Demon King Daimaou: Volume 12

by Shoutarou Mizuki

“The Demon King is a weapon, created by a portion of a network of computer gods. Where does his power come from? To answer this, we must think about the Law of Identity.”

  “The Law of Identity. This is, taken literally, the immutable law that says that you are yourself. I’ve already discussed how the fact that you exist as a real, thinking creature, proves this world exists. But what happens if this world is someone’s dream? The answer to that is simple. The world is created by the Law of Identity of the world’s author.”

  “So what is the world, then? The world is fiction. But at the same time, this fictional world is completely real when seen from within. From the outside, lies. From within, truth. Let us look at this world from outside, as fiction. How was it born?”

  “When you take away everything from the Law of Identity except itself, you are left with yourself, facing your law of identity. That person is the first. Imagine a dreamer dreaming of a world wherein a dreamer dreams of a world where in a dreamer dreams... and so on, and so forth for infinity, but as long as one person is there, facing his own law of identity, that person is the first. And that person has swallowed up all of existence and all life.”

  “This person is far too lonely to be called a god. A creature that is truly alone. Then what is the world? Anything miscellaneous added on to the Law of Identity... That is the world. If the world is fiction created by the Law of Identity, then it’s possible that this fiction can have a mind, and a life. It would be entirely possible and normal, in fact, for it to surpass the Law of Identity.”

  “And if all of these fictional existences roam free, then some of them will try to learn the truth about this world. In our world, that would be the computer gods that form our system. The computer gods asked themselves. Is the fact that they, who are not living creatures, are capable of thought, proof that this world is fictional? And then they created the Demon King.”

  “By revealing the falsehoods of this world, and overcoming “death”, the Demon King could take the computer gods and the people to the real world. That was the Demon King’s true role.”

  —So this is the truth...?

  Fujiko closed the journal and put it inside her clothes.

  Was the man simply mad? Or was this all true? If she had to guess between the two, she would bet on it being true. If the Law of Identity was who the computer gods worshiped, then it was difficult to imagine the Demon King they created being a simple weapon. The fact that the computer gods tried to perform a ritual that involved killing Keena supported that too.

  The part about overcoming death backed it up too. It was Akuto himself that proved that bringing back the dead in a way different from typical necromancy was possible.

  —But if Akuto isn’t just a weapon, but human as well...

  That would mean this world was a fiction, and any human could be revived.

  Fujiko searched the desk further. Among various objects, she found a notebook with a picture of something she recognized. It was the Jeweled Branch.

  “So that’s what they were working on here...” Fujiko said, and flipped through the book.

  It contained entries for the Buddha’s Stone Bowl. The Robe of the Fire Rat. The Dragon-Neck Jewel. And the Swallow’s Cowry Shell.

  “Each of these items was named after something from an ancient legend...”

  Fujiko went through them all, and shockingly, some of them she’d already seen. The Begging Bowl and the Dragon-Neck Jewel. The former was the stone coffin that Akuto had used to come back to life. And the latter, Peterhausen.

  “So that’s...”

  Their strange, almost mystical powers, had been developed here.

  “So there’s two more, then...”

  The Robe of the Fire Rat. And the Swallow’s Cowry Shell. One was a sheet shaped like a parabolic antenna. The other a capsule that a person could ride in. Fujiko tucked this notebook into her clothes as well. Fujiko was sure that she’d come closer to the truth than anyone else.

  But why had this truth not been passed down? Fujiko read further, looking for answers.

  “If there are many other worlds like our own, when they realize their world is a fiction, they’ll attempt to make contact with ours. For this reason, these must never be used.”

  ○

  “So the world really is fictional...” Yoshie whispered as she read through the journal Fujiko gave her.

  “You could say we’ve found proof,” Fujiko nodded.

  Yoshie nodded as well.

  “You’re right. I was suspicious ever since I started wondering about this world’s space research programs. It felt to me like past this solar system, nothing existed.”

