Reward

Amit the relentless expanse of the Ashlands, Larian trudged onward. The sun hung mercilessly in the ash filled sky, casting a scorching heat upon the vast sea of ash that stretched in every direction.

Larian's footsteps left a trail of disturbed powder behind him.

Larian's face was obscured by rags of torn clothes that was once part of his disguised uniform for infiltrating Shinon Castle, they shielded him from the relentless sun. 

He spoke to himself occasionally even though no one else was in proximity.

"What do you think I am? I hate Shinon, sure, but against the rest of the human race? I don't wish for the death of the world just because I was wronged once. I still hold people close to my heart, like Kait and Peal."

A reply from within spoke back.

"Well, the invasion is inevitable no matter what you wish. I could wait a few more years for someone more capable to take the helm, but then we'd both be losing out. Think about it, if you become Demon King, you could control where the destructions of the war folds out. You'd be able to divert the war efforts away from the Orkan mountain."

It made sense to Larian, but still felt unrealistic for Larian. He had gained newfound confidence after everything that had happened.

A knight killing their lord amidst an army in their own turf was truly defying all odds. Even Larian was not sure of his acting skills, but maintaining a poker face as he spoke had managed to fool the Blood Lord, but the success he felt was nothing short of a miracle.

"Let's be real. Demon King? I know I managed to make one miracle happen but isn't the bar too high? There's no way I can squeeze another one out."

Larian shook his head to himself.

"What's even the point of claiming such a title?"

Inward, Adam sat leisurely in the black cave of Larian's foundation. He dipped his legs in the blood leg in the corner as he spoke.

"That's the end goal. I plan to meet the person who claims himself as the god of this world, remember? And to do that, I need a warmongering tyrant that would distract the forces of the human army including the Heroes and the rest of the Talented monsters of Trier." 

Triss and Ren came into Larian's mind, but he let their memories fade. Those moments haunted him once, casting a long shadow over his self-esteem.

But today, he only felt hollow. Now... was different, he had achieved great things for himself, and he could let go of his past failures. It was time to embrace a brighter future. One that he has to fight for. 

Adam, oblivious to Larian's thoughts continued explaining.

"Since we don't plan on having the demon army ransack every innocent civilian. We have to be the ones taking the reins."

Splashing the Blood Lake with his feet he explained.

"It's why we needed to become a vampire. Only with a change of race can we join their ranks and advance. The Dragonic Form you experienced would have only been a temporary solution."

Looking around the landscape, they remained unchanging. Larian wished there were buildings or trees that he could rapple on to speed up his travels, but besides the occasional pieces of rusted metal that poked out of the ash floor, there was only the sight of distant mountains that shimmer like a mirage, a commodity that was null in the darkest dungeons.

Licking his lips, it cracked in the dry wind. These days, Larian encountered challenges that pushed the limits of his endurance. Ashstorms descended without warning, reducing visibility to nearly zero. He would push through the howling winds. His throat dried a long time ago, but he hasn't passed out from dehydration yet.

The Blood Magic he inherited seemed to possess a quality that kept him alive despite the inhumane conditions. It stopped his body from breaking down, but the physical stress still hurt. And the pain was a reminder that he was still alive so he had to push through it.

The constant pain became something he was used to and the complicated thoughts started to settle. Larian found himself questioning his place in the world.

He had been thrown into his own story but chose to run from it because he had felt weak. He was insecure about facing his problems and ran. It was the reason he was so far from his story. 

But looking at his recent growth, he was now sure he had his own cheat. In a world that cursed him on the regular, his power of breaking his chains would allow him to take in as many curses as he could and reap their benefits.

While he initially disagreed with Adam's request to become a Demon King, his background as this world's author made him inclined to agree with Adam

He too wanted to meet God. As an author, who is the one responsible for filling in the gaps? He hoped to get answers.

And if a Demon Invasion is predestined, becoming the pivot will allow him to divert the casualties to a secluded area.

'Or Shinon Castle… it'll be hitting two birds with one stone.'

As crazy as it sounded, Larian decided to seek advice from Adam.

"How does one become a Demon King?"

Adam turned in surprise, slowly a grin appeared from his face. Larian question meant that there was hope.

"Alright, let me explain. The Demon King Procedure is pretty simple. There is an artifact that is kept within the Demon King's Castle, that holds the last Demon King's memory on the war against Humanity."

Adam controlled the red energy that swirled around him and it formed an exquisite staff with a gem embedded on its head. It was almost comically large.

"A candidate has to simply tip the scales of war and win against the Human Race to gain the approval of the Artefact and inherit the title of a Demon King."

Looking at the staff in Adam's hand Larian was taken aback.

"What? Someone can become a Demon King because of one artifact?"

Coughing into his own hands, Adam spoke.

"Well to be clear, the Demon Army is vastly superior to the Human Army. The Demon King's only job is to survive against the Hero of the Era, and the only way to test it is through the artifact. So that's why it is so important for a King Candidate to rise."

Larian began to weigh his options, if the title of the Demon King can be won so simply there are definitely others who are willing to take on that role.

