Chapter 24: This is Just Too Cruel

Even after cutting myself open and giving everything, the feeling of jealousy only subsided a little. That must have been just the jealousy I had toward Rona. The vast abyss at the root of it all hadn’t been filled in the slightest. My impatience hadn’t lessened at all. Stunned, I wiped away the traces of what had just happened and quickly slipped back into the clothes I had discarded.

"Thank you… very much…"

"…………"

Lord Lazy didn’t move a muscle. He had hardly moved even during the act itself. Even when I bowed my head deeply, he gave no reply. His eyes stayed shut. I was on the verge of tears. Did this Demon King even feel lust? No—he must have. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to go through with it.

The King of Nothingness.

Once more I felt the abnormality of his existence, and it filled me with an overwhelming sense of loss and despair. I couldn’t even muster a dry laugh anymore.

But if this wasn’t it, then what had caused the jealousy I felt since coming here? I had thought it came from my feelings of longing for Lord Lazy. I believed that the jealousy I felt toward Lust Luxeria was because I wanted Lazy to notice me. That was why I had kept up the pretense of being Lust all this time.

Impossible. I couldn’t think of anything else. I didn’t even know who it was I had envied. Yet it had been a feeling so strong it had chosen me as the very embodiment of that sin.

What am I supposed to do now?

My vision wavered. My thoughts wouldn’t settle. Unsteady on my feet, I headed for the door. I undid the lock and pushed it open.

"…Hmph, so you’re finished already?"

"…Ah, I see…"

That voice told me everything.

…So my time was up.

Leaning against the wall, a black-haired man glared down at me.

Hard Loader, Supreme Commander. The top of Lazy’s army.

The instant I realized it, a fierce anger flared up and my vision turned crimson.

…Fine then. If you’re going to get in my way, let’s see whose power is greater—my "Jealousy Invidia" or your "Pride Superbia." All the clues I had gathered over the years had been wiped away, and I was itching to take it out on someone. I steadied my breathing.

"Kusukusu… Miss Media, did that craving of yours get satisfied?"

Hiiro stood at his side, looking down on me with a spiteful, full-faced grin.

Satisfied? Impossible. It could never be satisfied. I still had regrets left in me—no, those regrets had only grown deeper.

I licked my lips. At least the tears had stopped. Though I was sure I still looked awful.

I forced strength into my trembling arms and legs.

I looked up at the Pride demon towering two heads taller than me. Of course, I didn’t let my guard down, but Pride demons generally didn’t resort to ambushes. Especially not against someone beneath them. Just in case, I asked one last time.

"Hard Loader… are you planning to fight me…?"

"…For you to direct killing intent at me—how high and mighty you’ve become. Fight you? No, this is simply… disposal."

The same insufferable arrogance as always. But then, as if something occurred to him, Hard added,

"…Hmph. Still, you’ve earned a ‘merit’—you troubled Lord Lazy and weakened him."

"…What? What on earth are you—"

Weakened… Lord Lazy? A merit?

What was he saying…?

The words Deji had once spoken resurfaced in my mind. A bad feeling. Yes, she had called it a bad feeling.

The pressure I felt just from his presence. The suffocating weight. A massive aura that felt like it was crushing the air itself—no different from when I had stood before Zebul.

True, Supreme Commander Hard Loader was the second most powerful demon in this army, after Lord Lazy. But had he always given off such a suffocating, overwhelming pressure?

Pride Incarnate. Once, the single greatest contributor who had supported Lazy’s army on his own. The true ruler of the army.

Hard’s eyes scanned my body as if I were nothing more than a pebble.

"…Yes, very well. As a special case, I’ll acknowledge your merit. Out of old comradeship, I might just keep you alive as the army’s ‘comfort.’"

"What…?"

"Kusukusukusu… How fortunate, Miss Media. You won’t be killed. Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted, as ‘Lust Luxeria’?"

Hiiro chuckled.

Ah, that’s it. Enough. Even without Wrath, I had to kill this man.

Strange? Wrong? Strong? I knew all that.

