Chapter 390: King of the Demon Realm (1)

Kai calmly waited until Mimic fully absorbed the core. Even so, he didn’t lower his guard just in case something went wrong with Mimic’s body.

[Progress rate: 98.2%...]

[Progress rate: 99.4%...]

[Progress rate 100% complete]

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

[Mimic has finished absorbing Zatan’s Core.]

[Mimic can now fully control the power of a gravity field.]

[Mimic can now take the form of Zatan (Raid).]

[Mimic skill has leveled up to Advanced Level 4.]

“

Wow

.”

Patience was bitter but its fruit was sweet. Kai smiled broadly as he received the reward at the end of his wait. But there was someone he had to praise first before that.

“You did great,” Kai chuckled as he poked Mimic’s body.

No matter what anyone said, it must have been hard to absorb a core the size of its own body.

“Are you not hungry anymore?”

As if answering that question, Mimic changed into an imposing wyvern. However, something about it looked different than usual.

The wyvern Mimic imitated was definitely the one flying over the Snowy Mountains.

It had been a common wyvern of Normal rank, so its appearance hadn’t been impressive, and Kai had expected nothing beyond its flight ability. But the wyvern now standing before him looked reliable no matter what.

First, its size had almost doubled and its scales shone with a sleek gloss. Its reptilian eyes seemed slightly sharper than usual which made it look trustworthy.

“Is it because the Mimic skill leveled up?”

“

Krrr

,” Mimic nodded in response.

Even the wyvern’s voice sounded huskier than before.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Kai climbed onto Mimic and gently stroked its neck.

“Let’s go.”

The wings on both sides that looked at least 1.5 times larger and stronger than before began to slowly move. As the dust on the ground scattered in all directions, Mimic’s body shot up into the sky at bullet-like speed.

***

The Demon King's Castle had no official name. Angol Moa had never been the type to care about such trivial details. She simply called the castle she lived in “home,” while the other demons called it the Demon King’s Castle.

Countless demons wished to be assigned to the Demon King’s Castle. Middle-ranked demons who could walk with pride elsewhere couldn’t even lift their heads due to the overwhelmingly high number of upper and top-ranked demons roaming the castle.

The massive quantities of magic stones offered monthly from all directions, north, south, east, and west, raised the castle’s prestige every day.

“

Mmm

...”

Angol Moa was a model night owl demon. She would wake up in the afternoon, stay active for a while, then go to sleep by morning. A truly exemplary lifestyle. This day was no different.

After a long yawn, Angol Moa lazily threw on her royal cloak and headed to the bathroom. With a fine height of 168 centimeters and bronze skin, the two horns embedded at her temples stood tall like church spires.

“My horns look great today too.”

No other demon in the Demon Realm could copy the long and elegant design of her horns. They were Angol Moa’s pride and joy.

After washing up, she headed straight to the audience chamber and naturally sat on the throne made of beast skulls.

“Approach.”

“You called, my lord.”

The top-ranked demons nervously bowed their heads to the demon king’s call.

“The northeast has been noisy lately. What’s going on?”

“A war, my lord. It seems Basion and Steron are going at it again.”

“

Hmm?

” Angol Moa showed interest. “Those two always do that... but there’s another strange presence aside from them.”

“Both archdukes seem serious this time and are waging a full-scale war. We’ve heard that tens of millions of demons are gathering for battle.”

“No no. That’s not what I meant.” Angol Moa waved her right hand. “Besides the presence of Basion and Steron, I sensed another power moving with them.”

“Pardon? But...”

“When both archdukes release their full power, no other living being can enter that area.”

“The poison and lightning dark magic that dominates the region melts anything it touches.”

“

Hmm

.” Losing interest, Angol Moa changed the subject. “What about the south?”

“The Liberation Army is gaining the upper hand in that area.”

“The Liberation Army? That’s unexpected.”

“They say human support played a big role.”

“Human... You mean that audacious one who killed Kinessa?”

“No, it’s a different human. A companion of that one. A woman they call the White Reaper.”

“Are humans really that strong?”

“That’s also quite the mystery to us, but the results speak for themselves so it’s hard to say otherwise.”

The demons scratched their heads and bowed deeply.

Angol Moa tilted her head to the side. “But that’s really strange. I made a contract with a human not long ago too. But that one was weak.”

“Just as we demons are divided by ranks, perhaps humans are as well.”

“Such as low-ranked humans, mid-ranked humans, top-ranked humans and so on.”

“Is that so? It’s been a long time since we lost contact with the Middle Realm so our information is outdated.”

“We are trying our best to gather information through various means.”

“If what you say is true, how strong do you think the two humans currently in the Demon Realm are?”

“

Hmm

. Judging by the fact that the male killed Kinesa, he is certainly at least archduke level.”

“Interesting. What about the woman?”

“Our analysis says she’s around top-ranked demon level.”

“That’s quite a difference.”

“Yes. However, we don’t believe it’s something you need to worry about.”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter.” Angol Moa yawned again with a drowsy look. “Well then, let’s get to work.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The eyes of the top-ranked demons gathered in the audience chamber glowed red. They were the top-ranked demons selected through ruthless competition in the merciless Demon Realm. As Angol Moa’s direct subordinates, their strength was unmatched.

