Chapter 30: He was the Demon King.
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai?
The Hero stared at the simple sketch with red-rimmed eyes, his expression vacant and dazed.
The inn’s temporary server—who had some drawing experience and had been hired a few days ago—was surprised and a little frightened by the Hero’s unusual reaction today, so different from before.
A bit startled and uneasy, the server passed the drawing along, saying, “I—I have stated the facts, and there are other guests who need service, so I’ll head over first…”
He stepped back after handing over the sketch and quickly ran to the right. The paper slowly slipped from the Hero’s stiff fingers and floated down lightly to the floor. His head buzzing, the Hero saw a sheet of paper with a smiley face landing at his feet. Around him, the noise seemed both deafening and eerily silent all at once.
…
“Hey! After the sweep here, we’re heading out to search another area—so I came by to say goodbye!”
It felt like ages had passed—or maybe only a moment.
A slightly short figure suddenly jumped over from somewhere, hopping quickly. His foot landed right on the paper on the floor. After bouncing a couple more times, he finally looked down.
With no one else around, he turned to the Hero and asked, “Uh? Did I mess up again? Is this drawing yours?”
The Hero’s gaze slowly shifted upward from the ruined sketch, locking onto the approaching thief.
The thief, who was again the first to rush over, happily hopped several times on the drawing before realizing what he’d done.
After asking the Hero a few questions, he explained the Hero’s amnesia based on their last encounter with the doctor.
“Oh, right, let me explain. As you can see, I’m your former temporary teammate, Merlin the Thief. The reason I’m here now is that a demon has been lurking nearby. We found out because this demon or she had attacked people and property multiple times around here, leaving many traces.”
“Because of that, we’ve been sent again and again to investigate the area. One day during the sweep, we ran into you, and from talking with you, we learned you’re staying here. After confirming this area is safe for now, we’re preparing to move to the next zone. I just came by to say goodbye before leaving.”
After realizing the Hero’s mind was a little off, the thief hurriedly explained everything the Hero had forgotten. The Hero listened, hearing: lurking demons… multiple attacks…? He took a step back. His head throbbed painfully. Everything started to go dark before his eyes.
He shook his head to chase away the dizziness and nausea, grimacing slightly in pain as his will fought against the headache. He blinked slowly, his expression growing dim. Struggling to stay upright, he looked at the thief who was explaining the details. After the Hero’s escape yesterday, he now heard facts from the thief’s mouth that he himself didn’t know. Confused and blank, the Hero felt lost.
The thief, joined by the mage and warrior who had just arrived, finished his report and asked without sensing anything wrong: “Got it? Come on, say ‘goodbye’?”
After requesting farewells, the thief looked down at the drawing he’d stepped on.
“Well, is this drawing really yours? If it is, considering all the trouble we’ve caused together, cut me some slack. I’ll find someone to redraw it for you.”
The archer, second to arrive, glanced at the thief with mild disapproval. The mage and warrior, just steadying themselves, looked at the dazed Hero who didn’t respond, then exchanged looks with the always-too-fast thief who got into trouble. The Hero’s heart pounded wildly as he faced the truth. “…Yes.”
The thief groaned, “Ah? It really is?”
He bent down, picking up the paper with its scattered footprints.
“Not too hard to copy, don’t worry. I can grab someone to redraw it whenever…”
“It’s…the Demon King.”
In the daze and sluggishness of the thief’s one-sided comfort and explanation, the Hero let out that breathless statement as his mind went blank.
The thief froze. “…What did you say?”
The Demon what? What king? The archer looked over at the thief in disbelief. The mage wondered if his ears were working right. The warrior looked at the other three and repeated, “The Demon King?”
“You’re looking for the demon lurking nearby, the one who attacked humans multiple times,” the Hero stammered, pointing at yesterday’s memories, “and the Demon King… is him.”
Despite the damaged state of the drawing, the face it depicted remained clear. After finishing, the Hero coughed sharply from the pain. Reflecting on his memories, he added, “If those attacks happened multiple times, then I was one of the victims. It was during one of those that I confirmed—he’s the Demon King.”
He repeated the fact once more, his face souring as he took half a step back and leaned against the doorframe. His head throbbed harder the more he thought. Taking a tentative step inside, he gasped, struggling to face reality. It hurt. Before leaving, the mage squad learned this critical information. Meanwhile, the Demon King, informed of everything by the server, sat in a nearby shop by the inn. After receiving breakfast from someone, he casually handed it to the buyer, then walked a few steps empty-handed. From the stairwell, he overheard the Hero’s words completely selling him out.
The Demon King: … Trash Hero.
The Demon King glanced toward the Hero and the mage squad. After the Hero had half disappeared behind the door, the Demon King summoned his dragon. The archer caught the Demon King’s gaze and returned it. An arrow thudded into the stairwell.
The Demon King spun around, leapt out of the inn, and jumped onto the rooftop just as the dragon arrived—stepping onto the creature’s back. He muttered to himself, What am I even hiding from…? What am I hiding from?!
Arrows streaked up from below, some trailing fireballs. Reacting instantly, the Demon King raised his hand and shattered three arrows mid-flight into sparks. When a fiery phoenix spell came flying from the mage squad, the Demon King slammed a magic circle down right into its path.
The two attacks collided in midair, sending a scorching wave of flame rippling outward—like molten lava bursting from a volcano. Within that fiery surge, a beam of light elemental magic cut straight through the blaze and headed toward him.
