Chapter 174: Demon King's Real Power! (Bonus Chapter)

At Mai's request, Rei Ao went to take a shower.

Originally, he planned to quietly wait for Mai's mother to arrive after cleaning up.

The main agenda was simple—have lunch, chat a little, and most importantly, help improve the relationship between Mai and her mother.

Rei Ao didn't want his girlfriend and future mother-in-law to have a strained relationship.

However, just then, a notification popped up in the group chat.

[Ding! Group Chat System upgrade complete!]

[Ding! Single Trade retention time extended to 24 hours!]

[Ding! Additional features await unlocking!]

"..."

The upgrade came out of nowhere.

Though most of the new features were still locked, the increased retention time for trades was immediately useful to Rei Ao.

"Twenty-four hours. Excellent."

His eyes lit up.

Previously, the three-hour retention time often felt too short for him to fully enjoy the process.

To get the best results, he had to repeat the Trade multiple times.

But now, with 24 hours, he could take his time.

Just as he was about to announce this good news in the chat, another notification popped up.

This time, it was a Trade request—from Hijiri Kasuga.

[Ding! Hijiri Kasuga has initiated a Trade request with you!]

[Trade Details]: Save a world caught in a Breakdown Phenomenon.

[Ding! Please specify Trade conditions!]

"Huh?"

Rei Ao was confused.

What was happening in Hijiri Kasuga's world?

"Breakdown Phenomenon…"

Frowning, he vaguely recalled something about it.

The Breakdown Phenomenon was a mysterious event in that world, manifesting as:

Intense, large-scale gravitational disturbances.

The sun turning black.

People transforming into particles of light, swallowed by darkness.

The complete disappearance of the surface world and humanity.

Hijiri Kasuga had started her day like any other—just an ordinary morning with regular classes and a predictable end to her day.

But then, the unexpected happened.

The Breakdown Phenomenon began.

"What's that?"

Students in the classroom crowded around the windows, staring at the sky in shock.

Hijiri Kasuga joined them. She saw the sun had turned black.

"Is it a solar eclipse?"

"No, I didn't hear anything about an eclipse in the news."

"Neither did I."

The bizarre scene caused a commotion among the students.

But Hijiri Kasuga's eyes widened in terror.

"This is... the Breakdown?!"

The next moment, the classroom, her classmates—everything dissolved into particles of light and was swallowed by darkness.

"Hijiri?"

Turning around, Hijiri Kasuga saw her brother staring at her in shock as the darkness engulfed her.

Realizing this was the legendary Breakdown Phenomenon, Hijiri Kasuga immediately sent a Trade request to Rei Ao, though she had little hope of a response.

She also prepared to pass her magic tome to her brother.

She never expected Rei Ao to respond almost instantly.

[Ding! Your Trade request has been approved!]

[Trade Conditions]: "Magic", "Ilias Fragment", "Grimoire: Astil Manuscript"

[Ding! Confirm the Trade?]

Rei Ao also sent a message to the chat:

Rei Ao: "I'm not sure if I can solve what's happening in your world, but I can come take a look. If I confirm I can resolve it, we can finalize the Trade terms later. Does that work?"

He really didn't know.

He recalled that the origin of the Trinity Seven story was tied to the Breakdown Phenomenon—the destruction of the entire surface world, not just one city.

Hijiri Kasuga: "Yes!"

Haruhi was already grateful that Rei Ao was willing to help.

[Ding! Trade begins!]

[Trade Partner]: Hijiri Kasuga

[Trade Details]: Save a world caught in a Breakdown Phenomenon.

[Trade Conditions]: "Magic", "Ilias Fragment", "Grimoire: Astil Manuscript"

[Retention Time]: 24 hours

"Hijiri!!!"

Due to the short Trade confirmation time, Hijiri Kasuga's figure was swallowed by the darkness before she could hand over her magic tome.

But she wouldn't die—she wasn't an ordinary person but a mage.

What she worried about most wasn't herself but her brother.

"Oh, so this is the Breakdown Phenomenon?"

Suddenly, a light shone in the darkness.

Hijiri Kasuga turned toward the voice and the light source—it was Rei Ao.

But…

"Eh?!!!"

Hijiri Kasuga let out a startled cry and covered her eyes in embarrassment and frustration.

Rei Ao had arrived without any clothing, and his glowing body was incredibly conspicuous.

