Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 1

by Kurone Kanzaki

  “Oh... Master Demon Lord?”

  Aku’s reaction further confirmed his invisibility. Seizing this perfect opportunity, the Demon Lord moved on to his next experiment, using something he didn’t really get the chance to in-game... The Communication system. This feature was designed for players to send each other messages, but had not been seeing much use recently. Naturally, smartphones had not been invented when the game was launched, and this mode of communication was much appreciated. In the past few years, however, it had completely become a relic of the past.

  Communication: Aku. ...Can you hear me?

  ...Wha? I can hear Master Demon Lord’s horrifying voice in my head!

  That’s a little harsh. Don’t worry about me. I’m still following you closely.

  Y-Yes, sir!

  After making sure that the Communication system was working, the Demon Lord cracked a grin. He nodded in appreciation of the importance of exploration. If he had stayed in the forest alone, he would not have discovered any of this.

  (My nerves are thicker than I thought, though... I would have guessed that I would be in a panic attack by now.)

  A peculiar thought, that maybe even his mind was being taken over by Kunai, entered the Demon Lord’s head.

  (Don’t. Don’t... What kind of psycho-horror plotline is that?)

  Although it was his own imagination who suggested it, the Demon Lord was chilled to the bone at this notion.

  “What are you doing here, you piece of garbage!?”

  Turning to where the insult came from, the Demon Lord spotted a few villagers pointing and shouting at Aku. There was no doubt about it, those were Aku’s bullies. On second thought, perhaps everyone in the village was.

  “Don’t tell me you ran away... you piece of garbage!”

  “What are you thinking!? What if that devil attacks the village!?”

  “You don’t get the concept of sacrifice, do you!?”

  The Demon Lord couldn’t help but face-palm at these accusations. Did they hear themselves shouting at a young child like this? That being said, there were some reservations for the Demon Lord, who knew nothing about the culture (or whatever) of this world, to interject. As far as he knew, it might have been commonplace in this world to offer human sacrifices to devils. Even on modern-day Earth, plenty of customs and traditions of one country may seem outlandish to people outside of it.

  (Still, though...)

  Still, it didn’t feel right for him to watch grown adults bear down on a child like that. When he was considering the option of carrying Aku away while still in the Stealth stance, a blood-chilling voice echoed inside of him.

  If you don’t like them... Purge them.

  His spine froze at the voice, and the chilling air it brought with it. The Demon Lord immediately knew who was speaking to him. To make things worse, an unbearable pain emanated from his right middle finger. Clasping his hands, the Demon Lord curled onto the ground. The pain was too great for him to keep standing.

  Exterminate those who are unworthy... It is my right.

  The Demon Lord yelled back, internally.

  (Shut the hell up...! That’s only in the game!)

  ‘Purge’ or ‘exterminate’ real-life people? That was unthinkable to the Demon Lord.

  How strange. That very right, that Game, that system, that nation of madness, all of it... was created by you.

  The Demon Lord was speechless.

  You... are the root of evil. If I am the monster who purged four million, then you, who will bring upon doom to all of this world...

  Squeezing the ring hard enough to break it, the Demon Lord hushed the voice out. It was just a hallucination, the Demon Lord concluded, and tightly shut his eyes while telling himself that he was just tired. That’s all it was. So many things had happened, one after another.

  Aku, ignore those men. Just bring your things.

  The Demon Lord called out to Aku, but there was no response. He opened his eyes to see Aku on their back on the ground. Waving their hands to and fro, the villagers seemed to be throwing more disgusting insults at the child. The Demon Lord had seen enough, and deactivated his Stealth stance. At that moment, the villagers were sent into a frenzy. No one could really blame them since the Demon Lord suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but their panicked state was quite comical to watch.

  “Aku, go get your things. Hurry.”

  “Y-Yes... sir.”

  Watching Aku limp away, the Demon Lord leisurely lit his cigarette. All the while, more and more villagers were clamoring about him. Under different circumstances, he would have asked some questions, but the Demon Lord didn’t feel like conversing with the likes of them.

