It Became a Time-Stop Slit-Eye chapter 92

92 – 92. So, Who’s Stronger?

The destiny of the warrior.

To talk about something so profound and yet so common in modern subculture, one must inevitably understand how this world is structured.

Among them, there are three axes that harmoniously govern the spirits in the east of Japan – Tokyo.

Spirit Veins, Spirit Mountains, Dragon Veins.

Although it was mentioned during the White Demon Night Parade, Kenichi, being a very serious fool, repeated it once more.

“The Spirit Mountain where the gods resided is like a natural fortress, and the Dragon Veins, though incomprehensible like a dragon, are similar in that regard, but the Spirit Veins are different.”

“…The, the contemporary guardian must seal it periodically.”

“Oh, what a surprise to remember. Kenichi. I was sure you had forgotten everything!”

“How much of a fool do you think I am?”

“Well, that’s… “

It’s only natural for the world’s greatest fool.

“Well, the fact that Kenichi is no longer a fool now is rather strange.”

“…No, I’m not that much of a fool.”

“Hmm-hmm, let’s say that’s true. Anyway, it’s the human guardian who is in charge of managing the Engoku.”

Is it common for fools to talk about themselves?

Kitagawa and Kenichi, who were listening to the wise teacher’s lecture, suddenly widened their eyes.

I smiled and gave them the correct answer.

“The Kitagawa family.”

Different from the Engoku governed by the godly Engzan.

The situation was different from the Engma controlled by Ryuryong, who had now truly become a dragon.

Although they were nominally the same guardians, their given lifespans and statuses were fundamentally different.

Unlike the two other beings showing transcendental dignity, humans were in charge of managing Tokyo’s Engoku.

It was a very arduous task for a mere human, living for only a few decades, to be responsible for one of the central pillars.

Protecting the Engoku with that frail body was indeed a tough job.

Not only the frail body, but also the fact that a successor had to be trained every few decades due to the lifespan.

Sole transmission.

By passing on the hero’s sword, the ability of nullification was also inherited.

It was an unavoidable method due to lineage constraints, but accidents were bound to happen sooner or later.

Although they had managed to survive until now, Kenichi’s lineage had been cut off.

Well, it was inevitable.

The former hero was suddenly murdered by a monster that appeared in the city.

It was truly a disaster, as if the ultimate boss of the world had suddenly appeared out of the blue like a ninja.

In any case, due to the disastrous event, Kitagawa and Kenichi lost a precious grandfather, a mentor who would pass down the sword and abilities.

When a mentor to teach disappears, everything falls apart in an instant, the most vulnerable part of sole transmission.

If there hadn’t been a wise mentor like the teacher, Kenichi would have likely ended up as a useless protagonist in a failed game without learning anything.

“Still, it’s quite fortunate that you have talent. You must have put a lot of effort into making sure Kenichi didn’t look like a fool even when learning the sword.”

“…”

Kenichi just blinked his eyes without saying a word.

Feeling the disappointment of the teacher from his uninteresting response, I continued the explanation.

“Well, Kenichi. It may sound arrogant, but you do have talent. You have the ability now. It won’t be easy for anyone to break through your defenses.”

“It’s nice to hear once in a while. Go on.”

“Well, now that you’ve become strong enough to be this arrogant, remember, you shouldn’t underestimate the world.”

Yes, I know.

I knew very well how much of a trash dump this world named ‘Jongmalko’ was.

Even though he had become strong enough to easily manage the duty assigned to the Kitagawa family, the world didn’t settle for that alone and presented even greater trials.

“You are a hero.”

Even with a ridiculous title like Tokyo Hero (laughs), heroes always had adversaries.

“Sometime, you will definitely face a great wall.”

Kenichi, who always fought against enemies stronger than himself, seemed indifferent to the current conversation, but that was not the case.

Just because he wielded his sword skillfully didn’t mean he could bring down the wall.

Having experienced that wall in advance, I smiled and told foolish Kenichi.

“In this world, there is a demon king.”

The end that will come someday.

***

Eyes opened in a long silence.

In the empty space where even shadows did not exist, the woman was real.

As she wished, it soon became so.

“What a boring time it was.”

Deus Machina clenched her hands a few times and, before she knew it, took a step for the first time in a year.

From Noble mtl dot com

Similarly, although physical chains grabbed her ankles, as she left the empty space, the chains disappeared as if they had never existed.

Having escaped from the sealed space – the stone chamber, Machina looked around her castle.

In the year she spent dealing with the aftermath of the seal, she quickly grasped what had happened.

The demon castle unfolded in the different space was vast, but she, the creator and ruler, could understand every situation in an instant.

“Gone.”

The pet she picked up from outside five years ago, the being that could one day stand on equal footing with her, had disappeared.

Deus Machina soon realized that Ichimaru Shiki was not inside the castle.

Since the life and death of all beings in the castle were in her hands, his disappearance was not death.

…If not dead, then escaped.

It means fleeing from her castle, which existed as a separate realm from the original world.

“Escaping without being caught with just that guy’s abilities seems impossible.”

