DKFTI 15

***

The mages who barely escaped from the Demon King’s castle ran and ran until their breaths nearly gave out. They had raided countless Demon Kings’ castles before, but never had they encountered something so horrifying.

“What the hell was that? Haa, haa.”

“Urgh, huuh, it didn’t seem to be human?”

Even while gasping for breath as they fled, they muttered about the being that had blocked their way, their voices trembling with fear. The sword that split the air, the face like a demon’s, the relentless violence they hadn’t even dared to resist. The memory would not leave their minds.

Then, the necromancer suddenly stopped running, his expression turning strange. His face twisted oddly.

“I’ve definitely seen that somewhere before…”

As he muttered, the other mages also came to a halt.

“I think I’ve seen it too. That, uh… Ah! The Holy Kingdom!”

At that moment, one mage shouted. He was someone who had once worked with the Holy Kingdom.

“What nonsense are you spouting. Why would a knight of the Holy Kingdom be at the Demon King’s castle?”

“And he didn’t even attack the Demon King, he attacked us!”

The moment they thought they had gotten far enough from the Demon King’s castle to be safe, the mages began raising their voices as they grew more agitated.

“Isn’t it strange that not one of us died?”

“Didn’t it look like he was letting us escape…?”

“No way.”

Just then, when the atmosphere was thick with unease, the flow of the air shifted. A sudden, heavy pressure bore down on them. An invisible, enormous hand seemed to press against their chests. They felt that something was wrong.

“Wh-who’s there!”

A trembling voice cut through the darkness. Then, a heavy presence slowly revealed itself.

A man walked quietly out of the shadows. He hadn’t spoken a word, hadn’t done anything but take a step forward, yet the mages’ bodies froze.

“……”

“Y-your identity… ugh!”

“Hhhp.”

Someone tried to speak, but his lips trembled so much he couldn’t make a sound. Even the necromancer, the leader among them, felt like his body was about to collapse under the overwhelming presence. He felt like a pitiful prey animal facing a massive predator.

‘This is…’

A demon? No. A Demon King? No. Something far greater…

It wasn’t even killing intent he felt. Just from its mere existence, he felt like even daring to breathe in front of it was a sin. Like ants crushed under the hoof of a massive bull, they were nothing but small and feeble.

“W-we were just, j-just passing through.”

The necromancer forced the words out. He instinctively knew this was his last chance to beg for his life.

The man who had come from the darkness was the absolute master of this space.

The necromancer gazed at his face as if bewitched. A hollow expression that showed no trace of emotion. He had the form of a human, but inside there seemed to lurk something far greater. Something from the abyss, wearing the mask of a man.

But they were not even allowed the time to feel fear.

Fssshhh…

The mages had already become nothing more than dust, scattered into the air. Their bodies vanished without leaving even a trace they had ever existed. Until the very last moment, they didn’t even realize they were dead.

No one remained there. Only the eerie wind swept by, with the sound of insects chirping in the grass.

The man born of the darkness quietly lifted his gaze to the sky. The sky here was calm. His eyes caught a single star shining especially bright. The memory of bright blue eyes surfaced. His lips curved faintly upward.

Maybe he liked stars.

The man disappeared back into the darkness, just as silently as when he appeared.

***

Back in his room, Sibel’s heart was still pounding. He felt like a moth caught in a spider’s web.

When he imagined a huge tiger spider suddenly coming for him, biting down with sharp fangs, a shiver ran down his spine.

“This is really strange.”

He had never thought that being born as a Demon King would mean worrying about the hero’s mental health. The hero showed no sign of leaving. That much was certain now. But the day the hero would swing his blade at Sibel’s neck was still drawing closer.

Freshly bathed, Sibel tossed his languid body onto the bed. While reveling in the blissful softness of the blanket, he came to his senses and picked up the crystal communicator.

He wanted to check the post he had made before going to take a bath.

#DemonKingCommunity#

-Rules of Use

-Announcements

-No fraternizing, good deeds, or religious solicitation!

[Title: (Daily life) The hero won’t go homeㅠ

Content: The hero I imprisoned won’t leave the Demon King’s castle.. I even gave him treasure and opened the front gateㅠ What do I do? His temper’s really bad;;;]

└Isn’t pet hero the trend these days?

