A Different Chapter: At the Abandoned World

Translated by Omkar
Edited by Omkar

“Come,《Ancient Branch of Disaster》――!!”

A moment later, the demonic sword of the apocalypse appears in my right hand. Even Felice had declared it “dangerous,” the authority of chaos, the most evil blade in the world that could devour even the root itself. I had been training to control it for this day so that even Felice wouldn’t find out.

Then my right hand gripped the 《Laviankuin》. At that moment, I felt a tremendous sense of emptiness overtake my entire body. I felt as if everything I possessed – magic, energy, vitality, …… – was being devoured by the sword.

It is still too early for your level – that’s what the magic sword is taunting me with. In fact, I have never been able to master this thing in all my training.

But so what ?

I’m sick of ‘it’s too early,’ or ‘after a higher level,’ or ‘someday surely,’ and so on. It won’t mean anything if I can use it after Felice is gone. ――Now. It has to be now.

“Haaaaaaah !!!”

My whole body is screaming. My instincts are warning me. Ignoring them all, I raised 《Laviankuin》. The consumption of body and mind accelerates, and I strongly feel that the magic sword is trying to kill me, the unqualified master. So…… I stopped resisting. No, rather, I will pour all my strength into the magic sword.

If you want me, I’ll give it all to you. If you want to kill me, I will let you kill me. If that’s the price I’m willing to pay, oh, how inexpensive it is.

So ―― just for now ―― obey me !

A moment later, the magic sword that was so heavy suddenly becomes light. I don’t care whether the sword yielded to my will or whether it was just a whim……. At this point, I don’t care which it is. I swung down 《Laviankuin》 with all my might. There is only one target to cut. The root of Felice, which was created as a demon lord. Leaving only her pure heart in the corner.

Then the all-consuming blow is unleashed. The sword flashes from the most evil sword became a light that slaughtered all absurdities ―――― and in the next moment, everything disappeared from the world.

I can’t see anything.

I can’t hear anything.

I feel nothing.

Is it because I’m dead, or because the world has broken down, or…… both ?

…… In such a void space, a voice suddenly said.

“―― Good grief, you are utterly reckless……”

Instantly, the world suddenly regains its color. I was lying on my back in the same destroyed world as before. Just like when I first came here.

Then I got up in a hurry and in front of me was…… one black cat.

“……Oh, you, are you …… Felice, by any chance ……?”

I blinked involuntarily. The figure in front of me was an ordinary black cat, no matter how I looked at the cat. Yet, it wagged its tail and laughed.

“Ku-ku-kuh, How is it, cute, right ?”

“Cute, you…… why do you look like that ?!”

“Mhm, how rude of me to ask why, isn’t it your fault? You even brought up Laviankuin, and now my power has been completely consumed. I can no longer even maintain my human form. I am completely humiliated by such a disgrace.”

After choking up in her usual tone, Felice giggled.

“Ahh, That’s right…… I have lost everything. The power, the constraints, the mission, the curse, everything….. I feel so much lighter now.”

Hearing those words, I understood.

“Then have I succeeded……?”

“Kuk-kuk, don’t be conceited. You’re about halfway there. If I hadn’t helped you in the end, we would have both disappeared into the darkness of the world. I never thought that timid boy would be so reckless.”

“Ah, no, sorry……”

I should say, I knew it, but it seems I had failed to do it alone. It’s still chilling to think about what would have happened if things had gone that way.

“But…… well, that’s right. ―― Well done. Thank you, Kyouya.”

The black cat smiling at me had a trace of Felice on its face.

Yep, that alone made it worth risking my life.

“But still…… I’m in trouble.”

“ ? What is it……?”

Hmmmm, Felice suddenly begins to worry. When I asked her, the black cat replied with a sigh.

“Actually……. Now that I am free from the root, I don’t know what should I do now.”

Felice looked up at the sky as if at a loss. I’ve never seen her in such a weakened state before. But when you think about it, it’s not surprising. She had always been bound by her roots as a demon lord, and even after gaining self-discipline, she had always fought against it. It was the first time in her life that she had achieved true freedom. No wonder she didn’t know what to do.

Therefore…… I made a proposal.

“Hey, why don’t you come with me to my world? I’ll show you what “normal life” is all about !”

It was something I had been thinking about for a long time. It would be wonderful to go back to my world with Felice.

“……Well, well, unless you don’t mind, of course…….”

And then the proposal disappears into the background. To be honest, I had not thought at all about what would happen after the proposal was rejected. What if she said, “No, I don’t want to do it” in a single word ?

And then….. Felice started laughing for some reason.

“Ku-ku-kuh, You’ve made such a big show of it, and now you’re going back to being a coward ? You should have just said, “You’re my woman now !”.”

“N- no, I mean, it’s not good to force people to obey you……”

Felice laughed again when I responded. —What is so funny ? It is a normal act of human rights, right ?

Felice laughed a bit and then suddenly muttered.

“Yes…… the world where you were born…… that’s good too. ―― –I’m going with you, Kyouya. After all, my half is yours now, isn’t it ?”

“Ah, Ahh…… !”

