Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods
Chapter 143: The Will of Ruin

Chapter 143: The Will of Ruin

The flames faded slowly. The pentagram of fire left behind by Elysia vanished bit by bit, leaving only the cracked stone beneath it.

Everyone stood frozen, unsure of what had just happened.

Then, one by one, their eyes returned to normal. The eerie blue glow disappeared.

People blinked, breathing heavily, as if waking from a strange dream.

Aurus stood still, gripping his sword tightly. His jaw clenched. He muttered to himself.

"I’ll see you there... at Castella..."

But then, as if doubting his own words, he repeated it again, quieter, trying to make himself believe.

"Castella..."

Airi snapped.

"Why did you all let her go?! She’s a Demon Lord! She was right here! Under our noses!"

Her voice shook everyone with anger.

"She tricked us all! Who cares about Castella?! We had a chance to get one of them!"

Astros placed a hand on her shoulder, his expression tense.

"You’re right... but... I... Castella..."

Gaia looked around, confused.

"It felt like... like it made sense at the time... Wait... Why did it feel right to let her leave?"

Airi’s hands trembled.

"It was manipulation! A spell, or something! She used something on us all! I get why some nobodies felt for that, but you! You’re the fucking Hero! How did you get tricked?!"

Aurus’s eyes widened slightly. He looked around, truly seeing for the first time.

Everyone wore the same expression: unsure, ashamed, and scared. No one had chosen to let her go. Not really. So why? Why did they just let go? They weren’t even sure Maël would be alright.

The tension in the air grew again.

Then the healers shouted from behind.

"We need help! We’re losing her!"

Everyone turned. The healers were gathered around Dusteria. Their faces were pale with fear.

"Her wounds won’t close! We’re using all our magic, but... her blood... it’s turning black!"

Crest rushed to her side. His eyes wide in panic.

"No, no, no... Stay with me, Dusteria! Please!"

Nearby, the baron stared at his daughter’s broken body. At first, he didn’t move. But then Elysia’s words returned to him, echoing in his mind.

Torture. Pain. Hopelessness.

His hands rose to his face. His breath quickened.

"This... This is my fault..."

He screamed. A raw, broken cry that tore through the air.

Far away, under another sky, Bel was on his knees.

The ground trembled faintly, a low rumble crawling through the dust.

The air thickened, charged with a violent energy that seemed ready to tear the world apart.

Veins bulged on Bel’s temples, his jaw clenched tight, his teeth grinding with pure rage.

Mammon’s words echoed again and again in his head.

"Cornered? Last hit? Is this thing an idiot... or just pretending to be smart? Since when am I cornered?"

His breath sharpened. His hands shook as he looked down at them, nails now sharpened into claws.

"I did everything wrong," he muttered. "I shouldn’t have transformed. I should’ve ripped him apart like this."

He clenched his fist. The force of it sent a shockwave rippling outward, stirring the dust into a spiral.

"With my own hands... This bastard... I need to kill him. No... I must kill him."

His hand rose to his face, trying to steady the fire raging behind his eyes.

"No... It’s not enough. He must suffer. He has to feel it. Every second. Every breath..."

His gaze lifted to the sky where ashes drifted slowly like snow.

"What if I told them I’m still with the demons? On the condition they hand him over to me?"

Silence. He let the thought linger. Then shook his head slowly.

"No. That wouldn’t work. He’d believe I’m helping his kind. He’d feel satisfied. No... I need him to know this is his fault. He needs to carry it."

A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips, soft at first, then deeper, drawing the wind around him like a cloak.

"Right now... that’s not the priority."

Bel stood still for a moment, letting the fury drain from his body.

It was done. The Trial of Ascension was over.

He had become a Demon Lord.

No, more than that, a full dragon.

He focused. The air shimmered around him. The demonic system appeared before his eyes.

[Authority of Destruction]

[Level: 1]

[Demonic Essence: 2,000 / 2,000]

[Destruction Army: 0 / 25]

[Domain: Not Established]

[Current Skills]

Destruction Mark

Aura of Ruin

Dominion Pulse

[Passive Effects]

Destruction Tag

Dragon Blood

Now, he should have enough time to properly work on his system.

He took a breath and brought up his inventory. There, nestled among the loot and essence, was the Void Ball.

He pulled it out, feeling the pulse of power within.

[Void Ball] Rarity: ???? Attack: ????

Type: Astral Weapon Description: A weapon born from the void. Its power follows the will of its master.

Bel narrowed his eyes.

"So the stats aren’t fixed... They adjust to me. That means this could be stronger than anything I could ever buy."

Still, it felt wasteful. He had other weapons, like the one wrapped in abyssal fire. Discarding those felt wrong.

He paused.

Wait...

He glanced down at the system panel and focused on the new authority.

[Destruction Army: 0 / 25]

"If these are my demons... they follow my orders, right?"

He thought carefully. The system said if they grew stronger, they’d take on draconic forms. So that also meant that their base form could be humanoid.

Humanoid enough to wield weapons?

He stared at his finger. To corrupt a living being, he had to apply his blood. But there was another way. A skill:

[Destruction Mark]

He needed a target.

His thoughts spun. Should he summon a dungeon and test it on some random monster?

Or...

But as he thought, a little image flashed in his eyes. A painful memory.

The black sheep.

That little orphan girl.

If he had been there earlier, he could have done it, 100%. Now it was too late, but there was a whole place full of people like her, orphans starving, waiting for someone to take them out of this Hell.

He turned his eyes to the horizon, his mind clear.

"I’ll pick one. Just one for now. If it works... maybe more."

There was a risk. Due to the power of the dragon blood, they might die. But if it worked... if he could turn them into demons...

They’d live better than they ever could here.

He took a step forward. Wings spread from his back.

With a beat, he shot into the air, disappearing into a blur. Wind churned in his wake.

He hovered above, feeling light, freer than ever before.

Then he dashed forward, soaring at blinding speed. The city would be minutes away—maybe seconds.

The world flashed around him, but as he considered accelerating... He felt it.

He stopped.

Mid-flight, his eyes narrowed.

There was something on the ground below.

A presence, too strange to ignore.

He gave one more beat of his wings and dove, cutting through the sky like a spear, wings folding as he landed softly in the forest clearing.

The morning mist still clung to the earth, but the silence here was unnatural, thick, tense, like the forest itself was holding its breath.

Bodies.

Knights in silver, adventurers in patched leathers, all scattered like discarded dolls across the grass. None bore wounds. They weren’t dead, just... unconscious.

Their horses stood nearby, agitated but strangely quiet, ears twitching toward some invisible threat.

Bel narrowed his eyes. A strange energy pulsed through the air, not threatening, but present.

His instincts whispered caution, but his curiosity pressed forward.

He walked slowly among the fallen, gaze flicking between faces. Most he didn’t know.

Some wore emblems he vaguely recognized, the golden sun of the capital, the crescent sigil of a border guild. But then, among them...

"This one ?"

Bel frowned. Arkel, one of the leaders of New Horizons, unconscious, face pale and brow furrowed as if locked in a bad dream.

What was he doing here?

Was this because of that fight? His battle with Mammon? Was this the aftermath?

His mind raced, but as wind gently rose, something else caught his attention.

There, just ahead, not far from a shattered tree root, someone knelt.

A girl.

Immobile, head bowed. Arms limp at her sides, as if she’d fallen and never finished collapsing.

Bel took a step closer.

Then, he saw her fully and his breath caught.

Sienna.