But if I kept silent after being insulted this far, I’d be unworthy of calling myself a demon. Even without embodying Pride, I still had pride. Even without Wrath, I still knew how to be angry.

Not even ‘Jealousy’ would rise in me anymore.

"…Hard, I am grateful to you. You gave me work when I was just another demon."

"Hmph. Gratitude is useless. The only thing I care about is results."

As if to say, "and you failed to produce results," Hard sneered at me through his nose.

But though his eyes glowed with arrogance, there was no carelessness in them. He had trained himself obsessively so that he would never stumble, never let his pride be marred. That was the essence of Hard Loader, who had reigned as the embodiment of Pride. That was why he had shone so long as Lazy’s Supreme Commander.

I drew up magic, my craving, from the very depths of my being. It had been about three days since the battle with Zebul. My body might still be weary, but my magic was fully restored.

"…Shall we move elsewhere?"

He must have known I wouldn’t say yes. Hard looked down at me with an expression uncannily like Lord Lazy’s, bored and disdainful.

"Elsewhere? Hmph, unnecessary. No—in fact, ‘here’ will make things more convenient."

"Convenient…?"

"No, never mind. …Now then, Media Luxeriaheart. Come at me."

Hiiro quietly stepped to the side of the path. Hard looked completely relaxed, not even taking on a battle stance. His expression was the same hateful one as always.

He was underestimating me.

…Fine. I’ll use you as my stepping stone.

Never taking my eyes off Hard’s movements, I drew in a deep breath—

I activated the skill "Imitate."

My thoughts flashed like lightning, coursing through my body.

What surfaced in my mind was a green-haired girl—a formidable Demon King who, all alone, once led an army and dared to defy the Great Demon Lord.

Before my eyes, flames of jealousy roared to life.

The magic I had been hoarding was consumed without restraint. My knees trembled, my body sank for a moment under the weight of the expenditure. The drain was terrifying—greater even than "Phantom Dress Dance," the SS-ranked skill I had once envied from the Lust Demon King.

This was undoubtedly a Demon King’s art. Something that, under normal circumstances, could only be reached after sacrificing oneself to millennia—tens of thousands of years—of unending craving.

And yet, I had envied it. Without duty. Without reverence.

A weight manifested in my hand.

The skill of Jealousy Invidia: perfect mimicry of the skills possessed by those I envied.

"Imitate."

Just as Greed Avaritia’s "Skill Usurpation Ruler" represented the essence of envy through theft, so too did this power embody envy through imitation. Unlike usurpation, it could not grow stronger, but unlike usurpation, it allowed immediate use of the skill in the same state it had been wielded by its owner.

"Primordial Fang."

The very skill Zebul once used in his battle against Lord Lazy.

A pure white crescent blade as tall as myself appeared, wrapped in a black mist that reeked of starvation.

Hard’s brow twitched. Yet, even seeing this skill, clearly not Lust’s, he showed no surprise.

Hiiro must have told him. As the embodiment of Pride, a demon like Hard lived bound by an absolute hierarchy born of his craving.

I had forgotten. No—never made the connection. The Supreme Commander and the apprentice maid, linked together.

But such things no longer mattered. Against a Demon King’s art, such ties meant nothing.

"So that is… hmph. Gluttonous Zebul’s… no, Gluttonous Gra’s skill?"

"…"

The crushing weight of hunger pressed down on me. The blade sucked the nourishment from my body; my vision blurred, my legs faltered.

I ignored it. I dropped my stance low and kicked off the floor. The blade’s tip scraped the ground, carving out a void as if there were no resistance.

The overwhelming strike Zebul had chosen, after an eternity of life spent preparing to kill Lazy—the one strike even Lazy had to avoid. A power meant solely to slay the King of Sloth.

In a single step, I closed the distance and slashed upward in a reverse diagonal cut.

Hard sneered at the strike, his expression openly contemptuous.

The floor trembled like an earthquake. The ground caved in. Just before the blade devoured him, Hard’s figure vanished. The Fang shredded through the enchanted wall, devouring barrier and stone alike.

