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Superior Cross Volume 2
Scanlation available from Enxame.
Third volume soon to follow.
------------------
Superior Cross Contents
Story.5 Best friend (Part 2) 3
Story.6 Best friend (Part 3) 49
Story.7 A Magical Course in Dread. 97
Story.8 Rocci (Part 1). 149[tn: And they're giving the proper spelling for her name now? WTF?!!]
003
*THUD*
Dude: Out of my way, goddamn brat!!//Dang it. My clothes are all stained now.*paf paf*
Dude: You just come out of nowhere, grabbing my leg. What's the big idea?!*step*
*flick...*
Lakshri: C... Clive...? You okay...?
*step step*
*flick*
004
Clive: Everything has a right to live. Even if it's not pretty, or if it lives in darkness.//Even me. And you...
005
Story.5 Best Friend (Part 2).
006
Clive: (Yes.../I must kill Lakshri//I have a good reason to want him dead.)
Lakshri: Clive...
007
Lakshri: You turn out to be the monster, then...?!
*wham*
Lakshri: Clive! Stop it...!!
008
*BAOM*
Lakshri: (He doesn't respond to my voice.../Can't he understand what I'm saying...?)*grrr*
Lakshi: (Clive... I'm sorry...)*bonk*
Lakshri: (I'm gonna have to knock you down...!!)
*swish*
*BLAM*
*crack crack*
009
*crackle*
Lakshri: (He's unscathed after that.......?!)
*dash*
Lakshri: Whoa
*bom*
010
*crash crash crash*
Lakshri: O... oowww...*tilt*
Lakshri: I... I'm saved. But that was a lose call...
*wham*
011
Lakshri: You gotta be... kidding me.......//Quick. Before he can see me...*dash*
Lakshri: He's gotten really tough, he has...
*step step*
Clive: ?!
012
*bash*
Lakshri: Don't........../Don't underestimate me...........//I have some escape routes even you don't know about... >It was a narrow escape, though. Literally.<
*wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*[tn: Whistling sound]
013
*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
*dash*
Exa: Ah. Wait up...!!
*dash*
Exa: Not again.../What crazy reflexes.
*step step step*
Exa: Mh...?
*teeter*
Exa: (Lakshri's friend...!!)
014
Exa: (No. I'll worry about that later...//Where in the world did that monster go to...?!)//What? Four monsters, you say...?//What about you, Lakshri...?
Lakshri: Well... I haven't seen any...
Exa: Operating under the assumption that there was only one of them was a mistake, apparently...
Sheyla: Next thing we knew, they retreated in a jiffy. What gives?
Angelica: Didn't you hear some kind of noise? A voice, or something./Somewhat disturbing, too...
Exa: Eh? I didn't hear anything.
Angelica: Am I the only one?
015
Rocci: A buzzing mosquito, perhaps...
Bird: My favorite dish!
Angelica: A BUG?!/I don't think it sounded anything like a mosquito![tn: Angelica merely says "mosquito", but unlike Rocci she uses the Japanese word. "Bug" is an arbitrary translation.]
Rocci: Well, they say young people can perceive high-pitched sounds.
Bird: Dejected.
Exa: And Angelica is the youngest among us. Yes, that's within the realm of possibility.//They might be manipulated by means of some noise we are unable to hear./Which makes it kinda hard to file them under the "regular monster" category.
Rocci: Bodily potential activation.............*mutter*
Exa: Come again........?
Rocci: No.... Nothing...
016
Exa: Anyway. I have no idea if they'll show up tomorrow, but we'll keep an eye out.
Rocci: Yes sir.
Angelica: Understood.
Sheyla: What a pain-nya./I don't like the guy.
Lakshri: ...........//(Ultimately, I was unable to say a word about Clive.../How could I mention the one responsible for the abductions was my own best friend....?//But... how did he get to turn into that monstrous form?/And whatever I said it just didn't seem to register...//The other 4 are presumably human, too...)
017
Lakshri: (Assuming it's true, I should let Exa know about it./But Exa wouldn't kill them, even if they weren't human... So I'd rather... keep that to myself for the moment.//And help Clive out in the meantime.//But how...?/Does he even want to be saved, in the first place?)//If I talk to him... and it doesn't get through./If he wants to kill me so badly he won't have it any other way...
018
Lakshri: (Will I have no other choice but to end his life...?)
*staaaare*
*jump*
Lakshri: What is it?
Angelica: Eeheehee... You noticed?
Lashri: What with all the staring........*step step*
Lashri: ............*awkward silence*
Lashri: Ah. I got a hangnail.
Angelica: ...........
Lakshri: You got something to say?/Why are you here?
Angelica: Oh crap./Ha! I had nothing special in mind.........!!/............
019
Angelica: Er... Are you okay?
Lakshri: Don't "you okay" me.
Angelica: Are you fine or what? Say something!*peeved* *snap* *ow*
Lakshri: What are you angry for?//The bloke who used to be my best friend hates me, and he contemplates the idea of bumping me off./Of course I can't be fine...
Angelica: .........../You aren't the kind of guy people get to hate...
020
Lakshri: Do you.... think so...?
Angelica: Yeah.
Lakshri: Yeah, I figured.
Angelica: Sure.//Because you're a big idiot.*gasp*
Lakshri: Hey... Watch it...
Angelica: You're a pain in the bum, but also the best friend one can have, I think.//Contrary, but actually very kind./You aren't slick enough to do anything underhanded. What would anyone hate you for?
021
Angelica: There must be something happening to him./Something he doesn't want to talk about to anyone, not even you.//So don't be so hard on yourself.//Think positive, and surely something will come out of it./Come on. Im fine./Repeat after me.[tn: In English in the original text.]
Lakshri: IIII aaaam fiiine./IIII'm fiiine.//IIIII'm fi...//Yeah... I guess you're right...//But um... If you're gonna praise and comfort me, can't you be a bit more honest about it?*chuckle*
022
Angelica: Not happening. Cause your usual behavior is just that plain bad.*Casual*
Lakshri: Ah... I see.//But well... I'm feeeling better somehow. Thank you.//Must be great to be so simple-minded!*POP*
Angelica: Heeey. What tha heeeeell
Lakshri: I call it payback.//(She's right... He must have some kind of problem./And he can't have anything to do with those disappearances either.//Man up. Clive used to be a nice guy, didn't he?/I have to believe in him. And he needs my help...
023
Lakshi: (Let's go see him. Speak to him again.//And my sword won't leave its scabbard, no matter what...
*clink*
024
*Zzzz*
*twitch*
*rustle*
*tap tap tap*
*creak*
Clive: Doctor!!//The medicine isn't working anymore.
Graham: (So he can pick up my presence from that far away...)/Is that so...? Let's get you some stronger stuff, then.
025
Clive: Doctor... I'm gonna lose my sense of self at this rate, aren't I...?
Graham: Certainly not...
*poke*
Clive: U...gh//(I can tell/he isn't telling me the truth//I'm falling down//tumbling into utter darkness...)
026
Clive: The longer it goes on, the closer this monster gets/to taking over everything I am.//I need to end Lakshri's life/before that gets to happen...!!
027
Kagami: (Am I still attached... to the old Maou-sama?)//I'll be borrowing them again...
Graham: Go ahead... They are your tools to use, after all...//This drug enhances one's physical potential and restores any lost faculties.//Then eventually... bodily chemistry goes to Hell/and transformation into a monster ensues.
028
Graham: At first, they periodically revert back to their initial form, but as they keep on taking the medicine, soon enough, the metamorphosis becomes complete./The strength thus achieved is roughly equal to 10 times that of a human being. But even in human form, they're still 4 times stronger than normal.//Upon reaching completion, all sense of self is lost, and they're just monstrous sock puppets for someone else to handle.//Since the original being is human, it sustains none of the injuries from its monstrous shape./You won't find a finer weapon anywhere in the world.
Kagami: Yes. They're magnificent indeed.
Graham: These words are the greater reward I could ever hope for.
Kagami: But are you sure you don't mind? Considering you're human, too...
029
Graham: You see, in this world some people like myself just enjoy to be contrary.//Feel free to wipe out humanity, for all I care...
*stap*
Exa: What happened to Lakshri?!
Angelica: (I don't wanna cause him any trouble)/Said he'd get some rest. He's feeling better, but he's not exactly back at full strength.
Exa: Wait a minute... there's only one of them, today...?
030
Exa: Aaah, never mind. We gotta capture it!
Party: Aye.
*swish*
Exa: An abandoned... factory...?//Where'd he go...?
*clang*
Exa: ?!!
031
*clang clang*
Exa: It's... It's dangerous around here. Sheyla, you okay?!
Sheyla: Meooow.
Exa: Angelica! Rocci!! Are you alright?!
Angelica: We're fine! Rocci and I are both unharmed! What about you, Exa-sama?!
Exa: I'm okay!//Thing is... we've got no way to go, now... We need to join up with the girls...*clang*
032
*flick*
Exa: Monsters... Now of all times...
Sheyla: ?!!
Exa: Whoaaaaah!!*whud*
033
Sheyla: Hero!!
Clive: (I hate Lakshri so much... so much I just can't help it...//If he so much as smiled, I'd still damn him for it.)
034
Clive: (Once I kill him//I'll carve him to pieces and erase every single trace of him from the face of the Earth.)
035
Clive: (That's how much I hate him...)
*step*
Clive: I thought you'd come... Have you cleared away your doubts?
036
Lakshri: ........//Ha
Clive: Because if you don't kill me...*creak*
Clive: You will die by my hand...
*CLANG*
Clive: Got it?!
037
Clive: Tsk...//Draw you sword!!
Lakshri: No........./I won't...!
Clive: Aren't you ready to fight and kill?
038
Lakshri: I'm here to help you!
Clive: Hah...
Lakshri: Clive... What is it you're transforming into...?/Just what happened to you while I wasn't looking...?
Clive: ........../You don't need to know.
039
Lakshri: Under that other form, you couldn't understand anything I said.
Clive: ..........
Lakshri: Are the other 4 human too...?/Did you kidnap those people?
Clive: ...........
Lakshri: Why, then...?!!
Clive: ...........//........../Why, you ask...*Heh*
040
Clive: Hey, Lakshri. Remember when we were kids?/Didn't you ever ask yourself why the world had to be so unfair...?
Lakshri: I...//...........
Clive: A guy like me has no choice but to live his life like the piece of trash he is./Scum I am. Forever scum I'll remain...//Doomed to live deep in the Abyss, always envying all that is light./That much is not gonna change, it's still true to this day..........
041
Clive: Unlike you, most people can't go against whatever fate had in store for them since the day they were born.//All the time since you left, I spent it in the dark...//All of it...//Then at some point, I realized.
Lakshri: Hah
Clive: Since I'd lost my right hand, it was only fair for me to crush everyone else's right hands in kind.//That's right. To achieve this, I needed power.
042
Clive: Only through power can this world ever achieve equity.[tn: LOL, this manga embraces its corniness with a rare gusto. :XD:]
Lakshri: You're wrong...!!
Clive: Some day, when the time has come for the last battle, these monsters will engage humanity in combat./Parents against their children. Friends against their friends. Brothers and sisters, they will all be at each other's throats.
043
Clive: That'll be the most entertaining spectacle ever, don't you agree...?
Lakshri: Clive...!!
044
Clive: Hah... Now you know my motive.../What? You thought I'd been forced into this form and made to go kidnap people?/Did you expect me to go "Save me, Lakshri-chan" so you could go on and have your mushy happy ending?//Get fucking real!*startle*
Clive: I kidnapped those people willingly and I helped make them that way./And this is what I, too, will become myself.
