Chapter 1

Prokel stood at the entrance of the Palace of the Demon King, took a deep breath, and tightly held the letter containing secrets given to him by his mother.

This is the third time he has attended the [Night Gathering] held here.

The first time was when he came to make an appearance as a new demon king.

The second time was when he participated as a full-fledged demon king after completing his probationary period around this time last year.

At this [Night Gathering], many demon kings are chatting and enjoying the alcohol and food prepared in abundance, a scene so peaceful that it’s hard to believe they are the supernatural beings who rule over dungeons.

"Unlike last year, it seems I can take my time. ...No, maybe the opposite. It might get even more troublesome."

Last year, at the [Night Gathering] where all the demon kings gathered, he declared the formation of a new faction centered around himself.

...A demon king who had only been born a year ago would naturally incur the resentment of the old demon kings, but he had the power to push through, and the support of the Demon King of [Beasts] Marcius, one of the three strongest, as well as an alliance with the Demon King of [Time] Dantalian, which allowed him to be accepted.

However, this past year was far from peaceful.

There were constant attempts to cut him down.

"Daddy! The food at the Palace of the Demon King is as delicious as ever!"

"Hmm. I agree. Avalon has purer, more delicious food, but the food here has a mysterious feel to it."

"It doesn’t feel natural. It’s like it’s been created."

A bright and lively fox-eared girl in her late teens, a silver-haired, flat-chested dwarf girl in her early teens, and a golden-haired elf with an incredibly... charming build were enjoying the food.

The fox-eared girl is Quina, a celestial fox.

The silver-haired, flat-chested dwarf is Rorono, an elder dwarf.

The golden-haired elf is Aula, an ancient elf.

Each of them is one of my [Bound Monsters] and an S-rank monster, my trump cards.

When they are like this, it’s hard to sense their inner power, and they just look like cute girls.

But they are monsters with the power to destroy a country on their own.

"The monsters of Prokel are as lively as ever."

"Prokel is one of the few who can act so freely at the [Night Gathering]."

"It’s been a while. Strass and Ronowe both seem to be doing well, which is a relief."

Two of the demon kings participating in the [Night Gathering] came to see me.

The cool girl with black hair tinged with purple, wearing a chic dress, is Strass, one of the four major elements, the powerful Demon King of [Wind].

The other is a cheerful, bipedal frog in luxurious clothing, Ronowe, the Demon King of [Adhesion], with unique abilities.

Each of them has monsters under their command.

Strass has a jade-green dragon on her shoulder, acting like a knight protecting her, and Ronowe has a green slime bouncing behind him.

The monsters that follow them are S-rank monsters created using the [Creation] medal, which grants special powers.

I greet the monsters as well.

I’m not unfamiliar with these two, Strass and Ronowe’s trump cards.

The jade-green dragon, Enril, the Storm Dragon Bahamut, chirps, and the green slime, Slap, shakes hands with its tentacles.

They are quite cute when you look at them like this.

Well, not as much as my own monsters.

"Slap is happy to see Prokel. But it’s a shame. I wanted to introduce Slap’s sister to your [Bound Monsters]."

"I did bring them, but they’re in the [Storage]."

Only three monsters can be brought to the [Night Gathering].

Demon kings have the ability to store up to ten monsters in an interdimensional space called [Storage] and call them out at any time, but they cannot do so during the [Night Gathering].

However, considering that something might happen as soon as the [Night Gathering] ends, I have a variety of monsters in the [Storage] to handle any situation.

Among them, the strongest is Slap’s sister, whom Ronowe brought.

She is an S-rank monster created using the [Adhesion] medal I received from Ronowe when I gave him the [Creation] medal.

Her characteristic is the highest adaptability and versatility among all my monsters.

Furthermore, if used correctly, she has the potential to overwhelm even my [Bound Monsters] like Quina for a few dozen seconds.

If I need to prepare for an unexpected situation, there is no better monster than her.

