Chapter 412
Can you imagine 1,000 years?
They say that the average human race doesn't live more than 100 years before they die, but for Demon King Seir, 100 years was just a short moment in his life.
During those 1,000 years, Seir was not threatened by anyone.
The Demon King's decision is made solely by force.
If you think you are more powerful than the current Demon King, you can request a duel to your life at any time.
Seir reigned as the king of all Demons for over 1,000 years.
That's right. At his feet were piled the skeletons of countless monsters that had crawled up without fear.
An overwhelming strength that no one could surpass.
A cold-blooded being that froze the air just by existing.
Because he was there, the Demons were able to live without petty power struggles.
Because of him, they were able to prosper without being influenced by humans who were considered a thorn in their eyes.
Even though the demons hunted humans whenever they wanted, there was no war.
The humans also knew with their stupid heads.
That they did not have the power to defeat the current Demon King.
However, this order that had been maintained for over 1,000 years began to crack.
'That damned crown prince.'
One day, a new hero appeared on the continent.
Instead of the emperor who had neither power nor the tactics to run the army, the crown prince began to command the army.
And after he appeared, the demons who seemed to never be threatened began to be chased.
The demons' formation that had stretched all the way to the human territory was pushed back little by little.
When Seir, unable to stand this, fought several battles using his large army, the crown prince, far from being afraid, started a war.
Imagine it.
The humans who had never thought of war for over 1,000 years because they had been pushed back by the demons, suddenly rose up with swords and shields.
And that was all by one person.
Seir felt a strange sense of joy every time Karis von Walden cut down his subordinates one after another.
Since he was a demon, he naturally didn't care much about his subordinates being killed.
He didn't feel sad. He just felt sorry for losing a usable sword.
However, his thoughts that had always stopped there were gradually moving to other places.
He had never seen a human like this before.
A human who was not flustered by the wave-like demon army, but rather cut down his enemies with crazy fighting power.
As he watched that with his own eyes, a sense of joy that he hadn't felt for a long time welled up in his chest.
'Finally. Is there finally someone who can stand against me!'
Many demons died.
Even the Demon Alliance meeting, which originally had over 20 participants, had frequent vacancies.
Seir, who had lived for over 1,000 years, did not despair as he watched the war slowly shift to the human side in just 10 years.
Instead, he was excited.
I wish the crown prince could reach the Demon King's castle as soon as possible.
I want to go out and fight him with my sword.
Drive the demons even further to the edge of the cliff.
Let him feel what it feels like to be alive again.
It's been 1,000 years since the fun and purpose of life disappeared.
To him, Karis was a newfound joy.
And so, the Demon King Seir and Karis von Walden finally met for the first time.
During that short 10-minute battle, Seir made this decision.
I want to keep fighting.
Has there ever been an opponent who pushed me this hard?
Even the previous Demon King, whom I had personally cut off, didn't feel this way.
It felt like I had met the match of my life.
Seir wanted to experience this feeling until he died, no even after he died.
Once, twice, and three times.
After his third confrontation with Karis von Walden, Seir had a gut feeling.
He would definitely be killed by this human someday.
But Seir had no intention of dying easily.
'I'll even use my death.'
Just as there is a demon king in the demon tribe, he knew well that there are gods in the human world.
Seir had sacrificed his life for the adventurer.
He planted a 'seed' that caused a fatal flaw in the mana circuit created by the gods, destroying the causal relationship of the world.
He cast a spell that bound his soul to the remains of the 'seed'.
The chances of success were not great.
However, if there was even a 1% chance, that was enough.
If only he could fight Karis von Walden again someday.
If only he could give him a new sense of despair, he would gladly give up his life.
***
The pungent air stung my nose.
'What the hell is this..........'
I blinked my eyes hard and tried to move my body.
I couldn't breathe properly, so I took a deep breath through my nose, and immediately started coughing repeatedly.
The pungent air I had felt earlier filled my lungs.
I rolled on the floor, almost convulsing.
'This is killing me!'
I barely stopped coughing.
But my throat hurt as if someone had torn it to pieces with a knife.
I still felt like I couldn't breathe well.
I wondered why my throat was so broken, and then I came to my senses.
"Seir...!"
"So, you found me."
"!"
I quickly turned my head at the sound of a voice coming from behind me.
I saw a human figure sitting on a pile of rubble that had collapsed miserably.
No, to be exact, it wasn't a human.
Black hair that felt very different from my platinum blonde.
Ears and nails that were much sharper and longer than those of a human.
Pale skin with no trace of color.
