''Who is there? '' I asked in a weak voice.

“See you again, Igneel Lamprok. ''

“But you are…”

“Yes, that’s right, it’s me. It's been a long time, right? ''

''To be exact, it's been at least 50 years since the last time. ''

'' I see... ''

He came closer to me and started to touch me. For my part, I couldn't move a single inch even though I could still speak.

“I can’t believe it, you’re really me. How is this possible? ''

''I'm confused myself. ''

''Normally, I was supposed to reincarnate in 50 years, but I see that it's already done. The problem is that I still find myself in spectral form which is very annoying. I can no longer interact with this world and I never will again. ''

“What do you mean by that? ''

“It’s simple, you have my magical source within you, it’s the concept that defines me in this world. Therefore, you are currently the one who represents me on this earth. Because of this small upheaval, my magic source will no longer be able to replenish itself since it already exists. I couldn't reincarnate again. ''

I see, I have finally understood what is happening to me.

Since I was carrying out my research, I have always thought of working with the aim of creating living beings that I could control by the sole force of my will.

In reality, I had forgotten one essential thing to achieve this goal. I had forgotten the existence of magic sources.

Without this core that made our existence absolute in this world, no body that could perform magic could be conceived. I had to first create the magical sources and then find out how to channel them into a new body, that was the solution.

I hadn't thought about it and in the end, at the last minute and without knowing it, I managed to create one.

Thanks to the demon king's cells, I was able to recreate its source. Being on the verge of death, I devoured it and made it my own, using it to replace my own source which would soon die out.

From that moment on, I was no longer Igneel but the demon king...

''Hey are you listening to me? ''

“Yes, I’m listening to you…”

''I wanted to know. Now that you have become me, what do you decide to do? ''

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''I don't really know... I came here to see the mansion and I got a bit of a headache when I faced Magma in a duel. I underestimated him because of the power I acquired and here I am in this state. ''

''I saw that. Know that Magma is what we call in the world of magic, a blind man. He does not have the ability to sense the mana flows of others. He can only trust appearances, which is why he didn't directly recognize you as the demon king. ''

''I see, it's unfortunate...''

''For your part, as a human, you were a formidable mage but your combat experience could not allow you to be able to wisely manage all this power that you currently have. It's normal that you can't compete with Magma. ''

“However, I am the demon king, I should have been able to do it. ''

“Yes, but your conscience differs from mine. You lack experience. ''

'' How so ? ''

“Suppose you have acquired a lot of combat experience and high-level spells. Then, during an accident, you lose all of your memory. Will you be the same person you were before your accident? ''

“No, I don’t think so…”

“That’s exactly what’s happening with you right now. Without my knowledge, you can't achieve anything. But don't worry, I'm here to solve this problem. ''

A white glow began to envelop him.

''What's going on? '' I asked.

“My existence will now be erased from this world, but before I leave, I will transfer all my knowledge, my memories and my combat experience into you. Don't worry, my conscience won't get the better of you, you will be free to make your own choices. It will be up to you to choose which direction to take when you know the whole truth about this world through my knowledge. ''

“Are you sure of yourself? I think you are too kind to one of the people who caused your death and who stole your place. ''

''That's true, but you see, I don't feel any hostility towards you because you are now me. ''

He smiled, then placed his hand on my forehead. The white glow that enveloped it began to rub off on me.

A few seconds later, the demon king disappeared.

In that brief moment between when he placed his hand on my forehead until he disappeared, I was able to receive billions of pieces of information at the same time. I acquired all of his magical knowledge and combat experience.

Being aware of this and having understood the extent of the powers I now possessed, I could not help but think that I had become invincible.

Besides, I had just realized that this world was not in fact what I thought it was.

After the disappearance of the demon king, time resumed its course. I could see Magma's claws getting dangerously close to my face.

However, I found his attack to be very slow.

'' Cleared ! '' I said in an authoritative voice.

As soon as he said this, Magma was violently propelled into the air.

My body had returned to its original appearance and all my injuries had disappeared.

I got up and flew towards Magma and grabbed her tail with one hand. I spun him in the air before throwing him violently to the ground.

“Magma! Have you become so blind that you do not recognize your king? ''

“Don’t make fun of me! ''

“Magma... Your ability to fly is your greatest pride as a winged dragon. Know that from this moment on, you will no longer steal. ''

I sighed, then began to manipulate the surrounding mana. By doing this, I considerably increased the gravity which had the effect of immobilizing him on the ground.

Unlike before, I didn't need to do any incantations before using my spell. I was now a real demon.

The spell I used was very powerful and worked over a very large area.

But there was a problem...

I was afraid of unintentionally attacking some of my peers present on my domain. For example, Leonard who was on this domain must also have suffered the effects of my spell.

I therefore considerably reduced the flow of mana that I used for this spell, which restricted these effects on the area that Magma occupied.

Magma struggled and tried to flap his wings, but he had no way of breaking away from this spell.

“Earlier, you threw meteorites at me. I think it's time for me to show you one of my spells. ''

I closed my eyes and concentrated a large amount of mana into my hand. I stood at a distance of 500 meters from the ground and my target was immobilized.

“Dark Magic... Black Flame Arrow. ''

By manipulating the ambient mana, I shaped a multitude of purplish-black arrows that levitated around me.

With a swing of my arm, I let the arrows fall at full speed on Magma. Under the effect of gravity, the speed of the arrows increased tenfold and they reached their target in less than 0.01 seconds.

So as not to have the entire area wiped off the map, I contained the explosion to a radius of 100 meters. This attack should be enough to put Magma out of harm's way.

Once the cloud of dust cleared, I went down to get closer to him. He looked in bad shape and was dying from his injuries. Seeing him like this, I canceled my gravity spell, he was no longer a threat to me.

“This spell... Only the demon king is capable of doing it. He’s even the one who invented it... Who are you? '' He said, his breath ragged.

I planted my hand in his chest.

When I reached its heart, I infused a large portion of my mana. This allowed him to heal from his injuries and return to his most powerful form.

He now had a humanoid form and had two horns on his head and a tail. Its skin was made of gray scales.

“I am your king. '' I said arrogantly.

Hearing my words, he shed a few tears, then he prostrated himself at my feet.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I didn't know how to recognize you and I caused you trouble...''

''Don't worry Magma, it's ancient history. Now what I need is for you to lend me your strength. Together we will conquer the world. ''

“Yes, Your Majesty. '' he said with tears in his eyes.

End of chapter.