(Warning: Rear)
—
Let me tell you a story.
In ancient tales, we find lessons and embarrassment, always striving to move forward into new days.
Gazing up at the sky, I stand without a hint of shame.
Of course, no human can live without at least a little shame.
Everyone has disqualifying reasons, and everyone has something to be embarrassed about.
I aspire to become a Seongnyeo, but looking back at the years gone by, I am always filled with regret.
However, Shia never regrets.
The days that have passed.
The beliefs she has carried.
And the people who have followed her.
For all of it, Shia strives to improve and prevent herself from being ashamed.
And today is no different.
“Die, you evil Vegan Demon King!!”
In that sense, she could not tolerate the Vegan Demon King who denies carnivorism.
Of course, a Seongnyeo casually uttering “Die” is not something you’d expect in a typical situation.
“Ugh! What are you doing, you crazy woman!?”
“What do you think? I’m here to take down the cruel and evil Demon King…”
Smack!
And with that, the Vegan Demon King landed a kick to Shia’s stomach, punishing her for losing focus on Yujin.
Considering they had the same physical body, they probably had the same physical strength.
“Guh!”
[Respect life!]
The sound of cracking bones suggested that her stomach folded, shattering her spine, yet Shia shrugged it off, getting up and glaring at the Vegan Demon King.
How dare you kick me?
You truly are the evil Vegan Demon King!
Then, bending slightly at her waist, Shia’s thigh muscles exploded like a pressure cooker releasing steam.
Boom!!
Within a second, Shia charged at the Demon King like a human cannonball, and in turn, the Vegan Demon King leapt towards her.
Crack!
Thud!
Bang!
‘…How did it come to this?’
Feeling a headache from the sudden battle, Yujin couldn’t help but recollect their first encounter.
It had started off so well.
When the Demon King Shia suggested they eat first, Shia began that conversation with maximum goodwill—a rarity among all her past encounters.
The Demon King’s dining suggestion positively influenced not just Shia but Yujin as well. Normally, Shia and Yujin would have sought to eliminate the Demon King on sight, but they decided to at least talk things through.
But what?
Vegan?
Vegetarian?
It made sense for Elves to suggest veganism…
It made sense for some humans to be vegan too…
And it’s understandable that some people are born unable to eat meat.
‘But “Isia” is vegan? Absolutely unacceptable!’
While Shia could understand and forgive everything else…
The fact that an alternate universe’s version of herself was a meat-hating Vegan Demon King was a line she could never cross.
With each passing moment filled with rage and disappointment, Shia glared at the evil Vegan Demon King, who had tentacles protruding wildly from her back.
The Demon King, with the same face as Shia, intercepted all of Shia’s incoming attacks.
Boom!
Thwack!
Pop!
Crash!
Shia didn’t have tentacles like Shia, but the Demon King seized the advancing tentacles with her bare hands, using tremendous strength to pull Shia towards her and swing a fist.
Whether or not the evil Vegan Demon King truly intends to bring ruin to the world is secondary; her power is no lie.
Even though the Demon King Shia released an unidentifiable black mana instead of divine power, she countered Shia’s punch.
The way their fists collided seemed almost like two puppets tangled together, perfect imitations of each other’s posture and movement.
Shia’s punch, infused with divine power, was as solid and destructive as a knight’s gauntlet. In contrast, the black mana of the Demon King intertwined with Shia’s trajectory.
[I want one thing…!]
The Demon King yelled as she gripped Shia’s fist with one hand.
The mana in her voice delivered an assault capable of shaking and seducing a human’s mind.
Of course, while Shia and Yujin weren’t affected, if other Hunters were present, they would have been instantly mentally crushed or brainwashed, aiming their blades at Shia and Yujin.
[In this world…]
As if chanting a spell, the air shifted around them, the Demon King’s aura changing, causing her body to crack like glass.
The sight was reminiscent of when Shia had become the Death Seongnyeo, causing even her to flinch momentarily in their confrontation.
[To make all flesh disappear…!]
“Huh…?!”
What the hell did this bastard just say?
How could someone be so cruel and wicked…!
Shia’s face turned to one of utmost horror, while Yujin wore a face devoid of emotion, feeling utterly aghast.
