Supreme Monarch

Walking at a relatively normal pace with Rain clinging to him while Liz walked quietly beside him as well, they arrived at their destination in less than 15 minutes which made Tyler truly understand just how massive the demon's king castle was.

Cora also trailed a few feet behind Tyler while matching his pace which was something Tyler considered to be quite impressive as her constitution was far weaker than that of demigods but she wouldn't let that stop her from her assigned duties.

Tyler had an intrigued expression as he walked closer to the large double doors that were being guarded by two large demons clad in grey full plate armor.

These were actual demons and not lesser or karma Oni's and he had never met them before but having granted Albert permission to increase the forces in the castle with those he found worthy from the ones that would come under him after the war, he was not surprised to see new faces in the castle but still felt a little uncomfortable with the idea.

Still, he was truly interested to see how things had changed in only a week due to that order and his walk here had not disappointed. Not only had they encountered a few new maids patrolling the halls on their way here but even well-equipped guards as well.

To his surprise or rather something that piqued his interest was that the maids they saw were all dressed a little different from Cora as none of them were equipped with armor but were fundamentally dressed similarly.

Their tiers were low but they were all quite beautiful, compromising of red ogress, beastkins, hobgoblins, and even a few lesser demons and demons. It was like an assortment of what every man dreamed in a fantasy world.

Of course, their appearance was not the only thing Tyler had noticed as every one of them seemed to be excellently trained and carried themselves with a type of dignity that befitted nobles.

Each time they encountered them the maids would move to the side of the hall and bow politely in a perfected fluid and elegant motion that was surely practiced over and over again.

Some of them looked flushed when they saw the way Rain clung to him which showed a little of their inexperience but the others were able to maintain their cool demeanor.

Naturally, having so many beauties waiting on him was very flattering and might be getting to his head but his poker face game had never been better.

'That was a different kind of feast Huh.'

Tyler thought pleasantly as they arrived before the temporary throne hall's entrance and the tall imposing demon guards immediately lowered their heads as they bowed deeply without uttering a single word at the presence of their lord.

Following their submission, the doors behind them immediately began to open.

Obviously, they had communicated his arrival with the ones inside so this was expected and not surprising at all. Tyler gently nodded as he casually raised his hand in acknowledgment of the new guards.

The large doors soon opened completely and revealed the interior of the hall but unsurprisingly, it first revealed a man standing before the opened doors to welcome in the new arrivals.

This was an aged man with light brown hair with streaks of grey running across his head as he donned a slick black butler's suit. Wearing a pair of golden gloves to compliment the outfit.

This was none other than Albert dressed in his usual butler's outfit as he reverently bowed to Tyler who then nodded and walked into the room with the girls in tow. Even Rain had finally let go of him as she now donned a serious expression.

As Tyler walked into the hall, everyone in there immediately dropped to their knees as they simultaneously greeted him in a thunderous voice.

"Welcome back Lord Ty!"

'I didn't go anywhere.'

Faced with their reverent greeting, Tyler subconsciously denied their words but was unable to bring himself to say that out loud as this was to be expected.

Standing in front of a crowd suddenly washed away the confidence he had built up in his mind up until now while giving him a feeling of anxiety.

'Why is this never easy.'

Tyler thought as he held himself back from swallowing a mount full of saliva and simply nodded in a fleeting satisfaction as he casually walked passed them.

The ones present in this room currently were going to be the center stones of his new family, although he would rather just refer to them as subordinates rather than using the word family but such was the ways of the demon continent.

This was also something he needed to do as he assumes control over the entirety of the Darknar region.

Having tasked Albert with the job of selecting the candidates for what he was about to do, every one of interest was now gathered here. Even the former chief of the red ogre settlement, Azar Igna, had returned to the castle for this purpose.

If he was to rule an entire region, he would need more than his 5 generals so he needed to assign more specific roles and duties to a select few that had met the requirements determined by Albert.

This gathering was in all honesty, the creation of the Sixth Great Family. Or rather, the resurgence of the long-forgotten Darknar Family.

A name that had only been remembered by the passage of time due to the forbidden Darknar region with most of its meaning and power already been stolen by the so-called Great Five.

'How on earth was I deceived into doing something so reckless.'

Frankly speaking, Tyler had been unable to keep up with the conversation when the effects of winning the war were being explained to him so he just nodded foolishly because he was bored of the topic and Uriel had assured him that there were no problems.

However, he was now beginning to regret that decision as clearly Uriel's comprehension was far beyond his, and what she considered to not be a problem was obviously too troublesome for him.

