“I’m sorry. I hate flies because they’re disgusting.”
“You arrogant little thing.”
The Fly King frowned, apparently annoyed.
He looked around.
All he could see were humans frightened out of their wits.
Getting help would be difficult.
Well, he hadn’t really expected any.
At least, Sian seemed like he might be helpful.
Maybe he thought this was a boss fight from a game, as his enthusiasm was overflowing.
“Alright, give it a try.”
The Fly King was calm, exuding the confidence of a strong being.
He created a spear of water and threw it at the Fly King.
At the same time, he charged toward him.
The Fly King easily swatted away the spear.
It lost its shape and became water that swirled around the Fly King.
When the water cleared, the Fly King appeared unharmed.
“Guess it stings a bit because of the purifying power, but in the end, it’s just the struggles of a bug.”
I reached the Fly King’s front and swung my arm at the back of his neck.
The Fly King slightly retreated, but my arm sliced through thin air.
I spun in the direction I had swung, using the centrifugal force from my tail to strike the Fly King’s abdomen like a whip.
The Fly King grabbed my tail with one hand.
I tried to break free, but it didn’t budge, as if I were being crushed under a giant elephant.
A fireball flew toward the Fly King.
It was a spell cast by Sian.
While the Fly King was distracted by the fireball, I managed to pull my tail from his grip.
“Why do you pests keep rejecting me?”
“I told you, I hate flies.”
A huge sickle appeared in the Fly King’s hand.
He moved toward me at a speed too fast to be tracked by my eyes.
The sickle swung.
I raised my arm to guard.
“Ugh…”
The tremendous shock sent me sliding backward.
He appeared to be frail, so I thought he wouldn’t be strong, but my arm went numb.
“Quite tough scales you’ve got.”
The maggots on the floor and the flying flies gathered together, transforming into a monster with a big mouth like a fish.
Dozens of these monsters charged at Sian and me.
I struck the attacking monsters with my arms, swung my tail to knock them away, and kicked them.
The monsters burst open, and flesh scattered around.
A foul stench filled the air, like the smell of food waste.
Sian created a wall of fire around him.
The monsters, afraid of the fire, kept their distance from him and me.
“I’ll tell you a fun fable.”
More monsters kept appearing.
Every time a monster was killed, its flesh would gather and transform into a new monster, like an endless horde of zombies.
“Some kids got stranded on a deserted island. They created a system of order to survive, living with a sense of insecurity, but they kept hope that they would be rescued if they could hold on.”
I kept killing the monsters, one after another.
The ground was covered with their remains.
“The leader of the children didn’t give up hope that rescue would come. He suggested they make a signal fire. But once the children tasted meat, they became distracted with hunting to get more.”
More monsters exploded and gathered in one spot.
Their flesh fused and formed a grotesque golem.
The golem stomped toward me with heavy legs.
I rolled to the side to dodge and created a spear of water.
The spear pierced the creature.
The monster let out a horrifying scream.
“The system of order collapsed more and more, and the children split into two groups. Some tried to maintain the old order, while others prioritized their instincts. The ones who prioritized instinct used the children who wanted to maintain order as bait to lure them, and those who didn’t cooperate were killed.”
Sian shot another fireball.
It hit the monster directly.
As the monster fell, its body collapsed, and the scattered flesh burned in the flames.
“By the time the adults arrived on the deserted island to rescue them, all the children had already fallen into corruption.”
“So, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“Civilization and order are built on fragile foundations. With just a slight shock, it can collapse immediately. Just like on the deserted island in the fable, when extreme circumstances arise, humanity’s true nature will eventually rot everything away.”
The Fly King looked at everything with a piercing gaze and smirked wickedly.
“I am the nature within you. To survive, for amusement, for desire, human nature kills, steals, and destroys. Accept me. You will never be able to reject me.”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Haru shouted after hearing the Fly King’s words.
The Fly King’s gaze shifted toward Haru.
“Of course, humans sin. But it’s not just bad people in the world. There are more good people. So many people who suppress their desires and give to others. As long as they exist, order will be maintained, and the world will head in a better direction.”
– Our little Haru speaks well.
– But honestly, aren’t there more humans who aren’t even human? If you watch the news, there are more bad things happening than good.
– That’s because bad things stay in memory longer.
– If there were more good people, why would there be wars? Why is there oppression of minorities?
