I Have Come Back As The Demon Lord

Chapter 2 –Returned as the Demon Lord–

 

Boom!

 

One side of the wide main hall wall flew away. The space exploded, causing the wall and pillars to collapse with a thunderous noise, creating a cloud of dust.

 

“Demon Lord!”

 

Angrishan frantically prostrated himself in front of Lien.

 

“Please calm down! This is human territory, and the concentration of magic is insufficient!”

 

Lien was panting. However, this was not due to the excessive release of power restricted by the environment, but rather because she couldn’t contain her anger.

 

Laspania also knelt on one knee next to Angrishan, her eyes narrowed and raised in excitement, much like Lien.

 

“Shall I help destroy it too?”

 

Angrishan nudged Laspania’s side with his elbow. Even though she had transformed into the appearance of a human maid, Laspania couldn’t hide her aggressive nature.

 

Lien’s eyelashes trembled. Her rough breathing didn’t easily calm down.

 

At that moment, she felt something soft at her leg. The black panther cub sitting at her feet was pressing its paws on Lien’s leg.

 

“Meow.”

 

“Fel…”

 

The golden eyes looked up at Lien brightly even in the darkness. Lien finally let out a sigh, releasing her lingering futility with Fel’s cute effort to console her.

 

The grand mansion of the once-powerful Duke Brundel was now abandoned.

 

The Duke Brundel, Lien remembered, was a cunning and selfish man, who would never collapse easily. So, the only possibility she could think of was…

 

‘The Emperor.’

 

She didn’t know what had happened over the past few years, but it was clear that Duke Brundel had fallen out of the Emperor’s favor.

 

Lien’s already expressionless face became even colder. What she had planned as personal revenge seemed destined to turn into a war. The price for stealing her revenge had to be paid.

 

Holding Fel, who was circling at her feet, Lien climbed the central stairs leading to the upper floor.

 

This abandoned mansion was now hers. She decided to stay here for a while and find out what had happened to the Duke’s family.

 

‘Whether they are dead or alive, and if dead, who killed them and where they are buried.’

 

She couldn’t yet believe that they were gone. She would dig up the bodies and confirm it with her own eyes.

 

And if by any chance they were alive and had escaped, she would chase them to the ends of the earth.

 

Lien’s steps gained strength as she climbed the stairs one by one. Reaching the highest point and looking back arrogantly, the hall below was clearly visible.

 

“Demon Lord…”

 

Watching from below, Laspania felt a surge of emotion and clasped her hands in front of her chest. It reminded her of the days when Lien reigned as the Demon Lord.

 

How magnificent it was. The charisma that overwhelmed everyone just by existing.

 

Although this place was not the Demon Lord’s castle but a filthy mansion, Laspania saw the illusion of a grand throne.

 

She decided once again today. Wherever Lien was, that was where she belonged.

 

Even Angrishan, standing beside the ever-emotional Laspania, felt his heart swell a bit.

 

The brutal revenge on the Duke’s family was no longer possible, but Lien’s mind must be full of new, wicked, and terrible plans. Just being able to be part of them was a great honor.

 

Lien looked down at her loyal retainers.

 

“Laspania. Angrishan.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Yes, Demon Lord!”

 

Expecting some grand order, the two responded vigorously.

 

“First…”

 

Lien raised one hand and pointed.

 

“…Clean that up.”

 

More debris was falling from the completely collapsed wall.

 

* * *

 

After giving her retainers a very important order, Lien went upstairs. Like most nobles with vast lands and immense power, Duke Brundel also had a huge mansion.

 

Walking down the hallway, Lien started counting the rooms but then gave up. Reception rooms, bedrooms, offices… There seemed to be no end to the rooms with such names.

 

There must have once been tapestries and paintings hanging on every wall. She imagined cabinets filled with expensive porcelain or something magnificent.

 

The hallway would have been bustling with maids and servants, with laundry maids and stable boys working out of sight.

 

Lien could only imagine this because she had never seen such scenes when she was young. In fact, this was her first time exploring the mansion like this.

 

For that reason, Lien hesitated at a fork where the hallway branched into three.

 

‘Where is this?’

 

The Demon Lord, lost in her own home.

 

Fel, perched on Lien’s shoulder, tilted his head forward. With the golden gaze pressing against her cheek, Lien walked down the central hallway as if she knew where she was going.

 

“….”

 

It led to a dead-end room. As Fel stared again, Lien pretended to look around the room.

 

“Meow.”

 

“…Don’t laugh.”

 

The room was completely empty, indicating that many thieves had probably broken into the abandoned house. There were only traces of where furniture once stood.

 

Lien couldn’t help but worry.

 

‘Can I really live here?’

 

Once Laspania and Angrishan finished the repairs, the next step would be cleaning. They might also need new furniture. She had come upstairs intending to choose a room to use, but at this point, any room would be meaningless.

 

As she turned to leave, Lien squinted her eyes due to a sudden tickle. She was about to sneeze. The dust stirred by her fluttering skirt was to blame.

