Shrine of the Demon Realm (1)
Thud—
The pitch-black smoke surged in.
As if it was the very embodiment of darkness, it evoked memories that varied depending on one’s perspective.
The ceiling looked up at just before sleep, the secret fort he created with his blanket as a child, the warm embrace of his mother.
Darkness is peace.
An urge welled up within him to throw himself into it and gain eternal tranquility.
Shapes flickering within the smoke seemed to gesture like the welcoming hands of familiar friends.
As Ken joyfully welcomed the darkness that slowly approached him—
“Hey! Wake up!”
Gah!
He couldn’t resist the rough force grabbing the back of his neck.
His body flailed like a paper doll in the wind, pulled along.
Boom—!
Simultaneously, a tentacle made of black smoke slammed down where he had just been.
It only appeared to be a mass of smoke, but it possessed a notable physical force that thundered loudly.
“Looks like this guy’s lost his marbles, huh?”
“That thing must be the cause of it?”
Voices mixed with the sound of wind generated by rapid movement.
Ken was still being dragged helplessly by the grip on his nape.
With a light frown, he struggled to turn his head and check, finding one of Davidson’s heads clenching his collar and hurrying along.
“Damn, my head’s so fuzzy…”
As the rough wind shook his body, his headache worsened.
He couldn’t even steady himself, fighting the physical urge to embrace the darkness surrounding him.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Not at all… Damn, I think I get it now. Was this what I had to let my body go for? I feel like I need to become one with that thing right now… Cough!”
The identity of that black mist was the original owner of the body Ken currently occupied.
At least for now, he was resisting against the claim of ownership that had lasted for over twenty years, but that wouldn’t last long, and he couldn’t guarantee how long he could hold out.
This is bad.
At Ken’s reaction, Davidson, who was diligently moving his feet, frowned.
[————!]
Even now, the black mist relentlessly chased after them.
The massive shrine, spanning dozens of meters to the ceiling, became engulfed by the black mist drawing closer, like a tidal wave consuming a broad corridor.
Rumble— Quake!
Of course, he had fought before.
Even if it lacked a tangible form, his “Shikigami” and “Power of Consumption” were powerful abilities capable of devouring even intangible concepts.
However, there were limitations to using them…
The act of putting it into his mouth and eating it was essential for his abilities.
It’s not entirely useless, but so inefficient.
The shapeless, misty form was large in size but had an incredibly low density.
There was a limit to how much he could eat in one bite.
Not to mention, since this wasn’t actual smoke, using tricks like sucking in air all at once was impossible.
But I can’t just bulk up and face off against that thing. Just coming into contact lets the curse seep through my magic resistance…
As much as he devours that thing, the smoke also absorbs his energy.
Plus, that wasn’t the only problem.
Wasn’t that thing’s true target Ken?
I can’t let it have him.
Instincts beyond that of a beast made it clear to him.
If he allowed it to absorb Ken, something terribly bad would happen to him.
That was why he was currently on the run instead of confronting it directly.
“Hey, do you know why that thing’s here?”
Hoo, I don’t know. But it seems like it got backstabbed by Duke of Dragons. I don’t really know the details either.
Hmph! That’s not helpful!
…Uh, sorry. Right now, just managing myself is pushing my limits. If I lose focus for a second, I’ll be swallowed up in no time.
He already suspected what the identity of that thing was.
The key figure responsible for plunging the entire Demon Realm into chaos by abruptly disappearing.
The 15th Demon King elected after LeRay, Tanuin.
If that thing is trapped here… it must be connected to that Apostle who visited the Duke of Dragons.
Through “Zeno-Glossy,” Davidson confirmed the prayer inscriptions etched around the shrine and quickly realized whose shrine this was.
Such diligence. I never thought they’d set up a stronghold here so well.
The shrine, now confined within the Abyss—previously a place of worship for human gods.
Strictly speaking, it hadn’t newly constructed a shrine in the Demon Realm.
It merely connected the entrance of this existing space secretly to a part of the Demon Realm.
The pillar door he saw before entering was that link.
That was made possible thanks to the cooperation of the Duke of Dragons… but still, it’s impressive. Moreover, they have actually made it so that it reaches the Demon King.