  “Ar-Are you a devil...? A minion of the King...?”

  “Please don’t attack the village! We offered a sacrifice!”

  “It’s not fair! Even devils must abide by their contract!”

  Exhaling smoke, the Demon Lord contemplated what the villagers had said. Contract? Interesting. He sincerely doubted that any devil planned to keep their word, though. His better guess was that the devil offered contracts to lock these people down.

  “Th-Thank you for waiting, Master Demon Lord!”

  “D-Demon Lord!?”

  “D-D-D-D-Demon Lord!”

  (Great. Add fuel to the fire, kid...!)

  Hearing this, the village frenzy only grew. Of course, the Demon Lord had no intention of clearing his name to them. These were people that called a young child a ‘piece of garbage,’ sent them off to be sacrificed, and bullied the poor child all the way. The Demon Lord contemplated if they were even worth the effort. The answer was a hard no.

  “I-I’ll contact the lord!”

  The man, who must have been the one that tripped Aku to the ground, ran away. On his face, he wore a disgusting grin. A thought seemed to cross his mind, as he stopped by his house and emerged with some kind of bag. In preparation for an expected reward, it seemed like. The Demon Lord couldn’t help but frown. As if in reaction to his emotions, the ring emanated a dangerous glow. This time, the Demon Lord didn’t think he could stop it. His right hand reached inside his coat and threw a knife at the man’s house without much care. The knife accurately struck the wall of the house and erupted black flames. The wooden house was immediately engulfed in fire... and then in black smoke.

  “M-My house... Not my house!”

  “...Ha ha ha ha! Watching fire burn never gets old. It soothes the soul!”

  The Demon Lord was astounded by the words that came out of his mouth. Hurriedly, he threw Aku on his back and fled the scene. Allowing the ring to take control, he felt, might lead to a disaster.

  (Now I just look like an arsonist!)

  Dripping with cold sweat, the Demon Lord ran as fast as he could. He flew through various scenes, as if he were fast-forwarding through them.

  “M-Master Demon Lord... Wh-What have you done!?”

  “J-Just for the record, that was to keep them warm. An act of kindness, even. Yes. That’s what that was!”

  His feet were moving too fast to stop now. And so was his mouth, spewing out perpetual nonsense.

  “B-But... It felt... Good. Just a little bit!”

  Aku said, and smiled. This might have been the first smile the Demon Lord had seen on the child.

  “Of-Of course! Kindness touches the heart!”

  This line was so ridiculous that even the Demon Lord himself could not keep a straight face. Now both of them were laughing their faces off. The sun had sunk, and the curtain of night was about to descend upon them. With his tireless body, the Demon Lord felt like he never had to stop running.

  “Master Demon Lord, how far are we going!?”

  Aku shouted through the gusts of wind that felt like they were blowing through them. Up until this point, a shadow had been looming on the child’s face, on and off. Now, Aku brimmed with an age-appropriate glow. The Demon Lord couldn’t help but forget his age and shout back.

  “To the city... To the Holy
City!”

  And so, Master Demon Lord (with a little arson now on his track record), began his journey with cheerful Aku at his side. The pair would go on to cause a number of incidents that would send the nation of Holylight into utter chaos... But the story hasn’t gotten to that part quite yet.

  You Unlocked Some Information!!

  Stats

  When looking at stats like Attack and Defense, 1 indicates the stats of an average human, at any age. 2 would mean that those stats are double that of an average human. 3 is triple, and 4 or 5? Well... the closest comparison in real-life would be a world-class athlete or an Olympian. There is a huge difference between 1 and 2 in this world, and raising one’s stats by 1 is a monumental task. Perhaps talent is a prerequisite to achieving that task.

  Stamina

  Expended through various activities, including magic. The bottom line is that, until a person runs out of Stamina, they can use their full strength. A super-elite warrior’s Stamina would exceed 50. That translates to over 2 hours of full-force combat. Kunai’s Stamina is 600. Due to his role in the Game, he was designed to have more than enough Stamina to exert his full strength 24/7. A truly untamable monster... the Demon Lord.

