Chapter 275 – Side Story 24 – Demon King vs Hero’s Party (1)

Contrary to the expectations of the lich and other monsters, Vlad didn’t die but was able to receive the Demon God’s baptism because of his desire for revenge.

Unlike what the lich and monsters believed, the most important criterion for the Demon God to appoint someone as a Demon King wasn’t the candidate’s ability, power, or “rank.”

Of course, those criteria weren’t completely irrelevant, but the most important thing was the candidate’s “desire for revenge.”

The Demon God, who had fallen into the abyss, held onto one last thing: a desire for revenge against the world.

The Demon God didn’t care who the revenge was directed at or who the candidate wanted to take revenge on.

And Vlad possessed an immense anger and desire for revenge, beyond what the Demon God desired.

Of course, it was directed differently than what the monsters wanted, but the fallen Demon God didn’t care.

Naturally, there were other criteria.

His ability, power, and “rank” were lacking, which made it dangerous, but Vlad’s desire for revenge was strong enough to overcome all of that.

That’s how Vlad was able to become the new Demon King.

A while later, after the aura and black smoke had cleared, a man appeared on the magic circle.

Since Vlad had been standing on the magic circle before the aura enveloped it, everyone assumed it would be him, but neither the monsters, the lich, nor Selena could believe that the man was Vlad.

This was because the man looked completely different from Vlad.

He was no longer the young boy he had appeared to be, nor was he the balloon-like human who had absorbed the aura.

He had become a tall, slender young man with red eyes, nearly two meters in height.

Moreover, he was no longer a weak half-breed monster, but a powerful human—no, a Demon King—with dark red mana flowing from his body that even Selena, whose magic was sealed, could see.

Not everyone perceived him this way.

Unlike the other monsters who retreated cautiously, the lich stood in place and moved its jaw.

[No, he’s not a proper Demon King. The half-breed has ruined everything.]

At the lich’s words, Vlad, or rather the new Demon King, turned his head.

“A half-breed, you say?”

To the Demon King’s question, the lich gave a lengthy answer.

[I can no longer call you a half-breed. However, though you’ve become a powerful monster, a powerful vampire, you’re not a Demon King.]

At the lich’s kind explanation, Vlad, now a complete vampire, slowly nodded.

“Is that so… Indeed, this appearance seems limited for someone called a Demon King.”

As the lich said, Vlad’s transformed appearance was closer to that of a legendary vampire than a Demon King.

Becoming a Demon King didn’t mean suddenly growing horns or anything like that, but the lich couldn’t feel the overwhelming pressure it had felt from previous Demon Kings.

Selena felt the same, but she was more amazed by Vlad’s changed appearance.

“Vlad… is that you?”

The vampire Vlad looked down at Selena, who was sitting in front of the magic circle.

Though she was a noble, a great mage, and the daughter of the lord he had served, she no longer evoked the same feeling in him.

Just an unpleasant, weak, ordinary human.

Just one of many human women that monsters and vampires perceived.

[Speaking of which, you were a vampire. A complete vampire can grow stronger by absorbing the opponent’s blood, or rather, life force. If you eat that human girl’s life force and then consume strong humans, you might become a Demon King.]

As Vlad looked down at Selena, the lich told him how he could become a Demon King.

This was something Vlad already knew.

The moment the Demon God’s baptism ended, having become a complete vampire, the king of vampires, he knew how to become the king of monsters.

The Demon God’s baptism hadn’t failed.

The reason he couldn’t immediately ascend to become a Demon King was because his ability and “rank” were insufficient.

And raising that power and “rank” wasn’t difficult for a complete vampire from legend.

The vampire king who could increase his power by absorbing the enemy’s blood or life force.

All he needed to do was to suck the life force from someone with “rank.”

Vlad extended his hand toward Selena.

Seeing this, Selena closed her eyes.

With her magic sealed, she couldn’t escape Vlad’s grasp.

Whoosh!

Dark mana erupted from Vlad’s hand and enveloped Selena’s body.

Crack!

Then came the sound of something breaking, and the magic circles overlaid on Selena’s body began to shatter.

All of these magic circles had been sealing her magic and mana.

Selena looked at Vlad with a surprised face.

[Ugh! You forcibly broke my magic?]

The lich groaned from the backlash of having its magic forcibly broken.

“It seems I can do this much, even if I’m not a Demon King.”

Vlad looked at his hand that had sprayed mana with a curious expression.

[You freed a human! Don’t you realize that you’ve now become a complete monster?!]

Shocked, the lich shouted at Vlad in a manner uncharacteristic of itself.

“I know. How could I not?”

Unlike the lich, Vlad nodded with a calm expression.

[Then why? Don’t you know how much your rank would increase just by absorbing that human’s life force?!]

Vlad pointed his finger forward.

Directly at the lich with its glowing red eyes.

“I know. But with so many better meals right here, there’s no need to eat anything else.”

[What… You can’t mean!]

Unlike the other monsters, the lich realized what Vlad meant.

But even it couldn’t stop what Vlad was about to do.

