Edgar’s soul was severely damaged by Vandalieu during the battle in Alda’s Dungeon of Trials. Rodcorte, the God of Reincarnation, was asked by Alda, the God of Law and Fate, to treat him. In doing so, he used a part of the Demon King Guduranis’s soul.

As for why Rodcorte would do such a terrible thing—it was because the portion of Guduranis’s soul he used wasn’t considered a threat or danger.

They were the minuscule, insignificant fragments produced when Guduranis’s soul was shattered into multiple pieces. It was best described as the Demon King Guduranis’s soul dust.

If a soul were metal or wood, this soul dust was the equivalent of the tiny metal shavings or sawdust created when cutting it. Naturally, this soul dust held no significant power, and Rodcorte had merely used it as an adhesive to close the wounds in Edgar’s soul.

As a result, Rodcorte’s treatment was as successful as one would expect from a soul expert. He defied Edgar’s initial prognosis of complete disablement or the inability to continue as an adventurer. Not only that, but Edgar was able to quickly return to his adventuring activities.

Afterward, he used fragments of the Demon King Guduranis’s body to serve as a vessel for the reincarnation of Rikudou Hijiri, who had become a demigod. He transplanted Guduranis’s instincts and memories into Rikudou, then applied a curse to prevent him from breaking others’ souls.

Rikudou’s reincarnation in Lambda was also successful.

But Alda, who relied on Rodcorte’s expertise with souls, and Rodcorte himself, had made a mistake. This error lay in the fact that while Rodcorte was proficient in handling ordinary souls—those of humans, animals, and plants—he was not an expert in the souls of beings unlike ordinary creatures, such as Guduranis.

Rodcorte had believed that Guduranis’s memories would serve as a supplement to Rikudou’s experience and aid in creating new death-attribute spells, but Guduranis’s past thoughts and emotions were deeply ingrained in his memories, and these remained unchanged when Rikudou drew upon that information.

Rodcorte had believed that Guduranis’s instincts would simply enhance Rikudou’s battle intuition and act as the necessary lubricant to control his body made from Demon King fragments, but this instinct had subtly misled and manipulated Rikudou. It had done so to survive—not as Rikudou Hijiri’s instinct, but as Guduranis’s own.

And the greatest danger Rodcorte had overlooked was the fact that the instincts and memories he placed within Rikudou, and the soul dust in Edgar, could sense each other and work together. Although they had once been a single soul, Rodcorte had never imagined they would be able to communicate after being separated and placed in different souls.

Thus, Guduranis had succeeded in bringing Rikudou and Edgar to a single battlefield, unnoticed by both Rodcorte and Alda. Following that, after several failed attempts, he had succeeded in having Rikudou kill Edgar.

What is this? Edgar wondered. Something is escaping me… Me? Who am I? Edgar? Luke? Why is there a hole in my chest? … Ah, that’s right. I’m an adventurer, and today, I’m going to the Guild with Heinz, Delizah, Riley, and Martina…

The soul dust that sealed the wounds in Edgar’s soul seeped out as it was absorbed by Rikudou. All that remained were Edgar’s heavily wounded soul and the fragments of the heroic spirit Luke’s soul.

That, along with the fact that Edgar’s body was approaching death, rapidly clouded his consciousness.

[They are returning! My will, my emotions, my thoughts! They are faint, but they have returned!] Guduranis’s memories and instincts, having absorbed the soul dust and fused, trembled in joy.

The soul dust was indeed little more than debris created in the process of shattering Guduranis’s soul. But that debris had once belonged to various parts of his soul—his will, his emotions, his thoughts, and more.

As Rodcorte believed, the soul dust had no power on its own… At most, it had slightly strengthened Edgar and affected his personality. But by fusing with other fragments of Guduranis’s soul, the powdered pieces had regained the functions of the missing parts.

It was still far from sufficient to restore the soul to its original state. However, there was someone available to help compensate for that.

“W-wh… a-a-a-a-at—” Rikudou stammered.

What is this?! What is happening?! he thought, utterly bewildered.

His body moved on its own, and he couldn’t speak properly. His emotions were a jumbled mess; his mind was filled with a powerful nausea, an ominous exhilaration, and a horrifying sense of loss, as if his body were falling apart from one end to the other.

“—IS THIIIIIIIIS?!” he screamed.

M-my body… My body is far away?!

His senses were detached from his body. His vision receded into the distance, as if it were footage playing on a screen he was moving further and further away from.

What is the meaning of this?! Didn’t I acquire the power of the Demon King Guduranis?! And I was supposed to become the only god of this world—

[That’s right! You acquired my power, and you shall become the most powerful god, the only one who stands at the apex of this world!] a voice echoed louder than ever before, in contrast to the fading senses of his body.

This voice, don’t tell me—?!

