Chapter 28
Somewhere in the back space of [Akashic Archive]
"Thank you for your help, Lady Demon God."
I bowed before the Demon God who had helped me put that Filthy Sludge into weekly boss mode.
"...I merely wished to see that one suffer eternally."
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
Millions.
Filthy Sludge getting beaten up by the ever-increasing number of Players.
The Demon God sneered.
She twisted her lips forcefully, as if delighting in his miserable state.
Yet even that smile couldn't hide the sorrow in her eyes.
A sorrow so vast I couldn't fathom it even though I could read her thoughts.
Her master who raised her became a crazed Mass Murderer, so she had to stop her and ended up killing her in the process.
But it turned out she had deliberately lost and let herself die.
While looking into the past to verify the truth and try to resurrect her master, she grew too attached to her younger version.
When she tried to stop the young master from being sacrificed to resurrect the original, the master revived and merged from within.
Just when it seemed like a true happy ending, using her power would cause her master and her world to vanish.
Forced to not use her power, yet needing it to fulfill her master's will as the Demon God.
Until finally releasing her power led to her master's disappearance.
...It's a miracle she's even maintaining her sanity.
If it were me, I might have gone mad right away.
Just imagining Lady Constellation in that situation makes me shudder.
I really hate tragic stories.
"Lady Demon God."
"...What is it?"
"I have something I prepared in advance."
I took out an orb from within my clothes and held it out.
"What is this?"
...How should I put this.
I can't exactly say this is a backup I kept to use as leverage to negotiate when you try to kill me after getting angry that the plan to trap you in the story world failed and the world vanished...
I pondered the right words.
"It's a backup of the game you played through."
"...Backup?"
"You could say I saved that progress state."
Having backed it up in case something happened, this contains the young Demon King, Reino, who adventured with her.
Unfortunately, I couldn't capture her real master who had revived, but still.
"Is...is that really true?"
The Demon God's eyes went wide as she reached out to take the orb.
Her hands were now trembling uncontrollably.
I kept my hands spread beneath hers in case she dropped and shattered the orb in a catastrophe.
"It...it really is...!"
The Demon God peered into the orb with her Divine Eye.
The Demon King saved along with her progress.
She could see Reino, the girl who remembered her as Lady Demon God.
"You're safe...!"
The Demon God who had been maintaining her dignity forcefully finally burst into tears of joy.
Who could believe this sobbing figure was the same imposing Demon God from before?
'...Maybe I was a bit wrong to try to use this Demon God's emotions to trap her.'
How could I have known she had this side to her, when she had crushed our Investors and taken me hostage to give orders.
I was just desperately trying to survive.
I couldn't bring myself to tell the weeping Demon God that while I had saved the game data, there was no way to actually resurrect the Demon King.
*
"La-Lady Demon God?"
Back in the Demon King's room.
Demon King Reino fidgeted uncomfortably at the Demon God's embrace.
"It's alright. You don't need to fear not seeing the Era of Peace. I'll take care of everything."
The Demon God materialized and unleashed her Divine Power freely.
Demonic Energy overflowing within her surging power.
Originally, the world should have collapsed, unable to handle her Demonic Energy.
But separated from the original server and reconstructed as a free server just for the Demon God, the world could be maintained after adapting the energies and Divine Power.
"All battles are over. You can put down your heavy burden now."
Chain of Hatred?
Endless conflicts from repeated revenge?
Such things only happen when both sides have similar power.
Overwhelming power.
When there is overwhelming power that neither side can dispute, no one can cry out for revenge.
And the Demon God had that power.
“We won’t do it! We absolutely won’t do it!”
“We will follow Lady Demon God’s command!”
When the Demon God exercised her power directly, the entire continent submitted to her rule and obeyed.
There were many who tried to defy her orders and seek revenge, but the Demon God had more than enough power to catch and subdue them all preemptively.
"..."
The Demon King stared blankly at the Demon God with her mouth agape.
"You said you wanted to see it - the Era of Peace."
The Demon God who instantly solved the problem the Demon King had struggled with her whole life.
She was so beautiful.
"Now you can throw off all your heavy burdens and enjoy an era of peace and harmony. It's an era for you, after all."
The Demon King gave a bewildered laugh.
"It feels...refreshing but empty somehow."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes. I achieved my dream but...it feels strange. I lived so desperately just for this, but it was a problem that could be solved so easily."
"Problems that can't be easily solved usually stem from lacking power."
"That's true. ...Because I lacked power."
The Demon King's shoulders slumped.
"In the end, I was meaningless."
"What are you saying?"
"To think I became Demon King yet still racked my brains over a problem Lady Demon God could solve so easily. Haha...I really am incompetent."
Crack-
No.
What are you saying?
You're the reason I exist
And that's why I ended the era of hatred and achieved peace.
You started everything, so what are you saying?
"...Reino."
"Yes?"
"Actually...I wasn't always a Demon God. When I lost my parents and was crying alone, my master saved me."
"So Lady Demon God had a master too?"
"...Yes. No one is strong from the beginning."
"I'm curious about Lady Demon God's master. After all, you're my master, Lady Demon God... Oh! Did I offend you?"
"No! Not at all. You're the only one I've ever taught. You are my greatest masterpiece and my greatest Apostle. No one could surpass you."
"Ahaha...thank you, Lady Demon God. But my entire life came from you. Without you, I would have died that day in the basement at human hands."
The girl waved her hands and laughed awkwardly.
The Demon God understood what the girl was feeling.
She had solved it too quickly.
In crushing the Chain of Hatred with power to save the girl, she had made the girl doubt the value of her life and existence.
The Demon God wanted to tell her everything right then.
I am your disciple. You are my master.
Because you sacrificed everything to achieve it all, I was able to become Demon King and Demon God and come this far.
All those words rose to the tip of her tongue.
But she couldn't bring herself to speak them.
Squeeze-
The girl's eyes widened at the sudden embrace of the Demon God.
"If not for you, I would never have cared about this world. You are this world's savior and my... beloved savior."
The girl's warmth she couldn't feel in soul form.
Her master's scent she thought she'd never smell again.
The soft touch she always yearned for in dreams.
The Demon God closed her eyes and savored it.
The master is the true Demon King and hero worthy of being Demon God.
Not an incompetent disciple like me.
The Demon God had fallen asleep.
The girl laid the Demon God's head on her thigh and helped her lie on her side.
"You've grown so much."
Then she smoothed and arranged the Demon God's bangs.
"Where did you learn lines like that?"
The girl poked the Demon God's cheek with a slightly flushed face.
"You almost made me reveal myself because my heart was pounding too much from your teasing."
The Demon God's lips curved into a smile at that warm finger.
[The King of All Demons who Conquered Pride smiles.]
As if having a happy dream where all tragedy and sin had been overcome.