Black Demon King

541 The Fate of Arrogance

“…Damn it.”

While staring blankly at my right arm, which was wrapped in a cast, I cursed for the umpteenth time.

It was the 16th of Pristine Water Month. Two days had passed since the Pride Gem Subjugation, and we [Elemental Master] had returned.

As for why my right arm was wrapped in a cast and bandage was—of course, because I lost in a fist fight against Laspen. Or, should I call him Super Laspen? After all, he succeeded in blowing me away despite my [Overdrive].

At that time, my [Wrath Impact] collided with the straight punch he threw with his left arm. The aftermath of the impact was so tremendous, the destructive force ransacked the earth, blew away the surrounding trees, and even left a small crater on the spot.

I felt the biggest impact I’d ever felt on my right arm, and in the next moment, I was flying backwards at a tremendous speed. Fortunately, the remains of the Pride Gem, which was still disintegrating, became the perfect cushion for me. Nevertheless, if not for my armor, I’d have been in a bit of pain from the slime’s highly acidic secretions.

In any case, I managed to stand up while wading through the slimy lake, and as I was about to deliver a follow-up attack, determined not to fail next time, I realized that my right arm was wrecked.

It was broken and twisted. The arm just beyond the elbow was just a torn mass of flesh, coupled with steel. Spiral-like cracks ran through the jet-black armor as fresh blood spurted out of them. Just how mangled is the flesh underneath the gauntlet? At that time, I was too scared to check right away.

Faced with such a horrifying injury, I couldn’t even cry in pain. What purpose would it serve? With my dominant arm compromised, how was I supposed to fight Super Laspen?

Perhaps satisfied with repelling me away, or perhaps he simply regarded me as an insignificant small fry, Super Laspen turned his back on me and made no attempt whatsoever to pursue me.

Then, he lightly tapped the ground with his right arm. Suddenly, a cloud of dirt flew up as Super Laspen was slowly swallowed into the ground, as if sinking into a bottomless pit. With that, I quietly escaped the scene.

Once again, I was able to escape. Rather, I’d managed to escape with my life. At any rate, if I kept fighting like this, I’d have lost.

If someone told me that I was being arrogant, I wouldn’t have been able to argue against it. [Overdrive] had never suffered any defeat, while [Maximilian] was made of pure dark matter. With these two things in place, I still got my ass kicked.

“Damn it…”

So, rather than cursing Laspen, I was just cursing myself.

Remember.

When I first fought against Laspen, I’d never have thought about fighting him head-on. He was that dangerous. There was no way I’d let him land a single blow, else I’d be doomed.

There was a difference in ability between humans and monsters. Even though I had a superhuman body, I wasn’t an exception. At the end of the day, I was still just another human being.

When fighting monsters, I’d forgotten such an obvious thing. Laspen was, and still is, a terrifying monster.

“…First, I need to heal my injury.”

I slid out of bed, suppressing the urge to go look for him right now.

One would think that it’d be difficult to get ready for the day with one arm, but that wasn’t the case for me at all. Now that I’d lost my right arm, I just thought that it’d be best to grow another. So, I used a bit of magic to cast [Bind Arts]. Just like that, the problem was gone, and I was back to having five fingers. Even if I casted it while I was still sleepy, it had sufficient performance.

“Ugh, Master! That’s Hitsugi’s job!”

“Oh, right, sorry…”

At the last moment, after I’d finished changing, I put Hitsugi on my left hand. She immediately protested. Nevertheless, I felt like if I relied on others all the time, I’d just become spoiled. I wasn’t an aristocrat, and I had the general common sense of a Japanese person who knew that he had to take care of himself.

With that, I got ready without any hesitation and went for the lounge.

“Good morning, Master.”

“Good morning, Sariel. You’re early.”

Yesterday, I went to bed early to rest my right arm. As a result, I woke up so early, almost before dawn. Despite that, Sariel was already in the lounge, donning her maid apron. What time did she wake up?

“Would you like some breakfast?”

“Yes, and some tea, please.”

“There’s coffee, too.”

“Really!?”

Lately, I felt like I kept saying the same thing every time Sariel served my meal.

“Are there coffee beans in Spada?”

I honestly didn’t know. During my peaceful student life, I went to café with Lily and Fiona many times, but in Spada, I mostly drank black tea. I’d never had coffee before, nor had I ever seen it for sale.

“There’s no such thing. However, there are similar varieties. By blending multiple types of specific beans, it’s possible to reproduce a taste and aroma very similar to coffee.”

I see, then it’s ‘Sariel Original Blend’. Wouldn’t she be successful if she were to switch from being an adventurer to a barista?

“When did you find time for this…?”

“Yesterday.”

Could it be that Sariel is more inspired to pursue culinary adventure after returning from a quest?

“Oh, well, whatever. I’ll take the opportunity to drink your coffee.”

“Would you like some milk and sugar with that?”

“Just a bit. Maybe a spoonful.”

My taste bud hadn’t matured enough to down a glass of black coffee. I kind of like it, though. Well, there were some teenage boys and girls like me who forced themselves to drink something even though it didn’t taste good. In my first year, there was a time when I was drinking black coffee like Saiga to look cool.

