"The Demon King shall be vanquished by the Hero."
This line was part of an ancient prophecy delivered thousands of years ago by a Dragon Priestess from the now-extinct dragon kingdom of Megirago. Yet, whether the prophecy was genuine, or whether such a priestess even existed, was uncertain. The kingdom of Megirago had long since crumbled into myth, and the prophecy itself was widely regarded as a fabrication.
Kissinger, too, dismissed the prophecy as baseless.
As a servant of the Demon King, he believed such a tale to be nothing more than folklore.
The title Demon King was a convenient descriptor for the ruler of monsters. The mere coincidence of the name aligning with the prophecy did not make it real.
Moreover, Kissinger could not fathom the existence of a human who could rival the Demon King.
"The gap in magical power between humans and monsters is insurmountable. The idea of a Hero capable of opposing the Demon King is absurd. If such a person existed, they would be a catastrophic threat," Kissinger thought.
For him, invading the human world felt more like a game compared to the fierce battles he had fought to secure his place among the Demon King’s Ten Fingers. "If the Demon King willed it, we Ten Fingers could conquer the human world in the blink of an eye," he muttered aloud, a habit he had when deep in thought.
But his musings were lost on Swarm, who, entranced by Kissinger's influence, sat muttering vacantly. Swarm’s hollow expression, drained of life, made him seem more lifeless than Kissinger, an actual ghost.
Swarm was under two layers of hypnotic suggestion:
- Whatever he did, no matter how heinous, was for the good of the Theocracy of Célie.
- Kissinger’s words were akin to those of a prophet.
Watching the advancing monsters with a bored expression, Kissinger muttered to himself: "Demon King... your methods are slow and inefficient. Wasting time on these humans is pointless. A Hero? I don’t believe such a being exists."
With a resigned sigh, Kissinger lit a magical cigarette from his chest pocket. The refreshing aroma filled his senses, calming his irritation.
"I suppose we’ll know the truth after razing a few nations. Let’s get this over with."
Nearby, Swarm shouted with fervor, "Go, my monsters! For the glory and victory of Célie!"
Blowing hard into the Black Whistle, Swarm unleashed a piercing note audible only to monsters. The sound acted as an intoxicant, heightening their ferocity. Directed by the whistle, the monsters roared and charged toward their target—a human settlement visible on the horizon.
The magical artifact glowed ominously, transforming the monsters into berserk soldiers devoid of fear or pain, fighting until their last breath.
Kissinger, uninterested in the ensuing carnage, tilted his gaze skyward. The sounds of the monsters grew louder, signaling their advance. However, their pace was sluggish, and the vanguard had yet to come into view.
"No matter how skilled the humans defending that city might be, they’ll eventually fall to sheer numbers," Kissinger thought. "The only ones capable of wiping out this horde would be the Demon King—or that dreaded Hero."
Suddenly, the monsters’ cries grew louder, not from triumph but from pain and confusion. Emerging from the shadowy forest, Kissinger’s view cleared, revealing the battlefield ahead.
At first, he felt relief as the dense trees no longer obstructed his vision. Yet, what he saw left him speechless.
"What...?"
His eyes widened in disbelief. He had expected to see the city's walls reduced to rubble by the colossal monsters leading the charge—golems and giants positioned to breach the defenses. Instead, the walls stood unscathed, not even a scratch upon them.
The cause of the stalled advance became immediately clear.
Before the city stood a massive creature—a gigantic tortoise.
Its shell gleamed like polished stone, and it towered over the battlefield, effortlessly holding back the tide of monsters. The lumbering creature, despite its size, moved with uncanny speed, countering every attack with precision.
Kissinger was struck silent, his confidence rattled.
The colossal beast radiated a power that could not be ignored. It wasn’t an ordinary monster.
This was something extraordinary—something unexpected.