Episode 263: The Inverted Pentagram (3)

An eerie and terrifying voice comes from the center of the black air currents.

[Ku-hahahaha! Every hair on my head, every toe on my feet! My entire body is overflowing with mighty power! I’ve had enough! I swear here and now, in the most taboo of places in this dimension, that I will open the Gate of the Abyss and exterminate the humans of this world! Despair, weak and foolish beings, despair, and scream, for the great doom-bringer, this body, Decarabia, has manifested on this earth!]

Decarabia the 7th.

He opens his crimson one-eye and sheds a sinister light upon the world.

<Decarabia the Seventh Corpse>.

Danger Rating : S

Size : ?

Found in: ‘Serpent’s Womb’, deep within the Gates of Destruction

-Nicknamed ‘Seventh Corpse’.

A natural enemy of mankind, one of the ten plagues known as incomprehensible and unkillable.

“Sweep away food like a swarm of locusts.”

-『The Ten Commandments』 10: High.-

Vikir gazed at the gigantic black hole before him.

‘What’s a thing without hair or toes…….’

Meanwhile.

Decarabia rolls its eyes in bewilderment, wondering if something is missing.

But Vikir knows exactly what’s going on.

‘Decarabia, the only inanimate demon of the Ten Corpses.’

Demons come in many forms, but this inanimate object is one of the most unusual.

In fact, there’s always been a lot of debate about whether these beings should be considered objects or demons.

Depending on the era, they were sometimes labeled as demons and sometimes as artifacts.

However, Decarabia’s abilities were certainly “demonic,” going beyond the typical artifact.

It has only one power, and it’s pretty simple: create a shield.

Decarabia’s shield is a strange shield that grows larger and stronger the more mana it absorbs. Of course, there is a limit to its defensive power, but it has growth depending on the amount of mana absorbed, so it is quite versatile.

Vikir recalled the Age of Destruction.

“After feeding on the mana of the other nine demons, Decarabia grew so large that it became a great shield against all the attacks of the Human Alliance.

On a battlefield where everything was burning, in front of a countless number of exhausted human heroes, Decarabia’s shield stood.

It was too big to be a shield.

It was more like a barrier, an insurmountable ‘Wailing Wall’.

‘The heroes who were able to break through that absolute defense could be counted on one hand.’

The soaring red Wall and the black Wraith Trees that grew behind it were enough to kill the spirit of humans.

But.

Vikir already had the Wraith Tree.

And now he had Decarabia in his hands.

‘Now I can destroy it.’

Dekarabia hasn’t drained much mana yet, and now that Vikir has succeeded in finding it before the Ten Commandments can find it, all that remains is to destroy it.

Vikir is just about to unleash his Swordmaster aura to destroy Decarabia.

[……I. Excuse me, who are you?]

Decarabia said.

Vikir answered simply.

“The person who woke you up.”

[……person? You mean human? Oho, in my memory, the human race originally had a more stooped waist and was covered in hair all over. They carried spears and swords made of ground stone.]

Decarabia, hearing that it was a human, started to release some words again.

[You mean to tell me that you’re a human?]

“Yes.”

Having said that, Vikir tried to swing his sword once more.

The current Decarabia was much smaller and weaker than it had been when it was known as the Wailing Wall, and if he had enough time, he could destroy it.

But.

The Decarabia’s next words were surprising enough to stop Vikir’s sword in its tracks.

[Good. You are a weak but lucky human being. As of now, the contract with the Demons is terminated, and we will begin anew with the Humans, and you will be the contractor’s representative!]

“……?”

[Now, present your code of conduct, human! What do you want? To use me to fulfill your grand ambitions!]

Vikir paused on his sword for a moment.

A code? Was he asking for an instruction?

As Vikir stands there with a puzzled expression, Decarabia also looks puzzled and closes its eyes.

“……?”

[……?]

There’s a moment of awkward silence between them.

Finally, Decarabia said.

[What, human? Did you wake me up without knowing what I am?]

“I know. You’re a demon.”

[Khaha! Well, that’s only half true. To be exact, it is a being that ‘was’ a demon.]

Decarabia spoke in a tone that was actually quite friendly, unlike the terrifying voice at the beginning.

[I am a being under the influence of the one who first woke me from my slumber].

“Under the influence of the one who woke you?”

[Yes. This body falls into a slumber every thousand years, and whoever is the first to wake me up determines my disposition for a thousand years].

Humans have only known Decarabia as demons for about a thousand years at most.

There is no way to know what they were before that.

In Vikir’s Age of Destruction, the first to awaken it was a demon, so it existed as a demon, but before that it may have been something else entirely.

Decarabia said that there was a time, a long time ago, when it was considered an angel.

“Hmm.”

Vikir thought for a moment.

Then he spoke.

“So now that I have awakened you, you will do as I command for a thousand years?”

[Yes. That’s right. Our relationship will be featured in the folktales of your species, at least. After all, your species is short-lived].

Decarabia said with confidence, but such things were not Vikir’s concern in the first place.

“……I hear you.”

At the same time.

Whoosh!

An aura flared from the tip of Vikir’s sword.

[Huh? What are you doing, human, why are you giving me a sword…… huh!?]

Decarabia didn’t finish its sentence.

Vikir swung his sword across the room and struck him.

Decarabia writhed in pain and began to squeeze tears from its one eye.

[Uh huh huh-what are you doing, human… … No, contractor! Why on earth are you trying to harm my body!]

“Because I can destroy it now.”

[I mean, why would you want to destroy it in the first place!]

“Demons Kill.”

Vikir dismissed it briefly.

Clang! Swas-Swas-Swas-Swash!

Again, Vikir’s sword slashed into the Decarabia in a complex trajectory.

