"My lord," Amon called. "Do you know if there is an upper world illuminated by sunlight? I would really like to sunbathe under it." He informed enthusiastically.
"What if we try to conquer the upper world?" Karya asked.
Lucifer looked at Leviathan who was just sitting silently on his throne without expression. "What do you think, my lord?"
"I greatly hate them." Belial's face turned wrathful. "The beings up there have oppressed and looked down on the demon race." He added.
"I will destroy them to pieces. It's been a long time since the last time I moved since the destruction of the ancient empire." Beelzebub released a small mana explosion around his body.
"I got a secret leak, that the King of the upper world is secretly training a child blessed with fragments of the light of the gods that were scattered due to the war." Lucifer, who stood in front to the right of Leviathan, informed.
They stared at Leviathan, asking for their great King's decision. "So... what is your decision, my lord?" Karya asked, representing the others.
"The demon people will surely fully support this war."
"I... don't care. Do as you please."
Leviathan rose from his seat, walking past the high-ranking demons who watched his departure. He, who was born from the darkness of the world, was made as perfectly as possible into a being without feeling. A Demon King, they say? It would be more correct if he were called a destroyer of civilization.
"My lord... allows it?" Beelzebub was about to jump with joy.
"Quick! Prepare the troops!" Lucifer shouted to the lower-class demons who were given his mana.
"I can create hundreds of undead and chimeras." Said Karya, the beautiful woman of death whose face flushed with happiness.
"Alright. With this, we will start the war again. We will avenge the suffering from a hundred years ago." Amon was already ready with his Thor's hammer.
"That's right. I want to repay those bastards who always disturb my sleep in the place where I was sealed." Belphegor suddenly became enthusiastic.
"Isn't our power alone enough?"
"Hha... For this time I agree with you, Belial." Said Amon.
They shouted enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Leviathan just remained silent, staring out the window. It was very difficult for him to understand how this world works. The demon people who awaited his birth were oppressed by the human belief that 'demons are vile', where he should be angry and start a war. However, he felt nothing. His mind was empty and his heart seemed nonexistent.
"They... are unique and noisy."
Leviathan left while imagining the past few days he spent with the seven demons who liked to chatter and create noise. And what he felt was still the same. How could they be that enthusiastic? He didn't understand.
"ARE YOU ALL READY?!?!" Beelzebub shouted, already ready with his still eccentric appearance.
"YES!! WE ARE READY!"
"EVERYONE, FORWARD!! WE WILL CONQUER THE UPPER WORLD AND GIVE THEM THE SAME SUFFERING!!"
A thousand demon soldiers with the dark mana of the seven great demons prepared, devouring light with their darkness. Avengeing hundreds of years of exile and the vile defilement received. Restoring the glory days of darkness on the left side of the world, alongside light on its right side.
"Long live Lord Demon King! Long live Lord Demon King!" They shouted.
Leviathan above heard the shouts for him, but he did not react. Even though he should have, at least appeared to give a departure speech. His great demons were the ones who misinterpreted his attitude. They didn't know that he didn't care at all.
"Stupid creatures." Leviathan hissed, watching the demon horses begin to gallop out of the palace gates.
Meanwhile, in the world enveloped in light, a soldier ran as fast as he could down a corridor where every pillar was covered in marble. The soldier was extremely panicked. Panic occurred until he arrived in front of the large door before him that towered high. Two door guards who saw him immediately opened the door, and he immediately found the person he was looking for.
"Your Majesty! This is urgent, Your Majesty!"
"You!" Arthoniel snapped. "How dare you shout in front of His Majesty."
Kerthos stretched out his hands, preventing Aethoniel from scolding the panting soldier further. "What is it?" he asked in a low tone.
"Demon troops are approaching the southern border!"
Immediately, everyone stood up, both the King and the ministers. This shocking news shook the meeting room. The war between the demon race and humans occurred faster than expected. Heads ached just thinking about it.
Kerthos dropped his back into the chair. "It seems the fighting spirit of those demons is greater than expected."
Bugh!
"Sit properly. This is not the time to relax." Aethoniel admonished. He was the only one brave enough to treat a King of a land rudely.
Kerthos sat upright again like a King while rubbing his forehead that was hit hard with a book that flew due to Aethoniel's magic. "Can't you be a little gentler with me?"
"You are the King, and I am just your subordinate."
"Alright, alright." Kerthos became serious again with both hands clasped as a rest for his face. "How many troops did they bring in total?"
