Volume 8, The Eighth of the Final Battle: “The Call of Light; the Darkness that Cannot be Seen—Oracle”

Volume 8, The Eighth Chapter of the Final Battle: “The Call of Light; the Darkness that Cannot be Seen—Oracle”

Translator: Doza

Upon my return to the Demon King’s Castle, I summoned a certain long-term resident for the first time.

“Princess Alice, it’s been a while.”

I sat down on the throne languidly. Charlotte was standing to one side, while Taylen and Vidar were being held captive by two of my three sable warriors. Even though I could use my endless flow of dark element to wrap them up like black snowmen, Adair said that the Demon King should not have to attend to everything personally. Instead, he should let his underlings take care of the trivial matters.

Princess Alice stood in the middle of the castle hall, carrying a child in one arm as she peered curiously at the three strangers.

I used my farsight to observe her. As expected, Princess Alice’s beauty was not reputed for nothing. No wonder she was so proud of it. She was as graceful as a rose—it seemed she had managed to turn her skin fair again—and even though she was a mother of three, she still gave off the air of a young lady. It didn’t surprise me that Awaitsun, that ultra-handsome guy, had been so infatuated that he lost all reasoning and even eloped with her.

“Grisia, you really captured a princess?” Charlotte whispered and sighed in amazement, “She’s very pretty.”

Alice’s eyes widened. With a clear disinterest in the two guys, she paid attention only to Charlotte. “Grisia, this is the first time you’ve brought a girl back! From her clothes, I’m guessing she’s not a princess? No matter. I will definitely dress her up until she’s as beautiful as one!”

… Charlotte isn’t the only stupid woman in the world. There’s already one in the Demon King’s Castle!

“Grisia!” Taylen struggled as he yelled, “Let Charlotte go! Didn’t you say that I was your ‘amusement?’ This has nothing to do with her, right?”

“Throw these two into the dungeons.”

I waved my hand at the sable warriors, and they started to half-push, half-drag Taylen and Vidar away. Taylen was not compliant and struggled violently, but he could not overpower the sable warriors. Vidar, on the other hand, did not make a single sound during the entire process. However, I did not believe that he had truly surrendered. No matter what, he was still Lesus’s vice-captain. How could he possibly give up? He is probably trying to find an opportunity to escape right at this moment!

Nevertheless, when he sees the dungeons made especially for heroes, he will know that trying to run away is an idiotic idea.

I beckoned Alice over. She walked up to me and casually pushed her child into my arms.

“Which one is this?” It seemed that in the time since I had last seen them, the child had grown a lot, and I couldn’t recognize him anymore.

“This is the one you said was the most handsome!”

I nodded my head. My foresight was truly accurate. Only a few months old and this child was already a handsome young chap. A prominent brow, large eyes, and well-defined features—he was extremely beautiful!

As I played with the child, I asked, “Has Awaitsun returned at all?”

“He hasn’t.” Upon hearing of Awaitsun, Alice immediately pouted unhappily and protested, “Just where have you dispatched him to? He hasn’t returned for such a long time. Soon, the children won’t be able to recognize their father!”

Seeing Alice’s attitude rather puzzled me. “Do you know that I’ve sealed Awaitsun’s voice? Aren’t you furious?”

“I know that. Anyway, he can use psychic magic to talk to me, so there isn’t any difference.”

Ah… When I was linking up their minds, I seemed to have allowed Awaitsun and the others to be able to use psychic magic to talk to anyone in the entire Demon King’s Castle. At that time, I was thinking that within the Demon King’s Castle, there should only be the dark knights that also had their mouths sealed, undead creatures, and such. However, I had forgotten that Alice was here, too.

Alice seemed to be in deep thought as she said, “Moreover, this way, I don’t have to worry about whether he will flirt with other ladies when he goes out. Actually, it’s not too bad!”

Awaitsun, are you certain you don’t want to divorce this woman?

