The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Hah… hah hah hah… w-what the hell was that…!?”

Asley, struggling to catch his breath, glared at Lucifer.

“Well? Are you having fun?”

Lucifer’s words weighed heavily on Asley’s shoulders.

“S-shut up!”

“Well, I AM! Seeing you suffer is quite enjoyable…!”

True to his word, Lucifer looked pleased. Asley, instead of being offended by that, focused on the question he had in his mind.

“So, that thing you just did… Transcendence!? What exactly is it!?”

“Why do you ask? Do you expect me to explain it? Would you give me the whole formula to your Instant Transmission in exchange for that knowledge, then?”

“Hehehe… Besides, surely you have already noticed just how powerful this is…”

Asley was convinced that Lucifer’s claim was right — He just knew that Lucifer’s words were the truth.

“Hehehe… Speechless, I know. Such is the appropriate reaction from a human.”

However, putting it into words changed nothing — Asley still saw no chance of winning this fight.

The Instant Transmission magic spell, which he had prepared as a trump card, was now reduced to a tool of escape from Lucifer’s trump card.

And that resulted in the emergence of the certain, realistic, and merciless conclusion — the defeat of humanity.

That answer was taking shape in Asley’s eyes, but Lucifer continued on without paying any attention to it.

“Now then, there is still some time left. Try to keep me entertained, all right, Asley?”

“…W-what are you even trying to do, anyway!?”

“Is it not obvious? I do what a Devil King does — Torment the weak. Oppress them. Make them see Hell!”

Lucifer, his face an excessively wide, almost crazed ear-to-ear smile, pointed at Asley.

“…You sure have a lot of free time on your hands.”

“But of course. Now get ready… to despair!”

Even Asley’s attempt at a bluff was brushed off by Lucifer’s sheer joy.

“You are nothing but a toy to me. At this point, there is nothing worth my full power anymore — Never again will I find anyone who will not break before my strength!”

“Heh… hehe…”

Lucifer, facing the heavily wounded Asley, lowered his stance.

The Devil King was drawing out his full power — he was showing not even a single opening. It was clear that his power was too much for a single person to go against.

“Now then, bring out everything you have… I look forward to seeing how far you can go.”

“Ngh…!”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The Eddo Temple was in ruins.

The earth was ravaged, Kamiyama scarred, and amidst it all, a kneeling figure, exhausted and defeated — It was none other than the fool.

His eyes lacked focus, unable to even catch his breath from the intense battle, and his hands were devoid of the strength to grasp even the air.

“You have exhausted your arcane energy. The Instant Transmission spell does need a fair amount to invoke. While you have almost as much energy as I do, having to rely on it to dodge my countless attacks means excessive use… which would naturally drain you dry, I suppose.”

Lucifer leaped over Asley and stomped down on his head. As Asley twitched under his foot, Lucifer’s face was painted with a satisfied grin.

Asley’s glasses cracked, their frames bending as his face met the ground.

Lucifer crossed his arms and uttered just one word to the fallen Asley.

“Pathetic.”

Lucifer took his foot off Asley’s head and created a Teleportation Spell Circle onto the ground. 

It was done with a special invocation method that utilized his special transformation — Transcendence — which involved neither Circle drawing nor verbal invocation.

“Ah, I almost forgot…”

Lucifer’s voice echoed through the sky.

“I do not wish for your death. Yes, I do remember saying something to that effect once. What I want… is for you to see Hell. Despair. Yes, I believe I said that as well.”

Just before stepping onto the Teleportation Spell Circle, Lucifer turned back slightly and spoke to Asley.

“My purpose here was to buy time. You are… for much for Cleath to take on. You see, I gave him a certain magecraft. Using it, he should have sufficient power to face Tūs and the Heavenly Beasts. Even if he fails to defeat them, holding his ground would still suffice. Surely his mission here will be completed soon enough.”

“What are you… talking about…?”

Asley asked, moving only his lips, unable to muster the strength to even turn his face toward Lucifer.

“Did you not hear what I just said, Asley? What I want is for you to see Hell… Hehehe. Now, here is hoping no one dies in this battle, Asley. All those young lives, following you because they believe in you… It would be a shame if they were to be so abruptly snuffed out…”

Lucifer spoke joyfully. 

Indeed, Lucifer had instructed Cleath to target the lives of Asley’s comrades. 

The moment Asley heard that, intense agitation welled up in his eyes. 

Anxiety built in his trembling pupils, directing fierce anger at Devil King Lucifer.

“Oh-ho…?”

Lucifer turned around.

What he saw were Asley’s eyes, and within them, a complex mixture of emotions — A desperate show of strength from a fool.

“You are… levitating? Where did you find the arcane energy to do that? You were not supposed to have any remaining. Is it your emotions? Ah, yes, the force of will… that is what makes humanity different from us. More fearsome than us… in a way. However, the most you can achieve with this little energy is to invoke the Levitation spell. You are not even capable of standing up. Now, show me — what will you do next?”

“Hah… hah… hah…!”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are glaring at me!? Of course! That is all you can do! That is your absolute limit! Curse your own powerlessness! Resent me! That is my utmost joy!! HAHAHA!”

Lucifer’s voice echoed, and tears welled up in Asley’s eyes. With no words to throw back — and neither the strength to do so — Asley could only glare at Lucifer. That was indeed the only thing he could do now.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Now THIS is the face I wanted to see! Wonderful! But do not let it end here, Asley! I know you can keep going! My revenge is far from over! Continue to struggle until the bitter end! Have both your legs severed, your arms twisted off, crawl on the ground like a worm… and even then, keep on opposing me!! …Only then will I crush your head and bring an end to everything.”

The Devil King spoke his last sentence quietly as stepped onto the Teleportation Spell Circle and faded away.

Asley’s sudden burst of arcane energy finally reached its limit. As the echoes of Lucifer’s laughter faded away, Asley collapsed, his body slowly falling to the ground.

“Stay away… from… my friends…”

Due to extreme exhaustion and depleted arcane energy, and above all, the shock of hearing about his comrades’ peril from Lucifer, Asley had no choice but to let himself fall unconscious.

In the capital of T’oued, Eddo… the temple of the twin Shamanesses, the symbol of the city, was now hardly recognizable. It was now a wasteland — the aftermath of an unimaginable disaster. 

What remained there was only the powerless figure of a fool who had given his all.

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