”
“My blades of wind shall cut thee to shreds!”
Its power is inferior, but it fires continuously in exchange.
He will not evade forever!
And yet……
“Hmm… it’s getting rougher and rougher…”
Why! Why does that brat smile… is he mocking me?
“Oh, don’t think thou can remain so flippant!”
“I’m not flippant. I’m keeping my eyes open and… also sharpening my concentration…”
“Nu?”
He smiles, why? Those eyes. Is he plotting something… some goal? Concentration?
“…… ah…… I get it. The opponent’s blind spot… out of sight and thought… right?”
On the contrary, what is he? Talking to himself? Nay, it’s as if he talks with someone… nay, for me…
“It’s no concern of mine! I shall slice thee up and dispose of thee on the Surface! 【Mega Wind Cutter】!”
Whatever thy plot, I shall crush you!
“Earth!
“Tch!”
Yes, if the brat moves about, just aim for that doll.
Sure enough, that brat stopped to protect the doll!
“Earth! Ah…
“It’s okay, it’s not much magic.”
“But…”
He’s sturdy. But there’s damage to his legs and arms.
He will wander around no longer.
“Not yet! Stay down, Kron!”
“But…”
“I’ll take care of it! Because I can do it! So stay down till ‘the time’ comes!”
Still, thou talks with such a big mouth and have such eyes? Then more…
“Or rather, hey.”
“Ah?”
“Your son is here too you bastard…”
Son? Of mine?
“…… guh… Daddy…”
Yes…… Come to think of it, he collapsed… art thou too injured to get involved?
In the first place, does thou still crawl in such a place?
“This foolish… failure! Unlike me, utterly useless! Nay!”
“Da… di…”
Utterly deplorable.
Such a foolish, failure…
“That’s… is there really any point to talking with someone like this? Would you be happy if he recognized you? Well…… I’ll make a place for it…”
“Nu?”
That brat again… on top of that…… that…… condescending look in his eyes… the way his eyes look down on my personage!
Fools all of them, because they can’t understand me, they looked down on me… with such eyes…!
“This brat! To look down on me with such eyes! Who art thou showing such eyes to?”
“I don’t think a man who looks at his kid like that should care about people’s eyes!”
“Die…… along with all who are foolish enough to look down at――――”
Why look at me with such eyes? Every last one of them. Everyone…… I, who am I ――――
“Here!”
“Huh!!??”
“【Great Demon Sonic Phantom Punch】!!”
…… wh… at? Just now…… something…
“Shockwave version of the Phantom Punch”
“…?”
“The control to pierce through the eye of the needle and the little shockwave from my small swing, your wind magic became a blind spot that let me drive a hit in.”
“Kah…… ah…”
Something touched my jaw… the world is spinning… regardless of my will, my consciousness was almost lost.
“I punched him out, he’s not unconscious… but…… this is fine! Kron!”
“I’ve been waiting! King of the Heavens! I’m stripping you naked! Magic Eye Skill, 【Tweet of Bygone Days】!”
Suddenly, the eyes of that doll that came forward glowed and enveloped around me.
“What…?”
“First of all, you will tell me. Tell us about yourself…… and how you came to be this way…”
“Huh!?”
And at that moment, many things ran through my mind in an instant.
Why did I do this in the first place?
I, as a King and an apostle of God, only tried to fulfill my responsibilities.
「Captain Dekte’ita. i, its useless… the traitor, Jamdi’el… is too strong…」
「Killed… we’re to be killed… we should never have come down to the Surface…」
「Even if we hide like this, it’s only a matter of time before she finds us…」
Why do I remember this now?
「Tch…… no choice…… we return to the country at once to rethink our strategy…」
「Even if I say to return… once the battle is set up, Jamdi’el will never allow our escape…」
「Oh, that’s right. So…… thou must fight and buy time.」
「Wh!? What… w, will thou not fight with us?」
「I am not one to die here! A venerable nobleman of the Heavens… the value of life is different between thou and I! In the first place, will we all be annihilated here… will one of thee survive… or perhaps I shall survive… which do thou think is the best choice! I will make sure thy families are compensated! They will know that thou fought bravely to the end. Therefore, go forth in peace!」
Where did I go wrong? What is my life? Nay, I’m not wrong. I’ve lived a righteous life.
