Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 194

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 194 – Status As a Living Being

“W-what on earth is happening… Could it be the reinforcements from Ishtalika…?”

For a while, Ed struggled with the tree roots that had wrapped around him.

And then, before he knew it, numerous Ishtalika Knights… and also Royal Knights who were supposed to be back home… poured onto the battlefield.

“Hey, Your Highness. When did you learn to do something so showy?”

“No, it was just that when I was thinking about putting the roots to protect them, it just happened…”

“Ara. It can’t be helped that it happened like that. But the mist of the Black Huorn was the best. It was a way to take advantage of their weakness.”

What reached Lloyd’s ears is the voice of his beloved Ishtalika… someone who should be on the continent of Isthar, across the sea.

“C-could it be that…”

Lloyd lifted his head with all his strength, holding back the intense pain in his left eye.

Then, suddenly, Lloyd’s body was supported by two arms.

“Father! Are you okay… are you okay?”

“Di-Dill…? How did you get here…?”

“I’ll explain later! Varra-dono has come with us, so let’s get out of here first!”

Lloyd’s son, who should be waiting for him in his beloved homeland of Ishtalika, spoke with such emotion that he felt like crying.

Lloyd let himself be carried and got up with Dill holding his shoulders.

“Majolica-san… I want you to walk with Dill. Leave that to me, and I’ll leave Lloyd-san to you.”

“Ara, Ara. He’s the one who defeated the Marshal, and I can’t leave you alone.”

“It’s okay. Don’t forget, I’m wearing this, so it feels like there’s enough time even if I die once.”

His Highness―Ain smiled and answered, shaking the jewel in his ear with his index finger.

“See? I’m wearing the ruby of the earth, so I can handle a little pressure.”

“…I’ll be back soon. Hang on a few minutes, Your Highness.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

From Lloyd’s point of view, it was a conversation that completely ignored him.

Lloyd had been listening quietly, but when he realized that Ain was here, he couldn’t help but speak up.

“Yo-Your Highness! W-why are you here!?”

This was not a place where the Crown Prince should be.

The knights’ morale must be through the roof, but Lloyd couldn’t agree with this situation at all, considering the worst-case scenario.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the miasma. I’m sorry, but I’ll explain later.”

Hearing the word “miasma,” Lloyd turned his attention to the beasts that had been running rampant until a moment ago.

Strangely enough, they had lost their momentum and were now moving like small animals.

“I have neutralized those strange beasts to a certain extent. The knights can restore the situation on their own, so there’s no need to worry about that either. That’s why…”

Ain shifted his gaze from Lloyd to Ed, who was wearing an irritated expression.

“That’s why I will take care of him. ――Dill, Majolica! The Crown Prince’s orders are to bring Lloyd to Varra as soon as possible!”

“Ha!”

“Yes, understood.”

He still didn’t seem happy about leaving Ain behind.

But he must have discussed it before. It was unusual for Dill to leave Ain’s side so easily.

Lloyd still seemed to want to complain, but the two of them took Lloyd away by force.

“You made it, didn’t you?”

“Thanks. It’s been a while, Ed-san.”

It was the first time they had met since their encounter in Euro.

Ain continued speaking at his own pace.

“Yes, it has been a while. You’ve grown a lot since the last time we met.”

“Thanks. Actually, a lot of things have happened, and thanks to them, I’ve grown so much.”

“You’ve become more and more like the face of that despicable man. Well, let’s leave that aside for now.”

What was he talking about?

Ed’s muttering raised a question mark, but Ain listened to Ed’s words quietly.

“Was that you just now?”

Ed looks at the root that Ain produced and looks displeased.

“Yes, that was me.”

“I see. You did it. See, I see…!”

Ed put his hand to his mouth as if asking himself a question.

Then, he suddenly picked up the spear and thrust it at Ain’s neck.

“…Did you avoid it?”

When Ain stepped back and dodged it with a split-second decision, Ed looked at Ain’s face with a look of genuine surprise.

