Late at night, in Damon’s dungeon.
Around the round table, with a gloomy atmosphere, sat four demon kings, including Damon.
The three demon kings, who usually wouldn’t dare speak to Damon, were wearing strangely meaningful smiles today.
With sharp gazes and a subtle tension, there was an unseen air of conspiracy between them.
The first to speak was a middle-aged demon king, whose nauseating perfume filled the air.
Damon didn’t even know his name.
“…I’m sorry I couldn’t come to help earlier. There were urgent matters, you see.”
Damon silently scoffed inside.
How dare he say he was coming to help?
He likely hadn’t planned to come at all, and even if he did, he would have been of no help.
“Still, it seems you managed to fend off the three knight orders, huh? As expected of Damon. Impressive.”
It seemed the rumors about the Death Knight hadn’t spread yet.
The middle-aged demon king scanned the dungeon briefly and spoke.
“But with things like this, you won’t be able to stop not just knight orders, but even adventurer squads in the future…”
His gaze lingered on the damaged defense walls and the poorly maintained traps.
The dungeon looked like a field devastated by a flood, struggling to maintain any proper defense.
The demon army’s strongest force, Rodon, was recovering from injuries, and the remaining monsters were absurdly few.
“Things are looking worrisome. The Empire sent three knight orders, which means they’re determined to annihilate you, Damon.”
Even Damon couldn’t understand this. Why had the Empire made him their target?
The middle-aged demon king licked his dry lips and whispered.
“How about it? I think I can help. A kiss of obedience should be enough, don’t you think? What I mean is, just for a moment, with me…”
Damon looked at his lust-filled eyes without any emotion.
Right next to him, the large demon king Blanco, whose nose was smashed flat, stretched out his hand and intervened.
“You’re better off relying on me than that idiot. A vow sworn on the back of my hand is enough.”
In the middle, there was the slender, slyly grinning demon king, Jordi.
His expression clearly showed confidence that ‘I’m better than those two.’
“I have no intention of dishonoring you, Damon. Let’s form a soul pact.”
“…”
A soul pact, in other words, was marriage.
Of the three, he had the highest rank in the demon world, but he was the biggest fool.
Damon suppressed his rising anger, not even able to let out a sigh.
The sight of these idiots, who wouldn’t even dare meet his gaze on normal days, acting up now was utterly disgusting.
“Am I a fool? You’re an orc of a demon king!”
“Hah, you don’t even have a proper territory, and yet you’re trying to look down on someone? If I’m an orc, then you’re a goblin.”
“Now, now, let’s not fight. The choice is Damon’s, after all. Right, Damon?”
Now, they had started exchanging petty insults, and Jordi acted as the mediator.
“Now, Damon, who will you choose?”
A disgusting smile lingered on his lips, as if thinking, Of course, it’ll be me over the other two.
Damon wanted to kill them all, but especially Jordi.
Squeak.
Damon’s lips twisted.
How had he ended up like this? He lamented his situation.
At the same time, he recalled Kan in his mind.
Just hearing his name had made human soldiers tremble in fear, losing their will to fight.
The intimidating presence that had made even him, the Demon King of Illusions, falter.
And moreover, the moment that had humiliated him for the first time in his life.
What is this…?
Damon couldn’t understand the overwhelming emotions he was feeling.
But one thing he was certain of.
He was drawn to Kan, the monster, rather than the three idiots in front of him.
His lips parted as if enchanted.
“…I don’t think you all know, but I didn’t defeat the three knight orders by myself.”
The three demon kings blinked at the same time.
It meant they were confused, thinking, Didn’t the first demon king who came after the invasion have to be one of us? What is he talking about?
Damon swallowed once and finally spoke the words he had been holding back.
“It was Kan, the Death Knight who serves Rupia, who appeared like a hero and repelled them.”
“…!”
The atmosphere around the round table began to stir.
They knew who the Death Knight Kan was.
Blanco, looking shocked, sniffed the air to confirm if he had heard correctly.