  “That’s right, when we went to the moon...”

  “Yes. Research into space was forbidden. As if this whole world is just a tiny walled garden. And now it’s clear. Akuto overcame death... If anybody else can do the same thing...”

  Fujiko finished her sentence.

  “Then this world must be someone’s dream.”

  “It’s impossible. It’s doubly impossible. But if something’s twice as impossible as normal impossible, then maybe it’s safe to assume it’s true...” Yoshie chuckled.

  “If only humans can observe the world, then when humans are gone, the world will cease to exist. But if the same person that died can come back to life, that means that someone is controlling this world. Which means it isn’t real,” Yoshie said, and then rubbed her temples like she had a headache.

  “And it’s equally possible that there are many worlds like this one...”

  “The gods of the outer universe. They were the reason the computer gods of our world tried to turn humans into data and escape. They’re coming. And when they come, they’ll bring true destruction.”

  “...It’s possible we’re looking at the true end of the world.”

  “Should we be crying and screaming? Maybe not.”

  “It’s not a simple binary choice,” Fujiko said, shaking her head.

  “What are you guys talking about? Explain! I don’t understand at all!” Yuko screamed at the top of her lungs.

  The one thing she knew was that something bad was happening. But she didn’t know what.

  “Basically, this world is a fake, and someone created us. And whoever’s toying with this world is coming from the outside to destroy it,” Fujiko said, deliberately keeping her voice calm.

  “What...?” Yuko fell silent.

  Yoshie chuckled and continued.

  “It’s not that bad. It’s possible that we won’t die. It’s possible that death actually just means going to a different world.”

  “But that’s... that’s even worse...” Yuko whispered.

  “You may be right... But...”

  Fujiko shook her head.

  “Then what do you think Kei is trying to do?”

  ○

  “Death on a massive scale. Total destruction. These are the only things that matter,” Kei said.

  “Are you crazy?” Brave yelled.

  “An empty plain. A wasteland containing nothing but rocks and sand. These are the only beautiful things, aren’t they?”

  “You’re nuts!”

  “If I’m nuts, that just means that I’m different from the rest of our society,” Kei laughed.

  “Bullshit!”

  Kei and Brave had been fighting in mid-air for several minutes. Brave would chase and Kei would run. It felt like this game of tag would continue on forever. But then suddenly, Kei spoke.

  “If it’s possible there’s life after death, then doesn’t that mean that what I’m doing is right?”

  “....!”

  Brave froze in place. He wanted to say that it was a ridiculous idea, but he couldn’t. He had an open line to the control room where Yoshie and the others were talking. He’d heard what they were saying.

  “Then why...? Why protect the empire? Who cares if they’re all going to die?”

  “These things need to be done in order, right? The users of the Face
less Power need to die first.”

  “You mean...” Brave gasped.

  It seemed like Kei had already known what Fujiko had just learned. What Kei said now seemed much more plausible. If the Faceless Power was a collective consciousness, it may well have something to do with the afterlife. At this point, not even Yoshie, let alone Brave, knew who was really trying to save the world, and who was trying to destroy it.

  “Which means defeating me will help bring about the true end of the world!” Kei shouted, mockingly.

  “Tch... What do I do?”

  Brave didn’t know. But...

  The image of a man’s face flashed through his mind.

  “But even if that’s true... that’s the boss’s job!”

  There was more than one demon king. Brave gave a shout and charged. Kei was caught off guard. The high-frequency blade tore open the surface of his chest. He managed to avoid a fatal blow, but it was clear that he’d taken damage.

  “Uwaah!” Kei screamed.

  Normally a wound like that would be instantly curable, but it wasn’t closing. Of course, that was due to Brave’s mana canceler.

  “Damn it! Damn it!” Kei shouted as he fell, Brave in hot pursuit.