  Chapter Two: The Holy Maiden in Gold

  Holylight

  A lord’s manor in a remote part of Holylight...

  Lord Billitzo Lang, who ruled over a few of the remote villages in the area, looked delighted at his first good news in a while. Surprisingly, the resurrected ‘King of Devils’ was dead. It had been nearly hopeless to tax those villages before a monster like that started wreaking havoc.

  (Luck is coming my way...)

  Soon after, he received the news that the Demon Lord had been spotted. Billitzo was now fully convinced that the Goddess of Luck was smiling upon him. No matter how many times he urgently sent a horse to the Holy City with the message pertaining to the King of Devils’ resurrection, there had been no response. However, the news of the Demon Lord’s appearance, Billitzo figured, could not go ignored.

  (I best cry as loud as I can to get the Holy City involved.)

  Billitzo himself did not believe in the existence of the Demon Lord or the like. He only thought that his foolish subjects were causing a ruckus. What he feared was that he would spend the rest of his life in this remote part of the country. With some kind of commotion, he had the chance to escape (what he called) a claustrophobic, isolated cesspool.

  (‘Burned down a village’ has a better ring to it...)

  According to the report, only a single house had burned down. Billitzo had scoffed at it. From that report alone, he saw enough evidence to doubt the Demon Lord’s existence. He figured that, most likely, a starving ex-mercenary or the like resorted to arson.

  (But... How did the King of Devils die?)

  Legend has it that the King of Devils was sealed away by the Wise Angel, long ago. For the most part, it wasn’t an entity that humans could do anything about. It was more akin to a natural disaster, like an earthquake or hurricane.

  (It wasn’t a complete resurrection, I suppose. How often have legends been accurate, anyways?)

  Billitzo was born a noble, and never once had to struggle in his life. If a storm had passed already, he didn’t think to go look for the reason. He would only use that fact as his ticket out of his oh-so-terrible situation.

  (I know. I’ll say that the Demon Lord defeated the King of Devils!)

  ‘Brilliant,’ Billitzo muttered to himself. A neat solution to his problem, he thought. What he didn’t know was that his improvised lie was actually the unbelievable truth.

  --Somewhere in Holylight

  A girl in a nun’s robe was screeching in a manner unbecoming of her modest appearance. She was aboard an extravagant carriage on her way to a remote part of the country, but the ride seemed too rough for her taste.

  “It’s disappointing, isn’t it!? How pathetic your devotion to me is!?”

  The coachman shriveled his neck into his shoulders in response. A noble among all nobles was aboard the carriage... one of the Holy Maidens. One wrong move and he could be burned at the stake. This Holy Maiden, the youngest, was particularly bratty. No one knew how to handle her, exactly. Her appearance, however, was worthy of her title. Her wavy, pink hair was as graceful as cherry blossoms — even her eyes were blush pink. Despite wearing the clothes of a nun, her limbs were slender and attractive. Partially due to her young age, her breasts were still lacking.

  “I am about to defeat the legendary Demon Lord! What if my butt gets bruised before I even get there!?”

  “I-I’m terribly sorry... The roads out here aren’t paved, and...”

  “...Are you criticizing the policies of the Sanctimonium?”

  “N-Never!”

  Around these parts, there weren’t roads, per se. In the Holy City, the roads were paved with stone, and sometimes maintained with magic, but roads in the poorer regions were left untouched. Even a little bit of rain would become a flood.

  “Ar-Are the other Holy Maidens not joining you today?”

  “What are you trying to say...? You don’t think I can handle it on my own?”

  “Oh, Lady Luna! There’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t need anybody else!”

  “Pff. Duh. I can’t let my sisters steal my thunder forever!”

  Luna Elegant, aged 16. Her name was just about the only elegant thing about her. Twenty five guards surrounded her carriage, but Luna was not counting on their help. She fully intended to finish the job on her own and claim all the glory for herself.