"So who else is competing for the Demon King title?"

Adam tapped his fingers until five of them were raised.

"There is Lilith, The last Demon King's Kid, the Biggest Fire Tar of this era, and the last guy I stole a trait from."

Counting the names mentioned, Larian found something wrong.

"Isn't that four?"

Adam pointed to himself.

"There's me, I joined the last War as a Dragon and managed to complete the ritual, but the other Demon King was stronger so I let him take charge. Turns out Selarian was much stronger than the Hero that felled the Ancient Fire Tar."

Larian looked up to the giant figure of Ash in the sky, after days of walking he could barely see any difference from when he first started. 

'Who'd think that something that big is killable? And that Hero who did it is weaker than Selarian? There is just no way.'

"If you are thinking that it's impossible, consider how strong you would be if I lent you my traits."

Larian raised his eyebrows.

"What do you have?"

Waving down his hand, a screen popped out in front of Larian.

Name: Adam

Traits: [Parasitism], [Ancient Demon], [Wrath of Divinity], [Twilight Dragon Foundation], [Empty Slot]

'A status window…?'

"Since when could you do something like this?"

Adam looked smug from seeing Larian's expression.

"It's the gift I worked on, impressed? I call it, the System. It's based on games I played in the past."

Larian had a lot of questions but remembered that Adam didn't know that he was a fellow transmigrator from Earth. He chose to remain silent and feigned ignorance.

As he looked with wonder, he pointed to the last trait that stood out.

"What does empty slot mean? Last I recall, there was no such thing as an empty slot Trait."

"Oh, that? It just means I could steal a trait off someone and fill in that slot."

Larian froze up.

"Oh stop acting like it means anything. Your trait is barely worth stealing anyway, what are you expecting? Me to shoot myself in my own foot by stealing a suppressive Trait? It only shines because you are unique."

"I expect a truly heaven-defying trait to fill this slot when it happens. Only then will my dreams really come to fruition."

Larian studied the rest of the text and could make sense of some of the powers.

'Parasitism he has already used on me, the Dragon powers I am also familiar with. But Demon and Divinity? What are those?'

"Where did you get the trait of an Ancient Demon and Divinity from?"

Adam rubbed his temples as he sighed.

"One of my first hosts was the First Demon King even before the rise and fall of the Fire Tars. The next subsequent hosts were carriers of Divinity and I slowly accumulated them to form this trait."

"In case you are wondering, your Dragonification is actually a Demon Form. The Dragon only gave you the Foundation that resembles a black cave. I am speaking to you from it."

Looking into his heart Larian thought it made sense, but still didn't fully understand why.

"Isn't the cave just a house you lived in? Why does the foundation takes the shape of your surroundings."

Adam shook his head.

"You got it wrong, the power of the Dragon of Twilight turns it's surroundings to black stone. It's the area that takes the shape of the foundation."

Larian couldn't help but remember the tale of Medusa turning the things she had seen into stone.

'Does this power turn people to stone as well?'

Besides the revelation of his Demon Form, Larian noticed some discrepancies in Adam's history that differed from what he learned.

"There were Demons before the Fire Tar? I thought you mentioned that the Demon rose to power after the fall of the Fire Tar."

"The History of the Ashlands is a hotbed mess. Back during my infancy, Demonic invasions were simpler with a Demon King ransacking the World Tree to be pushed back and slain by the Elfem King. 

Then the next big war happened when Humans started to take charge of territories and started expanding. The Demons who lost their reputation were replaced by the Giant Tar whose corpse you see in the sky. It was called the Era of Gold by the humans as it cemented their rise as a prominent race.

When he died to the Human Hero of the Last Era, the recent Demon King tried again in our current era only to fail to the Hero of this Era, Selarian. It was called the Era of the Dark age as he was the closest to achieving world dominance. The Demon King's presence united all Humans, Elfs and Gyths, something I never heard of before in any era."

Larian rubbed his temples as he thought about the history of the world he is in. The stories of the past were something new and foreign, something that him as an author should know, but he didn't. 

His book only detailed the times within the academy, so his worldview was very limited.

'If I think about it, I never really travelled around, back in my old world. There were so many countries with different culture and history that had happened but I stayed cooped up in my room.'

'I wonder if I would have written a richer backstory if I had chosen to travel…'

Shaking his head, Larian knew it was useless to dwell in the past. How could he ask for more from his Dad when he was already living rent-free until the age of 28?

He wouldn't have the guts to ask for a holiday when he was jobless his whole life.

Getting back on track Larian asked about more information on the culture of the Ashlands.

"So far there have only been Demons and Fire Tar's who took the mantle of Demon King. What about Lilith and the other person you talked about?"

"Lilith has the power to bestow immortality and lives in a grand castle with all that she desires, she only contributes to the war efforts for the promise that she will own half of the world. None of the Demon King has accomplished so she hasn't been eager to take the mantle herself.

As for the other pile of bones… Well, let's hope we don't meet him shall we?"

"Why?"

"Well let's just say, him and I hold a grudge."