Chapter 130 - Proof of Kingship

 "Sir Sao...?! Those crests on your chest...!"

[Pyro Stigma] [Earth Stigma] [Air Stigma].

Tamagushi’s eyes were glued to my chest, where the three Stigma shimmered brilliantly.

"Before you even rescued the Wind Spirit, you already held two other Stigma?! I wasn't told about this! Why didn't you say anything?!"

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning?"

Besides, I assumed someone as mysterious as Tamagushi would have already known. I figured she was the "all-knowing" type, but I guess she only knows what she knows.

"If I had known, we could have just confronted Gangastra immediately! With even one Spirit Stigma, a mere human wouldn't stand a chance against you!!"

A bit late for that, Tamagushi, I thought. After all, she was the one who stopped me earlier.

Still, that was her plan for defeating the Prince: rescue the Wind Spirit, get the blessing as a reward, and use that power to win. In that sense, her plan was a success, but knowing I already had two other Stigma made the whole detour feel like a bit of a waste of effort.

I hadn't really realized it until now, but the power granted by a Spirit Stigma is apparently terrifying. I honestly thought they were just "stamps of approval" from my fans.

Then again, I suppose I should have known. I remembered using the [Pyro Stigma] to whip up a firestorm once. Its power easily blew away any human-tier skill.

And I had just witnessed that truth again.

Prince Gangastra, whose "invincible" Molecular Decay had failed to leave a scratch on me, was now drenched in a cold sweat.

"Is this... the legendary Spirit Stigma? The legends say that if one carves all of them into their body, they become the King who rules the world...!"

There he goes again with the King stuff.

"King of the world, huh? Is that why you captured the Wind Spirit? Because you wanted to be a King?"

"Of course! I am the one with the world's greatest power, the world's greatest military, and the world's greatest talent! Therefore, I am the only one fit to rule this world!"

There it was. That bizarre "Niosebuk Logic."

"That is why I will engrave every Spirit Stigma according to the legend! The Wind Spirit was only the beginning! Next, I shall subjugate the spirits of Water, Earth, Fire, Light, and Darkness! I shall force them to offer their Stigma as proof of their submission! With the power of every spirit, I shall become the Supreme King and reign for all eternity! Gwahahahaha!!"

"You failed on the first step, though."

The Wind Spirit literally just flew away.

When I pointed that out, the Prince choked on his own laughter. Irony: 1. Prince: 0.

"That is because of YOU!! You destroyed the [Material Jail] that we, the Niosebuk Kingdom, spent so much effort building! What kind of grudge do you hold against us to commit such a heinous act?!"

"You bastards give people plenty of reasons to hold a grudge."

I wasn't going to let him play the "what did I do?" card. He needed to realize the depth of his own sins.

"You were likely seduced by Tamagushi. If it were just that, I could laugh at you as a fool blinded by lust... but seeing those Stigma on your chest, I can no longer afford to laugh."

Oh? The Prince’s expression suddenly turned dead serious. He looked like a cautious criminal, the type to pluck out a threat while it was still a tiny sprout.

"Three Stigma... Fire, Earth, and Wind. Out of the six spirits, you have already been recognized by half of them. This... is unacceptable."

"What is?"

"The one to obtain all the Stigma will be ME. According to the legend, I will be the King of the world. Therefore, no one else is permitted to collect them!!"

"I have no intention of becoming a King."

The Stigma were just things the spirits gave me along the way, even though I hadn't asked for them. I don't want a job as heavy and soul-crushing as a King. Being the Harem King is more than enough for me.

"Of course. Someone like you desiring the throne would be the height of impudence. But if there is even a one percent chance that a whim of the heavens would make you King, then you must die. To ensure my future as King is unshakable. No one shall gather all the Stigma before I do!!"

How incredibly selfish.

"There is no future where you are King," I said flatly. "Even if the world collapsed seventy thousand times and a new world was born each time, there is not a single reality where a joke like you becomes King."

And I’d be there to stop him every single time.

"I haven't told you why I’m here yet. I’m here to kill you. The Niosebuk Kingdom is a plague on the world. I’m going to erase it. I’m going to destroy it so thoroughly that you can never bother anyone ever again."

"Idiot!! Don't speak such nonsense!!"

Wow, he really didn't like that.

"A plague?! So what?! It is the natural right of the strong to oppress the weak! Those with power are free to do as they wish with those without it! To kill them! To toy with them! To make them wail in agony! That is the law of the world! Might is right! If there is such a thing as 'evil' in this world, it is being born without power! THAT is evil!!"

"..."

I stayed silent and let the idiot finish his speech. With guys like this, it's best to let them vent everything once.

"Survival of the fittest! In that cycle, I am merely doing what must be done! I devour the weak, gain greater power, and climb to the top of the world! You fool, blinded by things like 'love' and 'compassion'! I shall deliver the hammer of justice! Now, DIE!!"

"Survival of the fittest... I see."

His meager vocabulary seemed to have run dry, so it was my turn to speak.

"Alright, let me ask you a question. Can a rabbit kill a lion?"

"What?" The Prince was caught off guard for a second.

