Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 228

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 228 – Ain and Ain

Ain wanted to remember when he was trained by Cain in the spirit world.

Now that Krone was by Ain’s side, Ain was alone in his heart.

“Huh? Where am I?”

Suddenly, Ain regained his self-awareness.

As if waking from a dream, Ain’s consciousness suddenly awakened.

“This is the Roundheart Mansion, right?”

He looked around. The scene was exactly the same as the Roundheart Mansion, where he had spent his childhood. And he was standing in the garden of the mansion…

Without knowing why, he smiled wryly and noticed that it was eerily quiet, and he couldn’t even hear the sound of the wind.

“Let’s get out of here for now. I don’t want to stay here for long.”

With a sigh, Ain headed for the main gate.

He goes out quickly, trying not to dwell on the nostalgia he doesn’t like, and…

“…Eh?”

Oddly enough, the scenery had changed.

After leaving the Roundheart Mansion, Ain somehow found himself in the garden of the Augusto Mansion.

“I don’t understand what’s going on… What’s the meaning of this?”

He wanted to calm down to check what had happened since he lost himself, but he couldn’t calm down at all.

Then, Ain suddenly started running and hurriedly went outside the grounds of the Augusto Mansion, but…

(Why?)

The moment he got outside, the scenery changed again.

However, he did not recognize the new scenery. This time, he was standing in a field of blue fire roses, and the scene stretched as far as the eye could see.

“What on earth is happening…?”

Ain, struggling to comprehend the situation, showed his frustration without hiding it.

Then he finally heard a sound.

It was the sound of footsteps on the blue fire roses.

“You woke up?”

“…Who are you?”

The man who had come spoke to Ain. Ain did not turn to answer, and the man who had come continued with a half-smile.

“I am Ain. And who are you?”

Ain spoke bluntly.

“What a coincidence. I’m Ain, too.”

But the man’s eyes reflected another Ain back to him. The only difference was that his hair and eyes were jet-black.

While Ain stood dumbfounded, the man who called himself Ain continued to speak cheerfully.

“However, if I were to add one word to that, it would be… Demon King.”

◇ ◇ ◇

“Are you kidding me?”

It was a spontaneous decision, but Ain took a few steps away from the man who had introduced himself as Ain.

Then he drew his sword from his hip and readied it.

“I am not joking. I am you, and you are me. I would have taken up residence in your body, and you would have used my power.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“I fought Marco and awakened as the demon king. Since coming to this filthy country, I was able to put an end to my long-standing grudge. The rest was easy―that filthy fox took advantage of my weakness. I think you remember.”

“I see; I understand now. You are…!”

Ain attacked without warning.

Realizing his true identity from his words, he swung his sword with murderous intent.

“Do you remember now? That’s right, you gave yourself a name, didn’t you? The World Tree of Gluttony… That’s it!”

The two of them swung their swords and competed with each other.

However, even though they were supposed to be the same existence, the World Tree of Gluttony showed a power that was cut above the rest.

“What’s the matter, Ain? Where has your proud power gone?”

“…Shut up. Does the Demon King also use boring mental attacks?”

“Haha, you haven’t changed your cheeky attitude.”

Despite trying to be strong, Ain certainly lacked power compared to usual.

Even the grip strength needed to hold a sword was somehow unsatisfactory.

“You’re wondering why, aren’t you? Why is your body so weak?”

“Shut up! Just shut up!”

“Don’t say that, I’ll tell you. It’s because I’m the Demon King.”

Even as they engage in swordplay, the World Tree of Gluttony was completely unfazed.

It continued to speak as if mocking Ain, gradually toying with him.

“Is the Demon King so speech impaired that he can’t understand what I’m saying?”

“You’re young, and you get angry when you don’t understand, but I’m the Demon King, and I’m Ain. Do you understand?”

“So… what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Then who the hell are you?”

With these words, Ain is hit by the sword of the World Tree of Gluttony and blown away.

“I am Ain…! I was born after Arche… I’m the second Demon King!”

However, he quickly stood up and attacked again. The feeling of dissatisfaction he felt during this time only made him more irritated, but he couldn’t stop here.

“Then… try fighting as the Demon King!”

“Yes, I’ll do it. I want to kill you quickly and return to Ishtalika…!”

This must be the spirit world. He had this kind of consciousness, but he didn’t understand what would happen if he used his powers.

Nevertheless, Ain gathered his strength in his entire body, his Dullahan armor… and using all the skills he had cultivated, he made up his mind to attack the World Tree of Gluttony. However,

“Huh? Why is… my power…!”

No matter what he was aware of, it didn’t activate, and even when he put all his power into his body, nothing changed.

He couldn’t feel even a little bit of the power surging through him, and Ain’s face fell into a daze.

“What is it, Ain? How long do I have to wait?”

He gritted his teeth at the hateful voice of the World Tree of Gluttony. But nothing changed for the better.

“I will tell you. The reason is that when I evolved into a demon king. When I fought Marco, I evolved my body as a Demon King.”

“…..”

“So from that time on, I’ve been a Demon King. In other words, I have that power, not Ain.”

“Do you realize how contradictory what you’re saying is?”

“I understand the abstract concept. Then I’ll rephrase it.”

Then, numerous illusionary hands sprouted from the back of the World Tree of Gluttony, and its body was clad in Dullahan armor.

“Once I became the Demon King, all the power I had gained up to that point was mine!”

Ain’s expression changed. It was a look of pain and sadness that was difficult to describe.

Even though he was tormented by feelings that bordered on resignation, his trembling hands gripped his sword tightly.

“So what! Do you think that’s enough to decide the outcome of this fight?”

“What if I did?”

“Even the Demon King would laugh at such a trivial delusion!”

With his spirit nearly broken, Ain brought out his true self and swung his sword at the World Tree of Gluttony.

The Dullahan’s armor feels unbreakable. In addition, several illusionary hands on the back of the World Tree of Gluttony attacked Ain.

The situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable, but Ain still refused to give up.

“I will not tell you to give up. But you should at least try to understand reality.”

Even though he didn’t give up, the power of the World Tree of Gluttony was still immense.

Ain laughed at the power he had used until recently and said, “I didn’t know it was this strong.”

“Up until now, I was unable to completely take away your consciousness because you resisted me.

“…I’m sorry, but I don’t remember.”

“That’s because it’s unconsciousness. That’s all you can do with nothing. Why don’t you look at the edge of this world?”

Then the World Tree of Gluttony pointed into the far distance. For a moment, Ain was confused, thinking, “Is this a dirty trick?” but he looked in the direction it was pointing.

“…What are you doing, World Tree of Gluttony?”

What Ain saw was a scene of a flower garden of Blue Fire Roses stretching as far as the eye could see, collapsing and disappearing at the edges.

The sight of it gradually spreading out unsettled Ain.

“This is the last world you have left. When it collapses, your ego will disappear completely. Is that easy to understand?”

“Yes. I don’t want to understand, but it’s definitely easy to understand.”

“This is a good direction. That’s what I think.

The World Tree of Gluttony spoke in a good mood and ended with a unique expression that Ain could understand.

“Your story is heading towards an ending. But the final boss is not the Red Fox, nor is it the World Tree of Gluttony that has taken root here―the final boss is right in front of you now… it’s me.”

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