Even after giving up my body and feelings, my feelings of envy barely subsided at all. That was probably the portion of my envy that had been directed at Lorna.
The large Hell that formed the base wasn't filled in at all.
My feeling of impatience isn't lessening at all. In a daze, I cleaned myself up, and nimbly put on the clothing I had discarded.
"Thank you… for your time…"
"…"
Leigie-sama shows not an iota of movement. Even during the act, he barely moved at all.
Even when I deeply lower my head, he doesn't give an answer. His eyes remained closed. I was on the verge of tears.
Does this Demon Lord even have any sexual desire? No, I'll bet he does.
I mean, that's why we were able to do it in the first place.
The King of Idleness.
Experiencing his abnormal way of life once more, I felt an extreme feeling of loss and despair. I can't even raise a hollowed out laugh.
But if this isn't it, then what could be the source of the Envy I obtained?
I had always thought it stemmed from the yearning I had towards Leigie-sama. The Luxuria I obtained through my Envy was in order to catch Leigie-sama's eye, and that's why I always feigned being one.
This can't be. I can't follow this anymore.
I cannot find the target of my Envy. It must have been something that birthed emotions great enough to awaken me to my Sin.
What should I do from now on?
My swaying field of vision. Without my thoughts coming into order, my uncertain feet headed for the door.
I undo the lock, and open it.
"… Hm. Are you done yet?"
"… Ah… I see…"
That voice enlightened me.
… So I'm already out of time.
Leaning his body on the wall outside, was a black haired man glaring at me.
Supreme Commander, Heard Lauder.
Leigie's top follower.
At the same time I reached enlightenment, an intense anger stained the scene before me in red.
… So be it. If you'll get in my way, then seeing whether or not your 『Superbia』 is stronger than my 『Invidia』 isn't a bad option.
I've lost the trail I had been following for years, and I'm in the mood to take my anger out on someone.
I get by breathing in order.
"Kusu kusu, Medea-san, did you fulfill your desire?"
Next to him stands Hiero. With a tasteless full smile, she looked down on me.
It's not fulfilled. There's no way it could be fulfilled.
I still have regret remaining. No, my regret has only gotten deeper.
I lick my lips. Luckily, my tears had already stopped. Well, there's no doubt I'm making a terrible expression right now.
I straighten my shaking legs.
I raise my eyes to see the Demon of Pride, two heads taller than me.
Of course, I'm not being negligent, but Pride Demons generally don't initiate surprise attacks. Even more so when the enemy is of lower status.
Just in case, I confirm it one last time.
"Heard Lauder… do you plan on fighting me…?"
"… To direct killing intent at me, you've grown up admirably, have you not. Fight? Wrong, this is simple… judgement."
The same intolerable tone as ever.
But there, Heard seemed to suddenly remember something.
"… Hm, but you have accomplished the meritorious deed of troubling Leigie-sama, and thus weakening him."
"… What? What are you…"
Weakening… Leigie-sama?
Meritorious?
This man… what is he…
Deije's lines revive in my mind.
A bad premonition. Right, that's what he said.
The pressure I can feel just by him standing there. The feeling of oppression.
A great pressure as if the air itself was being crushed, no different from when Zebul stood before my eyes.
Supreme Commander Heard Lauder's supposed to be the strongest Demon in the Army next to Leigie. But did he always have this extent of power, this air about him?
The Prideful Kaiser.
In the past, he supported this army alone, the greatest veteran. This army's dictator.
With eyes as if he was observing a stone on the side of the road, Heard inspected my whole body.
"… Right, this is an exception. In accordance to your achievements, and as mercy towards a former comrade, I don't mind keeping you around for the army's relaxation use."
"What…?"
"Kusu kusu kusu, isn't that nice, Medea-san? To get away without dying. Kusu kusu, isn't this your long-cherished ambition as a『Luxuria』?"
Hiero laughs annoyingly.
Ah, this is no good.
Even if I'm not Wrath, I feel a great need to kill this one.
Strange? Sense of discomfort? Strong?
I know all of that.
But if I stayed silent here after all this, I would be a failure as a Demon.