[Aaahhhhh! Now, wait a minute! Wait! Just wait!, why are you trying to kill a demon?]

“Because demons try to harm humans.”

[Really!? Well, then I’m not a demon anymore! I’m neither a demon nor a god in the first place, I’m just an objective Artifact……]

“I don’t believe in demons.”

Vikir slashed his sword down once more.

Uh-oh!

Decarabia’s massive body began to shrink.

Of course, he could only scream, tears pouring down his face.

[I’m serious! No, I’m serious! I just stopped being a demon a while ago!]

“I don’t believe in the demon…….”

[You’re crazy! It’s real! I told you, you can feel the demonic energy in my body!]

At that, Vikir paused his sword for a moment.

He hadn’t felt it since earlier. The demonic scent that had filled the warehouse not long ago.

[I swear it’s real. hick-hick-hick-hick……]

Dekarabia began to cry like a little girl.

Vikir stopped hitting Decarabia for a moment.

“Hmph. Does that mean you’re not a demon then?”

[Yes! I don’t lie!]

“But even so, it’s better to destroy it here before it falls into the hands of demons…….”

[Hey, since you’re the one who woke me up, it’s useless if the demons get their hands on me, I’ll have no choice but to work for humans for the next thousand years!]

Decarabia desperately shouted at Vikir, who looked down with a disbelieving expression.

[I’m quite useful, I have an eye for Artifact, I know about the world long ago, and I can make shields!]

The word ‘shield’ in Decarabia’s words piqued Vikir’s interest.

From his memories before the regression, he knew how awesome Decarabia’s shields were.

‘Wailing Wall’.

If he had the mana to support it, he could erect a barrier of absolute defense.

When Vikir seemed to hesitate for a moment, Decarabia spoke up.

[Look how great I am!]

Decarabia’s gaze flicked to the corner.

Then he spotted a hilt of a crude magic sword that looked like it was about to fly toward him at any moment.

It was Artifact that had been resting on top of Decarabia, on the shelf that had served as a rack only moments before.

[That’s the Giant Sword of Rage Disorder! This is the sword of the Giant King that was legendary long ago. Although it has great attack power, it has been sealed for a long time due to its crazy aggressiveness that attacks everything around it.]

Decarabia frowned, and the chains binding the sword broke.

Soon, the giant sword began to fly towards Vikir, drawing a red-hot trajectory.

Decarabia said to Vikir.

[Human, place your hands on my body, manipulate my mana, and draw an image in your mind].

“What image?”

[Anything! A shield, a wall, a barrier, anything that will protect you!]

Vikir nervously placed his hand on top of Decarabia’s.

And then.

…Swoosh!

A significant amount of additional mana was drained.

At the same time.

Ziiiiiiiing-

A translucent inverted pentagram was drawn before Vikir’s eyes.

It emitted a brilliant light, then caught the flying giant’s sword and sent it flying.

Boom!

The sword flew into the corner of the warehouse and broke in half.

“…….”

Vikir had a fresh admiration for the defense of the Decarabian shield, the Wailing Wall.

This much for so little mana.

‘That sword was obviously a high-grade Artifact, and for something like that to shatter so easily means that the shield’s defense is indeed considerable…….’

Vikir stroked his chin and thought.

[What do you think, do you want me, do you want to possess me, do you want to own me?]

Vikir said nonchalantly as he looked into Decarabia’s one-eyed gaze, which was shaped into an unpleasant grin.

“Then give me back the mana I put into it.”

[Eh? Give and take? What a human…….]

“…….”

[Ah, I got it! Put the sword away!]

Vikir held out his palm, and the Decarabia whimpered a bit, before spitting out all of his mana.

Vikir felt the mana he had drained just moments before return to him.

At the same time, Decarabia grew smaller and smaller, until it was the size of a baby’s palm.

It took a quick glance at Vikir and quickly clung to his neck.

Clink- clink- clink.

A red chain appeared from nowhere and was carefully attached to Vikir’s choker.

It is intended to be worn as a necklace.

[Well, what else can I do for you, human?]

Decarabia seemed to be worried that Vikir would raise his sword again and recite some line about ‘demons kill’ or something.

Vikir considers for a moment, then speaks.

“Spit out all the information you have. All of it. All of it.”

[Huh? Information from former contractors?]

Decarabia hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the aura blazing from the tip of Vikir’s sword.

[Ah, I see, it’s a bit cheesy, but I’ll cooperate, so please stop with the scary talk of destroying things].

Vikir packed the small Decarabia in his arms.

Now that he was its master, there was no need to destroy it.

In fact, it would be an even greater loss to the demons.

Clink.

Vikir patted Decarabia, which was now small enough to be worn around his neck.

[Ah. Almost forgot this, I do not react to any life form other than you as a representative of the contractors, so take note of that, human].

Vikir nodded in agreement with the Decarabia’s caution.

It was time to go outside.

Vikir looked around and saw that the artifacts were all lying on the ground, their shine gone.

They seemed to be cowering in front of Decarabia.

Sssssssssssss……

Vikir imbued the tip of Beelzebub with an aura.

Baskerville 8th. Vikir’s encounter with CaneCorso, who lurked in the Grave of Swords, helped him grow.

Flash!

Soon, the sword master’s aura, capable of cutting even things that could not be cut, emanated.

Seven large teeth and a still-small but sharp eighth tooth ferociously tore through the atmosphere of darkness.

Boom.

The sound of tearing bonds erupted in a loud explosion.

Vikir stepped through the crack and stepped out.

The Night Hound has fulfilled its purpose, and is now off to find its next prey.

[Ah~ I am so lucky, to have such a pretty and beautiful ‘mistress’ in this life].

……with a somewhat strange partner.