The Elves' Resistance
'Those greedy bastards!'
'They want to turn us into playthings for the Demon King!'
Of course, Kim Jae-hyun had merely ordered them to capture the elf women for other purposes and to spare twenty male elves, but because he was originally human, his image had been grotesquely distorted among the elves.
Until now, humans had always been the greedy ones who desired elf beauties.
So the elves—despite being from another world—suspected those subordinates of the Demon King, who were of human origin, were trying to abduct their women.
Moreover, after hearing the Balrogs' earlier boasts, they were even more convinced it was the Demon King's direct command.
Of course, the elves and the Dark Elves they ruled were physically identical species, and they also dominated the Vampire race, which boasted elven-level beauty. How absurd to think that such a Demon King, who could take as many beauties as he wished—virgins or married—as his playthings.
Especially, Kim Jae-hyun, despite his position, had touched fewer women than the human king himself. Before rescuing Irene, his only lovers numbered five, and even the fifth—the black mage Rin—was only his third woman that day.
Instead, Kim Jae-hyun's interest in the opposite sex was so minimal that, by human king standards or even compared to past Demon Kings, it was abnormal.
But these elves here had no idea of that fact, and no one bothered to correct the misunderstanding.
And in the village, it was not long before all the men were slaughtered and the women were knocked unconscious, bound with restraint devices, and reduced to prisoners managed by humans.
Swallow!
The humans' gazes were filled with lecherous intent as they stared at the defenseless, unconscious elf women, and someone even swallowed hard, but they did not attempt to rape them.
The Demon King Kim Jae-hyun had forbidden it, and as the Dark Knights and Black Mages they had become, their only duty was to capture and monitor the elf beauties they had taken as prisoners.
If they had been ordinary humans merely obeying a lord's orders rather than a dark army ruled by the Demon King, they would have secretly raped the elf beauties. But they could not disobey orders or act against the Demon King's will.
And the Balrogs showed no mercy to the young elves.
"Spare the young elf girls and kill all the boys."
Ungkor, as Balrog Lord, commanded the hundred Balrogs.
"Understood."
Among the adult elves, if any had survived death or unconsciousness, they would have desperately begged to spare the children, but those elves who pleaded were already gone.
The young elves who had hidden in every corner were all dragged outside and gathered in one spot in the clearing. Among the adult elves, the men were all chopped into pieces and lay as corpses, while the women were all unconscious and bound. When only the children remained, they clung to each other, trembling in terror, and some even burst into tears from sheer fear.
Normally, a child crying would stir a person's conscience, but these were demons of the Demon World. Anyone expecting mercy or conscience from inherently evil and cruel demons must have serious mental issues.
Yet the demons felt no irritation at the sight of children crying. To demons, others' suffering was their own pleasure, so they were satisfied that the elves were in pain.
Although the Balrogs enjoyed battle and slaughter, they were not exempt from the demons' basic nature.
"Lord, these brats don't seem to have any will to fight. Shall we just eat them alive?"
One Balrog pointed at the young elf boys and asked. The young elf girls were included in the capture list, so they could not be killed, but the boys were boys, and boys had to be killed.
"Do it."
Ungkor simply gave permission. Killing them or eating them alive was no issue.
"Thank you."
"It's a shame they're not girls, but this is the Demon World."
And although they were nearly two meters tall and muscular giants, thirty-six of the Balrogs simultaneously revealed their true forms.
They had the body structure similar to humans with two arms and two legs, but their faces were clearly those of terrifying monsters—sharp teeth, bodies over twenty meters tall, two horns sprouting from both foreheads, sharp claws in both hands, and enormous skin wings folded behind their backs.
Even without being a child, simply seeing them would make one soil one's pants and faint.
"Aaah!"
"I'm scared, aaah!"
"Mom, Dad!"
Among the young elves searching for their mothers and fathers, one Balrog grabbed an elf boy, lifted him into the air, and stuffed him entirely into his mouth, chewing him alive.
"Aaaaah!"
Crunch!
With the elf boy's final, heart-wrenching scream and the sound of bones crushing, silence fell. A Balrog had truly eaten an elf boy alive!
"Hrrgh! As expected, girls taste far better than boys."
The Balrog who had eaten the elf boy alive moved his massive arm, scraping his sharp claws between his teeth and muttering.
"Indeed. But since the boy's young, the taste isn't bad, right?"
Another Balrog picked up an elf boy and said.
