I wasted no time. First, I focused on the King.
> Death Contract.
>
> Champion's Challenge.
I sang the chorus to "Gurenge" by LiSA. One of the last anime series I watched before dying back on Earth.
I fired a volley of [Radiation Bolts] aimed at each of the King and Magical circle, along with a Radiation-Force Wall to replace the one destroyed when the blood circle went off-line. Next, another volley of bolts aimed at the limb joints of the demon. Once the limbs were severed by the burning energy, the demon swung, hanging by the chain attached to its neck.
> You killed level [BLOCKED] King Romulus IV of Virturia. Exp deferred.
>
> Quest Objective 1 of 3 completed.
"Yes! *Urg*. Kill me and release *ugh* me from this shell, so I can *gasp* return home, [Hero]!" The demon shouted among coughs and whimpers of pain.
I returned to my normal form and kept the King's spirit from drifting away. I was surprised to learn he had less Ego than his son. Only a vermin would resort to diabolism, or so I thought.
With the barrier broken, I {Appraised} the Demon
> Fourth Demon Lord.
>
> Level 24 Demon Lord.
>
> HP ~35,000
>
> MP ~140,000
Nice stats for his level. I grabbed him by the neck, breaking the chain.
"Ah. Stop! It burns!" The demon squirmed in my hand. He was weak. Without limbs, all he could do was spit. I was more than capable of pointing him away from me or dodging his gooey projectiles.
"I am a virgin too, did you know? Would you like to taste my blood?"
I drew Alloralla's dagger and cut my arm. Pushing him down, I let the blood trickle down my arm and seep into his mouth. I would've tortured-punished him more, but I was in a hurry.
> Time left: 20 seconds.
>
> Death Contract
>
> Champion's Challenge
I flipped the dagger and carved his Core out with the demon still alive.
"Home, at last!" He said his last words as removing his core effectively killed him.
> You killed level 24 Demon Lord. Exp Deferred.
>
> Quest Objective 2 of 3 completed.
"Here is the Core, Wyxnos. Take it!" I raised the crimson orb. It vanished from my hand.
> Quest Objective 3 of 3 completed. Quest completed.
Focusing, I reached out and grasped at a thin wisp in the air.
I could feel his resistance waning. My {Silvered Soul} was anathema to demons. The Demon Lord was slowly losing his cohesion.
<お前はもう死んでいる. [1]>, I replied with the ubiquitous meme.
The wisp of a soul weakened as I kept my grasp on it and my intent focused on destroying it.
The feeling now was like my {Soulguide} Perk. While it only worked for Undead, I think I got the knack to make it work on demons. As the malice and miasma of the demon were slowly purified away, the soul shriveled even more. It now was becoming smaller in both size and power. The burden also became lighter.
I clenched my fist. No. For how long have they chained this demon down here? How many maidens died to fuel the King's delusions of power. No. I finished it.
"No mercy for the damned," I whispered my vow. It had a profound impact on my very being.
It was over. I opened my hand and stared at the marvel in my hand.
The soul became a bright white wisp in my hand. There was no malice, no miasma, no evil in it. No good or compassion either. It was... a blank slate. With only one exception, it was no different from the soul fragments that floated inside a Dungeon. The singular difference was that it had no aspect. The fragments in a Dungeon were clearly from a monster's soul. This wisp was nothing. It was a pure soul. Raw would be a better definition. It also wasn't a fragment but a whole.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
It was perfect. Beautiful. Though it was weak, I instinctively knew it held within itself the spark of creation.
I opened my hand and let it go. The wisp just floated in front of me. It had no consciousness. It had no strength, no power. I felt that anything could crush that precious thing. I reached with my hand and touched it. The wisp came into contact with my blood and a few drops seeped into it. The wisp became bright red like fresh arterial blood.
The System startled me.
> CONTRACT ESTABLISHED. THE OFFERINGS FROM BOTH SIDES WERE ACCEPTED. NAME YOUR SOUL FAMILIAR.
The name came from deep inside me and escaped my lips against my conscious will. "Pandora. You shall have infinite possibility. Grow and become anything and everything. Eschew evil. Protect those we hold dear to heart."
The wisp, no, Pandora shone with joy.
> Your Achievement Is Under Review.
