DKFTI 2
by LiliumThe Demon King’s office.
Sibel spun strands of his loose silver hair around his fingers, his shining blue eyes busy reading a book. Several volumes were scattered beside him.
<Because I Hurt, Therefore I Am the Demon King>
<It’s Fine Even If You Fail to Destroy>
<12 Habits of Successful Demon Kings>
<Demon Realm Trend 22025>
Sibel had spent the night devouring self-development books written by his senior Demon Kings, becoming nourishment for body and soul.
He invested more sincerely than anyone in efforts for eternal life.
Holding a crispy snack in his mouth, he turned the page. Then he looked at the screen linked to the surveillance crystal installed in the hero’s room.
‘He still hasn’t eaten.’
The hero, who had been moved to the finest room in the Demon King’s castle, had not eaten for two days, and Sibel was deeply worried.
After entering the room, he only slept. When he did wake, he simply stared blankly into the air, not fulfilling even his basic needs.
He needed to eat well to move around, find the treasure he wanted, and escape.
This was a big problem.
“Why are you watching that human all day? You don’t even play with him.”
“I told you to treat him with the utmost hospitality. Did you prepare human food properly? Why hasn’t he taken even a spoonful?”
Worried, Sibel stomped his feet.
“Strange. I gave him the same food as the Demon King.”
“Could it be too much sleeping drug that made him like that?”
“Hm, but I don’t know the human dosage. The last time I used it was to put an orc and a wyvern to sleep.”
Can I even trust this guy?
Sibel sat curled up in his chair, biting his nails. At this rate, the hero’s safe return might be endangered.
After staring at the screen for a long time, Sibel picked up the crystal communicator. Then he logged into the Demon King network he had joined yesterday.
#DemonKingCommunity#
-Rules of Use
-Announcements
-No fraternizing, good deeds, or religious solicitation!
When answers could not be found alone, asking others was best. Sibel clicked on the post he had written a few hours ago and checked for new comments.
[Title: (Misc) It’s my first time imprisoning someoneㅠ-ㅠ
Content: The kidnapped hero won’t eatㅠㅠㅠ If he starves, he’ll die. What should I do?
└Why are you giving him human food?
└(Author) Because he needs to liveㅠ
└What a useless thing… Isn’t killing humans the best?
└Is the hero pretty?
└(Author) Why is that relevant?
└How did you kidnap him? Maybe his insides are broken?
└(Author) He fell into a trap and got hit on the back of the head, but he looked fine. He spoke well too…
└So, is he pretty?
└(Author)…Why do you keep asking that?
└Are you new here?
└ Haha. Aren’t you that newbie who said he wanted to live long and quiet on the forum?]
“Eek!”
Wasn’t this supposed to be anonymous!
Sibel panicked that others had guessed his identity and threw the communicator. Truly, there was no such thing as a perfect secret in the world.
“What’s wrong, Demon King?”
“A, a terrifying experience.”
“I see. But Demon King. That guy is moving.”
Shanti pointed at the surveillance screen. Sibel hurriedly looked.
As Shanti had said, the hero, who had been lying still the entire time, was now glancing around the room and reaching for the doorknob.
“It’s true.”
Startled, Sibel leapt up from his chair.
“I’ll be back!”
He ran out, making a racket.
“Where are you going, Demon King!”
Without answering Shanti’s question, Sibel ran into the corridor.
Once Sibel was gone, Shanti blinked at the cup of medicinal tonic he had poured. He pursed his lips.
“What a waste. That tonic was made from venomous snakes raised on skulls.”
***
Thud, thud, thud.
Sibel was dropping pieces of bread and gold coins one by one along the marble-shining corridor of the Demon King’s castle.
In <First-Class Imprisonment Begins with Kidnapping> it said this.
Chapter 1: Cast the bait.
He did not know if this bait was the right bait, but in any case, he decided to try it. Sibel laid out sweet bread and sparkling gold coins along the path the hero was expected to take. It led all the way to the treasure vault of the Demon King’s castle.
