Chapter 0

[Translator – Night][Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 0: Prologue

The heart of the Grand Palace of Great Demon Palace, the Hall of Abyss.

Inside this grand hall, boasting the greatest magnificence on Earth, a group of men and women were gathered.

Transcending gender and age, they were all formidable figures renowned throughout the continent.

Tesron, the middle-aged man with a muscular physique possessing a body of unbreakable steel, known as the Martial King.

Cyrus, the continent’s strongest swordsman who could split even souls with just a single sword, known as the Sword Saint.

Elin, the saint of the god Seiya, possessing infinite divine power.

Jade ArcLight, the great Mage blessed by the mana of light.

And standing before them, a blond youth with a sword and magic, proficient in both and in divine power, hailed as a hero by the world, Prince Alex von Halarin of the Halarin Kingdom.

Their gazes were all directed towards the opposite staircase.

A middle-aged man with an arrogant demeanor, clad in crimson robes like blood, looked down at them with indifferent eyes.

Alex shouted towards him.

“Your reign of evil ends now, Demon King Rifenhardt!”

Demon King Rifenhardt.

The Emperor of the Abyssal Empire Antares, the strongest and most evil Mage in human history, unparalleled.

Wielding the forces of darkness with an army of millions, he had burned half the continent and slaughtered millions, truly a demon god descended upon humanity.

In order to overthrow this wicked Demon King, countless armies sacrificed their lives, cutting through the forces of darkness.

They shed blood like rivers and gave up their lives like mere chips, yet they never regretted their own lives.

Based on the countless heroic sacrifices of these heroes chosen by humanity, the strongest were successful in infiltrating the Grand Palace of Gaerak and finally stood before the Demon King after a fierce battle.

The hero chosen by humanity, Alex von Halarin, with a full heart, shouted on.

“The time has come for you to return to the darkness! O wicked Demon King!”

In truth, Demon King Rifenhardt wasn’t looking at them with indifferent eyes.

He naturally had a cold demeanor, so it wasn’t obvious, but he was actually looking down at Alex and his companions with a deeply disheartened gaze.

Cyrus, the Sword Saint, drew his blue-glowing longsword, Illuminator, and shouted.

“Demon King Rifenhardt, I will vanquish you and put an end to the history of this Abyssal Empire!”

It was unfair.

The empire they had built with so much effort and struggle.

After agonizing for three days, they even came up with the splendid name of Antares for their empire.

So why call it the Abyssal Empire in such a derogatory manner?

It’s just a place where the sun rises in the morning and the moon rises at night, isn’t it?

Tesron, the Martial King, clenched his fists and spoke.

“If you disappear, the influence of the corrupt monsters will vanish as well!”

Disappear?

Nonsense.

They were always like that.

Orcs, goblins, ogres – No, do you think that people like ogres, gnolls, and goblins used to live good lives, but became corrupted because of Rifenhardt?

They only refrained from attacking humans before because they were too weak to do so. And what he did was merely to harvest them and teach them the “tactics used by humans.”

Rifenhardt, with a weary voice – though Alex’s party surely thought it was a suitably sinister and wicked tone – spoke.

“…Have all my Four Heavenly Kings fallen?”

The powerful beings from his four tribes who followed him.

His precious subordinates who had faithfully served him with loyalty and trust for a long time. He was concerned for their safety.

Cyrus proudly wielded his sword and replied.

“Yes. That filthy orc was no match for my sword.”

Thinking of the valiant orc warrior Tashid, Rifenhardt sighed.

Why should the orc, a race of warriors who live by hunting and gathering in tribal units, be treated as monsters?

They may seem barbaric and primitive, but they are pure in their loyalty and know nothing of betrayal.

They fight fiercely in the harsh wilderness, protecting the weak and standing against the strong with pride.

Well, I can’t deny they’re a bit dirty, considering they rarely bathe.

Martial King Tesron clenched his fist and spoke.

“That ugly monster troll paid for his sins.” Sᴇaʀᴄh the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The most wise and knowledgeable shaman, Guru Atika, seems to have returned to the earth’s embrace.

Honestly, I admit trolls can look a bit frightening.

With their lumpy blue skin and protruding ivory-like teeth, even I would be startled if I met one on a dark night, so I understand.

But calling them vile monsters is unfounded.

Trolls, who live deep in the mountains under the belief of shamanism, only use what nature provides minimally.

They cultivate their souls instead of possessing material things.

Although they may seem primitive, they are a race with a superior spiritual culture.

There is no reason to call them monsters.

Elin, the saint, spoke quietly.

“The wicked dwarf who served the Dark God has also returned to the natural cycle.”

It seems even the High Priest of Al-Fort, Markelin, has finally died.

Rifenhardt clicked his tongue.

I didn’t know when the dwarves’ tribal god, Al-Fort, became the wicked god of darkness.

Such arrogance to treat all beings except the divine Seiya and the twelve gods as evil!