"Two hundred demon cavalry, eight hundred magic-armed troops, and seven demons with extraordinarily strong mana capacity. It is likely that the seven demons are leading each part of the troops."
"Kerthos..." Aethoniel called softly, making Kerthos turn to him. "I feel that those seven demons are not ordinary demons."
"What do you mean?" Kerthos was a little confused.
"They are high-rank demons, great demons who each have a terrible story." Aethoniel explained.
Kerthos raised his gaze with both hands still clasped and asked, "Do we need to deploy them?"
The entire room immediately fell silent again, understanding what their King meant. For now, it really was 'that' that had to be deployed to fight the demons now led by seven high-rank demons. They did have great light mana users, but that alone was still not enough.
"Call them here." Kerthos ordered the soldier he had just spoken with. The soldier then immediately ran to the secret training room.
"Just a few days ago news of their appearance was heard, but the prediction that the war between the light and darkness factions would occur came so quickly." Said one of the ministers of defense.
"But, are they the only ones? Is there no appearance of the Demon King?" Kerthos asked Aethoniel again. "What I know is, the appearance of high-rank demons is triggered by the presence of the Demon King." He added.
"What Kerthos says is true. What is the reason for the King's pawn not being moved? If you recall the black mana pressure that day, it was not mana comparable to the owner of the magic tower." Aethoniel glanced at the old man on Kerthos's left side. "Isn't that right, old man?"
"I cannot deny it at all. The black mana pressure was so dense it could even render me, who has reached the Eternity rank, unable to move." Answered the owner of the magic tower.
"What? Is the threat that big? Is he the reincarnation of the evil god who died hundreds of years ago?"
"It's the darkness of the human heart that makes him strong to reach a level that exceeds the perfection of a god."
Hah... That's right. Malice, hatred, envy, and vengeance truly cannot be separated from the beings that God created most perfectly among others. Those four darknesses of humanity are the source of the Demon King's revival and the choking black mana. Stopping it alone is a very clear impossibility.
"I have brought them, Your Majesty." The soldier ordered by Kerthos had returned with seven young men in official uniforms with a combination of gold and white.
"You may return, and tell the captain to immediately prepare the troops."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The soldier then left.
Kerthos shifted his gaze to the seven young men before him, seeing how they had changed after being trained earnestly. "Do you know why I called all of you here?" he asked.
Felix. The captain of the light troops bowed respectfully with his right hand on his chest and answered, "If I'm not mistaken, the reason Your Majesty called us concerns the appearance of high-rank demons with the potential for the birth of the Demon King."
"Since you understand, prepare yourselves for war with the demon race." Kerthos rose from his chair, walked closer to Felix and patted his shoulder. "If you and the others don't want to die, fight without underestimating the enemy and with full strength, because the demons we have to fight this time are not ordinary demons." He warned in a slightly whispering voice.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty!"
Kerthos moved away, "You are the light troops. Troops blessed with light mana capable of erasing blackness in darkness. Fight. For the light that illuminates the world!"
"For the light that illuminates the world!" They shouted in unison.
"I will be their captain." Aethoniel also came closer. "Kerthos, you stay as the last line of defense in the capital with a large number of troops."
"Hey, Niel. I'm the King, you know." Kerthos interjected.
"If you acknowledge yourself as King, then stay so that later the people won't cry because of your death."
"So cruel~"
Aethoniel didn't want to care. "We move now. Those demons must already be waiting. Don't let them think we're cowards who arrived late."
"Yes, Sir!"
Both Aethoniel and the seven lights hurried to where their horses had been prepared. Kerthos just watched, unable to understand them, about to fight demons with happy faces. However, this battle might be difficult. Especially if the King's pawn has been moved.
"I really hope you can all return safely."
The horse carriage slowly moved, traversing the palace pathway toward the main gate with another thousand troops. The people enthusiastically filled every place the royal troops passed, wanting to see the hero of light whose name had only been heard until now.
Leo, Max, Felix, Teo, Cassius, Victor, Marcus, the names of the seven light troops who became the great power of the Luminaria nation. Trained directly by the great Elf owner of the greatest light power ever recorded in history.
"Hero sir, please return safely!"
"We will pray for you."
"May success be with you."
"Hero sir..."
"...Hero sir!"
The sound of the people's cheers. Aethoneil immediately waved his hand friendly while smiling, welcoming their warm-sounding cheers. Then, upon arriving at the outer gate, the horses began to gallop very fast, toward the border between the lower and upper world, between darkness and light.
"Be careful. I await your return." Said Kerthos, watching their departure from the highest tower of the palace.