“What do you mean by demon king?”

Coming from a world where magic and monsters became a reality, he predicted that something like a demon king or something must be there that led the goddess to summon the awakened from our world.

And now, he got to hear the answer from the king itself.

“Just think of the demon king like the devils from our world. Like how they terrorized and threatened humanity, the demon king did the same in this world.”

“Like in a fantasy story, the demon king with his army threatened this world, and they deemed us who faced the devils more suitable for fighting him than a normal human in this world.”

“So the goddess summoned us while assuring us that after killing the demon king, we will be able to return to our world and that she will help us regain our world from the devils.”

“You mean there were more people like you who got summoned?”

The story the king told never reached his ears except for him hearing about awakened other than him being summoned.

“Yes.”

‘What the heck? Our earth, our world got burnt down while these fuckers were here saving this goddamn unknown planet?’

‘I and millions died, and these fuckers are here, enjoying while I wandered in the body of death, void of any emotions and senses killing everyone.’

The emotions inside of him rampaged.

“Do you even know how many died? How the heck did that goddess do something like this while knowing our problems? Our world would have been liberated from those devils if you awakened were there. How the heck you never tried to go back?”

“What can we do? We cannot go until we defeat the demon king. Do you think I didn’t want to? There were hundreds of people who want to go back, but we were bound by the oath of the goddess.”

“Isn’t this a contract then? That goddess kidnapped you and then forced you to work for her. How the hell can you stay calm?”

The robed man tried to refute the king for supporting the goddess but his next words left him speechless.

“But isn’t this good?”

“What?”

“You haven’t lived here at all and you started to judge this world. This world is far better than our world. Look, I am a king now. I get to possess a strength that would be impossible to have in that world.”

“And the goddess has promised us that she will send us back.”

“That world is doomed!! Everyone died, even I, the last one died. If you would have stopped that bitch from summoning more awakened, nothing would have happened.”

Watching myself killing every single one of humans, every single day made me mad, made me question this world as to why it gave me that ridiculous quest, why it pits us against this disaster, but by the time I got to know the answer, I am here, listening to this fuckers rambling.

How in the hell can he say that with still expression?

“Then isn’t that better? We can start anew here, and if possible we will return to our world, and with this strength, we will win our world back. And who knows, there might be some survivors that you haven’t met.”

‘The fuck did he just say? He thinks it is better to live here?’

My rage not over my fate, but over the fate of our world overwhelmed me but I controlled myself. The nails dug within my skin as I clenched my fist tightly to control the rage boiling inside of me.

No matter what I do, I am now powerless. If I want these fuckers to pay, I have to get powerful.

At that moment, I swore upon my existence.

‘Just you wait. I will make that goddess and you all pay!!’

***

“Then, you haven’t defeated the demon king yet?”

I asked, swallowing my rage. For now, I have to refrain myself from doing anything rash.

Looking at the so-called king, the silver hero here, it seems that he has established many things here from his words. It is evident that our world was on the brink of collapse, so he favoring this world is naturally reasonable, according to this and other traitors only.

The strength I felt from him was also unfathomable. Only in the form that I despised the most, can I defeat him.

“Yes we have, but...” To my question, the king replied.

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“But?”

He hesitated for a while before finally speaking.

“When I, with the other summoned ones fought and defeated the demon king, the demon king who was on the verge of death said his last words which coincide with the revelation of the goddess.”

“And what is that prophecy?”

His face looked stiff with sweat forming on his forehead.

From this reaction, I can say that the prophecy holds too much weight than I expected.

“Just three words. Death will descend.”

“And some hours ago before you’re summoned, the goddess also sent a revelation to the priest, stating the same thing.”

“Death?”

A word that made his ears get rotten after hearing millions of times. A word more familiar to him than anything in the world.

Being in the body of death and dangling between life and death made him realize his truth. To be caged inside a body of death while controlling millions of minions of death and killing millions became his fate.

And now, he heard the word he hated the most again in this world.

‘Is it related to me? But I don’t feel the power of death inside me anymore after I got summoned here. The leftover power was also got used when I released my murderous intent’

More than anything, I who dwelled within the body of death can vouch for myself that I know death better than anyone else. But now, detaching myself from the holds of death, I am a normal human, so the chances of me being part of this prophecy or me being prophesied as death is probably zero.

“Then can’t it be said that the demon king will revive? Maybe he has some ways to revive with more power than before?”

“We all have also thought of that, but he can’t resurrect again.”

“And why is that?”

