Chapter 14: Perish!

As always, the Demon King under my watch was living in perfect peace.

The sun had long since risen, and yet the bed remained mounded in a very “Lazy-shaped” lump, not stirring in the slightest. At this point, it was questionable whether he was even alive.

Ever since receiving Kanon-sama’s words of encouragement, I’d been observing him carefully, but no matter how I looked at it, this Demon King was simply too slothful.

I, who embody Wrath, may not always be enraged. But Lazy-sama never once fails to embody sloth.

Was this the difference between a Demon King and an ordinary demon? …No, it wasn’t. From what the other Black Servants who monitored the Demon Kings had said, most Demon Kings were merely extensions of demons themselves. None of them had encountered anyone who pursued their sin as obsessively as Lazy-sama. …He ought to just die already.

Grinding my teeth, I wrote in my self-made Demon King Observation Diary.

And then my eyes went wide. Shocking. Grave.

There was nothing to report. Absolutely nothing.

No skill training. No study. No combat. No communication with subordinates. Not even attending strategy meetings. Everything was run entirely by his retainers, without the Demon King’s knowledge. What I was witnessing was monarchy taken to its extreme form. And yet, he had completely misunderstood the meaning of “reign but do not rule.”

No—he simply wasn’t thinking at all.

Do you even realize your role, oh-so-great Demon King?

How did this army even function? Seriously, how?

The sheer pitifulness of it all was destroying my sanity. It built into stress, then warped into wrath, leaving me constantly burdened with rage I had no outlet for. As a result, my Wrath skill tree was growing at a terrifying pace. Not that I was happy about it.

I sat in the chair I’d brought, glaring at the bed as though it were the murderer of my parents.

And yet, no matter how much killing intent I unleashed, he didn’t so much as stir. What was he?

And then, as the clock struck the hour, the root of all evil arrived, pushing a cart.

She opened the door without a sound, gliding in with refined grace. In a soft voice, she announced the time.

This person was, in all likelihood, the one closest to the Demon King Lazy. In other words—

“…Lazy-sama, it is time for your meal.”

A maid.

A beautiful young demon girl, clad in an antique maid’s uniform. I didn’t know what sin she embodied—if any. She didn’t look like a fighter, so perhaps she embodied nothing at all.

By human classification, she belonged to the Wraith subspecies of demons—spiritual beings innately inclined to harm others. Rarely, however, some demons were born without such instincts.

The result was a contradiction in terms: demons without a sin. This happened most often among young demons whose minds hadn’t yet matured enough to desire a sin. Rarely, such demons remained that way into adulthood.

If she did harbor some sin, there’s no way she’d be so devoted to Lazy-sama. This Demon King was scum.

Her name was Rona. No surname. Since being dispatched to Lazy-sama’s side, she had been the one I interacted with most.

She had striking blue eyes, large and luminous, and shoulder-length blonde hair cut neatly. She was likely my age, or perhaps a bit younger.

And she was the root cause.

This girl coddled the Demon King in every possible way, ensuring that Lazy-sama never did a shred of work. I had protested countless times, but she always dismissed me, insisting this was her work. Honestly, what hope was left for the world if a child like her devoted herself to a slothful demon who did nothing but wallow in idleness? Even if it turned out she was the mastermind behind it all, I probably wouldn’t be surprised.

She ought to just die. But she wouldn’t. There was no risk of her falling in battle, since she never set foot on the battlefield.

At her whispered announcement of mealtime, the Demon King’s head poked up from beneath the blankets. Half-lidded eyes, face pressed down into the sheets. It was the only moment I could count on seeing that pathetic expression every day. He looked utterly defenseless. But attacking here would do no good—already tested that. I knew by now it wouldn’t leave so much as a scratch.

What was the Sloth skill, anyway?

Of all the demon classes’ skill trees, the Sloth tree was the least understood.