Regardless, Shia took a step forward, her face etched in the gravest of resolves and beliefs, to confront the Demon King directly.
Alright, I understand now.
“You are a creature that must not exist! Vegan Demon King!”
[Respect life…. you vile Flesh Seongnyeo!]
“………”
Boom!
Pop!
Wow, that was epic.
As their punches and kicks collided, the impact shattered the castle floor, sending debris everywhere.
It was utterly ridiculous that this clash was between vegans and carnivores.
Yujin, dodging the flying debris, perched on a distant railing.
He didn’t really want to think about it, but Tiara’s earlier words popped into his head.
‘Those aware of their evil deeds feel embarrassment and can be restrained, but those who believe they are doing justice do not see the need to hold back.’
Yujin wasn’t sure if this situation applied, but he realized it was too late to intervene.
Or rather, it wasn’t that he couldn’t intervene; he just didn’t want to.
He really, really didn’t want to step into that whirlwind of chaos.
“Sigh…”
Surrounded by a transparent barrier, Yujin pondered.
While Shia’s sudden onslaught against the Vegan Demon King could be overlooked, he had internally concluded the life-respecting Vegan Demon King wasn’t a true Demon King.
‘Someone must have created her.’
From the moment they first met, he sensed that the being, identical to Isia, was not a natural life form.
Initially, Yujin thought it was just a rogue creation of a true Demon King, but he no longer believed she was a real Demon King.
‘And that unnatural reaction earlier…’
She looked like a puppet.
A puppet that only executes predetermined codes and commands.
Coming from a world filled with magic and puppetry, Yujin knew.
The first units to engage on the battlefield were automatically created combat puppets. Naturally, the Vegan Demon King seemed to be of much higher quality than those crude dolls; yet her behavior oddly reminded him of a puppet.
‘On the exterior, it looks like a living being, but… an exceptional magician or witch could create puppets so advanced that their appearance is meaningless.’
Considering how unrealistically often an alternate universe’s Isia could be drawn to Earth, it was absurd.
Ririsia’s case was an outlandish exception.
Ririsia’s arrival on Earth resulted from the Demon King’s fragment triggering the Mapo District’s erosion, a freak accident with a minuscule probability.
Of course, from the perspective of those shards, it made sense to be wary of someone who had once obliterated their original selves like Seongnyeo. Yet, if the shards could comfortably open a door to another parallel world, they should have summoned a complete Demon King who successfully destroyed another world.
The undead Seongnyeo’s body was tougher than steel, coated in an absurd amount of divine power, each punch packing more destructive power than a bomb.
But it wasn’t limited to just limbs.
[Miracle – Manifesting a Sacred Body!]
Crack!
Clatter!
A corpse of starlight, resonating with Shia’s rage, shattered her spine before regenerating and manifesting as tentacles, more than before targeting Demon King Shia.
To an external observer, the tentacles appeared to merely slap, but each was infused with impossible divine power, an attack capable of crushing the S-grade Black Minotaur and Centipede Dragon in a single strike.
However, the vegetarian King wasn’t going down without a fight.
[Ten Thousand Blossoms – Groundbreaking!]
As the Demon King muttered her incantation lightly, flowers and plants of unknown origin began sprouting from the surrounding objects.
Life feeding on life; blooming again, the sight was mesmerizing but also horrifying. The green hell blossoming from chairs, tables, plates, walls, floors, and ceilings was more gruesome than beautiful.
And the effects immediately hit Shia.
“Ugh…!”
Cracks appeared on Shia’s body and tentacles; from those fractures, flowers blossomed.
Growing flowers, sprouting stems, and birthing leaves, the plants took root in Shia’s body, manifesting in a pristine white color.
While the fact that vegetation emerged from her body wasn’t massively damaging, the attack’s distraction enabled Demon King Shia to swiftly escape the tentacle’s grasp.
Moreover, the flowers sprouting around her began spewing jet black mana like seeds, converging around Demon King Shia.
[Respect life…!]
Gathering, the black mana transformed into a gigantic beam, shooting towards Shia.
Trying to dodge by moving her legs, Shia realized the plant stems sprouting from her legs and ankles had firmly rooted her in place. She reinforced her hands with divine power, swinging to deflect the beam.
The divine power repelled the mana, making it veer off course instead of penetrating Shia’s body.
