Chapter 424
“The situation was so urgent in the Final Stage that I couldn’t confirm if Lunea had taken the item on my behalf or not. After the Final Stage, the situation has remained unchanged. I have been putting in lots of effort to bring about the present circumstances.”
Lunea clenched its tiny teeth, but I ignored it and continued.
“I thought that Lunea would have handed it over to me if it took it. Since there was no mention of it even after Lunea joined as a Doom under your direct command, I never even imagined that Lunea would have received it. But not long ago, Lunea revealed the truth it had been hiding, saying that you allowed it to keep it. If you authorized that to happen, then I will accept it.”
“...”
“However, Lunea has committed a great sin against me. It deceived me. It had several opportunities to tell me the truth, but it didn’t. I cannot bear the anger when I think that it must have been lying and laughing at me secretly. My lord! Lunea must pay the price for deceiving me here. Also, if it is not true that you allowed Lunea to take the Book of Death, then its crime is worthy of the death penalty. Please punish Lunea!”
[D…death penalty? ( ｰ̀дｰ́ ) That’s not even funny. Shut your mouth if you know nothing. Our Almighty Master recognized my achievement with that~! I have fulfilled Master’s order! Unlike someone who is hella slow.]
[Isn’t that right, Master?]
Lunea refuted me immediately. The surprise on its face vanished, replaced by an arrogant demeanor.
It was an order…?
Well, I wasn’t the only one who had the freedom to act among all the Dooms. Lunea was also carrying out orders. I didn’t know where or what commands it carried out, but it appeared that it had received permission from Doom Kaos to take the Book of Death.
“However, that does not mean the crime of deceiving me has disappeared. Lunea would have revealed the truth at least when it joined us. It is also your messenger, but its messages are frivolous, contrary to your will. If you don’t punish it right now, then it will become more rude and arrogant in the future.”
[Frivolous? You shouldn’t say that. I can’t understand you no matter how much I try. It is just that you are too serious most of the time.]
[Master, Doom Man is tripping over something that is already over to get at me. He claims it is because I deceived him, but hey~ is that really true? He just wants to take the Book of Death. Doom Man is making up excuses right now!]
This bastard…
“I am now standing on the fourth step of the staircase, right below the curtain. Please establish the proper authority for my current position. Otherwise, what is the point of being where I am now? Would the lower lords have any hope and desire to challenge the higher ranks after this? I have only one wish: that it be made accountable for its crime of deceiving me. Certainly, if you tell me to tolerate it, then I will try to do so, but I hope you understand my sincerity, my lord.”
[Oh, dear… You are so temperamental. Do you think our Almighty Master would even bat an eye? Stop making up excuses and focus on thinking about how to fulfill our lord’s orders. If you need my help, feel free to tell me. I am busy, but I will help you when I can. You know? I am still filled with respect and love for you, Doom Man~♡♡♡ ]
Nonetheless, it seemed that Doom Kaos had said something to Lunea as it suddenly fell silent. Its gaze passed by me and fixed on the curtain. It was desperate, and it didn’t know what to do. Doom Kaos was paying attention to my words rather than the bastard’s nonsense.
[Master…! Doom Man’s words are not true. I have never deceived Doom Man. Please!]
The outline of the curtain was dark and calm like a tranquil lake. For the first time, I saw the curtain waver. When the movement intensified into a ripple, I looked at the bastard. Dread was filling its face. Lunea was trembling, not knowing what to do, and it was flapping its wings harder to regain its balance.
It was nothing more than a tiny creature, the size of a fist, struggling down the stairs. However, its fear spread throughout the lower Dooms.
Then, the bastard’s face started distorting. No, it actually became crumpled. It was the face of the Guide at the beginning of the Stage when the malice of Doom Kaos was revealed. From that hideous face, an instinctive hostility, which the bastard itself couldn’t handle, squirmed.
[Nothing will change even though you’re trying this hard. The Book of Death is mine! Lu-ne-ah’s! Do you get it?]
The curtain wavered once more. I realized that the phenomenon occurred whenever Doom Koas was conveying its thoughts to lower Dooms. It was now talking to me. Its judgment intuitively burrowed deep into my brain.
It was not telling me to retrieve the Book of Death, but it was more something like allowing flagellation. Doom Kaos had come to the conclusion that I could punish the sins of the bastard. Although I was prohibited from killing it, I had to be content with this.
From the beginning, I expected that it would be difficult to retrieve the Book of Death when Lunea mentioned Doom Kaos’s command.
Thump.
I stepped on the stairs below. Mount flinched and tensed up.
Thump.
I took another step down the stairs. Caso was a bit different. It seemed to be immersed in the chilly air like Mount, but there was a secret between us. It was cautiously looking at me with its huge eyes full of expectation. It was not expecting me to get promoted further, but it was probably asking me to stop the bastard from challenging its position.
However, it quickly lowered its head after a few seconds.
Flames spread on my wings and burned even more. Lightning flashed around me.
Thump.
Now it was the very last stair, where the bastard was floating annoyingly.
[We will have to see each other forever, so… I really want to get along well with you, Doom Man…. So… You know…. Right?]
