Chapter 461: Brothers
Translator: imperfectluck
Not all Main Gods would be the reasonable type. It was quite common for powerful existences to be unreasonable with weaker ones. Or, to be more direct, powerful existences wouldn’t even treat weaker existences as worthy of communication.
“At first, demons weren’t evil at all…”
Ayer’s words from our discussion on the River Styx sounded in my ears again. Yet, I had nothing to reference for this, as in every single plane in existence, demons already had the worst of reputations.
“Is weakness a sin?”
Perhaps other species would still at least discuss this with you at a surface level, debating life philosophy and societal realities, giving you a platitude like “The strong should protect the weak”, then demons would use concrete actions to tell you…
“The weak? The weak are good for nothing except to become food and toys.”
In demon society, the strong preying on the weak was the only rule they had. The only greater sin than being weak was being rich without the power to protect your wealth. That would be a direct shortcut to death.
There were only two possible paths to take in demon society. Become stronger and strive to reach the top, or accidentally fall off along the way and become the stepping stone and food for some other demon.
As for the Main God level demons, striving to reach any higher would basically be impossible. That was because the will of the Chaos Abyss would forever be above them. While they could be partially free from her control, as long as they lived in that chaotic Abyss, it would be impossible for them to be completely free from Cynthia’s control.
And now, these dimensional invader Main Gods discovered after a short moment of confusion that this dimension was truly unique. This wasn’t yet another plane born from the main world of Eich. This was a completely new independent dimension!
For the Chaos Main Gods, a newly born dimension would be like the most appetizing piece of steak. Yet, an entirely new independent dimension would be an opportunity that would only come along once per million years.
Just receiving a normal dimension would help any Demon Lord to become more powerful by obtaining part of the dimension’s resources and dimensional laws. Yet, an entirely new and independent dimension would be the only chance for them to surpass their eternal master after so many eons!
That’s right, all demons wanted to become even stronger. Devouring and evolution were part of their very blood. As long as there was a chance, even a Demon Lord would be willing to betray.
No matter how the discussion with Sophocles the Deceiver ended up, my best expectation was that he would be able to temporarily remain neutral. As for the other Demon Lords, it wouldn’t even be worth trying to negotiate with them.
Although, there was one Chaos Main God who was rather unique. That would be…
“My foolish younger brother…”
“What?”
“Er, nothing, I just wanted to say that out loud…” A certain already dead older brother found himself unable to finish speaking such classical lines. That was because the next part would be to start taunting with words like “You’re still too weak!” or “Live on in an ugly fashion”, yet I was probably the one who was much weaker.
If Karwenz was taunted by me the moment I came in, he would likely immediately attack me with the end result of me being swatted away. Even though I wouldn’t die, that would be too humiliating.
Karwenz was still cooking his fish soup. I tossed away Wumianzhe’s mask and came to visit him in my true body. Demons were already so difficult to deal with already, plus this was Karwenz. A demon and Karwenz was definitely the worst possible combination… I would never underestimate him.
Ever since young, he hated to use his brain. He loved to be direct about everything, yet this wasn’t because he was stupid at all. Instead, he simply had his own attitude and way of doing things.
“Why must I use my brain when I can solve it with my muscles? Thinking too much will cause one’s physical abilities to dull.”
Karwenz always acted faster than he thought. He learned through practical methods and actual combat. His growth rate was astonishing, yet he didn’t have an unstable foundation. Underneath his seemingly direct personality was a maturity that far surpassed his age, yet he was still as hot-blooded as a youth. When he needed to, he had his own slyness as well. He always imperceptibly obtained other people’s favor and hearts… Fine, I admit that he had slightly better luck with women than me.
[…]
“…What do you want to say? Just say it out loud. Fine, he’s not slightly luckier with women, he’s a lot luckier.”
[When looking at the number of partners he’s already had, the total amount that he’s luckier than you is…]
“Several tens of thousands time luckier, am I right? Fine, I shouldn’t have commented about you.”
