Chapter 1: The Last King and the World of Humans

Flames, like dancing serpents of fire, swept wantonly across the scarred earth. Houses, consumed by the inferno, groaned and creaked, punctuated by intermittent explosions.

Amidst the smoke-shrouded battlefield, only two presences remained.

***

A snap.

An indescribable sound, as if something had been twisted and broken, emanated from the ruins. From what should have been an earth buried by rubble, a young man quietly rose.

His face appeared grimy and dishevelled, as though stained by the battlefield’s smoke. The dust of the conflict clung tightly to his bleeding wounds, giving the impression that these marks had always been a part of him.

However, the young man had no time to spare for such concerns. His gaze was fixed intently on the enemy before him.

Following his line of sight, a woman stood calmly atop the ruins.

In stark contrast to the young man, her figure was immaculate, utterly devoid of any grime, radiating an aura of sanctity and beauty.

“Why could it only come to this?” the young man asked, his voice low, addressing the woman standing at the peak of the ruins.

His tone was accusatory, carrying his anger and helplessness, as it reached her ears.

Then, she spoke.

A voice like heavenly music drifted down from above the young man, though this was hardly the moment to savor its beauty.

He understood this clearly, not daring to let down his guard. He instinctively clenched his fists, yet an untimely sensation of exhaustion swept through his body.

“To reach this point—was it not the path you chose yourself, King Wutie?”

“What exactly are you referring to?”

A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes; he failed to grasp the turn of events.

“Utterly unqualified. You are no longer a king. Merely a dictator baring their fangs and claws. Can you still not see? This scene, everything here, is all because of you.”

She uttered these words, which filled the young man with despair, her face devoid of any expression. Then, she raised her right hand, forming it into the shape of a gun, and pointed her finger at the young man’s location.

“No, I merely! Merely…”

The young man, King Wutie, tried desperately to defend himself, but found himself unable to conjure any justification.

He had simply appeared at the right place at the right time, only to become someone else’s scapegoat.

‘Without evidence, she won’t believe me,’ the young man judged silently. ‘Because she—King Shengkong—is precisely that kind of person.’

“Now, on behalf of the other Six Kings, I shall strip you of your title, King Wutie. And then… banish you from the ‘Corrosion Realm’.”

A tiny white light began to converge on Shengkong’s gun-shaped finger.

The young man believed this light would undoubtedly pierce his body without hesitation, plunging him into unconsciousness.

‘When I awaken again, where will I be? Certainly not in the ‘Corrosion Realm’,’ he thought. ‘In that case, I’ll probably wake up in the world of my mortal enemy. What were the creatures there called again… Ah, humans, I think.’

“This move was truly brilliant.”

He lowered his head, laughing as if mocking himself.

“However, one day, I will surely drag you out and settle this score. For now, enjoy your few days of glee.”

The white light arrived as expected, piercing the young man’s body.

A sudden wave of heaviness and faintness assaulted the young man’s mind. He knew this was the last sight he would witness as a king.

“Farewell, Mo Ya.”

***

“Mo Ya… Mo Ya…”

An urgent voice called out near Mo Ya’s ear, rousing his brain. Still groggy, he lifted his head from the desk and focused on the person calling his name.

It was a woman with a high ponytail. As if to emphasize her intellectual demeanor, she pushed up the clear-lensed glasses on her nose and cast a concerned look at Mo Ya.

“I’m sorry, Teacher. I fell asleep.”

“Honestly, you’re always like this! Do you know why your magic power is so slow to condense? This is precisely the reason.”

“I apologize.”

Mo Ya nodded, once again expressing his apologies to the lecturing teacher.

“Just try to pay more attention, please.”

With that, the teacher turned and walked swiftly back to the podium. Her high heels clicked sharply on the floor as she moved.

Shaking off the grip of sleep, Mo Ya quickly opened his textbook. About a month had passed since that day; at first, when he had fallen into the human world, Mo Ya had felt bewildered and lost.

But a month of adaptation had allowed him to fully adjust to this environment—the rules of the human world, once the domain of his mortal enemies.

“Look, that idiot fell asleep again. How lame.”

“He’s just a slacker, after all.”

No sooner had Mo Ya opened his textbook than mocking whispers drifted from behind him. He made no attempt to argue, simply focusing his attention on the blackboard.

“Wait, Akuma, Afu. What are you two talking about?”

Their mockery seemed to have been too loud. The teacher tapped the blackboard with a ruler, her voice edged with seriousness.

“Akuma, stand up.”

“Yes, my beautiful and esteemed teacher.”

As Akuma rose, he gracefully bent his body, performing a perfect gentleman’s bow.

“No joking with the teacher.”

“Understood, understood.”

“Then, explain the duties of us mages.”

“Understood.” After clearing his throat, Akuma began to articulate the textbook’s content in an orderly fashion.

“Mages are the guardians of the human world. They maintain peace by manipulating natural elements or enhancing their physical abilities.

Their primary enemies are the ‘Corrosives’, who mistakenly enter through spatial distortion points in other dimensions.”

At this point, Mo Ya quickly glanced backward, though his gaze returned to normal almost immediately.

“Then, how are ‘Corrosives’ created?”

“Human malice and ugliness amplify the surrounding spatial distortion fluctuations. When the fluctuation value reaches a certain level, the gate between us and the ‘Corrosives’ opens, allowing the ‘Corrosives’ to emerge and harm human lives.”

‘A standard and perfect answer,’ Mo Ya judged inwardly. After delivering such a textbook response, Akuma should have been able to sit down, but he did not. Instead, he clenched his fists and squeezed out a single sentence from between his teeth.

“Therefore, I will absolutely slaughter every single one of those irrational monsters like the ‘Corrosives’!”

The classroom atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Even the teacher paused for a moment.

“Please… please sit.”

Upon receiving the instruction, Akuma pulled his chair back and slowly sat down. From beginning to end, Mo Ya maintained an observing attitude, without any emotion showing on his face.

“‘Is that truly what you all think?'” he murmured softly to himself, his voice unconsciously lowered.

“Now, next is the explanation regarding the use of magic…”

The teacher picked up her book and continued the lesson. However, Mo Ya did not absorb any of the subsequent lecture. Drowsiness once again enveloped him, and he naturally slumped onto his desk.

‘I hope I don’t have that dream again this time.’

***

“Did you hear? The Ice Witch is back!”

“Really?”

Finally, class was dismissed, and the students in the classroom erupted into chatter, discussing all sorts of topics.

Among the various conversations, Mo Ya’s attention was drawn to the discussion between two girls in front of him.

“The Ice Witch?”

His curiosity was piqued ever so slightly.

“Yeah, she’s back. That aloof aura, keeping everyone at a thousand li’s distance—it’s so cool!”

“Hey, you’re not…”

Saying this, the latter girl suddenly recoiled a few steps, casting a wary look at the former.

“Huh? No, I’m not that kind of person! Honestly…”

“No, it’s always good to be careful.”

“Oh, right, right! This time she even brought back captives. She captured three ‘Corrosives’ alive!”

Upon hearing this, Mo Ya quietly stood up and approached the conversing girls. He then adopted a humble posture.

“Um… excuse me, could you tell me where the Ice Witch is? I’m a big fan of hers.”

However, this did not improve his standing with the girls; their gazes remained disdainful.

“What, it’s just a slacker. How disgusting.”

“The Ice Witch should be on the main avenue in front of the cathedral right now. After all, she still needs to show us interns what a real ‘Corrosive’ looks like.”

The girl with the information was more polite than the one unaware of the truth. Mo Ya nodded in thanks, then headed towards the central avenue.