Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

131 – Hubris

Everyone present

recoiled reflexively.

Why they did,

they couldn’t quite explain.

Simply, it felt like they *had* to.

“Hmm… it’s been a long while

since I’ve encountered humans, wouldn’t you say…”

From the empty void,

a black robe materialized suddenly.

It wasn’t long before a hand

emerged from within the folds.

Accompanied by a ring crafted

from completely tarnished bronze.

“…Indeed, even if the intention is to

conceal my true form, this is rather cumbersome.”

Presently, that gaunt hand reached

for the robe that concealed its face.

Removing the black robe that

bound the body tightly,

the chilling voice echoed out as,

simultaneously, the face hidden

within the black robe began to reveal itself.

“Hmm, certainly more comfortable this way.”

The old man’s face was quite different from what I had anticipated.

Snow-white beard and hair

grown out short,

and a monocle, the kind only seen

in literary works, stood out.

An exterior that, at first glance, presented

nothing particularly troubling.

And yet, somehow,

it felt profoundly unsettling.

Clearly, what was visible to the eye

was a build not unlike my own.

No, it even seemed smaller than me.

His gaze seemed to reside higher than even mine.

As though he could survey all that lay beneath.

“Hmm, wouldn’t be so bad for me to

personally tinker with that corpse.”

Yet, not once did his eyes

linger upon us,

and once more, his form shifted elsewhere.

Towards that great gaping wound

left behind by the Saintess’s earlier assault.

“Well, dead as it is, it was originally my power.”

“….”

“A human who once received my power

makes for a fine specimen, after all.”

Now, observing the demonkin who was

naught but a head,

“My power,” “specimen,” and so on.

He began to utter such

peculiar things,

and even in that situation, he showed us no regard.

As though we were mere

folding screens within the room.

No, to be precise, it seemed

he held absolutely no interest.

Like a predator, however docile

or aged,

cares not to bother

with catching mere insects.

He acted as though we were invisible.

“…Are you acquainted with that old codger?”

Shino Charlotte, who until moments ago

stood right beside that elder.

She too, sensing that the old man’s

aura was anything but ordinary,

drew closer to my side,

lightly grasping the sleeve of my coat.

With a hand that trembled, ever so slightly.

“…I don’t know him.”

“T-then…how is he here?”

Yes, that too was strange.

One could grab any soul wandering the streets and ask,

and ninety-nine out of a hundred would deem his attire…

suspicious. Utterly suspicious.

He employed methods that felt brimming with ill intent,

and he’d entered the Duke’s estate?

That old man, who looked quite advanced in years?

For a normal person,

such a thing would be utterly impossible.

Yes, if only that old man were normal.

“…it couldn’t be.”

“Huh? What was that?”

An old man, appearing from thin air,

radiating such an unsettling aura, even from so far away…

He couldn’t possibly be normal.

Absolutely not.

“It’s nothing…Let’s retreat for now.”

“Right, I’ll handle the Saintess…”

Still, I considered myself fortunate.

He hadn’t so much as

glanced our way.

Whether he was utterly uninterested,

or deliberately refused to

turn his head, I couldn’t say, but

we had no reason to needlessly

involve ourselves with him.

I simply intended to quietly

ensure the Saintess’s safety and withdraw.

After all, my sole objective from the start was rescuing Aria.

From now on, whatever might

befall this estate,

it was no concern of mine.

I tried desperately to ignore it.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Until a hand, so gaunt you could only

feel bone,

seized my shoulder.

“Ugh…?!”

Such a fierce grip, unbelievable coming from those slender fingers.

On my body, already

worn to exhaustion,

it was too effective,

an utterly unique power.

But with gritted teeth,

I wrung out every last drop of strength to move.

It wasn’t an action

thought out or premeditated

in that instant,

but something driven solely

by instinct, and

“Still.”

My audacious act

was thwarted in a heartbeat.

Without any interference or obstruction from another soul.

“…?”

“You merely need to stay still.”

“W-wait, what are you tryin’ to—”

“I alone am enough to confirm it.”

The moment his words ended,

the air around us grew heavy.

As if the space itself had been burdened with weight.

“W-wait, what is this nonse—”

“..Still.”

“Kyaaah…”

And the phenomenon

wasn’t happening to me alone.

Shino, who had rushed to my side

as I abruptly collapsed, and even

Aria, worried over the suddenly

unconscious Holy Woman.

Everyone felt as if something

was pressing down upon them,

immobilizing them in place, and

Thump, thump—

Only the old man moved freely in that place.

“Originally, I had simply come

out of curiosity, wanting to know

who had triggered my power.”

“..Huuu…Huuu…”

“Didn’t expect to find a rat like you here.”

