The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Devil King Lucifer’s torso rose from the ground. For some reason, the head that should have been blown to pieces was regenerating.

Asley had already lost any will to fight — not even one bit of it remained in him.

In Lucifer’s resurrection, he had lost everything — fighting spirit, hope, and the meaning of living.

In Asley’s eyes, there was nothing but despair — trembling pupils, flowing tears, and a broken heart.

Lucifer still was not looking at Asley. Massaging his own neck with one hand, Lucifer gazed at the sky. Then he spoke,

“In this world, there are two things that cannot be distorted. One is arcane energy, and the other is life force.”

Asley could not comprehend what Lucifer was saying.

“Have you ever felt it, Asley? With those Appraisal Glasses of yours?”

Lucifer’s inexplicable explanation continued.

“HP and MP. Is that simply how they are expressed with appraisal magic? No. They are a part of the mechanisms of the world itself. So a question arises here — When using magic or magecraft, or rather, arcane energy, MP decreases. But it’s incomprehensible. Why does HP exist? If someone’s head is severed, their life should end immediately. Even with a vast amount of HP, it should end right there. So what is the meaning of the numerical value expressed by HP? I had always questioned that — and I have put much thought into it. If HP could be used as efficiently as MP, then even if one’s head is severed, is it possible to continue living? That’s what I came up with.”

Now Asley knew.

The reason why Devil King Lucifer survived. The reason why Lucifer’s severed head had returned to normal.

“Vital Equalizer — that is the name of this magitek. With this, an appropriate amount of damage is necessary to reduce my HP to zero. And I also have the Vital Exchange — the process of converting life force into arcane energy. I invoked it the moment my arcane energy was depleted, preventing me from fainting due to arcane energy exhaustion!”

Finally, Lucifer looked at Asley.

His smile was truly demonic, and his eyes were filled with delight.

“Heh… Hahaha!! You almost had me, Asley! Just one step away! That magic of yours has already disappeared from my body! The tables have turned! No, from the beginning, the situation was never in your favor! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The Devil King’s laughter echoed.

In Asley’s hands, Pochi’s warm blood continued to flow.

Shortly after, the words chosen by Asley delighted Lucifer even further,

“…Please…”

“HAHAHA! You’ll have to speak up, Asley!!”

“…I beg you…”

Lucifer’s laughter abruptly ceased.

“…Oh-ho?”

“Pochi…! Help her…! Spare her!!”

One astonishing word after another left Asley’s mouth — A plea to Devil King Lucifer.

That was Asley’s only wish after he had abandoned all else.

Lucifer widened his eyes, then returned to laughter.

“HAHAHA! Excellent! How amusing! Do you realize what you’re saying!? What you’re DOING!? Humanity’s light of hope, groveling before the Devil King! HAHAHA!”

“…I’ll do anything! Just save her…!”

Bowing his head, pressing his forehead on the ground, Asley pleaded with Devil King Lucifer.

Clinging to Lucifer’s legs, Asley continued to beg.

Lucifer’s laughter subsided, and he forcefully peeled Asley away from his.

Grasping Asley’s neck, Lucifer hoisted him into the air and shouted,

“THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE FACE I WANTED TO SEE!”

Lucifer did not bother to listen to Asley’s plea.

Still, Asley, shedding tears and trembling, continued to speak in a feeble voice, “Please.”

In response, Lucifer tossed Asley next to Pochi.

“What a sight, eh?”

Immediately after, a powerful surge of arcane energy targeted Lucifer’s back.

Judging it as an insignificant spell, Lucifer casually absorbed the impact.

The massive Inferno Lance aimed at Lucifer exploded upon direct contact, raising a cloud of smoke.

Lucifer waved his arm to dispel the dust.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a little girl — Irene the Invincible Sprout.

Asley and Pochi had disappeared from Lucifer’s view.

However, Lucifer was aware — Someone had retrieved them simultaneously with the explosion.

Lucifer turned his gaze to where the silhouette of someone had gone. There stood a beautiful Elf — Lylia, former Holy Warrior.