045
*dash*
Clive: And we'll drown the world in a tide of disaster and death!!*clang*
Clive: That's right... Let's break it all apart./Destroy everything...!!
Lakshri: Stop it... I don't wanna kill you...
*cling*
Lakshri: Ah.
*snap*
Clive: You won't kill me in spite of everything...?/Are you sure about this?
046
*thump*
Lakshri: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Clive: I'll wreak even more havoc upon the world, you know...?
047
Clive: I take it now your uncertainties have been cleared away./You were a naive fool to think you could save me...
Lakshri: (If I get attacked in those conditions I won't survive it.../I'm gonna have to kill him...!)*Gh*
Clive: (I must/kill Lakshri//I hate him so much/I hate him to no end............)
048
*thunk*
Clive: (Because//I have to die by his hand...)[/end
049
Story.6 Best friend (Part 3)
050
Clive: (Because Lakshri:.../I have to die by your hand...)
051
*thunk*
Clive: (Abandon the idea that I'm your friend, or that you can save me./You don't have that kind of luxury.//What you do have here is a worthless insect/that doesn't even deserve to live.//It won't be a crime/if you act in legitimate self-defense.//Yes... That's it.)
052
Clive: (Kill me//and in so doing, please save me...!!)
053
Lakshri: (Clive was hurt because of my chronic immaturity back then.//Even now I'm strong enough not to need anybody else's protection//do I still have to kill Clive with my very own hands?!!
054
Braids: Valentin-dono, I presume...?
Val: You must be the investigators. You're late... Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting...?/May I inquire just what took you so long?
Gal: ..........
Braids: The men... have been killed.
055
Braids: The inn they stayed at and the rest of the town have been obliterated overnight, apparently./By a silver-haired girl who styles herself the Demon Lord...
Val: What...?/Are you telling me an entire town has been wiped out by one person alone?!
057
Exa: Uh..........
Sheyla: !!//Hero...!!
*zip*
Sheyla: ?!!
*whud*
*zap*
058
*drip*
Sheyla: .........Ka...//Kagami...?!
*fzzzzzz*
059
Sheyla: ?!//What is the meaning of this? We thought we were dealing with monsters, but they turn out to be human...?
Kagami: We've been carrying out an experiment to change human beings into monsters./Because it is more convenient to have the humans at each other's throats.
Sheyla: Kagami...?
Kagami: Maou-sama... I've been abiding by every single one of your orders so far./Out of the belief that you'd kill of the hero someday.../Except you never did. On the contrary, you've been protecting and defending him.
060
Kagami: Because you fell in love with him.../Because of such a trifling emotion.
Sheyla: Of course I didn't...
*swish*
*whud*
061
Kagami: Of course you didn't...?//Even now, you saved the hero yet again when they attacked him./How am I supposed to believe you in those conditions...?//I'm taking the Copy Maou-sama's side./I'll have even somebody like her over what you've become any day.//Just this once, I'll forget about what I saw today, for the sake of my past loyalty to you.//That's the reason why I came to you, Maou-sama./To signify that effective today, we'll be going our separate ways.
062
Kagami: Rest assured that the next time we meet will be the moment when I take your life.
Sheyla: ..............!!
063
Angelica: Exa-sama...!!
Kagami: Hah
*zip*
Sheyla: !
Angelica: Exa-sama!!//He's merely passed out, thank goodness...
Rocci: People..........?!
Sheyla: This is... the monsters' true form...
064
Sheyla: I'm sorry... The hero told me not to hurt people, and yet...//I'm sorry.../I am sorry...
Rocci: It's alright. He's wounded, but nothing that cant' be handled with proper medical care.
Angelica: You were trying to protect Exa-sama, weren't you...?*swip*
Angelica: You didn't have a choice...
065
Graham: ...........
*zip*
Bird: Chiiirp.
Rocci: Him...?!
068
Clive: Why won't you kill me...?
Lakshri: I ask you the same question............
*katang clang*
069
Clive: Lately......//The periods between my lapses of consciousness have been getting shorter and shorter.//Sure as hell, I'm becoming more and more of a monster...//Strangely enough, I never resented you for the loss of my right hand.//I still meant to protect you regardless./Just like I'd been doing so far...//But you went ahead, all by yourself.
070
Clive: I was proud./But I couldn't help feeling miserable for being unable to escape from here myself.//And gradually, the fact that my hand couldn't move started to weigh down on my me.//That's when I met him.//He whispered his honeyed words to me...
Graham: I can help you fix your hand./In exchange, I would like to avail myself of your cooperation.
Clive: I can tell........//I didn't lose to the world's absurdity or egoism./I lost to no one but myself.
071
Clive: And I've already come past the point of no-return, by now.//I'll keep on killing people, and putting them through what I'm going through myself.//Sorry for being such a sad excuse of an adoptive brother./Lakshri... If I stand before you now, it's because want yo to kill me. If I must die by somebody's hand, I want it to be yours.
072
Clive: But even with all my provocations and attempts on your life/No matter what I did, you wouldn't raise your sword against me. I give up.//Do you remember that day?//The one when you spent your request of a lifetime on a mere apple...
Lakshri: !
073
Clive: Well I still haven't used my own.........
Laksri: Stop... Don't say it...!!
*don*
075
Clive: I want you... to kill me...
076
*tattle rattle*
Clive: Quickly... You've got to hurry, or I'll be taken over again...
Lakshri: (No... I want to save you)
Clive: I don't wanna kill more people or put them through what I'm going though...!!
Laksrhi: (I wanna help you out.)
077
Clive: Please...
Lakshri: (.......I want to)
078
Clive: Kill me!!!
Lakshri: Save you...!!!)
079
Val: Anyway, let's head for the Hero's inn./He might not be around, though, what with the investigation...
Clive: GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
Val: What's that?
*step step step*
Val: Lakshri?! I just head that ear-splitting cry...//Ha
080
Val: That's one serious wound...
Lakshri: Sorry... I let him get away...
Val: Eh...?
Lakshri: I can't... possibly kill him...
081
*roll roll*
Braids: we were able to get a merchant to lend us this coach.
Val: Looks solid enough. If a bit old... Hey, there's plenty of junk falling off it. >Apples, apparently.<
Braids: We acted a bit precipitously. They must have dropped off during the confusion. Shall we clean up the mess?
Val: Nah, too much trouble. Just drop it. >Now we know what to eat if we get hungry.<
Braids: Uuuuh?!
Val: Aah. Hero. Who are these people? We've put them in chains just as you asked, anyway...//What? The missing people themselves might be responsible for this...?!
Exa: Yeah. They turn into monsters because of some kind of drug. At which point they can be controlled through sound, apparently.
Rocci: Hero-sama. The man who created that drug might well be someone I know.
Val: SAY WHAT?!
082
Rocci: I merely caught a glimpse of him back there, so I couldn't see him properly. But chances are high...
Val: Come with us to the castle, then. We could use your help.
Exa: Please...........
Rocci: Understood.
Exa: Valentin.
Val: Yes.
Exa: How about having Doctor Raynald check them up?
Val: ...Sounds like really hard work. But now is not the time for such considerations. I'll go ask him.../(Doc Sadist is good at what he does, after all.)
Exa: You take care of Lakshri's wound, too.
Val: Sure.
*thud*
Lakshri: Ow..........
083
*slip*
*snap*
Lakshri: Sorry... There's nothing you can do to get me to smile, this time. Please leave me be...
*snap*
Angelica: You don't have to force yourself into it.
Lakshri: ?*brush brush*
Lakshri: .........//You were right... Clive did have his reasons...
Angelica: He's in your hands, now.
Rocci: Take care of yourself too, Angelica-san...
084
Braids: Off we go!!*whip*
*roll roll*
Angelica: .........//To have his friend... turned into this...
Exa: It's alright, Angelica. Lakshri's a tough guy./He'll get better. Probably not right away, but soon enough.
Sheyla: (There's no coming back, now........ I can no longer be the Demon Lord...)
085
Sheyla: (Can I......../really hope to live like this...?)
Exa: Sheyla. What are you doing over there?*dun*
Angelica: You shouldn't.......//be too hard on her./She just did what she had to do to save you.
086
Exa: Is that so...? I got it...
*katang katang*
Braids: Z
*katang katang* *slump*
Lakshri: Why did he do this?/Why did he ask me to kill him..........?
Rocci: Although this medicine activates the cells.../the more you take it, the harder you cling to life, and you become unable to put an end to your own existence. Even if you were to die in battle.
087
Rocci: You keep following orders that go against your will, but even that will fades away eventually, and the only thing left is a tool of murder.//Given no choice in its course of action, not even allowed to put an end to it.//A fate... painful beyond words...//Perhaps he expressed the wish to die by your hand/because he felt you were the only person he could trust.
088
Clive: I don't wanna kill more people or put them through what I'm going though...!!
Lakshri: (He used to be a kind fellow.//He'd never be able to casually inflict pain and suffering.//And yet, he had to put up with it constantly. And he'll have to again...!!)
089
Lakshri: (Despite this, I cannot kill you...)
Clive: Kill me... Please...//Gaaaaaaaah!!*crackle crackle*
Lakshri: Clive...!!
Clive: Haa.../Haa...
Lashri: Kh/MOVE...!
Clive: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
090
Lakshir: ?!
091
Clive: ...Run......../a...way.........
Lakshri: Clive...!! You're conscious...!!
*clasp*
*zash*
Lakshri: Ah.
092
*clang* *slump*
Lakshri: C.../li.../ve..........
093
*dash*
Val: Lakshri?! I just heard that ear-splitting cry...
*katang katakng*
Lakshri: (I cannot kill you/not as long as a fragment of your heart remains...)
094
Lakshri: (This time around I wanted to save you.//Even if I had to sacrifice my life to do it.//Even if I told God that my last request of a lifetime didn't count. That this was the real one.)
095
Lakshri: Even if I did all this//That one wish might never, ever be granted to me...[/end
097
Story.7 A Magical Course in Dread.
098
Sheyla: (I am Sheyla./The Demon Lord.//However)
Kagami: I'm taking the Copy Maou-sama's side.
Sheyla: (I've just been notified of my dismissal.//Should I keep on traveling with the hero? That question bothers me.
099
Sheyla: (So why am I doing this...?)
Exa: I'm gonna teach you about restoration magic.//It's easy to learn. And you can patch yourself up, as well as your friends in a heartbeat.//Serious injuries are right out, however. You could safely describe it as a means to enhance the body's natural ability for recovery.
Sheyla: (Aah yeah. Angelica... If only she hadn't decided to act out of the blue, back then...)
100
Exa: We've reached the town earlier than I expected.//The next city is really far ahead, so let's call it a day and find an inn in town to stop at.
Angelica: ...........//I'm wondering if Lakshri's gonna be okay...
Exa: I used my magic to heal his wound somewhat. It's his state of fatigue that got me worried, so I had him sent to the castle./Since he doesn't perform all that great in those conditions.//He'll get better and come back to us soon enough, no doubt.
101
Angelica: I guess you're right...//Wo.. Wooooow. These clothes are so cute...*tap tap tap*[tn: Angelica specifically says "Western-style clothing", but since in this series people hardly ever wear kimonos and such...]
Angelica: Exa-sama... Can I go have a look........?
Exa: Why, I didn't even have the time to answer that she's already gone...//(Oh, well. She's been constantly worrying about Lakshri. A little change of mood cannot hurt...)
102
Exa: But it's gonna take quite some time, apparently.
Angelica: Hum/hum.
Sheyla: Meeooow.
