NABC Chapter 167 The Final Chapter: "The Devil's Deal and the Unacceptable Reality"
Chapter 167 The Final Chapter: "The Devil's Deal and the Unacceptable Reality"
The atmosphere inside the black train was unusually quiet, and Shido was forced to sit at the same table as this hideous and terrifying monster.
"Don't take it so seriously, [Divine Child], otherwise it will be very troublesome for me. However, your mental fortitude is really not as good as that kid's~"
The monster's goat head moved up and down, its life force aged yet cunning, but in Shido's eyes, it only evoked fear. He even subconsciously ignored the later addition by the monster, "that kid."
"No...no, you look so scary and..."
"Ugly, is it? Perhaps."
The monster interrupted, but he knew this was how his fellow countrymen and outsiders addressed him, so he didn't mind.
Silence was the dominant atmosphere in the space. As Shido faced the monster, he felt a sense of déjà vu about the oppressive feeling.
After they stared at each other for a long time, Shido finally spoke and asked:
"You... what is your relationship with the [Flame Beast]..."
"Oh~ You finally mustered up the courage to ask? But this question is really boring."
"answer me."
Shido's gaze hardened, and the monster before him began to re-examine itself.
"Excuse me, but the first step to getting closer to someone should be introducing yourself. Nice to meet you, I am the true Fifth Demon King—Asmodeus, the original power-giver of the Beast."
When Shido heard this answer, he was startled and didn't understand its meaning for a moment, but he soon heard a very important word, "to bestow," this strange word.
In an instant, Shido rapidly contracted his body, then his eyes became extremely alert as he stared at Asmodeus in front of him.
"You granted the [Flame Beast] power? What! You granted him power! Wait... then you're in cahoots with him! Why did you come looking for me?!"
"Ah, no, no, you misunderstood. I'm not that guy's ally, or rather, I'm someone he's using."
"Oh, what do you mean by that?"
"It's like this..."
In Shido's eyes, Asmodeus described everything he had experienced in an extremely exaggerated way.
"Then he deceived my kindness with lies, made a deal with me, and tricked me into merging with him to obtain all the spiritual power in order to satisfy his own ambition..."
Shido listened to Asmodeus's account with a mixture of belief and skepticism.
"Are you telling the truth? What proof do you have?"
Asmodeus sighed. "I don't have any concrete evidence right now, but you, me, and he can all control fire, and I even look more like a monster than him, don't I?"
Shido frowned at this, still not entirely believing Asmodeus's words.
Even so, what exactly do you want from me?
Asmodeus smiled slyly, and a crisp snap of his fingers followed, after which a screen appeared in front of Shido's eyes.
"I want to work with you to fight that Beast who betrayed me. He's growing stronger and stronger and has decided to destroy the world, so we must join forces to stop him, won't we?"
"Oh, so where are you now? And how can you join forces with us to stop the Beast from destroying the world?"
"Well, I am currently mostly inside you, while the remaining consciousness is inside Beast. If you can engage in close combat with him, I can help you seize some of his power."
"So what exactly is your purpose?"
"It's simple, you can do it too, completely kill the Beast. It's not difficult, is it? Anyway, He's already planning to destroy the world, do you still want to keep this threat around?"
Upon hearing this, Shido was filled with shock and hesitation.
He watched Asmodeus warily, and for some reason, compared to the eloquent tongue of the Flame Beast, this guy's original form was full of flaws.
Sensing the wariness in Shido's eyes, Asmodeus sighed helplessly and shook his head.
"Ah...really, are you all like this? You won't trust anyone unless you get something in return. It really makes me sad. Fine, I'll give you a deposit before I leave."
"what?"
"You'll understand. Neither of us will lose out in this deal, and your actions will soon provide the answer."
As soon as he finished speaking, the space inside the train began to distort violently, like an abstract painting being kneaded and manipulated at will.
Shido's body in reality swayed precariously in this distorted space, his abdomen feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, sending waves of excruciating pain through him.
"Aa ...
His face was ashen, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lips had lost all color. The unbearable pain made him feel as if he were about to explode on the bed.
His face was as pale as paper, cold sweat poured down his forehead, and drops of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. In the end, Shido fainted from the pain once again.
...A transitional sound effect of time ticking away slowly~
As the clock ticked by, it was 5:55 AM.
"Ugh... everyone, how's it going? How's it progressing?"
Kotori, with slightly dark circles under her eyes, walked into the research and development room and looked at the others who, like her, had dark circles under their eyes, reminiscent of Reine.
Because she felt she needed to make some use of her position as commander, Kotori and Reine were constantly analyzing data, which caused her arms to ache and she even felt a little sleepy.
"It's ready, Commander! The equipment that allows the spiritual energy circuit to reverse and return the power to the original user is complete!"
Masaomi Kanemoto and Munechika Nakatsugawa shouted excitedly. Hearing this shout, Kotori looked in their direction.
Before Kotori's eyes appeared four specially made black daggers corresponding to the Demon King Beast. These were miracles created by everyone in one night, miracles that could eliminate calamities.
"Great! That way we can..."
