Stray

The blue sky overhead was like leaves gnawed by insects, slowly shrinking in the rustling sound. The original warm and simple house gradually blurred, and then drifted away, revealing the cold, mysterious piles of corpses behind it.

This time Oliver didn’t attack directly.  Nemo was able to distinguish the small difference.

The human was trying to absorb his power, moving cautiously and lightly. It was comparable to grabbing a sharp blade than a rusty knife that roughly poked into the flesh. The cool touch licked the skin causing blood to seep before the pain came.

Even if Oliver was careful, the balance of power that had been maintained for a long time at the bottom of the Abyss was still broken, which directly affected the stability of the long-term illusions. As for Nemo himself, he only felt a little unwell at the moment, and the pain was negligible.

Nemo didn’t rush to repair the Roadside Town illusion.

He went back to the library in the center of the illusion and sat back to where he was. He rubbed his forehead and put his elbows on the wooden table, raised his slightly drowsy head with his right hand, and continued to look calmly outside the door.

The illusion collapsed faster and faster, and the darkness was drawing nearer.

Is this an attempt or is Oliver drawing a conclusion? Nemo’s left finger poked at the false light spot gently swaying on the desk and thought casually.

At least Oliver Ramon didn’t choose to rush down to inquire. Nemo didn’t know whether to feel regretful or relieved. The human he loved wasn’t stunned by it and abandoned their promise.

Oliver was still the Oliver he knew well, and for a few seconds, he did feel a little bit close to happiness.

Then it quickly dissipated into loneliness.

The bakery not far from the library disappeared into the light shavings, revealing a half-rotted head of a superior demon with a thin frost on the surface of the godless eyeball. Nemo glanced at it then retracted his gaze.

As the most external part of the body, this body must be the first to withstand the attack. As if suffering from a bad cold, his head began to ache, like an awl was drilling from his temples into his brain.

The discomfort became stronger.

Nemo smiled a few times in a low voice but didn’t move.

Was Oliver going to kill him to protect the surface or was he drawing on this power to carry out some other plan? He didn’t know and he couldn’t know.

Now he didn’t want to pin his trust on pure feelings. All he did was waited calmly.

The door of the library that was opened outwards was also shattered in the darkness. The incomplete floor and wooden table that still had light floated alone in the darkness at the bottom of the Abyss. Nemo endured the pressure concentrated on his body without saying a word while clenching his fists.

He began to be unable to see through Oliver’s intentions. If it was simply to extract power, the other party’s movements were too slow and cumbersome. With Jesse Dylan on the surface to guide him, his Oliver wasn’t so stupid as to do so.

So was it to set up carefully and preemptively before he could take any action?

“That won’t work Ollie… If you can’t kill me cleanly, you’ll ruin everything.” Nemo sighed and crossed his fingers across the wooden table, forcibly retaining the last illusion.

The non-existent spot of light was still trembling on the smooth wooden table.

Wait a little longer, Nemo thought to himself.

Wait another minute, and the next minute after that.

The crumbling space floated in the darkness like nothingness for an unknown amount of time.

There was no negative feedback, and whatever was being done, Oliver clearly had no intention of stopping. The plundering was very firm, but it wasn’t as rough and thorough as the plundering in Nemo’s memory— It made him increasingly uncomfortable, yet unable to quickly destroy this piece of flesh in which his own will resided as if it was without the slightest intention to kill.

There were indeed ways to interrupt it— While the spell wasn’t yet completed, he could seriously counterattack and destroy it.

Was this flaw a message to him or a test?

Without any resistance, just by feeling, Nemo couldn’t determine the full picture of the spell that the other party was running.

When the spell was running, he could directly attack Oliver without hurting the surface but if he were to fight back now, the power of his counterattack may seriously injured Oliver Ramon.

Nemo closed his eyes.

