473 The War Begins
“You’ve gotten quite cocky haven’t you?”
The voice echoing in the air made Abellion shiver.
The Demon King’s body trembled slightly as he wondered what exactly was happening.
>SWOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH<
Inescapable darkness began leaking from the corpse of the man he had just killed.
“U-uh?” Abellion was confounded, but before he could stand, he was completely enveloped in it.
Like a thick cloud of smoke, it completely shrouded the King seated on his throne.
And then—
“There you are, Abellion.”
“Feeling alright?”
“Don’t you think you went too far?”
“Come on, why were you so harsh?”
“Were you that pained?”
“Did it hurt?”
“Don’t cry.”
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Multiple voices swirled around him in the endless darkness he found himself in.
Abellion tried moving, but he felt like he was tied to his chair. No—rather, he felt like he was being held down… by hands!
“Where am I? Who are you? Show yourself!” Abellion demanded in a fierce growl.
His eyes saw nothing, but he could feel several individuals surrounding him.
They seemed to be a multitude beyond number.
They laughed.
They sneered.
They jeered.
They snickered.
These individuals were one and the same—yet different at the same time.
They were also the ones who held him down. All of them had their gazes on him, causing the Demon King to feel more overwhelmed than he had ever felt in his life.
“Who am I? Ah, that’s quite funny…” A voice emerged in the darkness.
It was a single person, yet it felt like the multitude was closing in on him.
Abellion felt like shutting his eyes and burying himself far from the unpleasant feeling he was experiencing, but there was no escape.
He tried using Magic, but he had no access to it.
Abellion’s Miasma seemed meaningless in this world he was trapped in. It was like such a concept did not exist.
Finally, the figure stopped right in front of him with a wide smile.
Even though Abellion could not see anything, he was beginning to recognize the voice. It was a bit different—having an air of dominance and malevolence—but it belonged to none other than one individual.
“L-Legris… is that you? Let me out. Let me out right no—”
Instantly, a hand wrapped itself around the Demon King’s neck.
It felt cold—beyond chilly!
The hand tightened its grip, causing Abellion’s face to warp in agony and a new emotion he had never shown since birth.
—FEAR!
“Guk! W-what… urgk… are you doing…?”
The Demon Lord began suffocating. His bloodshot eyes brought forth fluids and his body spasmed violently.
Even as he tried to stop what was going on, he was completely subdued by the numerous grips that held him down.
“What’s the matter, Abellion?”
“What happened to your arrogance?”
“Come on…”
“Keep going.”
“Say something.”
“Do something.”
“Anything.”
“Why don’t you try your best.”
“You’re a Demon King, right?”
“You’re the mighty Abellion, right?”
“Come on.”
“Entertain me.”
“Keep going!”
Numerous voices overlapped as they sang the same tune in Abellion’s ears.
At this point, the Demon King realized how overwhelming and powerless he truly was. His body no longer had any strength to resist, and he could feel his consciousness fade.
‘Maybe… this isn’t so bad…’ Was what he would have thought of if he wasn’t experiencing such great fear and pain.
The feeling of helplessness that was alone to him was being wrought by a human—someone he often looked down on.
It simply showed just how narrow his view had been.
“I could kill you right here and now…”
“… But that’ll be too boring.”
“Resist with all your might.”
“Fight with all you can.”
“Do everything in your power.”
“Give me a good show.”
More chatters arose around the Demon King and he could feel the black mist around him clear up.
“Don’t disappoint me, Abellion…”
Then, just as he was suddenly thrust into the strange world, he was ejected out of it.
“A-ah…?!” The Demon King was trembling and sweating profusely the moment he realized what was going on.
His eyes instinctively went to the floor where the corpse had been.
Legris Damien’s body had vanished, and only the demonic blades remained.
‘Fuck…’ Abellion rubbed his face with his trembling hand.
Fluids were still remnant in his eyes, and his body still hadn’t forgotten the cruelty he had just experienced, but…
“I-I… THAT B-BASTARD…!!!”
… Everything only seemed to fuel Abellion’s rage further.
“He… He dares?!”
Abellion realized that he had been careless by underestimating the human, but that didn’t mean he admitted to his defeat.
If he was more prepared, then Legris wouldn’t have tricked him like that.
“That bastard ran off, uh? How dare he?” Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Abellion was fueled by unexplainable rage.
Slowly, his heart forgot about the pain of loss that Lydia’s death brought. Instead, the Demon King’s ego sought recompense.
“Those humans… I’ll burn them to the ground.” He rose while speaking.
The Miasma that gathered around him was enough to make the entire room vibrate.
“I am Abellion… Demon King of this domain! No one is stronger than I am! No one!”
**********************
“That idiot. Pfft.” Legris smiled, playfully flipping a card in his palm.
It was an Arcana—[The Lovers].
Thanks to this Arcana, the Demons were able to produce many powerful Demon Beasts.
Usually, by exposing Magical Beasts to the proper conditioning—involving Miasma, of course—they would become Demon Beasts.
However, the success rate was low, and the resources needed were immense. Besides, the strength of the Demon Beast was proportional to the Magical Beast in question.
However, thanks to the Arcana the Demons borrowed, that problem was solved.
“Well, I better take this back to them.” Legris smiled, looking at the Arcana with a slight smile.
Most people would stare at such an item with unimaginable greed and would do anything to covet it, but not Legris.
“All these petty fights for toys like this…” He snickered, looking behind him to see the Demon Army ready to launch their assault.
“With what I’ve shown Abellion, he should be feeling more determined to fight. What a fool…” Legris snickered as he began floating away.
Ultimately, the Demons would end up being wiped out. Even the Organization knew that much. After all, that was their goal from the start.
To be honest, Legris didn’t care about incidents like this. His goals were far more complex and grander.
Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t planning on enjoying the little things of life.
And so, as he stared at the inferior beings going about their daily tasks, a condescending smile formed on his face.
“Just make things entertaining for me.”
[A/N]
Legris is more frightening than you all think he is.
Hahaha, I’m glad you got to see something interesting about him.