Episode 174
The king does not look back.
Heisel never once doubted himself.
Since I was born, I knew what I had to do.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I killed the monster.
He unified the Demon Realm by killing all the resisting monsters.
After that, he realized that there was no future in the demon realm and headed to the human realm.
There was no hesitation in deciding everything.
At first I was optimistic.
The human world was not prepared for the unprecedented situation where the king of the demons invaded.
They could not resist, and they smoothly expanded their territory.
When did it start to feel strange?
If you think about it, yes.
“•••Are you running out of strength?”
“Think of it.”
The day I started being pushed by the hero.
Returning to the castle, he looked back on his actions as ‘the first time’.
‘How many years does the war last?’
According to their actions so far, they have already conquered the human world. However, the luck that helped him faded away, and the victory of war began to gradually pass to the human side.
At some point, humans began to develop faster than ever before.
‘Why doesn’t he grow up unlike in the Demon Realm?’
In the demon world, he grew up day by day. Yesterday and today are different, today and tomorrow are different.
That was the reason why he was not pushed against the monsters that had lived for a long time. But now, the experience of that time has not grown as if it were a lie.
‘Aren’t you satisfied here?’
Is continuing the war really for the sake of the demons?
Contrary to the cause of the demons, he could no longer know whether he was truly interested in them. I couldn’t stop because I had already come too far to finish here.
‘Is my decision right?’
Unlike in the Demon Realm, he did not doubt himself even in a situation that did not work out well.
However, as defeat intensified in the battle with the hero, he had no choice but to stop.
It was clear that we would lose at this rate.
But Heisel didn’t know what to do.
Up to now, all actions have been made by myself.’ Where do you think it should be changed?
“Demon Lord, I will report you on the current situation.”
There were no demons beside him to ask.
A woman who sat in the staff position because she gave her opinion alone in the midst of everyone’s silence.
He paid all attention to dealing with the hero, so most of the battles were managed by her.
Heisel brought up a story other than a report to her after a long time.
“Lilith, is my action right?”
“Successfully trapping enemies… yes?”
She asked back as if she had heard something she couldn’t hear.
Lilith broke out in a cold sweat. Why is he asking himself that? She pretended not to hear, hoping he got it wrong… .
He was serious.
“Do you really think what I’m doing these days is right?”
Heisel opened her mouth as if she was really curious.
She closed her eyes and cried.
“•••Yes! Of course. The Demon Lord’s decisions have never been wrong from the underworld. Don’t worry, everything will be resolved with time.”
“No matter what order the Demon King gives, we will follow from behind.”
He nodded at her words.
I couldn’t ask any more questions after Lilith had said that.
“How long is it now?” “.••Shut up.”
As she said, the situation did not improve easily.
The skill of the hero increased day by day, and Heisel barely achieved a whistle by using even the weapon he had hidden.
The difference is now getting smaller and smaller, requiring a few days off after each battle.
In the end, after a few more battles, he called Lilith again.
“Lilith. I’ll ask you again. Make sure you say it properly this time.”
Realizing that the question would come again, she bowed her head.
“•••Yes.”
“Is what I’m doing right? Is there anything I need to correct or do wrong?”
She chose the horse.
Looking at Heisel’s expression, it seemed that he couldn’t get over it as easily as the last time. He might be angry if he said the same thing.
But should I point out his actions, the master of the demon realm and the center of all demons?
She wanted to live long.
‘If you can’t avoid this answer anyway/
After a few deliberation, she bit her lip and answered cautiously.
“••• First of all, you should see how demons live.”
“How the demons live…?”
When he asked with a puzzled look, Lilith spoke of something he didn’t care about, no one thought he would tell him.
“The current demons…”
A small whisper reached his ear.
“I’m living a life worse than in the demon world.”
When they first arrived in the human world, the demons were full of dreams.
Unlike the Demon Realm, where terrible heat and chills raged, poison-filled swamps and skin-melting rainwater flowed, the human realm was prosperous.
So they thought they could have a better life.
There were no complaints when the Demon King said that he was going to the human world by raking up the remaining resources, but looking at the human world that had arrived, he had no choice but to support his decision.
However, the continent already had a master.
Empire.
A huge empire made up of humans and other races was taking root first. That wasn’t the problem.
Their life was a series of struggles.
From the moment I first opened my eyes, I struggled to survive.
Afterwards, I had to kill the demons and demons that were aiming for the back of the head first.
Since the appearance of Hygel, he has been fighting with various forces in the Demon Realm.
It was natural to fight with humans to gain an abundance of land.
“Their response was too fast.”
The powerful body, innate abilities, and the demons who had gone through numerous battles were not enough for the Empire to stop them.
Until they retreated, it was thought that the human world could be conquered with ease… .
“They were cunning.”
While developing tactics and weapons against the demons, the Empire constantly looked for ways to weaken them.
It was an opportunity because the Demon King also did not move except when dealing with the hero.
So the method they chose was simple.
“When the Empire found out that our demons could not produce food on their own, they sought food.”
He did not back down, no matter what sacrifice he made for it.
Nearby forests were all burned, and hundreds of people were baited to destroy a food warehouse. They bombarded mountains with large-scale magic, and constantly cursed the ground.
