[Dead City of Flowers] Area 5 — Rot King Palace
Rewinding time just a little bit.
Upon a bed of crimson flesh inside a colossal structure of pulsating crimson meat, a man with a balloon-like body wearing sunglasses—the Rot King—leaned forward, intently staring at an image projected before him.
—"You bastards are nothing but cowards!"
When Somni's parting words echoed through the ruined building, the Rot King's unblinking gaze was not fixed on Somni, nor on Tokotsu or Tamuri, nor on the long-black-haired swordsman outside tearing through the undead hordes with the fury of a fierce god. Rather, his eyes were locked entirely on the beautiful blonde girl lying upon the stone bed.
"Ooh... Could it be, could it beee, COULD IT BEEEE—?!"
His whole body trembling faintly, the Rot King pressed both hands against his swollen, puffy cheeks and shrieked hysterically.
"Could it beee, could it beee~♪"
Four grotesque creatures with heads shaped like a star, a circle, an inverted triangle, and a square danced around the bed, singing in chorus.
"That is, that girl is, myyy, MYYYY—!!"
Fat tears spilled from beneath the Rot King's sunglasses as he wailed.
"That girl is, His Majesty the Rot King's~♪"
The four surrounding aberrations danced in perfect unison, their voices ringing out with an unnatural purity that seemed utterly impossible for the mouths of rotting zombies.
"—the vessel capable of becoming the ultimate body, inDEATH!"
The Rot King threw his arms wide and burst into manic, cackling laughter, his face alight with ecstatic glee, prompting the four monsters to cheer and dance even more wildly.
An instant later, the Rot King's expression dropped into utter stillness, and he stood atop the bed—.
"Bring that girl to me right this MIN-UUUTE!"
The zombies with square, star, circle, and inverted-triangle heads bowed as one, then vanished into thin air.
Nodding in satisfaction, the Rot King spread his arms, swayed his body rhythmically, and continued through his streaming tears:
"A thousand years have passed since Ares sealed me away, and not for a single moment did I forget this haaaatred—"
His voice soared with seething fury. Then, abruptly shifting, his face flushed with rapturous bliss once more.
"—aaand this wish, this treasure box of yeaaarning—!! Through this encounter, I, yes, III shall exact my vengeance upon that pristine bastard and transform this entire world into a rot-reeking paradise, inDEATH!"
With that, he let out another piercing screech.