Even if I don't govern Superbia, I have my pride.
Even if I don't govern Wrath, there are things that make me angry.
Right now, 『Envy』 isn't even coming to mind.
"… Heard, I am thankful to you. Back when I was just a normal Demon, you gave me a job."
"… Hm, I need no thanks. All I care about is the result."
And he laughed scornfully, as if to say, 'And you didn't even bring about any results.'
But even if his eyes shined with pride, he wasn't negligent.
To eliminate even the million to one chance of him slipping, to protect his pride, he performed all of his abnormal training.
That is the nature of the one who continues to reign over Pride, Heard Lauder.
As such, he has always shined as the Supreme Commander of Leigie-sama's forces.
From the depths of his existence, magic, desire is drawn out.
It's been about three days since the end of the Zebul War. Physical state aside, my magic is in perfect condition.
"… Should we change locations?"
He probably knew I wasn't expecting a yes.
With an uninterested expression, exactly like Leigie's, he looked down on me.
"Location… Hm, there's no need. No, more so, doing it here saves some effort."
"… Meaning?"
"No, I was talking to myself there… Now, Medea Luxeliahart. Come at me."
Hiero quietly moves herself to the side.
Heard seems quite relaxed. Without a sign of him having entered a battle stance, his face continued to lord over and despise everything equally.
I'm being taken lightly.
… Fine. I'll call your bet.
Without letting my guard down, and paying attention to Heard's movements, I took in a deep breath…
…I used the『Imitate』 skill.
My thoughts flash like lightning, and race around my body.
What floats in my mind is a green-haired girl. Alone, she led her army, and turned her blade to the Great Demon King; a powerful Demon Lord.
The flames of Envy burn up before my eyes.
Without restraint, I expend the pool of magic I had been saving up.
My knees shake. My body falls backward for a moment. It's a frightening Mana cost. The amount even exceeded that used up by the SS Skill of the Demon Lord of Lust, 『Phantom Aliquot Dance』.
It was a true Demon Lord's Skil.
Originally, it's the summit reached only by Demons who have put thousands and thousands of years into fulfilling their cravings.
I Envied that. Without any respect or honor.
Something weighs down on my hand.
It's an 『Invidia』 Skill to perfectly preserve the Skills of those I've Envied.
『Imitate』.
Just like 『Avaritia』's 『Skill Ruler』, it skips the experience required to achieve it, a means reserved to Envy.
Unlike with 『Skill Ruler』, where you can strengthen gained skills, with 『Imitate』 you can use the Skills in the state from which they were imitated.
The same level at which the real one used it.
『Fang of Origin』
It was the skill she used in the battle with Leigie-sama.
A curved pure white crescent-moon-shaped blade manifested before me, before being clad in the black mists of hunger.
Heard frowned. But even after seeing me use a Skill that clearly wasn't Lust, he wasn't shocked.
I'll bet Hiero told him. By nature, Demons who govern Pride have an absolute hierarchical system among them.
I had forgotten. No, I didn't connect it. The Supreme Commander, and the maid apprentice.
But that doesn't really matter. That won't do anything to break a Demon Lord's Skills.
"That is… Hm, Zebul the Devourer… a Gula Skill, is it?"
"…"
Pressure. Frightening starvation. The blade sucks up my nutrients, and my vision grows hazy. My footing becomes unsteady.
Completely ignoring that, I lowered my body to the ground, and kicked the floor.The tip of the sword grazed the floor as it made a vacuum with its swing.
It was something even Leigie-sama had to dodge. The skill Zebul selected from her eternity of life specifically to eliminate the Lord of Sloth.
In just a single step, I close in on him, and swing upwards.
Heard, seeing that attack, smiled with obvious disdain.
Vibrations as if the building was shaking. The floor gives in. The moment before the blade was able to eat into him, his form vanished.
The fang easily pierces through the wall protected by a barrier.
"… Hm, as I thought… how useless."
From behind, I heard a voice. When I hurriedly turned around, my flank was struck. Befrore I could even feel any pain, my vision was buried in a wall.
