19 - Destruction of the Demon World

The battle with the Demon World was particularly fierce.

The Eight Great Demon Kings clashed with the Five Dragon Generals.

Dragon God-sama and Demon God were also equally matched.

We were no longer in perfect fighting form, and Dragon God-sama was injured.

We could no longer destroy a world with just the six of us.

Even if we intended to follow the path of peace...

Still, Dragon God-sama plunged us into total war.

He summoned all the Dragon Warriors and brought the full force of the Dragon World to fight.

Of course, all the warriors of the demon world came to face them.

The Dragon Warriors could win by strength, but the demon warriors win by numbers.

It's a stalemate.

The Dragon Race invaded.

Although we devastated several cities, the demons were numerous and tenacious.

Unable to achieve a decisive victory, we retreated.

Then the Demon Race retaliated, launching a counteroffensive against the Dragon World.

Due to the unique topography of the Dragon World, the demons' offensive faltered, so they too retreated, leaving behind their share of destruction.

This back-and-forth battle lasted for years.

I commanded the frontline Dragon Warriors.

I fought against the Eight Great Demon Kings countless times.

Necross Lacross had been strangely absent throughout the war.

A missing member of the Eight Great Demon Kings.

Did they keep him in reserve, or was he preparing to attack when we least expected it?

I had no idea where he was.

The war lasted decades.

The need for war generates technological advances.

During the course of the war, we, the Five Dragon Generals, developed many new magics and technologies.

Dora-sama created spirits using summoning magic.

To combat the demons' magical attacks, Szilard invented barrier magic.

Chaos forged magical swords from demon bones.

Maxwell developed the Dragon Gate as a method to weaken demonic power.

A revolution in magical knowledge, relentlessly unleashed on the battlefield.

Of course, the demons were not weak either.

No, although there were many fools among the demons, there were also wise ones.

They invented many magics to combat the Dragon Race.

A beam of light that can instantly vaporize dragons, magical spears that amplify the wielder's power, poisons that corrode the victim in a painful death.

Many unique techniques were created, by methods unknown to us.

It was a total war, with the pinnacle of technology and magic.

Much of it was lost.

These endless battles, like a bottomless swamp, would extend for ages.

However, even a war like this reached a turning point.

What do you think was the final outcome of so many technological advances?

Population decline.

For both the Dragon Race and the Demon Race.

It is the natural consequence of war.

Both the Demon Race and the Dragon Race were resilient peoples.

In the beginning, there were few casualties on either side.

Two armies colliding head-on, numbering in the tens of thousands each, but only a few deaths on each side.

It was a small miracle.

But as technology slowly advanced, the casualties increased.

The graves of the Dragon Race were filled with the names of those who fell on the battlefield.

Many died, "let's stop this war!"

Wars among the Human Race would usually end that way.

But neither the Dragon Race nor the Demon Race would ever consider that.

The turning point was something else.

We were concerned about the decline of our combat strength.

It was the wounds of Dragon God-sama and the Five Dragon Generals that forced us into total war in the first place.

As our numbers dwindled, we fell into a precarious situation.

Then Human God suddenly appeared.

Emerging from behind as usual, he said:

"These Eight Great Demon Kings are appearing on the front lines more frequently lately. If you defeat them and reduce their numbers, you might turn the tide of this war."

"We won't have that much difficulty, if it were so easy."

"If the Five Dragon Generals unite against one Demon King, it would be no different from an ordinary monster hunt."

The Five Dragon Generals were the strongest warriors of the Dragon Race.

We always fought alone.

It wasn't necessarily out of pride or honor.

There simply was never a need otherwise.

The Dragon Generals could always defeat all enemies on their own.

A blind spot.

When I spoke with the others about it, they all had bitter expressions.

But with the progress of the war, everyone realized that special tactics were necessary to reverse the tide.

So they accepted my suggestion.

We provoked one of the Eight Great Generals, lured him in, and isolated him... Then the five of us attacked him at the same time.

No enemy could withstand the full force of the Five Dragon Generals.

That Demon King died, shocked and in despair.

In this way, one by one, we eliminated the Eight Great Demon Kings.

Without them, the demons lost their momentum and the Demon Race retreated.

Still, until the end, Necross Lacross did not appear...

Finally, Demon God appeared on the front lines.

When he spotted us, Demon God began to grow in size.

5 meters, 10 meters.

A hundred, a thousand, his growth continued unabated.

Only when his head pierced the clouds and his feet were the size of walls did he stop.

At the same time he stopped, eyes appeared everywhere on his body.

The eyes spotted the Five Dragon Generals... and ensnared us in battle.

You can assume that the giants of the stories were heavy beasts.

But not Demon God.

He still moved with his usual speed.

He fell upon us, with punches the size of mountains and kicks like falling meteorites.

It was too much even for the Five Dragon Generals.

Even when we dodged a punch, we were thrown dozens of kilometers away by the shockwave.

There was a huge power difference between gods and generals.

We were no match for him.

