3. King of Demons
―― How far have I fallen?
Lexia woke up. No, she has awakened might be more accurate.
“…… a, uh, oh.”
All she could manage was a groan.
If she had fallen and died instantly, she might still have been glad.
Throbbing, her whole body hurts. Her body is bent in the wrong direction, and a dull ache persists in the depths of her body, as if bones have pierced her internal organs.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts – but that sensation went on forever.
But even complaining about it is too painful.
In the abyss, where the sun never shines, she could only hear “voices”.
『Oh, oooooh, ooooooh, ooooooooooh,』
『Ah, aaah, aah, ah, ah, a』
『I, Gigigihihi, Kugigihi…』
“U, uh, uo…! “
It hurts, it’s scary, it’s horrible – all kinds of emotions swirl through her mind.
She remembers the fact that she was pushed down and that her comrades didn’t need her.
(I wonder, why, I am still alive…)
How much easier would it have been if she had fallen and died? Unable to move due to pain, all that remains in her heart is the despair of being abandoned.
There is no way that Meik would come to such an abyss.
In the first place, Lexia was not necessary for Meik.
『Oh, oooooh, oooooh,』
“Ah, uh, uh…”
Lexia couldn’t help but groan, echoing the voices she’d heard in the abyss.
Unable to return to the surface, Lexia is just waiting for death.
The pain is the only thing that lasts, and her body can’t move, she will simply wait for a monster to come along.
Or, she might die from the blood loss.
(But, no, more…)
Knowing that she would not be saved, Lexia became terribly calm.
But right now, she just wants to get comfortable… That’s all she feels at the moment.
All she can hear are the same lamenting ‘voices’.
『Oh, ooooh, oooh, ooh, ooooh,』
『Lo, Nly… 』
『I, Gugi, Gugu…』
“……?”
For a moment, she thought she had misheard.
Among the moans that only sounded the same, there was a ‘human voice’ mixed in.
It shouldn’t be, but Lexia could hear a girl’s voice.
(If I can hear auditory hallucinations, I’m done for――)
『~who, someone, there?』
“……!”
This time, she heard it clearly.
At the bottom of this abyss, the girl’s voice could be heard clearly.
Lexia turned her aching body around and crawled on the ground.
She dragged herself across the floor, wet with her own blood, and forced herself to move.
Her body, which earlier she had felt completely unable to move, now somehow moved a little.
The pain is still there, but for some reason… that voice really bothers her.
Slithering, pulling, Lexia continues to crawl along the floor. ――How far has she gone?
Eventually, in the darkness, where no sunlight can reach, Lexia sees a glowing purple light.
“Ss, ord…?”
A straight sword with a purple glow piercing a rock.
To think there was a sword in a place like this, but she remembered that this was an area that may have been inhabited before.
It was not surprising that there would be traces left.
In other words, that sword belonged to someone who once lived here.
『Who, are you?』
“Eh, swo, s… speaks, how?”
With a mouth that did not move satisfactorily, she was surprised by that fact.
It was no hallucination, and the voice was certainly coming from the purple sword.
『It’s a person, it’s a person, it’s been so long… who?』
“Lek, shia”
『Lexia, I will remember. Lexia, will you be my Lord?』
“Your, Lord…?”
At the question of the sword, Lexia tilted her head.
She didn’t understand what it was talking about – but Lexia was standing in front of the sword before she noticed.
With a body that should not have moved, she touches the sword without any effort. As if echoing in her head, she heard the voice.
『Lexia, you are my Lord.』
“Oh, who, you…?”
『I am――』
Suddenly, a strong purple light shone brightly, and a girl appeared.
A girl without a stitch of clothing and with purple-coloured hair. The girl, who had cat-like ears and a tail, lovingly touched Lexia’s blood-soaked lips with her own lips.
“――”
Suddenly, Lexia’s thoughts froze.
She couldn’t keep up with anything. Just as the sword was speaking, a girl appeared and kissed her.
The girl licks Lexia’s blood-stained mouth and tells her expressionlessly.
“I am Lochness. Nice to meet you, Lexia.”
――Lexia never imagined that she would hear that name at the bottom of the abyss.
The girl who was abandoned by her companions met a girl with the same name as a demon that ruled this world.
“Luc, kines…!?”
With a tongue that doesn’t turn well, Lexia repeats the words.
――The 《King of Demons》, enemies of humanity who pollute the lands where people can live.
One of them is 《Lochness the Weeping Cat》.
However, the girl’s appearance bears no resemblance to what had been transmitted.
Five years ago, the image that was magically “telegraphed” into a crystal was a three-eyed feline with jet-black fur.
A figure with three crimson eyes, that was the confirmed appearance which was taken from about tens of meters away. ――The party that used the crystal was wiped out without a trace. In the first place, she was a sword just a while ago.
(A-And, now, kiss…. w-why…)
Lexia seems to be unable to comprehend… Then…
“Kululu Lulul”
“…… Oh!”
A distinctive, high-pitched sound reaches her ears from the surroundings. It is very different from the moans heard in the abyss. Lexia has heard this sound several times.
“Ku, shu na…!”
The monster called 《Kushna》. They look like small insects of a few dozen centimeters in size. They have a characteristic cry and act in swarms. Although the fighting power of each individual is not that high, they act in swarms of dozens to hundreds of them. ――And they are ‘carnivores’.
The smell of blood flowing from Lexia attracted the Kushna.
Their cries echo through the abyss.
“Kuulul”
“Kuul”
“Kuulululu”
“Ah, u… “
Lexia has no way to fight them – it’s strange that she’s even alive in the first place.
However, Lexia instinctively acted to defend Lochness, the little girl in front of her …… Even though they have the same name, she looks like a girl. And Lexia couldn’t leave her alone because they could communicate. The moment she touched Lochness,
『Okay, if Lexia wills it.』
“Eh?”
Her body glows purple and she takes on the form of a sword once more. It was in Lexia’s hands.
Although her body was already powerless, the sword, Lochness, contrary to appearances, was so light that she was able to lift it.
『Lexia, I will be your strength.』
“Srenght, tte… that’s, even if, why.”
『Come now, you should soon understand. ‘Pain’ is your power.』
To the trembling Lexia, Lochness declares:
Information that Lexia does not know flows into her mind. Lexia wielded powers she couldn’t use.
“『Blaa du, niii, dolu』”
Stumblingly, Lexia utters the words.
The path of blood created by her crawling, the blood that was in the place where she fell ―― bashun, turned into needles and splattered all around.
Countless needles of blood pierced the bodies of Kushna lurking in the darkness. A dull sound echoes around them, and tiny death throes reverberate.
“Th, this is…”
『This, is Lexia’s power.』
The Kushna’s blue blood drips down around her, mixed with Lexia’s red blood.
At the bottom of the abyss ――the girl has obtained 《Power》.
Sads Translates 