Demon King

Ground Conquest – 4

[There is 1/6 of the seal chain left.]

I raised my head to examine the short-chain still attached to the watch. The loss of its owner, boss of zone 5, filled me with sadness as the mana was absorbed into the underground.

“Now just one.” It wasn’t just that, however. After I claimed 6, I would need to find zone 7 again. I was planning on taking all the dungeons on Earth back underground anyway, so I planned to do so from the beginning. I wondered what would change after I did, however.

[Fate.]

A message arrived from Mireina.

[This place is terrible. There are too many soul monsters, and I can hardly sense my people.]

“…It must’ve happened naturally.” Lucifer, who reaped not only the souls of humans who had an elven partner but also the souls of all humans, no doubt was changing the battlefield. However, Mireina’s report was even more terrifying than I had anticipated.

[Innumerable distorted souls are being gathered. They revolve around a huge castle that rose in the middle of this world.]

“Can you get closer? If it’s too dangerous, come back right away.”

[No, I can’t leave it alone. In the end, that is the target you have to confront. So don’t worry and wait.]

“…Alright. If it’s too dangerous, call me. One word will be enough.”

[I’ll get it, then get back to you!]

The message ended with a bright voice. I was anxious about it, but I also felt confident in Mireina’s rarely seen aggressive appearance. She was someone I should keep around. Thinking of the Echo I had given her, I found some peace of mind as I headed back toward Rain and L.

By another day, more than 70% of the world was tied up in my chain of Domination. There was little space left to hide from me, and the humans were forced to realize the situation they were in. Only then did their battles change. Unlike in the past, where they insisted on killing each other, they began to engage in defensive warfare to prepare themselves. I still had to shake my head at their determination to fight, but it was good for me that the number of souls heading toward Lucifer had drastically reduced.

“Devil.”

“It’s the Demon King.”

“Damn it, it’s up to us…!”

As if waiting for us to show up, the humans stopped fighting. Many of them began to run away or try to hide, but it was meaningless. In the chaos of those running and hiding, only one man emerged. His face was one of boredom and fatigue, his body dirty with mud and blood. He carried himself with dignity, however.

“Are you the Demon King?”

“Yes.” I no longer felt any reluctance to call myself by that title. I had gone too far. The man rolled his eyes at my lack of hesitation but retreated slightly at L’s piercing gaze. However, despite that, he spoke bravely.

“Have you been waiting this whole time? When we were too busy biting each other to unite as one?”

“What?”

“What is your goal in conquering humanity? Was that the purpose of the Great Fusion all along?” In setting myself as the Demon King, humanity’s image of me had been set in stone. I was the evil Demon King leading an army of monsters to invade and conquer the world. That was the story right now. No doubt they thought I caused the Great Fusion too. I laughed. Were humans that adamant in refusing their faults?

“Yes, you think so, don’t you?”

“You…!” His words were cut off by the pink aura that extended from L’s raised hand. Everyone on the battlefield stopped in place. Its intensity was overwhelming enough to choke them, and I could see she was growing angry.

“I’m tired. Such disgusting thoughts are even polluting this place.”

“Stop killing them.”

“I know, I know!” I gently reached toward her head but was met with sparks. I went ahead and triggered my Domination skill as always.

[Domination became Lv9.]

[New Magic increased by 92.]

[Soul Magic increased by 84.]

[Fate has ???????]

As I activated my Domination against most beings on the planet, it quickly grew beyond my other skills. I had the sense that I would soon reach the end of that skill as I fully accepted the magical power flowing into my body. In essence, Domination was my ability to place a target under my command using my magical power. However, as I expanded the number of my subjects and the area of my control, the more I was being affected. Now that I ruled most of Earth, my strength and magic had grown beyond compare. I hadn’t completely regained the strength I had in the past, however. There was still a difference between a Belkatina and that domain. However, I had recovered most of my strength. If I could take one step further, I would finally be ready to battle in the same realm as Lucifer.

“But there’s still not enough.”

“Of course it will be insufficient. Part of you remains tied to the battlefield. You are gaining a strength that is different from your past self, you’re not regaining your old strength itself.” I let out a laugh, but L looked somewhat dissatisfied.

“I have to kill that guy quickly.”

“…There’s not much left.” I reached out to her again, and this time she didn’t avoid my hand. Rain let out a laugh at us as I stroked her hair.

As we were capturing Earth, the group of warriors fostered by the Heavens was keeping busy. Solas was with them, so any relevant information from them was flowing to me in real-time. Solas was even working overtime, blocking any messages from Heaven sent to the warriors. Heaven had been trying to tell them to stop the wars going on and gather the will of mankind together to escape from the control of the Demon King, but I didn’t send Solas for nothing. Since he could handle Predation at the same level as me, it wasn’t that difficult to fight against the power of Heaven falling upon them.

Thus, the warriors strove to attack the dungeons with nothing that the guidance of Heaven had changed. Even if they understood that the situation around the world was changing in an odd direction, they would regard it as human affairs and leave it be. Eventually, I would have to fight them, but I would let them stay with Solas for now. If only I could prevent them from contacting Heaven, I wouldn’t have to kill them.

But the time to hesitate about that had already passed. Even if they were victims manipulated by Heaven, too many other people had died unfairly up until now to care. It felt odd to act as if Heaven had some strong will. Rather, it felt more like a machine that cared not for the death and destruction it wrought. A faint memory appeared inside of me, sparking a fit of fierce anger at that distorted absolute, looking down at us from above.

That’s why I was in Heaven.

“…!” A clear memory came to mind, gently rising above the water and making its presence clear as it stuck in the corner of my heart.

“Ha.”

“Fate. Fate? What is it?” It felt like my heart was tightening; a groan forced its way out of me. L, who was near, called out to me and grabbed my arm, but I couldn’t reply.

That was why Heaven wanted to destroy the underground, why the Great Fusion had occurred—no one else. The Great Fusion took place to annihilate one solely, and as a result, a disaster had occurred. They didn’t assume they would fail. In the past, I had confidence I would succeed without notice. If so, who brought me to this truth? Who let me know everything was in preparation for the Great Fusion?

[I think it’s already done! This isn’t magic for any individual…!]

Who it was, I didn’t need to ask.

“Fate, step back!”

“Fate!” Their calls brought me back to reality. Hastily filling my body with mana, I raised my head. A change was already taking place in the air, related to Mireina’s urgent call.

[It’s really funny.] Only

Bands of souls flowed around the Earth, rotating brilliantly for a moment before gathering at a point in the air. It was nothing more than a declaration of giving up the soul collection on Earth. But was that a renunciation, or a phenomenon that happened because his purpose had been accomplished?

[It’s a pity to see you so busy, Fate.]

At the time of the Great Fusion, he was the only one to become my accomplice—the one who shone the brightest in Heaven, who interfered in my preparations.

[But unfortunately, I have collected all the ingredients I needed.]

“Ingredients?” I remembered. That was the name for the soul monsters on the battlefield. By the time I realized it, my body already felt cold. Maybe I was mistaken about the most important part, despite all the hints. Lucifer’s confident voice rang out from the huge sphere in the air, affirming my anxiety.

[Yes, the ingredients. Essential materials for creating an eternal world that can endure even the disaster of the Great Fusion, untouchable by you and Heaven.]

My accomplice proclaimed such with the arrogant voice of the absolute.

[Now I shall be the god of the new world. A new world alone, not connected to Earth or the underground!]