“Ka… Kan, you mean the one who crossed swords with the Swordmaster Kyleen in the heart of the Empire?”
“Yeah. You must have heard of it. Not only did he fight Kyleen, but he also summoned a dragon, right?”
The dragon part was something Damon had only heard as a rumor, so he wasn’t entirely sure.
But what mattered was that they were aware of the rumor as well.
The Death Knight who fought the Empire’s greatest swordsman in the heart of the Empire.
The fact that he had summoned a dragon meant that he had defeated the dragon, the king of all monsters.
The three demon kings froze, each wearing different expressions.
The middle-aged demon king’s lips trembled, but no words came out. His face was a mixture of confusion and suppressed fear.
Blanco, with his broad face, was sweating profusely, his body stiff.
His fingertips trembled slightly, and his usual arrogance had completely disappeared.
Jordi, with his thin frame, had a stiff smile on his face.
He tried to appear calm, but his shaking eyes revealed his inner turmoil.
Only heavy silence hung between them.
The only one smiling was Damon.
His heart raced once again.
Why is this happening?
Why does it bring me joy when they fear Kan’s name?
“No, no way!”
Jordi slammed his hand down on the round table and stood up.
The dignified composure he had earlier was gone, replaced only by anger.
“Damon, do you think we’re fools? I saw it in the newspaper! Your relationship with the Death Knight must be the worst, so you’re saying he helped you? That, that doesn’t make sense!”
Jordi, with his face turning red, angrily demanded an explanation, and the other demon kings nodded in agreement.
Damon felt a bit tense, but he quickly put on a calm, cold mask and spoke slowly.
“He showed me mercy. This is the proof.”
Damon took out a piece of paper filled with magical energy.
The mutual agreement contract had Kan’s name signed first in magical ink.
The contents clearly stated that Kan would protect Damon’s dungeon until it was fully restored.
What was even more shocking was that the contract also stated Damon would join the third legion of the Balotus Demon King army, which, to put it simply, meant he would be serving under Kan.
“Damon! What is this…?”
Jordi trembled all over, as if about to collapse, and asked.
Damon spoke with a cold expression.
“Don’t carelessly speak my name with that filthy mouth.”
He had made his decision. And he was certain.
He knew where his beating heart was leading him.
Damon’s face flushed slightly as he spoke.
“This dungeon, and this body that you maggots covet… belongs to Kan.”
“…!”
Jordi staggered and collapsed to the ground.
The nameless demon king and Blanco, who hadn’t given up, raised their voices.
They couldn’t accept the fact that they had been pushed aside by a monster.
“A demon king! Calling a bone monster by an honorific, have you given up on being a ruler?”
There was no need to repeat what was already written in the contract.
Even so, Damon coldly stared at Blanco, who had insulted Kan.
“Can you say that in front of Kan himself?”
“…What, what do you mean?”
“There are monsters stronger than some demon kings. Like the dragon everyone knows, for example.”
“Can you handle a being even stronger than that dragon?”
Blanco took a deep breath and quickly shut his mouth.
The nameless demon king beside him had already quietly begun to retreat and leave.
If rumors spread that he had asked for a vow kiss from someone who was practically under Kan’s command, it was clear what would happen to him.
He knew he couldn’t handle someone like Kan with his pathetic demon army.
The other demon kings were the same.
“I, I’ll take my leave now. Ahem…”
“Ah, it seems it’s getting quite late.”
“We never discussed the soul pact… Haha.”
As they left the dungeon, Damon silently stared at the contract on the round table.
The fact that a single piece of paper with just a name on it was far more powerful than the hundreds of monsters he commanded…
He could no longer contain his excitement.
“A monster… just a monster, as they say…”
Now, he admitted it. Kan was a being superior to any demon king.
Every time he thought of him, his body grew hot, and he found it hard to control himself.
With a flushed face, Damon slowly kissed the contract that would protect himself and the dungeon.
His magical oath was imprinted there, like a red seal.