To Hell 4

I opened my eyes.

This wasn’t the sky seen through a sensor.

Not the eyes of a machine that magnifies sensory filters, inhibits perception, and even sees the pores of a human.

In one side of my vision, Theresa’s gaze was fixed on me, but these were proper human eyes, not the glassy pupils of an android.

It was cold, yet warm at the same time.

An indescribable sensation of regaining a complete body washed over me, sending shivers and a jolt of electricity through me simultaneously.

The sky seen through human eyes was red.

Perhaps because it was the sky seen through the fragile eyes of an organic being, not through a sensor, I thought it was somewhat dazzling.

Without thinking, I closed my eyes.

Ah, I closed them reflexively.

When I was in the body of a machine…an android, I never even thought of the Artificial Sun as dazzling, even when staring directly at it.

Dazzled, I inhaled.

The air was a little stuffy.

No, it wasn’t just stuffy; it was almost suffocating.

The air in the layer wasn’t this bad, was it?

Or was it because it was the air of hell?

Just breathing felt like tiny parasites floating in the air were struggling to enter my lungs.

Now, I wasn’t protected by Theresa’s filter.

Unnecessary sensations weren’t blocked; I simply existed here in my own flesh.

Of course, each cell was made of magical engineering metal that I didn’t understand, and my essence was still the android Beep-boop, but the important thing was that I had fully recognized myself.

Ah, right.

I was here.

I, who was an ordinary human in my first life.

I, who was called the Demon King in my second life.

And I, who was a jumbled mess in my third life, not knowing who I was, just living as things came.

Finally, I could fully recognize myself.

A laugh suddenly escaped me.

Unconsciously, without meaning to.

I didn’t know why I was laughing so much.

Was it because the fusion was so effective?

That was part of it, but… I was somehow feeling a strangely unpleasant emotion even as I laughed.

“This isn’t hell.”

The chaotic energy and faith built up from fanaticism and pain in the Enchantment of the Fallen layer are discarded into hell.

And the things discarded into hell are filtered by hell for a long time, exchanged for pure energy that the Ark can use.

And this hell was not the hell spoken of in religion.

“This is my land.”

Now I understood.

Coming here directly… the moment I could fully exist as myself in hell, I felt like I understood.

Hell was the Demon Realm.

Demon Realm.

The place I once ruled.

My land.

The place where my children and those I ruled existed.

Their home.

The promised land.

And the land I had opened to humans as well.

A land that didn’t reject anyone, that embraced and shared everything.

My land.

My demon territory.

My royal castle.

The true nature of hell was the land I ruled as the Demon King?

What irony.

“Haha.”

Another laugh escaped me.

Yes, I realized that my second life hadn’t ended when I met Sabrina.

But seeing the traces of it so directly, how could I not laugh?

“…Alice, Overseer…”

The executioners were just as stunned to see a human body reconstructed into perfection itself.

Seeing me, who had been just a head moments ago, fully reconstructed with a perfect body, it was understandable that they were speechless with astonishment.

“Ah, right.”

Yes, you were here.

Ah, should I get dressed first?

If possible, not in Ark’s clothes…

Yes, in the clothes I used to wear.

As I reached my hand upward, a curtain descended.

The curtain was the black mana I was most skilled at manipulating.

The true nature of black mana was the echo of the earth dwelling in the demon territory.

The life of the black earth.

The mana, blackened by fallen leaves, withered flowers, and the accumulated corpses of insects, was grasped in my hand.

What was grasped in my hand would materialize and become a veil draped over me.

The black lives were silent.

But their presence could be felt.

Our king has returned.

Our master has returned.

The one who ruled this land has returned.

Ah, and so we shall greet you in the posture of a bashful bride.

I inhaled sharply and let out a small sigh.

Beneath the black veil, a black dress like that of a bride unfolded.

Before I knew it, the bridal gown had descended upon my naked body, adorning me demurely.

The life of the black earth… Ah, right.

‘I think I know why Twisted Gaia was fond of me.’

