Chapter 134: The Chosen One

"Is this the young one? The one who can seal a Demon God’s unique skill?"

The Demon God named Oceanos, whom Butler called out to, seemed to know about Ajax’s ability. Given that Ajax had been under their watch back in his old army, it made sense… I guess.

"While I buy time, you all run!"

"That’s not happening!"

Ajax stepped forward, right in front of Butler.

"Idiot! You wanna die!?"

Ajax wasn’t the kind to sacrifice others for himself. From my long acquaintance with him, that was exactly what I expected.

"Ajax…? Your ability is intriguing. Just how far does its range actually go, I wonder?"

Oceanos rode atop a bird and soared upward again.

After keeping a steady distance from us, a sound came from downstream. The river swelled—water spilled from the banks and shot straight into the sky.

Soon, it formed a colossal serpent, its body so vast it blocked out the sunlight, its head turning toward us with terrifying menace.

"The sea’s water is flowing upstream through the river! That’s his ability—‘Current Manipulation’!"

Oceanos raised a hand high, then brought it down sharply. The giant serpent frozen in midair plummeted straight at us with terrifying force.

"Farewell, old friend."

Faced with the overwhelming mass of water, we were frozen in place—helpless. Just as the serpent was about to strike—

"Wha—!?"

The water serpent vanished, crushed into nothingness by a dome-shaped barrier. Even Butler and Oceanos looked stunned.

"Impossible… controlling seawater is a skill, but the impact itself is just a physical effect—no skill involved!"

Ajax himself looked confused at Butler’s words.

"This... exceeds expectations. I underestimated you. The ability to erase even phenomena caused by unique skills... I'm the one who's at a disadvantage here."

The massive bird carrying Oceanos turned in a wide arc and faced away from us.

"I'll be properly prepared next time. Until then, goodbye, Butler. And Ajax."

With that, the grotesque bird took flight toward the eastern sky.

"...Was that really a rescue?"

Ajax muttered, and I collapsed onto the ground, finally letting go of the tension.

"You'll be fighting those kinds of monsters for the rest of your life. Are you really ready for that?!"

"...That's exactly what I want, Mr. Butler."

Ajax replied firmly.

"I'll do everything I can. I'm ready."

And so, our four-year war against the demon gods began.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

I stared at my sword. A past like that... from the Black Knight... from Ajax? If I'm to wield this blade, I need more than half-hearted resolve.

"By the way, the Black Knight called this sword 'the Holy Sword wielded by the King'—Caladbolg. But when I鉴定'd it, it showed up as 'Excalibur'."

'Probably, the name most fitting for this world. I still don't know who the "King" refers to in the鉴定 result.'

So the鉴定 result isn't absolute... huh.

"So... what happened after that?"

I prompted him to continue. I knew the future wasn't bright. But I needed to know what happened to Ajax and Butler.

'Probably not much different from what you're imagining...'

Lazus gave a wry smile.

“We killed seven of the twelve ‘God Generals’ back then, and left four incapacitated. In a world ruled by the Demon God King… that’s impossible.”

“So, the Demon God King…?”

“Yeah. We ended up facing the Demon God King directly. But in the end, Okeanos stood in our way, so we couldn’t make it a one-on-three. While we fought the Demon God King, Butler held Okeanos back.”

Lazus looked down, his voice trailing off.

“Aias’s power sealed off every ability of the Demon God King. His sword pressed against the Demon God King’s throat. The golem I summoned aided Aias… but even without abilities, the Demon God King’s raw power was overwhelming.”

Lazus’s expression clouded, as if recalling something painful.

“Aias’s full-powered strike barely grazed the Demon God King’s cheek—just a shallow cut. The Demon God King countered instantly, piercing Aias’s heart. Then he lifted him high with one hand. I still can’t shake the image of Aias impaled… I still see it every time I close my eyes.”

I was speechless, hearing about the Black Knight’s brutal past. Even that strong… he could barely scratch the Demon God King.

“Aias was cursed with magic that never lets his body decay. His soul is trapped forever. Butler lost to Okeanos… and now, through the same eternal curse, he’s become an undead.”

“Undead…”

“You’ve met him before.”

“No way… the ‘Immortal King’ in Tokyo!?”

Lazus nodded silently. Shocked. Even if I didn’t know… I’d killed one of his comrades. That fact hit me hard.

“…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. You freed my companion, who’d been imprisoned by the Demon God King and forced into eternal slavery. All I feel is gratitude.”

