May 9, 2020
I sincerely apologize for the blunder of forgetting to schedule this post during this time.
Thank you to those who were worried. And to those who saw through the truth that Hishikage occasionally forgets, thank you as well.
It’s been so long since my break that I’ve lost my sense of the days… that’s my excuse.
In any case, I’m fine, so please look forward to next week.
“Now, there are four of you standing here. All of you possess the qualifications to wish to me ———— now, who among you shall offer their wish?”
Golden eyes squirmed and glared at us from atop the monolith.
“Do you seek wealth, power, or perhaps… love?”
“You’re saying you can grant the love that I seek?”
It was Lily who responded to Karamala’s voice.
“Indeed. If you wish for it, I can grant it immediately. First, shall I eliminate the obstacles? Or, shall I twist your heart and turn your affection into disdain?”
Ah, this guy isn’t any good.
And what Xanadu said was true.
This god can kill people endlessly and confuse hearts as long as it’s to fulfill wishes.
No wonder the party members, who had shared both joy and sorrow, began to engage in ugly fights at the very last moment.
“That man claims he has no wishes, but you three each surely have something you desire. Something you can’t help but want, yet can never obtain, something you cannot claim as your own ———— that is precisely why I, as this god, can fulfill those unattainable wishes.”
If he were a real god, would he have access to people’s innermost thoughts?
If that were true, it would be clear to him how strongly Lily and Fiona harbor feelings for me to the point of wanting to fight over me.
Or perhaps even Sariel might have feelings hidden beneath her emotionlessness that she isn’t even aware of.
If he can comprehend even that… truly, he is someone without a shred of delicacy. Don’t poke your nose into other people’s love affairs with a knowing expression.
“If you speak any further unnecessary words, I shall destroy you and the monolith ————”
“———— ‘Maximum Emission.'”
Without a moment’s pause, Lily unleashed a beam, cutting off my remark.
The black magical beam released from the ‘Star Destroyer’ in her left hand struck directly at Karamala, who bore the golden eye pattern, as if to overrun him.
“Lily, I understand your feelings, but I think attacking all of a sudden is a bit much.”
After all, the opponent is claiming to be a god and emits a godly aura. If we’re going to take action, we should be a bit more cautious.
“If it’s truly a god, it wouldn’t be able to interfere with us living in the present world. This may have become his divine realm, but it shouldn’t be enough to seal our blessings.”
That’s what Mia often says about the rules of gods.
The reality we live in and the world where gods reside have mere dimensional gaps between them.
Even the so-called omniscient and omnipotent creator, who is capable of breaking the rules of gods, can only muster the power to provide twelve apostles in the real world.
He cannot just drop a divine thunder on someone he dislikes and easily get rid of them.
“Then, if we apply more blackening, can we banish him?”
“Wouldn’t it be quicker if I used ‘Purgatory Barrier’?”
“Let’s try both. We need not lend any more ear to the nonsense of this fraud posing as a god.”
As expected, none of the members are willing to fall for Karamala’s sweet words.
Everyone has received blessings.
At this point, there’s no reason to jump ship to some dubious self-proclaimed god.
“Oh, what a thing to say. To think someone would attempt to destroy my divine realm that grants people’s wishes.”
“Of course, I can’t leave a suspicious guy like you be in a place like this.”
Divine realms can be destroyed. That is fundamentally why they qualify as divine realms in the first place.
If it transforms into something like ‘God-Destruction Domain Avalon’ or ‘Asbel Mountain Range,’ it would take a change akin to massive natural destruction to destroy it… however, if it were a place like the ‘Fountain of Light,’ it would easily lose its characteristics as a divine realm with just slight changes.
The ‘Fountain of Light’ is a divine realm because a ‘Red Crystal Ball’ is enshrined at its bottom.
Thus, now that Lily has taken that away, fairies can no longer be born there.
Moreover, this treasure vault where Karamala wells up is likely a similar type.
It’s not a strong and expansive environmental field kind of divine realm but rather a temple type that becomes a divine realm only under specific conditions.
The key item is undoubtedly the Original Monolith.
If I forcibly overwrite that suspicious golden magical power with black magical power, then Karamala will no longer be able to speak in a swindler’s manner.
“Sariel, let’s blacken it together. You still have enough magical power, right?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Lily, control the monolith. Fiona, if blackening seems ineffective, activate ‘Purgatory Barrier.'”
