Chapter 208
Living beings die if they don't eat. This is a natural law.
Even the fiercest and most powerful beasts would eventually collapse under their own weight if they weren't constantly supplied with energy.
And Demons were no different.
Of course, Demons don't live by eating ordinary meals. For instance, didn't Barbatos only consume snacks for the pleasure of eating, having lived for nearly hundreds of years with just her head exposed?
Demons sustained their lives with something other than carbs, proteins, and fats. And that was none other than mana, the versatile essence contained in all things in the World Demons often transformed the raw material into a more impure substance... 'Magi' for their use.
Demons absorbed the mana dissolved in the World to prolong their lives, just like plants use nutrients in the soil to bloom. In that sense, the Demon Realm was barren land.
No, to be more precise, it had *become* barren.
...Lord Paimon.
Paimon suddenly recalled a memory from the past, a very old memory.
A sky dyed blue, the people living beneath it, even the soil overgrown with weeds—though there might be minor differences, the Demon Realm wasn't all that different from other worlds.
This Place was also where Life Forms lived, where life existed. The only difference was that most of them were dying.
In one scene from a memory, a Demon who called out to her spoke.
The people who lived in the Southwestern mountainous region have returned to their primordial state.
...Again?
At those words, Paimon's face twisted in pity. It was something that had happened dozens, hundreds of times in the Demon Realm. As the amount of mana in the air diminished, the common people, unable to obtain energy, were the first to suffer.
Primordial state. Fortunately, Demons didn't immediately die if they couldn't eat. Though they had physical bodies, they were half-Spirit, after all.
However, they returned to a very primitive state. a pure state, devoid of reason, good, or evil, with only the desire for survival remaining. Perhaps they would return to Nothingness beyond that.
It was a sight she had witnessed countless times, but sadly, there was nothing she could do to stop it. How could she possibly stop it when the World's own vitality was running out?
A dying civilization, a Dying World. Here was the end of a World that had once believed its brilliant light would last forever, and had drawn upon its energy without restraint.
The immense power held by Demons was not created from Nothingness.
*If I had known this...*
Of course, there was a way. The World inherently possessed a Self-sustaining Ability, so if it endured silently for centuries, the energy would eventually replenish. Until then, many would return to Nothingness, and many things would decline.
As a king, she could endure. Not just she, but other High-ranking Demons could endure too. But she couldn't guarantee whether she could bear to watch herself decline until then... whether other Demons would abandon their greed upon seeing her weakened body...
─There is a way.
One day, as she observed the World day by day, a certain Demon came to her with this proposal.
However, it won't be an easy method. ...What is it? It doesn't matter. Tell me.
At this time, Paimon was quite desperate. And the Opponent offered a proposal that exceeded her desperation.
We will seize the resources of the Other Dimension.
The Demon continued.
While using my abilities as usual, I discovered a suitable World — A World with an incredibly high density of pure mana contained within it. If we could conquer that Place... restoring the Demon Realm to its original state would be no dream.
It was a claim of finding a new world, but Paimon wasn't particularly surprised.
She already knew that countless dimensions existed, and the Demon before her had the ability to utilize and observe such dimensions. What surprised Paimon was something else: the word 'conquest' that the Opponent uttered.
But then...
Yes, hostility is inevitable.
The Demon interrupted Paimon and continued speaking.
But if we are to live, there is no other choice. If it is our destiny to be invaders, shouldn't we willingly embrace it? The Three Kings, excluding Lord Paimon, have all already agreed. How will you participate? ...They're all just so full of greed...
Paimon muttered that and looked ahead. The Demon, always with an unpleasant smile, awaited her answer.
Though she muttered with displeasure, Paimon's heart couldn't help but lean that way. She, too, was just one of the People for whom her World was most important.
If she could prevent the inevitable decline, invading another Place was something she would readily do.
I will participate.
From then on, many things began to be decided.
Connecting one World to another was never an easy task. Manifesting a single being required considerable effort, and the greater the being's stature, the more fiercely that barrier would resist, as if to prevent an external entity from bringing chaos.
Thanks to this, much preparation was needed. They prepared a 'medium' to thin the Protective Veil, and a Place for the manifestation. The project was named Armageddon (Ἁρμαγεδών). It was a word meaning destruction. Whether it was the Opponent or them, one of the two would not escape decline.
