*
Loud and busy, an uncharacteristic bustling takes over her castle. Sat atop his yemelia wood throne, it's ghastly purple birch flesh stretches to the back and then forward like a clam shell that's split into countless branches. The branches grow thinner as it extends further, reaching the furdest ends of the throne room's perimeter, digging through the ceiling, ground and walls.
Perhaps it was simply style, or perhaps there was immense practical application that persuaded throne owners to build weapons into them. It is their primary territory, to say the least about the room itself, the thrones are likely laced with defences and traps that would activate on anyone but the owner. Sat above the barely covered hardwood throne was the one and only Demon King. Covered from head to toe in jet black armour, he strikes an imposing figure with his mere presence.
Cold gleaming metal twist and turn around his flesh like living vines of metal had wrapped around his skin, ending in spikes behind his back akin to a porcupine. His helmet was a simple design, pointing forward like a dragon but still angular enough to look like a robot instead, covering his face were strips of black metal like a jail cell with bars that look more like frozen liquid than metal with how fluid their shapes are.
His chest was a little wide but not too wide, his muscles were compressed to the maximum. He was practically a monster born for battle with the maximum battle iq and magic at his grasp. He laid on his elbow touching the throne's armrest, his wrist supported his chin. One could say that this was his default pose rather than him actually being displeased, but there was an equal argument that he was simply displeased all the time.
Despite being in his own throne, the noise was insufferable. In front of him was a crowd of demons, monsters who have evolved to human like Intelligence, in other words they had an ego. This was the final line of semi physical distinction, monsters and animals without Intelligence had no egoes. In other words, these individuals had someone acquired an ego, whether they developed it through magic, evolution or they snatched it from a human.
The ego is the final crystallisation of sentience, capable of critical thought and hyperawareness. It allows one to have the aptitude of cognisance to question their own actions, leading to the possibility of improving themselves without external forces. Animals are not capable of such, they rely on external factors like human trainers or the environment to force changes into their biology through evolution. They require evolution to adapt instead of simply changing a way of their lives
However this is not an absolute. Certain creatures show signs of intelligence and adaptability akin to humans, it shows that development of an ego is not 1s and 0s but a gradual and wide spectrum of consistent progress. Evolution can bring an ego. That was how most demons are formed. Yet they act so barbaricly, gossiping loudly in front of their monarch.
Without moving a single muscle, he spoke.
"Silence." (Demon King)
No calmer than a whisper, it's volume wasn't that loud either, but it somehow overpowered all the noise and erased it without a trace. The demons knelt without hesitation, this was involuntary. Their bodies obeyed their king without their own conscious choice. It shares a similar reason to how they could all hear his voice despite being noisier than it.
[Demon King constitution], a single skill that contained a multitude of abilities related to his rule.
Magical girls varied in skills due to their bodies internal skill magic circles being formed by their unique magical signatures. At core of deviation from other magical girls lied the magical signature, differentiating almost everything for them to make them unique.
On the opposite end were monsters, as semi spiritual beings, being half magic and half matter, their skills would naturally be more intertwined with their bodies unlike humans who were full matter beings. To humans, their skills might seem random and unrelated. To monsters, their skills are extensions of their body. The Demon King was a monster who was bred specifically like that. The Demon King clan was his family lineage that had existed for countless years throughout human history.
Natural disasters, unexplained phenomena, unnatural human absurdity, they weren't the products of just infighting between magical girls but also war between the monsters and magical girls. One could say the Demon King lineage had always been there to incite chaos. As monsters their skills are intrinsically linked to their bodies, as monsters they evolve over time just like every other creature, this includes their bodies gaining adaptations and their skills becoming more complex in nature.
This was the fruits of his ancestors, his [Demon King constitution] skill. All his family members had it, but their strength varied. Skills are subconsciously named by their users, so even if the name is the same the mechanism can be completely different, making no two skills the same.
It allowed him to command the other demons to do whatever he wanted, control their minds, enhance their combat power temporarily, maintain his stats at a minimum of A grade in all circumstances. All of these abilities were centered around a single concept, simply changing the focus of the magic creates all these varied uses.
Before his eyes was a crowd of the highest ranking demons in his country. Their bodies trembled under the pressure of his single command, their minds susceptible to his very will. The reason why his voice could overpower the entire atmosphere was brcause he spoke directly into their brains, overwriting every external stimuli. For a single moment, they went through sensory deprivation, with his voice as the sole source of stimulation.
They pressed their heads deeper into the ground, hoping to win over his favour.
"Report, 5th division Demon general, Yuttiria. Have you quelled the last flames of rebellion within my borders?" (Demon King)
"Yes, my liege! Their leader and most powerful warrior has been slewed. It is now impossible for them to interfere with us." (Yuttiria)
"Excellent. 4th division-" (Demon King)
This was how his days usually went, receiving reports on the tasks he had assigned to his subordinates. As the sole protector of demon kind, he utilised his clones to reinforce the border war with the humans. Despite being on the winning side, there had been no progress for the past few months.
'Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Why do these weakling cling onto me so? '. Governing these citizens stirs his stomach and disturbs his conscious, there was no end to his disdain. But he had no choice but to continue being their king, it was what he was born to do after all. He was their king, they are his subjects. No matter how much they hated each other, they had roles to fill if they wanted mutual preservation.
