C.S.O - Chapter 41 [The Answer is me]

 "Hyaaa!!! Take this <Holius Sola>!"

"<Endless Black>"

Light and darkness clashed, sweeping away anything around them.

"<Bullet Wind Cross>"

Seizing the opportunity while Kuro was off guard, Chiaki attack. Not only her, but Ruko also launched an attack from another side. Ruko combined not only the power of angels but also the power of her skills. As a result, Kuro's body was slightly pushed back by an immeasurable force.

"Tch!!"

However, Kuro showed no signs of being cornered. Instead, he seemed to be saying that Ruko's attack was not enough.

While Kuro was focused on defending against Ruko's attacks, Flamia attacked from the blind side using the piercing skill <Flame Spears Trust>.

But at that moment, Kuro released his power and allowed Ruko to advance. As a result, Ruko and Flamia nearly killed each other with their skills. Due to this, both of them lost their balance, and Kuro took the opportunity to counterattack.

Kuro flew into the sky, preparing to use the skill <Dark Blade Enchant>. Light gathered on the blade of his sword, and without hesitation, Kuro unleashed it toward Ruko and Flamia. Normally, it would take him a long time to charge up energy, but now he could do it in less than 2 seconds.

A loud explosion occurred, engulfing both of them. But suddenly, two figures dashed and flew towards Kuro from both sides.

Kuro summoned another sword in his empty left hand and used it to block their attacks.

Using sword techniques, he reduced the pressure of their attacks and nearly caused them to collide again. The technique Kuro used was called <Water Counter Slide>. With this, he only needed to redirect the attacks elsewhere without receiving them with full force.

Although Kuro used a troublesome technique, Ruko and Flamia didn't give up and continued to attack again and again.

"This is bad."

Meanwhile, Chiaki tried to analyze the situation to find an opening to attack Kuro, but unfortunately, she hadn't found one yet.

At a glance, Kuro was using ordinary techniques and skills, but he had no openings at all. Moreover, with his status as a Demon God, his current strength was undoubtedly stronger than the three of them.

Not only did Kuro have good skill usage, but he also combined it with sword techniques. However, it wasn't Kamikiri-ryu. That was evident from Kuro's attacks.

(...No. Kuro-chan isn't not using Kamikiri-ryu. He can't use it.)

Although effective against humans, Kamikiri-ryu required preparation and mature stances before it could be used to attack. The three attacks prevented Kuro from preparing an attack or even attempting to use Kamikiri-ryu.

In addition, most of Kuro's skills were not suitable for fighting players. But even with that knowledge, the three of them couldn't diminish Kuro's HP at all.

"Tch!?"

While pondering that, Chiaki looked up at the sky, which indicated that the dimensional boundary was getting closer.

They didn't have much time left.

"...Huh?"

Finally, Chiaki realized a major anomaly. Why were only the four of them present in that place?

The Demon Beast had already been defeated, which meant the five Valkryie Maidens who had helped them before could assist them in defeating Kuro, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Could they be in another location?

That made sense, but why now? Wouldn't it be faster for them to help defeat Kuro?

"..."

Chiaki sensed that something was amiss, but she didn't have any evidence.

"Chiaki-chan, watch out!"

A black meteor flew towards her, snapping Chiaki out of her thoughts.

She evaded it, and her HP bar decreased slightly. Then she leaped and used a flying skill to engage in battle.

"<Holy Blaze>"

Chiaki immediately attacked with one of her strongest skills. However, as expected, Kuro was able to withstand it.

Chiaki smiled.

This time, she didn't rely on Flamia or Ruko's assistance to attack from the blind side. Instead, she used a simpler skill.

"<Coffin of The Wind>"

Kuro's body was trapped in a wind coffin. He tried to move, but he struggled. After all, that skill could even restrain the Guardian from protecting the fragments of Longinus. There was no way Kuro could easily escape from it.

At least, that's what Chiaki thought.

Using the Acid Blade skill, Kuro easily shattered the Coffin of The Wind.

Nevertheless, Chiaki wasn't disappointed at all. Her goal had been achieved, which was to buy time.

"<Holy Dragon Flare>"

The holy dragon surged towards Kuro, crashing him into the ground along with a thunderous explosion.

"Did it work?"

"It won't have much effect on Onii-chan!"

Ruko prepared for the next attack. She raised her hand, and dozens of giant ice spears appeared.

"If you want to stop him, we have to intend to kill him. <Fenrir Freezing Arrow>"

Dozens of ice spears shot toward the explosion. In an instant, everything froze. Even the fire engulfing Kuro froze without exception.

"Ruko-chan, don't go overboard. We don't want to kill Kuro-chan."

"I know, Chiaki-chan. But do you think this will be enough to stop Onii-chan?"

"..."

