Academy. A place that everyone dreams of during their youth.
But the stern buildings of the academy were crumbling down.
The previously vibrant flower gardens around were all burning away without a trace.
And in the midst of it all,
Kanael, one of the academy’s professors, cried out in despair.
“Isajang-nim…!!”
Kanael was collapsed, bleeding from his head.
In the direction he was looking,
There stood a fierce-looking woman with red hair, holding a fairy tightly in her hand.
“How astonishing. The chairman’s true identity was a fairy, huh?”
H cough…
As the tiny fairy, Darkhan, coughed, a mouthful of blood spewed from her lips.
Watching this, the Demon King raised an eyebrow and questioned with curiosity,
“Why are you protecting these humans, you little fairy?”
Breathing heavily, Darkhan answered her without a moment’s hesitation.
“They’re… my students…”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“How… did you break through the barrier and enter the Empire…?”
Even in the midst of a fierce battle with the Demon King, Darkhan couldn’t shake off the question.
The academy is situated right in the heart of the empire.
A legion of this size shouldn’t be able to appear out of nowhere without any news.
Unless a dimensional portal was opened… surely a barrier erected directly by him and the Great Sage was in place here at the academy.
There should be no way to invade so easily…
Yet, regardless of Darkhan’s huge doubts, the Demon King merely chuckled.
“Did you think I couldn’t come here because I hadn’t until now?”
“What… do you… mean… H cough…”
As yet another spurt of blood came from Darkhan, the Demon King smiled and continued.
“As long as the place isn’t twisted in space, there’s nowhere in this world I cannot go.”
“…What?”
At the Demon King’s words, Darkhan’s eyes began to tremble wildly.
‘…That can’t be true.’
Darkhan thought to herself.
If the Demon King was right, it meant that there had never been a safe place in the Empire all this time.
However, if that were the case, there should have been countless opportunities for the Demon King’s forces to seize this advantage. Yet they had only operated in the Demon Realm.
Thus, it was highly probable that what the Demon King was saying was… mere bluster.
“Do you think my words are nonsense?”
As if she read his thoughts, the Demon King’s red eyes silently looked down at him.
But having realized the Demon King’s bravado, he no longer needed to be shaken by her.
“Stop… laughing. If so, you must have invaded at least once… instead of hiding in the Demon Realm.”
Guffaw… “Well… I see that you think that way.”
The Demon King laughed even louder at Darkhan’s words.
After a while, once she had laughed enough and Darkhan’s face was frowning,
the Demon King began to speak calmly.
“Do you know what I desire?”
In this out-of-place situation, Darkhan couldn’t respond at all.
The Demon King glanced at the quiet Darkhan before continuing.
“The end of the world? The victory of the Demon Race? World conquest? Your words are all incorrect. I’m not interested in such things.”
“……What do you want then?”
“I’ve always had a strong desire for slaughter.”
The Demon King appeared slightly flushed with excitement at the mere thought of it.
“I want war. A war where no peace exists, only slaughter.”
“…..What?”
“A desperate fight where lives are at stake. A fierce world where blood and screams intertwine. I seek a grand war that will quench your thirst for slaughter.”
Darkhan could hardly accept the Demon King’s words.
Just for the sake of slaughter. Just because of such impure intentions.
It infuriated her that she harmed her academy and the precious students she cared for deeply.
Yet the more lamentable fact was,
that she could do nothing to resist her.
“Why haven’t I invaded until now? It’s obvious.”
Without waiting for Darkhan’s response, the Demon King continued.
“I’ve been waiting. For the time when both factions have prepared their full strength. For that ecstatic war to unfold.”
“…….A madwoman.”
“That’s what I intended to do, but… I suppose the thoughts of the Demon God differ.”
Darkhan couldn’t help but be appalled by the Demon King’s madness.
Her thoughts and power surpassed her imagination and were far too dangerous for this world.
She had to find a way to hold her here.
For the students standing behind her. She had to endure here somehow.
Yet, even while trying with all her might to stop her,
the wall of reality proved too high.
“That’s enough. It was fun to play with you. Now, I shall rest.”
The Demon King stretched out the hand that held her captive.
With a boom- sound, a massive shockwave hit her, and her body flew backward like a bullet.
‘…This is the end.’
Darkhan could instinctively sense it.
Her life would soon be extinguished.
If she collided with the wall like this, her small and fragile body would break so easily.
Fairies may have strong abilities in magic, but they lacked physical capabilities.
