Chapter 01
The Great War ended.
The Demon King was killed pierced by the holy sword while the Hero perished from her severe battle wounds and never revived again.
Many human cities and villages were burned to the ground and countless of human lives were lost
A civil war broke out in the Demon Country led by the four Demon General.
More than half of the Demon race were caught up and died.
The Demon General, Krima had died.
****
Krima's eyes sprung wide open, laying on his bed, inside his personal chambers.
"What…the hell is that?" he muttered.
He had a strange dream that was unbelievably realistic and he had a clear memory of everything as if he was spectating the events himself. No, it would be better to describe it as revelation.
The demon country suffered a huge problem? The demon king died along with the hero? Many demon folk were caught into the battle for the throne? And…
"I…died?"
He clasped his face in shock after he sat on the edge of his bed, realizing the gravity of the revelation he had. Although he only had seen glimpse of the events, if he thought logically then there was the possibility of them happening.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
"Come in."
The person entered the room. He was a man in his late twenties, Krima's second-in-command, and his most trusted subordinate.
"Forgive me for visiting this early, my lord." He bowed his head.
"No, don't mind it. Sit."
"Pardon me," he said as he sat on a chair. "I will get right to the point. There was a transmission from the Demon King stating that the four general to assemble in the capital."
"I see. So we're preparing for an all-out invasion already."
"So it would seem."
The Great War would finally happen soon, and Krima was not sure on how to feel about it. Should he be happy? Or should he be anxious about that revelation?
"Is there anything wrong, my lord?"
"…Say, Herbert, if the Demon King Gerbeis was killed by the hero, what do you think will happen?"
"…Perhaps… Forgive me for this assumption, my lord, but are considering on ruling the country?"
"No, I don't plan on doing that. I was just curious…" he narrowed his eyes. In the reality, he had considered it.
"I think there is a possibility of a civil war."
"So you think so too, huh?"
To become a Demon King, one must prove their strength. Any demon could challenge the current king into a one-on-one death match. And if the challenger would emerge victorious then they would be the new Demon King. To lead the country, one must be strong because the Demon Race's rule imprinted deep in their very core was to "Obey the Strong."
The death match was necessary to prove it. However, the current Demon King Gerbeis was an anomaly, possessing insurmountable power that no other demon could hope to match. He defeated the previous king one-sidedly and rise into a king himself. He broke the balance between the Humans and the Demons and instigated the war. All of the demon race could do nothing but obey.
At the same time, a powerful individual emerged from the humans as well as if to oppose the Demon King Gerbeis and it was called the Hero. The current demon king and the hero's emergence were both unprecedented.
"Should the Demon King die from the hands of the hero, the tradition won't happen anymore. The Generals would fight and kill their fellow general to show they are the strongest so that the demons will acknowledge them."
"However, they are scums who are craving for power. They would not settle it with a duel, where they could die so it will be a battle with their own armies. Thus a civil war."
"It is but a hypothesis, my lord. We can't be sure of a civil war. They might be unexpectedly reasonable, and the Demon King would not die. And most of all, you will be there, my lord. The only one who possess is fit to be a leader, possessing excellent leadership, and caring for his people. If such tragedy will occur, I'm sure you will stop it."
"You flatter me too much," Krima said. And then his expression turned serious, seeing it, Herbert was taken aback. "There will be civil war, and I will die."
"…My lord. How can you be so sure?"
It was natural that Herbert would say that. So far, the assumption of the Demon King being killed by the hero was baseless. But it wasn't the case for Krima. He had seen a revelation, it was realistic enough, and for some reason, he really believed that it would happen.
In fact, Krima had already killed the hero once when she attacked this fortress, which he commanded. However, the hero had the divine blessing of resurrection. Her corpse would disintegrate and then she would rise up again in the Empire no matter how many times she dies. Even if he were to find her in the human lands and kill her, it would not change anything.
According to the Demon who had killed her before, the Hero was getting stronger every time. And if time passes by, then she would be able to defeat all the Four General, and perhaps even the Demon King. No, maybe she could even exterminate the whole demon race. The hero had stopped reviving after killing the Demon King in the revelation Krima saw. The reason was probably because the Demon King had died.
The Hero appeared in response to the Demon King's emergence. So if her purpose were fulfilled, then it was natural for her duty to end as well. This was another one thing that Krima believed and he felt like he would be a fool to doubt it.
Again, he didn't know it was for some reason he could not explain, like the fact that he didn't know who or what had given him that revelation.
"My lord?"
"No, nothing. You can now leave and arrange the preparations for travelling."
He stood silently from his seat, bowed before leaving the room. He was always an obedient subordinate who didn't ask questions whenever Krima avoid the topic like he did right now.
"Now then." He stood up from his bed, pulled his usual, comfortable clothes from his closet and he wore them. He would be needing to resume his daily duties soon but he had still some several minutes so he walked towards his balcony and rested his hands on the railings.
The sun was rising in the mountain ranges and beyond those mass of land, was the Human Empire. A country solely for human, the demon's enemy. This fortress stood as the border of the Demon Country and of course, sometimes it was attacked by those humans. Every time, the demons were victorious by leaving no one alive of the attackers.
Krima didn't care for human lives but he wouldn't stand and do nothing when he saw that half of his kin would die.
"Ha…" he exhaled. The Immortal Hero. The humanity's savior was a girl in her teens. She had an earnest look, and unwavering determination when he fought her. It might not be impossible to reason with her and convince her to stop attacking and establish an alliance instead.
No. It wouldn't work. Beside the fact that she might not be able to forgive the demon folk for killing humans, the Demon King and the other Generals would certainly disagree with the alliance. If only they weren't at the top of the hierarchy then he wouldn't even bother with them…
….
But, what if they were eliminated?
If he could make the Hero kill the Generals, Demon King, and other strong demons, then there would be no one stronger than him. He could rise into a king, and then establish the Alliance.
He was actually fed up with the previous and the current ruler who didn't care for their people. If he were the king, this war would not happen. If he were the king, the demons would lead a better life.
"What the hell am I thinking…?" Even though he mumbled that, he was seriously considering the cons and pros of that plan. He deeply thought for minutes and he reached his decision. He gritted his teeth.
"I'll do it… Damn it all. I will do it," he muttered as he returned inside his room and left a note on his desk for his trusted subordinate. He didn't want to involve anyone in this.
"To my subordinate, Hebert.
I'll be gone for a while. Don't look for me. And whatever happens in the future, I want you to trust me.
- Krima"
And then he gazed at the mountain ranges with his new found, heavy resolve as he stepped outside. The morning breeze blew a gentle wind and touched his skin. Suddenly, he jumped over the balcony and landed outside the fortress's walls, careful so that no one could see him.
Facing the sun, he gradually made his way towards the Human Empire.