Pain. An impact that shook my entire body. Judgement. A decrease in my ability to sustain life. The sharp pain in my flank. A few of my bones are gone.
The back of my head is being pressed hard.
"Even if you have a Demon Lord's skills, a measly Invidia would never be able to master them."
The right arm holding the sword was crushed. My hand is forcefully opened. The fang turns to sand, and fades.
It wasn't that absurd teleportation that Leigie-sama displayed. It was pure movement based on his physical ability. It was just simple speed, but to my level of dynamic vision, it was no different than instantaneous.
The idle Leigie.
The Dynamic Heard.
What physical strength. His sense of battle without a moment's hesitation. My head is removed from the wall before it is rocked by another impact.
A thunderous roar. My semisircular canals are shaking. I can't even tell what happened, but I do know that damage is piling up on my body.
My vision is tinted red.
"…Hm, as I thought, you're just a lowly 『Invidia』… Just what part of this one caught Deije's eyes… I cannot comprehend."
"… Dei…je…"
On those words, that name, my hazy conscience responded.
I instinctively activate 『Imitate』. The target is a Demon of 『Avaritia』. The Usurper, Deije Breindac.
I'm jealous. I can't help but be jealous.
Of his physical ability.
Power returns to my powerless arms. Red hot blood. The experience of Deije, who exchanged blows with a Demon Lord.
I grab Heard's hand, which had grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. To the limit of my power. I try to crush it.
But Heard's hand doesn't waver in the slightest.
"… So that's Deije's brute strength… hm, it's a waste to have been lent to someone like you."
My body floats. By the time I noticed it, I had been singlehandedly thrown.
My head experiences a shock. But that's instantly dealt with using my Status Abnormality Resistance. My dynamic vision perfectly capture the wall closing in on me. But I'm unable to do anything.
I protect my head before I crash. It's an impact that cuts through my body. Perhaps due to Deije's durability, I don't particularly take too much damage.
The Demon of Pride started approaching me as if he was taking a leisure stroll.
"Hm… not bad. 『Invidia』, I will permit you to envy Leigie-sama."
"… What are…"
A warped smile floats on Heard's mouth.
"You envied him, right? As you swung your hips above him. Hm, I'm telling you to go use that, fool."
This man… just how much will he make a fool of me?
The amount of rage I feel is dyeing my head red.
Suddenly, Deije's words revive again.
『Well, do your best. As a former Supreme Commander, for argument's sake, I'm praying for your survival, girly. 』
Right, no matter what, I need to stay alive.
… To fulfill my desire.
I stop imitating his physical ability.
Power drains out of my body. But I at least have enough strength to stand. And I use my magic again.
Me small consolation was that I was unable to fully manifest the『Fang of Origin』, so I still have some magic.
I lick my lips. Don't look down on Envy. I yearn for everything, desire for it, even if I am unable to change myself, I Envy.
"… Then I'll show it to you. The power of the Lord of Sloth!"
What I imagine is my lord. Always in the bed, on the floor, on the rough ground of the desert, Always sprawled out with a pained expression on his face, lazily lowering his hand as if to squash a fly. The lone King of Sloth. The Needless King.
Think.
Of his power. Of his way of life.
… And I envied that Skill.
I lightly swung my hand.
Heard's body was suddenly thrown against the wall.
As if he had been crushed by my hand.
How should I put this…what an idle Skill.
Upon the lack of any resistance I felt, I looked at my own hand in amazement.
Good grief, there isn't a single feeling on my hand. All I did was wave it. With a loud sound, cracks spread across the barrier-protected wall.
Without thinking anything, I clenched my hand.
Just with that, wrinkles spread across Heard's black clothing as if it had been gripped.
『Miracle Wonder Lighthand』
That was the Skill's name. The name of the Skill I learned through Leigie.
While it may be miraculous, or wonderful, I think there's something wrong with that name. But it's definitely strong. One-sidedly strong.
On top of having almost no demerits, you can one-sidedly attack over a distance.
But even after taking the skill that was enough to slaughter Zebul, the Demon of Pride doesn't seem panicked.
"『Sky Hand』, is it… how useless."
