[21st Round] The Demon Lord’s Retaliation
▷ Race: First Ultra Human
▷ Level: 1
▶ Job: Brave (Everyone = Level 1)
▷ Skills: Love GGG, Friendship GG, Hope GG, Divinity GG, ■■ G…
▷ Status: Enhancement, Blessing, Miracle, Courage, Hope, Divine Dragon, Love, Friendship, Cooperation, Inspiration, Advent, Protection, Strengthening, Relic, Holy Spirit, Immortality, Awakening, Support, Transcendence, Goodwill, Energy, Responsibility, Hope, Salvation…
It was with those same stats that he once defeated Demon Lord Pedonar.
This was absurd.
I understand that the First Hero in front of me was a “fake” created based on his personal file, but his strength was still impressive.
Although, of course, he still couldn’t rival my power.
My father-in-law was helpless, weakened by the power of Brave and the effect of the Black Box, but such tactics would never work against me, the Perfect Demon Lord and Hero.
I could feel it.
[Darkness]
[Hero]
Perfection collided and faded away.
The power I inherited from my father-in-law allowed me to manipulate the space created from dark matter.
Absolute dominance.
There was no way one could fight the space they were in itself.
But he did it anyway.
More specifically, the Black Box did.
“Kh!”
He resisted my dark matter, which was supposed to crush his body.
Such a phenomenon normally would’ve been impossible to occur.
His power was imperfect as well, considering a perfect deity didn’t directly use it.
However, Second Demon Ssosia created the system skills specifically to counter the First Demon.
They were weapons to defeat her father!
And now, they were threatening even her magnificent husband.
However…
“Go away already.”
The situation would’ve been different if the real First Hero was in front of me, but the one annoying me was just a fake.
Created from my Dark Energy.
Such an existence couldn’t defeat me.
But my senior’s clone used another trump card.
[Courage]
Light enveloped him, increasing his speed so much that my space couldn’t contain him.
He sped up time, which was the First Angel’s power!
She, too, was imperfect, but the system compensated for her shortcomings.
“I see…”
How he defeated my father-in-law became clear.
My opponent was just a clone, but I was divided by the Fantasy system.
We fought on equal grounds.
“It’s time to meet your end, Demon Lord Pedonar!”
My end?
I wasn’t going to lose as my father-in-law did.
Taking a step forward, I extended my right hand.
It was time to show my senior…
… How perfect his junior was.
“I am the Perfect Hero.”
I supported my allies’ spines in difficult situations.
And I punished the villains’ spines.
Not a single spine in the world would be left unattended.
I was… the Spine Hero.
[Spine]
All spines would bend in front of me.
Clap!
The perfect weapon formed in my right hand, reminiscent of my cowardly wife’s pelvis.
But that wasn’t all.
I grabbed it as if it were a hilt, and its “blade” immediately began to appear.
Seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae, five lumbar vertebrae, five sacral vertebrae, and five coccygeal vertebrae.
Its blade, consisting of 26 vertebrae, was ready.
“It looks pretty cool.”
This was my new Holy Sword.
I felt tremendous power.
“That’s not a Holy Sword, husband! That’s just a spine and a pelvis!”
I wasn’t sure if I should ignore Ssosia’s prejudices.
Bam!
My senior’s inferior Holy Sword and my perfect Holy Sword collided.
Neither of us was pushed back or had our weapons destroyed.
However…
“Khahk?!”
Preparing another attack, the First Hero grabbed his lower back with his left hand and screamed desperately.
His 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae were dislocated, eliminating the support for his upper body.
With his spine injured, he struggled to even stay on his feet.
My victory was certain.
FSHUH!
But I couldn’t finish the fight.
He was swiftly engulfed by light and moved through space, ultimately allowing him to escape.
That defied all logic.
The space in this area was under my control.
However, his skill bypassed my ability.
“Tsk. He even had a contingency plan for this situation.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ssosia immediately apologized.