When the demons realized, the surrounding environment had already become irreversibly barren.
“The result is this.”
Heisel roamed the city in hiding with her.
The sick lay casually on the floor, and this street was full of hungry people. Food prices skyrocketed, and the gap between soldiers and non-soldiers became more pronounced.
It was also because the Demon King did not stop the war.
Unlike the Demon Realm, where everyone suffered due to disorderly chaos, only those who are not currently in the military suffered.
It was mostly weak races like succubus.
“Recently, I’ve been trying to catch humans and try farming…, but the intelligence of the land has already been damaged and it takes a long time, so I can’t guarantee success.”
Heisel was silent.
It was because of this that she tried to turn as much as she could.
But now it was even more difficult to hide.
It was because it was daunting just to maintain the troops that could participate.
Living things cannot escape from physiological phenomena unless they have transcendental strength like a demon king.
Now, the demons are to the point where more people die from starvation than from battle.
“•••When I came here, I might be able to hold on for a few more months because I was robbed of resources.”
It is difficult to continue the war any longer.
She spoke quietly the whole time.
The place where the demon king’s footsteps stopped after looking around the city was a place where a sick demon leaned against the wall.
He didn’t stop because he wanted to stop.
“•••Please, give me some food.”
She hung at Hazel’s feet.
Seeing this, Lilith’s complexion turned white. Now they were in a state of change through the magic sphere.
Because of that, the demons did not recognize Hygel.
Lilith hurried forward.
“What are you doing in a rude way! Food is distributed on time, so make sure to get it then!”
“•••Me, I want to do that too, but the people who receive them take it away.”
“That’s something he doesn’t need to worry about…”
“Were you a soldier?”
Heisel opened her mouth and she shut her mouth. But he wasn’t sure what to do.
“•••Yes, I once served as the vanguard of the proud Demon King’s army.”
The demons were soldiers and their bodies were full of battle scars.
But now he was wandering around as a street bum.
“Do you regret having done that?”
She might have been called a beauty in the past, but her slender cheeks and numerous scars have lost her shine.
“••• I have no regrets. Even though it happened… It was a glorious moment to be with the Demon Lord.”
She didn’t know why he was asking that, but she replied obediently. Maybe it’s something that might give you food in return.
Heizel looked at her silently and squatted down in front of her.
‘••• What should I say at a time like this?’
He looked at her and pondered what to say. At a moment like this, she had no idea what to say.
However, he instantly remembered the figure of a hero.
I didn’t like her a little frivolous and smirking, but…
“Your face is pretty.”
“……Yes?”
It wasn’t as useless as it is now.
“You have a pretty face.”
“••• Go, thank you?”
Seeing her bewildered, she glanced at Lilith—she took out a small amount of food and handed it to her as if she knew what he meant.
“It is a reward for answering well. It may be taken away again, so eat it quickly.”
She swallowed the food with a happy face.
Heizel turned around to see the figure.
Lilith followed him a few steps back. Since then, he has quietly walked to the castle and opened his mouth.
“What can I do?”
“I asked what I could do.”
He looked back at Lilith, who looked embarrassed, and answered.
“What should I do for the demons?”
Lilith had no expectations that the Demon Lord would change.
He has never looked back since unifying the Demon Realm.
Would it make a difference if he announced this?
but,
It was not her wish that he would solve the immediate situation either. I just want to give a moment of rest to those who are weary.
I couldn’t wish for more.
But since I looked around the city once.
“What was the outcome of the battle?”
He was changing.
Even when reporting a battle due to an imperial surprise.
“•••Six thousand died, but I succeeded in killing five thousand beasts for their revenge.”
“How many were injured?”
“Yes? The wounded, for a while… yes. A little over a thousand.”
“Make sure to cure them and help them get back to the front lines.”
In the end, even when the remaining food ran out and we were in a desperate situation.
“•••No, what are these?”
“I stopped by the sea at the southern end for a while. There were a lot of huge creatures there. Use it for food.”
“All this amount….”
“I’ll bring it tomorrow, so tell me if it’s not enough. Arbitrate well so that there is no conflict over food.”
“•••Others will be delighted.’,
Even when dealing with conflicts in the city and accidents caused by soldiers.
“It is now known that a large number of soldiers have committed food corruption and accidents in the city. All of them are elite.
Hard to punish… .”
“To punish them all according to their crimes.”
“•••But they all have strong powers, so if you punish them, it will cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers.”
“In this place, no one except me.”
“I can’t do what I want.”
There were times when I was a little clumsy and handled things arbitrarily.
He obviously started to be different from when he was in the Demon Realm.
“•••Why are you smiling?”
Lilith quickly licked her lips to his puzzled face. Suddenly, the tip of his lips went up.
“It’s nothing.”
Maybe even yourself.
She covered her mouth and smiled brightly.
If they had been given ten more years, they might have settled safely in the human world.
No longer expanding territory, defending conquered places.
He recovers his intellect with the power of demons, and changes his lifestyle so he can adapt to this land.
If you went out that slow… They will have been successfully established.
However… Time was not on their side.
“Demon Lord! The hero is slaughtering demons!”
The hero finally began to change his actions.