Demon King

[Crawl like the worm you are!]

Innumerable spears popped up around Lucifer. The overwhelming power could destroy the entire world, but currently, it was focused solely on me. Could I beat this guy? No, even if it were impossible, I would have to do it anyway. Abandoning the power of jealousy only slowed him; if he defeated me, he could still complete his plans and destroy the underground.

I gripped my dagger even harder. With this weapon, I would be able to cut through him. It was filled with pure hatred towards Lucifer, born from exploiting the human souls on Earth. The question was whether I could close the distance between us enough to strike him with it.

[Do not lift your head. Do not look upon me. Do not struggle.]

Lucifer’s rant hit me at the same time his light did. I wondered if all other emotions had become insignificant to him, as obsessed with pride as he was. He was acting meticulous and calm as he tried to drive me back with attacks from all directions. Fortunately, I was able to recognize and defend against his attacks with the power of jealousy. But, even with that, it was getting harder to stop them all.

“Khh!”

[Don’t show me your blood.]

I tried to eat at his mana with Predation as I used jealousy, but his power felt as if it were only growing stronger. The light shield could no longer endure his attacks. That was the power of Pride. The more you struggled to keep it in check, the stronger it would become. If our positions were reversed, it would lose all meaning. But as long as he had the upper hand, it was impossibly powerful.

“You are not worthy of that power.”

[Die.]

A huge sun arose in the air as he whispered.

“Oh, that…”

“Fate!” The power emitted by the huge sphere of light made me sick. If I took that head-on, I would die. Even if I tried to imitate his Pride with jealousy, Pride was an ability that only was useful when you had the upper hand. If I tried to use it, I would die. Ubiquitous wouldn’t help me here either. Even if I could avoid it, it would still hit Belphegor and Mireina. Solas? No, he was only as strong as I was. Summoning him wouldn’t be enough. Canis was out of the question as well. All of my items and abilities were meaningless. It was just overwhelming mana that rushed to destroy my life and all of the underground. It denied all the strength I had accumulated. Even with all my powers, there could be no counterattack.

[This is the end.]

“Ah!” Lucifer was confident in his victory, but a scene flashed before my eyes. Lee Chan-yu could use the mana and abilities of his subordinates in his own body.

The next moment, the sun collided with me head-on. An explosion rang out with a tremendous roar, turning the world white. It felt like my whole body was being shattered as I desperately thought of Lee Chan-yu and his power. I was desperately jealous of his ability to borrow from his subordinates. If I had that ability, I would be able to muster the power of everyone under my command. For Lee Chan-yu, who lacked the capacity for it, that was a waste. I had to have the ability. Me, at the top of all monsters. It was an ability that suited the demon king!

It was possible for Lee Chan-yu, so it had to be possible for me. There’s no way it couldn’t! The light generated by the explosion of the small sun gradually decreased. It was stuck to me until my existence was completely extinguished, but as my magic against it gradually increased, it could not complete its mission. I used the magic power of Belphegor to add to my own. I borrowed the power from my subordinates on Earth and in the underground. I started with the other demons, going down as far as even the lowliest slime. If they had even a shred of mana to spare, I greedily took it. It was an incomplete ability that couldn’t copy the characteristics of the innate abilities of my followers, but just accepting mana was plenty.

I, who had survived the Devil’s Night twice and subjugated countless dungeons. I, who conquered the Earth. I had countless monsters and soldiers under my control. Accepting all of their mana was too much for my vessel to hold, but the passage of mana ignored the wall blocking off the battlefield. I had access to a huge amount of mana, incomparable to Lucifer’s.

“Heh.”

[What?!]

A shock erupted from Lucifer as he witnessed the sun lose its will as I devoured it, albeit I was only barely able to.

[How…with such a power?!]

“Whoo…think whatever you want.” If I had been a second later in recalling Lee Chan-yu’s ability, that would’ve been the end of me. However, my desperate will to survive led me here. I didn’t think it was by chance that I made it this far. I wanted to believe in the struggles of myself and those around me. The effort that Lucifer disregarded. I felt connected to everyone related to me. Some willingly offered up their mana, while others did so begrudgingly, but in the end, it resulted in mana that could overwhelm Lucifer.

I could feel my connection with Lee Chan-yu the strongest. I had been jealous of his abilities, but also his character that gave rise to that power. As I admitted that, the light emanating from my body grew.

[Fate…!]

“It must be a familiar sight for you, why are you surprised?”

[You dare make fun of me? Even when you need to rely on your subjects?!]

Lucifer threw several suns at me this time, and I wondered if he thought the issue was the quantity or how fast they moved. I just laughed. Pride was the ability to become stronger when no one opposed you, but it would weaken the second you doubted your own strength. It was why it conflicted so much with the power of jealousy, why he abandoned it. His suns were weaker now, even though there were more of them.

“Break.”

[Khhh…!]

Lucifer let out a moan. All of his abilities began to tear apart the battlefield around us, but we were safe.

[I can’t do this…I can’t…!]

I could hear his pride breaking away. His strong confidence, that vain belief that no one could stand above him I was proving that wrong using the mana of everyone connected to me.

Only

“I can.” I soared high in the sky, denying his words. I had no intention of attacking Lucifer, however. Even in his current state, it would be difficult to inflict a fatal injury.

“Realize that this world is not one you made alone!” Instead, I attacked the battlefield itself. In the middle of the land that was turned upside down by Lucifer’s mana, I stabbed Annihilation into it, filled to the brim with the power of Reaper.

“The contract is broken! Recover the names and powers of the demons!” Unlike when I gave Belphegor’s name back, I struck Lucifer’s power head-on and dealt a deadly wound to the battlefield. It was a large-scale act of destruction that would be hard to undo. The land burst and the atmosphere that made up the battlefield burned away. I was breaking up the energy that made up the land.

“Gremory! Come on, Orobas! I will reclaim all of the names of those under my control again!”

[Those guys…Fate…!]

“No.” For a demon, a name was something that contained their strength. A demon would only call their real name on the battlefield when they were prepared for death. Fate was the nickname I made for myself when I first met the woman I loved. Since I used it as a means of resurrection and to kill the innocent, it now had a weight to it that I would carry until my own existence was snuffed out. But now was not the time for that name. I proudly smiled at my adversary, who still looked down at me from the sky.

“My name is Baal, Lucifer.” Declaring the name of the lord of Pandemonium (the underground), I stood tall.

From now on, the punishment would begin.