What if the enemy you were fighting with all your strength against had a face just like yours? Of course you would be surprised. You would be surprised, but that’s all.
Like Mikigami, who used to train waffles, enemies who imitate our appearance are rare, but they do exist. Considering that, It was not at all surprising that the Demon King had the same kind of power.
(T/N: It was Mikigami right? Correct me if I am wrong)
“Haa…!?”
Therefore, I was surprised only for a moment. I immediately put all my strength into my arm and tried to slice through the Demon King, but the sword, which was firmly embedded in his arm, did not budge even if I pushed or pulled. Then, the Demon King reached out his hand toward me.
Normally, I would have immediately taken my hand off the sword and jumped away. But right now I held in my hand the Dawnbreaker, the sword of dawn forged by my master. I felt the slightest hesitation in letting go of my master’s dream,……, and that naivete made the Demon King grab my arm.
“Guaaaa!?”
“ED!”
“ED-SAN!”
The Demon King’s arm tightened like vines, and I screamed out at the pain inflicted. That’s strange. Why does it hurt so much?Why ……
“[Invincible]….is not working!? GAHHHH!?!?”
“””””””””Kakakakakakakaka……ka……ka……”””””””””
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No, not just [Invisible], even “Regenerate” was also not invoked on the part of the arm that was grabbed and bloodied to the point that I thought it was going to be crushed. Damn, I didn’t think my skills would be disabled! I was kind of expecting it, but right now…!
“LET GO OF ED!”
With Tia’s voice coming up behind me, a slender sword stabbed the Demon King in the face from diagonally below, grazing my neck. It was aimed directly at the Demon King’s eyeball, but the tip of the well-made steel sword shattered, and he was not affected in any way.
“”””Kakakakakakakaka”””””
“No way!? Even after stripping off his Robe Of Darkness!?”
Tia gave such a fancy name for that black miasma. No, now is not the time to be thinking about that! But something …. what is this? Something different from pain is getting inside of me and … no, or is it being sucked out of me …?
“Eat This, Demon King! [Divine Aura] and [Holy Ray]!”
A pillar of light rained down from above the Demon King’s head due to holy magic from self-enhancement. However, the Demon King, who was pierced through the brain by it, still did nothing …… Is he smirking?
“”Kakkakakka …. kuha!””
“Kyaaa!?”
The Demon King swung his right arm and I heard a scream from behind me. I couldn’t move my body, even though I wanted to check on the two of them right now. If only my [Stranger Box] would open, I could pull out my spare sword, slash my right arm where it’s grabbed, and just take off. …. Shit, Shit, Shit!
“Get off me! Get the fuck off me! If you did anything more to Tia and Riel, You are in for a world of pain!”
I noticed that my right arm, which was turning black, was no longer transmitting any sensation. I kicked him in the groin and head-butted him in the nose, but the Demon King’s face didn’t change from a smirk. I never thought the day would come when I would hate my own face. ….!
“Kaka….Found you, Caught you…At last, the time has come!”
“Huh!? That language!?”
The cries of the demon king, which had been nothing but a cacophony of countless overlapping sounds, were unified into a single sound, and with a richer expression, human words were spun out. Seeing my surprised face, the bastard was smiling happily.
“That’s right! I am you, You are me! The one crushed by that Annoying God, The 100th Demon King!”
“I don’t know! Tia, do it!”
“…I’m sorry!”
In response to my call, Tia swung down her thin sword that had been cut in half. The Demon King, who knew that such a thing would not work, did not react, but it was not the Demon King that Tia was aiming at.
“Gahh!”
“WHAT!?”
” ‘What!?’ It’s not that, you idiot!”
My right arm, which had been held by the Demon King, was cut off from the base of my shoulder, and after being freed, I kicked with all my might at the hilt of the [Dawnbreaker] that was still stuck in the Demon King’s stomach.
“Gaahh!? Me….Why do you reject!?”
“I hate to break it to you, but I ain’t gonna be friends with someone who looks the same! It’s confusing!”
“For such a reason!?”
Of course I didn’t mean it, but for some reason the Demon King was shocked. I dashed to take advantage of the situation!
“ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!”
I took this opportunity to slam my fist into the hilt of the [Dawnbreaker]. Although my fists were all messed up because I couldn’t use my banishing skill for some reason, it didn’t matter because of the adrenaline rush I didn’t feel any pain!
“Guh, Gah!? W-wait! Stop it! After going through thousands, tens of thousands, even billions of cycles, A miracle has finally arrived! That’s why—”
“Like I said I don’t know! Or rather, Who the hell are you anyways!”
“GAhhhh….I am, I am…..!”
The Demon King’s body cracked, and red light leaked out from the cracks. Though he was in human form and moved like a person, his body was like a stone.
“S-Soon this body….Alright then, If you are going to reject me to this extent…”
“Now――”
“…… I will give you the truth. Now, remember.”
“IT’S OVER!”
The Demon King grabbed my ankle as I kicked with all my might. At the same time, something incomparable to when my arm was held entered me all at once, and ….!?
{It’s me, it’s me… poor me, Ed…The one who’s been stripped of the name at the end, the one given the role of clown, Ed… remember that reality. Your name is…}
Pakiiiiin!
“Gyahh!!?”
The Demon King’s body, having exceeded its limits, shattered into a red jewel. The hand that was holding my leg was gone, and countless pieces rained down on me as I fell on my buttocks, but strangely enough, they did not pierce my body, but all disappeared as a black haze.
“Ed! Are you okay!?”
“Ed-san! I’m treating you now! I can’t regenerate your arm right away, so I’ll just stop the bleeding and start with your hand.”
“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”
Seeing me, Tia and Reil rushed over in a panic. Tia stood in front of me, wary of the shadowy demon king, while Reil’s restorative magic healed my knuckles.
“Gyaaahhhh!!!???”
“Because your nerves are healed, that’s why you are feeling the pain. Here, keep this in your mouth so that you don’t bite your tongue!”
“Fugoh?!”
While my mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth and the pain was about to burn through my consciousness, I could feel another presence inside me, another person who was calmly watching me.
(Oh, I see. Is this what it is…)
It’s a memory that I had lost, that was gone. It’s not me, Ed, who was given a personality by a god to a soul that had its power and memories shattered to a hundred pieces. It’s the past of the strongest Demon King who possessed the power to end everything.
(T/N: GOD FUCKING DAMN)
(I see, you’re definitely me. Damn, you’re pushing me into something troublesome.)
The Demon King of the Demise, credits roll. With the future and the past rolling in an unexpected direction, I was bitterly thinking about what to do from now on.
(T/N: from 20th march, got my end sems at the start of March)