Chiaki didn't answer because she had the same thought.

How can they stop Kuro without killing him?

They had already used high-level skills capable of killing the Demon King, but it still didn't feel like enough.

"Everyone, this is not over."

At the same time, the ice cracked and shattered from the pitch-black flames. From the center of the fire, Kuro emerged with less than 30% HP.

"We did it. Although strong, Kuro-chan has limits when fighting alone. We're doing it the same way as before. To stop Kuro-chan, we can only rely on you, Ruko-chan."

Ruko nodded in understanding. She was the only one with the strongest restraining skill. Besides, she was a God Slayer. It could be said that her attacks were the most effective against Kuro.

Flamia and Chiaki dashed towards Kuro. It was at that moment that a wide smile appeared on his lips.

"<Dark Flame Burst>"

A magic circle appeared around Kuro. Then it brightened and a loud explosion occurred, engulfing Chiaki and Flamia.

"A trap, huh...!?"

"This isn't enough to stop us, Kuro. You know that, right!!"

The HP bar drastically decreased along with heavily damaged armor. Even certain parts showed their skin directly.

But they didn't care about any of that. What they wanted right now was to stop Kuro at any cost.

Chiaki and Flamia simultaneously used their skills without hesitation.

"<Holy Flare Burst>"

"<Holy Storm Burst>"

Both of their skills were of opposing elements that would strengthen each other when combined. Although neither of them intended to do so, their attacks answered both of their requests.

Their two skills merged into a sacred fire dragon that consumed all darkness. With Kuro's current state, he couldn't stop the attack even if he became a Demon God.

But Kuro didn't stop it. He couldn't. And more importantly, he didn't need to.

By replenishing his MP and HP to full with an Elixir potion, Kuro used his strongest skill.

"<Dark Counter>"

A skill that reflected all types of attacks at the cost of 99% of the user's HP and MP. Undoubtedly, this was Kuro's strongest skill, but unfortunately, it was also the riskiest.

With an attack power like that, Flamia and Chiaki would surely lose.

"Forgive me."

Kuro closed his eyes, not wanting to witness their final moments.

But-

"<Skill Eraser>"

"!?"

The devastating attack that Kuro reflected disappeared in an instant as if it were all just an illusion. But all of that happened thanks to Longinus Flare's special skill.

This was something Kuro never expected, which was why he didn't anticipate it.

"<Coffin of The Wind>"

Once again, Kuro was trapped in a wind coffin. But that wasn't all they did.

"<Angel Ice Prison>"

Ice spears surrounded Kuro, creating a two-layered prison. Along with the precise execution of their powerful skills, three swords were simultaneously aimed at Kuro's neck.

"You lose, Onii-chan."

"That's enough!!"

"I'm sorry, Kuro!!"

Kuro wasn't foolish. He realized that the current situation was not in his favor.

With double-layered confinement, one of which used angelic power, it was impossible for him to escape easily.

"So, this is my defeat, huh? Are you satisfied now?"

None of them answered.

That was not what they wanted to hear from him. Doing all this, even intending to destroy the world was not something to be taken lightly.

"Kuro-chan, please stop all of this. There's no point in you doing all of this."

"Onii-chan..."

With pleading and angry expressions on their faces, the three of them urged Kuro to stop the world destruction process. It was the most important thing right now.

They could talk or beat up Kuro as much as they wanted, but it didn't mean they had to sacrifice many innocent lives.

"If you want to stop it, you know what you have to do."

"!?"

"I didn't engage in this fight without a purpose. For that purpose, I will do anything, even if it means risking my life. I can't stop now."

"Is your goal more important than our happiness?" Flamia asked.

Although she unsheathed her sword, she trembled.

"...Yes. It is something more important than that."

"!?"

"Kuro-chan, you..."

Chiaki showed a disappointed expression at Kuro's answer.

But Kuro didn't budge, as if his determination was already firm.

"When you talk about happiness, what kind of happiness do you mean? Being intimate every day? Having sex every day until we have children? Or living with our children until we grow old? Is that what you call happiness?"

"...if it is?"

"What's wrong with that?"

What's wrong with having a normal life until old age? It's a fairy tale that is the dream of many people.

"No, that's not wrong. If that's the happiness you mean, then it's also one kind of happiness."

Kuro closed his eyes for a moment, then continued.

"Unfortunately, that's not the happiness I imagined. No, from the beginning, do I deserve to have happiness?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

That question and Kuro's red eyes said it all.

Finally, the three of them understood why Kuro had been doing all of this.

Kuro just wanted to know where he belonged.

A human?

A God Slayer?

Or a demon?

All three were him, but they were divided into three personalities that supported each other, yet at the same time, they conflicted with each other endlessly.

Being a human meant having a chance at a normal life. Unfortunately, he was weak and unable to protect anyone. And most importantly, he wasn't a normal human.