Upon receiving my command, the members each took their positions.
“Stop! I alone am the true, merciful, and only god capable of granting people’s wishes!”
“Sorry, but my god is the Demon King ————— ‘Blackening.'”
Sariel and I begin to apply blackening from both sides.
We spread black magical power to corrode the golden magical power residing in the monolith once again.
While there is indeed a sense of resistance, if it’s the two of us working together, we can steadily—
“————Foolishness. Had you wished, you would have become my apostle and gained the strength to satiate your insatiable desires.”
“?! No way, get away!”
A surge of golden magical power, incomparable to before, begins to overflow.
This cannot be subdued. Just letting it gush out feels dangerously damaging.
We instinctively leap back from the monolith, simultaneously feeling a stunning flash of light and shockwave race through.
“Pitiful servant of the dark gods. To abandon eternal pleasure and willingly walk a path filled with suffering is your folly. The one being deceived is you. The happiness of mankind only exists atop the tranquility governed by the gods.”
Looking on, the Original Monolith, which had once turned black, begins to shine in dazzling gold once again. My black magical power has been completely blown away.
However, what’s concerning is that with the rising magical power, a new magic circle begins to float above the monolith.
It’s a circular shape, but it has a design different from any magic circle I’ve seen before.
Yet, the large character depicted in the center flashes and shifts as if it’s counting down.
“Xanadu too has met a foolish end. Even if you should cast aside your desires at the end, the greed you’ve stacked up has already reached great heights ———— heh, if you wish to stop me, you’re a hundred years too late.”
And with the display of a circular character resembling zero, the mysterious magic circle finally manifested its effects.
The enormous rectangle that is the Original Monolith warped. From its center, it twisted grotesquely like a whirlpool, making me feel as if my eyes were playing tricks, but it was truly contorting.
Not the monolith, but that space itself warped, cracked… and then, opened.
“How many hundreds of years has it been since the labyrinth city Karamala has existed? And how long has Xanadu, having arrived at my realm, continued to satisfy its desires for a hundred years? At last, oh at last… I have returned. To this wonderful world of humans.”
From the distorted open space, a large single eye peered in.
It was not the eye pattern drawn with golden magic circles. It was a true eye. A giant resembling the Deus statue was peering at us from the other side of that space.
“This is seriously bad… to think this divine realm has transformed to the point where the god itself can descend.”
“Does that mean that is the real Karamala?”
In a small space that resembles having only a door peephole to look through.
Yet, although it’s just a little hole, this indicates that the realm we live in is now directly connected to the world of the god Karamala.
If this space continues to expand, he would be able to come over here…?
“I can see you… I can see your faces, oh so well.”
On the other side of the hole, Karamala blinked.
His huge eye, with golden pupils like Fiona’s, directly stared at us.
“Oh, beloved children of man, receive my protection. Therefore, there is no need to endure anything any longer. Simply wish, desire, and seek. Fulfill your desires. In accordance with that desire —————”
“Ugh!? Damn it ————— ‘Demon King of Love’!!”
As if to materialize Karamala’s spoken words, my heart surged wildly.
I felt a powerful surge of instinct, which I had suppressed with reasoning and various emotions, swell deeply.
Just by listening to his words, I felt I might turn into a beast that acted according to instincts without any restraint.
I was under an incredibly forceful mental magic or some sort of telepathic interference.
I had only just lost my memory, but even so, receiving this degree of mental interference made it impossible to avoid it. No, even using it still felt harsh.
Damn, the power of such a single word was incredible. It might even be more powerful than Misa’s ‘Twin Heart.’
“Fiona, Sariel, don’t let go of my hand! Lily, sync with me!”
“‘Queen of Love’!”
The two of them utilized their blessings to somehow maintain their sanity.
This is bad; this is taking all my effort just to defend against it.
“Do not resist; in my presence, any ugly desire will be affirmed. This is what true divine mercy is.”
“Shut up… don’t say another word…”
Damn, what do I do? Is this what the true power of a god looks like?
Presumably, he is merely speaking without any special magic or ability. He is simply an entity with the power to do so.
To cause such influence with merely a tiny hole to peek through.
Judging by his tone, it seems he hopes to broaden his influence further and wishes to come over here.
“Damn, I’m already having enough trouble dealing with the White God, yet this evil god is still aiming for the world —————”
“————That’s right, which is why I guided you this far.”
