Chapter 4: The Gate Stone and the Demon King’s Arrival

My mind had been so utterly preoccupied, and its appearance was far closer to that of a bead than a mere shard of glass, which explained my delayed recognition.

I scrutinized the fragment with fresh eyes. Now that I knew this was, in fact, the true nature of the Gate, another memory resurfaced.

During my initial days in the forest, I had once inadvertently stumbled upon the nest of a low-ranking demon.

These creatures, typically scurrying stealthily only in the dead of night, had their eyes roll back in their heads upon seeing prey weaker yet larger than themselves, and they pursued me relentlessly.

That marked the beginning of my predicament. The demons lured in others, who, in turn, drew in even higher predators.

Like a colossal, cascading lure, demons pursued one another in an endless chain. The entire forest throbbed with their movement. Eventually, even the most ponderous, massive demons joined the overwhelming tide.

I fled desperately, but inevitably, my limits were reached. Dragging my dying body, I sought refuge beneath the sprawling roots of a massive tree. Blood gushed from my severed left arm. As my consciousness blurred, I felt death encroaching, closer than it had ever been.

Then, from the heavens, an incessant downpour of meteorites began.

I fainted amidst the bizarre, thunderous crashes. When I awoke, the demons that had surged like a relentless tide were utterly gone. At the time, I had simply assumed they’d dispersed on their own.

‘That meteor shower, the one that fell back then, it was *this*!’

For the first time in ages, my heart pounded.

I knew nothing of its origin, its composition, or the principles by which it operated. Yet, one truth was undeniable: this might be my path back to the Middle World!

“My Lord?”

“I have a question.”

“Yes, please speak your mind.”

I pressed him for information about the stone. The knight appeared bewildered, as though I had inquired about something inherently obvious, but he soon provided a diligent answer. The stone, he explained, was known as a ‘Gate Stone’. Its initial appearance dated back 120 years, perfectly aligning with the era when the Gates first opened to the world.

“Ah, just recently, a whole shower of them fell in this vicinity. I happened to be on a date at the time, and it was quite the spectacle.”

“Can even… demons cross over using these?”

“Records indicate it’s possible if one gathers a dozen or so and activates a magic circle, yet no one has ever dared to attempt it.”

“Why not?”

“Who could say what lies beyond? We’re perfectly content living here as we are.”

“……”

He had a point.

Upon reflection, it made perfect sense. Their stance was entirely different from that of the Middle World, which faced constant, one-sided invasions. For these demons, a Gate was merely a cold stone, occasionally discovered and perhaps toyed with, nothing more and certainly nothing less.

“Even if someone were truly determined to try, it would be exceedingly difficult. The magic circle is ancient, long since fallen into disuse. And while ‘a dozen or so’ might sound simple, even if you deliberately searched for them, these stones are not easily found. They are typically quite small, you see.”

The knight merely shrugged, suggesting that today had been an exceptional stroke of luck.

“If you’re truly curious, you should consult the library. The lord before my predecessor was of royal blood and harbored a keen interest in Gate Stones.”

“Royalty? Are you referring to a Dragon Demon?”

“Indeed. And they were an incredibly powerful individual at that.”

All royalty in the Demon Realm were, without exception, Dragon Demons. I had gleaned that fact from some overheard conversation long ago. My query, however, pertained not to this, but to an entirely different matter.

“Why would royalty reside in such a remote, peripheral region?”

The knight hesitated, pondering for a moment, before finally lowering his voice to speak.

“I only say this because he is no longer among us, but… he was not entirely in his right mind.”

I blinked slowly. A subtle undercurrent of anger seemed to permeate his words.

“How so?”

“Please, try not to be too shocked. He was kind to the weak and possessed an abundance of compassion.”

“……”

“He forbade acts of murder within the territory and actively encouraged ‘volunteer work.’ Does not even the name sound utterly alien to our ears? And the actual activities were even more horrific! How could he conceive of such preposterous notions!”

“……”

The knight shivered violently, as if recalling something truly dreadful. He added that he couldn’t possibly express how fortunate it was that the lord had simply vanished one day.

Encouraging volunteer work, indeed. If someone were to suggest such a thing to me, I wouldn’t give it a second thought, but from a demon’s perspective, it appeared to be a truly heinous act, bordering on torture.

I nodded, comprehending his words. Yet, another question lingered in my mind.

“How, then, did the previous lord—the one I killed—ever come to hold that title?”

Especially if the lord before him was royalty?

“Did I not mention that he simply vanished one day? Naturally, the other filled that vacant position.”

“Ah.”

The conversation concluded there.

Although many more questions burned within me, I quietly slipped the ice shard into my pocket rather than risk further inquiry. Then, amidst the onslaught of new information, a crucial forgotten detail suddenly resurfaced in my mind.

‘Wait, if that’s the case, then I swallowed the Gate…’

I pictured myself remaining here, while only my intestines plummeted into the Middle World.

