"I say, Dio... I'm pretty curious..."
"This might sound a bit childish, but it seems like I've never seen you, Dio, fight with your full power..."
"Why are you so strong?"
Takanashi Rikka sat on the otaku's sofa, toying with a gem that resembled a magic orb.
This was something Diego had obtained from a treasure chest in a dungeon in the past. It had the function of absorbing light and releasing it in the dark, and now it was placed on a dinosaur-shaped floor lamp to serve as the wick.
Diego glanced at Takanashi Rikka and spoke calmly: "Because in the past, I was living with all my strength."
"...Then, in your past adventures, who was the first real enemy you encountered in the true sense?"
"Master! I'm here! The teacher kept us a bit late today, so I came late!"
Before Diego could answer, a figure jumped in from the balcony—it was Dekomori Sanae, the lady who plays with hammers.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Diego, lying shirtless on the bed, closed the catalog of Louvre exhibits, took a bite of the apple in his hand, chewed a few times, and spat it into the trash can.
Then he slowly got up, sat on the sofa, snapped his fingers, and lazily spoke: "Perfect, everyone's here. Today I'll fulfill your wish to view memories from another world. If you can't accept this level, then there's no need to watch in the future."
"Memory spirit, show the fragments of my memories."
Then he extended his hand, fingers spread, and a light screen appeared.
The two watched the content on the light screen with shining eyes, while Diego's gaze was dim. Chewing the tasteless apple, he walked into the bedroom.
The room was filled with forget-me-nots. Surrounded by the flowers, Diego slowly sat down, eyes lowered, the face of his mother surfacing in his mind.
He gently stroked the bouquet of yellow forget-me-nots, feeling a surge of emotion in his heart.
Fate really is unbelievable. The forget-me-nots in this world actually haven't gone extinct...
"Whoa! It's here, it's here, another world!"
The exclamations of the two came from beside his ear.
Savor it well—this is the past I don't want to recall.
...
Twelve years before Diego disappeared. That year, Diego was 6 years old. After his mother's death, he fled the Zenin house.
—At the border of the southern countries—
"Hungry... damn it, no matter how much I eat, I'm still hungry!" The young Diego clutched the boar king he had just killed, tearing into it with blood, devouring the pig the size of a small mountain in no time.
"Tch..."
The boy Diego wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his forearm, kicked away the scattered bones at his feet, and searched for the next target with an unpleasant expression.
As everyone knows, the more powerful the body, the more energy it consumes.
The awakening of Scary Monsters and Heavenly Restriction undoubtedly placed a severe burden on this still-young body.
This also forced Diego, after clawing out a large pit to bury his mother with his hands, to spend day and night constantly searching for food.
[No matter how poor, never abandon dignity...]
Tch, I know, I know.
I won't steal food from those villagers anymore!
I'll show Mom—I will live with dignity...
Squeak squeak squeak...
Human skin shed away, replaced by the dinosaur Dio. Unlike the previous half-dragon form, this time it was a complete transformation into a dinosaur, hunting in the mountains with outstanding dynamic vision.
As night fell, Diego returned to a cave—this was a temporary shelter he had built not long ago. His mother was buried in the jungle dozens of meters outside the cave.
It was a good spot: sunlight could reach it, rain was blocked by the mountain wall, and surrounding thorns prevented beasts from approaching.
As usual, Diego tossed a piece of meat in front of the grave. With a light swipe of his dinosaur claw downward, he easily ignited the branches below.
The flames danced, the large thigh meat sizzling with oil under the fire, but Diego had no appetite at all. He just stared at the flickering light, lost in thought.
"Oh my, I was thinking I might go hungry today, but I didn't expect there to be a human kid here."
Not far away, a demon in a white dress slowly approached. She had two horns on her head, a collar around her neck inlaid with a gem, and wheat-colored skin that clashed with the outfit.
"Little brother, what are you doing here? Wasting food isn't good, you know." The demon reached out with a smiling wave, looking quite satisfied with tonight's dinner.
"...It's none of your business. What's your name?" Diego raised his head, staring intently at the demon's movements.
"I'm the great demon Tot. Nice to meet you. You have no magic power at all~" Tot's teasing voice rang out.
The End Saint Tot—I saw this name once in a book recording great demons. It's said this one specializes in curses, and humans are powerless against her magic.
Insufficient information—I can't fight her. Her total magic power is terrifyingly huge!
Diego assumed a combat stance, constantly retreating, his face expressionless, only locking onto Tot's actions with deadly focus.
"You want to fight? I'm not good at combat, but I don't want to go hungry either. So, can you be a good boy, not resist, and let me eat you?" Tot still didn't take Diego seriously, chatting as if passing boring time.
