#1184 A Furious Spirit King

This… is the Spirit King…?!

A towering, colossal figure worthy of such an overblown title.
I have no idea whether that’s his true form or just a stand-in, but either way, he exudes an overwhelming presence that dwarfs us humans.

His gazes feels impossibly heavy, an oppressive weight.
Cold, and definitely not friendly.

“Well, now that the headliner’s here, our work is done! Time to get back to looking after the beans!”
“Best of luck, Master.”

Huh?! Letasreit and Holkosfon just… bailed on us after doing their part?!
What am I supposed to do with this situation now?!
We’re basically in the middle of a do-or-die crisis here!

Even so, they just up and ditch us?!

“...”

Meanwhile, the Spirit King continues to stare down at me with an icy glare.

We can’t just stand here in awkward silence forever. It’s only polite to say something; after all, we did yank this guy here out of nowhere.
It’d be rude not to at least state our business.

“Um… Sorry to call you all of a sudden…!”
“…”
“It’s just… there’s something really important we need to ask you, so we kinda forced you here… yeah…!”
“…”

Oh man, he’s giving me the silent treatment!
Guess we ticked him off with our unannounced summon, huh?! Not that I planned on things escalating so quickly either!!!

“…You seem to grasp basic manners, at least.”
“Huh?”
“It has been ages since I last manifested in the physical realm. This place overflows with the Underworld God’s blessing. With the combined power of the gods and the spirits, it appears even I, the Spirit King, can be anchored in the mortal world…”

The Spirit King’s basically monologuing.

I kinda figured, given how we can talk with other spirits, we’d be able to chat with the Spirit King, too.
And since the lesser earth spirits were saying all that doomsday stuff, I’m hoping that as their leader, the Spirit King might know what’s up.

That’s the whole reason we ran around like maniacs getting things set up.
If I don’t get some straight answers here, then all that trouble was for nothing!!!

“Um, so, I have a question…”

I launch into an explanation of everything that’s happened.
…While being really vague about the Bean Spirit part.

“...And that’s basically it. If you know anything about this threat to the world, please tell us!”
“...”

Whether the Spirit King’s interested or not, I can’t tell—it’s listening in silence.
...Or is it really?
It’s hard to say for sure with how little it’s moving.

Its posture, though, definitely doesn’t scream “friendly.”

“A threat to the world, you say…”

That solemn voice rumbles from the Spirit King’s mouth, heavy as an earthquake.

“Indeed, this world faces a crisis. I know the reason why.”
“Seriously?!”
“Because I, the Spirit King, am that very reason.”

Say what?

“I have decreed this world shall be destroyed. Hence, the world shall end. My judgment—my fury—reaches even the lowliest spirit. It must have leaked through their lips. That’s how it is with us spirits.”

Huh… so that’s what the earth spirits were-
...
This is no time to be impressed.

There’s something far more important than that!
The Spirit King plans on destroying the world?!

So, the biggest threat is literally standing right here in front of us?!

I was hoping for a hint, but I wound up hitting the bullseye on the first shot!
The crisis is happening now?!

“The Spirit King… wants to destroy the world? Why…?”

I recall how Sensei said spirits directly handle the day-to-day workings of the world, which is way more crucial than any god’s role.

And this Spirit King is the top dog of them all, so his words carry serious weight.

Still!
“I’m gonna end the world, okay by you?” is not something anyone can just shrug off. I’m no exception.

“Why? Is there a reason behind all this?”

I mean, if you’re gonna blow up the world, there’s gotta be some reason, right?

If we can figure that reason out, we might be able to do something about it. That’s how problems work.
And not to brag, but our farm’s got plenty of tricks up its sleeve!

So, Spirit King!
If you’re worried about anything, just say the word!
We’ll fix it for sure!

“Because of humanity’s foolishness…”

…Huh?

“This Spirit King has decided: you humans are far too foolish, utterly lacking in courtesy, mere parasites devouring and defiling this world. Therefore, I shall annihilate humankind… and restore justice.”

Wow, that’s like the classic 90s anime villain line!
Is he really making the over-the-top claim that humanity itself is evil?
We’re well into the 21st century already and he’s still spouting that nonsense?!

“I-Is it about… environmental destruction? Or wars that never end? That kinda stuff?”
“What nonsense is that? The Spirit King cares not a whit if humans kill each other. You want to slaughter yourselves, do it. But I will never forgive any insult or encroachment upon the spirits. It is this Spirit King’s duty to vanquish external threats and protect the pride of all spirits!”

Whaaaaaaat?!

Humans are hurting the spirits? Some kind of environmental destruction scenario? …Wait, that’s basically what the Spirit King just dismissed.
Sure, it’s true that spirits represent nature itself, so maybe “environmental damage = spirit abuse” would make sense, but apparently not...

Besides, that kind of large-scale environmental harm is more of a modern phenomenon, like what happened on Earth with industrialization. This is a fantasy world, so it’s not like they have factories pumping out smog.

So then… what exactly is making the Spirit King so furious?

“My power exists to uphold this world. Even if I had not manifested, I could still choke you all out slowly, like a tightening noose. But since you humans went and let me take physical form, I can now simply wipe you out in one fell swoop! Rejoice in your demise!”

Gyah!
So… by giving the Spirit King a body, we basically expedited humanity’s extinction?!

“Hey, hey, heyyy! Who’s this punk throwing a tantrum in my territory?!”

Oh!
That’s Veil in full dragon form!

She’s like Ultr*man showing up right when the kaiju’s about to wreck everything. How dependable!

“The nerve of a spirit like you acting all high and mighty. I’m Veil, the mighty Grinzel Dragon! If you think you can harm my master, then do your worst!”
“Dragon, you say…? It’s time you learn that every living thing in this world owes its life to earth, water, fire, wind… to the realm of nature itself!”

And just like that, a battle has begun.

“Mwahaha! Behold as I strip away the air, the heat, the gravity, and moisture from this space! Without those, how long can creatures survive?! Realize you’ve been propped up by the great forces of nature, repent for your sins, and perish!”
“I don’t think so.”
“…What?”

The power the Spirit King unleashes just scatters harmlessly against some force field radiating off Veil.
It won’t spread or do anything.

“Come on, you really think your spirit-based hocus-pocus is gonna affect our draconic magic? You guys operate in lower-order rules than we do. Our dragon magic directly warps the higher laws of the world itself.”
“Gwoooooh?! I-Impossible...!”
“And another thing, removing air, heat, gravity, and moisture—did you really think that would kill a dragon? Once we get past a certain level, dragons can survive just fine in outer space. You’re not as all-powerful as you seem, so suck it up and accept defeat.”
“No! It can’t beeeee!!!”

Dang, dragons are scary. Veil is scary.
She shrugs off the Spirit King’s total-death-zone like it’s nothing and just decks him with a dragon punch.

Though, “can survive in outer space” basically means they aren’t even living creatures anymore, right?
I guess the possibilities for dragons really are endless.

“Aww yeah, the world is saved! Guess I’m the hero of this story! Ha ha ha haaa!!!”

Technically, since the Spirit King was about to unleash a catastrophe, Veil just saved us from that, so… hero status granted, I suppose.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, but sure.

“Guh…ooooh… I, the Spirit King, only wished to punish the arrogant humans with divine spirit wrath…”

So, that’d be the spirit version of “divine punishment,” I guess?

The immediate danger’s passed, but the problem’s nowhere near solved.
Why does the Spirit King resent humanity this much?
Until we figure that out and fix it, this whole mess could happen again.

And so, the trouble with the spirits is far from over.