『𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨』 𝐚𝐧𝐝 『𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠』
Right after being swallowed by the transfer trap, Stella found herself in a place resembling the audience chamber in Sirius Kingdom’s castle.
A spacious room, high ceilings, and a luxurious structure.
Above all, it was the presence of the 『king』 seated on the throne at the far end of the room, atop a set of stairs, that strongly impressed upon Stella that this was indeed an audience chamber.
ㅤ
The king was there alone, without any subordinates.
ㅤ
The king appeared to be a young human male.
He looked about 17-18 years old, with black hair and black eyes just like Allan.
However, Stella felt that beyond appearances, something about this young man was similar to Allan.
ㅤ
“Nice to meet you, hero. Welcome to my castle.”
ㅤ
And then, that king. . . . . .the 『Demon King』, exuding an immense sense of intimidation,
Surprisingly began a dialogue with Stella, who was the hero.
ㅤ
“I never thought I’d be teleported right in front of the Demon King. Is it okay not to wear me down using your minions?”
“If I unleashed mere demons on you, you wouldn’t even break a sweat, would you?
They’d be more of a hindrance than a help.
There might have been a chance with my top subordinate, but I tasked him with exterminating other intruders within the castle.
. . . . . .Though She was strongly against it.”
ㅤ
The Demon King shrugged with a troubled look on his face.
Stella, partly to buy time until her allies could arrive, decided to engage the Demon King in conversation while holding her sword at the ready. . . . . .but the Demon King was unexpectedly human-like.
Without the emanating intimidation, he could blend into a human town without feeling out of place.
ㅤ
“Value your life more. Sacrifice all your subordinates to weaken the hero, and then I should fight.
She advised me so, but I didn’t agree.
It’s too costly, and more importantly, she was among the subordinates who would be sacrificed.
Defeating you alone is the most efficient and least sacrificial way to win.”
“. . . . . .You’re quite considerate of your subordinates. Hard to believe you’re the root of all the evil that has tormented us.”
ㅤ
Stella felt somewhat uneasy.
The being before her was the Demon King.
The enemy that must be defeated, the one who tormented humanity.
Demons killed Rest.
They also killed the Stella from the previous world, driving Allan towards revenge.
And countless others have been killed by demons.
ㅤ
The Demon King before her eyes is the king of such demons.
The absolute evil for humanity.
Yet, she just couldn’t see the Demon King before her as evil.
ㅤ
“Tell me, hero. What do you think demons are?”
ㅤ
The Demon King suddenly began speaking like that.
Well, not so suddenly.
For the Demon King, this was his answer to Stella’s earlier remarks.
ㅤ
“Demons are beings born in the Demon Realm with divine protection.
Once, the god of the Demon Realm distorted the world due to excessive interference, driving it mad. The people living there transformed into grotesque beings, losing their intelligence.
Over a long period, these transformed humans mingled with similarly altered beasts, leaving offspring. These are monsters.
Among them, the god gave monsters born with potential the divine protection of wisdom and power they once had as humans, making them pawns. These are demons.
In other words, we were originally the same as 『you』.”
“. . . . . .. . . . . .What?”
ㅤ
Stella was flabbergasted.
The shock of learning something unknown was overshadowed by disbelief.
After all, every demon she’d met was an abomination far from human.
Dragburn, obsessed with battle, and Asgard, who resembled a puppet, seemed slightly better in comparison.
The average level speaks for itself.
ㅤ
“I get what you’re saying. Demons don’t look human, right?
But that’s largely due to the environment.
The Demon Realm we live in is harsh.
Due to the past god’s recklessness, no plants grow, no sunlight shines, and the only food is each other’s flesh.
Demons cannot survive without killing each other.”
“That is. . . . . .”
“Pitiable, isn’t it? For demons, neighbors are both enemies and prey.
You never know when you’ll literally become someone’s meal.
In such conditions, it’s impossible to trust others, and only cunning to deceive grows.
