[Lady Gleen's meeting hall - Lady Gleen, Lily, and Diablo participate - Everyone else waits outside]
Yesterday, Demon Lord Edo declared war against my town. We only have 1500 residents, and going to war would mean suicide. So, there is only one option left: fleeing.
"What will you do next?" Lady Gleen asked me.
"I don't know. Fleeing seems like the most reasonable option. We can never win against a full-fledged enemy. But..." It's not wrong to flee at this time, but my pride tells me otherwise. However, I can't tell her that.
"But what? You made the right decision," Lily said.
"I'm sorry. It's entirely my fault. It's all because of that party. If I hadn't suggested that duel, things would have turned out differently. I can't apologize enough. I told you we shouldn't interfere, and that's why I announced that party. But it seems to be my biggest mistake," Lady Gleen said, looking frustrated. I think it's because she was not able to help me in this situation.
"I understand, and you don't have to apologize. Can I ask how many Great Demon Lords are here?" I inquired.
"Including Lady Gleen, there are three. The other one is Demon Lord Elvis," Lily answered.
"You don't have to worry about Elvis. She has great pride and wouldn't do something like this," Lady Gleen assured.
"You say 'she,' does that mean Demon Lord Elvis is a woman?" I asked.
"Yes, her full name is Elvisenly, but she never used that name," Lady Gleen explained.
"I know you're not able to help me, but can you accept my citizens? If you want, you can change their clan name," I requested Lady Gleen.
"Yes, if you want, we can accept them in our city. As for the humans, I can do something for them too. If they don't want to live with us, then we can arrange to transfer them to Luzonia," Lady Gleen replied. She seemed somewhat calmer now.
"Yes, if you're alone, you can flee easily," Lily added.
Huh, fleeing? They killed 100 people, and I'm just supposed to flee like a coward? I totally understand the situation, and I have no chance of winning, but it always comes down to my pride. I can't hold myself back. I don't know why, but my previous life had a great effect on me. Who am I really? Why do I feel so much hatred, so much pain? Why can't I just ignore it?
"Ahem, sorry, but I can't flee. Who am I supposed to be?" Who am I?
"What are you talking about?" Lady Gleen asked.
"Who am I? I don't know. I don't even know if I am a Demon or not," I confessed.
"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, curious.
"After that party, I tried to find my demonic mark, but I don't have any."
"How is that possible?" Lily wondered.
"Not only that, when I used appraisal on myself the other day, my race showed 'Demon' and then a '?' mark. Not only that, I can use both Holy and Dark magic. And now that pressure you felt, causing you to want to flee, that was Holy pressure, not demonic," Lady Gleen observed, seeing through me.
"But how?" Lily questioned.
"Even I don't know the answer. This is the first time in my 1200 years that I've seen something like this," Lady Gleen admitted.
If I said it was because of my previous life, where I was born as a human and an elf, and now a Demon, it wouldn't be something I need to think about right now.
"If you're asking who I am, I am Diablo. Now, please tell me where Demon Lord Edo's palace is," I requested Lady Gleen directly.
"So, you're going? Well, it's my fault that I didn't want you to die in this battle. But if you insist, then I don't have a choice. Demon Lord Edo's palace is 1000 kilometers west from here, named Paradise," Lady Gleen revealed.
"Lady Gleen, why did you tell him?" Lily asked.
"It's his problem now. Lily, don't interfere," Lady Gleen responded.
"Just please accept my residents," I pleaded.
"Yes, I will keep my promise, Mr. Diablo. If you go, your chances of returning are almost zero. So I guess this is goodbye?" Lady Gleen said.
"I suppose so. Please don't tell Eli about this now. You can tell her later," I requested.
"But?" Lily began.
I held her hand and said, "Please."
"Okay," she reluctantly agreed, looking sad.
After that, I left the meeting hall, and Eli came to me. "Diablo-sama, what do we do now?" she asked, looking worried.
"Well, you guys lived in Vandeline City, and Lady Lily has accepted all of you. Everyone seems relieved to hear that. That's good, right, my lord? You don't have to fight him now," I reassured her. I wanted to kiss her one last time, but I guess if I did, she would figure out something was wrong.
"I will go with you," Eli insisted.
"No, it's okay. You stay here and rest," I replied.
"I'm fine. I want to go with you. You don't look well, my lord," Eli insisted again. Please don't make it harder.
"He has some business with Lady Gleen, so you can't accompany him. I will escort him, so we don't have to worry," Lily explained.
"If you say so," Eli said, sounding sad.
I patted her gently and said, "It's okay."
After that, Lily gave me a map and some potions. "Please come back alive," she said.
"I will," I replied, but I had my doubts.
I used my flying magic and started heading west towards Paradise. So I left. Now, what should I do?
According to Lady Gleen, Demon Lord Edo has around 30 Demon Lords and 50,000 soldiers. For me, it seemed impossible. So, I have to kill Edo himself.
It took me two days to reach Paradise. I disguised myself and entered the city. It was far from being a paradise; in fact, it was more like hell. I witnessed a weak demon struggling to carry a heavy load, and when he lost his balance and dropped it, another demon came and shouted at him, kicking him repeatedly. "You moron!" If the kicking continued, that demon would end up dead.
Should I interfere? No, just go.
I proceeded towards the castle. My analysis revealed around 10,000 soldiers, but Edo was not there.
I started searching for him, and finally, I found him.
"What did you say? He fled? Hahaha! He finally understands. But I wanted to kill him. Go and find him, you lowly demon!" Demon Lord Edo exclaimed.
"You don't have to find me. I am here," I said, jumping forward and using my strongest wide-range fire magic, "Explosion."
I killed almost everyone
, but Edo stood there without a scratch.
"Ha! I have to say, you are stronger than other demons, but you are nothing but a small fry," he taunted and began fighting me. Oh no, he's strong. I can't keep up with his speed.
"What's wrong?" Edo sneered.
He punched me relentlessly. I started bleeding.
"Go to hell for fun," he said, using dark magic.
I created a firewall to protect myself, but his power overwhelmed me, and he hit me.
I started losing consciousness. In that state, I couldn't even use holy magic.
"What's wrong, lowly demon? Can't keep up?" Edo mocked.
"Now die!" he shouted, using Black Hole magic.
I guess this is it. I'm going to die again, huh? I don't know if I'll be reincarnated again or not. Eli...
What's going on? Why is everything suddenly so bright? Where am I?
"What's wrong with you? Why do you always want to die?" someone asked me, but who?
"Who are you? And where are you?" I inquired.
An old man? Who is he?
"I am the God of Creation."
"God? Does that mean I died?"
"No, you idiot. I stopped time before that black hole hit you. I wanted to ask you why you always want to die. I reincarnated you every time, but each time you die. Do you love dying or something?" the god questioned.
So, he's the one who reincarnated me every time.
"Why do you keep reincarnating me?"
"Why? You were the first one to ask me to reincarnate you. You should be grateful that you were reincarnated. Okay, I'll tell you why I reincarnated you."