And so, it is known

"I have cornered you!"

"Confirmed. Seizing."

The army of skeletons controlled by Blue were encircling a single

dragon that fell into a pitfall.

But it is a dragon with no flesh and only bones. It should be better to

call it a Skeleton Dragon.

The creator of the Nether is working in conjunction in order to capture

the Unique Monsters in the Kuama Nether. But a Demon Lord really

holds impressive potential.

Blue was originally from a demi-human tribe that gained a living mainly

from hunting. The horde of skeletons sue controls coupled with her

techniques to corner a prey were truly effective in cornering the

skeleton dragon.

Keeping the enemy at bay with archers and obstructing their path with

long spears. She kept the casualties on the monsters that would

normally only get trampled on to a minimum, and successfully

managed to lead it to the trap.

I spread the chains and form the Six Towers of Binding, and completely

seal the movements of the skeleton dragon.

It is good that I managed to replenish the chains I lost in the fight

against Haakudoku, but they really lack precision compared to the ones

of before. I need to have them get used to my mana as soon as possible.

"Alright, I finished restraining it." (Ekdoik)

"Then, maintain it like that for a while more, okay?" (Blue)

Blue approached the skeleton dragon, put a hand on its head, and

poured her own mana into it.

Monsters are born from the mana of the Nether. A lesser being has to

absolutely obey the orders of the Demon Lord who has a dense amount

of that mana.

But monsters that have grown to Uniques can create mana from the

core inside their bodies.

The strength of that mana allows them to go against the control of the

Nether's mana. There's the need to give them mana directly and tame

them in order to make them obey efficiently.

The Purple Demon Lord also had the Great Devils get her mana through

the Pawn Masks in order to control them.

That said, some of them tried to rebel because she tried to control

several of them at once and didn't keep an eye on them… I think that

was in part because she was so concentrated on Comrade though.

"Done. It is great that it was an obedient child." (Blue)

"Obedient, huh…" (Ekdoik)

I looked around, and there was a mountain of crushed skeletons.

Even if she cornered it efficiently with the least amount of casualties, it

is not like all the lesser monsters she used to capture the Unique came

out fine.

"It is okay. I will be reutilizing those bones anyways. Skeletons are

modeled after humans, but it is not like the skeletons born from the

Nether are made from human skeletons. The bones were formed from

mana. They can be useful like magic stones." (Blue)

The skeletons that are alive are collecting the bones scattered around.

Monsters picking up the corpses of monsters is a pretty rare sight.

"Are you going to make them food for other monsters? I feel like it

would just roll out even if you were to put it in their mouths though."

(Ekdoik)

"It would be simple for ghost types to eat their own, but in the case of

skeletons, it is close to the way of plants. We crush the bones and bury

them in the ground. If we leave them to rest there, mana from the same

type will permeate their bodies, and they will gain even denser mana."

(Blue)

"Sounds like fertilizer." (Ekdoik)

"The powdered bone will mix more easily with the earth if water is

poured on it, so that's technically right. It is inefficient to imbue mana

on the skeletons here, so we are going to spread it on the base and

empower our forces. Let's pour some on the crib of this child too."

(Blue)

I lived as a devil for a short period of time, so I know personally about

it.

Devils can absorb the mana from the air, and they can predate the

monsters that are not of the same species. They become scraps faster

than the other monsters when they die and mix with the mana in the

air.

Father Beglagud was managing the number of devils in his territory,

and got rid of the devils that he judged were unnecessary, thickening

the mana in the area.

Grown monsters give even better effects from this, so he also took the

method of raising lesser devils to intermediate devils before getting rid

of them. Many of those devils would be made to fight me on those

occasions.

"There's a lot of cases where the ecology of monsters is different, huh."

(Ekdoik)

"I only know about the monsters born in my own Nether. But that must

be the case. They are beings born from the mana here after all. There

should be differences." (Blue)

"And so, do you know the location of the next Unique?" (Ekdoik)

"Yes, but there's a bit of distance. We can leave the skeletons here, but it

will take time to gather the skeletons around again." (Blue)

"I could deal with it on my own though." (Ekdoik)

"I do think you alone is enough, but I also want to train my monsters. I

heard the monsters of Scarlet are battle oriented, so I need to increase

their skills, too." (Blue)

"…I don't feel any will in them though. Does that increase?" (Ekdoik)

"It does. To be more precise, they will be able to act more swiftly to my

will. Vague orders will just limit their uses." (Blue)

Blue is also getting ready for the battle against the Scarlet Demon Lord

by adjusting her commands.