“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. You all will be the foundation for me to become a Demon King!”

With Vlad’s words, red mana poured from his body like a waterfall.

[This is absurd! You, you are to be the king of monsters, the Demon King…]

As it was swept away by the red mana, the lich spewed out a message like a scream.

But in this temple, no one paid attention to the lich’s words.

Not Vlad, not Selena. Not even the Demon God’s statue.

The red mana shot up into the sky once more.

The sight of red mana shooting up from the tower could be seen from very far away.

From the nearby Red Forest to the desert in the south and the snow fields in the north.

Countless monsters rushing toward the Red Forest cheered at the strengthened corrupted mana, sensing the birth of a Demon King.

Of course, the former hero’s party, who had just entered the Red Forest, could see it too.

But unlike the monsters rushing toward the tower, they only felt more worried.

“We’re not too late, are we?”

Yerim, with a darkened face, expressed her concern as she looked at the red pillar of light from the tower, but Zahina shook her head.

“It’ll be fine. Selena isn’t the type to die so easily.”

Despite Zahina’s words, Yerim’s expression didn’t change.

Though the others who had come here were also worried about Selena, Yerim was additionally blaming herself.

She felt responsible for Selena being kidnapped by monsters on Earth.

Of course, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

But since she had been the one in charge when they went, she couldn’t help but blame herself.

That’s why she had insisted on coming to the demon realm, even though her connection to the god was severed, making it difficult to use divine power.

Of course, Zahina’s divine power was also half-sealed, but she was both a Saintess and a grand mage.

Crash!

Zahina’s magic crushed the trees of the approaching Red Forest.

And another grand mage.

Yelena’s magic fell into the middle of the forest.

Boom!

A large-scale gravity magic derived from spatial magic.

The monsters rushing toward them were flattened against the ground.

Then, the magic of the last mage, Irene, spread around them.

Flames burned the remaining trees, and the strong gravity melted the flattened monsters.

While the mages blocked the surroundings, the lord, Knight Egger, swung his sword energy to clear a path through the Red Forest.

Crash!

Sword energy extending dozens of meters cut through trees and severed the waists of monsters.

Not long ago, Egger had single-handedly devastated part of the forest, but now, with grand mages accompanying him, the destructive power was incomparable.

But the expression on Egger’s face as he cleared the path wasn’t good.

And the same was true for the mages.

After entering the forest, they had been launching powerful attacks continuously, but they weren’t advancing as quickly as when Egger had come alone.

It was an unexpected situation, but it couldn’t be helped.

The pillar of light they had seen when entering the demon realm had attracted countless monsters.

Even in the desert where no monsters had been visible, monsters had started running in the same direction as them,

And upon entering the Red Forest, they found that numerous monsters had already gathered.

The density of monsters was completely different from when Egger had come alone.

It was almost as if the forest was half trees, half monsters.

In any other situation, even the former hero’s party—Egger and his wives—would have hesitated to enter this forest, but they couldn’t stop now.

No parents would stop after seeing the ominous mana rising from the tower where their daughter was likely to be.

But this Red Forest was blocking their path more than they had anticipated.

No, it was more than just blocking—it was threatening their lives.

This was because the monsters kept gathering, no matter how many they killed.

Of course, in a different place, they might have been able to handle this many monsters, but this was the Demon God’s world, the demon realm.

A place with almost no divine power or proper mana.

This was a place where it was difficult to recover mana and divine power once depleted.

That’s why everyone’s expressions were grim, especially Yerim’s, who was now unable to contribute even a single person’s share.

At that moment, Egger, who had been clearing the path at the front, spoke.

“This is endless. I’ll go ahead first, and you follow.”

At his words, the mages looked at him with surprised faces.

Especially the two Saintesses, who looked at him with worried eyes.

“But here, wound recovery is…”

They also knew that this couldn’t continue, but this was the demon realm.

If he went alone and got injured, it would be difficult to heal him.

Of course, Egger knew this too, but there was no choice now.

“We’ll figure something out. We’ve managed in dangerous situations before.”

At Egger’s words, the mages gave faint smiles despite the urgency.

Then Egger was about to launch himself toward the approaching monsters.

But before he could, a loud explosion came from the front.

Boom!

Looking toward the source of the explosion, Egger’s eyes widened.

He saw an incomprehensible sight at the distant tower.

One side of the tower’s wall had burst open.

This was definitely the tower that had remained undamaged no matter what he had done.

It was a tower created by the Demon God’s power, a tower that couldn’t be damaged by mana or divine power.

But the scene before his eyes defied such common sense.

And Egger’s good eyes could see a figure leaping out of the burst tower.

It was a tall, slender man.

And the man who had jumped out of the tower flew through the air and landed in front of Egger.

Though it was a man he had never seen before, Egger had to quickly draw his sword.

“A new Demon King!”

This was because he could feel ominous mana emanating from the man.

But he couldn’t immediately swing his sword.

Because his beloved daughter suddenly appeared from behind the Demon King’s back.