He was prudent, he had never leaked out his true feelings in front of his subordinates who were in oh so much awe for his magnificence. Disgusting, he would never change this opinion he had. Down the line of Demon King, their personalities varied as much as the stars, this Demon King's personality was aligned with... As he held disgust for any being weaker than himself. He held his abdomen, calming his urge to belch and slaughter them on the spot, his veins popped out of his skin, his frustrations go unseen under his armour.
The first division, the private corps under his direct command. Used for assassinations, but to do that they have to be the most powerful in the first place. They weren't like the assassins that one would see in games, every member was as strong as a demon general, with the strongest barely staying afloat. Demon generals were A grade, demons were B to C grade. With this much strength, they were already able to hold out on their own in the war with humans before their king gained the ability to clone himself. They numbered 1 000.
The second division, the intelligence and general staff corps. They take care of acquiring information on their enemies and planning strategies for the deployment of the demon army's troops. Despite there being 8 000 000 monsters in the world, only 800 000 were actually intelligent demons. They had to work with these numbers to construct realistic actions that they can't take. They have around 10 000 in this division.
Back when humans outnumbered the monsters 1000 to 1, they practically sapped away all the magical particles on earth despite not being magical girls, intercepting monster's access to magical particles and leaving them weak. In the modern world, magic became incredibly weak, but now that at least 6 billion humans died, the deficit allowed unrestrained access to magical particles by all, parking this new world war.
The third division, magic research and production division. They double as managers of the country's treasurers, overseeing and facilitating its economy and monetary flow. They also report worrying trends to the second division and plan for the future of their economy, as well as have joint operations with the second division to react to present circumstances that might significantly influence their predictions.
But first and foremost, they produce magic artifacts, monster and demon body parts were inherently good at conducting magic, making for good materials to forge top tier magic weapons. They number the most with 40 000 in the finance department and 30 000 in the research department.
Not every member was a magic researcher or finance minister, there were plenty of roles to fill inbetween that connect them with the communication of the other divisions and even internally as well. Within the same role of 'researcher' also held more different jobs to play, making their department the most numerous was a given. They depended on sheer numbers to lower the chances of corruption. They would report the financial situation of the country to their king, and the king was able to see through any lies they try to conjure.
The 4th division, the general army that fulfills the role of rank and file. Also one of the most numerous, they number 40 000. A division with 10 section commanders that commanded 4 000 soldiers, each of them was an A grade. They act as a policing force with a watchful eye on both the inside of the country and its borders. The first line of defence.
The 5th division, a group of 4000 elite B grade demons with a single A grade general. An advance force that focuses on speed and tests the waters in war. During other times, they quell rebellions with an iron fist.
The 6th divison, numbering 1 000 000. This number includes the number of monsters under their command, the actual demons only number 10 000 but each of them were trained to handle at least 100 monsters each. A sham of a division. Controlling monsters come naturally to demons who were once monsters or descended from monsters themselves. It is caused by an intrinsic power that their bodies wield, akin to [Demon King constitution]'s hold over the demon people.
While it is difficult even for demons to control at least 100 monsters. The difficulty stems from the management rather than the taming. It's easy to appeal to the monster's sense of strength, overpowering it and forcing it's subservience. Using a demon's natural biology to command monsters also open up the route of having the monster pledge its allegiance to it's owner rather than how it would prefer to fight to the death instead if it was a human attempting to tame it.
As such, it was more difficult to have enough magical particles to feed all 100 monsters, they wouldn't have as much time to train as everyone else as well, since they have to take care of the monsters. Ignoring them for too long might cause them to go feral again. Food, lodging, and maintaining ownership, 3 superficial hurdles that the other divisions would look down upon. A select few of the 5th division also works with some teams from the other division to ensure this contemn doesn't get in the way of their coordination and professionalism.
A blast of light arose from deep within the crowd of kneeling demons. All of these demons were A grades or above. The 6 demon generals of the 6 divisions, the 10 commanders of 4th division. The 16 demonic Heavenly kings who were S grades, who were the pinnacle of the demon kingdom. They had no nobility system, they threw away such primitive hierarchies since ancient times. The only nobles were the king and his family.
The light flickers but gradually grows into a pillar that pierces the ceiling. The dim pumpkin glow of the throne room was immediately engulfed by this light purple aura of malice. It seeped into every demon in that room and immobilised them, with the exception of the King who was able to resist it after a couple seconds. The figure walks closer to the king with maximum strength in their stride.
A transcendant individual had appeared. One who had grow calloused by their own journey and slip through the entire security of the demon army with their own strength. Minimum S grade threat.
"... To what favour have I owed your visit?" (Demon King)
"... I have come to take your head. For the freedom of the individual, for the autonomy of demonkind, I will liberate this country." (Pellia)
"... You misunderstand. I'm doing this for the people, I acknowledge our symbiotic relationship. That is why I devote myself to this country.
What gives you the confidence to manage the people and protect them from the humans when I'm gone? Whatever wronged you, I am detached from it as the ruler. " (Demon King)
In truth, he had abused his Authority quite a few times. Killed demons for fun and stress relief, and erased entire families on a whim. His ancestors who didn't hate demonkind as much as he did have ironically done far worse since they weren't so repulsed by their people.
"You bastard...!! " (Pellia)