The Black Fog that Devours - CH 109

In a sense, this is an episode of a scene of carnage.

(Kurokiri POV for the whole chapter)

“We both know how you ended up in this situation, don’t we?”

In front of me is Ichiko standing there with a remarkably pleasant smile plastered all over her face.

“After returning to ‘White Fog and Black Swamp Forest,’ I had a list of questions I intended to ask you, but they had been lost in the shuffle owing to the incident with Houki-san. This is a wonderful opportunity.”

And I am made to sit on my knees.

Yeah. I was supposed to be in my private room researching skills. How did this happen?

This is unnerving, to say the least! Ichiko’s pressure is beyond belief! I’m afraid that my compelling force over Ichiko has been weakened due to her half-Demon King status, which renders her uncontrollable!

“Hey, Kurokiri.”

“What is it?”

Ichiko brings her face close to mine.

Ah, under normal circumstances or on the bed, I would want to look at her forever, but under this scenario, I want to avert my face and escape as quickly as possible.

“That girl, Tabane-chan, is that her name? Why did she say such a thing?”

“What are you talking about…?”

I make an effort to turn my face away, but Ichiko grips my face with her left arm utilizing ≪Fog Magic Grant≫ and refuses to allow me to do so.

“‘If we win, please reward me until my heart is content’. Was that right?”

“Speaking of which, she did utter such a thingー”

Despite Ichiko’s grip appearing to be tightening and my head making a slight creaking sound, I bear the discomfort and respond in a monotone.

“At this point, I’d like to make this clear.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t condemn you for surrounding yourself with girls. Considering the day I returned, it would be overwhelming for me to deal with this by myself, and I wouldn’t want to cause an outburst.”

Huh? The mistress herself is going to approve of it. I thought she would be…

“But…”

“Wait! Wait…!”

Ichiko’s fingers dig into my head with a sickening sound.

“What audacity you have to train a child like that to the degree that she will seek you out herself!”

“Arghhhhh!”

As Ichiko’s power intensifies, my head fizzles out along with my screams.

Phew. If I hadn’t moved my brain to another place beforehand, I would have died.

Indeed, if the damage is severe to the point of death since she’s my kin even if only half of it, I am positive she’ll stop her act one step before death.

“Even if your head gets smashed, the fact that you can tolerate that without issue indicates you’re developing into quite a monstrosity, right?”

Ichiko says this to me, her gaze fixed on the exact center of my body.

“Well, in essence, it’s no different than adding an arm or an eye.”

I can’t dispute, though, that I appear to be a monster. I mean, from my perspective after becoming the Demon King, I’m now a total monster for being able to duplicate my head.

“Haa. Well, I’ll leave this subject alone. No matter how much further I push it, I’m sure you’ll just dodge it.”

“Hmm. You know perfectly well how the conversation will end.”

I say this with a smug look.

“So I was told that you have been training for the past ten years, Kurokiri?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Ichiko suddenly changes the subject.

“This is sudden, but I wanted to show you the fruits of my ten years of training.”

“Hmm?”

For some reason, Ichiko initiates a series of bending exercises.

“If you’ve been training diligently, you can at least receive the fruits of my training, can’t you?”

“…”

She then rotates her arm softly, as if checking the condition of her shoulder.

“Therefore, I don’t harbor any feelings of gloom and despondency, nor do I harbor any feelings of rage, jealousy, or any of those things, but let’s trade a few blows.”

This is bad… The pressure is unbearable.

“≪Fog Magic Grant≫.”

Ichiko’s hands and feet are enveloped in fog under the effect of the skill.

“No, hold on a second! My physical physique is at the level of self-defense, and I’m more of a research-oriented, rearguard type…”

After expressing all of that, I notice Ichiko’s eyes telling me, “Just let me strike you.”

“≪Sword of the Formless King・Weak≫.”

“Uh-oh!”

Through her skill, Ichiko teleports in front of me in a straight right motion and thrusts her fist at me. In response, I swiftly transform into my human form and parry the attack.

“Aren’t you able to move well enough?”

Ichiko remarks, maintaining the motion that was parried.