>
> Administrative Interference Locked. Protocols Activated.
>
> New Species Entry Created. Requesting Administrative Authorization. Denied.
>
> Retrying... Denied.
>
> Retrying... Denied.
>
> Retrying... Denied.
Before I could react, another window popped up. Someone had to be pissed. And I felt like toying with him, like a cat.
> [Administrator Hotline]
>
> CALL START.
>
> Wyxnos: Whatever you are doing, please stop. The System is going crazy. What new species does it want to create?
>
> Arista: If you don't know, I'm even more puzzled. No idea at all. I did a thing here, and this other thing happened, now I got this critter. I don't know what it is, but it is mine.
>
> W: Stop. Tell the System to stop. I got all kinds of red lights here.
>
> A: That's so seventies' sci-fi. Do you really have blinking lights up there?
>
> W: No! It's a metaphor! That's not the point!
>
> A: Wyxnos, you need to learn to go with the flow. Or just take a vacation. You are too stressed. Why don't you just let the System do its thing? Why do you have to fight it?
>
> W: You can't possibly understand!
>
> A: And I don't want to. Look, I completed your Quest, I gave up the Core, the Realm is safe once again. A thing came up here, that's all.
>
> You were disconnected.
>
> CALL END.
I could only chuckle. I felt guilty for bullying the God, but he didn't make things easy for me either. We were... Frenemies.
> Retrying... Denied.
>
> [...]
>
> Retrying... Accepted.
"Oh, by all that's Holy, it was about time!" I shouted at the ceiling.
> Pandora
>
> [NO LEVEL] Truesilver Blood Aspect Wisp of Creation.
>
> HP:
Someone has been watching too much SAO. But the System was far from done.
> Congratulations. You have destroyed the true essence of a Demon Lord.
>
> Your user classification has improved. You have more System privileges. Due to your achievement, the following changes are applied to your Status.
>
>
> You gained the following Achievement title:
>
> * Demon Slayer
>
> You gained the following Professional titles:
>
> * Truesilver Hero/Heroine.
> * Soul Shepherd
>
> Demon Slayer has ranked up.
>
> * Demon Slayer III (ultra-rare): Your attacks against demons deal 237.5% more damage. This damage does not regenerate. Target loses 1 on all Mental and Physical Attributes for each strike, up to half its original Attribute.
>
> Silvered Soul was upgraded to Argent Spirit.
>
> * Argent Spirit (unique): All your weapons and attacks are treated as Truesilver. Your body and blood contain traces of Truesilver. Silver and its derivate metals cannot wound you. You cannot learn Diabolism. You gain +1 SP per level. <--- Funny. One base SP per level increased my Energy pool by more than one million.
>
> Soulguide was upgraded to Soul Shepherd
>
> * Soul Shepherd (unique): Infuse a spirit with Energy to purify it. The spirit can choose to reject the infusion and resist using (Soul + Ego) against your (Soul + Ego + Magic). A purified spirit is friendly for 24 hours or until you dismiss it. Last Chance's timer is extended for the duration of the pacification effect. In the end, you can choose to let it go or reincarnate it if a suitable vessel is available.
>
> You gained the following Perk:
>
> * Wisp of Creation Familiar (unique): The Wisp has no Status and is invulnerable. It can assume specific aspects and confer a beneficial aura upon you or creatures of your choice.
> * Truesilver Blood Aspect (unique): Your Wisp of Creation can assume the aspect of Truesilver Blood. While this aspect is active, every creature you designate in Soul meters radius takes 75% less damage from Blight and any blood contaminants. You can also spend 100 Energy/second to imbue the aura to make them recover blood at a rate of 1 ml per second.
I had a lot to process. I sat down against the wall of the now empty room. The bodies were safe in my item box as they were automatically collected.
Pandora floated next to me. It was a living entity even though it wasn't entirely physical. It had no will, no intent. No consciousness. It just was. In its Truesilver Blood Aspect, it was a perfect sphere of bright and clear red blood. Uniform, without any specs floating on it. It was the size of my thumbnail.
That was the important thing. It was. Pandora was an entity outside the System. What I read on the {Appraise} results was just the System doing its best to describe what it analyzed. It was both the lowest state a soul could be and the spark of creation. Of divinity, even.
