I Don’t Want to Die as a Mob in My Second Life! ～A Story Where I Kept Training from Inside the Womb and Ended Up Being Mistaken for a Monster～ - Chapter 22: The Demon Lord Rampages

Chapter 22: The Demon Lord Rampages

“W-What!? Again with the ‘sow’! Kanata, you called me a sow!”

Setsuna was yelling loudly in my arms.

Well, at least she seemed fine. She must’ve lost a lot of spiritual energy when her Curse Wielding was broken, but as expected of a top-tier Reisoushi, she’s holding up.

“In front of the regional Reisoushis! With the news helicopters flying overhead! You called me a sow—again and again!”

Ah, my bad. Sorry about my body’s foul mouth.

It’s cruel to call a girl a sow, especially since Setsuna is, without a doubt, a beautiful young lady.

“Kanata, you’re such a jerk! You sadistic, handsome loli-shota bastard!”

I’m going to punch you, sow.

“Miss Sharo, I’ll leave your sister to you.”

“G-Goja!?”

I tossed the rescued Setsuna out of the air, leaving Sharo scrambling to catch her.

“Wha—Kanataaaa!?”

“Well then, Miss Sow, you can stay here under your little sister’s protection.”

“Miss Sow!?”

This time, I didn’t bring Sharo along to make her fight.

I wanted her to observe how different Reisoushi fought, to expand her knowledge and understanding.

Watching videos isn’t enough. If you’re too far away, you can’t see the subtle, semi-transparent flows of spiritual energy.

And more importantly, you can’t feel the atmosphere of the battlefield from a screen.

“Miss Sharo, stay close enough to observe, but not so close that you’re in danger. Got it?”

“U-Understood, Kanata!”

I smiled at Sharo as she nodded enthusiastically.

You can’t hone your skills without seeing them in action first. Watching skilled techniques will give her something to learn from, and observing clumsy ones will spark ideas for improvement. Either way, it’ll help her grow.

Keep an eye on everything—the techniques of the regional Reisoushis, me, and even the enemy. This is your chance to see a real battlefield up close.

“GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

The giant, metallic Conceptual Spirit [Hihiirokane] stomped forward in frustration.

Its target was clear—the mountain town visible in the distance.

Conceptual Spirits love causing destruction, especially to humans and their creations.

Just as physical objects need observers to truly exist, concepts gain meaning through human recognition.

That’s why these beings enjoy acts that make humans panic and react.

—Especially tragedies. Those linger in memory.

“…It’s smashing forests like they’re chips, and now it’s heading for a town as the main course. As expected of ‘metal,’ a symbol of destruction and war.”

“GRRROOOOHHH!”

I stepped in front of the giant once again, locking eyes with its metallic gaze.

It seemed wary of me now.

Not surprising, considering the overwhelming spiritual energy emanating from my body.

“Alright then, let’s go, big guy.”

I formed the sword-finger gesture, sharpening my focus.

—The objective was capture. If we succeed, we’ll have access to an abundance of powerful materials.

If I damage it too much, it’ll disappear. On the other hand, if I hold back and let it rampage, it’ll achieve conceptual satisfaction and ascend.

That’s where Curse Wielding comes in.

“Curse Wielding, activate.”

I shaped my sword-fingers into a gun and aimed them at the giant.

Let’s start with this one.

“Curse it, [Doll].”

“Got it—DAAAAH!”

The spirit of the Lolita doll shot out like a bullet.

The giant was massive and slow, with no chance to dodge. [Doll] was absorbed into [Hihiirokane].

In an instant, a grinding sound—krrrk, krrrk—rang out from the giant’s joints, and its movements stiffened.

“GAAHH, GYAAAAHHHH!?”

It let out a pained roar. Looks like the curse landed successfully.

“The negative meaning of the concept [Doll] is ‘to become a puppet.’”

In other words, it steals freedom.

Paralyzed from within, its limbs frozen, the giant was clearly suffering.

Every time it tried to move forward, my spiritual energy surged as [Doll] inside it interfered, preventing progress.

In my previous life, I couldn’t have held it for even a second. But now—

“Kneel.”

