Drown to death

Our king was kind.

However, the king was always angry.

Since childhood, the king was angry about the tragedies surrounding humanity. He was enraged by the tragedies caused by entities that were not human.

At times, while holding the lifeless body of a child played with by demons.

At times, while gently stroking the head of a woman destroyed by fallen angels.

At times, while lamenting the death of a warrior defeated by a god's trial.

At times, while praying in front of a village devastated by a conflict of abominations.

The king was desperate. The king was serious. The king was determined.

While understanding that our suffering was not the king's fault, we feared the king. We even had the illusion that all our pain was due to the king's lack of power. Despite knowing that without the king, without his resistance, we would have faced even more tragedies.

So, King, please... die... without apologizing to us... die.

Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die!

"Die, you incompetent king!"

***

"Taking a nap is quite a luxury, Cao Cao. Even a remarkable leader like you must get tired, I wonder?"

"...Jeanne, huh? No, I just dozed off for a moment."

Awakening from a nightmare, Cao Cao reconfirms his surroundings. They are deep within the mountains of a certain country. It's a suitable place for training for people like them, as it is the habitat of monsters, but not under the protection of divine beings. At the foothills lies a small town, making it convenient to both train and exterminate monsters. In a slightly open area of the mountain, Cao Cao and his heroic allies were undergoing training.

Not far away, Heracles was pounding a huge rock. Others were practicing their sword swings, meditating while delving into their divine artifacts, or strategizing with their comrades.

"How's it going? Have you gotten used to the new spear?"

Jeanne asked, and Cao Cao looks at the spear in his hand. It's a magic spear given to him by Goetia, modeled after the artificial godly artifact used by the Fallen Angels. Although it's different from the Holy Spear sealed with the will of God, it didn't take long for Cao Cao to get used to it. In fact, it is no less impressive than the legendary spear.

If this were a different era, a war might have broken out over this spear. After all, it was an artifact that could kill gods. While there was no other option, he did take out the spear that could kill gods. As compensation, they wouldn't compromise on the performance of the Demon Pillars. Their pride is high, and providing them with something unsatisfactory is out of the question.

Though it lacks the power to kill gods, he was told to "hunt Fenrir," which is absurd. Fenrir is the mightiest wolf, after all. Nevertheless, the Knights of the Round Table, including the Lion King, whom the Heroic Alliance would challenge, are fighters who are at the level of or surpass Fenrir.

"It's almost lunchtime. Who's on duty for today's meal?"

"Arsia. She's currently out shopping in the nearby town."

Hearing that, Cao Cao's face twitches. Everyone who was eavesdropping on their conversation felt the same.

"Her cooking smells like ethanol, but the taste is good."

"It's hard to get an appetite though, even though it's delicious."

They both sigh.

"Oh, by the way, Xenovia is on guard duty."

"She doesn't need a guard... Well, whatever."

"Hmm."

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking how you've changed. Not just you, but the rest of us as well."

"True."

This is surely a good change. It may not be what they once wished for, but they are now striving towards a similar ideal. In fact, it might be even more splendid than what they had sought.

"Oh, you have changed. I'll correct myself. I am but a lowly janitor, an imitation less than human."

"A janitor? What do you mean?"

Ignoring Cao Cao's question, the bandaged man brandishes the coffin he was carrying and points the foot part toward Cao Cao's group.

"I have just one word to send to all of you. Drown in your ideals, you misguided fools!"

The coffin opens, revealing a cannon barrel. It's as big as a person's head and could fire projectiles. Emitting a strange mechanical sound, divine light leaks from the barrel.

"Holy Spear Activation, Noble Phantasm, Multiple Deployment."

"Everyone, run!"

"Pseudo-Thaumaturgical Revolution XⅢ, Catastrophe Longinus!"

A divine light capable of incinerating even gods attacks Cao Cao and his allies.

***

The top brass of the Bible faction has initiated two major actions.

One is the revival of the God of the Bible. Although it involves high-risk proposing by Satan son, in reality, there seems to be no other choice. They had no option but to go along with it. Otherwise, the three factions would end up in complete ruin. This information has become even more top-secret than Solomon's resurrection. While Solomon's resurrection doesn't concern the Biblical Faction, the revival of the God of the Bible changes everything. It will attract unwanted attention. This operation, based on information provided by Rizevim, is being secretly executed by Archangels, led by Michael.

The other action is to gather information about Solomon and his subordinate, the Demon God Pillar. Particularly, they are focused on the Demon God Pillar. There is a delicate chronological discrepancy between Solomon's resurrection and the appearance of the Demon God Pillar. Although the exact time when Creuserey Asmodeus discovered the ring remains unknown, one should consider that it was around the same time he began to take action, given Solomon's character. In other words, the Demon God Pillar was not created by Solomon. It is highly likely that he had subordinates, but the creator is someone else.

During the investigation of the Demon God Pillar, Sirzechs headed to Kyoto with Azazel, accompanied by knights with strong ties to Kyoto. They summoned Kingu, who undoubtedly knows more about the Demon God Pillar than they do, to the Kyoto Sirzehcs Hotel.

"Please leave, Lord Azazel, Lord Sirzechs Lucifer."

However, Kingu refused to cooperate with them, even when called into a negotiation. He was thoroughly against it. He might not even be aware that Sirzechs and Azazel are present.

"Lord Yasaka, I don't want to say this, but he is hiding something. He even mentioned being proposed to cooperate. Perhaps he is a follower of the former Satan faction."

"It is disheartening to be suspected like this."

Behind his strong refusal was an immense trust in Kingu. No, it might not be just trust, but affection.

"Lord Yasaka, do you know about his past?"

"No, that child doesn't talk about anything."

"Why? If he is associated with the Demon God Pillar, your position and Kyoto's situation will be precarious."

