Survival is ultimately a struggle.
To not die.
To simply stay alive.
Kiekekekek!
That was life. And the hell that demons lived in.
Kihihi!
But even that hell was a luxury for some. For the residents of the gap who hadn't been born yet, it was a struggle, an opportunity, and a blessing to be born.
Kikiki!
Keke!
That's why they were demons who struggled just to be born. To do so, they devoured anything and everything within reach, whether it was a living soul or a dead one… They were the very essence of weeds, spreading their roots and thriving wherever they could find a foothold.
"With the king of demons gone, the weeds have multiplied so much." The Dragon King Antares clicked his tongue.
Has there ever been such a proliferation of weeds in the sea of the afterlife since the beginning of time? The number of residents in the gap seemed extremely alarming. Moreover, although they were just weeds, there were many powerful giants among them that grew like huge old trees due to the amount of nutrients they had absorbed.
"Even if they're weeds, with this much quantity, the next king could really be decided among them." The Dragon King spoke
At the same time the demon world ruled by Esil was under a massive invasion.
Kwaaaaah!
"Don't give up! Fight for our survival!"
Kyaaaaa!
Under Esil's orders, all demons were working together to stop the invasion.
Those who struggle to survive and those who struggle to be born.
The war between these two forces was truly fierce, a scene of utter chaos.
"But..." Antares, couldn't help but snicker as he thought of Esil, who seemed too weak and clumsy to become a king.
"She's lucky in many ways. If you're weak, it's a good choice to cling to the strong early on."
Yes. Thinking back, Esil was lucky in many ways. Because the residents of the gap, who should be invading the demon world, were being annihilated from behind.
[Keeeeeeeeek-! Fight! Suho's glorious army!]
"..." Antares stared silently at the tremendous spectacle unfolding before him.
[Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!]
Even ignoring Beru, who was enthusiastically cheering from the front lines, the thousands of shadow soldiers that Suho raised were truly invincible. No one could stand in their way.
[...]
[Gap Demon has been defeated.]
[Gap Demon has been defeated.]
[Gap Demon has been defeated.]
[Gap Demon has been defeated.]
[...]
[Keeeeek! Yes! Keep pushing! To all the foolish ones who stand in our way! Bring great destruction!]
Oh, wait. It's not quite the great destruction.
"That's what I said when I was fighting against your father... Phew." Antares' forehead wrinkled as he felt a little embarrassed. However, he soon relaxed his expression and just softly sighed. He knew that there were no eternal enemies or allies in war. But to think…
How did he, the King of the Dragons and the Monarch of Destruction who fought against the Shadow Army until the very end, end up on the Shadow Monarch's side? Even the fact that he voluntarily chose the Shadow Monarch's son as his successor was a future that he had never imagined. However, because he was the King of Dragons, he couldn't help but sincerely sympathize with the residents of the gap who had to fight against these guys.
'They're truly formidable.' The Dragon King himself knew better than anyone else how frustrating it was to deal with an immortal army that never died.
Kiekekeke!
Kiiiihihihik!
Quantity? The number of residents of the gap gathered here was, at a rough glance, more than ten times that of Suho's army. And the tenacity with which they waged war was even greater. But they were truly… unlucky.
"To think they would run into Suho."
The Shadow Army, no, the shadow power, was a power specialized for war more than any other. On the other side, the more died, the more their forces decreased, but on this side, the more enemies killed, the more their forces grew! It was an incredibly reliable power for allies, but for opponents, it was an incredibly annoying ability. But, excluding the monarchs themselves, there was one race that the vile and annoying shadow power didn't work on… The 'demons'
"Originally, the Demon Race was the only opponent to the Shadow Legion. They were the only ones that could not be taken away by the Shadow Monarch even if they died." Antares looked at the corpses swept away by Suho's Legion, recalling the countless strategies he had devised using demons a long time ago. Even now, look…
[Extraction is impossible because there is no soul.]
[Extraction is impossible because there is no soul.]
[...]
A being like the Dragon Emperor could see.
The numerous system messages that were currently displayed before Suho's eyes. And as the text that appeared above the corpses of the gap demons said, it was impossible to extract them no matter how many he killed because they didn't have souls in the first place. Moreover, even though the souls of the demons they had devoured were leaking out of their bodies as they died, it was impossible to turn even those into soldiers.
[Mana is contaminated and cannot be extracted.]
[Mana is contaminated and cannot be extracted.]
[...]
What did this mean? The residents of the gap, the prospective demons, and the demons themselves were races that could compete with the Shadow Army if they had enough numbers. Of course, they had long been defeated and subjugated by the true Shadow Monarch, but Suho here was only half-baked compared to his father.
"... Yes. This amount of soldiers would've been enough to make a dent… Until a few days ago."
But now it was different.
Grumble!
"Because now Suho has my heart."
Oh dear. Weren't they truly unlucky?
Thump! Thump!
Fwoosh!
Even at this moment, the Dragon King's heart was boiling like lava in Suho's chest. The destructive mana emanating from it flowed into all of his shadow soldiers. The result was terrifying…
Kyaaaaaaaaaaa—!
"Can mere weeds withstand my flames of destruction?"
It was literally black flame! Suho's shadow soldiers, who had always been covered in dark shadows, were now covered in hot flames. Due to the Shadow Army's enormous offensive capabilities, which included catastrophic fire damage, the residents of the gap were helpless even with an overwhelming numerical advantage. They were reduced to ashes, and forced to scatter.
[Hahaha! Burn! You cursed race!] Kira In particular, had an elitist mindset even in life, and was still the same after becoming a shadow soldier. Now that he had justification, he was like a fish in water, freely rampaging and pouring his overwhelming power onto the largest monsters among the residents of the gap.