Under the black ceiling, the woman, painted only in gold, raised her head with an irritated expression.

It seemed that the little one’s skills had improved a lot during the year she had neglected him.

Thinking so, Machina moved to the castle where Ichimaru Shiki had lived to confirm the situation firsthand.

“I apologize.”

She soon realized that she had been mistaken.

She, who had established her own domain, possessed four divine generals as the world’s gods.

Among them, the divine general of wisdom faced her master with a helpless expression.

“He disappeared without a trace. Still, I preserved the final scene, so please see it for yourself.”

Behind him, there was a corpse.

No, precisely, there existed something that looked like a ‘corpse’ missing its head.

Anger, joy, sorrow. The divine general, Asura, who possessed three faces, responsible for madness and combat, stood frozen with all necks severed.

“…Or should I say, preserved.”

He had not simply died.

A being so close to divinity does not die simply from losing its head.

Of course, if a being reached the same level of transcendence, the story would change.

The divine general, Asura, had been floating with three heads for a year.

“It’s a state frozen just before death.”

Deus Machina realized the reason while witnessing the absurd sight in front of them.

If someone within the castle dies, they would immediately become aware of it, hence why they had frozen in that state.

It had been a year already.

Time’s power was stretching so long that even she couldn’t comprehend it.

Perhaps it wasn’t temporary.

When they had seen them before, they were nothing more than a being who couldn’t even reach the height of their feet.

“Did they thoroughly hide their abilities?”

It was almost pitiful; they had played a cute little prank.

Deus Machina soon adorned a smile on their face and extended their right hand.

A year ago, they had pressed down on the scene of their subordinate’s imminent death with their hand.

─────────!!!

As if there were an invisible wall, their right hand couldn’t move forward for a while, but gradually, it compressed and soon led to destruction.

Thud!

With the space, the Asura’s body collapsed, reaching its end.

Wisdom, who witnessed the tragic end of their comrade from behind, remained silent.

Deus Machina clenched their hand a few times again, recalling the pressure they had just felt.

Quite… no, significantly stronger.

Her momentarily dazed face gradually filled with a bright smile.

“Shall we go find them?”

It was time to catch the runaway dog.

***

After a while of explanations about the specs, the foolish hero made a dumbfounded expression.

“…Wait, are you saying the Demon King is that strong?”

“hehehe, quite powerful indeed. Even if Kenshi had thousands, it wouldn’t be enough to face him, you know?”

“…Huh.”

Facing such a formidable opponent, Kenshi’s face was one of disgust.

“You say he’s gotten so much stronger, but now you’re saying even with thousands, it’s not enough… Wait, is this some kind of crappy power play?”

A very accurate observation.

Compared to the evil spirit that had invaded in the previous episode, he was much stronger, so no matter how you looked at it, this was madness at its peak.

It was clear that feeble Kenshi wouldn’t stand a chance even after thousands of attempts, so there was a mechanism in place for that.

“hahahaha, it’s fine. The Demon King is currently sealed away.”

“…Huh? Since when?”

“Well, from the beginning, I suppose? It feels like the organizers sealed him due to being too strong. So, it’s fine. We won’t see him until we go there. Well, due to being too powerful, sometimes he manages to break free from the seal on his own and wander around.”

“…Wait, can you really call that a seal?”

Well, just hearing about it, it was a pretty feeble seal, but if it wasn’t there, the world would have been doomed long ago.

Rather than the seal being weak, the one sealed was just too powerful.

After all, it was the Demon King.

They had schemed enough to buy some more time.

But they needed to start preparing slowly.

While they joked with Kenshi, as an honest teacher, they didn’t tell lies.

“If that guy comes out, it’s enough.”

As I clenched my fist, Makina asked me at the point where she could gauge my strength, “So, who’s stronger?”

“Yes?”

The foolish Kenichi immaturely nodded his head as if proving my lack of intelligence.

“Well, I mean, I know I can’t defeat the Demon King even if I had thousands of people, but I’m talking about finding a way to catch him, right?”

“Oh, for once, a sensible conversation.”

“…No. Shiki, you look more serious than usual, so I’m asking. There’s no one I know who’s stronger than you. If you fought the Demon King alone, would you lose?”

Such an arrogant remark that was hard to believe, and I immediately struck Kenichi’s head.

“Ouch!”

“What a foolish thing to say to your master. Kenichi, you really do say ridiculous things!”

“…Ugh, my head almost split.”

Kenichi, who was grumbling, protruded his ugly lips and asked again.

“…So, who would really win?”

A truly persistent question.

If he were a true hero, he would think about fighting on his own, why does he keep involving me?

Feeling the frustration of a teacher, I shook my head involuntarily.

“Kenichi, that’s a truly foolish question.”

With a smile, I looked at the fool in front of me from head to toe.

The detestable disciple was lacking in intelligence, strength, and ability, but this fool of a student had no shortcomings where it mattered most – under the guidance of an excellent teacher.

As a desirable teacher, I confidently imparted my teachings to the foolish disciple.

“Of course, I would win.”

Upon hearing those words, Kenichi finally smiled with relief.