"Hahaha, but I'm quite good at fighting!" Diego pointed his thumb downward, his heart sinking heavily.
After all, he's just a human kid with no magic power—you must be thinking that!
Good, I'll make you pay for underestimating me, Dio!
Hurry...
Hurry and come closer. If there's no obstruction, it should be almost here by now...
A sudden anomaly!
"Uoooooooh——" Diego's body was torn apart by an invisible force, chunks of flesh flying from his waist, blood splattering on the spot.
Diego stared at Tot in disbelief, gritted his teeth, and instantly transformed into a dinosaur to pounce and kill.
This guy clearly made no movement—so that's it, this is a curse? I let my guard down! The battle started the moment she saw me!
"Even in this state, you're still trying to move? Your magic is turning into a dinosaur? But aren't you supposed to have no magic power?"
As Tot spoke, the curse's magic output seemed to increase. More chunks of flesh tore away, flying toward Tot, jumping one by one into her mouth.
"Uwaah—!" Diego cried out in pain, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Thanks for the meal. This is the tastiest body I've ever eaten~" Tot licked the blood from the corner of her mouth, squatted beside Diego, and admired his miserable state. "No wonder it took several times longer than others to cut it off."
"Of course... after all, your body reeks almost entirely of severe corpse stench!" Diego forced a strained smile, his ferocious face openly showing his killing intent.
"I'll savor you with gratitude." Tot smiled and reached toward Diego.
"...Me too."
"What?"
Tot suddenly turned her head, and several dinosaurs appeared right in front of her.
Impossible! How could human magic evade my magic detection? My curse is a global-spreading one!
Roar—!
Thousands of dinosaurs surged forward one after another, biting into Tot. Tot's face lost its previous composure, frantically dealing with the constantly biting dinosaurs in a rather disheveled manner, causing her gaze to leave Diego for a moment.
It was that tiny blind spot. The instant Tot's attention was no longer on Diego, she understood the meaning behind Diego's words about being good at fighting.
"Scary Monsters!" Diego dragged his heavily wounded body to transform into a dinosaur again, cleanly severing Tot's four limbs, then followed with a strike to slit her throat.
Tot turned into a magic staff, the curse stopping, but at the same time, Diego also lost his last strength, lying on the ground gasping for breath.
I really should have run...
It was at this moment that Diego realized the unfathomable power of a great demon.
The bleeding stopped... this guy is still recovering from injuries. How is that possible? An ordinary demon would be dead by now!
This is bad, I have no strength left, energy isn't replenishing, my body won't move...
That guy will regain mobility in a bit...
His vision gradually blurred, Diego slowly lost control of his body. Feeling life slipping away, his mind raced with thoughts, recalling that ever-busy figure.
Mom, who always insisted on dignity, died. Only the victor has dignity! The process doesn't matter whether it has dignity or not—it's just 'means'!!!
Smack!
Diego's eyes turned ruthless. He reached out and grabbed his severed, dissipating limbs, stuffing them into his mouth, frantically devouring them bite after bite. The vast magic power in the great demon's body provided Diego with ample energy.
"Muda da muda! The winner is me, Dio!!!"
With the energy replenishment, Diego regained the strength to move.
Thus, under Tot's incredulous gaze, Diego stood up once more, pounced on her, and frantically tore off more flesh to swallow.
"I was wrong, don't kill me. I actually just wanted to be friends with you, but I really don't know how, because my mom abandoned me right after I was born..." Tot panicked. She clearly understood that if this continued, she would die.
Out of fear of death, she placed her hope on what Solitär had once said.
[As long as you say things like 'mom' or 'friend,' humans will feel pity and won't deliver the killing blow.]
Hearing this, Diego's movements indeed stopped. Tot instantly rejoiced, but was doused with cold water by Diego's indifferent voice.
"Kill you? Hahahahahahaha—I never said I was going to kill you? Don't underestimate me, Dio. I'm not that stupid." Diego kicked Tot, who was lying on the ground.
Tot rolled continuously, crashing through several trees before stopping, still begging: "Spare me, I won't kill anyone anymore."
"No no no, I never say empty words. I won't kill you. Whether you kill or not has nothing to do with me, but right now you're my excellent reserve food stock. I'll keep you captive.
Your reaction confirmed it: when demons are near death, out of survival instinct, they completely lose mobility, with all magic power used to repair the body..."
Diego laughed in a chilling way, his face showing ferocity, his dinosaur-transformed sharp fangs glaring under the moonlight.
