Demon King Daimaou: Volume 7 Read online

  Prologue

  The genius girl didn’t think of herself as a genius.

  Yoshie Kita spent her days working for her father, the High Priest of the God Megis, and dedicating herself to her hobbies of mathematics and game programming, even though she was only 17 years old.

  At age 8, she’d stopped reading fiction, and developed an interest in poetry and mathematics books. But once she’d read all the famous works in those genres, she decided to learn to read poems in multiple languages by studying anything she could get her hands on. When she reached age 10, she’d mastered seven languages.

  By the time she was done with that, she’d learned everything that was covered in a standard school curriculum. Since the Empire didn’t allow skipping grades, she decided to study overseas. At age 15, she’d come back with a college diploma, hoping to get the job of high priest. But it was only then that she realized the job required a diploma from the magical academy.

  She decided, though, that going back to school was a waste of time, so she requested a job as her father’s assistant. In her spare time, she devoted herself to bringing about her ideal society, “a place where everyone can live for their hobbies,” in a way that didn’t involve presenting any plans to the government.

  She’d started by posting on political message boards under a false name and starting debates. She knew that most of these debates ended with insults being flung on both sides, but she succeeded in attracting attention.

  Online, she used a male name: Yoshihiko.

  No matter how advanced communications technology got, a citizen of the Empire never revealed anything about their private life to anyone but the gods. It was considered taboo to expose someone’s personal information or upload images of them without their consent, a tradition that Yoshie took full advantage of.

  After a year, “Yoshihiko’s” page became politically influential, and “his” claims and research became widely known.

  “Yoshihiko” wanted, or so his page claimed, to build “a society where everyone could live without wanting to do anything.” This radical thesis was considered nonsense by most, but the research he was doing to bring it about attracted a great deal of interest.

  The research was on “virtual phase space.”

  Virtual phase space was a complex enough topic that most people just called it 4D space, and even scientists knew little more than “We don’t know why, but there’s an infinitely vast dimension right next to us.” Staying in VPS (Virtual Phase Space) was considered extremely dangerous, and it was mainly used as a way to teleport from one place to another, or as a sort of panic room when one’s base was under assault.

  Yoshie/Yoshihiko, however, thought that it might be possible to control VPS, and made that the subject of her research. In fact, she'd found several pieces of data to indicate that it might be possible to alter the space in response to human will.

  For this reason, military, political, economic, and other experts had all taken interest in the research. If real applications could be found for VPS, the possibilities were limitless. But for Yoshie, her research was just a means to an end. She believed that if humanity could live there, we would never have to do anything but sleep, and that the entire country should move inside.

  She failed to realize the importance of VPS, and she didn’t think of herself as a genius. Nobody knew that these two factors would come together and later lead her to take very bold action indeed.

  On that day, Yoshie was being visited by a government worker. This wasn’t particularly rare in and of itself. In public, she was a worker in Megis’s office who handled minor functions.

  She was sitting in a cafe inside the temple of Megis, with a slightly spaced-out look on her face. Her multi-function goggles that she wore for work were pushed up against her messy hair. The interior of the cafe was a mix of Greek, Baroque, and Islamic styles, the greatest common divisor of everything that most people would consider “religious.” That’s what all Megis temples were like.

  In front of Yoshie was a man that could only be described as “a typical salaryman.” Hair parted to the side, and a gray suit. A face that you’d forget as soon as the conversation ended. Yoshie had heard his name, but she’d already forgotten it.

  However, the subject he’d started to discuss after brief introductions was anything but forgettable.

  “I want you to develop a program to control virtual phase space.”

  Yoshie had never made public the fact that she was Yoshihiko. Some of her work involved dealing with the god’s program, yes, but since she’d studied overseas very few knew the full extent of her genius. No one should have been asking her for help writing programs. Unless, of course, they’d found out that she was Yoshihiko.

  “Is this an official job for the Megis temple?” she asked, playing dumb.

  This meeting was supposed to be about some upcoming work from the government. The natural assumption would be that she wasn’t being asked to do the work, the temple was. Of course, there was no trace of that at all in the man’s tone.

  “No. It’s a job for Yoshihiko,” the salaryman said. He evidently intended to get straight to the point.

  Yoshie immediately gave up on playing dumb. She was always the type of girl who hated anything that involved effort.

  “Hmph. Then you need to separate your official and non-official duties. I thought this was an official request from the government.”

  “It is. It’s a request from the government, or more specifically, the cabinet. It is, however, top-secret.”

  “Top secret? That word implies a lot of things. What exactly are you getting at?”

  “It’s an unofficial government project. And I personally was the one who realized that you were Yoshihiko. Does that clear things up?” The salaryman grinned.

  Yoshie nodded, impressed.

  “Ooooh. Amazing. Somebody found me out, huh? So, will you tell me who you are, then? That smile of yours is unnatural. It makes it look like you’re hiding something.”

  Yoshie wasn’t the type to hold back what she was thinking. The salaryman’s smile deepened, and he formed both hands into two “V” signs. Most people would think he was insulting her, but Yoshie laughed happily.

