The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

its head in confusion.

 

“YOu… aRE FOoLish in eveRY way IMAgiNaBLe…”

 

“AHHHHHH! Stop calling me that, dammit!”

 

“HehEhE! hAHAhA! I dIDn’T SAY thAT’S a BAD thInG! iT’s BEEn lOng sINcE i lAsT felT My BLood bOIl! A shAmE thAt A HIsToRIcAL fOoL LiKe You Is oUR EneMY! SO HOW aBoUT IT?! wHY Don’T you jOiN uS?”

 

Asley’s eyes narrowed at the sudden invitation.

 

“Uh, you sure all that flashing lights didn’t turn you insane…?”

 

“HAhaHA! it’s JuST thAT… aLl ThE TriCKs YoU’VE been pULlInG aRE UTtErly riDIculoUs! neVEr ThOuGHT ThEre’d be a foOL lIke YoU among HumaNs… sO fOolish ThAT yOu lOoP bacK tO BEINg geNIUS.
bUT EnougH jOKeS – nOw We moVe oN To The reAL deAL.”

 

“…Which means?”

 

“don’T you UNdeRstanD? to figHt a fOOl, wHAt one neEDS iS To Be UpFroNt… anD go ALl OuT! KAHhhhHH!!!!”

 

Seeing Bathym release an even greater magnitude of arcane energy, Asley grinned nervously.

 

“Uh, this power boost isn’t gonna last too long… right?”

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The method of the release was the same as the instantaneous explosion he had accidentally done once before.

As Asley looked at Bathym’s body gradually bulking up, he saw his briefly berserk past self.

 

“OuR Kind cALls IT tHE Ultimate Limit.
we NEVEr USe iT unleSS up AgAiNsT One wHO poSseSS tRuE STrENgTh.
arE YOU reAdy?”

 

“If that’s how you’re playing at, then I better go all out too, huh… Hng-!”

 

“sO yoU cAn uSe iT toO… tHis BETTEr Be gOOd! bRInG iT On!”

 

“HELL YEAH!!”

 

One human and one Devil clashed with their powers, each blast causing a massive explosion.

The sheer impact caused the monster army to stop in their tracks, making it all the easier for the remaining heroes to sweep them away.

The instinct-driven monsters sensed the powerful arcane energy and promptly shriveled up.
Only the ones capable of thought and reasoning could continue to move.

To Baythm, the Devil leading the Devil King’s army, this was an almost unsalvageable situation… but it could not care less about that at this point.

It had given in to its Devil instincts, and was now fixated on facing Asley with all its might.

 

“I AM THe Devil that wieldS tHE fLaMES Of HeLL ITSeLF! nO Devil can MATCH The pOWer Of My fIRe! nOne! Zenith Inferno!”

 

“Damn it! So THAT’s why I’ve been feeling hot around here!”

 

They threw everything they had at the other – fists, magic, magecraft – and what followed was destruction.

Naturally, both of their arcane energy pools had limits.

Bathym had left everything to its instincts, unleashing its power liberally.

Asley, on the other hand, was constantly planning the Ultimate Limit’s distribution of energy throughout his body.

During a usual release, arcane energy would spread randomly outward, but Asley controlled it by limiting the dispersal within a reachable range, only spreading it farther when needed.
The longer the battle went on, the more the arcane energy consumed by each side differed, with Asley being the more efficient side.

And then…

 

“Very GOoD… vERY good, younG maN…!”

 

Both of Bathym’s knees were finally on the ground.

 

“Hah… hah… thanks, you’re pretty good too.
Man, if it was me from just a few hours ago, I might’ve run away by now…”

 

“noW, fINISH mE off.”

 

Prompted as such, Asley stared drawing a Craft Circle… but when it was almost complete, he stopped.

　

 

“…WHy Do yoU HeSItATE?”

 

“Uh, my hands just kinda stopped?”

 

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“mErcY hAs no plACe iN tHiS coNfLiCt, YOUng maN.
if YOu doN’T SToP Me HERe, ThEn You sURE aS HElL aReN’t StopPING the Darkness fROM deStrOYINg Regalia!”

 

Bathym’s words were quite correct – this might have devolved into an all-out duel between what could almost be considered fated rivals, but their ultimate goals had always been different.

Asley bit his lower lip in frustration, bleeding in acknowledgment of Bathym’s reasoning.

Then he slowly finalized the magecraft formula.

 

“…Absolute Zero…!”

 

“hahaHA, tHis cRUmmy MAgEcRAFt CaN’t kiLL Me, YouNG mAn! lIkE i SAId, meRcY hAS NO PlaCE In THiS cONflICT! Purging Inferno!”

 

Using all of its remaining strength, Bathym blasted Asley’s magecraft formula, and unleashed a magecraft of its own… aimed at its own feet.

The flames melted through the Devil’s solid skin like butter.

 

“What the hell?!”

 

“My King iS mOrE pOWeRful tHAn You CoUld evEr iMAGINe, YOunG maN…”

 

Bathym said as if trying to hint at something.

 

“…I’ll just dish out whatever I have!”

 

“now, BefOre i LeaVE tHis wOrlD… teLl mE, YOUNg man, whaT IS YOUR true NAmE?”

 

Hearing the question, Asley was somewhat surprised.

 

“You knew…?”

 

“thE eYes Of uS Devilkin ARe SpECiAl.
NoT ThAT they’RE perfECT, but They dO HeLP…”

 

“…Asley.”

 

Asley gave Bathym a hard stare, and said nothing else.

 

“Asley… VErY wEll.
i aM Bathym, CLoSe AsSOcIaTe of Devil King Lucifer.
nOw I SHalL lEaVE WITH nO RegReTs IN My LiFE… wait, actUALly…”

 

Bathym looked at its own hands as its body fell apart.

 

“oN Second ThoUgHT, PERHAPs WE CoULD… waIT, NO, ThAt WouLDN’t… Oh, I see NOW…”

 

Then it looked down at Asley.

 

“youNG mAn… pErHAPS… WAlKiNg yOuR paTh… WOuldn’t Be A Bad choIcE… AfTeR aLL…”

 

Finally, the Devil’s body turned to ash and crumbled away within the wind.

Asley, biting his lower lip in frustration once more, clenched his fists tightly.