Self-Proclaimed Demon King (1)
It started to click into place when the demon legion commanders appeared.
"……Demon legion commander? Why them?"
"They all have a clear common trait in their appearance."
"A common trait?"
Seong Hyunjun pondered deeply, then slammed the desk with a thwack!
"Ah! That filthy, pigeon-like unlikable look!"
"Sigh— Fine. My fault for asking."
"Hey, what is it then?"
"They're all bird-headed."
"……Bird-headed? Huh? You're right."
In Frost, where rankers from every nation had gathered. Among them, Hoyeol's overwhelming performance stood out. Was it national pride clouding their judgment? They'd overlooked the demons' appearances as no big deal.
Yoon Sugyeom clicked his tongue at Seong Hyunjun's belated realization.
"Demon kings draw their concepts from legends and myths……."
"Yes, that's right."
"And among them, there's one associated with birds."
Yoon Sugyeom, speaking gravely, turned the monitor around.
Seong Hyunjun cautiously opened his mouth.
"……Decarabia?"
"That's right. Decarabia."
"One of the 72 demons who commands birds as familiars……?!"
Seong Hyunjun's eyes widened in shock.
"Senior…… this bird-headed thing……!!"
"Not yet."
If that were all, he wouldn't have been 99.9% certain.
Click— Yoon Sugyeom swiftly switched screens with the mouse.
What appeared on the monitor was a satellite view of Frost.
Seong Hyunjun tilted his head.
"Why satellite images all of a sudden, senior?"
"Just look."
"We checked this together at the start. Nothing was visible because of the smoke rising like massive clouds. What’s new about…… Huh?!"
A clear view of Frost's landscape.
Yoon Sugyeom continued as if it were no surprise.
"The moment the demon legion commanders flapped their wings and cleared the smoke."
"Whoa, you captured it then, senior?"
"Gotta earn my keep. Tired of playing thief with my salary."
"……Hold on, senior."
Peering closer, Seong Hyunjun muttered in confusion.
A vividly clear red pattern. It was a star drawn in blood and corpses. A pentagram.
‘……This is definitely?!’
Click— Seong Hyunjun took the mouse from Yoon Sugyeom.
Switching tabs brought up Decarabia's form again.
Yoon Sugyeom nodded.
"Exactly. A demon that takes the form of a pentagram."
Staring back and forth at the ★ and ★ on the two screens, Seong Hyunjun spoke.
"This is 100% confirmed, right, senior?"
"That star pattern drawn in blood and corpses gives off the vibe too, doesn't it?"
"Yes. It has to be part of the demon king summoning ritual."
"In that sense, it's fortunate."
"……?"
Here. Yoon Sugyeom pointed with the mouse cursor.
Zooming in revealed something odd. Incredibly, that area alone had no scattered corpses.
A demon mistake? No, it wasn't.
Seong Hyunjun ventured, half in disbelief.
"Wait. This area……."
"Right. It lines up perfectly with Lee Hoyeol's entry route."
"In, in that situation, he cleared the corpses as he advanced?!"
"Can't know the intent, but yeah."
That explained why so many monsters swarmed Hoyeol's side. Hoyeol himself was directly disrupting the demon king summoning ritual.
Yoon Sugyeom nodded.
"This time, we might actually be able to help Lee Hoyeol."
If they knew the demon king's identity, they could prepare countermeasures.
In that regard, info on Decarabia was crucial.
"I'll look it up right now!"
There had to be archived data somewhere.
Opening the search bar and digging through files, Seong Hyunjun spoke up.
"Senior. Found it."
But…… this wasn't good. Or rather, the matchup was terrible.
"……What? Holds knowledge of all plants and 'minerals'?"
Of all things, minerals!
Both in the past and now, hadn't Hoyeol been using alchemy skills with stones?
Damn it. He'd vowed to pass on helpful info, but…….
"Of all the things to find……."
Such pessimistic intel.
Seong Hyunjun murmured softly.
"It'll have high resistance to earth-attribute magic, then."
"Fits the bird-headed concept, so yeah."
"……But it's still Hoyeol, right? He's got tons of other skills!"
"True. Still, one major skill's neutralized."
Yoon Sugyeom muttered lowly.
"And the opponent's a demon king to boot."
It was bound to worry them. Even for Hoyeol, losing a key skill was a massive penalty.
But worry and duty were separate.
Seong Hyunjun took a deep breath and opened the messenger.
"Whew. Send it to Gaon, then?"
"Best to. He's teamed up with them."
"……Please. Hope he has some hidden ace up his sleeve."
With Hoyeol, who knows……! Seong Hyunjun hoped, but thought it overly optimistic.
Hoyeol wasn't a mage forever, after all.
‘Suddenly pulling out a sword and fighting like ta-da!…….’
Seong Hyunjun shook his head vigorously.
It was absurd even to him, drawing a hollow laugh.
"Desperation's making me imagine nonsense. Me too."
Stick to realistic talk.
⊳ Demon king identity: Decarabia
⊳ Resists mineral-based alchemy skills (pillars, walls, etc.)
I opened my mouth as Nam Cheolmin's briefing played over the speaker.
"I see."
So the demon king's identity was Decarabia.
Of course, it was a name even the Akkshan demon hunters hadn't mentioned.
The demon kings they spoke of were chiefly the high-ranking ones…… the top-tier demon kings, in simple terms.
‘Never hearing of it is actually a relief.’
Grandfell's pride wouldn't bend before any demon. But I, bearing that pride, was different.
I had to keep struggling forever……!
My expression unchanged, inwardly relieved. But the mood around me soured.
-This is tricky, Hoyeol.
Starting with Nam Cheolmin, everyone chimed in one by one.
"So AAU says mineral-based skills won't work, bro? Obviously neutralizing your usual stone pillar or wall summons?"
