Awakening the Demon King
The Holy Sword answered his question as the Demon King, reborn anew in the form of his master.
— Nothing will change. Our master-servant relationship has always been unbreakable, even if the gods themselves tried to sever it. You are my lord.
The Holy Sword’s will remained fixed on him even after he had turned into the Demon King, still recognizing him as his master.
“Hah… ha ha ha ha!!!” Jae-hyun burst out laughing loudly and seized the Holy Sword in his grip. His body had already changed from human flesh to that of a demon, so black demonic energy radiated from every inch of him.
Yet the Holy Sword in his hand released an aura of divine energy that stood in complete opposition to the demonic energy pouring from his body.
But that sacred energy inflicted no harm whatsoever on Jae-hyun, who the Holy Sword now recognized as its master.
“Heh heh heh.”
Jae-hyun laughed with pure delight. Once a hero who had nearly defeated even the previous Demon King, Laylana—only by the slimmest margin—the man who had once been human now smiled with satisfaction.
That same man had grown far stronger than during his human days. Add the Demon King’s powers he had acquired, and the surge in strength would be even greater.
And he had gained far more than raw power.
“Summon. Demonic Sword.”
Without the Holy Sword in his right hand, Jae-hyun extended his left toward empty air and murmured. In his left palm appeared a pitch-black sword pulsing with the exact opposite of the Holy Sword’s aura—the Demonic Sword, the Demon King’s blade that stood in perfect symmetry with its holy counterpart.
Right hand: Holy Sword. Left hand: Demonic Sword. Jae-hyun held two supreme weapons and chuckled softly.
The symbol of the Hero. The symbol of the Demon King. Both swords answered only to him now.
He could wield the Holy Sword’s sacred aura and the Demonic Sword’s evil energy with equal ease. No one in history had ever achieved such mastery.
But he had been the hero who once carried only the Holy Sword, and now he was the new Demon King who inherited everything from the previous Demon King, Laylana.
So of course the Demonic Sword belonged to him as the Demon King.
“Hmm… this is how Demon King magic works.”
Acquiring the knowledge of the Demon King meant he now possessed every martial art and spell of the Demon King. He had been an outstanding swordsman and mage even as the hero, yet he had always relied solely on innate talent.
He could never match the Demon King in the depth of that knowledge. He understood perfectly why Demon Kings grew stronger with every generation: by inheriting every ounce of insight and wisdom from the previous Demon King, the current one was bound to be even more powerful.
Jae-hyun’s body had been dying moments ago, yet upon rebirth as the Demon King it was now perfectly restored. The only sign of his recent ordeal was the blood soaking his entire frame.
Beyond mere physical recovery, his capacity as a vessel brimmed to the absolute maximum with both demonic energy and black magic.
Since the summoning ritual that had brought him to this world, his talent had been unparalleled—something no one in existence could rival. Even Irene, the century’s greatest genius and a prodigy who might appear only once in a thousand years, had been unable to match him.
And becoming the Demon King would not change that.
— My vessel has grown even larger.
Upon confirming that his capacity to hold power had expanded as the Demon King, Jae-hyun smiled with genuine joy. Right now his strength far surpassed what even two former heroes could have handled.
Even if he turned back time, dealing with the exhausted traitors would pose no problem. And he might be able to rescue Irene.
But the reason he could not exact revenge immediately was simple: he was still in the Demon World.
Even from here, returning to the Intermediate World required meeting certain conditions.
The first was offering ten thousand or more humans—or nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine pure virgins—as sacrifices to summon him. Once summoned, he could open the gate from the Demon World to the Intermediate World using the Demon King’s authority and unleash a million-strong army of darkness.
But the black mages were already extinct. He himself had wiped them out as the hero.
He felt no regret then—only righteous anger at their atrocities. He had pitied the victims sacrificed to them. Yet now, as a Demon King whose veins ran entirely with demonic blood, the memories stirred profound remorse.
‘I should have used a different method back then.’
Waiting ten years was the only alternative.
Though human blood had been completely replaced by demonic blood, his soul remained fundamentally human. Even as Demon King, the fact that his origin was human had not changed.
So his soul’s wavelength would slowly stretch toward the Intermediate World, and by stimulating the passage with that wavelength over ten years he could carve a path home.
But then what horrors Irene would endure remained unknown.
Since he was no longer human, the ruthless thoughts that once would have broken him now formed without hesitation.
— Irene, you too will come to curse and hate this world. Then I will turn you into a demon and keep you by my side forever. We will break this world and remake it together. We will exact revenge together.
