Chapter: 185
‘Why?’
As the Outsider opened his eyes, he felt a heavy pressure descend upon the Demon King’s Castle.
Weak demon race members and monsters were foaming at the mouth and fainting all around. It was the aftermath of That One’s return.
Just like someone who had just woken up leaving their pajamas all over the floor, he didn’t bother to gather the scattered remnants of his aura. Sounds of struggling breaths spread across the castle before fading away.
As everyone held their breath before the terrifying presence, a chilling silence blanketed the Demon King’s Castle. Just like a human wouldn’t worry about stepping on an ant while strolling down the street, he continued his thoughts, ignoring the situation around him.
‘Why have I been asleep for so long?’
He had paid the price of causality to divide his soul from the human body he had crossed dimensions into and to push the Outsider into an empty shell.
He had expected to wake up again within a few days at most, maybe a week, but it took several months for him to regain consciousness.
His ‘prediction’ was as good as a ‘prophecy,’ enough to raise questions.
That One… he began to overlook the Demon King’s Castle.
Rumble…!
Only a slight display of his power caused the ground to tremble as if an earthquake had hit.
‘Where is it?’
There was confusion creeping in when he couldn’t find Lian’s shell, which was previously stored in the castle. He was still not an omnipotent god, unable to see the entirety of the world.
While it was possible to draw upon his true power, that could lead to a dimensional collapse or the destruction of worlds, which wasn’t a wise choice.
Still, he couldn’t just ignore the unknown variables. He gazed down upon the unstable life form that would know well what had transpired while he slumbered.
“Gasp, cough…”
The Demon King, with a pale face, was sitting on the floor, clutching his neck with both hands. It looked as if he was choking himself or perhaps suffocating in agony.
He graciously relieved the pressure from the Demon King’s throat.
“Cough… Huff, huff!”
Though the heavy pressure had dissipated, the Demon King’s body shook even more violently. It was as if the form and concept of That One began to flow into his mind, which had been clouded by that pressure.
It was… a tree. Branches sprouted like tentacles, densely filling the sky, opening up a living world at their ends. No, wait. Looking closer, it appeared that dead worlds were skewered at the tips of those branches. Upon further inspection, those were not branches but hands, arms, faces, bodies, insects, and the insides of animals.
Humans have an instinctive need to understand whatever they see. It’s akin to instinct, something not easily controlled. Because of this, the Demon King endlessly thought and thought and thought—until he couldn’t think anymore.
It felt like his eyes would burst, and his tongue would be ripped out, rolling on the ground. In his throat, it seemed as though branches, arms, hands, faces, bodies, and the insides of animals were all sprouting.
The Demon King experienced a horrifically intense ecstasy simply by recognizing That One.
Yet, since the Demon King was still a tool that couldn’t be broken, the Existence gently massaged his mind to prevent him from going insane. The Demon King found himself in a bizarre state, on the verge of madness but remarkably intact. A mercy and a disaster.
The Existence looked down at the Demon King and asked.
Where is that ‘body’?
Ka-boom!
With an overwhelming pressure that would not allow even a sigh to escape, a careless explosion echoed through the air.
The Existence’s gaze shifted from the Demon King to the source of the sound.
Amidst the dust cloud kicked up by the explosion, he could see a human with black hair and eyes running swiftly alongside a red-haired Beastman.
The Existence gazed at the soul occupying the human body.
It felt like the weight of a soul slightly higher in rank than the weakest amongst those who followed the Existence, with powers swirling around it like knights protecting the soul.
‘It hasn’t perished?’
As doubts emerged, Lian looked around, tilting his head from side to side, until he suddenly looked up and locked eyes with the Existence.
“Gah?! Caught!”
The voice that sounded as if the great being, worshipped by the Outsiders, was treating the Demon King like a mere guard irked the Existence.
‘This is dangerous.’
Even the one referred to as the Demon King could be driven to madness just by facing the existence, which was brought down a notch, offending its feelings.
This was akin to pulling a majestic god down to the earth. The Existence felt an impending threat from Lian, who wielded such miracles like breathing.
‘I need to annihilate this one immediately.’
The Existence began to forcibly draw upon its power to extinguish Lian, who was moving more slowly than a worm. Though causality was starting to deplete, it was more important to eliminate Lian on the spot, so it used its powers without hesitation.