“Well, did you miss it?”

“Whoa… no, no. It’s not like I missed it. I was just surprised. To be honest, I was hoping you’d die from it.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry about that. Then I’ll return it to you.”

Ain smiled in a troubled way. If you had to compare it to anything, it was a smile like that of a good-natured young man you could find anywhere.

…But the next moment, he unleashed a blow at Ed with clear murderous intent.

“What?!”

Ed blinked at that moment.

Ain’s sword… the sword from Marco’s body, sliced through Ed’s cheek with a single layer of skin.

“Thank you. With this move, I could see that even my strength is effective against you.”

The fact that Ed’s attack had been blocked brought a sense of relief to Ain’s heart.

As if in sync with Ain’s voice, Marco’s sword showed signs of pulsing red and black.

“…Could it be that your weapon is made of the material of the living armor…? That man… Marco…?”

Ed let out a voice with his mouth half open as he touched the blood running down his cheek with his hand.

He took a few steps back, wary of Ain’s attack, and stared at Ain with an uneasy expression.

Ed’s face seemed to be pleading for something―there was a sense of sadness in his face.

“Yes. …No, that’s right. This sword is the manifestation of Marco-san that you played with.”

“W-why? Why… why!?”

His breathing became ragged, and he kept stomping his feet like a spoiled child, holding the spear in one hand.

“Ah… you had that armor in your hands!”

With the greatest of strides, Ed entered Ain’s bosom.

“…Stop humiliating me like this headless thing!”

“I-it’s still heavy…!”

Instead of aiming at Ain, Ed’s spear seems to be aimed at Ain’s sword.

As if to take out his frustration on the sword, Ed thrust his spear again and again.

“With that face of yours, holding that sword in that armor, you’re going to humiliate me the same way! It’s so disgusting, so disgusting, so disgusting!”

“What are you trying to say?!”

Ed’s blows were both heavy and fast.

However, Ain used the power flowing through his body to block Ed’s spear repeatedly.

This was the first time he had fought for his life since becoming the Demon King.

Even Ain himself was surprised by his own strangely strengthened body.

He had no recollection of the feelings Ed was directing at him, but Ain continued to look for an opening in Ed’s defenses.

“I don’t like it.”

Then he suddenly stopped moving and spoke to him in a voice so calm it was disconcerting.

“I don’t like your swordsmanship either. Why don’t you gouge out your own eyes with your own fingers and die in the street?”

“Are you aware that you’re saying something stupid?”

“Yeah, I just said it.”

――Emotional instability? That doesn’t even begin to cover it.

The many times Ed had shown his different sides, Ain was left unable to understand the true character of the man Ed was.

Ed’s face when he says dangerous things was always like that of an old man handing out popsicles to children at a carnival, with a smile that seems to say he’s a good person.

“I really wanted to kill you. Is it okay if I continue?”

“――Yeah. That’s what I think.”

Ain nodded and finally put on the Dullahan armor.

But even though his power was at its fullest, he could only make the gauntlets appear.

“Hahaha… why? Why can you wear that hideous armor? It’s so weird…”

Ed tilted his head low and began to pull out a few strands of his own hair as if to vent his anger.

“My mother told me to stop, but I couldn’t help myself. When I feel a psychological burden, I can’t help pulling out my own hair like this.”

“…..”

“When I run my fingers through my hair like this, sometimes I can feel a twig-like hair. When I feel that, I can experience a feeling of elation, like when I’m making love to a woman I love.”

Ain watched Ed silently as he suddenly started talking about himself.

“It’s not comparable to the pleasure of climaxing, but as a momentary pleasure, it’s no different.”

“Hee…”

“Hah… I don’t like your attitude either. Your condescending tone irritates me.”

It’s narrow-minded, but you could say it’s a unique sense of values.

Ed’s words piqued Ain’s interest, but the essence of what he said didn’t seem to make much sense.

Then he let out a long sigh, bent his body into a bow, and pushed the spear towards Ain with a smooth movement.

“I will kill you more than ever.”