  “Normally when I do this, people get mad,” he said. “You’re a rare one.”

  “Nah, it doesn’t bother me. It’s funny.”

  “It makes me happy to hear you say that. Nobody’s ever reacted like that before. By the way, this is my codename. 2V. That’s what they call me.”

  “2V, with cabinet intelligence. I’ve heard of you.” Yoshie had heard the name in rumors that government employees passed around. But nothing about 2V was known publicly at all.

  “That’s right. I’m sorry to be using a codename. But well, most people who need to recognize the name will recognize it.” 2V’s tone was relaxed and informal. Yoshie felt like she’d run into a comrade-in-codenames.

  “That’s fine. But where did you learn about me?”

  “I identified the location you were uploading from. It’s a technique that only Cabinet Magical Intelligence can use.”

  “I see. But if you were willing to do that, it means you need me, right? I can assume there’s something interesting for me to do?”

  “Of course. It’s something a person like you will be very interested in. What normal people would think, I don’t know.”

  “I’m shocked to find out you don’t consider me normal.”

  “Then I apologize. But it’s the truth, isn’t it? So, this is what I need you to do.” 2V slid a mana screen across the table towards her. Yoshie opened it up in front of her face, and read the words inside.

  It was a report coming from a spy inside
Constant Magical Academy. Well, maybe “spy” wasn’t the right word. The student had entered through official channels. They were simply passing information to 2V in exchange for an offer of employment after graduation.

  “Wow... Would you look at that!” Yoshie gasped in surprise.

  Yoshie read the report, which detailed how Keena Soga was used as a catalyst to seal multiple people inside virtual phase space, as well as change the space into a variety of different forms. She understood the implications instantly.

  “This is amazing. Really amazing.” She nodded to herself repeatedly.

  “It means there’s a way to control VPS. And it’s starting to be understood,” 2V said.

  Yoshie’s response was instant. “This Keena Soga girl. She’s putting off some kind of unique wave frequency, huh?”

  “So it seems. She seems to have the ability to alter VPS. If her wave frequency can be copied...” 2V said, but Yoshie had already brought the goggles on her head back down onto her eyes, and was lost in thought.

  “Woah... This is gonna be fun!” she mumbled to herself. “I’m coming up with all these new ideas! Maybe I can write a program to make a space that just lets everybody stay in bed all day...”

  2V shrugged and slid a mana screen with his contact info in front of Yoshie.

  “It looks like you’re already interested in this, but just in case, give me a call.” And then 2V left—

  No, that wasn’t what happened, specifically. Instead, 2V shifted her mind to another one of the multiple dolls that she was always controlling at any one time.

  Controlling multiple dolls — Liradans with no wills of their own — was 2V’s specialty, and her dolls were capable of taking simple actions without her intervention.

  2V had moved her mind into a doll that was standing in an imperial university lab. In front of her was a square machine that looked like a white refrigerator, and a small space surrounded by steel racks. A man in a white lab coat was there. She waited for him to speak.

  The man in the white coat read some numbers off the refrigerator-like machine’s screen, and then spoke without turning around.

  “So, 2V. These are the Demon King’s cells?”

  “That’s right. I’m fairly certain it’s real. I told you to watch out for that unique frequency, and I meant it,” 2V said. This doll’s face was like the salaryman’s: devoid of anything to make it unique.

  The Demon King’s cells had been recovered by “Rubbers,” a member of C-MID8, the Cabinet Magical Intelligence Department, during the great battle a little while ago. They had been stolen from Akuto Sai, the man believed to be the Demon King.

  “The frequency is probably only useful for commanding the demon beasts. But we did learn something interesting,” the man in the white coat said, turning around and tossing 2V a mana screen. He was a member of C-MID8 as well. The screen he had tossed had a map and a list of data on it. “I remembered this frequency pattern, and did some poking around.”

  “So, what’s with the map? Do I have to read the data to find out?” 2V asked.

  “You’re always so lazy. Just read the damn data. Though I guess it’s hard to figure out without some explanation. That’s where the Demon King was born.”

  “Born? You mean he’s human?”

  “That’s not what I mean. I mean the very first Demon King.”

  2V whistled.

  “Wow... I suppose it is a hereditary title, after all.”

  “Don’t be imprecise when you’re making jokes. It annoys me.”

  “No, I know. I know. You’re telling me that he’s a weapon someone made.”

  “That’s right. We don’t know if the current Demon King is created by some kind of genetic bomb, or artificial insemination. But the first monster that was capable of generating that frequency was born in the spot on that map.”

  “I see... And are they still there, then? Um... at the place on the map,” 2V asked.

  The man in the white lab coat nodded. “Probably. The original Demon King was born there. But well, that’s all we know. There might be more information in the Megis temple’s files.”

  “Huh. This is getting interesting.”

  “Are you starting to smell money? In the end, that’s all you’re after, right?”

  “No, no. Something even more interesting. Either way, give me some time. I think I can do something interesting with this.” 2V grinned.