No matter the sacrifice, I am the one who must not die.
The chosen of the Seraph tribe… the king’s hand… nay, a legitimate lineage even worthy of becoming King…
「Say, did thou hear? The other day, the Jamdi’el subjugation operation.」
「Aye, apparently, he’s the sole survivor…」
「Tch, the incompetent with only his family name… I’d rather even a single young soldier survives than him…」
「And yet he claims that he will one day become the Heavenly King?」
「Ha, such conceit, even though that’s impossible.」
No matter what the incompetent petty citizens say, I will not be beaten.
My existence, the chosen of the elite, is heaviest of all.
「Thou know nothing… foolish… and pathetic… most of all, thou remain ignorant of that…」
Yes…… there was only one person.
Even though I often receive their cheeky tongue… she was the only one from whom I allowed it…
「Thou still aims to be a King, then I’ll show thee how tiny thou art….」
She was a strict woman. Should I make any folly, she slapped me on the cheek.
But whether I’m wrong or not, she was the woman who saw me as I am… so I allowed it… and, gradually we changed.
But……
「Lord Dekte’ita… thy wife is in considerable danger. Even if she gives birth to the child, the mother’s body is…」
「Nu… then…… do I abandon the child? At last, a life born between I and my wife… a Seraph woman can only bear a child once in her lifetime…」
「But not at the cost of her life. After all, the child in her womb… it bears the Heraldic Eye. Therefore, all her magickal power will flow to the child. However, if thou acts now…」
「… Ku… That’s right… for my wife’s life… I’m sorry… my child… I’m sorry, but…」
For my wife, who was frail to begin with, childbirth was far more severe than we had imagined.
It was particularly life-threatening.
I was determined to save my wife’s life, so I tried to pour magick into the child in her womb and abort the child.
However, my wife squeezed her lifeforce and repelled my magick.
「Nay… absolutely not…」
At that moment, my wife was the very definition of a mother protecting her child at the risk of her own life.
「What… art thou so intent on this birth?」
「…… Yes…」
「Eh, th… then give birth! In exchange, I will not tolerate failure! Thou must give birth! No matter what, thou will give birth to our child! A child born of us! Without a doubt, thou should be the bearer of the future of the Seraphs!」
Yes…… that day… I saw… one life was lost, but I saw a new life sprouting… yes… life is…
「Was life always so heavy… or is it just me… this life… of mine… should I have survived …… in exchange for those who once had a future …… sacrificed for me? Nay. I never even realized… such a needles life…」
That’s why I reconsidered the weight of the lives I once abandoned… so……
「Jamdi’el, I… I shall subdue Jamdi’el! I shall take responsibility for my actions! To avenge those who sacrificed for me… I will…… avenge them, I will…… avenge them! Even at the cost of my life, I will defeat Jamdi’el and the King of the Demons who drew her in!」
I really meant to fight… even die for it… the moment I held my newborn child, I knew the weight of the life I once abandoned, and for that purpose… however……
―― Hence forth, the subjugation of Jamdi’el and interference with the Surface is forbidden. No longer can we allow any more victims. All for the sake of the peace of the Heavenly world. The kingdom will also be moved, drifting in the skies where Jamdi’el and her ilk cannot interfere.
That was the decision of the predecessor king.
Surely you jest… then how can the souls of the dead attain peace?
―― Thou disobeyed the King’s decree? Dekte’ita. However noble thou may be, this cannot be overlooked. Therefore, thou will be imprisoned. Brace thyself for hundreds of years of imprisonment?
At first, I didn’t know anything… until I lost something irretrievable… and when I tried to act at least to at least make amends, I was condemned again… so what should I have done?
What should I do……?
「Congratulations on your release… Daddy…」
「Nu? Art thou… Ga’al?」
By the time I got out of confinement, I was perplexed by the sight of my own child, who had grown up so differently, and at the same time I felt inferior.
