Chapter 62: Selena (2)
The unfamiliar form of the golem roused the Demon Realm Legion Commander Rex’s curiosity.
Whirr- Click- Whirr- Click-
A four-legged metal golem moved busily, sucking up dust from the floor. Blue lights occasionally flashed from the golden edges visible on various parts of its silver body.
Oho. That's no ordinary shine.
This would make good material for weapon decorations.
Greed filled his eyes, especially since he had a hobby of collecting weapons. The movement was quite smooth too, making him wonder how it was made.
Were there golems like this before?
The golems he knew were only those made of rock, moving unnaturally.
However, this light and agile golem was bouncing around, cleaning.
I should take one of these too.Just as Rex carelessly reached out to grab the golem…
Slap-
"??"
The golem raised one of its front legs and swatted his hand away.
Rex was momentarily dumbfounded.
What?
It slapped his hand away as if brushing off some dirty filth. Even Rex, who usually lacked tact, could sense the strange unpleasantness.
Rex couldn't understand.
Putting aside his anger…
It dared to swat my hand away?
The position of a Demon Realm Legion Commander wasn't something one could obtain through mere chance.
Naturally, it was a position only the top-tier demons could reach in terms of strength. Even a simple movement contained formidable power that couldn't be ignored.
Not only that, but what about his reflexes?
When the metal golem reacted as he reached out his hand, Rex had also unconsciously reacted again.
But the result?
Slap-
Rex looked down at the back of his hand.
His tough red skin was slightly swollen.
"??"
What happens when you can't believe something even after seeing it with your own eyes?
Your mind goes blank as if thought has stopped.
Then what about when you finally grasp and understand the situation?
You become enraged.
"!!"
Rex's brow furrowed deeply.
You dare hit me?
A mere servant of Selena?
His already lacking patience had run out.
But a sticky smile flowed from his lips.
Why?
Because he could exact retribution from Selena.
If he turned this metal lump of a golem into a pulp and took it with him, she would surely grovel in fear.
With that thought, he reached out his arm again.
This time was different from before.
He wasn't simply trying to grab it.
A fist.
Yes. His fist, with a clear intent to destroy, headed towards the golem.
You insolent thing!
However.
Slap-
"??"
It was even more swollen than before.
"Huh?"
A stupefied sound escaped Rex's mouth.
Once again.
Slap-
"?!"
This... This!
Slap-
"!!"
Rex's eyes began to turn red. Acrid smoke and sparks leaked from between his lips.
Huff. Huff.
It was the precursor to Overdrive.
The Overdrive of Demon Realm Legion Commander Rex?
Even the Demon King would have trouble stopping it.
Just as Rex, his pride damaged, was about to burst into Overdrive…
"What business do you have here?"
Selena, the owner of the Succubus Domain, appeared.
Riding on a metal disc.
Strange metal boxes also floated around her.
"?"
He was momentarily puzzled by Selena's alien appearance.
The corners of Rex's mouth curved up stickily. His vertically slit pupils scanned Selena up and down.
"It seems your manner of treating guests is a complete mess, isn’t it?"
"I do not recall inviting you. So what is that even supposed to imply..."
"Kukukuk."
Even among Legion Commanders, the difference was clear.
Unlike Rex who spoke informally, Selena used polite speech.
This was unavoidable, if only due to the racial limitations of being a Succubus. No matter that the modifier 'Queen' was attached to her race name, a Succubus was still a Succubus after all.
Rex was a high-ranking demon who had inherited a strong bloodline of the High Orc lineage.
Moreover, his talent was also exceptional, so the difference was only natural.
"For now, please refrain from causing trouble here and come inside."
"Kukuku. Very well, I'll come in for now."
Rex gave one last greedy look towards the metal golem before following Selena inside.
"..."
Rex looked around the interior of the castle as he followed her. His expression changed subtly.
Hmm?
"..."
The utterly alien scenery bewildered him.
Doors that opened automatically without gatekeepers.
Elevators that took you to high floors in an instant without stairs.
Levitation Magic?
No. The Levitation Magic he knew never operated this precisely. Moreover, his body had high magic resistance, so it wouldn't have worked on him anyway.
And what about the optimized lighting, humidity, and temperature?
The comfort that couldn't exist in the harsh Demon Realm confused him.
As the woman in front of him muttered something, the entire building seemed to move, carrying out her instructions and following her orders.
Bulkheads opened automatically to create passages, and metal arms extended from the walls to deliver reports to her as she walked ahead.
A living building?
How else could one describe it?
All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind until he sat in the reception room, drinking automatically served tea.
He felt greedy.
With a castle like this, I wouldn't envy anyone. Even Father.
This made him even greedier.
He observed the woman sitting across from him while rubbing his slightly swollen hand.
Right. This castle is too tempting to be used merely as Selena's residence.
Yes. It doesn't make sense for Selena, who is lower in rank than me, to reside in such a castle.
Comparing it to the castle in his own domain, this thought took an even firmer place in his mind.
He slammed down on the reception room desk as if to destroy it.
Bang-
"Do you know that your servant attacked me?"
He had originally intended to smash it, but was surprised when it didn't budge at all. However, he hid his confusion and shouted angrily.
"Should I take this as a challenge against me?"
