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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Episode 299: Factions

“Something on your mind?”

“Uh, no, it’s nothing.”

Even though I definitely felt something was off after listening to Bagira, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was.

Just one thing.

When my intuition finally caught onto the identity of this discomfort, it felt as if it was hinting that I could uncover what I had long wanted to know.

“For now, let’s wrap up our discussion about the Demon King and our abilities. Also, to explain our abilities in detail, each of ours has three main powers.”

“Three powers, huh?”

“Yeah. One of them is the ability inherent to the powers themselves. For me, it’s that my attack power and physical capabilities increase in proportion to the damage I take.”

“That’s pretty simple, huh?”

“Well, yes. But because it’s simple, its effectiveness is enormous.”

“That’s true.”

The ability Bagira talked about, related to the powers, refers to my Gluttony ability, which allows me to steal souls and identities, while Bagira’s Wrath ability increases his attack and physical capabilities based on the amount of damage he takes.

At first glance, it might seem like his ability is inferior to mine, but in terms of survivability during battle, Bagira likely has the upper hand.

Sure, his ability seems to have a major downside in that it requires taking damage, but conversely, the more damage he takes, the stronger he gets.

It’s a double-edged sword, but I can’t even begin to imagine how powerful he could get if he could endure just before death.

Furthermore, Bagira already has a high base combat ability, and with his powers enhancing him in a drawn-out battle, anyone with only a similar power level would likely find no future ahead except for death if they carelessly challenged him.

“The second ability is to stimulate the desires of your opponent using your powers. For me, I could provoke anger and cause someone to lose their cool, or instill jealousy, making them feel inferiority or a complex regarding love and hatred.”

“So, in my case with Gluttony, would that mean I’d make someone eat a lot?”

“I don’t know about that, but if we follow the same logic, it might be the case.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if there was any real meaning behind the ability to make someone eat a lot, but then again, if I could make enemies hungry during battle, maybe it could distract them a little.

Nah, even then, that feels dull and way too subtle.

Speaking of which, Shuvina is quite the glutton, but maybe I had unconsciously been using this ability on her… no, that’s not possible.

She’s always been a big eater since we met.

“Anything come to mind?”

“Well, I do have one friend who’s a big eater, and thinking back, he was one when I picked him up off the street.”

“Then he’s a natural, I’d say.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

For a moment, I thought Shuvina’s big eating was due to my powers, but since Bagira called it natural, she must have been that way from the start.

“Anyway, the third ability creates a unique world pertaining to each power.”

“A unique world? Isn’t that different from the disjointed world of space-time magic?”

“Oh, so you can use space-time magic, huh? True, the disjointed world magic can cut out a designated area and temporarily move it to another dimension, but the ability to create a unique world through powers is on a whole different level.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s see. I’m not an expert on magic, but I believe disjointed world magic literally cuts out a specified area of space and temporarily shifts it to another dimension.”

“That’s correct.”

To summarize disjointed worlds simply, it’s magic that moves a specified area of space to another space without creating a new world of your own.

It’s like cutting out that area and sticking it into a different space. While it can prevent external interference, like when I fought Lucifer in the maze world, you can’t create a new world or establish rules of your own.

“However, the unique world created by our powers is different. In a unique world, you can freely establish rules related to your powers, and anyone within that world gains absolute power. In other words, when confined to that world, we could be seen as equal to gods.”

“That sounds like an outrageous ability.”

It was such a ridiculous power that I, for once, felt taken aback.

“Of course, there are drawbacks. First, using this ability requires an enormous amount of magic power. The size and effect of the world are proportional to the amount of magic power. So, if your magic is low, the world created will be small, and the effects of the rules you can set will be weak.”

“I see. That sounds reasonable.”

“Next, every time you use this ability, your ego gradually becomes eroded by the power. To put it bluntly, arrogance becomes increasingly self-serving, jealousy turns into madness over love, lust drowns itself in pleasure, and eventually, even your soul will be eroded, shackling your ego to that soul for eternity, leaving you to wander endlessly in a mental world without being able to die.”

“That means it’ll be just like when I couldn’t control the Gluttony power and it was eroding me.”

“Exactly.”

Back then, I still had my ego intact which was fine, but once completely taken over by the powers, it seems our souls would forever be trapped in that mental world, unable to die or revive.

“Got it. Is there anything else?”

“Well, just a characteristic or two. Each owner of a power tends to be pulled towards the desires of that power. For me, I’d become more prone to anger, and with greed, I would cherish money above all else.”

“Huh? But, I don’t usually feel like I want to eat anything or have a sense of hunger.”

“Isn’t it possible that appetite isn’t the only target of Gluttony? Broadening your perspective, relentless thirst for knowledge or hunger for battle stems from an insatiable hunger.”

