THE DEMONIC ONE: THE KING OF CORRUPTIONCHAPTER 1
Long ago, there existed a being known by many names.
A monster.
A god.
A destroyer.
An abomination that had brought corruption to realm after realm.
But one title survived longer than all the others.
The Demonic One.
And eventually, another followed.
The King of Corruption.
His name was Pezo.
At the height of his existence, Pezo had stood among the Upper Gods. Entire realms had fallen beneath his influence. Laws that had existed for countless ages were distorted merely because he decided they should be.
Civilizations feared him.
Gods opposed him.
Eventually, enough power gathered against him to accomplish what many had considered impossible.
Pezo was defeated.
Then killed.
His reign ended.
At least…
That was what everyone believed.
EARTH — 2024
A seventeen-year-old boy walked alone.
The city around him was alive with noise.
Cars passed in the distance.
People talked somewhere beyond the nearby buildings.
Streetlights illuminated the road in dull orange patches.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing supernatural.
Nothing that could possibly warn him about what was about to happen.
He passed an alley.
Then stopped.
Something moved inside the darkness.
The boy turned his head.
Nothing.
He stared for another second.
Still nothing.
"…Weird."
He started walking again.
A hand shot from the darkness.
The boy barely had time to react.
Another wrapped around his arm.
Then another.
His eyes widened.
"What the—?!"
He pulled back.
Too late.
The shadows themselves seemed to move.
Dark hands erupted from the alley and seized him from several directions at once.
His shoes scraped violently against the pavement.
"HEY!"
He grabbed desperately at the wall.
His fingers slipped.
The hands dragged him deeper.
Streetlight vanished.
The sounds of the city became distant.
Then—
CRACK!
Silence.
Complete silence.
For several seconds, nothing moved inside the alley.
Then a figure stepped forward.
Same body.
Same general height.
But the presence occupying it was no longer that of an ordinary seventeen-year-old.
A dark plague-like mask covered his face.
Two red eyes burned behind it.
The figure slowly raised one hand.
Opened it.
Closed it.
Then turned his wrist.
Again.
Slowly.
Almost experimentally.
"…Interesting."
His voice carried none of the panic the boy had shown moments earlier.
He looked down at himself.
Then around the alley.
His glowing eyes narrowed.
Memories surfaced.
Not the boy's.
His.
Ancient memories.
Wars.
Realms.
Gods.
Corruption.
His defeat.
His death.
Pezo stood completely still.
Then laughed quietly.
"Heh."
The laugh grew.
"Hehehe…"
He tilted his head toward the night sky.
"So."
His fingers curled.
"I'm back."
The King of Corruption had returned.
For approximately three seconds, he enjoyed that fact.
Then space twisted around him.
Pezo stopped laughing.
"…What?"
The alley disappeared.
He landed standing.
No explosion.
No grand arrival.
No army waiting for him.
Just wilderness.
Wind moved through unfamiliar trees.
The air smelled different.
Pezo looked left.
Then right.
His red eyes narrowed.
"This…"
He reached outward with his senses.
Different stars.
Different world.
Different universal structure.
Different laws.
He remained silent for several moments.
Then realization settled in.
"This is not my universe."
Pezo sounded less disturbed than mildly annoyed.
He looked toward the sky.
Information began assembling inside his mind as he analyzed his surroundings.
The world beneath his feet was called Planet Aquamarine.
And judging from the current state of events…
He had arrived roughly twelve hours before the players would return for Galaxy 2.0.
Pezo stood there.
Processing.
Then slowly lowered his head.
"So I resurrect…"
His eye twitched.
"…and immediately get thrown into another universe."
Silence.
"That seems unnecessary."
He began examining himself properly.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
His strength existed.
His mind existed.
His memories existed.
His nature existed.
But his power—
Pezo's expression behind the mask darkened.
Most of it was restricted.
Not gone.
Restricted.
There was a difference.
A very important difference.
Someone could destroy something.
Restrictions could be broken.
Eventually.
Pezo extended his hand.
A strange pressure gathered around his fingers.
Something deeper than ordinary energy responded.
Corruption Laws.
His primary ability.
One of the foundations upon which his title had been built.
Pezo could use corruption to introduce new laws and effects into a universe.
Not merely control something that already existed.
Not merely copy an existing power.
He could establish something new.
A law could grant healing.
A law could enhance strength.
