-Outer Realm.
-Chaos Rift.
This place was outside the world.
There was no sunlight, no fertile soil.
There was only boundless darkness and barren desolation.
In such a harsh environment, only the Demon Race could survive.
Since their defeat in the human-demon war a thousand years ago, the Demon Race, sealed here by that Chosen One, had not given up. They clung to life, utilizing the meager resources to slowly recover their strength bit by bit.
They endured hunger, cold, and endless darkness, multiplying for a thousand years, hiding and enduring for a thousand years.
Finally, the day that all demons had been anticipating, hoping for, and yearning for had finally arrived.
It was the day their New King would descend.
-Demon King's Hall.
Although it was called a hall, it was actually just a crude altar made of giant stones.
"Can we really summon a qualified Demon King like this?" A high-ranking female demon beside the altar couldn't help but ask.
From the curved horns on her head that resembled those of an antelope, and the pink tail behind her that kept swaying, either due to nervousness or worry, her identity was clear - the Third Apostle, The Succubus Demon, Eileen.
Answering the succubus's question was another demon beside her, whose hands and feet were composed of sharp spikes - the Fifth Apostle, Sword Demon Pierre.
"I'm sorry, Eileen."
"But the black rocks in the Chaos Rift are incredibly hard. Even our Sword Demon clan finds it difficult to cut them. Being able to piece together an altar like this, we have already done our best."
Eileen wanted to say that this wasn't how they were at their peak. There was nothing in the world that their sharp blades couldn't cut. That should have been how their Demon Race's Sword Demons were.
But when Eileen's gaze fell on the other lower-level Sword Demons behind Pierre, whose bodies had shrunk by half, and then looked at the core of the Sword Demons, their limbs that should have been sharp and pointed blades, now emitting an unhealthy green color, Eileen sighed.
We are too short on food.
With the pitiful and barren resources in the Chaos Rift, if they wanted to multiply their clan's numbers, they could only be forced to reduce the quality of individual demons.
This was what led to...
When the succubus's gaze looked towards the distant basin below the altar, she could see a dense and terrifyingly large demon army there.
Unfortunately, these demons were all of the lowest and inferior class, with no intelligence to speak of, only left with instincts.
It was precisely because of this that they didn't care about the crudeness of the altar, nor did they know about the incompleteness of the ceremony.
They only knew that their race, which had lost their king for a thousand years, would finally have him return today. They would welcome a new Demon King.
" Eileen, don't make useless complaints. This is our only and last chance." Another tall and sturdy demon walked over from behind.
Just based on his terrifying body of several meters in height, it was enough to indicate his identity - the Seventh Apostle, The Great Demon Hektor.
"The environment of the Chaos Rift is continuously deteriorating day by day. If we don't initiate the Demon King Summoning Ceremony, our end will only be to be buried here." Hektor shook his head.
Walking closely beside Hektor was a middle-aged man with snake eyes.
Like Eileen, he had a body similar to humans, which was also easy to distinguish among the Demon Race - the Second Apostle, The Wisdom Demon, Leo.
Leo: "The thirteen high-level Wisdom Demons are ready. We can begin the summoning ceremony."
"What? Wait a moment!, Leo, for such an important matter as the Demon King summoning, why are there only the four of us here? Where are the remaining five Apostles?"
Faced with Eileen's questioning, the Wisdom Demon flicked his tongue, his cold snake eyes stating an even colder fact:
"The Sorcery Demon Apostle is researching new magic against humans, the Shadow Demon Apostle is guarding the rift entrance, the Decay Demon Apostle is preparing the plague toxins for the counterattack, the Breeding Demon Apostle is continuing to produce soldiers in the birthing room, as for the Wicked Demon... The Wicked Demon Apostle Lordan says he is feeling unwell."
The more Eileen listened, the more she frowned, until finally, when Leo stated the reason for the Wicked Demon's absence, Eileen couldn't hold back anymore and angrily shouted "Bastar*--" among the four Apostles.
It was very obvious.
Among them, except for the Shadow Demon and Breeding Demon who indeed had important duties and couldn't spare time, the other three Apostles were more or less making excuses.
Especially the last one, Wicked Demon Lordan.
He didn't even bother to pretend, almost directly saying the word mockery.
But...
What could they do?
The previous Demon King they summoned had suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of the human so-called Chosen One, which also led to their Demon Race's defeat like a collapsing mountain, sealed in the Chaos Rift.
This caused distrust towards the Demon King among these Apostles.
And now, after enduring for a thousand years, the new Demon King summoning ceremony, with such barren summoning resources, without even a decent altar, no one believed they could summon a qualified Demon King.
It was no wonder the remaining three Apostles were unwilling to come.
Their intentions were very clear.
