EP.19
In this world, countless battlefields existed.
Strange-shaped portals stretched endlessly, from which beings of another realm, monstrous creatures, emerged.
People called them Demon Beasts.
Creatures born solely for meaningless slaughter, possessed of no intelligence whatsoever.
Individually, they were not strong, but their numbers exponentially increased in no time, necessitating constant vigilance.
They had to be ceaselessly hunted, guarded against, and killed.
Now, the rules had somewhat been established. They carefully monitored the portals and built walls around them to thoroughly control the pathways connecting to civilians.
Of course, this did not mean complete control.
The number of Demon Beasts crossing through the portals was far too great, and simply maintaining the frontline that had endured for thousands of years demanded immense effort.
Thus, casualties on the battlefield were a very natural occurrence.
For thousands of years, countless people had died, and countless individuals had blocked the way again.
For such a long time.
Humans endured by killing and being killed for one another.
[How disgusting.]
It wasn’t particularly for anyone else.
It was merely a matter of my own self-satisfaction.
Revenge against the scum that had given me a vile feeling the day before and against the demon kind that crossed the line without knowing their place.
Those bastards would surely cross through that portal as well.
The size of this being was far too great for it to pass through the portal.
Of course, if it were to shrink, it would not be impossible, but for some reason, there was a strong intuition that it should not directly cross that portal.
That portal was an unstable one.
Although creatures of a lower tier could likely cross without any issues, the higher the tier, the stronger the restrictions, leading to severe penalties.
That was why even the Demon King had not directly crossed that portal.
Jörmungandr instinctively sensed this.
It could be described as a kind of precognition felt upon becoming a god.
Crossing that portal would not lead to its death, but neither would it be without any harm.
Thus, it decided to forgo crossing the portal and directly exterminating those beings.
However, it did not give up on exacting revenge on them.
A colossal body floated in the skies.
Soaring freely through the lofty heavens, it observed all the battlefields at once.
It was brutal.
Countless humans and Demon Beasts tangled together, taking each other’s lives.
This was happening simultaneously across all battlefields.
Endlessly spawned Demon Beasts overwhelmed the humans with sheer numbers.
Thus, the situation on the battlefield was exceedingly unfavorable.
If such a scenario continued, countless casualties were certainly inevitable.
And so, it revealed its tier.
Overlooking the insignificant insects below, it skillfully manipulated the tier now that it had become a god, focusing solely on the Demon Beasts.
When its tier first made contact with one of them.
The creature twisted and rotted away without knowing what had happened.
By the time it realized that the tier was being directed at it from someone, it was already far too late.
It could not even struggle, and in a fleeting moment, it vanished without leaving a trace of its existence.
All of this happened.
Simultaneously occurring among all the Demon Beasts on the battlefield.
“What, what is this…?!”
The humans entangled in battle with them fell into confusion.
With no warning whatsoever, the Demon Beasts had vanished in an instant. They looked around, searching for the disappeared creatures, but there was no way they could find them.
Their flesh, soul, and existence—all of it had simply been annihilated by a single thought of one being.
Yet Jörmungandr remained unperturbed throughout this event.
It had no intention of revealing its majesty as a god.
Of course, it wouldn’t be bad to imprint itself as a god in their minds.
To reveal itself and assert that it dominated this battlefield.
That it was itself who had dispatched so many Demon Beasts in a single strike. It could present itself with pride like that. But it found it distasteful. This was merely a form of amusement for itself. It had no desire to receive useless awe or respect from them during such amusement.
Moreover, these days, there had been an increasing number of individuals wishing for favors from it.
To be precise, it was akin to their thoughts being transmitted directly into its mind. Every day, countless people wished for favors from it, causing Jörmungandr to feel nauseated.
Not to mention, it was almost impossible to completely block out those sounds.
The wishes of innumerable individuals echoed, making it impossible to distinguish among them.
Thus, Jörmungandr blocked out all those sounds.
Of course, such an act would diminish the divinity bestowed upon it, but the divinity it had already acquired was sufficient for shaping its future.
After all, the mindset that one could become stronger solely through divinity was misguided.
Divinity merely allowed it to ascend to the heavens by breaking through the barriers it had faced.
