What was she saying?
Even I could never have foreseen this kind of situation. Could anyone not have been mystified in the face of this sort of unimaginable turn of events?
Not to mention, The one who sees all. My lord? what?
Oh what I would give to see what was going on inside her head…
The Queen of Terror, or to be accurate, the 'Queen of Terror and Carnage'. To think that cold-blooded and cruel woman could show such loyalty.
Calming my shaking pupils, I struggled to assume a deadpan expression.
A few candles lit up the otherwise pitch-black room. The room was enormous beyond measure, yet because of this, it seemed desolate. Here, I labored to make sense of this situation.
"Why will you not speak? Ahh, perhaps?"
The Queen of Terror with her head tilted in confusion suddenly made an expression of surprise as if having realized her mistake, then sprung to her feet and yelled,
"Your master has awoken! What are you doing? Assemble at once!"
The look of ferocity on her face was completely different to when she gazed at me. Moments later the huge door in the distance opened, revealing the figures of five hundred horsemen. Upon seeing them, a small sigh escaped my lips.
Oh…god.
Not just the Queen of Terror, there were also the five hundred lancers that had followed the Demon Lord. It was definitely them. The atrocious bastards that rode horses of death formed out of dragon bones, and left my whole country in shambles!
For a moment it felt like I was dreaming.
"Uh…my Lord."
The Queen of Terror quietly stole a look at me. There was a clear difference in the way she looked at me compared to when she looked at humans or the lancers. But right now the Queen of Terror appeared uneasy. It was likely that my silence had pressured her.
"My apologies. Due to waging war for so long…this is all that remains of our forces in the 'abyss'. Are you perhaps disappointed?"
"Mirror."
"Yes?"
I didn't speak twice.
But I was secretly surprised after opening my mouth, because even my voice had changed. I was slowly coming to confirm my suspicions; I just needed that final evidence.
The Queen of Terror fretted over my words for a moment before nodding her head.
"Ahh, mirror! I understand."
Click!
The moment she clicked her fingers, a vast space appeared in midair. A Demi-plane!
A space originally not existing within reality, this word and magic represented an independent form of world. Among humanity, there were only a handful that were capable of handling such a space, yet the Queen of Terror could summon one with the snap of a finger.
The inside of the Demi-plane was almost empty for some reason, but the the sheer size of it alone was something I'd never seen before.
Crash!
Finally a giant mirror fell out of the Demi-plane. I involuntarily lost my breath when I saw what was in the mirror large enough to reflect my entire figure.
'This can't be.'
I screamed in silence. The figure reflected in the mirror wasn't one that I knew.
No. I did know.
This appearance. This great demon.
'Demon Lord…!"
Eight wings, prominent goat horns that protruded from the forehead, black skin, robust muscles, and silver armor that protected the shoulders and vital areas all strangely harmonized to result in an image that spewed out an intense aura.
I lifted my hand to touch my chin and to my amazement, the Demon Lord in the mirror made the same movements.
Now there was nothing I could do but acknowledge it. I had become the Demon Lord.
Why? How? Various questions poured out of my mind.
I climbed Mt Bukhan and discovered a mutated red squirrel. After that, a spell was etched into my mind, and I opened my eyes only to find myself snugly residing inside of this body.
'Now that I remember.'
There were those messages before I had fainted. Messages displayed in midair that was supposed to be only visible to those who had awakened.
'There was something about a temporary spirit transfer.'
This body was definitely the Demon Lord's. But something felt off. If it was only my spirit that had been transferred, I could've accepted it. However, I currently had the body of the Demon Lord. Why did this happen? I had stabbed my sword into the Demon Lord's heart in the past and went back covered in his blood, living the remainder of my life as a hero.
Was that why? Because I had killed him? Because I was drenched in his blood?
Seeing me continue to maintain my silence, the Queen of Terror opened her mouth.
"It has already been a hundred years since my Lord went to sleep. There was never a day that this girl did not gaze upon my Lord, the most exalted and beautiful in the world."
I could feel her sincerity. It was no mere flattery.
There was genuine 'love' in her eyes.
Heavens.
The Queen of Terror, love? Not to mention, didn't she call this body 'father'?
Of course, putting her on human standards might be out of the question. Incestuous relations among demons may be as normal as having meals.
