A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 300 : Demon King (8)

Shuten froze in bewilderment at the sudden burst of laughter.

That voice certainly didn't belong to U-jin; it was the Demon King’s.

It wasn't that U-jin’s attack had missed its mark.

The Dark Sword was clearly piercing the center of the Demon King's left chest.

Common sense dictated that this was impossible. No one would burst into laughter and rejoice while their own heart was being impaled by a sword.

Yet, it was undeniably the Demon King’s laughter.

Moreover, it was a laugh that erupted as if he could no longer contain his overwhelming joy.

It was a sign that something had gone terribly wrong.

Crack—

By the time Shuten realized this, it was already too late.

The chunks of ice surrounding the Demon King shattered all at once.

With that, Shuten was naturally released from his restraints, but he was not granted personal freedom.

"I knew you were up to something from the moment you set foot in the Demon King's Castle, you fool."

Thud—

The Demon King lightly kicked Shuten in the abdomen. Despite the lightness of the gesture, Shuten was slammed into a wall of the Demon King's Castle as if he had been struck by a massive blunt weapon.

Boom—!

"Did you think you would amount to something just because you escaped the scope of my dominion?"

"Cough—"

"You were kicked out because you were so stupid. You useless thing."

The Demon King clicked his tongue in disapproval and turned his head forward again.

The Dark Sword was still lodged in the Demon King's chest.

The sword had clearly pierced his heart, but for some inexplicable reason, the Demon King seemed completely unfazed.

The Demon King wrapped his hand over U-jin’s, which was still gripping the hilt of the Dark Sword, and spoke.

"You are the same. You should have understood well enough by now. If you persist in acting so foolishly until the end, I have no choice but to do this, do I?"

"What are you doing! Let go of the sword and get away!"

Shuten, having regained his senses, shouted from a distance, but strangely, U-jin did not move.

No, the expression 'could not move' was more accurate.

If it were possible, there was no reason for U-jin not to.

U-jin was unable to move because a peculiar red energy emanating from the Demon King had seized his body.

From the moment U-jin raised his muzzle and fired, he was already playing into the Demon King's plan.

Smirk—

"Be quiet. I have something to say, so shut up for a moment, Shuten."

Boom—!

The red energy surging from the Demon King's palm billowed out once more and constricted Shuten's neck from across the room.

Gasp—

Shuten's body struggled for a moment under the intense pressure before going limp. Without sparing him another glance, the Demon King slowly revealed the truth of the situation to U-jin.

"You must be confused. The blade clearly pierced my heart, after all."

"..."

"Well, don't feel too bad. It's not like it doesn't hurt for me, either."

Just as the Demon King said, a trail of crimson blood was trickling down from the corner of his mouth along his pale skin.

The sword U-jin thrust had certainly dealt him physical damage.

Then why was he able to move so perfectly?

The reason was simple.

"Seeing as you made such a basic mistake, it seems you’ve forgotten."

"..."

"Where the bloodline of all Demonic Species originated from."

The Demon King was also a member of the 'Demonic Species.'

No, the term 'Demonic Species' itself meant they inherited his blood, so in this case, the relationship was the other way around.

They were unique, metaphysical lifeforms that transcended physical reality and were impossible to bind through conventional means.

As the origin and root, the Demon King possessed the same properties as those of the Demonic Species referred to as the 'Demon's Singularity.'

"I'm sorry if you actually believed me when I said I had human blood mixed in. I only said that hoping you would accept me, so don't hate me too much."

"...Cough—"

"Well, as you can see, this body itself is human, so I wasn't entirely wrong, was I? Blood does flow through it, after all."

That was it.

The human appearance he maintained while sitting on the throne was merely a vessel to hold the 'Demon King,' and the essence of the Demon King was something else entirely.

Much like the Succubi that inhabit human bodies and traverse through dreams, the Demon King also possessed a nature that lacked a permanent physical form.

Therefore, it didn't matter what happened to this body.

As long as a 'replacement' existed, that is.

"I was actually thinking of transferring to that fellow Isaac soon anyway."

"..."

"But that fellow is so hard to read that I kept putting it off, not knowing what he might have done to his body... I'm glad you showed up. I never imagined you would be a 'Resurrector' sent by the Messiah."

The Demon King had never intended to include humans as members of his ranks.

He hadn't recruited Isaac Einstein into the Demon King's Army because he coveted his abilities; rather, he had considered him the next vessel because his current body's lifespan was nearing its end.

However, due to Isaac's 'unknowable nature,' he had kept delaying the transfer process, and it was during that time that he learned of U-jin's existence.

