“So let me get this straight, you’re a human?” Johan asked for what felt like the 10th time.

“B-But Boss knows so much about demons and stuff!” Patty interjected, her wings fluttering nervously. “How can he not be the Demon King!”

“Voop thinks this is just a test from Boss!” Voop was glaring at me from his place on Claire’s lap. “Why else would Boss pretend to be a weak human.”

Low blow Voop. True but painful.

“Boss even if you’re a pitiful human I won’t abandon you. You’re still our Demon King,” Claire said passionately, her loud voice booming in my ears. That one hurt even more Claire!

“This is impossible!” Johan said, quickly losing his composure. I’ve never seen him like this; he was always cool and collected, never getting angry or showing any emotion unless the situation was truly dire. This must’ve been really bad then if he was like this.

“I studied that spell for years, it went perfectly. So no matter what, m’lord has to be the Demon King.”

“Listen listen, instead of talking in circles, why don’t we start from the beginning huh?” I said, trying to ease the tension.

“I guess that’s my cue,” Darnelle said as he languidly took center stage.

Patty and Claire clapped in anticipation while Voop heaved a large sigh. Johan said nothing as he sat down with the rest of us.

“Several millennia ago, there were two beings. The Heavenly Lord and the Underworld Lord who kept the balance of the world. The Heavenly Lord would take those who were good and pure and take them up to their kingdom of clouds while the Underworld Lord would take those who were impure and evil and punish them.”

Darnelle pulled out a what looked like a lute out of nowhere and began to strum it melodically. I realized this must’ve been the instrument that he used whenever I heard him play.

“One day the Underworld Lord turned to the Heavenly Lord and said to him.

“Brother, we are two side of the same coin, and yet the people love you and fear me?”

The Heavenly Lord, understanding his brother’s pain but unable to free it said this to him.

“O’ sweet brother of mine, it is in the nature of those who fear death to despise the one who will take them to their eternal punishment.”

Now the Underworld Lord understood this sentiment clearly, but still, as a prideful being, wanted recognition. So he decided to make monsters, to worship him and act in his stead.

“Brother, look upon my creations, are they not divine? Are they not fit to worship me, he who punishes the evil in the world, who is eternal and unmatched save for you?”

But the Heavenly Lord, upon seeing his brother’s creations, grew jealous.

“They may be your creation, but do you not think they are lacking some quality. They are merely beings created to worship you and do nothing but act as decorations. Would it not be more pleasing for them to act as your hands and feet, your eyes and ears, to interact with the other mortals of the world?”

Moved by his brother’s words, the Underworld Lord asked his creations to choose one who would become the strongest amongst themselves to be his delegate, in order to test humans piety and their morality.”

Even though Darnelle wasn’t exactly singing, his voice was melodic and sweet, and the music he played on his lute was done in a way to fit the tone of whatever he was saying. For a demon who didn’t look like a bard at all, he was actually good at his job.

I couldn’t help but imagine this delicate power struggle between these two gods in earnest, as vivid as if it were happening in front of my eyes.

“Thus the Demon King was chosen, a demon so strong and fierce that even the Underworld Lord took one look at him and cried out

“At last, a true champion befit of the title of Demon King. From now on you and you alone will lead your brethren into battle against the evil and impure humans!”

Upon seeing this, the Heavenly Lord created his own holy creations, a being for what he would deem to be purity and all of his holy ideals. He called this being his Hero, an angel in human skin. He told his Hero that his brother was looking for more power and to seize human souls in order to grow his army. That his brother was a traitor to the very notion of balance and that wanted nothing more than to have him, his Heavenly Lord, banished to the outskirts of time and space itself.

And so began the Holy Wars, in which the manipulated Hero fought against our righteous Demon King, an extension of our Underworld Lord and the Heavenly Lord. Eventually the Hero would win, and seal away the Demon King. In a last bid in order to change the tides, the Underworld Lord would give the Demon King as much power of his own power as possible. But in doing so, he made himself powerless and was sealed away with the Demon King. Every few generations, the Demon King resurfaces if he can be summoned, but each time he would be defeated, an endless cycle of hope and despair.