Just in case, I drew the mark of a cross(十) with my right hand. This symbol was the key to calling forth information windows and the like. It was a privilege only given to those who had awakened, and, if my memory serves me correct, the Demon Lord had also used this ability.
[Updating user information.]
Name: Uriel Diablo
Occupation: Demon Lord
Race: Dragonic Demon
Titles:
🌑 Demon Lord(Lv10, All Status +8)
🌑 All-seeing One(Lv9, Magic Power +15)
Stats
Strength 108(100+8)
Agility 108(100+8)
Constitution 108(100+8)
Intelligence 108(100+8)
Magic Power 123(100+23)
Potential(500+55/500)
Special Note: Currently in a state of spirit synchronization(2,864 minutes remaining).
Skills: Black Star(Lv10), Mind's Eye(Lv9), Dragon Tongue(Lv9), Stygian Touch(lv9), Dominator(lv9)
I was stunned by the status window that casually popped up.
The 'completed' status window displayed beneath Uriel Diablo's name made me feel the shivers. 100 was the limit for each status ability. A total of 500 was the extreme limit for intelligent lifeforms, and there were none among humanity to have reached that domain.
Even when I was a magic swordsman as well as the last hero, the most I could do was to fill about 450 of the total potential. Although that was the limit of my potential in the first place.
'Potential literally meant the height of power an individual can possess; the size of a vessel.'
And yet, Uriel Diablo had 500, a domain of power which I had only heard of. I suppose it only made sense that he was this strong , considering he faced hundreds of heroes all by himself. His Lv10 title and skill made me go dumb with amazement.
'God damn it all.'
No matter how I cursed to myself, it didn't even serve as self-consolation.
Then I turned my sight towards the special notes.
'2,864 minutes remaining.'
Roughly 2 days worth of time was given. If this transfer was temporary, a change was bound to occur after this timer was up.
"My Lord. Please lead us. You are our true Lord. May you punish those imposters and attain complete victory, obtaining the soul of the 'Colossus'."
The atmosphere was solemn as the Queen of Terror kneeled once again while the lancers fell into rank.
I moved my eyes to look at the Queen of Terror. Then, surprisingly, my 'eyes' began to react.
[Mind's Eye(Lv9) has been activated.]
Name: Laila Diablo(value-300,000)
Occupation: Queen of Thorns
Race: Dragonic Demon
Titles:
🌑 Queen of Thorns(Lv9, Magic Power +13)
🌑 Slaughterer(Lv8, Strength +10)
🌑 Ruler of the Battlefield(Lv7, All Status +4)
Status Ability
Strength 104(90+14)
Agility 87(83+4)
Constitution 88(84+4)
Intelligence 90(86+4)
Magic Power 105(88+17)
Potential (431+43/495)
Special note: Though fond of blood and slaughter, she has a pure side to her, willing to throw everything away for the sake of one person. Unfortunately, her love is bound to be fruitless.
Skills: Thorn Hell(Lv9), Thorn Blade(Lv8), Heartless(Lv8), Leopard of the Battlefield(Lv7)
It was astonishing. To think that this was an ability that allowed one to peek at the status window of another. It activated even though I hadn't intended to. Unlike before, it seemed that a change had occurred after voluntarily calling up my status window.
'Value?'
Nothing else differed from my own status window, but the description that came after the name bothered me. Value, as in the literal meaning.
I reached out to gently touch that part.
[Dominator(lv9) has been activated. Dominator is a power that allows you to forcefully dominate the desired target upon paying for its value.]
[Purchase impossible. 'Laila Diablo' is already bound to the user.]
I removed my hand, and the messages disappeared.
So this kind of power existed too. This was a power I never knew this demon had.
The Queen of Terror drew my attention at that moment.
"I will announce to all the false kings that my Lord has awakened. 'Carpediem the Destroyer' invaded us, coveting our territory, but when he learns of this truth, he will surely hide his tail!"
While she appeared excited at the fact that the Demon Lord had awakened, at the same time I could tell that she was feeling some urgency. As if there was some need to wage war without fail.
Her beautiful eyes were wide open as she said,
"We must go to war!"
"Halt."
War my ass. This situation in itself was already war to me.
I held out my hand to keep The Queen of Terror, Laila, in check.