The bastard’s ability to send shameless messages with a face trembling in fear was truly amazing.
I announced grimly, “I will carry out your execution.”
[Oh, shit. This is scary.]
“Try resisting if you can.”
[Do you think I’m crazy? Why would I do that? I, Lunea, submit to our master and the higher lords. So please, be gentle. I, Lu-ne-ah, am ready! ٩(๑˃ꇴ˂๑)و ]
Fine, you asshole. Let’s see how long you can last.
***
Lunea likely experienced a similar sensation to what I did when Entegasto attempted to grab me. It couldn’t react to the speed of my hand reaching out. Only its face peeked out between my fingers, and its entire body was caught by the pressure of my grip. If I concentrated my ultimate Power on it, then it would burst at any moment.ƒ𝐫𝒆e𝓌𝒆𝚋𝗻૦𝘷𝑒𝙡. 𝑐𝘰𝐦
However, the condition was that I couldn’t kill it. And even if Doom Kaos allowed me to do so, I had no intention of allowing it to die so easily. Entegasto must have had this mindset when it came down the stairs to punish me.
However, the result wasn’t what Entegasto had expected. Although I couldn’t defeat it, I proved my capability on equal terms. Also, I even gained the authority to teach this bastard a lesson.
Instead of concentrating the power in my grasp, I manipulated lightning bolts in a very complex and subtle manner. I made sure every bolt pierced through its entire body.
Zing-
[Ah, ah~♡ ]
As expected, its screams got on my nerves. The bastard and its kind concealed their weakness in this way and enjoyed the reaction of their opponent at the same time. It was how they resisted. Therefore, showing my rage would only serve to raise the bastard’s morale.
I suddenly recalled the past life I had lived before I traveled back in time. The majority of the Awakened were fucked up at that time, and I was one of them. Torturing other factions’ Awakened was common. In fact, I had been in a position to torture and had also been in a position to be tortured.
Torture… Although the perpetrator and the victim seemed clearly distinguished, it was an extension of the battle between those who wanted to suppress and those who resisted. Of course, the perpetrators were dominant in most of the battles.
Nonetheless, there were occasions when the victims won. It was difficult, but it happened. In those cases, they screamed in agony and were soaked in blood, but they provoked the perpetrators during the brief gap between the sessions. If they lost the strength to provoke, then they would just collapse. However, the important thing was that they never told the perpetrators what they wanted to hear.
Eventually, the perpetrators were unable to control their anger and killed the victims. That moment was the victory that the victim had been waiting for. The victims died laughing at the perpetrators and their accomplices, taking the secrets with them that the perpetrators desperately wanted to hear.
The End.
Of course, now wasn’t the time to find out something from this bastard, but overall, it was no different. The bastard knew that I couldn’t kill it and that the moment this punishment ended would come. That was definitely the reason it was acting like that.
From the start, this bastard had been determined to defeat me.
[Please be gentle~ More gentle than this. Ahhh. It hurts~♡ ]
I had to suppress my anger to avoid accidentally killing the bastard. If I killed it, then the punishment I was inflicting on it would fall on me. I had to calm down in order to not be swept away by this bastard’s intentions.
I also needed to make the torment longer and more painful. This was supposed to be the mindset of the perpetrators long ago. I was lucky to be alive, but I had been in this bastard’s place before. Therefore, I knew what it was thinking about.
[A bit more gentle, please~ I might die like this~♡ ]
I ignored it and focused my Sense on my grasp. More precisely, I focused on how much the bastard reacted to each lightning bolt.
The bastard had no physical body; it was only a mental entity. However…
1. The bastard and its kind were composed of identical ‘forms,’ making it impossible to distinguish between them.
2. The pressure of my clenched fist was surpassing the physical realm.
3. The bastard was definitely experiencing pain due to the lightning bolts.
With these conditions in mind, I tried analyzing the internal structure of the bastard. I observed at what point it trembled more intensely and felt weaker.
***
There was not a single plea for mercy or for me to stop. The bastard was stubborn.
The duration of the Man Who Overcomes Adversity was running out. If my intention had been to kill Lunea, then it wouldn’t have mattered whether the activation ended or not, but this was not the moment for the death penalty.
Permission had been granted to me to whip it until my anger subsided, but I didn’t want to end it with such an absurd punishment. The bastard had to suffer more and beg for death.
At that time, the streaks of lightning, which were as fine as blood vessels, were stirring the bastard’s internal structure. I chose the parts where Lunea experienced the most extreme pain and exerted power just enough to not kill it. And then, at one point, it finally happened.
[S…stop… stop…! Arghhhh…. P…please.]
Perfect.
This was the beginning of the real torture.
Lunea’s face had been trembling since it had been caught in my grip. However, it was not until then that it showed the reaction I wanted to see. It started to twitch, stretch out, and shiver uncontrollably.
[Argh! Stop… Please… S…stop!]
[I will… I will give it to you! The…the Death…the Book of the Death… Ugh… So…! Stop… St… Stop!!!! Ahhhhh!]
[The Book of Death!!!]