DKFTI 141

A rough wooden sword poked into the iron gate.

“Come out, evil Demon King!”

A shrill voice resounded.

Even as times change, classics are eternal. A hero had appeared at the Demon King’s castle once again today.

“D-Dane, is it really fine to do this…?”

Rick, who had been hiding behind Dane, asked. The twig in Rick’s hand trembled like aspen leaves. But Dane was different. He puffed out his chest proudly, the red tablecloth tied around his neck fluttered in the wind.

“Don’t worry, Rick! Legends are just legends. They’re just stories the adults made up to get us to bed early! Do you think a Demon King really exists? Hahaha!”

Dane’s laughter was full of bravado. Ten years old, an age where curiosity and heroism outweighed fear. Dane was the village kids’ leader, and if he kicked down the gate of this fearsome Valheim Demon King’s Castle today and returned, he would become a true legend among the children.

“Look here! No one is coming out!”

Dane triumphantly kicked the old iron gate with all his might.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The heavy gate let out an unpleasant sound in response to Dane’s kick. It was a deafening noise that shattered the silence of the mountain. Rick clutched Dane’s tablecloth cloak tightly. He looked as if he were about to cry, but Dane did not stop.

“Hey! Demon King! Are you scared! Come out and face my sword!”

Dane swaggered as he mimicked swinging his sword.

Squeak, squeak, squeak–

It was at that moment that the heavy iron gate, which looked as though it had been closed for well over a hundred years, began to slowly open from the inside. Because of this, Dane’s kick sliced through the air, and the two children gasped in unison.

“Ah! Which idiot is kicking someone else’s door first thing in the morning!”

The children were on edge, wondering if a legendary monster might actually appear.

What appeared through the gap in the open door was neither a horned demon nor a fire-breathing dragon. Shaggy brown fur, a snout, and deep dark circles under its eyes. It was a raccoon that looked ordinary to anyone. Except for the fact that it stood on two legs and spoke human language. It rubbed its eyes irritably.

“Hic!”

Startled, Rick hiccuped and fell on his bottom. Dane also dropped the wooden sword he was holding and slumped to the ground.

“W-what! The raccoon is talking!”

“A raccoon?! You brats, are you whining about food or something? Why are you causing trouble at someone else’s house this early? Where are your parents? Go home right now!”

Raccoon grumbled, hands on his hips. A talking animal, something you’d only see in fairy tales! Dane’s eyes shook as if an earthquake had occurred. The bravado he had shown earlier vanished without a trace.

“Tsk, I told you we should have stationed the monsters there. They moved everything out because of that landscaping nonsense about making a pretty mountain, and now even kids come all the way here.”

Raccoon grumbled and muttered something.

“By-by-by any chance, are you a demon?”

Rick asked as he looked at the raccoon. The latter bared his teeth and made a terrifying face.

“Yes! I’m going to devour you all in one bite!”

“Aargh!”

Startled, Rick moved closer to Dane. The two children exchanged glances.

“W-what do we do now?”

The children hadn’t even considered that something like this would actually emerge from the Demon King’s castle.

“…Why is it so noisy first thing in the morning?”

A low, cold voice flowed from a dark corner behind the enraged Raccoon.

At that moment, it felt as though the surrounding temperature had dropped.

“Eek!”

The man who stepped out the darkness, was big enough to overwhelm the vision of the ten-year-old children. His pitch-black hair was disheveled, and his eyes were cold, devoid of mercy. The dark aura enveloping his body and the overwhelming intimidation emanating from him made him the very embodiment of the Great Demon King, ready to destroy the world at any moment.

He said nothing and just looked down at them. Dane was certain. That man is the Demon King who has appeared to suck their souls dry and crunch on their bones! Dane’s breath hitched while he trembled in fear.

“Aahh… It, it’s the real Demon King!!!”

“Waaah! Mommy!”

Dane and Rick screamed as tears and snot ran down their faces.

“Le-Let’s run!”

Dane grabbed Rick’s arm and hurried to his feet.

“Ack!”

They stumbled and fell several times in their panic before they could finally get up and move their feet.

“Run!”

Unaware that the great warrior’s cloak they had been so proud of was dragging on the ground, the two little ones ran toward the village without looking back.

“Help us! The Demon King is trying to eat us!”

The desperate cries of the children running away echoed through the forest. Racoon raised his short arm in disbelief and clicked his tongue.

“What? How boring. Kids these days lack patience. If you’re going to play a prank, you should be prepared to get punished.”

Raccoon shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

The black-haired man, who had been watching the children’s retreating figures, raised his hand and scratched the back of his head vigorously.

“What is this?”

Aizen had simply woken up from a good night’s sleep and come out to check because it was noisy outside. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep after a wild night, but he couldn’t understand if that was enough to warrant being called a Demon King.

Thump, thump.

“Haaam.”

Aizen yawned and turned around. And then, laughter was heard from the second-floor terrace.

“Puhaha.”

Sibel, who was wrapped tightly in his blanket, laughed at him. Aizen’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Is it fun?”

“How is it that you get mistaken for the Demon King every single time?”

Sibel felt it was a shame that he was the only one witnessing this funny scene.

“They say playing hero is a trend among kids these days. You should have at least told me what it was like as a former hero.”

“Did you decide to tease me first thing in the morning?”

“Pfft, hurry up and come up. You’re going to scare people again.”

At Sibel’s words, Aizen shook his head. This wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Whenever he was in the castle, most people would mistake Aizen for the Demon King.

Aizen looked up at Sibel, who was bathed in bright sunlight on the terrace.

Shining hair, bright skin, softly curved eyes, and clear pupils.

Well, one could never imagine such a being was the Demon King.

Although it was certainly causing unnecessary misunderstandings, it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand people’s misconceptions.

Why was that person so lovely that he didn’t evoke a hint of fear in people? It was a very troublesome matter.

Well, whatever, right now, all he wanted was to return immediately to that harmless, soft being’s side and share his warmth.

It was because seeing his hair, disheveled on the pillow, and the white blanket wrapped around his body, reminded him of last night’s lovemaking.

“Oh, your eyes are looking weird again.”

Sibel was quick-witted. Especially when it came to Aizen.

“Stay right there.”

As Aizen hurriedly entered the castle, Sibel clutched the blanket draped over his shoulders tightly.

“Nooo! I have to eat breakfast now!”

Sibel’s voice echoed through the Demon King’s castle. But instead of an answer, only the loud sound of footsteps cutting through the hallway could be heard.

Chirp, chirp, chirp–

That morning, the birds sang, and the sunlight shone brightly on the castle.

Although the day began with the village kids’ pranks, the Demon King’s castle was peaceful today as well.

***

A crowd of village kids swarmed like a cloud around the well in the village square, led by Dane and Rick.

Dane vigorously flapped his dust-stained tablecloth cloak and swung a broken branch in the air.

“I’m telling you, it’s true! That raccoon monster opened its mouth this wide to swallow our souls, and I stood in its way with this holy sword!”

Beside him, Rick nodded vigorously in agreement. The children’s eyes sparkled with awe, and some of them swallowed nervously as they looked toward the castle, visible far away from the village.

“Hey, you saw it too, right?”

“It’s true! I saw it too! I’m telling you, there really is a Demon King! Like this, with pointy eyes! Black smoke was shooting out, and his pupils were pitch black… It was really scary!”

Without Aizen knowing, he had become the Demon King to the village kids.

“You’re not lying? How did you manage to come back alive!”

“They recognized me as the future hero and retreated! I’m going to become a great Apostle just like Apostle Aizen!”

On that day, Dane and Rick’s tales of heroism seemed to never end.