“GUUUUHH!?”

Finally, the giant fell to its knees.

The sheer amount of spiritual energy I possess in this second life is monstrous, enough to forcibly suppress even this massive entity.

“Hahaha…! (A perfect bind still seems impossible. The soul inside the giant is fiercely resisting, its sharp edges cutting away at the spiritual barrier of my Curse Wielding).”

Even when trying to turn it into a puppet, the soul resists.

So, what do you do in situations like this?

The answer is obvious.

“Violence. Reisoushis, rough it up—just enough to keep it alive.”

“”!?””

I told the regional Reisoushis, “Let’s beat it up! Everyone, work together!”

The phrasing might have been a bit blunt, but it should be fine.

“Y-You… ‘Kanata Soranaki’! Like I’d listen to anything you say—”

“Move. Now. (This is our chance.)”

“Hie!?”

They’d all frozen in place, staring at me, but after I narrowed my eyes and urged them on, they scrambled into action.

“”Waaaaahhhh!””

Oh, they’re charging in with their spiritual energy at full blast!

It’s like someone pressed a spear against their backs—they’re that desperate.

As expected of professionals, they’re not letting this chance slip by!

“H-Hit it, [Fuji Cherry]! Smash the giant, zura!”

“Charge, [Akagi Cow]! Put all your energy into it!”

“Fly, [Rock Ptarmigan]! Obey me once!”

Using Spirit Hosting and Object Imbuing, they launched a relentless assault on [Hihiirokane].

Even Dad and Maro joined in the action.

“GUUHHH…!?”

The giant let out an even deeper groan.

Good, good. Let’s keep breaking its spirit.

“GO…GORO… ZUU…!”

Huh?

“YOU DARE… HINDER MEEE…!”

“Oh? You can talk?”

The giant glared at me as I continued to direct the attack.

“HUMANS… SUCH LOWLY CREATURES! I WILL… KILL YOUUUUU!”

Oh, wow.

Even while being cornered, its eyes burned with such pride—impressive!

“How cheeky.”

“GUUHHHH!?”

I kicked it square in the face.

“This is unacceptable, you fool. (Seriously, giant buddy, you’re just not getting it.)”

The giant, now on the ground, lifted its head slightly.

I jumped up and followed with another kick, sending its neck bending at a pitiful angle.

“You’ve made a critical mistake in attitude. (If you can talk, there are better ways to handle this, you know~.)”

Listen, if you’re a Conceptual Spirit capable of speech, then when you’re cornered, you should be trying to deceive your opponent.

Say things like “I won’t resist anymore~” or “Please forgive me~.”

Newbie Reisoushis often fall for that, you know? Especially when the goal is capture. Even the pros might hesitate, thinking, “It seems weakened—should we stop here?”

That hesitation creates doubt in their souls. Their movements slow, and their spiritual energy output drops.

It’s a perfect opportunity to strike back and kill them.

But you—

“You dare say ‘kill’ to me? —Hah! Well said, you pile of scrap metal!”

Mr. Giant, I get it.

Your pride comes from being born as the strong concept of ‘metal.’

It means your soul is equally strong.

If that’s the case—

“I’ll make you suffer to your very limit…!”

I decided to push [Hihiirokane] to the brink.

I’m going to capture it and earn a huge achievement.

That way, people will believe in the kind and good-hearted Kanata.

And so—

“Curse Wielding, activate.”

The next bullet is this one.

“Seize it, [Ittan-momen].“

“Can I strangle it to deathhh!?”

The blonde bandage spirit shot out from my sword fingers.

The moment it entered the giant, a shift occurred in the “laws of physics.”

“GAAHH, GYAAAAHH!?”

The giant’s neck, which I’d kicked upward earlier, didn’t come back down.

When I gently swept my hand upward along its chest, its massive upper body began to lift into the air.

“W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“[Ittan-momen] is the ‘concept of fluttering in the wind.’ Those cursed by it lose their ability to keep their feet on the ground.”

In other words, it’s “forced liberation from gravity.”

The giant [Hihiirokane], flailing its arms and legs, began floating higher and higher into the sky.

How amusing.

