Ruler Vol 1 Chapter 24
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Author: Anit666
【Sam’s POV】
“It’s alright. No one’s around right now. So, you can come out now, Demon King.” (Sam)
Even though I said that, nothing happened.
Hmm? But he should be here. I mean, he’s been observing us from the moment I came into that battlefield.
“Like I said, come out right now. I already know that you are here, so there’s no use in hiding.” (Sam)
Once again, only silence followed after I spoke.
Don’t tell me……. was I wrong? As I was starting to wonder whether I was right or wrong, a voice resounded in the room.
“Good grief. And I had thought that I was hiding perfectly. Tell me, how did you find me?”
He spoke in a resigned tone.
Well, seems like I wasn’t wrong. But the voice that I heard just now, it sounded feminine. Don’t tell me that it’s not actually the Demon King, but one of his subordinates. That would be incredibly embarrassing.
Suddenly, a dark black spot appeared in the air in front of me, and it gradually started to become bigger. It continued growing till it reached the size of a human.
That spot looked as if it was composed of darkness itself. When it stopped growing, a hand appeared from inside of it. The hand continued growing longer as the person to whom that hand belonged to came out. Finally, a woman appeared in front of me. Looks like that was a teleportation portal.
Wait, a woman? What’s with this sense of Deja Vu?
The woman had glossy black long hair, and her eyes were the crimson of the fresh blood. She was wearing a red one-piece dress, and a large sword dangled from her waist. And she was gorgeous, insanely gorgeous. She wouldn’t lose to even Shiggurath in terms of beauty. But her beauty had a certain elegance to it, which pushed out all lewd thoughts out of your mind, leaving you with only admiration for her majestic beauty.
Anyone could have mistaken her for a human, only if she didn’t have those horns on her head. Two horns were protruding from the sides of her head from above her ears, and they curved to cover the upper part of her forehead. Just like her eyes, the horns were also blood red in colour.
The woman once again spoke.
“Good evening, O Hero of the mankind. I’m Leticia Zi Lamperouge, the current Demon King. So, tell me, how did you find me?” (Leticia)
Oya? She’s the Demon King?
“From the moment I’d landed on that battlefield, I was feeling a gaze on me, as if someone was observing me. There are not many people who’d want to observe me, especially when two of the… what do you call them again? …… Ah, the Four Commandments, were present there. That narrowed down the suspects by a large amount, and I just guessed that it was you. And by the way, shouldn’t you be the Demon Queen instead of a Demon King?” (Sam)
Also, I was able to feel the energy, or the aura that she was emitting. I could also feel her bloodlust, but that was directed at Liera instead of me. Though there’s no need to tell her that.
“Guess, you say. Well that’s also fine. Anyway, Hero Samuel Hayden, I’ve a proposal for you. I believe that we can work together and solve our problems in a way that benefits us both.” (Leticia)
She spectacularly ignored my last comment. And work together, she says……
“I’m actually surprised that you have the audacity to ask such a thing from me after hurting one of my comrades.” (Sam)
My tone unintentionally became colder.
I’m actually surprised that I didn’t try to kill her the moment she appeared before me. However, I haven’t forgotten how they hurt Chloe. They deserve to suffer in Hell for all eternity! No, I will make them suffer for it!
“I would like to apologise for that. I assure you that my reason for attacking today was purely to gauge the power of the Heroes, and by no means kill them. But it seems like one of my employees took things too far. Though I’m sure that you already had your retribution for that, no?” (Leticia)
She spoke as if she was explaining something to a child.
“But a certain someone interfered before I could kill him…!” (Sam)
Yes, she was the one who teleported those fuckers.
“Please don’t worry about that, I’ll punish them thoroughly for their misbehaviour.” (Leticia)
Like hell that would satisfy me!
………
No no, calm down Hayden. Don’t let your emotions take control of you. You remember what happened when you lost yourself in rage, don’t you? Stay calm, and analyse everything objectively and rationally to reach a conclusion that’s beneficial for you.
I took some deep breaths to calm myself down.
Depending on how I handle it, this might be a golden opportunity. The one thing I lack the most right now is information. I don’t really know who’s an enemy and who’s a friend. That’s why I need to analyse both the sides objectively and then decide who to work with.
“Anyway, you were talking about working together. How do you propose we do that?” (Sam)
“I’ll be blunt with you. Join me.” (Leticia)
Wasn’t that too blunt?
“Uhh.. aren’t you oversimplifying it? Like, what would I even gain from joining you?” (Sam)
She would have to offer me something really good to make me suppress my rage and join hands with her. Also, despite my doubts, the Holy Kingdom hasn’t really tried to harm me in any way. In fact, they are remaining true to their words by helping us out in every way possible. Me having this discussion with the Demon King is purely due to my wish of wanting to look at everything and then decide.
In other words, I’m just being paranoid.
“You won’t die….?” (Leticia)
Wow, what is she, a fool?
“Death’s an inconvenience Leticia, nothing more.” (Sam)
She snickered after hearing it.
“Hehehe, you sure are an interesting one. How about this: I’ll fulfil any wish that you might have, no matter what it is. You can even ask for me in return for you coming over to my side.” (Leticia)
Hmmm… a tempting proposition indeed. But….