“I’ll leave Charlotte in your hands. She can help you take care of the children.”

I stood up and threw the child in my arms to Charlotte. She seemed like she did not have any experience taking care of children, because she held the child with trembling hands. It seemed a little dangerous. However, since the mother of the child beside me does not mind, then why should I be nervous?

“I am going to see what exactly Awaitsun is up to. Who knows, the children might be able to see their father soon.” I coldly laughed. It was just that their father might not be able to hug them later. Awaitsun probably hadn’t even started the assault on the capital city of the Kingdom of Kissinger.

Alice frowned a little and said, “Don’t kill Awaitsun!”

“I won’t kill him. I already have so few subordinates. If I kill him, Adair will die from overwork.”

She nodded her head. “Just as long as you don’t kill him.”

Seeing her uncaring attitude, I became curious. I asked, “As long as I don’t kill him, I can do whatever I want with him?”

Alice said generously, “As long as you don’t kill Awaitsun, whatever you want to do to him is up to you.”

This is as generous as agreeing to share a cookie with the only condition being that the other party isn’t allowed to eat the last crumb… But he’s your husband! Aren’t you worried that I’ll cripple him or beat him senseless?

She waved it off, saying, “If you cripple him, wouldn’t he be even less able to stray? And you still need him. How would you use him if he’s been beaten senseless?”

This utterly fearless attitude is truly even more imposing than a man’s…

Looking at Alice, I had a thought. It seems no one has set a rule that the Demon King’s subordinates can only be men, right?

“There are two prisoners in the dungeons. Help me look after them. Don’t let them starve to death. Let Charlotte cook their meals, and send skeletons to deliver the food… Are you scared of skeletons?”

Halfway through, I realized that there was terror on Charlotte’s face. It’s true that women are more frightened of horrifying things. Should I summon some less unsightly-looking creatures of darkness to help?

“All the maids ran away a long time ago, and I don’t have six hands. How could I take care of three children by myself? Therefore, I have already ordered a blood skeleton and sable warrior to help me clean the place and look after the children.” When she finished, she quickly added on, “Don’t tell Awaitsun. He doesn’t like to let undead creatures near the children.”

Let me reiterate, this princess’s utterly fearless attitude is even greater than that of the Demon King’s general!

“Only the two undead creatures that Awaitsun sent over will listen to me. The rest aren’t obedient at all.” Alice grumbled, “I don’t have enough servants. My living quarters are getting messier and messier. Soon, I won’t be able to stand it…”

This woman is too interesting! I chuckled as I said, “Yes, yes, yes, I’ll bestow upon you the title of ‘Midnight Princess.’ Go and collect some undead creatures from Scarlet. Remember to clean the entire Demon King’s Castle. Don’t only focus on cleaning the place where you’re staying.”

“No problem!” Alice’s eyes shone, and she hurriedly asked, “Can I enter the treasury? I’ve heard from Awaitsun that there are many treasures inside. I would like to use some of them to decorate the Demon King’s Castle, and to take some jewels for my personal use as well. I’ve heard there is an amazing pearl inside…”

“Suit yourself.” I shrugged and lifted up the glass of wine that a sable warrior had served. In any case, Alice can’t take the treasures out of the Demon King’s Castle. As long as they’re still in the Demon King’s Castle, no matter the location, they are still mine.

“Long live the Demon King!” Alice exclaimed.

Cough! A mouthful of wine sprayed out.

“What? Why so wasteful?” Alice even took out a handkerchief and tidied me up. Then with a smile, she said, “Your Majesty, the Demon King, the ‘Midnight Princess’ requests for permission to leave and collect undead creatures from Her Excellency, Scarlet.”

Alice was exceedingly joyous. She waved a hand at Charlotte, signaling her to follow.

Seeing her fit in so well, I was at a loss for words. Suddenly, I remembered something and hurriedly called out to the two of them, “Along the way, tell Scarlet to come and see me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, the Demon King!” Alice turned around and curtsied. When she proclaimed “Your Majesty, the Demon King” so naturally, she truly seemed like a subordinate of the Demon King.