That’s why I chose her for one of the few slots in the [Storage].

"I thought Prokel would bring Marcius, but that’s surprising."

"If I left one of Quina and the others behind, she would pout. ...Besides, Marcius is busy with something right now."

"Ah, that’s right. It’s better that he didn’t come."

That something is a very auspicious event.

I never thought such a time would come for me and Marcius.

"By the way, Prokel, what do you think about being called one of the three strongest?"

"I would say I haven’t fully realized it yet, but seeing the looks from the other demon kings at the [Night Gathering], I understand what it means."

In the past, the three strongest demon kings, [Dragon], [Beasts], and [Time], were called the three pillars among all demon kings.

However, [Dragon] disappeared, and [Beasts] is no longer a demon king in a certain sense, leaving only [Time].

Then, a new demon king became one of the three pillars.

But recently, I defeated one of the three and took his place.

In name and reality, I ascended to the top of the demon kings in just three years.

...It is scary.

I think I have the power worthy of being one of the three strongest. But I lack the necessary qualities beyond power.

Marcius, the Demon King of [Beasts], supports me, but even then, it’s not enough.

Will I be betrayed someday?

This fear always haunts me.

Having friends like Strass and Ronowe is a great help.

As I gained power, I made more demon king allies.

But I can only trust four of them.

Dantalian, the Demon King of [Time], with whom I have an alliance and who is also a rival in love.

Strass, the Demon King of [Wind], who is both a rival and a close friend, and is becoming more than that.

Ronowe, the Demon King of [Adhesion], who is like a younger brother and supports my ideals.

And Berial, the Demon King of [Despair], a reliable senior, who is not here.

...If we can include those who are no longer considered official demon kings, Marcius, the Demon King of [Beasts], who is also my parent and lover, would be added.

I have more companions, but the number of those I can trust hasn’t increased.

Rather, I should be grateful to have met them in my first year as a demon king.

After Strass and Ronowe left, more and more demon kings came to me, trying to curry favor.

...It’s ironic that many of them were the ones who tried to ostracize me out of jealousy last year.

Probably, this quick change is a necessary survival skill.

◇

As the [Night Gathering] was getting lively, the [Creator], who created the demon kings, appeared.

Two years ago, he was an old man, last year a young boy, and this year a seductive woman.

Appearance means nothing to him.

He can change it at will.

"Children of the stars, thank you for gathering again this year. I am happy to see your faces once more."

The demon kings looked relieved.

Everyone is reassured that there won’t be any unreasonable demands if he is in a good mood.

This Creator likes to play with the demon kings.

He comes up with whimsical and terrible ideas, making the demon kings run around.

I haven’t forgotten what he did last year. Many demon kings suffered, and three human countries were destroyed in the chaos.

Unlike other demon kings who run dungeons, I manage a city, so I was hit hard by the aftermath and saw a living hell.

The Creator continued.

"The past two years have been interesting. A strange child was born, disrupting the balance, and the chaos continued, making it completely entertaining to watch."

...That strange child is probably me.

I was too strong.

That’s why I was attacked by the old demon kings one after another before I could grow, and I had to defeat them with the help of my allies.

Each time I defeated an old demon king, I took their power and became even stronger.

The pinnacle was the battle with one of the new three strongest last month.

I won that battle and became one of the three strongest.

Now, no demon king dares to challenge me, and many are actively trying to join my faction.

"But that has settled down, and it’s boring again. Moreover, that strange child has no ambition. He doesn’t harm other demon kings, and the other children understand this, thinking it’s best not to interfere with [Creation]. Oops, I said it. Oh well, everyone probably knows. This way, peaceful and stable days will continue. I am so bored that I feel like vomiting... So, I will shake things up."

The expressions of all the demon kings, including me, suddenly tensed.

This is definitely not going to end well.

"I command that the total number of demon kings be halved within the next year. If it’s not halved, I will randomly eliminate half of you at the next [Night Gathering]. If you don’t want that, start wars and reduce the number of demon kings appropriately."

