To start his dive further into this taboo topic, King Murk had decided after careful, silent consideration, that Imuru was finally ready for the secret he had been keeping to himself for centuries. This confession, he knew, would either bury him or enable an even stronger bond between them.
He leaned forward, his aged voice dropping to a near-reverent murmur.
"That day.. the War of Kings, I was there." His yellowed eyes held Imuru's without flinching. "You've probably heard the Yellow Lineage's report of the situation... but I can assure you, both are well and alive."
Imuru remained unmoved, his firm exterior betraying nothing—no flicker of surprise, no shift in posture, unlike his internal thoughts that packed his mind to a point where he started to feel dizzy. Yosho, standing silently at his side, felt her blood run cold.
Growing up, she had read extensively into the history of the Sacred Forest, and gathered information from where she could. She knew the dates and official accounts from the Yellow Lineage on the topic. She understood, with sharp, immediate clarity, just how significant and shocking this truly was. If what King Murk was about to say would indeed be true…
"Mental note," She commanded herself, her fingers tightening imperceptibly at her side. "Every word. Remember every word."
Starting his recollection of the events, the scene placed them at the very beginning; Underground City of the Lizardmen.
With King Murk having tallied away some paperwork in the quiet of his chambers. The tranquil mood was shattered by the hurried, urgent arrival of the only other Lizardmen he had ever indulged in his dealings with the Demon King: Crun.
Crun burst through the door, scales flushed with exertion, and immediately dropped to a knee. Seeing Crun storm with such uncharacteristic rush, Murk knew immediately something was afoot.
"The Demon King..." Crun panted, lifting his head. "Lucktan—he launched an attack on Demon King Uin's village."
Murk shot up from his seat, his claws gripping the edge of his desk. Though he had known the relationship between the two Demon Kings was far from friendly, this... this hadn't been expected in the slightest.
"An attack? How many men?"
"Demon King Lucktan has only one strong ally by his side," Crun reported rapidly. "The other two are mere diplomats from the Twin Sorcery Dynasty. But Uin..." He hesitated. "Uin's entire village was not of regular citizens but only fighters. This will cause more chaos and turmoil in the forest than anything in recent memory. What should we do?"
King Murk stood there for a long, heavy moment, the weight of the decision pressing down on shoulders. Then, with grim resolve, he decided he would swiftly travel back to that region himself, to observe the confrontation with his own eyes.
Right close to his arrival, King Murk felt an enormous tremor through the earth he traveled through. He poked his head up a bit above the ground to survey the situation, and he saw the massive plume of smoke.
It didn't take long for him to feel an intense heat from above. At this crucial point, King Murk moved with quiet caution. Heading in further to the danger zone, he started to hear footsteps of men scurrying above as easy as if they were beside him, thanks to his Gift/Ipsum [Lizardmen Decoding].
Getting as close as he dared, Murk stationed himself beneath the rubble of a collapsed building, the broken stone offering just enough cover to witness the scene unfolding before him.
Cowering together, surrounded by jagged debris and blue, hellish-hot flames that licked at the air without consuming it, the two diplomats from the Twin Sorcery Dynasty wrapped their arms around one another. Their fine robes were left in pristine condition. They were sniffling, their legs shaking like leaves in a gush of wind, utterly broken by the terror surrounding them.
Standing before them, firm and elegantly dressed in white, was a gentleman with snow-white hair and small piercing red eyes. An at-ease, casual smile played upon his lips as if he were merely waiting for tea to steep, rather than standing at the epicenter of a brutal assault.
Hearing the crunch of steps, Murk's eyes darted over to the direction of the sound, a light theatrical snicker following subsequently the contender making his appearance.
Stepping out from the blaze of hellish blue flames was a man—dawned in nothing but a simple yellow overcoat, loose-fitting trousers, and boots to match, with a matching yellow hat tilted slightly atop his head to hide his eyes. His yellow hair was unmistakable, and his eyes held a theatrical, childlike amazement, as if he were surveying a grand stage performance rather than a battlefield.
But one object, in particular, stood out, on his back was a large, bowl-shaped pot, seemingly made of coarse, fired clay. Its mouth was sealed shut with a thick cork, bound with old, fraying twine. It was unremarkable in craftsmanship, yet Murk didn't dare to judge, as nothing within the grasp of a Demon King is unremarkable in practice.
The man in yellow tilted his head, his smile widening as he regarded the king in white.
"Demon King Lucktan, my good man." Uin took off his hat, dipping into a bow. "Those were hot flames…" He placed his hat back onto his head, scanning his surroundings engulfed in fiery blue, "but, thankfully, it didn't work. I appreciate the sneak attack though—very cleverly placed."
In a single snap of the fingers Lucktan covered the diplomats behind him in a forcefield.
"You two, stand and observe. As I crumble the 6th."
"I have warned you before yet you still insist. Why do you wish to taunt me?"
"Me?" Uin raised his hands. "I meant no harm. Besides you're the one who took such an aggressive initiative," He remarked, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes deadlocked to Lucktan's.
