Chapter 26

“Hey- you- son- of- a- bi-!!!”

The echo from the cliff and Leonard’s lung power intertwine, creating an unbelievably massive shout that spreads far and wide. I was disappointed we couldn’t get stage sound effects, but Leonard is turning out to be an excellent audience member. Such active participation in the performance!

It feels even more vivid with all the emotion and spirit put into it. Ah, Leonard really means it when he shouts like that, doesn’t he? That makes sense! In fact, it’s great! Nowadays, 4D performances are all the rage! Though that’s a story from five hundred years in the future!

Alright, from today onward, I’m a movie director. An unprecedented 4D specialist movie director, operating five hundred years before the first movie ever screened. For now, I’m also the actor, director, lighting technician, and extra, but things will change once I start recruiting actors.

For now, I’ll have to make do with this modest little theater and its less-than-stellar audience. Someday, the entire continent will become my stage, and demon kings, emperors, and heroes alike will fill the audience seats. That’s the vision I aim to create.

“Wow, what a graceful fall. Big Brother, didn’t our second brother look almost seductive just now? If he had grown up properly, he would’ve bewitched countless females, wouldn’t he?”

“Oh, Oscar…! What did you just do…!”

“What did I do? Didn’t you hear second brother saying something caught his eye down below? I was simply being considerate by letting him take a closer look.”

“You… crazy bastard! Did you forget Leonard can’t fly but has the ability to liquefy his body? If he comes back up, you’re as good as dead! At the very least, one part of you will definitely break!”

“Whoa! Liquefaction ability! Whoa! Shockproof!”

Good grief! Leonard has such superpowers!

And yet… I’m not surprised at all.

Crash-.

A disheartening sound echoes from beneath the cliff. It’s the sound of a life’s potential being torn apart. The sound of an ambitious demon meeting a meaningless end. The appetizer act has concluded.

“…Huh?”

“T-this is only natural, right? Unless it’s an extremely rare ability that doesn’t consume magic power, any ability requires magic power to function. You know that, right?”

“W-what nonsense are you spouting? Not being able to use magic power?”

“Hahaha, hasn’t tonight’s dinner tasted especially delicious compared to usual? I always give my best effort, so when preparing the final banquet for our brothers, I poured my cooking passion into it.”

Even if Retavis is preoccupied, he shouldn’t be so dense as to not understand these straightforward words. He wasn’t hit on the head as a child like Adela was, after all.

“…You prepared the evening meal, not Mother?”

“Kyahaha- Mother did the cooking, and I merely assisted. How much assistance qualifies as helping is subjective, isn’t it? For example, if someone helps from start to finish, others might still call it assistance!”

Listening to my cheerful explanation, Retavis starts frantically patting himself down, though it’s already too late.

Like fish on a chopping board that don’t realize their situation until they’re turned into spicy soup, the demon before your eyes is similar.

Bathed in an excessively radiant blue moonlight like a fish being washed in icy water, he flounders around, searching his body for the magic power that should rightfully be there.

There’s no way he’ll find it like that.

“Eh, why? What kind of trick did you pull on me!? You…”

“I poisoned you. The same magic suppressant Mother always gave me. Thanks to it, both of your brothers’ magic powers are completely sealed! Oh, there’s only one of you left now!”

“Magic suppressant? So the sound from beneath the cliff…”

“It means our dear Leonard brother shattered against the rocks! As they say, one always falls victim to their own traps!”

I jumped around with arms wide open while explaining why I disguised myself as Mother to prepare the feast.

I slipped hallucinogens into Adela’s food, sleeping pills into everyone else’s meals, and magic suppressants into the cute two brothers’. It was easy to obtain them since Mother kept all sorts of poisonous herbs in the kitchen for who knows what sinister purpose.

Retavis, blame Mother, not me. If you hand a bomb to an immature prankster like me, it’s bound to explode.

“…Then the letter? Was that also written by you?”

“That’s right. You should’ve been more subtle about your interest in women. Were succubi really that appealing? After all, succubi oozing with charm are the ultimate fantasy for all males.”

“Did you lure us here just to kill Leonard initially?”

“Huh? No way. If I only wanted to play with second brother, there’d be no need to escalate things this much.”

At my words, Retavis wore an expression of disbelief. His face was dotted with question marks that looked quite amusing.

“Playing…?”

“Of course, Brother. Don’t be so serious! We’re just playing together, aren’t we?”

“How dare you… kill your brother for such an absurd reason…?”

“You were going to kill me once I reached adulthood, weren’t you? I just sped up the process, that’s all!”

“You…! Crazy bastard! Do you have any idea what happens when you kill a demon who hasn’t reached adulthood? The Demon Realm police will arrest you! This will bring disaster to our family!”

