Hikari was sitting in his personal library, poring over ancient scriptures detailing past wars with demons. The weight of the knowledge pressing heavily on him.
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'The Demon Race has existed as long as the Spirit Race, with both primarily residing in realms separate from the Mortal Realm, home to Humans, Elves, and Dwarves.
While Demons and Spirits can enter the Mortal Realm, it is impossible for Humans, Elves, and Dwarves to do the same.
This limitation stems from their inherent disadvantages, particularly their shorter lifespans resulting in weaker souls, which makes It impossible to traverse realms freely.
Humans generally live up to 100 years, with the strongest reaching 150-400 years.
Elves live around 150 years, with stronger ones reaching 250-600 years.
Dwarves typically live up to 120 years, with the stronger ones living 220-500 years.
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In contrast, even the weakest Demons live for 500 years,
with low-level nobility enjoying lifespans of 1,000 to 4,000 years,
and high-level nobility exceeding 5,000 years.
And The Demon King is Immortal until he is killed by the Hero of that Era.
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There are also Monster Beasts and Corrupted Demonic Beasts,
Monster Beasts don't have a high Lifespan, ranging anywhere from 20 years to 200 years depending on the species,
However, Demonic Beasts have their lifespans extended to over 500 years, at the cost of losing their intelligence and becoming mindless, raging animals.
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The Spirits are different—they are all immortal, and it is extremely difficult to completely kill even a low-level Spirit, as they are part of nature itself. However, they cannot access the Mortal Realm on their own;
They need Mana Contracts to manifest, and their time in the Mortal Realm is limited by the power of the contracted individual.
The longest a Spirit Ruler has ever stayed manifested was 12 minutes, summoned by a Hero to fight against the Demon King, and even then, the Hero sustained permanent wounds from that battle.'
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My View- Demons are master manipulators, luring individuals into forming Demon Contracts by offering them unimaginable power. However, they conveniently omit the crucial detail that by accepting this power, the person becomes subservient to the demon. Over time, the individual's mind begins to corrupt, gradually falling completely under the demon's control, ensuring their descent into darkness and subjugation.' - Researcher of the 9th War
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Hikari sighed as he unfurled another scroll, his expression solemn.
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'The Demons are an arrogant, selfish, and scheming race. They wish to conquer the Mortal Realm and enslave all its inhabitants.
It becomes evident by observing the process of how the Birth of a Demon King takes place,
The 7 Demon Dukes of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride gather and form their own respective armies that fights for them.
It includes forming various branch families who will destroy and devour the branch families of other Dukes, Once that is over, the main forces of Dukes fight against each other.
After that, when most of the fighting has caused the destruction of 80% of the Demon Race,
The Dukes fight against each other and kill them to absorb their powers,
After only one Duke is surviving, who had absorbed the powers of all the other 6, he begins his transformation to become a Demon King.
Once this process has started, there is no way to stop this, It takes only a few minutes for the process to complete, before the Demon King is born with the powers of all 7 Demon Dukes as one, his personality and memories are of the Last Surviving Duke.
After this is complete, the Demon War against the Mortal Realm begins.
Observation Note- If the entire Demon Race were to unite against the Human, Elven, and Dwarven Races, they would easily win without needing the Demon King. According to my estimation, it should take them at least 200 years to gather and consolidate their forces, meaning they would have to miss one war. To future researchers: If it is believed that the Demons have started to work together, report this to all the Royal Families immediately and form several elite forces to start killing the demons as soon as possible!' - Researcher of the 14th War
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*slam*
The scroll's contents made Hikari slam it down in frustration before he fell back into his chair, a deep sigh escaping him.
'Haah...'
"I wish this is just a mistake..." Hikari murmured, though he knew deep down it was likely true.
He had lost the powers he once had as a Hero 100 years ago. The Demon War was supposed to happen then, but the demons had ceased almost all their activities in the Mortal Realm. It was common knowledge among the Royal Families that the demons were gathering their forces, yet they refused to work together, even when their survival was at stake.
"F*cking idiots..." Hikari cursed aloud. Though past his prime, he wasn't about to sit idly by and watch his home be destroyed by demons. He might not be able to do much, but he could certainly train his successor, someone who might be able to make a difference.
As the morning sun's rays trickled through the window, Hikari glanced outside, the weight of responsibility heavy on his shoulders.
Hikari shook his head to get rid of these useless thoughts.
"It's already time, isn't it? Let's move to the next lesson." He chuckled softly, locking the library behind him as he left.
Kazuki had no idea just how much trouble he had walked into.