The Demon King Overrun by Heroes Novel - Chapter 91

Chapter 91
## Chapter 91: New Family Members

Lavinia Akan ran her fingers delicately over the power source the dwarf had constructed.

“Boom.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is garbage.”

The dwarf’s expression soured instantly, but her critique was based on fact.

Dark energy and pure mana were entangled in a chaotic mess, ruinously degrading the quality of the magi. Worse, the device wasn’t even functioning as a proper core. They had tried to force magi-compatibility onto a standard design, succeeding only in turning a high-value asset into a pile of overpriced scrap metal.

“What about the mana cannon? How do you explain that?”

“A cannon and a golem’s heart are entirely different beasts!”

A mana cannon was simple: you compressed mana into a projectile and used the energy to launch it.

The simplicity of that mechanism meant it functioned regardless of whether the fuel was mana or magi. In reality, substituting the more volatile magi actually increased the explosive yield.

“…Hmm. Roger, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this junk doesn’t deserve to be called a core…”

“You don’t look sorry at all, do you?”

Raymond looked away, avoiding Roger’s piercing glare.

“That isn’t true. I have great respect for you, Roger. It’s just that the architecture of this core is incredibly dated. It looks like something the kingdom phased out three decades ago…”

“I’ve already told you, I’m not a professional golem smith!”

The dwarf, who had successfully outfitted the Tower’s entrance with hundreds of functional mana cannons, roared in frustration.

The golem specialist tried to soften the blow.

“However, the structural integrity is magnificent! Just as I’d expect from a master like you, Roger!”

“Save your flattery!”

Roger reached out and flipped the activation switch on a nearby mana cannon. It whirred to life, its indicator lights glowing.

“I—I apologize!”

“Just ensure you’re more precise moving forward. Understood?”

Raymond pleaded with sincerity. Roger merely grunted and gave the man a firm pat on the shoulder.

“The golem. What grade are we talking about?”

“Are you asking about the specifications for the unit we’re building?”

“Yes.”

“The pinnacle, naturally!”

“You.”

“At your service, Princess.”

Raymond stood at attention.

“The designs.”

“I’ll begin sketching the drafts immediately…”

“The latest ones.”

“…Those are classified state secrets within the kingdom. Perhaps I could provide something slightly older—”

“The latest.”

“…I’ll need some time, but I will get them on paper for you.”

As he noted, the schematics for current-generation golem models were protected strategic assets and impossible to physically smuggle out.

However, Raymond was an artisan who had been in the room when they were conceived. It took him three full days to translate the complex internal systems from his memory onto the page.

“Oh, this is remarkable…”

Roger scanned the blueprints with genuine awe. While he was a master of the forge, he wasn’t a dedicated golem engineer.

His understanding of golems was basic, but these designs, saturated with the signature style of the Akan lineage, set his craftsman’s heart on fire.

“Stunning! Truly magnificent! I never thought I’d see a design of this caliber…!”

“Construct it.”

“With pleasure! Akan might be the masters of the drawing board, but no one beats me when it comes to the actual assembly!”

Roger began tossing mana stones that had been tainted by the abyss into the demonic forge. The bloodfire stones, which consumed magi as fuel, started radiating a staggering heat.

“Incorporate them.”

“Pardon me?”

“The runes. The internal circuits.”

A golem’s heart wasn’t created through simple blacksmithing. It required the intricate etching of magical pathways and runes around a high-grade mana stone—specifically one saturated with magi.

Executing that delicate integration was the responsibility of the golem artisan.

“Ugh… I understand.”

The dwarf and the specialist retreated into the heat of the workshop. Until the heart was finished, Lavinia found herself with a rare moment of downtime.

She already knew her specific function in this project.

She had to take a machine designed for mana and fundamentally re-engineer it for magi. Her job was to identify every conflict that arose from the power swap and neutralize it.

But for those experiments to begin, she required a stable, working core.

“Cher.”

Lavinia called out to her companion.

The massive titan stomped over and lowered its head in a submissive gesture. She reached out and patted it.

“This.”

Grur?

She reached into her dimensional storage and pulled out a severed, twitching tail—the limb of the succubus queen, taken as payment for her services.

