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I vomit the moment I regain consciousness. 

I have been killed and committed suicide over and over, so my fear of physical death has numbed.

But the sensation of this soul cracking is something that I won’t ever get used to. 

“Ah…gah…aah…” 

I let out an inaudible scream and remind myself how to breathe. 

I claw my whole body and confirm that I currently have a body. 

I am here, I exist; I repeat that alone over and over to calm down my mind. 

“Fuuh… Fuuuh… Fuuh…” 

My thoughts return. 

I slowly remember what has happened until now and put in order what I should be doing from here on. 

The body I am in right now is an emergency body I hid near the mausoleum. 

I made preparations for it, not for moving my soul with a spell, but for it to absorb my soul when it is drifting. 

I would have preferred my usual body, but that body has already been incapacitated with paralysis poison. 

I am attached to that body to consider it my own body, but I have no choice but to abandon it. 

The process until stealing the body of Rakura was good, but Rakura already taking in paralyzing poison in her body was outside my calculations. 

I couldn’t control the body and mana by the time I noticed. 

That’s why I forcefully tore my soul away from the body of Rakura just before my consciousness was gone. 

Paralyzing poison doesn’t work on my soul. That’s why I could pull this forceful move, but…the price is big. 

Even though this should be a healthy body, I don’t feel anything at all from my skin. 

My senses are completely dead. 

I lost my sense of taste, then smell, and my sense of touch next. There are even abnormalities showing in my vision, too.

“…Haha, what a cruel world.” 

The world is cracked. 

A world filled with cracks is such an unrealistic sight. 

The reality is obviously that there’s no cracks. I understand that my mind is the one that’s not perceiving the world correctly. 

But feeling the world in such a warped manner because my soul is cracked is so comical, it makes me want to laugh. 

There’s no next time. If I do this again, my soul will most likely crumble completely before it reaches the next body. 

My sense of self would definitely be gone even if I do manage to switch. 

“…I must go.” 

I have had this body hold a magic crystal to receive the signal of Nektohal, too. 

The signal has already been sent. 

Nektohal completed the resurrection magic. 

Also, the signal having been delayed means that the magic crystal with the construction of the resurrection magic recorded has been sent.

“…Found it.” 

The single corpse of a rat was laying there in a secret room in the mid layer. 

Nekothal must have controlled it and had it eat its own body here. 

And there’s the magic crystal I am seeking for tied at the back of this rat.

I grab the magic crystal, read the information that’s recorded inside of it, and carve it into my own soul as my own knowledge. 

There’s no doubt about it. This is the construction method of the completed resurrection magic. 

“Finally… I have finally obtained it…!” 

I held back my welling up emotions, and began weaving it into my own body. 

Even if Rakura wakes up, it should be difficult to notice that I have left without the perceptive eyes of the resident of Yugura’s planet as long as she is paralyzed with the poison.

But if Rakura is taken back quickly and she luckily regains consciousness in front of him…

It would be counterproductive to get impatient and fail, but I must hurry. 

“Let me warn you at least.” 

“?!” 

There was a man with black hair and black eyes standing there as if he was there from the very beginning. 

High mana contrary to the resident of Yugura’s planet with a sinister aura permeating him. 

It is the Colorless Demon Lord. 

“To think you would be able to escape from that situation. I was thinking of returning at once, but I seriously had to come back to this stuffy underground.” (Colorless)

“…Do you have some condition?” (Raheight)

“I told you it was a warning. The construction method Nektohal got is the real deal, and it is perfect in that it is something that my inhibitor doesn’t work on. Basically, if you activate it and die, you will resurrect as a Demon Lord without doubt.” (Colorless)

I feel no killing intent or animosity. 

It seems like he can’t be the enemy of others by his own will just like Ritial and Nektohal said. 

Him showing up despite that must mean he doesn’t want me to become a Demon Lord. 

“That’s my wish. Or do you have a shocking revelation that can stop me from doing so?” (Raheight)

“No, that might be impossible. I am not like that man, and lies most likely wouldn’t work on you as someone who infiltrated the Yugura Church as a cleric. But that power is one that humans of this world shouldn’t be wielding to begin with. It is to the degree that even Yugura himself regretted creating it.” (Colorless)

“Right. It is true that…things wouldn’t have changed much, even if Demon Lords were not born.” (Raheight)

“You are poking where it hurts. That’s right, the world would have simply been a more bloody one if the Demon Lords weren’t present.” (Colorless)

I doubt this Demon Lord has any intention to convince me. Then… I see…

“Throwing away my humanity…is something that I was determined to do a long time ago. That’s the end of this conversation.” (Raheight)

“Oi oi, no need to be so cold hearted—” (Colorless)

“The resident of Yugura’s planet is heading this way, right? Can you stop with the cheap attempt to warn me out of good will…and buying time?” (Raheight)

“…It is weird for me to say this, but you are a rebellious dude.” (Colorless)

It took longer than expected to move my body and retrieve the magic crystal, huh. 

But that means Arcreal has been defeated or retreated, and that’s the same for Nektohal.

I must not allow any further interferences. 

I already know this man can’t take brute force measures. 

He is just an incompetent guy who can only throw words in.