"Something terrible has happened, Commander!"
Kannazuki rushed in somewhat flustered, carrying a display screen that constantly showed the spiritual energy reactions in various regions.
"We have just detected strong spiritual energy reactions in multiple locations. According to the location data, the Beast's spiritual energy reactions have been detected in various important regions of France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States!"
Kotori frowned, a sense of unease rising within her.
"Is He trying to distract the elves from their fighting ability?"
While Kotori was still analyzing, red dots in various locations on the screen began to flash rapidly, and the images were magnified by the satellite.
In Washington, Paris, London, and above that frigid snowfield, space suddenly began to distort violently.
It was as if the entire world was being manipulated by an invisible giant hand, and the originally peaceful scene instantly became chaotic.
Whether at night or during the day, the sky was dyed a shocking blood red, as if it were the end of the world or the beginning of a new era.
A pillar of light, shimmering with holy radiance, rose from the ground, while angels from various regions slowly descended from above.
They shone with holy light, their bodies covered in feathers, yet their inhuman appearance was so ugly.
"How is this going?"
Kotori was deep in thought, but Reine, who then entered the research and development room, quickly explained all her doubts.
"Kotori, according to the latest report, these monsters are the same demon kings that were originally surrounding the Beast. It seems that they want to distract us from our fighting force."
Kotori gritted her teeth, but a smile quickly appeared on her face.
"This Beast is indeed cunning. Unfortunately, its cleverness backfired, playing right into our hands by weakening its fighting strength."
"Commander, what decision should we make?"
"Kannazuki, immediately notify all the spirits to come to the meeting room. I will proceed with the dispersed plan to various regions to engage the monsters! And have them use their daggers to strike these monsters."
Kannazuki nodded quickly and began to relay the orders.
After learning about the mission, all the elves gathered in the war room.
"Yoshino, go to Russia and deal with that Beast clone covered in snow."
"Yes...I will do my best for Kotori-nee!"
Yoshino had her head down, and she seemed to be feeling unwell.
"Yes, Yoshina will also help, as a token of gratitude for Shido's continued care."
"Yuzuru! Kaguya! You're going to France and America respectively!"
"Hmph, Yuzuru and I are the children of hurricanes! Today we will surely annihilate all those monsters!"
"I second that. I will do everything in my power to fulfill my wish of going to school with Yagyu!"
"Tohka, you stay here and handle everything according to Reine's instructions, in case of a surprise attack by the enemy. I will personally go to England to deal with the clone there!"
"Oh, I really don't understand why I'm the one staying behind, but I'll definitely protect Shido!"
Meanwhile, shortly before being summoned, Shido wakes up again in the confinement room.
When Shido woke up, he felt dizzy. Although the pain in his abdomen had lessened, he still felt a vague discomfort.
He tried hard to recall what had happened before, and Asmodeus's words kept echoing in his mind.
Just then, the door was gently pushed open, and Yoshino, who had found an excuse to leave the group five minutes before the final preparations, walked in.
"Huh? Yoshino, what brings you here? Is Kotori letting me out? And what about Yoshina...?"
Yoshino walked up to Shido with some hesitation, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly in her hand, as if she were facing a heavy truth that she could hardly bear being pushed to the forefront.
"Shido-nii...actually..."
The girl's voice was very weak, leaving Shido, who had just woken up, completely confused.
Until a sound, loud enough to be a bolt from the blue, came out of Yoshino's mouth.
"Shido-nii, I think... that... Mr. Ming... he... he might very well be... the Flame Beast!"
Upon hearing this, Shido's eyes widened, his face filled with shock.
"What did you say? Mr. Ming is a Flame Beast? How is that possible!"
Yoshino bit her lip, her eyes slightly reddening.
“Shido-nii, Yoshina and I both felt the spiritual energy fluctuations that resonated with us from the demon king that Beast summoned back then... and... and..."
"And what..."
Shido's eyes turned somewhat fearful. Although he didn't know if what he said was true or false, a strange sense of unease still welled up in his heart.
"Furthermore, in the memories that Yoshino and I know, I've only reversed my form once, and that time was... the time when Mei went first, and then you defeated the reversed me..."
Countless thoughts raced through his mind, and the image and figure of Ming, who gently encouraged him, slowly overlapped with the masked Flame Beast.
Recalling Ming's face... no, Ming and the Flame Beast appeared together...
Just as Shido found the difference, the crystal block from the affiliated high school suddenly throbbed like a heartbeat.
A flood of memories about Ming's self-directed and self-acted performance flashed through Shido's mind.
"No...no, this can't be!"
Shido's voice echoed in the confinement room. Seeing this, Yoshino lowered her head even further, feeling a little guilty.
A green cloaked spirit dress with rabbit ears appeared. Yoshino, feeling somewhat guilty for being summoned by Kotori, immediately opened the door to the confinement room, picked up the Yoshina that was placed outside the door, and ran away.
The door to the solitary confinement cell was locked again by the automatic shut-off program, leaving Shido, who was desperately trying to find a clue to his memories, sitting on the floor in despair.