The Demon King’s Defeat
In the Demon World, known as the Demon Realm or the world inhabited by the demons and beasts, the Demon King ruled. In the Intermediate World, his name struck fear into the hearts of all.
With a million demonic army and countless monsters under his command, the Demon King who ruled the Demon Realm had plunged the Intermediate World into terror every time he appeared. Humanity, along with every other species on the surface, and even the dragons themselves had to unite to survive.
The Demon King was that terrifying. His dark army was just as fearsome.
Especially this current Demon King was the strongest among all the Demon Kings before him. And the most beautiful as well.
She possessed flowing crimson hair to her waist, flawless snow-white skin, and eyes like burning rubies. She was a breathtaking beauty, a peerless masterpiece.
Combined with powers no one could imagine, and a magic prowess that even dragons could not match, the Demon King was a being who brought despair to the world as much as her beauty did.
In an instant, half the continent fell into her hands. Of the ten kingdoms on the continent, the Frankish Kingdom, the Iberian Kingdom, and the Calmar Kingdom collapsed, and the remaining seven suffered fatal blows.
Even the strongest empire in the continent, the Habsburg Empire, lost a significant portion of its territory and suffered countless casualties.
Yet the alliance of humanity and the other species resisted desperately, slowing the Demon King’s advance, if not stopping it.
Thanks to this time gained, hope emerged in the world.
The surviving kingdoms around the Habsburg Empire, working with the other species, chose their final method.
With the dragons’ help, they planned to summon a hero from another world.
A stone slab from ancient times. It was the beginning of hope.
When people discovered the slab describing how summoning a hero from another world could save this one from danger, they rejoiced.
They finally had a chance to drive the Demon King army from the surface. They shook off despair and weakness, regaining their vitality.
While working to summon the hero, they analyzed the slab and gathered information about the hero.
The slab recorded that the hero, once summoned, would have no strength but would learn swordsmanship and magic at an astonishing rate and grow rapidly.
His noble character was recorded, as well as his handsome appearance.
Seeing these records, the beings of the Intermediate World performed the summoning ritual with desperate hope for the hero who would become their salvation.
And finally, they succeeded in summoning the hero from another world.
The hero from another world was a human with black hair and black eyes.
* * *
“......”
The Demon King leaned against the wall.
She was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with crimson hair and ruby eyes. She had once loved wearing splendid dresses. But the splendid dress she now wore was nothing but a tattered rag.
Her snow-white skin was marred by countless wounds, blood flowing steadily down her body.
As a Demon King of her caliber, even with only natural healing, she should have had the power to regrow severed limbs automatically. She should never have sustained such wounds.
But they had happened.
Moreover, her entire body was drenched in blood, with a huge hole gaping in her abdomen. The Demon King looked down at her own stomach with unfocused ruby eyes and let out a bitter laugh.
“I lost.”
The Demon King spoke those words while staring at the ones who had brought her down.
Jason Light, the Great Mage of Flame.
Griffith Ricardo, the Great Sage.
William Rodriguez, the Gale Sword Emperor.
Karl Tenant, the Force Sword Emperor.
Lucretia, the Saint.
Irene, the Flash Magic Swordswoman.
And...
Kim Jae-hyun, the hero from another world.
He had fallen before the combined power of these seven. Especially the hero’s strength from another world had been astonishing. The hero wielding the Holy Sword had wielded an even greater power, and in fact, he had fought her in a one-on-one duel.
While her demonic subordinates held back the hero’s allies, she had engaged the hero in fierce combat. By the time the hero’s allies wiped out her subordinates, she was already a broken mess.
Of course, the hero who fought her had not been in perfect condition either, but his body was far healthier than hers.
Even though the Holy Sword’s help had been involved, as a Demon King she had also received the help of the Demonic Sword, so she could not complain about relying on weapons.
The hero had been stronger than her. The Demon King had been weaker than the hero. That was why she had lost.
Though in the end she had been hit by the combined attack of the six allies, she had failed to dodge the hero’s final strike and her abdomen had been pierced. But still, the result would have been the same—defeat by a mere difference in timing.
Recalling the simple answer, the Demon King closed her eyes and waited for death.
Her body slumped.
* * *
“I won...”
Kim Jae-hyun finally looked at the fallen Demon King and felt the victory in his heart.
He had once been a seventeen-year-old high school student in South Korea. After being forcibly summoned to this world, he had been forced to learn swordsmanship and magic.
How could a normal student from South Korea have gone through such pain?
But he had endured it.
The gate between Earth and this world had been connected once. To reconnect again would require fifty years. Until then, he had to survive.
If he reached the rank of Grand Sword Master, he could live longer and his lifespan would extend. He had worked desperately.
Even if it was fifty years, he wanted to return to Earth. Fortunately, when he had investigated the slab, he learned that he could return to the exact time of his arrival in this world by adjusting for the flow of time on Earth.
