Chapter 7: Superbia, Part 4: … How Useless

In this world, everything is nothing but a trifle.

That little girl Kanon becoming the Great Demon King must be the end of the world, and with her trying to suppress not only the Heavens, but even the Demon World, this situation really is the worst.

For me, who even took down my Supreme Master, they’re no enemies of me. It’s obvious.

If it’s now, then even God can fall by my hand.

I clench the palm of my hand. My power has increased.

My Pride Tree which had stagnated because I was unable to become a Demon Lord suddenly experienced frightening growth.

Enlarging perception. The new Skill I obtained, 『Abyss Zone』 instantly spread to cover the Castle of Shadows that had lost its master.

Differing from the Acedia Father released, a Superbia power that seemed to push down on people from above.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But in it, I didn’t feel exaltation or anything. Not even a feeling of achievement.

Even though there should be nothing standing above me anymore.

“… Hm, everything is useless, I see.”

Not a single enemy for me exists within this Demon World.

Even the one selected as the most powerful Demon Lord, Kanon of Ruin… for me that’s known her since her childhood, I doubt she can rival me. For my Pride, it was an overwhelming predominance.

The Demons I pass look at me, and kneel as they lower their heads.

What useless folk. Without even proceeding their desires, they’re fools who content themselves in naught but what is given to them by others.

After fulfilling my pride, I only had one place to aim for.

I wandered to the Lord’s Throne Room. The throne that no one had ever sat in before stood there silently.

Metal that was exceedingly rare, even in the Demon World was skillfully worked on by artisans for many months and years to construct the jet-black throne.

I’ll bet it’s cleaned regularly. In that space without a speck of dust, as if it were sleeping just like father, the air was filled with a quiet and tranquil atmosphere.

Without faltering, I lowered myself into the seat that had never been sat on once. The throne was merely hard, and cold.

I have no suitable enemies in this Demon World. I also don’t have the incentive to go bully that little girl Kanon.

I put my elbow on the armrest, and thought.

“If there’s nothing for me in the Demon World… then should I go invade Heaven…”

I recall the small, hateful, pure-white wings of God’s vanguard.

By nature, those ones have a large superiority complex against Demons. I’ll destroy them head-on. It’ll at least help kill some time.

And even in the heavens, it will resound in every direction.

My name. And the name of the Great King of Depravity.

The door is violently thrown open.

The one who entered was a crimson-haired Demon by the name of Lize Bloodcross. At the same time, like Kanon once was, she’s the woman who was Father’s inspector.

Her fiery glare that was like a raging fire incarnate, and her looks were that of an angry soul.

She’s a foolish female Demon who, of all things, asked a Superbia like me to preserve the lives of Deije and Medea, who had failed their mission.

“…! Heard Lauder. What is the meaning…”

“… Hm, Father has perished.”

“Perished!? Leigie of Sloth!? Just what could possibly…”

She’s a woman who says useless things.

There’s no way father could be taken down by an existence apart from mine.

“I killed him. Go tell that little girl Kanon. Leigie-sama’s authority… will be succeeded by me.”

I use Evil Eyes.

Lize’s body goes rigid.

I see, so this is 『Evil Eye』. This is the first I’m using it, but what a useless Skill.

Subjugating an opposing force holds meaning only if it is by one’s hand alone.

“You are… a Demon Lord!? Gu… Heard Lauder. Could it be that by killing your Lord…”

Killing one’s master. That is Superbia’s long-lived desire.

Pride become pride by overruling everything superior to them.

“You’re a slow woman, aren’t you. That’s what I just told you. There won’t be a second time. Go tell Kanon. Don’t bring trouble to my hand.”

“… Why did Leigie-sama… to the likes of you…”

What an obstinate woman.

I stand, and use a Skill.

The Skills I obtained upon reaching Lord Class will definitely come into use in the upcoming war. There is nothing to be lost in training them.

My thoughts accelerate. The world stops for a moment.

My body is light.

In a single step, I approach her, grab her by the neck, and lift her.

It wasn’t until her neck was strangled that Lize showed surprise for the first time.

“Gu… wha… go…”

“I told you there wasn’t a second time… Hm, to be lead inspector at this level, their quality sure has dropped over the years.”

Frail. Way too frail. Compared to Leigie-sama, just how frail is this world?

If I just put in a little power, it feels everything will break.