Exa: That's right. Sheyla, I said I'd teach you about restoration magic, didn't I?
Sheyla: Eh?! When did that happen?!
Exa: Superior Volume 01, the first chapter.
Sheyla: So what the heck have we been doing for 9 whole volumes?!//(Well........ That more or less explains how I found myself in this mess.)
Exa: The most important thing in restoration magic is to sympathize with the other party.
103
Sheyla: Um... Sympathize with the other party./It's all Chinese to meow!
Exa: Aaah.../It's like, when you have warm feelings for somebody else, or when you hold someone dear...
Sheyla: Hey, face me!! I said I didn't get it!!//(Let's give it a thought.../Hold dear... Hold dear... Warm feelings.../*Jumbled mess*/Thinking about the other party........//*DUN*)
Exa: Correct me if I'm wrong.......... But your mind wasn't completely on the task at hand, was it?
Sheyla: Duh?!
Exa: Okay, never mind. Let's get down to practice./It doesn't really matter what you say in your incantation, but wording does have its benefits. So how about "Heal", or something similar?
104
Sheyla: He... Hell?[tn: The original text keeps the "Heal" reading, but substitutes the "cure/treatment" Kanji for "bad guy". And the pro-wrestling "heel" reference (i.e bad guy) might be a bit too obscure for the general public.]
Exa: Wrong!!
*stap*
Exa: The word's "Heal".//........Come on, now. Let's give it a try.
Sheyla: Eeeeer.... Ahem... Sympathize with the other party//Holding them dear... And warm food.../Nnngh..
*tudun!*
*8 feet tall okina*[tn: Okina means "venerable old man".]
105
Sheyla: Hell!!!
*BAOM*
Exa: ..........//Sheyla!! What are you thinking, blowing stuff up like this!!
Sheyla: Meooow
Exa: Alright! Try again!! We'll keep at it as long as it takes for you to pull it off!!
Sheyla: (Uh... Uuuuuum... Sympathize with the other party. Sympathize with the other party. Sympathize...........)/Nyaaa/Heal!!
106
Exa: Achoo!!//(The pollen from these flowers, maybe...?//...No...)/Sheyla. Did it work out, this time?//(The dolt... She thought she couldn't manage it, so she bailed on me...!!)//Where are you?!! Sheyla, show yourself. Come out now, and I'll let it slide./You need to show up now. We're gonna have something you like for dinner!!
107
*rustle*
Exa: ..........//(She's not showing up... She always does when I mention this, usually...)/Helloooo. Sheeeeylaaaa!/(I've been a bit too strict, perhaps...)
Sheyla: (Hero.)/Meow/Meooow meoow meow!! Meoooowwww./(I'm right here. I'm not running away or anything.)//(Ah. Why is he ignoring me?)/Meow.
Exa: Eeerm.
Sheyla: Meowww/(I wanna have my favorite dish for dinner, you hear me!!)//Eh? I can't speak?)/Meow?!/Meow meow meow./Why can't I produce any sound outside mewing?!)/Co... come to think of it, why does everything look so much taller...?//A... a cat...?! Did I turn into a cat?!!
108
Exa: What's wrong? You're a dog, aren't you, so why are you mewing?
Sheyla: Meow...//MEOOOOOWWW?!/(WHUUUUT?!!)
Exa: You don't have a collar... Are you a stray? >A Chihuahua, maybe?<*todom*
Sheyla: (Se.../Seriously...?!)//No, I'm not. I am Sheyla. You do understand what I'm saying, right? Look. Black hair, black eyes. No matter how you cut it, I'm still Sheyla!!)/Meoow/Meooww.
Exa: Guess it doesn't like me much...
Sheyla: Meowww meoww meoww.
Exa: Here. Gimme paw./(Is that what you meant?)*tap**squishy*
Sheyla: Meooooww!!/(WRONG!!)
109
Exa: Anyway. Gotta find Sheyla... She must be loafing around here somewhere...
Sheyla: Meowww/(I keep telling you I'm right here...)//UH?! Am I gonna spend my entire life like this, unable to turn back to normal?!//Hell no, I'd hate that. The hero would go bad-mouthing me, what with accusing me of running off/to say nothing of a Demon Lord spending her life as a mewing dog...)Settle down.
Hat: You won't find two dogs like this one in the entire world.*cling*
Sheyla: (Meow//It can't end like this...!//Settle down and give it a thought. That's it! Let's think about how it happened./If I do the same thing again, I should be able to get back to normal.//Must be because of the restoration magic./So if I conjure restoration magic again, it should fix everything.)
110
Sheyla: (Heal!!!)/Meow meow!
Exa: Gotta admit, that pup knows how to make a ruckus...
Sheyla: Haaa...*splat*
Sheyla: (That's right.../I can't say anything outside "meow".
*flap flap*
*swoop*
Sheyla: ?!
111
*brrom blom*
Exa: ...Hh...!!//A dragon?!//Ha//GRRRRRR
Sheyla: (Oh, crap!!!)
112
*CLING*
Sheyla: (Hero........)
*whud*
113
*tap*
*zip*
Drac: GROOAAAAAAAAA//AAAAAAAAH
*sting* *rustle*
Dude: What's up?! What's all the commotion about...?!
Exa: It's dangerous out here, man. Go take cover........!!
114
Dude: A dragon? Now that's odd. They're pretty docile and quiet around these parts, usually...........//They don't get angry without a good reason. As in, destroying their nests, for example...
Exa: Destroy?! I didn't destroy...//Ha/Well... I do remember something... >There used to be a tree around here<
Dude: You're a hero, aren't you? What do you think you're doing? >Aah, dang. What a pain in the neck.<
Exa: I am sorry...!!
Dude: Oh, well. Getting them back in a good mood is not all that difficult either, so I'll work out something. You go hide over there, Hero-san.
Exa: Tha... thank you very much.
*flap*
Sheyla: Meow.
Exa: I'm saved. Even fleeing wouldn't have been much of an option with that one.../That guy was nice enough...
115
*clang*
Exa: (Nice...........?/Hell no..........//When he said he'd work out something, he meant cutting the beast down?!
116
Dude: What... are you doing...?
Sheyla: MEEEOOOOOOOOOOW!!!
Exa: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!
*tap*
Sheyla Hah//(Hero...!! You're forgetting your sword...!!!)*stap*
117
Exa: Haa/Haa//(Was this the aftermath of all the monsters he'd killed...?/And he's offed the dragon too, possibly............)//No... I don't like the idea, but he might have been killing humans...!!)
Sheyla: (Hero... I brought you your sword.)*swip*
118
Sheyla: Praise me...♥*slip*
Exa: AAAAARGH
Dude: Aaah. There you are./I've been looking for you, I have.//Can't go about forgetting that sword, now, can we...?
119
Exa: (He's hunting us, now..........!!!)*clang*
Exa: YAAAAAAAAAAARGH*dash*
Sheyla: NYAAAAAAAAAAAAH
*dun!*
Woman: Oh. Hero-sama.*bam!*
120
Crowd: She's right... The hero...*sway*
*sway*
Crowd: Wooow. Let's shake hands...
Exa: ..........I'm//I'm surrounded...?!!
121
Exa: Where's Angelica at, by the way?!//?!!//Angelica, thank God you're unharmed........!!
122
Angelica: What do you mean, unharmed?/Eh, Exa-sama...........
123
Exa: .............!!!>My voice won't come out.<
124
Sheyla: ..............!!!*ZOOM!*
Exa: ..............!!!//Haa... Haa...//Haa...//No.. no way. Even Angelica...!!!//What's going on in this town? Everyone is walking about, covered in blood.*sneaky-sneaky*
Exa: Maybe everybody's been going around, killing monsters... or people...
125
Exa: (This entir town's got to be some sort of evil organization...!!)
Sheyla: Meow... Meow/Meooowww./(Thes... these humans are scaring meowww//Why am I experiencing such fear.../As a dog, I can't do anything outside fleeing and running all around the place...//Why did things have to become like this...?
Exa: You're still following me around...
Sheyla: Meow./(Becuz I have nowhere else to go...)
126
Exa: Since you're a stray, why don't you stick with me until you can find yourself a master...?
Sheyla: ..........!//(Assuming... I can't go back./should I accept things the way they are and stay with the hero...?//Maybe that's a good idea. Being unable to become Sheyla again is gonna be painful, but should I remain a dog forever, no one will ever suspect me of being the Demon Lord./No more carelessly putting him in harm's way either.)
127
Sheyla: But//does that mean the sins I've committed as the Demon Lord are gone...?
Exa: Let's give you a name, for starters.../! Alright. I just came up with something neat.
128
Exa: Poochie.
Sheyla: (>Came up with something neat, my foot!! That name's like, totally hackneyed!!< HE THINKS I'M A MALE.........?!!)
Exa: Pleased to meet you, Poochie.
Sheyla: (That's it?! You're settling for this?!!//............Ah...)
129
Sheyla: (He's......... He's shaking...?
Exa: For a hero, I can be a real blockhead, eh...?//Whenever I fight, I'm always trembling like this...)
Sheyla: (Always...?//Even then...?)
130
Sheyla: (And then...?)
Exa: But running away's not an option...//Cause I'm a hero, after all...
*todom*
Sheyla: (Yeah......)
131
Sheyla: (I see...)*todom*
*todom*
*thunk* *splish*
132
Dude: Phew...
Exa: Did you kill that dragon...?
Dude: .........
Exa: ..........
Dude: Here...*swish* *clap*
Exa: A fruit...?/(Weird shape. There's one detail that kinda stands out)/It's red..........
133
Dude: Try it. Tasty, isn't it?
Exa: This is neither the time, nor the place...*crunch*
Dude: The sole problem is, you can get really, really dirty while eating it./Looks a lot like blood, don't you think?
*tu-dun*
Dragon: Gimme.
Exa: Whoa?!
134
Dude: Dragons love it as well, so it gets them back in good spirits pretty fast./(There you go)*snap* *crunch*
Dude: And I've made a business of selling them.
Exa: He didn't kill anyone... So Angelica...//Why....//.........
135
Exa: (I've been embarrassing myself all this time!!!)/AAAAAAAAAAAH*roll roll*//Aah. How hopeless can I get?
Sheyla: (You aren't.)
Exa: I'm thick-headed, cowardly, unable to manage anything on my own.../(Running about, not even stopping a moment to think.//Totally pathetic...)
136
Sheyla: (No. That's not true. You're really, really cool.)//Meooow
Exa: Is that an encouragement? Thank you...
Sheyla: (You always keep fighting, despite those feelings, and the constant trembling/Guess I'd never have found out if I hadn't been under this form...)
Exa: Very well, I really gotta go find Sheyla, now.../(I never bumped into her, despite running all about town as if my life depended on it.)
Sheyla: (SCHEIßE)[tn: Feel free to replace this with a more traditional "Oh, crap", or “This is bad”.]
137
Sheyla: (How do I get back to normal? How do I get back to normal...?!!*woosh*
*sniff*
Sheyla: Achoo!!
*poof*
Sheyla: I... I'm myself again?!!
Exa: Sheyla. Where have you been...?
Sheyla: Thank goodness-meow!!
138
Exa: What are you talking about?
Sheyla: Ha//No... nothing at all-meow.//(I can't exactly tell him I've been turned into a mewing dog.../Even if do have a habit of mewing routinely!!//By the same token, the hero certainly has some things he doesn't want me to find out about...
Exa: Uh? Poochie was still around a few moments ago...*tilt*
139
Sheyla: The... the dog? Went about that way-meow./Meow/Meow/Meow/Found itself a master, probably-meow. Some really nice people took it along-meow.