“Who is Scarlet… Your Majesty, the Demon King?” After Charlotte asked, she paused for a second before abruptly adding on the formal title of respect.

I had a premonition. Upon my return, the number of utterly fearless women in the Demon King’s Castle may have doubled. Of course, that corpse Scarlet doesn’t count as one.

The atmosphere in the city streets of the Kingdom of Kissinger was rather solemn, unlike the liveliness of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound. However, considering the presence of troops harboring malicious intent stationed outside the city, this could possibly be considered good enough.

“Awaitsun has already passed the terms of agreement to the royal family of the Kingdom of Kissinger. Within three months, they must hand over the prince you requested or face an assault on the capital city. I looked over the contents of the agreement. It only says to hand the prince over. I assumed you wanted only him dead, so I didn’t stop him from delivering the agreement.”

Scarlet sat in my chest pocket. She looked just like an accessory, and her words just now were communicated to me through psychic magic as well. This was to prevent a talking glass doll from scaring the people walking around us to death.

Upon hearing her words, I nearly vomited blood. Scarlet really had no understanding of my intentions. She had actually not bothered to inform me of this at her first chance…

The instant he hands over the terms, whatever is actually written is unimportant! Unless the king is an idiot, he would have already calmed down within three months. Even if he uses the crown on his head to think for him, he will know that this is the work of the Demon King. He definitely won’t take his anger out on Awaitsun.

The reason I wanted Awaitsun to fight his entire way in is so that the royal family of the Kingdom of Kissinger wouldn’t have sufficient time to compose themselves. From getting caught unprepared in battle, to feeling the insurmountable pain of their son’s death, they wouldn’t be able to calm down ever again. This is the only way it’d be effective!

“Grisia. Grisia? Have you heard what I said?”

However, it was too late to fix the damage at this stage. I cradled my head, feeling an incessant headache coming on. Finding good subordinates is truly crucial.

“I wasn’t listening. Say it again.”

“I was saying, Awaitsun’s wife is quite courageous. That girl who arrived recently is also pretty good. I plan to teach them a bit of necromancy. That way, she would suit the title of ‘Midnight Princess’ even better, right?”

Hearing that title, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Isn’t it too late to teach them now?”

“Being able to command and strengthen undead creatures will be enough, even if they will need the support of a magic scroll. As for the actual summoning, just leave it to me! Oh right, child, do you not intend to make them your wives?”

My mind nearly blanked from this sudden sentence from Scarlet. Only after thinking for three full seconds did I finally understand its meaning.

“Alice is Awaitsun’s wife!”

Scarlet said matter-of-factly, “But you are the Demon King!”

“The person Charlotte loves isn’t me, but that guy Taylen!”

Scarlet spread her hands out, and repeated, “But you are the Demon King! All the demon kings in the past have just snatched whichever women caught their eye. They’ve seized princesses, queens, and even a queen’s mother!”

That scope is really a bit too wide…

“But I’m not a pervert!” I angrily roared. However, this roar startled the people around me, and they gave me suspicious stares. Some people even backed away quickly, not wanting to be near me.

“Why aren’t you?” With disappointment, Scarlet said, “I want you to bear tons of children!”

“…”

If I had been drinking wine at the moment, I would have definitely spit it out again. With much difficulty, I found my voice. “Why?”

“You still need to ask?” Scarlet spoke as though it was common sense, “Bear tons of children, train them to become expert fighters, and they will be able to protect you in the future! I don’t wish to see you slowly lose your strength, and then…”

At that point, she stopped speaking.

Oh, I see. I said in an apathetic tone, “Calm down. Before my strength begins to wane, I will make full preparations.”

Scarlet did not look as if she had relaxed in the least bit, but she did not continue that topic. “Didn’t you come here to look for Awaitsun? Why are you still wandering around in the city?”