"Hmph… as expected. Dull."

His voice came from behind me. I tried to whirl around, but pain exploded in my side. Before I could even process it, the wall loomed before my eyes.

Agony. Shock rattled through my whole body. My lifeforce was slipping away. My ribs screamed with pain—several broken.

His arm coiled around my neck from behind, tightening like a vise.

"Even with a Demon King’s skill, Jealousy Invidia could never hope to master it."

My sword arm was crushed. Fingers spasmed open, the Fang dissolved into dust.

This was no absurd teleportation like Lord Lazy’s. It was pure physical prowess. And yet, so fast that to my eyes it might as well have been instantaneous.

Lazy embodied stillness.
Hard embodied motion.

Ferocious strength. Merciless combat. My head was slammed into the wall, then wrenched back only to be smashed forward again.

A thunderous roar. My inner ear reeled. I couldn’t even process what was happening—only that damage was piling up.

My vision burned red.

"Hmph. So this is all Jealousy Invidia amounts to. What Deji ever saw in you… I cannot fathom."

"…De…ji…"

That name struck through the haze of my fading consciousness.

Reflexively, I activated "Imitate" again. This time, my target was Deji Blaindark of Greed Avaritia—the "Usurper."

I envied. I had no choice but to envy.

Her "physical strength."

Power surged back into my arm, blood boiling hot. The strength Deji had once used to clash with Demon Kings filled me.

I seized the arm Hard had hooked around my neck with all my might, intent on crushing it.

But his grip didn’t loosen in the slightest.

"Ho… so that is Deji’s raw strength? Hmph. Far too precious a gift to lend to the likes of you."

My body flew. In the blink of an eye, he had hurled me with one hand.

My brain shook in my skull. A status resistance cut off the dizziness before it could overwhelm me. My sharpened vision caught the wall rushing toward me with clarity—but I could do nothing.

I raised only my head to shield it before crashing into stone. The shock coursed through my body. Thanks to Deji’s durability, the damage wasn’t lethal.

Still staggering, I forced strength into my knees and glared at Hard, who strolled toward me as if out for a walk.

"Hmph… how pitiful. Jealousy Invidia—you should have envied Lord Lazy instead."

"…What are you…"

A warped smile twisted Hard’s lips.

"You envied him, didn’t you? While writhing on top of him. Hmph. I’m telling you to use that."

This bastard… how far will he go to mock me?

My vision swam red with fury.

And suddenly, Deji’s words resurfaced.

"Well, do your best, girl. As a fellow former commander, I’ll at least pray you survive."

That’s right. No matter what, I had to survive.

—to fulfill my craving.

I released the mimicry of Deji’s physical strength. Power drained from my limbs, but enough remained to keep me standing. My magic, too, was intact.

Ironically, because I had only managed to manifest the "Primordial Fang" for a few seconds, my reserves were spared.

I licked my lips. Do not underestimate envy. My jealousy envies everything, covets everything, and seeks to become everything.

"…Then I’ll show you. The power of the King of Sloth!"

What I summoned to mind was the King himself. Always reclining—in bed, on the floor, sprawled on the rough earth—slaughtering intruders as casually as swatting flies, with one lazy hand. The one and only King of Sloth. The King of Idleness.

I thought of him. Of his power. Of his very way of being.

And then—

—I envied that skill.

I gave a light wave of my hand.
Hard’s body was suddenly slammed against the wall, as if my palm itself were crushing him.

What is this… such an empty sensation.
Too void of resistance—I found myself staring in disbelief at my own hand. There was no feeling at all. My hand simply moved, that was it. Yet cracks spread across the barrier-woven wall with a resounding snap.

I clenched my hand, without thought.
And just from that, Hard’s black garb wrinkled, as though it were being physically gripped.

『Unfathomable Miracle & Convenient Wonder—Sky’s Right Hand, Light Hand』

That was the skill’s name. Its true name, conveyed to me through Lord Lazy. Miraculous and wondrous indeed, but the naming was absurd. Still—without question, it was strong. Overwhelmingly so.
There were barely any drawbacks, and I could launch attacks from afar without reprisal.