“Do…Do you know me?”

“Hmm..? Pff..Pffhahahah!!”

Whatever was so amusing,

the old man erupted in unrestrained laughter.

Tears even began to well in the crinkles around his eyes.

“As if *you* would know me.

How could I *not* know you?!”

“…?”

“Ah… perhaps you haven’t been told?”

“..Told what, exactly.”

“Hmm… that seems unlikely…

The mouths of [Jealousy] or [Greed]

aren’t usually so…silent..”

“….”

A feeling of unease

began to slither up from deep within my chest.

This foul sensation, as if hearing any more of his words

would be a grave mistake.

It was the first time in my life.

That a single utterance from someone

could inspire such repugnance.

During that brief moment of silence,

I wrestled with the urge to cover my ears,

weighing it over and over,

but, alas, it wasn’t long

before his mouth opened once more.

“Didn’t they tell you?”

“…?”

“That your mother’s death

was no accident, no twist of fate.”

I *had* heard it before.

Clearly, distinctly.

And, to my bitter dismay,

his identity began to dawn on me.

“..Hmm, still clueless?”

“….”

“No matter, then.”

With those words, still

The old man cast off the black robes that had cloaked him,

flinging them skyward.

Still, an undeniable

air of displeasure clung to him.

“Of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride.

That is my title, and my name…”

A single image flashed through my mind at that moment.

Jil, my junior, that b*stard

who stole the seat of Envy.

I had distinctly heard that name

in a conversation with that scoundrel.

“I am the one who drove your mother to her death.”

*Kwaaang—*

In that instant, the ground exploded, and

a violent cloud of dust billowed up.

*

“Ho… how is he able to move?”

“….”

“Hmm, has he already lost his reason?”

“….”

“Well, from a little while ago,

his mental fortitude was already at its limit.”

A small dagger dances.

Driven by a single thought: to kill the opponent completely.

Eyes, nasal cavity, heart, carotid artery, and so on.

Parts where, if the blade penetrated even once,

death would be certain.

Failing that, targeting areas where he could surely inflict crippling injuries,

the small blade rushed forth,

but it never found its mark.

The length of a single finger joint.

The present distance between the old man’s skin and the blade,

the distance that existed in the past, and will remain in the future.

“Why do you think that is?”

“….”

“Normally, you would have

killed me several times over.”

“….”

“Why can you not reach me now?”

“….”

“Weren’t you curious?”

He takes a step,

forward.

Utterly disregarding the small

blade poised before him.

“Because you’re weaker than I.”

“….”

“Did killing those two make

you think you were a little stronger?”

“….”

“Think you were something special, magnificent, colossal?”

The old man’s lip corners

rise skyward once more.

As if he cannot contain his amusement.

He tries so hard to suppress

his laughter, but failing,

he continues to look down

at the boy before him,

laughing until his belly aches.

“Heh heh heh… you must speak reasonably.”

“….”

“All you need to do is obediently

offer up your flesh.”

“….”

“A sacrifice, nothing more, nothing less.

How could the likes of you be strong?!”

“….”

“As evidenced by this…”

Finally, the old man’s blood

blooms on the boy’s blade.

Even if only a trace,

it was undeniably the old man’s blood.

Yet, the boy felt no joy.

Because these droplets of blood

were merely given to him

“on purpose” by that old man.

The old man, barely grazed by the boy’s blade, draws even closer.

Lightly disregarding the

people still scattered

around them.

“Your mother’s killer stands right before you,

and still you can do nothing?”

“Y-you…son of a b*tch!”

“Tiresome.”

*KWAANG—*

The boy’s body slams into the dirt.

As if gravity itself has

increased for him alone.

“And I even provided some motivation…”

“….”

“Nothing has changed, not a bit.

Truly, awfully boring.”

“Guh…urgh…”

“..Tch, at this rate, I can’t even give you a proper test.”

He stroked his chin a few times,

relishing the feeling of his beard, before

taking a

glass bottle from his coat.

A glass bottle filled with liquid of a suspiciously blue hue.

The fact that it was so firmly sealed

with a cork stopper only made

its contents seem even more dubious,

and the old man headed straight toward

the boy, still splayed out

on the ground.

“The reason your magic remains stagnant is because of my power.”

“….”

“Even if you’re a weakling,

you were still a demon using my power.”

“….”

“..Hm, that glint in your eye is certainly something.”

Even though you can’t do a damn thing.

He let out a soft chuckle,

mocking the boy without reservation,

and at the same moment,

he forced the bottle to the boy’s lips.

The suspicious bottle he had just pulled

from the depths of his

suspicious inner pocket.