Exa: Really? Good.../(I wasn't wrong about Poochie being a dog./It was always mewing, which is rather counter-intuitive.)
Sheyla: (...Such a random, half-baked tale and he swallowed it. >He's a major simpleton.<//Ah... That's right... I'm the one who destroyed its nest in the first place...)//Heal.
140
Exa: Sheyla... You can do it, now...?
Sheyla: I think... I understand a bit/What sympathizing is about.........//That warm feeling deep inside./I often get the same thing when I think about you...
141
Sheyla: (And Angelica, and Lakshri, and Rocci, as well.//(It's a little different for the hero, however...//But that's what sympathizing with others feels like//I've always been wondering how I ended up in this whole mess.)
142
Sheyla: (When I transformed into a dog...)
Kagami: I'm taking the Copy Maou-sama's side.
Sheyla: (And when Kagami said this to me.//Despite all this, I still had to assume this shape to be able to understand that feeling.//A feeling//I would never have known if I hadn't been on this journey with the hero.)
143
Sheyla: (Surely the choice that allowed me to know such a thing can't be wrong.)
Angelica: Ah! There you are, Exa-sama!!//You did think it was blood didn't you? I cried out too, at first. It was an easy mistake to make.
144
Sheyla: (Lakshri and Rocci should be back soon.//This is a really nice place to be. I'm glad I was able to make it here..........
145
Sheyla: (But I'll never belong in that comfortable place, and I know it./Because)
146
Sheyla: (No one would ever suffer me to remain here forever.........)[/end
149
*tap tap tap*
*sbom*
Crow: Are you alright, Rocci...?
Rocci: Brother... I can't run anymore.
Crow: Come on, get on my back, then. You should be fine that way, right...?
Rocci: (I've always been hiding behind someone else's back for protection.)
150
Rocci: But the day comes for everyone when they must stand for themselves.//And that's why I have to be merciless.
Story.8 Rocci (Part 1).
151
Narrator: Orders from: Juneau Obsidias to: Rocci Arnesto./For one thing: Confirm whether Sheyla, who travels with the hero is the Demon Lord or just an ordinary monster. And then: Should Sheyla turn out to be the Demon Lord//you are to assassinate her.
Juneau: Thank you for going through the trouble of traveling all the way to the castle, Rocci-san.
152
Juneau: Forgive the lackluster reception, but as you can see, I have a mountain of work to deal with...
Rocci: It's nothing...//Prince Juneau.
153
Juneau: That said.../It's been a while since we last met, Rocci-san./Seeing you well pleases me more than you know.//Crow, you haven't seen her in a while either, have you? You can have a moment between siblings later.
Crow: (Keep that hand moving while you're talking please)./As soon as your work is done, yes. >I'm a busy man, being your attendant and all.<
Juneau: (Woops. A ranged attack...)//Very well, let's get to the main issue./(That's it. Run away.)//First, let's hear the latest information about Sheyla-san.
Rocci: Yes.../She called herself the Demon Lord when nobody was looking. Which leaves no more room for doubt concerning her identity...
Juneau: She called herself... that...?/..........
Rocci: ...However
154
Rocci: Rather than killing the hero and his friends, she's been saving them/which is all rather puzzling to me...
Juneau: Indeed... That's the problem, isn't it...//We have all been saved by Sheyla at some point.//According to the testimonies of those monsters we now count among our allies, the Demon Lord does match Sheyla-san's description./To say nothing of Rocci-san's report.//Normally, with that much evidence/It'd make sense to conclude that the Maou and her are one and the same, and to have her assassinated//But we still want to believe/that Sheyla-san is not the Demon Lord...
155
Juneau: Maybe she isn't the Maou, but merely called herself that...//.........//Well, I know how naive that makes me sound, but I need something more./Some more unshakable proof that she is...//Sorry, but I'm gonna have you resume your continued surveillance of Sheyla-san...
Rocci: Unshakable.../proof.../Understood.
Juneau: ........... Let's get to our other problem, then.
156
Juneau: According to the report I've received, 12 townspeople have been going missing one after another, for about a month. Many elements about this had me worried that something might be going on, so I've had the hero investigate the case./The missing people are administered a drug that turns them into monsters. Furthermore they've been known to attack human beings...
Rocci: Yes sir........
Juneau: And Rocci-san, one of the culprits happens to be somebody you know.
Rocci: The man used to live in the same village as my brother and I./He goes by the name of Graham Vereno.
157
Rocci: Our village specialized in medicine, and sold its drugs to several countries around the world./One man among them was the best when it came to antidotes and counterpoisons.
Juneau: And that man was Graham, I take it... Which means he might well be the one who created the drug that turned those people into monsters.
Rocci: Probably, yes...
Juneau: The unfortunate people thus transformed have been captured thanks to the hero./But from time to time, they run amok, possibly out of pain...//Valentin has been sent to call upon a skilled physician/But can we really expect him to cure them...?//I also heard about a human-turned-monster eluding capture. In addition, the number of people we've caught doesn't quite match with that of the disappearances. We'd be well-advised to consider there might be more of them./The monsters might be plotting to use those people for God knows what reason. Thing is, I don't understand much of what's going on.
158
Juneau: The monsters probably submitted Graham by force. We need to break him out./We won't be able to settle this matter otherwise.//I want him found immediately.
Rocci: ..........//...About that, my Prince I think I'll be heading towards the village.//Maybe I can grasp some clues about the man that way.
Juneau: Is that so? Well, that wouldn't hurt.
159
Crow: Rocci... Do you intend to go there by yourself?
Juneau: He's right. You can take some men with you.
Rocci: No, thank you. I'll have an easier time operating on my own./And I lived in that village, originally. It can't be all that dangerous...
Crow: Not happening.//I will not allow you to go there on your own.
Rocci: ...........
Juneau: ?/?
160
Juneau: You can't say your brother is not worried about you, now can you?/Here's an idea. You may take Crow along with you.
Crow: That's not an option either./(You plan to spend the time I'll be gone dawdling.)
Juneau: (D'oh... >I'm busted<).
Crow: If I have to go, I'll have René replace me.[tn: Or Renée, if that character is female.]/(He's gonna look over you with that glacial stare of his.)
Juneau: It's gonna come to that...?/(Sounds even stricter than Crow himself.)
Rocci: I'm gonna take my leave, now./(Since it's gonna take some time, apparently.)
*blah blah blah* *slam*[tn: The expression I translated as "blah blah" stands for "loud and repetitious clamoring" or pressing stubbornly for something".)
Bird: Masteeeer.
Crow: ..........
Rocci: ...........//(Forced into it, he was...?/...Him...?)*flap flap*
161
Rocci: (I don't know about that...)//Alright. I'm in the village, now//but what is the meaning of this...?
162
Rocci: Why isn't there a single human soul around...?*peeep*
163
Rocci: Inside, maybe...?
*slowly*
Rocci: ...........?//?!!*baf*
Monster: GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Rocci: ?!!
*thawk*
*sbom*
164
*CHUUUUUUUUUURN*
Monster: Uuurgh. Uuurgh...!!
Rocci: ........./........//What was that?
165
Rocci: A monster...?/With a weakness to daylight...?//On closer inspection, the town is choke-full of them...*grrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
Rocci: Never mind the snakes. Did these guys settle in the village when the inhabitants went away...?*grrrrrrrrrrrr*
*rrrrrrrrrrrrr*
Rocci: ..........//I'll be fine as long as I stay out of the shadows... I guess.*chink*
166
Rocci: But wherever I go*clatter*
*clatter*
Rocci: All I find is those monsters...//Where'd the villagers vanish to?/Whatever happened while I wasn't there...?//And what about that man?/Where did he go...?//How am I supposed to gather any clues in those conditions?
167
Graham: Welcome back.../Rocci...
Rocci: You. You are...*baf*
Rocci: Graham Vereno...!!//Where are the villagers...?!!/Are you responsible for their disappearances too?!
Graham: The villagers? Gone?/You just greeted them a few moments ago...
168
Rocci: Moments... ago?//!//It can't be. That was...//a villager...?!
Graham: We have a winner.*clap clap clap*
Graham: To turn human beings into monsters, I needed a lot of people to carry out my experiments upon.
169
Graham: I've used all the villagers as my test subjects.
170
Rocci: ...........?!!
Graham: I was able to create a fine drug thanks to this./Something you can testify for, am I right...?
Rocci: What/have you done...
Graham: Why so angry?/Humans are vile, revolting creatures. Who cares whatever happens to them...?
171
Graham: I enjoy perfection./Which means imperfect human beings hold nothing of interest for me.//But you. You're special./So come back to me.
Rocci: Back to you...?//Thanks, but no, thanks!!
172
Graham: This is no way to address your father./Rocci Vereno.[tn: Insert Star Wars reference here.]
Rocci: Father.........?/Hah............//I've just been bitten by a snake./Despite this//My arm's not even swelling...//You've kept inoculating me with poison. Every single poison in existence.../So you could create the perfect antidote out of my blood serum.[tn: As it turns out, this is actually a valid way to create an antitoxin.]//The best antidote master in the whole village, my foot...!!/If I hadn't fled the village, I'd sure as hell be dead by now.
173
Rocci: Yet you still dare call yourself my father?!//The only things you care about are your own research and your antidotes.//And for those, you'd sacrifice everything, including other people's lives./Or even your own daughter...!!//I have no parents./I did have a mother, but she died when I was still a child.
174
Rocci: Truth be told I considered capturing you if I ever found you, just like the Prince said./Because I thought you might know of a way to cure those people.//But our encounter today has taught me one thing./You can't heal them... Better yet. You don't even want to.
Graham: Indeed. Why would I have to...?//No one can capture me. Even if they could, I have no intention to cooperate. I'll just run away as many times as needed./And I'll plunge the world in fear and dread.
175
Graham: Humanity can be exterminated, for all I care.
Rocci: You have brought hurt to countless people/And rather than reflecting upon your deeds, you would cause even more pain and suffering.//You must.........*dash!*
176
Rocci: You must die.
Superior Cross [2] The end.[/end
177
Postscript
Ichtys: Thank you very much for purchasing the second volume of this series./(Yaaay. A decent postscript.)
Exa: Thanks a lot.
Narrator: She's been spending most of the time she wasn't drawing this manga at the dentist's.
Doc: If it hurts, put your hands up.
Ishtys: Okay.
Narrator: Thing is, the pain was so unbearable Ichtys would grab onto the doctor's hand even right in the middle of her treatment.*grab*
Doc: Hey, that's dangerous./Well, if it really hurts, I'll just stop.
Narrator: Apparently a nerve in her tooth that ought to have healed several years ago started to suppurate for some reason, thus leading to this state of affairs./Take great care of your teeth, people.
*silent farewell*
Exa: Alright. See you again for Volume 3.
COVER[tn: Left side first, as it's the first thing you'd see when picking up the printed manga.]
{Your Fortune for the Day.}
A Type.[tn: Quick n' dirty update: blood types are surrounded with the same kind ofbullshit mystique as birthsigns in Japan.]
You're gonna slip on a banana peel, but quite miraculously, you won't fall off.
Agelica: Aaaaah.
B Type.
A pair of jersey trousers will fall on the road after it's rained, and you'll witness it.
Lakshri: What gives?!
Footnote: Ichtys saw something similar, a long time ago.
O Type.
You will dream about bumping your toe into your dresser.
Exa: A dream, eh...
AB Type.
Aliens will abduct you.
Right: What a strange life form...
Okina: Okina.[tn: LOL.]
Left: What a strange life form...
