It was a loud mix of clanging metal, explosions, electronic beeps, radio static, and more.
And on top of it, the man started to scream again.
“Muhaoouuwakoootoooojyoboosareetafooonnaawoooo!”
And as he screamed, he fell to the ground and began to writhe. He seemed to be undergoing an electric shock. That, or he was dying.
Both Hiroshi and Keena were silent with shock.
But then something even stranger happened.
The man stopped screaming, then stood up, panting as if he’d exhausted all his energy.
“Now it’s time to get serious.”
That was enough to make both of them shiver, but his next words astonished them even more.
“I have the Demon King’s noise pattern. Now heed my cry, pitiful demon beast!”
○
“The problem is that he’s using me while he’s still unawakened,” Peterhausen said.
“What do you mean?” Fujiko asked.
“I was created to give magic to all people. But this affects not only humanity, but other life forms as well. This gives them what you could call a serious bug.”
Fujiko began to realize what he was trying to say.
“You don’t mean...” She gulped. Peterhausen nodded.
“The mana inside them goes out of control, and changes them. That’s what creates a demon beast. An awakened Demon King could control me, but an unawakened one will cause demon beasts to appear everywhere. Or perhaps those demon beasts which were sealed in the past will revive,” Peterhausen continued. “The demon beasts grow active in response to the aura generated by the mana inside the Demon King’s body. That’s what gives him the ability to control them. I’m sure that’s the same for my present master, as well.”
“That’s right. I remember hearing Akuto say that he removed the mana from a demon beast. That’s supposed to be impossible.”
“He can command them during combat, but as long as he’s unawakened, he’ll only create more of the poor creatures.”
○
“Hooowwl!” The roar echoed across the lake. It was clearly the roar of a living thing.
“This... isn’t how it usually sounds.” Hiroshi began to panic.
“It’s not?” Keena said. Hiroshi was pale.
“This isn’t the sound I know. This might be a real—”
BOOM!
There was an explosion at the center of the lake, and a pillar of water shot up over a dozen meters in the air. The roar was coming from the center of the pillar, causing the water to splash everywhere.
A spray of water droplets fell on Keena and Hiroshi like a downpour of rain.
“Hyahahaha! It’s revived!” the strange man screamed. He was getting soaked too, but he just stretched out his arms and laughed.
The man was staring at the center of the lake, where the demon beast had revealed itself.
It looked like a huge cylindrical tower. It was so thick that three men couldn’t wrap their arms around it, and as tall as a five-story building. There was an opening at the top, from which beard-like tentacles were stretching out. The whole body was dark brown, with leopard-like spots.
“A sea cucumber...” Keena whispered.
“One of the sea cucumbers turned into a demon beast...? W-We have to get out of here and tell Akuto...” Hiroshi said to Keena, and turned to run.
“Kyaaah!”
Suddenly he heard a loud scream. It was a voice he instantly recognized.
“Yukiko...”
Hiroshi turned around and saw Yukiko screaming in shock as she stared at the monster. He wanted to take her with him and run, but her scream had attracted the man’s attention.
The strange man turned around, and Hiroshi saw that he had tanned skin and close-cut hair, and he was wearing sunglasses. That wasn’t too unusual on its own, but what was unusual was his expression. Even with his sunglasses on, his smile made him look possessed.
“You saw me, didn’t you?”
The strange man began to slowly stride towards Yukiko.
“N-No...”
Yukiko was frozen and unable to move. The man kept coming towards her, his arm stretched out.
“W-Wait!” Hiroshi yelled.
The man spun his head around, craning his neck in a bizarre angle. He looked at Hiroshi and then back at Yukiko, and then back at Hiroshi again.
“I see two people with the same face,” he said, “a big one and a little one! The big one isn’t that big, though.”
Then he rushed at Yukiko with surprising speed.
“Stop it!” Hiroshi yelled.
“Brother!” Yukiko’s scream echoed across the lake.
The strange man grabbed her and lifted her off the ground.
“I’m taking the little one as a hostage. Big one, don’t you run away... But this makes me seem like such a cliché villain... How boring. I guess it can’t be helped. I need a totally original plan, or it’s not art. Don’t you agree?” the strange man said to Hiroshi in a friendly tone.
—Damn it. Who is this guy?
Hiroshi was shaking with anger and fear. But he had to protect Yukiko, no matter what.
“Let my sister go.”
“Sorry, no. This isn’t art, and so it’s boring. But now that she’s seen me I need to get rid of her. Of course, that goes for you too.”
The strange man said. A bolt of fear ran through Hiroshi’s body.
—Where’s Keena...?
He turned around and saw Keena’s clothes lying on the ground. She must be using her invisibility magic. Maybe she’d be able to save Yukiko.
—If that weirdo isn’t that good at magic, then maybe I can...
Hiroshi held out his arms in a fighting stance and started to advance. The strange man laughed.
“You’re a student of the Academy, huh? So you’re a magic-user then.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Because what you’re doing is reckless and stupid. But still, I need you to try your hardest. Art lies in being reckless and throwing caution to the wind. So I’ll let you have a chance at doing something brave,” the strange man spoke of his strange theory.
