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The land of the Monster Realm is barren.

The sky is filled with dark clouds that let in not a single ray of sunlight, and the ground is cracked as if a drought has struck, not a blade of grass growing anywhere. Even this is considered a habitable area within the Monster Realm.

Aside from the relatively livable wastelands, there are jungles teeming with poisonous insects, swamps that devour humans, volcanoes spewing boiling lava, snowfields filled with ice and snow year-round, and deserts saturated only with heat and sand…

It is said that during the Great War, the greatest number of casualties among the Allied Forces was not caused by the Demon Lords but rather by the harsh environment of the Monster Realm. Such is the extent that the Monster Realm is an absolute hell where a human being cannot possibly endure.

Scholars have differing opinions on why the environment of the Monster Realm is so bleak.

Some speculate a large-scale explosion of magical power created an unstable geological environment, while others believe the magic released by the Demon Race and monsters polluted the land, or that it was cursed ground abandoned by the Goddess long ago…

In any case, people refer to the beasts born in such an environment as monsters, and the intelligent beings that have adapted as the Demon Race. The former includes monsters like goblins and orcs, while the latter comprises races like succubi and dark elves.

However, the classification of these intelligent beings is somewhat ambiguous, leading to occasional confusion even among the same species. Rarely, there are individuals among the monsters capable of speech and magic.

Thus, a practical distinction is made: if one is strong enough, they are called a Demon, otherwise, they are referred to as a monster.

And so exists the absolute ruler of the Demon Race, the mightiest among them, known to people as the Demon King.

To the being called the Demon King, the Monster Realm is—

“Filthy and dreadful.”

It is a place filled with all manner of ugliness.

Among humans, there is a saying.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The Demon King pondered a similar question.

Did the Demon Race settle in this land, leading to its current state? Or did the harsh environment of the Monster Realm foster the establishment of the Demon Race?

Did the magic of the Demon Race seep into the earth, creating what is known as demon shards in human terms, forming the ley lines of the Monster Realm? Or did the magic emitted from demon shards give birth to the life of demons in this land?

Truth? The Demon King doesn’t know either. It’s just been like this for an extremely long time.

The Demon King possesses no hobby of dwelling on problems that can’t be solved through contemplation. All he knows is one thing.

As humans have said, everything in the Monster Realm, whether living or lifeless, is generally hideous.

A place where the only instinct to survive means killing others. A location where twisted and contorted remnants of ancient races reside, barely recognizable. A land of violence and death where beauty is nowhere to be found. Whether looking at the sky or the ground, all one sees is sheer horror.

Living in such a place for thousands of years means both monsters and demons cannot help but go mad. Adapting does not mean living comfortably.

The weak dwell in fear of being eaten, living miserable lives at the bottom of the food chain, while the strong constantly harbor anxiety about being slain by even stronger beings.

This blind hatred towards humans arises from here. Having lived their entire lives in the realm of the strong, they cannot accept that the weak live leisurely merely because they chose a good piece of land.

Thus, they covet human lands and desire to seize all they possess.

It is understandable that the Demon King would treasure beauty. The land is a hell on earth, and the subjects are nothing but monsters who shout for war every single day. How could it possibly be easy to reign as king there?

Let alone that it wasn’t even an ambition of his; it was closer to a position he was thrust into. Without some pleasure to the eye, he could not possibly endure.

Thus, the Demon King filled his castle with all manners of beauty.

In the grand castle built by artisans, he piled up lavish decorations, beautiful jewels, and expensive artworks. These were all the best of the best, looted from the human realm, making them rare items in the Monster Realm.

At the same time, he appointed a select few who were exceptionally strong among the Demon Race and met the Demon King’s fastidious aesthetic standards as commanders, ensuring he had a suitable entourage that was pleasing to the eye.

Having distanced himself from all the ugliness and drawn closer to beauty, he thought he would be satisfied…

But alas, it was far from enough.

Desire knows no bounds, and once one begins to covet, they always long for more, for rarer treasures. To quench his unending thirst, he spent a thousand years in meaningless pursuits.

[Your Majesty the Demon King! Please allow us to wage war!]

[Now is the time to reveal who the true master of this continent is!]

[Everyone desires war! The humans will never withstand our Demon King’s Army!]

The pent-up rage of the Demon Race, accumulated over many long years, was ready to explode at any moment.

There was only one solution to this—war against humanity.

“I grant permission.”

This flow was something even the Demon King could not obstruct, and it was precisely because he was the Demon King that he should never have been able to.

