Demon King Succession
A desolate desert atmosphere lingered in the air.
The girl and the Demon God stood at the entrance to the desert path.
"Is this... the place? Where the previous Demon King, who was sealed away, has his Demon King's Castle."
The power of the Demon King is passed down from one generation to the next.
For the girl to become the Demon King, she had to find the sealed corpse of the previous Demon King.
"That's right. After the Demon King lost to the hero's party during the First Demon-Human War and was sealed, the Demon King's Castle and the surrounding territories were reduced to ruins. It was the aftermath of the mutual destruction between the hero and the Demon King."
The hero's party, prepared to die, had massacred the demon leadership, collapsing the demon nation.
This was why the demons, despite their far superior physical specs compared to humans, couldn't mount any organized resistance.
"......The First Demon-Human War?"
The girl tilted her head at the Demon God's words.
"Wasn't there only one Demon-Human War?"
"......"
Oh no. A slip of the tongue.
The Second Demon-Human War was the one her master had started.
A war where, through her authority, she had brought half the continent to ruin, and all the continent's people, including the demons, united against her.
It was called the Demon-Human War because she, a demon, had been the spark.
But at this point in time, it hadn't happened yet, so there was no distinction between first and second.
"Pfft."
As the Demon God fumbled for words in panic, the girl let out a small laugh.
"Don't worry about it."
She seemed pleased by what the Demon God had let slip.
"I know. That you, Demon God, are a god who can see the future."
"......"
The Demon God fell silent.
This reality was, strictly speaking, the past.
The Demon God knew what was to come.
The girl would become the Demon King, her master, turning the entire continent against her.
She would become history's infamous butcher and archvillain, slain for it.
With the girl's death, demons and the continent's other races would unite in coexistence.
The chain of hatred would break, peace would come—but the girl would have no place in it.
"The Second Demon-Human War happening means I successfully become the Demon King and carry out my task, right?"
The girl smiled.
"That's enough for me."
The Demon God's heart sank.
Back then, she had thought her master had gone mad under the weight of her burdens.
That she had forcibly broken the chain of hatred by trying to kill all non-demon races.
But if it had all been an act...
If from the start, she had planned to become the villain, the common enemy, and die...
You...
No way...
"......After becoming the Demon King..."
"Shh. Let's talk about that after I become the Demon King. I don't want to mess up my mindset for the pilgrimage by hearing future spoilers."
The girl pressed her index finger to her lips.
The Demon God couldn't bring herself to say it.
The girl and the Demon God set off into the barren desert.
The wasteland, made uninhabitable by the aftermath of the Demon-Human War battle between the Demon King and hero, was no match for the fully grown girl, who pressed onward through the harsh environment.
'A master with this backstory suddenly goes mad and becomes a butcher. I've thought it was suspicious from before.'
The Demon God, traveling with her, sank into thought.
As the [pride] that had consumed her faded, she began to see the past her master had hidden.
'Master carried me, who had lost everything, and raised me as her successor. She passed on everything except the 'succession' itself, so I could become the ruler to lead the demons.'
Ruler?
......!
Not just any ruler.
She had taught how to pursue harmony beyond the broken chain of hatred once war ended and peace arrived.
Master had foreseen the peace after her own death.
'......No. It wasn't foresight. She made it happen.'
With the [pride] clouding her mind lifted, the Demon God faced the truth.
The reason her master had started the massacre.
Why harmony had come so easily after the Demon-Human War ended.
......Why she, deemed unworthy, had become history's greatest sage-king.
All of it was her master's design.
The Demon God's hands trembled.
If things continued like this, the real history would replay.
That was the original goal, the step to revive her master.
But... why didn't she want to just watch it happen?
This world wasn't reality.
Even though her master's revival in reality required this world's master to die.
As the Demon God's anguish deepened, the girl drew closer to her goal.
A massive pyramid structure in the heart of the desert.
The remnants of the Demon King's Castle, sunk below the surface after its fall.
Only the tip of the ruins protruded above ground.
Rumble rumble rumble
When the girl placed her hand on one wall of the pyramid, it reacted to her demonic energy and parted, opening a door.
The security system, meant to respond only to registered individuals, but the girl's control over demonic energy surpassed even the previous Demon King's.
The girl and Demon God proceeded into the Demon King's Castle.
Golems prepared for defense and various systems activated, attacking the girl, but she neutralized them effortlessly and advanced.
Nothing could stop her.
Thud
Heading to the deepest part of the dark Demon King's Castle, the girl finally arrived.
"......Demon King."
At the corpse of the Demon King, sealed with the hero in the [Perpetual Frozen Lands].