At this point, one could only wonder what the Demon Lord, who was supposed to oversee the Demon Realm, was doing.
Unlike the present entity that does whatever it wants without discretion, the complete deity had many things to protect and constraints to adhere to, which was understandable.
“Gah!”
At that moment, as another black tentacle lunged at them, the helplessly hanging Ken swallowed a breath.
Davidson quickly twisted his body to dodge the attack and retaliated by biting it away, but even that caused a significant impact on the two from the scattering black mist as the tentacle broke.
Crack!
Gah—! Damn!
Ken’s body was beginning to twist with the sound of bones cracking, as he felt the limits of physically being suppressed.
Turning to check his own body, Davidson could only frown.
Because Ken’s smooth fur was getting coarse and starting to fall out in clumps due to the severe curse erosion.
As expected, this is bad. I need some sort of solution.
It seemed that the incorporeal thing did not have a good matchup against him.
Sure, he was regenerating in real-time, so he could hold out if he intended to.
The problem was that Ken appeared to be nearing his limit.
He needed to come up with some trick before he completely crumbled.
But how was he supposed to deal with a former Demon King whose existence had become a mass of curses?
Looks like it has to be Hans. If the Undead King Hans were here, he’d manage…
Of course, there were some anxiety factors.
After all, this was inside the shrine of the human god.
No matter how fallen the place may be, it held significance for the entity too.
Surely, it could see what was happening here as clearly as day.
It’s possible they might not just be watching but scanning everything down to the details like a high-precision analysis tool.
With all sorts of forces at play, the “Seed of Madness,” which was deeply repressed, could be monitored without much concern in this “Davidson mode”.
However, revealing Hans’s power, his strongest asset, to Auterica’s greatest enemy would inevitably leave a bad taste in his mouth.
Hans’s “Heart of the Undying” comes from the holiness sealed within the Abyss. Although ownership has been completely taken, I shouldn’t give him opportunity.
In a moment filled with deepening dilemmas.
Suddenly, a possibility flashed through Davidson’s mind.
Wait a sec? A mass of curses?
The 15th Demon King Tanuin, having lost his flesh and transformed into a curse itself.
His possessed power and standing were still unparalleled, but it was clear that his identity had been defined by the limits of being “a cursed one,” rather than simply “a Demon King.”
This might just work…
His mind raced with various calculations, mobilizing not just Davidson’s less than stellar brain but also the young brains of other avatars.
The conclusion they arrived at was…
This is doable!
High probability.
Proceed with the plan.
*
Having braved all kinds of hell to be elected the 15th Demon King, Tanuin.
However, he couldn’t simply enjoy his coveted title.
He knew the schemes of his most powerful rival and likely Demon King candidate, Crushair (Duke of Dragons), who had plotted to eliminate the previous King LeRay.
Back when Tanuin was also a Duke, he had lent a hand to that plan, so he could hardly ignore it.
However, it was undoubtedly inappropriate to get rid of someone who had acknowledged defeat and joined his ranks just because he was considered a ‘threat.’
Couldn’t the newly minted Demon King at the peak of the Demon Realm be seen as intimidated by a rival?
Thus, he had been waiting and biding his time for an excuse, continually on the lookout.
But perhaps the Duke of Dragons sensed his intentions, as he submissively approached first.
Bringing a very valuable offering with him.
“A fragment of a god?”
It was an irresistible temptation.
A piece that had fallen from a god!
Tanuin, who had ascended to the Demon King’s position and gained semi-divine status, could see just how incredible it was at a glance.
A divine entity, which might stand on par with or even exceed that of the Demon Lord.
If he could fully absorb this, it wouldn’t be a dream to fulfill his long-held ambitions.
For many ages, he had looked up at the heavens and thought—
That he wanted to become a sky himself.
Of course, he did not attempt to absorb it without caution.
After all, it was a gift from the Duke of Dragons, who was considered a primary target of concern.
Using his authority as a Demon King, he verified the danger multiple times, hypothesizing various potential outcomes to be ready for any tricks it might attempt.
If it made any rash moves, he would cut it off completely during this chance.
Just as he was certain that as a semi-divine being, he could easily absorb this ownerless divinity.
