Chapter 67: Demon King Armament

“System activated.”

Via heard the mechanical voice that was so deeply familiar to her.

Next, the armlet she wore lit up.

The legendary armament from the era of Demon King Ville had responded.

“Great!!”

A smile bloomed across Via’s face.

Her Demon King Armament was actually still here in the ruins of the Demon King’s Castle—she was genuinely overjoyed.

As expected, her intuition had been correct. This place did hold what she needed.

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

“Heh heh heh…!”

Via covered her face with one hand and let out an arrogant, unrestrained laugh.

In the next moment, she raised her hand high and declared loudly:

“Demon King Armament, activate!”

“Demon King Armament, initiating activation…”

“Verifying user identity…”

“Identity verification failed!”

“Demon King Armament activation prohibited.”

“Huh?”

Via could hardly believe what her ears had just heard.

This was clearly her own armament—why would activation fail?

“Oh no, could it be because I’m human now, and even became a girl, so it doesn’t match my previous identity authentication at all?”

She couldn’t accept it.

After finally finding the Demon King Armament, it was telling her she couldn’t use it?

“Demon King Armament, activate! Identity verification, ID number 013!”

She entered the number she had once received when using the Demon King Armament.

“Demon King Armament, initiating activation…”

“Verifying user identity…”

“Comparing with ID number 013…”

“Comparison failed.”

“Identity verification failed.”

“Demon King Armament activation prohibited.”

“Detected prohibited attempt at unauthorized use. If verification fails again, the armament will be forcibly locked and the self-destruct sequence will execute.”

“This…”

Hearing the system report from the Demon King Armament, Via felt as though she had been struck by lightning on a clear day.

The current situation looked rather dire.

The gap between her current self and her past life was simply too vast—one was a demon, the other human; height, appearance, age, and gender… completely different.

The Demon King Armament couldn’t authenticate her at all.

If she forcibly attempted identity verification one more time and failed, the Demon King Armament would lock itself down, turning into an immobile piece of scrap metal before self-destructing.

A Demon King unable to use his own legendary armament—and even getting blown up by it? That would be far too absurd!

This would absolutely go down in history as the most embarrassing Demon King in the world.

Boom——!

A massive crash came from outside.

The shockwave from a heavy iron weapon smashing into the wall made the entire floor tremble.

It was Kurei.

Kurei had broken through the defense mechanism.

Realizing this, Via hurriedly ran to the doorway. Before she could even glance outside, she heard that terrifying sound drawing ever closer.

“Human, let’s see how you escape this time.”

Kurei was dragging her giant hammer as she walked toward the door.

There were no other escape routes left here.

In less than ten seconds, this demon maid would burst in, and Via would meet her end.

What should she do?

No matter how desperately Via asked herself, no one would answer.

She lowered her head, staring at her wrist, gazing at the activation armlet of the Demon King Armament for a full three seconds.

There was no other choice.

“Demon King Armament, activate.”

At Via’s command, the system of the Demon King Armament once again sounded its response.

“Demon King Armament, initiating activation…”

“Verifying user identity…”

At this step, the pink-haired girl performed an action that even she herself could barely comprehend.

Her bloodline seemed to boil. Her twin eyes took on a faint purple hue, glowing softly in the darkness.

She cut a small wound on her finger, letting the seeping blood drip onto the armlet.

At the same time, her Abyssal Force had already merged with the blood and was injected into the armlet.

The armlet, which had originally glowed red, actually changed—turning purple.

And the system’s mechanical voice gave a reply completely different from the previous two attempts.

“Identity verification successful.”

“Welcome, ID number 001.”

“Demon King Armament activation successful.”

……

……

“The threads of Death Hunt were severed right here. You’re inside, aren’t you?”

Kurei raised the giant hammer in her hands and, along with the wall, blasted the door clean off.

Just as she prepared to charge in and smash that pink-haired pest into strawberry jam, the scene that met her eyes froze her expression. Her body seemed petrified, her hands halted mid-air.

A tall figure clad in a long robe woven of red and black stood in the center of the room. On their head was the mask renowned among demons, and the cloak symbolizing royal authority fluttered behind them, moving without wind.

The aura unique to a king rapidly spread through the narrow space.

“Y-You…”

Kurei grew agitated. She could hardly believe what her eyes were seeing, thinking she must be hallucinating.

Still, she tentatively asked.

“Is it you? Lord Demon King?”

“…It is I.”

From beneath the mask came the steady voice of a young man.

Even after so many years, Kurei recognized it instantly.

There was no mistake.

The masked man standing before her was none other than the youngest Demon King in the world—Ville!

This was the attire Ville wore most often in everyday life.

“Lord Demon King!!!”

Kurei lowered the giant hammer in her hands. She ran to the Demon King’s side, overwhelmed with excitement, hopping about like an energetic rabbit.

“I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Of course you’re not dreaming. What you see is reality.”

Via was currently using the tone of her past life to respond to Kurei.

The Demon King Armament was assisting her, transforming her soft, sweet voice into that of her previous life—without a single flaw detectable.

“Do you truly believe anyone besides me could wield the Demon King Armament?”

“Among our demon race, the only one capable of using this legendary armament is surely you alone, Lord Ville!”

Where was the murderous fury Kurei had shown earlier?

In the presence of the Demon King, she had reverted completely to her former maid-like demeanor.

“However, Lord Demon King, I truly don’t quite understand… Didn’t you fall in the great battle against the Silver Sword Princess?”

“This is—”

Via paused for a moment.

She really hadn’t thought about how to explain this to the outside world.

To others, it would seem far too bizarre.

Even a Demon King couldn’t return from the dead.

When a person is killed, they die.

The outcome of her fateful battle with the Silver Sword Princess was known to the entire world—both had fallen together into the abyss of death.

Yet she alone had been reborn, reincarnated, and regained the memories of her past life.

“Lord Demon King?”

Kurei found it odd that the Demon King had suddenly fallen silent.

“There are very profound reasons behind this…”

Via lowered her voice, as though revealing an extremely grave secret.

“I chose to fake my death on purpose.”