"And now you want me, a 'Demon King of Stupidity,' to give you a hand?" he demanded, now that he had returned to that empty dream world.
"Yes. Well, look, you are an Immortal Demon, different from the others. Your beloved is still alive and you're enjoying life now, aren't you? You don't hold grudges, do you?"
"You have a point, but this time the story may be different. Maybe our protagonist and his beloved will simply… disappear. Forever."
"No, come on, that won't happen. I'm in a very difficult situation. I wouldn't deceive you in a situation like this. I even apologize… Just lend me your power, okay? See how sincere I am?"
The God-Man, the being who was neither man nor woman, not even corporeal enough to have distinct features, bowed his head.
"Hm."
The gesture was casual, with very little sincerity despite the God-Man's insistence, but it was definitely an apology.
The God-Man was not the type to apologize, since he only cared about degrading people.
One would expect him to boast of his exploits, certainly, but to apologize?
Totally out of character.
Yet here he was, bowing.
"What do you plan to do if I don't lend you my strength?" the man asked.
"Then I will definitely die. Not immediately, but in the near future."
The man pondered.
Yes, the God-Man had deceived him.
Following the God-Man's advice had caused the human invasion to proceed at a faster pace, awakening the sleeping lion among them.
Later, the Armor of the Fighter God possessed the man and led him to kill the woman he loved more than anything in the world.
The God-Man had toyed with his devotion, mocking him.
He knew that the God-Man must have known what would happen, must have foreseen the look of despair on the man's face, the pathetic sight of him sobbing as he lost everything.
He laughed as if it were all a game to him.
He should have resented the God-Man until the end of his days.
However, the proud army of the Demon King no longer existed. The man was no longer a tactical advisor.
He was nothing more than a lonely Demon King, enjoying life with his bride.
"I helped you with that man, remember?!" he cried.
"Yes, I'm grateful for that," Badigadi admitted.
"See?"
That advice was not given to Badi directly, but through another person. A stranger offered him two pieces of information, both pointing in a promising direction.
Only after that did the man think to ask the stranger how he had obtained the information.
Then they answered: "That god I saw in a dream told me to inform you." The man's expression turned bitter when he heard that.
In any case, the man was grateful.
That advice allowed him to help both a tribe of demons that had once lived in his region and the hero they idolized.
The latter seemed so happy when he reunited with them. The man would not soon forget the expression on his face.
"So… Come on, please," the God-Man begged, bowing his head again.
"Hmm."
The man continued to consider the matter. Even if the God-Man had done him a small service, that could not erase the unforgivable sins he had committed.
On the other hand, was there anything in the world that was totally beyond redemption? Maybe for other people, but he was an Immortal Demon.
He did not know it at the time, but the woman he loved had a fate strong enough that death could not stop her. The two had survived that miserable episode.
It must be said that if the man were younger, he would have rejected the God-Man's request immediately.
In fact, he would have allied with the opposite side, hoping to take revenge for all the pain and humiliation he had suffered.
However, he had changed.
The Demon King of Wisdom, as the convinced fool he had been, was dead.
The man had trained his body, laughed loudly, slept with women, gotten drunk and slept sprawled out, taking up as much space as possible, regardless of who he bothered.
He had become someone truly worthy of the woman he loved.
He was not a Demon King of Wisdom.
Nor was he so weak and pathetic that he needed to rely on the advice of a god to protect his beloved.
Now he was the Immortal Demon King Badigadi, master of Rikarisu, the city where the remains of Kishirika's old castle rose toward the sky, and King of the Province of Biegoya.
He was not a person who held grudges over trivialities. He had an open mind and was magnanimous.
Besides, his enemy had also come to him to apologize and beg for help.
"Bwahaha! Very well! If you're that persistent, I guess I'll help you!"
"Are you serious?! Ugh, that's a relief!"
With that, just like that, Badigadi became one of the apostles of the God-Man.
"Then, who is the enemy?" Badigadi asked.
"Our enemies are the Beast God Rygar Adoldia and the Dragon God Orsted."
"Hm? The combat prodigy boy?"
Badigadi had spent just under a year with Rygar at the Sanctuary of the Sword. For an Immortal Demon thousands of years old, it was as fleeting as an afternoon tea.
His nephew Lwis had told him about a boy with Laplace's Golden Eyes and Regeneration comparable to Immortal Demons, and that had piqued his interest.
He was looking forward to meeting Laplace when his reincarnation arrived.
But in the end, the boy was not Laplace.
Instead, he seemed to be merely a talent as monstrous as him.
"Bwahahaha! How is this guy already being put on the same level as the Dragon God?! Moreover, how did you make the boy beast your enemy?"
The God-Man shrugged.
"He's not one now who can rival the Dragon God, but he will be in the future. As for how he became my enemy… I have no idea."
"Hmph. If you say so… I bet you plotted against him and now he wants to kill you."
"Well, it would be a bit tedious to explain everything, but… yes, I think you're not wrong."
"Bwhahaha! So, what's up, go on!" The man burst into loud laughter, mocking the god the same way the god had mocked him.
The God-Man seemed particularly irritated at being ridiculed. Still, he had no choice but to swallow his displeasure.
Badi had agreed to become his pawn, so he had what he wanted.
"It doesn't matter," said the God-Man. "The primary direct target is still the Beast God; to deal with the Dragon God we don't need to kill him directly."