After all, that spatial movement resulted from her collaboration with the First Angel, which they prepared to make sure the First Hero would be able to retreat if he failed to defeat the First Demon.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
The chances of my senior’s clone recovering from his spinal injury and taking his revenge on me were extremely low.
I did all that I could to ensure I wouldn’t have regrets later.
My new weapon enforced that will.
His spine, struck by the power of my Holy Sword, couldn’t be healed by anyone but a perfect deity.
“My husband’s power is too fraudulent. To receive a spinal injury from just a single collision against you…
“Hahaha! Ssosia, you’d better treat your husband well in the future unless you want to suffer from a herniated disc.”
“You are a tyrant!”
“Say what you want.”
Even my runaway father-in-law wouldn’t be able to stop me now!
At that moment…
“Mollan?”
Master Mollan, held by Ssosia, swayed from side to side.
As soon as I looked at him, I felt like I was struck by lightning.
Being honored by his presence brought me enlightenment.
He had no spine.
My strength was nothing in front of the greatest being to ever exist.
“Oh…” I felt chills claw up my spine.
I had become too arrogant!
The truth was I had only become a little stronger!
I felt ashamed for being so impudent. I spoke of perfection in the presence of true absolute power.
I needed to rethink everything.
With such a tremendous lesson deeply imbued in my spine, I hastily reverted my image to that of a humble hero.
“Hubby… You’re an idiot.”
“Heeheehee.”
“Mollan.”
They could laugh as much as they liked today! However, come tomorrow, I would no longer forgive them!
Oh! Naturally, it went without saying that Master Mollan could laugh at his humble disciple any time.
▶ Delight: I think cadet Kang Han Soo is great because he never turns his back on his beliefs.
‘Thank you! I also think beautiful Trainee Teacher is amazing!’
“What was that anyway?” I asked Ssosia, examining the Demon Lord’s castle, which turned into ruins.
First Hero.
I didn’t know how he could appear here. His personal file had already been destroyed.
“I already explained it to you,” Ssosia reproached me.
“What? When?”
“69% of the Fantasy system has been ruined. Errors like this will frequently appear in the future.”
“I see…” The inspection team would be arriving soon, and Fantasy was still filled with errors.
If we continued at this rate, we would definitely witness this institution’s end soon.
***
I, the Perfect Hero, wanted to return to my home planet to oust my little brother and suffer from fewer tennis racket hits from my mother.
I hated Fantasy for always preventing me from going home, but the school closure was an entirely separate issue.
After all…
“Even if the Fantasy Institution closes, we still won’t be able to escape.”
“Why’s that?”
“Just because it’ll be closed down doesn’t mean its building will be demolished. You are its foundation, after all.”
“And if I destroy it myself?”
“Oh… Listen closely. You do know that the name of an establishment often depends on its purpose, right? Police station, fire station, royal palace, office, daycare center, and so on.”
“And?”
“The same goes for the Fantasy system. Since my aunt and I use it for education, we call it an institution. Even if it were shut down, its system wouldn’t disappear.”
“Hmm…”
That was bad news.
“Moreover, if you destroy this divided dimension, all the creatures that live here will be destroyed, including the son you conceived with the Sword Princess.
“…”
I hadn’t thought of that.
If the Fantasy World were destroyed, its inhabitants were obliterated along with it.
However, since regression rebuilt it and resurrected the dead locals, I didn’t pay attention to it.
However, if its system collapsed along with its dimension, regression would become impossible.
That would result in everyone’s permanent death.
“Do you understand now, hubby?”
“I have another question.”
“What is it?”
“Since I won’t be able to get out of here even if the school closes down anyway, why should I bother saving it?”
“88%.”
“88%?”
“Thanks to your victory over my aunt, I now have that much control over the system. If it hadn’t been tainted, Fantasy would’ve already been ours, and you’d be able to do whatever you want.”
“Ah…”
“However, it’ll be a completely different story if Mollansoft encroaches on the rights to manage it.”
