Only I Am A Reader

At first, the Demon Lord that came to understand what this identity of his meant, the role that he had to play, and the truth about his 'authority' couldn't come into terms with any of that.

He spent the first day in a pit of suicidal thoughts. On the second day, he washed these thoughts away by massacring all of the monsters that had crossed over to his former ruined world. On the third day, he wandered around the world during its last twilight moments before going back to the Demon world.

<Your Origin has been strengthened for accomplishing the duties of a Demon Lord!>

The desire to destroy all monsters writhed inside him, but even if he could destroy those that took part in the invasion, exterminating the inhabitants of the Demon world was virtually impossible even for someone like him.

Both the old and the current were called worlds, but the Demon world was in a whole other league. It was an endless realm that spawned monsters at a terrifying rate.

A few years might be enough to achieve this counter-eradication, but as long as one of them survived, it would take less time to restore their population.

<Strive forward and devour more and more worlds, you are now one step closer to ascending as a Devouring Lord!>

Most importantly, the maddened Demon Lord had finally asked the question that he ignored all along. What was the source of this voice? Who was the one that offered him the ladder that he used to climb all the way here?

Just what entity could grant him an authority that allowed him to cross dimensions only for him to find out that he was the pathmaker of destruction?

Whatever it was, it seemed to be elated by the act that crushed his mind. Was this what it had in mind when it gave him that ability? Was he just a convenient key or tool that had nothing to say once it accepted the devil's deal?

Then again, did he even have a choice? Would someone actually choose death rather than a chance to survive?

The lost Demon Lord knew that the time to fight was over. Contemplating a correct answer was more important. To prepare himself for that, he went on one last feast before isolating himself in the Demon Lord's castle.

Centaurs, Minotaurs, Mimics, Nine-tailed foxes, Winter Owls… The Demon Lord who devoured all kinds of monsters known for their superior intellect finally found the answer to all of his questions.

'There is no escaping it.'

Free will was just an illusion. He had no choice from the very beginning, and that was still the case to this moment. It didn't matter if he stood at the peak of the Demon World or not, he was just a part of destiny's big plan, a mere pawn.

Fully accepting his identity as one of the drops flowing through the stream, the Demon Lord shed away the last of his human logic. Only one emotion was left inside of him, deep, unrelenting grief for the others who couldn't accept that truth.

<A fully grown world has been detected. Beginning the devouring process is advised.>

He could delay their misery by not opening cracks, but once again, the real choice wasn't his. The voice spoke in a friendly manner, but it controlled his emotions to move out when the time was right.

As such, his enlightened mind found its way around it. He who suffered the longest didn't want the others to suffer the same. Rather than pull his punches to prolong their misery before the inevitable end, he would spare no effort to end these worlds as soon as he could!

There was no sadness or grief after death unless you deserved it. His greatest regret was having been unable to choose death back then, so he was going to help everyone make that choice. Even as a tool, he wanted to be a kind one…

After a few trial invasions, the kind Demon Lord had gotten used to his abilities and perfected his strategies to end things in no time. Before he was forced to invade, he would make a quick trip to the target world and remove the biggest obstacle that would stand in his way. Then, he would let everything play by itself till it was time for him to take the stage once more.

For the last few invasions, he succeeded in reducing his and others' grief. However, there was always someone who would persistently act as the hero hoping to save their worlds!

"Do you think things are that easy?"

Guardians, superheroes, transformers… They were all ignorant pawns who couldn't understand that they were forced into their role so that more and more would suffer. From his perspective, they were the true enemies of their worlds!

"Hope and belief are jokes, you are selling out what you don't have to the people. If I knew you would be so troublesome, I would have just disposed of you earlier!"

Wasn't destiny really cruel? As if to replace the obstacles he got rid of early, there were always new enemies stopping him from bringing true peace to their worlds. He really had to end this fast!

'What kind of nonsense is this?'

The Heavenly Demon was confused by the Demon Lord's words, the strange monster's expression had gone through an array of changes in just one minute. It seemed like it wasn't only his ability that was strange, he was definitely suffering from some mental issues.

Regardless, that didn't leave much of an impact on Cheon Ma's concentration. If anything, this pause had given him the chance to prepare for fighting an unpredictable enemy.

"If you want to get rid of me, you can just do it now!"

Flapping his wings, scarlet energy overflowed from the Heavenly Demon's body as he rose to the sky. Like a perfect glove, the energy threads wrapped him up, creating a solid sanguine armor!

The greatsword that had just exploded turned into two, placing themselves in both of his hands!

'We will see who gets rid of the other!'