Isekai Online Game Developer

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Long ago, a story unfolds.

In an era when the empire that would eventually rule the continent was just beginning to take shape, as Trinity was established and a new society of wizards started to form, when Galleard, destined to become a hero, and Aria, meant to be a saint, had yet to be born, while for hundreds of years the elves’ forests lay closed, a time when the profession of adventurer thrived in a continent that was not yet unified.

In the northwestern part of the continent, a girl was walking through a desert.

Unlike ordinary humans, the girl had violet skin.

Her arms and legs were stained with the blood of monsters.

Her exposed wings were enormous, resembling those of a dragon.

But the dark red skeletal wings spread like a bat’s were distinctly those of the demon race.

Her name was Lumia.

She carried blood from both humans and demons within her.

At first glance, she appeared to be a girl in her late teens.

However, the years she had lived were many times longer.

Born into human society, she had faced discrimination since childhood.

Not accepted anywhere, she naturally became an adventurer, wandering the world.

Having demon blood, she was incredibly strong.

In a flash, she became a top-tier adventurer.

But every time her true identity was revealed, people cast her out.

Even when Lumia risked her life to fight for their safety.

“Kieeeek!”

When she scattered her magic, the death worms crawling in the desert scurried away.

No longer could the usual monsters of the human world stand up to her.

Pwooosh—

Lumia drove the magic sword strapped to her back into the desert floor.

It was the remnant of the Demon King who invaded the human world thousands of years ago, acquired through her long adventures.

Lumia had gained much knowledge and history from her travels in the human realm.

From the first and second demon invasions to how they crossed into the human world.

How humans thwarted the demon race, and the principles behind how demons crossed into the human realm.

She studied these records, which were gradually forgotten and hard to find, not for any other reason.

But to cross over into the demon realm.

“@#!&&!~@#!$$#”

Muttering, Lumia infused her magic into the sword.

A sandstorm began to swirl around the sword, forming a gigantic whirlpool.

It looked as if a giant antlion had dug a trap.

Amidst the swirling winds, a massive crack in space appeared.

“Done…!”

A door leading to the demon realm.

It was originally something that only highly evolved demon entities could open while disregarding the laws of nature.

However, with the knowledge Lumia had acquired and the magic sword in her possession, she could achieve a similar effect.

Lumia swallowed dryly several times and moved her feet.

The long-awaited trip to the demon realm.

The reason she aimed to go there was simple.

Firstly, to find her father.

She wished to meet the father who had created her and vanished into the demon realm.

She didn’t blame him, but she did want to know why.

And secondly, she was part demon.

Though she had human blood, humans did not welcome her.

In appearance, she looked entirely demonic.

Essentially, demon blood is very potent and becomes stronger the more one uses it.

In truth, she was rightly called a demon.

The reason her strength matched that of pure-blooded demons was precisely this.

Naturally, it is only natural for a being like her to desire a society of her own kind.

With a trembling heart, Lumia transcended dimensions.

“Hoo ha ha! Here I go!”

Lumia was quite cheerful in nature.

If she hadn’t been, she would have found it hard to withstand discrimination from humans for such a long time.

Though she had experienced betrayal from those she trusted here and there.

Nevertheless, Lumia didn’t let it sway her sense of self-worth.

She just let it go and chose to move on to a dimension of fellow demons.

Thus, long before the demon realm invaded the human realm, Lumia transcended dimensions.

“Huff… Hah… Phew… I’m the best!”

Ahead of Lumia, who had crossed into the demon realm, awaited even fiercer struggles.

Fighting and defeating demons, rising in status.

It was an endless cycle.

But it was different from the discrimination she faced from humans.

Continuously proving her strength, and defining status based on the logic of power was the fate of demons.

When the battle ended, defeated demons would bow their heads to Lumia and become her friends (in her sense).

Having steadily built her standing within demon society, one day she found herself reaching the territory of the Demon King’s army.

“Where on earth did you come from… someone with no background…”

And she defeated the third commander of the Demon King’s army.

It caused a huge stir within the demon society.

“Will you lead the Demon King’s army with me?”

“Sure!”

And she became a commander of the Demon King’s army, invited by the Demon King.

After becoming a commander, she no longer fought against demons like before.

After all, as the third commander, there were only about five individuals worthy of competing with, including the Demon King.

She had already become friends with them.

Instead, she began to lead her own legion and prepare for war with humans.

Developing a new style of strength, she gradually integrated herself into the ranks of the Demon King’s army.

“Here we go, here we go, here we go!”

As time passed, the demon invasion of the human realm began.

Leading the Demon King’s army, Lumia invaded the continent.