It was then that I truly realized the power of the gods.

If I had fought against Beast God, Sea God, or Sky God, it would also have been a one-sided massacre.

Fortunately, when Demon God appeared, Dragon God-sama would not just stand by.

Dragon God-sama, who had preserved his strength until that moment, appeared in the Demon World in perfect form.

The final duel began.

I was worried.

Not because I didn't think Dragon God-sama could defeat the Demon God the size of a mountain.

But the wounds he suffered in other worlds had not yet healed...

However, it seemed that I was worrying for nothing.

A golden light shone from Dragon God-sama's body as he began to move faster than light.

Demon God's punches and kicks had difficulty connecting.

On the rare occasions that they did hit, it was Demon God who was thrown away.

Dragon God-sama was dominating.

But when a part of Demon God's body was torn off, it regenerated immediately. Demon God would launch another attack, so Dragon God-sama couldn't gain an advantage.

Every blow between the gods was accompanied by roars, making our skin crawl, no matter how far away we were.

With a slight delay, the shockwave arrived and threw us away.

But we witnessed their battle anyway.

We couldn't look away.

It was the fourth time I witnessed a duel between gods.

Each one was a terrible catastrophe, with destructions that shook the world.

This battle was unusually long.

The relentless destructive power of Dragon God-sama couldn't break Demon God.

Nor could Demon God deliver a decisive blow against Dragon God-sama.

Thus, they attacked and defended for ten days, twenty days.

No one could approach them.

Everyone watched from afar, like us.

A fight that could go either way.

But Dragon God-sama was the victor.

After exactly one hundred days.

A divine light suddenly burst from beneath the feet of the giant Demon God.

It didn't immediately register with me what was happening.

But as the particles of light flowed outward, it occurred to me.

It's a magic circle.

A magic circle, the size of continents, was beneath Demon God's feet.

I couldn't see how Demon God looked from afar.

But from his gestures, I could tell that he too did not expect it.

He never thought that Dragon God-sama would do something like this...

Demon God's body began to collapse rapidly, starting with his feet.

Due to his size, from afar it looked like a mountain was slowly wearing away.

It's hard to say whether it was fast or slow.

After the light diminished, Dragon God-sama returned.

Holding a small jewel in his hand.

"Dragon God-sama!"

We ran to him.

Dragon God-sama was covered in wounds.

In addition to the injuries received from other gods, Dragon God-sama had almost exhausted all his Dragon Touki in the battle against Demon God.

So weakened that I no longer felt the usual divine aura around him.

With Dragon God-sama appearing near collapse, the Five Dragon Generals were all terrified.

"Oh no! Dragon God-sama, for now, let's return to the Dragon World!"

"Mmm..."

We lent a shoulder to Dragon God-sama, who could only groan in response, and flew.

Then Dora-sama suddenly turned around.

Behind her were terrified demon masses, petrified by the death of their god.

And the world collapsing around them.

Indeed, this world too could not withstand a battle between gods.

Seeing all this, Dora-sama threw the jewel in my direction.

"Laplace. You stay and witness the end of the Demon World."

"... Yes!"

To witness the end of a world.

Is it a courtesy?

Both in the Sea World and the Sky World, someone remained to witness its end.

Of course, it is not mere courtesy.

There is also the responsibility to find the murderer of Lunaria-sama before the world completely collapses.

Even if I barely did anything the first time, in the Beast World.

It couldn't be helped.

You too would freeze, watching a world end.

It was a scene too shocking.

To witness something as vast as a world collapsing.

Like the flow of a great river, an unstoppable end that you can only stand by and watch.

Irreversible.

The demons are a strong race, but as the world collapses, nothing can be done.

Like the people of other worlds, everyone tried to flee in all directions.

But after a while, everyone collectively moves toward one.

The legacy to another world.

Yes, Human God made his move again.

It is a shocking sight to endure... but after witnessing it so many times, I became resilient to it.

I flew through the collapsing Demon World to complete my mission.

I was looking for someone.

Necross Lacross.

Even in the end, one of the Eight Great Demon Kings never appeared.

He was also a close associate of Kirisis Calisis.

If we met, perhaps I could learn something useful.

Why wait until now to find him?

Because there was no way for me to go to the Demon World.

Long ago I returned the Beast God's jewel to Dragon God-sama.

I couldn't even think of asking him for it.

Because I already carried the responsibility of inviting those criminals to the Dragon World.

Even if I suggested it, Dragon God-sama probably wouldn't allow me to go.

As a result, I never had the chance to meet Necross Lacross again.

"Hmm?"

After flying for a while, I saw something.

The largest city in the world, the Demon Capital Daileck.

The largest castle, Demon God Castle Gaileck.

The castle was on fire.

The castle that should not have burned was engulfed in an unusual black flame.

What insane individual would set a god's residence on fire?

I found it suspicious and approached the castle.

However, with thick smoke in the air, I couldn't find the entrances.

So, I landed on the grounds.