He continued, "There is a guy already taking care of the details, but this won't be like the other times…"
"Is that so? And why not?"
"The Beast God has many allies and is very cautious and tortuous; he cannot be let loose. I need to test his strength before he hides completely from my Vision, and prepare as much as possible to ambush him with all the force I can gather and make sure he dies."
"You won't confront him directly?"
"It's better to win without a direct confrontation, if you can avoid it. Don't you agree?"
If he were the same man who called himself the Demon King of Wisdom, he would probably have nodded without hesitation.
However, now he was the Demon King of Stupidity, the Immortal Demon King Badigadi.
He was the type to let the opponent strike first, endure the blow and then return it with his own counterattack to bring him down.
"I don't like that," the man said.
"Knowing how you are now, I imagined you'd say that. However, you understand better than anyone, don't you? If you try to face the Beast God in a fair fight, you won't have a chance to defeat him."
"No chance at all, yes."
The God-Man continued:
"That's exactly why I'd like you to go to a certain place for me and retrieve something."
"I presume you don't want me to go through a human army, cross more than ten forests, cross more than five rivers, climb more than three mountains, pass through a valley of unknown depths, a snowy meadow and scale the tallest mountain in the world… you want me to?"
"No, none of that. You only need to cross an ocean. That's all."
After saying that, the God-Man smiled.
"Of course what I'm asking you to retrieve is something you're already quite familiar with."
Badigadi knew instantly what lay in the depths of the ocean. Something he should have despised with all his being, but if they wanted to defeat the Beast God, it would be absolutely necessary.
"Hmm… All right. I'll do it!" Badigadi paused only a moment to reflect on the matter before agreeing.
After all, he was the Immortal Demon King Badigadi, the fiancé of Kishirika Kishirisu. He was not so petty as to worry over details.
He had agreed to help, so now he would help. Hitogami had even apologized, so it was fine.
For a Demon King, his word was absolute.
Perhaps that sounded superficial, given that the God-Man was still a liar, but the fact was that he had agreed to it.
If the God-Man wanted him to retrieve that detestable thing, bring it back and use it to defeat his enemies, he would not hesitate.
"And you have no other advice for me?" the man asked.
"Unfortunately, my vision counts as a kind of demon eye. I can't see your future since you drank the Anti-Demon Eye elixir."
"Aha, now I understand! Good news for me! After all, life would be boring if you could see exactly where it ends! Bwahahaha!"
Badigadi was turbulent and merry. The stronger his laughter, the more the God-Man's face wrinkled with displeasure.
"Maybe I can't see your future," said the God-Man, "but I can see another man's future. He isn't as clever as you maybe, but he is smart enough and knows how to win a fight, though he isn't physically strong. Follow his instructions when he appears."
"Bwahahaha! Very well! I will be that man's right arm!"
"Excellent. Then, Demon King of Wisdom Badigadi…"
"No," the man corrected, "I'm not that man anymore. I am the Demon King of Stupidity, the Immortal Demon King, Badigadi!"
"In that case, Immortal Demon King Badigadi, I entrust this to you."
The man nodded vigorously.
"Yes, you can leave everything to me! Bwaha! Bwahaha! Bwahahahahahahaha!"
Their business was concluded. With his own laughter ringing in his ears, Badigadi's vision went white.
"Bwahahahaha!"
He watched the God-Man's disgusted face with great pleasure and, even as his consciousness faded, his laughter did not disappear.
---
Meanwhile, on the Celestial Continent...
In a very high place, due to the cold and the thin air, there was not a single tree growing. The ground was covered only in short grass and some hardy shrubs.
The landscape was austere and desolate, where only life forms adapted to the extreme environment could survive.
The mountain ranges rose majestically, reaching three thousand meters above sea level. The cold was freezing, but there was no snow.
The land there was smooth and flat.
The moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the lonely vastness.
The stars shone more brightly there than anywhere else in the world, as if they were closer to the mountains.
At the top of a high hill, a colossal creature stood. At first glance, it could be mistaken for a two-legged dinosaur walking, but its feathers revealed its identity.
A giant bird, of monstrous proportions, nearly twenty meters tall.
"Goooooouuuwrhhh!!!" its roar echoed wild, frantic, resonating through the whole valley.
But there was something wrong. It did not seem to be in its right mind, even by the standards of a magical beast.
That being was a Gigantic Jaw, a Rank A monster unique to the Celestial Continent. However, this particular one was even rarer and more dangerous: a Gigantic Jaw King, an S-Rank Beast whose power surpassed most creatures there.
Looking closely, one could see the reason for its agony.
A strange dark-blue sludge flowed from its eyes and mouth, something that dominated its body and mind.
The beast thrashed, hurling itself against rocks and splitting boulders in half in a desperate attempt to resist the invasive presence.
But what dominated it was not something it could repel.
After all, this being had already subjugated the Final Boss of the Inferno Labyrinth, an existence far more terrifying than any monster around the Celestial Continent.
Its resistance was useless.
Time passed.
And then, silence fell.
The giant bird, like a roc, raised its head. Its gaze was no longer that of a beast.
Without blinking once, it spread its enormous wings and took to the air, cutting through the night skies.
The Nether King, Vita, had left his refuge deep within the Inferno Labyrinth.
He was on the move again.
-----
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