EP.14
Kellypak was a Demon Race.
Born into the Demon Realm many ages ago, he had dominated and claimed superiority over all.
From the moment he was born, he was exceptionally strong.
He was a powerhouse that could not even be compared to other Demon Beasts or Abominations.
Cerberus, the hellhound?
That creature was merely subservient to him.
From the very beginning, he was on a completely different plane than such Abominations.
As a noble being capable of independent thought and growth.
Having wielded supremacy in the Demon Realm for hundreds of years,
Kellypak began to find his existence somewhat tedious.
After all, Demon Beasts, Abominations, and other Demon Races could not even inflict wounds on him, let alone pose a threat.
It was a monotonous life.
Until the arrival of the ‘Demon King.’
He was fundamentally different from all beings and entities ever born in the Demon Realm.
The moment he was born, he tore apart the nearby erratic Abomination, crushed mountains to flatten the vast ranges, and with a mere swing of his arm, created immense ravines that altered the landscape for millennia.
Indeed.
He was a man born with the fate of a ‘Supreme Ruler.’
Kellypak met a terrible fate.
Without the chance to resist, he rolled about like a bug toyed with by a young beast, until his limbs were torn off.
He thought he would die helplessly.
In the Demon Realm, the defeated were naturally consumed by the victors, and it was common knowledge, a part of daily life.
However, he was different.
[You, become my subordinate.]
With those words, a hand was extended.
To Kellypak, it appeared incredibly radiant and strong, while simultaneously exceedingly sweet and alluring, too enticing to refuse.
Thus, he accepted the proposal and became the right arm of his new master, invading the Demon Realm for several decades.
News reached him from the Demon King.
It was said that a certain entity encountered in a cave had killed his avatar in a single blow.
And it was merely a show of raw power.
Though it was hard to believe, he had to accept it.
After all, it was the Demon King himself who spoke.
From that moment on, Kellypak pondered how he could suppress that existence.
He never harbored the arrogant thought that he could kill it.
If that being could kill the Demon King’s avatar with nothing but raw power, it was highly likely that his dark magic would have no effect whatsoever.
However, unexpectedly, a solution presented itself easily.
The princess, Eliserde.
The one who was offered as a sacrifice, he seemed to hold her in great affection.
With that, he managed to bind the creature.
It was nothing more than a mere performance, lacking a proper leash, yet he was satisfied.
After all, he had no way to kill the being.
As long as there was a means to restrain it, even for a moment, that was sufficient.
[It should have been… enough….]
Kellypak stared blankly at the sky.
The sky was tearing apart.
Like an ancient myth, cracks formed in the blue sky as dark clouds gathered.
Before long, the sky became filled with black storm clouds,
And then, plop, plop.
It began to rain.
It was not a particularly bright day.
Yet, it was precisely because of this that it felt more intense and powerful.
As if his very existence could not be accepted even by the heavens.
The colossal figure continued to effortlessly break through the sky, standing above it.
That being, he, the entity was.
Majestically hovering above the battlefield, looking down quietly.
The moment his gaze came to rest, everything in its line of sight was instantly extinguished.
To be precise, the armies of Kalibar and the Demon Beasts and Abominations in that area vanished without a trace.
It was clearly different from the previous crude methods.
In the past, just his display of power had sent everyone into such chaos that they inflicted harm upon themselves, but this time, merely his tranquil existence resulted in their annihilation.
[He can… control his power…?]
This can’t be true.
The power is an achievement that accumulates as an existence grows from the moment of birth.
Thus, the essence of one’s being naturally imbues that power.
It is easy to emit it to some degree.
After all, power is the potential and path innate to that existence.
But that power itself—
To accurately regulate and release every single fraction of it amidst the countless insignificant bugs that would perish from just a hint of it is something no one could achieve.
Even the Demon King would have found it impossible.
No matter how supreme he was, he lacked the ability for such delicate control despite possessing an immense total of power.
His gaze was directed.
Just that action alone caused all enemies adjacent to the Trelinia Kingdom to perish.
Kellypak feared that this gaze might dare to fall upon him.
What would happen if a single being unleashed such obvious power upon a Demon Race?
Yet, it seemed he cared not at all.
He slowly floated through the sky and lowered his head towards the princess.
“Jörmungandr…”
The princess’s hand reached towards Jörmungandr’s head.
Somehow, that scene appeared to be in slow motion.
An instinct told him that he had to do whatever it took to prevent the princess from making contact with him.
He raised his staff.
He was prepared to unleash the curse he had placed upon the princess.
[You must die here.]
A curse imbued with deep malice was aimed at the princess’s heart.