Jade, the Mage of light, smiled faintly and said.

“I fought the fallen dark elf.”

A fallen dark elf… Yes, her skin was a bit rough.

Because humans dug up and cut down all the forests where the elves originally lived, they were chased and chased and eventually ended up living in the desolate wasteland, so they got scorched by the scorching heat of the wilderness.

Are you going to treat a pure-blooded high elf as a dark elf just because she got a tan?

“And my magic’s nemesis. Hehehe.”

At Jade’s continued words, Rifenhardt finally closed his eyes.

Ah, Siris…

Even you, in the end…

☆ ☆ ☆

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Originally, Rifenhardt was an ordinary Mage.

Well, he couldn’t be called ordinary from the perspective of a Mage, but he certainly wasn’t capable of outrageous magic beyond common sense like he is now.

He changed when he sought the realm of new magic and turned his eyes to races other than humans and their cultures.

How long had it been since the Supreme God Seiya created humanity?

The world already belonged to humans.

The races that once vied for dominance on the continent, the elves, trolls, dwarves, and orcs, had all lost their power and declined.

Humanity had incorporated these races into its system, and the result was harsh.

Humans didn’t see these races as equals.

Elves, called forest fairies, were popular for being pretty and long-lived servants.

The sturdy sons of the earth, the dwarves, were useful as skilled craftsmen who could dig the land and had good hands.

The proud warrior race, the orcs, were suitable as strong and ignorant laborers.

Fortunately, trolls were spared from becoming slaves due to their remarkable regenerative abilities.

Instead, they were captured and repeatedly harvested for the ingredients of healing potions.

Descending into a state of lost dignity and pride, they became a slave race.

Rifenhardt had been astonished to realize how much great potential lay hidden within their forgotten culture.

Soon, he began to trace the ancient footsteps of the other races.

Fortunately, not all of these other races had become enslaved by humanity.

Despite being a minority, there were those who gathered in remote, untouched regions, striving to preserve their culture.

As he met them, learned about their cultures, and combined elven spirit magic with troll shamanism into his own magic, Rifenhardt was able to pioneer a new level of magic, becoming the first Mage in history to wield 10th circle magic.

Continuing his interactions with these races, Rifenhardt’s values naturally evolved.

He no longer saw the other races as slaves.

Consequently, he couldn’t stand by and witness the atrocities rampant in human society.

So, whenever the opportunity arose, he rescued the enslaved members of these races, providing them with paths to live freely.

Over time, hidden villages of these races grew, becoming too large for humans to ignore.

Former slaves now boldly adorned their villages, catching the attention of human kings and nobles.

They immediately raised their swords and led the knights forward into battle.

Upon being attacked, retaliation was inevitable.

Rifenhardt’s powerful magic, which had already transcended common knowledge, could easily obliterate armies and demolish city walls.

The intruders were swiftly dealt with, flying away in utter defeat.

He felt no remorse; it was their own fault for daring to attack first and facing the consequences.

There was no reason to pity them.

After eliminating the enemies, the land they had possessed lay vacant.

As a result, he expanded the village and relocated the other races there to live.

They kept coming, kept breaking, kept vacating land, and kept moving.

Eventually, the village began to resemble more of a nation.

As Rifenhardt’s reputation spread across the continent, other orc, troll, elf, and dwarf tribes who had been hiding in remote areas came forward, requesting to settle and live under his rule.

Of course, Rifenhardt didn’t hesitate; he welcomed them all with open arms.

And so, four years passed.

The kingdoms of Basili, Tekan, and Rastil fell, and in their place arose the Antares Empire.

Rifenhardt found himself unexpectedly founding a nation of other races, but he didn’t harbor any particular hatred toward humans.

He simply believed in the equality of all sentient beings.

Therefore, he refrained from enacting retaliatory policies such as enslaving humans.

Instead, he treated them as equals alongside the other hybrids.

Instead, he treated them equally alongside the other races.

However, people didn’t see it that way.

They believed Rifenhardt harbored a hatred towards humans and intended to conquer the world with his dark forces.

Despite the fact that the citizens of the Antares Empire actually felt that their lives had improved, there were still claims that Rifenhardt had deceived the people with dark magic.

As the empire expanded, Rifenhardt found himself fending off invading forces more frequently.

At first it was one country, then two countries united, and then the allied armies of three countries invaded.

Each time, Reppenhart defeated the invading army with powerful magic.

As the number of human forces increased, it became difficult to deal with them.

With human armies growing stronger, he turned to the supposedly “monster” races like ogres, trolls, goblins, whom people labeled as such due to their primitive nature and lack of control.

Through extensive mental control magic and ample food provision, Rifenhardt successfully incorporated them into his army, despite their inherent fierceness and difficulty to manage.

The combined forces of these races bolstered Rifenhardt’s military might, escalating conflicts to larger scales.

And before he knew it, Rifenhardt found himself branded as the “Demon King”, the target of fear and hatred from all humans across the continent.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]