Chapter 221 ·Great Devil (2)

Great ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Devil (2)

Louis braced himself firmly and soared up to the sky.

The opponent was none other than the Great Devil. Though those guys had once been mercilessly defeated by him, that was only because they had grown weaker at that time.

Louis had witnessed it through his dreams.

The Great Devil, the power those guys possessed at their prime. That was a force of a completely different dimension, to the point that comparing it to their earlier fight would be an insult.

Having regained their prime strength through the ritual of the Blood Sword Technique, those guys could no longer be treated the same as before.

Even the original Chaos Dragon had barely been able to deal with them.

Attacking them with a light heart would only lead to his own death in that instant.

Louis had no intention of facing those guys with a light heart.

At last, he saw them before his eyes.

"Excuse me."

Louis addressed the guys.

Though he had steeled his resolve, his tone was rather agitated.

"Hey there."

This was something he never expected.

Who could have imagined that those awe-inspiring beings would be brawling like children, pulling each other's hair?

"What on earth are you all doing right now?"

The Great Devils, who had been punching and grabbing each other's hair, belatedly realized Louis's presence.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Wait, that energy is..."

"Something about you... seems familiar."

The Great Devils, one by one, began to look at Louis and sense a feeling of déjà vu.

Some of them had already fallen to Louis's hand before.

"Ah... You bastard!!"

In that instant, Wigmon, upon seeing Louis's face, was struck with horror.

"That guy from the academy...!!"

From Wigmon's perspective, it was impossible to forget.

A monster who had mercilessly sliced him down just as he managed to manifest from a seed after growing.

A mysterious boy who possessed the power of the Chaos Dragon.

"Ah...!! I remember now!! That's the guy from back then!!"

"What the? Why's he here?!"

"C-Chaos Dragon!!"

Following that, Palmon, Eramon, and Duramon also expressed their shock in turn.

"...."

Goramon, the only one who had not been subjugated by Louis, had nothing in particular to say, but knew well of Louis's existence.

"Seems like this isn't the time for us to be fighting each other."

At Hartmon's words, the other Great Devils nodded.

Not only had they been resurrected after definitely dying once, but the very culprit who had caused their deaths was right in front of them now.

It was only right to figure out what was going on, and the answer had to lie with Louis.

"I'll ask you. Is our resurrection related to you?"

"And what if it is?"

Hartmon was able to tell from Louis's tone.

Louis had significantly interfered with their resurrection.

"For what benefit?"

That was why it was all the more puzzling.

He surely knew what kind of harm beings like themselves, the Great Devils, brought upon this world.

Resurrecting them like this was something only a madman would do.

"Of course there's no benefit. I didn't want to bring back pests like you, either."

Clearly, he hadn't revived them out of fondness, but even so, Hartmon was on guard against Louis.

There had to be a definite reason for someone to revive beings who had once killed them.

After all, this was the guy who had killed them once before.

They couldn't simply play into his hands.

"Then let me ask."

This time, Louis questioned them.

"Are all six of you here?"

To the short, pointed question, Hartmon replied affirmatively.

"As I said before, your resurrection is related to me. Do you know why?"

Just as Palmon was about to ask why in response to Louis's question—

"Huh?"

In that instant, Palmon's neck vanished.

At the same time, Palmon's head appeared in Louis's hand.

"This is the reason."

"You bastard!"

As the other Great Devils prepared to fight and began to unleash their power—

"I'll give you a choice. One: abandon this world and flee to another. The other: die by my hand."

"What kind of nonsense is that...!"

As Goramon attempted to protest, his upper body vanished.

At that same moment, the upper bodies of the other Great Devils also disappeared.

By the time a protest arose, they had, in effect, chosen the latter.

So Louis attacked mercilessly, but for some reason, he felt strangely empty.

"Quit faking it and hurry up with your regeneration."

Because those guys were still alive.

"Fine, got it."

Palmon's face, held in Louis's hand, opened its mouth.

"But this time, things'll be much different."

At the moment when a glare flashed from Palmon's face—

"I know that as well."

With a brief retort, Louis unfolded the Chaos Dragon's wings from his back and wrapped his body.

In that instant, a tremendous explosion engulfed the entire sky.

"Die!!"

From within the smoke created by the explosion, the Great Devils sensed Louis's presence and reached for that spot.

But Louis was not there—there was only a pair of enormous wings wrapped around him.

"Hey, guys."

Louis addressed the six Great Devils, now trapped simultaneously by his wings.

"Come up to the rooftop. You bastards."

With the Great Devils trapped, Louis flew up to the so-called 'rooftop of this star'.

****

The massive explosion in the sky was clearly visible even from the ground.

Watching from below, Kelian, Lord of Seifert Village, murmured quietly.

"It's already begun."

Just by looking up at the sky, Kelian could tell what was happening.

"Managed to barely return to his original form, only to face a life-or-death battle again."

When Louis first settled in this village in the form of the Chaos Dragon, it was shocking.

He had already seemed like a monster, but then he truly became one.