"I stopped eating completely because if I continued, your body wouldn't be able to contain the magic power anymore, letting it leak out from the wounds until it lost the ability to repair itself and died.
Though your flesh tastes pretty bad, it makes up for it with abundant energy."
"I'm... not stupid enough to kill a great demon food stock... You still have to provide me with endless energy!"
"Rather, it would be disadvantageous for me if you died and turned into magic particles."
Diego's frenzied words made Tot realize the roles had reversed: the hunter had become the prey. The concept of demons preying on humans was overturned, but tragically, she felt relieved just to survive.
That day, the first human to feed on a demon was born, and demons fell to become prey...
...
One year later, at the border of the southern countries...
The omniscient Schlacht found and gathered several great demons.
One of the Seven Sages of Destruction, the Miracle Grausam, the nameless great demon Solitär, the Bloodstained War God Rivale, the Corrupt Sage Qual, and others assembled here.
"Tot has been out of contact for a year. In the future I foresaw, she was imprisoned here." Schlacht's gaze flashed as he glanced at the distant cave and spoke calmly yet steadily. "Her battlefield is in the future. We can't let her die like this."
The path they were walking now was undoubtedly the best route. The Diego Brando who imprisoned Tot would flee due to this display of force, and Tot would become even more hidden after this encounter to complete that 'curse' covering the entire planet.
However, the only thing I care about is that the future Diego Brando can glimpse is pitifully little, even though he is completely under control now.
"So you're calling this old one here to help?" Qual's deep voice came. "That cowardly Tot got caught?"
As the Demon King's confidant, he had no fondness for this one who only cared about eating and studying magic.
"As always, we just need to dance gracefully under your control." Solitär gave a meaningful glance toward the distant jungle, hands clasped together in an attitude of complete obedience.
"You just need to walk in with me. There won't be any battle this time." Schlacht spoke again, leading the demons into the depths of the cave.
"This cave is quite deep, almost no light. Without excellent vision, moving around would be very difficult." Rivale commented on the cave. "Look, everything here was dug out with claws."
Deeper in, the smell of blood grew stronger, and faint dripping sounds could be heard.
!!!
"Hey hey hey, for real?!"
Under the illumination magic, Tot's miserable state was fully exposed to the demons' eyes. The overwhelming stench of their kin's blood caused discomfort.
The End Saint Tot still retained her magic staff form, now bound to a cross. Her white dress had been dyed blood-red, with a wooden basin below catching the constantly dripping blood.
Her body was covered in bite marks from small dinosaurs. Whenever her body was about to recover enough to move, the small dinosaurs clinging to her would eagerly start feeding.
Smack!
Schlacht calmly watched it all, seemingly unsurprised by the outcome. He slightly raised his hand, and the small dinosaurs all floated into the air, crushed in one grasp.
Then he stepped forward, untied the ropes that had bound Tot for a year, and caught Tot as she fell from the cross.
"...Little Schlacht, little Rivale, little Gra... you've come..." Seeing familiar demons, Tot's dull, lifeless eyes regained clarity, her weak voice coming out.
"Little Tot, how did you end up like this?" Solitär looked sorrowful and compassionate, covering her mouth in disbelief.
"...Dead, everyone died..." Tot's body was gradually recovering, giving her more strength to speak. Fear materialized on her face. "In this year, I witnessed countless demons dragged in here, eaten one by one.
Some imprisoned for a long time like me, some disliked for bad taste after just a few days, some killed after finally breaking free from control..."
"But in the end, only I survived—not because I'm special... but because I have the most total magic power, so I taste stronger than other demons..."
"I never want to appear in front of humans again. If I'm hungry, so be it. I just want to live quietly until the day the magic is complete..."
Schlacht gave Tot a faint look and interrupted her muttering: " Grausam, take Tot's memories."
"Then share them into the minds of all demons."
Grausam placed his hand on Tot's head. A ball of light appeared in his hand, merging into his body. Then the information appeared in every demon's mind.
This memory instantly caused an uproar among the demons, a wave of commotion. It officially marked the Damocles' sword named 'Scary Monsters' hanging over the demons' heads, the fear of being prey branded into their hearts.
"Let's go. No need to linger."
"Wait, little Schlacht, what about my future?"
"...If we hadn't appeared here today, tomorrow Diego Brando would have killed you after capturing a demon with even greater and more abundant magic power."
"I see... maybe that wouldn't be so bad..."
...
These two gore-loving weirdos, after watching and vomiting for a while, actually asked me excitedly what demons taste like...
Naturally, the greater the total magic power, the stronger the taste~
Lesson 1: Never abandon dignity