I spent the morning quietly basking in some nostalgic memories.

“W-what is this muddy water!?”

Although it was a bit cliché, this line, which really shocked me, came from Fiona as she drank the coffee. Honestly, I guess you could say that she endured it well, as long as she didn’t explode.

“Do you not like it?”

“This isn’t something that humans should drink.”

“Really? But if you add sugar and milk, it should taste fine.”

“Don’t think you can fool me, Kurono. Even if you add sugar and milk, muddy water will still taste muddy.”

Well, there’s no need to say that.

I recommended it to her again, a bit more persistent.

I added a generous amount of sugar and milk, so it should be called milk coffee rather than café au lait.

Fiona timidly brought her lips to the cup, which had transformed from black to brown.

“I see, the right amount of bitterness blends well with the mellowness of the milk and the sweetness of the sugar, giving off a rich aroma of bean…”

“Isn’t it delicious?”

“It is…”

Apparently, milk coffee was a huge hit for people from another world.

Now, after our morning routine, I immediately began to prepare to face the day. However, because I was injured, my range of actions was naturally limited, and so was my options.

First, I went to my favorite Stratos Blacksmith to drop off the damaged [Maximilian].

“This one also suffers massive damage.”

“I’m sorry. I made a fool of myself by fighting a Rank 5 monster head-on.”

When I honestly admitted to my faults, Regin sported his usual friendly smile.

…What’s so funny?

“Even if you’re wearing something like [Maximilian], you should avoid being reckless. Moreover, it seems that this pure dark matter armor can’t demonstrate its original defensive power unless an appropriate amount of magical power is supplied through the armor’s function. Until you can master the hardening function, it’s just an armor that is slightly harder than an Union Metal.”

In fact, Union Metal, a composite alloy made of dark matter, was the best in terms of hardness of armor. The obvious flaw aside, I didn’t think I needed to be told why challenging a Rank 5 monster head-on was a stupid idea.

“If it’s merely ancient armor, it’d be impossible to fix with modern technology. But you’re lucky, because it’s also cursed. Apparently, as long as we have the necessary metal, it’ll just absorb it and repair itself automatically.”

Come to think of it, Baphomet and Diabolos’ demonic robes both had the ability to mend tears and disintegrations using magical power.

It’s probably something similar.

“However, when it comes to the central parts such as [Omega Drive], I don’t know if it can be fixed, so it’s best not to damage them.”

No matter how durable an armor was, evasion was still important. [Maximilian] provided a defensive armor that exceeded that of other heavy armors. At the same time, it also offered tremendous mobility. When it came to fighting, I should utilize its mobility to evade attacks, and use the defensive power to deflect attacks that couldn’t be avoided.

Don’t rely solely on defense—

—I should keep this basic in mind.

As I thought, I needed more practice.

“The repair fee will depend on the materials used, but it’ll probably be a little expensive as rare metals such as dark matter alloys will also be needed.”

“Well, I’ve received the reward for Pride Gem Subjugation, so it’s okay.”

[Element Master] succeeded in subjugating the Pride Gem. But with the sudden reappearance of Laspen, I couldn’t rest easily.

“Even though the Pride Gem has been defeated, it seems like another Rank 5 monster has appeared. It’s already been covered in the newspaper.”

“Yes, he’s my next target.”

“Is that so? If you need anything, please let me know.”

I said thank you, and after chatting for a while, I left the workshop.

The next place I visited, which was also part of my morning routine, was the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Hello, Kurono, how’s your right arm doing?”

“It looks like it’ll heal within a week, so I’ll be fine.”

I returned to Sparda and visited the guild yesterday, but when she saw that my right arm was mangled, she almost fainted. I didn’t expect her to be calm today.

“For now, I’d like to know information about the monster.”

“Unfortunately, it still hasn’t been discovered yet.”

There was no follow-up news since yesterday.

Actually, after Super Laspen blew me away and left, he appeared in Raquel Village, which had been turned into a base for the Sparda army. Apparently, it proudly jumped out from underground into the middle of the square.

Of course, a battle ensued. Due to the surprise attack, and the fact that the opponent was a Rank 5 monster, it was a tough battle. To make it worse, the military equipment was geared towards the subjugation of Pride Gem.

As a result, he killed and injured quite a number of Sparda soldiers on the spot, went on a rampage, and then fled underground once again. Since then, to this day, there is no information about him. Maybe he wasn’t even in Sparda anymore.

“However, it has now been officially arranged. The appearance of a dangerous Rank 5 monster will soon be related to other countries.”

It was a similar feeling to when Greed gore appeared from El Grand Canyon. If anyone managed to take down the monster, they’d receive a special reward even if they hadn’t received the subjugation quest. In short, he was the one with the prize.

Naturally, monsters had no concept of borders. Therefore, information about monsters with a wide range of action could be shared in all countries, and the situation could be dealt with quickly.