Thank goodness, I thought to myself, with heartfelt relief.

But I can’t afford to be relaxed. I’ve got a lot of things to do once I decide to do that.

“Then let’s start preparing the transfer formula ! But if you have to create it from scratch, it will take a lot of time…….”

I’ve been trained in a number of countermeasures. Among them, I am rather good at modifying techniques. But creating something from scratch is something I was not taught very well. At the very least, it would take me several decades.

But Felice shook her head.

“No, it’s not going to be that hard.”

“Eh ?”

“I didn’t mention it because it’s not necessary, but recently there have been a number of large-scale space-time magic incidents around here, and it is leading to your world. Perhaps it is the gateway used by the goddesses.…… Ku-Ku-Ku, They think that time-space magic is their patent. Their defenses are weak. It would be easy to take advantage of them.”

“Then ……!”

“Fufufu, looks like we need to get ready for a quick trip !”

The demon tribe’s way is to use whatever is available, even if it belongs to someone else. After only three days of waiting, Felice was right. The gate was opened, I assumed. I immediately detected the distortion of space-time and sneakily took advantage of it. Of course, this was no easy task….. but compared to killing each other in a battle with the Abandoned Demon King, it is a piece of cake.

We left the abandoned world as particles of light, leaving ourselves to the motion of time and space. And so, at the end of our momentary journey, we arrived at――

“Ha, ha ha…… I could seriously come back……!”

Cars passing by, skyscrapers lined up in rows, waves of people crowding each other ―― It is a nostalgic former world where there is no magic. This is Japan, of all places. In real time, it has been about three years, and in physical time, it has been 30,000 years since I have returned home.

In this place where I have returned, a new peaceful life with Felice will begin !

…… Unfortunately, this was not the case. While rejoicing in his long-awaited homecoming, they were unexpectedly interrupted by the response of the transfer magic.

“….. ! What the…… ?!”

The next moment, several men appear to surround me and Felice. –I could tell at a glance. All of them are quite skilled.

The men who appeared in such a manner told us in a straightforward manner.

“We are from the Board of Control for the Transferees. Are you a person who has returned from another world ?”

“Yeah, uh, well,…….”

“Now, please take this one.”

He handed me an envelope. It had the words “National Yugrasia Academy” on it.

“Um, this is…..?”

“For details, please come to the school. The date and time are as written on the envelope. Please adhere strictly to the date and time.”

“Uh, hey, wait……”

“And just to be clear…… you don’t have the right to refuse. See you later.”

—After saying that one-sidedly, the men quickly pulled out of the room. I was left with nothing but a stunned look on my face. The academy? Control board members ? What the hell is going on ?

Felice whispered happily in my ear as I stood there with an envelope in my hand.

“Kukuku…… seems to be a long way from “normal life,” doesn’t it ?”

“Oh, that’s not…….”

Thus, it was decided that Felice and I would enter the school.

――――……
――……

“―― I miss it when I think back on it. I remember the look on your face when you were called to the school….. Ku-haha haha….”

“―― Don’t laugh at me! You’re not a stranger to this !”

In our living room. Felice giggles as she finishes her nostalgic old story. Good grief, She doesn’t even notice people’s feelings.

“Hah…… it wasn’t supposed to be like this…… but more than that, it’s just a nest of heroes……”

Yes, the Demon King and her dependent are in the stronghold of the heroes. When I think about it, this situation is pretty bad. We were supposed to live peacefully, but our plan went awry right from the start.

“I’m sorry…… I was just trying to show you what a normal day is like……”

“Haha, what can I say ? I think this will be fun. But you have a bad habit of apologizing right away. You are the strongest hero who defeated this demon lord, aren’t you ? It’s just right that you should be so carefree. Why don’t you have more confidence in yourself ?”

“Even if you say so…… I was beaten up by you all the time for 30,000 years. It’s impossible to be confident.”

If I were to put my record into perspective, I’d say I’ve lost 100,000,000 matches, and only one win. And even the only victory was not the final end. Now if anyone could say, “I am the strongest !” with a smug look on their face, he or she would be a fool.

“Well, I guess your nature hasn’t changed. That is your virtue, too.”

Felice laughed half-heartedly and said, “More importantly……,” as she trailed off.

“What are you going to do now ?”

“What do you mean……?”

“So I am asking you what you will do with your power, which surpasses even mine, in this school. You can unify the school, conquer the world, or do whatever you want, can’t you ?”

“Whether I can or not, I ain’t interested in the first place……. I’ve seen enough of power.”

I don’t care if it’s world domination, or being the strongest, or whatever. Because if the end result is that wilderness in which Felice suffered……. then there’s no point in it.

“Besides, if I stand out, the academy will surely find its way to you. I don’t want that. So I’ll live as peacefully as possible. I’ve done enough fighting….. for a lifetime.”

When I replied, Felice hesitated for a moment and then said.

“…… Very well, Kyouya. There is no right or wrong in power itself. The question is how to use it. I have made a mistake, but you have not. You can be a little more proud of yourself, can’t you ?”

To be honest, Felice’s words still didn’t make sense to me. So I nodded vaguely.

“Yeah, I know.”