n

n

n269 – A story is fabricated and the truth is buried

n《You have reacquired the ‘Demon King’ and ‘Dark King Magic’ Skills!》

n《Your ‘Demon King’ Skill has combined with the ‘Demon King’ Skill, and your ‘Death-Attribute Magic’ Skill has combined with the ‘Dark King Magic’ Skill!》

n《The Demon King’s muscles, sweat glands, crystals, cnidocytes have combined with the Demon King’s body!》

n《You have acquired the ‘Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism’ and ‘Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism’ Skills!》

n《Your Strength has increased by 5,000, your Stamina by 10,000, and your Vitality by 100,000!》

n《The Levels of your ‘Monstrous Strength,’ ‘Super Rapid Regeneration,’ ‘Dark King Magic,’ ‘Constant Mana Recovery,’ ‘Thread Refining,’ ‘Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon,’ ‘Transcend Limits,’ ‘Hollow King Magic,’ ‘Precise Mana Control,’ ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique,’ ‘Greater Multi-cast,’ ‘Thread-reeling,’ ‘God Spirit Magic,’ ‘Demon King Artillery Technique,’ ‘Armor Technique,’ ‘Shield Technique,’ ‘Staff Technique,’ ‘God Devourer,’ ‘Demon King,’ ‘Abyss,’ ‘Soul Devour,’ and ‘Group Thinking’ Skills have increased!》

n《The Level of your ‘Demon King’ Skill has increased an additional amount!》

n《‘Strengthened Attack Power while Unarmed’ has awakened to ‘Augmented Attack Power while Unarmed,’ and ‘Deformed Soul’ has awakened to ‘Deformed Multiple Souls!’》

n《You have acquired the ‘Strengthened Attribute Values when Enveloped in a Soul’ Skill!》

nHaving listened to the long notification in his brain, Vandalieu looked at Zerzoregin’s now-motionless vessel with a complex mix of emotions.

nHe had regained both of the Skills that had been stolen, and he had acquired four fragments of the Demon King. On top of that, as a result of devouring the souls of Zerzoregin and presumably Forzajibal, his Attribute Values had increased and he had acquired Skills called ‘Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism’ and ‘Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism,’ though they weren’t very pleasantly-named Skills.

nIn my case, would cannibalism be eating another Dhampir? Vandalieu wondered. That would severely limit the number of opportunities I’ll have to use the Skills. I did preserve the body of the Undead Dhampir that I recovered from Ternecia’s hideout, I guess.

nCannibalism was the act of consuming a member of one’s own species. With that being the case, those that Vandalieu could cannibalize were exceedingly few.

nTo begin with, I don’t want to use it – wait, come to think of it, these are also ‘alike,’ Vandalieu thought, looking at the Cannon-type Demon King Familiars that he had created with his Demon King fragments and Mana.

n“Yes, we are ‘alike,’” one of them said. “Would you like a bite?”

nTLN: The Japanese word for cannibalism is 共食い

/tomogui where 共

/tomo means “alike” and 食い

/gui means “to eat” so literally “eating (someone) that is alike (to oneself)”

n“Well then, just a little,” said Vandalieu.

nHe took a little of its shell off and put it in his mouth. Naturally, it didn’t taste like anything other than himself, but… at that moment, he felt a small amount of strength rising inside him.

n“It seems that the Skill activates on Demon King Familiars,” Vandalieu said.

n“Now then, repair me, please,” said the Demon King Familiar.

n“Of course.”

nAfter this short exchange of words with himself, Vandalieu created a new part to replace the part he had eaten and repaired the Demon King Familiar.

nNow that he knew that the effects of ‘Cannibalism’ triggered from the Demon King Familiars, he would be able to use it whenever he wanted.

n‘Deformed Soul’ had awakened to ‘Deformed Multiple Souls,’ and this was likely a large change to the Skill.

nDeformed and multiple… What has happened to my soul?

