Cherreads

Chapter 4 - The Pillars of the Kingdom

A few moments before the beheading of the dissenters.

From another corner of the hall, a beautiful demon woman gently bit her nails. Anxiety was clear on her face as the phenomenon of wind and fog swirled around Elvar. Hearing the insults from the demon soldiers opposing the Demon King from another world, her tail, tipped with soft fur, began to flick erratically, occasionally thumping against the stone floor.

The demon tried to remain calm and just watch the event unfold. She saw the demon knights begin to approach. The insults about the human body directed at the King grew more intense. All five of the dissenters even uttered harsh words about how disgusting the human form was to their Demon King.

As the five dissenting soldiers began to attack while once again shouting insults about the Demon King's human body, the demon woman finally muttered.

"This has gone too far. Enough."

She extended the nail of her index finger, making it as hard and sharp as a sword, then leaped towards the dissenters with lightning speed.

"SLINNGGHHH!!"

One dissenter's head flew and fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

Valeria, who had only been observing the process to gauge the Demon King's power or to see how long the soldiers would last, was startled. She turned quickly when she saw another demon woman had just beheaded one of the dissenters.

"Carmilla? What are you doing?"

Carmilla, one of the Five Pillars of the former Demon King, was a beautiful woman with long red hair and small, short horns on her forehead. Her tail was similar to Valeria's, but instead of a sharp heart shape, it was adorned with soft fur at the tip. Carmilla's body shape was the same as Valeria's, human-like, slender with a reasonably large chest, though not as large as Valeria's. Carmilla was also of noble descent, but she came from a poor noble family, so she preferred not to be too conspicuous.

Her current action was a result of her thin patience running out. She glared at Valeria and said, "You, Valeria, are a FOOL! You lazy Succubus!"

"SLINNGGHHH!"

Carmilla slashed again, intercepting another dissenter's attack as they leaped towards the Demon King.

"What do you mean, Carmilla?" Valeria retorted, her tone clearly annoyed by Carmilla's insult.

"My words annoy you?" Carmilla replied with a higher pitch, her anger palpable. "Then why aren't you annoyed by the words of these foolish knights who are insulting our bodies?!"

"SLINNGGHHH… SLIINGGHHH!"

Two more heads fell, creating a horrifying heavy thud on the silent hall floor. Each of Carmilla's slashes felt light yet incredibly powerful. Her nails, which hardened like iron, were one of the powers that made her one of the Five Pillars in the Blackfix Kingdom.

Meanwhile, in Elvar's direction, he was still standing firm. With one hand on his hip, he continued to look like a fearless King, while the remnants of wind and smoky fog still swirled around his feet, making his aura seem like that of an unbeatable King.

You mean me? No, no, I'm panicking. You're just like the others, thinking I'm brave, but in reality, I'm wetting myself even if my body doesn't show it, I replied in my head to the third-person narrator.

Oh, by the way, do you know why I'm not moving at all and even look brave? Because all the actions I would take if I followed my instincts are: run, scream, jump, duck, and beg for help.

Let me say it again to be clearer, the mask I'm wearing suppresses all emotions that are contrary to the true nature of a Demon King. How do I know? Because I can feel it.

Any action outside the nature, will, and behavior of a Demon King will not affect my body. Like crying, running away like a coward, screaming in fear, or asking for help.

That's also one of the reasons I laugh so often, because I'm panicking and can't do anything else, so laughter is what comes out of my body.

Okay, let's continue. Right now, I see two beautiful women. The woman named Carmilla seems to be saving me, proven by the fact she's already killed three soldiers. And the other two, I see them trembling in fear before the ranting Carmilla.

Carmilla pointed her long, hard nail-sword towards the two remaining dissenters.

"What? Scared? Weren't you just insulting the human form? Look at my body! It's a long shot for you to kill our guest who will be the king here. Kill me first before you can kill him!" Carmilla challenged them.

"Stop it, Carmilla! Don't kill them! Let them fight the Demon King so we can see how great his power is!" Valeria shouted.