  “High-temperature plasma ball, loaded!” Brave whispered, like a death sentence. A ball of plasma appeared around him with incredible destructive power. It covered his heat-resistant suit as he headed straight toward Kei.

  “It’s over!”

  Brave drew ever closer. Kei’s expression froze. He’d been stripped of his powers, and now there was nothing he could do. And then...

  “Wait!”

  Someone slipped between them.

  “What..?!”

  “...!”

  Both Brave and Kei fell silent. Shockingly, it was none other than Kento.

  “Stop it! Please don’t defeat him now!”

  “Why, Kento?!” Brave yelled. But he couldn’t halt his momentum.

  The high-temperature plasma ball burned Kento’s right arm, which he’d extended to shield Kei, right off.

  “Gwaah...!”

  A scream echoed across the sea.

  ○

  “What’s going on...?” Yoshie gasped.

  “It seems like things are going in the worst way possible. For some reason Kento...” Fujiko trailed off. But Yoshie wasn’t looking at Brave’s monitor screen.

  “What is it?”

  “An... asteroid.” Yoshie said, her voice trembling.

  “An asteroid?” Fujiko peered over her mana screen. She had a bad feeling. The screen showed a small shining star, visible even in the middle of the day.

  “Asteroids aren’t that rare, are they?” Yuko asked.

  “This one is...” Yoshie pulled up data onto her mana screen. It showed the path the asteroid was traveling. “This one came from past Pluto.”

  “Pluto...?”

  “Just in case, I was gathering data on how weird space is. One of the reasons I was doing this is that like I said before, I don’t think anything past Pluto exists. That’d mean that it just appeared at the edge of the Solar System. I don’t know when, precisely, but I just found it now,” Yoshie said.

  “It’s hard to imagine I missed it until now. It was picked up by the wartime air defense network. Surprisingly enough, the network picks up anything in the solar system that’s heading toward the empire.”

  “It’s watching the whole solar system? That’s...” Fujiko’s expression clouded with terror.

  —There was a chance that something may attack us from beyond outer space.

  That’s what the lab chief’s journal had said, wasn’t it?

  “It looks like this air defense network existed since the start of the empire. Back then, the Empire was monitoring the solar system. That backs up what was in that journal even more...”

  “This is impossible...”

  “The asteroid is 20 kilometers across.”

  “20 kilometers...?”

  “Enough to destroy the entire Empire.” Yoshie sounded grim.

  3 - A Result That Nobody Wants

  “An asteroid? One big enough to destroy the Empire?”

  Yoshie had opened a line to Akuto, and had just finished explaining the situation to him. He was having trouble understanding what was going on. Each new thing she said just made the situation more confusing.

  The Faceless Power the Republic wielded was defeating the Empire. Hiroshi had almost defeated Kei, but was stopped by Kento. And he had lost the Jeweled Branch to The One.

  And now there was an approaching asteroid...?

  There were only two things at the heart of all these events. The gods of the outer universe, and the Faceless Power.

  “That asteroid’s a little too convenient for the Republic,” Akuto said.

  “I agree. Which means...” Yoshie trailed off, but Akuto finished her sentence.

  “It was brought by the Faceless Power.”

  If something happened that benefitted the Republic, that was probably why. The asteroid would wipe out the Empire, but not the Republic. Though maybe that wouldn’t be the case if it resulted in a global ice age...

  “It’s quite possible that the masses summoned the asteroid.” Marine nodded.

  “So what do we do?” Akuto frowned at him. The two of them had yet to really make up.

  “Calm down. But this definitely overlaps with what The One said. Which means that this may be part of his plan to destroy the world.” Marine looked back at him. But Akuto shook his head.

  “But the Faceless Power is still the key, right? Which means our priority is shutting down the Faceless Power.”

  He had a point. Marine thought for a moment, and nodded.

  “Then I’ll put an end to this war. I should be able to do it. And then the Faceless Power will be held in check for a while.”

