The Vengeful Youth Buried in the Demon King's Realm
The young man who dreamed of revenge was buried deep within the land ruled by the Demon King.
Before Kim Jae-hyun had fully manifested, the black mages had hidden in the shadows, slipping away to hidden caves and places no one frequented. They communicated through the people of those shadowed realms, always mindful of safety.
But once Kim Jae-hyun had become the Demon King and descended upon the Intermediate World, many of those black mages came forth on their own, seeking him out. They became pillars of strength within the Dark Empire.
In truth, the Dark Empire was under his rule, yet the lives of the people had not changed in any meaningful way.
A fair number of beautiful women had been taken, but Kim Jae-hyun treated his subordinates as disposable tools—wielding their lives as lightly as he would a blade—without sparing them for revenge. His only desire was absolute revenge upon the betrayers. He harbored no thoughts of slowly dismantling or tormenting his loyal followers.
Instead, under his rule, corruption and wrongdoing had vanished entirely, leaving behind a society cleaner than any other nation. Everyone toiled diligently, honing their abilities, and lived in mutual trust. Without freedom, it was perhaps the strangest of utopian societies.
Most strikingly, not a single person in the entire empire committed a crime, and not a single shadow organization of the underworld existed. It was already worlds apart from any neighboring land.
Black mages skilled in the life arts also lent their power to agriculture. Using magic, they replenished the soil's meager fertility and accelerated the growth of crops, turning them into an abundant harvest. The Dark Empire, possessing vast fertile lands in the southern reaches of the continent, was now reaping an immense yield from these studies the very next season.
Matters requiring manpower were swiftly resolved thanks to the undead, who could be forced to labor without pay. Entire armies of tens of thousands of undead handled every conceivable task. Taxes had likewise been slashed dramatically—from four-tenths of income to just one-tenth.
Because Kim Jae-hyun issued only commands, the nation had almost nowhere left to spend money. Yet the circulation of currency itself posed a problem, so the government deliberately allocated funds to welfare benefits and the development of new weapons.
Knowledge of swordsmanship and magic had been freed from secrecy, and talent alone was enough for anyone to learn. The entire populace now trained relentlessly, and because they all possessed demonic energy, their early progress had been astonishingly swift.
Especially those with even a spark of magical talent were swiftly granted demonic power by the demon lords, becoming third-circle black mages. The number of mages within the Dark Empire was increasing geometrically with every passing day.
Monsters across the continent—whether they bore holy power or demonic energy—were inherently vicious, attacking humans without hesitation whenever they appeared weaker. Now that humanity's strength had grown, monsters were being eradicated easily. However, those without the protection of any nation, such as frontier settlers, always stood exposed to danger.
Within the Dark Empire, no such vulnerability existed. There were no hungry people, and anyone willing to labor could grow stronger. No one faced the threat of monsters.
In Pandemonium, the capital of the Dark Empire—once the Holy Kingdom of Astraea's Pantheon—powerful forces had gathered, yet they were not concentrated solely in the city. Strong warriors were stationed in every region, particularly near borders with other nations. The capital remained the heart of the realm.
Even within the training grounds of the capital, one could find desperate souls training in seclusion. Among them now rested a young man with golden-blond hair and a red glow about him, pausing briefly after a session of diverse demonic-energy manipulation.
It was Ron, Kim Jae-hyun's lover Lin's older brother. He had devoted himself to relentless training while his younger sister served the Demon King every single day, offering her body in devotion.
Thanks to Lin's favor in the Demon King's eyes, rewards occasionally fell to Ron as well. He had received knowledge and demonic energy as prizes, and now stood at the eighth-circle pinnacle of grand black mage.
Yet an eighth-circle grand black mage was still not enough for him. He wanted more. He needed revenge against Andrew, the younger son of the Gray Viscount.
The man who had murdered his father, raped his mother, and caused his sister Lin to be separated from their family forever—Andrew was the ultimate enemy of his enemies.
He had once located Frank the Kingdom, but it had fallen. Still, he had learned that the vengeful individual had fled toward the Habsburg Empire.
In truth, the entire Gray Viscount family now served in the Habsburg Empire, having been tasked with reorganizing the northwest territories of the former Frank Kingdom that had been absorbed into it.
The Habsburg Empire had feared chaos if it simply handed those lands back to the original Frank citizens. Many of those people had been driven out by the Forces of Darkness and had only recently returned as home after Laylana's fall. To prevent discrimination by the newly arrived Habsburg citizens, the Empire adopted a calculated approach.
From the very start, Crown Prince Ferdinand had been a bloodline supremacist, yet he was no fool. He handled matters efficiently. If he had been incompetent, he could never have orchestrated the betrayal that drove Kim Jae-hyun to death.