"Demon King Uin; 6th successor of the Yellow Lineage, leave the forest immediately and I'll stand down. Your aggressive actions have already been seen by the Twin Sorcery Dynasty. If you wish to go against me, then expect every human nation in alliance with us will follow suit to your destruction."
"Isn't that what the Yellows have been about curating to the humans?" Lucktan inquired, delivering his final demands in a controlled manner.
"First of all screw the Yellows… I'm King and I do as I please. My family's political affairs do not concern me."
Uin retorted brazenly, dismissing Lucktan.
"So, let's cut the chit-chat. You're getting this land over my dead body."
"War-mongrel," Lucktan said, amused, expecting it would've turned out this way in the end. From his hands he dropped two spots of flames, at his sides, that sprouted from them were two white-fured foxes, with a multitude of small fire balls hovering above them. These creatures were spirits he tamed—now solely under his control and command.
"Ah!"
Uin gripped onto his hat, kicking his feet, getting rather excited already, eagerly prepared to battle Lucktan.
"The famed fox spirits? What an honour to face your Specialized Skill."
A strained smile crept onto Lucktan's face, unable to hold back his deep annoyance of Uin.
"Don't be mistaken, this is nothing special. There's simply no reason to get my hands dirty."
"Overconfidence or stupid… I'll be honest, I can't quite say which face you're putting on right now."
Uin cocked his head thinking over Lucktan's words before he clasped his head getting an idea.
"Maybe the others before didn't leave a good impression among the other kings, so this is good, not for my family's reputation, but for me. I won't even use my hands; hell, I won't use a single skill, to dismantle those foxes."
Lucktan smiled, stretching out his arms to his side.
"Well then… be my guess."
The foxes stepped forward, the sound of their steps non-existent to the ambience of the flicker of flames around their surroundings.
The fireballs above the foxes flashed and came sailing toward Uin in a streak blue. In the midst of being struck Uin simply smirked, as the fireballs landed. The combination of the attacks erupted in an explosive mass of fire and debris.
Underneath the rubbles he hid himself, King Murk made his move, relocating, and keeping track of the foxes as they moved into the aftermath cloud of dust and debris.
In the thick air of silence, a strong force of movement swooped past the foxes. Perfectly evading the keen sense of the creatures, Uin made his move in a snap.
"Peek-a-boo!"
Uin sends one of the foxes tumbling across the earth with a decisive kick, the other initiating an attack promptly from a fireball, just missing the Demon King that flipped right over it.
The fox continued with its assault, launching fireballs at Uin, who laughed in amusement at each failed attempt. The fox pursued Uin out of the village, creating a fiery carnage through the forest.
"Impessive-oh-Impressive!..." Uin came to a stop on a branch, getting quiet the time of his life. "You're a Demon King alright… Hey little foxes wanna wrap this up? Don't be mistaken I've enjoyed my time playing with you, but I've had enough."
The foxes continued their approach in a natural motion; one parted left, the other right as they prepared for another attack. Uin's eyes shifted back and forth from the foxes, hands casually inside his pockets.
In a single leap Uin took off into the air, the foxes chasing right behind. The fox spirits kept up their assault of fireballs at Uin; the happy-go-lucky Demon King held onto his hat, out maneuvering their attacks on his fall back to the ground.
"Fox spirits… aah, man. Even If I take them out, that's just their physical forms, I'd need something to target their souls directly…"
"Hahaha…"
"Seems I've got myself into a bit of an itch here. Alright Lucktan, you win, I guess I do need my hands and Skills."
Down on the ground Murk had out his entire head ticking out from the ground. Dauntingly fascinated by the conflict at hand.
"Uh!..."
As he observed what was taking place in the air, the atmosphere above burst into an explosion that shook the ground below, whipping up winds of 400mph; toppling the buildings below, and uprooting trees.
The blast radius of the explosion at its height of potency held a consistent circumference of 20 miles (32.187km), losing its shape in under 6 seconds.
Murk gasped, his breath catching in his throat as his gaze lifted to the sky. The heavens above for as far as his eyes could see, we're engulfed in a roiling, apocalyptic inferno, that cast the land in a hellish, flickering twilight.
In the chaos, Murk lost all track of Uin. The Demon King had vanished into the maelstrom of fire and debris.
Murk's attention was brought back to earth by a thunderous collision that struck back down in what was left of the village in a shockwave that rattled his bones.
"There!?"
Murk's eyes locked onto the direction of the impact. His heart pounded, but not with fear, with the old familiar pull of witness.
Swiftly, Murk slipped into motion, weaving through the earth as if it were the ocean.
Arriving at the scene, he lifted his head from under the ground, to catch his sight of Uin standing right up to Lucktan's face; the two Kings mirroring each other's smug expression.
This moment into the confrontation the diplomats from the Twin Sorcery Dynasty were out cold; unconscious due their fear, that unnerving sight of the explosion above their heads.
"No Skills? I must've misheard you."