Come to think of it, the reason why the Adventurer’s Guild was an organization with a huge network that transcended national boundaries may be because of the presence of monsters that rampaged across countries. Even though it might be difficult to get troops from other countries into your country, a skilled adventurer could muster them right away.

“Did you find out any information about him?”

“Yes, it’s written together with the wanted list. However, the Sparda army only engaged in a small battle, so it doesn’t seem like we were able to obtain much information.”

According to the currently released entries about him, the monster was classified as a chimera based on Laspen.

[After Laspen was reanimated into a necromancer’s minion, he was taken over by Sloth-Gil’s clone and went berserk. He became an uncontrollable monster.

He had an ancient golem fist on his right arm, and a [Fist of Fury] on his left. In addition to Laspen’s original power, he wielded offensive magic comparable to the highest level of lightning magic, engulfed himself in a black iron sand which served as an armor, and had the ability to go underground.

This new being boasted of Laspen’s fire element and Sloth-Gil’s thunder element. Furthermore, it also had the earth element inherited from Greed gore, which was infested by Sloth-Gil itself. Regarding the three elements, it’d become an advanced unique magic that was at least intermediate-level magic or higher.

Also, since he ate the core of Pride Gem, there was a possibility that he’d develop water element skills in the future.

Because it’d attacked several thousands of Sparda army, and caused more than 100 casualties, the danger level of this monster was determined to be Rank 5. Be very careful when it appears, and be prepared when subjugating them.]

—The new monster was called this:

“[Chaotic Rim], huh?”

“Because of the range of his ability, his name is derived from ancient languages of deadly sins. Thus, the name is the combination of the word ‘chaos’ and the ancient word for ‘sin.’”

“I think it’s suitable.”

After all, Laspen showed up with many abilities of trial monsters, just like me who’d overcome many trials. The Pride Gem Subjugation turned out to be just a prelude. Defeating the Chaotic Rim was probably the true sixth trial that I had to undertake.

Mia, please stop raising the hurdle every time. The final trial is already scary, but for now, let’s focus on the trial in front of us.

“Are there any adventurers that have set out to hunt it yet?”

“There are only two parties so far. The [Iron Demon Brigade] and [Yomi]. Then, there are a few other parties that are just gathering information to be sold at a high price.”

One might think that they didn’t seem like adventurers, but don’t underestimate a party made up of thieves, assassins, and other classes that specialized in intel. Unlike the military, adventurers didn’t have their own intelligence agencies or scouting units, so their presences allowed them to make advance preparations and come up with countermeasures.

Of course, some would sell false information, but they’d be weeded out quickly. By none other than their own peers. We lived in a cutthroat world, after all. I didn’t want to mention yakuza, but let’s say that there was a self-cleansing mechanism working in the industry. For that reason, their information had a certain degree of reliability.

“What are the movements of the Sparda army?”

“It looks like they’re going to tighten security in various places and send out a tracking team. But since it’s a monster that can run fast and hide underground, I don’t think it’ll be that easy to find.”

I agree. Above all, I had already experienced how nimble that fella was. This time, I wanted to chop his head off with a machete and seal his fate.

“Should I head out right away?”

“If you’re planning on subjugating him, it’s best to wait quietly for information on the discovery.”

“I have an injury so I’ll just do that.”

Not only was there a trial monster waiting for me, Lily was still missing. When I took a break, it was as if those problems were put on hold, leaving me with anxiety.

“By the way, Kurono, this is going to be a bit personal, or rather, it’s going to sound as if I’m complaining…”

“How unusual of you.”

I never thought that Erina, who was serious about her work, would say that to me.

The awkward incident where I rejected her love confession had become a thing of the past. Now that we were back to the point where we could talk normally, I felt like I could talk to her about anything—including complaints. After all, she was one of my few friends.

“Actually, I’d have to attend an arranged marriage meeting—”

“—Kurono.”

“F-Fiona!?”

Fiona stood in front of me with a dazed look on her face. Since when did she stand there?

Of course, I went to the guild by myself, while Fiona went somewhere else to take care of her business.

“Why are you here?”

“I’ve just arrived. I’m glad Kurono is still here.”

Well, I did tell her about my plans for today before I left the dormitory in the morning.

“Did something happen that made you come all the way here?”

No way, did she find Lily!?

Anticipation rose in my heart.

“I’ve found a suitable house.”

Oh, right, it’s about that…

By the way, Fiona did say that she was going to look for a property…

“Would you please come with me?”

“Eh, of course, but…”

She tugged on my arm, as if she wanted to go see it quickly.

“Sorry, Erina. Let’s talk about it some other time.”

“No, it’s fine. So, Kurono is looking for a house… Don’t worry about me, just go quickly. Your girlfriend is waiting for you.”

“Uh-huh, I’m indeed waiting.”

My ears still couldn’t respond well to the word ‘girlfriend.’ Yet, Fiona was like that. I wondered if she was still wary of Erina, since I did tell her about the confession.

“Sorry, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

With that said, I left the guild. There was no way I could shake Fiona’s hand off, so I held on to it.

I wanted to think that it was just imagination that I felt someone’s gaze on my back…