nIt was complicated and mysterious to begin with, and perhaps it hasn’t changed much other than just having become more complicated.

nI think there isn’t much use in thinking about it too deeply.

nThat’s probably true.

nThe discussion in Vandalieu’s head ended quickly, and he decided not to pay the matter much thought… He had the feeling that his conversations with himself had become simpler, and perhaps that was one of the effects of ‘Deformed Multiple Souls.’

nThere was also the newly-acquired ‘Strengthened Attribute Values while Enveloped in a Soul’ Skill; this was likely a Skill that increased Vandalieu’s Attribute Values when his body was covered by his soul, such as when he used ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique.’

nThere were no problems with the permanent increase in Attribute Values, as Vandalieu’s Attribute Values had also increased on previous occasions where he devoured evil gods. Having higher Attribute Values could never be a bad thing.

nFinally, the four new Demon King fragments. One of them was the Demon King’s muscles. It was not fat or flab; it was the tightly-packed flesh found in macho bodies.

nIt was the kind of flesh that Vandalieu admired.

n“I never mentioned this before, but I always wished that the Demon King’s muscles existed and prayed that I would encounter them, and I have finally acquired them,” Vandalieu said.

nVandalieu admired muscles. He considered them to be a symbol of strength. He saw beauty in well-trained bodies, and because he wished to have such a body himself, he had been training his muscles regularly without missing a session.

nHowever, despite his training, and despite the fact that the numerical Attribute Value representing his strength was over 40,000, and despite the fact that his ‘Monstrous Strength’ Skill was Level 5, his body had not become muscular. In fact, it hadn’t grown any thicker at all.

nHis arms were far from thick logs. His chest was narrow, and there was no visible trace of his abdominal muscles on his stomach. Even his legs were thin. He had believed that this was because of the physical predispositions he had been born with, and because of the laws of physics of this world.

nPerhaps because Mana existed in this world, there was a large difference between the numerical Attribute Value that represented Strength and the actual amount of muscle that one possessed.

nPeople like Borkus, Vigaro, Gizania, and Arthur had muscular bodies. However, there were also plenty of adventurers and knights who didn’t look muscular in appearance and yet possessed the strength to bend steel bars as if they were made of clay.

nVandalieu didn’t know what separated the two types of people, but he had considered himself as belonging to the latter.

nWith that being the case, he had half-given up on acquiring a masculine body through effort alone. That was precisely why he had yearned for the Demon King’s muscles.

n“Normally, it would be strange to be relying on Guduranis’s… the muscles of someone else, but if I absorb them like this, they are my muscles. So, I’ll be using them without restraint,” Vandalieu said.

nIn comparison to this joyful development, the ‘Demon King’ Skill reaching Level 10 was but a small thing.

n“Congratulations, Vandalieu,” said Gufadgarn.

n“You’re going to use them already?! If you’re using ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique,’ we can’t see any changes in your appearance,” said Orbia.

nVandalieu’s materialized soul was currently covering his entire body like a suit of armor and helmet, so even if he used the Demon King’s muscles, it would be difficult to see any differences.

nHowever, he was currently unable to remove his ‘Soul Destruction Fighting Technique.’

n“There was a lot of smoke produced when Zerzoregin’s crystals fell to the ground, when he collapsed, and when the Cannon-type Demon King Familiars fired, so I don’t think they can see us, but there are probably a lot of people looking this way from the capital. It’s best to be safe,” said Vandalieu.

nHe had just used the Demon King’s fragments in a very visible manner, created black, skull-shaped flames, and done a number of other attention-drawing things. He had fought against Zerzoregin and defeated him while defending the city, but even so, it would not be good if his face were to be seen.

n“Thus, I’ll just do a small, quick test. Demon King’s muscles, activate,” Vandalieu said.

nHe activated the Demon King’s muscles calmly, but put some force into it. The moment he did, strength filled every muscle in his body.