Even while being ensnared, Heard looks down on me.
At that moment, the skill was forcibly cancelled.
His floating body falls, and he lands gracefully on his feet. His body and expression haven't taken damage.
He smooths out his wrinkled clothes with his hand. With a bored look.
I can't believe it… what did he do? He cancelled out a skill from the Lazy King?
No, that's not it. I can kinda understand what he did.
Heard Lauder is a Demon of Pride.
That being the case, there is but a single answer I can reach.
This is 『Superbia』's 『Overrule』 Skill.
I determined it had crossed over the depths of my heart… It has the ability to nullify Overruled Skills, and to bring about absolute status adjustment to Overruled opponents. One of the abilities of Pride.
But that cannot be. Even if he can Overrule most skills, this isn't normal.
"That can't… how were you able to do that to Leigie-sama's…"
"… Hm, pointless. Invidia, I asked you you to use it, did I not? I asked you to imitate it, did I not? Leigie of Sloth's…"
He hesitates for a moment.
He pushes the sole of his foot into the ground, and attacks by lowering his other raised leg.
Even if I noticed, even if I knew, it was a lightning fast speed I couldn't react to.
My body slams into the ground.
His immense power makes me unable to believe he's of the same General Class.
His shoe, probably made of Dragon Leather grinds into my head as if he was treading over trash.
Even without looking, I can tell. His cold stare like a slap to the face. His piercing sharp, honed fighting spirit.
Heard Loader spoke as if spitting out his words.
"…『VIT』."
There was power imbued in his words. I understood.
This one's… on another level.
Even after having lived long years, there are plenty of Demons who don't hold considerable power. I've seen more than enough of them. But this one's different.
I don't know how old he is, but his battle experience, magic, authority, all of it numbered close to the time he spent living.
Why, how. Why has a Pride Demon of this rank resigned himself to be the subordinate of a Demon Lord?
… I can't win.
I barely move my head that was being trampled, and looked up a Heard.
"You… what… are you trying to do!?"
"… I told you to 『Imitate』. I did not tell you to open your mouth."
After lifting his leg in an instant, it came down, and crushed my jaw.
Sharp pain. Blood spreads across my mouth, and the hard item I can barely feel is probably my teeth, or bone. My blood spreads across the ground, but for some reason, my vision became strangely clear.
Within my hazy conscious, my thoughts cannot keep up.
My sight is tinted a light black. Someone is looking down over me.
"… Kusu kusu kusu… Heard-san, this child's lost consciousness, it seems."
"… Hm… well it was my mistake to place expectations on her, I guess. If she could only reproduce a fraction of Leigie-sama's power, it would still be fine… is what it means."
"… Well I guess that's that. Kusu kusu kusu, in the first place, this one was said to be the weakest among the commanding officers."
I can't hear anything. I can't see anything.
I feel my Soul Core rapidly losing power.
I've taken too much damage. I used too many skills that were too much for me.
And still, I wasn't a match.
My vision darkens. I can't see anything. I can't feel anything.
At that time, a clear image flooded into my mind.
It wasn't of the few thousand years I spent alive.
It was of Leigie-sama hugging me in place of his pillow, and bringing me here.
That sensation was vivid. His bored expression. His arms, from which I couldn't even sense warmth. With his eyes still closed, an unmoving Leigie-sama.
Leigie-sama roughly spreading me over the bed. Kanon-sama frowning upon finding me.
Leigie comparing options with sleepy eyes. It was the first time anxiety had been born into my heart.
Leigie-sama let go of me.
And what he held instead was…
An impact jolts my head. I don't really care that I was on the brink of death.
I'm not sure by what logic, but color starts returning to my eyes.
N-not even being able to die when killed… this is too much.
Pillow!? … Wai… don't tell me the origin of my…
I unintentionally cried out, but my mouth had been smashed so a strange voice came out.
"Faa… hyo…"
"… Huh? You still have consciousness? Kusu kusu, you're a tough one. There!"
Fingers like whitebait, a pointed hand mercilessly thrusted at both of my eyes.
My eyes are crushed, and my vision becomes pitch black by very physical means. I managed to wring out a scream from my throat. The fingers continue to dig around inside my eyes.