“Shut... up!”
Hiroshi put his hands behind his back and tried to form a mana ball. He hoped that if he could get his attack ready when the man couldn’t see it, he could catch him by surprise.
But...
—What...?
Hiroshi didn’t understand what was going on. He couldn’t create the mana ball.
“This is impossible...”
It wasn’t that he was too nervous to perform magic. The mana was just refusing to gather.
“Hahahaha!” The strange man suddenly began to laugh.
He pointed past Hiroshi, towards the lake.
The demon beast was still in the center, looking like a giant tower in the middle of the water. Its body was squirming in the air, as if it was drawing something into its mouth.
“...Oh!”
Hiroshi realized what was going on. There was a light gathering at the center of its mouth.
“Is it... absorbing the mana?”
“That’s right! It’s a mana-absorbing demon beast! In this world, you need mana to do almost everything. And so when he appears...” The strange man laughed happily.
“What are you going to do with it?” Hiroshi asked, but the man just laughed louder.
“There’s no need for me to tell you that. But personally, I think as long as there’s destruction and disorder, that’s good enough for me. That is anarchy! That is art!”
“You’re crazy...” Hiroshi whispered, and the man began to scream uncontrollably.
“Crazy! That’s the problem with you plebeians! You don’t understand what noise really is! Destruction doesn’t just mean smashing things! If a boring man tries to destroy something, he can only do it in a boring way! Disorder is what makes people show who they really are!”
And then suddenly his expression became peaceful, as if the last fe
w minutes had never happened.
“Well, you can’t expect the ordinary man to understand art. You need to experience it first-hand before you can truly understand. Anyway, that’s enough talking.”
The strange man started to stride towards Hiroshi now. Hiroshi’s blood ran cold as he realized what this meant.
—He’s really going to kill everyone who saw him...
Yukiko was still in the man’s arms. Without magic, there was no way he could save her. But Hiroshi wasn’t such a coward that he could run away.
—Even without magic, I can at least give Yukiko time to escape...
Hiroshi steeled himself. But before he could act, things got worse. Hiroshi saw something the color of skin pass through the corner of his vision.
!!!
Keena, now stark naked, was trying to sneak up on the man from behind. She probably hadn’t heard their conversation, and still thought she was invisible. When she got close, she reached out her hand to grab Yukiko.
If she had been invisible, she would’ve been able to grab Yukiko and get away. But now, with her mana gone, she was completely exposed.
—Oh no...
Keena saw the worry on his face. She stuck her thumb up as if to say “It’s okay.” Then she slowly moved around from the man’s back to his front, to make it easier to grab Yukiko.
“Hey,” the man said. Only then did she realize she was visible.
“Huh? How?!”
The man used his other hand to quickly grab Keena by the neck.
“I don’t know how you got here, but why are you naked?”
“Nooo!”
Keena tried to resist, but the man was too strong. He excitedly began to explain another pet theory.
“Attacking someone from behind while stark naked! I like it! That’s art! I’ll add you to the long list of naked artists! They’ve brought peace and tranquility, but more than anything confusion, to the cities over the years!”
He laughed as he swung Yukiko and Keena around in both hands.
“Kyaah!”
“Nooo!”
Yukiko and Keena sobbed.
“Yukiko!” Hiroshi screamed.
“Brother! Help me!”
“Hahaha! That would be reckless! But that’s why he should do it!” The strange man turned towards Hiroshi.
Hiroshi knew he couldn’t win. He didn’t have his magic, and his opponent was far bigger than he was. And the man knew he couldn’t use magic, too. He was probably ready to fight Hiroshi without it.
—Damn it...
Hiroshi was overcome with despair. More than anything, he was in despair at his own weakness. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the courage to face him. Even if his opponent was clearly insane, he had the courage to fight. But until now, he’d always avoided being in any situation where his own strength would prove the deciding factor. And because of that, he’d missed all his chances to become strong.
“My brother’s the hero! He’ll beat you up!” Yukiko was screaming.
—That’s not true.
Hiroshi thought to himself. He wasn’t strong. He preferred it when somebody strong made a decision, and he obeyed it. In a situation like that he’d happily give up his own life. But he’d rather die than end up with someone else’s life in his hands.
—I’m not a hero.
Hiroshi stood there, motionless. The strange man got closer and closer. Both of his hands were full. But Hiroshi couldn’t move.
The strange man’s leg swung out in a long arc. His kick struck Hiroshi in the head.
Hiroshi’s world turned upside-down. Everything shook for a moment with the impact, and then he found himself looking at the sloping ground.
“Brother!” He heard Yukiko’s voice.
“So he’s the hero, huh?” the strange man said.
“I’m here to stop the hero from being born. I’m supposed to mess up the plan for his birth. That’s part of my job.”
—What? What is he talking about? The plan? Wait, he seemed to know about the demon beast...
Hiroshi’s mind was oddly calm. Maybe he just didn’t care anymore. He stood up without even realizing that he’d done so.