It was bound to me. No matter what happened, Pandora would be with me. The bond between that Wisp and me was deeper than even the one between Nenandil and me. Pandora was as much part of me as my eyes or feet. More, even.
It happened because of a joke and a last desperate attempt. The joke was mine when I offered the demon my silvered blood. It indeed was the blood of a virgin freely offered. The desperate attempt was the demon's vow. It was a sincere offer. One witnessed by the System but an offer that transcended the System.
There was something greater out there. A universe with worlds and entities and rules. I'd only grasped at its far edges. Glimpsed at its majesty from far away through a thick fog. Earth and Yznarian were just two drops in a vast ocean of worlds and Realms. Asgard too, since Loki and Thor were real.
Nenandil came out and looked at the floating ball of blood. "Pretty!" The fairy gushed. "Oh, Arista. This is awesome!"
I chuckled. "Aren't you jealous? Pandora is my familiar too."
"Oh, don't be silly," she snorted a giggle and wave her hand dismissively. "This is a... Wisp of Creation? It is so pure! It's like... like..."
"Like staring at an embodiment of a concept?" I tried.
"That! And I can tell this blood is yours," She said and then broke down laughing. "Now talk about sacrificing the blood of a virgin to a demon gone wrong."
"Or very right," I corrected.
"Right. Very right. Yes. This Pandora gal here, she seems alright."
"She?"
Nenandil rolled her eyes. "She. 'It' doesn't sound right. It has no concept of gender, but if it is ever gaining one, I want it to be a girl. So I am already infusing her with the idea. You don't understand, Arista. Pandora can be anything. Everything. And if it can be anything--"
"It can be both a girl and a boy, Gotcha. Just like me."
She threw her arms up in surrender. "That!" After another burst of giggles and admiring her reflex on the floating drop of blood, she finished, "Pandora, welcome. I'll make sure you are loved."
"I mean that's a great 'welcome to the team, Pandora' party!"
We laughed and cheered our new companion. Pandora just floated, heedless and without a care in the world.
----------------------------------------
Our reverie was interrupted by a rude commotion outside.
"LET ME THROUGH!" A male voice commanded.
"But Your Highness, the King gave us orders to let nobody inside! Not even the Crown Prince," one of the knights replied with a very respectful tone.
"Prince? Prince? I am no longer a prince, you stupid moron! Check my title! My name is now Romulus V, King of Virturia. As King, I {command} you to step aside!"
The sound of sabatons scraping the ground and clacking together rang. "As you command, Your Majesty!"
Someone crossed the illusionary doors. A man with Regal clothes but no crown on his head, a recently-anointed [King]. The spitting image of Rhenius.
Behind him and bound in chains came seven, exaclty seven, scantly clad and malnourished girls that were barely old enough to have their menarche.
The System didn't let anyone be a [King]. You must first have a kingdom with subjects. Only then it will grant the title, but as long as a kingdom exists, there is a [King]. If the current [King] dies, it promotes a [Prince] or [Princess]. I knew that. When I killed Romulus IV, I knew someone would get it. I was hoping it would be Rhenius, but I was mistaken.
The King walked into the room. "Who are you?" He asked me. "Where is my father? Where is our prisoner?"
I climbed back on my feet and dusted my clothes. Then I pointed at my face and smiled, just like the portrait of me they had in here. "Don't you recognize me, King of Virturia, usurper of Ackerton? Regarding your father and the Demon Lord you had trapped in here, you know the answer if you know who I am."
He walked three steps closer, his hand on the pommel of his sword. He studied my face while I posed like the portrait. Romulus V went pale. "You? You! It cannot be! You are dead! Centuries ago!"
I changed my title and pushed it up for display. [Demon Slayer Heroine Princess], now it read to anyone that focused their gaze on me. Not with words floating above my head but in their System interfaces.
I said with a sultry voice, "Oh, I can assure you it can be. And I am the real deal. Now, let me ask you, newly-coronated [King]. Are you a demonist like your father as well? Did you come here to try your luck taming the demon? Is that why you brought those girls with you?"
With a scowl, he drew his blade. I hissed and transformed into a black jaguar.
----------------------------------------
[1]: Romaji: Omae wa mō shindeiru! Nuff said.