"Demon God."
The girl turned to the Demon God.
"You can do it. I believe in you."
The Demon God wanted to stop her.
For some reason, it felt like once she became the Demon King, there would be no turning back.
But after so many years together, she couldn't halt her.
The girl took a deep breath.
Then she placed her hand on the massive ice.
Hummm hummm hummm hummm
The moment she touched the ice, it resonated with the Demon King inside and the girl.
The succession authority of the masterless Demon King had found a suitable inheritor.
"Kuh."
The seal of [Super Succession] began engraving in the girl's mind.
An unimaginable agony, beyond anything she'd felt, overwhelmed her.
"Gaaahhh!"
As more authority flowed into her, her screams grew louder.
The Demon God bit her lip, watching the succession.
The long lives of all previous Demon King inheritors settled into the girl's mind.
Vast memories that could swallow her short life filled her.
"I won't... forget......!"
But the girl clung tightly to those short memories.
The precious memories with the Demon God she must never forget.
And her mission, the purpose of her existence.
No matter how many Demon Kings entered her, she couldn't forget.
"[New Demon King]"
"[King who reigns over ten thousand demons]"
"[Absolute sovereign who wields all demonic powers]"
⟨ Speak the authority you shall create ⟩
The Demon King's karma echoed within the girl.
Enduring the head-splitting pain, she clutched her head.
"The authority I create... the world I rule......!"
The previous Demon Kings' powers couldn't fulfill her mission.
To break the chain of hatred required immense power.
An overwhelming authority of death to bury the endless karma of death.
"Underking! I shall become the King of Ten Thousand Demons and the King of Death!"
In her mental world, the karma of historical Demon Kings swirled.
All that karma aligned under her will.
"I command the continent! The authority of the absolute strongest! The primordial authority that births creation through death! Come to me! Underking Primordial!"
The primordial lava sea that creates and annihilates all things.
The Underking Primordial, denoting the era of primitive creation, descended upon her.
The [Super Succession] completed successfully.
The girl accepted the Demon King's power and evolved into the new Demon King.
The Demon God witnessed it all.
The girl obtaining the power of [Underking Primordial] just like in reality.
And in that process, she saw the will engraved in the girl's mental world.
The resolute will to sacrifice herself, break the chain of hatred, and bring peace to the continent.
The Demon God approached the girl.
Her resolve had finally hardened.
No more hesitation.
This world was no longer false.
The moment she accepted the girl, the girl became real too.
Thus, she couldn't allow the girl's sacrifice.
She couldn't accept a world built that way.
Without knowing what her master had borne and sacrificed.
Without understanding how the era of peace had come.
Without caring for the lives of those who made that era.
She couldn't condone sacrificing for those who would point fingers at her.
She would stop it.
Even if this world diverged from real history.
She couldn't watch the girl sacrifice herself just like in reality.
"...Huh? Demon God! It worked! I became the Demon King!"
The girl smiled brightly.
A giant no longer to be called a girl dwelled within her. The Demon God saw her past-life master overlapping with her.
'I'm sorry, master.'
This meant her real master couldn't be revived.
But now, freed from [pride], she understood.
That her master wouldn't have wanted such a revival.
Thus, she... no, I!
Would not let this master meet an unhappy death!
It was at that moment, as the Demon God reached out to the girl.
[Final Assistance]
With your help, the girl has successfully become the Demon King.
Now is the moment of the final decision.
Skipping ahead to when the girl's plan reaches its final stage.
Assist in the decisive choice at the girl's final moment.
The surroundings enveloping the Demon God began to flow rapidly.
The world accelerated, excluding the Demon God.
Everything passed by.
Time sped forward to the girl's final moment, when she would make her choice as the butcher.
"......No."
The Demon God realized what was happening.
She could no longer intervene.
"Nooooooo!"
The decisive choice, the girl's sacrifice.
Everything except the very last moment's decision.
"Demon... God?"
In the hollow ruins of the Demon King's Castle, the girl searched for her staunchest ally, master, and mother figure.
As long as she was with her, she could do anything.
With her alone, nothing to come was frightening.
......
But no response from the Demon God came.
Only the girl's voice echoed, fading away.
"Where are you, Demon God......"
The girl's body shrank back.
I was temporarily separated from the story's world, hearing the Demon God's scream as it headed to the finale.
Everything was going according to plan.
Now the Demon God would have to make the decisive choice.
Whether to unleash her full divine power to break the restraints binding her and annihilate this world.
Or to remain trapped here forever, maintaining the false world.
And from watching her, I had a feeling I knew which she would choose.