Demon King

The Birth of the Legion – 3

I wanted to help my allies struggling with the snake, but the situation didn’t allow it. As originally planned, the quality of corpses generated on the battlefield increased and were used to strengthen my allies. It, too, increased the quality of the enemies appearing.

[He’s here.]

[Look up. Your enemy is here.]

“Kh…” L clicked her tongue as she surveyed the battlefield from the wall. The voice continued to grow in strength as the night deepened. The realm hadn’t been completely subjugated yet, so the power L could exert was still limited. Her protection gradually began to break away.

[Quooooh!]

“Cry a bit more nicely, children!” Under the voice’s influence, the monsters lost their faltering sense of control and started to wild.

“The speed they’re declining is fast.” I muttered in frustration as I worked. I was turning the corpses of the fallen into energy, picking a good candidate, and then feeding them the energy to increase their ability. Death and evolution were occurring everywhere before me. I had yet to battle myself, but my head was already dizzy from exerting the power of Predation. As I was beginning to feel overwhelmed, Solas, who was waiting on my shoulder, tilted his head and let out a cute cry.

“What?”

“I’m still waiting.” The appearance of that higher-level demon wouldn’t be the end. I had yet to draw out one of the strongest powers.

“It begins.” A, who was still maintaining the shield around the fortress, spoke calmly. There were plenty of demons who wanted to infiltrate the castle instead of rushing into the frontline, so his shield was essential. It snuffed the lives of those who tried to break in.

I looked up and far out to where the frontline was, where almost no allies could be found. The land there had gradually darkened. I could no longer exercise my power on that land, which was natural as the number of monsters that served as the basis for it decreased.

“After tonight, the territory will expand again.”

“Then I can devour everything.” I responded bluntly to A and waved my hands like I was a conductor. Even if it was reducing, the area in which the battle was occurring was still wide. I couldn’t go out just yet.

Time continued to pass. The members of Rebellion continued to battle against the giant snake, but there had been no change in the situation. The abilities of Lee Chan-yu and Mireina were clear to see, but unfortunately, their levels were still low. Even with his name sealed, they couldn’t quickly destroy the snake that had years to gather power. However, as I started to worry over one of my members getting hurt before they could kill the snake, a voice sounded out.

[I’ve arrived. Curse the one who cleanses the past with the blood of his subordinates! It is time for you to pay for your sins!]

It was finally revealed.

[Fate…I will burn you!]

I recognized its cursed existence, and instinctively, my body was filled with the power of destruction. This was a person who could make that power stronger. I wondered if it was possible for high-ranking demons to resonate with each other, but that seemed to be the case.

“Solas.”

“Myu.” Solas disappeared from around me.

“Canis, you go too.”

[Gaooooo!]

Canis, who was hiding in the shadow, cried out vigorously and sprinted into the air. He vanished in a blink with Ubiquitous, just like Solas did.

[Burn everything! This whole world that is nothing but an illusion…huh?! This spider!]

“Myu!”

[Ahhhhhh!]

I stopped paying attention after watching the two rush after the leopard that was setting fires everywhere. It had strength similar to Andras, but Solas and Canis were superior entities with plenty of combat experience. I was confident they could take care of it a lot faster than the others.

‘The real problem starts now.’ Consuming the countless monsters to block incoming enemies and remove the high-ranking demons was the best course of action in the current situation. In fact, it was working, and only the demons who were fiercely determined or exceptionally well-hidden were sneaking around the fortress. Since our main purpose under the Devil’s Night was to protect the castle, I hoped it would work.

But there was a problem with the number of elites. Rebellion’s main force, the three of them, were fighting one demon, and Solas and Canis were in charge of the strongest one. L and A couldn’t move, so in the end, all that was left was Rain.

[I feel lonely.]

“Katsuragi, focus and aim straight.”

[Ah, of course!]

Moreover, the consumption of allied troops was proceeding faster than I expected. It would be nice if the rest of the people became stronger, but that would just be an illusion. While I wondered if it was wrong to thank that, a huge dragon appeared from the dark fog.

[Khahahaha! A festival, a festival is being held! After a long, long time, a grand festival!]

I immediately went on alert. Corpses began to pile up on all sides, centered on him.

“Shit!” The dragon form wasn’t just for show; his power was far beyond the giant snake and leopard as it exuded the power of necromancy. Even if the two attacked him at the same time, they wouldn’t win. Rain arrived without hesitation.

“I’ll go.”

“No, if it’s impossible to…” In truth, I wasn’t sure if he could win. However, I knew that I, the lord of this castle, wouldn’t be able to protect anything if I was scared off by the invaders. Rain had a sorrowful look on his face as he spoke firmly.

“Fate, you can’t beat it right now. Could you leave it to me?”

“…I see.” Originally, such a powerful enemy would only appear after passing through the Devil’s Night a few times, but we skipped a few steps by recklessly securing those dungeons. Rain must have been expecting this, which is why he prepared for battle. I calmly collected the corpses that hadn’t been caught in the dragon’s necromancy.

“Please.”

“Please leave it to me.” Rain vanished, no doubt due to some ability similar to Ubiquitous. Looking at the dragon before me, however, I couldn’t help but worry he wouldn’t be enough.

[It’s been a while…! It was so annoying I thought I’d die!]

“I’ve been shamelessly saving my energy for this.” Thousands of chains sprung up around Rain to extend in all directions. They restrained, struck, and killed everything that it touched like a spider’s web. As an ability that kept others from moving, I thought it suited Rain.

[I’m honestly scared of fighting the king.]

“You are amassed with the fear of Fate, yet you still came back?”

[You know why. This moon, this night, this world!]

The dragon let out a cry, his silver scales reflecting the black moonlight.

[Even if we lost our names, we are still demons!]

“Well said, and confident too.” The thousands of chains bound the dragon; Rain’s mana was seemingly endless. It was like looking out at a boundless sea.

“Unfortunately for you, I have a fair bit of strength myself.”

[Where is the king?!]

The dragon’s voice echoed across the battlefield. He couldn’t move properly, but he still maintained his prudence.

Only

[I don’t want to lose any more fights.]

“I don’t need to let you talk any further.” Rain’s attacks slammed down on the dragon. Countless chains tangled up and rattled, vibrating the space around them. I wondered if it was simply because he grew bored with the conversation, but I felt no irritation from him.

[Guooooooh!]

The sky opened.

[It is the command of the Devil.]

Along with the cheeky words of calling someone other than me the devil, a bullet pierced through both A’s shield and my chest.

[I will clean up this wretched place and retrieve his wife.]