“I expected as much.”
I realized the seriousness of the problem.
“It wouldn’t be about partnership anymore. If a financial giant like them interferes, we will lose all control over Fantasy. You’ll be turned into a slave that’ll provide them with Dark Energy, and you’ll be fighting a battle that’s much more difficult to win compared to your battle with my aunt.”
“It couldn’t get any worse.”
I learned that my destiny was inextricably linked with the Fantasy Institution.
I didn’t know what he was doing now or where he was, but I would have to punish my father-in-law for throwing this family business to me.
“He deserves that that much, I guess.”
“What about you?”
“Look at the bright side of things. You got the second most beautiful woman in the world.”
“My niece~”
“What is it? I’m just telling him the truth…”
As the two argued, I thought about our current situation.
If I could successfully overcome this crisis, I would be able to return to Earth.
As a bonus, I’d be able to get my revenge on the faculty members who had been oppressing me for the last 200 years.
It was time to focus on what to do next.
“Ssosia.”
“Yes?”
“Can you reconstruct this place?”
“Easily.”
She waved her wand using her right hand, which caused a sudden change in our surroundings.
BRRRR!
A new castle emerged from the ruins of the Demon Lord’s villa.
“Hey, this is some kind of tower, not a castle.”
My headquarters turned into a huge cylindrical obelisk without windows.
“Novels about heroes climbing up a 100-story tower are popular these days, and I thought we should keep up with the trends. However, if you’re not satisfied—”
“Leave my tower as it is!”
I didn’t want to be considered an FFF-Class redneck!
“I’ve thought this through nicely. All 100 floors of the tower are unique, having been based on currently popular romance novels. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Romance novels…?”
I was already worried!
“It’s impossible for the heroes to destroy this building from the outside, so they’ll be forced to climb the floors. Perhaps the only exception to that rule is the buggy First Hero. However, since practically nobody can stop him but you, there’s no point thinking about it.”
Lord of Legends: Yasuho (20th floor)
Lord of Betrayal: Hanjo (40th floor)
Lord of Death:
Lord of Steel: 2D (80th floor)
Ssosia diligently brandished her wand as she explained the structure of the tower.
Pop! Clap! Knock!
The area around my new base was quickly covered with forests, lakes, and swamps. She then transformed nearby fortresses and human cities into eerie dungeons where ghosts and undead appeared.
She seemed to have a passion for terraforming and designing planets.
“My niece really likes decorating planets, Drug Hero, especially this one since she’s born and raised here. She inherited that talent from her mother. Anyway, I’m glad to see her in high spirits. Heeheehee!”
“Mother-in-law…”
“She died a long time ago at the hands of evil adventurers from a neighboring planet.”
“I see…”
Now I understood why Ssosia was called “God-creator Fantasy.”
Like an artist, she added more and more strokes, touches, and details on the lands around her, which served as her canvas.
It might seem like she was filling the space without any layout, but that wasn’t the case at all.
It looked…
“Very beautiful.”
This was the first time I felt this way.
“You mean my niece?”
“The Fantasy World.”
Ssosia turned the area around the tower, which became a wasteland after my battle against my senior’s clone, into a wild jungle.
After that, she set up dungeons all over the place, which were indispensable for the heroes’ adventures.
Caves, tombs, temples, citadels, ruins, nests, dungeons…
Monsters and traps weren’t even worth mentioning since those would naturally be a part of the world she was making.
▶ Admiration: I’ve often heard stories about her from senior colleagues, but the councilor really is amazing.
‘You shouldn’t be modest either.’
Without Trainee Teacher’s help and support, I wouldn’t have become the Perfect Hero.
▶ Embarrassment: My help? Cadet Kang Han Soo is very talented in his own right.
I wouldn’t say that.
Before Master Mollan, I was nothing.
Therefore, I had to work hard!
“Hey, stupid husband! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to subdue Lanuvel.”
I would kidnap her before she could kidnap the Hero.
