You've Breached the Taboo (3)
Humans are creatures of forgetfulness. There's a saying that if kindness continues, people start treating it like a right. That's how I, Lee Hoyeol—a former office worker—see it.
'If you look like a pushover, they'll climb all over you.'
That's exactly the situation right now. No matter how I thought about it... there was no reason for me to get stabbed in the back. Yet here was the AAU US East Branch Chief? At first, I wondered if it was possession. Above all, we'd never met face-to-face—that was the biggest clue. Considering my position at the AAU, we should've crossed paths several times. Never once? That meant he'd deliberately avoided me.
But Grandfell's opinion differed.
"Inferior rabble, incapable even of grasping their place."
Shall we recall the demons that possessed humans? Come to think of it, far from avoiding me—their natural predator—they'd come crawling to me of their own accord. Plenty of them.
'Moreover.'
The period when the US East Branch Chief avoided me was well before the world learned of my connection to Akshan. So the conclusion was clear.
—"It seems we must remind you once more, sir."
This incident stemmed purely from human malice. That was why I hadn't stopped Marcelo. Repaying the Mage Tower's goodwill with betrayal was no different from deceit.
One thing I could never have imagined back when Arcana was just a game. Or even before I became chief mage.
'Ballsy move. Deceiving the Mage Tower?'
On the Arcana Continent, there could be those stronger than seniors, chiefs, elders, or even the Tower Master. Transcendents alone were at least Tower Master level.
But the Mage Tower was different. It was a golden tower built by the continent's greatest prodigies, gathered solely in pursuit of truth.
—"What the Mage Tower truly is."
Marcelo was that tower's master. He couldn't sit idly by while information leaked from the Mage Tower. Even I, who strictly followed procedure, couldn't intervene. Well, at least I couldn't use polite speech...
'As chief mage, I can't overrule the Tower Master's decision, especially...'
Marcelo added one more thing.
—"Who you truly are, sir."
It wasn't just about the Mage Tower that had him riled. The article's content was downright malicious. Enough to make my terrified family spam me with texts.
My mouth mutters wistfully.
"Sis..."
I gaze sadly at my smartphone screen. To a third party, it might look like I'm feeling responsible amid my family's worry.
—Right? You're in puberty, aren't you?!
But absolutely not...!!
Heaven Beyond Heaven was burden enough, yet now even my title as a Ten Thrones Demon King has spread far and wide.
The texts from my nemesis practically ooze excitement.
'Puberty? I'm gonna lose it, for real.'
Yet her loose lips are politeness itself.
"I had no intention of causing you worry."
Not because of Grandfell, who holds his family dear. Excluding my nemesis Lee Yerim, my sisters clearly looked concerned. They weren't showing it outright, out of consideration for me.
"I have no face left for Father and Mother."
Dad, who clips and saves every article about me, must be agonizing. Overnight, his son went from humanity's hero to some Ten Thrones Demon King...
'If he weren't worried, I'd be the one offended.'
However.
"I shall set things right."
Who is Grandfell? Even if it's a white lie, he can't tolerate falsehoods. It's his exhausting personality. Truth be told, my real feelings as Lee Hoyeol were...
'No need to worry them over nothing.'
I'm not that kind of demon king. And definitely not in puberty...!!
I wanted to deny it outright, but I couldn't. After all, I had taken a seat among the Ten Thrones.
So the message I could send to the family group chat had to be brutally concise.
Her loose tongue adds a flourish.
"So as not to bring shame upon the family."
...Thank goodness I didn't send that.
*
America. The shadow of an asteroid looming in the sky overhead.
The world plunged into shock.
"If an asteroid that size collides, the entire North American continent vanishes from the face of the Earth...! Missiles? You think missiles work on that?"
They suddenly remembered the players they'd forgotten. The Mage Tower's past actions, back when Arcana was just a game.
Back in the Arcana Continent era, each Mage Tower mage was superhuman in their own right. No exaggeration—they were called demigods from the source.
Even knowing that, the pressure was immense.
"The entire Mage Tower leadership mobilizing...!"
The Mage Tower's infamous reputation? It stemmed from individual mages' exploits.
Yet it was hailed as the strongest. And players sensed it first.
"Are they really planning to wipe America off the map?"
That was when it happened. The Meteor Strike halted midair. Tower Master Marcelo issued his final warning.
"This is the Mage Tower's last mercy to humanity."
The meaning was simple. If the one who deceived the Mage Tower—the anonymous AAU figure who spread malicious rumors about the Ten Thrones Demon King—didn't show themselves...
"That asteroid's gonna hit America!"
The world breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't the old Mage Tower. There was room for talk. Though no one knew how long their patience would last.
"If they have a conscience, they'll come out! They're about to die!"
The culprit, Eugene McCain, learned of it late.
"The Mage Tower...!!"
