Chapter 80: Back to the Demon Realm

All I could see was a shield, so I couldn’t confirm directly, but it was definitely him. How long had it been since we last met? I never expected to run into him again so soon.

His mere appearance seemed to calm the chaotic situation. Amidst the sudden silence, he casually asked,

“What stage is it?”

“Estimated to be stage one.”

“Estimated? You haven’t properly confirmed it yet?”

“My apologies.”

“Fine. Bring Ben here.”

“Yes.”

“Then—”

—Open it.

Words that felt like a death sentence were uttered.

The seamlessly interlocked shields slid apart, revealing the Demon King.

He took a step inside and waited for the shield to close completely behind him before cautiously speaking to me, who was frozen in place.

“Demon.”

“……”

“Demon, can you hear me?”

I can hear you, but I don’t know where to begin.

This situation has gone too far for me to fix.

“You’re close enough that there’s no way you can’t hear me, so you must be ignoring me. But I’ll talk anyway, even if you’re just listening.”

“……”

“First of all, the people here aren’t your enemies. No one here intends to attack you, and there’s no need for you to kill anyone right now.”

“……”

…I know. I know very well.

The war is over, battles don’t happen unless it’s a special case, and I am living in reality.

What am I even saying so suddenly?

Watching the Demon King speak gently to calm me down with such sincerity, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

The Demon King seemed to interpret my silence and spoke again. And then,

“So, just calm down a little and put down that alcohol bottle…”

“Your Majesty, the Demon King! I heard you called! Are you hurt anywhere?!”

Ah, that voice. It’s Ben.

Why was the physician called? Could it be, were they planning to half-kill me and then heal me…?!

But the Demon King’s attitude is too gentle for that. He doesn’t seem like the type to kill someone with a gentle smile… or does he?

…Doesn’t he?!

While I was deep in thought, the Demon King, who had opened the shield to let Ben in, still fixed his gaze on me and coldly ordered,

“Demon drank alcohol. Check what stage he’s in.”

“Yes, uh, understood.”

What stage?

While I was tilting my head at the confusing conversation, Ben stepped forward.

With a determined look, he took a step forward, swallowed hard, and looked at me. And the first thing he did was lower his upper body, slightly raise both hands as if pushing something away, and

“Demon-nim, I am not your enemy.”

That’s what he said.

He didn’t avoid my gaze nor lower his raised hands the entire time he spoke.

It was as if I were some kind of wild beast… oh, crap, I think that’s right?

“So, Demon-nim? If you can hear me, would you please answer?”

“Yes.”

“! ?”

Ben froze solid at my reluctant reply. The Demon King beside him was the same.

Startled along with them, I wondered if I had said something wrong, but the only word I said was ‘yes’.

Wondering what was going on, I just rolled my eyes around, trying to read the room when Ben, his eyes wide, stammered,

“Demon…-nim?”

“Yes.”

“Demon-nim?”

“Yes.”

“De-, ahem, Demon-nim, are you using honorifics right now…?”

“Huh? Yes.”

I always use honorifics, why is he making a fuss now?

“…It seems he’s not drunk.”

“Yes, I think so too….”

At this point, someone should explain the situation to me, but it seems like I don’t even exist to them.

The Demon King and Ben left me standing there while they whispered seriously to each other.

I caught snippets of ominous words like ‘false report’, ‘punishment’, ‘should we kill him’, and then it suddenly stopped. The Demon King sharply turned his head and stared at me.

“Demon, did you drink alcohol?”

“I didn’t drink.”

He’s finally asking. I feel relieved, but I’m a bit worried about what comes next. Things have gotten this big, will he really let it slide?

Contrary to my worries, the Demon King, who had never raised his voice in front of me, remained unchanged. He seemed to have roughly guessed the situation and calmly nodded.

Nowhere on his face could I see the anger or annoyance of being dragged out by a sudden commotion.

“I see… then what’s that alcohol in your hand?”

“It was here. It’s a commonly known alcohol in the Human Realm, so I was curious….”

“Your Majesty, the Demon King, I think he was about to drink it but was caught in the act. Demon-nim would never just pass by alcohol.”

…What am I?

What on earth did Ben think of me? And the Demon King nodding along, what about him?

If that wasn’t absurd enough, Develania, the Commander of the 2nd Corps, who somehow knew about this and jumped over the shield with some unknown purpose, said something even more ridiculous.

“It seems like Demon-nim is bored. How about granting him permission to go out for a while? For example, he could go shopping for clothes with me in the Second City….”

At her completely out-of-the-blue remark, I scoffed in disbelief.

Yeah right. Do you think I’ll go? I plan to stay cooped up safely in the Demon King’s castle. And even if I were to go, I’d never go with you. Why would I?

–That’s what I thought back then.

***

I was backstabbed.

By whom?

“Would you like to go to the Second City with Develania?”

“Pardon…?”

By the Demon King.

The proposal, no, the order, came a week after the noisy alcohol incident ended.