What a ridiculous demand.

If we are told this, everyone will have to kill each other to survive.

There are no demon kings who will spend a peaceful year and let others be eliminated without complaint.

...But I also think this.

If the demon kings kill each other and half survive, what will happen?

Will the Creator get bored again and make the demon kings kill each other?

What if he says the last one standing?

Will I have to kill my important lover and friends?

I can’t accept that.

Then, shouldn’t we cut off the root cause?

Instead of killing each other until half the demon kings are left, it would be more constructive for all the demon kings to team up and challenge the Creator.

After all, even if we challenge the Creator and fail, the result will be the same if the number of demon kings is reduced by half.

I felt the Creator’s eyes on me.

He smirked.

Could this ridiculous situation be to force us to make this decision?

"Then, that’s all. I expect it to be interesting. Oh, right. I forgot something. ...Children of the stars, show me your light."

The Creator disappeared.

At that moment, the demon kings, who had been silent, started to chatter.

They were busy forming factions and alliances.

...Killing a few demon kings won’t change anything.

Then, we should form a large coalition. It would be more constructive to crush those who don’t belong to any organization.

Given the constraint of halving the number, several coalitions will likely form.

This will start a grand war among the demon kings.

Damn, there’s no time to think.

Once this path is taken, it will be hard to change course.

Even if the result is what the Creator wants, I have to propose that all the demon kings challenge the Creator.

I need to head to the podium. The sound carries well there.

But I can’t move forward.

"Let me through! I’ll listen to you later!"

Demon kings are gathering around me, seeking protection now that I am one of the three strongest.

"Ugh, I won’t let anyone get in Daddy’s way!"

"Persistent. ...I want to blow their heads off, just like always."

"Rorono, you shouldn’t say such things to a demon king, even if they are just a demon king."

My monsters, Quina and the others, try to form a barrier, but the [Night Gathering] rules prevent them from harming the demon kings, so they can’t stop the flood of demon kings.

One of them grabbed my hand.

I want to shake him off, but I can’t harm a demon king at the [Night Gathering].

"Let go, I have something important to do."

The demon king holding my hand is a thin, snake-tailed humanoid with a weak presence.

"You don’t even call me by name. You didn’t remember me after I greeted you. You don’t care about me at all. That’s right. You are a special demon king. You don’t even notice the others."

"I really don’t have time. I’ll listen to you later."

Ignoring my words, he continued to mumble, not letting go of my sleeve.

"...That’s unfair. It’s too unfair. [Creation] is too strong. This is wrong. You will surely win the next demon king war. I can’t accept that. I’ve worked so hard, yet you get all the glory, power, women, friends, and money. It’s unfair."

"Stop it. What’s the point of complaining like this?"

I’ve seen many like him.

I myself think the [Creation] medal and its abilities are too strong.

But we have to compete with what we have. Complaining won’t change anything.

"...Just disappear. Leave. I’ll tell you my name one last time. I am Batin, the Demon King of [Migration]. My ability is [Migration]. You won’t be able to forget me."

My body is enveloped in a strange floating sensation.

I recognize this feeling.

It’s a transfer.

At the [Night Gathering], all attacks are forbidden, and even if you try to harm someone, your body won’t move.

This is bad. I try to shake him off forcefully, but I can’t because of the rule against harming others.

Then, why can he transfer me?

Is it because [Migration] is considered movement, not an attack!?

The rules created by the Creator are still sloppy. It seems he intentionally left loopholes.

"I’ll send you as far away as I can with all my strength. Hehe, did you know? Only 20% of the areas are habitable. You’ll trip over some random trash and disappear. Prokel!"

The next moment, the [Migration] ability activated.

"Daddy!"

My monsters reach out desperately.

But their hands won’t reach me.

I can’t do anything as I am transferred, and my vision is covered in darkness.