Chapter 268 – Epilogue (1)

Baal had taken the throne.

Whether the news of a true savior’s appearance was good tidings or a tragedy, only time would tell.

“Dantalian? That half-wit is Baal?”

The leader of the West, the Demon King Vassago, couldn’t hide his disbelief.

Baal was the Demon King of Demon Kings.

For such a great being to choose Dantalian, the mere 71st Demon King—a piece of trash who was defeated by a human hero and reincarnated as a human—was unthinkable.

It was utterly absurd.

“The East has fallen? Are you certain?”

“It is true. The East is no more.”

The East and West had been at odds over their respective interests.

The immortal Agares, known as the strongest of all living Demon Kings.

The East, centered around him, and the West were locked in a tense standoff.

“The East… the East.”

The East had fallen overnight. At the hands of a human coalition, no less.

For the Demon Kings of the West, it was a story straight out of a nightmare.

A mysterious enemy had appeared, and the presence of Baal had vanished.

‘This is dangerous.’

Vassago, King of the West, chewed his lip.

He had thought no one but another Demon King could stand against them. But he was wrong.

The West was also at war with the human coalition.

At first, it was hardly worthy of being called a war.

The human coalition was simply too weak. But not long ago, a figure emerged who united them.

The God of War, Lee Hyun-woo.

The final winner of the survival game, a man with immense magical power and command skills, had liberated one dimension after another from the Demon Kings’ rule and had now formed a united front.

Humans are far weaker than Majin.

Aside from the God of War, Lee Hyun-woo, they were all insignificant. However, the recently joined Priestess of Light, Lee Hyun-ah, and the Hero Kang Cheol were incredibly powerful.

Powerful enough to face a Demon King alone.

“First, we clear the pebbles at our feet.”

Though they had grown too large to be called pebbles anymore. Still, it wasn’t too late.

As long as the unidentified entity that destroyed the East was out there, they needed to deal with the anti-Demon King coalition as quickly as possible.

“Summon all the Demon Kings from every dimension. I will show that upstart who calls himself the God of War what a true army of Demon Kings looks like.”

“We shall obey the Grand Duke’s command.”

The Demon Kings of the West pledged to gather.

For the Demon Kings to assemble in one place, even abandoning their other colonies, was an unprecedented event.

That was how much fear the Demon Kings felt toward the unknown entity that threatened them.

*Knock, knock.*

Just then, a knock came from the door of the council room, where only Demon Kings were gathered.

Never before had the council of kings been interrupted.

The Demon Kings wondered if they were hearing things.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

But they weren’t. As the knocking sounded again, Grand Duke Vassago furrowed his brow. But his expression soon hardened.

An overwhelming aura emanated from beyond the council room door.

‘This magical power is…’

At first, he mistook it for Agares, thinking he might have come. But it wasn’t him.

No matter how strong Agares was, he was only slightly superior to Vassago.

He couldn’t exude such an overwhelming presence.

Only one name came to the minds of Vassago and the other Demon Kings.

“Baal…!”

The King of Kings. It was a magical power that only the savior of all Majin could possess.

No, that’s what they mistakenly thought.

The door opened without Grand Duke Vassago’s permission. The eyes of every Demon King turned toward it.

“A human…?”

“A human?”

The Demon Kings cried out in shock at the sight of the man walking through the open door.

For a mere human to dare intrude upon the sacred council of kings. It was unthinkable.

“A shame not everyone is here, is it?”

The muscular, bear-like man smiled leisurely, even as he faced a room full of Demon Kings.

An enraged Demon King was about to lunge at the man and tear his throat out. But in that instant, he saw it.

Behind the man’s back, a phenomenon of protruding magical power—an overwhelming energy that couldn’t be contained within his body.

The magic manifesting outside his body resembled feathers of light, gathering to form what looked like wings.

A pair of wings, made of red and pure white, stretched out long behind him.

The Demon Kings, mesmerized by the overwhelming sight, couldn’t even think of a word of defiance.

“Why are you still sitting? Kneel.”

“You insolent human, how dare you…!”

One Demon King, unable to contain his rage, shot up from his chair, only to collapse back down as if crushed by a sudden gravity.