Ain blocked it with his sword and, looking into Ed’s face, replied.

“I’ll do the same. Just so you know, I have no intention of losing.”

As he replied, the four black tentacles that came out of his back―the Illusory Hands―appeared.

Just like when Ain and Katima called them Dark Straws in the past, they were equipped with special claws.

“Ah, it’s strange. It’s like something from the past has come out.”

“Well, while you’re at it, you can also experience the power of this Red Fox.”

The four illusory hands moved around as if they had a mind of their own.

Without exception, they all moved to target Ed’s legs, torso, head, and spear.

“You’re good at this…”

“You act like you have it easy, but I’m not going to let this be the end of it…!”

That’s right. It’s the sword that Ain had.

This sword, made by Mouton, was unmatched in sharpness and was also Ain’s most effective means of attack.

Seeing that Ed has lost his balance, Ain takes a step forward and swings the sword, intending to cut off his head.

“Tch. How annoying!”

“As I thought, you’re fast.”

If he had been a fraction of a second slower, his head would have been cut off.

Ain’s sharp blow missed Ed’s neck and cut him at the collarbone.

Seeing Ed’s quick movement, Ain shook his head in annoyance.

“What kind of disturbing tentacles are those? What are you hiding? From my point of view, those tentacles are more frightening than that dirty sword.”

“I don’t know. You’ll know when they actually hit you, right?”

“Hahaha… I’ll pass on that one!”

Ed’s counterattack hit Ain’s shoulder.

It was blocked by the Dullahan gauntlet but would have penetrated normal armor.

The blow was so sharp that Ain fell backward.

“Sorry. This is how a skilled fighter fights…”

At that moment, Ed threw his spear at Ain, using the resulting opening to get even deeper into his opponent’s embrace.

He took a short knife from his trousers and plunged it into Ain’s chest―but Ed stopped right there.

“Thank you for teaching me. Thanks to you, I’ve also learned how to get in this way.”

While Ain spoke like a bad actor, Ed turned his attention to Ain’s ear.

When he noticed the jewel in her ear, his expression turned pale with alarm.

“The ruby of the earth…?”

“Ah, that’s right. Strange that you didn’t notice.”

Ain smiles menacingly.

Then Ed noticed a presence approaching him from behind.

It was true that a rift had appeared, but Ain had assumed that a rift would appear.

Let the flesh be sliced to sever the bone―if Ed had stepped in fully, he would not be able to escape the illusory hand.

“You… you bastard!”

Ed moved his body skillfully, desperately trying to get away from Ain.

But he couldn’t escape one of them…

“I have to avoid it…”

“No. I have no intention of letting you avoid it.”

One of the illusory hands stabbed deep into Ed’s thigh.

The illusory hand then began to pulse heavily, as if you could almost hear it swallowing a drink.

“T-this thing… is sucking my power!”

Ed’s bad premonition came true.

He quickly used a knife to cut the illusory hand, and after a few seconds, he was finally freed.

“Hah…! Hah…!”

“This tastes terrible. I’d rather taste rotten fish. It’s annoying that I have to fill up with this.”

Ed, who had desperately gained some distance, looked at Ain with a haggard face, as if he had suddenly aged.

“Where did all your confidence go, Red Fox?”

“Hah… hah… I have never seen a creature like you before…!”

Watching Ed slowly gain distance, Ain slowly and cautiously took a step forward.

“I’ve never heard of a crown prince stronger than a marshal!”

“I see. Well, I don’t feel bad… for now.”

The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of the earth underfoot.

The two forces were still clashing around them, but the place where Ain and Ed stood was cut off from them like another world.

The sudden realization that he had become stronger made Ain feel like he was in a dream, but he was also genuinely happy with how well he had held his own against Ed.

“I’m not going to lose. I told you that, right? Because…”

Because I’m the Demon King.

He muttered this to himself in the end.

For Ain, becoming the Demon King started with Marco.

When he thought about it, he had no intention of losing, no matter what happened.

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