Chapter 53. Membership Signup
The twelve secret rooms connected to the Demon King's bedchamber were mostly storage vaults filled with dark energy.
Each room was linked to a different maze, meaning that even if you found one, tracking down the rest required just as much effort.
'Already devoured this much, huh, Barbatoss.'
Out of the eleven storage vaults—excluding the massive central control tower—five had already been ransacked by Barbatoss.
Having consumed so much dark energy, it was only natural that the bastard had grown stronger and eventually harbored thoughts of rebellion.
But...
Something was off about the status message on the storage vault.
I'd always thought these were just vaults for storing dark energy, but Relocation Line? What the hell kind of mismatched, out-of-place name was that?
'Come to think of it, why did the Demon King store dark energy here instead of mana?'
The energies of the demon world were mana and dark energy.
But the foundation was mana.
Yet the Demon King had stored dark energy, not mana?
It was a question I'd never considered in previous regressions.
My mind was too corrupted by dark pollution to think straight back then. And honestly, I was too focused on my own misfortunes to care about what the previous Demon King's vaults were called.
But this regression, I wasn't mentally broken by corruption, I wasn't enslaved to anyone, and if I just sorted out the demon world's issues, I could even eliminate the Eternally Cursed Body trait.
In short, I was in a state where I could actually ponder external matters—mentally, physically, emotionally.
And that brought up a nagging question I'd been ignoring: Where does dark energy even come from?
No, even more fundamentally—why was I using dark energy?
Most kids implanted with black seeds awakened, but they all started with mana-related traits.
Then, if an awakener with mana operation underwent a secondary "energy shower" like dark energy or divine power, they could achieve a second awakening.
Of course, most stopped at the first.
But I'd awakened directly with dark energy from the start.
Including this regression, I was an extreme outlier: first awakening with dark energy operation, then reawakening with divine power operation.
In 999 regressions, I'd never seen anyone else awaken primarily with dark energy operation instead of mana. It was truly one-of-a-kind.
'A dogshit one-of-a-kind.'
I swallowed the bitter taste rising in my mouth and refocused on the empty dark energy storage vault before me.
So, back to the original question: Why had the Demon King stored dark energy instead of mana here?
And what was the deal with this vault being called a Relocation Line?
When I absorbed the Demon King's corpse, I always got a vast amount of mana.
From that, it was clear the Demon King fundamentally operated on mana.
Yet instead of storing his own mana to sustain the demon world, he'd used dark energy.
Mixing mana and dark energy often led to mental corruption and loss of reason, turning you into a mindless beast like me.
That's why parts of the demon world collapsed into black, murky colorless voids filled only with mindless abyssal monsters.
'Like the monsters Chairman Kal summoned from Canada.'
Storing something so detrimental to the demon world—going so far as to build secret rooms connected to his own bedchamber...
No matter how I sliced it, it seemed insanely risky.
'Exposed to dark energy every time he slept?'
Maybe that's why the Demon King, after reigning as the demon world's strongest for ages, suddenly declined—he'd invited dark energy in.
But the weirdest part was the name.
Relocation Line implied migrants had come here from somewhere else. Who? When? How?
This place was a barren hellscape called "hell" itself, teeming with demons and demonic beasts amid seas of red lava.
Who the hell would migrate here?
I'd never heard anything like this from Baldr.
Hell, Baldr didn't even seem to know these rooms existed.
They were the Demon King's secret alone.
After the Demon King fell into eternal slumber—"the death of a god"—Barbatoss stumbled upon them while devouring the corpse, whether by chance or fate. Aside from me, no one else knew.
That meant these rooms predated even exiles from the divine realm like Baldr and Balpador.
'Only the Demon King knew the answer.'
But I'd already absorbed the previous Demon King's corpse.
I might never get answers.
If I weren't a dark energy user myself, it wouldn't matter much. But I was the Demon King who awakened with dark energy.
'Feels like I'm forgetting something important...'
I shook my head to clear the swirling thoughts and poured dark energy into the massive, spherical storage orb.
"Death Terraforming."
Using Death Terraforming, I could draw unlimited dark energy from somewhere, powering myself and filling these containers as needed.