If that was the will of the entire Monster Realm, it was his duty to fulfill their wishes.

The Demon King’s Army, seeking to unleash their pent-up anger, rapidly began occupying the territories of the human realm.

The Kingdom of Suhaig fell before half a year passed.

The Northern Kingdom Alliance left nothing but cold corpses, all buried in the snow.

The beastmen’s chief was torn apart, and the prairie fire lasted for months.

The southern alliance’s navy sank beneath the surface, wholly consumed by the breath of the dragon.

The dwarven underground kingdom was buried in the mountains beneath the cloud of giants’ footsteps.

At this point, did they perhaps sense the imminent threat of extinction? Humans who had scattered through various nations managed to form an alliance centered around the Empire. The combined strength of this alliance was not to be underestimated.

Several commanders lost their lives. The Demon King’s Army sustained losses of about half its forces. Commanders who had been overflowing with confidence, believing they could crush humanity on their own, soon found themselves in a position where they had to bow their heads to the Demon King and beg for participation.

Then one day.

A human arrived at the Demon King’s Castle.

*

The Demon King gazed down at the being before him with a cool expression.

The throne room was filled with high stairs that ached the neck, befitting its majestic owner, and the Demon King welcomed the sudden visitor while sitting sideways on his throne.

“Braving it alone to come here, you’re quite bold. Or perhaps reckless.”

A human clad in black armor wielding a red spear.

Though he wore a typical rudimentary iron armor, the spear he held radiated extraordinary magical power. But even more noticeable was the overwhelming fighting spirit emanating from the man. Even the Demon King, who had reached the realm of Ascendancy, could hardly dismiss it.

He merely held the spear without doing anything, yet the razor-sharp fighting spirit felt as if it would pierce the Demon King. It was like gazing at not just a spear, but a living blade.

The Demon King recognized that this human had barely reached the realm of Ascendancy, and for the rare moment, an expression of interest crossed his face.

After all, that merely indicated he had taken a single step; at best, he had barely crossed half a step—but that was impressive enough for a human, who typically had a lifespan of less than a century.

“You seem to possess considerable skill. Yes, with that spear, I’ve heard tales of how the human wielding the Red Spear has killed several of my subordinates. Are you the being known as The Faceless Hero?”

With all commanders absent, the Demon King’s Castle was enveloped in silence. However, that didn’t mean the castle was empty. Even if the target was exceptionally strong, there was still a need for troops to serve the king.

Even just a formality, an army is still an army. Behind the man, who was leaving muddy footprints in the throne room, lay a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, a force far too great for any individual to breach alone.

Proving that he had created this destruction himself, the man still aimed his spear with its dripping tip at the Demon King.

“Are you the Demon King?”

“…Huh.”

The neatly arranged eyebrows of the Demon King twitched.

It wasn’t because he had been pointed at by the end of a spear. No matter how close to Ascendance he was, there was still a vast difference in power when comparing the Demon King, who had fully entered the realm, with the man; it was a level of difference akin to heaven and earth. How ridiculous would it be for an ant to point a weapon at a human?

However, it was quite unpleasant to have his question brushed off without a second thought.

The Demon King decided to exercise his patience and let it slide this once.

“Yes. I am the only Demon King in this Monster Realm. Therefore, I would like to make you a proposal. The Faceless Hero, how about joining the Demon King’s Army? The position of commander is quite vacant at the moment. With your abilities, you would serve as a sufficient force to rival the dragon.”

The man gave no response to the Demon King’s offer.

Instead, he tightened his grip on the spear, ready to charge at any moment. His posture seemed to say, “Now that I’ve confirmed you are the Demon King, there is no need for conversation.”

The Demon King’s beautiful features twisted in displeasure at the man’s arrogant demeanor.

This was the second time he had been treated with such disregard. The Demon King decided he would not tolerate it a second time.

The man charged first, and the Demon King immediately responded. The high staircases that separated them might as well have been nonexistent.

In an instant, their blows crossed, colliding with one another, and the impact shattered the throne room’s steps into pieces.

At the end of this clash, the Demon King stood unharmed, but the man’s helmet shattered and fell to the ground.

And the moment the man’s face was revealed, the Demon King momentarily forgot he was in a battle and stared at him in a daze. This was a natural reaction for the Demon King, who cherished beauty.

“…Hmm, it would be a shame to kill you like this.”

It was a face that deserved to be spared at least three times.

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