Abandoned by my Childhood Friend, I Became a War Hero

༺ The End (3) ༻

The Demon Realm was a barren land.

Its sky was filled with dark clouds that did not let a single ray of sunlight through, while its ground was cracked, as if stricken by drought, and not even a single blade of grass could grow from them. Even so, that kind of land was still considered habitable in the Demon Realm.

Aside from those somewhat livable wastelands, there were also jungles swarmed by poisonous insects, man-eating swamps, volcanoes with boiling lava, snowfields that hailed all year round, and deserts filled with nothing but sand…

It was even said that during the Great War, most deaths among the Allied Forces weren’t caused by the demon race, but by the harsh environment of the Demon Realm. That was how much of a living hell the realm was for the human body to endure.

As for why the environment of the Demon Realm was so harsh, scholars held different opinions.

Some said that it was caused by a massive magical explosion that created an unstable geological environment. Others said that the demonic energy emitted by demons and monsters contaminated the land. There were even others who said that the land was abandoned by the Goddess a long time ago.

Regardless, any beasts born in such an environment were called demons, while the sentient beings who adapted to the place were called the demon race. The former included the likes of orcs and goblins, while the latter included races such as succubi and dark elves.

However, this method of distinguishing those sentient beings and those who weren’t was unreliable. Sometimes they’d use the same term even within the same species. Because there were always cases where among the demons, some individuals gained the ability to speak and cast magic, albeit these were rare cases.

And so, a more pragmatic way of classifying them was created. If they were moderately powerful, they were called the members of the demon race, but if they weren’t, then they were just monsters.

As the supreme ruler of the demon race, the strongest one among them, they referred to him as the Demon King.

In his eyes, the Demon Realm was…

“Filthy and horrific.”

A place filled with all manner of ugliness.

Among humans, there was a saying that went…

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The Demon King had the same question himself.

Was it the demon race who settled in this land first, shaping the Demon Realm into what it was now? Or was it the barren environment that created the demon race?

Did the demonic energy of the demon race seeped into the strata, forming what humans called demonic shards, or magic stones that constituted the ley lines of the Demon Realm? Or did the demonic energy that emanated from the magic stones that gave birth to the life form known as the demon race in this barren land?

Even the Demon King didn’t know the answer to those questions. All he could find out was that things had always been this way for a very long time.

Then again, he had no interest lingering over questions that couldn’t be answered through contemplations. Though, he knew one thing for sure.

The humans were right, they were most likely abandoned by the Goddess. Because everything in the Demon Realm, whether it was a living being or object, was generally unpleasant to look at. In other words, they were ugly.

This was a palace where the only law was the beastly instinct to kill others in order to survive. A dwelling for the twisted and distorted remnants of ancient races. The land of violence and death, devoid of any semblance of beauty. Whether one were to look at the sky or the ground, they could only witness its sheer horror.

Living in such a place for thousands of years, it was impossible for the demons and the demon race not to go mad. While they could adapt to the environment, it didn’t mean they felt comfortable living in it.

The weak lived a miserable life at the bottom of the food chain, always in constant anxiety of being devoured at any moment. While the strong also lived in constant anxiety of being killed by another strong being.

This was the root of their blind hatred towards humans. Because they couldn’t accept those weaklings living leisurely just because they happened to live in a good piece of land, while them, the stronger ones, had to struggle just to live to see another day.

That hatred grew to become an incessant desire to snatch the land away from the humans, to take everything that they had.

Considering all that, it was only natural for the Demon King to only cherish beautiful things. His land was a living hell and his subjects were beasts who craved war every single day. How could ruling such a place be an easy task?

Especially when he didn’t even want to rule over them, he was forced to. This made him formed the mindset of, if they couldn’t please his eyes, he wouldn’t even glance at them.

And so, he filled his castle with all sorts of pretty things.

From luxurious decorations, beautiful jewels, expensive artworks, everything was of the highest quality, built by the hand of the most capable artisans. If necessary, he’d even ask his subjects to plunder something from the Human Realm.

At the same time, he named a few among the demon race who were exceptionally strong and also satisfied his discerning aesthetic sense as corps commanders and kept them as his direct subordinates. They formed a fighting ensemble and were pleasing to look at, making them a delightful presence by his side.

Going this far, he effectively distanced himself from all forms of ugliness and surrounded himself with beauty, thinking that he could spend the rest of his life in peace and contentment…

But, to his surprise, it wasn’t the case.

Desire knew no end, and once one started to covet something, they naturally yearned for more and more valuable things. This left him spending a thousand years meaninglessly as he tried to quench his insatiable thirst.

“Your Majesty the Demon King! Please grant us permission for war!”

“Now is the time to show them who the true ruler of this continent is!”

“Everyone desires war! The humans will never be able to withstand the power of our Demon King’s Army!”

Throughout the years, the hatred that resided in the demon race’s hearts had swelled to the point that it burst out at the slightest touch.