“I-I CAN’T GET DOWNNNNN!?”

“Hahaha! Enjoy your journey in the sky.”

For a giant like you, this must be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, huh?

“You shouldn’t have tried talking. The moment I realized you had a functioning mind, I came up with this trick.”

As the giant floated higher, I raised my sword fingers for the third time.

“H-HUH!? W-WHAT NOW!?”

Fear flickered in its metallic eyes.

Oh? Finally showing a cute side, are we? But it’s too late for that.

“Curse Wielding, activate—Sing, [Blank Shot], loud and clear.”

“～～～～～!”

The spirit was unleashed. A Chinese-dressed girl, her hand shaped like a cannon, shot through the air.

The moment she entered the giant—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

A deafening explosion roared from inside the giant’s body.

The surrounding Reisoushis screamed, “Ahhhhhhhhhh!?” as they clutched their ears and collapsed.

Haha.

“There’s only one terrifying way to use [Blank Shot]: ‘Make a violent sound to paralyze your enemy with fear.'”

When the enemy is on the verge of defeat, unleash sounds so intense it destroys their will to fight.

A demand for surrender.

A peaceful method of intimidation that doesn’t even require spending a bullet.

That’s the essence of the concept called [Blank Shot].

“If you’re hit by that from the inside—”

“GAH… AHHH… AHHHHHH…?”

The giant’s resistance stopped.

Just moments ago, it had been flailing its arms and legs in the air, but now it hung there, completely limp.

Molten metal dripped from its eyes and mouth, trailing down like drool. It looked utterly helpless, like a newborn baby.

It’s completely dazed now.

“It worked, right? After all, you can hear.”

That’s one of the weaknesses of Conceptual Spirits.

Born from humanity’s collective unconscious, these spirits, regardless of being inorganic or food-related, tend to “beastify” or “personify” themselves.

I wasn’t sure if a metal giant like this would fall into that category—but then it talked, and boy, was I surprised.

What a flaw.

“If you can talk to people, it means you can’t handle sounds beyond your capacity.”

“A-AHHHHH…!”

“Should I let [Blank Shot] fire one more time?”

“NOOOOO! PLEASE, NOOOOO!”

The giant shrieked loudly.

Since the deafening sound came from inside, there was nowhere for it to escape. It must’ve left a deep scar on its mind.

Now then—

“Bring it down, [Ittan-momen].”

In that instant, the blonde woman spirit exited the giant’s body, and the once-floating giant crashed to the ground.

The impact was so immense that the ground trembled, and the mountain shook.

Trees shattered, sending splinters flying, and a sound as loud as the earlier [Blank Shot] explosion echoed through the area.

The regional Reisoushi started screaming, “Gyaaaaaah!?”

Ah, sorry about all the noise, everyone.

“GYAAAHHHHHH! I-IT HURTS! I DON’T WANT THIS ANYMOREEEEE!”

The giant [Hihiirokane] wailed.

Gone was the towering presence that had glared at me and boldly declared its intent to “kill.”

Now then, how’s that spirit of yours holding up?

“Well, well, well.”

“HIE!?”

“Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well.”

“HIIIEEEEEEEE!?”

I approached the giant once more.

Ah, don’t look at me with such frightened eyes.

You’ve reached your limit, haven’t you? If that’s the case, I won’t do anything scary.

I’ll just say this:

“Now then—[Hihiirokane].”

“…!?”

“Submit to me.”

At those words, the metal giant’s eyes widened—

“HAAAH, Y-YES, I WILL GLADLY OBEYYYYY!”

—and it knelt before me in complete submission.

“That’s better. Good giant.”

“HAWAAAH…!”

Heh. I managed to handle this without causing any human casualties.

Bad reputation erased—mission accomplished!

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[Tips]

Reactions from those around:

Regional Reisoushis: “…So evil…!”

TV crew: “…So evil…!”

Viewers: “Sooooo evil…!”

Ouma Shiranui (watching TV): “As expected, evil.”

Shiina (also watching TV):

“Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy! Sooooo incredibly eeeeeeeviiiillllllllll—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Overall Rating: An Evil Overlord

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