Demon 8: Wrath
It was a sight that should not exist.
I doubted my own eyes.
What kind of joke is this? If it's a joke, it's a poor one.
Or perhaps it was merely a performance, designed to provoke the opponent's complacency.
But no.
It will become clear that it is wrong.
Reston was laughing.
With the demon summoner, Vylimus.
Yet it is the enemy of everyone in our village.
Seeming genuinely delighted from the core of her being.
In those eyes, reverence and affection were palpable.
Even so, Reston held multiple flower bookmarks in his hand.
It is something vital to the goblin.
Something very important that a goblin carries as a talisman when going hunting.
Reston holds many of those.
Each person receives one flower charm.
Then it is not the elder brother's.
そもそも、僕らの村がなくなってだいぶ経つ。
栞にしていても、元のラザラザ兄のお守りは枯れてしまっているはずだ。
では、ラザラザ兄が持っているのは、一体誰のお守りなのか？
考えたくない。
けど、答えは１つしかない。
ラザラザ兄が持つのは、僕らの村とは違う、別のゴブリンの村の戦士たちのものだ。
そして、それをラザラザ兄が持っているということは、ラザラザ兄が、その村を攻め滅ぼしたということ。
目の前が真っ赤になる。
なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？
なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？
なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？
なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？
なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？なぜ？
裏切った。
誇りを穢した。
許せない。
《熟練度が一定に達しました。スキル『激怒ＬＶ９』が『激怒ＬＶ１０』になりました》
《条件を満たしました。スキル『激怒ＬＶ１０』がスキル『憤怒』に進化しました》
《熟練度が一定に達しました。スキル『禁忌ＬＶ３』が『禁忌ＬＶ５』になりました》
《条件を満たしました。称号『憤怒の支配者』を獲得しました》
[Title 'Master of Wrath' effect: Skill 'Battle God Law LVL 10' acquired]
[Skill 'Qi Combat Law LVL 2' integrated into 'Battle God Law LVL 10']
A searing heat rises from within, consuming everything in its path.
As if burning me from the inside.
At the same time, the curse binding me—cast by the demon summoner—dissolves, consumed by fire.
Ah, now I am free.
Now nothing can stop my actions.
I forge the weapon with every ounce of power I possess.
Only destructive force is sought.
A sword of ominous flame, shaped exactly like the turmoil within me, completes.
Without hesitation, I strike it into the shameless traitor.
Unable to defend, the one once called brother is torn apart and swallowed by explosive fire.
I attempted to strike down Buriimus with the same momentum, but—adept, one might say—he had already distanced himself from me.
Sounds of approaching footsteps. Others were converging.
Buriimus was summoning a new monster.
Irrelevant.
Let this life end.
Know the weight of my fury.
“This is cause and effect…?”
I looked down upon Buriimus as he reached his final moments.
No one else remained alive here besides me.
I had killed them all.
The enemy’s combat strength had been overwhelming.
I reversed the odds through rage, the power of the Battle God Technique, and above all, my unique physiology—where full recovery occurred upon leveling up.
Perhaps because my level was low, even a slight defeat caused a level increase.
I expended HP, MP, SP until near death. Leveling up restored me.
Then I fought again until near death.
That was the repetition.
At first, their hesitation to kill me was significant.
My weapon forging was valuable to them.
Was it truly acceptable to waste such a resource?
Their uncertainty was evident. They focused on incapacitation rather than killing.
I exploited that opening.
"Disgraceful."
Byrimus, the last remaining, was strong.
As a monster summoner, and as a warrior, equally.
Even as a warrior alone, he was stronger than anyone present.
Yet now, he lay face down, weeping.
"Am I hated?"
No answer.
There is no meaning in answering.
Instead, I bring the sword down from above.
"Unfulfilled."
Byrimus breathed his last.
The final words carried a weight, a clinging, obsessive resolve.
That was all he wanted to do.
Even if it meant eradicating every goblin.
Karma.
And yet, my mind remains unsettled.
A deep sense of loss, a lingering frustration.
And still, an unextinguished flame of anger.
Extract the鉴定 stone from Byrimus’s corpse.
Then self-identify.
The result: "Evolution possible."
Two evolution paths available.
Hobgoblin or Ogre.
I choose.
Simultaneously, apply the Naming skill to alter my name.
To Lars.
I no longer possess the right to bear the name Goblin.
Pride, prayers—both consumed by this rage.
I cannot remain a Goblin.
Here, I am one demon.
A demon dominated by wrath.
I howl toward the sky, then lose consciousness, readying for evolution.