The Demon King of Pride

"Earth!?"

Ria shot to her feet with tremendous force and grabbed Ars by the collar.

"Have you lost your mind!?"

Ars made a troubled face and motioned for the swords pointed at Ria to stop.

Rei and Ferna's blades halted just short of Ria's neck.

Completely ignoring them, Ria continued to grip Ars tightly.

"If what you said about the Labyrinth is true, then it connects to Earth in the 21st century. Don't you have people you know there too!?"

"That's why we'll be selecting which immigrants to accept."

"That's insane… First of all, the level of civilization between Earth and this world is completely different. How would you counter nuclear weapons…?"

"We can block the destructive power of nuclear weapons with forbidden magic. Radiation contamination too, of course. And above all, we have dragons to protect this world."

Ars slowly pried Ria's hands off him. Ria stumbled back a step involuntarily.

"Ria…"

Carla gently placed a hand on Ria's shoulder as she sank back into her chair.

Rei and Ferna sheathed their swords as well.

"Let me ask you too. Are you saying this seriously?"

The one who spoke up was Black Knight Thor. The hero from two generations past. A man who had lived for two thousand years.

An existence summoned from Earth to oppose the Demon King.

"Even if we were to relocate a billion people to this world… that would mean killing over six billion."

His intimidating presence. His stern gaze. Even though his spirit had aged over two thousand years, he absolutely could not accept what Ars was proposing. He still had many acquaintances in his homeland.

"Toru-san…"

Ars wore a weak smile.

"The die has already been cast."

"Starting a great war now and letting demons and humans fight each other would actually result in fewer casualties."

Ria spoke in a voice like ice. But Ars merely shrugged.

"So you would kill a billion humans, demi-humans, and demons? And repeat that every time The Millennium comes around?"

Ria's thoughts became clouded as if by fog. She had heard that when the Great Collapse happened, worlds would collide. But she never imagined the other world would be Earth.

No—rather, she should have considered this possibility.

This world had many reincarnators from Earth. If any world were to collide with theirs, it would most likely be Earth.

And Valis had said it before. That Earth and this world had once been in contact.

"Earth is the world from which heroes are summoned, but…"

King Hollyn raised his voice.

"How much military power does it have? Is it even possible to collapse their world first?"

As expected of someone with his years of experience, he recovered from his confusion quickly. He also seemed to understand what Ars was saying.

But the one who responded was not Ars.

"If I were to exchange my life for it, destroying their world would be possible."

Dark Dragon Valis.

She closed her eyelids over her golden eyes as she declared this.

"And based on my experience fighting the gods in the past, destroying Earth's gods is not impossible either. Earth's unique magic likely won't be very effective against us dragons."

Dragons.

Ria recalled the sight she had once glimpsed in the depths of the Dark Labyrinth.

Countless dragons sleeping in the caverns.

If all of them were to take to the skies and conquer Earth's heavens…

And then there were Earth's gods.

In her previous life, she never thought gods actually existed, but she confirmed their existence when she reincarnated.

Would she end up fighting those very gods who went to the trouble of letting her reincarnate?

Gods passed down across the Earth. From monotheism to polytheism, there must be eight million of them.

"Earth's gods are weak."

As if seeing through Ria's inner thoughts, Valis spoke.

"They are beings created from human imagination in the first place. They exist only as spirits without physical bodies. Fundamentally different from us dragons. Without human faith, they cannot wield their full power."

Is that how it was? But the Gift Ria received from those gods had been quite powerful.

"We demons will neutralize the military forces of Earth's humans. We should be sufficient against the weaker gods as well. But for the chief gods of the major religions, I would like to borrow the dragons' power."

Ars addressed Valis. Among the Divine Dragons, she seemed to be the central figure. The other Divine Dragons remained silent.

"We dragons exist to protect this world from the beginning."

Protect the world. In this case, that meant protecting humans and demons. The dragons' power would be wielded exactly as Ars intended.

Ria was filled with regret.

She wanted to curse herself for having been grateful when the demons helped in the war against Cordova. Was this the end point of the ideal of human-demon coexistence?

"Ria."

Neyas, who had not spoken until now—Ria's father—finally said something.

"A ruler does not hesitate to sacrifice other nations for their own. That is the duty of a leader. Even if… even if it costs far more lives."

That was perfectly sound logic. Especially in this case, with the fate of their world at stake.

And if what Ars said was true, this would spare their world from having to face The Millennium for a long time to come.

"Father…"

Ria said weakly.

"I am a reincarnator from that very Earth…"

Silence filled the room.

"Is that… true…?"

Even so, Neyas managed to ask in a hoarse voice.

"It is."

Ria declared to everyone present.

"I lived forty-two years on Earth, died in a natural disaster, and was reborn in this world."

The room filled with murmuring again. What this meant to the various kings, Ria did not know.

"Hey, I understand you spent more time on Earth than in this world, but is Earth really worth protecting?"

Ars asked in a light tone.

"Population explosion, environmental pollution, the gap between rich and poor, wars that never end. I think they'll hit their limit soon even if we leave them alone. In that case, wouldn't it be better for Earth's people to be welcomed into this world—a place that still has room for humans, has resources, and has nature untouched by pollution? Wouldn't that actually make them happier?"