And yet—despite being struck by the very skill that felled Zebul, the Demon of Arrogance showed not the slightest trace of unease.

"‘The Sky Hand,’ is it… how dull."

Hard, even while being constricted, looked down on me.

In that instant, the skill forcibly vanished.
His body, once suspended, landed firmly on the ground. Not a scratch, not a mark marred his body or face.

He brushed the wrinkles from his clothes with bored indifference.
Impossible… absurd. What did he do? Erase the skill of the King of Sloth?
No—that wasn’t it. I knew full well what he had done.

Hard Loader was a Demon of Arrogance.
And that could mean only one thing.

This was—『Superbia of Arrogance: Overrule of Supremacy』.

It nullified any skill deemed surpassed at its core, and bestowed overwhelming advantages against those deemed inferior. That was one of the reasons arrogance defined Arrogance.

But it should have been impossible. To surpass the skill of one’s own lord—unthinkable.

"Impossible… how could you nullify Lord Lazy’s skill…?"

"Hmph, worthless, Invidia of Envy. I told you to ‘use’ it. To ‘imitate’ it. The power of Lazy the Sloth—"

A flicker of agitation.
The floor splintered beneath him, and Hard’s long leg swung down from above.

Even recognizing it, there was no avoiding that lightning-swift strike. My body was slammed into the ground with brutish force, strength unthinkable from another general. My skull cracked against the floor.

A dragon-hide boot ground into my head, crushing it underfoot like garbage. I didn’t need to see—I could feel the cold, disdainful gaze. A razor-honed killing intent, sharp enough to cut flesh.

Hard Loader spat his words like venom.

"――‘VIT Endurance’."

I understood the force carried in those words.

This one… was in a different league.

I had seen countless demons, old yet powerless, in my time. But he was different. His combat experience, his magic, his sheer aura carried the weight of countless years.

Why? How? Why would an Arrogance of this level stoop to a subordinate’s post under a Demon King?

――I can’t win.

I strained to look up at him under the crushing force against my face.

"You… what… are you—!"

"I told you to ‘imitate.’ I never told you to speak."

His leg rose for a moment, then smashed down into my jaw. Bone shattered.
Agonizing pain, blood flooding my mouth, the hard fragments in it—teeth, bone, who could tell. The blood spilling onto the floor pulsed in my blurred vision, strangely vivid.

Consciousness faltered, my thoughts scattered.
Dark haze crept into my vision. Someone loomed over me.

"…Kusukusu… Hard-san, this one seems unconscious already."

"Hmph… so expecting anything from this was a mistake. Still, even stripping Lord Lazy of some strength is better than nothing."

"Yes, yes. Kusukusu… this one was always considered the weakest of the commanders, after all."

Nothing reached me anymore. No sight. No sound.
I could feel my soul-core rapidly losing power.
Too much damage. Too much strain from wielding a skill beyond me.

And still… I couldn’t prevail.

My vision darkened. Sight gone. Feeling gone.
Then—an image seared across my mind.

Not the thousands of years I had lived.
But the moment Lord Lazy carried me here in his arms like a pillow.

Even the emotions were vivid. His expression blank, his arms without warmth, his eyes closed as if asleep. Lord Lazy sprawled upon his bed with careless abandon. Lord Kanon scowling at the sight of me.

Lord Lazy, gazing between us with drowsy eyes. And for the first time—deep unease surged within me.

And then, Lord Lazy let me go.

And instead embraced—

The shock rattled through my brain. Death no longer mattered.

Somehow, my sight regained its color.

No, no—I cannot die like this. This is too cruel.
A pillow!? …Wha… my jealousy’s true sig—

A strangled cry burst from me, but with my throat crushed it came out warped.

"Fwa… hyo…"

"Oh? Still conscious? Kusukusu… durable one, aren’t you. Here—!"

Delicate fingers, pale as whitefish, struck without mercy—driving straight into both of my eyes.

