Chapter 276 – Side Story 25 – Demon King vs Hero’s Party (2)

When the red-eyed man, the Demon King, appeared, the monsters’ attacks ceased.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

One by one, the monsters bowed their heads toward the Demon King.

Both Egger and his wives could understand the monsters’ behavior.

This was because the man who had flown from the tower, the Demon King, possessed mana and aura not much different from the Demon King they had seen 20 years ago.

Of course, while inside the tower, he hadn’t possessed this level of mana and aura, but neither Egger nor his wives knew this fact.

The same was true for the monsters who had bowed their heads.

As the monsters filling the forest bowed their heads, Egger and his wives frowned at the Demon King.

This was because their daughter was clinging to the Demon King’s back.

Selena, who suddenly showed her face from the Demon King’s back, urgently shouted toward her parents.

“Stop! He’s not a Demon King. Well, he is a Demon King, but he’s okay.”

However, the words she hastily uttered were difficult for her parents to understand.

“This Demon King is Vlad. He’s a Demon King, but he won’t kill people. Right? You won’t kill… You won’t kill them, right?”

Incomprehensible words, inconsistent ramblings, and even speaking politely to the Demon King.

Egger wondered if his daughter had been brainwashed by the Demon King.

A handsome, well-built monster with red eyes…

The Demon King clearly resembled a noble vampire from legends, so it wasn’t strange to think that his daughter had been brainwashed by a vampire.

“Vlad, you say?”

However, among the various things his daughter had said, there was something that caught his attention.

The statement that the Demon King standing before them was Vlad.

Now that he looked more carefully, though he had grown taller, his eye color had changed, and even his superhuman senses perceived him as a monster, the Demon King did resemble Vlad.

The Demon King being Vlad.

This too was incomprehensible, but now there was something he could do using this as a pretext.

“If you’re Vlad, send my daughter back.”

In truth, Egger didn’t believe his daughter’s words.

He had experienced enough 20 years ago to know what human-like Demon Kings and monsters were capable of.

The reason Egger and his wives weren’t attacking the Demon King now wasn’t because of his daughter’s words, but because their daughter was with him.

They were parents who had come to rescue their daughter.

Their daughter’s safety was the top priority.

The Demon King, whom their daughter had called Vlad, looked at Egger indifferently instead of handing over his daughter.

“Can I go?”

Selena, who was clinging to the Demon King’s back, asked him, and the Demon King, who had been lost in thought for a moment, instead of sending the daughter to her parents, raised his hand.

Aura and mana gathering in the Demon King’s hand.

He wasn’t casting high-level magic, nor was he preparing some extraordinary technique, but the power of the mana and aura gathering in his hand was truly befitting of a Demon King.

Grrrr.

The air resonated with the gathering mana.

Even the trees of the demon realm withered as the aura spread across the ground.

“He’s crazy!”

“Ah, no!”

Surprised, Zahina and Yelena, the mages, quickly spread defensive barriers, and Egger also raised his sword.

Selena also screamed in surprise, but the Demon King didn’t stop gathering mana in his hand.

And finally, the Demon King released the mana he had gathered.

Not toward Egger’s group in front of him, but in a completely different direction.

The mana the Demon King had gathered was shot toward the tower behind him.

The tower he had jumped out of.

BOOM!

And with a tremendous explosion, the tower burst apart.

The tower that had remained unscathed despite all of Egger’s efforts was now shattered by the mana thrown by the Demon King.

It was obvious that this wasn’t because the Demon King standing before them was stronger than Egger.

That tower, though fallen, had been created by a god’s power. It seemed that only the power of the Demon King, the representative of the Demon God, could damage that tower.

The top of the tower where the temple had been disappeared, and the rest of the tower collapsed in sequence.

The Demon King newly appointed by the Demon God had destroyed the Demon God’s tower.

Both the monsters and Egger’s group looked at the Demon God’s tower and the Demon King with bewildered eyes.

The Demon King nodded as he watched the collapsing tower.

“As I thought, it was because of that tower.”

And the moment the Demon King’s words ended, blue light began to seep into the red sky.

Then came the surprised voices of Zahina and Yerim.

“Oh, I can feel divine power!”

It wasn’t just Zahina and Yerim, the Saintesses, who could feel the divine power.

Egger too could feel the power of the gods entering his body.

The very power he had felt 20 years ago and had been taken back.

Egger was feeling divine power again.

‘Could it be that I’ve been chosen as a hero again? But this is the demon realm?’

As his thoughts progressed to that point, Egger looked at the collapsing tower again.

And he thought he understood what the Demon King’s words meant.

That it was because of that tower that other gods and other divine powers couldn’t flow into this demon realm.

And that now, with the new Demon King having destroyed the tower, the barrier that had been blocking them had been demolished.

The Demon King who had done such an absurd thing was nodding with a satisfied face.

Feeling divine power gathering in his body, Egger asked the Demon King.

“Why on earth…”

In response to Egger’s uncharacteristic question, the Demon King, Vlad, answered in a calm voice.

“I took revenge.”

“Revenge?”

The monsters that had tormented him were ultimately all created by the Demon King and the Demon God.

