Black Moon – 2

Beyond the gate was the first floor of Black Palace’s District 7, which was more or less my hometown now. It was a famous dungeon (mainly because of me), but all humans who ran around here were already dead. The dungeon itself was oddly quiet as it was already under my control.

“Kiruk!

“Kiruk!”

As soon as any goblins found me, they ran away. There were many strangely strong monsters in the other zones that I challenged to test what I could do, but these monsters fled without hesitation. The same scene would likely play out on the next few floors, but I was focused on reaching the final boss room- what I sought waited for me there.

Or at least, I thought so. As soon as I arrived in front of the boss room on the first floor, the pocket watch I was holding flew out of my hand and was absorbed into the boss room door. At that moment, I could feel the boss beyond the door changing, transforming into a creepy thing similar to what I felt when I faced Lucifer.

“…” I felt a bit defeated. I thought I would be able to receive what I prepared in the past. But, upon reflection, this made sense. I knew better than anyone else that there was nothing to gain without suffering first. I was fine physically after my battle with Lucifer, but mentally I was fatigued. There was also the stress of the underground disappearing at any moment, which is why I had been hoping it would be easier. Pushing that thought aside, I let out a deep sigh and grabbed onto Annihilation.

“Ha!” The huge iron gate shattered apart under Annihilation’s power. Beyond the gate, the figure of a person awaited me.

It was me.

[It was at the same time I was making plans to create the Battlefield, I began to think…]

It had the exact same voice as me, the same face and body. He spoke in a calm but firm voice.

[Lucifer falls short of being my equal, my partner. The Battlefield was the best plan I could achieve, but it was bound to fail.]

“…” Certainly, it did fail. Half of this mess stemmed from that fact, but it wasn’t just Lucifer that was at fault.

[Because there was only one with the ability to do it, I was forced to entrust them, but I had to prepare for my next work when that one failed.]

This other me was like a broken robot, programmed to spit out everything contained inside of him and built to look just like me, aside from the black clothes he wore.

[If it is a plan that is obviously going to fail, you have to do it. But I wasn’t sure if I could break the heavens. It wasn’t enough to eat Lucifer. If only I had one more…I thought.]

Gradually, I began to see what I thought of in the past.

[After that, I started to see what I could use the Battlefield for. Prepare it so I could eat Lucifer while readying myself to grow back from the ground up. Those were the two purposes of the Battlefield.]

If that were the goal, I’d been greatly successful so far.

[I took the time I was allowed to take and contained the most intense Greed and Gluttony I had in it, sealing it in a pocket watch with seven chains. Of course, it’s not something that anyone can do, but the powers of Gluttony and Greed with the chain made it possible.]

I had a feeling this wouldn’t end peacefully.

[If I had to entrust the underground to someone, it had to be me. I had a strong desire to live, and I won’t die until I devour everything. That’s why I believed I could do it.]

“Wouldn’t it be nice to be devoured by me?”

[With all that has happened, I will go out to meet the heavens as the lord of Gluttony. I have gained strength to surpass my prior self, so I will only continue to grow stronger. Either way, no matter who gets eaten, the distinction is meaningless.]

His words flowed like water, filling me with suspicion.

[It can’t be. No matter how much time passes, there is no way I will lose to anyone other than myself.]

Enormous mana began to fill the space, and a smile caught on my lips. It was an energy I was intimately familiar with: Predation.

[Whatever it is, please devour it. No matter how much I’ve changed, there is nothing more important than eating the prey before me. I am Baal, Lord of Gluttony!]

The battle began; the mana that was filling to space began to stick to me.

[Eat everything from head to toe! Be crushed and disappear!]

“Khh…!” Knowing that there was no choice but to devour for this remnant before me, I also activated my powers to confront him. Our powers collided, pure mana without any gaps clashing and roaring. The obsidian walls of the 7th District absorbed the mana and began to glow, unworried by the shockwaves.

[Now, I will gain everything back. All that I should have!]

“Kh!” Even though I was prepared, my opponent’s mana was too strong. It was stupid of me to think I surpassed the power I had in the past. Our mana wasn’t too different; however, my opponent had the chance to refine their ability over the years. That difference in experience was against me.

[Blood. I love my own blood. I can’t wait to drink it!]

“Kahak!” Blood gushed out from my body, bitten by the energy of Predation. Sharp nails struck my throat, and I only barely avoided further damage through the Goddess’ Touch and Solas.

“Kh…!”

[You didn’t have enough time. I expected that would be the case, so I preserved myself in the past.]

No matter how much I had recovered my memories, it would take years for that to reflect in my body. My fight with Lucifer and my evolution helped me grow, but that seemed arrogant now. In the past, I produced overwhelming results with less mana that I had now, but it was difficult to reverse the flow of battle.

[I have to finish this quickly. I have so much to do.]

“To do…?” While I was berating myself for my own foolishness, another voice came to my ears. It wasn’t a provocation, but rather had a casual tone to it, like a business checking his watch during lunch.

“You think you can replace me,  who has struggled to survive until now…?!” Fiery Jealousy burned inside of me. To lose to this man who dared to look down on me from the past. And that was the only way I could defeat him: Greed and Gluttony, the two powers I had in the past. But I was also Jealous.

[Lucifer’s power, yes. I expected as much. But can that alone fill the gap of years between us?]

No, there was one other way I was ahead of him.

“Myu!” Solas, who was defending against his Gluttony with me, supported me as I jumped through space to attack the other me.

[It’s insane to share power that is worth more together. Are you really me?]

I laughed at that. This was a trace of Baal, who embraced Gluttony and Greed. But now I knew he was wrong.

[Let’s clean this up quickly. I’m tired.]

“Myu!” Solas let out a cry, containing the compressed and refined the power of Reaper inside me. Not even I could ignore that power, and my other self-stretched out a hand to block it.

[That power would better serve me.]

The moment he clenched his fist, Solas disappeared without a trace. A smile so cool I could laugh played on his lips. With a movement reminiscent of my past self, imitated by the power of Jealousy, I stretched out the power of Predation and struck him with it.

“No, that would better serve me.”

His arm exploded brilliantly.