The Demon King has returned!
Kurei, who had been waiting at the entrance of the Demoness Manor, spotted Via and Sashaya and shouted happily. “You’re finally back!”
Melu heard Kurei’s voice and came running over as well. Little Ha was still perched on top of her head.
“Meow meow!” Little Ha’s cry also sounded like a welcome for Via.
“Kurei, Melu, sorry for the long wait.”
Via raised her hand and greeted the two demonkin maids.
“Huh? Demon King, why have you changed?” Kurei exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Via’s appearance.
“You’ve become a demonkin like us?” Melu also looked utterly astonished.
“She awakened her bloodline,” Sashaya explained. “We went to the forbidden zone in the Thousand Sea Abyss. Quite a few things happened there, causing Via’s demonkin bloodline to fully awaken. That’s why she looks like this now.”
“Meow?”
Little Ha jumped down from Melu’s head and circled Via several times, looking very curious.
“Meow! What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize me anymore?” Via picked Little Ha up. Little Ha licked her cheek.
“In this life, the Demon King was a half-blood between demonkin and humans. Now that she has fully awakened her demonkin bloodline, she no longer needs to hide in front of other demonkin, right?” Kurei realized.
“That’s right. I don’t need to use my previous life’s title to act anymore,” Via replied. “From now on, I will make the name Via resound throughout the Desolate Fallen Continent.”
“I feel like the Demon King’s strength has increased significantly.”
Melu looked at Via and felt a strange sensation in her heart. If the previous Demon King had felt like a small fry, it was now the complete opposite. She felt an overwhelming aura from the pink-haired girl standing before her—an instinctive urge to worship simply from looking at her.
This was an instinct rising from the depths of her bloodline.
“Mhm. The Demon King bloodline has indeed taken my power to the next level.”
Via raised her hand. Abyssal aura surged between her fingers, and under the control of her Demon King bloodline, it quickly transformed into pure Abyssal Force.
Controlling such pure Abyssal Force with this level of mastery was something neither Melu nor Kurei could achieve.
Kurei glanced at Melu. “The Demon King’s current strength has already surpassed ours.”
“Yeah… Then it’s about time.”
Melu and Kurei exchanged a look, then stepped forward in perfect sync. They knelt on one knee and bowed to Via.
This time, the two demonkin maids showed complete and willing respect.
Demonkin had no rule about serving the weak.
Since Via had proven her strength, they could serve their Demon King without any complaints.
“Demon King, please allow me to continue following you,” Kurei said earnestly.
“I wish to rejoin the royal court you are establishing and assist you in ruling over the Desolate Fallen Continent once more!” Melu abandoned her usual lazy tone, her words filled with passion.
“Good. Kurei, Melu, I’m very happy you’ve made this decision. Welcome to my royal court.”
Via nodded in satisfaction. Standing before Kurei and Melu, just as she had in her previous life, she raised her hand and lightly tapped each of them on the shoulder, signifying her approval.
“Wonderful, Demon King!”
Kurei’s eyes grew a little moist. She had waited so long for this day.
Melu also looked like she wanted to cry.
“The new company has finally opened for business. With Lady Sashaya, that makes three employees,” Via said cheerfully.
“Meow meow meow!”
Little Ha cried out and hopped twice in place, as if reminding Via not to forget her.
“Alright, alright. Counting Little Ha, that makes four employees then.”
Via felt a bit helpless, but since Little Ha had followed her all the way from the human world, witnessing everything along the journey, she could be considered a member of the royal court as well.
“Via, what’s your next step?” Sashaya asked curiously. “I remember you mentioning that the demonkin are planning to select a new Demon King, right?”
“Yes. It’s time for us to leave the Thousand Sea Abyss,” Via smiled faintly. “It’s time to show the world that we exist. Only by building our reputation can we attract more talented people to join the royal court.”
“Leaving the Thousand Sea Abyss and finally taking action…” Sashaya mused.
“Lady Sashaya, would you like to come with us?”
“Hmm…”
“Staying in the Thousand Sea Abyss all the time must be quite boring, right? Why not take this chance to go out and see how the outside world has changed?” Via suggested. “Besides, if I successfully become the new Demon King, I’ll be able to obtain a large amount of resources. If you have any new research projects you’re interested in, I can provide strong support.”
“That doesn’t sound bad at all. Fine then, Via. I’ll go out and have some fun with you.” Sashaya showed some interest.
On one hand, she wanted to observe Via’s future performance. On the other, she really had stayed in the Thousand Sea Abyss for far too long and occasionally wanted to see the outside world.
“How are we going to leave? Will Lady Sashaya use spatial teleportation magic?” Kurei asked curiously.
Sashaya revealed a mysterious smile. “No need for spatial magic. We’ll do it in a much more stylish way.”
“A stylish way?”
Even Via was curious about what the Abyssal Demoness considered “stylish.”
“Step back a little.”
Sashaya waved her hand.
Via led Kurei and Melu back a short distance.
Then, Sashaya raised the staff in her hand and began chanting a spell in the abyssal tongue. She released a large amount of mana and swung her staff forward powerfully.
Crack!
A spatial fissure appeared in the sky.
A cluster of vertical pupils appeared first on the other side of the fissure. Then, a pair of enormous claws grabbed both edges of the fissure. With tremendous force, the fissure was forcibly widened until it was large enough for a giant creature to pass through. Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, a massive black shadow shot out of the spatial fissure, circled above the Demoness Manor, and cast a huge shadow over everyone.
That… that was…
After seeing what it was, Kurei’s eyes widened in disbelief.
It was a dragon!
The massive black dragon landed behind Sashaya like a black mountain crashing down, causing the ground to tremble. Its enormous body was incredibly oppressive, and the abyssal aura radiating from it filled everyone with a strong sense of danger.
She realized that the Abyssal Demoness had previously controlled this very dragon to attack them inside the Thousand Sea Abyss.
“This is an Abyss Dragon. Its name is Albion. It’s classified as an abyssal beast, though it’s far stronger than ordinary ones.”
Sashaya placed her hand on the Abyss Dragon’s scales.
“Let Albion carry us out of the Thousand Sea Abyss.”
A white dragon called Albion, guess the author likes Celtic mythology