‘I must… protect my students… -‘
Worried about her students until the end,
Darkhan slowly closed her eyes and lost consciousness.
But, should she call it a stroke of luck?
Darkhan’s body did not collide with anything.
Someone had rushed in swiftly and caught her gently.
“You are… from that time…”
The Demon King stared at her with wide eyes.
Dark hair and blood-red eyes just like her own.
A glint of interest shone in the Demon King’s eyes.
—
A tear trickled down my cheek.
“Darkhan…”
Her breath brushed over my hand.
Her appearance was not pretty to speak of, but it was clear she was just unconscious.
‘Thank goodness..’
How relieved I was when I saw Darkhan captured through Helis’s eyes.
Since then, I couldn’t think at all and just rushed over.
But thankfully, she was breathing lightly in my hands.
I gently laid her down onto Helis.
“Take her to safety. You must be very careful.”
Helis nodded several times with her bright red eyes and flew back into the sky.
“I never expected to meet you here. What a coincidence.”
I slowly lifted my head and looked at her.
Fiery red hair and eyes that seemed to be stained with blood.
The black horns rising above.
And the overwhelming aura swirling around.
Mawang Arbes.
She was standing in front of me.
“Have you come to seek me out?”
As she stepped closer to me, my body began to tremble and cold sweat trickled down my back.
Standing before the Demon King, I could feel,
just how terrifying of a being she was.
My entire being instinctively screamed.
That this was an unbeatable opponent.
To run away immediately.
But I couldn’t do that.
How many lives behind me were in danger?
Lily and Iris. Ariel and Darkhan, and many other precious students.
They were all in a dire situation, so I couldn’t retreat.
I wiped away the tears welling in my eyes and looked at her.
“Please stop.”
“Mm?”
She raised an eyebrow, as if curious about my words.
“Please… stop the massacre.”
“Why should I do that?”
She gazed at me with an expression that seemed not to understand.
Of course.
She was our enemy.
I knew it was foolish to ask an enemy to halt their attack.
But this was the only way.
I had no strength to stop her, nor did I have confidence that I would defeat the legion.
All I could do was persuade her.
Using the knowledge I had from the original story, I had to find a way to stop the Demon King.
As the Demon King took another step closer to me, I felt an unknown pressure tightening around my throat.
“Tell me. Why should I stop?”
“For yourself.”
“….Huh?”
“Are you really going to end the fierce battle against the hero who has appeared after a hundred years so blandly?”
The Demon King’s eyes widened slightly, and she paused her steps.
She looked at me quietly for a moment, before nodding as if intrigued.
“You’re a genius who reached the Grandmaster level at just seventeen. With a little more growth, you could give me a good fight.”
I recalled the setting of Mawang Arbes.
From birth, she held an instinctive desire for slaughter.
The stronger the opponent, the more intense the battle, the more lives that perished, the happier she became.
Perhaps, if I leveraged her personality…
It might not be impossible.
“If you take out the hero like this with a surprise attack… the Demon King’s army might win. But there wouldn’t be any hot-blooded battle in the process.”
“…….”
It seemed the word ‘surprise’ displeased her, as she frowned.
“Therefore, for the greater war you want to have here -”
“Stop.”
I tried to persuade her further, but her overwhelming voice silenced me.
Before I realized it, the Demon King had reached right in front of me, observing me with a look of utter interest.
“How fascinating. Standing before you seems to quell my thirst for slaughter.”
“…….What?”
“Heroes, wars, I have little interest in. It seems you have some strange ability.”
Before I could comprehend what the Demon King was saying, she placed her hand over my face and began touching around my eyes with her fingers.
“J-just a moment…”
“You look quite pretty when you cry. This could be fun.”
With a laugh like she were looking at a toy she wanted, the Demon King continued to touch my face as she pondered.
After a brief moment,
she smiled at me as if she came to a decision.
“Let’s do this. I will immediately stop all massacres. No, for a while, I won’t spill any blood at all.”
“R-Really…?”
Her answer was much more positive than I expected.
Honestly, I thought it would be tough to persuade her, but her response was like an oasis in a dry desert, giving me great hope.
“Yes. But there’s a condition.”
“W-what is it?!”
Fearing she might change her mind, I anxiously grasped her clothing.
Looking up, her red eyes were piercing down at me.
She then tightly grasped my arms and spoke in a calm voice.
“You will live the remainder of your life as my puppet.”
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