Four individuals surrounded Asley and Pochi, protecting them — Fuyu, Tifa, Lala, and Natsu.

In front of them were three men — Warren the Black Emperor, Barun the Scale Tipper, and Hornel.

Above the three men, a dragon and a woman, Baladd and Lina, overlooked Lucifer.

And before Lucifer appeared a gigantic Elf — Tūs the High-Order Muscle.

“Ah, the Duodecad. Here to rescue Asley, abandoning your posts on the battlefield, hmm?”

While Fuyu and the others began the healing process for Pochi and Asley, Lucifer did not stop them.

It was because Lucifer was aware of his overwhelming advantage even against these twelve.

In fact, there already was a substantial wall of power between the Duodecad and Lucifer.

“Ah, I see… since you successfully invoked that spell, there’s no longer a need to protect the Duodecad. In other words, none of you were counted as a part of the military force, allowing you to come here… Is that the case? Still, all of you — Warren the Black Emperor, Irene the Invincible Sprout, and Master Tūs — all in one place? What a foolish location to put yourselves in, don’t you think?”

“Shut up, you bastard! We’ve been betting on Asley from the start!”

“Now that was something I never expected to hear from Tūs the High-Order Muscle.”

“We haven’t been training with the beginner course like you did, just saying.”

“Oh, why so harsh, Irene?”

“We can’t afford to lose Asley. Even if my life is forfeit…!”

“Well, you sound quite terrified yourself, Warren.”

The oppressive aura of Devil King Lucifer weighed on everyone present, contorting the expressions on their faces.

Yet, retreat was not an option.

Even if the odds were slim, as long as Asley lived, there was hope — that was what everyone believed.

“Oh, you’re challenging me? With your abilities? Hehehe, how amusing. Still, since you’ve come all this way, I suppose I must welcome you.”

Lucifer, placing his hand on his chest, gracefully gestured as he spoke.

“Yes… Welcome to the Devil King’s Chestpocket!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought…”

“What… does that mean?”

Irene asked Tūs.

“The Devil King’s Chestpocket doesn’t refer to a Dungeon or any kind of specific location. It just means… the most chaotic place in the world!”

Tūs’ explanation prompted the Devil King to chuckle.

“Indeed! Its true meaning is more literal than you might think — it is the space immediately in front of me! You see, I thought Asley was the only person in this world who could enter this space, but it seems those inspired by him could let themselves in and challenge me. However–“

In an instant, countless monsters burst forth from Lucifer’s body.

They were giant, one-eyed, bipedal monsters about the size of a human.

Without arms, with only one eye rolling eerily, they were quite unsettling creatures.

“Eye-Dorr!?”

Warren identified the monsters.

“The defense network of the Devil King’s Chestpocket… Now see if you can infiltrate this place any deeper!”

Clearly, it was Lucifer’s way of buying time.

Just like Asley, Devil King Lucifer also was running low on arcane energy.

“He’s running out of energy. Now’s our chance! Let’s go…!”

Tūs’ words strengthened everyone’s resolve, and they nodded in agreement.

They proceeded to pull out the shining magical items hanging from their chests — one for each of the twelve, Artifacts hastily crafted by Asley the day before the decisive battle.

–Whew… this should be everything…

Warren had arrived in Asley’s room.

–Is that… what I think it is?

–Oh, uh-huh? Maybe?

–Then I’ll keep it with me, if you don’t mind.

–I didn’t say exactly what it is, though…?

–And you think I don’t already know?

In the box handed over by Asley to Warren were the twelve Artifacts.

They were the insurance, never to be used unless absolutely necessary, to unleash Lucifer Break.

However, the insurance was not used because everyone had decided to use it only for Asley.

The Artifacts were none other than Silver Key Pendants.

All twelve tore the pendants from their necklaces and raised them to the sky.

“”LINK MAGIC!!!!””

And so the Duodecad enveloped themselves in the Fool’s arcane energy.

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