“Oooooh!! [Wooden Punch]!!” (Uriel)
The punch of Uriel sends Sasae-chan flying.
Even if he is a coward, that’s a Demon Lord for you. In terms of battle strength, he is on the world class level.
“They have finally begun fighting in close quarters combat. I think this is the first time I see Uriel fighting personally.” (Gabriel)
Until now, he has been fighting by using Slimes or Golems and it has always been with something in between after all.
This is also part of why he is called a coward Demon Lord.
“But once it is pushed to a close quarters fight, Uriel is strong.” (Michael)
“The Earth element is originally the most suited for close combat. By taking effect on the solids, they can adjust its hardness, weight, and sharpness as they wish with earth divine power. That power shows its most effectivity in close range.” (Haine)
“But the same goes for Sasae-chi.” (Celestis)
More so because Sasae-chan also has the technique. She has learned the use of her big scythe from her Oba-san and Yoneko-san.
Compared to that, Uriel had recently gained intelligence and, no matter how you think about it, he doesn’t have the know-hows.
In terms of technique, the difference is high.
He has no choice but to fill that difference with something.
“Damn it! Damn it!! What’s with this, what’s with this?! Everyone saying things that don’t make sense!!” (Uriel)
Uriel’s desperate state was already reaching new heights.
By increasing the height of his own wooden body by a crazy extent, he has somehow managed to oppose Sasae-chan.
“I…! I simply wanted to eradicate the humans! Eradicate the humans and have the monsters take the position of rulers that the humans held! That’s all it was for this battle!” (Uriel)
Uriel cried out as he lets out a barrage of punches -while spitting his own barrage of ‘this is not how it was supposed to go’.
“And yet, why do I have to pass through this painful experience?! Why do I have to pass through this scary experience?! I am a Demon Lord, you know?! The strongest existence in the surface world! Why is it that this position is being threatened?! No, in the first place, why is it that I have begun to feel things like fear and pain?!” (Uriel)
Why do you feel fear, why do you feel pain.
“I wouldn’t have even thought about it in the past…! The kinfolk that were born before me from my mother as well; they didn’t feel things like fear or pain. And yet…!” (Uriel)
That’s because the very thought of ‘thinking’ was alien for them after all.
No matter the thought or emotion, if you don’t have the basis of ‘feeling’, they simply can’t exist.
The Demon Lord is feeling danger to his life and is desperately fighting against it as he suffers because he now holds a heart that can feel.
It is because he has become a living being that holds a heart.
“How terrible! Were we born in this world to feel such things?! Were we born to learn about pain and harshness?! Meeting such a strong opponent was in order to experience pain?!” (Uriel)
Uriel extents several tens of roots, but even when he swings them around like a club or a whip, it was all cut to pieces by Sasae-chan’s scythe.
When a living being feels danger towards their life, they feel fear towards it. The Demon Lord must be the same.
“If I am to pass through such a painful experience…! It would have been better to not have had a life from the very beginning! That way, there would be no need for me to think or feel!” (Uriel)
Yes, you wouldn’t feel all that.
“Thinking or feeling…! If I didn’t have those, I wouldn’t be feeling this painful experience myself! My very self wouldn’t be here! My existence itself wouldn’t have been present! Thinking is…! The same as existing?” (Uriel)
“I think, therefore I am-dasu ka.” (Sasae)
Sasae-chan says this without stopping swinging her scythe.
“The second son of Sobo-chan, Reushi-ojichan, said that-dasu. He died from an illness last year though-dasu ga. He be a philosophical guy to the bitter end-dasu.” (Sasae)
Sasae-chan’s relatives are truly varied.
“I also hate tough things-dasu. Things like pain and things that ya don’t like, it wouldn’t be bad fer ‘em ta be resolved without feeling those kind of things-dasu. But no matter how harsh it be, if ye were to lose the very ability ta feel, that would be the saddest-dasu!!” (Sasae)
“Right… That’s true! I am already a Demon Lord. I ended up having a heart…! Giving up my heart now would definitely be the most painful and scariest of all!!” (Uriel)
The fighting had temporarily stopped.
Uriel looked down at his wooden body as if confirming its state.
“I don’t want that. No matter how painful and scary the future is, I definitely don’t want to forsake my heart.” (Uriel)
“Same here-dasu.” (Sasae)
“Why did I turn into something like this? Being tormented by pain and fear. Would it have been better to not be born at all? No, that’s not it! There’s no way that’s it!” (Uriel)
No matter what pain and how harsh of a life you have, you can’t just call your birth a mistake.
That same feeling is swirling inside of Uriel.
“I don’t understand! There’s no logical sense to this!” (Uriel)
Contradictions.
For the people that can only speak from logic, contradictions are just painful.
The current Uriel is…the Demon Lord Uriel is trying to overcome this.
By crossing over a problem that can’t be solved by logic, he will reach at what’s beyond it.
“Who was it?! Who was it that birthed me in this way?! Into something that just doesn’t make sense, into something that can’t be explained! Who was it?! Who was the one that created me?!” (Uriel)
At that moment, Uriel’s eyes stopped at one place.
The current opponent of his, Sasae-chan.
No, the one he is looking at is the existence that’s inside of Sasae-chan herself. The God that is currently providing power to Sasae-chan.