LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 348
What is the Demon King?
The king of all demons. An existence at the antipode of life.
An entity that opposes humanity and brings about destruction.
And, a being that desires to possess the Goddess of Life.
The first appearance of this Demon King came after a considerable amount of time had passed since the once-existing Romania Empire split into two.
In the barren corner of a frozen wasteland, the Demon King created a massive castle and the first thing he did was to summon monsters with the properties of beasts using his powers.
As a being that rules over all demons, monsters devoid of intelligence were akin to tamed wolves under the Demon King’s control, so he gathered all monsters within his sphere of influence.
Thus, countless monsters gathered before the Demon King’s castle, beginning a trial of evolution where they consumed each other to grow stronger under the Demon King’s orders.
This horrific cycle of the strong devouring the weak reportedly ceased only when one out of a hundred monsters survived.
The monsters that survived were transformed into beings of immense strength, incomparable to their predecessors.
People began to refer to these powerful monsters, who survived and followed the Demon King’s commands, as the Demon King’s beasts—called Majin.
Thus, the Demon King commanded an immeasurable horde of Majin as his first army, bestowing the title of Majin Legion Commander to the mightiest among them.
This was the first army of the Demon King.
– The Demon King. A symbol of fear.
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Well, the Demon King is just a rumor. The sight of countless monsters flocking together conjured the image of an unidentified being ruling over them.
Contrary to such rumors, what actually sits atop the towering mountain that has risen from the ground is… a properly formed crystal of magical power.
Concentrated for a long time, this magical power took form. An immense magical power that has grown endlessly without possessing a self.
If that were all, it would have merely been a minor trouble.
However, the problem arose thereafter.
Beast-like monsters, drawn to this enormous crystal of magical power, gathered without a sense of self, facing vast magical might.
The crystal of magical power was so massive that endowing any monster that consumed it would bring them close to godhood based solely on their power.
Faced with such overwhelming magical power, the monsters began to… consume each other.
Well, of course, it’s to be expected.
It would be more bizarre if they didn’t fight other monsters during their journey there.
Monsters are creatures.
When hungry, they need to eat something, and they also need to sleep. They can’t escape basic physiological phenomena.
In the chaotic situation where they rushed to the frigid snowfield, drawn helplessly by the immense magical power, what was the first thing they felt upon encountering it?
The answer is hunger.
These monsters, having run for a considerable time while starving, felt an endless hunger before the immense magical power.
The monsters attacked and began to consume other nearby monsters in a beastly manner.
Like a gigantic cauldron filled with monsters.
The monsters that indiscriminately attacked others around them, for some reason, became even stronger.
Did they absorb the strength of the other monsters by devouring them? Or did they also swallow fragments of darkness contained within the Mana Stone?
Anyway, with countless monsters growing stronger as they consumed each other, the number dwindled considerably.
At that point, the cause of the monster gathering began to shift—a change in the enormous crystal of magical power.
What could be the cause? Could it be the deaths created from monsters eating each other? The endless heat of the ongoing struggle? Or could it be the imagination of humans recalling the Demon King?
There seemed to be too many possibilities to ascertain a single cause.
Anyway, the magical crystal underwent changes, gradually shrinking until it began to take on a human form.
Once that form is completed, the Demon King will emerge.
The rumors that swirled among the people would come to fruition.
Well, I had no intention of just letting it happen… No, wait. Maybe it would be more entertaining to just let it play out?
Isn’t it more fun for there to be a Demon King in a fantasy setting? The existence of a powerful enemy threatening humans and other beings… could serve as an interesting element, right?
So, let’s just observe for a while. It likely only has the strength comparable to a god residing in the Divine Hall.
It’s something I could crush anytime.
As the magical crystal transforms into a human form… Oh…
The changing form of the magical crystal… somehow looks familiar.
A giant pair of horns and a young girl with long silver hair.
In other words, it is strikingly similar to the form I take as a human.
The only difference is… it has little life and seems devoid of any will?
It looks just like a doll.
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Of course, beings resembling me exist in abundance.
To be precise, it’s the case of the fragments I created.
Hades, who is diligently working in the Underworld, and Asherat, who is taking on the responsibilities of the Goddess of Life.
While their basic appearances are quite similar to mine, a notable difference is that they have no horns and exude a rather gentle impression. Let’s overlook the hair colors of black and white.
However, this one is different. It looks exactly like me.
It’s as if magical power personified takes on a form akin to mine.
This is a bit unsettling. Should I observe it a little more closely?
I moved through space to stand before this doll-like entity.
*Pshhh!*
With a strange sound akin to air escaping, the form of the doll resembling me slowly dispersed.
Like air leaving a balloon… or the way dry ice vaporizes and vanishes.
The unified form of magical power scattered and melted into me.
Hmm…
Did it lose its form due to me? Did the scattered magical power get absorbed by me?
This is… not very entertaining.
Even though I was excited to see something thrilling, it’s just an ethereal being that I can’t get close to.
How boring.
If only I hadn’t gone close… if I had just watched from a distance, it could have become a more fascinating existence.
I let out a small sigh.
It can’t be helped. Although I didn’t really want to…
I suppose rewinding the time by a few seconds shouldn’t be a big issue.
I took out my watch from my breast pocket and lightly rewound time, pressing the button.
Thanks to the time-rewinding ability, which I hadn’t used in a long time, the few seconds of time were erased and everything returned to how it was before.
Like a video playing in reverse, all phenomena seem to rewind.
Thus, the being that had lost its form and vanished through me, the one that held the potential of the Demon King, reappeared here once more.
Seeing this form, I sighed softly.
Alright. Then I will simply watch from afar.
I’ll see what that thing, resembling me, transforms into and which path it walks… just observe.
If any problem arises, I can erase it simply by appearing before it. I could make it vanish in an instant.
On the flip side, that also means, as long as it entertains me, I cannot appear before it.
It can’t be helped. I can’t just make an interesting being disappear just because I want to observe it up close.
So… let’s keep our distance. A very long distance.
While hoping to see what kind of changes this brings about in this world.
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What is the Demon King?
Some consider the Demon King a symbol of fear.
Some called him the adversary that heroes must confront, an enemy for the heroes.
Some thought it was a being created by the Goddess of Life to instill caution in the complacent humans.
Which of these is the truth?
Which of them is a lie?
After the Demon King’s disappearance, we living in the distant future cannot know.
All we can do is infer the Demon King’s identity from the remaining records.
That process may be quite arduous and tedious.
It may be an insult to our ancestors who risked their lives fighting against the Demon King’s army.
Yet, we must understand.
What is the Demon King? Why did the Demon King appear?
Now that, due to false heroes, a true hero has not emerged, the only power we have to face the Demon King is our own.
If we know the enemy and ourselves, we will not be at risk in a hundred battles.
Thus, we need to study the Demon King in greater detail.
To ensure we do not lose to the Demon King.
To defeat him if he appears again.
We must delve into the mystery of the Demon King.
– The Demon King. Who is he? (Volume 1)