“I have to understand the situation first. Then, when I find Awaitsun later, I can better detect whether or not he is lying.”

I roved the city for a while and bought two cans of chocolate balls, a type of candy that was transparent and sweet, and some black cookies. Yet, surprisingly, I could not find any blueberry-flavored desserts. Don’t tell me the Kingdom of Kissinger does not produce blueberries?!

However, the kitchen in the Demon King’s Castle could indeed bake blueberry desserts! Then again, there was practically nothing the Demon King’s Castle could not produce. Most likely, it was because they feared that if they could not present the requested items, the demon king would go out and seize them, causing even more trouble. Therefore, they might as well gather everything in the world.

Forget it. I’ll just buy a strawberry lollipop to eat instead.

“You definitely came to shop!” Scarlet said irritably. “Hurry up and do your business!”

Half of my business has already been disrupted by you. What business is there left to do…? I looked at the position of the sun. It was nearly time. I shrugged and said, “Teleport me to the hall of the royal palace. Remember to find a good spot for eavesdropping.”

Scarlet said huffily, “I’ve never seen a demon king as lazy as you!”

Despite scolding me, she obediently performed Instant Teleportation. She scouted the palace first, and then teleported me over.

“Have there been any movements from the undead army outside the city?” A hoarse voice rang out.

“Reporting to His Majesty…”

It was as I had expected: now was the time the king received his chancellor. I guessed that all kings would have similar work and rest periods. Since the king of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound liked to receive his chancellor around this time, I guessed that perhaps the king of Kissinger was the same.

I glanced downwards and saw the top of the heads of the king, queen, and chancellor. The design of the beams in the palace of the Kingdom of Kissinger struck me as strange. Logically speaking, shouldn’t beams be built directly against the roof?

But since they chose to construct a beam that stretched through the middle of a high hall, providing a hiding location, a person such as me, who was hiding in such a location, had nothing to complain about. I reclined back, placed Scarlet on top of a can of chocolates, and then went back to licking my lollipop and eavesdropping on the conversation.

The chancellor said agitatedly, “Your Majesty, even though there has been no activity within the undead army, it has already had a significant impact. As it is now, the situation of the capital city is equivalent to being under siege. People outside the city do not dare to approach, and people inside it cannot leave. The place is almost dead. Even though the army can transport provisions, so food has not become a problem yet, if this continues over a long period of time, the capital city will eventually become a dead city…”

“It will last three months at most.” The king quietly interrupted his chancellor’s speech, “We do not need to panic yet.”

“…” The chancellor closed his mouth.

I used farsight to look at the situation below clearly. The king of Kissinger looked a bit older than Archer, maybe close to fifty years. If so, the prince, who was the only son, should be around thirty years old… No one in the hall seemed to match that age; the least likely was the elderly chancellor. The only possible candidate was dressed in light armor and from his appearance, should be a knight, not the prince.

“Your Majesty!” That knight went down on one knee and requested in a loud voice, “Please allow me to meet with the Demon King in place of Prince Tayder!”

Thinking of using a body double to deceive me?

The king sighed and said, “If the Demon King found out the truth, he would be enraged and a catastrophe would befall the Kingdom of Kissinger. We cannot risk it.”

“But…” The knight wanted to continue speaking, but was stopped by a firm wave of the king’s hand.

The king looked at another knight who appeared to have a rather high rank. He looked like he should be a knight-captain with some prestige or the like.

“Have you found the prince yet?”

The knight-captain showed a troubled expression and replied, “Since his adolescence, the prince has frequently disguised himself as an average citizen and gone out on adventures. He is extremely adept at disguising himself as an adventurer. In addition, as he always chooses his destination in accordance with his mission objectives, it has not been easy to surmise his whereabouts. Therefore, we have yet to locate him.”

A prince who is adept at disguising himself as an adventurer?

“Seriously?” The king was not convinced at all. His face darkened as he said, “You better not allow the Demon King to storm the capital city for the sake of shielding him!”