Lize’s face is tinted purple. Her Flames of Wrath lick my arms, but for me who’s even Overruled Kanon’s flames, there’s no way it would work.

…Hm, useless. There’s not even any worth in killing her.

With one hand, I throw her at the wall. I did make sure to hold back. I doubt she’ll die from that.

You still have the crucial job of reporting my words to Kanon.

Everything is moving slowly.

This is one of the Skills of a Demon Lord of Pride.

『The Only Lord』

It greatly elevates one’s speed of perception, to make the world your own.

It’s the furthest land of pride that holds meaning only since I’ve trained my body to this level.

Me sitting back on the throne, and Lize hitting the wall happened almost simultaneously.

The room shakes greatly, and pebbles fall from up high.

The Castle of Shadows is, in itself, father’s mausoleum.

I’ll have to fix it up and renovate it. In place of a fortress, a splendid palace.

I’ll also have to reorganize the army.

Neither Medea nor Deije are here anymore.

Naturally, there’s also the option of me venturing forth alone.

The reason three brigades existed was largely because father never went out himself.

“… The world is in my hands, is it?”

Just how much value does the world hold?

If I get my hands on all of it, will I understand that? Just what was the Superbia Great Demon King of old thinking of when he tried to get his hands on it?

It sounds to me like a completely worthless notion, but so be it.

Dominate the entire world, and making my name known across it doesn’t sound bad as a temporary goal.

“… Heard-sama…”

“Enter.”

A reserved knock came from the door. I already recognize this existence. A demon Lord’s perception is far wider than a normal Demon’s. But even if I weren’t a Demon Lord, I probably would have noticed.

That’s just how excited that presence was.

The one who entered with a slightly stiff face was Hiero.

A Demon of Pride. The younger sister of Lorna of Lust, and a woman who pursues pride with a path different to mine.

Perhaps because the door was opened, or because a hole had been made in the wall, a cold air drifts in.

“… You crushed Leigie-sama, didn’t you.”

“Yeah, Leigie-sama was strong.”

“… Congratulations, your Demon Lord Excellency. I, Hiero will serve you with all my might.”

“… Hm, cease with the useless babble. What business do you have with me?”

“Ye… yes!”

Her expression as she kneeled was pale, and there are tears surfacing in her eyes. Even without looking at her, I can tell her arms and legs are shaking lightly.

Fear… is it?

What a useless Demon. Even if you hold reverence for the strong, if you remain fearful, you’ll never be able to Overrule them.

That is the lone taboo among Pride.

“The truth is… well…”

“Make it short. You won’t get another chance.”

“… Medea escaped.”

“… I see.”

I glare at Hiero. What a useless woman.

To let an Envy Demon that had weakened to that extent escape, just how incorrigible is she?

Disgrace. That is the most unforgivable deed to me. This doesn’t change even if the other side’s a Pride Demon like me.

I stand before her.

I understand the true colors of the fear on her face.

I’ve seen it countless times in my long years of life… The eyes of prey as they look upon their predator.

A smart woman.

She thinks much better than her sister.

And she is likely correct.

If she tried to run away for her failure, even if she fled to the greatest depths of hell, I would chase her down and kill her.

Kill her with all certainty. Slay her gruesomely. Make her regret being born into this world.

But since she reported it herself, I’ll bury her in a single blow.

“Let’s hear your final words.”

What returned from Hiero’s lips wasn’t a plea for life.

With a shaking voice, she looked up at me.

“… Please tell my just one thing. After overruling even Leigie-sama, what is there left for you to do, Heard-sama.”

“… Hm, that’s obvious, is it not? I’ll…”

… Take the world in my hand, and have Leigie-sama’s name ring true through it.

When I was about to say that, Hiero let out a light sneeze.

I knit my brow. Seeing my expression, she hurriedly makes an apology.

“I-I deeply apologize. It’s just that… it’s so cold…”

Hiero holds her arms, and not out of fear for me, shakes her body.

It definitely is cold. Before I noticed it, Frost had begun to set in on the floor. The room’s temperature is already well below freezing point.

The hole in the wall is quite far, and until a little while ago, it shouldn’t have been this cold.

This is a clearly abnormal situation.

“… Strange. What is happening?”

If I look back on my few million year of existence, I don’t think something like this has happened before.