A law could change how something behaved.
The stronger and more complicated the law, however, the greater the amount of corruption required.
Pezo examined his current capacity.
His mood immediately worsened.
"…Seriously?"
At his present level, he could maintain approximately:
Two High-Level Laws.
Or—
Six Medium-Level Laws.
Or—
Fifteen Weak-Level Laws.
Or—
Fifty of the Weakest-Level Laws.
Different combinations were possible depending on what he created and how much corruption was available within himself and his surroundings.
But compared to what he once possessed?
This was pathetic.
Pezo stared at his hand.
"I've been reduced this far?"
His fingers closed.
For a moment, the forest seemed unnaturally quiet.
Then he sighed.
"Well."
He lowered his hand.
"I have started with less."
His glowing eyes moved through the trees.
"And I am still Pezo."
That alone seemed enough to improve his mood.
A sound came from the bushes.
Pezo looked toward it.
Several pairs of eyes stared back.
Wolves.
A pack slowly emerged from the surrounding vegetation.
They spread outward instead of charging immediately.
Pezo counted them without moving.
The animals growled.
Their leader stood ahead of the others, larger and more aggressive.
Pezo stared at them.
The wolves stared at Pezo.
Neither side moved.
One wolf lowered itself.
Another moved farther around him.
Pezo noticed.
He simply didn't care.
"…Are we doing this?"
Growling answered him.
Pezo tilted his head.
"Apparently we are."
The wolves attacked.
Several rushed him from different angles.
Pezo didn't dodge.
He didn't raise his hands.
He didn't activate a Corruption Law.
He barely acknowledged the attack.
The first wolf reached him—
and passed directly through.
Another followed.
Then another.
They landed behind him in confusion.
Pezo slowly turned his head.
The wolves spun around.
Their aggression faltered.
Pezo looked almost disappointed.
"That was your plan?"
The leader snarled.
The pack gathered again.
Pezo watched them prepare for another attack.
His attention settled on the largest wolf.
"Fine."
He stepped toward it.
The pack reacted instantly.
Pezo raised his hand.
No Corruption Law.
No divine technique.
No special ability.
Nothing complicated.
He simply attacked physically.
Casually.
The impact lasted less than a moment.
Then the world answered.
BOOOOOOM!
The wolf leader vanished beneath the force.
The surrounding wolves were caught immediately afterward.
Trees tore apart.
Earth erupted.
The force continued forward.
And continued.
And continued.
A path approximately three hundred meters long was devastated.
At the end of that path—
a small mountain stood.
For a fraction of a second.
Then it didn't.
Stone exploded outward.
The mountain collapsed under the force of Pezo's casual physical attack.
The shock traveled through the planet.
Ground trembled beneath cities.
Structures shook.
Water rippled across distant regions.
People stopped what they were doing.
Animals fled.
For roughly thirty seconds, the effects of the earthquake could be felt across Planet Aquamarine.
Then—
slowly—
the world became still again.
Dust drifted through the devastated forest.
Broken stone crashed down in the distance.
Pezo stood where he had started.
His hand remained extended.
He stared at the destruction.
Then looked at his hand.
Then back at the destruction.
Silence.
A few wolves had survived.
They stared at him.
Their previous aggression was gone.
Completely.
Pezo lowered his hand.
"…Hm."
His red eyes moved toward what remained of the mountain.
He had been testing himself.
Nothing more.
And that attack had not relied upon Corruption Laws.
It had been physical strength.
Pezo looked around at the destruction.
Despite the restrictions placed upon him…
despite losing access to most of what he once possessed…
despite being reduced to a fraction of the being who had once corrupted realms—
a smile formed beneath the mask.
"So they weakened me."
His eyes glowed brighter.
"But they didn't make me weak."
The remaining wolves backed away.
Pezo noticed them.
He said nothing.
Far beyond the forest, people were already wondering what had caused the earthquake.
Pezo turned toward the unfamiliar world ahead of him.
He had returned from death.
He had been thrown into another universe.
Most of his former abilities were restricted.
His Corruption Laws had been reduced to something resembling their ancient infancy.
He possessed none of the resources he once controlled.
And somewhere out there were things he needed to recover.
Pezo began walking.
For anyone else, it might have been a terrible situation.
For the King of Corruption?
It was a beginning.
And beginnings could always be corrupted.
END OF CHAPTER 1