At that moment, darkness fell with a familiar voice.
The treasure vault, filled with dazzling golden light, was swallowed by the dark night.
In response to Karamala’s shout, it appeared.
No, it descended.
“Well done, Kuroha Mao, for making it this far. From here on, it’s my job as a god.”
“You vile apostle of the goddess of destruction, Mia Elroad!!”
“Call me the Demon King, arrogant old ruler.”
The ancient Demon King Mia Elroad, flipping her huge dark mantle, stood protectively in front of us, turning her small back to us.
“Mia, so it’s you… I see, the reason you were hovering around me was to come this far.”
“I had fun enjoying life in the present world after so long.”
Mia, who turned around with a mischievous smile, wore the same expression I had seen many times during our time living in the dungeon with the children.
Mia had also been among the children who played while I had lost my memory.
It wasn’t just to mock me for having forgotten everything or merely to kill time visiting.
Mia had known about Karamala from the very beginning.
“I feel bad for tricking you, but… now that you’re faced with the real deal, you understand, right?”
“Ah, this guy is someone we shouldn’t let through to this side.”
The black gods, including Mia, opposed the White God because they disrupt this world.
However, if there exists such an entity separate from the White God, it follows that they would be in opposition as well.
The god Karamala. If he manifested in the real world, people would become mindless beasts devoid of reason. Or perhaps they might suffer a fate even worse.
“Are you still standing in my way? After thousands of years, how dare mere humans mimic the will of a god!”
“Give it up; the ‘Zero Chronicle’ has already come to pass. The age of gods is over, and this is now the world of humans.”
“No! All of this world should belong to me, the god!”
“No, you no longer have a place in this world. That’s why I am here.”
Holding a sword, or rather a staff, that Mia had always worn—thought to be the Demon King’s formal attire, a military uniform and a black mantle—was something I had seen before.
However, of course, I had never seen her use that weapon.
Is it because it’s worthy of use against another god?
The legendary Demon King Mia Elroad drew that weapon.
“I will not allow it; I shall never allow humanity to leave the hands of the gods!”
“I don’t need anyone’s permission. This is the choice of the world.”
With a swift motion, she pulled the staff from her waist.
It was a short stick made of black metal, resembling a short staff, but it had a grip and a guard, resembling a short sword.
The moment Mia held it, red light began to illuminate as it spiraled like a drill.
Then, with a swing ———— a sound echoed as a crimson blade of light was formed.
It shone bright red, similar to Lily’s ‘Meteor Sword Antares.’
So that staff was a weapon after all. Wait, what is that, it’s super cool…
“Golden Demon God Karamala of pleasure and desire, disappear into the abyss —————”
Slowly, Mia directed her scarlet light sword at the bloodshot-eyed Karamala peering from beyond the void.
In the next instant, as it blazed with black and red sparks, the blade expanded.
“Release, ‘Key of the End.'”
Immediately afterward, overwhelming black magical power surged to the point where I felt as if I might vanish entirely, and my vision enclosed in a blur of light and darkness —————
“Yes, it’s over.”
I thought I had died.
When I opened my eyes, which I had reflexively shut tightly, I found myself in a painfully bright white room… with Mia standing against the Original Monolith, now entirely black.
Karamala was nowhere to be seen, and Mia no longer held her staff.
“It’s over… wait, did Karamala die?”
“He has not perished, but he can no longer interfere with the present world.”
Is it alright to feel relieved?
Indeed, I no longer sensed even a trace of golden magical power.
Given the situation, Mia seemed accustomed to this sort of thing, and it didn’t seem like she was just being casual about it.
Having become a god, she likely had experience fighting other gods. Or perhaps she had been battling beings like Karamala since her time as a human.
“I have a mountain of questions, but… thank you for coming to help.”
“No, that was not something to be dealt with by humans. It lies within the realm of we, the black gods.”
It was clear I would have had no chance against a real god. I was pretty anxious.
Gods need to fight other gods; we can’t do anything about it.
“Hey, what exactly was Karamala in the end?”
“It’s a god. One of the ancient deities that once ruled this world, far older than us.”
Now that I think about it, during the ancient times when Mia lived as the Demon King, it was said that the world was visited by real deities… so could it be that true gods actually existed not as mythological figures, but as real entities that drove people mad?
And one of those was someone like Karamala.