Just then, a deafening roar burst out near the entrance of the Demon King’s Castle. When all the demons turned their gazes that way, the doors of the audience chamber burst open as an upper-ranked demon rushed in. At the same time, the dark magic of the top-ranked demons explosively surged.

“How dare a mere upper-ranked act so boldly!”

“Who gave you the nerve to behave so carelessly?!”

“I-I am sorry! The matter is urgent...”

“Enough. What is it?”

At Angol Moa’ question, the upper-ranked demon swallowed hard and gave their report.

“U-urgent news. An intruder has appeared!”

The demons in the audience chamber tilted their heads at the report.

“An intruder? What’s that?”

“Are they talking about someone who enters a place without permission?”

“No way. Are you saying there’s an intruder in the Demon King’s Castle right now?”

“

Hmm

... Now that I think about it, that makes no sense.”

“Silence!”

The noisy audience chamber became quiet in an instant.

Angol Moa said in a soft voice, “Explain in detail. What do you mean by intruder?”

“S-some lunatic just broke down the castle entrance.”

“The entrance? But Darros should be guarding it.”

“That Darros... Darros the Giant has been defeated!”

“

Oh?

Listen up.” Angol Moa slightly raised her hand and gave an order. “It seems a glory-chasing demon has shown up for the first time in a while. Go give them a proper lesson.”

“Leave it to us.”

“We are the Demon King’s personal guard.”

“We will never disappoint you.”

Confident smiles spread across the faces of the top-ranked demons.

***

“The Demon King’s Castle... I’ve only seen stuff like this in novels or comics.”

The exterior of the Demon King’s Castle looked exactly like a Demon King’s Castle should. Behind it stood a sheer cliff, and above it hung a red moon.

One, two, three, four... five floors in total?

As Kai counted the number of floors, he thought things would become fun and began walking toward the entrance.

“

Hm?

”

The upper-ranked demon guarding the entrance, Darros, opened his eyes.

He was a demon the size of a mountain. It wasn’t just a metaphor—he looked about as tall as a five or six-story apartment building. Even sitting down, he was nearly as tall as half the fortress, and his presence was overwhelming. He also had a fair amount of bulk, so the massive entrance attached to the fortress was completely blocked by his body. He was the very definition of a gatekeeper. It seemed that no one could enter the Demon King’s Castle without his permission.

“Who goes there?”

“Angol Moa, was it? I’ve come to see the Demon King.”

At Kai’s tone of speaking about the Demon King like a next-door friend, Darros slightly became tense and asked, “Do you have an appointment?”

“Nope, nothing like that...”

“Then you cannot pass,” Darros folded his arms over his massive belly and shook his head. “Only those who have received the great and noble Demon King’s invitation or demons who have proven their worth may enter this castle. If anyone else tries to pass...”

The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck as Darros slightly shifted his posture.

“They must defeat me, Darros the gatekeeper, to go any further.”

Kai's eyes widened as he asked again, “

Oh.

Is that all?”

“

Hm?

Did you mishear something?”

“No, I heard it right. You said I could pass if I beat you.”

“

Pfft!

” Darros burst out laughing.

It was only natural since the tiny demon in front of him barely matched the size of one of his fingers. Of course, size had nothing to do with strength, but the opponent in front of him didn’t even emit any dark magic.

“Well, try if you think you can.” Darros leaned back into the fortress wall and closed his eyes.

“Excuse me then.”

Kai slowly stepped forward and stood in front of Darros. Now that he was up close, Darros truly was massive. Kai had to tilt his head straight back just to barely see his head.

Darros, who had been quietly looking down at Kai, eventually burst into laughter as the sight of Kai rolling up his sleeves to push him away seemed funny.

How cute.

As if rolling up sleeves would be enough to move his massive body.

Darros gave sincere advice to the small demon in front of him, “Don’t think of finding unfair shortcuts. If you build strength and gain fame step by step like other demons, you will naturally receive the Demon King’s invitation...”

At that moment, a strange floating sensation suddenly surrounded Darros.

Huh?

At first, he thought he was laughing too hard, but he soon realized that wasn’t it because his body had actually risen off the ground and was floating in the air.

“Well done.” The small demon in front of him gently patted the slime squirming on his shoulder. “The effect multiplies when you and I use it together, doesn’t it?”

As Darros stared at the absurd scene, fury filled his eyes. “You! I don’t know what trick you pulled, but as long as Darros the Giant blocks this gate...”

But before he could finish speaking, Kai lightly flicked his finger as if doing a penalty game. It was what people commonly called a finger flick.

How dare he give a finger flick to me, Darros the gatekeeper!

Just as Darros was about to shout in rage, Kai’s finger struck his thick belly. At the same time, Darros’s body, which had become as light as a feather by the dual gravity fields, shot away like a bullet. But that alone wasn’t enough.

“Cancel Gravity Field.”

Kai canceled the gravity field at the perfect moment. Naturally, Darros’s massive body, which had been as light as a feather, regained its full weight. His gigantic figure flew straight through the outer and inner walls of the Demon King’s Castle, destroying them both.

“Looks like we opened an expressway straight to the entrance.”

Amused by its new power, Mimic excitedly squirmed on Kai’s shoulder.