The name Darknar was one that belonged to the former demon king so even if the masses had forgotten his name, there was no way the Great Five demon Lords wouldn't know it.

So boldly flaunting that name as his new family's name was asking for trouble but that was already a name attached to his so there was no way he could run from it and name his family something else.

'What a massive drag.'

Tyler complained internally as he contemplated what he needed to do next.

Still faced with the well choreograph greeting from his kneeling vassals, he continued his slow walk towards the wooden throne as he maintained a poker face and adopted the persona he had deemed fit for a ruler.

While the Ring of Nullity did not allow his aura or even his presence to be felt even by gods, his mere demeanor exuded a dominating pressure that made those seeing him for the first time at such a close distance lower their heads and avoided his gaze.

While the hall was large, there were currently around 200 people kneeling before him which made him presume the place would be cramp but that was not the case.

Tyler walked through the center of the group as they had created a path for him with a red carpet, something that wasn't there before.

Since things were getting so extravagant perhaps he'll need to revisit the real throne room again. He already had the Monarch Ring so he could access the hidden path behind the throne.

Plus, with his strength, he should be able to handle any problems that came with wearing the ring that contained the insignia of the demon king so maybe now was the best time for that.

Well, after this of course.

Standing next to the wooden throne were Erin and Albert who only bowed sightly as they awaited him before dropping to one knee with their right arm placed on their chest in one fluid motion.

'Everyone has been practicing except me, what a failure of a leader I am.'

Taking a seat in the surprisingly comfortable chair, Tyler lampooned as he swept his gaze across the room as he memorize the faces of everyone here before speaking in as dignified a voice as he could.

"Raise your heads."

His soft-spoken words reverberated across the hall with a strange authority that sprang everyone to immediately respond, and with a sha, everyone raised their heads simultaneously.

Their coordination was so immaculate that Tyler couldn't help but mentally applaud the hard work they had put into practicing this with so many people.

He also felt exhausted just from seeing their serious and reverent faces as they gazed upon him with insanely high expectations that could literally crush the confidence of most men but Tyler did his best to restrain his nerves even though he doesn't seem to be getting better at this.

Following Tyler's crisp words, Albert stood up and moved in front of all his vassals before genuflecting on one knee in a graceful descent, as though expressing his heart through his actions before promptly speaking up on the behalf of everyone present.

"Your humble servants welcome our esteem master, His majesty, Ty Fall Darknar, and we present ourselves before you. As our supreme ruler who has finally been recognized by the world as a Great Demon Lord, we your vassals eagerly offer up our utmost loyalty to the Master."

"..."

Tyler could not speak as he looked at the hundreds or so lowered heads before him. A strange pressure filled the entire hall, and perhaps he was the only one that could bear this painful, crushing air.

—Yet, he did not know how to proceed.

Part of him had hoped he would be used to this treatment by now as he had been forced to endure it for so long now but this time was different. There was something more official and ceremonious about it that made it a thousand times worse.

Perhaps adopting a ruler's demeanor was a bad idea but it was already too late for him to do anything about that. His only hope now was to slowly and strategically lower their expectations of him to the point where he would no longer have to do so much.

With that in mind, he needed scapegoats— I mean, exceptional and talented individuals to delegate everyone's expectations to while he deals with only the overall decisions.

' Yeah, that's it... I'm sure they all want to do it as well.'

Nodding his head in satisfaction after coming up with a long-term plan, Tyler focused his gaze on his vassals as he decided to address them seriously.

"Then… first, I thank all of you for being here to welcome me."

"There is no need for thanks. We are all Lord Ty's loyal subordinates. To us, Lord Ty is already our Supreme Monarch and there is nothing we wouldn't do for you."

'Don't be so dramatic man, you're making this harder for me you know.'

With his train of thought interrupted by Z's honest words, Tyler couldn't help but get agitated as his brows twitched slightly before he managed to get it under control as he maintained his faint smile while still seated on his throne.

Both Rain and Liz who had entered the hall alongside Tyler had naturally moved to the side of the wooden throne and knelt in a way that mirrored Erin's and Z's actions.

And while it seemed as though Z had spoken without permission, none of the other vassals had any complaints as they all agreed with his words even the ones who had only just joined their ranks.

Of course, the only one complaining was Tyler but seeing their reverent and excited faces, he couldn't bring himself to refute him as unknown to him, this reaction was only due to his rapidly increasing fame across the entirety of the Darknar region and even the demon continent as a whole.

After all, they did say that bad news spreads like wildfire, didn't they?