Why I Quit Being the Demon King

Why I Quit Being the Demon King Chapter 11

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3. Meeting the Hero (2)

The leader of the group of knights glared at the two atop the carriage with an icy gaze. “It seems you still haven’t grasped the situation. Blame your curiosity, for it has led you to death.”

“Who’s dying?” Deus chuckled.

“You are, you country bumpkins.”

“Butler.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“How many should we kill?”

“Actually, it would be cleanest to kill them all.”

“Is that so?”

“But killing the Holiper family is a completely different story. Because they’re the Hero’s family.”

“Is that how it is?”

“The options are either to kill half of them to negotiate or to run away.”

While listening to the conversation between Deus and Alex, the knights’ faces flashed red and blue with anger. The leader repeated the grip and release of his sword, wondering why he hadn’t ordered the attack yet. “It is my preference to kill them all… but let’s compromise with half.”

Finally, the foremost knight exploded in anger. “Die!” He swung his sword at Alex’s head. Just then, Alex gave the knight a sharp look, and the knight’s body froze. No, turned to stone. Merely being looked at had petrified him. Dust flew from the knight’s face, now turned to a deep shade of gray.

“Have you given up on running away?”

“Ahh!” The knights screamed and charged towards the carriage. The magician’s spells cleaved through the sky and shook the earth. The Holipers were the world’s greatest Hero family. Knights and magicians loyal to them wouldn’t be weak. The magicians’ class was also divided, much like the Heroes. Those surrounding were all A-grade.

Of course, this didn’t necessarily mean they could seriously injure Alex. Alex danced forward with graceful steps, approaching one of the two magicians. Stretching out his arm, he wrapped it around the magician’s neck, snapping it back with a crack. “Ah, it’s really the sound that makes me love humans.”

“Looks like the seven freaks from the Netherworld are starting again,” Deus remarked without much interest. But he couldn’t just stand by. The knights were now eyeing Deus, ready to pounce on him. “I’m moderate. If you want a fight, go see Alex.”

“Don’t spout nonsense, save that for your mother,” one of the knights shouted, thrusting his sword straight.

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Deus snorted and disappeared from the spot. More precisely, he folded a dimension and stepped over it—he hadn’t vanished. In a single step, he had moved out of the knights’ encirclement and stood beside the dragon covered by a tent. Hands behind his back, he craned his neck. “What secrets are you keeping that you’ve wrapped it up so tightly and stolen it?”

The knights escorting the carriage were startled and turned to Deus. Barius von Holiper frowned. “How did you escape the encirclement?”

“Encirclement? Oh, that was an encirclement? It was so slow I got bored waiting and decided to come over here.”

Deus kicked away the cloth covering the dragon beneath it. It was a small dragon, around five meters in length, wings already plucked, claws and scales mostly disassembled. It didn’t seem alive, just a massive hunk of red meat with unfocused eyes staring into the sky.

The knights frantically covered the dragon’s corpse again. Barius looked at Deus with serious eyes. “You truly wish to stain my hands with blood, huh?”

Deus laughed mockingly and turned away. “That blood won’t be mine, will it?” Barius drew his sword, wielding the secret sword technique of the Holiper family, and slashed at Deus’s back. One stroke could even cut a dragon’s neck! It wasn’t an exaggeration, after all, it was Barius’s sword that had killed this red dragon. The human was supposed to be easily overwhelmed.

A strike that could pierce Deus shot out like a storm, tearing a long furrow in the earth and splitting everything on its path, whether rock or tree, in two.

Barius fumed, his eyes wet with revenge. “Don’t hold a grudge. It’s your own curiosity that killed you.” Then, a voice echoed in his ears like an illusion. “Why hold a grudge? Looks like I’m not the one you’ll be dealing with.” Barius whirled around in shock. Deus’s figure was spotted in the distance, on a country cart.

“How is this possible? I definitely cut you…”

“You said it yourself. It was too slow, I got bored. Alex!”

“Yes, my lord.”

Alex approached the carriage. Wiping the blood still fresh on his hands, he bowed to Deus. Barius was taken aback yet again. Five knights and two magicians. The Holiper’s knights and magicians were all A-grade or above. None of them managed to scream before dying; the whole affair took just over 5 minutes.

Barius took a step forward. “Who are you? You’re not from Blood, are you?”

“No. If not Blood, are there no strong ones in this world?”

“Of course. The one who inherits more of the First Hero’s blood will become the ultimate Hero. That’s the rule of this world.”

“And yet, you aren’t exactly the ultimate Hero, are you?”

“I may not be able to achieve it, but my child will.”

“Then you should be meeting a girl from the Hero’s bloodline. Why bother me?”