Monsters, who can cooperate instinctively, are actually better. Having intelligence just makes it even more hopeless.”
ㅤ
Certainly, when put that way, it’s hard not to see demons as pitiable beings.
But that didn’t mean she could feel compassion for those abominations.
Stella didn’t consider herself kind enough to sympathize with those who came to kill her with blatant malice.
ㅤ
“. . . . . .However.”
ㅤ
But, the next moment.
Just after uttering those short words.
The eyes of the Demon King changed.
ㅤ
“Even so, I want to save them. These pitiable, foolish, hopeless demons. I can’t help but feel that way.
After all, I am the king of the demons, the 『Demon King』.”
ㅤ
The Demon King’s eyes, filled with sorrow yet alight with steadfast conviction.
Upon seeing them, Stella understood.
ㅤ
(Ah, I see. So this is the 『strength』 that Allan sensed in the Demon King.)
ㅤ
The Demon King was different from the other demons she had fought.
Unlike the demons who fought for their own desires, the Demon King fought for others.
The Demon King was different from other demons who, despite gaining wisdom, acted on brutal instincts.
The Demon King was a 『person』 fighting with the conviction to protect what mattered.
A 『person』 with unyielding strength.
ㅤ
(Just like Allan.)
ㅤ
“If you want to save the demons, couldn’t you have chosen coexistence with us?”
“It’s impossible. Our divine protection comes with a strong command from the gods to seize this world from you.
Even if that were not the case, demons have an instinct to kill and consume that cannot be easily discarded.
In a world where we can live without killing, it would likely take hundreds of years to dilute such an instinct.”
“In those hundreds of years, we’d all be killed, wouldn’t we?”
“Exactly.”
ㅤ
Coexistence between humans and demons is impossible.
This brief exchange is more than enough to make that clear.
The Hero and the Demon King let out a deep sigh, thinking of this unchangeable truth, and the next moment, they fill their eyes with a will to fight each other.
ㅤ
“Whatever your circumstances may be, if you’re coming to kill us, it’s not like we’ll just quietly let you.
We also have things we want to protect, and futures we want to seize with the ones we love.”
ㅤ
『Hero』 Stella says so and wields the Holy Sword.
The blade that slays the Demon King. The ultimate weapon allowed to wield immense power solely for the purpose of eliminating the greatest menace to the world.
Finally, it unleashes its true power, enveloping both its owner, Stella, and the Holy Sword itself in a tremendous aura of divine light.
ㅤ
“I know. I understand that you are right, and we are wrong.
But, whether we become demons or devils, we too have wishes we want to fulfill.”
ㅤ
Saying this, the 『Demon King』 cloaks his body in an aura of darkness that forms a pair with the Hero.
Simultaneously, a portion of the immense dark aura gathers at the tip of the Demon King’s right hand, transforming into a flickering, flame-like black sword.
ㅤ
The Hero and the Demon King.
Light and darkness.
Humans and demons.
Though they are polar opposites in every way, their deeply held beliefs are strikingly similar, and their battle is about to begin here and now.
ㅤ
“Your comrades won’t be coming, Hero. I sent my most trusted subordinate to deal with them.
If it’s just you, I can handle it alone.”
“Don’t underestimate me, or my comrades. We’re the ones who’ll win!”
ㅤ
And so, the strongest human and the strongest demon clashed, their beliefs colliding like titanic forces.
Translator’s Blog
Blog
- Trucks, Isekai, and the Struggle for a Good Image: When Anime Hurts the Real World
- Anime With Good Plot, But One Thing Makes It Unwatchable: My ‘Black Clover’ Criticism
- My Two Classmates Just Went Full Anime Fight Club Over… WAIFUS?!
- Your Crush is With Someone Else? Channel Your Inner Samurai, Not a Sad Puppy Dog.
- Is Your Cat Plotting Your Demise (While You’re Face Down, Drunk)?
Leave a Reply