Chapter 272 – Side Story 21 – Coronation (1)

The massive temple at the top of the tower.

This temple was larger and more majestic than the one Selena had seen in the imperial capital when she was young.

However, instead of the sanctity she had felt in that temple, this one radiated a bone-chilling coldness and terror.

It was likely due to the aura and corrupted mana that filled this temple.

An aura so intense that an ordinary person would have gone mad and died upon entering the temple.

Of course, ordinary people would have struggled to survive in the demon realm outside, but the concentration of aura and corrupted mana inside this temple was several times stronger than the demon world outside.

Just as the temple in the imperial capital had been filled with divine power.

Without her transformed mana, Selena might have gone mad or died like others, especially now that she couldn’t manipulate mana.

But fortunately(?), Selena didn’t feel any discomfort inside this Demon God’s temple.

Naturally, the monsters seemed to enjoy it, and Vlad, who possessed the same transformed mana as her, was also fine.

[I am the god of this world. I have been waiting, one who shall become a Demon King.]

As the monsters led Selena into the temple, they once again felt the voice, or rather, the image from the enormous divine statue inside.

It was the same message that Selena’s father had heard recently, but those who had entered the temple now didn’t know that.

While the monsters were moved by hearing the god’s words directly, Selena bit her lip.

She wasn’t biting her lip for no reason.

She had to do so to maintain her composure.

Even if it was a Demon God, a god was still a god.

It was impossible to remain unaffected when hearing the voice, the divine revelation, directly from a god, not a human.

Selena was barely able to regain her senses by injuring her lip.

But unlike Selena, Vlad stared at the enormous divine statue with a blank expression.

Despite his blank expression, his eyes gleamed strangely as he looked at the goddess statue.

Fortunately, neither Selena nor the other monsters noticed Vlad’s eyes, as they were too busy responding to the god’s voice.

Listening to the Demon God’s voice, the monsters dragged Selena toward the front of the Demon God statue.

Though the massive murals on the temple ceiling and the sculptures on the walls depicted the history of this demon realm, neither the people nor the monsters paid attention to them.

When they arrived in front of the Demon God statue, another message was heard from the statue.

[You have broken through the obstacles and come this far, so receive my baptism, become my servant, and bring down the worlds of false gods to be the same as this world.]

It was the exact same message that Egger had heard recently.

Hearing this, Selena felt confused.

There had been no obstacles on their way here.

[Did the hero and humans enter this tower?]

The lich who had sealed Selena’s magic answered her question.

And it wasn’t just Selena who was surprised by the lich’s sudden mention of a hero.

“What? A hero entered the demon realm?”

In response to the vampire’s question, the lich gave an uncharacteristically long answer.

[I heard from other monsters that a hero and humans were causing trouble near the Demon God’s tower. I thought they wouldn’t be able to break through the Red Forest, but they managed to penetrate the forest and climb the tower.]

The vampire urgently asked again after hearing the lich’s answer.

“Then wasn’t it dangerous?”

[Are you saying our god was in danger from a mere hero?]

The lich’s message in response to the vampire’s words seemed to contain anger.

“That’s not what I meant. Looking at the situation, it seems the god cleared the tower for us and dealt with the hero as well.”

The vampire seemed to sense this and drew his own conclusion.

As the monsters reached a conclusion about the hero that was similar but different from the truth, Selena focused not on the hero but on the words themselves.

And she was able to draw her own conclusion.

“I’ve heard that the Demon God is a fallen god, but this seems beyond mere corruption—it has completely fallen into the abyss. A god that can’t even think and can only say predetermined words—this is a deity worse than humans, monsters, or even ego artifacts.”

Though her words were extremely scathing, the monsters didn’t rebuke her.

This was because they too knew that their god had fallen.

The reason monsters tried to fill the world with corrupted mana or aura wasn’t to exalt their god.

They simply wanted other gods and worlds to fall into the abyss, just as their god and they themselves had fallen.

[And you will become the god’s representative and our king, leading the vanguard.]

“But what if I refuse to become a Demon King? And what if, even after becoming a Demon King, I don’t act like other Demon Kings?”

“There’s a separate method for that. A method we can use because I’m here and you’re human.”

Just as the vampire finished speaking, another message was heard from the statue.

[Then, stand before me and accept my power.]

But the monsters didn’t drag her in front of the statue.

Instead, the lich stepped forward and sent a message to the statue.

[God, please wait a moment. If you give us time, we will transform the one who will become the new Demon King into someone worthy of you.]

It was an eloquent statement that didn’t suit the lich as we had seen it so far.

Words like a temple priest praying to a god.

But the Demon God didn’t answer the lich’s words.

Or rather, instead of answering, it simply repeated what it had just said.

