''I introduce myself. My name is Leonard. Happy to see you again among us... oh demon king! ''

This young demon stood in front of me with a radiant smile. She bowed down and more surprisingly, she called me demon king.

“You must be wrong, I am not the demon king…”

“I can assure you it’s really you. '' She said, cutting me off.

''You don't remember your past experiences at the moment because you have just been reincarnated. But I can say this with certainty, you are the demon king. ''

It was hard to believe, but even I couldn't recognize my own mana flow. In addition, my appearance had changed drastically and I felt a demonic aura within me.

All these changes were probably due to the thing I had devoured to be able to come back to life.

Would I have sacrificed my humanity by doing this? If so, the price to pay for resurrection was too high.

The young demon began to spit blood from her mouth and collapsed to the ground. I observed him for a moment and then asked him a question.

“How did you get this injury? ''

“The Demon King doesn’t have to worry about a low-ranking demon like me. You're back again, that's the most important thing. ''

''Just answer my question. '' I ordered him with a hostile look.

The young demoness was overcome with fear for a moment. But she regained her composure.

“As you wish, Your Majesty…”

She began to explain the events to me with the little breath she had left.

“I was walking through these woods looking for our lost companions when I suddenly felt a demonic aura similar to yours in this area. I then followed the flow of mana that was released and it led me here. When I arrived, you were lying there unconscious. When I got closer to you, I was attacked by the aura surrounding you and I ended up injured in the abdomen. I wanted at all costs to see you when you woke up, so I stayed with you for the next five days. Now that you have awakened and are healthy, my role here ends. I will now show you the way to your domain and you will be able to reunite with the rest of your army. ''

I listened to him speak and assimilated everything down to the smallest detail. So it was me who caused his injury and contrary to what I thought, five days had passed since I ate that thing.

But despite all this information, one question was still running through my head.

Have I really become the demon king?

Despite this young demon's words, I still couldn't accept this. I must have been unsure.

“Let me see your wound. ''

I placed my hand on his abdomen and used healing magic: Heal. If I truly became a demon and the demon king at that, I should be able to cure a demon.

Healing spells are complex spells that recreate an individual's destroyed cells or organs in the process of regeneration. As a result, there may be incompatibilities depending on the species.

Humans and demons have magic from different attributes.

That of humans comes from light and that of demons comes from darkness. As a result, a human cannot regenerate a demon's wound and vice versa. We can only destroy ourselves.

I let my mana flow into her wound and to my greatest surprise, she began to regenerate. It took very little time, only a few seconds for his wound to close.

I had just healed this demoness from a wound that was fatal to her. I was in shock.

I really am the demon king...!

Considering the result, I could no longer doubt that I had become a demon. If this girl was not mistaken, I would have become the demon king.

This reality shook my mind.

I had spent my youth fighting demons in order to bring peace to the world. I then cut myself off from the world to try to create magic that would allow humans to face demons on equal terms years later. Now I have become the demon king...

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How ironic.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Your Majesty…”

Now recovered, she stood up and bowed to me to thank me.

''It was nothing. ''

I had just saved this demon's life, I never thought I would be able to do that one day. Furthermore, the ease with which I managed to cure her impressed even me.

I've never been an ace at healing magic. I could only perform minor spells to heal superficial wounds. Now I had the same level as a mid-level loanee. And it seems that my abilities as a mage have improved even more.

While my thoughts were focused on my new abilities, the young demoness called out to me.

“Your Majesty…”

''Leonard, right? What do you want? ''

“I wanted to welcome you again. '' She said, prostrating herself.

“Y-yes…”

“If you ask me, I think you should announce your return to the rest of your army. ''

“You mean I should go to the Demon King’s Mansion? ''

“Yes, it’s your property after all. ''

Now being the demon king, the mansion and the entire domain belonged to me.

The lands of the Demon King are located in the north. The land is barren and without proper preparation, a human being could not survive there.

After the demon king's fall, much of his territory was annexed by humans and the remainder of his weakened army scattered. Without a king for those under their orders, they acted alone and without organization and became easy targets for seasoned adventurers.

The most disturbing thing was the disappearance of the Demon King's mansion.

She seemed to have vanished after her death. But hearing the words of this young demoness, the mansion was still there. This intrigued me. I wanted to see this mansion again.

'' I see. My presence in this world is an event for you. So I should show myself to everyone. ''

If I truly became the Demon King, I had to act like one. I had to see it as reincarnation. Even though I still had Igneel's memories, I had to let go of that and forge a new path.

''Leonard, you are going to guide me to the king's mansion...I mean, to my mansion. ''

“At your command, Majesty! ''

Instinctively, I began by reducing the gravity exerted on me. This allowed me to float in the air.

I wasn't able to do it before and I didn't know how it worked. However, I was able to do it with ease.

The most surprising thing was how I came up with the idea to do it. It was like my brain thought it could do it.