To satiate this hatred, there could only be one single solution: War against the humans.

“Permitted.”

Even the Demon King himself couldn’t stop this tide, or rather, as the Demon King, he shouldn’t try to obstruct it in the first place.

Because it was his duty as the Demon King to realize the will of the entire Demon Realm.

With that, the Demon King’s Army, as if trying to release all the hatred that had accumulated over time, invaded and conquered parts of the Human Realm with unstoppable momentum.

In less than half a year, several kingdoms had already fallen.

The Northern Kingdom Alliance was buried in the snow, leaving nothing but cold corpses behind.

The Chieftain of the beastmen was torn to pieces, their great prairie was turned into a burning hellscape that lasted for months.

The Southern Alliance Navy sank to the bottom of the deep sea, leaving nothing behind just from the breath of a demon dragon.

The Dwarves’ Underground Kingdom was buried in the mountains, engulfed by the cloud of dust left behind by a giant’s foot.

Fearing the impending threat of annihilation, the scattered nations of humanity finally created a united front around the empire, and this combined force proved to be formidable.

Several corps commanders lost their lives, the Demon King’s Army’s numbers were reduced by half. The corps commanders who were once brimming with confidence that they could defeat humanity on their own, ended up bowing their heads before the Demon King to beg his participation in the war.

Then one day…

A human came to the Demon King’s castle.

*

The Demon King gazed down at his feet with a profound look in his eyes.

Fitting for the dignity of its master, the throne room was filled with stairs so high that they could make one’s neck ache if they were to glance upwards. The Demon King, sitting askew on his throne at the summit, welcomed the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared before him.

“Quite bold of you to come here by your lonesome— No, perhaps I should call it reckless.”

The human was clad in black armor, wielding a crimson spear.

Though his armor seemed crude and it looked like something one could find anywhere, the spear in his hand emitted an extraordinary magic power. But even that spear fell short compared to the immense fighting spirit emanating from the man; It was so formidable that even the Demon King, who had reached the realm of Ascender, couldn’t afford to underestimate it.

Just by holding the spear, his sharpened fighting spirit already seemed to pierce the Demon King. The latter felt as if he was observing a living, legendary sword— no, a legendary spear.

Realizing that the man had faintly scratched the wall of the Ascender, the Demon King showed a rare expression of interest.

While he hadn’t even taken a full step forward, for a human, whose lifespan was less than a hundred years, it was a considerable achievement.

“It seems you possess commendable skill. Seeing that spear…yes, I understand now. You are the human who killed a few of my subordinates. The one they called the Malevolent Star.”

Since all the corps commanders were away, the throne room was eerily silent. Though this didn’t mean that the Demon King’s castle was empty. While the Demon King was strong enough by himself and the guards assigned to him were ridiculously strong, they also stationed part of the army as support.

Yet, the man still broke through them by himself, even though it was supposed to be impossible to do so. His muddy footprints tainted the throne room, a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood laid spread out outside.

As if to prove he was the one who wrought such destruction, the man pointed his spear, still dripping with blood, at the Demon King and asked…

“Are you the Demon King?”

“…Mm.”

The Demon King’s neatly arranged eyebrows twitched.

Not because the man had acted with such insolence. After all, even if he were close to reaching the realm of Ascender, compared to the Demon King, who was an actual Ascender, the difference between their strength was like heaven and earth. It was like watching an ant aiming a weapon at a full grown adult, laughable at best.

What the Demon King was so displeased about was the fact that his question was ignored so nonchalantly.

But, he decided to exercise his patience and let it go just this once.

“Yes, indeed I am the one and only Demon King of this Demon Realm. Malevolent Star, what if I make you an offer? Join the Demon King’s Army. We happen to have several vacancies for the corps commander’s position. It would be a waste to kill someone of your caliber. I believe you’d be a force to be reckoned with, on par with a demon dragon.”

But, the man didn’t give the Demon King any reply.

Instead, he firmly gripped his spear, showing his readiness to charge at any given moment. The stance he took made it seem like he was trying to say, ‘Now that I’ve confirmed you’re the Demon King, any further discussion is unnecessary.’

Seeing his attitude, the Demon King’s fine brow furrowed with displeasure.

This was the second time that the man had ignored him, and so he decided to not tolerate this offense.

The man charged first, and the Demon King gave out his response immediately. Though they were separated by the absurdly tall stairs, the obstacle might as well have not existed between them.

In an instant, their strikes collided and the impact alone caused the stairs to shatter into pieces and crumbled.

At the end of that clash, the Demon King stood unscathed, while the man’s helmet was shattered and fell to the floor.

The moment the man’s face was revealed, the Demon King momentarily forgot about their confrontation and stared at him blankly. A natural reaction for him, since he was someone who cherished anything that was beautiful.

“…Killing you just like this would be a bit of a waste.”

‘With a face like that, I can spare him at least three times before killing him.’