“No, anything beyond this is…”

“Then I’ll increase the tempo.”

Although I attempt to dismiss her there, Ichiko disregards my words and vanishes from my presence again with her skill.

This is followed by an impact to the back of my head. Apparently, I have been struck from behind.

“There is still more to come.”

“Wait! Wait!?”

And from that point on, attacks are unleashed on every part of my body. While I successfully block some of the frontal blows, the rest of the blows pierce me.

That blow is fairly severe. Even though the Demon King’s physique is designed with high specifications and can withstand the hit, a single blow would likely knock an ordinary human unconscious.

Now, as a man, it wouldn’t upset me if I kept getting hit like this. But, as a Demon King, I must also consider my pride, therefore I must figure out a means to stop Ichiko’s movements.

Then, I have to specifically contemplate how to do that.

First of all, I need to be able to respond to Ichiko’s attacks. So how can I handle Ichiko’s attacks?

At present, I cannot counter Ichiko’s attacks since I cannot follow her movements and I lack a sufficient number of moves. If that is the case,

“≪Devouring Black Fog≫ Custom ・’Three Faces, Six Arms’[i].”

My face is increased to three and my arms are multiplied to six.

“!?”

Ichiko is briefly taken aback by this, but her movements do not halt and continue to strike me.

However, my field of vision is now virtually 360°, and my arms have tripled in number. Consequently, no matter which direction the attack comes from,

“Ha!” “Huff.” “Ei!” “Mn.” “Ya!” “Nun.”

“It is amazing you can maneuver your body like that.”

“I guess so.”

…It’s enough to defend against you.

“But here’s where the excitement kicks in!”

“Aye, aye.”

Nonetheless, this is where the issue arises. The tension is rising, and Ichiko is beginning to display her motivation without regard for the initial purpose, and the tempo of her attacks is picking up accordingly.

And the key to stopping Ichiko is,

Binding her arms behind her back → She slips away by teleporting.

Binding her with chains or strings → She would also escape by teleporting.

≪Mist Plosion≫ with ≪Sharp Aqua Pillar≫ → If I do such a thing, it would be a catastrophe.

Stopping her with ≪Bewitching Fog≫ → Her movement itself cannot be halted.

Knock her out by hitting her → I can’t physically or emotionally land a hit on her in the first place.

Making her get laid → There is no room for that now.

Shackles of the Sealing Art Ⅰ → Effective in terms of level, but it is doubtful if it will work on a half-Demon King.

“Fine then. In that case, I’ll show you what I’ve been doing for the last ten years… or rather, these recent days.”

“?”

Before Ichiko’s skeptical countenance, I produce “Andon of the Magic Detector” in my right hand, draw characters in the air with my left hand, and start chanting simultaneously.

[『Self is black mist king to spoil. （我は蝕む黒の霧王。）The power should summarize fog and should fix fog. （その力は霧を統べ、霧を留める事。）fog. （霧よ。）Change with a white chain under my name, and bind her person to idle inside. （我が名の下に白き鎖と成って彼の者を怠惰の中に縛れ。）One of a trial strange evil spirit ・ White bind（未知なる試作の魔の一・白の縛鎖）』！][ii]

“I am the King of the Devouring Black Fog. That power is to rule the fog, and to hold the fog in place. O Fog. Under my name, become a white chain and bind them in idleness. White Binding Chain, the unknown prototype of the devil.”[iii]

“What!?”

With the completion of my chanting, some kind of power distinct from MP flows out from my body, releasing a large number of white chains from a cluster of characters written in a circle in the air that binds Ichiko.

“Ugh, this is… huh! I can’t use my skills!?”

Ichiko’s face reveals her consternation at not being able to utilize her skills.

“Hahaha. Now, after doing this to your master, it’s time for you to be punished.”

“Eh, wait!?”

Ichiko attempts to escape while snapping the chains in a flurry of noise, but we’ve made it this far, you know.

“Who’s going to waitttttttt!”

“Arghhhhh!”

And then I am on top of Ichiko with a vigorous leap.

Hm? You are wondering about the white binding chain? Another timeー