Jae-hyun’s current appearance as Demon King was no longer the young hero Irene had once loved. He knew that truth himself.
If Irene refused him, he would force her into a demonic form and make her his wife.
And then they would enjoy a blood-soaked festival side by side.
Since there was no immediate way back to the Intermediate World, he would spread his soul’s wavelength and wait at least ten years. First, he must decide what to do.
— What I must do first.
He was the Demon King. The ruler of all demons, and every being in this Demon World owed him absolute obedience.
Yet most demons still did not even know he existed.
He would correct that now.
He would tell them of the new king and declare who they must serve.
“First, I need proper clothing.”
Shuuu-uuu!
Black demonic energy enveloped his entire body, then reformed into a sharp black suit and polished black shoes.
“Hmm… perfect.”
Jae-hyun admired his new attire. As the Demon King, he could no longer afford shabby clothes. Dignity demanded elegance.
He could even conjure his own garments with the Demon King’s authority, so he had no need to summon subordinates. If he wanted variety, he could create any style he pleased, but with only the form in mind he could fashion whatever he desired instantly.
And that was precisely the power he had chosen to focus on.
— The Power of Creation.
Demon King abilities often meant destructive forces—crushing space, freezing time, erasing entire domains. Those had been the most troublesome during his fight against Laylana as a hero.
Yet he had overcome them all. Now he possessed the Demon King’s full arsenal of powers and knew every usage.
Still, he refused to become enslaved by them. True strength lay in mastering them as freely as one moves one’s own limbs.
First, he tested the power he had gained by swinging the Holy Sword in his right hand.
Kwaaa-aaa!
A torrent of sacred light exploded outward in a violent wave. The beasts living in the Demon World felt its presence and erupted in panic.
“Kukuk!”
Jae-hyun chuckled. Handling the Holy Sword and still unleashing such immense sacred power as the Demon King was immensely amusing.
Lucretia. The silver-haired saintess who had betrayed him out of jealousy and politics. He would never forget her. The appropriate punishment he had planned for her was ready.
Her vast sacred power would remain useless against its true master—the owner of the Holy Sword.
He had become the first Demon King in history immune to sacred power.
Of course he was not lacking in strength as a Demon King.
Thinking thus, he swung the Demonic Sword in his left hand.
Kwaaa-aaa!
The sacred light vanished, replaced by a massive surge of demonic energy that swept across the land like a raging tide. The spot the Holy Sword had scarred now shone with neutralized demonic energy once more, restoring the ground to its proper Demon World state.
The Demonic Sword had counteracted and repaired the damage the Holy Sword had caused.
The roles of the two swords had effectively reversed here. In the Intermediate World the Holy Sword purified corrupted earth; here in the Demon World sacred energy itself polluted the ground.
Yet the land that had been tainted by sacred power was now cleansed by the Demonic Sword’s energy. The temporary pollution was reversed, but the enraged beasts that had detected it closed in.
The Demon World was not home only to the demon race. Countless ferocious beasts, included in the Demon King’s army, roamed here.
These ferocious beasts had come running at the scent of sacred energy, seeking to kill its bearer. The first to arrive was a wyvern-like monster with long wings.
Kaaa-aaa!
A truly terrifying roar that carried the power to crush opponents—almost the weakened version of the dragon’s breath exhaled by dragons in the Intermediate World.
Yet the moment its red eyes met Jae-hyun’s, the wyvern trembled violently from head to toe in pure fear.
“Do not look down on me.”
Jae-hyun’s cold voice commanded. Surprisingly, the wyvern immediately lowered its head.
This reaction was not unique to the wyvern. Every ferocious beast that had sensed sacred energy and rushed here obeyed the same instinct—yet upon reaching his presence they all bowed their heads and shook in terror.
The Demon King was the ruler of the Demon World. Not only demons, but every beast counted as his subjects. And Demon Kings had always been tyrants.
Even the dim-witted beasts felt overwhelming fear at his existence and could only submit to his commands. There was only one true ruler of the Demon World—an absolute being.
Seeing the ferocious giant beast before him bowing and trembling pitifully, Jae-hyun smiled thinly.
The beasts had already recognized their true king. Soon they would spread the news among the demons that a new ruler had been born.
Running would be undignified, however.
Fortunately, this realm possessed many usable mounts.
— Well then, which one shall I choose?
Jae-hyun began methodically examining the beasts, selecting one suitable as a mount. Every monster that met his gaze trembled even more pitifully, tasting the death that the Demon King’s eyes promised to the unworthy.