Sloth demons avoided using skills by nature—that was their very definition. Which was why so little was known of them. And among them, not a single diligent soul existed who might record their abilities. Of course the skills remained unknown.

Unbelievable!

What were they even thinking, choosing to embody Sloth? What did they intend to accomplish, developing a skill tree they never even used? Every time I thought about it, I felt like I was observing some bizarre animal. And every time, my spirit eroded a little more. He ought to just die.

The only confirmed information: the Sloth tree excelled in endurance, possessed skills that could slow opponents, and included the skill of puppet creation—hence Lazy-sama’s title, Slaughterdolls.

Just that much. And honestly, that much was enough. After all, they never used their skills anyway.

Lazy-sama, eyes still closed, opened his mouth.

Rona met that sight with a smile that could melt into honey. She scooped food with a spoon and placed it into his mouth—like a mother bird feeding her chick.

Unbelievable! This Demon King didn’t even feed himself!

Enough already! How could such a Demon King even exist!? He owed an apology to every more diligent demon who never became a Demon King!

He owed an apology to all those demons who yearned with all their souls yet never attained kingship!

Grinding my teeth, I screamed only in my heart. My sanity was on the verge of collapse.

And Rona—she was just as bad!

The more I learned of his depravity, the lower my opinion of Lazy sank. But at the same time, my respect for all those other demons who hadn’t reached kingship—even myself—plummeted too. And that, more than anything, enraged me.

I rose reflexively to my feet. Rona glanced my way.

With a sigh, she set the spoon gently on the plate, then placed her hand on her hip, looking exasperated.

“Day after day after day… what exactly are you dissatisfied with?”

That gesture, that tone—something in my head snapped.

Lazy yawned.

“Hah? Dissatisfied? Don’t mock meeee!!”

So what if you’re a Demon King—don’t you dare look down on me!

Reason shattered in an instant. Wrath surged into flame, into blood, coursing through my entire being.

Day after day, I had endured this. If Kanon-sama would not pass judgment, then I would bring the end myself…

And yet, even now, he wasn’t looking at me.

Eyes shut, head lolling lazily side to side. The urge to punt it like a soccer ball clawed at me.

But no… I had already tried that. And it hadn’t left so much as a mark.

If I intended to harm him, there was only one option: the skill of Wrath Eira.

I took a deep breath, gathering the violent emotions that raced through my mind.

Too slow for use on the battlefield, it was a skill that required time to fully charge, channeling wrath to annihilate my foe. That was the essence of Wrath Eira.

“Damn you… in Kanon-sama’s stead—I’ll kill you…!”

The most powerful flame skill in the Wrath Eira repertoire.

Flames forged from my demon heart—the soul core—erupted from the ground like towering pillars, roaring high into the sky.

An S-class top-tier attack in the Wrath Eira skill tree. The most powerful skill at my disposal.

Wrath Flame—Leige Flame.

The heatwave caused Rona to falter.

The blast sent dishes flying, shattering them against the walls. The energy alone was enough to challenge an ordinary demon. Rona’s arms and skin were instantly scorched, the acrid stench of burning flesh filling the air. She grimaced and reflexively retreated, shielding herself—but that was hardly enough.

“Rona, get out of the way. I won’t be responsible if you’re caught in this.”

“…Useless. That level of ‘wrath’… cannot break Lazy-sama’s ‘sloth’.”

Damn her.

Fueled by boiling emotions, the flames climbed hotter than ever. The ceiling’s protective barrier melted, rocks forming it liquefied, scorching the floor.

My thoughts burned with fuel, my arms ablaze, the flames turning red streaked with black.

The hem of Rona’s dress caught fire. She did not attempt to extinguish it. Instead, she reached toward Lazy, still with his eyes closed, and whispered into his ear.

And then she spoke words I could scarcely believe.

“Lazy-sama… I have a younger sister. If I am gone, she is prepared to take care of you in my place.”

“I see.”