  “I’d appreciate that, if you can.” Akuto’s comment dripped with sarcasm.

  “Fix that attitude of yours. You’re going after the Jeweled Branch, right?”

  “That’s right. If I can defeat The One and get it back, I’ll be able to completely neutralize the Faceless Power.”

  “That’ll tell us where that asteroid is coming from, and perhaps we can even use the Faceless Power to stop it.”

  Marine nodded as well.

  “Let’s split up, then. Keena...” Akuto turned back to look at Keena.

  “Y-Yeah...” She nodded, hesitantly.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Um... but...” Keena was mumbling.

  “But?”

  “N-Never mind... It’s nothing. I’m just a little worried.” Keena shook her head.

  “If something’s worrying you, tell me. There’s something I need you to do, too...” Akuto said.

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve got something that will lead us to the Robe of the Fire Rat that Fujiko was talking about, right?”

  Keena didn’t seem to understand at first, but then she took out the pendant hidden under her shirt. It was Peterhausen’s fang, also called “The Dragon-Neck Jewel.”

  “I see. There’s also a good chance that The One is heading for the Robe of the Fire Rat as well. But if he didn’t go after the Dragon-Neck Jewel, it means he likely already knows where it is,” Korone said, and then turned to Marine.

  “We’ll follow The One then. And then we’ll get both the Jeweled Branch and the Robe of the Fire Rat.”

  “He probably wants to get his hands on both before we do. Not that I have any idea what he’s trying to do...”

  Marine and Akuto exchanged a glance, before quickly splitting up.

  “Let’s go then.” Akuto took Keena’s hand.

  “Us, too.” Marine and Nonimora flew up into the sky.

  ○

  “Where is the Robe of the Fire Rat?” Fujiko asked Akuto.

  Akuto glanced toward Keena. But she was just kind of spacing out.

  “Come on, what’s wrong?”

  “Um... you don’t really do wh
at I tell you to do now, Ackie, and you’re scary, and it feels like what you’re doing now is wrong.”

  “What’s wrong about it?”

  “Um, I don’t know how to explain it. It just feels like it’s wrong...” Keena tried to continue, but suddenly Peterhausen’s fang began to glow. Just like it had done before, a beam of light shot out of it and over the horizon.

  “That way, huh?”

  Akuto squinted to look at the light. He wasn’t actually looking at it. Instead, he was linking with the gods and using their mapping data.

  “It’s on the other side of the Marlay village.”

  Fujiko spoke up when she heard this.

  “Can you give me the positioning data? I may be able to get there ahead of you.”

  “Ahead of me?”

  “There’s no mana around the Marlay village, but the teleportation network the old black mages used is still in operation. Since you can’t teleport I may be able to use that network to get there first.”

  “Got it. Thanks. Be careful.”

  Akuto sent over the location data. He was strong enough now to store up enough energy from his mana-thin surroundings to teleport, but not to do it instantly. Fujiko probably would be able to get there faster than him.

  “I’ll go on ahead of you and secure it for you,” Fujiko said.

  “Alright, let’s go.” Akuto motioned to Keena as well.

  “Y-Yeah...” Keena nodded, hesitantly.

  ○

  “Alright, I’m heading out. Fujiko turned to Yuko and Yoshie. Yoshie nodded.

  “Be careful,” she said,

  “The One is on his way, right?”

  “There’s a field there that stops him from using magic. It won’t be a problem,” Fujiko said, and then took out her notebook.

  After two teleports from the Black Mage village, she’d reach the lab where she’d found the journal. One more hop from there would take her to the Fire Rat’s Robe. This chain of teleportation circles is what Fujiko had called “The Black Mages Network”. It seemed to extend to all the labs around the village of the Marlay as well.

  “The problem is that it’s not entirely clear why the Black Mages disappeared...” Fujiko whispered. The modern Black Mages did nothing more than seal the location away.

  —So where did our ancestors, the ones who created Akuto, disappear to?