Once the knight-captain heard that, he immediately fell to his knees with a thud and his fist hammered heavily against his chest. He swore, “Your Majesty, I have not been hiding the whereabouts of the prince. I have been doing my utmost to look for His Highness. If Your Majesty does not believe me, I can swear an oath…”

“Alright, alright!” The king hurriedly stopped the knight-captain, “I was speaking irresponsibly. You have been doing your best.”

The prince is not in the royal palace? At this moment, I heard Scarlet’s voice in my head, “Awaitsun told me the same. Since the prince is the only son, he has been disguising himself as a commoner from a very young age. This was for his protection, in case the demon king suddenly decided to go to the royal palace for a ‘stroll,’ and ‘in passing’ killed the kingdom’s only prince.”

I replied crossly, “What are they so nervous for? It’s not like the demon king would definitely kill the prince!”

The black crystal doll tilted its head, making me very worried that her glass neck would break and said, “But demon kings often kill princes! Killing princes and seizing princesses are deeds that practically every demon king has done before.”

“Seizing princesses aside, why would they kill princes for no reason?” Could it be that those who become the demon king contract an illness whereby they have to kill princes?

“That’s because a prince is usually very prideful, or the demon king himself feels that he is very loathsome. Even if the prince only frowns by accident or does nothing at all, the demon king might still feel that the prince is looking down on him and would kill him.”

“I’m not that kind of person!”

Scarlet stared at me and slowly opened her mouth, “Alice is in the Demon King’s Castle, and you ordered Awaitsun to kill the prince and even give him a hundred slashes. So, as for seizing princesses and killing princes, you have already done both!”

…

From below came the king’s solemn command. “Everyone is to put aside all other work. Hurry up and locate the prince’s whereabouts!”

The chancellor followed his command and left, but the knights were not willing to leave. The knight-captain even pleaded, “Your Majesty, please at least allow me to stay by your side to protect you. That Demon King is skilled in magic. If he uses Instant Teleportation to infiltrate the palace—”

“If the Demon King wants to kill me, what can you do?” The king asked impassively. “Stand down.”

“… Understood.”

Having seen everyone leave, the king finally revealed an exhausted expression. Originally, he looked only close to fifty years old, but once he showed a tired and aged expression, it would not be too much to say that he was close to sixty.

“Your Majesty, do you really intend to hand over His Highness?”

After waiting for everyone else to leave, the queen finally could not restrain herself. “Your Majesty, Awaitsun’s circumstances are too challenging. The envoy said that he could not even speak, even though he is the Demon King’s own subordinate! If Tayder falls into the Demon King’s hands, th-then his end would be unimaginable!”

“Awaitsun will help him.” The king comforted his wife, “He and Tayder are as close as brothers. He will do his best to help Tayder.”

This was truly a pleasant surprise. Awaitsun and the prince are actually close friends.

After thinking for a while, this was not unexpected. The king of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound, Archer, had also been close friends with my teacher during his earlier years. Moreover, this Prince Tayder is the only son, and the only person who had a similar position and was around his age was the leader of the Cathedral of the Shadow God. Thus, it was not strange that their relationship was one similar to that of brothers.

“It is already difficult enough for Awaitsun to look after himself. He would not be able to spare any strength to assist Tayder.” The queen bowed her head, her expression full of unending grief. “That child Awaitsun is also truly pitiful…”

The king sighed and spoke, “Just as Awaitsun said at the beginning, ‘he’ is the best choice for the demon king. If you compare him with the written accounts of ‘demon kings’ in the history books, everything he has done up until now does indeed verify Awaitsun’s words. I just don’t know why he would suddenly want to kill Tayder. They should not have met each other before.”

“From what I can understand, the Demon King probably wants to make things difficult for that child Awaitsun.” The queen’s guess hit the nail on the head.