Graaaaa—!
Rumble!
Giant monsters, as sturdy as large trees, collapsed with agonizing screams.
The war was fiercer than ever, and the Shadow Legion was clearly at a numerical disadvantage. At this point, it was hard to tell who the bad guys were. Given the situation, the person trembling with fear here was none other than Seo Jiwoo, an ordinary S-class hunter.
"Oh, oh my god." She was trembling, her face looking like she was about to faint. She couldn't have imagined until this morning. That she would witness such an absurd situation with her own eyes.
"This is… an S-rank Hunter…?"
There was a faint voice echoing in Seo Jiwoo's mind, which had become completely empty. The greeting she gave to Suho when she first saw him.
"Wow, who were those guys just now? I heard you're an S-rank summoner, are those your summons?" Seo Jiwoo ended up holding her face.
'Why did I say something like that!'
'Why on earth did you say that!' Tears welled up in her eyes from the extreme shame. If she could, she would go back in time and rip apart her stupid eyes and mouth that found those cute summons adorable.
But the good news was that there was no one here paying attention to Seo Jiwoo's feelings. Well… There was one 'person'. Harmakan.
[Are you crying now?]
'Please pretend not to know... please!'
Seo Jiwoo felt a chill from Harmakan, who spoke to her in a seemingly indifferent and grandfatherly manner. The Shadow Demonic spirit Harmakan could glimpse the emotions of the soul.
[Your soul is noisy. Could it be that you have developed some kind of inferiority complex after seeing my master's abilities?] That didn't mean Harmakan was affectionate, he was just saying what he saw. And he whispered secretly in Seo Jiwoo's ear.
[Did you think you can overcome your inferiority complex by becoming a villain? The armor has good compatibility with blackened souls.]
"..." Demon or whatever, this guy was the worst.
[Hmm. The master's hunting is slowly coming to an end.] Harmakan rubbed his chin and looked around at his surroundings, which had become noticeably quieter. Corpses covered the battlefield filled with intense heat. Acrid smoke rising above them.
[Did you know? This is not ordinary smoke, but the souls of the demons they have consumed.] At Harmakan's explanation, Seo Jiwoo held her breath and covered her mouth and nose with both hands.
[Tsk. You're easily surprised. Don't worry, you won't become a demon just by inhaling this smoke. What's more important is where these souls want to go.]
"Harmakan! Beru!" Suho, commanding the battlefield at that moment, also realized this, turned around, and shouted.
"Trace where these demon souls are going!"
[Understood!] Beru sharpened his eyes and expanded his senses.
Harmakan also created a magic circle with his hands, not wanting to be outdone. Then, in the midst of this empty space, intricately mixed with numerous cracks, the souls of the dead demons were wandering through the air and flowing somewhere.
[Master. It's over there.]
[No, my liege! This way!]
"Two places?" Harmakan and Beru pointed in opposite directions.
Looking at them, Antares said, "Probably both are correct. There's only one place where the souls of dead demons can return."
The Demon realm. These souls would instinctively return to the demon realm.
"…But today, these souls have one more option." Antares smiled faintly and looked at Suho.
"The power of destruction I gave you is a powerful force that completely destroys even souls. And extreme destruction is not much different from 'purification.'"
"Purification?" It was a surprising statement. Antares' smile deepened, he was pleased with Suho's reaction.
"Yes. That means that the demons' souls that have been purified by burning in my mana can return to the sea of the afterlife."
"... !" The moment he heard those words, Suho's gaze quickly swept around. And among the thousands of system messages that filled his vision, he could pick out the ones that stood out.
[Mana is contaminated and cannot be extracted.]
[Target can be extracted.]
[Mana is contaminated and cannot be extracted.]
[Target can be extracted.]
[...]
"There! The extractable demon souls!"
The demon's purified souls were wandering around in the air, confused, gathering in a heap and rushing somewhere. Even at this moment, the shadow soldiers were thoroughly trampling and burning the gap demons, and the smoke flowing out from them further joined the group. That was the direction Beru was pointing at.
[Kihehe! I got it right!] Beru was very proud and raised his antennae.
Harmakan, recognizing defeat, lowered his eyes sullenly. But not all souls were purified by the power of destruction. It was not the residents of the gap that fought Suho's shadows, but rather the souls of the real demons that had been eaten, those were going in Harmakan's direction. It was an attempt to return to the Demon Realm. As a result…
Ding!
[You have completed Quest: 'Trial of the Demon King'.]
"Ah." Seeing the quest completion message, Suho realized that Esil's trial was over. As the residents of the gap were dealt with by Suho, Esil's territory successfully withstood the invasion.
"She's really lucky in many ways." Antares chuckled. In that terrible war, the entire universe bestowed blessings on the cowardly demon noble Esil Radiru, the only demon who crawled under Sung Jinwoo.
[Quest completion reward has arrived.]
[Do you want to check your reward?]
[Y/N]
"Check reward." Suho immediately confirmed the reward.
[You have acquired the Item: 'Baran's Horn'.]
"Baran's Horn?" A long devil's horn appeared in Suho's hand.
The moment he held it.
"!"
He suddenly felt a chill. A feeling as if someone was looking at you. This feeling was familiar.
[The King of Demons, the Monarch of White Flames, Baran, is watching you.]
It was then.
"Be careful of Baran-" Just as the Dragon King Antares was about to say something to Suho.
Ding!
[Passive skill '(Unknown)' is activated.]
Whoosh—!
Suho's shadow engulfed the world, and time stopped.