Unlike Hiero, as a Demon Lord, I have a Resistance to cold. This level poses no problem.

But it’s unsettling that I don’t know the cause.

Hiero sneezes once more, and offers another excuse.

“… T-today sure is cold, isn’t it…”

“… Don’t be stupid, there’s no way the temperature can drop this low in the middle of the day.”

In the first place, even normal Demons should have enough Resistances to let them pay no mind to fluctuations in temperature on the level of natural phenomena.

I probe through everywhere within my Zone.

But searching with a Skill I was using for the first time didn’t really feel right in my hands. The further I tried to look, the duller my senses became.

Abnormal Weather? It definitely is winter, but this is…

Lize finally gets up from the crushed wall. Her hair clings to her face due to the blood flowing from it, but I can see a sharp glare coming from the gaps in it.

“Heard Lauder. I won’t accept it. To kill your lord…”

“… Hm. I never had the intention of getting you to accept it.”

The right to decide lies with Kanon alone.

And even if Kanon doesn’t accept me, then I just have to rule everything and all will be settled.

Lize’s body is clad in crimson flame. The frost on the ground instantly evaporates, and disappears into the air.

It’s a higher class Ira Skill.

『Breath of Flame』.

What useless power. For you, who hasn’t even become a Demon Lord, you won’t even be able to scratch me.

That’s the simple gap in our magic. Unless the difference is great enough, you cannot overturn an Overrule.

Our eyes clash. Compared to Kanon, just how thin is her Wrath. Diminutive. Your Wrath is lacking greatly in something called weight.

Onto the Raging Lize’s side, Hiero shook as she walked.

Based on her positioning, I thought she was going to ask for help, but she just began warming herself.

I look at her dumbfounded. Lize is the same. Hiero’s eyes are open wide, and she squats.

“… What the hell are you doing?”

“…Uu… it’s cold…”

The form of her shaking as she held up the palms of her hand to the flame could only be looked on as a joke, given the situation, but the individual was quite desperate.

But even so… the temperature has fallen even lower than before.

Lize doesn’t matter anymore. I can kill her in an instant, and her attacks can’t even be compared to a deteriorated Kanon. I can Overrule her.

But this cold is dangerous. That’s what my accumulated and sharpened experience was telling me.

As she shakes, Hiero looks up at me.

“… Heard-sama, did you properly deliver a finishing blow to Leigie-sama?”

“I crushed his Soul Core. He’s perished without a doubt.”

Once their Soul Core heart is destroyed, a Demon cannot continue to exist.

“Then why is it so cold… it’s definitely related in some way…”

I understand what she’s trying to say.

Let it be so.

With this timing, it’s unthinkable that there’s no correlation.

But there should be no Sloth Skill to drop temperature. At the very least, I’ve never bared witness to one in my many years of life. In the first place, a Demon’s Desire can take shape in the Flames of Wrath, but there is no variant that controls ice.

The moment I begun to frown, I sensed something unbelievable happen.

As if a pillar of ice had been inserted into my spine, a cold impact ran up my body.

“… My 『Zone』 was broken, you say…”

“… Kusu kusu, see~ it’s because you didn’t see Leigie-sama off ‘til the end… achoo.”

“… You, I’m surprised you can laugh at a time like this…”

The atmosphere is repainted.

From a heavy pressurized air… to a frozen, dark and gloomy one.

It was definitely not the familiar 『Acedia』 of my father.

It’s not Greed or Lust or Wrath or Gluttony or Envy or even Pride.

Lize’s face distorts.

“Wh at… this presence is…”

“What Demon Lord is this… no, is it even a Demon Lord?”

The instant I perceived it, my legs arbitrarily began to race towards it.

My vision flows by with great speed.

I hold no interest in either Lize or Hiero.

There’s no way any interest would rise towards existences I could just kill off at any time.

Silver curtains had been lowered on the Castle of Shadows.

White piled up snow, and large pillars of ice that even extended to the ceiling.

And… the suspended form of the retainers.

With pale expressions of fear, the hardened retainer’s body shook.

Cold… He’s been completely frozen.

“… Hm, this definitely isn’t natural.”

The magic lurking here is the same as what broke my Zone.

Sloth and Greed and Lust and Gluttony and Pride, and even Wrath that had the corresponding flames to deal with it, everything had been frozen indiscriminately.