Those words were far too one-sided. Far too arrogant.

Ah, I see. Ria understood.

The man before her was truly a Demon King.

A Demon King who spoke of mass slaughter without hesitation, who would destroy worlds.

And… he possessed a wickedness that was all too human.

"Do you understand now?"

Facing that Demon King who was even smiling, Ria had already drawn her katana.

Her slash gave neither Rei nor Ferna time to stop it, yet it was caught by the Demon King's invisible barrier.

"You're too hot-blooded. This is still supposed to be a place for discussion, you know?"

The Demon King said, raising both hands in an exaggerated gesture. Rei and Ferna had already drawn their swords. Behind Ria, Carla had also drawn hers.

"Stand down."

The pressure of that single command brought the four of them to their knees.

Dark Dragon Valis rose slowly to her feet.

"The die has been cast—truly an interesting phrase. The Great Collapse can no longer be avoided. If that is the case, do you not think Ars's proposal is the best option for this world?"

She did not say it was the best. But Ars had already made ample preparations for this unavoidable crisis.

In fact, The Millennium could be said to have ended in an overwhelming victory for the demons. And the human defenders still retained significant military strength.

Even in the war against Cordova, Ogress had won without expending much of its national power. All exactly as Ars wished.

"We dragons support Ars."

That declaration effectively ended the meeting.

Ria looked around the room. All she saw were faces heavy with sighs.

Even Thor, the hero from two generations past, exhaled deeply, an expression of resignation on his face.

Was Carla Ria's only ally?

"Was removing the current hero for this purpose?"

Shifaka asked without changing his posture. He knew that the hero had been sent to another world by the power of Water Dragon Lanna.

If that hero summoned from Earth had remained, he surely would have sided with Ria.

"That was… a bit of a miscalculation. As the Demon King, I tried to kill him immediately. But he was… simply put, too strong."

Ars shrugged. His casual demeanor unchanged. A faint smile on his lips.

"His magic—which shouldn't have existed in this world—and my magic annihilated each other and nearly destroyed this world. Clarice-sama sacrificed her own life to contain the damage to a minimum."

He called the entire Imperial Capital and its surroundings, over three million lives, a "minimum." In Ars's words, human life was astonishingly cheap.

"I see, so that's what happened."

Valis nodded without changing her expression.

"He couldn't bear the weight of mass murder. So he asked Lanna-sama to help him escape from this world."

"You were the one who guided him to that choice."

Lanna, who had not said a word until now, interjected with mild reproach.

"Well, that's how it is. Are there any questions or suggestions?"

Even as Ars said this, the humans at the round table were still struggling to process all the information that had been revealed.

An emptiness had formed in Ria's heart. Had everything she had done until now been within Ars's grasp?

"When exactly will the Great Collapse occur?"

The one who raised his hand to ask was Alvis.

Knowing when it would happen was certainly important.

Ars directed his gaze to Valis in response to the question.

"If desired, it could be now. If left to nature… fifty days. Even if I use my power to delay it, about one hundred days at most."

"I understand. Fifty days will be sufficient."

Thor questioned Alvis, who nodded to himself.

"Are you preparing something?"

His voice was not particularly lowered, so the entire assembly heard. Alvis sharpened his gaze slightly and declared:

"Yes, I will raise the Floating Continent."

The Floating Continent. A thing of legend.

Said to be a massive continent that circumnavigated the world. It existed only in texts; no one had actually seen it.

But gathered here were many who were well-versed in the world's mysteries.

"I see, that would certainly be a powerful asset."

Shifaka nodded matter-of-factly, and the Black Cat members agreed.

"Can it be prepared within fifty days?"

To Azel's question, Alvis gave a light nod.

"It has a self-maintenance function to begin with. With your help, it shouldn't even take a week."

"The Floating Continent… it really exists…?"

Young King Kanon, who had not spoken until now, had his eyes sparkling.

"Yes. I can show you if you'd like. It's actually more like a large island—not quite as big as a continent."

When Alvis confirmed its existence, the royals began to murmur again.

"Humans originally came to this world using it. It served as a base for the old Imperial Capital and circled the equator for a while, but they landed it near the Dragon Fang Continent to reduce mana consumption."

Amidst the commotion following Shifaka's words, one person alone stood apart.

Ria was cursing her own naivety.

Ria had spent forty-two years on Earth. She had seen everything that brought joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. She had experienced it all.

And she knew that Earth—that humans—possessed both hopeless foolishness and endearing beauty.

Ars probably did not know this.

"Demon King, how old were you when you were summoned to this world?"

"Fifteen. It's terrible, right? If they'd just waited until I was eighteen, I could have put my high school knowledge to use in this world."

"You only lived on Earth for fifteen years. Isn't that why you have no attachment to your homeland, why you can do something so cruel?"

At her words, Ars touched his chin and thought for a moment.

"I wonder about that? I do feel like my emotions have worn down, but I fully intend to save the family and friends I left behind. It might be unfair, but that's the extent of my attachment. You can prioritize saving the people important to you too."

How utterly arrogant this Demon King was.

He recognized the evil of his actions yet accepted them all the same. Perhaps that was what it meant to be a king.

Ria fell silent, and with that, the meeting came to an end.