Footnote: ...NOT. Just kidding. A good day to everyone.
Third volume soon to follow.
------------------
Superior Cross Contents
Story.5 Best friend (Part 2) 3
Story.6 Best friend (Part 3) 49
Story.7 A Magical Course in Dread. 97
Story.8 Rocci (Part 1). 149[tn: And they're giving the proper spelling for her name now? WTF?!!]
003
*THUD*
Dude: Out of my way, goddamn brat!!//Dang it. My clothes are all stained now.*paf paf*
Dude: You just come out of nowhere, grabbing my leg. What's the big idea?!*step*
*flick...*
Lakshri: C... Clive...? You okay...?
*step step*
*flick*
004
Clive: Everything has a right to live. Even if it's not pretty, or if it lives in darkness.//Even me. And you...
005
Story.5 Best Friend (Part 2).
006
Clive: (Yes.../I must kill Lakshri//I have a good reason to want him dead.)
Lakshri: Clive...
007
Lakshri: You turn out to be the monster, then...?!
*wham*
Lakshri: Clive! Stop it...!!
008
*BAOM*
Lakshri: (He doesn't respond to my voice.../Can't he understand what I'm saying...?)*grrr*
Lakshi: (Clive... I'm sorry...)*bonk*
Lakshri: (I'm gonna have to knock you down...!!)
*swish*
*BLAM*
*crack crack*
009
*crackle*
Lakshri: (He's unscathed after that.......?!)
*dash*
Lakshri: Whoa
*bom*
010
*crash crash crash*
Lakshri: O... oowww...*tilt*
Lakshri: I... I'm saved. But that was a lose call...
*wham*
011
Lakshri: You gotta be... kidding me.......//Quick. Before he can see me...*dash*
Lakshri: He's gotten really tough, he has...
*step step*
Clive: ?!
012
*bash*
Lakshri: Don't........../Don't underestimate me...........//I have some escape routes even you don't know about... >It was a narrow escape, though. Literally.<
*wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*[tn: Whistling sound]
013
*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
*dash*
Exa: Ah. Wait up...!!
*dash*
Exa: Not again.../What crazy reflexes.
*step step step*
Exa: Mh...?
*teeter*
Exa: (Lakshri's friend...!!)
014
Exa: (No. I'll worry about that later...//Where in the world did that monster go to...?!)//What? Four monsters, you say...?//What about you, Lakshri...?
Lakshri: Well... I haven't seen any...
Exa: Operating under the assumption that there was only one of them was a mistake, apparently...
Sheyla: Next thing we knew, they retreated in a jiffy. What gives?
Angelica: Didn't you hear some kind of noise? A voice, or something./Somewhat disturbing, too...
Exa: Eh? I didn't hear anything.
Angelica: Am I the only one?
015
Rocci: A buzzing mosquito, perhaps...
Bird: My favorite dish!
Angelica: A BUG?!/I don't think it sounded anything like a mosquito![tn: Angelica merely says "mosquito", but unlike Rocci she uses the Japanese word. "Bug" is an arbitrary translation.]
Rocci: Well, they say young people can perceive high-pitched sounds.
Bird: Dejected.
Exa: And Angelica is the youngest among us. Yes, that's within the realm of possibility.//They might be manipulated by means of some noise we are unable to hear./Which makes it kinda hard to file them under the "regular monster" category.
Rocci: Bodily potential activation.............*mutter*
Exa: Come again........?
Rocci: No.... Nothing...
016
Exa: Anyway. I have no idea if they'll show up tomorrow, but we'll keep an eye out.
Rocci: Yes sir.
Angelica: Understood.
Sheyla: What a pain-nya./I don't like the guy.
Lakshri: ...........//(Ultimately, I was unable to say a word about Clive.../How could I mention the one responsible for the abductions was my own best friend....?//But... how did he get to turn into that monstrous form?/And whatever I said it just didn't seem to register...//The other 4 are presumably human, too...)
017
Lakshri: (Assuming it's true, I should let Exa know about it./But Exa wouldn't kill them, even if they weren't human... So I'd rather... keep that to myself for the moment.//And help Clive out in the meantime.//But how...?/Does he even want to be saved, in the first place?)//If I talk to him... and it doesn't get through./If he wants to kill me so badly he won't have it any other way...
018
Lakshri: (Will I have no other choice but to end his life...?)
*staaaare*
*jump*
Lakshri: What is it?
Angelica: Eeheehee... You noticed?
Lashri: What with all the staring........*step step*
Lashri: ............*awkward silence*
Lashri: Ah. I got a hangnail.
Angelica: ...........
Lakshri: You got something to say?/Why are you here?
Angelica: Oh crap./Ha! I had nothing special in mind.........!!/............
019
Angelica: Er... Are you okay?
Lakshri: Don't "you okay" me.
Angelica: Are you fine or what? Say something!*peeved* *snap* *ow*
Lakshri: What are you angry for?//The bloke who used to be my best friend hates me, and he contemplates the idea of bumping me off./Of course I can't be fine...
Angelica: .........../You aren't the kind of guy people get to hate...
020
Lakshri: Do you.... think so...?
Angelica: Yeah.
Lakshri: Yeah, I figured.
Angelica: Sure.//Because you're a big idiot.*gasp*
Lakshri: Hey... Watch it...
Angelica: You're a pain in the bum, but also the best friend one can have, I think.//Contrary, but actually very kind./You aren't slick enough to do anything underhanded. What would anyone hate you for?
021
Angelica: There must be something happening to him./Something he doesn't want to talk about to anyone, not even you.//So don't be so hard on yourself.//Think positive, and surely something will come out of it./Come on. Im fine./Repeat after me.[tn: In English in the original text.]
Lakshri: IIII aaaam fiiine./IIII'm fiiine.//IIIII'm fi...//Yeah... I guess you're right...//But um... If you're gonna praise and comfort me, can't you be a bit more honest about it?*chuckle*
022
Angelica: Not happening. Cause your usual behavior is just that plain bad.*Casual*
Lakshri: Ah... I see.//But well... I'm feeeling better somehow. Thank you.//Must be great to be so simple-minded!*POP*
Angelica: Heeey. What tha heeeeell
Lakshri: I call it payback.//(She's right... He must have some kind of problem./And he can't have anything to do with those disappearances either.//Man up. Clive used to be a nice guy, didn't he?/I have to believe in him. And he needs my help...
023
Lakshi: (Let's go see him. Speak to him again.//And my sword won't leave its scabbard, no matter what...
*clink*
024
*Zzzz*
*twitch*
*rustle*
*tap tap tap*
*creak*
Clive: Doctor!!//The medicine isn't working anymore.
Graham: (So he can pick up my presence from that far away...)/Is that so...? Let's get you some stronger stuff, then.
025
Clive: Doctor... I'm gonna lose my sense of self at this rate, aren't I...?
Graham: Certainly not...
*poke*
Clive: U...gh//(I can tell/he isn't telling me the truth//I'm falling down//tumbling into utter darkness...)
026
Clive: The longer it goes on, the closer this monster gets/to taking over everything I am.//I need to end Lakshri's life/before that gets to happen...!!
027
Kagami: (Am I still attached... to the old Maou-sama?)//I'll be borrowing them again...
Graham: Go ahead... They are your tools to use, after all...//This drug enhances one's physical potential and restores any lost faculties.//Then eventually... bodily chemistry goes to Hell/and transformation into a monster ensues.
028
Graham: At first, they periodically revert back to their initial form, but as they keep on taking the medicine, soon enough, the metamorphosis becomes complete./The strength thus achieved is roughly equal to 10 times that of a human being. But even in human form, they're still 4 times stronger than normal.//Upon reaching completion, all sense of self is lost, and they're just monstrous sock puppets for someone else to handle.//Since the original being is human, it sustains none of the injuries from its monstrous shape./You won't find a finer weapon anywhere in the world.
Kagami: Yes. They're magnificent indeed.
Graham: These words are the greater reward I could ever hope for.
Kagami: But are you sure you don't mind? Considering you're human, too...
029
Graham: You see, in this world some people like myself just enjoy to be contrary.//Feel free to wipe out humanity, for all I care...
*stap*
Exa: What happened to Lakshri?!
Angelica: (I don't wanna cause him any trouble)/Said he'd get some rest. He's feeling better, but he's not exactly back at full strength.
Exa: Wait a minute... there's only one of them, today...?
030
Exa: Aaah, never mind. We gotta capture it!
Party: Aye.
*swish*
Exa: An abandoned... factory...?//Where'd he go...?
*clang*
Exa: ?!!
031
*clang clang*
Exa: It's... It's dangerous around here. Sheyla, you okay?!
Sheyla: Meooow.
Exa: Angelica! Rocci!! Are you alright?!
Angelica: We're fine! Rocci and I are both unharmed! What about you, Exa-sama?!
Exa: I'm okay!//Thing is... we've got no way to go, now... We need to join up with the girls...*clang*
032
*flick*
Exa: Monsters... Now of all times...
Sheyla: ?!!
Exa: Whoaaaaah!!*whud*
033
Sheyla: Hero!!
Clive: (I hate Lakshri so much... so much I just can't help it...//If he so much as smiled, I'd still damn him for it.)
034
Clive: (Once I kill him//I'll carve him to pieces and erase every single trace of him from the face of the Earth.)
035
Clive: (That's how much I hate him...)
*step*
Clive: I thought you'd come... Have you cleared away your doubts?
036
Lakshri: ........//Ha
Clive: Because if you don't kill me...*creak*
Clive: You will die by my hand...
*CLANG*
Clive: Got it?!
037
Clive: Tsk...//Draw you sword!!
Lakshri: No........./I won't...!
Clive: Aren't you ready to fight and kill?
038
Lakshri: I'm here to help you!
Clive: Hah...
Lakshri: Clive... What is it you're transforming into...?/Just what happened to you while I wasn't looking...?
Clive: ........../You don't need to know.
039
Lakshri: Under that other form, you couldn't understand anything I said.
Clive: ..........
Lakshri: Are the other 4 human too...?/Did you kidnap those people?
Clive: ...........
Lakshri: Why, then...?!!
Clive: ...........//........../Why, you ask...*Heh*
040
Clive: Hey, Lakshri. Remember when we were kids?/Didn't you ever ask yourself why the world had to be so unfair...?
Lakshri: I...//...........
Clive: A guy like me has no choice but to live his life like the piece of trash he is./Scum I am. Forever scum I'll remain...//Doomed to live deep in the Abyss, always envying all that is light./That much is not gonna change, it's still true to this day..........
041
Clive: Unlike you, most people can't go against whatever fate had in store for them since the day they were born.//All the time since you left, I spent it in the dark...//All of it...//Then at some point, I realized.
Lakshri: Hah
Clive: Since I'd lost my right hand, it was only fair for me to crush everyone else's right hands in kind.//That's right. To achieve this, I needed power.
042
Clive: Only through power can this world ever achieve equity.[tn: LOL, this manga embraces its corniness with a rare gusto. :XD:]
Lakshri: You're wrong...!!
Clive: Some day, when the time has come for the last battle, these monsters will engage humanity in combat./Parents against their children. Friends against their friends. Brothers and sisters, they will all be at each other's throats.
043
Clive: That'll be the most entertaining spectacle ever, don't you agree...?
Lakshri: Clive...!!
044
Clive: Hah... Now you know my motive.../What? You thought I'd been forced into this form and made to go kidnap people?/Did you expect me to go "Save me, Lakshri-chan" so you could go on and have your mushy happy ending?//Get fucking real!*startle*
Clive: I kidnapped those people willingly and I helped make them that way./And this is what I, too, will become myself.