Lazus smiles, but I’m left with a knot in my chest.

“After barely escaping with my life, I fled into this ‘dimensional labyrinth’ to shake off my pursuers. That’s the shameful story from hundreds of years ago.”

“Hundreds of years!?!”

“Yeah. A tale from ancient times. And here, in this ‘dimensional labyrinth,’ I began researching how to defeat the Demon God King. At first, I used materials drawn from my ‘infinite storage’ magical item. But over time, I gained the ability to influence the outside world as well.”

Lazus explained the magical items he’d used, the materials, even the golems he’d used as limbs.

“And then I noticed the change in the Demon God’s world.”

“A change?”

“They decided to abandon their own world entirely and launch an invasion into your dimension—your world, which is completely different from theirs.”

“Why would they do something like that…? What’s the reason?”

“I don’t know the details. But one thing’s certain—they were in a hurry.”

In a hurry? In their world, the Demon Gods were absolute rulers. So why were they panicking now…? Something’s wrong.

“I saw this as a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. I decided to move forward with a plan I’d been thinking about for a long time.”

“So that was the Gacha?”

“That’s right. I selected people from your world, granted them power, and had them fight against the Demon Gods.”

So the Gacha wasn’t just some random occurrence.

“Why me?”

"Two reasons. First, you have a certain amount of magical energy. In your world, people with magic are extremely rare. My magical artifacts can't be used without a baseline level of magic."

"Me? With magic...? What's the second reason?"

"Your personality. It means nothing if you're not someone who'll fight genuinely for others. I observed you for a long time—figured out what kind of person you were."

"So you've been watching me the whole time?"

"Several candidates. I kept an eye on them all at once."

Being watched this whole time... kinda creepy.

"If there were others, why did you pick me in the end?"

"You're incredibly kind-hearted. Remember that time you tried to help a wheelchair-bound man cross the street, only to get hit by another car?"

...Yeah. That was a couple years ago.

"I laughed when I saw that. And right then—decided I wanted this young man."

"Seriously? Just for that?"

"...You reminded me of Ajax, somehow."

Lazus smiles softly. Now I get why the Gacha appeared in front of me. But one thing still doesn't add up.

"Why go through all that trouble with the Gacha? You could’ve just handed it to me straight."

"Wasn't it fun?"

"No, seriously—tell me the real reason!"

"Just kidding. Even if I’d given you multiple powers at once, you wouldn’t have known how to use them. I planned to give them to you gradually, as you grew."

"So that's why you made it a thousand yen?"

"Estimated your spending pace. Set it at a thousand yen. Though, you ended up pulling capsules way more than I expected..."

The Gacha I pulled… and another one, right?

There should’ve been the “Weapon Gacha” the Leos were using.

‘No, the ones I prepared totaled three. The “Ability Gacha” to create a hero capable of defeating the Demon God King, the “Weapon and Armor Gacha” for people fighting the Demon God King’s army, and the “Item Gacha” to warn and prepare the world.’

Three? That many…?

‘But honestly, you’re the only one who succeeded. The person who pulled the weapon and armor got killed—ended up in the wrong hands. Afterward, they destroyed the weapons themselves, trying to fight back against the Demon forces. That was unexpected.’

“So… that weapon really was essential, huh?”

‘Not exactly. But ever since you came along, people with heart started crafting weapons and tools to face the unknown threat. That’s what’s replacing the lost gear.’

All the preparation wasn’t for nothing. Just knowing that… gives me a tiny bit of relief.

‘The “Item Gacha” was set up in Angora. There was a girl with unusually high magical power there. I gave her my magical item, the “Prophecy Ring”—but it failed to sound the alarm.’

‘So… how exactly do the Demons plan to invade the world?’

‘First, they’ll send monsters and the “Oracles’ Beasts” to thin out your people. Then, they’ll launch a full-scale invasion with a massive army. Demons themselves are different, but their regular soldiers are no different from ordinary humans here. They probably wanted to eliminate as many enemy fighters as possible.’

‘How do we stop them?’

‘Only by defeating the Demon God King. No matter how many other demons you kill, as long as he’s alive, they’ll keep being reborn.’

"So if I beat the Demon God King, the world goes back to normal, right?"

"You can't beat the Demon God King."

"Wha—?"

I was stunned by Lazus's flat-out denial.

"I made you—a degraded copy of the Demon God King, that's all."