The intense pain makes me really feel me consciousness leaving me this time.
I really don't care anymore. Just kill me already…
My senses are paralyzed. The sensation of the fingers on my eyes. I don't even feel pain anymore. It's just the feeling of movement there was extremely disturbing.
The moment my consciousness was swallowed by darkness again, I heard a faint voice.
"Kusu kusu, Heard-san. You don't need this anymore, right? Can I take it then?"
"… Hm, I don't need it, but… what do you plan to use it for…?"
My body sways. My sensations are out of line.
"This… I think I'll be able to Overrule it. I thought it would be useful for a little 『Experiment』…"
"… Hm, so be it. That is but another way for a 『Superbia』 to advance, but let me just add this. I don't care what you do with it, but make sure you throw it away once you're done."
"Kusu kusu kusu, I know, Heard-san. Please leave the cleanup to me. Heard-san, you have to… Leigie-sama…"
"… Correct. I don't have the time to be wasting on trivial matters… Hm, I've used some time pointlessly. Leigie the Depraved… is it? My father sure has fallen. I'll make sure to make a final greeting."
I'm fading, but I can still feel a faint beat in my Soul Core.
More importantly…
The words I was barely able to pick up from Heard pique my curiosity.
As I lose focus on my own conscious, my mind falls to hell.
I frantically regain focus.
Fa…ther? What does that mean?
Heard Lauder's father is Leigie-sama?
First I've heard of it. I've been here for a while, but I've never heard of something like that. Not even a rumor.
Something is wrong. Letting Heard go like that is wrong.
But I cannot move my body. My consciousness either.
My life flashing before my eyes increases my heart rate, and my mind resurface, but I'm at my limit.
My arms won't even twitch. It's like the unmoving feeling was all I could feel.
It felt as if I had lingering regrets.
"Haa… oneechan's the same, but Medea-san, you're too durable… Do you really have that many regrets in life? Kusu kusu, really Lust and Envy are too sturdy… But Leigie-sama's another story…"
Impacts shake my whole body, and my breath stopped instantly.
Before that happened, a dim light had returned to my eyes.
What was in front of me was the form of Hiero pouring the contents of a small glass bottle.
Drops of water flow down my face. The intense pain that followed my sudden revival made me try to cry out, but Hiero stuffed a shoe in my mouth.
"Goh…!"
"Well, well, don't trouble me so much, Medea-san. Kusu kusu, if Heard-san finds out, he'll kill us all together, won't he? Can't you be quiet for a while?"
As if something was interesting, she smiled as she moved the shoe around again and again, before finally removing it.
After that, she fished another glass bottle out of her pocket.
That marketing logo on the bottle… it's a Potion made to restore lifeforms. It's something I have familiarity with seeing lined up in the army's storerooms.
After removing the cap, she starts sprinkling it on me from a needlessly high altitude.
Potions are a super high class commodity. They're a miracle medicine that can even regenerate lost body parts.
Normally, one doesn't have the leisure to take one out in battle, so it's something that's saved for emergency situations, when they're really needed.
A potions effects include softening pain. My crushed jaw is repaired.
"Arara, so even two wasn't enough. Your HP must be really high… want a third one…?"
"I-I don't need one… I'm fine already!"
"Kusu kusu, don't be reckless. See, see."
"Gu…"
Her foot tread over my ribs.
There's pain as if something was broken inside of my stomach.
I can't even tell what's going on anymore. Is she trying to harass me, or is she healing me?
The second I opened my mouth to complain, a bottle was thrust in.
Liquid flows directly down my throat. When I thought I was about to break out into a coughing fit, her hand forcefully closed my mouth.
From my nose, potion flows. Seeing that, she gives a light and refined smile.
"Goho, goho, w-what are you scheming?"
"Hmm? Scheme? I just saved you, so I think there's something you should say first, right?"
What an irritating phrasing.
But… saved?
I hurriedly observe the surroundings. The crack in the wall, and the collapsed floor. My location hasn't changed at all from the moment I lost consciousness.
I feel cheated for some reason.