"At first, I wanted that child as a force. I wanted him to stay in Kyoto to delay the day Solomon's curse destroys Kyoto, even by a day. I thought he was a powerful child, not concerned about his true identity. But now, things have changed. That child is kind and sad."

Occasionally, Kingu would show a sad or distressed expression. They often saw it when Yasaka and Kukunochi acted like parent and child. It was the face of a child abandoned by their parent, a child denied by their parent. They didn't know what happened, and they decided there was no need to know. They would fill that sadness with time spent together. As a result, recently, Kingu smiled more often.

"A little hot-headed, but that's also charming. It's enough for me, for all of us. Regardless of his past, we love him."

Yasaka bowed her head.

"This child is already part of our family. As a parent, it is natural to believe in and protect our child. Please take him back."

From Yasaka's perspective, more than defending Kingu, the mere fact that they were meeting with the top brass of the Bible faction was inadvisable. Understanding this, they decided to face the situation through this meeting to stick to their principles.

The reason for this lies with the chief god of this country, the Great Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Omikami, who reigns supreme over Takamagahara. As a goddess, she has an extremely famous legend, the Amano-Iwato. In simple, modern, and straightforward terms, she became a recluse. This is the mythical interpretation of "eclipses" in Japan.

Now, upon hearing about Solomon's ring discovery, Amaterasu Omikami withdrew again. During Solomon's reign, the "Records of Ancient Matters" had not yet been established in Japan, but the gods existed. Naturally, Amaterasu Omikami was also one of Solomon's victims of deception. It was only natural that she would react this way, considering that the information claimed that the former Demon Lord obtained Solomon's ring.

However, the event of the "Sun Eclipse" had not occurred. The mythological reenactment had not taken place. This was also due to the influence of the "Truth." Most of the Japanese yokai were born after Solomon's death, so this was their first time experiencing the fear of Solomon. They understood that this world was trying to forget them. Simultaneously, they realized the increased threat posed by the former Satan wielding the ring, so they began to reassess the situation. They were also considering eliminating demons and fallen angels, which occupied Japanese territory.

However, the biblical factuon couldn't back down either. Especially Azazel, who had lost two high-ranking members simultaneously.

"Listen, I lost a long-time comrade... my friend! I've come this far; there's no way I'm backing down now! For Baraqiel's daughter, Akeno, I won't be satisfied until I do something about that bastard!"

"It's like you're saying you haven't killed anyone's friends or family."

Suddenly, a voice from a third party interrupted.

Looking to the source of the voice, they saw that the window of the room had opened, and there sat a man on the window frame. A man who had red tattoos all over his body, laughing with anger.

"Hello there!"

While giving a lighthearted and joking greeting, the man emitted an aura of rage. Azazel was the only one who knew a man who could express emotions and behavior in such a contradictory way.

"So... Creuserey Asmodeus!"

They couldn't mention Solomon's name because Yasaka didn't know. No, none of the yokai in Kyoto knew about Solomon's resurrection. The only one who knew about it was Amaterasu Omikami, who secluded herself. If Solomon's resurrection was discovered here, not only the Bible faction but also the entire world of yokai would be thrown into chaos. Just the information that the ring was discovered caused such a commotion. Azazel and Saezeks were aware of this aspect.

On the other hand, Yasaka, who was unaware of the situation, became more cautious. She could sense that he was a devil from his aura, or rather, she could sense that something had infiltrated the devil's body. But even more than his demonic power, his overflowing emotions were nerve-wracking. He was laughing while furious. It seemed like his rage came not from the depths of his heart but from his soul. What could have happened to make him so angry?

While everyone else was bewildered, the man casually took out a dorayaki (Japanese confection) from somewhere and began munching on it.

"I tried eating one, but the sweets in this country don't suit my taste. It's not terrible, but..."

"What kind of guts do you have to eat sweets while infiltrating enemy territory, Creuserey Asmodeus?"

"I wanted to compare. I guess I really am different from him. This and being a net idol, what's so interesting about it? I respect and envy it, but I can't sympathize."

While saying things that no one in the room could comprehend, the man who was known as Creuserey Asmodeus addressed Sirzechs.

"Creuserey, can we have a chance to reconcile? We don't know each other. I don't know what caused things in the old world, but the world has changed. Your anger should have subsided."

"Hahaha. Are you joking? Fake Satan."

"Sirzechs, that's just how he is. He rejects our goodwill and kindness, returning it with all the malice he can muster. Someone proposed reconciliation in the past, but they were torn to pieces on the spot."

In response to those words, Solomon raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Accurate assessment. Ah, indeed, a fair assessment, you damn Fallen Angel. ...Actually, being torn to pieces... was it supposed to be a proposal for reconciliation? That's news to me. By the way, I have a very high opinion of you two. For instance, the heads of Fallen Angel executives should be worth at least the value of one almighty wish-granting device. That might be a good reward for putting up with my whims, right?"

Solomon laughed and thought that they would come hunting for them right away, but it bought them some time. Although he couldn't win against Sirzechs, considering the location, he could retreat. However, that would not be fun. His anger wouldn't be assuaged that way. Three thousand years of accumulated rage would not disappear.

"I command you with my command spell. Come, Berserker."

In a way that Azazel and Sirzechs didn't know, someone teleported there—a man dressed in black.

"I command you with the second command spell. Do as you wish, Berserker."

The man called Berserker's gaze was directed at a particular person. It wasn't Sirzechs , who had forcefully taken the throne of the Satan with their power. Nor was it Azazel, who had disturbed the lives of many divine artifact wielders. It was the name of a samurai who betrayed the nation, the era, his comrades, and his organization. The name that the crazed warrior shouted as he unsheathed his sword.

"Okitaaaah!"

***

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