Demon King

The Birth of the Legion – 8

The battle couldn’t last forever. The power balance had been completely upset with the incorporation of some demons on our side, backing up my allies that had been increasing in power due to my evolution.

[Huh…hahahahaha!]

[This is how it ends…]

[It won’t open…]

The arrogant traitor took no action to save the angels dying by our hands. I wondered if his ability didn’t reach the underground. I wanted to wait for him, but in the end, nothing happened. I felt a bit relieved but also unsure. Was it just because of his arrogance that he hadn’t shown up? That question remained. Of course, the only way I could get the answer would be by confronting him.

With the angels finished off, the demons and monsters were easier to deal with. While I had been fighting my own battle, the Rebellion members had safely finished off the snake, and Rain was on to fighting others after killing the dragon, Boone. With the aid of the demons such as the red-haired beauty, the hostile ones lost it.

[Returning king…were we playing in your hand the entire time?]

“Bullshit.” The demon left until the end was a man with a hound’s teeth. He ran wild on the battlefield, but I took care of him with the Flame of Destruction.

[I wanted to run around a bit more, but it’s a shame…]

“I’m sorry, but there will be no next time.” After extinguishing the last of them, I remembered he had a rather long name like Glashallabolas or something like that. Not that it mattered now.

“I can’t do it yet.”

“What are you talking about?” Rain, who was recovering his chains, tilted his head and asked me what I meant. I smiled bitterly and pointed toward the demons surrounding me.

“Their names. They seem to just come to my mind but…”

“Really?! Will you be able to return my name?!” The red-haired beauty, who was relaxing on the camel, jumped off and grabbed my hand. L was looking on at the scene with a terrifying expression.

“It’s possible if I’m forced to think of it. However, I’m not sure if it would be acceptable right now.” I pulled her hand away.

“But you returned the names of the traitors Barbatos and Reraje?”

“I can weaken them by letting the mana of a demon and angel collide within them by returning it.”

“Aha.”

“Don’t talk like you were here on our side from the side.” L appeared all of a sudden.

“Sister, I was on your side from the beginning. I couldn’t handle it with the power Fate left me, so I hid…”

“When the gate opened and you met Fate again, what would you have done if you thought you were stronger than him?”

“Ah, you know.”

“…” L quietly raised her hand toward the smiling beauty. I thought she would slap her, but instead, I saw a terrible level of mana gathering in the palm of her hand. I hurriedly went to stop here.

“Let it go…so, are you guys of the same mind?”

[The recent decades have been boring. But now you’ve regained your strength and opened the underground. I’m willing to run wild if you’re with us.]

[I’m glad to have Fate back.]

Whatever they were thinking, their reasons were plausible. I stared at the three demons before me, including the red-haired beauty, who expressed their willingness to become my subordinates.

“Alright. Probably the entire world will change a lot in a short amount of time. As you can see, several high-ranking demons have died today alone.”

[They are those who have endured many years.]

[Those years are nothing in front of this fight against the traitors who abandoned the underground…]

The sight of the black moon above us was gradually disappearing. What happened today could be called a cataclysm, but the problem was that it wasn’t over yet.

“Many of you will die and disappear. Those who survive will be stronger. Maybe we can get our names back.”

“Name…”

[Name!]

[It must be…!]

‘After all, is that what you want?’ I smiled at the demons who showed off their innocent longing before turning to announce the end of the battle.

[He has proved his authority as king by conquering the Devil’s Night and invaders from the Holy Land.]

[The area has expanded.]

Once more, the fog covering the land cleared away. A huge change, incomparable to the previous one, was occurring. Mana filled an area that could never be seen with the naked eye.

“Wow, securing such an unprecedented area without a name…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s stupid to judge his ability by that.” L growled at the red-haired beauty as she clapped with pure admiration. In my memory, the two were sisters, but L seemed to view her as just an enemy.

“The former area was, at best, the size of a city. But this territory is so vast that maybe as much as a fifth of the underground has been secured.”

“Maybe next time, every single demon who has engraved their name in the underground’s history will gather.”

“It will take quite a while for the next night to arrive, but it will.” The man atop the laughter laughed as if he was really happy to hear Rain and A’s conversation. Following the expansion of my territory, a change would now occur with me. It was time to accept the mana following in from the expanded territory.

“Wow, I haven’t seen mana that pure in a long time.”

“Don’t get close. It will reject everyone except its owner.”

“Thanks for the warning, sister.”

Not only my body but my mind was filled with blackened mana. Throughout the battle, I felt the power of demons and angels jumbling together in a mess, which was now flowing into me. If I hadn’t evolved into a Belkatina, accepting this amount of mana would’ve been difficult, if not downright impossible.

“Whoo.” All of the mana was now mine, and I had no intention of wasting a drop. I called out to my power of Predation, completely absorbing the mana that was raging inside of me. The only thing that mattered was how it would make me stronger.

[New Magic increased by 193.]

[Soul Magic increased by 228.]

[Magic became Lv5.]

The notification naturally appeared before my eyes as I was forced down so much mana, it could cause my body to explode. I was elated at its sight, however, as I could feel my power increasing. From now, it would be time for the most important part of my plan for the Devil’s Night.

“Fate.”

“I know.” I looked around at the monsters that had survived so far. About one-fifth of them survived, so my forces were looking rather shabby. Mountains of corpses were scattered throughout the battlefield.

“We will be reinforcing you from now on.” My voice spread out to the survivors. I would focus on reinforcing all of those who hadn’t entered the higher system. Dwarves, who were only allied with us, were excluded. But now, if they survived, all of them would grow stronger.

[Grooooaah!]

It was already happening, following the sudden changes I had encountered. It was the perfect time to reinforce them as they were evolving. Without waiting for an answer, I exercised my rights as the lord of this realm, converting the corpses scattered throughout the land into mana through using Predation.

“Wow.”

“…”

“Whoo…” The mana of countless different beings, each with their own personality and light to them, began to intermingle into a brilliant display of colors.

“It’s pretty, but somehow, it’s sad too.”

[I’m scared. That amount of mana is no joke.]

[Ha…a lot have died today.]

A wave of dark light flowed over the ground where a drop of water would not appear. Looking up at it, each member of Rebellion felt something indescribable watching it. We had just been in a battle where we could’ve easily been the ones who turned to little more than mana, and I could feel it myself.

“It begins.” Someone whispered as waves of black light filled the world, advancing without hesitation toward the survivors. It struck them as they were changing already, unable to avoid it.

[Kowoooo!]

[Kiaaaaah!]

Only

The waves were absorbed into the monsters, not a single drop wasted, all of them evolved at least once into a higher-level species. Even with the results being much as I predicted, the sight was still overwhelming to see.

“If you don’t want them to catch up, you’ll have to become stronger.”

“Damn, all of my subordinates are evolving to a higher level!” Lee Chan-yu screamed in joy as his subordinates entered the higher system. I laughed as I heard his voice below me.

“This is the power of Predation…even if he’s stuck in a weak body, that strength remains the same.”

“…This is Fate’s ability.”

“…Why are you puffing your cheeks, sister?”

It wasn’t long before an army of tens of thousands of top-notch monsters had been born. It far exceeded the results I was planning for. No doubt, there would be issues above ground again, especially with many of the dungeons I hadn’t been able to absorb yet. The scale would be unlike it had been previously. But, as a result, the number of monsters I would get would be huge. No doubt, the traitor had his plans, but it was time for us to go all out.

It started now. The Great Legion had just been formed.