Reincarnated as the Weakest Magical Beast-Chapter 116: The corrupted self

From the cracked dimension at the far end of the hall, something began to take shape.

At first, it was no more than a distortion in the air, a tear in space where shadows gathered unnaturally thick. The darkness churned like storm clouds trapped within a narrow wound in reality. Then, slowly, a figure stepped forward from within that fracture.

Not a beast, nor a demon.

But a man.

His form solidified from the writhing shadows, his features sharpening and posture straightening until he stood fully revealed beneath the trembling chandeliers.

Both Mimi and the Deathguards were stunned.

Because... he looked...

Just like Amaras.

"What... the fuck is going on?!"

Mimi gazed upward, trying to find an answer from the king.

Because the one who had just appeared had exactly the same face, the same height, the same build, the same regal bearing.

But where the Lion Sword King’s presence carried restrained dignity, this one radiated something colder. His armor was darker, edged in jagged crimson lines that pulsed like lava veins beneath the surface. His eyes burned with a dim, malicious light, and a faint smile curved upon his lips, one that held no warmth at all, no sympathy, one that sent chills to anyone it gazed upon.

Amaras’s expression twisted the moment he saw him. The calm authority he had maintained until now hardened into something bitter.

"My liege?" Godwin, one of the knight twins, asked, tightening his grip on his blade. "Who is he? How could he enter this sacred hall? And why is he wearing your appearance?!"

The question hung in the air, as the others likely shared the same confusion.

Amaras did not look away from the figure.

His answer came low and steady.

"It was me."

And as he said that, silence fell.

The tremors of the chamber seemed distant compared to the weight of those words.

"What?" the other sword-bearing knight, named Theoric, breathed.

"My liege... what do you mean?" Veronica, the priest, asked.

Amaras’s jaw tightened.

"Or to be more precise," he continued, "it is the part of me that should not exist."

At that comment, the dark figure chuckled, the sound echoing against the golden walls.

"Such harsh words," it said, its voice identical to Amaras’s, yet edged with mockery. "After all, I am you. I am your corruption! I am the part you should not have discarded!"

Shock rippled through the Deathguards.

Seems like there was more to their king’s past than they had ever known.

*****

As it turned out, shortly after his death—after he had fallen in battle and his soul had been taken by the Goddess Neferia—something had gone wrong. The years of despair, rage, and helpless fury he had endured while fighting the demonic army had left deep scars upon his spirit: the guilt over his mother, the burden of the crown, and the countless lives lost under his command.

Those emotions had not vanished with death.

They had festered.

A fragment of his soul had separated, corrupted by those negative thoughts and hardened into something demonic. It was not born from outside influence, but from within—an accumulation of anger, grief, and resentment that had never been allowed to surface while he lived.

Goddess Neferia discovered it soon after claiming his soul.

She restrained it and attempted to purify him.

But it was like a malignant growth upon his spirit. Each time it was burned away, it returned. Not weaker, but more patient.

And so, it was sealed within the depths of this realm, suppressed beneath layers of divine authority. Not even the Deathguards knew of its existence.

Until now.

****

The dark double took another step forward, the crack in space widening behind him.

"When the crown began to resonate with a new heir," the shadowed Amaras said smoothly, "I felt it. I felt the shifting of fate. And I could not resist coming to see."

His burning gaze drifted toward Emilia upon the throne.

Its goal was simple.

Not to prevent Emilia from becoming king.

No—it wanted her to succeed, so that it could descend at the most vulnerable moment and possess her, using her body to return to the living world!

The dark double’s smile widened as he turned his full attention upon Amaras.

"And now you would even deny yourself?" he asked lightly. "Come now, original me. Don’t you want it? A second chance. To return to the mortal realm. To rebuild Lionera with your own hands. To ride once more at the head of an army and cut down the demon hordes."

His voice lowered, almost coaxing.

"We could do it together."

Amaras stood unmoving before the throne, his sword held steady, though his grip had tightened.

"No," he replied, his tone firm despite the tremor in the air. "We are already dead. That path has ended. To seize the body of an innocent girl—no matter the reason—would make us no better than the demons we swore to destroy. It would defy the Heavenly Principle itself!"

The shadowed king gave a soft, amused laugh.

"And so what? Principles? Laws?" His eyes glinted with mockery. "Sacrifice one life to save thousands. Is that not a bargain you would once have considered? Give up a single girl, and you can save the world! You are the Lion Sword King, the strongest warrior Lionera has ever seen! You are far greater than that Silvervein child who has not even turned twenty yet!"

"What? Save the world?" Amaras’s voice sharpened as he replied. "Or drag it into ruin? Because I know that if I surrender to you now, I will surrender again and again. Corruption does not stop at one compromise!"

"Ah..." the dark one tilted his head. "Still clinging to that righteous pride of yours, are you?"

He stepped closer, the fractured space behind him pulsing like a wound. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Tell me, then... is that not why our kingdom fell in the first place? Because you refused to do what was necessary? Because you clung to your precious ideals even when the world demanded cruelty?"

Amaras’s eyes widened.

"What are you saying?"

"You know it," the double continued smoothly. "Lionera was forsaken because of what you did. Releasing your demonic mother into the world was an unforgivable sin. The gods were angered. And when the heavens turned their backs... we were left alone to face the abyss."

"Oh... if only you had the courage to kill her then, if only you had truly valued the lives of your citizens above your foolish hope of curing her, things would have been very different. Your father would not have died. Lionera... would not have fallen as it did."