In other words, the reason the Demon King knew of U-jin from the moment he arrived was that he had considered U-jin a backup vessel for Isaac in case of an emergency.

So, the current situation was exactly what the Demon King had been hoping for—the vessel he desired had walked right into his hands.

And there hadn't been even a hint of difficulty in the process.

"I was worried you might get suspicious because I made the opportunity so obvious..."

"..."

"I didn't expect you to satisfy the conditions of the ritual so readily. I must express my gratitude to you once again."

The method for the Demon King to transfer vessels was for the next host to kill the current host.

Since it was a powerful ritual that completely seized the mind, it required demanding conditions. From the Demon King's perspective, he only had to leave his chest open and wait.

So, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Everything had proceeded so smoothly.

Slide—

The Demon King carefully pulled out the sword embedded in his chest. Ignoring his heart, which was gushing blood, he patted U-jin on the shoulder.

"And. Now that we're here, let's set the record straight."

"..."

"Even if I hadn't brought it in, someone else would have, wouldn't they? If you know the Necronomicon, you must know. The power that the book holds."

The Demon King revealed his true colors.

"It's a fixed future anyway, so why shouldn't I take a bit of power in the process? Those great beings are going to destroy this rotten world. What's the problem if I lend a hand and gain some power for myself?"

"..."

"No matter how noble you pretend to be, you know the same thing. Humans are actually greedier than Magical Beasts. If that book were in front of you, you would have had no choice but to take it too."

Tsk—

"You can pretend to be clean on the outside, but the inside is just as filthy. I'm better than a human whose schemes you can't even guess. If a human had obtained that Grimoire, they would probably have become the Pope by now."

"..."

"Isn't that right?"

It was no longer a request for agreement, but a forced assertion.

The Demon King's eyes were no longer sane; they held the gaze of a madman.

It wasn't simply a matter of being 'drunk on greed.'

His mental world had already been destroyed by a certain energy emitted by the Grimoire, making rational thought impossible as he spouted nothing but sophistry.

Of course, that didn't last long.

Thud—

The blood seeping from his heart soaked the floor, and due to the excessive blood loss, the 'human host' the Demon King had previously inhabited reached its end.

His already pale face turned white as a sheet, and as his life flickered out, an intense red light escaped from the seven orifices of his face and enveloped U-jin.

Thump—

U-jin, consumed by the red energy, slumped like a puppet with its strings cut.

After a short while.

"...Heh."

He burst into laughter, unable to contain the smirk escaping his twisted lips.

"Heh... Hahaha!"

What was so amusing?

U-jin—no, the 'Demon King'—laughed and tossed the Dark Sword aside carelessly.

Clang— Clatter—

Then, he slowly walked over and sat upon the throne before him.

*Flop—*

"Haaa... This is it."

The Demon King leaned back against the throne, his body completely limp like a drug addict, and shook his head with a satisfied smile.

"I should have switched sooner. I'm glad I don't smell that rotten corpse anymore. Humans are fine and all, but that's the problem with them."

The Demon King continued to inspect his new body, seemingly very pleased with U-jin's form.

"I could probably use this for 100 years... maybe even 300 years would be plenty."

And the moment he summoned the 'Necronomicon' he had stored in subspace into his right hand using the red energy.

"First, those Magic Tower bastards from the Order..."

Ping—

Along with a sound like a string snapping, the Demon King noticed his vision beginning to blur.

"...Uh."

It could have been a temporary phenomenon.

The Transference Ritual itself consumed a great deal of mental strength, so it could simply be an aftereffect.

However, despite having performed numerous Transference Rituals before, this was the first time the Demon King had experienced such a sensation.

He couldn't put it into words, but it felt like a warning bell ringing from somewhere deep within his subconscious.

Cough—

"...!"

He suddenly began coughing up blood.

Something was definitely wrong.

It was different from usual.

It wasn't a matter of adjusting; something about the ritual itself had clearly gone awry.

Realizing the abnormality, the Demon King tried to stand up from the throne.

But by then, it was already too late.

A familiar voice echoed from deep within his mind.

【...You should have been more careful about what you ate, old man.】

"...!"

It was undeniably U-jin's voice.

He couldn't comprehend why that voice, which should have been extinguished along with the Transference Ritual, was echoing inside his head.

"How on earth... *Cough—*"

Another fit of coughing brought up an even larger amount of blood.

His already blurry vision grew even darker.

【Do you think I went through a Regression just to catch someone like you?】

The words that followed.

Were something that even the Demon King could not possibly fathom.