Chapter 39 - The Hero's Other Name (3)

5

It grew larger and larger.

A frog... Yes. It now knew that the first creature it had swallowed was a frog. It knew more than before. It knew frogs, snakes, and eagles.

As a frog, it had known the joy of rainwater falling on its bare skin.

As a snake, the joy of crawling with its bare body brushing the soft earth.

As an eagle, the joy of entrusting its weight to the sky.

It had learned the joys of rain, earth, and sky.

GRRR.

At last, it became a lion and discovered even the joy of slaughter.

The stag's meat was delicious. How fragrant! As it sank its teeth into the nape of the stag's neck and became intoxicated with blood, it felt it could close its eyes forever without a single regret.

In the natural course of things, it would have become a spirit or a divine spirit.

"Ah..."

If, purely by chance,

"Eek!"

it had not encountered a certain noisy creature.

"Aaaaaah!"

The creature turned its back and fled.

Instinctively, it chased after the creature.

"S-save me...! Daddy! Daddy! Please save me!"

For such a noisy creature, it was slow on its feet. It even threw itself into the ground.

What was it doing?

It did not know that the creature had "fallen." How could it? It had traveled between earth and sky, swallowing countless creatures, but this was the first one stupid enough to fall while running.

"I don't want to die! Daddy! Help..."

Before the noisy creature could grow any noisier, it sank its teeth in.

CRUNCH!

CRUNCH.

Blood flowed between its teeth. When its mouth filled with blood, it paused for a moment. A shock like lightning rang through its mind.

How fragrant!

What was this fragrance?

It was bewitched. Addicted. Drunk on blood. Mindlessly, it buried its maw in the creature and gnawed away everything it had. Blood... Flesh... Bones! Even the innards! So very fragrant. Every last part.

From blood to flesh. From flesh to bones. From bones to innards.

As its teeth sank deeper, its hind legs grew thinner. Its forelegs grew longer.

Its hind legs became human legs.

Its forelegs became arms.

The lion's mane became hair.

It happened in an instant. It quietly ate and swallowed the creature's remains. When it had licked up every last scrap, the creature's memories slowly flowed into it.

"..."

Human.

That was what the creature was called.

The human had been born in a village on the outskirts. It had grown up loved by its family. There had been no shortage of love. Yet was something always missing somewhere in life? This human had lacked health.

Illness.

There was no way to cure an incurable disease in the impoverished countryside. Even if there had been, there was no money. In a household overflowing with love alone, the human had died a little more each day. Spiritedly, this young human had refused to die in bed.

"I want to walk before I can't walk anymore!"

"I want to breathe just a little more of the air outside."

It had been a mistake.

The human had gone too far. It had tested how far it could travel before it died.

The final destination the human reached was death. Inside its stomach.

"My child! Estelle!"

No.

"There you are!"

It was no longer an it.

"How many times have I told you not to go out alone! It's dangerous near the forest. You never know when a beast might jump out. From now on, never go off on your own—wait, what happened to your clothes?"

"..."

The girl parted her lips.

"Daddy."

She smiled.

"I think I'm healthy now."

Estelle.

It was the first name the Demon King ever had.

6

A voice rang inside my head.

[Activating skill.]

The plain began to overturn.

The change began right beneath my feet. My shadow. The shadow cast by my body began expanding without end. It spread over the plain, which was already coated in the Demon King's filthy water.

GROOOAN...

Something writhed and rose from the shadow.

GROOOOAN!

Bones.

White human bones reached out from the shadow.

They looked like demons trying to escape from hell.

'Mr. Sword Emperor.'

I spoke inwardly as I surveyed the scene my shadow had created.

'You were wondering why I chose [Summon a Hundred Ghosts], weren't you?'

"Uh, yeah. I was."

'At first, I was drawn to the other skills too.'

An aura-enhancing technique, for instance.

The red beam the Demon King fired had truly fearsome power. How wonderful would it be if I could launch an attack like that someday?

But after thinking it over a little more, I changed my mind.

'Open skill card.'

+

[Summon a Hundred Ghosts]

Rank: SS

Effect: Summons those you personally killed as monsters. The dead do not retain the abilities they had in life. They do not retain their memories, either. They are merely summoned as monsters such as goblins, orcs, zombies, and skeletons.

※However, they can only be summoned once per week.

+

A card shining a brilliant gold.

'Summons everyone I personally killed as monsters...'

I muttered as I skimmed the card.

'Here's a question, then. How many people do you think I've personally killed?'

"Uh."

The attendant spirit frowned.

"That guy, the Flaming Bastard or whatever, and you. Isn't that two in total?"

'Right. You'd think so.'

I smiled.

'Then why does the Sword Star's [Detective's Insight] show my kill count as over four thousand?'

"What?"

'Honestly, that's excessive. Weird, too. Sure, I killed myself as often as I ate, but did I kill some random person? I only kept fucking myself up. So why does my kill count show four thousand? Common sense says two would be fair.'

"..."

'In other words, here's how it works.'

I looked ahead.

'The Tower has its own rules for tallying deaths.'

At the plain of shadows spreading before my eyes.

'Even if you kill the same person twice, it counts as [two] deaths, not [one].'

And at the monsters crawling out of the shadows.

I watched the horde of skeletons escaping my hell.

'Now, let me ask again.'

It was a legion.

Countless skeletal soldiers covered the wilderness.

'How many deaths do you think I've caused?'

4,097 suicides.

The first time I hunted Yoo Suha, and the second time I had to hunt him because the Sword Star killed me before twenty-four hours had passed.

