Demon Gaze short novel translation (chapters 1-3)

Part 1. Very short. All rights reserved by Team Muramasa / EXPerience / Kadokawa.
Original text (c) Benny Matsuyama : http://www.famitsu.com/news/201212/19026205.html
Rough translation, don't be too critical. Other parts coming later.
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Demon Gaze Short Novel #1
“The Final Tolling of the Bell, Resounding through the Castle of Demons”

A chorus of frightful roars echoes throughout the stone corridors, causing all that hear it to tremble.

Once, this great hall was used by the King's soldiers as a training grounds within the castle. The intermittent beast-oil torches only faintly drive away the surrounding darkness.

Within the lingering blackness that covers the majority of the expansive grounds, an even darker group of shadows slither speedily back and forth. The golden armor covering their bodies reflects the torchlight with bright flashes that temporarily blind the intruders.

And before they can recover, a mass of steel shoots out from the darkness.

A giant claymore, of a size unwieldable by human hands. The blade was broken in places due to its reckless misuse, but the weight of the weapon alone is still enough to cut through any target like a machete – and its user swung it around at the speed of a typhoon. A speed that could sever armor and body together, if not dodged.

But the party of five adventurers trespassing into the castle were protected by an invisible shield. One of the members, a healer, had created a barrier of protection around the five with her special ability, holy shield. The force behind the claymore was absorbed just before hitting the plate mail-clad adventurer in the lead as if it had been caught in a cushion of thick rubber.

UWOOOOOO!

The scream of rage from having its attack deflected, unleashed from between its bared fangs, was, needless to say, inhuman. It was a monster with the face of a beast and body of a man, its pointed nose crinkled in rage, eyes blazing with hatred – a particularly violent breed of werewolf, possessing heightened strength, called wolfen knights.

Their intelligence, however, was not as lowly as their beastlike appearance would make one assume. The previous howl was not simply an outcry of unsuppressed emotion. The wolfen knights coordinate with the others in their hunting party, sending out signals to help achieve an efficient hunt.

Almost immediately after, a second wolfen knight kicks off the shoulders of the first attacker and swings his broadsword down in mid-leap. The blade destroys the holy barrier, no longer able to withstand any more force, with a sound like that of glass breaking. It only takes a split-second for the beast to follow through with a gale-speed onslaught against the front-lines adventurer, now without his magic shield.

But nay. The attack was induced. The heavily-armored front-linesman, the Paladin, positioned herself so that the wolfen knight would focus his attacks on her. She utilizes her large shield and one-handed sword with delicate skill and shrugs off the attack, all but eliminating the force behind the swing.

Their opponents, after their attacks have been nullified, were left open for the briefest of moments, at which point the wizard rains attack magic upon them, chanting at inhuman speed. In an instant, a scorching ribbon of flame was formed in mid-air from nothing and shoots forth, burning the werewolves. The tangled fur covering their bodies burns away, and the injured monsters let loose screams of pure agony.

At the moment of their cries, the polished tip of a spear appears from behind the paladin, staunchly protecting his allies like that of a guardian statue. The wielder of the spear is a muscle-bound fighter, equal in size and strength to the werewolves. He didn't appear to be moving particularly fast, but actually, he was moving with imperceptible grace, readying himself for a lightning-fast spear thrust. He hits one of the werewolves square in the heart, dispatching it immediately.

In the next moment, the last of the adventuring party, the demon gazer, drew his blade and in one fell stroke cut deep into one of the wolf-men's necks.

The last remaining wolfen knight, after being showered in the spray of blood erupting from its fallen cousin's neck stump, finally understands. These intruders were not the easy prey, not the foolish, vulnerable bounty hunters the werewolves thought they were. Looking again, the right eye of the man who just cut apart his ally was letting off an eerie, captivating bluish-white light. These people were hunters. The werewolves had heard of them – the followers of the demon gazer, the fearsome man who had buried demons themselves. Demons - the messengers of darkness that changed Myslid into a land where monsters roam free.