Rona did not fear for her own life.

And Lazy, the king of sloth, showed no interest in that fact. He didn’t even open his eyes—didn’t look at Rona.

“You fool… do you intend to die?”

“…I… have no power to stop Riez. If I die, it is only as a consequence.”

Even as she spoke calmly through the pain, the words poured gasoline onto my flames.

The fire spread to the bedding, engulfing the king-sized bed. Rona, unmoving, kept watching Lazy as he remained unperturbed in the flames.

This fire was my wrath incarnate. Not mere physical flame, but the flame of annihilation, worthy of the name Hellfire. It reduced all to ash, rivaling even the highest destructive magic of the spirit-class demons.

Through it, I could sense the target’s information.

Rona’s body—composed of her soul—was no more fire-resistant than the minor durability provided by a basic demon skill tree. She was consumed easily, feeding the flames further.

She remained alive only because this was an aftereffect, barely a fraction of the skill’s potential. Should I fully unleash it, her soul would turn to ash as easily as paper.

“Call for Lazy’s help.”

“You misunderstand… Riez Bloodcross.”

Rona’s head, enveloped in fire, her body a charcoal shell, stared at me from what remained of her burned-out eye sockets.

The emptiness there was chilling. She suffered burning agony without a scream, awaiting death calmly. I had never seen anything so horrifying.

And yet, she smiled—just for a moment.

“…Sloth… means… doing nothing… thinking nothing… feeling nothing… simply being, as one wills.”

“!?”

Lazy, the very core of sloth, remained entirely motionless even as flames consumed everything around him.

Not a hair singed, not a skill used.

In front of him—the loyal demon who had always cared for him—was being burned alive!

Everything in his world was being incinerated!

My mind reached its limit.

Wrath, exceeding all, shattered my skull as the flames’ temperature climbed even higher.

Then, for the first time, Lazy opened his eyes and muttered, looking toward me with a troubled expression.

“…Hot.”

What… is he saying…?

My face twitched involuntarily. Words incomprehensible. A being incomprehensible.

Without a shred of hesitation, I unleashed my skill.

“…Perish! Lazy!”

“…I see.”

Lazy sighed, an expression of annoyance flickering across his face.

Then, he looked at the palm I had raised—the black flames—and said only one word.

“Yoha.”

In that instant, I understood for the first time that the Demon King had activated a skill. Without even uttering its name.

Faster than my skill, which had been poised to strike.

Instinctively, I knew that the mental contamination resistance skill protecting his soul had been shattered in an instant, without allowing even the slightest resistance.

It was a shock that shook my soul core. My vision blurred, my thoughts inverted.

The heat in my head was sucked away entirely.

As if the emotions I had just felt were a lie, the hole pierced in my heart opened a void in my mental world, and the skill I had fueled with wrath dissipated before it could activate. The flames that had scorched the surroundings, the ones that had burned Rona—everything vanished as if it had been a dream.

“What… is…”

I looked at my palm, the black flames completely gone.

I… had been angry. Surely, I had felt the wrath and hatred capable of reducing the world to ash.

The memory remained. Just seconds ago, I had been furious—but now, it didn’t matter.

The dissonance between memory and emotion became a chilling wind, filling the empty space that should have been occupied by my spirit.

My knees gave out. The heat vanished. I knelt on the rapidly cooling floor.

I didn’t understand. Nothing made sense. I couldn’t grasp the anger I had felt. Why, how, and what had provoked it? How had I wielded that wrath? My memories offered no answers.

Unbothered by my confusion, Lazy rolled over lazily atop the bedding, now reduced almost entirely to ash.

There was only one explanation I could conceive for this abnormal situation.

—This is… the skill of Sloth.

Lazy, lying on his back, turned his gaze toward me.

“…………”

Yet, he said nothing, closing his eyes again.

That shameless, overbearing nonchalance sparked a new fire within me.

Say something…