Revival of the Demon King (2)
The man’s eyes gleamed ominously, and I felt a disturbing sensation brushing against my soul. But it was repelled instantly.
I hadn’t done anything. The spirit I’m contracted with had blocked it.
—This guy tried to interfere with Alicetia’s soul!—
Apparently, he had attempted to meddle with my soul and failed.
But magic that interferes with the soul shouldn't exist in this world. Every religion, without exception, considers the soul sacred and untouchable—it’s categorized as a forbidden art. Even in the Arland Orthodox Church, known for its lenient doctrine, soul interference is deemed heresy of the highest order. Using such magic would get me excommunicated.
"Tch, so it failed after all."
"That kind of magic doesn’t work on me. I’m contracted with a spirit."
"I know that."
"And for the record, I don’t even know why you hate me. I don’t care either.
Seems like the Imperial Army’s falling apart too. Why don’t you run like the Emperor did? Preferably squealing like a pig. That’d be hilarious."
There’s something very wrong with this man. I should keep his attention on me as long as I can. If I see an opening, I’ll kill him.
But right now, I’m practically useless—unable to use most of my magic. How am I supposed to kill him? Ideally, I’d tear his limbs off and feed him to the orcs.
Whatever the reason, he raised a blade against my family. He deserves to pay dearly for that.
"Hmph, keep bluffing. But tell me, do you know about the ancient Magic Kingdom of this world?"
What the hell is he talking about? A history lesson on the battlefield?
"I’ve heard the name. But there’s hardly anything left about that era in the historical records."
Especially in Arland, which wasn’t founded by survivors of the Magic Kingdom, there’s almost no information. Maybe the Empire or the Holy Kingdom has more. The Eastern Country might be descended from the Magic Kingdom, but they deny that lineage and get angry if you bring it up.
"Then let me give you a little history lesson."
The man sneered.
"First off, even I don’t know where the Magic Kingdom was located. But back then, humans—specifically ordinary humans—and spirits parted ways.
Spirits are powerful, right? They’re a pain for humans to even kill. And during that era, the Spirit Kings still existed.
Humans of this world are envious creatures. Do you think they revered the spirits who have no lifespan and wield magic far beyond human capabilities? No. That era was about breaking free from the spirits."
Well, humanity does tend to run on jealousy. It’s not surprising. But how is this relevant now?
"Don’t you get it? There are ways for humans to resist spirits!"
As he said that, the man pulled a doll from a pouch on his belt. I felt an intense wave of discomfort wash over me just from seeing it.
"This was excavated from the ruins of the Magic Kingdom. For years, it was thought to be just a doll, but it actually nullifies the power of spirits.
You thought your spirit powers made you immune to me? Too bad."
"L-Let go!"
I resisted as much as I could. Nullify spirit power? That’s bad. My mental defenses are rooted in the Spirit King’s power. If this is true, I can’t resist.
"Hah, figured it out now, huh? Of course I made preparations to take you. The Imperial Army lost? Who cares. Even without those trash, if I have you, I can become a king. I can make every human in this world kneel to me."
"You…!"
The back of my gauntlet extended, transforming into a blade, and I tried to stab him.
"Don’t bother resisting."
Before the blade could reach him, he drove his knee into my stomach.
"Guuh…"
"My magic is called Domination, but that’s not quite right. It’s more like parasitism. I cut off a piece of my soul and make it latch onto the target’s soul, then restructure it to make them obedient.
But you know what? This is a broken technique. Ever heard this? The soul heals itself over time. Like the body. So, what do you think happens to the piece of my soul I cut off?"
White light gathered around him.
"Thanks to you killing my puppets, the parts of my soul I left with them are returning to me."
The soul is returning? Wait—doesn’t that mean his soul’s capacity is increasing? What is he trying to do?
"You still don’t get it. You’ve got high resistance. So I need a lot of power.