“I’m attaching this to you.”

Cher’s head shook violently in refusal.

The titan had spent a long time with Lavinia and had been altered into a chimera, but its fundamental nature was still that of a titan demon.

The hyper-masculine beast instinctively recognized the scent of a succubus on the tail and wanted nothing to do with being grafted to the body part of a lust demon.

However.

“I am attaching it.”

The creature didn’t have a vote.

Grrrroooar—

Cher turned and bolted in a panic.

“Don’t you run from me.”

Lavinia gripped the tail and took off in pursuit.

—

A full year had passed since he had arrived in the world of Aren.

It had been a busy time.

Ernyan Hilderan of the Hilderan Kingdom.

Elena Hilderan of the Hilderan Kingdom.

Kaede Jespain of the Jespain Empire.

And Lavinia Akan of the Akan Kingdom.

He had successfully seized three princesses.

He had struck a bargain with another.

He had halted a hero’s crusade.

And he had successfully transformed Hillun Kagil, the legendary slayer of two previous Demon Kings, into his own tool.

Compared to his previous life’s timeline, his current progress was objectively superior. The only exception was the tower itself.

In his last life, the one-year-old Berge had already seized royalty from two nations and slaughtered an endless parade of arrogant heroes who thought he was an easy target.

Because of that constant influx of souls, the tower had hit six floors in record time.

He had started with a thousand elite beasts from his graduation and a staff of top-tier academy aides. The beginning had been on a different scale entirely.

It had been a perfect loop: baiting weak heroes, using their essence to summon stronger monsters, and making the tower impenetrable.

Back then, he had been a rising, unstoppable force.

But did he miss those days? Not at all. He knew exactly how that version of the story ended.

‘The first floor is nearly complete.’

The mana cannons were in place. Once the golems were operational and stationed, the defense would be ironclad.

‘The second floor…’

That was on hold until he had enough dark energy to bring forth a balrog. The third floor remained a blank canvas for the moment.

‘The fourth floor…’

Commonly known as the floor of the princesses, it was more accurately Ernyan Hilderan’s domain.

She had filled the environment with spirits, and those spirits now patrolled and controlled the entire level.

‘Her talent is staggering.’

The tower’s atmosphere naturally corrupted mana into magi. Yet, the fourth floor remained vibrant and full of life.

That was the result of Ernyan’s sheer will. She was actively fighting back the corruption of the tower with her own power.

Getting her on his side had been a masterstroke of fortune. Her presence had made it possible to sway Kaede and capture Elena.

The collective presence of these women was generating magi points at an incredible speed. Even after clearing his debts, he would have enough to summon a balrog in less than a month.

‘And Elena shows just as much promise as Ernyan.’

She was currently resting on the third floor in a catatonic state, but as the excess mana drained from her system, her education in the arts could begin.

The moment she learned to harness her massive mana reserves through proper magic…

The world would have to reckon with a new archmage.

‘I just need a teacher for her…’

He had two new recruits, but one was an obsessed chimera creator and the other was a golem builder. Neither was fit to instruct Elena in high magic.

That was when a sound came from the entrance.

“Demon King.”

Gordon rapped on the door.

“A message from Granada. He has reached the outskirts of Hortonwalk with the elven group. He says they are staying clear of the city to avoid drawing eyes. How should we proceed?”

The arrival he had been anticipating had finally happened.

—

After his encounter with Kain, Granada went straight to the Golden Moon Merchant Company. There, he was reunited with the liberated elves.

The group consisted of thirty-three individuals. Their numbers hadn’t grown since the initial migration began.

“I’ve searched every slave market across the land, but no other elves were found.”

The news wasn’t shocking.

Since international treaties had banned the enslavement of non-humans, the population of elven and dwarven slaves had been steadily dropping.

“This is fine.”

In truth, Granada was relieved there were only thirty-three. Seeing his people in chains was never easy.

Furthermore, he now had the task of convincing these thirty-three to serve the Demon King. He was glad the number wasn’t higher.

The group looked much healthier than he had expected.

Aman, following the Demon King’s instructions, had treated them like guests rather than property. This had gone a long way in lowering their defenses.

Aman gathered the elves in the company’s central meeting area.

