It was a dark night. Torches burned brightly, and in the sky, one massive moon shone alongside six smaller moons—each half its size—clearly visible in the heavens.
Under that eerie moonlight, countless demons stood outside a grand palace. Inside, in the vast throne hall, a large number of demons had gathered.
All of them stared at the empty throne. Some began whispering among themselves.
"It's been years since we last attacked the humans."
A nearby demon with a single eye responded,
"You're right. My hands are trembling… just thinking about crushing their necks."
The two demons burst into laughter.
But suddenly—
A crushing pressure filled the air.
Every demon froze and turned toward the massive doors from where the presence was coming. With each step, the pressure grew heavier.
One by one, the demons lowered their heads.
From the darkness beyond the doors… a figure emerged.
A tall demon stepped forward—he had two massive horns, held a golden spear in his hand, and wore radiant golden attire. A crimson cape flowed behind him, giving off an overwhelming aura.
Behind him stood five demons—two female and three male. Though their bodies resembled humans, horns protruded from their heads.
The demon walked forward calmly, climbed the steps, and sat upon the throne.
The five demons who followed him moved to stand among the others.
At that moment, a demon with three eyes stepped forward and spoke,
"All hail the King of Demons, Yakoza! We wish… we wish for you to launch another attack on those insect-like humans!"
Demon King Yakoza cast a sharp glance at him.
The demon immediately trembled.
"M-My lord! W-we will follow whatever you command!"
Then, one of the five demons stepped forward—a female demon.
She had short black hair with a yellow streak. Her eyebrows were black, but her eyelashes were yellow. She wore black pants, and her upper body was covered with a bandage-like bra that stretched from her chest to her stomach, tightly laced together with thread.
"You call yourself a demon… yet you disgrace our kind," she said coldly.
"Just give the order, King Yakoza. I will slaughter those humans with my own hands."
Another demon stepped forward beside her and said,
"No, Yina. You're always too reckless. That's why our plans fail every time."
"What do you mean I ruin the plans every time?"
In an instant—
Yina swung her hand across his neck.
His head fell to the ground.
The entire hall went silent.
Then, calmly, the demon bent down, picked up his severed head, and spoke,
"I told you… you always lose control because of your anger."
A third demon, wearing glasses, sighed and said,
"Yina, Yeld… can you both stop this nonsense?"
At that, the two fell silent.
Then, Demon King Yakoza finally spoke,
"How shameful… those weak, insect-like humans have advanced far beyond us."
The entire hall listened in silence.
"I don't want our plans to fail like last time… Yina."
Yina immediately knelt.
"My lord, forgive me. I did not expect Dolt to act that way. I will capture him and bring him before you soon."
"Yina," Yakoza said calmly, "I want the five of you to go among the humans… and bring back Dolt. And Lawine as well."
Hearing this, Yeld asked,
"Alive… or dead?"
"No. Alive. She is still very useful to me."
"Yes, my lord."
With that, Demon King Yakoza rose from his throne and gently struck the ground with his spear.
"That will be all for today."
The moment he said those words—
He vanished.
After Demon King Yakoza left, all the demons dispersed—except for the five commanders: Yokzo, Yirina, Yina, Yonk, and Yeld.
Yonk stretched and said,
"Ahh… should we leave too?"
Yokzo replied,
"I won't beat around the bush, but—"
He glanced at Yirina.
She gave a faint smile.
Seeing that, Yokzo stopped mid-sentence.
"…So you figured it out."
Without saying anything, Yirina turned and began walking away. The others followed behind her.
Meanwhile, Demon King Yakoza entered his private room. Sitting on his bed, he raised a hand to his face and began panting heavily.
"No… no, no, no—NO! I can't keep up that act in front of those five for long! Just their aura alone feels like they'll crush me to death!"
He stood up and looked at the golden ring on his finger.
"Thank goodness for this ring… it saves me every time."
With a flick of his hand—
His form changed completely.
The imposing Demon King vanished, replaced by a completely different figure.
He now had a cheerful cat-face mask, wore a green shirt with white stripes, and black pants.
"Yahoo! Demon King Yakoza, Demon King Yakoza—when are you coming back?" he muttered dramatically.
"Thanks to this ring you gave me, I'm still alive… otherwise that witch would've drained my blood long ago!"
He flopped onto the bed.
"Ahh, my dignity… these demons won't leave me with anything. Seriously, where did Yakoza even go? I miss him… This ring of his, filled with his aura—it's amazing."
Knock. Knock.
A sound came from the door.
He quickly got up.