Agonizing darkness. My vision gone, gouged out. A voiceless scream tore itself from my broken throat as the fingers ground into my sockets.

The pain was unbearable—my consciousness slipping away for good this time.

Nothing mattered anymore. Just kill me…

Numbness spread. No more pain—only the vile, crawling sensation of fingers writhing in my ruined eyes.

Just before darkness claimed me wholly, I heard a faint voice.

"Fufufu, Hard-san. You don’t need this anymore, right? Can I take it?"

"...Hmph. I don’t need it... but what are you planning to do with it?"

My body sways. My senses blur.

"I think... I can also feel that sense of superiority with this. I’d like to do a little 'experiment'..."

"Hmph, very well. That too is one way of advancing 'Arrogance Superbia'. But let me at least say this. Use it however you want—but in the end, dispose of it."

"Fufufufu, of course, Hard-san. Leave the cleanup to me. Hard-san... you should attend to Lord Lazy."

"...Indeed. I have no time to waste on trifles. Hmph, what a foolish way to spend time. Lord Lazy of Sloth... my father has truly fallen. I suppose I should give him my final regards."

Even my faintly beating soul core could feel it—Hard’s presence vanishing.

But more than that...

What I overheard from Hard still lingers.

If I lose focus, I’ll be dragged into the abyss. I desperately force my consciousness to remain steady.

Father...? What does that mean? Hard Loader’s father is Lord Lazy?

This is the first I’ve ever heard of it. I’ve been with them for a long time, yet not once— not even as a rumor.

Something is wrong. Letting Hard go like this would be dangerous.

But my body won’t move. Nor my mind.

The revolving lantern effect kept me barely afloat like a stimulant, but I’ve already reached my limit.

My arm won’t twitch. Only the sensation of paralysis scraping through the air, as though it clings to some unfinished regret.

"Haa... My sister’s the same, but Midea-san, you’re ridiculously tough too, aren’t you? Do you really have that much attachment to this world? Fufufu... honestly, Lust and Envy are both so stubborn... You’ve got no right to talk about Lord Lazy, you know?"

A shock ripples through my entire body. My breath halts for a moment.

Before it can settle, blurred light returns to my vision.

The first thing I see is Hiiro standing above me, tilting a small glass vial upside down.

Droplets trickle down my cheek. The sudden resurgence of sharp pain makes me want to groan, but Hiiro shoves a shoe into my mouth.

"Gu—!"

"Good grief, don’t make me waste my time, Midea-san. Fufufu, if Hard-san found out, he’d just kill us both, you know? So be quiet, okay?"

Still laughing for no apparent reason, Hiiro twists the shoe against me two, three times before finally pulling it back.

From her pocket she produces a new glass vial.

Inside is a familiar emblem—an elixir potion for restoring vitality. I recognize it. Standard military supply, always kept in storage.

She twists off the cap, then sprinkles it over me again from far above.

Potions are premium goods. Magic medicine that can even restore lost limbs.

Normally in war, no one can afford to use them. They’re reserved for emergencies—last resorts.

The potion dulls the pain. My shattered jaw begins to knit together.

"Oh dear, even two bottles aren’t enough? Your HP is way too high... Shall we try a third?"

"I-I don’t need it... I’m fine now!"

"Fufufu, don’t overdo it, okay? Come on, come on."

"Nggh—!"

Her heel grinds into my ribs.

The pain writhes through my insides like something alive.

I can’t make sense of it anymore—does she want to torment me, or save me?

The moment I open my mouth, she jams the vial into my throat.

Liquid pours straight down, choking me. I try to cough, but she forces my mouth shut with her hand.

Potion flows back up through my nose. Watching it, Hiiro lets out a refined little cackle.

"Khah, khah! W-what are you doing!?"

"Hmm? What am I doing? I saved you. Don’t you think there’s something you should say first?"

The way she says it is infuriating.

But... saved me?

Panicking, I glance around. Cracks in the walls, collapsed flooring—nothing has changed since the place where I blacked out.

I feel like I’ve been tricked by a fox spirit.