He had become a Demon King, and though the Demon God had fallen, it was still a god and couldn’t be dealt with directly, so he had taken revenge in this way.

Vlad had learned many things the moment he became a Demon King.

Why other gods couldn’t enter this demon realm, how the Demon God had isolated this dimension—he had learned it all.

In fact, Vlad who had become a Demon King could be considered a different being from the boy he had been before.

Not the half-monster filled with discontent from the past, but a complete vampire and the king of monsters, with knowledge bestowed by the Demon God in his head.

However, this king was not one who was kind to his people or who followed his god.

He was a king of revenge, a king of rebellion.

The monsters, who had bowed their heads seeing the Demon King destroy the Demon God’s tower and not fight with the hero and Saintesses, began to murmur.

Though it was natural for monsters to follow the Demon King, it was difficult to follow him in such a situation.

The Demon King, seeing the monsters beginning to growl, lowered the young lady clinging to his back to the ground.

Selena, whose seal had been broken and who could now stand as a mage.

Vlad said to Selena.

“Now, your parents have come looking for you, so go back.”

At the Demon King’s gentle words, Selena didn’t know what to do.

And the words she carefully uttered were incredibly awkward for her parents to hear.

“Um, then, coming together…”

“You know that’s not possible.”

Of course, Selena knew too.

That it would be difficult for Vlad, who had become a Demon King, to go to Ea.

She also knew well that even now, her parents weren’t attacking because she was beside Vlad.

Vlad smiled for the first time and sent Selena toward her parents.

As if pushed, Selena fell into Egger’s arms, and after confirming his daughter was safe, Egger asked Vlad, or rather the new Demon King.

“Are you really Vlad?”

“Yes, I am.”

“And you’ve become a Demon King?”

“Yes. I am the new Demon King.”

At Vlad’s words, Egger frowned.

Then, he handed his daughter to his wife, Yelena, and raised his sword.

“If you’re a Demon King, I can’t let you live.”

A Demon King who had safely sent back his daughter. And a Demon King who claimed he was previously Vlad, but now that he had become a hero again, Egger couldn’t just leave the Demon King be.

Vlad chuckled at Egger’s words.

Before, he couldn’t even meet his eyes, but now it wasn’t difficult to face him.

Though the prickly divine power made him uncomfortable, even that didn’t bother him much.

Of course, since Egger had been a formidable hero who had tried to destroy the world 20 years ago, it would be difficult for Vlad, who had just become a Demon King, to defeat him, but Vlad wasn’t worried.

Instead, Vlad raised his hand and pointed to the surrounding monsters that were beginning to emit killing intent.

“It would be better to let me live. Even though I’ve destroyed the tower, if I die, the Demon God will create a new Demon King.”

When the gods of Ea or other dimensions created heroes, they didn’t always create them in temples.

The same was true for the Demon God.

Of course, with the tower just now, it would have been easier and more convenient to create a Demon King, but it wasn’t impossible without it.

The moment he became a Demon King, Vlad had learned this.

“I’ll defeat you, and if another Demon King appears, I’ll kill that Demon King too.”

Despite the Demon King’s words, Egger didn’t lower his sword pointed at the Demon King.

“Dad!”

He tried not to listen to his daughter’s cry from behind.

But he couldn’t help but be surprised by the Demon King’s subsequent words.

“It would be better to let me live. No matter what kind of Demon King appears after me, there won’t be another Demon King who tries to exterminate monsters like I do.”

With those words, the Demon King’s hand opened again.

BOOM!

A massive explosion occurred in the direction where his hand was opened.

One side of the forest was shattered, and the monsters that had been gathering killing intent were blown apart.

And the monsters, confused by that attack, moved again.

Whether the opponent was a Demon King or a Demon God, monsters wouldn’t just die willingly.

As monsters began to rush toward the Demon King, Vlad looked at Selena instead of the monsters and said.

“Go home. I’ll take care of this demon realm. Until I die, monsters from the demon realm won’t invade other worlds.”

With those final words, Vlad was buried among the rushing monsters.

BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions rang out, and monsters were blown apart, but Egger’s group couldn’t see the Demon King, obscured by the monsters.

Monsters also rushed toward Egger’s group, who were close to the Demon King.

No monster would leave Saintesses and a hero alone.

However, perhaps because the Demon King’s aggro was too strong, the number of monsters rushing toward Egger’s group wasn’t large.

And as Egger cut down the approaching monsters, he made a decision.

“We’re going back for now.”

“Yes.”

Just like 20 years ago, everyone followed Egger’s words, but one member of the group tried to disobey.

“But…”

Selena tried to go to the Demon King against her father’s words, but her mother, Yelena, firmly grabbed Selena’s arm.

“You heard what he said. If you’re a mage, think about what’s best to do right now.”

“…Yes.”

At her mage mother’s words, Selena had no choice but to stop struggling.

She looked once more toward the Demon King where explosions were occurring, then began to move out of the forest with her parents.

And as Selena ran toward the gate, the Demon King’s words echoed in her mind.

[This is a farewell gift. Though it was a short time, working under you wasn’t a bad experience.]

With that message, black energy began to leave Selena’s body.

Both Egger and Selena knew what that energy was.

It was the transformed mana that had tormented Selena for many years.