Kanzaki Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 4

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7183-6304-5
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 4, 356 Seiten

Reihe: Demon Lord, Retry!

After defending the city of Rookie from the monsters of the Bastille Dungeon, the Demon Lord decides to seek more answers about this world. He infiltrates Animania with his newly summoned advisor, the two Star Players in tow. Meanwhile, Luna receives news that her childhood best friend, a demi-human, is being shipped to Hellion territory as a slave. Can Luna save her best friend before the fanatical Tzardom of Light carries out their plan? The Demon Lord and party approach the core of the mystery behind the world of Akira Ono's creation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kanzaki, Kurone

Weitere Mitwirkende

Iino, Makoto

Seacord, Adam

Leseproben

“Just between us, what are you trying to accomplish? Suicide?”

“No. Assassination.” Olgan sharply countered Mynk, and turned to the other two of their party. Her eyes fell on the very man that gave this mission a semblance of hope — the historical rebel out of ancient song, an existence beyond human comprehension, an existence called ‘Lucifer the Fallen Angel’ by some and ‘the Demon Lord’ by others. This living embodiment of mythology carried a teenage girl in his arms.

“Good morning, Akane. Now you can carry yourself.”

“Wha? You’re the one that took advantage of me in my sleep, Hakuto! Now be a man and carry me aaalllll the waaaaay!”

Dropping Akane, the Demon Lord kept running without turning back. Not a tinge of guilt could be seen in his expression, which resembled that of someone who had just wheeled a week’s worth of trash to the curb for pick-up.

“Hey! Don’t litter me! I’m too cute for that!”

The rest of the group had also left Akane in the dirt, but the girl caught up to the Demon Lord in no time. Considering how fast the entire party was going, her speed was incredible.

“You got legs. Use them.”

“Not exactly in my superstar morning routine, Hakuto... This is your problem, you know.”

“What’s my problem?”

“You just don’t girls...!” Akane leapt onto the Demon Lord’s back, clinging onto him. Perhaps she was just too lazy to run. “Phew. This is the life. Hi ho, Silveeeeeer!”

The Demon Lord palmed Akane’s face without a word and tossed her aside. His expression was still devoid of any guilt, like he had just cleaned out his closet.

Akane caught up in the blink of an eye, panting. “Litter me once, shame on you! Litter me twice, shame on... This is your problem, Hakuto!”

“Ugh...”

It was practically an instant replay. Watching the commotion behind her, Olgan’s preconceptions about the mythology of Lucifer came crashing down. She had always imagined the Fallen Angel to be solemn. The legendary rebel had resonated with her. The deity who, according to legend, came to rule half of the world: the night. In fact, her idea of Lucifer was an ideal she had strived for. She, too, was trying to rebel against the all-too-powerful Grand Devil.

Mynk also seemed disillusioned by the scene. “Are you sure he’s the legendary Demon Lord?”

“...At the very least, he’s as powerful.” Despite having witnessed the Demon Lord’s power when he halted that devastating invasion, Olgan couldn’t help but feel anxious about his demeanor. “For now, we just have to carry on.”

Mynk sighed. “What a mess you’ve roped me into.”

The party remained silent for the rest of their way out of Doyle and arrived at Fortress Arthur on the border of Animania. The area was utterly quiet, save for a small number of guards on patrol. Their lack of situational awareness was evident from the short-staffing even after the catastrophe in Rookie.

“This country never changes... They still have faith in their ‘republic,’” Mynk spat out.

Edogawa was one of the few republics on the Asian continent of Earth. While republicanism had served the nation fine during its long history without war, it was a much weaker system during emergencies. The Republic of Edogawa did not hold national elections, but chose its leader from a vast pool of aristocrats, who wouldn’t have too much power in office. During emergencies when quick decision-making could be the difference between life and death, the lack of a powerful leader would only exacerbate the casualties.

“Weaker nations perish. It’s only natural,” Olgan countered. She wholeheartedly believed in the triumph of strength and lacked any interest in political structure.

Meanwhile, the Demon Lord and Akane had their own observations to make about the outdated fortress.

“What is this, a log cabin...? Any player could take this down in five minutes.”

“I could do it in thirty seconds. Bada bing bada boom.”

While their assessments were harsh, both of them exceeded the scope of possible threats in this world. Olgan explained the fortress to Akane and the Demon Lord, and that Animania lay beyond it. Once they passed the fortress, they would be in enemy territory. Human rules and preconceptions would mean nothing.