Demon territory.

To be precise, the land of the Demon King’s territory that I directly ruled was covered in black mana that had passed through my hands, blanketing the sky and the earth.

This might not be the only origin of Twisted Gaia, who is called the mother of life, but her starting point might have unknowingly begun in my hands.

“…”

-Click!

Only after the veil had fallen did I hear the sound of countless gun barrels being pointed at me.

Ah, how grateful.

They waited for me to get dressed?

The executioners aimed their guns at me again with hardened expressions.

Their weapons were imbued with all sorts of curses and magic, including self-destruction formulas and destruction formulas, enough to completely destroy my previous body, which had boasted considerable durability as its strength.

Yes, the destructive power alone was worth acknowledging.

“Overseer Alice. We will give you one last piece of advice… Just die here.”

“…Oh, my. How many people would be convinced by those words?”

Ah, my way of speaking has become a bit strange, too.

Did regaining my body forcibly adjust my mental age as well?

Well, it doesn’t matter.

I’m in a good mood right now.

I might kick the blanket in embarrassment and shame later, but wouldn’t it be okay to indulge in the joy of the black curtain that had descended after a long time and the body I had regained?

“I’m truly heartbroken. I really thought you were comrades who would go to hell together with compassion and anger for a certain girl…”

“We understand your questions and anger. But… you are currently being directly targeted by a True Ancestor.”

“True Ancestor… It’s been a while since I’ve heard that.”

Someone of that executor’s rank should know that I defeated a True Ancestor on my own, right?

Ah, but the fact that an execution order has been issued for me despite that means that the power of the True Ancestors is greater than I imagined?

Or the upper echelons of the Ark are more corrupt than I thought, or the True Ancestors might be teeming there.

“The True Ancestor has requested your custody from the central administration. According to the ‘agreement,’ the central administration must hand over Second-Class Overseer Alice, and if they don’t, it is speculated that the True Ancestor, a viral life form, will carry out a large-scale massacre.”

Valet said calmly.

No, he seemed to be pretending to be calm.

“According to those who have been captured by the True Ancestor, they will not meet a human end, and one cannot even imagine what kind of inhumane treatment they will receive.”

“So?”

“The central administration has issued an execution order to protect the minimum dignity of someone who has worked hard for the Ark. So, Overseer Alice, please die quietly without any other thoughts. If you escape alive, you will become an enemy of the Ark, and if you are captured alive, you will become a toy of the True Ancestor.”

Hmm, listening to it, I can understand the reason to some extent.

Valet was speaking in an almost pleading tone, unlike his appearance.

“We know that our request, the request for your death, is unreasonable. But this is the way to end with the fewest deaths, and this is the way to best protect your dignity.”

“Hmm, yes. I heard you well. But… your head is stiff, isn’t it?”

To think that something like this is the way to protect my dignity.

Having already negotiated with those things called True Ancestors, they should know how empty an echo it is to protect dignity, right?

Well, the central administration must have already negotiated with the calamity called True Ancestors a long time ago, so there’s probably no way out.

Rather than hand me over, they’d rather kill me.

Rather than see me, an excellent Overseer, become a dog of the True Ancestors or transform into a True Ancestor, they’d rather kill me while preserving my dignity as a human.

‘I understand. It’s not a completely absurd execution order.’

But that’s it.

I understand.

‘But I don’t need to understand it.’

Why should I die?

I don’t want to die.

Everyone hates to die.

Until the very end.

I decide my own ending.

There are cases where one faces an unavoidable ending, but giving up when there is an opportunity is also giving up one’s dignity.

“An enemy of the Ark, huh? I’ll give it a try.”

“…Overseer Alice…”

“Humans struggle to live, and so does the Ark. They struggled to live and made contracts and negotiations with calamities… Then I should struggle a little too, right?”

“…I understand.”

Valet had a look of regret on his face, and soon he seemed to steel himself.

“But please understand that we cannot let you go.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“We are executioners. We are the ones who carry out the execution of impure beings under the orders of the central administration. This is our job, our duty. Please know that there is no regret, emotion, or resentment toward Overseer Alice in this execution.”