His secretary relayed Marcelo's declaration. But Eugene had no choice. Hadn't he said it? He was a pawn discarded after serving his purpose.
Eugene muttered.
'Step forward. It's not hard. No, I have to.'
But before the surreal sight, Eugene realized: He couldn't impose real-world logic on Arcana's beings.
He questioned himself.
'...But do I even have that much value?'
Joshua was right. This involved the White House and countless powers. They couldn't hand world hegemony to an individual like Lee Hoyeol. Interests were aligned.
Eugene imagined the worst. As you'd expect. The Mage Tower could drop that asteroid at will.
'...If one like me isn't enough.'
After a heavy price, the ugly truth would emerge. His country would face global condemnation. The plan's purpose would vanish.
Eugene spoke to the fainted Joshua.
"Joshua, you were right."
Even now, beg forgiveness... But only Eugene realized it.
Something sparkled beyond the sky. Tiny compared to the asteroid—like a comet.
"...?"
Eugene flinched.
"N-No way!"
Yes, his country had decided. Attack the threatening Mage Tower.
Regrettably, the worst judgment.
BOOM!!
"!!!"
Like fireworks. Dozens, hundreds of fighters exploded midair. Only escaping pilots' parachutes were visible.
Eugene clenched his fist. Why couldn't they read the situation?
"Are they really turning those monsters against us...!"
Do they think retreat means no way back? Explosions ignored, fighters charged like moths to flame.
Only then did Eugene realize.
—"Eugene McCain... Do you even grasp the magnitude of your mistake? I'd almost rather believe you're being manipulated by demons..."
What he'd wrought. And one more thing.
In the hair-trigger moment. Another figure appeared in the sky.
Snap.
The transcendent might they'd flaunted? All Mage Tower heads bowed to him.
The Demon King's presence, praised by those monsters.
The Demon King holding his country's lifeline.
"I shall ask."
Lee Hoyeol spoke.
"Do I appear a demon king to you?"
*
So I'm not that demon king, right?!
'Can't you say it nicer?'
Ten Thrones Demon King. True, I'd unwillingly seized that power. But I discarded what to discard, took what to take. Better call me the King of Magic, not demons. The Southern Sea Witch, Mary, could vouch for my innocence.
'There's a whole backstory.'
But I'd already said it. And look at the scene now. Meteor hovering over American soil. The Mage Tower holding the weight.
Its leadership bowing to me.
'...Right now, I must look like the epitome of evil.'
Even Tower Master Marcelo was no exception.
Swoosh.
I glanced at Lust Parasite on my jacket.
'See? No need for some innate aura.'
But this, too, was planned. I'd discussed it with Marcelo beforehand.
'Never planned to actually drop the real Meteor.'
Didn't expect fighters to attack right away, though.
'Higher-ups must be involved.'
If it were demons, easy fix. But humans? Complicated. Grandfell ignores world's opinion, but now family honor gives merciless justification.
My lips utter cold words.
"If you sought to tarnish my honor."
I eye the Meteor Strike.
"Then prepare to have yours tarnished in turn."
Just as the Mage Tower shows humanity final mercy. Grandfell might lose faith in them.
A mere 10%, but through Darkness Understanding, I'd glimpsed Grandfell deeper.
'Maybe Grandfell's less merciful than his setting.'
If no demons involved this time. America might be plucked mercilessly from Grandfell's flowerbed.
As chilling thoughts swirled, Marcelo spoke.
"They still haven't realized, sir."
As I said earlier, humans adapt. Kindness becomes entitlement. Rescue from drowning, they demand your bundle. Not for nothing.
Yes, not just Meteor falling. America itself.
Someone might ask: How to topple America bloodlessly?
Well, you know one, not two.
I raise my hand.
Snap.
"The promised time has come."
Whoosh.
A light finger snap, and Meteor Strike reverses.
Reversal Magic.
Marcelo and twenty senior mages' joint Meteor Strike ascends back to space.
'Impossible before, but.'
Perfectly digesting Ten Thrones power elevated my 'realm'. My mana, with exceptional affinity, noticed the change?
Banggrit stammered.
"Ch-Chief?! That mana is...?"
We'll discuss later, Senior Banggrit. Now was the moment to make the world realize.
Facing ever-growing rift threats. How humanity survived.
Why reality stayed peaceful.
Simply: The Mage Tower upheld—and suppressed—everything.
Roooar.
Mana flows enter my sight. Mana from Mage Tower, spread worldwide, surges. Specifically, mana over America dissipates into the sky.
Simple meaning: Mage Tower excluded America from protection. No more support.
Change came instantly.
CRACKLE—!
Shattering air. Rifts spawn simultaneously.
I declare, as always.
"This is the judgment of the demon king you cried for."
With a touch of spite... no, justification.
"Bear it fully."