Volume 1 – Crusade

Southern Continent, at the coast.

Blue waves wash up on the beach.

With their wings spread, seagulls fly past the small boat anchored down below and look down at a man and a woman.

The blond man is called Merlin, the former master of the First Demon Palace.

The silver-haired woman is called Alice, the Church’s 233rd Hero.

After a series of twists and turns and rowing for three days, they finally crossed the strait and reached this place.

“Does it really have to be like this?”

Alice bit her trembling lips, her face paled, and her eyes filled with humiliation and unwillingness.

“Hurry up and take it off. Don’t make me get rough. After all, I am a gentleman.”

An expressionless look on his face, his hand on the hilt of the sword, Merlin looks like he will perform quick draw at any time.

“Boo hoo…”

Alice released a cry of sorrow from the depths of her throat. She didn’t expect that such a thing would happen to her.

She covered her chest with her hands, and her face flushed. She looks like she’s about to be violated.

Alice raised her head and peeked at Merlin. Although his face is expressionless, but in her eyes, it became dreadful and obscene.

The poor Alice seems to have foreseen her chastity being tarnished by this Demon Lord, and sparkling tears appeared in her eyes.

If I had know that this would happen, I wouldn’t have become some rubbish Hero and found myself in such a humiliating situation…

Merlin frowned and tilted his head, and his head filled with question marks.

Under duress, Alice got down to business.

She removed the white silk cloak with the Church’s insignia, took off the expensive mithril armor, shed the black stockings, and untied the gauze-like undergarments.

She even folded the pink panties and placed them on top.

The fair skin emits a gloss under the sunlight, the delicate curves are picturesque, the silver hair cascades down like a waterfall, yet the chest is as flat as a washboard…

The girl’s naked body is a perfect combination of strength and beauty, with every inch of skin being capable of making one’s imagination run wild.

Alice is kneel-sitting on the beach, her cheeks are painted in a fascinating, alluring red.

She covered her washboard with one hand and her nether region with the other hand. The tremendous sense of shame made the girl’s mind go blank.

Alice is shivering due to the slightly salty sea breeze.

A majestic Hero is being sexually assaulted by a Demon Lord just like this?!

To understand the cause of all this, we have to go three days back…

◆

The camera lens zooms in again and again.

Cough!

My name is Merlin.

The third master of the First Demon Palace.

Common foot soldiers call me the First Demon Palace’s great Demon Lord, while the guys from the Church attach Lucifer III to my name.

Although I have many names, but only I know that I am a person who was forcibly summoned to another world by an altar, commonly known as a transmigrator, with 99,999,999… 999 skill points.

I am rather reluctant about this. I was a five-stroke armband [1] great pioneer leader, so why did such bad luck befall me?

The worst part is not that I transmigrated, but that I was afflicted by a curse.

As time goes by, my heart will gradually atrophy.

Although I am very strong and have pulled out the magic sword <Omnia>.

But I will naturally die due to the cardiac atrophy.

Please, I don’t want to…

I am just 18 years old and have been a Demon Lord for only 3 years. I don’t want to die just yet!

Oh yes, let me explain, an 18-year-old demonfolk is equivalent to a close to 200-year-old human, that is to say, I am almost 200 years old.

Just when I thought I would die in this other world because of the curse, by sheer chance, I discovered the secret of the sword Omnia.

It can replenish life force!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the same as mogician’s [2] black-rimmed glasses, which can extend your life as long as you put them on.

But each time I slay strong foes with this sword, it will alleviate my cardiac atrophy and extend my life by a bit.

The stronger the enemy, the longer my life will be extended. Thus, my targets are <Saint tier>opponents.

As for High tier, Mid tier, and Low tier individuals, they aren’t worth mentioning. They have no effect on my lifespan.

According to my speculation, as long as I slay the strongest individual in this world, my curse will be lifted.

But unfortunately, I haven’t encountered them so far.

