The Demon King's Desperate Plea
With those words, Kim Jae-hyun reached out and gently stroked Lucretia's head. His fingers, gliding through the fine silver strands of her hair, moved with such tenderness that they felt as soft as a lover's caress.
"I won't kill you," he said, his voice still carrying that kind edge at first. "Instead, I'll keep you by my side for the rest of your life, spoil you, and let you enjoy every last second of your suffering. The way you'll scream and beg for me to kill you. Kuku kuku."
He had started with a gentle tone, but the words twisted into the wild, vengeful roar of a demon consumed by hatred. Lucretia heard the shift in his voice and understood exactly what he meant.
'I'd rather... I'd rather kill myself...'
Even if it meant plunging into the depths of hell, she would rather take her own life. Suicide was a sin forbidden by every religion, but she had already committed countless atrocities. Whether she ended her own life or not, she was destined for hell either way. The madness burning in Jae-hyun's eyes confirmed it—she would rather fall into eternal torment than live in his world.
Just as she lifted her holy power, intending to shatter her own heart, a wave of agony slammed into her skull.
"Ugh!"
The pain was so intense it felt as though her head would split open, and the thought of suicide vanished from her mind as if it had never existed.
"It ends earlier than expected. Lucky for me."
Jae-hyun watched her with a satisfied smirk, offering no explanation. Lucretia realized something far more terrifying: a seal had been placed on her, blocking any attempt at self-harm.
Now he focused the displayed video directly on himself. The knights and priests of the Holy Astraea Kingdom, who had once sensed the Saintess's danger, surrounded him and shouted.
"Hero! Release the Saintess at once!"
"You're surrounded! Surrender immediately!"
Though a thousand knights formed the encirclement, the voices trembling with fear only made the scene more absurd.
"Kuku kuku, surrender? From me? How amusing. Haha ha ha!"
Jae-hyun threw his head back and laughed heartily. Then he declared, eyes blazing:
"To everyone watching this video in the Holy Astraea Kingdom—I ask you! Anyone who swears loyalty to me will be protected from the coming invasion of the Demon King Army! I will never let them die in the Demon King's forces' attack! If you wish to swear fealty, shout it while watching the video! Those who swear loyalty to me—except the traitors who betrayed me—all will be protected!"
He raised the Holy Sword high, the symbol of the Hero, and spoke with absolute authority.
Those who swore loyalty would be shielded from the Demon King's invasion.
Even though many had followed Lucretia, her slaughter across the entire kingdom had been exposed. The burning of Lampas City by the beast army meant the people craved a savior more than ever. The Saintess's holy power was strong, but it would be useless against the ten-year-old Demon King Army.
After all, it was Kim Jae-hyun himself who had single-handedly destroyed half of the Demon King Army and slain the Demon King. In the moment the world was about to end, only he had kept humanity, other races, and dragons alive in the Intermediate World.
'Only the Hero can save us!'
'The Hero alone will protect us!'
'She's not even the Saintess anymore! She's a witch!'
The Saintess's authority had collapsed completely. Most people now called her a witch, not the Saintess.
"I will follow the Hero!"
"I swear loyalty to the Hero!"
"Please protect us from the Demon King Army!"
"We knew nothing! Now that we know the Hero is safe, we swear loyalty!"
One after another, people began swearing allegiance from every corner of the kingdom—ten thousand, twenty thousand, eighty thousand, one million, five million, ten million!
More than ten million souls had pledged themselves. Even as the number climbed past ten million, it kept rising. It shattered two million, then four million. The Demon King Army's slaughter of the continent's population had capped it at four million, yet Jae-hyun saw it as more than enough.
They had been so thoroughly marked by the terror of the Demon King Army and the Demon King themselves that they swore loyalty to the man who had defeated both without hesitation.
He was no longer just the Hero. He was the new Demon King.
'Warriors, mages, knights, and priests...'