“Why are you suddenly clutching your stomach, My Lord? Your complexion looks dreadful; are you feeling unwell—”

He cut himself off mid-sentence, his expression shifting subtly as some thought occurred to him.

“M-My Lord. I’m only asking out of sheer disbelief, but could you possibly be pregna—”

*Thwack!

The small axe from my waist buried itself in the tree trunk mere inches from the knight’s head. I strode over with a perfectly calm demeanor and retrieved the weapon.

“We’re returning.”

“Yes, My Lord! Absolutely!”

The knight, more invigorated than ever, shot out of the forest like an arrow loosed from a bow.

I patted my stomach twice, then followed in his wake. Yes. If anything were to go wrong, it surely would have by now. It had been a decade, after all. I diligently tried to shake off my lingering unease as I returned to the castle.

The Plains of Noxious Herbs.

The Forest of Demons.

The final border was a treacherous expanse of lava. Whenever the demons of the territory spoke of it, they invariably appended the epithet ‘never cooling.’ It was a cursed land where lesser creatures would spontaneously combust and perish simply by venturing too close.

Assuredly, in the distant past, countless lives had been devoured by this fiery region, but that was a tale from before a new Demon King ascended to power. Approximately two millennia had passed since the Ice Dragon of the North claimed the throne of the Demon King. From that moment onward, this territory had transformed into a surprisingly habitable land.

– A being of unparalleled might, unmatched in the long annals of the Demon Realm.

– A Dragon Demon possessing a heart of white ice.

– A transcendent entity capable of freezing the entire Demon Realm should he merely will it.

Even without actively seeking them, whispers of his power reached this remote, peripheral land. Beyond mere words, the sheer magnitude of the Demon King’s influence was palpable through the very weather itself. The Demon Realm, despite its grotesque appearance and pallid hues, experienced seasons much like the Middle World, with distinct four seasons bringing hot summers and frigid winters.

However, since Kratus’s emergence, summers had become refreshingly cool, while winters saw even formidable demonic beasts frequently freezing to death. The balance of the four seasons had irrevocably shifted, leaning heavily towards perpetual winter.

It was then that the lava zone truly came into its own. The violent heat, potent enough to incinerate all in its path, and the intense cold, powerful enough to alter the very axis of the seasons, clashed in a perpetual struggle, thereby forging a remarkably temperate climate.

Since the time of my predecessor, this region had become renowned as a resort destination within the Demon Realm, prompting central nobles to eagerly acquire mansions within the territory.

I mentally calculated the dates. Winter was fast approaching. It was precisely the time when the high-ranking nobles from the central regions would descend for their annual retreat.

‘Will they all arrive in unison once the final battle concludes?’

While I wasn’t strictly obligated to entertain them, the thought still gnawed at me.

‘It seems I’ll have to spend the winter confined within the Lord’s castle.’

Such a resolution, however, proved utterly futile as an uninvited guest arrived in the territory, a full season ahead of schedule.

I gasped for breath, ragged and uneven. Initially, I couldn’t comprehend what had just transpired. Once I did, I found myself wishing I had remained in blissful ignorance.

I gazed at the man standing before me.

He was a handsome man with long silver hair that shimmered with a subtle blue hue. He casually brushed his hand, and with each movement, fragments of ice crumbled around him.

“Wow, you’ve really grown so much.”

“……”

“I knew you’d crossed over, of course. I thought you’d die quickly, yet you, a mere speck of dust, managed to survive. Not only that, but in just a few years, you’ve amassed such power and even become a lord. Quite impressive, wouldn’t you say?”

Despite his casual tone, I dared not take him lightly.

This was a battlefield. The enemies I had been fighting moments ago now lay dead, their heads frozen solid. All he had done to achieve this was snap his fingers twice.

“I am Kratus Legiatus, the Demon King who rules the Demon Realm.”

“……!”

“I offer you a choice: Will you come with me, or will you perish here?”

The moment I heard his words, a long-forgotten sense of dread washed over me. It was a terror incomparable to hiding beneath the counter with the convenience store owner or being chased by demons when I first arrived in the Demon Realm.

The beautiful man before me appeared as death itself.

‘If I fight, I die.’

Simply facing him was enough to steal my breath. My fingertips trembled, and a gnawing anxiety began to consume my heart.

“Come now, make your choice quickly.”

What else could I have possibly said in that moment? I wanted to live.

I followed him to the Demon King’s castle. A contract of subservience was etched upon my chest. I adapted easily to the new environment and lifestyle. For a human-turned-lord who used to merely bully others in a small castle in a corner of the Demon Realm, hadn’t I risen in status? I consoled myself with this thought.

However, Kratus was exceptionally insane, even among the already deranged demons.

“Don’t talk to the attendants. Not the knights either. Not the nobles. Who *can* you talk to, then? You are to speak to no one but me.”

Kratus snapped his fingers. The attendant, who had just been asking me whether I preferred scones or sandwiches for today’s snack, had their head instantly freeze and shatter.

“Why? Do my words sound like a joke?”

He stared at me silently, then smiled brightly.