Even though it was still light out, there was no hustle nor bustle in this village. The Demon Lord thought it resembled a closed-off village deep within a mountain range in Japan.
“I’m expecting them to tell me that they can’t trust outsiders or something.”
“W-Well... Most people in my village don’t like visitors.”
(Really...? I was just judging by the cover.)
The Demon Lord was hoping that the villagers might even spare him some food or change, but that seemed out of the picture now.
“My house is this way. It may be unpleasant, but please forgive me... I won’t take long.”
Aku climbed off of the Demon Lord’s back, and started walking with a limp in their right leg. Watching the child limp away, the Demon Lord began to feel sorry. Perhaps Aku never had access to proper medical care.
As he followed Aku, he observed the village, still on guard. Not that he expected any different, but he couldn’t find any traces of modern technology.
(Housing built of bare wood and compacted mud... Some straw roofs, even.)
No sight of air conditioning units or satellite dishes, which were, of course, ubiquitous in Japan. This was just another confirmation of how distant this world was from the one he was familiar with. As he looked around every corner, he began to notice some villagers in the distance, here and there. The instant the Demon Lord spotted a villager looking at him, he reflexively hid. In the game, no good ever came from being spotted by other characters. It was kind of an occupational hazard, at this point.
“Change Fighting Stance... Stealth Stance.”
With this command, the Demon Lord’s appearance blurred, as if to melt into the background. In the game, this stance would dramatically reduce the chance of being spotted by enemies. In exchange, the stance also reduced the character’s Attack and Defense stats considerably.
Seeing that he was concealed, the Demon Lord sighed in relief. He was a little nervous inside, but judging by the reaction of the people around him, it seemed like no one could see him anymore. It was getting scary how similar everything was to the game. The Demon Lord wondered if this world... manifested every aspect of the game. He decided that he should put this theory to the test.
“Oh... Master Demon Lord?”
Aku’s reaction further confirmed his invisibility. Seizing this perfect opportunity, the Demon Lord moved on to his next experiment, using something he didn’t really get the chance to in-game... The Communication system. This feature was designed for players to send each other messages, but had not been seeing much use recently. Naturally, smartphones had not been invented when the game was launched, and this mode of communication was much appreciated. In the past few years, however, it had completely become a relic of the past.
Communication: Aku. ...Can you hear me?
...Wha? I can hear Master Demon Lord’s horrifying voice in my head!
That’s a little harsh. Don’t worry about me. I’m still following you closely.
Y-Yes, sir!
After making sure that the Communication system was working, the Demon Lord cracked a grin. He nodded in appreciation of the importance of exploration. If he had stayed in the forest alone, he would not have discovered any of this.
(My nerves are thicker than I thought, though... I would have guessed that I would be in a panic attack by now.)
A peculiar thought, that maybe even his mind was being taken over by Kunai, entered the Demon Lord’s head.
(Don’t. Don’t... What kind of psycho-horror plotline is that?)
Although it was his own imagination who suggested it, the Demon Lord was chilled to the bone at this notion.
“What are you doing here, you piece of garbage!?”
Turning to where the insult came from, the Demon Lord spotted a few villagers pointing and shouting at Aku. There was no doubt about it, those were Aku’s bullies. On second thought, perhaps everyone in the village was.
“Don’t tell me you ran away... you piece of garbage!”
“What are you thinking!? What if that devil attacks the village!?”
“You don’t get the concept of sacrifice, do you!?”
The Demon Lord couldn’t help but face-palm at these accusations. Did they hear themselves shouting at a young child like this? That being said, there were some reservations for the Demon Lord, who knew nothing about the culture (or whatever) of this world, to interject. As far as he knew, it might have been commonplace in this world to offer human sacrifices to devils. Even on modern-day Earth, plenty of customs and traditions of one country may seem outlandish to people outside of it.
(Still, though...)
Still, it didn’t feel right for him to watch grown adults bear down on a child like that. When he was considering the option of carrying Aku away while still in the Stealth stance, a blood-chilling voice echoed inside of him.
If you don’t like them... Purge them.
His spine froze at the voice, and the chilling air it brought with it. The Demon Lord immediately knew who was speaking to him. To make things worse, an unbearable pain emanated from his right middle finger. Clasping his hands, the Demon Lord curled onto the ground. The pain was too great for him to keep standing.
Exterminate those who are unworthy... It is my right.
The Demon Lord yelled back, internally.
(Shut the hell up...! That’s only in the game!)