Furthermore, the so-called Heroes, humanity’s hope, are all but ants. Although they are also <Saint tier> expert, but virtually all of them are weak, unable to withstand a blow.

I’ve been looking forward to it!

One day I’ll meet the strongest individual in this world and defeat them.

When the time comes, I can lift the curse and won’t have to live a life of fear and anxiety.

But for now, I can only live in this world by killing…

“Older brother!”

A bright voice sounded behind Merlin and interrupted his train of thought.

Merlin looked back and saw a girl in a meticulously-tailored evening dress, holding a corner of the dress, with cascading long pink hair that ends with wavy tips, making her appear more charming.

The beautiful face is full of innocence, like a holy angel blowing a gold horn to usher in the sunrise. But the surprising thing is that when she smiles, she reveals a bit of seduction, which can easily intoxicate people.

This girl is called Lilith, a powerful succubus, one of the First Demon Palace’s seven generals, and Merlin’s younger sister.

Merlin finds this really awkward. He, who was an only child in his previous world, got a younger sister after he came to this world.

No doubt about it, she’s really his younger sister.

When Merlin’s soul transmigrated and he woke up, he became a blond male. Moreover, because his soul is that of a human, his demonfolk abilities and traits faded completely. Except for being handsome, there are no other advantages!

Common Demon Lords have horns on the head. Merlin, luckily, doesn’t even have bold patches. If it wasn’t for the family register, he would have already been roasted and eaten by other demonfolk.

At the beginning, Merlin was very nice to Lilith, thinking that it’s great to have a younger sister. Since he was an only child in the previous world, he yearned for siblings.

But this feeling faded over time. His younger sister, that is, this creature that is pacing around him, who is always pestering him, is really annoying.

At this time, someone will definitely jump out and shout —

Sibling romance!

Hey, wake up, friends, stop dreaming.

According to Merlin, sibling romance fantasies are all nonsense. If you really had a younger sister, you wouldn’t entertain such naive thoughts.

Merlin, who is almost 200 years old, has long since grown out of the childish period of thinking about sibling romance and starting a harem.

His attitude towards the opposite sex is that women are troublesome — I just want to take it easy.

“Older brother!” Her pretty face flushed, Lilith picked up her skirt and ran excitedly to ward him, “What did you say to the mirror just now? That’s feels chuuni~ [3].”

“Chuuni!? Cough cough!” Merlin coughed twice to conceal his embarrassment, “Lilith, you are too young to understand my distress. I am no longer at the age to exhibit chuuni behavior…”

“Distress?” Lilith placed a hand on her chin and expressed doubt, “Is it because the Demon Lord term has ended?”

“Although it is a bit related, but it’s not the main reason…” Merlin sat on a luxurious bed, picked up the Demon Daily, and took a look —

The Demon Lord term has ended… this is just an excuse.

The real reason is evident from reading the front page of the newspaper.

<The Third Demon Lord, Simon Mammon, successfully plundered the Church’s Northern Vault!>

<The Fifth Demon Lord, Ronald Beelzebub, had a fit!>

<The Seventh Demon Lord, Mike Belial, who has been sleeping for 20 years, broke Demon Record!>

I think everyone can understand — the other Demon Lords are personages of great talent and often make the headlines.

There is also this weirdo who can make headlines just by sleeping. But when I sleep, I’m scolded for being lazy.

I have never made the headlines. If we’re talking about envy, then yes, I’m envious.

Every time the Church’s crusaders are defeated, the other Demon Lords steal the limelight, which led to the decline of the First Demon Palace’s prestige.

Thinking about it carefully, I’m more screwed than Napoleon, when he invaded Russia! The whole world is preventing me from making the headlines!

As a result, it’s not that my Demon Lord term has ended, but that the Council decided to vote me out of my post. In layman’s terms…

I was fucking fired!

It’s that simple and crude. I, who don’t have any particular skills, my future is bleak.