Unlike a livestream, seeing this up close felt so vivid that she feared the image would be burned into her memory forever.

Drying his wet hair, Rei Ao sighed helplessly. "I couldn't help it; I was in the middle of a shower."

With a thought, flames ignited on his body, forming a fiery outfit.

"Alright, I'm covered now. You can open your eyes."

"Mm..."

Hijiri Kasuga cautiously lowered her hands.

Seeing that Rei Ao was now dressed in a fire-crafted outfit, she let out a breath of relief, though her embarrassment lingered.

Rei Ao, unfazed, likely accustomed to such situations during his livestreams, began examining the dark, desolate surroundings.

He raised his hand, sifting through the collapsing particles.

Everything in the area had been reduced to particles by the Breakdown Phenomenon.

"So, this is the Breakdown Phenomenon..."

Rei Ao furrowed his brows.

Hijiri Kasuga asked urgently, "Rei Ao, can you restore this world?"

After a moment of thought, Rei Ao shook his head.

"I can't restore your surface world for now, but I can stop the Breakdown."

Raising his hand, he clenched his fist.

Freeze!

In an instant, the disintegration halted.

Even the light particles froze in the darkness.

The world fell into complete silence.

"This is..."

Hijiri Kasuga stared in amazement at the scene before her.

Lowering his hand, Rei Ao explained while stroking his chin, "I've frozen the entire surface world at its core. As for restoring it..."

He paused, unable to think of a solution.

His current abilities didn't seem capable of fully reversing the damage.

He recalled the story of the Trinity Seven, where the original Breakdown Phenomenon didn't lead to the disappearance of the surface world. Instead, Arata Kasuga awakened the Demon King factor, using its power to create a new surface world.

"Wait... Demon King."

A glint of realization flashed in Rei Ao's eyes.

He, too, possessed a mysterious Demon King ability he had yet to fully understand.

Activating the Demon King's power, Rei Ao transformed.

But unexpectedly, black energy surged from all directions toward him.

"What's happening?!"

Hijiri Kasuga shielded her eyes as the black energy enveloped Rei Ao in a cocoon.

"This is..."

In her astonished gaze, the black cocoon split open.

Emerging from it was Rei Ao in his Demon King form.

Behind him, enormous wings stretched out, connecting heaven and earth.

On his head rested a black crown, absorbing even the surrounding darkness.

Rei Ao opened his eyes.

"!!!"

Hijiri Kasuga felt an overwhelming pressure, suffocating her.

Rei Ao quickly reined in his aura, regaining control.

Even he was momentarily disoriented by the transformation.

He realized something monumental had occurred:

He had become the Demon King of this world.

[Status Updated]:

[Name]: Rei Ao

[Level]: 60

[Abilities]: "Freeze," "Self," "True Sight," "Transformation," "Blessing," "Demon King," "Elf King," "Cognitive Disappearance," "Mastery of Sword," "Crimson Lotus Dragon God," "Time-Causal Interference," "Inherent Device: King of All Things"

[Possessions]: "God-Freezing Sword," "Demon's Extract"

[Description]: "You possess the power to Breakdown Stars and reconstruct Planetary Systems in an instant."

The sudden surge in power wasn't entirely his own—it was influenced by the "Demon King" ability, which he now better understood.

This ability wasn't just a power but a conceptual rank.

In any world where the concept of a "Demon King" existed, this ability allowed him to elevate his rank to match the Demon King, gaining the maximum power associated with that rank.

Smiling, Rei Ao approached Hijiri Kasuga.

"Hijiri Kasuga, I'm confident I can restore this world now. Do you remember our previous agreement?"

"!!!"

Hijiri Kasuga finally snapped out of her daze.

After a moment of silence, she nodded solemnly.

"I remember. We'll finalize the rest of the trade terms later, but I have one more request: please save my brother."

"Don't worry; he won't die."

"Then let's begin."

Rei Ao's eyes glinted with determination.

The black wings on his back expanded, connecting heaven and earth.

The Breakdown energy was absorbed—or rather devoured—by him.

In an instant, the world shifted.

The darkness faded.

Sunlight returned.

The world was rebuilt particle by particle, along with the people who had been disintegrated.

[Ding! Trade Complete!]

[Ding! You have received: "Magic," "Ilias Fragment," "Grimoire: Astil Manuscript."]

[Ding! Fusion detected. "Magic" has been fused with "Demon King"!]

~~~

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