Jae-hyun knew every name. Warriors, mages, knights, and priests all stood before him. Even nobles from the Holy Astraea Kingdom, whose influence had always been weak compared to the temple, had joined the ranks. The twelve ministers—eight of whom swore fealty—represented the kingdom's true power. The remaining four were the traitors who had stood with Lucretia during her betrayal.
Though it had come sooner than expected, Jae-hyun felt nothing but satisfaction. This was the revenge he had waited a lifetime to exact.
"Listen well, Lucretia. It's time to show you a truly delightful spectacle."
He summoned more video feeds above his head, displaying the regions of the Holy Astraea Kingdom in vivid detail.
"What... what does this mean? Are you trying to show me the people of the kingdom cursing me?"
Lucretia glared at him with murderous eyes, her voice sharp.
"It's nothing like that. Don't worry. Just... you'll find it very entertaining. A reversal no one could have imagined."
His eyes slowly turned blood-red. Massive demonic energy erupted from his entire body. While his right hand still gripped the Holy Sword, his left now held the Demonic Sword.
The Holy Sword. The Demonic Sword.
Two legendary blades, both clutched by one human hand!
"What... what is this?!"
"How is demonic energy coming from you?!"
"How do you possess the Demonic Sword?!"
"You're the Hero who wields the Holy Sword—how?!"
Lucretia cried out in horror. Jae-hyun gave no answer. Instead, he issued commands to his subordinates.
"Selina, Lucien, Ron, Rin. Come here."
They appeared instantly behind him—Selina and Lucien first, followed by the brother and sister pair, Ron and Rin.
Lucretia had not yet understood the gravity. The people she had once trusted wore no visible demonic aura.
"Have you killed the Demon King and seized his power? The Hero wielding both... is this possible for a mortal from another world?"
Her face showed utter disbelief. Jae-hyun finally replied.
"No. It's not because I'm from another world. It's because I'm the Hero who is also..."
"A Demon King."
Her eyes widened in shock. A cruel smile spread across his lips.
Demonic energy poured from Selina, Lucien, Ron, and Rin—especially from the Vampire Queen and Dark Elf Queen. The amount was so overwhelming that even the former Saintess felt its terrifying scale.
It was the same level she had sensed ten years ago, when only the Demon King herself had wielded such power.
Then something even more monstrous happened.
"Kyaaaaak!"
"Gwaaaaah!"
"Gwaaaah! What the hell?!"
The people who had sworn loyalty to him began screaming in agony as demonic energy erupted from their bodies.
"It was worth swearing to the Hero, wasn't it? Very useful. Kuku kuku. You swore fealty to me—the Demon King—in exchange for my protection from the Demon King Army."
Lucretia trembled violently.
"T-This... the oath of loyalty...?"
"Exactly. You're right. Lucretia, it was a contract with the Demon King himself. In return for protection from the Demon King Army, you swore loyalty. Kuku kuku."
Explosions tore through every city as the words left his mouth. The mages, knights, priests, and even the priests who had sworn allegiance had become black mages and servants of the Demon King, bound by contract. Their stronger power came with one iron rule: they obeyed his commands without question.
"Destroy everything. Kill. Show no mercy. Hate them. Resent them. Curse them. This is the order I, the Demon King, give to the Demon King Army! KHAHAHAHAHA!"
With his laughter echoing, the explosions multiplied.
Lucretia finally understood what she had created.
'I... we... we created the Demon King...'
The boy with black hair standing before her was not a hero. He was a Demon King—born from the betrayal of herself and the others. In a twisted sense, she and her co-conspirators were the true creators of the monster standing before them.
Using the unwavering faith of a hero and the continent-wide terror of the Demon King Army, they had turned over four million souls into nothing more than the Demon King Army.
The Holy Astraea Kingdom was no longer holy. It was a Dark Empire ruled by a Demon King.
It had been a magnificent Demon King's rise from the very first moment—unlike any other in history.