“So, in my case, you’re saying that my insatiable curiosity and thirst for inquiry are influenced by my Gluttony?”

“Exactly. And isn’t that true? According to Wilhelm, you were purposely taking hits from unknown magic and weapon attacks just to satisfy your thirst for knowledge.”

“That could certainly be the case.”

I had never consciously thought about it, but if I consider it now, it’s true my curiosity about the unknown is exceptional, and if satisfying that feeling meant I had to take hits, I wouldn’t hesitate.

I had thought it was simply because I got bored with my repeating life, but it seems my Gluttony power played a part too.

“Well then, let’s leave it at that for the explanation of the powers. We’ve discussed the main points.”

“So, that’s it?”

“No, there’s one last thing I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about our factions among the demon race.”

“Factions, huh?”

I had been wondering about the existence of factions among the demon race since I heard from Meijina that demons were sighted at a village on the outskirts of the Empire and that they would go investigate. The thought of getting caught in faction conflicts here just made me a little down.

“Don’t make that annoying face. Besides, it’s not as muddy as you think, so relax.”

“Ugh, fine. Just go on and tell me.”

“Right. So, there are three major factions in this country. The first is the Demon King faction, which I belong to, aimed at reviving the Demon King. The second is the Conquest faction, which seeks to become the new Demon King and take over the world, instead of reviving the Demon King. And lastly, there’s the Decadent faction, which isn’t interested in either.”

“The Decadent faction? Isn’t that normally called the Neutral faction?”

“The Neutral faction is one that sees the situation of the other factions and tries to keep a balance, right? Those guys are just selfish people who don’t affiliate with either due to a lack of interest and the hassle. Plus, their powers are of the decadence type, so that’s why they’re called that.”

“Ah, I see.”

It feels just like demons to be so self-serving, but what surprised me was that Bagira was a member of the revival faction for the Demon King.

“That’s surprising. I didn’t think you’d belong to the Demon King faction.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I figured you’d want to take over this world yourself instead of bringing back the Demon King.”

“That’s the kind of thing the arrogant ones think. I just want to revive the Demon King and have a good fight. There’s no other purpose for reviving him.”

“Haha, that’s true. That sounds more like you.”

I also revived the Demon King partly because I wanted to fight, and maybe because I hoped that the Demon King might let me die, so I could relate to Bagira’s feelings.

“When it comes to each of the factions, for the Demon King faction, we have me and Jealousy, for the Conquest faction, there’s Arrogance and Greed, and for the Decadent faction, there’s Sloth and Lust.”

“They’re neatly divided into pairs, huh?”

“That just happened to be the case. Besides, not much gets done between factions, nor do they collaborate. It’s just that everyone acts to satisfy their own desires, and this is how it turned out.”

“Hmm.”

In short, everyone just thinks to satisfy their desires, moves according to those desires, and that led to this three-way divide.

“By the way, doesn’t the demon race as a whole have any goals or missions?”

“Huh? Well, technically, there’s one.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“To end the world.”

“Huh?!”

The mission that Bagira spoke of seemed typical for demons, but given how Bagira and Wilhelm had presented themselves before, it felt utterly uncharacteristic, and I was shocked again.

“Who the heck decided that mission?”

“Apparently, the Demon King. My power told me that, and others with powers have said the same thing. Haven’t you heard?”

“I haven’t.”

I thought it was essential that Berunzele would clearly talk about such important matters beforehand, but I guess it was expected for him to let Bagira explain it.

“Ugh, I’m really tired now.”

“Ha ha! You’re having a rough time too. Well then, get home and rest for today. There’s going to be a gathering of power owners the day after tomorrow, so make sure to recover your energy by then.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that… wait, what did you just say?”

“Huh? I said there’s going to be a gathering of power owners the day after tomorrow. By the way, I called for it. Finally, the Gluttony power owner has appeared. We need to cover introductions and the Sixth District stuff, and a whole bunch of other things.”

“Wha… You should’ve told me that sooner!”

“Ha ha! Isn’t it fine? There’s nothing in particular you need to prepare for. You just need to show up and give a light greeting. Nothing troublesome will happen.”

“This whole situation is already annoying enough.”

“Ha ha ha! You’re kind of lazy, aren’t you? Maybe your power is also Sloth?”

“Ugh, whatever. Shut up.”

“Ha ha ha!”

I didn’t quite get what was so funny, but Bagira kept laughing for a while, enjoying himself.

But while it was undeniably annoying, thinking about the future, it’s clear I should meet the other power owners too. So this time, I should participate in the gathering Bagira mentioned.

Later, two days from then, I was instructed to come to the castle. After getting a last drink from him, I waved goodbye and left Bagira’s mansion.

 

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