It was the ultimate skill—transcending time and space to store dark energy skills at any point in future regressions. Infinite potential and versatility.
'This ability alone let me conquer both the demon world and the human world.'
But I gained it upon awakening the Eternally Cursed Body trait.
Without that trait, could I still use Death Terraforming?
Probably not—the moment the trait vanished, I'd lose the ability to wield dark energy.
So before that, I needed to stabilize the demon world to prevent further collapse.
'That way, Balpador and Baldr won't even think of invading Earth.'
Whooooom!
Whooooom!
Hummm...
The transparent orb, like a flask, filled with black energy.
As it filled, I felt collapsing parts of the demon world halting their decay and stabilizing.
Ever since becoming the Demon King, I'd often felt like I was one with the demon world.
Baldr had explained it in past regressions: the Demon King and demon world were one body. If I died, the demon world vanished.
That made his nauseating loyalty a bit more understandable.
Soon, all the 500 billion helons' worth of orbs Barbatoss had devoured were refilled.
With all eleven vaults full, I headed to the enormous central control tower.
I'd visited this place countless times in past regressions but never entered the tower itself.
It always blared warnings—[Access Restricted]—with shrill beeps.
But this time...
Access available via membership signup or login.
Membership signup costs 50 million magic stones.
Proceed with signup / login?
My jaw dropped—not from shock this time, but sheer absurdity.
'50 million magic stones just to get in?!'
It was an insane control tower demanding enough stones to halve the entire demon world's output as a signup fee.
Having received the new Demon King's order to install Balpador as the fake Demon King, Baldr grumbled under his breath but began the procedures.
"First things first, I need to send an official letter."
This one had to be leagues more polite than the last, formally announcing Balpador's ascension to the throne.
I sincerely apologize for the previous discourtesy, infused with the deepest malice,
and beg forgiveness with my skull for repeatedly denying entry during past invasions.
Effective tomorrow, I shall formally appoint the 1st Legion Commander as Demon King. Please come to the Demon King Castle.
Together, let us plunge into the repulsive and dismal future of the demon world!
Sent by 2nd Legion Commander Baldr
Forcing out words he loathed to write, Baldr had his cyclops adjutant Yamadan read it and give feedback.
The massive cyclops squatted, holding the tiny letter, reading each character deliberately.
"Grraaah! A splendid letter, Commander!"
"Truly the most courteous I've ever seen! Kuruk."
His yeti adjutant chimed in from the side.
"Right? Writing that nearly burned out my guts."
"Your guts are already charred, Commander. Grraaah!"
"Ahem, true enough. Anyway, Adjutant Yamadan—deliver that letter to Balpador pronto."
Yamadan scratched his head awkwardly.
"Grraaah! The ogre vice-minister who delivered the last one got stomped flat like squid by Balpador. I don't wanna die, Commander."
"Don't worry. This is an official letter now—he might even reward you handsomely."
"Ooh! Really? Grraaah!"
The giant cyclops Yamadan bowed deeply in delight, then thundered out clutching the letter, shaking the ground.
"Kuruk. Think Balpador will really give a big reward?"
"That scum? No chance."
"Th-then Yamadan's gonna die? Kuruk."
"Relax. He's so huge, even stomped he won't die."
"Kuruk. Fair point. Kekeke..."
Mid their pointless banter, Baldr finished jotting down fake coronation procedures and stood, bellowing.
"Alright! Demon King coronation tomorrow! No time—assign tasks and wrap 'em up by tonight!"
"Yes, Commander Baldr!"
"Rejoice! Wail! Tomorrow we welcome a new Demon King!"
"Kuoooaaar!"
"Wahahahaha!"
"Kiruk kiruk..!"
His demons and beasts rolled on the ground, stomping in frenzy at Baldr's declaration.
'Of course, the true Demon King will stand above him—My Lord. Kukuku...'
Grinning with bared crimson teeth at his ecstatic minions, Baldr laughed silently.
My jaw, still slack from the outrageous entry fee, dropped again for a different reason.
Existing member detected.
Proceed with login?
Enter password:
000000
I'd hit signup on reflex, and the message plunged me into confusion.
'Me? Already signed up? When the hell?!'