n“… Van-kun? How is it?” Orbia asked.

n“We can’t see any difference through your soul,” said Kimberley.

n“I can feel that my muscular strength has increased, but it seems that there isn’t any large change to my appearance,” said Vandalieu. “Even though my strength has increased, my arms and chest aren’t getting thicker, and my abs haven’t become visible. Maybe I haven’t put enough Mana into it?”

nWhen Mana was poured into Demon King fragments, they would exert more power, even if the manifestation of that power depended on the fragment. The Demon King’s horns would produce larger horns, and the Demon King’s exoskeleton would become harder.

nIt was possible that Vandalieu would gain the muscles he desired if he did the same with the Demon King’s muscles.

n“That’s… I have a bad feeling about that, so I think you shouldn’t…” murmured Isla, who had poked her face out of Vandalieu’s shadow.

nBut it seemed that her words had gone unheard.

nDeciding to test with his arms to begin with, Vandalieu poured Mana into his right arm.

nHis arm immediately swelled up.

nThe light-attribute Ghosts made astonished noises… and in the next moment, with a dull, creaking noise, Vandalieu’s arm burst.

n“Arm, explode?!” Rapiéçage said in surprise, also poking her face out of Vandalieu’s shadow.

n“… No, that’s not it. It seems that it’s just split?” said Orbia.

nIndeed, Vandalieu’s single, ordinary arm had turned into multiple limbs that resembled tentacles.

n“Your Majesty, what has happened?” asked Princess Levia.

n“It seems that my muscle fibers expanded too much and my arm split into multiple limbs because it was unable to contain them,” said Vandalieu, wriggling his muscle tentacles that were enveloped in his black soul.

nIt seemed that he was trying to return these into a single, ordinary, muscular arm, but the muscle tentacles continued growing thicker and longer, showing no signs of coming back together.

n“I strengthened the Demon King’s bones and skin as well, but all that’s happened is that flexible bones have formed at the center of the tentacles and a rubber-like skin has formed on their surface… For some reason, strengthening these fragments only makes the tentacles more robust. Why…?” Vandalieu wondered.

n“The Demon King Guduranis was able to change his form in a variety of ways, but most of them were ways that those of this world would describe as grotesque. Perhaps that is the reason?” suggested Gufadgarn.

n“… So, they’re someone else’s muscles after all,” Vandalieu sighed.

n“It doesn’t seem to be going very well. However… If you are going to do any information manipulation, it will be time soon,” said Isla.

nThe smoke had almost cleared. It was only a matter of time before the people of Alcrem discovered Vandalieu and his companions.

nAfter all, a grotesque, hundred-meter-tall giant had been seen here just moments ago. The battle that had taken place here was clearly a large incident that had determined the fate of the capital. It wouldn’t be strange if Dragon Knights were dispatched to check on the situation.

nIn fact, Bachem, the Guild Master of the Morksi branch of the Tamers’ Guild, and his Great Wyvern partner, had come to the capital at the same time as Vandalieu and was currently staying there. It was possible that the knights had asked him to cooperate with them.

nVandalieu wished to avoid meeting Bachem, whom he had become acquainted with only recently, in such a situation. However, teleporting back to the villa where Darcia and the others were would cause too much of an uproar.

nThe Mimic Human nest where Zerzoregin resided, the ‘Sacred Wastelands,’ had become nothing more than ‘an ordinary wasteland’ due to Vandalieu’s ‘God Spirit Magic.’ All that was left of the temple was a small amount of rubble –

nAt that moment, the ground suddenly began to tremble, and the ground upon which the temple had stood started collapsing. Vandalieu used ‘Flight,’ and he and his companions all flew off the ground. Right before their very eyes, the ‘ordinary wasteland’ turned into ‘a wasteland with a deep hole in it.’

n“… It seems that there was a large, empty space beneath the temple. So the ground has caved in,” said Vandalieu.