The king muttered to himself, “Even though Awaitsun is close friends with Tayder, he knew that he would have to become the demon king’s subordinate, and so he has never been too amiable with others. Although he and Tayder are friends, it has always been kept in secrecy. The Demon King should not know.”

“Sigh, speaking of which, I wonder how Princess Alice is doing. She was born with such beauty. I fear…” The queen halted, unwilling to continue.

I rolled my eyes—not that one could tell with my eyes being entirely black. What sort of lecher does everyone think I am? It’s as if I had to touch Alice!

Some of the king’s words bothered me. I hesitated for a moment, but I still turned my head to ask Scarlet, “Have the conduct and deeds of the previous demon kings all been more terrifying than mine?”

“They weren’t terrifying! Merely more willful than yours.” Scarlet pouted as she said, “The dark element inside them would make them act a bit more unruly! Paired with the great power a demon king has, one random burst of ill temper would accidentally break something or kill a couple of people.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The most willful fellow is actually you, the overindulging mother!

“Oddly enough, you really haven’t changed much! Until now you have not been using a lot of your strength.” After she said this, her eyes shone and she exclaimed, “If you can keep your powers in check, maybe you won’t use up the dark element before you die of old age. That way, no one would dare to crusade against you!”

After she finished speaking, she faltered. “But under the influence of the dark element, it seems very hard not to undergo any change. All of my previous children became more and more deranged as time passed, and you probably will too… but the God of Light should help, right? You are His Sun Knight, and He even took the time to wake you from your crazed state!”

I froze and blurted out, “Who did you say woke me up?”

“The God of Light!” Scarlet replied as if it was common sense. “Didn’t you hear His voice? When you were delirious, He said—”

Child, you can’t continue to sleep. There are still things you must do.

Stop your deep sleep. Wake up.

Wake up!

I watched the back of Awaitsun’s figure. He was currently sitting in front of a desk and reading some files. I curiously took a look. They were actually the financial accounts of the Demon King’s Castle. I had no idea that doing the demon king’s finances was part of Awaitsun’s job description. His lack of urgency implied he was not hard-pressed to pay for the expenses. I truly was a thrifty demon king!

Evidently he was not as alert as when he was in the Demon King’s Castle. It was several seconds before he realized I was there, and then he turned around and knelt down.

At your service, Your Majesty.

“You did not attack,” I said quietly.

Awaitsun’s heart skipped a beat. Your Majesty! Please listen to my explanation! The prince had already left the royal palace much earlier. Even if I had attacked—

I interrupted impatiently, “Stop talking nonsense! Return to the Demon King’s Castle immediately and report to Adair. Follow all of his commands. I don’t need you to look for the prince anymore.”

Awaitsun was stunned. Your Majesty, I was just about to force the prince out of hiding. You only have to wait a little while longer. The royal household will definitely hand over Prince Tayder! To give up right now would mean wasting all that has been achieved so far!

“There is no need to wait.” I said expressionlessly, “I know where Prince Tayder is, so there is no need to search any further. Heh! Awaitsun, your heart is beating faster. Are you worried about the prince?”

No…

Awaitsun instantly responded. However, after a pause, he calmly admitted. Yes, Prince Tayder is the only prince of my country.

I only looked at him.

… And one of my few friends.

I laughed and praised him, “You’ve become smarter, Awaitsun. As a reward, I will bring you along with me!”

To?

Awaitsun had a blank expression, but I was also too lazy to explain. First, I blasted the minds of all the dark knights. Everyone is to immediately return to the Demon King’s Castle!

Then, I dragged Awaitsun up and used Instant Teleportation.

If there was a poll on “The Top Ten Benefits of Being the Demon King,” “Unrestricted Instant Teleportation” would definitely be on the list! I could go wherever I wanted to go, and I didn’t have to worry about travel time ever again. In just one day, I could travel all over the world! It’s so convenient!

These are the dungeons?

Awaitsun was only calm for this brief moment before becoming so agitated that he could not control himself. He gripped the prison bars tightly as he stared straight at the people in the cell.