  True, she did have an impressive gift in magic that was sure to be a powerful weapon in her fight against the Demon Lord...

  --Holylight, en route to the Holy City

  Sometime before that storm started brewing around them, the Demon Lord and the child were causing a commotion on a road without another soul or any lights to be seen. At first glance, they might look like a father and his child, but something was off. The Demon Lord’s cheeks were rosy, and he was on the tipsy side. When a carriage had passed them on the path earlier, a generous passenger had gifted them a few bottles of liquor.

  “Emerge, a fragment of my brilliance... ‘Survival Pack’.”

  The Demon Lord shoved his hand into a pitch-black void and produced a large object: an item made by the Empire. As its name might suggest, it was packed with all sorts of camping tools. This was one of the essential items used in the Game.

  “Wow, Master Demon Lord! Is there anything else in there!?”

  With cheeks as rosy as the Demon Lord’s, the child shouted in excitement. The child wasn’t drinking, but seemed buzzed by proxy. There were practically no age restrictions for drinking alcohol in this world, and it wasn’t uncommon for children to drink, but he forbade it. This Demon Lord seemed rather pedestrian, sometimes.

  It’s worth noting that liquor came by cheaper than water in this part of the country.

  “There is no end to my darkness... ‘Defense Pack’.”

  The Demon Lord didn’t seem too hesitant about playing his part, now. Striking a weird pose, he took out another item, also made by the Empire. This one was packed with various tools used to defend against other players. Another must-have for participants of the Game. These items were useless on their own, but unleashed their true potential when they were combined.

  “Combine Items... ‘Construct Fortress’.”

  At the Demon Lord’s command, two items merged together to create a ‘Base’ in the blink of an eye. This was a very useful item in the Game, as it greatly reduced the damage inflicted by other players, and allowed the user to recover safely. A player could also combine more items with the base to add all kinds of features to it.

  “Is this magic!? Master Demon Lord, I can’t believe it!”

  Aku, sprung onto the Demon Lord in pure joy. Pleased by this reaction, the Demon Lord let out a hearty laugh.

  “This isn’t magic, no. Aku, let me tell you something important.”

 
; The Demon Lord said, and took a deep breath. As if this was an all-important lesson in life, he pointed his finger at Aku.

  “Remember this... With the powers of the Empire, nothing is impossible!”

  Brushing his hair back, the Demon Lord thrusted his fist into the sky. He looked supremely lame. ...Or just plain drunk. Aku had no idea what he was talking about, but responded with cheerful applause.

  “It’s so... Big. And rock hard...!”

  Aku said some accidently suggestive things, but the drunken Demon Lord didn’t take notice. In fact, he continued to brag on in an even more elated tone.

  “This thing can even withstand Cannon Fire from the likes of Rocket Launchers. If you didn’t have one of these in the Game, you slept with one eye open. Patch it up with Reinforcement Materials and Fireproof Walls to upgrade the base to a Medium or a Large, and that will boost its Defense.”

  “Cannon Fire...? It all sounds complicated, Master Demon Lord...”

  “Well, it just means it’s sturdy. Aku, we’re sleeping in this base tonight. I’m too fragile to sleep out in the open.”

  “Yes, sir! You can leave the chores to me!”

  The pair, in their own world, strolled into the base, humming along, oblivious to the foreboding air around them.

  SP — down to 10.

  You Unlocked Some Information!!

  Base

  Created by combining a Survival Pack and a Defense Pack. Decreases damage inflicted by other players, and even protects against Cannon Fire. Since some Cannon Fire can damage SP or an armor’s durability, remaining unprotected against it is often catastrophic. A Base, true to its name, is equipped with a cot, an oil-drum bath, and a simple kitchen, allowing the player to survive inside it for a while. However, Medium and Large bases come with increasingly extravagant interior. Made with very durable material, it can even withstand attacks from RPG-7s or RPG-29s. In this world, taking down a Base is no easy task. The game’s design allows the player to fold the base up to easily carry around when it’s not set up.