"So we can see how great his power is?! Are you blind? Do you want to destroy this historic altar?!" Carmilla retorted. "Look at him! Standing still without fear, standing proudly, with one hand still on his hip! But this aura…" Carmilla looked around Elvar, where the remnants of wind and smoky fog still swirled.

No, hey, that's not my power! That looks like a natural disaster… I'm standing still because I'm scared, get it?! I muttered.

"What if he gets angry at our actions for letting these insolent demons face him? This altar could collapse in an instant!" Carmilla added.

How would that happen? Hey, don't make things up… that's impossible, I replied in a mumble.

One of the remaining dissenters immediately knelt and bowed. "Please don't kill us! Forgive us! We regret it, we just couldn't accept his disgusting form, which is too similar to a huma…"

"SHLIIINGGG!"

The sound of a slash and another heavy thud was heard.

"When you beg for forgiveness, try not to accompany it with insults, you idiot," Carmilla said coldly after the slash, her tone growing more irritated.

"Enough, enough, Carmilla! Stop! Alright, alright! Let's just crown him as our demon king! As for his power, we can acknowledge it after he shows it through his leadership. And stop, don't kill the last one. Just imprison him!" Valeria shouted, finally giving up on her wish.

"I'm safe this time. I'm still alive… Mom, Dad… welcome me later, okay, if I can't survive here. Praise me for my struggle this time to become a demon king… " I muttered.

I saw the last remaining dissenter being dragged away by other guards to be thrown into the dungeon. Carmilla retracted her nails back to normal and returned to her original spot.

Valeria then took charge to lead the coronation of Elvar as the official Demon King after all the ritual witnesses agreed to him becoming their leader.

In another corner, the few remaining dissenters who didn't dare show their opposition could only follow Valeria's lead and the other witnesses, accepting Elvar.

After the coronation ritual reached its climax, Valeria summoned all the 5 Pillar forces who had served as guardians of the kingdom while the throne was empty.

"Five Great Pillars! Assemble before our Demon King candidate!" Valeria's voice echoed softly.

One by one, each great pillar began to gather and face Elvar, then introduced themselves, kneeling on one bent knee with their heads bowed.

It began with Valeria (The Strategist) in the center, facing Elvar. Her graceful body was clad in minimal combat attire that revealed her cleavage and sexy curves. The minimal lower part was covered by a flowing cloak that adorned her body.

Followed by Grakthos (The Vanguard) of the Dragon Race. He walked upright, his large, scaly tail tapering at the end. His body was filled with large muscles, and he carried a longsword with an epic scabbard. His intimidating red eyes stared at the floor as he knelt before Elvar.

Suddenly, a demon figure emerged from Valeria's shadow. A head with a single long horn appeared first, followed by a six-legged body resembling a giant spider. Each leg had a very sharp tip. She was Nyx (The Shadow), of the Dark/Arachne Race, who served as a spy and assassin. She joined the line and bowed her head before Elvar.

Next was Terrax (The Shield). He was the Bull Demon who had questioned and mediated the opposition issue. With his large sheathed axes and carrying a circular shield with epic gold ornaments, he was the pillar of defense.

Finally, leaping from above and landing gracefully in the middle of the line was Carmilla. Her jet-black wings opened for a moment before being covered again by her cloak. Her long tail with a furry tip moved behind her. She was the last pillar, the Sorceress of Ruin from the Siren Race.

All the forces of the Five Great Pillars had gathered. They took an oath of loyalty to the kingdom and to protect Elvar as the leader of the Blackfix Kingdom.

Yeah, that's how my story of becoming a demon king began. Cool, right? Yeah, it's cool from a third-person point of view. But you know my point of view, right? Cool? No. But rather than dying a miserable death, at least I'm fighting to live for now, right?

So, now I'm a demon king… I muttered. What should I do now for a start? You guys who are reading, don't just stay silent. If anyone knows what I should do as a Demon King, please whisper it to me in my dreams tonight.

More Chapters