As expected, my guess was right.

At present, in the ultra-luxurious dungeons that were guaranteed to imprison them until their deaths, there were only two tenants—Vidar and Taylen.

I believed that Awaitsun would not know or care about a vice-captain from Church of the God of Light. The person he was focusing on was the other one.

I stepped closer and placed my hand against the bars. I spoke lightly to the people inside, “It must be very boring inside the dungeons, right? I brought a friend over for you, Taylen… No! I should be calling you Tayder, shouldn’t I?”

Taylen stood up and walked closer to the bars. Vidar, who was in the neighboring cell, appeared disinterested and even turned his head to face the wall, not willing to look at us. However, his heart rate did speed up a little. Heh.

“You told him?” Tayder’s voice pulled my attention back from Vidar. He was looking at Awaitsun, his expression rather dejected. I wondered what he misunderstood.

Awaitsun opened his mouth, but could not speak a word. He could only frantically shake his head.

“Eagle, what happened to you?” Tayder jumped in shock and anxiously asked, “You can’t speak? H-Have you become mute?”

I lazily said, “I have sealed his voice. It’s a pity he can’t chit chat to keep you company. And one more thing, he’s called Awaitsun now, not Silent Eagle.”

“Grisia!” Tayder glared at me furiously and roared, “How could you do this? What has he done to you? How could you take his voice away?”

“The moment we met for the first time, he killed the Leaf Knight Elmairy,” I said coldly.

Tayder seemed to have already been aware of this. He sucked in his breath, unable to say anything.

Awaitsun also looked at me with a strange expression.

Tayder stammered, “B-But you shouldn’t be taking revenge for an incident from so long ago, right?”

“Why not?” I said calmly, “For a gentleman to take revenge, ten years is not too late. However, I am a scoundrel. I can only restrain myself for one and a half years. The name Awaitsun, is it not telling him to wait for my vengeance?”

But haven’t you already taken revenge for it?

I turned my head to look at Awaitsun and gave a mirthless smile. “You killed one of the Twelve Holy Knights. Did you think I would let you off with just a beating? It’s not that simple!”

You really are… a person who won’t let someone get away with even a hostile look! Awaitsun smiled painfully. But Tayder has not offended you, has he? Please do not take your anger out on him—

I interrupted him with a furious shout, “Who says he has not offended me? The Kingdoms of Forgotten Sound, Kissinger, and Moon Orchid have all committed offenses! They actually dared to take the opportunity to blackmail the Church of the God of Light while I was in a deep sleep. They should have known that there would come a day when they would have to pay the price! Now, I want them to settle those debts one by one! This country’s debt will be paid by the prince. This is very fair!”

But haven’t you already given up on the Church of the God of Light? Now you even want to go to war with them. Why should you take revenge for them?

I glared at him fiercely and roared, “I did abandon the Church of the God of Light, but I also won’t tolerate anyone who bullies them!”

Awaitsun was stunned. This sentence was so contradictory, that even Scarlet laughed out loud. Even though Tayder could not hear Awaitsun’s words, he could hear mine, and could probably guess some of what he had said. When he saw Awaitsun smile, he actually followed suit and the corners of his mouth lifted up. Does he not comprehend his predicament?

I’ll overlook Scarlet, but Awaitsun is my subordinate, and Tayder is a prisoner. These two actually dare to laugh at me?

Boom—

After I released all of my dark element, I felt an emptiness within my body. But in the next moment, a large amount of dark element surged in. From nothing to jammed full, this process would always make me feel elated. However, I never imagined that I would be able to experience such a feeling again.

After becoming the demon king, I had constantly been in the state of being saturated with the dark element. I had never had a chance to experience the carefree feeling of replenishing my strength. It turns out that there was still this method to experience such a feeling.