“Ow, that stings…”
Although she managed to deflect the attack, Shia glared at her now charred hand in annoyance.
Certainly, the damage wasn’t severe.
As Shia angrily ripped the plants sprouting from her body, the cracks healed within five seconds, restoring her blackened hand to pure white.
Yet, the fact that such an attack had penetrated her defenses puzzled her.
‘That pierced through my divine power and affected me…?‘
Both Shia’s undead Seongnyeo body and divine power were immune to virtually all forms of curses and magic.
If someone wanted to effectively attack Shia, they should have used overwhelming physical strength to smash her head or limbs to supercharge her into immobility.
While a body reinforced with divine power was tough to break, Shia’s near-invulnerable body was susceptible to significant physical assaults as a last resort.
However, spontaneous growth of plants from her body caught Shia off guard.
In truth, back in her previous world, a Demon King had similarly attacked Shia with physical strength since his curse proved ineffective.
The only ones who could feasibly land a hit on Shia were…
‘Maybe Yeonseo or Teresa…’
Yeonseo had the power to break the very fabric of space rather than merely inflict damage on Shia, while Teresa was the most exceptional witch among those Shia had encountered.
Naturally, since Teresa had spent decades alongside Shia, she had the most comprehensive understanding of her body. If Teresa wanted, she could make a curse or ability effective against Shia.
Yet, Teresa had no intention of doing anything harmful…
At least, not yet.
Having completed her thoughts, Shia made up her mind to ask without hesitation.
“Hey, Vegan Demon King.”
[What is it, evil Flesh Seongnyeo?]
“I think I might be mistaken.”
[Did the seeds of life respect finally take root?!]
Suddenly, the Vegan Demon King approached Shia and began brushing off the dust and soot from her clothes.
Her touch was gentle and tender.
“………”
[Good thinking. Let’s end this pointless battle now.]
Unintentionally, it seemed that the Vegan Demon King interpreted this as the Flesh Seongnyeo declaring her defeat.
“Do you know Teresa?”
[……..Teresa?]
“Yeah, Teresa. Teresa Kaitlyn.”
Upon hearing this, the Demon King’s face hardened visibly.
Her expression turned expressionless, like a lifeless doll, as if she couldn’t muster any words.
[………………]
Creak…
“Say something…”
And then, on the Demon King Shia’s face…
Creak…
Creak, creak…!
Black tears began to flow down.
What’s wrong with her…?
“Watch out, Isia!!!”
[Soul Transfer – Reverse Trajectory]
In that moment, Shia felt her body, and the Vegan Demon King’s body being forcibly separated.
Yujin had used his own power to widen the gap between them.
“What the hell, Yujin?”
“Look at that…!”
Creak!
Creak! Creak! Creak!!
Squeak, squeak.
Crack!
The Demon King Shia’s body began to twist into unnatural forms.
Her figure contorted like a puppet pulled in bizarre directions, trembling in horror, the scene as terrifying as a horror film.
“I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems you’ve hit a nerve…!”
At first, Yujin intended to merely watch.
For reasons that made little sense, he’d been reluctant to intervene in that hellish battle. He believed it would be best to resolve things without killing Demon King Shia.
He had sensed on some level Shia didn’t truly want to kill her, unconsciously aware of it.
However, as soon as he felt the unsettling power from the Demon King Shia upon hearing the name ‘Teresa,’ Yujin acted before he could process it mentally.
[Teresa…]
The Demon King Shia was crying.
[Teresa.]
She was silent as her black mana tears flowed uncontrollably, staining her once-white hair to a dark hue.
The dark mana flowed from her body and began to dissolve her clothing. In an instant, the black mana enveloped her, constricting her form.
[Teresa. Teresa. Teresa. Teresa. Teresa.]
As the black mana dripped down, it fed into flowers that bloomed anew.
These flowers expelled their dark mana, transforming back into thorny tendrils once more.
[Teresa. Teresa. Teresa… x100+]
In no time, what was once a banquet hall was now consumed by the gardens birthed from the plants and flowers of Demon King Shia, with the plants constantly spewing black mana back at her.
The black mana enveloped her body, contorting it grotesquely until the warmth and kindness on her face disappeared entirely, revealing the face of a lifeless puppet.
