Chapter 86: Challenge

After some time, Dhein and Krushe were back in the village near the castle. He returned to the girl just like he had said and when he arrived, it was just in time that she woke up.

He thanked the homeowners before approaching the girl.

With a smile, he spoke with a bright tone.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Still avoiding his gaze, the girl nodded.

“That’s good to know. What’s your name?” asked Dhein.

There was a moment of hesitation before she opened her mouth to speak.

“Amarih.”

He nodded.

“Where are your parents, Amarih?”

She answered.

“I don’t know.”

Her words made Dhein ponder. She had parents but they were nowhere to be found.

It mustn’t have been a long time since they disappeared, since Amarih was still alive.

’Are they perhaps dead?’ Dhein thought.

In any case, no parent would leave their daughter to die if they can help it. It had become obvious to Dhein that Amarih had been orphaned.

He stood up and then looked at the homeowners. The couple had a boy of their own, hiding behind them.

“Again, thank you for your help. I’ll make sure you are compensated for your kindness,” he said.

The two demons looked at each other, confused and quite possibly scared.

Then, Dhein offered a hand to the girl.

“Come on. You’re under my care starting today.”

She absentmindedly took his hand. For the first time, Dhein held a demon’s hand and felt and saw the differences.

Their hands were more similar to hooves from the back.

They had five fingers like humans, but their knuckles and the back of each joint of their fingers had hard, bone-like bumps which Dhein assumed to be an evolved hoof.

With that, they returned to the castle. Cyreth kindly took him and Amarih above the balcony before Dhein took over again.

When the massive berserkers saw what Dhein brought back with him, their eyes widened in shock.

Then, he heard someone whisper:

“So he picked out a concubine…”

“He had better choices. Look at this skin and bone child.”

The demons immediately froze when Dhein glared at them.

He sighed.

’There’s so much work to do,’ he thought.

When he got to the throne, he spread his gaze to his minions. They looked at him with reverence and fear while awaiting his orders.

Dhein spoke.

“Krushe.”

The demoness dutifully walked forward, head facing down.

“I told you that there is a punishment for losing the race.”

Her eyes widened in fear but she didn’t move an inch.

Dhein continued.

“Take care of the girl. Feed her, clean her, make sure she stays healthy and happy.”

Krushe slowly raised her gaze to Dhein, confused.

Dhein spoke with a louder, more authoritative voice.

“Listen, my people. As your new king, I saw many problems that this kingdom faces. Maybe it is due to the incompetence of your former king, Angelus, but as the one who now sits on the throne, the duty to save you now falls to me.”

“I’ve seen your dull yields and poor farm management. Your currency is worthless, economy nonexistent. This system benefits the strong and leaves the weak to die in starvation and thirst.”

“It’s about time this changed. Follow my lead, and you shall fear no longer, hunger no longer, thirst no longer. I will change your wicked ways and show you a better way to live. I will transform your world into one where even a weak child like Amarih can have hope and not fear for her life every second.”

It saddened Dhein to see how the demons reacted. They didn’t become more hopeful, but instead, his words were so foreign to them that they just stared with confusion on their faces.

’But this sounds like a good plan… I will rule demonkind and change their ways, bringing an era of peace. Then, I’ll be able to form a demon-human international alliance.’

’And then I’ll be able to go home.’

After seeing the miserable state of the normal demons, Dhein’s main goal completely changed. He wanted to help them at the very least before returning to the human continent.

***

Parro led Dhein to the king’s office. The double doors opened to a room with a luxurious bed, some drawers, decorations and nothing else.

“Where does the former Demon King do his job?” he asked after seeing the absence of a desk and paperwork.

The little assassin replied.

“The former king’s only job was to fulfill his glorious purpose.”

Dhein gave him a look of disappointment.

’So you’re telling me that up until now, no one managed the kingdom’s internal affairs…’

He sighed.

’No wonder this kingdom is so poor.’

Seeing as Parro knew a lot of things about how Angelus ruled, he asked him the important details. That was how he discovered why the demonic army, despite being the most powerful force in the world, was unable to operate at its full potential.

It also explained why the people barely had anything to eat. They barely had any education, their industries’ foundations were built on mud soil, and most importantly, they had no motivation to advance their society due to Angelus’ tyrannic rule.

First off, there were no governmental departments. Angelus poured all resources into building weapons and funding the army, leaving nothing for domestic matters. They had no functional market as the stronger demons can just take anything they liked for free.

Basically, Sekhtar was a lawless, hopeless nation where brute strength determined life and death. It was the example that the Demon King showed, after all. So naturally, his subjects had no choice but to adapt to this system.

Secondly, their philosophy had become rotten to the core. Weaker demons had accepted that they had no rights and that they deserved the suffering they endured.

Angelus had been drilling into their minds that he was the absolute truth they had to embrace.

Many things had to change.

For some reason, however, the thought of fixing an entire nation ignited an excitement in Dhein’s heart.

No one in history had taken up such a challenge before. He knew how difficult it was going to be, but that only added to the thrill Dhein felt.

’Alright, then. Let’s get to work, shall we?’

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