  1 - Candid Camera Checkup

  Akuto had no good memories of his physical checkups.

  Of course, he still remembered the checkup he’d been given when he transferred to the school, when he’d been told he would become the Demon King.

  “It’s weird that they’d just announce checkups without any kind of warning,” Hiroshi said. They were standing next to each other in the nurse’s office, both of them in their underwear.

  “Yeah, it’s a little weird,” Akuto answered.

  For some reason, everyone had been told this morning that there’d be an unannounced physical exam. The students didn’t know what to make of this, but they were undergoing the exams anyway. The boys were up first, and by now they were about halfway finished.

  “Are they taking blood?”

  The student in front of Akuto was offering his right arm to the teacher. The teacher had used a needle to take about half a test-tube’s worth of blood.

  “Boss, do you not like needles?” Hiroshi grinned.

  “Of course not. They hurt,” Akuto answered, completely serious.

  Hiroshi hadn’t expected that answer, so he didn’t know what to say.

  “Boss, you’ve ripped off your own arm and thrown yourself into a high-temperature plasma ball, right?”

  “That still doesn’t mean I like pain.”

  “What?”

  And then it was Akuto’s turn. He offered his arm to the teacher, who stuck a needle in it. He grimaced.

  “D-Does it hurt?” Hiroshi asked.

  “It does,” Akuto said calmly.

  Except for that one conversation, the boys’ checkups finished without incident.

  “Man, I’m glad nothing happened. After all that’s been going on recently, I assumed that there was some kind of plot going on here.” Akuto had put his clothes back on, and was waiting outside with Hiroshi for the girls’ checkups to finish.

  “Knowing you, Boss, I think anything could happen. Actually, it feels kind of like a shame that nothing happened.”

  “I hate to say it, but I agree...” Akuto shrugged.

  And then he saw a suspicious shadow out near the back of the school building. He turned his head towards Hiroshi, who nodded.

  “I guess something’s gonna happen after all.”

  “I hope not. But we can’t just pretend we didn’t see it.”

  The shadow was moving from cover to cover, trying to stay hidden. It was moving from the bushes behind the school towards the building’s pillars. When Akuto looked closer, he saw that the shadow was actually two people.

  Akuto and Hiroshi started to move, making sure the two people didn’t see them.

  The two seemed to be wearing some kind of camouflage cape to keep themselves hidden. The cape couldn’t completely conceal their presence, but it could detect the surrounding area’s colors and blend in.

  “I’ll go around to the other side. Once I scare them, you go ‘boom!’ and take them down,” Hiroshi whispered.

  “I’m not sure what ‘boom!’ means, but I guess you mean we should make it so they can’t escape before we talk to them, so yeah, I’ll do that.” Akuto nodded.

  Hiroshi headed around to the other side, taking a long detour into the bushes behind the school. Then he nodded at Akuto from a distance, and at the right moment, used magic to create the sound of a siren.

  “Uwaaah!”

  The pair in the camo cape screamed in surprise, and took off running in the opposite direction of Hiroshi. The cape changed color as they ran, making it possible to see the dim outlines of their position.r />
  The two of them tried to escape, but Akuto stood before them.

  “Wait. Don’t run. Who are you?”

  The two of them panicked when Akuto appeared out of nowhere and started barking commands. They completely lost control.

  “U-Uwah! It’s him!” they screamed, and fired bullets of magical light at Akuto without warning.

  “Damn it!” Akuto raised his hand up without thinking.

  Akuto was well known for having a bad habit of being unable to control his mana, and he was also the type to respond to an attack not by blocking, but by canceling it out with a bigger attack.

  As a result...

  There was a huge flash of light, and an explosion echoed throughout the whole area. Akuto’s own light bullet had caused theirs to evaporate, and now it was flying right towards them.

  —Crap!

  Akuto quickly caused the light bullet to explode before it could hit and injure them.

  The two of them covered their faces. The bullet’s energy formed a ring around them, passing by them safely before the ring of energy struck the wall of the school and evaporated.

  The pair stood frozen with their hands over their faces for a second. When they realized that they didn’t feel any pain, they checked and saw they were uninjured, and then gave out sighs of relief.

  Akuto was relieved too. It seemed he hadn’t hurt them.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. But if you’re using a camo cape, that means...” Akuto said, but then he stopped. He heard a strange sound like an earthquake.

  —Huh? What’s that...?

  His question was soon answered.

  The wall of the school came crashing down on the two of them. The ring of energy had succeeded in making a beautiful ring-shaped hole in the wall, and the part inside the ring had fallen towards them.

  “Uwah!” The two of them jumped away as the wall landed with a crash. Both Akuto and the pair in the cape were shocked into silence, but it wasn’t over yet.

  Dozens of naked girls appeared in front of Akuto.

  Or no, that wasn’t right. It took Akuto a moment to figure out that they didn’t ‘appear,’ but that he’d destroyed the wall to the nurse’s office where the girls were getting checkups. And it took the naked girls some time to figure out what had happened as well. For a full five seconds they froze, making no effort to conceal their nude bodies.