Episode 57: The Demon King’s Appearance!
In the small town of Kern at the border of Markeuteuriseu. Not too far from the western gate, in the middle of a damp alleyway.
The long-held breath finally escaped me.
I was lying sprawled on the ground, blankly staring at the sky.
“Phew…”
Simultaneously, a cool sound could be heard.
Turning my head, I saw Ruci walking unsteadily while holding a dark black sword with great difficulty.
Ruci looked at me, then my sword Vestark, and asked.
“Are you and the woman Seop Baek really close friends?”
“No.”
“Is she someone so precious that you would go through this trouble, and repeatedly reincarnate just to save her?”
“No.”
“Do you gain anything by enduring suffering worse than death?”
“No. The Demon King’s tongue of immortality doesn’t make sense either. Just kill me.”
Responding carelessly, Ruci’s expression became even more confused.
Annoyed, she flicked her sword at my throat.
“Value your life more. I’m advising you as your contractor.”
I looked back at the night sky again. The fireworks of signal flares notifying the group’s crisis continuously decorated the night sky.
As the view turned into various colors, the faint smile of Seop Baek suddenly appeared before me.
—Yes, absolutely! After the end of the Spirit Festival, on the day we watch fireworks… please definitely come along!
Her voice resurfaced, eliminating even a shred of hesitation.
I must return here somehow.
No matter what happens, today I must survive this situation with Seop Baek.
Because…
“She and I have agreed to go on a date.”
“Huh?”
“Sorry, after 24 years of pure solitude, I’m finally trying to enjoy life a bit, but the entire world has joined hands to sabotage everything. What have I done to deserve this, huh?”
“… What?”
“Just watch. I’ll definitely go on a date. No matter how dirty or underhanded it gets, I will watch the fireworks with Seop Baek. Damn it.”
And for that purpose… yes, I’d gladly try up to a hundred times.
“I can definitely handle around 13 more. Come at me, world!”
I might be foolhardy, but I’m not weak-willed.
Whether it’s Cassas, Kazjiksu, or Casus. You ominous forces behind the scenes, you’ve underestimated me.
Did you think I would give up this chance to end my solitude so easily?
No way, you bastards.
“Fine then. If you wish to struggle until the very end, I’ll watch it through till the end.”
She didn’t seem to expect a specific response from me. Immediately after finishing her statement, she swung her sword down with all her strength.
I blankly watched the descending blade like a guillotine.
As my consciousness faded away, the last thing I heard was Ruci’s cheerful laugh.
“I’ll sever your limbs as promised, so pull yourself together, hero! Kahahaha!”
How did I end up like this?
No, to be precise, since when was I destined for this situation?
At least one thing is certain.
Everything began a week ago, precisely the moment I defeated the Demon King in an unknown village.
Just as the consciousness began to drift back into the past…
—Hmm. This should be enough to spread. Can we slowly get up now?
A lethargic voice suddenly reached my ears, but it soon faded away.
The Demon King’s blade had finally made contact with my neck.
*
It has been about a month since departing from the Halsenberg Castle.
While traversing Mittelrand, I’ve grown accustomed to this world, but I’ve noticed quite a few things during this period. About five significant points, to be precise.
First of all.
‘This place is genuinely desolate. Even Hell Chosun feels like a paradise compared to here.’
It wasn’t just Halsenberg. This world fundamentally runs on a spicy mode.
Occasionally visiting small villages revealed signs of destruction in most of them.
People’s eyes were lifeless like codfish.
Coincidentally, villages in mourning due to mass funerals were not uncommon.
‘The only place that seemed livable was the capital.’
While heading straight southwest from Mittelrand to Markeuteuriseu,
I visited more than thirty cities and villages, but the word ‘peace’ fit only one place: Mittelrand’s capital – Magitech city Helix.
It seems the ‘Seven Great Protectors’ mentioned by the Margrave protect this area; other places were utterly devastated.
Some towns had even become ghost towns within just a few days.
And the reason behind that leads to the second point I’ve noticed.
‘Demon Kings appear randomly, without any proper timing or location.’
I had a misconception.
The Demon King is not such a rare existence. In this world, it’s more like a meteorological phenomenon, akin to localized torrential rain.