“What is this…!”

Before they knew it, all the Demon Kings were on their knees.

Vassago, thanks to the immunity granted by his title as Grand Duke, had barely managed to escape the crushing pressure.

Grand Duke Vassago saw it.

The captain of the Majin Knight Order, the one who had knocked on the door, was kneeling on one knee.

Behind him, countless Majin knights were paying homage not to them, but to the mysterious man.

“Heh heh…”

Vassago let out a low laugh.

His vast combat experience foretold that drawing a weapon meant death.

His breath grew short. As he weighed imminent death against his honor, the muscular man spoke first.

“I will not drive you to extinction.”

“…!”

Grand Duke Vassago’s lips twitched.

He wanted to say something, but in the face of the man’s majesty, he dared not open his mouth.

“On one condition: you will cease all acts of invasion. Do that, and I will let you live.”

It was an incredibly disrespectful statement.

Who were the Demon Kings?

The strongest warriors, spanning across dimensions.

And dozens of them were gathered here.

Yet a mere human, with his finite lifespan, was speaking with such arrogance.

As if speaking to ants he could crush at any moment.

“My lord…”

All the Demon Kings focused on Grand Duke Vassago’s trembling voice.

Everyone could tell that Vassago, the strongest Demon King, who stood shoulder to shoulder with Agares, was feeling fear.

“Was it you who destroyed the East…?”

“…!”

The Demon Kings flinched at Vassago’s words.

Speculation was already running rampant about the shocking news from the East.

An unreadable smile played on the muscular man’s lips.

He spoke self-deprecatingly.

“You already know, so why ask?”

“…”

Everyone fell silent.

As if to prove it was no bluff, the overwhelming magical power unfurled behind his back began to glow.

“Of course, you can choose.”

The man continued, a sinister smile forming on his lips.

“If you wish to refuse, then come at me.”

“……”

The wings of light flared menacingly.

Not a single Demon King dared to meet his golden eyes, which cast a soft glow.

All the Demon Kings remained silent.

Above all, he held the power of Baal. If he gave an order, the Demon Kings could not defy it.

It was like an instinct.

“We will not forget your grace, my lord.”

Vassago could only express his gratitude in a trembling voice.

***

I brought the West to its knees.

Thanks to the power of Baal that Im Jae-joon had possessed, no one dared to attack me needlessly.

Overwhelming power.

It can certainly create a new order.

I fought a war in another world and refused to become king.

As a result, the temporary peace I had created in that world was shattered.

Perhaps it wasn’t truly my fault. But I feel a clear sense of responsibility.

Of course, the peace I’ve established by subduing the Demon Kings now might also be temporary.

There is such a thing as a necessary evil.

The existence of Demon Kings, the creatures of other dimensions.

Even parallel worlds.

They are all parts of the intricately moving Order System.

An ecosystem. That’s a good way to put it.

If you destroy something completely just because it’s a threat, another problem will arise.

That’s why I decided to leave the West as it is for now.

There’s someone called the God of War who is liberating dimensions ruled by Demon Kings and forming a coalition.

The final winner of the survival game. Lee Hyun-woo.

Maybe because his name is similar to mine, he’s good at gathering people.

Even without the conflict between humans and Majin, humans will always wage war against each other.

For their own interests. For their own beliefs.

If the necessary evil known as the Demon Kings were to disappear, there’s no telling where the blades of the God of War’s coalition would turn.

Instead, I decided to maintain this ecosystem as it is.

I flared my wings of light to their fullest extent.

*Crackle-!*

As the light burned through the air and stretched out, I could hear the Majin watching from behind gasp.

I am giving a warning now.

Not just to the Majin, but also to the spies from the God of War’s coalition who are watching this situation unfold.

An order of overwhelming violence exists here.

A warning that I will strike down anyone who goes against my will.

The two coalitions never joined hands.

The rift between the two factions was too deep for them to ever join hands.

Besides, even if the two forces combined their strength, they had no one who could defeat me.

After warning both the Demon King coalition and the God of War’s coalition, I wandered the dimensions.

Even with the goddess gone, all dimensions were being maintained well.

