In fact, the definition of a monster wasn’t that difficult.
A being that possesses magical energy is called a monster. If it has magical energy, it is referred to as a monster.
Therefore, it can exist in any form. There seemed to be countless types, and each individual had different characteristics.
This was something I read in a book.
“Hmm…”
But I questioned whether it was acceptable to call it a kin like myself.
The power I felt from it was somewhat different from the monsters I had seen before.
It clearly possessed magical energy, but it didn’t feel like I was dealing with a living being.
If I slashed it, it would split and multiply, trying to overwhelm me with numbers. Did it really think it could defeat me that way?
I fell into deep contemplation while performing minimal defense against the attacks coming my way.
The topic I was pondering was profound.
Whether the being attacking me was a monster or not. It was almost a sort of self-suggestion. If I truly recognized that as something akin to myself, I wouldn’t have the courage to harm it.
Initially, through a long observation, I concluded that the black shadows I was facing were not alive.
These were merely split entities from a single being. They were like avatars controlled by the main body somewhere in this place.
Avatars are not alive.
The standard by which I judge that a being is alive lies in memory.
Since I couldn’t read its memory, and I couldn’t absorb memory even if I killed it, I didn’t think it was alive.
Therefore, I slashed it.
After slashing it, I ran deep into the cave before fusing again.
I was determined to find the main body of the shadow.
But at that moment, I fell into contemplation once more.
“······.”
Unlike the avatars, the main body of the shadow was indeed alive.
If I approached it like this, I wondered if I would be able to kill it then.
At that point, I would have to make a decision.
*
In my hand is a knife, and there’s a human.
He is a very bad human. Not only did he kill many humans, but he also tried to kill my close animal friends and even swung a knife at me.
What’s going on? Is he trying to fight?
Though our race is the same, his hostility was evident.
There’s justification for killing him. If I don’t kill him, someone else will die.
So, can I stab this human?
Just like I did with others, can I kill something like myself?
I don’t know.
I simply close my eyes.
If it’s something that must be done, I will close my eyes and deny its identity.
Surprisingly, the sensation of stabbing isn’t much different whether it’s a human or an animal. Even after killing many beings from other races, I couldn’t distinguish what I stabbed if I closed my eyes.
In the black world I see when my eyes are closed, humans and animals looked the same.
I extended the hand holding the knife forward. It took a lot of courage to do so.
After breaking the high-grade magic stone, the mana in my hand was more plentiful than ever.
The blue-green wind followed my movements. I sliced through the pouring tentacles of shadows with the wind.
Deep within the cave, I stopped at a fork with multiple paths.
That was because a massive shadow monster was pouring from all directions. The monsters were strong enough to be compared to a first-class mercenary.
I changed the direction of the dagger in my hand. I deemed it wasn’t a situation to hold back power.
I brought the blade of the cheap dagger against my other wrist.
I pressed a bit harder, causing blood to seep out of the wound.
‘When was the last time I used magical energy?’
It must have been quite a while. I could suppress most enemies without using it.
I burned the flowing blood and released the mana from within my body.
The opponent is the source of magical energy that covers the entire cave. Who holds more magical energy, me or the nameless monster?
I decided to find out.
The mana soaked with my blood glows red. I mixed it in a suitable ratio with the mana extracted from the high-grade magic stone.
With that, a powerful gust strong enough to carve the cave walls blew.
In the underground tunnels where no one would come, the red wind blew.
I wrapped the wind around me, accelerating. With my lightweight body surrounded by wind, red afterimages lingered behind my movements.
It took less than 3 seconds to clear all the incoming shadows.
Once the shadows were cut up by the wind, they scattered. And the scattered shadows that couldn’t reach me left black stains on the walls and floors of the cave.
Wasn’t there a main body here either?
Even so, the ability for one entity to control such a large amount of shadows was remarkable.
At that point, I could guess what was beneath me.
It was far too grotesque to be called a regular monster and possessed vast power. And the alien sensation I felt earlier was a different kind of magical energy.
There was only one being in the realm of knowledge that fit such a description.
“······Seed of the Demon King.”
A monster that contains a part of the king who ruled over the continent as an absolute ruler about 20 years ago.
With the Seed of the Demon King as my enemy, I continued the battle in this cave that felt like his base.
The maze-like space made it easy to lose track of your path. So I needed to resonate with the magical energy to grasp the structure.
Finding the main body without even knowing its location and attempting to attack was not an easy job. I had been circling the same area while continuously facing the incoming shadows.
“Ugh······.”
I brushed off the black stains sticking to my whole body with my hand.
No matter how I looked at it, the sheer amount was too much, and I would inevitably exhaust my stamina.
If my body were in a normal state, it wouldn’t be an issue. But I was currently suffering from extreme hunger.
If I delayed any longer, I might rampage again, just like last time.
Thus, I decided to extract a bit more magical energy. The red magical energy enveloped my surroundings.
Using magical energy makes one more honest to their instincts. That’s why I didn’t quite like using it.
But it was necessary. I had to find the only main body in this vast place.
I was curious. How did this monster know my location and move the shadows?
The main body isn’t moving. If it moved, it would have revealed its position, so that much was certain.
I picked up a cut shadow and examined it. No matter how I looked at it, there were no eyes.
As I observed carefully, I found something strange.
“······?”
Did it coat its shadows with magical energy?
There was still warm magical energy left on the cut surface of the severed shadow. It felt as if it had just recently left the main body.
Were the shadows connected to the main body by magical energy? The shadow I was holding seemed to be disconnected from the main body due to being cut by my blade.
I immediately grabbed another shadow to confirm.
And my prediction was spot on. The shadows were connected to the main body in some form.
If it could know my position, then I could estimate its location too.
I jumped in the direction indicated by the shadow.
-Taaang!
It was a powerful leap, enough to make the ground shake.
The shadows couldn’t keep up with my speed, even with the wind magic wrapped around me.
Even if it was the Seed of the Demon King, was it this weak? It was certainly strong, but not enough to defeat me.
Having successfully pinpointed the main body’s location, I closed the distance using the shortest route.
As I got closer to the main body, the concentration of magical energy thickened. It was a concentration so dense that an ordinary person would struggle to breathe. Of course, it had no effect on me since I was a monster.
Surrounding the main body were shadows that were far stronger than what I faced earlier.
Even the ground I was about to step on was covered in shadows. The sticky feeling clinging to the sole of my shoe was quite unpleasant.
So I decided to break through quickly.
“Wind.”
I gathered all the red wind I had wrapped around me into my right hand.
I mixed in magical energy to amplify its firepower. The magic I was using now far surpassed that of a skilled mage.
With all my might, I threw my fist forward. The wave of wind surging ahead exploded, sending the shadows tumbling down.
I lightly stepped on the pieces of shadow as I moved forward.
The Seed of the Demon King was right below me.
Finding a way down in this maze-like cave had become tiresome.
So I decided to break the floor.
However, with no mana left, I had to do it with my bare fists.
Without mana, I coated myself in magical energy. This was to prevent the stinging pain in my hands.
-BLAM!!
I broke the ground and fell down.
Then, a red gaze looking up at me stood out from below.
The main body I faced was much larger than I expected. Since it had come off of something like that, the shadow avatars must have been giant as well.
“······So you are the main body.”
I took out another high-grade magic stone from my pocket and held it in my hand.
Once again, I wrapped the red wind around my hand and leaned into gravity.
Now it was time to prove who is stronger.
