Chapter 2: The Incompetent "Demon King"

“Brother Nightshade, you’re nothing more than a side character responsible for snarky remarks now; you have no right to protest!” Night Snow and Xue Yi rolled their eyes at Nightshade, reminding him to remember his place—he was no longer the protagonist.

“Even if I’m not the protagonist anymore, I’m still not as pathetic as this cannon-fodder villain! I’d bet fifty cents this guy won’t survive three chapters!” Nightshade retorted indignantly.

On the other side, Demon Core burst excitedly into the grand hall where Demon Gu was, violently shoving open the doors and startling Demon Gu and his subordinates, who were in the midst of discussing strategies to deal with their enemy. When they saw it was Demon Core, their faces darkened, and Demon Gu said irritably, “Didn’t I tell you to go back and cultivate properly? What are you doing here causing trouble?”

His vengeful son was now advancing with unstoppable momentum, no more than half an hour’s journey from the castle. Demon Gu was making his final stand with his followers, and now this useless troublemaker had come to disrupt everything. Demon Gu was nearly driven mad with anger.

“Heh, I’m not the same as before! I’ve inherited the legacy of the first Demon King. That bastard is no match for me now! I’ll show you that he will never surpass me!” Demon Core boasted arrogantly, oblivious to the others present as he proclaimed his news.

“The—The first Demon King!” Demon Gu was startled by Demon Core’s words, thinking he was rambling nonsense. He scanned Demon Core with his mind but, to his shock, found he couldn’t sense his existence at all. Though standing right before his eyes, Demon Core felt completely undetectable. Only when he’d burst in did Demon Gu notice him.

“System, scan Demon Gu’s stats!” Sensing Demon Gu’s uncertainty, Demon Core silently ordered the system to scan him.

“Name: Demon Gu. Title: Thirty-Seventh Demon King. Personality: Arrogant. Talent: Superior (levels: Low, Medium, Superior, Genius, Peerless). Strength: Lowest tier of supreme master. System assessment: Completely incapable of threatening the host; can be eliminated at will…” The system provided a lengthy stream of data, but Demon Core paid little attention to the rest. Demon Gu was the strongest man he’d ever known, and even he was no match for the system. Demon Core’s confidence soared.

“You really did obtain the first Demon King’s legacy?” Demon Gu asked after a moment of silence. If it was true, then Demon Core was their final and only hope.

“Of course! Even you’re no match for me now—let alone that worthless wretch outside! No matter how strong he is, could he possibly surpass the first Demon King? Hahaha!” Demon Core declared with boundless arrogance, his tone laced with scorn for Demon Gu. Now he had the strength to look down on him.

“Very well! From this moment on, you are the Thirty-Eighth Demon King. This is the token passed down through generations of Demon Kings!” With all hope pinned on Demon Core, Demon Gu relinquished his throne without hesitation.

“The host has obtained the Demon King’s token and received a portion of the first Demon King’s power!” As soon as he grasped the so-called Demon King’s token, the system’s prompt sounded, and a vast, pure energy surged ceaselessly into Demon Core’s body.

…

In the blink of an eye, evening had fallen. The sky was awash with crimson clouds. Around the Demon King’s castle, always shrouded in gloom, it was as if a curtain of blood had descended. Demon Core, now sitting in Demon Gu’s place upon the Demon King’s throne, waited patiently for his brother’s arrival. He knew it would not be long before his adversary reached this place. He imagined himself unleashing his might, forcing his brother to kneel and beg for mercy.

Gradually, the surroundings grew ever quieter. Apart from Demon Gu and Demon Core within the grand hall, there was no sign of life. The patrolling subordinates outside seemed to have vanished without a trace. The hall was eerily silent—nothing could be heard but the two men’s breathing.

“Strange. Where did everyone go?” Noticing this, Demon Core muttered under his breath and ordered the system to scan the surroundings again. The result was that, aside from Demon Gu and himself, there was not a single living being in the entire castle.

“Those damned cowards must have all fled!” He slammed the armrest of the throne in fury and stood up. To have so many subordinates desert him just as he became Demon King was a humiliation.

“Impossible! They were my most loyal followers; they would never betray me over something like this!” All his confidants had been branded with a forbidden seal—betrayal meant instant death. He refused to believe any of them had the courage to betray him. Yet, if they hadn’t defected, how could they have disappeared?

With these doubts gnawing at him, a thick, metallic scent of blood suddenly invaded Demon Gu’s nostrils. A nearly impossible suspicion took root in his heart, impossible to dispel. Could it be that, without either himself or Demon Core noticing, someone had silently slaughtered everyone?

“No, impossible! Even if neither I nor Demon Core noticed, it’s not possible for all those followers to die without making a sound—no screams, no warnings. Unless he could kill everyone in an instant, or strike without anyone noticing, but that’s simply impossible!” Demon Gu forced himself to reject these irrational conclusions.

“All of this is just conjecture. As long as I open the door and look outside, all these unreasonable suspicions will be disproved,” Demon Gu told himself.

“I don’t believe they’d desert us. I’ll go out and see for myself,” he said to Demon Core, steadying himself.

“Fine, go ahead.” The sudden silence had also unsettled Demon Core. All his power had come from the system, and his mind had not changed; at heart, he was still filled with a coward’s timidity. Hearing Demon Gu’s proposal, he agreed at once, afraid Demon Gu might change his mind.

Demon Gu noted his reaction with contempt. He couldn’t fathom how this coward had obtained the first Demon King’s legacy. Even someone as lofty and untouchable as himself had prepared for death, but Demon Core was utterly spineless.

Though a faint unease lingered in his heart, Demon Gu showed no trace of fear on his face. Without a hint of hesitation, he swallowed nervously and began walking toward the hall’s only door. It was merely a few dozen meters away; even at a slow pace, he soon reached the entrance.

Standing at the threshold, the stench of blood was even stronger, as if death itself awaited beyond. Demon Gu took a deep breath for courage, as though opening the door would reveal a vision of hell. He raised his hand and slowly pushed at the sturdy, unknown metal door, while Demon Core watched from the throne, his expression tense.

His palm landed on the door. When nothing untoward happened, Demon Gu mustered his courage and pushed hard. Suddenly, he seemed to glimpse a dazzling arc of light. The next moment, the massive metal doors—over ten meters high and seven or eight wide—were cleanly bisected along the diagonal, forming two identical triangles.

Demon Gu’s palm happened to rest on the diagonal. Blood sprayed from the back of his hand, his pupils contracting to the extreme as he stared in horror at the slanted line across his hand, the upper part slowly sliding off, severing his palm…