The Order System executed its set algorithms, and the world continued to flow as destined.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. It’s a princess!”

Diana of the unified kingdom had given birth.

It was a blond-haired child who looked just like her.

The short-tempered little brat who knew nothing had become a queen, a bride, and now a mother.

“Thank you, thank you. You did so well, Diana.”

Diana’s husband was crying like a fool, shedding thick tears.

That guy fought quite bravely when he came with his wife to support me before. But looking at him now, he’s a completely henpecked husband.

It seems Diana found a good man. I’m relieved.

After all, she was like a daughter to me.

“Diana. I’ve thought of a name for the child. Hyunbin. What do you think of Hyunbin?”

That bastard…

“Ah, Bin. Should we call her Bin?”

What kind of name is that for a baby?

“How about Hero? In the hope that she’ll grow up to be like our savior.”

Sounds about right.

Right for a beating.

I could see the killing intent in Diana’s eyes.

After that, I continued to look around the territory.

“The Hero could never have grown so strong without Lee Ja-rang, no, Vincent. At the crucial moment, it was Vincent who gave him the Holy Sword.”

That brat Lee Ja-rang was spreading lies and propaganda to the apprentice knights.

I thought about smacking him one, but decided to let it be.

Even though he looks like a brute, he’s still a fresh-faced teenager, so it’s understandable he’d want to boast.

“I want to read manga. I want to watch anime. Miyuki-chan must be waiting for me in the other world.”

“Why don’t you ask the lord?”

“The lord doesn’t take you along because you keep acting like a fool! It’s all your fault, you idiot!”

Lee Jeon-guk and Lee No-rae were bickering, blaming each other.

With complete peace having come to this other world, everyone seemed to be living a leisurely life.

Of course, that didn’t mean they were just lazing around.

They continued to train at their designated times.

Now, even without me telling them, they all knew.

That to protect the beliefs they held dear and their precious daily lives, they needed strength.

I could see that everyone was living peacefully.

I started walking again.

A smile unknowingly formed on my lips.

“Mister Bear…!”

Just then, I heard a familiar voice and turned my head.

A child was running toward me, out of breath.

I knew who it was.

Yi-ho, no, it was Enya.

The girl who was once a test subject on the verge of death.

Kids really do grow up so fast. She was already starting to look like a young lady.

I’m surprised she recognized me. I’m cloaked in divinity right now, so my appearance shouldn’t be recognizable.

“I saw you with my foresight, *huff, puff*. Hehe.”

Having run in a hurry, Enya was panting for breath.

“The lady, *puff*, asked me to order some sacks of flour, *huff*. But this is more urgent, *whoo*.”

“It’s okay, speak slowly.”

Having finally caught her breath, Enya slowly began to speak.

“I started learning to sew a few days ago.”

“Really? You could just study and take it easy…”

“I’m doing it because I want to!”

I gave a wry smile at Enya’s firm declaration.

“Well, it’s not really work yet, I’m still learning. So, my skills aren’t good enough to make clothes for you, Mister Bear. So…”

Enya spoke in a jumble, then took a deep breath, smiled faintly, and said.

“Please, come back later to try on the clothes I’ll make for you.”

“Alright.”

Wanting to learn something, living with a goal in mind—that’s a good thing.

“Your fashion sense is so weird, I always thought that whenever I saw you.”

This little brat?

“So… don’t get hurt anymore.”

Enya’s eyes, filled with gratitude, were moist.

Can I say I’ve overcome my trauma?

I don’t know.

But one thing is certain.

“Alright, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Hehe.”

I won’t have to experience any more trauma from now on.

“By the way, you’re probably too young to understand my fashion sense. This mister here is skilled enough to be a stylist for famous celebrities.”

As I pointed out her mistake, I could see Enya’s pupils waver.

Well, teenagers just can’t comprehend my high-level fashion sense yet.

Well, she’ll do fine anyway. She’s a smart kid. So there’s nothing to worry about.

As long as the people I’ve touched can live their peaceful daily lives, uncrushed by an unjust fate, that’s all that matters.

That is my reward.

“Mister, capri pants with Ugg boots is…”

You who don’t understand fashion are truly unfortunate.