This would make one want to keep using up their power…

After I absorbed my fill of dark element, I looked at my surroundings. This dungeon truly deserved to be called a masterpiece of the Cathedral of the Shadow God. I had thought that with an explosion of my strength like just now, this place would be in ruins. However, it could only be considered at most half-ruined. Several stone blocks had fallen from the walls, but because the walls were thick enough, the blast had not penetrated through. The metal bars were bent in many places but not broken. Simply too amazing!

I looked down at everyone. They all appeared to be quite battered. Even Vidar, who was slightly further away from the explosion, had crashed into the wall and ended up collapsing to his knees. With great difficulty, he resisted showing a pained expression.

Scarlet had broken a leg. Even though she looked like she was made of glass, she was certainly not some easily broken item. Instead, her body was a crystal formed from compressed dark element. Even if one used a blade to cut her, she would not suffer a single scratch. However, as she had been in front of my chest at the time, she was the one who suffered the most direct damage. It was only because of that that she had her leg broken.

Besides Scarlet, Awaitsun had received the most injuries. His entire body had slammed into the bars and, after making a huge dent in them, had crumpled to the ground. There was blood all over his mouth and his breathing was sluggish. Tayder was so terrified that he pressed against the bars and frantically tried to gently pat his back.

Even though Tayder had also hurt his leg in the impact just now, Awaitsun had shielded him, so his injuries were not very serious.

Haha… That’s right! I am the demon king. Who cares how the people of the world view me?! If anyone dares to underestimate me, they’re better off dead!

“Awaitsun, you better listen to me! If you dare to lose in combat to that fellow Lesus, I’ll take it out on Tayder. Lose a small fight and I’ll cut off one of Tayder’s fingers. Lose a big battle and I’ll chop off one of his limbs!”

Hearing Awaitsun’s heart beat so fast as if he were having a heart attack made me feel especially joyful. I added on the final blow, “However, don’t worry. I guarantee that even if all four of his limbs have been chopped off, he himself will still be alive and healthy!”

The moment the last blow landed, not only did Awaitsun’s heart rate speed up, even Tayder’s face turned white.

There is no necessity for absolute victory in a war!

I will do my best to attain victory, and I definitely will not allow the army of the Church of the God of Light to get closer to the Demon King’s Castle. But if I can’t even lose one small campaign, how am I supposed to win the war?!

Awaitsun actually still dares to attempt to protest.

“Who cares about you?!” I spoke coldly, “I am the Demon King. Are you trying to discuss logic with the demon king?”

“Pfft!” Scarlet flew back into my pocket and said, “Not bad, not bad, you’re becoming more like the demon king, Child! However, don’t abuse your power like the previous demon kings. Remember to slowly use it… Ouch!”

I used my finger to press Scarlet’s head into my pocket.

“You better not be thinking of foolish ideas like suicide.” I shot Tayder a glance. He jumped in fright, his eyes shifting constantly but never daring to look at me. Hmph! The thoughts and weaknesses of these people are really too easy to guess!

“Don’t forget, I still have Charlotte in my hands. Do you want to guess how long a girl can last in the hands of the demon king?”

Just as expected, Tayder’s face immediately paled.

“Just in case, I should still dispatch some men to capture Michel as well.” I muttered. “It doesn’t seem like you have any particular feelings toward Charlotte, but you are on pretty good terms with Michel. You probably would not want to watch me carve off his flesh slice by slice, right?”

Tayder stuttered, “Grisia, y-you wouldn’t do that kind of thing, right? I don’t believe you are that sort of person!”

He’s truly an idiot! I gave a cold laugh and asked, “Are you trying to provoke me into cutting off one of your fingers as proof?”

Awaitsun paid no heed to his wounded condition and turned around to cover Tayder’s mouth. After doing so, he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood. Although Tayder looked like he still had more to say, he dared not forcefully throw Awaitsun’s hand off.

Awaitsun turned his head back and looked at me with a resolute expression.

Regardless of whether it is a big or small campaign… I will win them all!

“Very good.”