[No, since your number of romantic partners is zero, the answer is that he’s infinitely luckier than you with women…]
“Alright, my dear Goddess of Order, thank you so much for your precise calculations. Still, please shut up for me now.”
Getting back on topic, compared to myself who often wasn’t back at Diffindor back in the day, Karwenz always had an excellent reputation. Even the military recognized him for his achievements back then in fighting against the demons of the Chaos Abyss.
If it wasn’t for the later incident of the Mist Kingdom’s destruction, I probably would have ended up as a Holy Knight for the rest of my life, while Karwenz would have become the best ruler in the Mist Kingdom’s history. While I wasn’t dissatisfied with how things were back then, I would sometimes complain just a little.
Yep, I was really envious of him, just as how people who loved to overthink things would sometimes envy those who always had fun by being simple-minded. Those like Karwenz would always grow stronger without even planning for it. As he matured, he obtained others’ trust and recognition and finally succeeded in the end.
“I have to work so hard and plan everything for my accomplishments. He can accomplish basically the same thing with some sudden flash of inspiration, and not only that, he can even obtain more of our parents’ and friends’ recognition and favor. Even if I actually do better than him, that’s so unfair! Is it really that bad boys are more favored? It would seem that I should learn how to be a bad boy.”
When I was young, I would often think in such a way. This was also the cause of several rather stupid incidents that I was behind. Still, this didn’t affect our feelings for each other as brothers. That was because when faced with such a simple-minded brat, I wouldn’t even know how to get angry.
“Roland, what spices do you prefer for your fish soup? I have the Blood Tribe’s holy blood spices, the Inferno Demons’ abyssal spices, and everything you can think of in between.”
“…It’s quite obvious just from the name that there’s something wrong with those spices. I don’t want any spices at all. By the way, it’s almost time for battle. Do you really not care at all?”
“Yep, I really do care about eating fish. I prepared more than thirty years to successfully scam this pot of fish soup. You have no idea just how hard it was to catch him on my fishing pole. I had to collect seven or eight God Equipment and killed off a dozen Demon Nobles.”
“…You schemed to kill off a Demon Lord who ruled an entire layer, yet you make it sound like it was just to cook some food. Don’t tell me that you killed him just for the sake of having some fish soup.”
Yet, Karwenz glanced at me with an expression as if I had asked an idiotic question.
“Of course it was for the sake of eating fish soup. He was the largest fish in all the dimensions. That would definitely be delicious! Why else would I share some with you?”
I instantly knew that he was telling me the truth. Despite the fact that Karwenz had now joined the Chaos Abyss, he still led as simple a life as he always did. How envious I was of him.
Yep, only envy, but not jealousy. That was because it was impossible to hate someone as simple as him.
Not only that, I was fairly skilled at dealing with such simple-minded fellows. Whenever such a person was on fire with some mysterious passion, it would be impossible to stop them head on. So if you wanted to dump some water on their fire, what you needed would be an ice cube of reason.
“…Ah, I’ve heard of this fish as well. Isn’t he one of the oldest Demon Lords in the Chaos Abyss? In other words, his meat is so old that he’s like a living fossil. A fish that’s countless eons old will be so tough and disgusting to eat. Delicious? Did you really think this through?”
And so, Karwenz instantly stopped stirring his pot of fish soup, as he turned his head with a loud creak to stare at me. The complaining look in his eyes of “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” made me… really want to laugh uproariously at the skies.
Alright then, I laughed. I laughed loudly, maniacally, to the point where I was clutching my stomach, to the point where even tears were dropping out of my eyes.
“As always, joy should be gained from others’ misfortune.”
As I wiped away my tears, I also took out my gavel and codex. Since this fish soup was almost finished, and since Karwenz had mentioned that he would only share the fish soup with me if I didn’t die, it was about time for us to have a serious fight. This was an annoying tacit understanding between brothers.
However, I then stopped, as I recalled some information that I needed to tell him.