The Demon King, who had been bowing his head and trembling, staggered to his feet. Though the Existence’s gaze was fixed on Lian, the pressure from beginning to use its powers crushed every corner of his body mercilessly.
The Demon King struggled to rise, his lips quivering.
“No…!”
Because of the forced contract he had made with the Existence, the Demon King could vaguely sense what it was about to do.
Tears of blood flowed down his cheeks, but he wouldn’t stop moving.
“Not him…”
Staggering forward with a hand pressed against the wall, he ripped through it as magic flowed out. His bloodshot eyes gleamed ominously.
“No more can you take anything from me!”
With each step he took, his body began to feel lighter at some point. His chilling determination began to slice through the thoughts that lay beyond his cognitive reach.
His slow steps transformed into quick strides, then into a full sprint.
The exhilarating chase between the Outsider and the Demon King for Lian had begun.
*
“Gyaaaahhh!!”
One of the characteristics of a comedic chase in this world.
You could run just a bit faster than the pursuing entity.
“Master is super fast!”
Jess, who was clinging to Lian’s back, was wagging her tail, wide-eyed in delight at the terrifying speed. Given how fast Lian was running, she was forced to ‘hitch a ride.’
Lian tried to ignore the heavy, squishy sensation pressing down on the back of his head and focused straight ahead.
Boom! Crash!
Horrifying sounds echoed behind him, debris from broken buildings cluttered the long corridor, and monsters from somewhere came at him like obstacles, but he easily dodged them.
Was it the power at play? This situation seemed like something out of a running game, with chaos unfolding everywhere.
Occasionally, pieces of debris or beasts would fly toward his face, but Jess swiftly batted them aside.
With a thunderous swipe, the creatures were sent crashing against the walls, disappearing as if swept away in a storm.
Boom!
“Hmm?”
At that moment, Lian felt something sticky and unpleasant above his head. Instinctively, he grabbed a decorative sword that had rolled onto the ground. It seemed to have fallen from where it was hung on the wall.
Whoosh, Scrape!
With his body twisted back, he took up a stance like holding a baseball bat as something filled with a foul aura came flying towards him.
Ka-thunk!
“Homerun!”
Lian nonchalantly struck the exuding power back with the wooden sword and flashed a satisfied smile.
Booming!
Was it struck back by the returned power? The ground shook harshly, and a piercing scream echoed out.
The Existence howled. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the strongest being.
“Let’s get moving!”
Lian turned and began sprinting madly again.
‘What just happened?’
Of course, Lian had hit back the Existence’s power like it was nothing, but even he was a bit flabbergasted.
‘It definitely didn’t feel this easy before.’
When he first confronted That One through ominous flames or when his soul was forced out of his body, the presence of the Outsider was overwhelmingly powerful enough to disrupt the function of his powers.
‘Compared to the adversaries I’ve faced up to now, I still feel a definite sense of danger…’
But it was just that—nothing more than that ‘sense of danger,’ not ‘overwhelming.’
‘Strangely, I’ve felt a similar sensation before…’
Just as he was trying to dive into his memories, feeling a strange déjà vu.
‘Ah, I’m sensing it again.’
The heavy gaze he had momentarily lost track of began to creep back.
“Jess, are you alright?”
“Yep! I’m fine!”
From the tremble in her voice, it seemed Jess was also feeling the gaze of That One. Other than shivering a little, she didn’t show many other reactions.
“Actually… I’m a little scared…”
“Hah…!”
Jess whispered quietly and clutched Lian’s shoulder, pulling him in deeper. Lian almost collapsed forward as his legs went weak. Just managing to regain his posture, he stuttered, then closed his mouth.
‘Training is really paying off. I’m sorry, Gargantua, for not believing in you..’
Though the warmth behind his head pressed ever closer, heating his face and neck, he didn’t suffer from a nosebleed. Lian silently apologized to the sword that had been begging for more training in his heart.
Rumble!
“..!”
Suddenly the sky began to rumble as if a lightning bolt was about to drop. Lian instinctively realized how dire the situation was.
‘It’s really angry!’
The Existence’s wrath, which never imagined an insignificant human could attack it, felt tangible. He felt as though a lightning bolt could strike him at any moment, and he swiftly turned his body away.
Screech!
“No matter what attack comes, if I just hit it back—”
As hundreds of attacks filled his vision, Lian spun his body and ran like mad.
A swift transformation faster than light.
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