045
*dash*
Clive: And we'll drown the world in a tide of disaster and death!!*clang*
Clive: That's right... Let's break it all apart./Destroy everything...!!
Lakshri: Stop it... I don't wanna kill you...
*cling*
Lakshri: Ah.
*snap*
Clive: You won't kill me in spite of everything...?/Are you sure about this?
046
*thump*
Lakshri: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Clive: I'll wreak even more havoc upon the world, you know...?
047
Clive: I take it now your uncertainties have been cleared away./You were a naive fool to think you could save me...
Lakshri: (If I get attacked in those conditions I won't survive it.../I'm gonna have to kill him...!)*Gh*
Clive: (I must/kill Lakshri//I hate him so much/I hate him to no end............)
048
*thunk*
Clive: (Because//I have to die by his hand...)[/end
049
Story.6 Best friend (Part 3)
050
Clive: (Because Lakshri:.../I have to die by your hand...)
051
*thunk*
Clive: (Abandon the idea that I'm your friend, or that you can save me./You don't have that kind of luxury.//What you do have here is a worthless insect/that doesn't even deserve to live.//It won't be a crime/if you act in legitimate self-defense.//Yes... That's it.)
052
Clive: (Kill me//and in so doing, please save me...!!)
053
Lakshri: (Clive was hurt because of my chronic immaturity back then.//Even now I'm strong enough not to need anybody else's protection//do I still have to kill Clive with my very own hands?!!
054
Braids: Valentin-dono, I presume...?
Val: You must be the investigators. You're late... Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting...?/May I inquire just what took you so long?
Gal: ..........
Braids: The men... have been killed.
055
Braids: The inn they stayed at and the rest of the town have been obliterated overnight, apparently./By a silver-haired girl who styles herself the Demon Lord...
Val: What...?/Are you telling me an entire town has been wiped out by one person alone?!
057
Exa: Uh..........
Sheyla: !!//Hero...!!
*zip*
Sheyla: ?!!
*whud*
*zap*
058
*drip*
Sheyla: .........Ka...//Kagami...?!
*fzzzzzz*
059
Sheyla: ?!//What is the meaning of this? We thought we were dealing with monsters, but they turn out to be human...?
Kagami: We've been carrying out an experiment to change human beings into monsters./Because it is more convenient to have the humans at each other's throats.
Sheyla: Kagami...?
Kagami: Maou-sama... I've been abiding by every single one of your orders so far./Out of the belief that you'd kill of the hero someday.../Except you never did. On the contrary, you've been protecting and defending him.
060
Kagami: Because you fell in love with him.../Because of such a trifling emotion.
Sheyla: Of course I didn't...
*swish*
*whud*
061
Kagami: Of course you didn't...?//Even now, you saved the hero yet again when they attacked him./How am I supposed to believe you in those conditions...?//I'm taking the Copy Maou-sama's side./I'll have even somebody like her over what you've become any day.//Just this once, I'll forget about what I saw today, for the sake of my past loyalty to you.//That's the reason why I came to you, Maou-sama./To signify that effective today, we'll be going our separate ways.
062
Kagami: Rest assured that the next time we meet will be the moment when I take your life.
Sheyla: ..............!!
063
Angelica: Exa-sama...!!
Kagami: Hah
*zip*
Sheyla: !
Angelica: Exa-sama!!//He's merely passed out, thank goodness...
Rocci: People..........?!
Sheyla: This is... the monsters' true form...
064
Sheyla: I'm sorry... The hero told me not to hurt people, and yet...//I'm sorry.../I am sorry...
Rocci: It's alright. He's wounded, but nothing that cant' be handled with proper medical care.
Angelica: You were trying to protect Exa-sama, weren't you...?*swip*
Angelica: You didn't have a choice...
065
Graham: ...........
*zip*
Bird: Chiiirp.
Rocci: Him...?!
068
Clive: Why won't you kill me...?
Lakshri: I ask you the same question............
*katang clang*
069
Clive: Lately......//The periods between my lapses of consciousness have been getting shorter and shorter.//Sure as hell, I'm becoming more and more of a monster...//Strangely enough, I never resented you for the loss of my right hand.//I still meant to protect you regardless./Just like I'd been doing so far...//But you went ahead, all by yourself.
070
Clive: I was proud./But I couldn't help feeling miserable for being unable to escape from here myself.//And gradually, the fact that my hand couldn't move started to weigh down on my me.//That's when I met him.//He whispered his honeyed words to me...
Graham: I can help you fix your hand./In exchange, I would like to avail myself of your cooperation.
Clive: I can tell........//I didn't lose to the world's absurdity or egoism./I lost to no one but myself.
071
Clive: And I've already come past the point of no-return, by now.//I'll keep on killing people, and putting them through what I'm going through myself.//Sorry for being such a sad excuse of an adoptive brother./Lakshri... If I stand before you now, it's because want yo to kill me. If I must die by somebody's hand, I want it to be yours.
072
Clive: But even with all my provocations and attempts on your life/No matter what I did, you wouldn't raise your sword against me. I give up.//Do you remember that day?//The one when you spent your request of a lifetime on a mere apple...
Lakshri: !
073
Clive: Well I still haven't used my own.........
Laksri: Stop... Don't say it...!!
*don*
075
Clive: I want you... to kill me...
076
*tattle rattle*
Clive: Quickly... You've got to hurry, or I'll be taken over again...
Lakshri: (No... I want to save you)
Clive: I don't wanna kill more people or put them through what I'm going though...!!
Laksrhi: (I wanna help you out.)
077
Clive: Please...
Lakshri: (.......I want to)
078
Clive: Kill me!!!
Lakshri: Save you...!!!)
079
Val: Anyway, let's head for the Hero's inn./He might not be around, though, what with the investigation...
Clive: GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
Val: What's that?
*step step step*
Val: Lakshri?! I just head that ear-splitting cry...//Ha
080
Val: That's one serious wound...
Lakshri: Sorry... I let him get away...
Val: Eh...?
Lakshri: I can't... possibly kill him...
081
*roll roll*
Braids: we were able to get a merchant to lend us this coach.
Val: Looks solid enough. If a bit old... Hey, there's plenty of junk falling off it. >Apples, apparently.<
Braids: We acted a bit precipitously. They must have dropped off during the confusion. Shall we clean up the mess?
Val: Nah, too much trouble. Just drop it. >Now we know what to eat if we get hungry.<
Braids: Uuuuh?!
Val: Aah. Hero. Who are these people? We've put them in chains just as you asked, anyway...//What? The missing people themselves might be responsible for this...?!
Exa: Yeah. They turn into monsters because of some kind of drug. At which point they can be controlled through sound, apparently.
Rocci: Hero-sama. The man who created that drug might well be someone I know.
Val: SAY WHAT?!
082
Rocci: I merely caught a glimpse of him back there, so I couldn't see him properly. But chances are high...
Val: Come with us to the castle, then. We could use your help.
Exa: Please...........
Rocci: Understood.
Exa: Valentin.
Val: Yes.
Exa: How about having Doctor Raynald check them up?
Val: ...Sounds like really hard work. But now is not the time for such considerations. I'll go ask him.../(Doc Sadist is good at what he does, after all.)
Exa: You take care of Lakshri's wound, too.
Val: Sure.
*thud*
Lakshri: Ow..........
083
*slip*
*snap*
Lakshri: Sorry... There's nothing you can do to get me to smile, this time. Please leave me be...
*snap*
Angelica: You don't have to force yourself into it.
Lakshri: ?*brush brush*
Lakshri: .........//You were right... Clive did have his reasons...
Angelica: He's in your hands, now.
Rocci: Take care of yourself too, Angelica-san...
084
Braids: Off we go!!*whip*
*roll roll*
Angelica: .........//To have his friend... turned into this...
Exa: It's alright, Angelica. Lakshri's a tough guy./He'll get better. Probably not right away, but soon enough.
Sheyla: (There's no coming back, now........ I can no longer be the Demon Lord...)
085
Sheyla: (Can I......../really hope to live like this...?)
Exa: Sheyla. What are you doing over there?*dun*
Angelica: You shouldn't.......//be too hard on her./She just did what she had to do to save you.
086
Exa: Is that so...? I got it...
*katang katang*
Braids: Z
*katang katang* *slump*
Lakshri: Why did he do this?/Why did he ask me to kill him..........?
Rocci: Although this medicine activates the cells.../the more you take it, the harder you cling to life, and you become unable to put an end to your own existence. Even if you were to die in battle.
087
Rocci: You keep following orders that go against your will, but even that will fades away eventually, and the only thing left is a tool of murder.//Given no choice in its course of action, not even allowed to put an end to it.//A fate... painful beyond words...//Perhaps he expressed the wish to die by your hand/because he felt you were the only person he could trust.
088
Clive: I don't wanna kill more people or put them through what I'm going though...!!
Lakshri: (He used to be a kind fellow.//He'd never be able to casually inflict pain and suffering.//And yet, he had to put up with it constantly. And he'll have to again...!!)
089
Lakshri: (Despite this, I cannot kill you...)
Clive: Kill me... Please...//Gaaaaaaaah!!*crackle crackle*
Lakshri: Clive...!!
Clive: Haa.../Haa...
Lashri: Kh/MOVE...!
Clive: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
090
Lakshir: ?!
091
Clive: ...Run......../a...way.........
Lakshri: Clive...!! You're conscious...!!
*clasp*
*zash*
Lakshri: Ah.
092
*clang* *slump*
Lakshri: C.../li.../ve..........
093
*dash*
Val: Lakshri?! I just heard that ear-splitting cry...
*katang katakng*
Lakshri: (I cannot kill you/not as long as a fragment of your heart remains...)
094
Lakshri: (This time around I wanted to save you.//Even if I had to sacrifice my life to do it.//Even if I told God that my last request of a lifetime didn't count. That this was the real one.)
095
Lakshri: Even if I did all this//That one wish might never, ever be granted to me...[/end
097
Story.7 A Magical Course in Dread.
098
Sheyla: (I am Sheyla./The Demon Lord.//However)
Kagami: I'm taking the Copy Maou-sama's side.
Sheyla: (I've just been notified of my dismissal.//Should I keep on traveling with the hero? That question bothers me.
099
Sheyla: (So why am I doing this...?)
Exa: I'm gonna teach you about restoration magic.//It's easy to learn. And you can patch yourself up, as well as your friends in a heartbeat.//Serious injuries are right out, however. You could safely describe it as a means to enhance the body's natural ability for recovery.
Sheyla: (Aah yeah. Angelica... If only she hadn't decided to act out of the blue, back then...)
100
Exa: We've reached the town earlier than I expected.//The next city is really far ahead, so let's call it a day and find an inn in town to stop at.
Angelica: ...........//I'm wondering if Lakshri's gonna be okay...
Exa: I used my magic to heal his wound somewhat. It's his state of fatigue that got me worried, so I had him sent to the castle./Since he doesn't perform all that great in those conditions.//He'll get better and come back to us soon enough, no doubt.
101
Angelica: I guess you're right...//Wo.. Wooooow. These clothes are so cute...*tap tap tap*[tn: Angelica specifically says "Western-style clothing", but since in this series people hardly ever wear kimonos and such...]
Angelica: Exa-sama... Can I go have a look........?
Exa: Why, I didn't even have the time to answer that she's already gone...//(Oh, well. She's been constantly worrying about Lakshri. A little change of mood cannot hurt...)
102
Exa: But it's gonna take quite some time, apparently.
Angelica: Hum/hum.
Sheyla: Meeooow.