"(Who's here at this time?)"
He adjusted his voice and appearance again.
"Come in."
A demon entered and bowed.
"My apologies, Demon King, for disturbing you at this hour. I came to inform you that, just as you ordered, all preparations have been completed."
"Oh, Ventra! Very good. Then let us send them off with this festival."
"Yes, my lord."
Ventra remained below while Yakoza went to the top floor. From there, he could see the demons gathered near the palace.
He stepped onto the balcony.
The moment the demons saw him, they shouted,
"Look! It's Demon King Yakoza!"
All the demons raised their voices together,
"All hail Demon King Yakoza! Glory to Demon King Yakoza!"
Yakoza raised his hand.
"I, Demon King Yakoza, offer my blessings to all of you on this Moon Festival. Just as our ancestors once did, we too shall rule this world!"
After that, he gave a brief wave and turned to go back inside.
The demons continued chanting,
"Glory to Demon King Yakoza!"
Soon, they all became busy celebrating and eating.
Yakoza returned to his room—
Only to find the five commanders already there, sitting on the sofas… waiting for him.
He froze for a moment, then forced a smile and walked toward them.
"Oh! Looks like I forgot to say goodbye."
Yina, who had been standing nearby, walked up to him and said coldly,
"Yirina… should you cut his head, or should I?"
Yeld, sitting beside the sofa, added,
"Yina, try to control yourself a little."
Yakoza panicked
.
"W-What are you saying? I am Demon King Yakoza—"
Yina cut him off immediately.
"Demon actor Peld… stop your act."
"…W-What?! H-How did you find out? I—I thought my roleplay was perfect!"
Yina replied calmly,
"Yirina and Yokzo already told me everything. So stop this act and come with us to find the real Demon King Yakoza."
"W-What? Me? If I leave, then who will manage things here?"
Yirina stepped forward.
"Don't worry about that. We've already arranged something. But… I can smell a conspiracy here."
Peld asked nervously,
"What kind of conspiracy, Lady Yirina?"
Yokzo interrupted sharply,
"You don't need to know about that."
Yina glanced at him and said,
"Don't say that, Yokzo. He's still wearing the Demon King's face, after all."
Yeld walked closer to Yina and smirked,
"Yina, you're always attracted to King Yakoza… but this one is just a fake. No need to act so nice."
"Huh? Do you want your head cut off again, Yeld? This time I'll slice it completely."
Yirina sighed.
"Can you two stop arguing?"
Both replied immediately,
"…Yes." (in a slightly frightened tone)
Then she turned to Peld.
"Now listen carefully."
"Y-Yes, Lady Yirina."
"Tomorrow, we'll pass through South Verland and search for the transportation magic circle."
Peld asked,
"Lady Yirina, will that circle be where we left it?"
Yokzo answered,
"No. The circle we created doesn't stay in one place. It keeps shifting… otherwise humans would've found it long ago."
Yonk added,
"But we have to find it. Otherwise, we can't reach that 'Roy.' Only he knows where our Demon King went."
"Besides, we can't go to him directly. Instead of covering such a long distance, it's better if we go directly "
Yirina shook her head.
"No. If we do that carelessly, the Heavenly Kingdom will detect us. And I have no intention of fighting that dragon in the north."
Yokzo looked at Peld.
"Be ready by tomorrow morning. We leave early."
With that, the five commanders left the room.
Peld watched them go, trembling inside.
"(That was close… I almost lost my head today. Now I have to go with them tomorrow… otherwise my luxurious life is over.)"
The next morning—
The fake Demon King Yakoza boarded a ship along with the five commanders. Many demons watched them as they departed.
Yakoza went inside the ship, and soon, it set sail.
After some time, Yirina walked up to Peld.
"You can drop the act now. We're far enough."
Yina shouted from the side,
"Yeah, go back to your real form already!"
Peld returned to his original appearance.
Yokzo stood outside the cabin, keeping watch over the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Yirina handed rings to Yina, Yeld, and Yonk.
"These rings will suppress your demonic aura,
making you appear like normal humans."
Just as she finished speaking—
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed.
Everyone rushed outside.
Yina asked,
"What happened, Yokzo?"
"See for yourself."
They looked ahead—
A massive whirlpool had formed in the ocean.
And beyond it… they saw a huge ship.
It was unlike anything they had seen before—completely made of metal, with the number 4 marked on it.
And it was aiming directly at them.
On top of that ship… a shadowy figure stood.
Seeing it—
Yirina clicked her tongue.
"…Tch. Of all times… this problem had to show up now."