Demon Lord's Reincarnation

Despite knowing that Erste would wake up no matter what, the Old God increased the strength of his ability. 

"Since this is going to be my last battle, let's go all out for once. I Agares speak my true name and will show you endless, boundless horrors!" 

At this moment the horrors Erste faced had increased dramatically. If before when he saw the horrors in front of him he still retained his mighty strength but now all of that had disappeared and he had become a normal human within these nightmares. 

Still, even without any of his abilities, and the fear in his heart kept on growing, Erste continued to smile that fearless vicious-looking smile of his. Even though he continued to be afraid he was no longer drowning in the fear, he simply accepted that it was there. 

So no matter what happened even when he was facing death right in the face, Erste simply smiled. Now no matter what kind of horror he was shown, no matter what kind of madness, no matter the despair, he just kept on going. 

...

Agares watched as Erste's aura continuously increased the longer he was in his nightmares. It was just a matter of time before Erste would wake up from his almost never ending nightmares. As the time for Erste's awakening was coming closer and closer, Agares was feeling something new. 

It was like Agares' entire existence was being constricted, and his spirit was being shaken to his very core. Also even though there was no blood flowing through his veins and it was impossible to feel cold, he actually felt all of those things. This feeling of being crushed and deprived of breath was the first time he had ever held such a feeling. 

"Is this what those that have fallen by my hand had felt?" Agares felt not only fear but also excitement, or were fear and excitement the same thing, Agares had no way of knowing.

Erste who had his eyes closed and had not been moving suddenly opened his eyes. The look in Erste's eyes had changed drastically from the time before Agares used his ability on him. The look in Erste's eyes was now firmer and the slight hesitation he had before was no longer there, it was as if he had aged centuries. 

"Oh it's been a long time, I nearly forgot that you're the reason for my endless death and rebirth in those nightmare-like worlds." 

Some of Agares' abilities were not working on Erste so he could not know what kind of things Erste saw in those nightmares or how long he had been there, but based on what Erste was saying he should've been there for a couple of centuries. 

"It is indeed impressive that you have withstood facing the fear in your heart for a couple of centuries. Not only that but I was sure the moment you woke up from the nightmare you would immediately kill me, yet you did not do that and instead remain as calm as ever." 

"Hoh, so you have no idea what has been going on inside those nightmares. So since you don't know how long I was in there, that means the passage of time was different here and there. I'm guessing only a few months or just a few years have passed here in reality... You think I simply stayed there for a few centuries, wrong, I was there for a few millennia. Dying, awakening, and witnessing a new horror, repeatedly for thousands of years. In the beginning, I really f*cking hated you, but after a couple of years in those horrors, I no longer resented you." 

"Why?" 

"Why indeed, I just don't want to hate you, that's all, it's as simple as that. Also, I do feel quite grateful. You placed me in some sort of illusionary world that shows what I fear the most, and the time difference there is so great that I have experienced a couple of millennia but in reality, it has only been a few months or a few years at most. That was the best training I have ever been through. Not only did my technique improve, but even my mental strength has drastically improved. For that I am quite thankful, now I have enough power to deal with even Old Gods of your level. As thanks I'll kill you as painlessly as possible."

"You say that you don't hate me, but you still say that you're going to kill me." 

"What does hate have to do with me killing you?... I do admit that in the beginning there was some element of hate in killing you Gods, but that wasn't the main point. The reason I'm killing you guys is because you threaten the survival of my race... Since you Gods are killing us, you Gods should have been ready for the retaliation of humanity, but of course, you guys never thought about it. You Gods see us, humans, as toys, of course, you never imagined a toy fighting back." 

"I see, so it's for survival, so if we Gods stopped killing mortals, will you in turn stop killing us?" 

"I don't know about the other humans but I would most likely stop killing you but I won't stop fighting you guys." 

"... I see... Can you tell me why you smile?... Why is it that every time a greater nightmare appears the smile on your face keeps on becoming more and more vicious looking?" 

"A person once told me that when you are afraid the best you can do is smile the fear away. Obviously, the fear you produced was something else entirely, but smiling helped me go beyond that fear. It's not like I'm no longer afraid I simply accepted the fear as a part of me." 

"... Is that so..." 

"Is that all you wanted to know, are you ready for death now?" 

"I have just one last question." 

"What is it?" 

There was a slight pause before Agares spoke again and asked his final question. 

"Why do you fight?" 

Hearing the question Erste showed a look of shock and then he started to chuckle which then evolved into a hearty laugh.

"I was wondering what kind of final question you were going to ask, but then you asked something like that. Why do I fight? The answer is nothing profound or meaningful, you might be disappointed to hear the answer, so are you sure that you want that to be your final question?" 

"Yes, please tell me." 

"Alright then, the answer to your question is, I fight for myself, nothing more nothing less. I fight simply because I wish to do so. My reason is no different from the reason you Gods hunt and kill humans, it's simply because you wish to do so." 

"... Heh, it really was a disappointing answer, but at the same time it wasn't..." 

"So are you ready?" 

"Yeah, thanks for answering all my questions." The chaotic voice that Agares had disappeared and was replaced with a clear voice. 

"No problem... Goodbye." 

"Fare thee well, human... No... Erste."

Even though Agares did not have a humanoid body or face, Erste could swear that he saw a smile on the other party's face. 

'Are you also smiling away the fear?' Erste thought as he slashed down at Agares killing the Old God.