The Birth of the Dark Empire
The dragons who had attempted to rescue the traitorous priestesses and paladins from the Holy Kingdom—those who had not yet fallen to the Forces of Darkness—were now all imprisoned.
“Kwaaak…”
Realizing they were losing the battle, the dragons had tried to use teleportation magic to escape, but there was a catch: while teleportation into the Kingdom had always been permitted, escape back out was strictly forbidden.
Thanks to that trap, the proud dragons who had come to extract the paladins and priests found themselves captured instead. Trembling at the Demon King’s overwhelming power, they had no choice but to surrender.
“I have transported all 2,080 dragons to the Dungeon of the Demon King’s Castle,” Selina reported.
Sitting on his chair, Kim Jae-hyun nodded silently as he listened.
When Selina spoke of the Demon King’s Castle, she meant the one located in the Demon World. A Demon King’s Castle would also need to be built in the Intermediate World, but Jae-hyun had already decided on the Pantheon—the capital of the Holy Kingdom of Astraea—as the site for his new Demon King’s Castle.
Thus, the very heart and holy land of all the Astraea Churches would become his Demon King’s Castle.
And as Selina had reported, the dragons were already imprisoned within the Demon King’s Castle in the Demon World. They could not escape, and even if they somehow managed to flee the castle, they could never leave the Demon World.
Right now, however, Jae-hyun could freely travel between the Demon World and the Intermediate World.
The Demon World was no problem—he was the Demon King and could come and go whenever he wished. But because he still had countless subordinates in the Intermediate World, no matter how far he traveled in the Demon World, he could always return at any time.
“The traitorous paladins and priests should all be gathered together inside the capital of the Astraea Church, right?”
“Yes. I have them surrounded and unable to escape.”
After Selina spoke, Jae-hyun nodded and rose from his seat.
“Then let us head to our newly formed home.”
As Jae-hyun stood and began to walk, the cross behind him suddenly moved on its own. Naturally, the Saintess Lucretia, still nailed to the cross, was dragged along with it.
Selina followed silently behind him, while Lucretia, Ron, and Rin—accompanied by all the Forces of Darkness gathered inside Lampas City—moved in around Jae-hyun.
The moment his subordinates were all gathered in one place, Jae-hyun activated teleportation magic.
The destination was, of course, the Pantheon—the capital of the Holy Kingdom of Astraea and the future site of his Demon King’s Castle.
‘Irene.’
While the teleportation spell was activating, Jae-hyun’s gaze drifted toward the west—toward the Habsburg Empire, the land where Irene awaited him.
***
“Heh heh…”
An old man with a deeply wrinkled face smiled in utter despair.
Dark circles ringed his eyes, and his face had a strangely sinister cast. Wearing nothing but a black robe, he looked as if he might suddenly shout an internet meme line like “Unbeatable power!” and unleash a power lightning bolt.
He was none other than Benet, the Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Astraea and the Astraea Church.
Even when the Saintess Lucretia had seized power and stripped him of his authority, he had not stepped forward.
In truth, he had known from the beginning that the paladins and priests within the Astraea Church were slowly beginning to lust after wealth and power. The corruption had likely started the moment the Hero Kim Jae-hyun had shone during the war, when victory seemed certain.
Before that, people had only known despair and fear of the world’s imminent end. But once the Hero’s deeds revealed the light army’s victory and the Forces of Darkness were being crushed, the rot of betrayal began.
Those who had been wallowing in the terror of death, once the fear of death lifted and victory seemed assured, immediately started scheming for the sweet fruits of victory and calculating how to seize the benefits.
Benet had also known that the Saintess Lucretia loved the Hero Kim Jae-hyun and was simultaneously jealous of the Flash Magic Swordswoman Irene. Yet he had thought it none of his business to meddle in the love affairs of young girls and had simply watched.
But Lucretia had gathered those who craved power, and the Pope’s authority had grown steadily weaker in comparison to the Saintess, who always appeared on the battlefield during war.
Benet had harbored no complaint about that. Yet after the war ended, he had sensed something amiss when he learned that the Hero Kim Jae-hyun had been killed by the Demon King Laylana at the same time. And when he had felt something strange about Irene becoming the Empress of the Habsburg Empire just three months after the war’s end, his unease had deepened.
From the moment he saw how generously the paladins, priests, and soldiers who had fought in that war had been rewarded, and how irreverent their attitude toward the Hero had become, he had sensed something even more wrong.
If the Hero had truly died fighting a Demon King, there should have been people who grieved his passing. Yet no one had shown true sorrow. Not a single tear had been shed for his death.
Moreover, no one had spoken of what had happened that day, and he still could not fathom what had occurred.
People thought the silence came from grief over the Hero’s death at the hands of the Demon King. But as Pope, Benet had always sensed something amiss.
And now the Hero had returned alive. He had exposed the truth of that day and revealed the slaughter committed by the Saintess.
Benet had been unable to suppress his shock at the sight of the Saintess Lucretia slaughtering over 100,000 civilians to maintain her power, along with the paladins and priests who followed her.