Although neither his mother nor his father was by his side, Ga’al had grown up strong. In fact, unlike me, he was adored, recognized, and admired by people all over the country.
He had the brains, the strength, and the talent of his Heraldic Eye.
When he smiles at me, I only feel pity for myself and wonder if I am being looked down upon by my own child.
I have no dignity as a father.
However, it is only natural.
While I was imprisoned, this Heavenly world was at peace, and moreover, the Demon King’s Army, to which Jamdi’el belonged, had been destroyed.
What in Heavens am I to do…
「Hihahahaha, you did nothing wrong. You are really the chosen one. It’s everyone else who is stupid enough not to know it.」
Yes…… was that the moment? It was when I met the wandering traveler who suddenly emerged from the Surface world.
「What do thou say? My life is full of mistakes and meaningless… I’ve done many irreparable things… I can’t even properly face my child because I feel as if he looks down on me.」
「Nope. The wrong ones are the Heavenly King and the Seraphs too stupid to realize it. Your potential is different from other Seraphs. Even if you don’t have a magic eye, you will not be outdone by your kid. If that potential is awakened, it will surpass even Jamdi’el… so you didn’t do anything wrong. You are the one Seraph who should survive at all costs.」
「Potential? What nonsense? As if there is any such thing in me… even if I know such a thing now, generally… I don’t need that kind of power anymore, do I? The Demon King’s army has fallen, hasn’t it?」
「But Jamdi’el isn’t dead. She’s alive. Have the last few hundred years been peaceful? How can you be sure that the next hundred years will remain peaceful? there is nothing more frightening than a Jamdi’el who has lost her Lord and fallen into despair. Even if she’s just hiding now, she’s bound to come out into the open sooner or later.」
「Nu…」
「Right now, it is not fully grown, but… when the next king is raised, Jamdi’el will surely rise again to have that king take the world. And once they destroy the Surface, that madness will naturally turn to the Heavens.」
I can do nothing… not even talk straight with my own child… before me, who lived quietly in hiding, with nothing to do and no one to talk to, interact with, or engage with… appeared this man who became familiar with me.
I haven’t talked to anyone that much in a long time…
「Besides, if the war between the Surface world and the Demon Realm is over, don’t you think the humans will come for the Heavens next anyway? Those are the ones who defeated Jamdi’el and the Great Demon King Tre’ainar. A threat stronger than the two… don’t you think?」
「Huh!?」
「Then you will be the king and protect everything. A coup… no…… it’s a crusade. I fully support you. You see, we’re best friends, aren’t we?」
And the man was a blabbermouth, but for some reason I listened to his words…
「Here… I’ll give you this potion and needle.」
「What? What is.. this potion? And this needle?」
「Not only are your powers unreleased, but you also have no confidence in yourself, and have shut your heart because of past events… that’s not good. Let’s awaken your power and free your mind. Don’t hold back. The world is waiting for your awakening! This is a potion that will help you wake up …. Heroi … It’s called “Hero Inn”… use this to forget about fear and pain and transcend everything! And you will become the King! Yeah, panay!」
「Such a potion… I… to be King… however……. what about this needle?」
「Oh, the needle, just a quick prick in the head——」
Yes…… all for the sake of the people… for the world… I will be the King… I will… I…
“Is this the memory… of the Heavenly King… no, Dekte’ita…”
“Daddy…”
Back to the original location…… in front of me, that doll girl and Ga’al… and……
“Wow. It all flowed into my head in an instant… but, that demon… hmm? Hey? What’s wrong? Hurry…… what? …… that demon… Eh?
And that human brat… what? Alone…… it’s as if he talks to someone, but there’s nobody beside him…
“Daddy… I ――――――――”
“Ga’al…… guh, do not! With such eyes, I… I am… I am not one for thou to look down on! I am better than thee, unlike thee, a failure!”
I am king! King in the Heavens! And God… isn’t that right? Hey, my friend! Friend――
“Hihaha… you know at first, I thought it would be fun, but…… this event got lame… I guess Showtime’s over.”
Ah… oh…… thou have come… my true friend…
“Well, just to give my greetings at the end … right?”
Hmm? The end……?