To grow stronger from there would solely depend on its own realm.
For that reason, it did not reveal itself.
Those who had received the blessings of the goddess and were close to divinity seemed to recognize it floating in the sky.
However, it didn’t pay them much mind.
It simply floated gracefully through the heavens, killing all the Demon Beasts on the battlefield.
In the blink of an eye for humans.
All the Demon Beasts fighting them vanished without leaving a trace.
As Jörmungandr carried out all these actions, it temporarily sealed the portal with its divinity and returned to its cave.
That seal would not last long.
After all, it had no talent for sealing, and the laws near that portal were grotesquely distorted, causing everything to swiftly crumble.
However, maintaining it for ten years would be plenty.
That would suffice.
Just enough to give those scum a well-deserved blow.
* * *
It was an overwhelming quantity.
It was certain that it would sweep away all the humans.
However, the Demon King frowned at the unexpected outcome.
[They all… died?]
It was strange.
So many Demon Beasts had been killed in an instant.
As if they had never existed at all.
This was clearly beyond the abilities of the humans.
From what it understood, the front-line heroes and the humans did not possess the capability to handle that many Demon Beasts.
The plan had been perfect.
It assumed all the humans would be trapped behind the walls and die out without a chance.
But then…
What had happened?
[Ha… haha….]
It was an ambitious dream.
To launch a full-scale assault with all the Demon Beasts this time, to break through the front lines of the unsuspecting humans, and with the accumulated death and blood, to manifest its true self.
But the result was different.
If those Demon Beasts had simply died, the power of death endlessly amassed on the battlefield would have allowed it to be reborn.
Yet all that power…
Had scattered without even tasting death.
And now.
The Demon King was aware of the most potent candidate among those who could have incited such events.
[That Snake Bastard…]
It was that being.
That creature definitely stepped onto the battlefield.
If not, it didn’t make sense.
The ability to erase the existence of all living beings as if they had never been was solely possessed by that creature.
Blood boiled within.
How many years had been invested in this plan?
Endlessly gathering Demon Beasts, collecting, and collecting again.
Even the foolish Demon Beasts, devoid of thought, were forced into participation in the plan through subjugation.
Moreover, all those Demon Beasts possessed their own magical energy.
With the blood of the slain Demon Beasts, it was preparing to create a magic circle to manifest its true self while simultaneously absorbing the power of death, ready to step to the next level.
But then.
All of that was obstructed by a trivial vermin that didn’t even have legs.
[Hah.]
Yes.
You are strong.
I acknowledge it.
You are the strongest vermin I have ever met.
But.
Interfering with my plans…
That was something I couldn’t tolerate.
How long had I planned for this?
A mere few thousand years.
During that long time, I had led the humans to let their guard down and secretly embedded my subordinates within their ranks.
After grasping the roots, I intended to directly manifest and sweep away everything in the human realm.
But now.
After thousands of years of planning,
A mere Snake Bastard has obstructed me.
[So, this is how it is.]
The Demon King rose from his seat.
Kuwung——!
The enormous throne shattered simultaneously with him.
From his body, pitch-black magical energy surged ominously.
All of it swirled around the Demon King, beginning to shred everything in the vicinity into pieces.
With every step he took, the ground crumbled, and everything around him started to shatter.
[I will go personally.]
Penalty?
Such things were irrelevant.
I will devour every living creature in the human realm and become stronger once again.
It was just then he stood before the portal.
Wuuung——!
The portal began to distort.
[What…?]
A mysterious force invaded the portal.
At the same time, the portal was instantly warped, becoming chained by a colossal beam of light.
As if sealing it.
[Goddammit!!]
He attempted to tear away those chains immediately, yet they could not be touched.
As if to say, you, a worthless being, couldn’t even begin to interfere.
And finally.
Pssss…
The portal was completely sealed shut.
The only means of crossing from the demon realm to the human realm was blocked.
At least, for several years.
[Ah, aaaa…]
The Demon King vowed.
No matter what happens,
I will kill that worthless vermin.
With my own hands.
I will make it regret ever daring to touch me, without even leaving a trace behind.
The Demon King made that vow.
See you in the next chapter!
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