"What are you talking about? A mere field rabbit could never kill a lion. Did you get the question wrong? Did you mean the other way around?"

"Is that so? Well, the correct answer is: Yes, a rabbit can kill a lion."

Everyone would think that’s impossible. Lions eat rabbits to survive. A lion is far larger and stronger. It has claws and fangs that a rabbit lacks. In a head-on fight, a rabbit could never win.

But a rabbit has its own weapons. Powerful legs that can run like the wind. Long ears that detect danger instantly. A sharp sense of smell. Even its small body is a weapon if it means squeezing into a hole where a lion’s massive frame can't reach.

And most importantly, the rabbit has one advantage over the lion. The lion must kill and eat the rabbit to stay alive. The rabbit, however, can live perfectly fine without the lion. In fact, if its predator disappeared, the rabbit would be overjoyed.

The strong cannot live without the weak, but the weak can live just fine without the strong. When you realize this truth, you see how foolish the phrase "survival of the fittest" really is.

If the weak use their speed and sharp senses to keep running away, the strong will eventually run out of food. They will be unable to ingest what they need to survive. And the result...

"...The rabbit can kill the lion through the most brutal method of all: starvation. Your 'strength' is only worth that much."

"Sophistry!! The strong are not bound by anyone's limits!!" the Prince roared in fury.

"It's true that some clever weaklings might run away! But there are countless weaklings! Thousands, tens of thousands of them to throw away! If one runs, I simply catch and devour another!! The strong are special! Therefore, we may take from everyone!!"

"The fact that you can only 'take' is exactly why your 'strength' is pathetic."

He can't create anything on his own; he can only receive what someone else has produced. Even if he hides behind the cool-sounding word "plunder," the true meaning is that he is "dependent" on others. A true weakling who cannot survive unless someone gives him something—that is the true form of the "strong man" the Prince talks about.

"...Alright, I’ve decided on a theme for our fight."

Honestly, I was getting tired of talking.

"I said I was going to 'kill' you earlier, but I’ve changed my mind."

"?"

"I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to 'not let you live.'"

"? What does that mean...?" The Prince tilted his head, likely thinking I was talking in riddles.

"It means there's no need to kill someone like you. To keep an idiot like you alive, endless things are being given to you at this very moment. I'm going to stop that."

"What are you talking about?! ...Gah, forget it! Talking to trash like you is a waste of time!"

The Prince finally let his bloodlust flare, raising his massive fist.

"I'll kill you! That was decided from the start! You are a pebble in the way of my supreme path! Pay for your crime and turn to dust!!"

He swung his fist down with gusto. What a moron. We just proved that his Molecular Decay doesn't work on me. Even if he tried again, I could easily shut it out with the Earth's power.

But this time, I decided not to even let him attack.

"Uooooh?!"

The Prince charged at me, but before he could reach me, he tripped and face-planted into the ground with a wet, heavy thud.

Splat!

"Guh-beh?! Ptooey! What is this?!" He spat out the mud that had filled his mouth, sounding utterly confused.

The ground around the Prince’s feet had turned into a mire. A swampy pit that swallowed his legs.

"That's the power of the Earth Spirit. I increased the viscosity of the ground at your feet and turned it into mud. You can't get any traction when your feet are sinking, can you?"

A powerful punch comes from a deep step into the ground, using the counter-force to double the impact. "Boxing is a martial art where you kick the ground"—that's a famous saying for a reason. Once the ground becomes a semi-liquid mud, a foot that tries to step down simply sinks, and no counter-force can be gained.

I figured his Molecular Decay worked by channeling power into his fist and slamming it home with a punch. In this situation, where he can't throw a punch due to the mud...

"It means your skill is sealed."

"Ngh... damn you...!!"

The Prince was already sunken up to his knees. His massive frame was working against him—too much weight. The more he struggled without thinking, the deeper he sank.

"It’s a fitting end for someone who prides himself on brute force and violence."

"Kukuku... laughable! You think this is enough to stop my ultimate skill? Useless mud... I'll just do this!!"

The Prince didn't aim his "invincible" fist at me; he slammed it into the ground at his feet. The ground around him glowed for an instant, then vanished into a cloud of dust.

"Gwahahahaha!! How's THAT?!"

The Prince stood in a crater-like depression in the ground.

"You can see what I did! I used [Molecular Decay] to erase the mud entirely! Petty tricks are nothing before absolute, pure power!!"

The bottom of the crater was solid ground again. Now he could step down firmly and throw a punch with his full weight behind it.

But...

"Wha...?"

"You're an idiot. If you erase the mud, I'll just turn the ground beneath that into mud, too."

I have the power of nature on my side; I can do this forever. Turn to mud, erase, turn to mud, erase, turn to mud, erase... We can keep this up until we hit the mantle if you want.

"This is your first lesson in stupidity. Everyone lives by standing upon the earth. We walk, we run, we live our lives because we can step firmly on the ground."

Anyone who thinks they can survive alone without realizing that is a fool. Just like the man in front of me, they are destined to keep falling forever.

"We are allowed to live by the earth we step upon... I'll make sure you understand that. But we're just getting started. I'm going to teach you about a lot more 'obvious' things."

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