Even if he didn’t fight back, the surface may think that the “new Demon King” with more flesh that was stronger had appeared on the surface. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Pillar of the World was sacrificing a little benefit to create the illusion that “Nemo Light” was still there— After all, this could induce Oliver Ramon to soften his heart, and it could even lure him directly down here.

If he completely lose emotion, as the Pillar of the World, he may really do that.

Did he want to fight back?

His ears began to buzz, and his breathing became more difficult. This body, no, this piece of flesh could no longer bear the pressure alone and was warning him.

After all, the flesh was only a human-size piece of flesh. Even if the magic power was sufficient, the ability to withstand was ultimately limited.

Not to mention that at the moment, his attention was all on resisting external injuries. Even if he could quickly repair the physical damage, “a body that was wrecked can be repaired” was also a big assumption.

If the absorption wasn’t interrupted in time, this body would only slowly become fragile and gradually dissipate. If Oliver intended to use this relatively gentle way to wipe out the flesh first, then attack his original body…

Nemo coughed a few times and frowned at the blood stains on his palms.

The deterioration rate was faster than he thought, but there was still a lot of time before the body was annihilated.

Oliver, what are you thinking at the moment? Nemo shook his head, ignoring the pain coming from inside his body.

In any case, he trusted him, and now there were other possibilities.

Repeating in his heart over and over again, Nemo sat on a wooden chair, resting his twisted and broken staff above his knees.

He trusted him so he waited. He could still afford to wait. 

The humanoid Demon King put his cold fingers on his chest, counted his heartbeat, and calculated the passage of time.

One day, two days, three days.

The warm blood cooled in the palms of his hands, and his body was getting colder.

With the destruction of this body, his consciousness would return to his original body of the Pillar of the World. Once that situation happens, things will be irreversible. Even if Nemo was able to retain his feelings, he would have to take action against Oliver to protect the surface— Without the cover of this body, the main body would be directly exposed to damage.

The risk was too high.

It took time to give birth to another flesh used to withstand the damage, and in this continuous extraction, he didn’t have time.

After returning to the body, he could no longer feel at ease like he was now. No one knew at what point he was on the path of death— Nemo only knew that if he made a mistake in judgement and caused the body to die as a result of a half-assed attack, his body absolutely wouldn’t be able to restrain the physical struggle before death.

In that way, the surface would still be destroyed, and all that awaits them in the end was dying together.

‘How funny,’ Nemo thought to himself. They were fighting blindfolded on the chessboard with the survival of the world on their backs.

He was gambling, and every second that flowed through his skin was soaked in countless analyses and probabilistic calculations. If it were any of his previous selves, he guessed that he would have made a move a long time ago.

It was just that this time, countless memories participated in the calculation.

He still remembered the Withered Castle shrouded in night. After the flesh and blood furnace collapsed, the figure covered in blood appeared in front of him again. Nemo could clearly recall the rancid smell of blood and corpses in the air, as well as the dry and desperate kiss.

Oliver Ramon’s first sentence after escaping from that hell was a simple and earnest “I love you”.

“I love you too,” Nemo said to the void, wiping the blood from the corners of his lips.

His Oliver, the knight who walked through hell in flesh and blood. He would never choose to kill him so easily, even if that was what he had to do in the end.

But it shouldn’t be now.

……Wait a little longer.

Finally, Nemo couldn’t part with his strength to maintain the illusion, and fell directly on the hard, cold pile of corpses.

But the stimulation and extraction of that power didn’t stop but began to run out of control at a certain point in time. Like a drowning person clinging to the person who came to the rescue, the two would sink to the bottom of the water desperately together.

“Ollie.” Nemo laid on the top of the pile of corpses of superior demons and stretched out his hand to the darkness above his head. The pain became more severe and at any moment he could have shed this tattered and broken body and return to his original body to fight back— Perhaps he should have done that long ago, but…

“Don’t let me down, okay?”

He slowly lowered his blood-stained hands, breathed hard, and stayed stubbornly in the collapsed body. His lungs seemed to have lost function, and the suffocation was overwhelming that it pressed down on him.