 

Out of habit, she clenched her small fist and covered her mouth.

 

“Achoo!”

 

“Meow!”

 

Fel mimicked her, covering his mouth with his paw. It was clear he was teasing her again.

 

“Your paws are really dirty from the dust.”

 

Lien glared and remarked, causing Fel to lift his paw and look at it. It was covered in gray dust.

 

“….”

 

Fel, who had paused for a moment, began to scratch his paw against the wall, making a fuss. Ignoring the noisy Fel, Lien stepped outside again.

 

Looking for the stairs to go down, she realized that the central staircase she had used to come up didn’t reach the first floor and ended abruptly. Judging by the occasional clattering sounds, Laspania and Angrishan were not far away, repairing the main hall.

 

Instead of staying lost, Lien chose an easier path. She pushed open a window in the now-stained hallway and jumped out.

 

“Ah.”

 

She blinked for about half a second in mid-air.

 

For a Demon Lord who could freely fly in the sky, landing from a second or third-floor height was a piece of cake, but Lien had forgotten that this was not Raksia Moon.

 

The atmosphere here barely contained a speck of magic. An environment where she couldn’t freely use her innate magic.

 

Lien plummeted. At the last moment, she instinctively gathered all her remaining magic into her feet.

 

Boom!

 

The ground formed a circular crater, and the mansion’s outer wall couldn’t withstand the impact, causing bricks to fall. Lien quickly reverted the magic throughout her body to shield herself from the falling debris.

 

A brick that struck Lien’s head shattered and bounced away. She didn’t feel any pain, but she rubbed her head out of habit.

 

And then she paused. Her legs were stuck in the ground up to her calves due to the excessive force.

 

“…”

 

The Demon Lord, Planted in the Backyard of the House.

 

Fel landed gracefully in front of Lien, having followed her down just in time. Sitting with a stretched spine and a swaying tail, the meaning behind his actions was clear.

 

“Don’t mock me.”

 

If it were during the time she was still adapting to her new life as the Demon Lord, she might have picked up and thrown Fel. Back then, she had been violent and sensitive, not knowing how to handle her overflowing magic.

 

‘But now I’m an adult.’

 

Things were different now. Thinking calmly, Lien grabbed Fel’s tail. Fel tried to escape swiftly but it was too late.

 

“If you want to play, just say so.”

 

Indeed, this wasn’t out of spite but rather playing with him. Holding the struggling Fel tightly, Lien gently petted him, messing up his fur in the process.

 

Walking out of the ground that she had deliberately messed up even more, Lien spoke kindly.

 

“Fix this back to how it was.”

 

The Demon Lord was the strongest being in Raksia Moon. When the Demon Lord exerted dominance, all demons and monsters, who followed the logic of power, could not disobey.

 

Fel whimpered, rubbing his head against Lien’s hand. His fur sticking up messily made him look even more pitiful.

 

A slight smile almost escaped, but Lien ignored it and put Fel down before walking away.

 

With the sound of his tail tapping the ground behind her, Lien circled around the wall to find the central entrance.

 

Suddenly, her expression sharpened. She sensed the presence of someone other than her group around the mansion.

 

Without hesitation, Lien changed direction and crossed the garden.

 

‘The noise was quite loud.’

 

She expected that a resident of the estate had come to check on the sound of the mansion collapsing. Since the damage was to the interior walls, they wouldn’t know what happened from the outside.

 

‘This house is mine now.’

 

The Duke’s mansion, his lands, all of it.

 

‘Even the humans living here.’

 

Lien’s green eyes shone with a peculiar light. The words ‘mine’ had a pleasing resonance. Perhaps because the heart of a child who lost everything and despaired remained within her, Lien had a subtle obsession and desire for possession.

 

‘They will probably ask who I am.’

 

She imagined the reaction of the person peeking at the house from outside the wall upon seeing her. She even picked her answer.

 

“I am the Demon Lord.”

 

No, that was too objective a fact.

 

“I am your master.”

 

Your life and death all belong to me, and I will exert eternal dominance over you.

 

Yes. This seemed to convey the meaning more clearly.

 

Proud of her chosen words, Lien appeared between the gates where the wall stood. Or rather, where the gate had been. The gate had been gone since she arrived, likely taken by thieves.

 

“….”

 

There was no visitor either. While Lien had been lost in thought and not paying attention to the presence, it seemed they had left.

 

Lien’s shoulders drooped ever so slightly in disappointment.

 

If it were Laspania, she would have immediately noticed and gone to hunt down the vanished visitor. Angrishan would have brought Fel to cheer Lien up, and Fel would have rubbed his cheek against Lien’s hand affectionately.

 

Unfortunately, she had come out alone this time, so none of them were by her side.

 

Instead, Lien was able to regain her wandering thoughts.

 

Perhaps things were not going well because she was empty and confused with the disappearance of her enemies for revenge. After all, this was human territory, not her home base. She had to stay sharp.

 

“I will take over everything.”

 

Lien came up with a very evil plan, one that would surely impress Angrishan.

 

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