3
After gaining enlightenment from the dream and that mysterious woman, Leviathan, with the help of magic, continued to memorize the contents of books discussing the lives of creatures from the upper world as quickly as possible. What they ate and how they reproduced. Almost everything, even the smallest details, like the desserts in a shop, were written in the books.
"How strange. Of the thousands of books I've read, I've never found any record of gods or the war between the factions of light and darkness," Leviathan mused, returning the books he had finished to the shelf with magic.
"If only there were, I could find out who that mysterious woman who claimed to be my mother was." Leviathan began opening another book that caught his attention.
Srek
"What's this?" Leviathan picked up an aged piece of paper that had fallen from one of the books he took with magic. "A palace map? And… writing?" When he flipped it over, writing in magical ink appeared.
"You!" Leviathan glanced around, searching for the owner of the voice that had just called him. "Yes, you! The one looking around confused, searching for the owner of this voice! Look here, it's me!" Leviathan stared oddly at the paper in his hand.
"Good! Keep looking here. Read it!" Leviathan obeyed. "Introducing myself, I am Ethan Demonio, King of the gods of darkness. I'm the one who brought human books to the underworld for you to read! Be clever, smart, and charismatic! I hate losers."
"Is he actually trying to berate me? Jerk," Leviathan muttered, his face twitching slightly in annoyance.
"If you found this letter, that damn Lucifer must have already reawakened the palace of darkness. Because of the gods' insane war, I had to leave this home that pampered me."
"Lucifer? I remember he used to be an archangel." Leviathan tried to recall their first meeting.
"Enough. I hate writing. So, let's get straight to the point. Accept all this dark magic." The aged letter revealed magic spells that Leviathan could instantly understand and learn. "I only ask you to guard my palace and live well." The sheet of aged paper then vanished.
"Pereat!"
Kretek!
Cracks spread across every wall of the building.
Bruk!
Prang!
The palace building instantly crumbled into ruins, leaving Leviathan with a table full of stacked books. Its magic was terrifying—just one word could level the palace walls to the ground.
"What is this? Light magic fused with black mana? What exactly did that damn sheet put into my memory?" Leviathan asked, his voice hissing.
"Per Lucem Vitae Ferentem, Surge!"
Leviathan could feel streams of light and black mana surging as one within his body. The two didn't oppose each other; instead, they felt like figures who hadn't met in a long time finally reuniting. Perhaps it was because this magic belonged to the letter's writer who claimed to be the King of the gods of darkness
Tok
Tok
Tok
"Perfectly fused. Maybe this is the magic Lucifer used that day," Leviathan guessed after tapping the palace wall to ensure it had safely reformed.
Leviathan looked up, staring at the ceiling. "What have I been doing all this time, anyway? Reading books? No. All I've found since earlier are weird things." He stood.
"Has this world always been this dark and silent?" Leviathan looked out the window. Only dead trees and dry land stretched wide. The houses looked more like livestock pens.
"I'll fix it."
Leviathan extended his hand outward. Magically, the barren land was slowly consumed by a stretch of green grass, dead trees sprouted falling leaves, and a small lake formed not far away. The scenery was vastly different from the usual demon world.
"Let's go out." Leviathan leapt from the railing of the study window on the palace's top floor, then landed safely. "The weather is so arid. I'll change it to be like the upper world described in the books." He swept away the clouds that had covered the underworld for thousands of years.
"Then… I'll build houses for them to live in when they return." Leviathan used water and earth elements to grow tree seedlings, then turned their trunks into building materials for houses.
"This should be enough. The letter's writer didn't permit me to alter his palace. If only he gave me permission, I'd turn it into a doll palace." His lips curved into a smile.
"But, that woman said only the seven archdemons get a chance at reincarnation. Can't the other demons?" Leviathan raised his gaze to the sky that now looked bright, even though the sun was still absent.
"I want to find them soon." Leviathan turned back, looking at the magnificent palace he lived in. "That's enough knowledge of the upper world. Now it's time for my journey to find them. I promise I'll return soon, because no matter what, this place is my hometown."
"Dormi!"
The ground trembled like when the palace was awakened from its thousand-year slumber. The earth seemed to move and swallow it until nothing remained. Now, all that could be seen was dark land surrounded by hot lava, just like before Lucifer reawakened it.
"Fer mi ad Luminariam!"
Leviathan glanced back for a moment before his teleportation circle activated and said, "I'm leaving now. Wait for me to return." Then, he vanished in the blink of an eye.
.....
The teleportation magic brought Leviathan to the border between the underworld and the upper world, where the war between humans and demons had taken place decades ago. The weapons and magical equipment left behind were still intact, though worn. With his own hands, he picked up items he recognized. Those things belonged to the seven archdemons, along with the remains of their bones that hadn't disintegrated.
"Terra quae vitae substantiam hebet, permitte me eos sepelire sub potestate tua!"
