Chapter 211 (Self Edited) – The Second Coming of Demon
Sophia suddenly looked up at the sky. What spreads in the sight was the usual blue sky. There wasn’t a feeling of suspiciousness even a slight.
“…Sophia? What’s wrong?” (Kraus)
When she turned toward the voice, her husband, Kraus, looked at her with serious eyes. Even when she was asked that, it looked like he already understood what happened.
For a moment, she didn’t try to answer anything. That was the case. In fact, nothing had happened, and there was no sign of it.
However…
“Yes… I had a bad feeling about it. It’s just a premonition…” (Sophia)
“…Is that so?” (Kraus)
He nodded but it wasn’t just a mere interjection. If anything, it was like showing agreement…
“If so, it doesn’t seem my imagination as well.” (Kraus)
“Oh my, even you?” (Sophia)
“Yeah. Somehow, I don’t have time to relax.” (Kraus)
It was only a while ago that Kraus had arrived here. Certainly, unless their intuition was a concern, there would be no time to rest.
However, he seemed not able to take a rest from the beginning. As soon as he arrived here, he was already on alert.
“Wouldn’t it be better to report it for now?” (Kraus)
“…No, it won’t be necessary. It was just an uncertainty called intuition. Besides, if it is that guy, he will know it without being told.” (Sophia)
“…That’s also true.” (Kraus)
For a moment, she thought that it was harsh to call the king in the same way as those days, but soon, she realized that she was wrong. It certainly wouldn’t be the same as it was back then, but if that person was dull enough to not feel this much, he wouldn’t have been selected as the Demon King’s subjugation squad at that time.
Although the squad was made with various thoughts, at that time, they did it for real to defeat the Demon King and they were people who seemed to be able to defeat him. Speaking of the result… it could be said that it was overconfidence.
“By the way, I’d like to ask you one question. What do you think about this situation?” (Sophia)
“Well. I only heard the details a moment ago. Half of it seems to be premonition, but… to be honest, it feels considerably unpleasant. It’s completely like that time.” (Kraus)
Sophia immediately understood about ‘that time’ that he was referring to.
Her life so far could never be said to be smooth sailing. It was far from failure, but there was only one thing that she could share with Kraus. That was when they were mobilized as the Demon King’s subjugation squad. Perhaps, it was when they experienced the greatest setback of their lives.
It was when they fought against the Demon King and they were defeated.
They didn’t manage to subjugate the Demon King but along the way, Sophia and others established a nation, but they actually fought the Demon King once. For some reason, the Demon King was acting differently from the heroes, but it was a trap, and they had to confront it.
However, at that time, they thought of it as an opportunity. They knew that they couldn’t just go through the Demon territory.
So, if they could defeat the Demon King here, it would be over. However, as a result, they were at their wit’s end. Obviously, the Demon King was playing, and they couldn’t injure him. Despite the lack of heroes… it was enough to break the spirit of Sophia and others.
Nevertheless, that didn’t stop their journey, and while on their way, they rebelled against the Kingdom of Veritas, and established the Kingdom of Radeus. Therefore, there was no doubt that was one of the reasons. That was because they didn’t need to establish the Kingdom of Radeus at that time even if they needed to help those who had been oppressed.
Clearly, the outrage of the Kingdom of Veritas had reached its limits. However, when it came to which one they should be given priority, it was definitely the Demon King. Even so, since they chose to establish a country, it was certain that there was fear and the feeling of running away in the mind of Sophia and others.
And these people surely knew that. So…
“…If it is something like the opponent at that time, I wonder if we can fight him.” (Sophia)
“Well, of course, right? We have honed our strength in order to prepare for such a time. At that time, we certainly ran away. But now is the result. That’s why, this time I will protect you without running away.” (Kraus)
“Yes… I hope we can do that.” (Sophia)
“I mean, that’s the matter now, right?” (Kraus)
“Eh?” (Sophia)
When she tilted her head without knowing what it meant, Kraus strangely changed his expression even though he wasn’t in the middle of a battle. He lifted his mouth and smiled fearlessly.
“We never ran away from that Evil Dragon. Well, we couldn’t win, but we still didn’t run away. We did it once. Then, we can do it this time.” (Kraus)
“…You’re right. Yes… let’s do that.” (Sophia)
“Aah.” (Kraus)
She whispered that to Kraus while having a fearless smile. It might be a bit unnatural, but it was also a declaration of determination.
The unpleasant premonition didn’t subside. Rather, it became stronger little by little. But to avoid losing it, Sophia turned the determined eyes to the sky.
—
“Well, let’s get started.” (Demon King)
Without telling anyone, the Demon King whispered. In the midst of darkness, he lifted the edges of his mouth.
“…At last? It took a lot of time.” (Fafnir)
“Yes. Surely, I wanted to start a week earlier, but… I found something interesting.” (Demon King)
“Interesting?” (Fafnir)
“Yeah. Apparently, my power increases when I give humans fear and despair.” (Demon King)
“–What!?” (Fafnir)
The Demon King was looking happily as Fafnir looked suspiciously at him. He distorted the lips in response to that reaction.
“You… could it be…!?” (Fafnir)
“Yeah. It’s the same as you, but it’s probably not yours. Perhaps… it’s the same as that one.” (Demon King)
“…” (Fafnir)
A gaze full of bloodl.u.s.t was turned to the Demon King who looked proud.
However, as for the Demon King, this was also something he had expected. Thus, he looked like he was having fun again. When the laughs finally ended, the Demon King turned his face toward Fafnir.
“When I was about to use its power, I thought that I should be able to have that. Hehe, this might be better to take the name of its successor than to be a Demon King.” (Demon King)
“You…!” (Fafnir)
This time, a clear stare was directed, but the Demon King simply shrugged his shoulder. He snorted as if he had made a fool of himself.
“It’s supposed to be a joke, so don’t get too excited. I don’t think I’ll be able to become its successor.” (Demon King)
“…Of course.” (Fafnir)
“The meaning of what you think and what I’m saying is probably different but… that doesn’t matter. It’s fine anyway.” (Demon King)
“Hmmph…” (Fafnir)
When he snorted to agree, he looked at the Demon King to finish his words.
“So, were you preparing in order to increase your strength?” Fafnir)
“Hah, no way. I’ve observed lightly, but there’s no one that can become my opponent, you know? So, I don’t need that.” (Demon King)
“…Then, what were you doing?” (Fafnir)
“Having said that, rather than finding the opportunity to increase my power, I was looking on how to utilize it. I still have resentment, but rather than gaining my own strength of the heyday, I’m not sure if I can exceed that. Anyhow, I should be getting a bit stronger now.” (Demon King)
“Preparations after preparations… as expected, you have changed.” (Fafnir)
“I just change the way of doing things. I myself haven’t changed.” (Demon King)
As the Demon King said that, he began to walk. A bit later after that, there were another footstep following him. Then, the footsteps reverberated on the spot.
“Now, the time has come. It’s good to be greeted with thunderous applause. In the name of despair and fear that deserves me…” (Demon King)
He spread his hands as if he was playing around, and at that moment, the dim darkness cleared up. What spread out into the field of view is the blue sky and the dazzling sun. Underneath it, there were streets where humans lived spreading out.
While observing that, the Demon King opened his mouth wide…
“Beware… This is the mark of the Demon King’s second coming.” (Demon King)
He declared those words to the world.