Demon King
Demon King
Flash.
Kwa-gwa-gwang—.
A blue bolt of lightning splits the dark sky.
This is the Demon Castle.
Hundreds of years have passed since the previous Demon King breathed his last.
To this day, the throne of the Demon King remains vacant.
"Old Man Hank, is everything ready with this?"
"Yeah, if only the Demon King takes the throne, the demons can unite as one. We need to show those human bastards what we're made of."
"Finally, the time has come."
The vacancy of the Demon King.
During that time, the demons scattered and couldn't properly band together.
On the contrary, that allowed each faction to gain great power.
In other words, if they united, there was nothing to fear.
At the center of that must be the Demon King, and now demons have gathered at the Demon Castle to summon a new Demon King.
"Alright, then let's prepare. Summon the priest."
The god worshipped by the demon race.
A being called the Evil God in Glacius.
He was not a god of this world.
An extraterrestrial being.
The demons call him this:
'The Only One.'
Hundreds of years have passed since the previous Demon King was summoned, and like the humans, the demons here have also never seen the Demon King.
Expectation and vague fear made them tense.
"The god has bestowed an oracle."
The priest's eyes gleamed.
"So, you're saying we can summon the Demon King now?"
The only one here who had personally seen the previous Demon King was Old Man Hank.
The old man was moved with emotion at being able to witness the legendary moment again.
"Yes. The god said that a hero will be summoned to the human world, so He will grant us a Demon King."
"Oh! Finally!"
At the priest's words, Old Man Hank was excited.
"Hold on, what do you mean a hero?"
One of the succubi listening in interrupted.
"If a hero appears, aren't we going to lose again and not be able to do anything?"
Hearing this, the demons murmured.
"That's right. If we lose to the hero like the previous generation, won't we be stuck at the edge of the continent for hundreds of years again?"
"We're screwed. Totally screwed."
"Let's just give up and live like this."
A lot of complaints.
"Don't oppose the god's choice! The hero's summoning is already fixed! If that's the case, summoning the Demon King is also inevitable!"
The old man shouted angrily.
"Well... I guess that's true."
"It's better than doing nothing, right?"
"Let's just go for it first!"
Fortunately, public opinion calmed down.
"Priest. Perform the summoning ritual quickly!"
The old man urged the priest in haste.
"Oh god in heaven, hallowed be your name... Have mercy on us and send down a leader who will carry out your will."
As the priest offered a prayer, a brilliant light rose around the altar.
""Oooh!!!""
Everyone watching marveled.
Paaat—.
Soon, the light faded.
"Where is the Demon King...?"
The old man looked around.
The scene was the same as before the ritual.
"What the heck. Did it fail?"
"Damn it! The god must have abandoned us!"
"We're doomed! We're all going to die!!!"
These demons' mental states were completely shattered.
"Calm down! Everyone, calm down! Hey, priest! What's going on here?!"
A demon wearing a beast's mask, unable to contain himself, grabbed the priest.
"W-wait a moment. I'll ask the god."
The priest clasped his hands together and murmured a prayer.
The answer that came back was...
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything?!"
"The god says... the Demon King has fallen into a human kingdom..."
"What the hell is that bullshit?!"
"Eeek!"
Grabbed by the collar, the priest lost his wits.
"Not only the hero, but now even the Demon King has sided with the humans! We're fucked!"
"Aagh! It's the end!"
"I need to get out of here!"
Crash!
The demons fell into even greater panic.
In the end, they scrambled and all ran out of the Demon Castle.
"This... we're completely ruined."
Old Man Hank staggered.
"Hey, old man. Pull yourself together. You can't be like this too!"
Cassius, a demon who had been watching everything from beside the old man from the start, supported him.
"It's all over now. There's no way the Demon King can survive in the human world without any help..."
It was as the old man said.
The Demon King is a chosen one summoned from another world to lead the demons.
In reality, he is a person with the potential to be the Demon King, not a fully completed Demon King from the start.
"We should have assisted the Demon King and prepared him to face the hero..."
The old man clutched his head.
"Then we just need to find him and bring him back, right?"
Liliya, a succubus who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"Liliya. Haven't you gone? Going to bring back the Demon King... Easy to say. Who would want to do that?"
"This Cassius guy here should go."
Liliya crossed her arms and looked at Cassius.
"You're so short-sighted, probably because you only have lewd thoughts in your head."
"What did you say?"
"Look at my appearance. Big horns, purple skin, muscular body, reverse eyes, sharp teeth. I clearly look like a demon—how can I possibly go?"
"Huh? Can't you even use a spell to change your appearance? I don't think you're in a position to worry about my intelligence."
"Can you? You're weak, so you wouldn't know, but I'm strong—so if I meet a strong human, I'll be immediately found out. To go serve the Demon King, we'd have to leave with a small group—do we want to all get killed together? Well, you wouldn't know since you're weak and stupid."
"What did you say? Are you done?"
Liliya and Cassius bickered back and forth.
In the vast Demon Castle, the only ones left thinking about the future of the demon race were these three, including Old Man Hank.
The old man sighed, wondering, 'Is this the future of the demon race?'
"Old man, don't just sigh. Don't you have any other ideas? They say you're the smartest among the demons."
"If it were up to me, I'd go myself... but I'm too old, so I can't. In the end, it seems one of you two must go."
