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What is a Demon King?

The king of all evils. An existence at the opposite extreme of life.

An adversary to humanity, and a harbinger of destruction.

And, an entity seeking to possess the Goddess of Life.

The first emergence of this Demon King occurred a significant time after the once-existent Romania Empire divided and fell apart.

In a desolate corner of the frozen expanse, the Demon King constructed a massive castle, and the first thing he did was use his power to summon monsters possessing the traits of beasts.

As a being that dominated all evils, the nonsentient monsters were akin to domesticated wolves under the Demon King’s control, and he gathered all monsters within his sphere of influence.

Countless monsters congregated before the Demon King’s stronghold, and following his commands, they began an evolutionary trial of devouring one another to gain strength.

This horrifying struggle for survival of the fittest continued until only one out of a hundred monsters remained.

The surviving monsters were transformed into beings far stronger than any that had existed before.

People began to call these powerful monsters that served the Demon King “the Demon King’s beasts” or “monstrous beasts.”

Thus, the Demon King commanded countless monstrous beasts as his first army, bestowing the title of “the leader of the beast army” upon the most powerful among them.

That was the first army of the newly emerged Demon King.

– The Demon King. A symbol of terror.

—

Well, the Demon King is just a rumor, after all. The sight of countless monsters pouring in led to a rumor about an unknowable entity dominating them.

Contrary to that rumor, what was actually situated atop the massive mountain that rose from the ground… was an amorphous mass of magical power.

Magic that had long been condensed and formed. A vast accumulation of magic, devoid of self-awareness, had grown endlessly.

If that were all, it would merely be a minor trouble.

However, the problem arose thereafter.

Monsters, beast-like as they were, were drawn towards the immense mass of magical power, losing their sense of self as they faced such overwhelming magic.

This colossal mass of magical power was unfathomable. If any monster were to consume that power… they could potentially become a being close to a god in terms of pure strength.

Faced with such power, the gathered monsters… began to devour one another.

Well, it’s only natural.

In fact, it would be more odd if they hadn’t fought against other monsters on their way there.

Monsters are living creatures.

When hungry, they must consume something, and they also require sleep. Basic physiological phenomena are inescapable for such beings.

In a situation where they had rushed to the turning cold snowfield, drawn by the enormous magical power, what do you think was the first thing they felt upon encountering it?

The answer is hunger.

The monsters, having run for an extended time whilst starving in the presence of immense magical power, felt an endless craving.

The monsters attacked and began to consume the other monsters around them like beasts.

As though it were a giant cauldron of solitude filled with monsters.

Thus, the monsters indiscriminately attacking others nearby somehow evolved and became even stronger.

Did they absorb the power of the monsters they devoured? Or did they consume the shards of darkness contained within the mana stones?

Anyway, after countless monsters grew stronger by devouring one another, the number of them had significantly diminished.

The cause behind this gathering of monsters. The enormous mass of magical power began to change.

What could the cause be? Was it the deaths arising from the ceaseless devouring, the intense heat of constant struggles, or was it merely the imagination of humans recalling the Demon King?

With so many possible causes, it was impossible to ascertain.

Regardless, the mass of magical power underwent transformation, gradually shrinking in size until it began to take on a human form.

If that form were to be completed, the Demon King would make an appearance.

The rumors circulating among the people would manifest.

Well, I didn’t plan to just leave it be… actually, maybe leaving it be would be more entertaining?

Isn’t it more fun to have a Demon King in fantasy? The presence of a formidable foe threatening humans and other life forms… could serve as an intriguing element, right?

So, let’s just watch for now. It’s probably just a being with a strength close to a god residing in the Divine Hall anyway.

I could suppress and crush it at any moment.

Thus, as the magical crystal began transforming into a human figure… ah…

The sight of the magical crystal changing… somehow looks familiar to me.

A large pair of horns and long silver hair on a little girl.

In other words, it looked remarkably similar to the form I had taken as a human.

The only difference? That being lacks a shred of life or will.

It looked like a doll.

—

Of course, there are many beings that resemble me.

More precisely, it’s the fragments I created.

Hades, who works diligently in the underworld, and Asherat, who takes on the tasks of the Goddess of Life.

While their basic appearances are quite similar to mine, they lacked horns and gave off a significantly gentler impression. We can gloss over the hair colors being black and white.

However, this was different. It had the same appearance as me.

One could say that if magic were personified, it would take on a form just like mine.

This feels a bit strange. Should I observe more closely?

I relocated to stand in front of that doll-like being.

Pfft!

With a bizarre sound akin to the air escaping, the doll-like figure resembling me slowly began to disperse.

Like air escaping from a balloon… or, like dry ice vaporizing into nothingness.

The once unified form of magic began to scatter and seep into me.

Hmm…

Did the crystallized magic lose its shape due to me? Did I absorb the scattered magic?

This is… not very entertaining.

I finally witnessed something intriguing, but it turned out to be a mere phantasm I couldn’t even approach closely.

How boring.

If only I hadn’t approached… if I had merely observed from afar, it could have become an even more fascinating entity.

I let out a small sigh.

It can’t be helped. I really didn’t want to do it, but…

A few seconds of time should pose no significant issue to rewind.

I took out a watch from my pocket and gently rewound the time, pressing a button.

By using my ability to reverse time, which I hadn’t utilized in a long while, a few seconds vanished, and everything returned to how it was before.

Like a video being played in reverse, all phenomena were rewound.

Thus, the being that had lost its form and vanished due to me, a being with the potential to become the Demon King, reappeared here once more.

Seeing that form, I let out a small sigh.

Alright, then I’ll just observe from a distance.

Let’s see what that likeness of mine becomes, what path it will take… just watch.

If any real issues arise, I can simply manifest before it and wipe it out. I could evaporate it in an instant.

Conversely, it means that as long as it keeps me entertained, I cannot appear before it.

It can’t be helped. I can’t let an interesting entity that has just appeared vanish simply because I want to see it up close.

So, let’s watch from a distance. A very great distance.

While anticipating what change this will bring to the world.

—

What is a Demon King?

Some may consider the Demon King a symbol of terror.

Some may refer to it as the foe a hero must face, the hero’s adversary.

Some think it was a being created by the Goddess of Life to instill awareness in the wayward humans.

What could be the truth?

What could be the lies?

After the Demon King vanished, we living in the distant future can’t know.

All we can do is infer the identity of the Demon King from the remaining records.

That process may be arduous and tedious.

It might even be an insult to our ancestors who fought the Demon King’s army with their lives.

Yet, we must learn.

What is the Demon King? What brought the Demon King into being?

As false heroes have prevented true heroes from appearing, the only power we have left to confront the Demon King is our own.

To know the enemy and know ourselves is to be victorious in a hundred battles.

Thus, we must understand the Demon King more deeply.

To avoid defeat.

To defeat the Demon King if it reappears.

We must dig into the Demon King.

– The Demon King. Who is he? (Volume 1)

 

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