With so much to prepare, time passed quickly. But a small problem arose... Paimon wasn't as ruthless as she thought. As time went on, her heart grew weary without her realizing it. But regardless, the plan proceeded... until now.
*
Blink—
“Ah.”
After a brief moment of thought, Paimon returned to Reality.
CRACK—!
The rock Neria threw had already been blocked and shattered by the Barrier. Neria's Attack was certainly threatening, but it wasn't enough to break through her Defense. Moreover, colliding with her Origin was like throwing an egg at a rock.
However, even an egg leaves a trace. Neria's Attack didn't harm her body, but it was enough to leave ripples in Paimon's heart.
*That child...*
She wasn't a fool. Paimon immediately realized that Neria was the child to whom she had given her blood, a tool she had chosen to manifest more quickly in this World And at the same time, a child sacrificed for the cause of the Demon Realm...
Though Neria was a Living Sacrifice chosen by herself, Paimon didn't feel good seeing her. Fighting like this didn't suit her personality in the first place.
But it couldn't be helped. It was a choice she made for the cause of the Demon Realm. And it was almost fate. Demons, who subsisted on mana, had no choice but to live as invaders.
WHOOSH—!
Thus, Paimon once again drew upon mana. Recalling her initial resolve, she looked at the Imps around her, who had now become mere Monsters.
But for some reason... she seemed to foresee inwardly how this end would play out.
*
CRACK—!
With a sound like shattering glass, Paimon's Barrier cracked. And it was a rather large crack, as if it would break if struck just a few more times.
It was the first time this had happened since I accidentally broke the Barrier early in the battle. The Demon was slowly getting tired. An Otherworlder who had broken a part of the Barrier with a hammer beamed with delight.
We, we did it!
CRUNCH!
But that delight didn't last long. Paimon launched an Attack into that joyful opening. The Otherworlder was crushed by a hammer twice the size of their own, and vanished, turning into white particles.
Paimon wasn't the only one exhausted from the battle. The Extermination Squad had also suffered many casualties from the continuous commands.
Although the incantations provided hints, it still required a certain level of quick reflexes. A moment of carelessness could easily lead to one's body being shattered.
Despite this, many people were still able to remain because the demon's attack power was weaker than expected.
It might sound funny to say this right after someone was one-shotted... but it was true that her attacks could be blocked without much difficulty. Her abilities were almost omnipotent, but at the cost of sacrificing raw power.
Even if she threw a rock the size of a sports field like last time, as long as it was a rock, it could be shattered and blocked. As long as we prevented her escape and cornered her, she was a manageable opponent.
Still, I'm getting tired...
I said that and glanced at my body for a moment. I was quite disheveled.
My entire body was soaked from the Water Bomb the Demon had thrown, and ice crystals had formed on a part of my left shoulder. Though I had recovered through Regeneration, I had actually sustained many minor injuries.
Using anything without Attribute Restriction is truly a cheat ability.
Of course, that wouldn't last much longer.
Next time, I'll hit her with a big one.
It would be possible now that the Barrier was broken. There was one Technique I hadn't used yet, one she wouldn't expect.
Upon checking, the power of drawing upon Force Qi seemed stronger than using Blood Force Art and Sword Aura together. As much mana as it consumed, its power was undeniable.
And I have saved it for a more decisive Strike, not using it until now.
...
Step by step, I concentrated as I approached the Demon.
Thinking back to when I faced Jurgen, I shaped the mana as if forging it. Perhaps because I had done it once before, coating my spear with Sword Qi was quicker than the first time.
A blue blade, perfectly shaped, was overlaid onto the dark spearhead.
...Wait! Over there—!
Startled, I heard a Knight's voice from somewhere. I ignored it for now. I hadn't learned this long ago, so I needed to concentrate fully.
I swung the sharp spearhead I had created directly at Paimon.
CRASH—!
The Protective Veil that had consistently protected the king was finally pierced. Paimon's wide-eyed face was visible beyond the fragments of magi scattering like broken glass.
My Strike didn't stop there; it finally reached Paimon's body.
SPLAT—!
Her blood splattered into the air. Like the blood of any other king, Paimon's blood was red.
It was the first injury I had inflicted on her during our fight.