Exa: That's right. Sheyla, I said I'd teach you about restoration magic, didn't I?
Sheyla: Eh?! When did that happen?!
Exa: Superior Volume 01, the first chapter.
Sheyla: So what the heck have we been doing for 9 whole volumes?!//(Well........ That more or less explains how I found myself in this mess.)
Exa: The most important thing in restoration magic is to sympathize with the other party.
103
Sheyla: Um... Sympathize with the other party./It's all Chinese to meow!
Exa: Aaah.../It's like, when you have warm feelings for somebody else, or when you hold someone dear...
Sheyla: Hey, face me!! I said I didn't get it!!//(Let's give it a thought.../Hold dear... Hold dear... Warm feelings.../*Jumbled mess*/Thinking about the other party........//*DUN*)
Exa: Correct me if I'm wrong.......... But your mind wasn't completely on the task at hand, was it?
Sheyla: Duh?!
Exa: Okay, never mind. Let's get down to practice./It doesn't really matter what you say in your incantation, but wording does have its benefits. So how about "Heal", or something similar?
104
Sheyla: He... Hell?[tn: The original text keeps the "Heal" reading, but substitutes the "cure/treatment" Kanji for "bad guy". And the pro-wrestling "heel" reference (i.e bad guy) might be a bit too obscure for the general public.]
Exa: Wrong!!
*stap*
Exa: The word's "Heal".//........Come on, now. Let's give it a try.
Sheyla: Eeeeer.... Ahem... Sympathize with the other party//Holding them dear... And warm food.../Nnngh..
*tudun!*
*8 feet tall okina*[tn: Okina means "venerable old man".]
105
Sheyla: Hell!!!
*BAOM*
Exa: ..........//Sheyla!! What are you thinking, blowing stuff up like this!!
Sheyla: Meooow
Exa: Alright! Try again!! We'll keep at it as long as it takes for you to pull it off!!
Sheyla: (Uh... Uuuuuum... Sympathize with the other party. Sympathize with the other party. Sympathize...........)/Nyaaa/Heal!!
106
Exa: Achoo!!//(The pollen from these flowers, maybe...?//...No...)/Sheyla. Did it work out, this time?//(The dolt... She thought she couldn't manage it, so she bailed on me...!!)//Where are you?!! Sheyla, show yourself. Come out now, and I'll let it slide./You need to show up now. We're gonna have something you like for dinner!!
107
*rustle*
Exa: ..........//(She's not showing up... She always does when I mention this, usually...)/Helloooo. Sheeeeylaaaa!/(I've been a bit too strict, perhaps...)
Sheyla: (Hero.)/Meow/Meooow meoow meow!! Meoooowwww./(I'm right here. I'm not running away or anything.)//(Ah. Why is he ignoring me?)/Meow.
Exa: Eeerm.
Sheyla: Meowww/(I wanna have my favorite dish for dinner, you hear me!!)//Eh? I can't speak?)/Meow?!/Meow meow meow./Why can't I produce any sound outside mewing?!)/Co... come to think of it, why does everything look so much taller...?//A... a cat...?! Did I turn into a cat?!!
108
Exa: What's wrong? You're a dog, aren't you, so why are you mewing?
Sheyla: Meow...//MEOOOOOWWW?!/(WHUUUUT?!!)
Exa: You don't have a collar... Are you a stray? >A Chihuahua, maybe?<*todom*
Sheyla: (Se.../Seriously...?!)//No, I'm not. I am Sheyla. You do understand what I'm saying, right? Look. Black hair, black eyes. No matter how you cut it, I'm still Sheyla!!)/Meoow/Meooww.
Exa: Guess it doesn't like me much...
Sheyla: Meowww meoww meoww.
Exa: Here. Gimme paw./(Is that what you meant?)*tap**squishy*
Sheyla: Meooooww!!/(WRONG!!)
109
Exa: Anyway. Gotta find Sheyla... She must be loafing around here somewhere...
Sheyla: Meowww/(I keep telling you I'm right here...)//UH?! Am I gonna spend my entire life like this, unable to turn back to normal?!//Hell no, I'd hate that. The hero would go bad-mouthing me, what with accusing me of running off/to say nothing of a Demon Lord spending her life as a mewing dog...)Settle down.
Hat: You won't find two dogs like this one in the entire world.*cling*
Sheyla: (Meow//It can't end like this...!//Settle down and give it a thought. That's it! Let's think about how it happened./If I do the same thing again, I should be able to get back to normal.//Must be because of the restoration magic./So if I conjure restoration magic again, it should fix everything.)
110
Sheyla: (Heal!!!)/Meow meow!
Exa: Gotta admit, that pup knows how to make a ruckus...
Sheyla: Haaa...*splat*
Sheyla: (That's right.../I can't say anything outside "meow".
*flap flap*
*swoop*
Sheyla: ?!
111
*brrom blom*
Exa: ...Hh...!!//A dragon?!//Ha//GRRRRRR
Sheyla: (Oh, crap!!!)
112
*CLING*
Sheyla: (Hero........)
*whud*
113
*tap*
*zip*
Drac: GROOAAAAAAAAA//AAAAAAAAH
*sting* *rustle*
Dude: What's up?! What's all the commotion about...?!
Exa: It's dangerous out here, man. Go take cover........!!
114
Dude: A dragon? Now that's odd. They're pretty docile and quiet around these parts, usually...........//They don't get angry without a good reason. As in, destroying their nests, for example...
Exa: Destroy?! I didn't destroy...//Ha/Well... I do remember something... >There used to be a tree around here<
Dude: You're a hero, aren't you? What do you think you're doing? >Aah, dang. What a pain in the neck.<
Exa: I am sorry...!!
Dude: Oh, well. Getting them back in a good mood is not all that difficult either, so I'll work out something. You go hide over there, Hero-san.
Exa: Tha... thank you very much.
*flap*
Sheyla: Meow.
Exa: I'm saved. Even fleeing wouldn't have been much of an option with that one.../That guy was nice enough...
115
*clang*
Exa: (Nice...........?/Hell no..........//When he said he'd work out something, he meant cutting the beast down?!
116
Dude: What... are you doing...?
Sheyla: MEEEOOOOOOOOOOW!!!
Exa: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!
*tap*
Sheyla Hah//(Hero...!! You're forgetting your sword...!!!)*stap*
117
Exa: Haa/Haa//(Was this the aftermath of all the monsters he'd killed...?/And he's offed the dragon too, possibly............)//No... I don't like the idea, but he might have been killing humans...!!)
Sheyla: (Hero... I brought you your sword.)*swip*
118
Sheyla: Praise me...♥*slip*
Exa: AAAAARGH
Dude: Aaah. There you are./I've been looking for you, I have.//Can't go about forgetting that sword, now, can we...?
119
Exa: (He's hunting us, now..........!!!)*clang*
Exa: YAAAAAAAAAAARGH*dash*
Sheyla: NYAAAAAAAAAAAAH
*dun!*
Woman: Oh. Hero-sama.*bam!*
120
Crowd: She's right... The hero...*sway*
*sway*
Crowd: Wooow. Let's shake hands...
Exa: ..........I'm//I'm surrounded...?!!
121
Exa: Where's Angelica at, by the way?!//?!!//Angelica, thank God you're unharmed........!!
122
Angelica: What do you mean, unharmed?/Eh, Exa-sama...........
123
Exa: .............!!!>My voice won't come out.<
124
Sheyla: ..............!!!*ZOOM!*
Exa: ..............!!!//Haa... Haa...//Haa...//No.. no way. Even Angelica...!!!//What's going on in this town? Everyone is walking about, covered in blood.*sneaky-sneaky*
Exa: Maybe everybody's been going around, killing monsters... or people...
125
Exa: (This entir town's got to be some sort of evil organization...!!)
Sheyla: Meow... Meow/Meooowww./(Thes... these humans are scaring meowww//Why am I experiencing such fear.../As a dog, I can't do anything outside fleeing and running all around the place...//Why did things have to become like this...?
Exa: You're still following me around...
Sheyla: Meow./(Becuz I have nowhere else to go...)
126
Exa: Since you're a stray, why don't you stick with me until you can find yourself a master...?
Sheyla: ..........!//(Assuming... I can't go back./should I accept things the way they are and stay with the hero...?//Maybe that's a good idea. Being unable to become Sheyla again is gonna be painful, but should I remain a dog forever, no one will ever suspect me of being the Demon Lord./No more carelessly putting him in harm's way either.)
127
Sheyla: But//does that mean the sins I've committed as the Demon Lord are gone...?
Exa: Let's give you a name, for starters.../! Alright. I just came up with something neat.
128
Exa: Poochie.
Sheyla: (>Came up with something neat, my foot!! That name's like, totally hackneyed!!< HE THINKS I'M A MALE.........?!!)
Exa: Pleased to meet you, Poochie.
Sheyla: (That's it?! You're settling for this?!!//............Ah...)
129
Sheyla: (He's......... He's shaking...?
Exa: For a hero, I can be a real blockhead, eh...?//Whenever I fight, I'm always trembling like this...)
Sheyla: (Always...?//Even then...?)
130
Sheyla: (And then...?)
Exa: But running away's not an option...//Cause I'm a hero, after all...
*todom*
Sheyla: (Yeah......)
131
Sheyla: (I see...)*todom*
*todom*
*thunk* *splish*
132
Dude: Phew...
Exa: Did you kill that dragon...?
Dude: .........
Exa: ..........
Dude: Here...*swish* *clap*
Exa: A fruit...?/(Weird shape. There's one detail that kinda stands out)/It's red..........
133
Dude: Try it. Tasty, isn't it?
Exa: This is neither the time, nor the place...*crunch*
Dude: The sole problem is, you can get really, really dirty while eating it./Looks a lot like blood, don't you think?
*tu-dun*
Dragon: Gimme.
Exa: Whoa?!
134
Dude: Dragons love it as well, so it gets them back in good spirits pretty fast./(There you go)*snap* *crunch*
Dude: And I've made a business of selling them.
Exa: He didn't kill anyone... So Angelica...//Why....//.........
135
Exa: (I've been embarrassing myself all this time!!!)/AAAAAAAAAAAH*roll roll*//Aah. How hopeless can I get?
Sheyla: (You aren't.)
Exa: I'm thick-headed, cowardly, unable to manage anything on my own.../(Running about, not even stopping a moment to think.//Totally pathetic...)
136
Sheyla: (No. That's not true. You're really, really cool.)//Meooow
Exa: Is that an encouragement? Thank you...
Sheyla: (You always keep fighting, despite those feelings, and the constant trembling/Guess I'd never have found out if I hadn't been under this form...)
Exa: Very well, I really gotta go find Sheyla, now.../(I never bumped into her, despite running all about town as if my life depended on it.)
Sheyla: (SCHEIßE)[tn: Feel free to replace this with a more traditional "Oh, crap", or “This is bad”.]
137
Sheyla: (How do I get back to normal? How do I get back to normal...?!!*woosh*
*sniff*
Sheyla: Achoo!!
*poof*
Sheyla: I... I'm myself again?!!
Exa: Sheyla. Where have you been...?
Sheyla: Thank goodness-meow!!
138
Exa: What are you talking about?
Sheyla: Ha//No... nothing at all-meow.//(I can't exactly tell him I've been turned into a mewing dog.../Even if do have a habit of mewing routinely!!//By the same token, the hero certainly has some things he doesn't want me to find out about...
Exa: Uh? Poochie was still around a few moments ago...*tilt*
139
Sheyla: The... the dog? Went about that way-meow./Meow/Meow/Meow/Found itself a master, probably-meow. Some really nice people took it along-meow.