It is true that the movements of the undead today are more coordinated

compared to before.

"Uniques. This skeleton dragon has a will of its own, right?" (Ekdoik)

"Yes. It only has intelligence on the level of a beast compared to a devil,

but it can accept my will vaguely. Anyways, you call it a skeleton dragon,

huh. I have only been seeing it as a skeleton." (Blue)

"There will be misunderstandings if you were to put it in the same

category as a skeleton." (Ekdoik)

"True. It is an Unique, so it should be fine to give it a name or

something… I will leave it to you." (Blue)

"…Me?" (Ekdoik)

"It is natural for it to obey me, but it seems like it likes you more than I

thought." (Blue)

I cross my arms and ponder. I am often followed by animals. The reality

is that the animals around the caves of Taizu approach me without

much caution.

The fact that this also applies to this monster makes me feel a bit

complicated.

But a name, huh… I have only given names to techniques.

"I can't think of anything immediately. I will have it by tonight." (Ekdoik)

"It would be troubling if you were to give it a thoughtless name after all.

Just warning you here, but don't go pulling out the names of other Great

Devils, okay?" (Blue)

"The name of my father would not be befitting for this skeleton dragon."

(Ekdoik)

"Beglagud, was it? It is nice that devils have enough intelligence to give

names for themselves. Well, there are pains unique to intelligent

monsters too though." (Blue)

"Really?" (Ekdoik)

"It would be nice if there were those that obey me from the heart like

you, Dyuvuleori, but for monsters with intelligence, Demon Lords are

like natural calamities. It would be disgraceful for these kings that rule

their own small world." (Blue)

It is true that, even if Father were alive and were to be called by the

Purple Demon Lord, he would have fallen into the same position as the

other Great Devils and would be made to obey by force.

What kind of feelings would I have had if I had seen him off in that way?

In that sense, you could say it was great that he was defeated by Rakura

as a secluded king.

"…Yeah." (Ekdoik)

"…W-Well then, it is about time, so let's have a meal." (Blue)

Blue brought out a small basket from her luggage. So she properly

brought food, huh.

She must have cooled it down with magic so that it didn't go bad. She

returned it to normal temperature with magic together with the basket,

and brought out the cloth inside of it.

What was inside was cooked bird meat and vegetables. This was

sandwiched with thin bread made with wheat.

It reminds me about how Comrade said the bread of this world is hard

and that there's no variety, and was wondering about whether to call

this a sandwich or a crepe. But I feel like putting stuff inside bread is a

strange idea in the first place. But this is…

"…Sorry, but can you eat it by yourself, Blue?" (Ekdoik)

"W-Why?!" (Blue)

"I can't handle meat. With everything being meat here…" (Ekdoik)

"Don't be picky and eat. If you don't eat, you won't last till night, you

know?" (Blue)

"There's no issue if it is only one meal. I came here with that intention

in the first place." (Ekdoik)

I didn't have the thought of eating in the Nether. My body has certainly

become that of a demon, so I wouldn't feel under the weather even if I

were to stay for a long time in it. Actually, I'm feeling good.

"Just eat already! If you begin eating time instead, I am going to order

you to!" (Blue)

"That would be troubling… Got it. If it is just a bit…" (Ekdoik)

I might be able to manage somehow if I am not conscious of it.

I change my nose breathing to mouth breathing, and grab one of them

and bring it to my mouth. The meat inside was bitten off without

resistance and entered my mouth.

With this, there should be no issu—no, not good. My body remembers

the sensation of meat.

My past memories were dragged out and my brain is reproducing the

sensation of that time.

The unpleasant sensation welling up inside me and the desire to vomit

was worse than even the time when I was seriously injured.