“…By the way, do you know about Cynthia? And our souls…”
“That we were once two halves of the same soul? Of course I know about it. I knew about that even before I entered the Chaos Abyss. Why else would I have left my Frigid Nightmare behind for you? Besides, even if I didn’t know before, do you really think that I wouldn’t understand about the soul after I became a demon?”
Of course. How would Karwenz possibly not know? He was the person who broke all records in how fast he became a Chaos Main God, and souls were the eternal goal of all demons.
“…You’re still as sharp as always. Is that your wild instinct yet again? I’m so envious.”
“You’re envious of me? Ha, I’m actually rather envious of you.”
“You’re envious of me?” “Yep. My brain isn’t as good as yours. You always have so many strange ideas. Nothing ever seems to be too difficult for you. Back in the day, Sister Kelly and little Sara both loved to follow you around everywhere, listening to your interesting stories. Father also always praised you for being smart and capable.”
Karwenz even awkwardly scratched his head as he said such embarrassing words. “Ha, since I couldn’t beat you in brains regardless, I decided to simply stop thinking and force my way through with my body’s instincts. I never expected that I ended up becoming completely used to such a method. Tsk, even though we’re clearly two halves of the same soul, why is it that I can never come up with such wondrous ideas? My intelligence must have all been taken away by your half of the soul.”
You don’t say, my younger brother’s familiar face was actually turning red? Hey hey hey, was this really that monkey-like younger brother who was always so fearless and didn’t know what the concept of embarrassment was?
“…”
At this moment, I was rendered speechless, not knowing what to say. Perhaps this was the best evidence of a classical phrase –”We always desire what we don’t have.”
“Sigh…”
In the end, all my feelings transformed into a sigh.
I then took a deep breath and stepped forward, abandoning all idle thoughts. That was because only battle was left for us.
The annoying tacit understanding between brothers let both of us know that our current situations were both the result of our own decisions. In that case, there was nothing to regret.
Perhaps this would be the first time that we had ever seriously fought each other. Perhaps this would also be the last time. That was why such an awkward pair of brothers like us were finally able to speak the truth in our hearts.
As for convincing each other? Compromising? Haha, how could that be possible at all? The biggest similarity between us were just how stubborn we were. I had my own ideals, and he made his own choice as well. Since he even knew the matter of Cynthia’s meddling with the Mist Kingdom, and he reached the peak of the Chaos Faction already, all his choices must have come from within his heart. I wouldn’t insult him by attempting to convince him unnecessarily to join me.
“Are you having a good time in the Chaos Abyss?”
“Ha, that really is a demonic location where fighting is the only thing that takes place every day. Still, that’s the type of place I love the most. Yep, that’s my home now, a place where you never know what will happen tomorrow. I really do love living in such a place.”
“Ha, I knew that even Cynthia would be unable to control you. With your bastard of a personality, you really are suitable for the Chaos Abyss.”
Helping to rebuild East Mist and Sleuweir had been Karwenz’s final nods to his past memories. The current him loved the murky and lively Chaos Abyss. He loved Chaos and the law of the jungle that Cynthia represented. He was the equivalent of an obsessed game player who loved this world more than anyone, while I loathed this beautiful yet cruel world.
Our beliefs and personalities were different. Thanks to three hundred years of influence, our originally identical souls had now gone down completely different paths.
We brothers suddenly broke out into simultaneous laughter with no need for words as we looked at each other. The next instant, a silver holy battle hammer viciously clashed against a murky yellow demonic sword.
“Since we can finally have fun playing together, then let’s see just whose ideals run deeper. Roland, you absolutely can’t die here! I still want to have more fun playing with you in the future.”
Karwenz’s murky yellow bestial eyes were filled with delight in the fervor of battle. As always, he received his older brother’s sarcastic insults.
“Ha, my idiotic younger brother… F*ck, don’t hit my face!”
The battle hammer and demonic sword clashed with sparks that illuminated this pitch-black deep portion of Hell. The light revealed two faces that were excited and delighted.