Thus, 4,099 deaths.

The traces of my deaths spread across the vast plain.

"Wow..."

I nodded, watching with satisfaction the portrait of hell I had drawn myself.

"I really did die a lot."

It happened then.

GROOOOAN!

The legion of bones roared.

RAAAAAH!

The skeletons bared their teeth. They all looked identical. Their builds were similar to mine, their heights about the same. Wasn't that only natural? These monsters bore witness to my deaths, not anyone else's.

'Even their weapons are all the same.'

Daggers.

Every skeleton held an identical dagger.

The weapon I had used when I took my own life. And when I hunted Yoo Suha.

"Impossible...!"

But I was the only person on that vast plain leisurely admiring the skeletons' weapons. Both the Witch and the Sword Star were looking around in bewilderment.

"What is this? Kim Gongja. Don't tell me this is your skill?"

"It is."

"You're lying, right?"

The Witch was aghast.

"My God. A skill that summons thousands of monsters! I've never even heard of such a thing! So this is how you cleared the tenth floor alone!"

"Uh..."

The Witch seemed to have jumped to the wrong conclusion about my strategy. Before I could correct her, she was already marveling at it.

"No, that's not..."

Hmm.

Never mind.

"Well, that's right. Yes."

"I knew it!"

"Let's discuss the details later."

There was no reason to clear up the misunderstanding right this instant.

There had to be a limit to chatting with the Demon King right in front of us.

"You... How can you possess the same technique as I..."

The hunters weren't the only ones bewildered. The Demon King was, too.

The Demon King stood frozen in place. There was nothing resembling an expression on its face, but its voice alone told me how confounded it was.

What a pity.

If I could see its expression, I could enjoy the sight of its face twisting into a horrible scowl.

"Curious?"

I set aside my disappointment and grinned.

"But what a shame. I have no intention of telling you."

"..."

"Keep wondering. Or should I tell you in exchange for your head? How about it?"

"Unforgivable...! This must not be allowed!"

The Demon King howled like a wounded lion.

"How long do you intend to mock me! Goddess! Did you not promise to accept my delusions! My resentment! All my grudges! How could this...!"

"Sword Star!"

I paid no attention to the Demon King's lament. The Demon King had its circumstances, and I had my role. The Demon King was my enemy. If my enemy was distracted, that was an opportunity for me.

"Please fight alongside the skeletons! With you helping, they should at least hold their ground!"

"Hmm."

The Sword Star answered with a dissatisfied look.

"Very well. Fighting alongside monsters leaves a bad taste in my mouth... but it is less objectionable than helping you."

"Thank you! Black Dragon leader, please help me! Let's beat the shit out of the Demon King together!"

"I know. Just don't get in my way!"

The Sword Star swung his blade, and the Witch spread her aura. Both seemed to have decided to follow my command until we defeated the Demon King. I nodded once, then shouted to my deaths.

"Hundred ghosts!"

Four thousand skeletons growled low.

"Show me what you do best!"

I gave my order.

"Kill, and die!"

The legion obeyed my command.

GROOOOAN!

The skeletons lunged in every direction. One leaped. A monster made of nothing but bones was light. It jumped high into the air and landed on an orc's head. Wrapping its skeletal legs around the orc's neck, it stabbed with its dagger using both arms.

THUNK!

THUNK!

The skeleton wielded its dagger like a thing possessed. The blade tore through the orc's eyes, mouth, and throat. The orc fell to the ground with a brief dying scream. The impact shattered the skeleton's left arm, but it did not stop. It simply raced toward its next prey.

SKREEEE!

Elsewhere, a goblin screamed in pain. A skeleton whose body had been shattered, leaving only its skull, had sunk its teeth into the goblin's forearm and was tearing at it.

GROOOAN!

SKREE!

Other skeletons gathered around the goblin. Every one of them had some part smashed to pieces.

One with a broken arm. One missing a leg. One that had lost its head.

But they all held daggers.

SKREE!

The goblin struggled, but its frantic resistance was useless. The skeletons surrounded it and drove their blades down.

A fountain of blood erupted.

"Wow, fuck."

The attendant spirit shook his head in amazement.

"Wonder who those skeletal bastards take after. Look at that grit. A legion of monsters unafraid of dying? What the hell? That's terrifying!"

Slaughter unfolded all across the plain.

The Demon King trembled with rage.

"How dare you!"

Filthy water poured endlessly from the Demon King's shadow. Had it been red, I would have mistaken it for the Demon King's blood. The Demon King screamed as though vomiting blood.

"You are unworthy!"

The Demon King's screams shook the sky.

"A mere interloper from another world!"

They struck the earth.

"One who bears none of this world's malice, grudges, or lives! How dare you stand in my path!"

They echoed between heaven and earth.

"What does it matter where I came from?"

I spoke into that echo before me.

"I'm standing here now. But if you still think that alone doesn't qualify me..."

The echoes had not yet faded.

Inside my head, that familiar voice spoke.

[The Tower bestows upon you an epithet.]

As though someone who had watched over me for a long time was giving me their blessing.

As though congratulating me on finally breaking free from the prison of time.

[Your epithet is Death King.]

The voice rang on.

[Homage to the king who harvests death.]

Yes.

Someone remembered me.

Even if I died through the same day again and again.

Someone understood why I stood here.

That was enough.

"Stay out of it."

I raised my sword.

And spoke to my enemy.

"The Tower bears witness to my worthiness."

Death King.

That was my second name.