At Deus’s blunt words, Barius ground his teeth. Then an older knight came close and whispered to him. Whatever he said, Barius’s expression turned stony. “Can it be… a dragon?”

Barius waited for Deus’s answer. But Deus just offered a thin smile without a word. “Whatever you are, it doesn’t matter. Having seen the secret, there’s no choice but to kill you.”

Looking back at Alex, Deus said, “Looks like it’s self-defense then, huh?”

“Hard to say. That’ll have to wait for a trial.”

“Fine then, go kill them all.”

“Do we have to kill all of them?”

“Spare some if you like, just don’t let them cling and annoy me.”

“Hmm…” Alex crossed his arms, glancing over at the other side. The knights there involuntarily shivered under his gaze. He had quickly slain seven comrades after all. Though they were not frightened, his tranquil eyes had an eerie aura.

“Ah, the Hero’s family is a bit troublesome.”

As Alex rotated his neck with his palm against it, Deus commanded, “Go, butler.”

“Yes, my lord!”

In a blink, Alex was gone. The seven dukes of the Netherworld. Even the devils did not fully understand the true extent of their power. Facing mere humans, there was no need to exert their full strength, but with opponents hailing from the Hero’s bloodline, carelessness was not an option. The line of Heroes, Blood, always managed the best outcome from the worst situations.

Alex materialized beside the oldest knight and thrust his hand through the gaps in the knight’s armor. His fingers turned into tentacles inside, crushing the man’s heart. Blood gushed from the knight’s mouth. Alex shoved the dying knight, who was making a pained face at the world. “It is said that the older the ginger, the spicier it becomes.”

With a faint smile, Alex searched for his next target. At that moment, Barius’s sword narrowly missed him. “You’ve murdered even knowing we are the Holiper Hero family. Anyone who attacks a Hero, no matter who it might be, deserves death. I shall personally carry out your execution!”

The splendid blade pursued Alex’s life. Though Alex could have ended him if he wished, the aftermath was of concern. Looking up at the sky, he spoke again to his lord. “Can’t we just run away?”

“Are the Heroes that scary?”

“Of course they’re scary.”

“Ah…” Deus sighed. It puzzled him why the Devils’ Seven Dukes would hesitate. “Pay for the carriage with your money.”

“Of course.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Deus vanished once more. “Yes, my lord!” Alex grinned broadly and followed his lord. They reappeared on a highway tens of kilometers away from the commotion.

Alex glanced back, still worried. “Really, you’re such a scaredy-cat. Are Heroes that terrifying?”

“It’s not the Heroes that concern me. It’s the order of the world.”

“Weren’t chaos, destruction, and slaughter your hobbies?”

“But that’s within this world.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Anyway, I have no intention of walking, so go get a carriage.”

Deus, picking out a comfortably shaped rock under a tree by the roadside, relayed this as he settled down. “Don’t worry! I’ll come back with something even better than before.”

“You have two hours. And make sure you use your own money.”

“Sure, don’t worry,” Alex said and dashed off, vanishing like a mirage. Deus stretched his arms behind him, leaning against the tree and gazing at the clouds. The white masses floated pleasantly, as if he could hear them blushing.

“The foolish woman. Does she know what’s become of her kin?”

He spat out. “That foolish woman isn’t me, right?”

He hears Yurin’s voice. “It is you.”

“If you’re talking about the young Vermillion Dragon’s case, I’m aware.”

Yurin sat beside him, the true Golden Dragon, but Deus showed no surprise at her sudden presence. If the ruler of all dragons could not manage that, wouldn’t it be strange?

“Were you with them?”

“Only from the middle. It seemed like it would get noisy, so I left one of my feathers next to you.”

“A scale, not a feather.”

“If you could see my true beauty, you’d never forget it for the rest of your life.”

“An overabundance of self-awareness is a disease. You should get that checked. So what will you do? If you’re planning to formally protest, I can at least be a witness.”

“How reliable. The testimony of the Devil King.”

“Hmm, might be disadvantageous? After all, humans hate devils.”

“Devils hate humans too, right?”

“Do they?”

“Otherwise, why would they invade so massively every hundred years?”

“That’s… destiny.”

Then, why do they covet the surface world? Every hundred years, when the Devil King’s power is complete, the Netherworld attacks the human world. The pretext is to seek sunlight. But it didn’t seem like they liked the sun much. On the contrary, it felt better to soak in a lava bath and drink a glass of ice-cold booze.

Lost in thought, Yurin asked, “You’re strange.”

“The devils?”

“And humans.”

“Are dragons normal then?”

“It seems so. Fine, let’s say they’re all abnormal. I won’t protest to the humans.”
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