Demon King

It was a breathtaking view. Exactly 38,464 monsters, grouped together by tribes, were quietly lined up in front of the gate even though no one had instructed them.

“Cool!”

[Now, even these monsters without reason can understand the captain’s words and intentions. Those who have evolved have learned a simple truth.]

“Is that why you’re looking at the captain who gave you strength like that?”

[You guys are acting so casual, it’s weird. The captain’s strength is not normal. There’s no way something like him can exist!]

The chatter among Rebellion’s members couldn’t reach my ears from up above. I took my time appreciating the sight of the legion assembled in front of me when the red-haired beauty moved to stand next to me.

“It’s such an uplifting sight.”

“Go away.”

“You don’t like me?”

“You…!” She did not attempt to hide her insidious side, but her charm as a woman was so strong that I, despite being accustomed to L, had to hide my face.

“I will kill you.”

“Please be careful not to hit Fate while aiming at me, sister.”

“…!” instead of collecting mana, L quietly displayed her anger on her face. I couldn’t help but be a little scared by it as the woman next to me let out a groan.

“But they’re still very weak. I think it would be nice to reduce the number a little more.” I stiffened for a moment, but I soon figured out what she was talking about.

“… I’ll think about it.” She was right. If we had even one thousand of those high-ranking monsters reach the upper level…no, even if only five hundred did, even a high-ranking demon would have cause for fear. It was impossible for such a large force, however. How hard did Lee Chan-yu and Mireina struggle to reach that system, after all? They had acquired special abilities, then they were special cases, but even still, moving into the higher system wasn’t so easy to overcome.

“But they won’t fight amongst themselves.”

“If you use my sister’s power…”

“That’s not efficient.” I cut her off and pushed her arm away. I could tell L’s anger was increasing slowly.

“So you can use the other guys.”

“The other guys?” L asked with a frown. The horse-headed man and the one on the leopard were watching us from a distance.

“The underground is changing. The restoration of the realm is causing it to warp. Soon, it will pour out its distorted contents into other places, and I plan to retrieve them.” The black moon was gone, but the battle wasn’t over. All the dungeons appearing on Earth were caused by my realm. I could send the legion against the monsters who were brought into the realm, and then strengthen the others with the death that would naturally occur. That way, they would be stronger for the next Devil’s Night, or perhaps the next clash with the angels and elves.

It was an ugly enough method that it made me nauseous, but it would work.

“Any other place…oh. Earth?” The woman’s eyes widened slightly.

“The underground was adjusting that way. Fate, did you expect that from the start?”

“Who can say whether I expected it or not.” I smiled bitterly. I had no intention of pretending that my memory was intact; it wouldn’t have worked. She looked like she didn’t know that I would confess it openly, though. I finally settled on a decision, turning toward her and the two men behind her.

“Then, from now on, I will accept you again under my command.”

“Finally.”

“Uh, sister. Please let go.”

“Whoo.” The reason why there had been traitors wasn’t complicated. After I lost my body and went to Earth, the chain of Domination had broken. Only a small part of that connection remained, albeit faintly.

“Don’t worry about betraying me because you won’t be going away from my control from now on.”

“Oh my… you’re just my type.” She responded with a smile, but there was clearly a bit of suspicion, irritation, and resignation on her face. L began to choke me soon after, and her face quickly disappeared, but I didn’t miss it. She made that look on purpose.

“All the worries you have are meaningless, so rest assured.”

“…My lord Fate says so, but I can’t feel relieved.” It was difficult to gain trust with just a single word, but at least I felt I had been able to convey my feelings. As she bowed deeply, the other two men nodded without hesitation.

“I, too, will believe.”

“I shall follow Fate, same as before.” I activated Domination. A chain that would never break formed and connected with those kneeling before me now.

“First, you…how about G?”

“I wish I could get my name back, but I am willing to receive that nickname.” The red-haired beauty, G, accepted the chain of Domination entangling around her. I would never forget her gently kissing my hand as the relationship was established, nor the punishment from L that would be awaiting me.

“Next is you…O. Will you be patient with that?”

“It is a ridiculous name, but it fits perfectly for me. Returning king, please allow me by your side in the war for our names.” The man on the leopard nodded with a savage smile, which left only the horse-headed man.

“From now on, I will call you R. I’ll be counting on you.”

“No matter the order, I will faithfully carry it out.” R was as courteous as he had been when he first appeared. His voice was filled with devotion as he lowered his head. This one also didn’t believe I would return, however. I wondered how strong the bonds would be. At least I could trust in my skill and power, the power of Domination that was growing within myself. After confirming that the chains of Domination were connected to the three, I let them disband.

“Stay underground for now.”

“What can I do here?”

“You could train those children.”

“I wait for the word.”

They weren’t a weapon I could quietly store in a sheath and pull out when necessary; they were violent weapons that had no choice but to continue to attack. I would have to give them something to occupy them.

“Widen the area. We need to repair this place as soon as possible for our expansion.” We had secured a vast area, but it was by no means the end of what was there. The moment we left this realm, we would be met with an uncontrolled and disorderly world. Rain, L, and A were connected to me and preserved their strength, so they couldn’t go outside this realm. But G, O, and R had lived beyond this place and weren’t bound here.

“That’s a good joke.” I laughed with G as she gently pinched my arm and could feel L’s punishment for me growing.

“I’m not kidding. If you want to run wild, work from now on.”

“…I think I need a little rest.”

“Then take a day off.” I pretended to be compassionate, but I wanted to rest as well. The magical and mental power consumed by dominating the three high-ranking demons was no joke. I had to worry about the changes that would appear on Earth, but now that the underground work was settled, I could go to Earth to wait for it after talking to the dwarves.

“Fate.” I thought G was playing with me again as something soft wrapped around me, but I quickly found that feeling of calm that overtook me was from L.

“You rest too. It will take a little while for the underground to affect Earth, and even if something happened sooner, you have more allies there now.”

“…Yes.” Maybe I had just been waiting for her to tell me to rest.

“Such blatant discrimination hurts.”

“It’s different for her.” Responding to G with a laugh, I followed L down from the wall. The dwarves were waiting down below, led by Alec, who was elected as their representative.

“I kept my promise. We had quite a few casualties too.”

“Please wait, Alec. Given the scale of the battle, you’ll likely get to go above ground soon.” The larger the battle, the greater the changes that would occur. If I could move properly to save them, there might even be tens of thousands of dwarves joining us this time.

Only

“We are willing to aid you in saving the other dwarves this time around.”

“No, the current situation on Earth isn’t suited for some great heroic struggle. It would be better to go in quickly to kill the hostiles and rescue who you can.”

“…I see. I’ll leave it to you.” Alec’s expression eased at my calm words, and he smiled bitterly at me.

“Fate.”

“Okay.” L’s patience had reached its limits, and the strength she was putting into pulling me along was no joke.

“Fate!”

“It’s starting again.” Mireina cried out, and Lee Chan-yu held her back. Despite the countless deaths around them, their attitude remains unchanged. Feeling relieved by it, I followed L into the fortress.

Sixteen hours later, a message from my sister arrived.