Suddenly, without warning, if a strong wave of magical energy distorts the air, before long, a Demon King appears and begins to destroy everything in the vicinity.
Moreover, it happens quite frequently.
For instance:
“Die… Die! You trashy humans! Don’t come near me!!!”
A white-haired boy screaming and the woman guarding him, who had white hair and purple skin, are exactly demonstrating this right before my eyes as of this moment.
“Back off! Get lost, I told you!!”
Out of the blue, a desperate scream reverberated amidst the burning village under the red twilight sky.
The intense roar shook the sky as if it were torn apart. Immediately afterward, a translucent indigo energy exploded from the boy’s body.
Zzzizz! The energy radiating outward quickly swept past numerous heroes.
Pow, crunch, bang! People exploded helplessly like balloons pricked by a needle.
Chunks of flesh and innards flew everywhere.
“Eeek… I, is this really happening?”
“Maintain formation! Block them so they can’t escape!”
“You, take care of yourself, asshole!”
In chaos and confusion, countless people, densely packed in the charred remains of the village, surrounded the individuals who had just released an unknown wave of energy. I too, observing them from a distance, noticed something critical.
‘That’s the Demon King.’
The one who released the wave of energy was the white-haired youth. He wore tattered ceremonial robes and had his hands bound in shackles.
‘No… could that be the Demon King?’
Standing beside him was a sister figure whose violet skin advertised that she was a demon.
She grasped a crimson sword in one hand and wore barely-there scraps of armor.
I quickly scanned the stats of both the youth and the sister.
[Monster Information]
[Name: Demon King Phloxius]
[HP: 588/588 MP: 1020/1020]
[Strength: 30 Agility: 79 Intelligence: 266]
[Details: Formerly a young pope of the ancient Holy Kingdom of Schultez, who planned a witch hunt but fell victim to General Han’s scheme, transforming into the body of a Demon King. His mind is unstable and he emits a powerful pulse that rejects all magic.]
[Name: Valkyrie Captain Primulla]
[HP: 1184/1184 MP: 770/770]
[Strength: 182 Agility: 201 Intelligence: 55]
[Details: Captain of the forgotten elite army of the ancient Holy Kingdom of Schultez, the Winged Armor Knights. She’s only imprinted with the instinct to protect Pope Phloxius. She can’t use the famous Winged Armor that symbolizes Valkyrie, but her power remains formidable.]
As expected, one of these two was the Demon King. Surprisingly, it was the boy, not the sister.
The violet-skinned sister… presumably an Eldritch-class upper demon.
To put it simply, akin to a bodyguard for the Demon King.
And every time the Demon King appears like this, I notice another unique feature of this world. The third one:
‘There are really… far too many heroes.’
Hundreds of people surrounding the boy Demon King and the demons, breathing heavily, all qualify as heroes.
Hero, hero, hero, and more hero. Everywhere you look, they’re everywhere. It’s nauseating.
For the first time, I can truly feel the gravity of my “163,417,413th Hero” number.
Even the bald recruits in a military training camp wouldn’t be this numerous.
‘Damn, it’s disgusting, too disgusting.’
Watching this, I furrowed my brows and turned my head to Seop Baek and Ruci nearby.
“Hey, Seop Baek. Can’t we just pass this time? There are so many people here; they’ll surely handle it themselves.”
“That’s not okay! We can’t turn a blind eye to those in trouble!”
“Sigh…”
And something else I learned about Seop Baek is the fourth characteristic.
This girl isn’t just greedy for exposure; she’s a passionate, justice-loving girl. She can’t just walk away when she sees injustice or people in trouble.
Phew. How unattractive.
“Screaming! I, I don’t want to die!!”
“Please, save me!!”
Right on cue, the situation changed rapidly.
Until that point, the violet-skinned sister had been standing still, but now she began to move.
“Aaaaah!”
“Hey, this girl… Stop her!”
“It’s no good! Another formation break, noooo!”
Thwap, crack!
Wherever the sister’s purple afterimage appeared, a fountain of blood followed.
Halved human corpses began rolling around on the ground, splashing blood in every direction.
It was such a ruthless massacre it seemed unreal.