‘Purge’ or ‘exterminate’ real-life people? That was unthinkable to the Demon Lord.
How strange. That very right, that Game, that system, that nation of madness, all of it... was created by you.
The Demon Lord was speechless.
You... are the root of evil. If I am the monster who purged four million, then you, who will bring upon doom to all of this world...
Squeezing the ring hard enough to break it, the Demon Lord hushed the voice out. It was just a hallucination, the Demon Lord concluded, and tightly shut his eyes while telling himself that he was just tired. That’s all it was. So many things had happened, one after another.
Aku, ignore those men. Just bring your things.
The Demon Lord called out to Aku, but there was no response. He opened his eyes to see Aku on their back on the ground. Waving their hands to and fro, the villagers seemed to be throwing more disgusting insults at the child. The Demon Lord had seen enough, and deactivated his Stealth stance. At that moment, the villagers were sent into a frenzy. No one could really blame them since the Demon Lord suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but their panicked state was quite comical to watch.
“Aku, go get your things. Hurry.”
“Y-Yes... sir.”
Watching Aku limp away, the Demon Lord leisurely lit his cigarette. All the while, more and more villagers were clamoring about him. Under different circumstances, he would have asked some questions, but the Demon Lord didn’t feel like conversing with the likes of them.
“Ar-Are you a devil...? A minion of the King...?”
“Please don’t attack the village! We offered a sacrifice!”
“It’s not fair! Even devils must abide by their contract!”
Exhaling smoke, the Demon Lord contemplated what the villagers had said. Contract? Interesting. He sincerely doubted that any devil planned to keep their word, though. His better guess was that the devil offered contracts to lock these people down.
“Th-Thank you for waiting, Master Demon Lord!”
“D-Demon Lord!?”
“D-D-D-D-Demon Lord!”
(Great. Add fuel to the fire, kid...!)
Hearing this, the village frenzy only grew. Of course, the Demon Lord had no intention of clearing his name to them. These were people that called a young child a ‘piece of garbage,’ sent them off to be sacrificed, and bullied the poor child all the way. The Demon Lord contemplated if they were even worth the effort. The answer was a hard no.
“I-I’ll contact the lord!”
The man, who must have been the one that tripped Aku to the ground, ran away. On his face, he wore a disgusting grin. A thought seemed to cross his mind, as he stopped by his house and emerged with some kind of bag. In preparation for an expected reward, it seemed like. The Demon Lord couldn’t help but frown. As if in reaction to his emotions, the ring emanated a dangerous glow. This time, the Demon Lord didn’t think he could stop it. His right hand reached inside his coat and threw a knife at the man’s house without much care. The knife accurately struck the wall of the house and erupted black flames. The wooden house was immediately engulfed in fire... and then in black smoke.
“M-My house... Not my house!”
“...Ha ha ha ha! Watching fire burn never gets old. It soothes the soul!”
The Demon Lord was astounded by the words that came out of his mouth. Hurriedly, he threw Aku on his back and fled the scene. Allowing the ring to take control, he felt, might lead to a disaster.
(Now I just look like an arsonist!)
Dripping with cold sweat, the Demon Lord ran as fast as he could. He flew through various scenes, as if he were fast-forwarding through them.
“M-Master Demon Lord... Wh-What have you done!?”
“J-Just for the record, that was to keep them warm. An act of kindness, even. Yes. That’s what that was!”
His feet were moving too fast to stop now. And so was his mouth, spewing out perpetual nonsense.
“B-But... It felt... Good. Just a little bit!”
Aku said, and smiled. This might have been the first smile the Demon Lord had seen on the child.
“Of-Of course! Kindness touches the heart!”
This line was so ridiculous that even the Demon Lord himself could not keep a straight face. Now both of them were laughing their faces off. The sun had sunk, and the curtain of night was about to descend upon them. With his tireless body, the Demon Lord felt like he never had to stop running.
“Master Demon Lord, how far are we going!?”
Aku shouted through the gusts of wind that felt like they were blowing through them. Up until this point, a shadow had been looming on the child’s face, on and off. Now, Aku brimmed with an age-appropriate glow. The Demon Lord couldn’t help but forget his age and shout back.
“To the city... To the Holy City!”
And so, Master Demon Lord (with a little arson now on his track record), began his journey with cheerful Aku at his side. The pair would go on to cause a number of incidents that would send the nation of Holylight into utter chaos... But the story hasn’t gotten to that part quite yet.