The closer and closer I got to the mass of power, the lower the temperature fell.

On the way forward, I spotted a familiar Demon, and stopped for a moment.

Lorna had been frozen with a peaceful expression as she pushed a cart.

There was no fear on her face. Without being given the time to fear, she had been frozen instantly.

What frightening power.

This output rivals the flames of Ira.

This scope rivals the wave of Gula.

Interesting.

How suitable for my first opponent as a Demon Lord.

I’m starting to see the future my new power holds.

I can’t help but start to see it take shape.

Hiero already said it, but for an opponent to be able to use skills with this output, if you ignore the possibility of an outside invader, there’s only one within the Castle of Shadows.

No… there should only be one.

The door had been frozen shut with pale blue ice.

I forcefully ripped open the door to Father’s room.

It was as if all time in the room had stopped.

On the sight that entered my eyes, I felt my own heart become astir.

Everything was covered in frost, and the temperature pierced even through my cold Resistance. Within that frozen land, a single man sat on an armchair with his knees hugged close to his body.

It’s definitely my father, whose Soul Core should have been crushed. It’s so quiet I cannot even tell whether he’s alive or dead.

… I try to take a step forward, and instinctively recall my leg.

I look down on my foot, and open my eyes wide.

“… What… is this…”

My leg had been completely frozen over.

I have no feeling in it. There’s not even any pain. As if it had been reduced to inorganic substance, its smooth and shiny surface catches the light in a dubious way.

I try putting the palm of my hand to it. It’s extremely hard, and cold. A dim pain runs up my arm.

Resistance type skills generally grow the more you take damage from that attribute. I did have a resistance to the flames of Wrath, but I only have a low level one for ice.

If you ask why… of the skills permitted to Demons by the Seven Original Sins, from the start, there were no ice attribute attacks.

I unintentionally sighed.

“Father… for you to be hiding a trump card this severe…”

It’s a power I never anticipated.

My sigh freezes in the air, and a faint sound rings out as it falls to the floor as small beads of ice.

I take a step into the room. A silver world close to absolute zero. Without sound, or dust or anything to exist to taint the pure air.

By the time my half-frozen feet had stepped forward, ice quickly began encroaching all over my body.

It’s as I thought. The temperature in this room is on another level from that outside. The area ahead’s sealed off with a barrier, it seems.

“… But there is nothing more suitable for the one that is Master.”

That’s right. I thought I had won all too easily. I thought that there was no way that was all he had.

I mean, when it looked like it was over, there wasn’t a single wound on my body.

The encroaching ice stops.

As if I would be done in by something like a barrier.

My pride alone is the only thing I’ve taken with me into this dead world.

Every time I take a step ahead, a wave of power burns my skin.

Its outputs falls in no way short of Wrath. The zone doesn’t permit resistance, and this frozen-over stagnant world can be none other than Father’s perfect world.

A cruel world where neither my speed nor my power hold any meaning.

If I don’t exert all of my power, I would turn to ice in an instant. Just like the Demons outside.

“… Well, well… how useless am I…”

But breaking everything head on is my Superbia.

Plans are unnecessary before my Pride.

My memories resurface.

Always alone, the one who stood above me. My absolute creator.

No matter how much his actions and appearance were of Sloth, that all was irrelevant.

The power of Sloth. Just having that was enough.

Ah, just how strong, how beautiful it is.

In the vast Demon World, and even the heavens, there cannot exist something this complete, this beautiful.

And that’s exactly why I have meaning.

“… I will surpass this.”

I really know not when to give up.

I don’t know by what theory he still lives when his Soul Core was crushed, but once more, I’ll sink you into the depths of Sheol.

I declare to my Master, whose head is lowered into the knees he hugged to himself.

His unmoving arms, which were already white, have surpassed that, and they’ve become transparent like ice.

White frost has descended on his hair as black as mine.

His form was so lifeless, I almost lost interest in attacking.

The distance is half a meter. If I extend my hand, I can reach him easily. But his fleeting existence was one that felt as if it would break if I set my hand on it.

At that moment, father’s face slowly rose.

Like glass balls, his emotionless eyes looked at me without any meaning. The glint in them had much more color than before, and his eyes were filled with much more dark despair.

Even for one who had served him forever, it was the first time I saw that expression.

And Father’s mouth that barely did any work opened ever-so-slightly, and began to move.