Yes. Fear me as usual. Don't you know exactly what happens when you provoke my temper!
However, his expectations were only half met.
She seems somewhat flustered, but... is she looking out for something other than me...?
What's that?
The golem that had swatted his hand earlier?
"Ah! Don't kill him! Despite appearances, he's a direct descendant of the Demon King..."
Did I hear that correctly?
This c-crazy bitch dares to discuss whether to kill me or not...?
Seeing Selena not even paying attention to him, he completely lost it.
Fine. If I render her half a corpse, she'll grovel on her own.
Golem? Fortress? She'll offer them up on her own.
No. If it is this level of insult, I should just kill her...
His fist, having instantly entered Overdrive, headed towards Selena's face.
It was on a completely different level from before.
Of course. His Overdrive state was different from that of ordinary demons.
Red energy swirled along his outstretched arm.
Die.
The moment he thought that.
[Beep! Danger detected to the safety of a Level 1 Protected Individual.]
[Eliminating the threat to the Protected Individual's safety.]
[Switching to Combat Mode]
Click- Click-
Whirrr-
Red light flashed from the golem's body as it instantly grew in size, with long metal protrusions emerging from its frame.
Rex felt as if time had slowed down. Yet even in that state, the golem seemed to move perfectly normally...?
Boom-
"Cough!"
Before Rex, who had been instantly knocked back by the golem's lightly extended metal arm, could even land on the ground…
[Eliminating the enemy.]
"W-Wai...!"
Flash-
A flash of light filled his vision as his consciousness was cut off.
Thud-
Rex, his upper body blown away, could no longer move.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
The following shockwave swept through the reception room, and wind blew in from the gaping hole in the wall.
Whirr- Click-
The metal robot instantly returned to its original form.
The wall also bounced and moved quickly, instantly filling in the gap, but…
Selena's bewildered mind couldn't easily recover.
"Uh, uh...?"
Thud-
Selena's legs gave out from the shock.
The Demon King's son had been killed.
....
But that thought was only momentary.
Upon seeing the being that had killed a Demon Realm Legion Commander with a single shot…
U-Umm...?
....
This is another problem in itself....
"Haah..."
She didn't know what to think anymore.
She just wanted to stop thinking at this point.
She now had more reasons to try to stay in the good graces of both the Cosmic Emperor and the Pirate King.
***
A Dimensional Passage where space and time seemed distorted.
Like paint of various colors splashed about, the boundaries of colors were blurred, and the outlines of objects were hazy as if they might melt into the void.
Originally, Dimensional Passages were quite dangerous places.
One misstep and one might become lost between dimensions.
Therefore, one should never even dream of fighting in a Dimensional Passage.
Boom- Bang-
[Die.]
-Kieeeeeek!
Kuwoong-
A huge silver tree trunk instantly sprouted, slamming a massive Kaiju into the wall. The Kaiju, pinned to the wall of the Dimensional Passage, instantly evaporated.
Whether it fell into another dimension, became lost in space-time, or its existence was erased, no one could know.
That was how dangerous this space was.
However.
-Kyaaaak!
[Keuk!]
The giant who had summoned the tree trunk had its belly instantly pierced by tentacles, spraying silver blood.
[What are you paying attention to?! Focus!]
[Support him!]
[Don't panic!]
[Sweep away those Chaos bastards!]
[Damn it! How did it come to this?!]
Dozens of silver-clad giants were engaged in fierce battle against tens of thousands of monsters.
The monsters were rushing in en masse, disregarding their lives, while the Sephiroth clan was barely holding them back in formation.
In a secluded corner of the battlefield…
There, one of the Low Grade Roots was busily striking down Kaiju after Kaiju, supporting the battle.
[Watch out!]
A Kaiju had suddenly appeared behind her. She hurriedly raised silver flames to push it back.
She too, along with the Mid-High Grade Roots, was diligently pushing back and killing Kaijus, but the sea of monsters seemed endless.
[What on earth is even beyond there?!]
Even when they swept away the bastards in one go using Sacred Blood as fuel, they kept pouring in endlessly. Occasionally, High Grade Kaijus would appear, threatening their lives.
How did it come to this?
They had only been tracking one Rootlet.
The Chaos beings blocking the Dimensional Passage.
Bastards that rushed in madly before they could even avoid them.
And a battle in the Dimensional Passage, which was practically taboo.
They had urgently requested reinforcements from the High Grade Roots to deal with them, but the same was true for the other side.
The battle, which had started small, began to grow gradually.
A giant turtle-shaped Kaiju appeared, scattering countless small Kaijus.
A hideous ultra-large Kaiju shaped like the mouth of a giant beast indiscriminately sucked in both friend and foe.
In response, Sephiroth's forces also began to cross dimensions and join the battle in an instant.
And a battle no less fierce than the front lines broke out.
The Kaiju bastards of 《Chaos》 rushed in as if they had met their parents’ mortal enemies, pouring out waves of their ranks.
The 《Great Sephiroth》, feeling puzzled by this, gradually expanded their support to try to uncover the reason.
An unexpected pitched battle in the Dimensional Passage that had escalated repeatedly.
The increasingly fierce battle began to flow in a direction no one had anticipated.
***
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