“It was because the demon king himself has confirmed it.”

The king then retold the story of their fight against the demon king years ago.

During the fight between the awakened and the demon king, the demon king on the verge of death spoke to them these words.

“Y-You all who are used by that fake, know this while you can kill me, I will resurrect again.”

“S-So... Attack here.”

He then tore his armor, revealing his bare chest. With trembling hands, he then points his fingers in the middle of his chest.

“Attack me here. Only then I will die truly.”

“Wait, Wait, Wait. How the hell do you seriously believe that?”

While the king was telling the story, the robed man interjected

“A villain telling his own weakness. That’s bullshit.”

Even in most cliché stories, I haven’t seen heroes this foolish. Even I never revealed my weakness, no matter how desperate I was to die.

“But it is true and was backed by the goddess herself.”

The king clarified himself as what ensued later.

After listening to the words of the demon, most didn’t believe his words, but at that time, the goddess appeared in front of them, backing his words.

“O champions of mine, he is saying the truth. He, I, the dragons, and the spirits are all born like this. Within his chest is his origin, a thing common in all of us firstborn of this world. So, to fully assure he never appears again, you must do as he says.”

And so, following her words, the leader of the awakened, the first hero killed the demon king as he wished, thus ending the long war.

“And that’s how we concluded that this time it is something different from the demon king.”

The robed man was left speechless, watching the foolishness of this guy.

‘How can he and the rest believe someone who kidnapped them for her greater good?’

While the robed man was jumbled in his thoughts, the king then spoke to him.

“By the way, you are the last one now to be summoned, so we will support you to help us when this death or whatever will descend.”

After finishing, he extended his arms again with a simple smile on his face.

“We haven’t exchanged our names, have we? I am, as you have remembered silver surfer, now the king of this land and the 5th hero, Naash and you?”

‘This guy!! Still trying to test me, huh?’

The robed man, knowing the intentions of the man in front of him, confidently held and shook his hand.

“I am Mrit, the last survivor.”

***

“My King, how is it?”

In a dark room sat two people, discussing with each other. The two people were none other than the king and the priest.

The king, looking at the hand which was held by Mrit moments ago, felt conflicted.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, my king?”

The priest sitting opposite Naash inquired with a concerned voice

“I can’t feel any emotions from him. More precisely, I can’t feel anything from him. I have never encountered something like this”

Many people were summoned by the priest here, and all of them met the king. They knew him in their world so that made things easier for him as he continued to assess them.

His ability, which he initially got from the goddess due to him being hailed as a hero of justice on earth, gave him the ability to find the emotions of the one he touched.

Akin to a lie detector, he found out the general emotions of the person in front of him. Whether anyone lied to him or told the truth or whatnot, nothing was hidden from him he can just touch them. But for him, it was the first time to feel no emotions from a sentient being.

“It was like looking at vast space, full of nothingness. How can someone like him who expressed his emotions this easily, can have no inner emotions?”

No matter what, a human cannot change. On the outside, they wear one emotion, and on the inside, something different. It is the nature of humans, but now someone is defying those principles.

“I guess it can be because he was the last survivor of your world. He must have watched everyone die helplessly which made him like that. I am surprised that he is still alive after experiencing something like that.”

“I am too. I have seen those eyes like him but the depth of his gaze is not something I can measure.”

The king remembered when he saw the eyes full of deep hatred and darkness when Mrit excluded his murderous intent. It gave him goosebumps even now as he remembered those eyes.

“I guess we have got something good to be of use. The goddess has sent us useless stuff over the past summons. If you, the silver hero can talk about the guy like this, then nurturing him can give us an advantage over the first hero.”

In this world too, there is a hierarchy. The strong rule, the weak perish. That is the law. And among the awakened that are called the heroes, there is also someone who stands atop them.

“Right. I must make him side with us. I will nurture him, build him and make him my pawn to fight against that bastard.”

And so, both of them discussed various things regarding what they wanted to do with Mrit and about their future plans for some more time.

After half an hour, the conversation ended as the king stood up to leave, before asking one more question to the priest.

“When will the blessing ceremony happen?”

“Most probably by tomorrow, my king.”

“Hmm!! It will be interesting to see what blessing he will get.”

And so the king left the priest behind in the dark room. The priest, now with a still expression looked at the flat ceiling.

“So the countdown to the end has started. How will you face death, my dear goddess?”

Remembering the face of Mrit, the priest covered his eyes with his palm with a big smirk on his face.

“I will be watching you, death!! So do not disappoint us.”

***