“Haa! How can something like this even happen?!”
The truth of ten years ago was pure betrayal. And to cover up that hideous betrayal, the Saintess and her followers had massacred over 100,000 civilians. As Pope, Benet could only lament in despair.
He had no power left to stop the events that were already unfolding, nor did he have the authority. The rulers of this world who had received the Hero’s wrath would certainly pay for their crimes, but they would fight desperately to survive. He had expected countless deaths.
Yet the events that followed far exceeded his imagination.
Countless people had been terrified and made to swear loyalty by the news of a new Demon King’s birth. Then the Hero had suddenly revealed his true identity, declaring himself the new Demon King, and all those who had sworn allegiance had become Forces of Darkness.
“W-what… How is this possible…!”
Benet could not even finish his sentence, so stunned was he by the turn of events.
The Hero had become a Demon King? The Hero was now the new Demon King?
‘Astraea! What in the world is this?!”
Overwhelmed with confusion, the Pope had finally turned to the Goddess Astraea herself. Of course, no oracle had answered. Receiving oracles was never easy, and they were rare occurrences that came only once every five hundred years. Even during Laylana’s invasion, no oracle had been given.
He had simply reached out to the goddess without thinking, as the Pope who served her, in his confusion.
Instead of an answer from the goddess, the events unfolding around him spoke louder than any oracle.
In short, the Holy Kingdom of Astraea had become a battlefield.
From every direction came the sounds of fighting, but Benet had stood still and made no move to intervene.
Already, within the Pantheon and even inside the main temple, the aura of vast demonic energy had been felt. The main temple had practically been occupied by the Forces of Darkness.
Especially the paladins and priests who had betrayed the Hero and concentrated around the Pantheon had mostly followed the Saintess Lucretia to Lampas City. As a result, most of the paladins and priests who remained in the Pantheon had sworn loyalty to the Hero instead of the Saintess and were now, without exception, Forces of Darkness.
As Pope, Benet felt only sorrow. He had not sworn allegiance to the Hero, so he had not turned into a Force of Darkness. Yet because of that, he now stood completely isolated.
How many hours had passed in his isolation? It was already deep in the night.
“……”
“……”
After ten years, the former Hero Kim Jae-hyun and Pope Benet faced each other again.
“Heh heh, long time no see,” Benet greeted with a hollow expression.
Jae-hyun had not come alone. Behind him stood the ultimate beauty, the Vampire Queen Selina, wearing an elegant red dress and displaying the telltale crimson eyes of a vampire with her long golden hair. In contrast to Selina’s refined elegance, the Dark Elf Queen Lucretia carried a wild, carefree air in her revealing leather skirt and open leather top that exposed her midriff and surroundings. She had long black hair and black eyes. Also present were the black mages Ron and Rin, whom Jae-hyun had recruited this time.
The other demons, including Baros, waited outside. Jae-hyun had brought only these four with him.
“I see,” Jae-hyun replied with a nod as he answered Benet’s greeting. Yet as the Demon King—arrogant, mocking, cursing, and hating countless people more than anyone—he now spoke in casual tones even to the Pope, an old man.
In the past, Jae-hyun had always shown great respect to Benet and used honorifics. Even in Benet’s memory, the young Hero Kim Jae-hyun had been a polite, kind boy who helped those in difficulty.
But the boy standing before him now, ten years older, still looked identical except for the red tint in his eyes. Yet the Demon King who had become this existence stood before the old Pope.
Of course, to any third-party observer, the appearance alone would make Benet seem far more demonic and wicked than Jae-hyun. But Benet truly felt only sorrow for the current situation.
“Haa… I never imagined you would suffer something like this. I’m sorry, Pope. How could someone like me fail to notice such a scheme.”
Benet spoke honestly, apologizing to Jae-hyun, but his cold red eyes showed no wavering.
“It’s too late for such words now. At that time I was already as good as dead, and Irene was already crushed.”
Jae-hyun’s voice sounded unnervingly calm, almost detached. Yet when Benet looked into those two eyes, he saw an endless hatred and vengeful resolve swirling in the red pupils and could only groan in anguish.
“Haa… You fools. How could the kind boy who saved this world become like this because of human stupidity.”
The Hero who had been forcibly summoned and had fought and defeated a Demon King to protect this world had become the new Demon King because of human foolishness.
The Demon King who had betrayed humans and was made by humans, the Demon King who was the disaster itself, now stood before them.
Swhoosh—
Jae-hyun drew forth his Holy Sword and Demonic Sword. He gripped the Holy Sword in his right hand and the Demonic Sword in his left and spoke.
“From now on, I will kill you. And after I kill you, this Holy Kingdom of Astraea will become my Empire, and this main temple will become my new Demon King’s Castle.”
Even ten years ago, Jae-hyun had deeply respected and treated Benet with utmost courtesy. As a Pope who could not marry, Benet had no children and had cherished Jae-hyun like a beloved grandchild.
But now the Jae-hyun who wanted to kill Benet was no longer human—he was a demon, the king of all demons. And he had no hesitation in killing him.