Demon King (2)
The Ten Thrones. Upper demon kings were beings that could not be dissected. They wielded the power to sway entire worldviews. Whether it stemmed from their innate nature or the thrones they claimed was unknown. But their strength was undeniably real.
That was why I, Lee Hoyeol, couldn't help but be tempted.
Was I in a position to turn it down? Even if Grandfell wouldn't care, Lee Hoyeol couldn't afford to hide a single thing. I hadn't forgotten that initial resolve. I had to scrape together every means to struggle on—skills, items, petty tricks, elementary science, magic, anything.
Only by wielding it all could I bear the weight on my shoulders.
But life was never that easy.
Ten Thrones.
I had hoped for a power utterly divorced from demons. Was that just wishful thinking?
I stared at the rising message.
Your unique aura dominates the area.
Current aura: Demon King of the Ten Thrones, Lee Hoyeol
Caution: Akshan is watching you.
Let's skip over the unique aura drawn out by my Charm stat for now. What mattered was that my Akshan seniors were watching me.
My nape prickles.
A single line of text. But its implications were anything but light.
I hadn't forgotten why some Akshan seniors had fallen to hell. They had peered into demons to hunt them, only to succumb to corruption and be slain by comrades, cast into the abyss. Those were the Akshan seniors in hell.
No excuses there.
In that sense, I was no different from them. No, far worse, perhaps. Not just any demon, but a demon king. An upper demon king, no less.
I could guess why the Akshan seniors were watching this junior. But I didn't stop. I had conviction.
Even if it was the power of an upper demon king, I wouldn't be swayed by its malice. The source of that confidence? Grandfell, naturally.
I opened my mouth.
"Thy suspicions are correct."
Mary nodded faintly.
"This is the power of a demon king."
Her expression was one of utter entrancement, as if gazing upon a being from the fathomless heights. A face I knew well—the reactions of Seorn Continent folk facing Baal's forearm had been just like that.
But as I said, no need for concern, Mary.
Utter stillness reigned. No heartbeat. Within my mind. In my flesh. No changes whatsoever.
Grandfell, as the next head of the Claudy family, had first ingrained in his body an indifference to trivial joys and sorrows.
Even the power of an upper demon king was trivial to him, perhaps? The exact reason eluded me, but one thing was clear.
The seat of the Claudy family head tolerated not the slightest tremor.
I was unchanged from my usual self.
That's why...
Even the Akshan seniors—who would pounce on any demon, especially an upper demon king—merely observed. Underestimation or overestimation? It mattered not.
Underestimation demanded proof. Overestimation would be made reality.
Yes. I intended to fully assimilate even the power of an upper demon king.
Otherwise, I couldn't survive the challengers eyeing the lowest-ranked me. Not in the hierarchy battles with other upper demon kings. Not in the Demon Realm I had walked into of my own accord.
I murmured with resolve.
"Thus, unleash thy full might."
Nod.
Whoosh.
Mary's violet surged fiercer. I, too, was a transcendent who frequented the Spacetime Salon. I knew the cost of the cigarettes she chain-smoked.
The cheapest pack ran 100 gold, right?
I had never witnessed Mary's full power. But I could assert she surpassed any mage I'd seen. Not even the Tower Master—that cat—had formed circles.
Compared to her, I...
Absolute mana reserves? Laughably inferior.
Circles? Formed through elixirs, but forced at the risk of life.
Experience? Incomparable. Mary had monitored Omen for near-eternal ages, tackling high-difficulty Spacetime missions to fund her habit.
Whoosh.
Objectively, I couldn't have withstood her first strike.
If we'd clashed with pure magic, without the upper demon king's power.
Roooar.
Twilight mana was dozens of times denser than equal quantities of regular mana. Meaning: greater manifestation power from less mana.
True full power.
And she'd learned new spells lingering in the Mage Tower. Even my edge in magical knowledge was nullified.
Proof: no elemental magic.
Elemental magic had clear superiorities. Like how ice mage Senior Seños couldn't overcome fire dragon Karimjeba. Predator-prey dynamics existed.
Rushhhh.
But what poured toward me was pure Twilight mana itself. She'd mastered pure mana theory perfectly. Senior Banggrit's presentation at a past conference flashed in my mind.
—"Pure mana studies represent theoretically optimal magic! No elemental counters exist. But one fatal flaw..."
