Demon King: Hero, don't run away!

Lux year 415, July 24th.

Somewhere on the continent, within a pitch-dark temple, a woman in white was nailed tightly to a black cross, her arms bound by black iron chains.

Drop by drop, blood-red fluid fell from the black stone cone before her, dripping into the mirror-like black water surface.

With a "drip," the calm black water surface stirred with ripples.

The woman nailed to the black cross opened her eyes slightly and looked around.

Apart from seeing a beam of light descending from above, everything else was enshrouded in darkness.

A nameless fear arose from the depths of her heart.

"Where am I..."

Suddenly, a melodious harp sound echoed from the darkness.

"La~~ La~~ La~~~"

Hearing this sound, the woman in white clung to it as if grasping at her last straw, desperately yelling in the direction of the sound:

"Is there anyone there? Please come save me!"

The melodious harp continued in response to the woman in white.

Thinking that the person playing might not have heard her, the woman in white shouted for help again,

"I am the Goddess Sect's Saintess Feng Yu.

I don't know why, but I am bound here. I implore you, release me from this place, I must return to the Goddess Sect.

If you help me get back to the Goddess Sect, I believe the goddess will surely bless you."

"La~~ La~~ La~~"

After another bout of melodious harp sound, a beam of light flickered in the immense darkness, and a young boy wearing a beret and dressed in formal wear gently strummed the harp, beginning a strange ballad,

"La~~ La~~ La~~~ La~~~~~

Long ago, when the world treated everyone equally.

Each person could find their loved ones and have a place to belong.

They did not worship Gods but forged their future with their own hands.

They themselves were their own light, and they could become the light for others.

But one day, everything changed.

The goddess, wishing to turn all into her servants, endowed humans with Strong Fortune, dividing them into ranks.

Those un-blessed, longing to shine just as those blessed, desperately worshipped the goddess, yet they gained nothing.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

The Strong Fortune of others, comes from plundering the 'life' of wretched beings like us.

Ladies and gentlemen, the story I want to tell now, speaks of a group of dark heroes who revealed the ugly face of the goddess and reclaimed everything that was ours.

In our story, no one is the main character, or perhaps everyone is.

La~~ La~~ La~~~"

Hearing the boy's ballad, Feng Yu's initially pleading voice turned into anger, and she couldn't help but retort:

"I don't know where you come from, but I will never allow you to defame the goddess's name; she has always guided us humans to become better..."

Realizing her voice was somewhat hysterical, Feng Yu quickly quieted down, making her voice more amiable,

"Young man, I don't know what you have been through, but you are also human, and saving a life is the highest virtue.

Do more good deeds, and surely the goddess will see your actions and bless you.

"As long as you save me, I believe our future will be incredibly bright."

The melodious harp music abruptly stopped, and the young harpist lifted his head, looked towards Feng Yu bound on the cross, and revealed a smile.

But this was not an ordinary smile; it was a gloomy, extremely uncomfortable one.

He despised everything that existed in the original world; what he praised was everything being toppled and restarted anew.

Seeing this smile, Saintess Feng Yu of the Goddess Sect felt as though her words had just become utterly pale and powerless.

She did not know how the young man before her could possibly be redeemed.

"Nameless. It's been a long time."

In the darkness, an elderly woman walked into the light near the young man.

This elderly woman's face was full of kindness.

Upon seeing this elderly woman, suddenly, the memories of Feng Yu's life violently resurged.

Scenes of being attacked by the disciples of the Curse Sect, the sight of her companions dying tragically appeared before her eyes, causing Feng Yu to retch.

But, as a ghost now, she could not vomit a thing.

The youth known as Nameless showed an ordinary smile toward the elderly woman: "Kexiya elder, are you here again today?"

"Mm." Kexiya nodded, approached the black pool with a shaky step, "It seems the Luo Ze Empire has noticed our movements; my dear children have taken quite a few falls at their hands."

Nameless slightly plucked the piano strings:

"Has it finally been exposed?

Heroes undergoing ordeals before achieving great feats is unavoidable.

We will record everything and forever praise the experiences of these heroes."

"Full of spirit. I don't dislike people who work hard.

Unfortunately, my beloved children weren't eliminated because our cover was blown.

Try communicating with your other selves.

The rumors from the Luo Ze Empire can be easily known."

Hearing this, Nameless stopped playing, squeezed his right middle finger and index finger together, placed them on his temple, then showed a realization and resumed playing the harp.

"The death of the Holy Maiden has spread far and wide; the Goddess Sect and the Empire, hearts full of panic, are together composing a beautiful score."

"To play this score we're still a little short, but soon."

Another drop of black water dripped from the black stalactite, and Kexiya slowly knelt beside the black pool.

Feng Yu's heart tightened, and she loudly demanded, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"What are we trying to do? In a short while, you'll understand.

This is a VIP seat prepared for you by His Holiness the Pope.

Please, Saintess, watch carefully from this VIP seat."

Kexiya showed a kind smile, stretched her hand to stir the black water, and instantly, the whole pool shimmered with waves.

When the ripples slowly came to a stop, Feng Yu saw a huge black shadow pass through the pool, an unimaginable fear creeping into her heart—her intuition as a Saintess told her that beneath this pool lay another world.

A world full of demons.

"Have you lost your minds! If you let those things out, the world might be destroyed!" Feng Yu screamed, terrified, her eyes fixed on the things below the water surface.

Drops of black water leapt from the pool, turning into seeds and embedding themselves into Kexiya's body. Kexiya showed no abnormalities, just continued to smile kindly:

"Destruction is the beginning of rebirth.

Please rest assured, the gate is almost complete, the Demon Lord will not descend into our world just yet.

Only for now, that is."