Clarifications:
-"Person Talking"-
-(Person Thinking)-
-
[Skills or Magic]
(JC: Author's Notes)
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Let's start
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Being possessed by Ifrit saved my life. That, I could never hope to deny. If I'd been left there alone, the burns from the airstrike would have killed me. No matter what Leon, the Demon Lord, intended for me, I had to accept the fact that I owed him my life.
As a high-ranking Fire Elemental, Ifrit had powers far beyond anything I could have imagined. He miraculously tamed the magic brimming within me, ready to explode, as he took over my body. Thanks to my stabilization beforehand, if you will, I managed to obtain a Skill. The Unique Skill [Degenerate].
Normally, being absorbed by Ifrit would have erased my consciousness from existence. It was [Degenerate] that protected me. Ifrit may have had the right to rule my body, but I still managed to retain my sense of self despite the assimilation.
The Demon Lord always kept me close to him.
Although Ifrit and I had become one, my body was still young and immature. The one who had summoned me towered over me, even sitting in a chair. Ifrit owned my body, so there was very little to occupy my time. All I could do was gaze at the things seen through my eyes. I never grew tired of it, but the long periods of boredom were a bit painful to bear. Nevertheless, I accepted it. It was all part of being assimilated.
Then, one day...
-"Lord Leon! We have intruders!"-
One of the knights in the demon's service burst into his office.
I was standing next to him, as usual. I had nothing else to do, and there was nothing I could do anyway.
A knight in black armor, standing to the Demon's right side, took his sword in his hand.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure, a sort of cross between a bird and a man, entered the room, growling in his raspy voice.
-"Kehhhh-keh-keh-keh! Greetings from King, the Magic-Born! When I defeat you, Leon, I will be a Demon Lord forever. An ex-human like you, declaring yourself a Demon Lord? Know your place, fanatic! I'll be happy to take yours once your body is firmly buried in the ground!"-
Nothing the man said did anything to change Leon's facial expression.
-"Hmph,"- the Knight in Black told him calmly. -"I see that leaving me, at least to protect you, was a wise choice. It seems one of the rank and file sniffed this place out."-
-"Bah"- The Demon replied just as the knight was about to draw his sword. -"Another busybody from the gallery. Very well."- He looked at me. -"It's time, Ifrit."-
-(What did he mean?)- I was confused.
-"Hmm? What is it, Ifrit?"-
He asked, an inscrutable look on his face. My bewilderment must have appeared in my body's eyes.
-"Ignore me, you should,"-
Said the one known as König, a high-level Magic-Born, as he turned around, spreading his arms like wings and crossing them in front of his face. For a moment, I could see his hands glowing.
<
Ignoring the unfamiliar voice echoing in my head, I unconsciously began to walk. One step. Two steps. Then, before I knew it, I was standing in front of Demon Lord Leon, face to face with König.
-"Are you in that much of a hurry to die, brat?"- he said hoarsely. Something about that voice irritated me to the core. -"You'll perish at my hand sooner or later. But once I kill the pretender Demon Lord..."-
I could see that the wings spread out in front of him contained a decent amount of magical force.
-"Die, bastard!!"-
Before I could finish speaking, he fired a flurry of feathers. I could tell he'd aimed them directly at me. Each one had a great amount of force behind it; touching them would cause them to explode, which seemed a little painful.
The moment it occurred to me, I was suddenly overcome with a violent rage, my head heating up until I thought it would boil. I think it was Ifrit's anger inside me.
What happened next took place in the blink of an eye. In a single moment, all the feathers turned to ash, and flames danced around König's body. Looking closely, I could see a column of fire, like a whip, extending from the palm of my outstretched right hand.
-"Ah, ahhhh! S-Stop! Burn, stop, stop-"-
Whatever König was trying to shout, he never managed to form a complete sentence. My flames consumed him.
My heart filled with fear. I knew that right here, by my own hand, I had killed a person Born of Magic. Yet I could feel my entire body lighting up with a strangely deep sense of satisfaction. It was hard to explain, as if I had just completed something I was destined to do. I felt as if my mind belonged to someone else. The terror was unbearable.
But... In another moment, everything was resolved. Ifrit's consciousness filled my soul again, bottling up my anxieties and fear.
In the end, it kept me from going mad inside. It helped protect me from the guilt I should have felt when killing. It wasn't that I was incapable of that emotion; Ifrit simply exerted his complete control over me to ensure I never felt it. To ensure that I, his host, would never lose my mind and die in him.
Thus began my strange symbiotic relationship with Ifrit, something I neither wanted nor expected. The same thing happened again, many times, and again, I killed the intruders for Leon, feeling nothing.
I had no regrets. I was young; I didn't yet know right from wrong, and I left everything to Ifrit. I simply acted, without feelings, drawn by the creature's will to dispatch those in its path.
One day, the Demon Lord spoke to me.
-"Hehe, hahaha! I love it,"- He said. -"You've shown me your will, haven't you? You've proven you can survive. I'm impressed."-
For some reason, this remark didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was almost proud.
-"What is your name?"-
-"Shizu... e"-
-"Shizu-eh? Very well. Your name is Shizu. You will call yourself Shizu from now on!"-
I meekly accepted.
I am Shizu. Not Shizue Izawa. The name I live by is Shizu.
That was how I came to stay in the Demon Lord's castle, serving as his Flame Titan, a High-Level Magician. His close attendant.
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Several years passed after I gained the name Shizu. After a while, I was able to move around a little on my own. I was perfectly comfortable with my symbiosis with Ifrit.
Demon Lord Leon's castle included a training facility.
There, the black knight served as an instructor, providing guidance for the Titan and the non-human children there, though there were some adults as well. It was a grueling process, and those who couldn't keep up would often find themselves without anything to eat. We all struggled to keep up, with everything we had.