Unable to endure this, I hurriedly moved by the shadow of a rock and

vomited. The gastric juices inside my stomach went up and I felt my

throat burning in pain at the same time as I did this.

Blue saw this state of mine and ran my way with surprise and unease

showing in her face.

"H-Hey, are you okay?!" (Blue)

"…Sorry, it seems like my body doesn't accept meat." (Ekdoik)

"I can tell just by looking! This is not in the realm of not being able to

handle it! Are you an herbivorous animal?!" (Blue)

"No, I am human… Ah, I am a demon now. I was fine with meat to a

certain age though." (Ekdoik)

I can tell unpleasant sweat was coming out from me. Judging from the

state of Blue, my complexion must be pretty bad, too.

"That kind of adverse reaction is weird! Isn't it some weird disease?!"

(Blue)

"Disease…? That might be the case. Something happened in the past

and now I can't eat meat." (Ekdoik)

"In the past, you say…" (Blue)

"Right, to make up for having wasted the food you prepared… no, that

would be an excuse, huh. But I need to explain this." (Ekdoik)

My body feels heavy. No matter how many years go by, this curse

continues spreading its roots in me.

I will be together with Blue for a long time, so this is information that I

must share with her.

I borrow her shoulder and sit on a rock nearby. I close my eyes and

remember the past.

"It was something that happened when I was around 16 years old I

guess…" (Ekdoik)

◇◇

"Father, my training today has ended without issues." (Ekdoik)

I was raised by the Great Devil Beglagud and was made to polish my

skills almost every day.

The opponents I had to fight were devils that would always try to kill

me, but my fear of this had dwindled years ago.

"I see. But it is almost the point where even single intermediate devils

are not much training for you, huh. Lessers would be out of the

question." (Beglagud)

"No, lessers can still be of use in training if they have the numbers."

(Ekdoik)

"There's a limit to the techniques you will polish with small fries.

What's needed right now to make you stronger is fighting experience

with stronger opponents. From here on, you won't need to do battle

training until there's several intermediate devils gathered." (Beglagud)

"In that case, at times aside from those, I shall train magi—" (Ekdoik)

"Ekdoik, it is about time for you to learn something else." (Beglagud)

I have seen Father smile countless times. There would always be a

harsh experience awaiting me whenever he smiles like that.

At the time when I first fought a devil, when numbers were gathered,

when he raised the rank to an intermediate devil…

"What else?" (Ekdoik)

"Your techniques are ones to kill humans. I will have you head to where

the humans are when you have been perfected." (Beglagud)

"I am aware of that." (Ekdoik)

"No, you don't. Humans are numerous. There's even those within them

who can defeat high ranks and Uniques. Even if you were to grow

perfectly, you will be surrounded immediately by people like that if you

were to attack humans like a beast. You would reach your end without

being able to even use your full power. If that were to happen, my side

show would be a waste." (Beglagud)

Father looks down on humans, but he didn't underestimate them.

That's why he must have wanted to raise me.

"I should learn about humans, then. What should I do?" (Ekdoik)

"No need to be so hasty. I have already made the preparations. If you

want to learn about humans, ask a human. I have captured a human.

Just learn about humans from that person." (Beglagud)

There's another human. Those words did surprise me.

I had only seen devils since the time I had memories, so I only saw

humans as beings that I must kill.

I head to the location I was told. That place was a part of the area that's

made for lesser devils to kill each other. I have been thrown into this

place before.

There was a human tied in chains there. White skin like me and short

dark purple hair. Their skeleton resembled mine greatly.

The difference would be that that person had proper equipment, and

her gender was different.

"…No way, a human?! Did you come to save me?!"

"No, I was told by Father to get information about humans from you."

(Ekdoik)

"Eh, what's that? That's a pretty bad joke, you know? More importantly,

can you undo my chains?"

"I can't do that, and it is not a joke. My name is Ekdoik, and I have been

raised by the Great Devil Beglagud." (Ekdoik)

"…So it is not a lie. Monsters raising humans is the epitome of

whimsical. Well, I should introduce myself since you have done so, too. I

am from the Mejis Holy Knights, Leishia Pentes." (Leishia)

I think Leishia was a bit older than me. The reason I am not sure is

because when I asked her her age, she told me it was a secret.