Even if they, the Apostles, truly summoned the Demon King, that kind of inferior Demon King, they had no intention of pledging allegiance to him at all.
"Those stinking bastards!"
"They are violating the ancestral teachings that our Demon Race has inherited for tens of thousands of years!"
"Just you wait, I'm going to call the three of them over right now!"
Eileen said as she was about to flap her wings and take off to confront the other three Apostles who refused to participate in the ceremony in other areas.
It wasn't hard to see that Eileen was a staunch supporter of the Demon King.
But the Wisdom Demon stopped her,
"Come back, Eileen. Our Demon Race has already suffered too many losses. We can't afford any more internal consumption."
"The four of us presiding over the ceremony is already enough. If our new king truly has sufficient strength, then I believe without you taking action, the Demon King will also discipline them."
"And if..."
The Wisdom Demon didn't continue.
"Everyone, take your positions. Don't delay. Let's start the ceremony."
With a wave of his hand, he calmly directed the remaining high-level demons of each clan to stand at their corresponding sacrificial positions on the ceremonial altar, and began chanting loudly.
"Great Demon King, I am the Wisdom Demon Apostle, the brain of the Demon Race. Our clan is willing to offer our heads to lay the foundation for our King's wisdom!"
The thirteen high-level Wisdom Demons, under Leo's voice, without hesitation, immediately plunged into the flames of the altar.
Next was Sword Demon Pierre.
"Great Demon King, I am the Sword Demon Apostle, the blade of the Demon Race. Our clan is willing to offer our sharp edges to aid our King's slaughter!"
The eight high-level Sword Demons, under Pierre's voice, without hesitation, severed each other's limbs and threw them into the flames of the altar.
The next one was Great Demon Hektor.
"Great Demon King, I am the Great Demon Apostle, the blood of the Demon Race. Our clan is willing to offer our hearts to purify our King's bloodline!"
The six high-level Demons, under Hektor's voice, without hesitation, tore each other's bodies apart with their claws, took out their hearts, and threw them into the flames of the altar.
The last one was the Succubus Demon Apostle, Eileen.
There were no other high-level Succubi.
Eileen alone used a bone dagger to cut open her wrist and sprinkled her blood into the flames of the altar.
"Great Demon King, I am the Succubus Apostle, the charm of the Demon Race. Our clan is willing to offer our essence to complete our King's fate!"
As one sacrificial item after another was thrown in, the originally very weak flames on the altar now began to expand rapidly, growing more and more intense. In just a short moment, they turned into raging flames, illuminating the entire altar.
The size of the flames could more or less represent the bloodline of the summoned Demon King.
It was a good omen.
After the Wisdom Demons threw in the Shadow Demon's eyes, the Decay Demon's feet, the Sorcery Demon's tongue, and the Breeding Demon's touch into the altar flames, they were about to take half a step back to observe the altar when the altar flames suddenly erupted, directly covering and enveloping the entire huge altar.
"Huh!?"
The four Apostles present all showed shocked expressions.
They had never seen such a scene before.
Those deep flames seemed to want to devour the entire altar. Even the Chaos Rock that Sword Demon Pierre found difficult to cut open couldn't withstand the flames for even a few breaths, melting and crumbling.
Far more than that.
The flames that devoured the altar eventually turned into a beam of dark light, shooting straight into the sky of the Chaos Rift.
Immediately after, the entire rift space began to shake violently. A strong tremor emanated from the barren ground beneath their feet, like a lament of something unable to bear the weight, as if saying that this Chaos Rift couldn't withstand the existence that was about to descend.
After the initial panic and shock, the first one to show ecstatic joy was none other than Succubus Apostle, Eileen.
Even if the ground cracked and kept shaking, she still stared fixedly at the dark light pillar rising to the sky, staring into the depths of the altar.
The stronger the anomalies displayed by the altar, the more powerful the summoned Demon King would be.
And now, the anomalies of the altar were not even limited to the altar itself, but affected the entire Chaos Rift, making this prison that had sealed their Demon Race for a thousand years, the most unshakable, seem to be on the verge of collapse.
There could be no mistake!
The Demon King they summoned this time would probably... probably be the most powerful one in the history of the Demon Race!!
With such an excited mood and strong anticipation, as the dark light pillar finally slowly faded away, what replaced it in the center of the altar ruins was an increasingly clear... clear... clear...
Human?
More specifically, it was a young man who remained confused and perplexed.
…
Reji looked at the chaotic and desolate rift space around him, at the black mass of millions of demon troops in the basin below, cheering and letting out deafening, excited roars towards him.
Then he looked not far in front of him, at the four Demon Apostle bosses that he had spent no small effort on in the game, farming them a hundred and eighty times before he could solo them.
And at this moment, these four Demon Apostles were half-kneeling, lowering their heads towards him in a welcoming posture.
Reji: "..."