‘Come, come.’
The goal was to hand the hero the universal antidote he needed. The universal antidote was the reason one of the main characters of this world had stormed the Demon King’s castle.
Originally, the Demon King used a trap to capture him, imprison him, and cast mind-brainwashing magic to toy with him, then, right before his eyes, violate the heroine by force, and in the end die babbling his mouth off.
‘I… I can’t do such things…’
From the start, to do that with a man, do that and that, pour and stuff something full into him, then use tentacles to do that again to an unconscious body, no one could easily have the mentality to do such a thing.
Just thinking of it again made him sick. No matter if it was smut material, this Demon King was definitely insane.
“Oh.”
Sibel hurriedly hid behind a pillar when the hero suddenly appeared, turning the corner of the corridor. The bread bait trap had worked!
‘Yes. There. That’s it!’
The hero stared at the massive, ornate iron doors that anyone could see were magnificent and imposing. By instinct, he seemed to realize that was the treasure vault.
‘Break it! Break it down and go in!’
From afar, Sibel cheered him on. He had withdrawn all the guards of the Demon King’s castle, and he had even left the main gate wide open, so the hero could take every treasure he wanted right this moment if he wished.
‘Please. Please.’
Hoping everything would go smoothly, Sibel pressed his hands together, closed his eyes, and prayed.
‘Please, let the hero leave like this, and let me live enjoying immortality and a luxurious life.’
As he prayed that his humble dream would reach the heavens…
He suddenly felt the back of his clothes being pulled sharply, and he opened his eyes wide.
“What are you?”
The moment he heard the low voice, he knew instinctively.
I’m screwed.
As Sibel trembled and lifted his head, his eyes met those of the hero with black eyes.
“Eek…”
The color was as deep as an abyss of pitch black. Under the roughly tousled, yet naturally flowing hair, the rising corners of his eyes gave a threatening impression.
Just by standing silently, he radiated overwhelming presence. With even the slightest tilt of his head, his muscles revealed themselves naturally, showing a solid, well-built body.
He reminded one of a great black panther.
The hero, Aizen.
He was one of the seven apostles of the Holy Kingdom, called a messenger of God sent down to this land. Aizen had left behind many feats that exalted the prestige of the Holy Kingdom, but there was one problem.
It was that his humanity, worn down and volatilized by countless battles, had become utterly ruined.
He fought whatever came his way, and from exerting excessive holy power, he fell ill. Nights of relentless insomnia continued endlessly. There was no cure.
The Order recommended that he search for the “absolute antidote” the Demon King possessed. But rather than continuing a life full of disgust and disillusionment, he wanted to kill the Demon King and perish together with him, to place a full stop on his life.
He had the courage and power to carry it out. Thus, he voluntarily stepped into the Demon King’s castle, but due to a ridiculous mistake, he was captured and imprisoned.
But once he was actually captured, he began to feel that something about the workings of the Demon King’s castle was strange. And furthermore, he could not gauge the intent of a Demon King who left him alive in perfect condition.
It started as curiosity, as interest. A pure curiosity worn down and eroded by the injustices of the world.
The Demon King’s castle was quiet. There was no sound here, no trembling of rough air. It was tranquil, like being gently submerged in water, calm, and deep.
Only the slowly spreading ripples within himself filled the stillness.
And most of all, in this place his insomnia disappeared. A fragrance that purified body and mind lingered here. Thanks to it, he could spill out all the sleep he had been deprived of and fall into a deadlike slumber as much as he wanted.
After spending such satisfying days, when he came out again, he discovered a small figure dropping bread crumbs along the paths he walked.
It seemed like a harmless creature without killing intent or hostility. So he followed it. It was curiosity born purely from boredom.
Standing before the great door, he became curious about the small creature’s intention.
Without a second thought, Aizen approached the hidden creature and grabbed the back of his neck.
“Eek…”
The blue eyes that widened round gave the illusion of looking at the sea. The silver hair slid softly under his rough grip, like the foam of waves washed up on a white sand beach.
“What are you?”