Before, I always entered through the roof, so it was an unusual feeling to stand before the front gate.

Several guards were fleeing from the castle when I landed.

When they spotted me, they shouted and ran.

Leaving them behind, I entered the castle.

It was terribly hot inside the castle, with many demon bodies scattered everywhere.

But the heat did nothing to protect my Dragon Touki.

I looked around the castle that was engulfed in flames.

Of course, no one remained in the burning castle.

The glorious Gaileck Castle was deserted.

I couldn't find the arsonist; he must have fled.

Thinking thus, I left the castle.

Then, we met.

A black giant with six arms emerged from the stairs leading to the basement.

"Huh!"

Necross Lacross.

Exactly the person I was looking for!

"You!"

The face I hadn't seen in so long looked quite gaunt.

Can immortal demons lose weight?

He carried a baby in his arms.

"Laplace! Please... let us go!"

Before I could respond, Necross Lacross continued, hiding the baby behind him.

"I know why you would betray us! But that child knew nothing! The child is innocent!"

For a moment, I couldn't understand his words.

Did I betray them?

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? The one who murdered Kirisis Calisis and embroiled the worlds in the flames of war... was you, Laplace!"

"Wait, Kirisis Calisis was murdered? When?"

"What's the point of pretending...? You planned it all!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! Tell me, Necross Lacross, exactly how did Kirisis Calisis die?"

I heard Necross Lacross, visibly agitated, recounting the circumstances from their side.

It all began on the day Kirisis Calisis returned to the Demon World.

Necross Lacross didn't know the exact reason, only that she had been permitted to return for a time.

Demon God nodded at his wife's words and didn't question further.

Kirisis Calisis was near childbirth at that time, so everyone assumed that the Dragon Race had allowed her return out of consideration.

Kirisis Calisis gave birth to a healthy child.

The birth of an immortal demon is quite unusual, even her physique remained unchanged during the pregnancy. But that is a bit off topic.

Shortly after giving birth, Kirisis Calisis was found dead.

Demon God was enraged, searching for the criminal.

Fortunately, this criminal left behind a trail of evidence.

Silver hair and scales.

Remains of a Dragon Race.

That night, all the Dragon Warriors stationed in the Demon World had disappeared.

It's a story I had heard somewhere before.

And it also proceeded as expected.

The Dragon Race did it.

Laplace, of the Five Dragon Generals, took revenge on the demons.

But here the stories diverged.

Upon hearing the story, Necross Lacross vehemently rejected the accusations from the other Eight Great Demon Kings.

Laplace would never do such things.

Instead, it's probably a conspiracy, planting evidence to frame the Dragon Race.

We should calm down and investigate further.

The Demon Kings calmed down and were about to implicate the Dragon Race for details.

It was exactly when the news of the Beast World's destruction by the dragons arrived.

At the same time, the suspect in the murder of Kirisis Calisis was captured, a member of the Dragon Race.

Under intense torture, the man testified: "I was ordered by Laplace, and Necross Lacross was also an accomplice."

Necross Lacross was quickly captured and imprisoned.

Necross Lacross became quite depressed.

Incredible how much faith he had in me.

Even though he feared that I might take revenge for his past transgressions.

After that, Necross Lacross knew nothing about the situation in the Demon World...

Well, the story ended the same way.

The Demon Race chose to fight and engaged in battle with the Dragon Race.

Necross Lacross could only wait in his dark cell.

However, when Demon God died, the world began to crumble, so he knew that something terrible had happened.

He managed to free himself and escaped outside.

When he saw people fleeing in all directions, he still hadn't discovered what was happening, only realizing that the castle was on fire.

A black flame.

Seeing that strange flame, Necross Lacross realized that the newborn demon child was still in the castle.

Fearing the worst, he ran to the castle and to the baby's room. As he feared, no caretaker remained with the child.

So he took the child with him to escape, and that was when he unexpectedly found me.

"..."

"I feared that you were the cause of it all, but I can see on your face that you are truly innocent."

"It wasn't me."

So much information made my head spin.

If everything he said was true, then we were framed.

By whom?

For what?

At least, Necross Lacross wasn't lying.

He is a man who cannot tell lies.

He doesn't have the intelligence to invent a story like that.

"I would like to talk in detail, but I need to keep this child alive. If you really are not hostile... please, let us go."

"..."

I slid my body slowly to the side, letting them pass.

The child of Demon God.

When he grows up, anyone would expect him to become the enemy of Dragon God-sama.

But I couldn't stop them.

After hearing Necross Lacross's circumstances, it was impossible to take the life of that baby.

We had already destroyed your world under false pretenses; killing the child out of fear of revenge wouldn't be just.

"Go to the teleportation sanctuary. The path to the Human World is open."

"Thank you! I owe you one...!"

And Necross Lacross was gone.

In his arms, a baby too young to open its eyes.

And I returned to the Dragon World.

Burying the information I obtained from Necross Lacross deep in my heart.

Thus, the Demon World collapsed.