“Do you think I’m some naive Retavis? I’ve already taken care of everything afterward. Even though I’m not the type to plan meticulously, I do know how to think ahead.”

As I spoke, I tapped my temples lightly. Retavis gritted his teeth fiercely. His fists creaked audibly as they tightened. Those fists will soon come hurtling toward me. Just imagining it makes my body heat up.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong-.

In my mind, a drumbeat only I can hear resounds. A drumbeat that excites and arouses me. Like Pavlov’s dog, I feel a tingling pleasure whenever this inner voice calls out.

“So, you intend to fight me after all?”

“Fighting? Let’s set aside such crude and terrible words! This is just a game, after all!”

“Right, that game. I’ll join in too. My intention is to kill you and cover up this situation.”

“Active audience participation suits me well! Shows are best when they flow unpredictably!”

Truthfully, I anticipated facing him.

But I mustn’t let my spirits dampen.

Prey frightened loses focus.

Clomp-.

Toward me standing at the edge of the cliff, Retavis takes a threatening step forward.

His blood-red eyes brimmed with various emotions. The instinctual fear of seeing his younger brother die and worrying the same fate awaits him. The surging murderous intent fueling his survival struggle. The forced-up hostility and anger.

Clearly, he’s the prey. The mindset of someone inflating themselves to avoid being devoured, like a pufferfish puffing up or a hedgehog raising its spines upon encountering a predator.

Ironically, even like this, Retavis is stronger than me. Overwhelmingly so.

No matter how useless his magic may be, I’m still juvenile while he’s adult. The differences in bones, weight class, height, and strength are evident.

And…

“Oh, right. Almost forgot.”

“What?”

“This is supposed to be a joint stage performance, isn’t it? I almost committed my most hated act.”

I pulled out a vial, uncapped it, and tipped its contents into my mouth.

“Gulp-.”

Ah, drinking the raw essence doesn’t taste half bad. Our Mother truly excels at culinary skills. Even as a child, I never skipped meals due to bad taste. Though I did avoid eating because of the poison inside sometimes.

“…Oscar, what did you just drink?”

“Oh, this? The exact same thing our brothers took. The virtue of chaos lies in equality, doesn’t it? I can’t stand looking down from a superior position.”

“Are you truly insane? What do you intend to do without magic…?”

Even if I had magic, it wouldn’t have helped much. My magic capacity is minuscule, and my current magic level is the lowest tier. It’s practically useless.

“Alright then, if you insist on being so arrogant, I’ll personally teach you the price of arrogance.”

Retavis’ eyes gleam with fiery hope. Yes, this is better. Boost that baseless confidence, increase the possibility of exposing weaknesses. Clinging to worthless magic is worse. You’ve traded magic for the possibility of exposure.

Above all, I despise those who look down from above. Beneath their pretense often lies nothing more than sewer-dwelling creatures pretending to be superior, drunk on false superiority.

Far in the future, in one of the Seven Nations dividing the continent called the Dark Nation, there was such a chancellor. He gathered slaves, disregarding gender, stripped them naked, and threw them into a large circular cage with beasts, calling it a game to observe human instincts.

Upon seeing this, I switched places between the chancellor and one of the slaves, changing only their clothes before throwing the chancellor into the cage. Surprisingly, no one noticed the difference. Despite the chancellor’s frantic protests that he didn’t belong there, the soldiers only beat him with clubs, mistaking him for a slave rebelling.

I enjoy such savage games, but I detest those who pretend to be gods ruling from above. That’s also why I opposed the Demon King who sought to dominate the continent.

How could someone like me commit such shameless acts?

Swoosh-.

“Let’s begin tonight’s main event.”

I pull out a pocketknife from the southern duke’s residence where the king once stayed. Its sharp blade glides elegantly across the back of my hand. I spin the pocketknife around my finger.

Please don’t call it cowardly just because I drew a dagger. The skin of an adult demon like Retavis is tougher and more resilient than this pocketknife. Unlike unpredictable magic, my consistently trained physical strength hasn’t betrayed me. I’m merely trying to maintain balance.

“The show title is <Disassemble an Adult Demon with One Pocketknife>! Starting now!”

Look, the height difference between Retavis and me is laughable. Even with the pocketknife, Retavis’ reach is about two cheeks longer. Moreover, this pocketknife can’t even cut through Retavis’ flesh; it’s an utterly common dagger. The outcome is as predictable as a battle between goblins and trolls.

However, a Joker overturns all common sense and expectations. The frivolous Joker who will plunge half the continent into darkness five hundred years later is right here.

Retavis charges at me like a bull, his fists clenched. I smile mischievously and twirl the pocketknife with my gloved hand.

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