When pure magic clashed with others, if total mana was inferior, it rode the enemy's spell in reverse manifestation.
That's why Banggrit became senior.
Top-tier mana affinity in the Tower. A lotus blooming from mud.
His innate affinity prevented reverse manifestations against any magic.
So Mary's pure magic is...
His perfect superior version, surely. Meaning: I had no counter.
It's coming.
Swoooosh.
The violet Twilight mana storm raged fiercely. Basic magical knowledge flowed through my mind. To counter pure magic, deploy your most potent manifestation spell.
Total quantity is key.
But my specialty? Self-awareness. Even my mana-efficient "construction magic" couldn't match her storm.
So, time to swing properly. The upper demon king's power.
How to wield a demon king's power? I'd seen it in the Demon King Struggle. Countless demons hurling lives at thrones for one reason.
Prestige.
Others might not grasp it, but Grandfell would. He'd dismiss demons as uniform filth, unworthy of prestige.
But I, Lee Hoyeol, knew. From playing the Arcana Continent era, when it was just a game.
Claim a throne, upgrade to boss monster.
Normal to named monsters had gaps. Named to boss? Dozens, hundreds-fold. Hence raids with scores of players.
Even with seventy-two thrones, it held. Now, with only ten...
What prestige leap would the new demon king achieve? As the subject, I'd test it.
Swish.
I raised a hand lightly. No construction magic. Like Mary, I drew pure mana.
Pure magic manifested.
Rooooar.
As said, my total mana was pitiful. Level near 1,000 after +150? But points sunk into Strength, Agility, even Luck.
I can wield Twilight mana too, but...
Learned it peeking over her shoulder during lessons. Not boasting—pure fact.
Common sense: my pure magic versus hers? Mine shatters every time.
Yet.
The colliding mana particles moved unnaturally. Was this even a clash?
"...!"
Unilateral domination. My mana crushed the Twilight.
As if our prestige differed. Denying it approach entirely.
Mary cried out.
"...How can mana be like this?"
Water and oil. No mix, no clash shock. But water below, oil above—like inexorable order between my mana and Twilight.
Mary murmured.
"Purer than Twilight mana...?"
Pureblood mage clan, Twilight descendants. Their Twilight magic was magic itself.
But mine clearly outranked it.
I intoned calmly.
"'Tis a matter of prestige."
Obvious, no gloating. Just the prestige boost from claiming a Ten Throne.
I swallowed anew.
...So very Lee Hoyeol.
Pathetic flailing, once more. But I hadn't overlooked why demon kings were called that.
King of demons (惡魔), hence demon king (魔王).
Had my mind wavered even slightly...
I'd be dragged off by hell's seniors by now.
But Grandfell's iron will stood with me. Demons were intolerable to him.
No matter how grand, borrowing an upper demon king's power? Unthinkable in Grandfell's dictionary.
Trusting that bullheadedness let me excise it successfully.
The malice. Claiming it thus.
(Note: magic shares the same 'ma' radical.)
The throne of pure 魔.
Whoosh.
I gazed at the rippling mana around me. Felt the efficiency of superior prestige mana. Realized: no more mana excuses, Hoyeol. You've grown.
"No counter available."
Mary spoke. I nodded. She was right. Twilight flow halted completely. Immobile, no manifestation possible.
Just one exchange.
She realized it.
Survived.
Exhaling, the surroundings came into view. Or rather, their aura registered.
Undeniably good. I'd excised and wielded upper demon king power successfully.
Sucking only the sweet nectar.
Yet the atmosphere felt off. Looking around...
Lush trees weren't enough—the earth's grasses bowed toward me.
Like...
They see me as a real demon king?!
Then it hit me. Unique aura. Charm's effect was this? Directorial flair, making others perceive me as a true demon king.
I eyed the red gem on my Dawn Jacket, Lust.
Such an unwelcome effect...!
Grandfell's atmospheric speech was burden enough...! Now this added staging?
Terrifying.
The synergy of speech and aura—what horrors might it wreak?
As I swallowed inwardly, a sound came.
Thud.
Mary knelt. Prostrated before me, head bowed. Trembling voice followed.
"Witch of the Southern Sea, Mary."
I knew this would happen...
"I behold the true demon king."
No, that's not it...!
Aura makes me look like one, but here's proof. Endorsed by natural enemies.
Akshan withdraws suspicion from you.
So I'm not that kind of demon king, I tell you!