There was no way out but to flee, it knew. Despair shone clearly in the eyes of the wolfen knight. But it was too late - the avatar of destruction had already manifested itself in the sky above. It casts down a ferocious smile.

“Who is it that wishes for death?”

It was the Prisoner of the Eye, a demon who had fallen to enslavement by humans. It brandished a sinister weapon enveloped in innumerable blades rotating at high-speed, resembling so many teeth of a shark. Unable to restrain itself, the dragon-like demon lunged at the werewolf. It didn't even have time to scream. The bizarre weapon, one that could surely kill even a god, reduced the wolfen knight with one attack to a puddle of meat beyond all recognition.

The laughter that the demon left behind as it returned to its sealed key resounded through and out of the training grounds, causing the very air within the stagnant Castle Grimodoire to tremble. The time of change is upon us. The hunters of demons will eventually explore every nook of this accursed castle. This banquet of chaos, once thought to last forever, finally faces its end.

Brothers of the dark, beware. Prepare yourselves.

For the coming of the Demon Gazer.

Longer and more interesting.
Original text (c) benny matsuyama : http://www.famitsu.com/news/201212/27026740.html
all rights reserved EXPerience/Team Muramasa/Kadokawa
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Demon Gaze short novel #2
"Lord of Lords, Clad in Legend"

I was born into this world to be a holy knight. My name, Nemesis - my late father told me that he wanted to grant me a name that showed the fury of justice, a name of a vanquisher of evil. I truly, truly am following my father's wishes.

My race is one that has endured the passing years for so long, almost an eternity, in obscurity. Our history states that our ancestors crossed the great ocean that splits our world from the faraway land of Alda and moved here, to the western continent, some hundreds of years ago. We are the inheriters of a noble, divine lineage - my blood is that of the royal family descended from Lumina Kreis Grombark, one of the heroes of old, the Knights of the Round, who defeated the Dark Lord and saved the world from being swallowed in darkness.

If my ancestors had stayed in Alda, my father would have eventually become the legitimate successor to the Grombark Kingdom, newly revived by Queen Lumina, and I could have become the next queen to rule over the royal domain. But instead, my prideful ancestors left their homeland and chose to propogate their royal blood in a new country. Perhaps it was to avoid strife within the kingdom over a who would succeed the throne, or perhaps it was a portent of the forthcoming tides of war on this continent...

At any rate, picking up my sword and raising my shield as a paladin, just like my ancestor Queen Lumina, whose blood flows through my veins, was a matter of course. The Evil Ones had shown their demonic faces in our region of the continent, this accursed land of Myslid, and the moment I heard stirrings of an even greater catastrophe taking root in the dungeons beneath the ruined Grimodoire castle, I knew what I had to do. This was my time to fight!

My clansmen, who spent day in and day out concerned with naught but farming and raising livestock, left the duty and mission that came with our divine heritage all but forgotten. In order to open their eyes, I departed my homeland. Just as Queen Lumina had done so long ago, I planned on achieving victory through fierce battle, proving to all that I had the competence and the might to become queen and rebuild our kingdom in this ruined land of Myslid... I believe that day will come, so I did not falter as I forced myself through my daily chores, and devoted every fiber of my being to the training of a warrior! Such is my duty as the head of my clan!

After a long journey, I found myself at the Dragoness Inn, a tavern that serves as a base for expeditions into Myslid. The hunters there seemd to view me with no mixed trepidation.