Akane’s eyes glimmered with curiosity.

“Anima...? They’re animal people, right?! I wanna see! Soft fur... Silky fur... Fluffy fur...”

“I should have asked this before...” Olgan turned to her. “Are you kin to the Demon Lord?”

“What’s that? Hakuto! They call you the Demon Lord here, too? Hilarious!”

The word ‘too’ stuck with Olgan. Akane was speaking as if there was some other world outside of this one.

“I’m Akane, the Superstar of the Sleepless Castle! Nice to meet you, fan!”

“Super...star...?”

“Guh, you’re making this complicated. Shut up,” the Demon Lord interrupted. He didn’t know what piece of information Akane would just toss out there. He lit a cigarette and jumped onto the fortress wall. He waved the rest of his party up. “Let’s do introductions before we go into enemy territory,” he said self-importantly, gazing out at the forest beyond the fortress.

A guard spotted them and began sounding an alarm, but the party was unbothered. They had nothing they wanted to do at the fortress, anyway. After some soldiers had gathered at the scene, they recognized Mynk and Olgan and left the intruders alone. The Star Players regularly came to the fortress to make deals with the Anima. Let sleeping dogs lie. In truth, they were like government workers assigned to guard the fortress.

Each member of the party introduced themselves, but Mynk wouldn’t stop there. She was an S-Rank adventurer at the top of the pyramid, so normally, she was perfectly calm and steadfast. She had detailed knowledge about the political situations around the continent, and was very skilled in distilling information. However, she was ailed by a devastating complex, and once her ailment came to light, things got out of hand.

“Introductions, you say...” Mynk began. “What’s your end goal, Demon Lord? What are you looking to get from interrogating me?”

“No interrogation. I just thought I’d ask your names and what you’re good at...”

“Well, if you insist. If you know everything about me.”

“Just your name...”

“My name is Mynk. The world knows me as a Star Player, but under that mask my true self is...” Mynk began solemnly describing herself with the most woeful expression she could muster.

While she looked cute and picturesque under the moonlight, most of the phrases she spoke were quite enigmatic. ‘Dark Phoenix’ and ‘Shadow Salamander,’ for example. What’s worse, she occasionally grabbed her right hand and loudly whispered to herself, something like ‘It can’t be... not yet!’ This made her introduction drag on for some time. In fact, it was more of a prolonged autobiography, with more than a dash of edge and teen angst. Her story was a rollercoaster full of impactful twists and turns, even though the Demon Lord hadn’t a shred of interest in it.

He finally interrupted her, exasperated. “Are you going through your own Fandom page or something?”

“Fan... what?”

“Never mind.” , the Demon Lord seemed to say with a shake of his head.

Coincidentally, Olgan’s head was shrinking into her shoulders at the same time. Akane was the only one who had heard Mynk out, fully intrigued.

Akane delivered the final blow. “Is this girl emo or what! Something sealed in her right hand? That’s so textbook it’s revolutionary!”

“E-mo...? What are you two talking about...?” Olgan muttered.

“Hey, that bandage is a seal too, right?”

“Oh, you can tell?” Mynk answered, exuding melancholy. “When this holy binding comes undone, the Other Me will awaken...”

“Oh, no! That’s horrible...!” Akane couldn’t keep it up any longer. She burst out laughing, rolling onto the floor. “Stop it! I can only LMAO so much!”

They certainly didn’t look like a fearless party about to cut through Animania into Hellion territory.

The Demon Lord exhaled a puff of smoke and spoke up in an attempt to put an end to the ridiculous mood. “First, we’re going to split into two groups. Just in case, we’re going to fill in this forest.”

“Fill in? What do you mean?” Olgan alone reacted to his statement.

Beside her, Mynk was striking one bizarre pose after another as Akane cheered her on. In the end, Akane started grasping her own right hand.

Mynk said things like “I-I must contain it... Just a little longer...!”

And Akane chimed in, “my right hand’s getting harder to please, like a quarter-pounder with cheese!”

(Idiot plus chuuni equals my worst nightmare, apparently...)

The Demon Lord watched the pair for a moment with distant eyes before turning to Olgan. He had decided that she was the only one who could hold a serious conversation with him.

“My basic tactic is to create a map and name different sections of any unknown areas.”

...