Exa: Really? Good.../(I wasn't wrong about Poochie being a dog./It was always mewing, which is rather counter-intuitive.)
Sheyla: (...Such a random, half-baked tale and he swallowed it. >He's a major simpleton.<//Ah... That's right... I'm the one who destroyed its nest in the first place...)//Heal.
140
Exa: Sheyla... You can do it, now...?
Sheyla: I think... I understand a bit/What sympathizing is about.........//That warm feeling deep inside./I often get the same thing when I think about you...
141
Sheyla: (And Angelica, and Lakshri, and Rocci, as well.//(It's a little different for the hero, however...//But that's what sympathizing with others feels like//I've always been wondering how I ended up in this whole mess.)
142
Sheyla: (When I transformed into a dog...)
Kagami: I'm taking the Copy Maou-sama's side.
Sheyla: (And when Kagami said this to me.//Despite all this, I still had to assume this shape to be able to understand that feeling.//A feeling//I would never have known if I hadn't been on this journey with the hero.)
143
Sheyla: (Surely the choice that allowed me to know such a thing can't be wrong.)
Angelica: Ah! There you are, Exa-sama!!//You did think it was blood didn't you? I cried out too, at first. It was an easy mistake to make.
144
Sheyla: (Lakshri and Rocci should be back soon.//This is a really nice place to be. I'm glad I was able to make it here..........
145
Sheyla: (But I'll never belong in that comfortable place, and I know it./Because)
146
Sheyla: (No one would ever suffer me to remain here forever.........)[/end
149
*tap tap tap*
*sbom*
Crow: Are you alright, Rocci...?
Rocci: Brother... I can't run anymore.
Crow: Come on, get on my back, then. You should be fine that way, right...?
Rocci: (I've always been hiding behind someone else's back for protection.)
150
Rocci: But the day comes for everyone when they must stand for themselves.//And that's why I have to be merciless.
Story.8 Rocci (Part 1).
151
Narrator: Orders from: Juneau Obsidias to: Rocci Arnesto./For one thing: Confirm whether Sheyla, who travels with the hero is the Demon Lord or just an ordinary monster. And then: Should Sheyla turn out to be the Demon Lord//you are to assassinate her.
Juneau: Thank you for going through the trouble of traveling all the way to the castle, Rocci-san.
152
Juneau: Forgive the lackluster reception, but as you can see, I have a mountain of work to deal with...
Rocci: It's nothing...//Prince Juneau.
153
Juneau: That said.../It's been a while since we last met, Rocci-san./Seeing you well pleases me more than you know.//Crow, you haven't seen her in a while either, have you? You can have a moment between siblings later.
Crow: (Keep that hand moving while you're talking please)./As soon as your work is done, yes. >I'm a busy man, being your attendant and all.<
Juneau: (Woops. A ranged attack...)//Very well, let's get to the main issue./(That's it. Run away.)//First, let's hear the latest information about Sheyla-san.
Rocci: Yes.../She called herself the Demon Lord when nobody was looking. Which leaves no more room for doubt concerning her identity...
Juneau: She called herself... that...?/..........
Rocci: ...However
154
Rocci: Rather than killing the hero and his friends, she's been saving them/which is all rather puzzling to me...
Juneau: Indeed... That's the problem, isn't it...//We have all been saved by Sheyla at some point.//According to the testimonies of those monsters we now count among our allies, the Demon Lord does match Sheyla-san's description./To say nothing of Rocci-san's report.//Normally, with that much evidence/It'd make sense to conclude that the Maou and her are one and the same, and to have her assassinated//But we still want to believe/that Sheyla-san is not the Demon Lord...
155
Juneau: Maybe she isn't the Maou, but merely called herself that...//.........//Well, I know how naive that makes me sound, but I need something more./Some more unshakable proof that she is...//Sorry, but I'm gonna have you resume your continued surveillance of Sheyla-san...
Rocci: Unshakable.../proof.../Understood.
Juneau: ........... Let's get to our other problem, then.
156
Juneau: According to the report I've received, 12 townspeople have been going missing one after another, for about a month. Many elements about this had me worried that something might be going on, so I've had the hero investigate the case./The missing people are administered a drug that turns them into monsters. Furthermore they've been known to attack human beings...
Rocci: Yes sir........
Juneau: And Rocci-san, one of the culprits happens to be somebody you know.
Rocci: The man used to live in the same village as my brother and I./He goes by the name of Graham Vereno.
157
Rocci: Our village specialized in medicine, and sold its drugs to several countries around the world./One man among them was the best when it came to antidotes and counterpoisons.
Juneau: And that man was Graham, I take it... Which means he might well be the one who created the drug that turned those people into monsters.
Rocci: Probably, yes...
Juneau: The unfortunate people thus transformed have been captured thanks to the hero./But from time to time, they run amok, possibly out of pain...//Valentin has been sent to call upon a skilled physician/But can we really expect him to cure them...?//I also heard about a human-turned-monster eluding capture. In addition, the number of people we've caught doesn't quite match with that of the disappearances. We'd be well-advised to consider there might be more of them./The monsters might be plotting to use those people for God knows what reason. Thing is, I don't understand much of what's going on.
158
Juneau: The monsters probably submitted Graham by force. We need to break him out./We won't be able to settle this matter otherwise.//I want him found immediately.
Rocci: ..........//...About that, my Prince I think I'll be heading towards the village.//Maybe I can grasp some clues about the man that way.
Juneau: Is that so? Well, that wouldn't hurt.
159
Crow: Rocci... Do you intend to go there by yourself?
Juneau: He's right. You can take some men with you.
Rocci: No, thank you. I'll have an easier time operating on my own./And I lived in that village, originally. It can't be all that dangerous...
Crow: Not happening.//I will not allow you to go there on your own.
Rocci: ...........
Juneau: ?/?
160
Juneau: You can't say your brother is not worried about you, now can you?/Here's an idea. You may take Crow along with you.
Crow: That's not an option either./(You plan to spend the time I'll be gone dawdling.)
Juneau: (D'oh... >I'm busted<).
Crow: If I have to go, I'll have René replace me.[tn: Or Renée, if that character is female.]/(He's gonna look over you with that glacial stare of his.)
Juneau: It's gonna come to that...?/(Sounds even stricter than Crow himself.)
Rocci: I'm gonna take my leave, now./(Since it's gonna take some time, apparently.)
*blah blah blah* *slam*[tn: The expression I translated as "blah blah" stands for "loud and repetitious clamoring" or pressing stubbornly for something".)
Bird: Masteeeer.
Crow: ..........
Rocci: ...........//(Forced into it, he was...?/...Him...?)*flap flap*
161
Rocci: (I don't know about that...)//Alright. I'm in the village, now//but what is the meaning of this...?
162
Rocci: Why isn't there a single human soul around...?*peeep*
163
Rocci: Inside, maybe...?
*slowly*
Rocci: ...........?//?!!*baf*
Monster: GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Rocci: ?!!
*thawk*
*sbom*
164
*CHUUUUUUUUUURN*
Monster: Uuurgh. Uuurgh...!!
Rocci: ........./........//What was that?
165
Rocci: A monster...?/With a weakness to daylight...?//On closer inspection, the town is choke-full of them...*grrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
Rocci: Never mind the snakes. Did these guys settle in the village when the inhabitants went away...?*grrrrrrrrrrrr*
*rrrrrrrrrrrrr*
Rocci: ..........//I'll be fine as long as I stay out of the shadows... I guess.*chink*
166
Rocci: But wherever I go*clatter*
*clatter*
Rocci: All I find is those monsters...//Where'd the villagers vanish to?/Whatever happened while I wasn't there...?//And what about that man?/Where did he go...?//How am I supposed to gather any clues in those conditions?
167
Graham: Welcome back.../Rocci...
Rocci: You. You are...*baf*
Rocci: Graham Vereno...!!//Where are the villagers...?!!/Are you responsible for their disappearances too?!
Graham: The villagers? Gone?/You just greeted them a few moments ago...
168
Rocci: Moments... ago?//!//It can't be. That was...//a villager...?!
Graham: We have a winner.*clap clap clap*
Graham: To turn human beings into monsters, I needed a lot of people to carry out my experiments upon.
169
Graham: I've used all the villagers as my test subjects.
170
Rocci: ...........?!!
Graham: I was able to create a fine drug thanks to this./Something you can testify for, am I right...?
Rocci: What/have you done...
Graham: Why so angry?/Humans are vile, revolting creatures. Who cares whatever happens to them...?
171
Graham: I enjoy perfection./Which means imperfect human beings hold nothing of interest for me.//But you. You're special./So come back to me.
Rocci: Back to you...?//Thanks, but no, thanks!!
172
Graham: This is no way to address your father./Rocci Vereno.[tn: Insert Star Wars reference here.]
Rocci: Father.........?/Hah............//I've just been bitten by a snake./Despite this//My arm's not even swelling...//You've kept inoculating me with poison. Every single poison in existence.../So you could create the perfect antidote out of my blood serum.[tn: As it turns out, this is actually a valid way to create an antitoxin.]//The best antidote master in the whole village, my foot...!!/If I hadn't fled the village, I'd sure as hell be dead by now.
173
Rocci: Yet you still dare call yourself my father?!//The only things you care about are your own research and your antidotes.//And for those, you'd sacrifice everything, including other people's lives./Or even your own daughter...!!//I have no parents./I did have a mother, but she died when I was still a child.
174
Rocci: Truth be told I considered capturing you if I ever found you, just like the Prince said./Because I thought you might know of a way to cure those people.//But our encounter today has taught me one thing./You can't heal them... Better yet. You don't even want to.
Graham: Indeed. Why would I have to...?//No one can capture me. Even if they could, I have no intention to cooperate. I'll just run away as many times as needed./And I'll plunge the world in fear and dread.
175
Graham: Humanity can be exterminated, for all I care.
Rocci: You have brought hurt to countless people/And rather than reflecting upon your deeds, you would cause even more pain and suffering.//You must.........*dash!*
176
Rocci: You must die.
Superior Cross [2] The end.[/end
177
Postscript
Ichtys: Thank you very much for purchasing the second volume of this series./(Yaaay. A decent postscript.)
Exa: Thanks a lot.
Narrator: She's been spending most of the time she wasn't drawing this manga at the dentist's.
Doc: If it hurts, put your hands up.
Ishtys: Okay.
Narrator: Thing is, the pain was so unbearable Ichtys would grab onto the doctor's hand even right in the middle of her treatment.*grab*
Doc: Hey, that's dangerous./Well, if it really hurts, I'll just stop.
Narrator: Apparently a nerve in her tooth that ought to have healed several years ago started to suppurate for some reason, thus leading to this state of affairs./Take great care of your teeth, people.
*silent farewell*
Exa: Alright. See you again for Volume 3.
COVER[tn: Left side first, as it's the first thing you'd see when picking up the printed manga.]
{Your Fortune for the Day.}
A Type.[tn: Quick n' dirty update: blood types are surrounded with the same kind of
You're gonna slip on a banana peel, but quite miraculously, you won't fall off.
Agelica: Aaaaah.
B Type.
A pair of jersey trousers will fall on the road after it's rained, and you'll witness it.
Lakshri: What gives?!
Footnote: Ichtys saw something similar, a long time ago.
O Type.
You will dream about bumping your toe into your dresser.
Exa: A dream, eh...
AB Type.
Aliens will abduct you.
Right: What a strange life form...
Okina: Okina.[tn: LOL.]
Left: What a strange life form...
Footnote: ...NOT. Just kidding. A good day to everyone.
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