It was there that I learned to fight with a sword, without borrowing Ifrit's power. I didn't want to lose any of my fellow students, and I hated being treated as someone special. That was what drove me to improve.
One day, I befriended a young girl named Pirino, a gentle and quiet girl, a little older than me. We were in the woods, on a hunt as part of our practical battle training, and we struck up a conversation. Pirino always went off on her own, which seemed odd to me, so I decided to follow her.
-"Fwee!"-
There, I saw her playing with a baby Wind Fox. She had been giving it food, secretly caring for it. It was a monster, a magical beast, but also cute and still too young to hunt on its own. It was alone, separated from its parents, but it was alive and thriving.
-"Ah...!"- Pirino hid the Wind Fox behind her as she spun around, surprised by my presence. -"I-I was watching over this,"- She stammered, realizing I'd seen it. -"It would just be wrong to let it die... Don't tell anyone, okay?!"-
Her eyes flickered with anxiety. I could tell her goals were noble. This was a small life in her hands; she wanted to protect it. Maybe she was jealous of that Wind Fox. It wasn't alone anymore—I felt it, but I was.
-"Fine,"- I said timidly. -"But... Can I watch over it with you?"-
Pirino stared blankly for a moment, then showed a serene smile.
-"Of course! In fact, I hope you can. My name is Pirino!"-
I gave her my name, and we exchanged a few pleasantries. She was the first friend I'd ever had.
-"What did you name him?"-
Pirino gave me another look at my question.
-"Name him? Monsters don't have names. They can communicate with each other through their minds."-
-"But I'd feel bad if this guy didn't have a name. Hey, is it okay if I come up with one?"-
-"Really? But they said we can't name monsters..."-
-"Please? Come on, just once?"-
I didn't fully understand what Pirino meant. No matter what I chose, I believed the Wind Fox deserved a name. After a few more moments, she reluctantly nodded, and in another moment, we were both having fun coming up with names.
Ultimately, we settled on "Pizu," a portmanteau of Pirino and Shizu. It seemed to symbolize our new friendship, somehow. I was happy with that.
-"Fweee!!"-
She would always squeal with joy whenever Pirino or I used her name. He must have liked what we chose, and I enjoyed the reaction. Pirino would smile too.
-(This is so fun!)-
I had been so lonely, but Pirino and Pizu were there to soothe my heart.
We came to visit Pizu on regular occasions.
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A few days after we named him, the Wind Fox grew from something we could hold in our palms to a creature the size of our heads. We were surprised, but considering how attached he was to us, we didn't mind. If anything, we were glad he was big enough to hunt on his own. Sometimes, we even got a wild bird or hare for ourselves when we visited.
-"Do you think we could take him to the castle, Shizu? He's really smart, and maybe he could help around the place..."-
-"Huh?"-
Frankly, I wanted to keep it our little secret. But faced with Pirino's pleading eyes, I couldn't bear to say it. I didn't want my selfishness to sadden her.
There were other, assorted magical creatures being kept in the castle. A Wind Fox so intelligent and kind to people, Pirino insisted, could easily be recognized as a servant beast.
That was the beginning of the tragedy.
-"Fweeeeee!!"-
I suppose you could say it was bad luck that we happened upon the Demon Lord Leon in a castle corridor. But it wasn't. It was our fault for assuming we had the strength to watch over anything in life.
-"Run... Run, Pizu...!"-
Crossing Leon frightened Pizu beyond all comfort. She leaped straight from Pirino's clasped hands, the hairs on Leon's neck rising in a show of intimidation.
The act awakened my Titan. The moment she did, I lost all autonomy. Pirino was so close, but sounded so far away. Ifrit didn't care how I felt and lashed out at the snarling Pizu. There was nothing stopping my body, no matter how hard I struggled, as I grabbed Pizu and incinerated him. With my own hand.
That wasn't the end. The flames from my hand formed a swirling white vortex that attacked the girl who had brought Pizu to Leon. Without even a sound, she turned into a pile of ash that disappeared in moments. As if no one had ever been there.
The elemental flame, finally satisfied with a job well done, saluted its Demon master before calming down.
-(...What was that?)- I stood there blankly, unable to analyze my new reality. -(My hand... My... My body... Did it move of... its own accord? Why... The flame...? Did I do it...?)-
It took several more hours to realize that Ifrit had determined that not only Pizu but also her guardian Pirino were enemies of the state. By my own hand, I had killed my friend.
It sickened me. For hours on end, until nothing more came of it. He should have killed me, too, while he was at it. My entire body filled with regret and maddening sadness, and then, as if nothing had happened, I was serene. No tears spilled from my eyes, even though I wanted to cry. No madness took hold of me, even though I wanted to lose myself in it. No voice escaped my throat, even though I wanted to scream.
-(Did the Titan born of magic also take over my mind?)- My heart was buried in a whirlwind of terror, and then instantly, calm returned. I was no longer a person. No matter how much I wanted to, I would never achieve the kind of happiness others were entitled to.
From that day forward, I stopped crying. I'd already cried all my tears anyway. There was nothing left to shed. I lost something too important to me that day.
And Leon, my Demon Lord, simply looked on coldly. Calmly. Never punishing me.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
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Author's Notes
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Please note that this story is mostly centered around Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken and another novel that you may recognize. Please also note that Rimuru is completely replaced by my own character (Yukimaru). You are warned.
Disclaimers:
The character or story mentioned from an anime, or novel, does not belong to me. Instead, it belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi (High School DxD), Fuse, Mitz Vah (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken) and Patora Fuyuhara (Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni)
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Upcoming chapters (Spoilers):
Chapter 11- Arriving at the Dwarf Kingdom
Chapter 12- Problems and New Skill
Chapter 13- The Master Blacksmith