nThe duke and his allies knew the truth; this place had been a nest for repulsive monsters, so perhaps they would consider it fortunate that it had collapsed without leaving any trace of itself behind.

nBut many of the people living in Alcrem knew that the ‘Sacred Wastelands’ were the location of a temple of Borgadon, who had sealed the evil god Forzajibal away, and home to the family of Goldie, the ‘Knight of Collapsed Mountains.’

nOnce they learned of this disastrous scene, they would assume that the evil god Forzajibal had returned and destroyed the wastelands, and some of them would begin panicking.

n“When I was at the villa, I never imagined that things would come to this,” said Vandalieu. “Who would have thought that Zerzoregin would make himself so huge…”

n“Leaving that aside, what shall we do?” asked Chipuras. “You seem to have promised to help the duke bring things under control.”

n“That’s true… I suppose I’ll have the Cannon-type Demon King Familiars put up a smokescreen while I discuss things with the duke and the others,” Vandalieu said.

nGufadgarn’s Teleportation Gate formed a connection in space to the villa. Vandalieu gave a summary of the situation to Darcia as well as the duke and his allies, and then they hastily formed a plan.

nAnd so began the battle to bury the truth.

nOn that day, the people living in Alcrem saw a legend unfold… no, a story that would one day become a myth.

nThe Evil God of Pillaging Forzajibal (Zerzoregin) had been seen sinking into a sea of explosions and flames amid thundering noises, but after the explosions continued for a while, his enormous body appeared once more, as if nothing had happened to him at all.

nWith a terrifying roar, it scattered black flames and lightning across the ‘Sacred Wastelands,’ and even the tough, reckless members of the Mercenaries’ Guild trembled in fear.

nThe resurrected evil god was destroying the temple of the god that had bound him. The people were in despair, believing that this rage would be directed at this city next.

nBut at that moment, an even more enormous being than the evil god (Zerzoregin) appeared from the earth. Its appearance was as if it were a mountain that had been turned into a giant. It began an assault upon the evil god, beginning with a bright beam of light.

nWhat was this giant? The surprised, bewildered people learned the answer in a speech addressed to them by Duke Takkard Alcrem, who had returned to the castle and taken command of the soldiers.

n“That giant is the incarnation of Borgadon, the God of Mountains, and it was awakened by the family that has protected the ‘Sacred Wastelands’ over the generations, at the cost of their lives!” the duke declared.

nShocked by these words, the people watched the giant fighting the evil god once more. What had been a mysterious, unidentified giant to them was now a great, benevolent god who was fighting against an evil god with no regard for his own life.

n“However, Borgadon has not fully regained his power! The fact that his appearance is different from any statue we have of him is proof of that! Even now, his power fades with every attack he receives from the evil god!” said the duke.

nThe giant, which was supposedly the incarnation of Borgadon, was holding the evil god down with its enormous body, but with every blow delivered by the evil god, a large chunk of his body crumbled, sending earth and sand falling to the ground.

nIt grew trees on the surface of its body and extended their roots in an attempt to block as much damage as possible, but it didn’t look like it was very effective.

nFear appeared on the people’s faces once more.

nBut the duke continued to speak. “Led by Goldie, the ‘Knight of Collapsed Mountains,’ the brave Five Knights of Alcrem, the ‘Holy Mother of Victory’ Darcia-dono, and heroes of Vida will head to the battlefield and support Borgadon! They will help the God of Mountains and banish the evil god! Everyone, I want you to believe in our victory and pray to the gods… to Borgadon and Vida! Your prayers will become the strength that supports them!”

nDuke Takkard Alcrem’s speech calmed the people, preventing them from falling into panic.

nAnd as the duke had said they would, the ‘Knight of Roaring Flames’ Bravatiyu, the ‘Knight of Distant Thunder’ Serjio, the rest of the Five Knights of Alcrem, Darcia, and the rest of Vandalieu’s allies entered the battle and fought a fierce battle against the evil god alongside Borgadon.