And so now we, the unholy creations of the Underworld Lord, live in fear of being exterminated from the Hero and his forces.”

Darnelle finished his performance, the lute ending in a soft melancholy note that reverberated in the cave.

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I heard Patty and Claire clapping enthusiastically, cheering Darnelle on.

“Thank you darlings, it’s all in a day’s work for me,” Darnelle said with a charming smile as he sat back down.

“UGH VOOP’S HEARD THAT STORY WAY TOO MANY TIMES!”

“Be quiet Voop,” Johan said, already composed during the time of Darnelle’s tale.

“It’s because of the resurgence of the Hero that we thought that you had to have been the Demon King, m’lord,” Johan said. He never dropped the formalities, even though I told him not to considering I’m just a human.

“Well I don’t get it but, I still trust the Boss,” Claire said scratching her head.

“YEAH IF IT’S THE BOSS THEN HE CAN DO ANYTHING!” Patty said excitedly.

“But why me?” I asked. Everything up to that point I could understand, but whenever it came down to the why I was stumped. All of this was just textbook fantasy anime, but where the hell did I come in?

“It’s because of me that they trust you so much m’lord,” Johan said, looking pained as he closed his eyes.

“I am an orc yes, but… I am also half human. My mother was the daughter of a rich merchant and my father was an orc bodyguard hired to protect her when she was on a travel with her family. When they fell in love and had me, my mother was banished from the family. Raised by two very different viewpoints, I was allowed to see both sides to any argument with an unbiased opinion. Because of that… I thought the best path for myself would be to become a mage for the church.”

He paused. Everyone else seemed to have heard this story before, as they weren’t shocked or surprised, but they were polite enough to stay quiet. Even Voop, who liked to rile people up, was staying put in Claire’s lap.

“Under the church, I studied as much as possible. Eventually I would come across some… banned material. That is to say, the true story of our ancestors, the one Darnelle just finished telling. Upon realizing that, I knew I couldn’t stay for long. So I spent the rest of my time finding a solution. At last I found it. A spell to summon the Demon King. But… it would take more than just a no name church mage such as myself.”

“THAT’S WHERE WE COME IN!” Patty said excitedly.

“Yes, see the spell needed a minimum of 5 people in order to work. So I scouted demon denizens who I could trust and came with the people you see before you.”

“He found me in a cave just like this one actually,” Claire said, grinning her now signature toothy smile. “I was eating a raw chicken I stole from a nearby farm.”

“Oh I remember that!” Patty said laughing. “You had feathers all over your face.”

I couldn’t help laugh along with that; it’s kinda easy and funny to imagine Claire with feathers all over her face.

“Yes, yes, anyways, as I said, I found everyone here. The spell had two parts. The first to actually contact the Demon King, who ended up to be you. In order to make sure that it really was you, we asked you to run us a series of simulated battles. You call them “sessions” and “campaigns” but everything you said came true, just as you said it would. They were prophetic battles after all, and we knew following your advice we could continue to the second part, summoning you. The Hero can only exist in this realm if the Demon King is also here, but as there has been no word of the Demon King at all, we knew it had to be you.”

Logically everything Johan was saying made sense. And I understood in theory what he made sense. But just… how the hell did it turn out to be me?

“But… but why me?” I asked, hoping Johan would understand.

Johan shook his head. “I do not know m’lord. The spell is supposed to pinpoint the Demon King. It’s a spell as old as time, dating back to the very first Demon King. That is why I say, without an absolute doubt, even if your vessel is human, you are the Demon King.”

When he puts it like that, there’s no way I can deny it. But still, but still, it just can’t be me. No way no how! I grab my head as I try to make sense of it all.

“But I don’t have powers!” I cried out, latching onto that piece of evidence to back of my case.

“They’re dormant within you, but considering every simulated battle you’ve put us through has turned out to be true simply means that you have the power of vision and foresight.”

He got me there. No matter how I look at it, I was cornered into realizing the truth.

I was in fact the legendary Demon King.