“Eeek!”
Near me, someone gasped and collapsed.
Turning my head, I saw a female hero with a sniper rifle. She wore a body suit that clung tightly to her body, and her rabbit-like ears stood straight up.
With an internal sigh, I briefly wished her peace.
“Eek…”
The obvious reason she gasped was that the sister materialized right in front of her.
And when the sister appeared, mercy was absent from her actions.
“Die, vermin.”
Crunch. With a surreal sound, the sister’s rusted greatsword split the female sniper in half.
From her crown to her anus. Even the hastily raised sniper rifle was useless, broken cleanly in two.
The female hero died without uttering a single scream.
Drip.
The disemboweled corpse fell face down. The squelching sound of splitting tissue drew nearer.
“…”
The spectators of this one-sided massacre began to take hesitant steps backward one after another.
The once lively scene turned into a chaotic battlefield, mainly due to the other heroes.
“Move out of the way, brat!”
“Aaaah! Save me!”
“Damn it… we can’t die here!!”
Watching the predictable unfolding catastrophe, I couldn’t suppress a chuckle.
Most of the hundreds of people gathered here were strangers just a moment ago.
The reason so many heroes are here is simple.
[Quest Triggered (Epic)]
[Name: Demon King Phloxius Emergence – The Fallen Throne]
[Details: Mandatory quest. Heroes who have accepted the quest will have all actions restricted until they eliminate the main target, and will be forcibly teleported within a one-hour window into the target’s influence area. Method of disposal irrelevant. Kill the main target.]
[Reward: +5 to all stats. 1000 gold pieces (additional rewards based on contribution ranking). Hero Sense +2]
[Special Reward: A box imbued with a Goddess’ blessing available to the top 10 contributors.]
That’s right.
Quest. That’s why everyone was teleported here against their will—80% of these heroes didn’t want to be here. As for the remaining 20%, they’re opportunists eyeing the quest rewards.
I smirked, watching the crowd succumbing to panic.
‘To be drafted even after coming to another world… Life, huh? Damn.’
Comradeship or brotherhood among these people? Not likely.
As long as the situation is advantageous, it doesn’t matter, but when the tide turns against them, naturally, this is what happens.
“Screaming!”
“Please, let me live! Help!”
The scrum fell apart effortlessly. Heroes or whatever they were—each of them was abandoning their weapons and running for their lives.
Meanwhile, there were countless others either trampled to death or using others as shields to evade the attacks.
This was pure apocalyptic chaos—five minutes to Armageddon.
“Roar!”
“Aaaaah!”
And the price of selfishness was severe.
“Playthings of the lesser gods… All of you shall perish.”
The collapse of the scrum enabled the sister’s movements to become even more rampant. As a result, the incapacitated heroes were slaughtered at an accelerating rate.
They had essentially hastened their own doom.
“…!”
And at some point, the sharp gaze of this sister, rushing across the battlefield, fixed upon me.
At the subtle twitch of my shoulder, she disappeared.
A cold dread spread through me. Immediately, I crouched down.
“Shit!”
Right after, a cutting sound split the air above me. The sister had appeared right before me, swinging her massive blade.
No time to be surprised. I quickly distanced myself with Seop Baek and Phloxius.
“Sharp instincts… vermin.”
Smirking, her lips curled up slightly before she disappeared from my sight.
Instinctively, I drew out Vestark and swung it.
Kaaang!
Fires burst in front of me. The swords met.
We glared silently at each other as our blades clashed.
“You’ve… blocked my sword.”
The demon sister seemed slightly surprised. I responded with a grin.
At this point, I’ll reveal the final realization I’ve come to—the fifth and final truth.
“You’ll suffer if you treat me like the rest.”
The Margrave was a monster beyond imagination. Having traversed the vast world, this is certain.
And I, who was under this monster’s shadow… I just didn’t realize it because there was nothing to compare myself against.
Unknowingly, I’d become semi-monstrous.
To put it simply.
I’m now a top-tier skilled hero among current hero ranks.
“Me, manifest.”
Smirking, I began to exert more force into my sword hand.
Keeerrric. The demon sister, overpowered, began to step backward, and in her startled eyes, my triumphant face was reflected.