n‘Knight of Collapsed Mountains’ Goldie made wobbling, jelly-like sounds as he moved, however, as his role was being played by the Satan Blood Mimic Slime Kühl.

n“It seems that everyone is here. This is like playing dolls by myself, which is quite boring, so I’m glad you came,” said Vandalieu with a sigh of relief as he saw Darcia and the others arrive.

nHe was currently being carried by Rapiéçage, flying two hundred meters above the ground.

n“Pauvina, where?” Rapiéçage asked, squinting as she searched the ground for her close friend.

n“Pauvina has gone back to the Dungeon in Morksi with Juliana, so she isn’t here. But you’ll be able to see her soon,” Vandalieu told her as she let out a disappointed groan.

nAs for what he was doing two hundred meters above the ground, he was controlling the evil god (Zerzoregin) and Borgadon.

nThe hundred-meter-tall evil god and Borgadon, who was even taller than that, were both enormous Golems – fake puppets – that Vandalieu had made using ‘Golem Creation.’

nAssuming that the soldiers packed in the watchtowers would be watching the battle, Vandalieu had encased the Golem acting as Zerzoregin with the Demon King’s exoskeleton and applied color using the Demon King’s ink sacs, reproducing the real Zerzoregin’s appearance perfectly.

nIt wasn’t that he had cut corners, but for Borgadon, he had simply made an enormous Golem with earth and sand… This was because Vandalieu had never seen a statue of Borgadon, and because currently-existing statues were abstract creations, so if he tried to create one resembling them, people would realize that the Golem was a fake.

n“Things would have been easier if you were in your ordinary state,” said Vandalieu.

nHe was talking to the soul that had been left inside his mouth after he devoured Zerzoregin’s soul – Borgadon himself.

n“I am truly ashamed. How pathetic… Pathetic…” said Borgadon, whose soul was in the shape of a faintly-glowing sphere, lamenting the shame of having been used by Zerzoregin.

nApproximately a hundred thousand years had passed since the time Borgadon was thought to have fallen into slumber, but because he had been assimilated by Zerzoregin and the people’s worship of him had been stolen, he had barely made any recovery at all.

nHe wasn’t in such a terrible state that he needed to fall into slumber, but creating a physical appearance was impossible, and materializing in order to do battle was out of the question.

n“Same as, Chipuras?” asked Rapiéçage.

nBorgadon’s presence as a god was so faint that he had been mistaken as a Ghost.

n“No, I was never a human; I was a familiar spirit that Botin-sama herself created with the power of the earth and her own Mana, and I ascended to godhood. I may be glowing, but I am not like those Ghosts,” said Borgadon. “Also, my true form is nothing like that of a human… Even if the people of this age were to see it, it is uncertain as to whether they would recognize me.”

n“I see. It seems that some gods of this world have inhuman appearances as well, like the God of Shadows Hamul… But maybe I should have built the fake Borgadon to be more durable,” said Vandalieu.

nEven as he said that, the two Golems were grappling each other in a contest of strength… or rather, pretending to. The truth was that the fake Borgadon was about to crumble and collapse, so the fake Zerzoregin was supporting it.

nIt seemed that there were limitations to creating an enormous golem that was over a hundred meters tall using earth and sand alone.

n“Maybe I will… send more roots. Van, help,” said Eisen.

nShe was sending out roots to help connect separate pieces of the Golem together, but it seemed that this wasn’t going very well because the Golems were humanoid-shaped and still moving.

n“In that case, I’ll connect the pieces of earth and sand with threads,” said Vandalieu. “Also, do you need some blood?”

n“I want some… Thanks,” said Eisen.

nVandalieu produced threads to help support the fake Borgadon while feeding Eisen some of his blood. She had long since become a blood-drinking tree.