To these bounty hunters, I said thus: "Gentlemen! Come with me, heir of the lineage of your true king - become my blade, and we shall dispatch the wicked demons that plague us!" I told them: "We must return the Grimodoire Castle, overrun with monsters, to the temple of purity it once was - and your reward shall be ample, your work will be rewarded by becoming the first of my retainers in the dawning of our new dynasty." Because it would have been unfair to those who were there first, I had prepared a lottery to be pulled by any who had interest - though unexpectedly, they merely smiled a vague smile and not a one of them raised their hand. I was wearing a suit of plate armor handed down by my father and his father before him, which, according to our oral history, had once belonged to the leader of the Round Table, Eks Landlight. Perhaps it was too imposing for the bounty hunters, intimidating them from approaching me and causing them to whisper amongst themselves. Unsurprising. These men reeked of their ignorance of my royal qualities. It would have been unfair to blame them for their apprehension.

Even so, I was not so conceited as to forcefully attempt an expedition into the lands of Myslid by myself. No matter the pride I had in my paladin's ability to make my body that of steel, without allies to protect, it was as useful as a rusted kitchen knife against a dragon. And just as I was at a loss as to what to do, a man appeared.

The demon gazer - the one who had the strange power to capture demons using his magic eye. This powerful man offered himself as my ally, and with that, my fortune changed. In the space of a breath, we had gathered a full party and became, as hunters of demons, the talk of the Dragoness Inn. My fierce change of luck must have been thanks to the royal Grombark blood flowing through me. Yes... Just like the great hero Eks, who gathered the Students of the Round at the feet of Queen Lumina...

I can feel the twisting of the fates. I am the chosen one, and I will be the one to bring an eternity of peace to the land of Myslid and rule it as its rightful queen!

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"You think that Nemesis will really be of any help to Oz, spouting the nonsense that she does? She kinda forced herself on him. Even the bounty hunters wouldn't touch her."

The elf, Rezelum, proprieter of the item shop in the Dragoness Inn, was quite infamous for his ability to spread gossip. He continued as he poked at his pudding. "As far as I know, there hasn't been any talk of any relations to the Grombark family since Queen Lumina, and I've heard nothing whatsoever about the royal family coming here from Alda. Nothing at all. And my dad woulda known."

"Probably some tall tale concocted by her ancestors."

The blacksmith Cassel let out a sigh in a similarly disapproving tone. "And that 'legendary armor' ain't nothin' but scrap. Can't even inject it with ether, I bet."

"Yes. She said she wanted to upgrade it a few days ago, but I convinced her that it would be better to treat it as a memento of her ancestors and put it in storage."

"Wah! P-Promelas, I didn't see you there. Still, that's nice."

The undertaker girl, Promelas, who uses a coffin in the basement as her bed, appeared behind Rezelum without him noticing. She was clad in nothing but her underwear, as always.

"Well, she'll be a good ally for Oz, even if she believes she's the hero of the story. It's a special power in itself to believe you're that special, if you ask me."

"Yes. If not, revivification can be difficult."

"You mean through strength of spirit? Bet it still hurts a bit, though. Phew!"

original text not me etc http://www.famitsu.com/news/201301/24027739.html
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Demon Gaze short novel #3
"The Phoenix of Salvation Returns"

On this day, the Mygmy healer Tukay's uncertainty, which she had dealt with since childhood and all throughout her life, had finally been put to an end.

It was the day of her first expedition into the sunken ruined city - popularly known as "The Old Town in Blue". The land underneath it had underwent a large-scale subsidence, causing an entire region of the town surrounding Grimodoir Castle to be completely submerged in the lakewater that flowed in. Tukay had come to visit the sunken zone as a member of the Demon Gazer's party, entrusting their lives to a magical breathing device called a breath veil. That oddly suspicious elf Rezelum, proprieter of the item shop at the Dragoness Inn, had made it for them.