"Aaaah! Please spare me! I don't want to die!"
The young elf boy pleaded desperately, but the Balrog ignored his pleas and hurled him into his own mouth. The elf boy flew through the air screaming before vanishing into the Balrog's mouth, and soon the crunching sound and his voice were gone.
And at this point, even the young elf boys felt the situation was dire. If they just stood there quietly, they would be eaten alive anyway!
"Aaah! Run!"
"Run quickly!"
The elf boys rushed to flee, but the enormous, powerful Balrogs were too fast. The boys were reduced to crawling before them, and soon they were all captured one by one, stuffed into the Balrogs' mouths, and eaten alive.
"Aaaaah! Let me go! Let me go!"
Even the last surviving elf boy could not escape the Balrog's hand and was caught. His sister, presumed to be the elf girl, burst into tears.
"Arafinwe!"
Calling her brother's name, the elf girl Tarra screamed desperately. The elf boy Arafinwe, who had been called, called out to her.
"Sis! Aaah!"
As the last remaining elf boy neared being eaten, Tarra clung desperately to the Balrog's toe and pleaded.
"Please! Spare my brother! I'll do anything! Please!"
Her father was already dead, but she could not allow even her younger brother to die. She pleaded desperately. But the Balrog ignored her pleas.
"I don't need it. Get lost."
The Balrog who threw Arafinwe into his mouth ate the boy alive, and when the crunching sound echoed, Tarra, overwhelmed by the shock, screamed and fainted.
The Balrog who slurped and chewed Arafinwe looked at the fallen Tarra and asked the other Balrogs.
"Now, shall we guard these two and move on to attacking the next village?"
"I don't think that's necessary."
Ungkor, still in human form, said. And a moment later.
"These wicked demons!"
The sight of a beautiful elf beauty with flowing emerald hair running forward made the Balrogs revert to human appearance.
"Hihihihi!"
"He's a High Elf!"
The Balrogs rejoiced, for a somewhat enjoyable opponent had finally appeared.
And as countless elves poured in behind her, the Balrogs grew even more excited. Just by looking, the number easily exceeded ten thousand.
From the elves on the trees to those clustered below, it was a sight reminiscent of a sea.
But the Balrogs were even happier at the sheer number of elves who could be killed. They roared and charged, ninety of the Balrogs charging while ten stood guard over the captives. Ungkor signaled the two hundred Balrogs outside to enter the battle as well.
And the outside Balrogs charged in at astonishing speed, joining the fight. The four-thousand-strong elf army...
Was wiped out in ten minutes.
"Ugh!"
Among the fallen elves, the only one still standing was the High Elf Elemir, grimacing in pain and staggering backward. The supreme wind spirit she had summoned had already been forcibly recalled by Ungkor's single whip strike, leaving her severely battered.
Moreover, Ungkor, apparently having no intention of killing her, swung his whip in a non-lethal, painful strike form rather than the slicing style he used on the male elves.
And Elemir felt, as she dodged left and right, that Ungkor's strength was enough to simply suppress her.
"Hihihi! You dodge so well."
Elemir bit her lip, feeling humiliated. It was infuriating to be mocked like this by an enemy. But Elemir was certain they would not kill her, since they spared the female elves while slaughtering the males.
'Let's try our luck.'
It was then that she made her move.
Shuuu!
A massive dark aura began to swirl around them.
"Hm!"
"Huh!"
The Balrogs were also startled by the dark aura. They hurriedly lowered their heads in salute, and Ungkor did the same.
Flicker—
Red eyes gleamed from within the darkness.
"The suppression is complete."
And the darkness slowly coalesced into a figure, completing the appearance of a handsome young man with black hair and red eyes.
That face was familiar to Elemir.
"Kim Jae-hyun!"
The previous hero, and now the new Demon King.
"Long time no see, Elemir."
Jae-hyun looked at Elemir with eyes that held an arrogance she had never seen in his former humble self—red eyes worthy of a god, as if looking down on lowly beings. Those were the eyes of past Demon Kings.
And Elemir, tense at the fact that the Demon King stood before her, nodded. She had no intention of attacking yet; there were too many questions she needed to ask first.
"Yes, long time no see."
But countless elves had been slaughtered by the Balrogs' hands, so Elemir's beautiful emerald eyes burned with vengeful fury and hatred.
It was as if she was remembering Jae-hyun himself burning with hatred toward the betrayers, and Jae-hyun's mouth curled into a satisfied smile at the sight.