First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 60
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
You are advised to be cautioned if you are not comfortable with cheat expressions and gore in this chapter.
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(Third person POV)
The cloud of dust that was generated by the dust explosion gradually dissipated.
The Spice King pondered what will be left after the smoke subsided, and came to the conclusion that all traces will be eradicated, or at the very least, charred to a crisp.
However, it was not irrational for the Spice King to reach such a judgment.
After all, contrary to the initial dust explosion, the blow that the Spice King had just delivered had explosively amplified in intensity in order to ensure Ichiko’s death, rather than limiting the target down to a single one.
Yet, after the plume of dust had dispersed, the Spice King was taken aback by the sight.
For what he discovered was Ichiko, who was lying there with the unchanged appearance and posture as she was prior to the explosion, and a young girl wearing a sappanwood-colored hooded coat.
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(Ichiko POV)
Initially, I surmised that I had died without even having time to register the anguish. But as the sounds began to return to my circumambient, I opened my eyes in doubt.
And what occupied my field of vision was a child confronting the Spice King.
“Who… are you…?”
When he confronted the child, the Spice King looked considerably tense than when he faced me. Neither the king’s distinctive composure nor conceit can be discerned in his words.
“Who am I? Well… since you can only produce that degree of speech in front of me, I guess specimen number 493 is a miss after all,” the child said in a flat tone. Judging from the voice, she seemed to be a young girl.
“Well, let’s not suspend the communication blockade indefinitely. I’m going to wrap this up right away. ?Red Elixir?, ?Blessing of the Founder God?, ?Screenplay of the Ruler?.”
When the girl bended down and placed her hand on my back, she muttered something like the name of some skills.
“What!?”
Then the plethora of wounds that should have formed on my body faded away, and my overall body was imbued with a power I have never experienced before, allowing my body to rise up of its own accord.
“Now, it would be a hassle if he escapes. You should finish him off with a single blow. Go on.”
Right after the girl said that while directing her finger at the Spice King, my body approached him with such swiftness that even the sound was delayed, and I seized his head with my right hand.
“Ah?”
With my bare hand, I twisted off the Spicy King’s head.
Thud!
Papa-la-pappa!
The sound of a level up can be heard in my head just before the Spicy King’s body hit the ground, spewing a fountain of blood.
My thoughts were jumbled, and I was unable to adapt to the transition of the state of affairs.
“Well, I suppose this means that another Demon King’s seat has been opened up. Then I should designate specimen number 667 as a Demon King at the earliest opportunity,” the girl with the hood muttered such a thing while gazing at me. And this marked the first time the girl’s face had been exposed to me.
The girl had brown hair and yellow eyes, and she was dressed to the nines, almost as if she were a doll. However, within her eyes, it resembled an abyssal world that no one was permitted to access or an anomalous world in which everything had been contaminated by insanity. At the moment of realizing this, I tried to forget my vow to Lady Ryo and my promise to Kurokiri, opting for death.
Yet, I couldn’t do it. For I was now an actor on stage, created by a flawless script composed by God, and I was unable to move even a finger of my own volition.
The girl inched closer to me, one step at a time.
And with each step, the true identity of this girl unfolded.
With her first step, I understood that this girl possessed a dimension of expertise that I could not even measure up to.
With the following step, I became aware that this girl had gone through a pre-eminent period of years.
And the next step caused me to recognize that this girl was not a person, but something in the guise of a human being.
In another step, I had the insight that this girl was the one who has bestowed us the skills.
At the final step, I grasped that this girl was the source that created the Demon Kings.
“Hahaha. As I expected, specimen number 667 seems to exude more qualities than specimen number 493. At this point, you have the cognizance of who I am,” the girl in front of me carried on her speech as if she can discern everything that I was contemplating.
I was struggling frantically to flee, even forgetting that my body was immobilized. Even though I couldn’t move my mouth, I screamed for help. My mind raced, urgently striving to find out was there anything I can do. I felt as if I have acquired some sort of skill.
“Hahaha. Resist as best as you can.”
The girl stomped through the air as if it were a natural phenomenon and gripped my head in her skeletal hands.
“Now, since this is a convenient timing, let’s spend a little time and proceed. ?Nativity of the Demon King?.”
From the girl’s hand, I had the sensation of an inexplicable something flowing towards my side. As if it was a conglomeration of all the negative emotions of the world, condensed and kneaded together, my consciousness sank a morsel at a time into the darkness.
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“Where am I…?”
By the time my eyes opened again, the unbounded darkness was all around me, and only my figure was visible in the darkness, despite the absence of any source of light.
“!”
And abruptly, my left leg registered pain. When I glanced at it, it turned out that my left leg had assimilated into the darkness that surrounded me.
A realization then dawned on me. Once my entire body has been swallowed up by this darkness, I will be forgotten by all people, my existence will be erased from the records, and I will become a Demon King.
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“N-Noooooooooooooooooooo!!”
With all my energy, I lifted my left leg and began to dash as fast as I can through the darkness with my right leg and my left leg, which has lost its tip. There was no way out; there was no place to escape. Even knowing that resistance would be futile, I was driven by the urge to run away.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.”[i]
I pressed on, running inexorably through the darkness. However, the darkness had devoured not only the tip of my left foot but also my left arm and eye. Even so, I kept on running.
“Hah… someone… save me…”
The left half of my body had been completely engulfed by the darkness before I realized it. Nevertheless, I was still crawling to escape with the belief that help would come, that there would be a way out of it somewhere.
“I don’t want to disappear from everyone…”
I could feel the darkness looming over me. I shut my eyes and reminisced about all the memories I’ve been a part of.
The strict days of my training. My encounter with Lady Ryo. My regular life’s tranquil days. My meeting with Kurokiri. The battle with the Ogre King. My farewell with Lady Ryo.
And the last thing I remember was…
“Hey… Like that time… when the Ogre King almost killed me… will you save me again? Kurokiri…”
…the way Kurokiri looked when he was battling the Demon King for my sake.
The darkness was creeping nearer to envelop me. I was sure that that darkness will erode and deprive me of whatever valuable thing that was remaining inside me.
And at the instant the darkness was about to overtake me, a mist spread all around the area as if ripping through the darkness, and before I knew it, someone was embracing me in the world where I originated.
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A/N:
In case you are wondering about the skills of the God of Calamity, here is an explanation:
?Red Elixir?: Skill that completely heals the target
?Blessing of the Founder God?: Skill to hyper-enhance all the target’s status
?Screenplay of the Ruler?: Skill to perfectly control the target’s actions
?Nativity of the Demon King?: Skill to create a Demon King. Has side effects
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T/N:
[i] They are just ‘no’ in English but the author used three different nouns in this sentence, ?????? which means to dislike something in a broader sense, I disagree with this, and be sick or tired of something respectively
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Check out other Outer World Story series in order: Outer World Story: The Black Mist that Devours (First series), Outer World Story: Pumpkin Sorcerer (Third series), Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture (Fourth series)