And then.
[Death is forbidden.]
The curse that resided in the princess’s heart was utterly erased, lacking existence entirely.
Only then did Kellypak realize.
No matter what he did, he could not stop those two.
The contract had already been made.
The princess was a goddess who had devoted everything to him, and her death would be impossible, even if the heavens themselves sought to take her life.
Because—
All, including the existence of the goddess, belonged solely to him.
A pure white hand touched Jörmungandr.
There was no loud noise.
Only an eerie silence filled the battlefield.
And thus, the sanctity of the moment was heightened.
The instant the goddess’s hand connected with her master, a tranquil energy spread throughout the world.
The raging power that had been spiraling out of control gradually receded.
As if nothing existed in that place, it was a suffocating stillness.
When that being finally opened his eyes after closing them…
[……Ah.]
The Demon Race regretted being born into this world.
* * *
It was incomprehensibly serene.
The wall that had continually tormented me was no longer visible.
Before me lay a new horizon, endlessly blue.
The physical form that stepped into that place was now completely different from before.
It had grown larger.
No longer could it merely coil around a planet; it now easily circled it twice.
Considering that the size of this planet diverged from Earth, it would undoubtedly surpass even the size of Jörmungandr from Norse mythology.
Jörmungandr gazed silently at Eliserde, who had transformed into a goddess.
She had changed.
Her black eyes, which once sparkled like obsidian, now shifted to a blue hue imbued with a mysterious energy akin to his.
Moreover, she was exuding a delicate power.
Having become the goddess of none other than Jörmungandr, she naturally gained an overwhelming amount of power.
Well then, after grasping the situation to this extent—
He reduced his size slightly.
In truth, he had become so large that the Demon Race appeared no more significant than an insect.
They were exceedingly small.
He was certain that he could swallow them whole without even feeling it.
‘What should I do?’
It’s not about thinking of a way to kill him.
It’s about figuring out how to kill him in an even more horrifying manner.
That’s what I was contemplating.
After closing my eyes for a moment, I made a resolve.
[I will take everything from you.]
I gazed at the Demon Race.
As I concentrated, honing in on the feeling of thoroughly uncovering everything about him, all of his essence began to scatter little by little.
The immense magical energy enveloping his body.
The karma of all the beings he had killed since his birth.
The power that allowed him to exist.
Everything he had accumulated over thousands of years was fading away like bubbles in an instant.
[No, no!!]
The Demon Race squirmed.
Desperately flailing, he seemed to try and grasp the energies slipping away from him.
Stretching out his hands towards the ground and writhing his body, he shouted and screamed to catch the particles flying into the sky.
But all of it was meaningless.
When all the particles finally disappeared, the Demon Race sank down to the ground with vacant eyes.
He could no longer even be called a Demon.
He was nothing but a worthless insect, less than all existence that had been annihilated.
[Now… are you satisfied…? You took everything from me!! Finally!!]
[No.]
[What…?]
[This is just the beginning.]
I devoured him.
Without any resistance, he was consumed by me.
However, that didn’t signify the end.
What I sent him to was not a place of digestion, but a completely different dimension.
In that place, death does not exist.
Thus, all living beings do not die, and even those that should perish according to predetermined lifespans will continue living, even if their skin rots and festers or their legs are shattered and chewed.
In that pain-filled world.
He would have to live for thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, even hundreds of thousands of years in agony.
[Hmm….]
Jörmungandr’s gaze turned towards the ground.
The earth, trampled by demon beasts and abominations, had lost its vitality and became blackened with corruption.
———Shhhhh.
As he gathered blue energy in his mouth.
The moment he shot it towards the ground.
The earth was painted blue.
The blackened soil regained its former color, green flowers and grass sprouted, and in an instant, towering trees grew, forming a vast forest.
And all existing within it.
All those who harbored malice perished instantly, feeling a chilling pain as if their very bodies were crumbling.
“I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this!!!”
Kal Rediams screamed as he melted away.
And just like that, he vanished without leaving any trace in this world.
Only a serene silence remained on the battlefield.
Then.
“Worship the… God.”
The voice of the King of Trelinia, Lesberico, who had been observing the entire scene.
The resonance that spread across the battlefield quickly reached everyone.
“Oh, oh no… Oh my God…!!”
“We worship you, we revere you.”
“O God, who has granted us salvation…! My faith…!”
Reverence spread like a wave across the battlefield.
Everyone knelt down, looking up at the divine, sacred being.
In the kingdom of Trelinia, where no religion had ever existed, a new faith took root in that moment.
* Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword): Kellypak’s perspective will be briefly featured in the next chapter.
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