Nam Taemin, wounds treated. Not fully recovered, yet his face brimmed with concern.
Leoni snapped curtly.
"Tch, as if that's all there is."
Of course, I felt no particular emotion.
Though I'd coasted on alchemy, it wasn't my only tool.
‘My flailing paid off, in its way.’
Digging many wells had its rewards.
Fortunately, someone recognized my efforts: my swordmaster, Harcon.
"Fine companions you have, overly worried for no reason, milord."
Harcon eyed me expectantly. Naturally—he mistook swordsmanship for my true aptitude.
That reaction made sense. But…….
‘Can't read her at all.’
I glanced at Kichi. Shivering like she'd caught a chill.
No deep thoughts, of course. Others' opinions meant nothing to Grandfell.
"No need for concern."
I said so. The real issue lay elsewhere.
I checked the blinking quest window.
Subjugate the Demon King
📍 The King of Demons.
📍 Their tentacles begin to stretch forth.
📍 Last demon hunter, topple the throne of evil.
─ Train your weakened body. (Repeat)
─ Investigate the northern city Frost. (Success)
─ Rescue survivors. (In Progress)
─ Thwart the demon king summoning ritual. (In Progress)
● Slay the demon legion commanders. (10/10)
The last demon legion commander had fallen. The quest goal achieved.
Yet progress hadn't shifted to success.
Simple implication.
‘Something remains.’
With all legion commanders down, the demon king army was effectively routed.
Clang—!
Harcon sheathed his sword.
"No time to waste on the will-broken."
Demoralized foes. Other players would handle them eagerly, for EXP and contributions.
My task was straightforward.
"To the plaza."
Frost's central plaza. The pentagram's heart. The ritual's core.
Disruptors gone, I reached it swiftly.
"……Impossible."
At the star's center. As many strokes interlocked. Piled corpses formed mountains, spilled blood a sea.
The Lion Heart knights, Harcon included, bowed their heads at the horror.
"Gods, grant them rest."
Grind— Nam Taemin gnashed his teeth.
Jessie pulled her pointed hat low.
Leoni spewed curses nonstop.
Players weren't immune. This was reality. Real people—not NPCs—had died.
Feeling devastation was natural.
Then.
One corpse twitched.
"……Ahh."
Everyone reacted to the groan.
"……A survivor!"
"Wait, that face……?"
"Isn't that Frost's lord?"
Yes, the survivor was Frost's lord.
Harcon spoke.
"Count Sirion……? Is that you!"
"Could it be, Sir Harcon……! Impossible!"
"Oh, gods."
Count Sirion. Logically suspicious. How had he alone survived amid the corpses?
Yet tears streamed down his face.
"His Majesty, the Empire didn't abandon us……!"
Enough to dispel doubts among onlookers. The face and voice matched the familiar Count Sirion.
But I knew.
The class quest Subjugate the Demon King wasn't over.
Natural Enemy Relationship
Combat power surges dramatically against demons.
Moreover, the Natural Enemy effect hadn't faded once since entering Frost.
Most decisively, I had experience. Fooling not just those around but the world itself. Perfectly impersonating Baek Isul as a succubus.
Encounters with demons.
Yes, the doubt had nagged since realizing it. Demons manifesting in reality mere years ago. Yet they'd blended seamlessly.
Then in Arcana, their home. How many hid among humans?
I couldn't answer. Arcana was ages ago. A decade-plus gap since I played.
But one thing was certain.
That wasn't Frost's lord, Count Sirion.
The quest window flashed simultaneously.
Slay Demon King Decarabia.(In Progress)
I declared in a cold voice.
"Utterly hideous to behold."
"……!!!"
"Enough with the act. Demon king."
It was contempt.
"Self-proclaimed king of an inferior race. Does it not shame you, driving your minions to death while hiding among humans?"
As a noble noble. The demon king's卑劣 act, unforgivable.
My declaration left the party visibly rattled.
"……King of an inferior race? Milord, what……?"
Even Harcon, approaching Sirion, stepped back.
But confusion didn't last. Decarabia began revealing its true form.
"Foolishly mistaken, human."
Crunch— Sirion's body warped instantly.
No longer Sirion.
His flesh crumpled mercilessly.
It addressed me.
"Not driven to death. A noble sacrifice for their king."
I grasped the meaning at once.
The crumpled mass began absorbing blood and corpses.
"Well done. Your interference was quite meaningful. However."
Interference—clearing corpses, no doubt.
As I thought, demon king forces swarmed from all sides. Precisely, merging with sacrifices into the mass.
"Sacrifices needn't be human."
Decarabia absorbed demon king troops as live offerings to fill shortages.
The swelling mass gradually took shape.
A pentagram stitched from blood and flesh.
As the star ignited, the sky blackened.
Demon king, Decarabia.
Fully revived.
So what?
No agitation stirred me.
I spoke as always.
"Defile not true sacrifice."
Sacrifice. For pride. To defend Frost. Only for those who gave their lives.
"Thou hast no such right."
Was I immersing in Grandfell? Or did I truly believe it?
This moment, the words rang true without resistance.
The pentagram's flesh quivered violently.
"I eagerly await thy arrogance crushed to dust. Thy magic is seen through. Regrettably, rock is but mineral. Thy greatest talent sealed."
……What?
Greatest talent? Thoroughly mistaken.
‘Grandfell's talents even I can't fathom.’
I calmly checked my status.
Mana ample. Black magic's required ‘fit mana’ full. Stamina for sword aura untapped.
No hesitation.
'Possessed Legendary Sword' selected as offering.
Exorcism Ritual activates.
Inviting Demon King Decarabia to the 'rite'.
"Shut that hideous maw."
"?!!"
"Self-proclaimed demon king."
Roar—!