nIncidentally, the black flames produced by the evil god were being created by Princess Levia and the other fire-attribute Ghosts, and the lightning was being created by Kimberley and the other lightning-attribute Ghosts. The beams of light released by Borgadon were being created by Berkert and the other light-attribute Ghosts.

n“Burn, burn!” Princess Levia sang.

n“It’s surprisingly hard to make a show of producing ordinary lightning,” Kimberley remarked.

n“Baaaaaaaack! And fooooorth!” shouted Berkert.

nOf course, they were not actually attacking each other; they were simply burning and shining as they passed back and forth between the two Golems.

nGufadgarn and Yamata were in charge of the evil god’s roars. Gufadgarn was distorting space to amplify Yamata’s voice and make it echo.

n“Van-kun, I’m kinda not doing anything, you know,” Orbia complained.

n“Ice isn’t very visible from far away, after all. Once Mom and the others start attacking, I’ll be having you and Isla make the evil-god-Golem’s blood, so just wait a little bit more,” said Vandalieu.

nOnce the evil god was attacked, he was planning to create blood effects with Orbia’s ‘Fluid Manipulation’ Skill and Isla’s water-attribute magic.

n“Well then, here’s the main act of this farce,” Vandalieu said.

nIn this main act, Darcia and the others made a show of performing an intense, focused assault on Zerzoregin, and Vandalieu manipulated the Golem to act the part of a tenacious, persistent evil god.

nB-class adventurers of Alcrem, and Bachem, the Guild Master of the Morksi branch of the Tamers’ Guild, took part in the farce with no knowledge of the truth. However, the fact that attacks of regular strength couldn’t pierce the hard carapace of the Demon King covering the evil-god-Golem, and the Golem’s sheer size, fooled them into thinking that they were fighting against an otherworldly being. Nobody noticed that the evil god was a fake.

nThe people saw the great efforts of the Five Knights of Alcrem, the grace of the goddess who sent a familiar spirit to inhabit the body of the ‘Holy Mother of Victory’ Darcia, and the brave fighting of the heroes of Vida’s races – Gizania, Myuze, and Privel – as well as Arthur’s party, who were potential heroes, and Borgadon, who held down the evil god with everything he had despite being covered in wounds.

nThe ‘Knight of Collapsed Mountains’ Goldie died an honorable death in battle, and his family in the ‘Sacred Wastelands’ was wiped out. However, thanks to the efforts of Darcia and the others, the evil god was defeated and sealed away by Borgadon once more. Peace had been brought back to the Alcrem Duchy.

nAnd so, the people learned a fabricated story and the truth was buried. Only a limited number of individuals who had been at the villa knew of the truth – the existence of the Mimic Humans and Zerzoregin, the Evil God of Cannibalism.

nBecause Goldie’s body could not be recovered, his damaged treasured sword was buried in his place at his funeral. His family, including his wife and children, were also replaced by mementos (or rather, objects prepared to act as their mementos) in their coffins and buried with him.

nThe court mages serving the duke’s house and mages of the Mages’ Guild later investigated the black crystals left in the wastelands and the Mana lingering in the battlefield, but no doubt was cast on this false story.

nIn fact, their investigations only further corroborated it.

n“Even now, there is a terrifying amount of Mana remaining in this area. Simply standing in it makes me shiver uncontrollably. There is no doubt that only evil gods could possibly possess Mana that is this cold and repulsive,” one of the mages remarked.

nThe new Pope of the Great Church of Alda in the Amid Empire, Eileek, announced that the Demon King was pulling the strings behind the evil god’s resurrection in the Alcrem Duchy, and even within the Orbaume Kingdom, there were some people in other duchies who suspected that the truth had been replaced by a fabricated story.

nHowever, the people of Alcrem didn’t believe them, and the dignity of the Alcrem house and its knights was preserved.

n《The Levels of the ‘Super Strengthen Subordinates,’ ‘Thread Refining,’ and ‘Golem Creation’ Skills have increased!》

n

n