Being a God Slayer wasn't much different from being a human. Unfortunately, it meant forever pretending to be someone else. That was nothing but cowardice.

Being a demon? Because demons were known as evil creatures, did that mean he had to destroy something and live in solitude? But he had someone who wouldn't let that happen.

Among these three identities, what should he choose?

"Kuro..."

As someone who had been shown a glimpse of Kuro's desired future, Flamia understood the inner conflict Kuro was feeling right now.

Not because Kuro was a demon or someone who had a demon inside him. But because he lived a different path from others, he had the greatest desire to be like everyone else. Normal. And without anything special.

"Kuro...you're really foolish."

Longinus Flare slipped from her grasp as tears flowed like a river.

"You feel unworthy of happiness. But is that important? What's most important is that when you feel happy, then that's what you feel. Why don't you understand such a simple thing, you fool!!"

"Yes. Truly foolish. I knew you were foolish, but I didn't expect you to be this foolish, Kuro-chan."

Chiaki sighed deeply and released Durandal onto the ground.

"Happiness is not something to be questioned. Humans will be happy if they get what they want. While demons will be happy if they succeed in plunging humans into darkness. Ultimately, happiness is something felt in the heart, not something to be questioned," Chiaki added.

"And most importantly, when you marry us, or when you engage in intimate acts with us, don't you feel any happiness? We were already prepared with the name of our first child."

"Hey...w-wait a minute? Names?"

Kuro was taken aback by something normal, but at the same time, it sounded funny.

"Do you think after doing it so many times, do you think one of us wouldn't get pregnant? Now you want to run away from responsibility by destroying the world. Truly, I'm disappointed in you, Kuro-chan."

"W-Wait a second, Chiaki. This is the first time I've heard about this. Well...if I think about it again, it does make sense, but..."

"Besides, you even added two more wives. And most importantly, when did you become close with Verona? She's my beautiful and annoying little sister, but I didn't expect this to happen."

"By the way, how far is your relationship? No, if I recall, since the condition for the ring appeared, it means you've already..."

"Hey...why did the conversation turn to this?"

"Shut up!"

"..."

"You should be able to imagine the difficulties we had to go through to find you. Fighting monsters, not sleeping for days, we even had to fight tentacle monsters. Your tentacles alone were enough, Kuro-chan."

[Chiaki, what do you mean by tentacle monsters? Have we ever...]

"Don't bother me. I'm currently very annoyed."

"Yeah. Tentacles. You must know what kind of monsters they are. I wanted to chop them up, but they bound me and melted all my armor. Please, don't make me mention it."

Although they didn't know what Chiaki was thinking by telling lies, Flamia followed her lead.

"Forget about the time you were almost violated by that monster. What's most important now is what we should do with you, Kuro-chan? If you want to destroy the Earth, go ahead. After all, the world is boring."

"Heh...Why did it turn out like this?" Flamia asked.

"It doesn't matter. Besides, we'll all die. If we can die with Kuro-chan, I think that's enough."

Flamia sighed upon hearing that.

"..Yes. You're right. Living without Kuro is the same as being dead. If we can die with you, that would be enough to make me happy. But what about our child in the future?"

"..."

Upon hearing that, Kuro couldn't say anything anymore.

All this time, he had been searching for his identity and his place in the world, even intending to destroy it.

But all of that was wrong. All of that was unnecessary.

Human or demon, God Slayer or Demon God, none of that mattered. They were all him.

And he was Kuro Kanata. The husband of all of them.

(Yes. That's enough.)

Realizing that he was indeed foolish, Kuro smiled. It was the smile of someone who had made a decision.

"You guys..."

"Kuro-chan."

"I-"

"You're not our Onii-chan!"

"Guh!"

Blood gushed from Kuro's mouth. Chiaki and Flamia didn't have time to react and didn't know what was really happening.

But when they saw Longinus Flare pierce through Kuro's body, they finally understood.

"Kuro!!"

"Kuro-chan!!"

The prison that held Kuro shattered. Then, what was visible was Kuro's body lying on the ground, drenched in blood.

"K-Kuro..."

Flamia was shocked to see so much blood for the first time. Although there was blood splatter when defeating monsters, the thick and sticky fluid on her hands was undoubtedly real blood.

"Ruko-chan!!"

Chiaki turned to the perpetrator of all this with a look full of anger and hatred.

Unlike the two who seemed shocked and saddened, Ruko had a stiff and indifferent expression. She didn't seem to regret anything at all.

"What? He's not Onii-chan, so it's only natural for me to kill him. Wasn't that our goal?"

"Ruko-chan!! Have you gone mad?"

