Gonna Be a Demon King!
Chapter 95: Summons

Chapter 95: Summons

Seven days had passed since the fall of Zlego Magic City.

In that time, the demons had not squandered the opportunity created by the sudden collapse of the frontline defenders on this continent of Ohlion.

They expanded their territories swiftly, spreading like a plague through the nearby regions, taking over not just the shattered ruins of Zlego but also the cities beyond its borders—those that weren’t destroyed when the Mid-Rank demons and angels clashed.

Further south, they pressed their advantage, pushing deeper into the continent in the aftermath of the initial chaos.

The angels and elves had sacrificed their own frontline cities to come to Zlego’s aid, abandoning the entire cities in desperate, self-destructive bids to slow the demon incursion into the south. But with Zlego’s fall, the defensive line they had once formed was broken, and the demons were now offered an unobstructed path deeper into enemy territory.

A week after the decisive battle on the 25th, which ended in Zlego’s downfall, the demon army began to rotate its forces.

The divisions that had carried out the attack were ordered to return to their respective Outposts for rest and debriefing.

In their place, the reserve forces that had remained stationed in their northern strongholds were mobilized. These reserves, riding on the heightened morale from the demons’ string of victories, would now replace the tired frontlines divisions, taking over the mantle of the main attack force.

And among the returning troops was the 39th Company—Xaren and Ilya’s company.

They arrived on May 3rd, and the following day, as ordered, the two of them made their way to the main administrative building of the Cinder Outpost.

The voice that had instructed them to report to the main administrative building was one they’d only heard a few times before, but each instance had left a strong enough impression that they knew exactly who it belonged to without the need for an introduction.

The last time they had stepped into the Cinder Outpost’s main administrative building was before their infiltration mission to Zlego.

Now, as they returned for the second time, the towering structure looked just as imposing as it had before, both inside and out.

It stood tall like a dark monolith against the sky, with its black glass surface reflecting the surrounding landscape. The ten-story building was bare of decoration or flair, yet it evoked a sense of ’authority’ to anyone looking.

The inside was just as minimalist. The dark polished floors shone under the bright overhead lights, while the smooth almost mirror-like walls and the black glass windows let in muted light, casting a sombre tone over everything.

The hallways on either side of the front desk stretched out like endless corridors, lined with plain doors leading into offices and meeting rooms.

No one loitered around here. Everyone moved like clockwork, like the cogs in a war machine that had no time to slow that they were.

Some of the demons moving around wore the standard-issue uniforms of enlisted soldiers, while others bore the insignia of officers.

In the short time it took Xaren and Ilya to reach the front desk from the entrance, they caught a glimpse of several high-ranking officers deep in discussion—Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, full Colonels—all gathered around a tall, red-skinned Brigadier General.

Their voices were low as they discussed matters that Xaren and Ilya were better off never knowing.

Behind the front desk, a demon sergeant sat, manning a computer with a glowing floating screen. As they came to a halt directly in front of him, he didn’t so much as glance up and simply spoke in a curt, pointed voice.

"Name, Rank, and business?"

Xaren responded first. "Private First Class Xaren of the 39th Company. Here to report as an Area One recruit."

Ilya echoed his words as soon as he finished. "Private First Class Ilya, also of the 39th Company. Here to report as an Area One recruit."

The moment the words left their mouths, the sergeant’s head snapped up, blinking in surprise.

"Area One...recruit?" he repeated, voice rising ever so slightly.

His gaze swept over the two of them, his eyes widening as their words sank in.

"You two?"

There was a flash of something in his eyes, envy, perhaps, before he quickly composed himself. Though Xaren and Ilya noticed this, they pretended like they didn’t.

The sergeant tapped quickly on the floating screen, pulling up their data. After a few seconds, he nodded in confirmation, stood from his seat, and called over another soldier to take his place.

"Follow me," he said briskly, already turning on his heel to lead the way deeper into the building.

Xaren and Ilya fell into step behind him as he led them through a winding staircase, up one floor, then another, until they reached one of the topmost levels of the administrative building.

This part of the building was quieter, but the air up here felt heavier somehow.

Maybe it was the energy that seeped out from the offices they passed, where the barely restrained auras of Mid-Rank demons leaked subtly into the hallways, creating a faint but oppressive pressure in the air.

At last, the sergeant stopped at a door and pushed it open to reveal a large conference room.

Inside, waiting quietly near one wall, were three others, all of which wore the rank of Private on their uniforms.

As Xaren and Ilya stepped in, the three already in the room turned their way, and two of them blinked in clear surprise when they noticed the single stripe and First Class badge on their shoulders. Their eyes widened slightly, as if they hadn’t expected to see anyone else from their batch holding that rank.

"Stand aside," the sergeant ordered, paying no mind to their startled reactions.

The trio shifted out of the way, making room for Xaren and Ilya to take their places beside them.

While the sergeant moved across the conference room toward the door on the far side, Xaren gave the three a casual glance, his eyes settling on the one standing immediately to his left.

At first glance, this demon seemed completely normal—just another standard humanoid build, nothing out of place.

But as Xaren’s gaze lingered a moment longer, he noticed something strange. This particular demon didn’t have singular irises like most humanoids had.

Inside each iris were five pupils, all perfectly arranged in a pattern too unnatural to be a deformity.

’Magic eyes, maybe? Something related to sight or perception.’

Those types of abilities were usually a pain to deal with as far as Xaren remembered. Sometimes, one couldn’t even tell when the user had activated them since their eyes didn’t show any particular changes.

’And even when they did glow, if the ability was strong enough, there was little you could do about it.’

It reminded him of that one-eyed giant he’d fought once—the bastard could shoot beams out of his eye.

’Almost got me killed five times in five minutes.’

The thought crossed Xaren’s mind as his gaze drifted to the next one. This one had horns, but not the usual kind with spirals or curves.

They looked like insect appendages, jointed and slightly glossy. Even weirder were their compound eyes, the kind that gleamed and refracted light like a fly’s.

’Definitely an Insect-type demon.’

The last one had scales along the sides of her neck and at the backs of her fingers. Her nails curved slightly, looking more like claws than regular digits.

Whatever bloodlines these three had, they weren’t common by any stretch.

In comparison, Ilya, who looked like an ordinary dark-skinned human, was the one who seemed completely average.

They stood in stiff silence, the seconds dragging by until the door across the room finally opened again. The sergeant who had led them there stepped out, followed by a new, unfamiliar officer.

As soon as the five of them caught sight of the star sitting above the three bars on his insignia, they snapped into salutes.

The officer returned the gesture with a nod and then said, "Finally. The last of you are here. Good. All of you—follow me."

Without another word, he turned and walked back into the room he had emerged from, and the group filed in behind him.

The office was smaller than the conference room, with a desk placed near the back. Behind it sat a face they recognized immediately—the High-Rank Demon/General who had summoned them: Naephas.

Even seated, he radiated a cold pressure that only demons on his level had.

Several floating screens hovered around him, each glowing with maps, reports, and streams of data. He gave the entrants a passing glance, then returned his attention to the displays, fingers moving as he tapped different icons on them.

When he finished, he dismissed the projections with a wave, the magic dissolving into the air. Then, turning to the other Lieutenant General, he spoke.

"Everything’s in order. You’ll take over once I depart."

The man silently nodded, and Naephas finally turned his gaze to Xaren’s group.