The earth moved, opening itself for each remaining creature's bones, then closed again. Leviathan stood silent, watching how nature obeyed his request. Unknowingly, he had turned the first area of the upper world he set foot on into a graveyard, with name markers for each of them that he knew from the witness of nature.
Leviathan pressed his hands together. "Rest in peace." He had learned that phrase from a book in the palace.
Leviathan walked again, without a destination. His feet kept moving until he found a settlement like the ones in the books. As far as he knew, if not a city, then a village would do, as long as there were humans there. If he wanted to live among living beings, he might as well go to the forest and become a hermit.
"Just like in the books, these are carriage tracks." On his path heading east, Leviathan found horse tracks that were still warm. "I'll just follow them. From what I've read, carriages always head to places crowded with humans."
Leviathan followed them, without using magic. Creatures of the upper world would feel a massive tremor, especially sorcerers, if he used magic. To them, black mana was only a legendary fairy tale, just like light mana before its owner was first discovered. Leviathan knew that from the books he read.
"There it is! The dwelling of the upper world's creatures mentioned in the books I've read for decades."
"Hey." Someone called out to Leviathan. "Are you a lost nobleman?" he asked after seeing Leviathan's striking appearance in a remote area far from the capital.
"Smile, come on, smile!" Leviathan pleaded with himself not to put on a terrifying flat face. Then, after managing to smile, albeit stiffly, he quickly answered, "No. I'm just a lost wanderer."
The man who had spoken to him got down from his horse. "Your appearance looks more like a lost nobleman than a lost wanderer."
"Ah, right. I forgot about my clothes," Leviathan regretted inwardly. "A merchant leader who owed me a debt gave me these clothes because my old ones were no longer wearable." He answered exactly like a character in a book he had once read.
"I see." The man glanced around, looking for Leviathan's belongings, but there were none. Then, he asked in a confused tone, "Are you heading to the city?"
"Correct. I want to go to the nearest city."
The man climbed back onto his carriage. "Get in. I'm also delivering goods to the city."
Leviathan hesitated slightly. "Is it alright for someone you don't know to go with you?"
"Maybe not with others. But you seem like a good kid who knows nothing about this world. I don't need to worry, right? Hha… hha…" The man laughed heartily.
"Alright." Leviathan climbed into the cargo cart. "What if I were a Demon King who eats humans?" he asked as the horse's hooves galloped quickly toward the city.
"You believe in the Demon King and hero fairy tales, huh." The man smiled. "I still believe in heroes after the war with demons, but the Demon King's existence is still unknown to this day."
"How so?"
"All information is kept secret by the palace for fear of chaos. Especially after Lord Aethoniel returned alone with wounds that nearly took his life. Remembering Lord Aethoniel's kindness, the kingdom's citizens chose to stay silent."
"Who actually did that to him?" Leviathan couldn't recall his actions against the seven lights and Aethoniel.
"The palace only issued a ban and severe punishment for anyone who enters the underworld. The rumor I heard is that a terrifying monster is hiding there."
Leviathan thought, "There might really be a scary monster there." He also didn't know that the man was referring to him. "Then, what about the seven lights?"
"They became the kingdom's eternal heroes who succeeded in defeating the seven high-ranking demons."
"Ah, I see. So the one he meant all along was me, and those seven lights were the ones who killed them. Not surprising—light is the natural enemy of darkness," Leviathan thought.
"Goodness… I've talked too much, even when the late His Majesty King Kerthos never spoke of it." The man grew a bit uneasy. "But, no creature in this world knows how long that being will stay silent after its friends were killed. It could rise to the surface for revenge."
"I don't want revenge, you know! My purpose in coming is just to look around and find their reincarnations, then go back. As long as you don't bother me, I won't threaten you," Leviathan grumbled, slightly annoyed.
"We're here." The man got down from his horse. "Go to the guard post to verify yourself before entering the city. I'll go report to my boss."
Leviathan got down from the horse cart. "Thank you very much, Uncle. You've helped me a lot." He bowed as a sign of sincerity, just like in the books.
The man felt a bit uneasy. "Enough, enough. I didn't do any great deed like the seven lights." He was nervous because he had never received such sincere thanks from anyone.
"I'll take my leave. I hope we can meet again." Leviathan began walking toward the guard post.
"Braune. My name is Braune!" the man called out.
"Alright, Uncle Braune."
Leviathan didn't look back. Braune had also left. He stopped, hiding from the guards' sight. "These clothes and this appearance are indeed too striking, even though I've hidden my horns." He started to think.
"What kind of appearance would suit me? An old man with a staff? An ordinary man? An insect?" A Demon King was confused. "Aha! How about a figure like this?"
Leviathan's hair shortened and its color changed, then his body shrank and his clothes changed. Strangely, his handsomeness didn't disappear. This figure of his was like a prince failing to disguise himself as a commoner to tour outside the palace. He had to cover his face with a cloak's hood and appear naturally in public to avoid suspicion.
"Alright. Let's go in and find their reincarnations!"