└Isn’t this the Demon King who fed that human before?

└Is the hero pretty?

└(Author) ..Why do you all keep asking if he’s pretty;;;

└Maybe it’s the Demon King who’s pretty?

└Either way, as long as the taste is good it’s fine

└Guys, this Demon King seems seriously serious

└Why not just kill him???

└(Author) What if I’m weaker than him..?

└Then drop the Demon King title;;;; What’s with being under a human;;;

└You think you wouldn’t get crushed by a human? lol

└Click?

└So, is the hero pretty or not?

It was about time to let go of the community. How could there not be a single normal Demon King here. Sibel kept scrolling down through the replies when it happened.

└Maybe he’s fallen for you?

└Oh, drain his energy

└Why are there so many crazy shippers tying Hero x Demon King lately

Fallen for him, as if. Who would treat someone they liked with that kind of character. It was far more convincing, like Ruru had said, that he was after the Demon King’s heart.

Sibel kept scrolling.

└(NEW) Why not make him homesick^^?

“Hm.”

Home. For the hero, home meant the Holy Kingdom. A way to make him miss the Holy Kingdom.

“This isn’t bad.”

Of course, the answer lay in the ‘emotion’ only humans had!

“Shanti! Shanti!”

Sibel hurriedly kicked off the blanket and called for Shanti. He thought he had finally come up with a good idea, for once.

He wanted to tell it quickly and be praised.

“Shantiii!”

“Ah, my ears! Demon King!”

Pretending not to hear Sibel’s call, Shanti finally kicked the door open and entered the room. Raccoon was dangling helplessly in his hand, caught by the scruff, thrashing its legs in the air.

“Wh-what’s with that look?”

“Ah! Seriously! Because of this bastard I…!”

Shanti looked angry. There were scratches all over his face, and Sibel guessed Raccoon was the culprit.

“Let me go, let go! You bastard!”

Raccoon showed off its foul mouth as usual.

“Hey, Demon King!”

Even the way it addressed him was rotten. Since when did “hey” and “Demon King” go together.

“I saw something incredible!”

“Wh-what?”

“In the forest, over there! I, mmph!”

As Raccoon tried to speak, Shanti clamped his mouth shut.

“Forget this guy, Ruru was going around saying he saw something incredible today.”

“Ah. I saw it. It was incredible.”

Raccoon wriggled free of Shanti’s hand. Looking annoyed, it kicked Shanti hard in the shin and ran off.

“Ow! That bastard!”

Shanti grabbed his shin and hopped up and down, grinding his teeth.

“Anyway, they say that hero’s gone crazy?”

“Yeah. He’s totally crazy. Without a doubt.”

“Seriously, what’s wrong with that guy, he’s supposed to be an Apostle?”

“Anyway, so what I’m saying is.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s carry out the plan to send off our captive.”

“Plan?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a good idea.”

“Hm.”

Shanti gave him a doubtful look, but Sibel boldly stuck up his thumb. Staring at him, Shanti suddenly raised both arms high.

“Well, let’s do it!”

For the two of them, anything exciting was a good thing. Shanti and Sibel put their heads together. For the record, nothing good had ever come out of putting heads together inside the Demon King’s castle.

Sibel only wanted to make food that stirred up nostalgia. That was something the other party would have no reason to dislike, so there was no reason not to try. But there was one huge problem.

“You’ve clumsy hands.”

With his pathetic skill, instead of stirring nostalgia he only managed to create dangerous food that risked provoking someone’s temper.

Sibel quietly slid his seventh failed seafood dish next to the previous failures and opened his mouth.

“Maybe the problem’s with the ingredients?”

“Blaming others comes as naturally to you as breathing.”

Behind the grumbling Ruru, half-peeled potatoes and carrots lay scattered on the floor.

“And it’s not like you’re sending him off crying, so what’s with cooking!”

Clang! Ruru slammed a knife into the cutting board.

“But if he eats food from his homeland, he might want to go back home.”

“With such a weak method! Nothing will work!”

“Then do you want to fight him yourself?”

“How many centimeters did you say to cut the carrots?”