First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 150
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
Arc 4: The Future is Undefined in the Midst of the Black Mist
(Third person POV)
How many days have passed, moons have waxed and waned, and seasons have cycled?
However, for the Demon Kings, who possessed the power of eternal youth, the passage of time was not something they would be concerned about, and at best, they would only be able to sense the variations in the humans they were acquainted with or the kin under their jurisdiction.
Buuuuuuuuuuuu!
A buzzer sounded, announcing that intrusions had been detected in the “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest”. But this was a usual phenomenon. It was nothing to be alarmed about.
In any event, Kurokiri’s sole direct confrontation in the previous few years had been with the boy to whom he handed his sword a long time ago. His name was Yata, or perhaps a more accurate name would be Yata the ?Sword Saint?. He was the only one.
He was indeed worthy of the title of “Sword Saint,” having the capability to stand toe-to-toe with Ichiko equally without any teleportation skills.
Unexpectedly, he felt that Yata would be regrettable to be destroyed, which prompted Kurokiri to send him away with “Ultra-long-distance Transportation Formation,” in which the coordinates of the teleportation destination were randomized to somewhere on the ground, thereby reducing the consumption of the body.
After that, according to rumors, it was said that he took on an apprentice and made him the second generation Sword Saint, after which he passed over his sword, “Kurokirimaru,” to his apprentice and went into retirement.
[Kurokiri-sama. We have completed wiping out the intruders.]
Aria informed him that the intruders had been defeated.
“What about the damage?”
[A few of the monsters have been killed. I will send you the details of the monsters that were eliminated, so please re-summon them.]
Continuing on, the number of monsters that were exterminated by the intruders this time was transmitted to him, so to match that number of monsters, he created them with ?Monster Create? and repositioned them.
“Kurokiri? May I come in now?”
Ichiko walked in with an enigmatic expression on her face.
Even so, Kurokiri and Ichiko had known each other for quite a long time now. In the beginning, the relationship between the two started with a negative likability rating, then gradually deepened through battles and daily life, and now they were treated as a married couple by the public… or rather, even they themselves considered each other as a married couple. Though they had yet to conceive a child.
Kurokiri listened to her seriously.
“Ichiko. What’s wrong?”
“The coordinates have been determined. These are not the usual coordinate axis, as you predicted.”
I knew it.
Over the past few years, he had Ichiko gather information about a certain place. And today’s report was that he succeeded in discovering that certain place.
Despite this, no matter where he searched in the globe, he could not locate that certain place until today. But that did not mean that access to the place would be difficult. The place was neither hidden nor undiscoverable. After all, it was simply that place did not exist in this world in the first place. That was what this was all about.
Yes. That certain place.
“The place of the God of Calamity is a supermassive hyperspace that overlaps this world.”
It was the location of the God of Calamity.
“I see. Looks like this level with this particular process finally fulfills its worth huh?”
Saying this, he tapped on a nearby wall.
The seventh level of the “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest”. It was also known as “Ama-no-Iwato”. The structure of the level was enormous and can be employed for a wide spectrum of purposes, but its true function was to monitor and reject interference from the God of Calamity.
That’s right. As long as I am inside this mansion, even if I am doing something that is detrimental to the God of Calamity, no interference will be forthcoming, and I will be able to work on my research on magic techniques and the like to defeat the God of Calamity.
And he had spent several years in this place, pursuing his research.
As for what was the reason for creating this level? As he recalled, when he analyzed the compensation for the occupation of God of Calamity with the “Eye of Law Analysis,” he ascertained that instead of needing to eat and sleep, information was regularly sent to the God of Calamity, and if necessary, a kind of marker was installed that could send a surveillance eye around the area around him.
Realizing that it was hopeless no matter how many efforts he exhausted, he created this level, developed sorceries to block interference from the God of Calamity, and incorporated various technologies to enable these techniques to reside in the building.
“Yes. So the rest is up to…”
“Now, the issue is am I really willing to move on to the final step but such a question is…”
“I already understand your intention. Well, Kurokiri…”
Ichiko came up to him with a worried look in her eyes when he said as if he had resolved to do so.
“Are you sure you want to go alone?”
“Ah, considering the power she possesses, it would be unwise for more than one person to challenge her, and I am the only one who could use the magic techniques to ward off the interference of the God of Calamity after all.”
Right. The battle against the God of Calamity has to be done by me alone. That’s my conclusion after being caged up here and carrying on with my research.
After all, there were records of past battles and a few residual information left behind. As far as the analysis of such things revealed, the God of Calamity’s specialty was not offensive skills like they usually used, but skills related to the mind, such as brainwashing, memory manipulation, disruption, and illusion, followed by skills related to body modification, such as the ?Nativity of the Demon King? and the ?Disaster Curse?.
It was essential to take countermeasures against these skills if anyone desired to contend with the God of Calamity, yet in order to counter these skills, it was necessary to have the capabilities to constantly deploy multiple layers of protection. In the case of his idea of protection by sorcery, he was the only one who could combat her with the sorcery residing in him.
Why only me? The difference between the developers of magic techniques and the rest of the people around me is a factor, I suppose. However, Ichiko and the other powerhouses around me… in other words Ryo and Izumi, could not do it, and there is also a possibility that in later generations there will be others who can continue to deploy this magic techniques, besides me.
“As I believe I told you before, in the event of an emergency, you should be the one to lead the ‘White Mist and Black Swamp Forest’ and my research materials should be duplicated and scattered all over the place.”
“…”
“Ichiko?”
“Kurokiri… I am not thinking of any contingency plan. All I want is for you to come back to me. So…” Ichiko was already half in tears. But with all her heart, she looked at him and simply said, “You have to absolutely win.”
“…Right. I’m definitely going to win. For my sake and yours.”
With that, having deployed the interference-inhibiting sorcery, he exited the seventh level.
As a matter of fact, defeating the God of Calamity would not revert him back to human. That was the same phenomenon as when a Demon King, who was the master of their kin, died yet the kin would not return to human beings.
Furthermore, even if the God of Calamity was no longer alive, their skills will continue to exist, as will the worldwide ?Disaster Curse?.
The world went haywire that day, and there was no going back.
Therefore, for him to defeat the God of Calamity was merely a personal feeling.
I challenge the God for my own sake.
That is the first thing I have resolved to do after becoming the Demon King.