Once Louis's true identity had spread throughout the continent, Seifert Village was no longer a place for him to stay.

Many sought after Louis's power, but Kelian kept them from threatening the village.

Of course, there were limits to protection by force alone.

After rumors of Louis being a monster spread, factions even tried to incite hostility against him.

'Of all things, since Louis carried the title of the monster who would bring ruin to the world, it was extremely effective.'

This led to many more enemies challenging them with force.

However, since most were inexperienced with the battlefield, Kelian was strong enough to drive them all off.

The problem was the agitators who used their mouths rather than force.

Their propaganda was so effective that even village residents could turn into enemies, which was worrisome.

Many groups took the opportunity to profit, or increased their influence by villainizing 'the giant individual' as evil.

Naturally, the vulnerable village residents were susceptible to such things.

... Or so he thought.

Surprisingly, the villagers did not fall for the agitation and even defended Louis.

Even after learning that the monster's true identity was Louis, they did not reject him.

All of them had once been graced by Louis's father and mother.

"Thanks to that, I was able to keep this village safe."

Though he only did what was expected of him as lord, his real aim was to ensure Ferus's artifact production could continue undisturbed.

"Yes, thanks to you, I could focus on my research with peace of mind. I'm grateful for that."

"It's nothing, really."

Ferus also gazed at the sky beside him.

The powerful Kelian could, by focusing his aura on his eyes, barely spot distant beings.

By contrast, even without that much aura, it looked as if Ferus could see far beyond the sky.

"Can you see it?"

"Unlike you, I may lack force, but in terms of invention, I'm the continent's best. With these glasses I'm wearing now, even an ordinary person could observe hundreds of kilometers away."

Kelian, who was used to traveling long distances by carriage, understood what a range of hundreds of kilometers meant.

The fact that such an incredible device had been created left him in awe.

"So, you've invented a new magitech device again. Congratulations."

"Don't misunderstand. I didn't develop this alone. The same goes for the other magitech devices."

Large projects always required assistants' help.

In that sense, he may not be alone, but Ferus meant something else.

"They say imitation is the mother of creation. Creation and invention unavoidably involve copying the basics, at least a bit."

"So, are you saying you've been plagiarizing all this time?"

"Not quite. Do you know how many novels of similar genre there are in this world?"

Though Kelian was a stranger to literature, if you wanted to create something, imitation inevitably became part of it.

Even the magitech devices Ferus had made until now had originals they referenced.

"Do you know how I managed to rise to the continent's top magitech scholar?"

"Well, obviously, thanks to your brilliant mind."

"That played a part, but you also need opportunities and an environment to use your brain to its fullest."

"Environment?"

"I mean war."

Upon hearing that, Kelian understood right away.

"Do you know how Swordmasters like Laika or Andrew were born? It was thanks to a similar environment."

A harsh environment where you could not survive without strength.

Nothing drives one to become stronger better than adversity.

"Back then, for the Empire's... for the continent's survival, I racked my brain to the limit. That resulted in my inventions—including the warp magitech device."

"Then, is what you're wearing now the same?"

"Yes. The original of these glasses... I can see it with my own eyes right now."

While stationed in Seifert Village, Ferus had thoroughly analyzed Louis's body.

Though it was just a sample referenced in artifact creation, it resulted in an unexpected creation.

That was the very glasses he wore now.

"They say humanity evolves through sacrifice... I found that to be true."

"I may not be a Swordmaster, but after serving in the 7th Legion, I've trained to my current level."

For humans, sacrifice was inevitable.

Since you gain something for everything you lose.

"Then let me ask you one thing."

Ferus spoke with a meaningful expression.

"Does such evolution... really only exist for humans?"

"What do you mean...?"

"During the artifact creation process, I briefly accessed the wisdom of the World Tree. I saw a warning message there."

—Devils, too, grow through death.

That statement sent a chill through Kelian.

At the same time, the sky became shrouded in darkness.

****

"What is that?"

Having dragged the Great Devils up to nearly space, Louis sensed something unusual from them and threw them away.

"What's with my hand?"

Releasing them had been the right call.

His hand, which had been holding them until now, had turned pitch black and burned.

Despite possessing the Chaos Dragon's body, Louis had been wounded.

"Where did the six go, and why is only one left?"

Just as Louis said, five had disappeared and only one remained.

"No, that's not it. They didn't disappear... Did they merge into one?"

Looking closely, Louis realized it quickly.

It wasn't that five had left, leaving one.

All six had merged into one.

"We are...."

The now-unified Great Devil spoke.

"We are one...."

Hearing that, Louis was dumbfounded.

Not long ago, they were yanking each other's hair and fighting, and now this.

"So what should I call you from now on?"

Instead of answering, the 'Great Devil' attacked.

"Shit."

A curse slipped from Louis's lips.

The moment those guys, who had been divided, became one, they became a different existence.

Just by swinging an arm, it could tear apart 'dimensions.'

Instantly, Louis understood.

The Great Devils had grown even stronger.

Stronger than even their prime, as seen in his dreams.

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