It’s like I’m floating in the air, tied to the ground.
It seems to be so wide that I can see everywhere, but at the same time, it is so narrow that it is bizarre.
That’s exactly how I feel right now.
…Where am I?
No, wait. I remember this feeling. I’ve been here once before.
Yes, this is…
「Yeah. You guessed it.」
Oh, I knew it.
Long time no see, Isuzu-sama.
「Long time no see, Senjo Yona-san… No, Lean Bloodlord-san.」
◆◇◆◇◆
「It’s been five years. I never thought I would see you again.」
You’re the almighty God over there, aren’t you?
Isn’t now the time you say,『I knew this would happen』or something like that?
「…Even God is not such an all-powerful being… If I knew the future in the first place, I wouldn’t have reincarnated you as a vampire.」
……………I see.
That was not your plan either, was it?
「Yes, of course. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the number of vampires decreasing at a frightening rate and checked the lower world… I had no idea that Misery’s brainwashing had become that fanatical.」
It looks like.
It’s so creepy.
「……I guess you haven’t changed your decision after all.」
Decision? What are you talking about?
「…The Destruction of Mankind.」
Oh, that. That’s not a『decision』.
It’s a『declaration』.
The race that took away the people I care about. I can’t allow them to exist… If they want to destroy us, we will do the same.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth… Ruin for ruin.
「…I see. All right, then I will lend a hand.」
What is it? Now that you know you have to stop this from the standpoint of God?
「I’ll give you a hand. I honestly did not expect the human race to be so out of touch. As the god of the demon tribe, my interference with humans is limited, so I didn’t know how much brainwashing education Misery had given until recently. This time around, I forced myself to gather information, and as a result, I decided that those human beings are not needed in this world.」
……The human image is replaying in my brain.
No matter what they say, Misery-sama is, Misery-sama that, Misery-sama this. And they treat us who don’t believe in Misery as trash.
Ah, I want to kill him more and more when I remember.
「To be honest, at first I was thinking of unifying the demons and humans… But it’s impossible to bring a creature that has been brainwashed to that level into my jurisdiction. I cannot tolerate it any longer. Until now, I have had the demons fight mainly in defensive battles so as not to harm humans as much as possible, but from now on, I plan to have them march on with no mercy.」
…So you are saying that you are in favor of destroying humans, Isuzu-sama?
「Yes. Let me put it this way, that’s the human species… No, it is a kind of『failure』as an organism. A creature that only does God’s will, a species that is under the delusion that its species is the most righteous, a species that looks down on other species and even tries to destroy them. Such『defective biological junk』is nothing but a poison to the world I administer.」
Yes, you are right.
Humans are all, all of them, nothing more than trash.
Women? Children? The old man? I don’t care.
Every human being is an『enemy』and I will kill off the『poison』of the world.
「…But to tell you the truth, I must say that the demon tribe is in a difficult situation today.」
…Hmm?
I thought we were talking about demon people, who are fewer than humans, but far stronger than humans, so they’ll be fine.
「…Right,『was』is the right word. In fact, it is now very troublesome and… That hassle is the main reason I decided to destroy the human race.」
◆◇◆◇◆
「As it turns out, that trouble is the birth of the『Hero』.」
Ruminating on those words, I came to a realization.
I realized that there are『otherworldly transplants』just like me.
Does that mean that one of those high-potential otherworldly transplants has become a hero?
「……How I wish that were all.」
Huh? No?
「Lean-san, I would like to correct some of what you said earlier. I said I want to destroy mankind, but it is correct to say―――with one exception―――I want to destroy mankind.」
…Exceptions?
I don’t think humans need exceptions.
Even the most benign-looking human being has no idea what is going on in their stomachs, so killing them all would bring peace to the world.
「…It’s rough, isn’t it? Well, is it any wonder?」
If someone does something like that to you, you will run out of love, and hatred will overflow whether it wells up or not.
Even at this very moment, I want to kill people.
「Well, calm down. Let me explain step by step. About 5 years ago… In other words, at about the same time you were reincarnated, someone with the『qualities of a hero』appeared. There were three of them, an exceptional number… However, among them, there was one child who was not an『otherworldly transplant』.」
In other words, a『genius』with the『qualities of a hero』was born by chance at the same time, rather than being reincarnated into another world.
「That’s right. When the girl became five years old, she was discovered to have the『qualities of a hero』. And the best of luck for humans and the worst of misfortune for her was… Her power as a hero and her《Status》were so high that they could even be called abnormal. To be honest, in terms of talent, she far surpassed even you.」
……?
Why is that a『misfortune』for that girl?
She’s a hero, right? A hero is the absolute protector of mankind.
If it has great power, isn’t that lucky for that girl?
「………Here is a story that touches on one aspect of human insanity. When those of the human nobility and royalty class learned of her tremendous power, they jumped for joy. And then they were troubled. How could they best take this once-in-a-hundred or once-in-a-thousand-years genius and make it work to their and Misery’s benefit? …And after much deliberation, they come to the worst decision imaginable.」
「That is the『Weaponization of the Hero』project. It is an insane and terrible plan to take highly gifted heroes, break their minds, brainwash them, and make them fight demons as『living weapon』.」