In her opinion, this underwater expedition was madness. She had only known that uncouth, irresponsible elf Rezelum for a short while, but she was fairly certain that she did not care to make his aquaintance further. She was sure that it was his strangely non-elflike nature that had caused him to be exiled from his people, making him wind up here, in the outskirts of the ruined land of Myslid. Sharing drinks with him at the inn was one thing. He'd immediately get naked, and as long as he was supplied with wine, he'd keep the party going until dawn. But to rely on something that arrogant elf had created, and to hope that while exploring underwater the magic doesn't wear off and the whole party wouldn't drown immediately, was something else altogether. She had already heard of at least one bounty hunter who had drowned during the item's test phase. Rezelum laughed it off as an unfortunate accident, but it was obviously a perfect example of a victim fallen to his careless experiments. She wanted to sit this one out, if she could. And on top of things, you can't use magic underwater - that happy-go-lucky elf didn't even bother to touch on this important detail - making her most important duty, that of healing injuries, only possible by supplementing various healing herbs.

However, Tukay was one to always fulfill her duty, or so she believed. When she was younger, she suffered repeatedly from hallucinations. Voices called to her from the depths of her soul. She determined they were the voices of the lamenting dead. Filled with regret from isolating herself from her destitute slaves and not offering them a helping hand - why were these emotions within her? Was it a memory from another age, or was it perhaps a resonation with some other awesome being...? She partly believed it was all her imagination, but a slight anguish, a sense of guilt, had already bloomed within her. Unbeknowing as to what slaves even were, she was guided on by these mysterious emotions. Like the water of a river flowing downstream, she began to walk the path of an adventurer. She studied passionately the ways of the healer, in case the opportunity ever arose for her to offer that helping hand.

One would think that she, even after allying herself with the demon gazer, would blather something about being afraid of the artifact Rezelum created and refuse to go with them. Reinforcing her holy shield forcefield was all a healer could do while in water, but this was of no small consequence in the domain of the fearsome aquatic beastmen known as mermen.

But even so, she prepared herself to begin wandering about in the depths of the lake. Before their departure, however, a strange messenger appeared before the party.

"Please, wait a moment."

It was a marionette, artificial life breathed into her by some great ancient magick. Her voice was quivering with fear, and her polished, glass-like eyes glittered. The doll announced herself as a worshipper of a new god, Lord Shark, whose prophecy fortold of the coming of the demon gazer and his followers, and that she had been waiting an eternity. Waiting, namely, as the helping hand of the great god of old, the Spirit Lord, the deity that symbolizes light and rebirth.

As soon as she heard those words, a shockwave of revelation ran through Tukay's mind. 'Of course, of course! I had vaguely suspected, but now I know I am not an ordinary Mygmy. The proof is here. I must be the reincarnation of the Spirit Lord, whose strength of creed has all but died out amongst her worshippers.' She reasoned that the inexplicable anguish within her was self-persecution due to her allowing demons to run wild, not realizing her true self, living her life thus far without becoming the savior that the world needed.

It was like a thick, low-hanging fog had been lifted over the ocean of her heart. Although her reincarnation was yet incomplete, her desire for rebirth burned sharply and intensely within her, contrasting with her small Mygmy frame. She felt as if she had the ability now to dispose of the evil demons as calmly and swiftly as a shark devours its prey.

And thus Tukay had her resolve. It was not a coincidence that she met the demon gazer. She would repel the lingering darkness over Myslid. All of the fates were contributing to her becoming the helping hand this world needed. She swore an oath to fulfill her duty as she looked towards Grimodoire Castle, towering over them all like the shadow of a giant beast...

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"And that's her story, Promelas! Oz's friend Tukay is actually the reincarnation of the Spirit Lord!"

Employee of the Dragoness Inn, Pine, of the Nei race, was excitably explaining the newcomer's background as she brushed away the dust in the basement. The undertaker Promelas was busy polishing Oz's souvenier skull as she responded noncommitally.

"I see."

She knew better than anyone that wasn't the case. Even though Tukay believed it so much to be true. Promelas made it her hobby to look down upon everyone's affairs. Without making a scene or being rude, she decided to watch over the self-propheteering Mygmy for a while. She would also take an interest in the growth of the young god Lord Shark's religion, who appeared to have been borne from the beliefs of a mere doll...