Granada took a steadying breath and pushed the door open.

“I greet you. I am Granada of the Maple Tribe.”

“…An elf?”

Every face turned toward him. Seeing thirty-three pairs of pointed ears filled Granada with a deep sense of nostalgia, as if he were back in the forests of his home.

But the surprise didn’t end there.

In that moment.

“…Granada?”

“Sharlotte?”

He recognized an elf he had known back in their ancestral lands.

“Is it truly you, Granada?”

“Why are you in a place like this…?”

“I went looking for you and ended up…”

“Good heavens.”

Granada was floored by the reunion. It was the last thing he had expected.

“Did you rescue us, Granada?”

“No, that isn’t quite right.”

He rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of what was coming.

“What do you mean?”

“I am in the difficult position of having to offer you a choice. I will say this clearly, so pay attention.”

Granada paused, then steeled his resolve.

“You must pledge your service to the Demon King for the next hundred years.”

“…!”

—

Sharlotte of the Maple Tribe felt a crushing weight in her chest.

Logically, she understood the situation. Emotionally, she recoiled.

‘Serve a Demon King.’

And not just any demon, but the Flame Demon King who was currently the talk of the continent.

She was an elf, a being sworn to guard the World Tree and fight against the darkness, yet she was being asked to bow to a lord of demons.

The rest of the elves shared her horror; the air in the room became stifling.

They had tentatively agreed to follow Granada, but the reality was hard to swallow.

“Is this truly the only path?”

“It is.”

Granada didn’t try to sugarcoat it. He had brought them here, but the final decision rested with them.

They had to carry that weight themselves, hoping that time would make it lighter.

“Does anyone here wish to return to being a slave?”

Silence.

The horror of their previous lives was still fresh.

Having experienced even a small taste of freedom again, the thought of returning to the yoke was repulsive. No one wanted to trade honey for ash.

It felt like a betrayal of the World Tree, but seeing Granada already in service made the guilt more manageable.

Besides, a century was a finite term. Freedom was promised at the end.

“That is the situation.”

“Even so, Granada… if it weren’t for you, I—and the others—would never have considered this, no matter how much we fear slavery.”

“I appreciate that.”

“But I never imagined a man like you would end up under a Demon King…”

“He isn’t like the ones from the legends. There is only one actual demon in his tower, and he hasn’t summoned a single beast. Instead, he has a dwarf hero and several princesses.”

“That sounds even more bizarre. Are you certain you’re serving a Demon King?”

“It feels strange to say, but yes.”

“These idiots are talking as if I’m not standing right here.”

A sharp, unfamiliar voice echoed through the room.

Sharlotte reacted on instinct, throwing a punch. Granada caught her fist mid-air.

“Stop. This is the Demon King.”

“…The Demon King?”

Red hair and burning eyes. The man radiated a physical heat that felt like a roaring furnace.

There was no sign of the dark magi that usually defined a demon.

To her senses, he felt more like a fire spirit.

“…?”

The elves looked to Granada for an explanation.

“I know it is confusing, but this is him. He is currently masking his demonic energy for specific reasons.”

“Is such a thing even possible?”

“Watch.”

In a blink, the red hair bled into a deep black. His eyes followed suit.

The spiritual warmth vanished instantly.

Instead, a heavy, oppressive magi filled the room, making his nature undeniable.

“Do you believe me now?”

“…How?”

“Does the ‘how’ matter?”

“No.”

Casting aside her lingering doubts, Sharlotte stepped forward to speak for the group.

“We have made our peace with serving you, Demon King. But I have one question before we begin.”

“Speak.”

“Will you truly grant us our freedom after a century?”

“I will.”

“Will you swear it upon the Founding Demon Emperor and the Standard of the Demon King—the things your kind holds most sacred?”

At her daring request.

“I swear it upon the Founding Demon Emperor and the Standard.”

He didn’t blink or hesitate.

“I promise you your freedom after one hundred years have passed.”

Sharlotte sank to her knees.

“I swear by the World Tree to serve the Demon King faithfully for one hundred years.”

“We swear it!”

The thirty-three elves bowed their heads in unison.

The Demon King watched them, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.