"Old man, didn't you hear what I just said? I can't go. And this succubus bitch would probably try to seduce the Demon King, so she's absolutely out. There's no choice—we'll have to find another demon."
"The others are no good. Under these circumstances, you two are the only ones I can trust. Go find that Victor guy. He'll be helpful."
With that, the old man said he needed to rest and went back.
"Tch. No choice. But who's Victor?"
"The lunatic who lives in the Ten Thousand Year Cave, isn't he? You call me stupid, but you don't even know that?"
"Stop blabbing and just guide the way."
"Yes, yes~. Great Cassius-nim~."
Following Liliya's guidance, they arrived at the Ten Thousand Year Cave.
"Gloomy place."
"Ha! Scared?"
Thump.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"Shut up, you slut."
"You crazy bastard."
Liliya swallowed her tears and rubbed her hit arm.
Bang bang bang—.
Cassius pounded on the door of Victor's residence.
Squeak.
The door opened by itself.
"Are we supposed to go in?"
As they stepped inside, acrid dust greeted them.
"Ugh~. No lights on, completely messy. Is this fit for a demon to live in?"
Liliya waved her hand.
"Hey! Is Victor here?!"
Avoiding the junk underfoot, Cassius shouted.
"Heh~. Lots of strange things here."
While Cassius went deeper inside, Liliya was examining the junk.
"What's this? Oh, it moves?"
"Hehe."
"What's up, Cassius? Why are you smiling like an idiot?"
"..."
"Cassius?"
Liliya looked toward where the laughter came from.
No one was there.
She turned her head the other way—Cassius was still deep inside, looking for Victor.
"Huh? Then who was that laughter just now?"
"Booh."
"Kyaaaaaaak!"
A face suddenly appeared.
Liliya screamed and threw a punch.
"Gwaek!"
"Hey! Liliya! What was the scream?!"
When Cassius arrived belatedly, Liliya was covering her eyes and trembling.
"You okay? But... who's this?"
On the floor, a strange guy was sprawled out.
"I'm sorry..."
"Booh... No problem! It's more like a reward."
Once Victor came to his senses, Cassius explained the reason for their visit.
"So you need a potion that can change your appearance and hide your power. Booh."
"Yes. Is it possible?"
Cassius hadn't known much, but Victor was a fairly skilled alchemist.
He might occasionally make weird things and get called a madman, lunatic, or oddball, but that wasn't important.
That might also be why he had a strange way of speaking, but anyway, that's not important.
"Uhehe. Then you've come to the right place! Wait a moment. Buhiht."
Victor went to a corner, stuck his head into a pile of trash, and frantically searched for something.
"I had something I made on a trial basis before! Ah! Found it!"
Victor brought out a rainbow-colored potion.
"Is this safe to drink?"
It looked like it would upset one's stomach.
"Buhiht! What side effects?"
"Yeah, well, thanks anyway. How much?"
"No need for that. If anything, I should be the grateful one. Booh."
"Then I won't refuse."
Having obtained the potion, Liliya and Cassius left Victor's house.
"Ah, if we meet again later, I'd like to hear how it went!"
"We'll do that."
Victor, who had seen them off, closed the door, and the house vanished without a trace.
"What a creepy guy."
"Fully agreed."
Cassius looked down at the potion again.
"Don't want to drink it? Then I'll drink it and go find the Demon King."
Liliya reached out slightly.
"Bullshit! Considering the Demon King's safety, I can never entrust that to you."
Ppong—.
He opened the cork with force.
Gulp gulp.
Cassius drank the potion without hesitation.
"Kuh. Surprisingly not bad. Doesn't it change right away?"
He looked at his arm, then felt a strange sensation.
"I feel a bit dizzy. Ugh."
"Eek! Don't throw up!"
Ttiing—.
Cassius's consciousness gradually faded.
Ppeong!
Smoke spread, enveloping his body.
"Ugh... What the hell...!"
The smoke slowly cleared, revealing Cassius's transformed appearance.
"Hack!"
Liliya was startled and covered her mouth.
"Hey, is it that shocking? What's it like... Hmm? My voice?"
Cassius felt his throat.
Then he noticed something strange and checked his hands and feet.
"Fuck...! This is ridiculous...!"
A dainty size.
"Liliya! Give me a mirror! Now!"
Shocked by the reflection in the mirror Liliya held up, Cassius slumped to the ground.
He had shrunk.
Clothes that didn't fit slid down.
It wasn't just that he had shrunk.
"Uh... um. What should I call you now? Kashi-chan?"
Cassius had become a little girl!
"Uwaaaaaaaagh!"
This is insane!
I'm... I'm a girl!
"Hehehe. Kashi-chan, let me hold you once."
Liliya approached with a lecherous expression.
"Get lost, you slut!"
He punched her ample magic sac.
"Kyaak!"
Bang crash!
"Oooh. I didn't feel any power at all."
Frail arms.
A form that didn't seem strong.
A magical power that felt like none.
But Cassius's strength remained the same.
"It's not to my liking, but the performance is solid."
Thinking about it, a muscular old man showing up and saying "Let's go together" would be far more suspicious than a little girl saying that—easier and faster, right?
"Alright! With this, I'll set off to find the Demon King!"
Cassius tied his clothes tightly so they wouldn't slip down.
Leaving the fallen Liliya buried in the ground, he embarked on an adventure to find the Demon King.