"Now, now Medea… wheres~ your~ thanks~?"
She speaks with a sparkling smile.
I grit my teeth.
"… Thank you. I was saved."
"Kusu kusu, my pleasure. From now on, you should learn your place, and know when to run, you know? There's no way you'd ever be able to beat Heard-san, Medea-san. In the first place, 『Superbia』 has a strong affinity against 『Invidia』."
She strokes my hair as if patting a dog.
It irritates me, but the fact that I still have my life is lucky.
More importantly, my feelings of questioning how and why are stronger.
Having received my glance, Hiero lets out a sigh.
The passageway… she looked around the corner of the passage that led to Leigie-sama's room, and looked down on me with philanthropic eyes.
"No… isn't there the possibility that Leigie-sama will ask to embrace Medea-san again? Only in the realm of great possibilities, in the million to one area, though… kusu kusu…"
I… I cannot comprehend.
It's too unfamiliar to me. How does that Lorna have a sister like this?
I don't get the meaning. I cannot comprehend.
Heard's power was frightening, but so is Hiero's mentality.
For that reason… she didn't even change locations, but healed me as I was?
If Heard returned, what did you plan on doing?
My thoughts swirl. Her over-the top reason made it so I could only return a sentence.
"… I don't think that'll ever happen."
"I'm of the same opinion. I mean, your body is so scarce… if it was oneechan, I would understand, though…"
Are you picking a fight?
"No, but, if Leigie-sama ever invites you to his bed, you'll respond, right? Try saying it. I was saved by Hiero of 『Superbia』, so please relish in my scarce body."
It's something with an almost one hundred percent chance of never happening, but I resolved myself to never use that line if such an opportunity did arise.
This isn't about having my life saved or anything, I just won't.
"Kusu kusu kusu, well, let's leave the jokes around here…"
… So that was a joke.
She's always smiling, so I can never tell whether she's being sincere or messing around.
With a serious expression, Hiero looked at the passageway. A fleeting glance as if to indicate Leigie-sama's room.
"Heard-san intends on killing Leigie-sama. He'll aim for the gap where he's been weakened from fighting the Demon Lord."
"… Hah? Wha, why… no, that's wrong… I see."
That's not sane.
Even if he just defeated a Demon Lord, Leigie-sama barely got any wounds, and he barely used any Skills. He doesn't seem weakened at all. No, he's sleeping, so it's not like I can tell, but…
Even so, if Heard intends to kill him… he must have some sort of plan.
In the first place, killing one's master is one form of Pride.
If that's the meaning behind Heard's incomprehensible words, then I can understand.
Continuing on, after a large stretch, Hiero let out a sigh.
Her eyes filled with annoyance were tinted with a color unbecoming of her young appearance.
"I've made a bet with myself, you see. I'm definitely a Pride Demon like him, but unrelated to that, I bet that Heard-san will lose. Well, it's just instinct, so if Heard-san does attain victory, then I'll slay Medea-san right here. Kusu kusu kusu… in truth, I'm a strong ally to have you know."
"… I see."
This one is no good. She's natural trash.
But her saving my life is also a fact. I decided not to voice my opinion.
I stand up, and move my body. My magic is pretty much empty, but the pain is gone.
My wounds have been completely healed.
"… Then why did you fully heal me? You could just make it so I barely survived, or something…"
Even if she didn't restore my Mana, there should be a difference in ability between me and Hiero.
If she fully heals me, the possibility that I would run away would be high.
On my question, Hiero threw out a carefree answer.
"… That~ is~ because eight out of nine times, Leigie-sama will win! Heard-san definitely is absurdly strong, but… Leigie-sama's power is incomprehensible. Pride is extraordinarily weak towards the unknown…if his opponent was weakened, he might be able to pull through, but Leigie-sama is Demon Lord Rank Three. It would be the end once he unraveled a skill he'd never displayed before, wouldn't it? Definitely."
Again, those admirably bitter words. But as a Pride like him, her words held some persuasive power.
I was crushed to death with worry, and alongside Hiero, I looked over the corner.
… Pillow, desire, what should I do.