59. Elven Ruins – Slay the Demon King

* * *

The day after giving the Elven Queen a lesson in practical education, I spread my wings and left the Elven Kingdom. I had a promise to keep-first, I would deal with the Demon King.

From what I gather, the Empire would be difficult for the elves to confront alone. The Demon King’s power must be immense. Though I don’t fully understand this world, according to the elves, that’s the case.

If the Demon King falls, the Empire’s forces will likely waver.

Since the Four Heavenly Kings were pathetic, the Demon King is probably no match for me either.

Should I go straight for the Demon King or take care of his minions first?

“There they are, plain as day.”

After flying for a while, I saw a black wave crashing against an Elven fortress.

The elves were casting spells, but it was like throwing eggs against rocks.

Guerrilla tactics won’t work here.

“I need to sweep them away with brute force.”

I pointed my sword at the black tide below and concentrated my magic at the tip.

The purple energy at the blade’s end gradually turned into a small white sphere.

“But I need a name for this technique. Something grand.”

“Doom’s White Flame Bullet.”

I dropped the heavily named attack in the middle of the black sea.

Kuuaaaaaaaa!

In an instant, a mushroom cloud erupted.

It wasn’t like an atomic bomb’s cloud. The one I created was a pillar of white flames.

It completely melted the earth.

“How easy.”

Muttering to myself, I glanced at the fortress.

I wondered how the elves would react.

“The heavens! The heavens are protecting us!”

An elderly elf, likely a commander, was shouting nonsense.

Of course, I wouldn’t have cared if it weren’t for the queen.

Or perhaps female elf soldiers might catch my eye.

But I only go for S-class. The generic, mass-produced elf soldiers are uninteresting.

“Anyway, I’ll drop a few more.”

The elves’ task was to use golems to counter the Empire’s betrayal.

Though it seemed trivial, the elves suffered greatly this time.

Their fortresses were destroyed, and most elves were killed.

Unfortunately, elves are both civilians and soldiers, leading to massive casualties.

Those who survived might be corrupted into Dark Elves by the Demon King.

“Doom’s White Flame Bullet.”

Tsuuaaaang!

“White Flame Bullet.”

Tsuuaaaang!

“W.F.B.”

I unleashed it repeatedly. I adjusted the power to minimize harm to the elves. If I went all out, I could obliterate everything, Empire and all. But the Demon King still hasn’t shown up.

As I leisurely enjoyed the breeze, a skeletal figure appeared before me.

“How dare you destroy my army! Who are you?”

A floating, ragged skeleton. A worthless guy I once saw in a library.

He was killed once and mocked Rachel.

He must have known Rachel was a Record. That’s why he couldn’t leave the library.

“Ho. You’re the stubborn lich, I suppose.”

“Khah! I am immortal! Now that I’m here, you can’t win! I’ll kill you and present you to the Demon King as an undead!”

He’s still delusional from our last encounter. Or perhaps time works differently for him.

Anyway, let’s end this quickly. A skeleton, not even a woman, isn’t worth my interest.

“You think you can use such a big spell multiple times?”

“How dare you question my brain? How can you be sure I’ve exhausted my magic?”

Is that all?

“What?”

“Oh, sorry. I assumed you had no brain in that skull.”

It was a mistake to expect a brain in that skeleton.

“I was a renowned scholar in life!”

“Now you’re just a skeleton.”

What’s inside that skull? Nothing.

“Craaah! Die!”

“Go ahead and die.”

Whoosh!

He’s burning again.

“Didn’t I say I was a scholar? I’ll take your body and serve the Demon King!”

He wants to serve the Demon King after dying again? Ambitious.

Suddenly, his body evaporated, turning into a strange blue slime-like substance.

“Oh, is that his soul or something? Is that a lich’s ability?”

He should have done that without announcing it.

Not that it matters; he can’t defeat me.

I caught the strange blue smoke in mid-air.

What to do with it?

“Hm.”

I saw a dead elf on the ground, quite handsome.

An idea struck me.

I inserted the blue soul into the elf’s corpse.

“Khah! Finally, a young, fresh body!”

But soon, the elf’s eyes opened, staring at me in shock.

“You madman! How could you turn an elf into a Dark Elf?”

He’s different from Reina’s Dark Elf form. His skin is copper, similar to Geum Taeyang’s.

Just moments ago, he was a regular elf corpse. Can souls even revive?

“I. I was placed in an elf’s corpse! How?!”

I simply inserted his soul.

“I told you. You have nothing in that skull.”

It’s understandable.

“I. I’ll kill you!”

What will I do with him? I need to teach him his place.

“What should I do with you? You’ll make a good slave for Reina.”

“You wench! You killed the Demon King’s people!”

Oh, it’s the Knight of the Abyss. Another character from the library appears.

“Ah, you’re the one who died once already. Begone.”

Quarurururu

He burned to death instantly, just like in the library.

“Hii!”

The copper elf’s body trembled.

And urine flowed from his legs.

“Hey, you didn’t even get to piss as a skeleton. How pathetic.”

“The Demon King will come!”

He still doesn’t grasp the situation.

Like Kim Seungjun, loyal to the Black Cult.

But he was at least sane before his obsession.

“Can he use something like that?”

I pointed at the still-rising white flames.

“……”

His silence says it all. He knows the reality-that the Demon King can’t defeat me.

Still, he can’t accept it easily.

Naturally. His beliefs are crumbling.

“No. If that were true, the elves would have perished long ago. Maybe the Empire would have been defeated too. Right?”

Why ally with the Empire if he had such power?

My mockery made the copper elf clench his teeth.

Then, a blond boy appeared before me.

“You. Did you kill my precious subjects?”

“Who are you?”

I can tell who he is, but it’s disappointing.

I expected a loli Demon King, but he’s just a pretty boy in a cloak, radiating middle-school syndrome.

Why does he have the same hair color as me?

Suddenly, my blood pressure rises. My head throbs, and my hands tremble.

His face is unremarkable, but he must be quite old.

“I am the Demon King, the absolute ruler of the Lotus Continent! How dare you kill my people on my land! You must pay with your life!”

Fighting is fine, but before that, I had a burning question.

“Before we fight, tell me-why are you killing the elves?”

I need to know why Rachel’s ancestors were exterminated by the Demon King.

“For the previous Demon King’s revenge and the natural order!”

“Natural order?”

“This world is mine! Why did you massacre my people?”

He dares call that an answer.

“Oh, I’m tired of such clichés. Fine, I’ll answer.”

I pitied this blond boy.

Why did the author include such a setting? Did they want to shock me? Now that the novel is real, the Demon King is real too.

Demon Kings are usually villains.

So, killing him is justified. After all, he’s the one who destroyed the Elven Kingdom.

Perhaps the queen was just a pretext for the massacre.

Anyway, I am the reincarnation of Azhidahaka. My nature remains unchanged.

Suddenly, I found myself grinning from ear to ear.

“Just for fun.”

“When?!”

Before the Demon King could react, I approached him and twisted his neck like a chicken’s.

Kwak!

The Demon King’s head fell to the ground.

The sight was anticlimactic, leaving Lich frozen in shock.

It’s been a while since I felt this thrill-taking lives for sheer enjoyment. It’s so exhilarating I could make this chocolate elf kneel and serve me.

“Ahhh, I love this~♥”

The warm blood from the Demon King’s severed head splashed onto my face, trickling down to the floor.

“M. Monster. The Demon King… Khrip!?”

“Kneel, you wench.”

The Demon King is dead, and this lich-elf will serve Reina as a slave before his own service.