Thus, the Habsburg Empire kept a large portion of Frank's former territories and appointed many nobles from the old Frank lineage to govern them. The plan worked beautifully. Frank nobles arrived with their own wealth and knights, and the Habsburg Empire granted them titles without demotion. Bringing at least ten expert or higher knights ensured that titles and status would be preserved exactly as before.
The plan succeeded. Instead of traveling far, the nobles gathered near their homeland, retaining their ranks while pledging loyalty to the former Emperor and Crown Prince Ferdinand. After Laylana's Forces of Darkness fell, they reaped the sweetest fruits.
Even after Ferdinand ascended as Emperor, they swore eternal loyalty and served as his right hand. His imperial authority had grown greater than that of any Habsburg Emperor in history.
These Frank nobles were now used mercilessly to display to the Frank people. Frank nobles retained their status without discrimination, and the Habsburg Empire portrayed itself as non-discriminatory while quietly assimilating the people—emphasizing loyalty to the Habsburg Empire and transforming former Frank citizens into Habsburg citizens.
Since even the nobles were Frank-born, no one could afford to discriminate against them. Doing so would have made the noble governors themselves look foolish. Several Habsburg citizens who tried it were executed for noble-class insult. Once discrimination became a capital offense, the people grew cautious. After nearly a decade of living together, they had fully assimilated, believing themselves identical Habsburg citizens.
“Andrew…”
Just thinking of the Gray Viscount family still enjoying life under the Habsburg banner made Ron's blood surge with rage and hatred. But he quickly drew a deep breath, calming his chaotic mind and steadying his heart.
He was a mage. He had to maintain composure at all times.
He already possessed all the knowledge up to the eighth circle. It had been only ten days since he crossed into the eighth circle, and the seven-circle stage had lasted barely a week. Inexperience still lingered, so he practiced relentlessly. Having heard that twenty additional Habsburg fortresses had fallen, Ron was eager to grow stronger. The closer he drew to the Gray Viscount's territory, the more he wanted to strike before they could prepare.
“Lin also has the right to revenge…”
Ron thought of his sister Lin. Even as her older brother, she was exceptionally beautiful and adorable. One year younger than him, yet he bore the responsibility of an older brother. He hoped his beloved sister would live a happy, peaceful life forever—cherished as Kim Jae-hyun's lover, without a single care.
Moreover, Lin was now pregnant. As naturally as possible, the child's father was Kim Jae-hyun, the Demon King.
Demons mated rapidly; pregnancy was extremely short. A human pregnancy took ten months, yet a demon child was born in just ten days.
And today was the day of the birth of Irene, the Flash Magic Swordswoman, the Dark Empire's Empress, and the Demon King's wife—the Great Archdemon.
Ten days ago, when Lin conceived, she had borne her child first. Then, within hours to a full day, Lin would also give birth to the Demon King's child.
Lin was not alone. Selina, Lucien, Serphius, Lillian, and the other supreme beauties of the Demon World—aside from Kim Jae-hyun himself—were included in the harem. But to Ron, his little sister Lin was the one he worried about most.
“It is fortunate that the Demon King favors her.”
At least she received his favor. Lin had been exceptionally cherished because of her resemblance to Irene, and she still received endless affection from Kim Jae-hyun. Her older brother, who had only reached eighth circle, was now a ninth-circle grand black mage. Her body remained constantly healthy. Yet even as Ron's mind acknowledged it, his heart could not help worrying about his delicate sister.
“You seem troubled.”
At the sound of a man's voice, Ron shot upright from his seat.
“Are you here, Lord Baros?”
Ron offered a polite greeting to the handsome young man with crimson hair and a beauty that could only be the Incubus King, Baros. He who commanded every Incubus in the Demon World. Even as an eighth-circle grand black mage, Ron could only greet him with the utmost respect.
Baros nodded in acceptance and spoke casually, “I came to see you because there is something good in store. Do you have time to think?”
Although Baros could have used blunt speech, he deliberately adopted a tone that still showed respect. The reason was simple: Ron was Lin, Kim Jae-hyun's beloved. Even if Ron was weak in Baros's eyes as a mere human, he was still the older brother of that precious girl.
If Baros had treated him too casually and Lin later cried to the Demon King about it, Kim Jae-hyun might have viewed the slight as an insult to his authority and issued punishment. Therefore, Ron had to be shown at least some respect. That was also why Baros had deliberately come to form a closer bond with him.
Of course, Ron was handsome enough, but the Incubus in him felt no attraction to men. He simply wanted to build a genuine friendship.