Chapter 918: So You're the Demon King!
"I'm quite curious about this too. How did an ordinary person like him manage to summon a Grand Duke of Hell?"
Eiji expressed with some confusion.
Demon summoning isn't magic, but rather a ritual, or more precisely, a form of ritual magic.
This type of magic doesn't become a skill—it's not learned by spending skill points. Anyone can perform it as long as they possess the relevant knowledge and prepare the necessary components for the ritual.
Other examples like demon reincarnation and angel reincarnation also fall under ritual magic. However, such magic is quite rare and almost never seen in the human world, likely due to deliberate control by Heaven and Hell.
"The reason lies in this."
Barnier stepped forward and retrieved a round stone from Alderp's body. With his Clairvoyance, he had already seen through all of Alderp's secrets.
"What is this?"
Eiji's gaze focused on the smooth stone, from which he could sense an extraordinary radiance.
"A Magical Creature Summoning Stone—it's a divine artifact."
Barnier explained.
Eiji recalled that Aqua had mentioned this divine artifact to him before. It could summon all kinds of demons, from Grand Dukes of Hell to low-tier grunts, and even succubi, without any restrictions.
Most importantly, it was a divine artifact that could perform limited functions even without being bound to a master. However, in this limited state, it could only perform random summons.
"You mean..."
Eiji's expression turned somewhat peculiar.
"From your words, it seems you recognize this divine artifact. That's right—this fat pig simply had a stroke of luck and managed to summon a Grand Duke of Hell through the random summon function!"
At this point, even Barnier cast an astonished look at the fat pig.
"If it were any other Grand Duke of Hell, this fat pig would have been doomed years ago. But he just happened to summon Maxwell..."
If he had summoned Barnier or Ashuk, Alderp would have been devoured down to the bones long ago.
Yet he happened to summon the naturally idiotic Maxwell! He easily fooled him and repeatedly used his abilities to clean up his own messes countless times!
It was nothing short of miraculous luck among miracles!
"I'll give this divine artifact to you, as thanks for speaking up for me earlier."
Barnier handed the round stone to Eiji.
He had no choice—after he retrieved the stone from Alderp, the goddess Eris beside him had been glaring at him fiercely, clearly determined not to let him walk off with the divine artifact.
To be honest, even if he wanted to take it, this single clone wouldn't be able to manage it.
"Then I'll gratefully accept it."
Eiji happily stored the divine artifact.
After all, it was still a divine artifact. Even if he couldn't use it himself, he could offer it as a reward if he ever established an organization or something in the future.
Come to think of it, that fat pig Alderp really had incredible luck. With the Body-Swapping Necklace and the Magical Creature Summoning Stone, he actually possessed two divine artifacts. His luck was truly extraordinary!
It's enough to make anyone jealous!
"How you want to punish him is entirely up to you."
Barnier generously handed Alderp over to him.
"P-please wait a moment, I—"
Rip!
Aldap's expression changed as he prepared to beg for mercy.
In an instant, a flash of blade light swept past, and his head instantly fell from his neck, blood spurting out like a faucet, staining the ground with crimson trails.
Even as his head hit the ground, he wore an utterly unprepared expression.
"So decisive!"
Barnier exclaimed admiringly, then reached out a hand.
Transparent specks of light shimmered in the air, gradually solidifying into Aldap's form as he appeared in life, now staring at the group with terror and confusion.
"Maxwell, he's yours. After returning, torture him however you wish. After all, he enslaved a Duke of Hell and freeloaded so many times—he ought to pay an equivalent price!"
"Thank you, Barnier!"
Maxwell was overjoyed, taking Aldap's soul with a gleeful, innocent smile.
"I'll roast him over hellfire for ten thousand years. That's the best way to show affection for my friend, don't you think, Aldap?"
The fat pig's face showed visible panic as he kowtowed repeatedly, but his pleas failed to move the merciless devils.
Barnier and Maxwell walked toward the church door, chatting and laughing. Kazuma and Megumin hurriedly stepped aside respectfully. Being burned by hellfire for ten thousand years—how terrifying!
"You..."
Darkness looked over hesitantly, her expression rather complicated.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Eiji glanced at the two at the church entrance. Kazuma was no concern, but he absolutely couldn't let Megumin find out.
He sheathed his demon sword, murmured a low incantation, and a brilliant white light suddenly enveloped the three of them. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the church, leaving Megumin shouting and exclaiming in surprise.
Not long after, the events in the church quickly spread throughout Axel via the bystanders' accounts.
...
After a bout of motion sickness akin to riding a bus, Darkness found herself in a grand hall filled with an eerie atmosphere.
She recognized this place—she had been here once before. This was the small Demon King's Castle built on the cliff outside the city!
"I truly never expected the new Demon King to be you!"
The goddess Eris surveyed their surroundings, finally forced to acknowledge his identity.
"To be honest, I'm really shocked. You caused such a big commotion in the royal capital back then—I was completely fooled!"
Over the years, to thoroughly resolve the Demon Lord Army issue, she had kept an eye on the developments at the Demon King's Castle. Though the super-massive barrier prevented her from seeing inside clearly, she never ceased monitoring the figure known as the Demon King!
Because of his conflict with the Duke of Hell in the royal capital, Eris had firmly believed he was a talented reincarnate sent by Senior Aqua, albeit with some personality issues. She never once suspected Eiji.
Yet reality had slapped her hard across the face!
"The incident in the royal capital... So, it really was you—"
Darkness's gaze fixed intently on his face, her eyes flickering with visible tension.
"That's right, it was me."
The Demon King showed no hesitation, straightforwardly removing his mask.
The face revealed to Darkness was all too familiar!
They had slept together just last night!
"It really is you!"
Darkness desperately wanted to be angry, yet her heart softened too much to summon any rage. She gazed at Eiji with a complicated, conflicted expression, completely at a loss for words.
"So you're the Demon King..."
He was the Demon King, and she was the daughter of a key minister of the kingdom!
The two were completely opposed—they should have been fighting the moment they met. Yet now they had gotten entangled and even ended up sharing a bed!
"Let me make this clear first—actually, the goddess sent me to infiltrate the Demon Lord Army as a spy!"
"Eh? Is that true?"
Hearing Eiji's confident explanation, Eris was the first to react with shock.