“So, did he plan on resurrecting in modern times and ruling the world once again?”
“Karamala is the god of pleasure and desire. Those under its dominion are swept away by insatiable desires, descending into madness and decay, becoming something less than beasts… And Karamala loves the ‘hearts’ of such people. It’s delicious. Maybe it feels like drinking alcohol.”
“Treating people as mere indulgences, huh?”
“He doesn’t kill, so he’s better than the White God.”
A god who is content to indulge in the hearts filled with human desires, drinking and having fun.
That action seems a bit trivial for an overwhelmingly evil god.
However, the number of people who would be driven mad by it is likely vast. Even if he doesn’t kill, it would be quite welcome to have people go mad with lust and fight amongst themselves.
He is indeed a completely wicked god.
“Is that why his spiel about granting wishes was just to savor the taste of hearts?”
“That also serves as a source of his own power. The pleasure city of Karamala, which is called such due to its chaos, is the perfect environment to gather the power needed for its resurrection. I think Karamala’s will, sealed here, had some influence too.”
And now, as of this moment, he barely gained enough power to open a hole leading to the present world.
The inheritance race hosted by Xanadu might have given him the final push for that desire.
“But dang, I was tricked again.”
“I’m really sorry about that. Karamala was the last old god who was fixated on this world outside the White God. If I had allowed his resurrection, you wouldn’t have had time to deal with the Crusaders, and we black gods would have been in hot water. So we had to eliminate that worry first.”
“You could have at least told me about that strategic decision.”
“You’re not my apostle. Therefore, I never give orders. I can offer advice, as long as it’s allowed by the rules.”
“…Well, fine. Regardless, it was true that the Cross Religion was targeting the Original Monolith.”
Even without the god Karamala, we had to secure the Original Monolith here at all costs.
Without us, the Holy Chapel Knights of Silvalian would undoubtedly have gotten their hands on it.
“Well then, I will take my leave. After using Ende after such a long time, I’m exhausted.”
“Is it really okay to refer to that super weapon in such an abbreviated form?”
“It’s like your ‘Decapitation’ in relation to you.”
Mia, smiling as she spoke, was already transforming into black particles, about to fade away.
“Ah, and one last piece of advice.”
What is it, I listened while slightly tensing up.
Things said in moments like this tend to be pretty serious.
“Congratulations on winning Xanadu’s inheritance race. With this, you’re now the lord of one nation and one castle.”
Well, I suppose that’s how it turns out. I have absolutely no feeling of it at all.
“When you become a king, it’s ridiculously tough, but do your best! See you!”
Leaving behind an incredibly half-hearted cheer, Mia vanished.
“Eh… is that all…?”
What was that? It hardly counted as advice… even so, just because we’ve got our hands on Xanadu’s inheritance doesn’t mean I can just become a king…
“Hmmm…”
As if in sync with Mia’s departure, Lily and the others lay on the floor and awakened.
I could tell they were all okay from their quietly breathing tranquility, but it was rather quick for them to wake up.
“…Hah! Chrono!”
“Good morning, Lily. Karamala has disappeared, so it’s all right now.”
Upon waking, Lily gazed at my face for a moment before hurriedly looking around.
“It’s gone.”
“What is?”
“The treasure, it’s all gone…”
Lily muttered, seemingly in shock.
No way, where did all that vast amount of gold disappear to ————— I quickly grasped the answer upon seeing it.
The treasure vault had transformed into a grand hall with only white walls, and only the black Original Monolith sat solitary in the center.
There wasn’t a single coin.
The heaps of golden treasures that had overflowed were nowhere to be found.
“Damn it, Karamala! Leave the mountain of treasures behind, will you?!”
May 9, 2020
Mia’s Ende was actually properly portrayed during its first appearance.
In Chapter 159, “Power of Guardians (2),” Mia makes her first appearance as a Demon King before Chrono, and it describes her appearance as:
“Though her oversized mantle obscured a clear view, she carried a sword at her waist, or rather, what was presumed to be a black short staff.”
It seems the weapon resembling a short staff was indeed described at her waist. I believe there are other instances where she was depicted with a staff.
Since they are both gods of the same nature, Mia finally got her turn to use this weapon. She was serious about it.
“Call me the Demon King,” “This is the choice of the world,” and “Key of the End,” and so forth — only a true Demon King can deliver such lines with a straight face. Hopefully, one day Chrono will reach this domain as well…