“Older brother, if it’s not that, then what’s the reason?” Lilith interrupted Merlin’s thoughts, a worried look on her face. Her older brother is her most cherished person.

“Of course it’s the curse…” Merlin put down the newspaper and said calmly to his younger sister.

That’s right!

It’s that abominable curse!

I thought that life as a Demon Lord is great, is in line with my philosophy of taking it easy.

Being served great food and drinks everyday and leading a carefree life.

And once the curse strikes, a Hero will come to die and replenish my life force.

But the facts proved that an idler’s nibble a day wears even a mountain away.

It may be that I killed too many Heroes, which caused the strength level of the Heroes to drop greatly in recent years. Now even the guys who haven’t even reached the <Saint tier> can become Heroes.

Killing those weak small fries brings no relief to my curse.

“Your heart… does it hurt again?” Lilith asked worriedly, about to tear up.

“A little bit…” Merlin clasped the left side of his chest, feeling his heart atrophy. This is a sign of the curse flaring up.

“Why is this happening?!” Lilith sat next to Merlin and asked urgently, “Is there no remedy?”

“Besides killing to replenish life force, there seems to really be no other way. The strength of the Church has deteriorated in recent years. I forgot how many Heroes I have cut down. The current situation is a consequence of — an idler’s nibble a day wears even a mountain away.” Merlin spoke with ease. Even though he’s fully aware that he’s going to die, he still seems very calm.

“Then what do we do? I don’t want you to die. After mother died, you are my only relative.” Lilith grabbed her skirt and started crying.

Black drooping lines [4] appeared on Merlin’s head. He mused — it’s due to this that the creature known as younger sister is super troublesome!

He stroked Lilith’s head and consoled her.

“Relax, I won’t die. I decided to leave the Demon Palace and go out to see the world once I repel the Church’s crusade. I’m ashamed that I have never left the Dead Marshes.”

This is my choice.

I can’t wait her to die, I’m going out.

To to look for people who can fight me, or at least have the qualification to replenish my life force.

What’s more, I was fired by the Council. Without a job, my life has become an uncertainty. How can I now achieve my goal of leading an easy life?

Therefore, I need to find a job, make money, and lay a good foundation for my future in this world.

Why don’t I resort to robbery when I’m short of money, you ask?

Please, I have my standards, okay? As a proud sovereign, why would I do such a degrading thing?

If it’s an enemy, taking away their money is not a problem. But if it’s an innocent person, taking away their money is the strong bullying the weak. I cannot do such a disgraceful thing.

Besides, I’m lazy. I don’t want to deal with troublesome things. If I happen to offend someone, and a bunch of flies come to harass me every day, wouldn’t that be annoying?

“What!? Older brother… you’re going to leave…”

When she heard about Merlin’s decision to leave the Demon Palace, Lilith was bewildered.

This is the first time she heard her older brother mention this, so she has a hard time coming to terms with it.

Lilith knows that Merlin has never left the the Dead Marshes, that is, that he’s a shut-in. But now, all of a sudden, he wants to leave? Can he survive outside? She is deeply skeptical.

Merlin raised his eyelids. He detected a large amount of mana approaching, which must be the crusaders.

“Lilith, the crusaders are coming. Can you help me block them?”

“Yes, but it’s rare for you to ask for my help.” Lilith somewhat recovered her composure, feeling that it’s important to repel the crusaders. As for her older brother’s departure from the Demon Palace, they’ll talk about it later.

“This…” An awkward expression on his face, Merlin wanted to say something, but hesitated.

“I see, it must be a bunch of small fries not worthy of you taking action, right?” Lilith seems to have figured out her older brother’s thoughts, “I’ll kill all those bastards!”

Merlin pursed his lips, and a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead, thinking —

That’s not it.

I’m lazy, I don’t won’t to budge, that’s all!

But it’s a bit humiliating to say it out loud. So…