A handsome face that exuded a noble feeling, but felt somewhat alien.
And unlike humans who have white eyes, his eyes were completely black.
In the center of his nightmarish black eyes, a thin iris that could be considered reptilian was staring at me.
"Hmm, you didn't push me that hard, but your appearance doesn't live up to your former reputation at all, Crown Prince."
Seir's two eyes looked at me with interest.
It was as if he was looking at an interesting lab animal.
My stomach twisted at the fact that someone was looking down at me.
I struggled to get up on my two legs.
I don't know why I'm doing this, but my whole body still trembles.
'If he strangled me like that guy said, there shouldn't be this much aftereffect. What's the problem?'
First, I need to calm down.
If I lose my composure, everything, starting with my breathing, will go awry.
I exhaled slowly, trying to catch my unsteady breathing.
Usually, when I breathe deeply like this, my mind clears up right away thanks to my skill that raises my composure...........'
It's strange. No matter how much I try to calm my mind, it doesn't work.
My legs still tremble, and my neck, which was strangled by Seir's grip, aches.
"Haah, haah!"
"Hahahaha!"
Seir burst into a hearty laugh when he saw me trying to hold on somehow.
He must have laughed so loudly that his voice echoed far away.
"Is this really the brave crown prince I fought against? He is truly miserable and pitiful. His appearance, turning over dust and panting, matches the scenery of this square perfectly."
"Seir, you. What kind of trick have you used again?"
"To tell you the truth, I didn't do anything to you just now."
"What...?"
When I made a bewildered expression, Seir spread his arms wide and laughed again.
His pale face lit up.
"Yes, yes! I wanted you to make this expression. How nice to see your always dignified face distorted like this."
"I don't understand what kind of nonsense you are talking about."
"Karis von Walden. You are.... the only one who satisfies me."
Seir smiled as if he was very happy with the current situation.
I frowned and turned my gaze away from the Demon King's unpleasant face.
Only then did I understand why Seir had said that my current situation was similar to the surrounding scenery, and why my nose kept smelling pungent.
'This is........... It must be.'
A place I know so well.
A place I have visited countless times and memorized the geography.
A place where I gave a speech in front of tens of thousands of citizens gathered here on the brightest day.
The square, also known as the heart of the empire, had been turned into a truly miserable ruin.
All the buildings that boasted beautiful architecture were destroyed, and bricks were strewn across the street.
The fountain, which was also called the center of the square, was completely destroyed beyond recognition.
All the lights that had brightened the street were turned off, leaving only a dark atmosphere.
'And now that I look again, that pile of stones.........'
I saw the bottom of the pile of stones where Seir was sitting.
I was confused because it looked strangely like a human face, but it became clearer after I found out that this was the Imperial Square.
That's a statue honoring the previous emperor.
Judging by the fact that even that statue was destroyed, it's clear that a lot has happened in
"Are you surprised? Actually, I didn't know it would be like this. The human army we were against seemed like soldiers possessed by ghosts, but it seems not anymore. I guess my army pushed all the way down here."
I quietly agreed with Seir's words.
I need to review it again.
The quests were extremely difficult to complete through the normal route, and the battle difficulty was practically impossible to win against the Demon King.
The balance was so bad that I couldn't tell if it was made to make you watch the final chapter or to stress you out.
So it was natural that the human army was pushed back by the Demon King's army after I disappeared.
'The Demon King's army also lost their leader, but they are not humans but monsters. Unlike the humans who were terrified, they must have gone crazy over the fact that the Demon King was dead.'
Even though the Demon King's army was stronger than humans, I never dreamed that the heart of the empire would be devastated like this.
However, this shock actually helped me.
I looked straight at Seir, feeling a gentle surge of anger.
'Thanks to that, my head has cooled down.'
Seir was still standing alone, giggling as if he found this whole situation amusing.
The only time I saw Seir in person was on the battlefield.
The only other time I saw him was in a flashback that I saw as a quest completion reward during the final live broadcast of
I never thought that the cold-hearted Demon King would keep making such an expression.
"So, what were you trying to tell me earlier? That you didn't do anything to me just now?"
"It's exactly as you heard. I really didn't do anything to your body. 'Just now', that is."
Seir got down from the remains of the stone statue and walked towards me with a heavy step.
His unusually long arms and legs formed a huge shadow.
Like a giant bird.
Like a predator leisurely flying towards its prey that is struggling to aim, the distance between Seir and me gradually narrowed.
I swallowed hard and tensed my body.
But still, as if something was broken, my muscles wouldn't listen.
'......... Damn it.'
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