Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 23 - Chapter 10.1

Chapter 10:

The Second Eye

THE NECROSS FORTRESS in the Demon Continent’s Gaslow Territory was known for being the most impregnable of all. Deep within its bowels, in the scarcely used dungeons, resided a prisoner.

“Grrrrr!”

The prisoner’s hands were bound by shackles, a metal ball attached to her feet. She’d even been given blue and white striped pajamas to wear. She looked pitiful.

“Grrrrr!”

The low growl that echoed hollowly against the walls was not, in fact, the girl’s voice. It was her empty stomach. It snarled to express all her displeasure, agreeing with the frustration she felt at her present circumstances. Then again, maybe it was just empty.

“Come out!”

The door to her cell suddenly swung open to reveal two towering figures, hidden in armor black as midnight. They forced her to her feet and dragged her out. She had no choice but to go with them. An angry, unpleasant sound reverberated down the hallway as she dragged the heavy metal ball behind her. The prisoner didn’t strain under the weight, however. She was stronger than she looked.

Led by the black knights, she made her way outside of the dungeons. Their path took them through a long corridor and up a flight of stairs. At last, their trip ended at the fortress’s throne room.

“Hurry up. Move it!”

Their hands shoved into her back, lurching her forward. She stumbled into the circular space, lit by purple candelabras. It was the kind of place you might expect a criminal’s punishment to be carried out. When she managed to lift her head, she spotted the throne ahead of her. It was a place the prisoner had once occupied in the past, but now, it was a demon king who sat upon it.

“Atofe…” murmured the prisoner.

The demon king was clad in the same midnight-black armor as her underlings. The moment the prisoner laid her eyes upon Atofe, her cheeks flushed red with anger.

“What’s the meaning of this?!” The prisoner roared with all the power she could muster, her voice erupting all the way from the base of her very, very empty tummy. Perhaps that was what gave it its power.

In contrast, the demon king before her—the most feared in the whole Demon Continent—merely adjusted her posture and scowled at her captive.

“How wretched,” said the prisoner. “The departed Necross would lament to see you like this!”

“Father told me to live how I want!” Atofe shouted back.

“Only because you’re a moron who will not listen to other people! He must have known it was the only way you could live. He gave up on you!”

“I am no moron!”

Demon King Atofe was absolutely furious, but the prisoner didn’t shrink. Instead, she snorted with derisive laughter.

“Doubtless, you are a moron. A moron among morons. Even you must understand that. All someone has to do is dangle something promising in front of you, and you haven’t got the brains to think twice about it.”

Atofe shook her head vigorously. “That’s not true! Kal said I was smart! That I’m quick to learn things!”

“Atofe, that was…” The prisoner gave a meaningful pause, as if to draw out the moment. The next words she had to say would cut deep—and she knew these ones in particular were ones she must never utter to Atofe. “…merely flattery.”

“Graaaaaah!”

The demon king’s rage boiled over. The surrounding black knights flew to her, trying to pin her back, but she knocked them away easily. Still, the black knights were not to be deterred. They took up a formation similar to a rugby scrummage and pinned their master back. 

The demon king flailed her fists through the air, screeching. “You rotten little weakling! I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you limb from limb! You’ll bite it again before I’m through!”

“Yeah, yeah. If it bothers you that much, learn to count.”

“Graaaaaah!”

The prisoner’s taunting provoked the demon king into gathering her power to force back her knights.

“Lady Kishirika, please cease this antagonizing! If you continue provoking Lady Atofe, she—”

“Shut your mouths!” Kishirika snapped back at them. “I only came along with you because you promised me delicious treats, and look how you have treated me! I won’t be satisfied until I have fully voiced my complaints!”

Yes, the prisoner Kishirika had actually been lured into a trap. One of their number had stripped off his trademark black armor and tempted her by saying, “Little girl, we’ll give you some sweets if you’ll just come with us.” That was how she’d found herself here.

It was true; Kishirika was the one who had fallen for the promise of something promising without giving it much thought. She’d fallen for the prospect of food hook, line, and sinker—it was only afterward that she realized she’d been deceived. Worse, the men hadn’t even made good on their promise. She’d gotten no treats at all!