– War crimes happen in extreme situations. There have been war crimes in every war. Doesn’t that mean humans are inherently evil?
РBut not everyone commits war crimes, right? Even in wars, there are good people like the M̩decins Sans Fronti̬res (Doctors Without Borders).
“To belittle my hand of salvation as nonsense… How arrogant.”
The flies rushed toward Haru.
Haru didn’t just stand still and attract attention.
I quickly dashed toward Haru.
I surrounded us with water.
The flies that touched the water vanished.
After the swarm disappeared, the Fly King was suddenly right in front of me.
He grabbed my neck.
“Ugh…”
I couldn’t breathe.
It felt like my neck would snap from the pain.
“Tiamat!”
I scratched at the hand gripping my neck with my nails.
It felt like scraping a solid rock.
Only faint scratches remained on my arms, but the Fly King didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go.
I struggled, but I couldn’t break free.
Sian threw a fireball, but the Fly King easily blocked it with one hand.
The world began to grow hazy.
Suddenly, a spear made of light flew by.
It struck the Fly King’s head directly.
The Fly King’s head disappeared as if hit by a large-caliber sniper rifle, but his body still moved.
I looked toward where the spear had come from.
A middle-aged priest dressed like a soldier and a blonde woman in a white candidate nun’s outfit were running toward us.
Their clothes were covered with dried blood and dirt, possibly from a recent battle.
Taking advantage of the Fly King’s distracted state, I swung my tail at his abdomen and pushed him away.
“Ugh… this arrogant brat…”
As the Fly King was pushed back, he released his grip on my neck.
“Ke… keugh…”
I gasped for air roughly.
The Fly King’s head grew back.
“How dare you suddenly interfere in my battle? How rude.”
“It’s been a long time, Beelzebub.”
The middle-aged priest took a combat stance, ready to attack at any moment.
“Hmm… I don’t recognize you. I don’t remember the pests individually.”
The priest grimaced at the Fly King’s words.
The priest snapped his fingers, and several swords of light appeared around the Fly King.
“You must remember 20 years ago. The tears of my fallen comrades still haunt me before my eyes.”
The swords of light flew toward the Fly King, but as the Fly King swung his arm, the swords disappeared without a trace.
“I suppose you were one of those pests from back then.”
“I am Priest Dominic. Remember it. I am the one who will destroy you in this world.”
“Don’t speak words you can’t carry out.”
Thanks to Priest Dominic stalling, I was finally able to catch my breath.
The Fly King had his back to me.
I quietly and swiftly charged at him.
I surrounded my arm with water and threw a punch.
The Fly King turned around and swung his sickle.
My fist collided with the sickle.
Does this bastard have eyes behind his back?
A magic circle appeared under the Fly King’s feet.
I took a slight step back.
Flames erupted from the magic circle, and the heat reached me.
A massive hammer of light struck the spot where the Fly King had been.
A wave of light shot from the hand of the saint candidate and struck the Fly King directly.
The flames died down, and the hammer vanished.
The Fly King emerged from the smoke.
“How the hell is your body even…?”
The Fly King was still standing.
We continued to push against the Fly King, but we couldn’t land a fatal blow.
“Hah… hah…”
Compared to him, we were growing more and more exhausted.
“Isn’t this a bit much? The difficulty is way too high,” Sian muttered.
Priest Dominic and the saint candidate beside him also appeared to be exhausted.
At that moment, a door appeared in mid-air.
It gave off a chilling feeling.
A white-haired, scantily-clad witch stepped through the door.
“Lord Beelzebub, how long are you going to keep playing? You’ve already regained your lost body a long time ago.”
The witch glanced at Priest Dominic and waved her hand cheerfully.
“Oh, it’s my disciple. We meet again.”
Priest Dominic looked on with a grim expression.
“It’s time to go. It’s getting harder to maintain the hole in the barrier.”
“Sorry, but I must stop playing here. I’ve achieved my goal of finding part of my body.”
“Are you running away…! Beelzebub!”
“Running away? Why would I leave the pests behind? There’s no need to bother killing ants just because I’m leaving.”
As the Fly King entered the door created by the witch, he looked back.
“I’ll look forward to our next meeting.”
Then, he completely disappeared from view.
“See you again~”
The witch also waved at us and returned through the door she had created.