Lucktan couldn't help but taunt.
"You heard alright," Uin was more than well inclined and proud to confirm, "I just got carried away beforehand. I did need my hands and Ski—"
In the midst of saying his final words, Uin straight to his knees in a sudden motion, blue flames puking up from his mouth. Eyes filled with fear and shock he snapped his head up to Lucktan the Demon King glaring down at him with a devilish grin.
Lucktan snickered, kicking Uin over onto his back, the 6th gasping for breath that he simply cannot receive, holding his throat, left constantly choking on the fire. "Foolish child. Do you think my rise to power was a fluke? Or a Demon King in title, not power?"
"You must be scared, confused and bitter. 'Why did this happen to me?' It was all thanks to your stupidity and my Specialized Skill: Tataron. Any promises made by my enemy upon activation will be locked into a contract: leaving me with the option to choose whichever one I wish."
"Hmph. Your regeneration will only last you so long. You may be immune to my fire, however that inferno inside you will persistently build, until you explode your body forcefully tore apart from the inside out. Your time has ended and yet you decide to challenge me. Your brother is in power now, you refuse to live a simple life. What a shameful end."
Uin shivered uncontrollably, his body beginning to break apart at the seams. The pressure of the inferno raging inside him battled violently against his natural regeneration a war between destruction and rebirth being fought within his own flesh.
He reached a breaking point.
His body shook violently, muscles seizing, veins glowing like molten gold beneath his skin. Then—
BANG!!!
His arm exploded from the shoulder in a burst of flames.
It was the first crack in the dam. A chain reaction followed instantly. His torso split, his legs gave way, and in a single, horrific moment Uin's entire body detonated in a cataclysm eruption of blue-white flames, consuming the space where he had stood and leaving nothing but a scorched earth.
Lucktan snickered, a low, sinister sound that curled through the smoke and flame. The image before him the explosive death of a Demon King, bruned into his vision and mind, with sickening satisfaction. This was the day. The day he, Lucktan, had slaughtered a Demon King of the Yellow Lineage.
"This... is a King? He laughed, spreading his arms wide to the burning sky.
"Ridiculous. My fallen brethren look down upon this glorious day! Your sacrifices were not in vain."
He turned, pacing, his confidence swelling with each word.
"Albeit, the other Demon Kings may not be pleased? Luckily he's no longer the current so even though he has the status, I'm certain I can make them see my way. And the Yellows themselves... are minor. With my alliance with the many human nations, they'll back down in an attempt to avoid a hit to their reputation."
In the storm that was now his mind, Lucktan had ignored the outside, allowing a cold arm to warp around his head, locking Lucktan into a firm unbreakable headlock.
"What?!" He choked out, panic and shock flooding his voice.
Behind him, smiling deviously, stood Demon King Uin the 6th, very much alive, very much whole, and very much amused.
"Hey, hey, hey, now. Don't struggle," Uin whispered into Lucktan's ear, his voice deceiving warm and teasing, like an old friend greeting another. "Man~... You know I like you. Really, really, much." He caressed the top of Lucktan's head with mock affection.
Watching closely, Uin's eyes flicked just a moment towadd Murk's hiding spot. The Lizard King's blood ran cold. He had been spotted? Without hesitation, Murk delved beneath the ground, shaking as he tunneled deeper, relocating further away, praying he was now at a safe distance.
Uin's attention swapped back to Lucktan. He leaned in, lips brushing the Cryptid Phantom King's ear, whispering something Murk could not hear.
Then—
Snap.
Uin broke Lucktan's neck with a single, casual twist.
The Cryptid Phantom King dropped to his knees, then fell face-first to the ground, motionless.
"Fell for the Clone," Uin mused aloud, brushing invisible dust from his yellow coat. "Don't worry, that one wasn't the simplistic kind."
He casually grabbed Lucktan's limp body, tossing the Cryptid Phantom King over his shoulder like a sack of grain, and began making his way towards the two diplomats huddled within their protective forcefield.
Uin peered inside, cocking his head with theatrical curiosity. He knocked on the shimmering dome—tap, tap, tap—then waited patiently. One diplomat stirred, groggy. The other woke with a start, and upon seeing the first's terrified expression, his own face drained of color.
"Hey, there." Uin dropped Lucktan to the ground with a heavy thud. The diplomats' faces went white as bone as they took in the sight, the twisted neck, the oozing blood, the vacant eyes of their master.
"Do me a favour." Uin's smile was pleasant, warm even. "You may want to write this down."
The diplomats scrambled, trembling hands producing tools to scribble whatever the Demon King commanded.
"The Demon King Lucktan has fallen." He paused, letting it settle. "Now, I know my family will probably try to cover this up. And just killing one of you would make things a bit more... troubling for them." He tilted his head, affectionate warmth in his eyes. "But I still love them. What can I say? I'm a mother's boy."
He gave a little wave. "Chow."
With that, Him picked up Lucktan's body and walked away, leaving the burnt village and the shell-shocked diplomats behind without a backward glance.