Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe

Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe – 69

EP.69 The Demon King and the Hero

The Demon King.

Every 500 years, an absolute being from the Demon Realm descends upon this world, threatening and destroying it.

The Hero.

The only one capable of opposing the Demon King, created by the will of this world as the adversary to the Demon King and the hope of humanity.

Yes, this is a story as old as time.

The Demon King descends, leading an army of demons to threaten the world.

A boy from a certain village is chosen and awakens as the Hero to stop them.

Such a predictable story.

“Hero, won’t you join hands with me?”

…Or so it was supposed to be.

Up until just a moment ago.

“What did you say?”

“Did you not hear me? I’ll say it again. Hero, won’t you join hands with me…?”

“I heard you perfectly! I asked again because it’s absurd!”

At the Demon King Tureglo’s proposal, the Hero Rain shouted in disbelief.

The terrifying Demon King, with massive horns protruding from his head and glowing crimson eyes.

And opposing him, a 17-year-old boy, the last bastion of humanity who had defeated countless demons over the past three years—the Hero.

Their confrontation was supposed to be a fierce battle for the fate of this world.

However, the Demon King Tureglo seemed uninterested in fighting the Hero.

No, it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to fight.

He was proposing an alliance to the Hero.

“So you’re trying to catch me off guard and attack!”

Naturally, Hero Rain did not trust the Demon King.

The Demon King was a being that led an army from the Demon Realm to threaten this world.

He was the enemy of humanity.

And Rain was humanity’s last bastion and protector.

The being before him was someone he could never compromise with.

Thus, he refused.

In fact, he didn’t even believe the proposal was genuine.

He thought it was a ploy to deceive him.

“I am sincere, Hero. I have no intention of fighting you.”

“Hmph! And you expect me to believe that when you’re fully armed!”

As Rain pointed out, Demon King Tureglo was fully armed, contrary to his words.

He wore armor and wielded a cursed demonic sword.

“This is to defend myself should you reject my proposal and attack. I have no intention of attacking you.”

Saying this, Demon King Tureglo even threw his sword to the ground.

Clang!

“…!!”

When the cursed demonic sword, a symbol of the Demon King, hit the ground, Hero Rain hesitated for a moment.

Could he be sincere? Did he genuinely want to talk?

“…Ha, it’s useless. Your proposal is probably to join forces and split the world in half, right? I won’t fall for that trick!”

Hero Rain had learned about the Demon King’s evil schemes from ancient history.

One of those schemes was the proposal to split the world in half.

When the Demon King couldn’t defeat the Hero or would suffer too much loss even if he won, he made such a proposal.

But one must never accept that offer.

If half the world fell into the hands of the Demon King and the other half into the hands of the Hero, the conflict between the Demon King, the Hero, and humanity would only reignite, prolonging the war indefinitely.

It was a proposal that fundamentally solved nothing.

“No, that’s not it. Hero, listen to me.”

But Demon King Tureglo shook his head.

His proposal was different.

Demon King Tureglo’s proposal was:

“…Would you consider changing the very foundation of this world with me?”

“What…?”

It was something Hero Rain had never expected.

#

Every 500 years, the Demon King descends from the Demon Realm, sparking a war between demons and humans.

And as the adversary to the Demon King, a Hero is born among humanity to defeat him.

It’s a story as old as myth.

And it was the reality currently unfolding.

The protagonists of this real story were Demon King Tureglo and Hero Rain.

But this wasn’t just a predetermined rule of the world.

“This world’s battles are merely a chess game for a distant, higher being. A being you might call ‘God’.”

“Chess game?”

Hero Rain frowned at Tureglo’s words.

“That’s nonsense. The will of this world created the Hero to protect humanity… created me to defeat you! It wasn’t just for some amusement…”

“I’m not talking about the will of the world. I’m talking about something higher. An absolute being that controls this world.”

When Hero Rain tried to refute, Demon King Tureglo cut him off.

“A being that created this world and can manipulate even the will of the world at its whim. For its amusement, we fight, kill each other, and devastate the land every time.”