He immediately took the divine fragment into his body—
[Cough, cough— greed has brought you trouble, Tanuin!]
A scenario he never anticipated arose, throwing everything into chaos.
There was no doubt it was an ownerless divinity, yet, just when he had taken it, the Apostle serving its original master appeared.
“Crushair! I know!”
Through the Apostle’s prayers, the fragment fused with an unknown god.
Tanuin, who had swallowed that divinity whole, was engulfed as well.
Although he had also ascended to the position of Demon King and was accumulating his own divine essence, misfortune struck when he greedily tried to absorb something he was not ready for, and he was swept away by an even stronger divinity.
“I won’t just let this happen!”
Yet, he also stood at the peak of the Demon Realm after enduring immense suffering.
The 15th Demon King Tanuin did not collapse as they wished.
Unable to allow them to gain anything through him, he tore himself apart and scattered his essence across the entire Demon Realm, converting his soul into a curse they could not manipulate.
[…Tanuin. You are of no help to the very end.]
Though he had eventually caused quite the mess, the Apostle and Duke of Dragons did not easily give up.
Having used a precious fragment of divinity, they could not afford to simply back down when things went awry.
While running other plans simultaneously, they devised a scheme to gather the scattered remnants and extract the Demon King’s power from them.
Just like before when he had ascended to become a demon, he’d seek to implant the Demon King’s power into himself.
[It’s fine if the Demon Lord doesn’t acknowledge it! I will ascend beyond the Demon King!]
It would mean possessing the body of the Demon King and effectively ruling over the Demon Realm, wielding influence as such.
He would become a Demon King regardless of the Demon Lord’s will!
Years passed, hundreds of them.
As anticipated, the Demon Realm fell into chaos, and the Duke of Dragons was busy gathering Demon King remnants and preparing consciousness.
Then one day, the Duke of Dragons heard a captivating rumor.
About the existence of beings from another world that disregarded the laws predetermined in the world.
Not long after that, Ken and other Earthlings began to be kidnapped into the Demon Realm.
*
[High energy approach alert!]
[High energy approach alert!]
[High energy approach alert!]
Countless warning messages surfaced above his field of vision.
Completely armored from head to toe in titanium, Hesperon checked the detailed information.
– Energy measured: 326,711,730
– Danger level: SS
– Energy reaction corresponding to a Terra-class ship reactor detected. Initiate emergency escape sequence immediately.
“Wow.”
He couldn’t help but exclaim.
A Terra-class ship was a colossal spaceship that spanned over a kilometer on the battlefield.
The epitome of future scientific civilization capable of space combat using main cannons and barriers, as well as warp navigation.
That kind of energy is contained within a single entity?
Even in his completely transformed state, that was still an absurd level, considering this was the Demon Realm.
Rumble— Boom!
The rumbling sound from afar slowly approached.
Tensing up, Hesperon loosened his limbs while taking a deep breath, finalizing his last preparations.
With a metallic clink, the titanium parts covering his right arm were released and vanished into thin air.
What remained was just his bare arm wrapped in bandages adorned with mysterious symbols.
He gazed down at his seemingly frail right hand compared to the rest of his armored body.
[————!]
At that moment, a hollow cry surged toward him.
Glancing up slightly, he saw a three-headed hound, with a demon hanging lithely from its mouth, drawing near.
“Alright, shall we start?”
Swish—
The bandages unraveled and rolled up his shoulder.
And what was revealed—an image of a black dragon coiling around his entire arm, resembling an elaborate tattoo.
But it wasn’t just a simple tattoo.
Fwhoosh!
Proving that, the dragon, which had been moving aimlessly along his skin, broke free with black flames.
The “Right Arm of Desire,” which had been sealed away without much activation until now, awakened with the dark elemental dragon opening its eyes and slowly growing in size.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Alright then…”
Of course, there was no way he could handle that ‘Demon King-level curse’ at his current power level.
The difference in standing was far too great, and if he faced it head-on, he’d be enveloped and lost.
The host, Hesperon, would share the same fate.
However, if he added one more ability to the mix, the situation would change.
“Let’s see you try to gobble me up.”
It wasn’t anything new to say at this point.
“The Curse Devourer.”
Hesperon was immune to all curses.