Her personality was more that of an adventurer than a knight. But that

helped me out a lot in learning about humans.

If it had been a chivalric holy knight that hates devils, she wouldn't have

even spoken to me as someone who was raised by a devil.

But Leishia told me about human society without issues.

"Haaah… I don't want to blame my own inexperience for being

captured, but there's no concept of cooking in this place, huh." (Leishia)

"We have used fire. Don't complain." (Ekdoik)

"Of course I will! You seriously have only grilled it! The soup my little

sister made is a thousand times tastier!" (Leishia)

That day, Leishia ignored her standing of being captured and

complained an earful about how bad the food was.

The devils would sometimes eat the meat of beasts. It is not to gain

mana, but to enjoy their cries.

The food I am given is that of wild animals, as well as the fruits and

vegetables they find while at it, coupled with mushrooms.

Father learned how weak a human is from having eaten raw meat and

fallen ill, so I was made to learn how to use fire. I could get the bare

minimum food. I of course didn't have the concept of cooking.

"Then try making some." (Ekdoik)

"Oh my, are you going to free me from my chains?" (Leishia)

"I will lengthen them. You should have no issues if you can move a

certain distance, right?" (Ekdoik)

I pour mana on the chains, activate magic, and lengthen the distance.

Leishia made a wondering look, but accepted it soon after.

"That's a handy technique. Plain though." (Leishia)

"Don't try to pull any funny moves. If mana is detected, it will

immediately return to its original length." (Ekdoik)

"I can't make a fire like that then! Help me out in that case!… Also, I

would like to do my business." (Leishia)

"You can just do it wherever." (Ekdoik)

"That's not okay! I may be a knight, but I am a woman, you know?! At

least give me a jar with a lid!" (Leishia)

"Do women need jars?" (Ekdoik)

"Just do it!" (Leishia)

Leishia chopped the ingredients, and used the spices in her pocket to

give it some simple seasoning.

This was the first time I learned about the existence of cooking.

I felt as if all the food I had eaten until now had changed completely

with just one bit of seasoning.

"…Tasty." (Ekdoik)

I unconsciously said this out loud. Leishia heard this and puffed her

chest out proudly.

"Right?! But this is a meager meal for camping. You can eat even tastier

food in human settlements. You will only get unhealthy in a place like

this, you know?" (Leishia)

"There's no issue as long as I'm alive. I have no intention of living

together with people who have offered me as a sacrifice in order to

live." (Ekdoik)

"What do you mean…" (Leishia)

I explained to her about my own birth. When devils attacked the human

village, I was the one who was given to them while pleading for their

lives.

I told everything Father had told me until then to Leishia.

"There might be those kinds of parents, but you see… it is not like

everyone is like that. Actually, there's more parents who would be

willing to sacrifice themselves for their children." (Leishia)

"But the fact is that I was given away. And there hasn't been a single

person who has reached this place." (Ekdoik)

"Well, most people wouldn't think a kidnapped baby is alive as of

present after all. But it is a different story if they know you are alive."

(Leishia)

"You think the people who feared the Great Devil Beglagud and gave a

child to him would change their minds if they knew I was alive?"

(Ekdoik)

"It would change. If it is impossible for them, then they will ask for help.

That's what defines a human. If your parents knew you were still alive,

they would have asked for our help." (Leishia)

The expression of Leishia at that time was straightforward, so I couldn't

object any further.

"…Even if so, I don't plan on leaving this place. I will do what I have to

do." (Ekdoik)

"So stubborn… Fine. Do as you please. But you have to learn more about

humans. That's why, learn a whole ton about humans from me."

(Leishia)

"You don't have any hesitation about leaking information to a

subordinate of a devil." (Ekdoik)

"Regardless of your circumstances, you are a human. Saving the country

and saving humans is the duty of knights. I will give up on persuading

you. Your position would make it impossible anyways. But I will show

you the path and guide you." (Leishia)

I tried to learn about humans as Father told me, and Leishia tried to

make me understand about humans.

That's how the short relationship between me and Leishia began with

strangely diverging benefits for both sides.

—-

Blue: (Ekdoik talks a lot when telling stories.)