“…”

A being that could manipulate even the will of the world at its whim.

Hero Rain was bewildered by the enormity of the story.

“I am a being created by it. And you were intentionally created by it, using the will of the world, to oppose me. Our battle is nothing more than a puppet show to alleviate its boredom!”

“Trying to confuse me with such tales is useless! I’ll destroy you and save humanity!”

Hero Rain shook his head vigorously, refusing to listen any further, and readied his sword.

“…Ha. Is that so? So, this Hero ends up the same way too.”

Demon King Tureglo sighed deeply, wearing a desolate expression as if he had experienced this conversation countless times before.

“Fine, come. Hero. Follow through with your will. Even if it’s wrong, it will be your truth.”

Saying this, the Demon King closed his eyes, as if accepting his fate.

“Ugh…!”

Hero Rain felt even more confused by this sight.

But he didn’t stop; he raised his holy sword and charged at the Demon King.

“Ahhh!”

Just before the holy sword pierced the Demon King’s heart.

Hesitation!

The Hero’s holy sword stopped in its tracks.

“…Tell me more.”

The Hero stopped himself from killing the Demon King.

The guardian of humanity, created to destroy the Demon King, halted his duty of his own accord.

“Hoho, so you are finally willing to listen.”

Seeing this, the Demon King looked as if he had finally overcome a significant hurdle.

The Demon King wore a benevolent smile.

A smile that seemed completely out of place on the face of a fearsome Demon King.

“…Who exactly are you? Who am I? What is happening to this world?”

Hero Rain was utterly confused by the unexpected benevolent smile of the Demon King.

Seeing Rain’s bewilderment, Demon King Tureglo began to explain everything he had discovered about this world.

#

“…So, you’re saying this world isn’t the only one, and there are countless others outside of it? And there’s a transcendent being that creates these worlds?”

“That’s right. To be precise, it’s not that there are multiple versions of this world, but rather countless different worlds exist outside this one.”

The Demon King’s words were hard to believe.

The world is not singular.

Outside this world, there are countless dimensions and worlds different from this one.

And there is a creator of these worlds, a being that creates them to alleviate its boredom and satisfy its curiosity.

This being orchestrates events, creating the Demon King and intentionally birthing the Hero as an adversary, watching their fierce battles as if it were a simulation.

These were hard truths to accept.

Yet, perhaps because of the Demon King’s position or his earnest expression, Hero Rain found a certain credibility in his words.

Of course, he remained on guard, ready to respond to any attack.

The Demon King, aware of this, had disarmed himself and kept his distance to make the Hero feel at ease.

When Rain asked what the Demon King would do if he attacked, Tureglo replied that Rain was the first to listen this far, and he wouldn’t resent dying by his hand.

In this state, the two continued their conversation.

Then, suddenly, the Hero asked a curious question.

“But how did you come to know these truths about the world?”

“That is…”

Instead of answering, the Demon King handed over a crystal orb.

“You are an existence equal to mine. If so, you should be able to withstand the power of this.”

It was a crystal orb that emanated a foreboding aura, something that felt extremely uninviting to touch.

Could it be an attack?

Or a trap?

It didn’t seem like it.

“If you wish to know the truth, grasp this crystal orb. It may be slightly painful, but if you are truly an equal existence to me, it will not harm you.”

“…”

Hero Rain hesitated but eventually reached out his hand.

‘Damn it, fine. I’ve come this far. If he intended to kill me, he had plenty of opportunities. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll see it through to the end.’

He had already deviated from the predetermined path.

From now on, he would carve out an entirely new story, not one that followed the set narrative.

Thus, Hero Rain found himself doing something he would never have done under normal circumstances, without hesitation.

Grasp!

He reached out and grabbed the ominously glowing crystal.

Whoosh─!

At that moment, a pitch-black darkness extended from the crystal orb and engulfed Hero Rain.

Translator Note: literally plot from Maoyuu Maou Yuusha Lol