“The only thing you can do is have a word even though you have obtained transcendent power as a system in the laws of this world by Yugura?” (Raheight)

“You could say that. That’s how much Nektohal has achieved. It is your victory when it comes to that.” (Colorless)

“You are not a Demon Lord but the demon of the White Demon Lord, right? You call yourself a Demon Lord, yet you are not even one. An observer of no use at all. Truly comical.” (Raheight)

“Ooh, you are going in hard.” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord…no, the slave of the White Demon Lord can’t even direct hostility properly. 

Just thinking about the fact that Nektohal was being so extremely careful for a man like this makes anger well up inside of me. 

“Aah, I shall take that name of yours since the opportunity is there. An isolated existence that doesn’t get dyed by anything. Such a name fits me the most. Yeah, let’s do that.” (Raheight)

I have lived until the very end as a human. 

I continued wishing purely to throw away my humanity without my ideals being dyed by someone else. 

That’s exactly why I will be reborn as a Demon Lord with no color; the true Colorless Demon Lord.

◇◇

Ilias was lending me a shoulder as I heard the details of the battle against Raheight from Ekdoik. 

And then, we head to the mid layer while trying to predict his actions afterwards. 

The highest possibility is that he has prepared a body for when he tears his soul away forcefully, and he has moved to a hidden room somewhere in the mid layer with that body. 

“Comrade, is that injury of yours fine?” (Ekdoik)

“It hurts. But being able to complain that it hurts means it is still fine. It is not like I will be fighting directly, so there’s no need to worry.” 

“Wolfe will defeat Raheight!” (Wolfe)

4 people headed underground. 

Me, Ilias, Wolfe, and Ekdoik. 

Dyuvuleori stayed behind as someone who can fight. We couldn’t just leave the people on the surface be full of only injured people. 

“Counting on you. Also, always keep in mind the possibility your body will be stolen.” 

“Yes!” (Wolfe)

The specs of the people here are pretty high, but the only ones who can put that to full use are the person themselves. 

It should be possible to restrain them even if someone were to possess them. 

That said, it is questionable whether Raheight still has the surplus to pull that off though. 

I have been told that the reason why he didn’t escape forcefully from his body despite being able to in Kuama is because there’s a limit to how many times he can do that. 

It is possible that the burden on his mind is even higher than running away after being killed. 

“Raheight should be pretty close to his limit. I doubt he will care about the methods he uses, but—what’s the matter, Ilias?” 

“…There’s someone suspicious there.” (Ilias)

Ahead of us is… Aah, there’s no one as suspicious as him. It is the Colorless bastard. 

“Yo, that’s some terrible injuries you’ve got there, but it looks like you are doing well.” (Colorless)

“From the looks of it, it seems like you failed in convincing Raheight.” 

“…Can’t you smoothen things up with a casual chat first?” (Colorless)

“There’s no matter aside from things related to resurrection magic for you to show yourself here.” 

“True. Well, I do want you to hurry, so I will be straight to the point. Please do something about Raheight. Having Demon Lords increase in numbers in the time Yugura is dead would be troubling in a lot of ways as the one who was left with the management of the forbidden by Yugura.” (Colorless)

I want to tell him to just spit out the location then, but saying too much information could be considered a hostile action, so he can’t do anything now that he has failed to persuade Raheight. 

Him showing up here is his way of supplementing my worry that ‘what’s ahead of here is what you think’, but this must be his limit. 

“Do you dislike disappointing Yugura Nariya that much?” 

“He wouldn’t be disappointed by just this much. Let’s just say I don’t want to be comforted by the fact that he won’t care about it. I am half-joking here.” (Colorless)

“So you are half serious.” 

“Don’t pick that up. I can’t hide the embarrassment. I honestly don’t want a hardass becoming a Demon Lord. I would have to interact with him for an eternity after all.” (Colorless)

“I think most Demon Lords hate you though.” 

“I don’t mind being hated. I could watch the Scarlet Beast and laugh. As for the Green Lord…well, half expectation, I guess. The girls would be eye candy, especially Black Sis with her bombastic proportions. See? Everyone’s cool, right?” (Colorless)

That’s why you are hated by the 3 girl Demon Lords, you know -but it would be pitiful to drive that in, so let’s ignore that. 

“You don’t need to ask me. I don’t want to be targeted by Raheight for a lifetime, and leaving that guy for future generations would keep me with regrets.” 

“You get me. Then, do your best, okay? I don’t mind giving you a bit of a reward if you do well.” (Colorless)

“Uwa, creepy.” 

“…My heart is still that of a human, you know.” (Colorless)

The Colorless Demon Lord disappeared while leaving faint sorrow. 

I honestly think he would be a fun guy if we were to become friends. 

But that’s only limited to people I feel like I have formed a friendly relationship with. 

I am the type that’s hated thoroughly by all people outside of that sphere, or more like, I am acting in that manner. 

“Comrade, what is it he wanted to tell us in the end?” (Ekdoik)

“He told us that Raheight is ahead of here. He has already obtained the resurrection magic and is in the middle of resurrecting.” 

“Wa?! And yet, he made us waste time?!” (Ekdoik)

“If he didn’t delay us here, the time he used to persuade Raheight would have been taken as a hostile action towards Raheight. Even if so, it still benefits us since we are now sure.” 

Raheight will become a Demon Lord. 

It might already be too late to stop that, but there’s still something that we can do. 

The last trump card. 

We will settle the score with this.

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