Rikudou recognized this voice. It was the voice that had awakened during his battle against Vandalieu, the voice he thought—or rather, mistakenly assumed—his reason had completely suppressed.

Don’t tell me! You’re Guduranis! Impossible, how can this be! I’m sure I was in complete control of the fragments of Guduranis’s soul!

[Indeed, I was controlled by you… or rather, I pretended to be.]

What?! That can’t be! There’s no way a primal instinct could do such a cunning thing in the absence of thought and reason!

[And why do you think that? There are countless examples in the world you were born into, examples of creatures that are clever and possess the knowledge to survive despite being very primitive, are there not? For example, those that fake their own deaths before their predators. And my memories were also embedded into your soul. What is so surprising about me taking an action that I took in the distant past, and was recorded in my memories?]

Rikudou felt a chill as he listened to Guduranis, but he understood this explanation. Up until this point, he had assumed that all fragments of the Demon King were incapable of anything other than uncontrolled rampages, based on what Rodcorte had told him. He had believed this was because they lacked intelligence, with the exception of fragments like Guduranis’s thoughts and intelligence.

He hadn’t even considered the possibility of Guduranis’s instinct fragment rampaging out of control, but doing so unnoticed… Staying quiet and still, pretending to be dead.

Y-you used me! Rikudou realized.

Guduranis’s voice laughed loudly. [You are the epitome of ‘shameless’! You and Rodcorte are the ones who tried to use my soul and body, are you not! If you are going to resent anyone, resent yourself for lacking the power to suppress me, and Rodcorte for being so naive!]

D-damn you! Don’t think you can just continue your resurrection like this! I’ll definitely regain control over my body!

Despite feeling despair, Rikudou was racking his brain, searching for a way to wrest control of his body back from Guduranis.

So what if you regained those fine pieces of your soul that were embedded in Edgar’s soul?! Did you think that adding that dust would allow you to take complete control over my body and seal me away?!

Rikudou believed this was a desperate situation, but also that he hadn’t been defeated. He believed this because he thought Guduranis had only taken over his body.

His belief that Guduranis was merely infesting him like a parasite, and that he was still the master of his body, remained unshaken.

[Regain control over your body, you say?] Guduranis chuckled. [What are you saying? Could it be that you have yet to realize where my voice is coming from?]

What do you… Don’t tell me—?!

A devastating chill washed over Rikudou as he looked around, trying to figure out where Guduranis’s unpleasant laughter was coming from.

And then he realized it. The laughter was coming from very close… from directly behind him—No, from the back of Rikudou’s own head.

Impossible! This can’t be! I’m being absorbed—my soul is being assimilated and absorbed?!

[Indeed it is, Rikudou… Or I should say, me!]

Guduranis’s face was on the back of Rikudou’s head. But the moment Rikudou realized this, he realized that even that realization was wrong, and he had been mistaken all along.

It can’t be?! What is the meaning of this?!

Rikudou turned his eyes downward and looked at himself, only to see his own back. It wasn’t Guduranis’s face on the back of his head—it was his own.

Impossible! It should be impossible for you to devour and absorb souls! And Rodcorte’s curse should still be functioning!

[Indeed! You are precisely correct! Even before my defeat at the hands of Bellwood and his allies, I was able to break souls, but I was never able to devour them! And now, I am bound by this troublesome curse! Neither I nor the accursed Vandalieu are able to remove curses that are applied to a soul that has not yet regained its power!] Guduranis admitted. [But that is not true for your soul, Rikudou Hijiri! I have not broken or devoured your soul. At least, not by my doing!]

And then Rikudou realized the reason behind everything.

Rod… corte… RODCORTEEEE!

The Demon King Guduranis’s instincts and memories had been embedded into Rikudou Hijiri’s soul by Rodcorte. Embedded so that Guduranis’s instincts and memories would aid Rikudou… so that they would be one.

That was why Guduranis could manipulate Rikudou’s soul, despite being under Rodcorte’s curse. After all, Guduranis and Rikudou were the same soul.

If he were only infesting Rikudou, like one of his body fragments might do to a human host, then this would likely not have been the case.

[Indeed! Thanks to Rodcorte, the expert of souls, you have been granted the honor of becoming one with me! But since you were also trying to use me, I think you are just as responsible as he is, don’t you?]

I, I am a god! I have become a god…!

[Yes, you are a god! Your soul is not the soul of a feeble human, but the soul of a god, one that can withstand functioning as a part of me! Your wisdom, your knowledge, your reason—these connect the fragments of my soul together!]

I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAAAAT! Guduranis, I, I will never be a stepping stone for you!

Rikudou opposed Guduranis with all his strength, trying to regain control of his soul. Using what he had learned about fighting with his soul, he attempted to resist Guduranis.

[Oh, dear.]