This automatism perhaps came from the fact that I had included my experience as well as that of the demon king.

When I think back, the Demon King had the ability to fly, perhaps I gained that from becoming him.

Once in the air, I began to look around me. I was only surrounded by trees, which was normal since I was in the middle of the forest.

When I looked down, I saw Leonard on the ground looking at me intently.

“What are you still doing on earth? Come join me and guide me. ''

“I’m sorry your Majesty, but I’m just a low-rank demon… I don’t have the ability to fly. ''

It was obvious, not all demons knew how to fly. Maybe I got a little too excited about the new powers I acquired.

Should I walk the route?

No, that would be way too long. It would take me months.

I only had one solution left, the range during the entire trip in the air.

I came back down to earth and got closer to her.

''To make the trip on foot would be much too long and I don't want to. So I see myself obliged to carry you throughout the journey. ''

'' Eh ? '' She said panicking.

She didn't have time to say another word as she was already in my arms. She panicked and then started to blush. It must have been awkward to be carried by someone so important. In this case, the demon king himself.

''Which direction should I take? ''

“There…” She said shyly, pointing me in the direction with the tip of her finger.

'' All right. ''

I once again reduced the gravity exerted on me and rose high into the sky.

“Hang on. ''

“Yes, your majesty…”

She clung tightly to me.

Once I felt that she was firmly hooked, I rushed at full speed in the direction she had indicated to me.

I realized one thing, I had become very fast.

With this speed, I would arrive in the remote lands of the north in less than ten minutes.

During my journey, I flew over several human cities including the elf forest.

As planned, in less than ten minutes, I arrived in the barren lands of the north.

Realizing this, I slowed down and let Leonard guide me to the mansion. After a few minutes of flight, I arrived in front of an invisible magical barrier.

“The domain is behind this barrier. ''

It's weird, I've never seen a barrier there.

I looked perplexed in front of this barrier.

“Don’t worry, your Majesty. If it were any other species, it would pass through the barrier and come out the other end. Your manor is also protected by your lieutenants, so it is in good hands. ''

Leonard had judged that my confused look was because I was worried about the safety of the mansion. So she preferred to reassure me.

For my part, thanks to what she had just said, I understood how this magical barrier worked. It was very ingenious. It was not for nothing that no one was able to find the mansion after the fall of the demon king.

I placed my hand on the barrier and infused my mana into it. A breach formed and me and Leonard went inside.

I had a succession of mountain ranges in front of me.

Above one of them, a source of light caught my attention. This was the demon king’s mansion. Seeing him, I couldn't help but smile.

“Your Majesty, welcome home. ''

''Thank you Leonard. ''

“If you would like to follow me. ''

Leonard took the first step.

I was content to follow her in silence. She was going to guide me to the mansion.

Suddenly, I felt a demonic aura coming from the sky approaching me at full speed. From the flow of mana emanating from it, I could tell that it was a demon and that it was on guard.

It must surely have been one of the guardians of the domain. It only took a few seconds for him to reach our level.

It rushed at full speed on the ground and a very large cloud of dust was raised followed by a deafening noise.

I could see the silhouette of this individual through the smoke screen. I could also see the red glow his pupils generated.

The smoke screen began to dissipate little by little, revealing a very large dragon with purple scales.

In my youth, I had the opportunity to face it with my adventure team.

Originally, it had a humanoid form. During our fight, he ended up injured and fled, becoming the dragon that I had in front of me.

I thought at the time that this wound had been fatal to him. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Demons really have thick skin.

“You are Magma, the winged demon. One of the king's most powerful lieutenants... I mean, one of my most powerful lieutenants. ''

I hadn't gotten used to being the demon king yet. So I sometimes spoke about my current self in the third person.

Without taking my words into consideration, he spoke directly to Leonard.

“Leonard! What are you doing with this human? Why are you brought here? Have you lost your mind? ''

Through Magma's loud and commanding voice, I could feel her deep anger. A menacing aura began to envelop the area.

“I... Master Magma, this man here is actually our king. He looks human, but it's him, I'm sure. ''

''Stupidity! Our king is expected to be reincarnated 50 years later. There is no way this human is the demon king. You're just a dirty traitor! ''

He began to wave his flow of mana in all directions which shook the ground.

''Come on Magma. You no longer recognize your king? '' I said arrogantly.

I approached him with confident steps while displaying a proud smile.

With my new powers, I felt like I could do it on my own.

“Don’t take another step if you want to live, you brat! ''

“Well, is this how you address your king? ''

I began to agitate my flow of mana which increased the magnitude of the earthquake.

''We're going to do one thing, I'm going to subdue you with my strength. You will thus be obliged to recognize that I am your king and you will swear allegiance to me. ''

''I don't mind this idea. I wouldn't lose to a human again, let alone a kid. I'm going to wipe that arrogant, proud smile off your face that irritates me to no end. ''

End of chapter.