But you're worn down, and my domination grows stronger. Everything’s going according to plan."
So even his power requires a hefty cost to control me, and he’s made me pay that cost for him.
Can the spirits help… No, I feel no connection. I have to destroy that doll.
"Now, look into my eyes. Don’t resist."
When I turned away, he punched me and forcibly made me look at him with his free hand. That hideous face hadn’t changed.
When our eyes met, my soul began to scream. He was forcefully interfering with it, and I was resisting.
The sheer disgust caused my body to tremble in convulsions.
"Good. At least the first step worked."
After some time, the man released me.
"Now, stand up."
My body stood up on its own at his command.
He had taken control of my body. But the interference with my soul had stopped.
What is this power of his? I can tell he’s latched onto the surface of my soul. But that’s it.
At this level, I can resist naturally over time. But he’s not going to stop at this short-term control.
"Oh, you’re starting to understand? No wonder they call you a witch. Still, you can’t interfere with the soul, huh?
Of course you can’t. Humans can’t interfere with souls. Even I couldn’t do it without the goddess’s power."
The man cackled.
Wait a second—this power is from the goddess?! I’m definitely going to wring her neck later. What the hell kind of power did she hand over?
Power from the goddess often has unknown mechanics. But powerful magic always comes with heavy costs. That’s a constant.
This guy’s power is probably soul interference. But is that all? Iris rewrote her own soul to create me. Could the goddess’s power be inferior to that?
The price is likely soul loss. It recovers over time, which probably makes his magic have a massive cooldown. He can’t abuse it.
He used most of the soul he recovered earlier to try to dominate me, but more than half was resisted and obliterated. I was probably just too strong-willed. But I’m too worn out now to stop the rest.
Then a worst-case scenario hit me, sending chills down my spine.
What if this is just the setup?
If he gets deeper into my soul… if he rewrites my soul’s information… then I won’t be me anymore.
I had a sickening certainty that my hunch was right.
(This is bad. What are the conditions? If I can figure them out, I can stop it. But if I can’t, I’m helpless. I can’t let him dominate me. If the information in my mind leaks, it could harm Arland. I must stop it no matter what.)
No matter how brilliant I am, I can’t fight the unknown.
But this can’t last forever. I must break free.
Fortunately, my inventions are stored in the treasury. Artifacts appear by my will, so even if my body is controlled, he can’t take the treasury key. Even if he does, I can override it once I regain control.
Still, this is the worst. I never imagined this. Just like Father said—nothing on the battlefield ever goes as planned. I might even need to have my double kill me. I accepted death the moment I stepped onto the battlefield anyway.
“Princess~~~!”
From somewhere, I heard the voice of my glum maid, Alicia.
Impossible. She’s supposed to be defending the capital. And Takuto—he was locked up in the tower!
"That saves me some effort."
The man tossed me aside and leapt backward. Then Alicia came down from the sky—along with Takuto and the others.
"How dare you harm the Princess. I will kill you without fail!"
With blazing fury, Alicia readied her weapon. Takuto too—wait a sec. Isn’t that Arland’s sacred treasure, the Spirit Sword?! Why do you have it? Wait, were you chosen by it?
I felt a murderous rage toward the Spirit Sword for choosing Takuto over me, but now’s not the time.
I tried to speak, but no sound came out. The man just sneered.
"Takuto, take care of Ai."
"Got it."
Takuto? He stood in front of me, shielding me with his fists raised.
No, not him. Someone stop me!
"Kill them."
“Ggh… What are you—”
At the man’s command, my body obeyed. I stabbed my gauntlet blade into Takuto’s side from behind and dashed toward Alicia.
"Huh?"
As Alicia turned, my gauntlet blade pierced through her breastplate and stabbed her heart.
The raw sensation in my hand, and Alicia collapsing to the ground—
My mind went completely blank.
"All right, success. Now all the conditions are met. Thanks for the help, trash."
What do you think about this chapter?