"Come on, Midea-san... your thank you?"

She says it with a cheerful grin.

I grit my teeth.

"...Thank you. You saved me."

"Fufufu, you’re welcome. From now on, know your place and run away properly, okay? There’s no way Midea-san could stand against Hard-san. Besides, 'Arrogance Superbia' naturally has the advantage over 'Envy Invidia'."

She pats my hair as if stroking a dog.

It irritates me, but I’m lucky to be alive at all.

Still... more than that, the questions burn stronger—why?

Meeting my gaze, Hiiro sighs.

She looks toward the corridor—the one leading to Lord Lazy’s chamber—then back at me with a gaze I can’t read.

"Well... maybe Lord Lazy might say he wants to embrace you one more time. Just maybe, in the off chance... fufufu..."

I can’t... I can’t understand.

She’s incomprehensible. How can Rona’s younger sister be like this?

It makes no sense. I can’t understand.

Hard’s power was terrifying, but Hiiro’s mind is far scarier.

For that reason alone—healing me here, without even changing locations?

What if Hard had come back? What then?

My thoughts whirl. Faced with such absurd reasoning, I can only manage a single word.

"...I think that’s impossible."

"I agree. Midea-san’s body is so scrawny... If it were my sister, maybe, but you..."

...Is she picking a fight with me?

"But hey—if Lord Lazy really summons you to his bedchamber, you’d better answer, okay? You just say, 'Arrogance Superbia’s Hiiro saved me, so please enjoy this scrawny body of mine.'"

Even if by some near-zero chance that ever happened, I swore I’d never utter such words. This isn’t a matter of saving my life or not—it’s far beyond that.

"Fufufufu, well, enough with the jokes—"

...That was a joke?

She’s always smiling, so it’s impossible to tell whether she’s serious or just mocking.

Hiiro’s expression hardens as she looks down the corridor, as if gazing straight through to Lord Lazy’s chamber, her eyes fleeting, almost fragile.

"Hard-san intends to kill Lord Lazy. He plans to strike now, while Lord Lazy is weakened from the battle with the Demon King."

"...What? W-why... no, wait. I see..."

That’s insane.

Even after fighting the Demon King, Lord Lazy had barely been injured. He hadn’t even used much of his skills. He didn’t look weakened at all—though he is asleep now, so who can say.

But if Hard really means to kill him... then he must have some kind of method.

After all, slaying one’s own master is itself almost a status within Arrogance.

If I think of Hard’s cryptic words in that light, they start to make sense.

Stretching her body with a long sigh, Hiiro speaks again. Her downcast eyes carry a sultry air that doesn’t suit her childish face.

"I’ve made a bet, you see. Yes, we’re both Arrogance, but that doesn’t matter—I think Hard-san will probably 'lose.' It’s just intuition. But if Hard-san does win, then I’ll kill you right here, Midea-san. Fufufufu... because the truth is, I always side with the stronger one."

"...I see."

She’s hopeless. A natural-born piece of trash.

Still, she did save me—that much is undeniable. I keep my mouth shut.

I stand, moving my body in broad stretches. My mana is almost completely drained, but the pain is gone.

All my wounds have fully healed.

"...Then why heal me completely? You could’ve just patched me up enough to keep me alive..."

Even if my mana isn’t restored, there should still be a wide gap in our abilities. Healing me entirely only makes it more likely I’ll slip away.

To my question, Hiiro answers with utter nonchalance.

"Thaaat’s because, nine times out of ten, Lord Lazy will win! Hard-san is absurdly strong, yes, but Lord Lazy’s power is incomprehensible. Arrogance is utterly helpless against the unknown. If the opponent is weak, maybe it’s manageable—but Lord Lazy is a Demon Lord, ranked third. The moment he unveils a skill we’ve never seen, it’s over. Simple as that."

Such merciless words. Yet coming from a fellow bearer of Arrogance, they carry weight.

I force down my unease, and together with Hiiro, I stare toward the corner.

...Pillow, craving, what am I supposed to do?