I was relieved that he hadn’t called me for a whole week, but he just swooped in like this. How underhanded, attacking with a time delay.

The ridiculous alcohol incident ended vaguely. Since I hadn’t actually drunk any alcohol, it was a natural outcome.

Contrary to the nature of demons who can’t be satisfied unless they draw their swords and slice someone’s neck, no one—especially me—died, and it ended quietly, which I’m very happy about, but the current situation is very displeasing.

To the Second City, with Develania!

“Just think of it as a casual outing. Oh, but instead of going directly, take a bit of a detour around the outskirts.”

“…With the Commander of the 2nd Corps… you say.”

“Yeah.”

“……”

Can’t I just not go?

“It’s better to go while you have the chance.”

As if noticing my reluctance, the Demon King smiled and approached me.

He didn’t just approach; he placed his hands on both my shoulders, brought his mouth to my ear, and whispered something. After hearing that,

“What does that have to do….”

“Do you really think so?”

“…I will go.”

Even while unable to hide my unwillingness, I had no choice but to agree.

That sly Demon King. Even if it seems to have nothing to do with me, if he says ‘Do you really think so?’ I’ll get anxious and have to go.

If I had known what he meant by going around the outskirts, I would have never gone, no matter what he said. Damn it.

***

[Because the war is about to begin.]

So, I need your help. Besides, various other races are complaining about the monster problem.

[I hope a situation doesn’t arise where I have to keep you here when the war has started.]

[……I will go.]

Demon King Kabeer, having persuaded Demon with ease, stared at the closed door before leaning back in his chair. His demonic eyes gleamed with a dark light.

The Empire had received the surrender of the Ireon Kingdom.

Apparently, there wasn’t even a proper battle. They had only trampled two cities on the direct route to the capital, but that alone made the King of Ireon lose his will to fight and declare surrender.

No, the news of the surrender arrived when they were just trampling the Second City, so to be precise, he decided to surrender when only one city had been trampled.

If they were going to fall so easily, why bother with the pointless provocation?

Did they think the ‘Empire’ built on blood would simply ignore provocation? If they really thought that, they were hopeless idiots beyond saving.

Pointlessly waking a sleeping lion, only to fail to even scratch it.

‘It looks like we’ll clash with the Empire sooner than I thought.’

Now, the Emperor has begun to act without concealing his ambition to conquer the continent.

This is the same Emperor who waged war against several kingdoms simultaneously before. If he did it easily once, there’s no reason he can’t do it a second time.

I have no intention of just standing by and watching the Empire devour the continent.

Because the direction of that power, grown large by devouring the continent, will inevitably turn towards this place, the Demon Realm.

I was planning to move when they had devoured about half of the continent, but it seems like I have less time than I thought.

Tilting his head back to rest it against the backrest and staring at the ceiling, Kabeer slowly straightened his posture and reached out to the desk.

Soon, the communication stone was in his hand, and after confirming the connection to all the executives of the Demon King’s castle, a voice devoid of any laughter flowed from his lips.

“From now on, a ban on magic is issued throughout the Demon Realm. Except for magic already engraved in tools for daily use, absolutely do not use it. However, if you feel a threat to your life, usage is permitted only at that moment.”

The appearance of the Hero wasn’t usually a big deal for him, but the situation is slightly different now. If the Hero were to appear during the war with the Empire, it would be quite troublesome.

Either drastically increase the use of magic to hasten the Hero’s appearance before the war, or suspend the use of magic to delay the time of his appearance.

There isn’t much time left until the war with the Empire, and even if the Hero appears before the war, the Emperor wouldn’t send the Hero to the Demon Realm in the current situation. So, there’s only one option left.

‘Whether the world will follow my intentions is uncertain….’

How can one predict and stop a typhoon?

The best one can do is to prepare as much as possible.

Thus, the ruler responsible for the fate of a race commands.

“Additional tasks are assigned to the Commanders of the 2nd, 4th, and 8th Corps. If there’s anyone using magic without a valid reason, find them and ensure they receive due punishment.”

That means kill them.

This method has been used habitually before, so it shouldn’t feel strange.

When the Commander of the 2nd Corps asks for various information, the Commander of the 4th Corps combines the information to narrow down the scope of suspicious individuals, and the Commander of the 8th Corps confirms each one to identify and kill the targets.

It’s the same method used to identify and eliminate the guys who spread the Commander of the 0th Legion’s appearance elsewhere, so there shouldn’t be any new problems arising now.

“That’s all.”

After this day, the use of magic abruptly stopped throughout the Demon Realm.

This change, seemingly insignificant on the surface, was something only the Demon King, the Hero’s destined enemy, and the Fairy King, sensitive to the world’s flow, could sense. The Fairy King, feeling this change, chuckled softly in the middle of his forest.

[It’s already too late.]

The Demon King can only roughly sense that the Hero’s appearance is approaching, so he wouldn’t know.

The world has already completed all preparations. It’s just waiting for the right timing.

The moment the world sends the Hero will be the worst moment for the Demon King.

Its end will surely be death.