8.

The demons were running for their lives.

“We’re not fleeing because we lost.”

“Cowardly humans.”

“A race born for battle wins by fighting smart. There’s no need to fight those brainless humans with their own primitive methods.”

They absolutely had not lost.

They had merely entered round two.

Of the tens of thousands of demons, barely half had survived, but they were still brimming with confidence that they could win.

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that their retreat was hurried.

“Humans!”

“Damn it! Where?”

“How many?”

“Are they strong?”

“A dozen or so. I don’t feel much magic from them.”

“Whew.”

“Arrogant humans. Every last cur thinks it can strut around now.”

“We’re in a hurry, but we have more than enough time to deal with a few uppity humans like that.”

“Should we stop and clean them up?”

“What if more humans show up?”

“It could be a trap.”

“If we scout the surroundings a bit...”

“No, we don’t have time. I heard humans have gotten so cunning they’ll use their own kind as bait just to catch us.”

“To think we have to leave behind worms that aren’t even worth a single punch.”

“We have far more important matters to attend to than catching these worthless humans.”

“Right. We have to find the Demon King and serve our king.”

“Besides, our true enemies are the Celestials and the humans who have become their dogs, swinging their weapons without a thought. We have no time to waste on them.”

As time went on, their confidence gradually eroded. Even random, low-level users running around the continent were now managing to approach the demons and make it back alive.

That wasn’t to say there were no casualties, but the demons had become far more cautious than when they had first arrived.

Naturally, the demons knew.

They knew full well that they were running away.

Even if they tried to ignore it, in the Demon World, this would be considered an undeniable defeat. Anyone who mocked them for it would be praised, not criticized. It was a truth they couldn’t escape.

It was a deep, instinctual shame.

But amidst this self-deception, some demons inevitably rebelled.

“How long are we going to keep running like this!”

“Yeah! Even if we die, we should at least take a few more of these damned humans with us.”

“The Demon King...”

“The Demon King is surely out there somewhere, slaughtering humans to the last!”

“Right! We will carry out the Demon King’s will!”

On any other day, they harbored ridiculous dreams of taking the Demon King’s head and seizing the throne for themselves. But today, just for today, they drew courage from the Demon King’s name, straightened their backs, and dredged up the pride they held more precious than life itself.

And so they searched.

For humans they could easily crush.

“Oh? Over there.”

“How many?”

“Not many. Two.”

“Humans.”

“I don’t feel much magic from them either.”

“What are the chances it’s a trap?”

“This is a place humans can’t easily reach. I don’t sense any other magic nearby.”

“Still, if they made it this far, they might be special.”

“There are five of us.”

“Right. We can win.”

“Let’s kill them. We’ll kill them, skin them, and send their flayed hides back to the other humans as a warning. They’ll never dare to look down on demons again.”

“Good.”

Having found the perfect prey to restore their pride, the demons burst from their hiding place, spread their wings, and took to the air.

It was an act of pure confidence, certain that no human here would dare challenge them.

Naturally, the two humans looked up at the demons.

’Heh heh.’

’That’s right. Show us.’

’Show us those terrified faces.’

Full of swagger, the demons met the humans’ eyes—and flinched.

“W-What the...”

The humans were smiling.

“Hey, guys! Come on down for a second. I have something to tell you.”

The man waved cheerfully. Before the demons could even register that something was wrong, a massive shadow fell over them.

*

9.

For the first time in a long while, Han Simin’s stream went live.

It had been over a month.

Even though he had practically been coasting on ad revenue during his break, his stream was still packed with advertisements.

More viewers than usual pushed through the ads and flooded the chat.

They couldn’t help but be curious.

He had faded from the public eye recently, but people still wondered.

’What’s he doing now?’

’Is he planning some kind of comeback?’

It wasn’t enough to make them lose sleep, but he would pop into their thoughts from time to time. At some point, Han Simin had come to wield that level of influence in 『Fantastic World』.

It was like the return of a legend.

Even people who weren’t particularly interested were willing to pay to tune in; it was that big of a deal.

On top of that, there was the state of the world.

The continent was on the verge of being swallowed by Kenji.

The demons’ resistance was gradually dying down.

In a situation like that, any potential variable was a welcome stimulant for viewers and players alike.

If the chaos threw the game into further confusion and brought some life back to the continent, that in itself would be a great reason to keep playing.

Many users loved peace, but even more enjoyed this kind of chaos in a game.

So despite the month-long gap, an enormous number of viewers poured in, more than enough to make up for his absence.

And then the broadcast began.

You would expect him to at least say hello, but Han Simin was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a beautiful woman and five demons.

—That’s Epia.

—What’s this? Who are the demons?

—Is he finally making contact?

There wasn’t a single viewer who didn’t recognize her.

—Honestly, if you just take Epia down, whoever lands the last hit becomes the continent’s hero, right?