Hold on for another second, one more second would be good.

Nemo narrowed his eyes, looking above the Abyss, in the direction where Oliver’s aura was coming from. The suffocation made him dizzy, and anxiety began to dominate every nerve— Nemo could even clearly feel step by step how this small body was going to reach its demised.

Suddenly he was able to breathe again.

Nemo blinked, and then found that it was still a human eyelid that blinked.

Unlike what he imagined; his consciousness didn’t return to the body. The capacity of flesh was limited so it was impossible to use the full power of his original body, though the total amount of magic of his remnant body hadn’t increased inexplicably.

This was purely from external forces…

[You fulfilled my wish. Although not the one to destroy mankind.]

A voice came into his mind. His emotions were too complicated right now that he couldn’t distinguish what it was.

[…And you didn’t eat me, even though I chose to self-destruct at that time.]

But Nemo recognized this aura.

[Your condition isn’t good. I can only do this. Lord Demon King, my family advised me not to come over, but I, I am not afraid of you. The surface is even more terrifying.]

Mist-like limbs covered the sky, and the young Pandorater floated quietly close, resolutely leaving a large part of her body behind. Under the action of self-destruction, the huge flesh and blood turned into pure power and returned to Nemo’s body without hindrance.

[This is the agreed upon reward. Since the wish was exchanged, last time I self-destructed with the thought of certain death, this time I don’t want to die, and I believe you can understand.]

The young demon expressed very stubbornly, with a little fear in her consciousness.

[I know this is a bit conniving, so you can make some other requests in exchange. My compatriots told me that demons have to be reputable, especially for great people… You are a great person.]

Nemo slowly lifted his arm, put his palm over his eyes, and showed a slightly bitter smile. “Remember to listen to my family next time. As far as my current situation is concerned, if it weren’t for me… You would definitely be preyed on by me.”

The pain continued, but with the injection of new strength, he was able to continue breathing.

Pandorater’s flesh could keep him alive for another hour. Although he didn’t know if it was useful in terms of the results, there was no doubt that every extra moment meant a glimmer of hope, which was extremely precious.

“But having said that, now I do have a wish, little girl.”

Nemo said softly, propping up his body with both arms. He touched the mass of mist that stretched out in front of him, and the smile at the corner of his mouth became bigger.

“Would you like to listen to me?”

[Of course, Lord Demon King. But are you okay? You look really bad.]

“I’m fine… My lover and companions are still waiting for me— I’m so happy, I’ll definitely survive. This is what someone told me before, it’s a good idea.”

Nemo replied.

“I want to tell you about someone.”

[Hmm.]

“Do you remember the human who acted with me during the Black Chapter test?”

[Remember. He seems to have no power, clumsy and useless. An ordinary human being. Later he saved me with you… Is he your follower?]

“No.”

Nemo poked the reddish-brown mist.

“He is my favorite… favorite person.”

He recounted softly, as if he was telling it to himself rather than to Pandorater. As the clean and gentle voice echoed at the bottom of the Abyss, the fluke stopped, and time began to pass again…

His line of sight became more and more blurred, and his breathing was heavy with blood.

However, just when Nemo thought he could no longer make a sound, the extraction stopped abruptly.

The power that had been used to resist damage was finally free, and his body was rapidly recovering. Nemo breathed a sigh of relief and paused to talk. When the last trace of pain disappeared, he raised his head again and looked at Pandorater in front of him.

Then raised eyebrows.

“Ollie.” Nemo wiped the dirty blood mixed with organ fragments at the corner of his mouth again, and chuckled softly. “I really haven’t thought about this… You’re such a greedy bastard.”

[What did you say?]

“Well, it’s nothing. Let’s continue, like I just said—”

“He never let me down.”

The author has something to say:

I received Pandoraters’s flag (*/ω＼*)

After countless sufferings, the last thing is hope XD