The Demon King hesitated for a fraction of a second. The Hero, clutching his head in pain, drew his sword and collapsed where he stood. The spreading fire ignited the inn and several nearby shops. The peaceful street erupted into chaos as locals scrambled to put out the flames.
Among the clamorous crowd, the Demon King regained his focus after the Hero’s strike hit the dragon. He dodged a lethal arrow aimed for his vital spots. Glancing at the light arrow that had pierced a hole in his shoulder, he blinked and eyed the blood slowly seeping out.
“…Not bad.” He flung a massive magic circle forward. Boom— The sound of splintering wood and collapsing buildings rang out as houses crumbled one by one. People from all directions hurried toward the commotion. The Demon King slammed another attack into the fray, taking the blow and standing firm before finally retreating. The dragon bore scorch marks where struck by the mage and the Hero’s attacks. The Demon King gritted his teeth, marking the day in his mind when the archer’s shot landed true.
Chaos and ruin remained in the wake of the battle. Three streets’ worth of buildings had been consumed by fire. Nearby residents poured their efforts into extinguishing the flames. After the Demon King departed, the mage squad joined in the firefighting with their magic.
Injured victims were gathered and tended to, waiting for doctors or others to help. Erik, the doctor, had just finished treating those burned or injured when he looked up to see the Hero, leaning against a soot-stained wall with a furrowed brow, holding his head. The doctor approached. The Hero shook his head, indicating he didn’t need treatment.
“…Go help the others. I just have a bit of a headache, that’s all.” Probably just didn’t sleep well… The doctor nodded and left. After finishing with the other patients, he glanced back once more. The Hero was gone. Probably taken elsewhere again? The doctor thought as he finally sat down for a brief rest after a long day.
Meanwhile, after the inn was damaged and the mage squad finished reporting and helping others, the Hero, feeling a bit better, went to assist where he could. He took a moment to look back at the place he’d stayed. His head still throbbed as he recalled what he had with him: himself, a sword, and… A painting—half burned.
It was drawn by a server who’d spoken some unintelligible words while the Hero’s head was buzzing. That server, after dodging the fire, had been pulled back by the innkeeper to help. When the Hero saw him again, he asked, “What did you say to me before?”
…
Later, knowing that it was the Demon King who had carried him inside yesterday, the Hero found a half-empty bottle of lucky candy in the room where he’d stayed. Next to it was a piece of paper with a few faded characters… “?”
The writing was mostly illegible, only blank spaces remained. After failing to make out the words, the Hero gave up and brought the half bottle and the paper to the innkeeper. The innkeeper counted it and confirmed that the lucky candy was indeed the Hero’s to take. The Hero wasn’t sure why he was holding onto it but kept it anyway. He stared at it a while longer, then ate one piece. The taste was strange.
The doctor on rest noticed him, looked at the bottle, and said, “This medicine might be damaged from the fire. I’ll prepare a fresh bottle for you.”
A patient with amnesia who needed periodic checkups and medication adjustments every few days, just like the Hero. The Hero stared at the scorched bottle and its strange taste, then looked up at the doctor who called it medicine. What…?
On the way back riding the dragon, the Demon King cursed the warrior ten times, the mage twenty times, the archer thirty times, the thief forty times, and the Hero a full hundred times.
Then, just as he was about to curse the Hero for the hundred and first time, the dragon brought the Demon King to the Realm of Death. After cursing the entire journey, the Demon King finally dismounted in a hurry—and immediately stumbled.
The Demon Vines, which had comforted him with gentle tendrils the last time they met when he was venting his frustrations, caught him this time, shaking their branches around with both concern and confusion as the Demon King returned injured. He took a deep breath, pressed on his wound, and gritted his teeth. “Still that idiot.”
The light arrow from before seemed imbued with some elemental force, preventing the wound from healing quickly. Blood seeped steadily, staining his fingers red.
“Moron. Trash.”
“Useless. Idiot. Just die.”
“Your brain’s full of water—there’s nothing above your neck.”
The dragon responded with a low growl. It echoed in agreement, then asked what to do next.
The Demon King, surrounded by the attentive Demon Vines and sprouting new demon plants, said, “Stay here for now.”
After enduring so much hardship outside, he looked around at the familiar surroundings.
A few white rabbits hopped into his sight.
The Demon King’s anger flared silently.
He made a hand gesture at the rabbits—
Boom. In response to the Demon Vines’ sound effects, the dumb rabbits looked left and right. After mutating, their boldness had changed too—they continued munching on whatever was nearby, barely phased.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The Demon King, half-sitting in a web conjured by the Demon Vines while tending to his wounds, cursed the Hero for the hundred and second time. Mid-rant, he suddenly called for the dragon.
The dragon growled in reply. The Demon King lowered his head, stared at himself, then spoke softly: “You think… I should’ve just shamelessly pressed the advantage and crushed the Hero back then?”
The dragon growled again. The Demon King kept his voice low: “If I’d done that, none of this would’ve happened. Neither of us would be hurt.”
The dragon growled once more.
“So, being the Demon King means you can’t be soft-hearted or have any shame. Right?”
The dragon’s low growl was the only answer.
“Then next time we meet, I’ll have the demons gang up on him. Just like I was ganged up on today.”
He chuckled quietly, swallowing back the emotions and tears threatening to spill. “Just kill him already.”
His eyes reddened, voice catching on the last words. He bit his lip tight. “Bah!”
The dragon growled one last time.
This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.