“You guys haven’t even told me what you took me captive for! What are you claiming I did wrong? I haven’t…” Kishirika hesitated a moment. “I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?” She started fidgeting, rubbing her hands together. There were too many possibilities to rule out. Kishirika dabbled in all sorts of evil—too much, one might argue. Even she was self-aware enough to know that wrongdoing was most of what she did with her time. It wouldn’t be too surprising if someone was angry with her for it.

To her surprise, the demon king declared, “Hmph! You haven’t done anything wrong!”

It had taken mere seconds for her fury to subside. Atofe knew how futile it was to be angry with this particular captive.

“Then tell me why!” demanded Kishirika. “No matter how unreasonable you are, you are not so evil you would capture me for no reason whatsoever! The only time you do something like this is when you have the wrong idea about something, or someone has deceived you into…” Her voice trailed off as realization dawned on her. “So that’s it. Someone’s tricked you again!”

“No! No one has deceived me!” Atofe shouted back, denying Kishirika’s charge.

“That’s what deceived people say! All right then! If that’s what brought all of this about, tell me everything. There’s still time. I can save you before it’s too late and you do something irrevocable. So why don’t you remove these shackles first?” Kishirika thrust her hands out in front of her, holding them up.

Atofe wasn’t looking at her. She stared off into the distance, lost in thought. “Deception is committed through conversation. That wasn’t the case for us. We fought. We fought one another, and at the end, I admitted defeat.”

“You liar! You mean to tell me someone as ridiculously competitive as you admitted defeat?!”

“The one who forced me to admit my defeat…is this man here!” Atofe pointed her finger in the direction of a mage swathed in gray robes. He had a terrible expression on his face. The kind of smarmy, perverted type one might expect to find from a man who kept three wives waiting on him hand and foot. Or perhaps it was simply that he was trying too hard to smile.

“It’s… It’s you…” Kishirika stammered. “Rubeus!”

“Close, but not quite.”

“I-I guess it might be possible, with that ridiculous amount of mana you have, to be able to…” Kishirika shuddered in fear. She had met this human mage just twice in the past. The first time she had laughed at how eerie the amount of mana he held was. The second time, she had laughed at his magical prowess in being able to fend off Demon King Atofe.

She wasn’t laughing this time. A man who could command Atofe and convince the demon king to capture Kishirika wasn’t funny. Not in the least.

“Hehe.” The mage chuckled nevertheless as he looked down at her, his lips resting in an unsettling smile. “To tell the truth, there is something I want to give you.”

“Wh-wh-what could that be?” Kishirika demanded, her voice trembling uncontrollably. “Some kind of last rites?”

“Hahaha, something much better than that.” He chuckled heartily and his grin stretched even wider.

“I-I-I won’t be misled! You menfolk are always like this! Don’t try to trick me with your sweet talk!” Although Kishirika tried to resist him, she had nowhere to run. The tremor in her voice betrayed her strong front as well. She began scanning the area, looking for some method of escape while she crossed her legs, trying to hold her bladder despite the fear.

“I wonder if you’ll still be able to say that after you see this?” The mage lowered the backpack he’d been carrying. His hand disappeared inside, soon producing a black box.

“Eek!” Kishirika shrieked. A black box?! Her terror swelled just imagining what could possibly be contained inside. What could it be? It was no ordinary black box—it was a black-black box. Black as midnight. She knew there had to be something terrifying in there! Why else would it be such a potent shade of black?!

“Once you have this, you will want to do anything I tell you.”

“Wh-what?!”

He opened the box. Contained snugly inside was a ring-shaped object as big as a fist. It was golden with a strange creamy white coating on it. It almost resembled mold, she thought. All of the hair on her body stood on end. For as creepy as its shape and color was, it emitted a sweet, saccharine smell.

“Wh-what is that thing? What…do you mean to do with it?”

“Haha, this is what you do with it.” The mage took it in his hand and approached her, bringing the object to her mouth. At the same time, two black knights flanking her clapped their hands down on her shoulders. There was no escape.

“Say ‘aaah.’”

“N-no… Stop… Stooooop!”