[Then, stand before me and accept my power.]

And the lich also ignored the god’s words.

[Thank you. We will prepare and present her before you.]

A god and its servant speaking past each other.

It was an absurd scene, but since it involved the Demon God and a lich monster, it was even more terrifying.

[The god has granted permission. Begin.]

After this theatrical scene, the lich issued instructions to the vampire standing behind.

“Understood.”

The vampire bowed to the lich, turned around, and approached Selena.

“Now I’ll tell you about the method I mentioned earlier.”

With these words, the vampire raised his hand and grabbed Selena’s neck.

Gack.

Her breath suddenly cut off.

Selena looked at the vampire’s red eyes with surprised eyes.

The vampire smiled with pleasure seeing Selena’s surprised eyes.

“Do you know why humans have tried to exterminate us vampires for such a long time?”

Selena had heard about this in legends and from her parents, but that probably wasn’t the answer the vampire wanted.

“It’s partly because we’re intelligent monsters, and partly because we resemble humans, but there’s an even more important reason. It’s because we can control human minds.”

As expected, the vampire’s words were different from what Selena had anticipated.

Words she had never heard in legends or from her parents.

“You’ve probably heard this before. That if we suck blood, you become a vampire like us.”

She had seen that in a fairy tale book she had read as a child.

It was a fairy tale to help her sleep when she couldn’t.

“But that’s a rumor created by humans who glimpsed the truth. You don’t become a vampire just because we suck your blood. That’s not what we do; it’s what black magicians who revive the dead do. What we can do is not create vampires, but mix our blood to control humans. People saw this and mistakenly thought that those who were controlled had become vampires.”

Hearing the vampire’s words, Selena could understand what ability he was talking about.

‘A mental ability like brainwashing?’

It was a terrifying mental ability, but fortunately, it had a weakness.

“Long ago, we used that ability to control humans… but we were ruined thanks to priests.”

Selena’s face turned pale at his words, which seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

According to him, this brainwashing ability was a simple one that could be undone by a priest’s divine power.

But the problem was that there were no priests here now.

“There are limits to how many people we can control, and it can be undone by divine power, but here and now, such limitations aren’t a problem.”

And the vampire had the same thoughts as her.

Hearing the vampire’s words, Selena forcibly moved her constricted throat to open her mouth.

“But, if I regain my magic, or, gack, gack, if I become a Demon King, it won’t work, right?”

“This is a spell that has been passed down through our clan for thousands of years. It doesn’t break so easily. And even if my control is somehow broken after you become a Demon King, there’s no need to worry. Your way of thinking will change after you become a Demon King. Do you think only monsters have become Demon Kings throughout these thousands of years?”

The vampire was right.

Since the god fell and became a Demon God, numerous Demon Kings had emerged.

Of course, the number of Demon Kings that appeared in Ea didn’t exceed a few dozen, but the Demon Kings created by the Demon God didn’t only head toward Ea.

And not all of those many Demon Kings were monsters.

There were humans, black magicians who sought to destroy the world, and even abandoned royalty seeking revenge.

Not all of them had the same thoughts as the Demon God who wanted to destroy the world,

But after becoming Demon Kings, they all moved according to the Demon God’s will.

This was because once they became the god’s representatives, whether human or monster, they had no choice but to follow the god’s commands.

“My ability can only be undone by a vampire stronger than me. If you become a Demon King and can break my ability, that would be something to be thankful for. It would mean you’ve become an excellent Demon King.”

As the vampire was mocking her like this, the lich intervened.

[Time is being wasted. The god is waiting.]

At the lich’s words, the vampire stopped talking and pulled Selena, whose neck he was holding, toward his open mouth.

Sharp fangs visible inside his mouth.

Selena’s eyes moved past the vampire’s impossibly wide mouth.

Behind the vampire was Vlad, still with the same expressionless face as before.

His expression showed no concern for her crisis.

But seeing his expression, Selena actually felt reassured.

After all, his expression hadn’t changed even in this Demon God’s temple, even before the Demon God.

He might not be able to save her, but at least he wasn’t on their side.

So instead of closing her eyes at the approaching fangs, she looked into Vlad’s expressionless eyes.

Even if he couldn’t avenge her, she hoped he would at least inform her parents of her fate.

And Selena thought that even if she became a Demon King, Ea would be fine.

Because her parents were there.

Having heard about her, her parents would surely act.

The former hero’s party that had defeated the previous Demon King.

It would be a great filial impiety if she became their target, but that couldn’t be helped.

And so, Selena’s neck was bitten by the vampire.

Blood flowed from her neck, and Selena’s eyes began to blur.

And Vlad silently watched her blurring eyes from behind.