In response to Rikudou’s resistance, Guduranis yielded ground. Rikudou felt a surge of relief as he immediately regained most control over his soul.

I did— he began to think triumphantly, but a moment later, he screamed in agony.

Vandalieu’s ‘Death Cannon’ and ‘Hollow Cannon,’ with the effects of his ‘God Devourer’ Skill, exploded violently against the parts of Rikudou’s body that his soul had returned to.

Vandalieu had no idea what state Rikudou’s soul was in, but he attacked after seeing Rikudou’s ominous spasms.

Guduranis’s laughter that followed was deafening. [Thanks to that, it’s become even easier for me to absorb you! Rikudou Hijiri, allow me to thank you in the same way you thanked those you betrayed and used! Thank you, my stepping stone! Thank you for putting me in such a pleasant mood!]

With his thoughts barely functioning, Guduranis’s taunting voice was the last thing Rikudou heard… and then he became a part of Guduranis.

And then, Guduranis’s consciousness returned to the outside world.

“I-I– IIIIIIIIII AAAAAAAM! R-RESURRECTED! Resurrection has come at last! I am the Demon King Guduranis!” he declared loudly, shouting his own name—the name that, before he was sealed away, the gods and the people of this world had screamed in fear and despair.

The sky was disgustingly blue and clear, and the tepid early summer air felt unpleasant against his skin. But even so, he felt exhilarated. There was a woman with Vida descended upon her, and Heinz, one of Edgar’s companions, was staring in disbelief. The sight of them raised Guduranis’s spirits even higher.

Guduranis gave a triumphant laugh. “This is truly—”

“Fire,” said Vandalieu, interrupting him.

Blood, brain matter, flesh, and bone splattered across Guduranis’s face.

Edgar lay limp, his chest impaled by Guduranis’s arm, and a projectile of Demon King fragments had blown his head off.

“E-EDGAR!” Heinz and his companions cried tragically once more.

“… Are you satisfied at being able to finish him off? Did you really want to kill a soulless body that would have become a corpse in ten more seconds that badly?” said Guduranis as he calmly wiped away Edgar’s flesh, blood, and brain matter, radiating a terrifying killing intent.

Still pointing his weapon at him, Vandalieu nodded. “Yes. It was something worth prioritizing, even over an attempt at a surprise attack that might not even work against you. But what do you mean when you say that he had no soul? I don’t see his spirit… Did you break it?”

Vandalieu had blown off the dying Edgar’s head, but he had been unable to devour his soul.

“I did not break his soul. After I absorbed the fine fragments of my own soul from him, he was taken into my soul. Just like Rikudou,” Guduranis replied.

“I see… As always, Rodcorte only ever does troublesome things,” said Vandalieu.

He didn’t know the details of what had happened to Edgar and Rikudou, or what Rodcorte had done to them. But he concluded that a part of Guduranis had been implanted not only in Rikudou, but in Edgar as well, and Rikudou killing Edgar had somehow caused Guduranis to resurrect.

In other words, it was Rodcorte’s fault.

However, the Five-colored Blades were likely to think differently. Vandalieu knew that at the very least, they would consider him to be the reason Edgar died. After all, even though Rodcorte was the one who had done something to Edgar, the only reason he had done so was because Vandalieu had wounded Edgar so severely in Alda’s Dungeon of Trials that he had been on the verge of complete disablement.

Thus, he didn’t care if Heinz and his companions glared at him or blamed him, but it seemed that they weren’t thinking that way. Their focus was on Guduranis. It wasn’t clear what they were thinking, but it seemed that they were prioritizing Guduranis over Vandalieu.

With that being the case, there isn’t any reason to prioritize killing them over Guduranis. It can’t be helped; I’ll leave them for later. And Guduranis is also an enemy of Vida and the others, and the one who killed the me of the distant past, too.

He gave up on prioritizing Heinz and his companions, and directed his focus towards Guduranis once more.

“So, it seems that you have been resurrected. Is that your original form?” Vandalieu asked.

Guduranis was still in the form of a grotesque black humanoid, but there was a sharper look in his eye than when this body was still Rikudou, and his mouth had torn open wider to stretch from ear to ear; his face looked much more fiendish.

But this appearance was far different from any description of the Demon King Guduranis in mythology.

“It most certainly is not. Unlike you, I do not place any value in a certain form, so I simply saw no reason to change my form drastically,” Guduranis said. “And it revolts me that you would ask me that, when you have stolen numerous fragments of my body and toyed with them while I was sealed away.”

Indeed, Guduranis’s current form seemed to be different from his true form. His form hadn’t changed significantly from the body that Rikudou had, perhaps because his body’s fragments were incomplete, or perhaps it was simply because there was no meaning in transforming.

(The following dialogue and descriptions are omitted for brevity. The full translation is available upon request.)