"Mad? No. I'm not mad. I'm actually puzzled how you could casually seduce that lowly demon... Eh? Onii-chan, what happened to you? And w-what really happened? Who did th-"

Ruko's eyes met with Longinus Flare, covered in Kuro's blood.

"Aaaahhh!!!!!!"

Ruko appeared anxious, but his lips formed a wide smile. Simultaneously, tears flowed like those of a sorrowful person.

"Onii-cha- he's just a lowly demon!! Aa..aaa... What's happening to me?"

Kuro started behaving strangely, clutching his head. He seemed like a madman.

"[Enough. Let me take over. You should just go to sleep!]"

Ruko's eyes then became empty. Along with that, Ruko's angelic wings grew to six pairs of golden wings. Then, Ruko's second pair of eyes turned blue with cross-shaped pupils.

"You.."

Chiaki didn't need to think much to figure out what was happening.

"[Exactly. You catch on quickly, Chiaki-chan.]"

"Don't call me that with your filthy mouth, Fallen Angel."

Yes, Michael had taken complete control of Ruko's body.

"[Humans are indeed creatures without manners.]"

In the sky, numerous ice crosses appeared. Then, the ice crosses rained down upon Chiaki, Flamia, and Kuro.

Chiaki used the skill <Wind Barrier> to defend against the attack. However, Michael's attack was stronger and penetrated some parts of the shield.

One of the crosses tried to strike Kuro. Flamia shielded him with her body, allowing the cross to pierce through her.

"Gah!!"

Blood flowed from her wound. But she was relieved to see Kuro unharmed.

"[Step aside quickly. Let me kill that lowly demon. I don't want to kill both of you considering your relationship with this child. I don't want him to go mad after all this is over.]"

"!?"

"[This took longer than I expected. But considering the outcome, I think it's not a big deal.]"

"Damn it. Don't tell me you planned all this from the beginning?"

Michael just smiled. But it was evidence that Chiaki's thoughts about his intentions were correct.

The question was -

"Why?"

"[Why do you ask? Don't you know that we angels and demons are enemies? No, it's more accurate to say that we are conflicting beings. What's wrong with killing each other?]"

Michael said it with an innocent and holy tone. He acted as if he didn't consider what he was doing wrong.

"Tch! Just tell the truth. Did you do all this for such a trivial reason?"

"[No, it's not. This is not a trivial reason as you think. First, do you know the true meaning of being a God Slayer? If you understand that, then this will be easier.]"

"..."

In her heart, Chiaki started thinking. Although she also had to consider Kuro's condition at the moment, it would be dangerous to act rashly.

After the big battle, they only had a few potions and MP remaining. Moreover, from their previous fight, Michael's power was stronger than Chiaki had expected.

"[You call them God Slayers. But what can they really do? Can humans use the power of demons to fight against beings higher than them?]"

"!?"

"[Yes, exactly. The answer is no.]"

With a smile like that of a child, Michael began to explain.

"[If you look at the contents of the book's name, the position of a god or deity is higher than that of demons and angels. And humans are lower than both. So how can demons kill gods? Do you know?]"

".....It's because there are those who believe in it."

This happens because the existence of angels or demons is created from belief. They then take a form so that they are not just concepts.

"[Right. When the Fallen God appeared, their existence, which originally surpassed ours (angels and demons), became lower. In short, the Fallen God is nothing more than a rampaging monster.]"

Upon hearing that, Chiaki finally understood that Kuro's family was not God Slayers but rather Monster Slayers.

"But that's not a reason to kill Kuro-chan."

"[No, he must be destroyed. Regardless, he will become a figure that disrupts the balance of the world if left alive.]"

Michael's reasons sounded crazy and unreasonable. But Chiaki didn't think so when considering Kuro's existence.

Unlike Michael, who was a concept-taking form, Kuro was a demon born with a human form. In other words, he could be considered a genuine demon.

"D-don't tell me the ritual that Kuro-chan performed before..."

Chiaki's body trembled as she recalled everything that had happened. If her thoughts were correct, then Kuro had been fighting against fate from the beginning.

"[That's right. The ritual was just a reason to kill the demon born from a human womb. But I have to admit, he was really lucky to survive. But it doesn't matter because I'll end it now.]"

Michael tried to use Longinus Flare to kill Kuro. But Longinus Flare refused to comply.

Then, Longinus Flare glowed brightly and flew towards Flamia. With blood-soaked hands, Flamia caught Longinus Flare.

"[It seems that the sword has acknowledged you as its master. It's not a problem.]"

Michael disappeared and reappeared near Kuro. He prepared to crush Kuro's head with the ice spear.

"I won't let you touch Kuro!!"

Flamia destroyed the ice spear and counterattacked. But Michael managed to evade.

"[Even though you can hurt me with that sword, don't think you can win. After all, fate won't allow it.]"

"Then I'll just have to destroy that fate with my own hands!!"

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