“Of course.”

With those words, the executioners’ warnings and apologies to me came to an end.

Now all that remained was the execution.

The things that had to be done.

The eternal shackles throbbed from all directions.

The space-time stasis formula that had already been deployed around me unfolded again, and the executioners’ weapons, imbued with destruction formulas, flickered with light as they targeted me.

But for me now.

That won’t work on me now.

-Snap!

I snapped my fingers.

Hell answered me.

Because I am the master of this hell.

Because I am the ruler of this demon territory and the human Demon King.

So at least here…

“T, the eternal shackles are…!”

“Commander Valet! The destruction formula has been dispelled!”

“The weapon’s curse of annihilation has been lifted…!”

You must obey my orders.

I command all demons.

Your master has returned.

I slowly turned my index finger.

“…!”

“What…!”

“M, my body…!”

Following the direction I turned, their guns turned toward their own faces.

As it happened, all the executioners were full-body cyborgs.

Not just ordinary cyborgs, but highly magical engineering full-body cyborgs imbued with all sorts of magical engineering and sorcerous formulas.

And the source of magical engineering was mana, and the mana in this hell could not defy my will.

In other words, their bodies were at my disposal.

“I think it would be unpleasant to feel like a doll tied to a string.”

Before I knew it, Valet and the other executioners were all unable to move, holding guns to their own temples.

I also made a gun shape with my fingers and pointed it at my head.

They all pointed it at their own heads in the same way.

“It was fun. Valet. And the other executioners too. Any last words?”

“……”

“…”

Valet and the executioners didn’t say anything.

Some had closed their eyes, and others were trembling slightly with fear, but they had expressions as if they had expected this ending.

I thought they would beg for their lives or spew curses, but they seemed to have already resigned themselves to this ending.

Hmm, how…

Lame.

A lame and predictable ending.

★

★

★

“By the way, Theresa.”

【Speak.】

Theresa no longer spoke to me jokingly, calling me “Human.”

She spoke formally, as if with a voice full of reverence and respect.

“Answer me. Was the Ark… built on top of me and our corpses?”

I had been wondering about this for a while.

I certainly… didn’t have many memories of my second life, but I didn’t think I had spent it meaninglessly.

Even without memories, I was sure of it.

I had that feeling.

But Sabrina’s outer demon territory was withering away, far away from the Ark and completely isolated, and this demon territory called “hell,” which was under my direct rule, was stuck in the Enchantment of the Fallen layer like the roots of a giant tree, acting as an energy filter.

The Ark does anything for humanity.

The Ark is an Ark.

They would have done anything to build the Ark.

【…What you suspect is correct.】

I see, so that’s how it is.

“Ah, should I just destroy it…”

I must have gotten a little angry without realizing it.

“Overseer Alice…”

“Just kidding. Valet.”

For reference, Valet and the executioners all met lame endings.

Valet and the other executioners didn’t die, and they became my subordinates.

Why?

Because their full-body cyborgs were completely under my control, so they had to obey me.

And above all, although they had undergone personality alterations to deceive themselves, they all felt sorry for Sira and were willing to walk with me to hell out of sympathy for the young priestess Sira.

If I just removed the execution order, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they were all mine.

Even if that wasn’t the case, if they tried to stab me in the back again, I, who had already taken control of their full-body cyborgs, could immediately end their lives.

“So, please take care of me from now on.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. Alice can control our bodies and minds, so unfortunately, we can’t carry out the execution order.”

Valet’s face didn’t look regretful at all.

Rather, he looked somewhat relieved.

Honestly, I thought they would resist at least a little, but Valet and his subordinates just said they would follow me from the beginning, as if they had been my subordinates all along.

It was as if they were saying, ‘Ah, the execution order sucks. But the situation is like this, so I guess I have to give up. What can I do? Ah, I’m being threatened, so I can’t help it~’

I wonder if they didn’t want to do it themselves?