Especially her legion played the largest role in the Demon King’s army.

Even when other legions faltered, she always broke through enemy lines and reclaimed vital locations.

Recognized as the top contributor to the invasion of the human realm.

Gradually, the tide of battle began to turn in favor of the Demon King’s army.

Most of the continent was enveloped in magic, and the human territories were shrinking.

It seemed everything was progressing smoothly.

Until that incident occurred.

“Alright, everyone! If we win this battle, the Demon King will end the hero party!”

In what was predicted to possibly be the final battle.

If they won this battle, confrontation with the Demon King and the heroes was highly likely.

From the look of things right now, it appeared that the Demon King would defeat the heroes.

The victory of the Demon King’s army was right in front of them.

“Heyyaaa! It’s the end!”

As always, Lumia fought fiercely.

Other legions finished their battles and gathered to the battlefield of Lumia.

However,

“—!?”

The legions joining her acted strangely.

“What the hell…”

Suddenly, the commanders of legions 1, 2, and 4 began to attack Lumia.

They stole Lumia’s magic sword and shoved her into the depths of the demon realm.

“Ugh—”

The reason Lumia could build her strength until now was due to that magic sword.

The old magic sword that had chosen her as its master.

The commanders, well aware that without the sword, Lumia’s combat effectiveness would drop significantly, succeeded in stealing the sword.

They sealed her at the ends of the demon realm.

“Why… why are you doing this, everyone!”

“Lumia… It’s the Demon King’s orders.”

“Why would the Demon King…!”

It was the Demon King’s order.

Now that the upper hand in war had shifted, the Demon King no longer needed Lumia.

The reason was simple: Lumia was far too strong.

Lumia had greatly aided in leading the war to victory.

But if she remained as she was, she might very well aim for the seat of the Demon King in the future.

Her growth had been steep and turned into a threat.

Therefore, the decision to cast off Lumia was made with thoughts of what would happen after the war.

Since they had already gained the upper hand, she was no longer needed.

“I’m just… looking for friends…”

Buried in a land full of magic, Lumia mumbled.

Years passed, no, it had been over ten years.

It was a painful time.

She was discriminated against by humans and abandoned by demons.

With blood from both humans and demons, she belonged to neither.

To be precise, neither accepted her.

All she wanted was a friend.

Tears gathered in Lumia’s eyes, which had never lost their smile.

The truth was she was not okay at all.

She had felt sorrow when discriminated against by humans and wished to die when betrayed by demons.

Lumia, who had lived until now without ever being welcomed by anyone.

In that seal, she was about to end her life.

It was torment.

It was then that the seal holding her back vanished.

“…Huh?”

The Demon King’s army had been defeated.

Lumia had retreated from the battlefield, and the awakened hero miraculously won the battle for the humans.

Afterward, humans gradually reclaimed the land they had lost.

Eventually, the hero party succeeded in defeating the Demon King.

Lumia had thought that the war was dragging on for too long.

By now, the demon realm must be in utter chaos.

With the absolute being known as the Demon King gone and the war lost.

The demon realm, now a complete lawless zone, would rebuild everything based on the logic of power.

“…Right.”

And Lumia made a resolution.

This was a second chance bestowed upon her.

She had not forgotten the countless feelings of betrayal.

However, even so, Lumia still held onto her sense of self.

The values she pursued had not changed.

As both a human and a demon.

If all those beings betrayed, discriminated, and suppressed her,

“I will become the Demon King!”

Then she could stand at the top herself.

By standing at the top in a position where no one could touch her.

Then she could do everything as she pleased.

Thus, Lumia plundered the empty Demon King’s castle to reclaim her magic sword.

Rising to the position of the strongest amidst the chaos following the war defeat in the demon realm.

*

“Th-this is really… this is really…”

So, many decades later, after Lumia had swiftly taken control of the demon realm, her subordinate Malpas, sent into the human realm, brought back an artifact. The Maple Leaf Story.

Having played the so-called fantasy game, Lumia was shedding tears.

“Isn’t this an emotional story! This is totally the life of Demon King-sama!”

Demon King-sama referred to Lumia herself.

Now a Demon King, she enjoyed referring to herself that way.

She had just finished playing Demon Slayer.

“I’ve heard it was created by illusion mages. It’s said to be the most popular among humans. Unfortunately, I failed to defeat the hero. Even though I’m old, my instincts are still alive and kicking.”

“I see. Good work, Malpas. Let’s talk more later.”

As she got deeply engrossed in Demon Slayer for a while.

Lumia made a vow.

This story resonated so deeply with her heart.

She had to meet the person who created this story.

Thus, Lumia crossed over to the human realm.