I only have one wish, and that can never be fulfilled by the likes of a mere Demon King. Also, I’m not interested in her in that sense anyway. Looks we have my answer here. In fact, just why does she want me on her side so much that she’d be willing to sacrifice even herself?
“Looks like I have no choice but to decline your offer.” (Sam)
Leticia appeared shocked.
“What? Why? Like I said, I’ll fulfil any kind of wish you might have. You can have me, you can even have this world after this war is over. I promise I won’t touch your friends, you just have to join-“ (Leticia)
“Forgive me Leticia, but you cannot give me what I desire. And I’m more than capable of protecting my friends.” (Sam)
I denied her proposal.
That’s a real shame though.
Leticia, who heard my answer, frowned in annoyance.
“And why is that? Is it because of your petty justice that makes you want to protect everyone? Ha! I thought that you were better than this, Samuel Hayden!” (Leticia)
Why is she getting angry now? Who asked her to expect thigs of me? And a sense of justice, she says? Protecting everyone? She’s saying that I’m propelled forward by these idiotic things? Ha! What a joke!
“Justice, you say. Don’t think that I’m the same as those previous Heroes that you’ve met. Why do you think I would fight for something that ridiculous? This a war, Leticia. There’s no justice here. Justice was lost the moment you attacked this castle and killed the soldiers working to protect it, and it was the lost the moment I decided to kill the perpetrators purely to get revenge. What is justice anyway? Is wiping out an entire race so that yours can live a good life justice? Is killing innocents just to gauge the strength of your opponent justice? Let me tell you, justice itself is contradictory. It’s relative: it depends on how one views those things. What’s justice for you, might be tyranny for the other. And therefore, justice cannot exist. There is no good or evil in a war, only victory and defeat. And justice belongs to the victor. This war is nothing more than a slaughter. And in this slaughter, I have no interest in fighting for everyone or the greater good. I fight only to protect what I want to protect, what I must protect. Isn’t that the same for you, First Demon King Regina?” (Sam)
…….
I got a bit excited there. I was already breathing heavily due to speaking so much in such a short amount of time. On the other hand, Leticia, or Regina, in fact. She was silent the whole time I was speaking, but the moment I called her by her true name, her eyes widened in surprise.
Looks like I hit the nail on the head.
After remaining silent for some time, she finally spoke up in a low quivering voice.
“How…. How do you know about that…? Are you perhaps…….” (Leticia)
“How? Well, it’s been more than a month since I was summoned here. And I spent that time researching the previous wars. Gathering the research materials was actually quite difficult, and I had to pull a few strings here and there. But when I looked at it from a broader point of view, I noticed some inconsistencies. And after carefully thinking about it, this was the conclusion I reached at: The first Demon King is using some sort of technique to reincarnate again and again as the Demon King of each generation.” (Sam)
Regina’s head drooped down after listening to what I had to say.
Wait, did she get depressed because her secret got out? Or so I thought, but her shoulders started shaking.
“Fufufu… HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Splendid, Hayden! I was completely wrong about you! I came here to get you to join my side and make you my puppet, but it turns out that I was the one who was dancing on the palm of your hands! Exemplary!” (Regina)
Uwaaaa the Demon King has gone insane!
I thought that she was depressed, but her expression was filled with rapture and madness right now. But I could also see a hint of happiness in her eyes.
Is it just my imagination?
She continued laughing loudly for some time. After she calmed down.
“So, I guess that you won’t be joining me, right?” (Regina)
She asked again in a melancholic tone.
“Nope.” (Sam)
“That’s a shame. I guess there’s no point in me staying here anymore. But I would like to ask a question before going back. Are you…… are you perhaps the First Hero?” (Regina)
“What a foolish question. Unlike you, I have no way of reincarnating multiple times, nor do I have a long lifespan. I’m just a simple human.” (Sam)
She looked a bit sad after hearing that.
“Is that so? I’ll be going then. The next time we meet would be on the battlefield. Prepare for you death then.” (Regina)
“Likewise. And by the way, you really are Regina, right?” (Sam)
Although I know that she is, it wouldn’t hurt to confirm, would it?
“Yes, I am the First Demon King Regina. Well then, until we see each other again.” (Regina)
Just as I thought, she really is Regina. That means a mere mortal has found a way to escape the cycle of life and death. It really is a shame that our relationship turned into this.
After that, she opened the teleportation portal which she had used to arrive here and went back. Although I would have liked to stop her, and fight and kill her to end everything once and for all, I currently don’t have the power to do so. I knew it from a single glance. She’s powerful, way more powerful. And although I do have some ways of killing her, using them here would invite problems much bigger than this one. Looks like I’ll have to get stronger.
But just when I thought that she had left, her head popped out of that portal and she spoke.
“Also, and advice for you. Make sure to always watch your back.” (Regina)
“You don’t need to remind me of that.” (Sam)
I always watch my back after all. This is the first rule of war: Never trust your friends blindly.
She finally left after dropping that bomb.
And this was how my first meeting with the Demon King ended.
Author’s Notes
Greetings, readers. I just wanted to inform you that I’ve been working on editing the previous chapters, and I’ve finally managed to edit the first 12 (including the prologue). The plot hasn’t changed, of course. I’ve just added more details, like the characters’ feelings and how the surroundings look, all in an attempt to breathe life into my bland writing. I hope you’ll give them a read if you have the time. And if you have any suggestions, then I would be happy to hear them.
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