“You stood up! I like that! That’s the recklessness I want to see!”
The strange man kicked him again.
“But the situation hasn’t changed! Because you’re weak! Because you’re tied down by what the rest of the world thinks! Because you don’t understand art!”
The man kept screaming, but what really hurt Hiroshi was his next kick, and his next words.
The man stood on one leg like a ballerina, and kicked the other out at Hiroshi. It landed directly on Hiroshi’s solar plexus. His whole body buckled forward.
And then the man raised his leg up high, taking Hiroshi upwards with it.
The man’s balance and strength were exquisite. He was carrying a girl in each hand, and lifting a boy up with one leg.
“And you’re not revealing who you really are. You’re willing to throw away your life instead. And I’m afraid that someone like that can’t complain, no matter what they have to suffer. You don’t even have the right to hate me.”
And then the man swept his leg up higher.
Hiroshi flew through the sky and landed in the lake.
“Brother!”
“Hiroshi!”
He heard what sounded like a scream from Yukiko and Keena. His body sank into the water. And even when the ripples disappeared, he didn’t come up.
The strange man nodded, satisfied.
“Now, I suppose it’s your turn.”
Neither Keena nor Yukiko had the strength left to scream. He grinned and looked at each of them in turn.
“Who should go first?” he said happily, but then he looked off into the distance as if he sensed something.
“Tch... The Demon King’s on the move faster than I expected. I guess he was following them... If I’m going to kill them anyway, it would be much more artistic to do it in front of him.”
He took the limply struggling Keena, and the now unmoving Yukiko, and started to walk.
○
The demon beast left the lake and started moving towards the village. It seemed to be seeking out sources of mana. It was so tall that it could be seen even from far away.
Akuto and Junko, who’d gone to look for Hiroshi, were struck dumb for a moment when they saw it.
Akuto felt something stirring in his chest when he looked at it.
—That monster... It’s like it’s calling to me.
“Wh-What is that? Do you know it?” Junko asked.
“No, I don’t,” Akuto said as he looked at Junko. She seemed very scared. After all, it was a huge sea cucumber. The incident earlier today had evidently traumatized her.
“If you’re scared, you can go home. I’m going to check that thing out,” Akuto said.
Junko’s expression stiffened but she immediately shook her head.
“I’m going too. I won’t slow you down, but... if I can...”
She started off strong, but her words gradually became weaker. Akuto couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself.”
“Th-That’s not what’s going on here!” Junko said loudly, but then she started to whisper again. “If you... If you’re with me, I think it will be okay.”
Akuto smiled.
“Then let’s go. I’m getting a weird feeling from that monster,” he said, and then he started to walk.
By the time they found the demon beast, they were already a long way away from the dorm. It felt to him like it was faster to go straight towards it than head back and find out what was going on.
But before long, Akuto had to stop. There was a tall man standing on the path through the forest. His skin was tanned and he wore sunglasses and a long white coat.
“Who are you?” Akuto asked cautiously. The man was very clearly suspicious.
“I shall give you the name I gave myself! I am Mister X
!” the man said.
Akuto wasn’t sure how to react to the man’s strange attitude. And he certainly wasn’t sure how to react to the man’s stupid name.
“...That’s the name you gave yourself?” Junko asked.
“Be careful. He’s probably a pervert.”
“Shut up! None of you people understand art!” Mister X screamed.
“Art?”
“That’s right. I thought that the Demon King, of all people, would understand art,” Mister X said, and then took a step to the side, exposing the two hostages behind him.
“Ackie!” Keena, who was naked, screamed. Yukiko was next to her. They were wearing collars around their necks, and Mister X was holding the chains attached to them.
“I guess there was no need to ask who you were.”
Akuto’s voice was low. His gaze was piercing straight through Mister X. There was enough heat in his gaze to burn anyone, mage or not. But Mister X just grinned.
“You’re mad, huh? I like it when people expose their emotions.”
“You bastard! What did you do to Keena?” Junko screamed.
“Nothing. Yet, that is. But I’m about to murder her, and I wanted you, the Demon King, to see me. The kid I got rid of just before I came here was no fun at all.”
Junko’s face went pale. Keena had been following Hiroshi, and more than anything, if his little sister Yukiko was here, that meant...
“No...”
But the rage was completely gone from Akuto’s face now. His voice was calm and quiet as he spoke.
“Did you kill that kid?”
“That’s right. I kicked him again and again, and then flung him into the lake. If he could swim he might survive, but I think I kicked him hard enough that he didn’t have the strength left to do it.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Huh?”
“You’re about to have the same thing happen to you. But since there’s no water around here for you to drown in, we’ll have to use stomach acid instead.”
“What are you—”
Mister X couldn’t finish his sentence. His body was doubled over, and Akuto’s foot was embedded in his solar plexus.
“Gruggh... Gwahh...” Akuto removed his leg, and Mister X began to vomit up the contents of his stomach.
“Now shove your face in it!”
Akuto raised his leg to kick Mister X in the back of the head.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 3 Page 9