—But is the final boss really the Demon King? Why does it feel like Simin is the real final boss?

—I mean... I kind of agree. Simin feels more like the final boss.

—Still, the current main quest is to kill Epia, either way.

—So what are they doing?

Naturally, all eyes were glued to the screen.

After a month away, the very first thing he showed was the Demon King and a group of demons.

On the continent right now, the two topics people were more interested in than Kenji—the two topics they searched for every morning upon waking—were these.

How would the demons in hiding overcome this crisis?

Could the weakened Demon King launch a counterattack against Han Simin and Kenji?

Honestly, the amount of attention they were getting was ridiculous.

To lavish such endless attention on a villain.

It was all thanks to the power of a pretty face.

Thanks to that twisted fascination, the viewer count kept climbing.

It also helped that the Demon World arc Han Simin had previously shown, with a story so solid it could have been submitted to a film festival, now served as a guarantee of his quality.

—You can tell at a glance this is a story episode.

—How many hours is this one going to be?

—I already showered, put in for a half-day off, ordered chicken, and I’m ready.

—Just seeing her face makes me happy.

And so, in the stream that had finally gone live after a month, an unexpected movie began to unfold.

*

The girl in the fluttering dress looked so frail before the five massive demons that she seemed as if she might fall like a single flower petal in the wind.

Yet the demons didn’t dare approach her.

“D-Demon King?”

One of the five recognized her.

“The Demon King?”

“That little brat?”

“...I’m sure I’ve seen her once before.”

If that was the case, they should have immediately prostrated themselves.

But they didn’t.

Because they felt nothing from her that a Demon King should possess.

“I don’t sense any dark magic.”

“Exactly...”

Among demons, appearance meant nothing. Only dark magic mattered. It was the ultimate proof of identity, and they couldn’t feel a trace of it from the girl.

In that case, she wasn’t the Demon King.

And if she wasn’t the Demon King, she could expect no mercy.

The demons knew that better than anyone, yet they still couldn’t bring themselves to approach.

They were too stunned to speak.

It wasn’t because a dragon had just knocked them out of the sky.

The dragon had slammed them into the ground and then casually flown off.

All that remained were the human who had arrogantly waved at them and the girl standing before them.

They should kill her.

That was why they had revealed themselves in the first place. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

And yet, there was only one reason they hesitated.

The girl’s utterly relaxed expression.

With her arms folded, she swept her gaze over them, a bewitching smile on her lips.

Even though there wasn’t a trace of dark magic in her eyes, goosebumps broke out across the demons’ skin.

It felt as if her very gaze could burn them.

That was why they were confused.

In such a situation, there were two options.

They could test her directly.

“Are you truly the Demon King?”

“And if I am?”

Or they could resolve it peacefully through conversation, in the manner of humans—no, of demons.

The demons chose the latter.

Epia played along.

“Why would you be...”

“I was deceived by the Heavenly King’s scheme and lost my power.”

He was dumbstruck.

“I have now almost found a way to regain my strength, so go and inform the other demons. Tell them that I, Epia, Queen of the Demon World, will soon conquer this continent and then reduce the Celestial Realm to a wasteland.”

He remained silent.

Then came the girl’s declaration.

Her tone was theatrical, but it was impossible not to be captivated.

The chilling beauty of her blank expression made any manner of speech seem fitting.

On top of that, she radiated charisma.

One might find themselves nodding along without even realizing it.

But the demons were not so easily swayed.

They only flinched for a moment at Epia’s words; they didn’t prostrate themselves or show any other reaction.

“You... lost your power?”

Their tone became clipped.

When Epia nodded, they exchanged glances.

Seeing that, Epia’s lips curled upward, and a soft chuckle escaped her.

Before the laugh had even faded, the demons vanished from the screen.

Where did they go?

Before the viewers could even register it, the demons appeared right in front of Epia and attacked.

THUD.

The impact was loud enough to be heard clearly even from the camera’s distance, and Epia’s body flew back like a puppet with its strings cut.

“What the hell. Is she really the Demon King?”

“That was way too easy.”

Perhaps even the demons hadn’t expected it to be so simple, because they didn’t follow up with another attack.

“Kegh... Why...” Epia asked, barely clinging to life, blood trickling from her lips.

The demons snickered as they answered.

“The Demon World will eventually return to balance, as it always does. Why should we risk our lives to protect it now? It’s better to survive and look to the future. I bet every demon who ran away is thinking the same thing. And now the Demon King herself is kindly vacating the throne for us. We may not have the strength to protect it yet, but we’ll treasure it and work hard to grow into it. Thanks.”

A lightning-fast betrayal.

Then they approached Epia.

“They said you were the strongest and worst Demon King in history, so we were scared, but you’re just some fool caught up in a bizarre ideology. No wonder you let the Heavenly King take the Demon World from you.”

A fist came down without a shred of mercy.

And with that, part one of the broadcast ended.

*