When fifty years passed here, only one minute would have passed on Earth. He could return at that moment.
And if he wanted to survive until then, he had to become strong first, and he had to defeat the Demon King threatening the world.
So he had given his all. And finally, he had defeated the Demon King.
The Demon King was already slumped with a hole in her abdomen and could no longer use any power.
Looking at the fallen Demon King, a being of such peerless beauty, Kim Jae-hyun sighed in relief.
Someone approached him.
Irene, a beautiful girl with shining blonde hair reaching her waist. She looked exhausted from fighting high-ranking demons under the Demon King, but even so, her whole body was drenched in sweat, her face filled with joy.
“Oppa, you finally won.”
She smiled with a lovely, bright smile and sincerely congratulated Kim Jae-hyun on his victory.
“Yeah. I won.”
Returning her smile with a smile of his own, Kim Jae-hyun answered. Irene’s smile was so lovely that anyone who saw it could not help but smile back. Even now, after the battle with the Demon King where her legs were trembling from exhaustion, she still smiled like that.
The reason he had endured the grueling training was thanks to her. With this girl who called him oppa and followed him, he had been able to win.
From her childhood, she had been called a genius among geniuses. At first she had been his teacher, but later she became the one he taught, surpassing her own level.
He had wanted to see his family on Earth, but fifty years was still required. Just spending fifty years alone would have been painful, but with Irene, it would not have been.
That was when it happened.
A long sword and a huge greatsword swung toward him.
“Oppa!”
Irene hurriedly drew her sword and blocked the attacks. As someone who had fought the Demon King and was exhausted, she thought he could not block them herself.
“Power Word, Hold!”
“Power Word, Hold!”
The instant she blocked the swords of William and Karl, the magic of Jason and Griffith sealed Irene’s movements.
“Dispel!”
Although her physical movement had reached its limit, magic power remained for her to cast spells. Kim Jae-hyun activated the magic that had been cast on Irene to dispel it.
“Jason, Griffith, William, Karl! You...!”
The moment he defeated the Demon King, Kim Jae-hyun realized what these people were about to do. He had thought they were his friends as they had moved together to defeat the Demon King. After coming to this world, they had shared friendship and fought for their lives together.
And when he turned his gaze to Lucretia, the Saint, his expression hardened.
Lucretia stood glaring at him with a cold expression. She clearly showed that she harbored hatred toward him. If it had been her Holy Power, he could have helped, but she showed no intention of helping at all.
“Isn’t the hero who wields the Holy Sword above the Pope and the Saint?”
Kim Jae-hyun asked Lucretia.
However great her title as the Saint of the Astraea Church, the hero who wielded the Holy Sword was a being above the Pope and the Saint. What she was doing now was a betrayal of the highest order.
“Yes, that is correct. But your power is too strong. You are already a being who defeated even the Demon King. You are a dangerous element. If you had accepted my marriage proposal, things would have been different, but since you rejected it, your fate was sealed.”
Lucretia spoke with eyes full of resentment as she glared at Kim Jae-hyun. Confirming that she would rather destroy him than let him have what she could not, Kim Jae-hyun said nothing more.
He knew why she had betrayed him.
But he could not understand the betrayal of the other companions.
“Why are you trying to kill me? Jason, Griffith, William, Karl! After this fight ends, I was planning to leave this continent and live on an island! I had sworn that I would not interfere in the wars or the affairs of this continent’s nations unless I was attacked and had to retaliate! Then why...?”
Kim Jae-hyun could not understand. He had made that oath because he had been worried, as in Earth’s history, that the lords of the Intermediate World would attack him after defeating the Demon King, fearing his power.
But why were they attacking him now?
Why was everyone except Irene hostile toward him?
“His Highness the Crown Prince has asked for your removal.”
“And he especially ordered us to eliminate Irene.”
Among the four traitors, Jason and Griffith spoke. At those words, Irene shouted.
“I’d have to be crazy to abandon you and go to people like that?”
Irene deliberately drew their gazes to herself to give Kim Jae-hyun a little time to recover his strength.
“That’s right. But if it’s brainwashing work that controls the mind, things will be different.”
“And the hero is too dangerous. We cannot leave a dangerous element behind. Now that you’ve defeated the Demon King, your usefulness is over.”
Listening to the words of people who had been allies just moments ago, Kim Jae-hyun realized that this world was far more garbage than he had thought. At the word “brainwashing,” Irene’s face turned pale. Kim Jae-hyun felt the current situation was far too desperate and regretted it.
He should have cooperated with the Demon King. He had been too naive to think that the world was so garbage and that if he showed a few favors, things would be fine.
But it was already too late for regret.
And a moment later, the world learned that Kim Jae-hyun had sacrificed his life to defeat the Demon King.