The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

Episode 1: Year 6666

The world didn’t expect anything from me.

It didn’t command me to do anything. Even if I just lay sprawled in bed, it remained silent. A life without expectations. A life without anything special.

That was me, Lee Seo-jun’s life.

[Accepting the “Will of Solomon.”]

[Someone transcends time and space by consuming causality.]

But from that moment, my life became filled with uniqueness.

The Demon World is divided into two.

Specifically, the Solomon Realm and the Adoniya Realm.

The blue-skinned demons of Solomon believed that unnecessary killings offered no benefit, hence they did not threaten other species.

On the other hand, the red-skinned demons of Adoniya harboured desires to destroy all worlds and creatures.

The latter were the real demons, posing a direct threat to Earth.

“Hmm…”

Anyway, after that day, I became the Demon King of the Solomon Realm.

Wearing a black cloak, I sat haughtily on the throne with loyal demons by my side. My status was evident from this.

Explaining how an ordinary person like me became the Demon King would be lengthy. But to put it briefly, it went like this:

I was summoned to this place and appeared on the corpse of a dead Demon King. The demons hailed me as the next Demon King.

After becoming the Demon King, I, along with the demons of Solomon, repelled the pouring monsters from the ‘Solomon Gate’.

While part of my effort was to dispel doubts about my abilities as the Demon King, I also believed that if I achieved something, I could return to Earth.

But even after closing the Gate and bringing peace to the Solomon Planet, I couldn’t return.

Since I’m still here, there’s no need to talk about what followed.

For reference, I haven’t aged since I arrived here.

While demons age very slowly due to the influence of ‘Magi’, I still maintain the appearance of being 25 years old.

I still don’t know why.

So far, my life hasn’t ended, and I live here as the Demon King.

I no longer have a desire to return to Earth.

Even if I went back now, everything I knew would have vanished.

Thus, I tried to find the meaning of life here.

However, despair always followed my every action.

For instance, once I reached a certain level, I couldn’t become stronger anymore. It seemed like it was because my magic power was at zero.

Nevertheless, in this demon world, no one dared to challenge me. However, the fact that I could no longer grow was quite regrettable.

“Well, considering my magic power is 0, it’s quite surprising that I became this powerful on this planet.”

After that, I no longer felt hunger or the need to sleep.

Of course, I could eat and sleep.

But like eyes need darkness to recognize light, without these desires, I felt no pleasure, only emptiness.

“How boring…”

Thus, I have lived for an eternity, filled with monotony.

At one point, I found some amusement by introducing the Korean language to the demon world. Yes, during that time, I felt like King Sejong.

“Your Majesty, would you like to retire to the bedroom with me?”

A seductive voice caught my ear. This beautiful woman named Lezie, with her eyes covered by a black eyepatch and long hair outlining her body, seemed tempting. While I couldn’t feel hunger or the need to sleep, strangely, my sexual desires remained. However, the temporary pleasure couldn’t fill the emptiness of my life. I considered having a child with Lezie, but our different races made it impossible. In hindsight, it was for the best.

“Enough.”

“…Yes.”

From the moment I learned of my situation, my desires slowly vanished. After all, the primary purpose of biological desires is reproduction.

“Your Majesty, how about engaging in a conversation with me?”

An old demon with white hair and skull-like eyes approached. His name was Alter. An incredibly powerful sorcerer, he once satiated my thirst for knowledge.

However, I couldn’t use magic, so even that was short-lived.

“Leave.”

“…Yes.”

My magical power has always been 0, even before coming here.

Of course, Alter deals with the concept of ‘Magi’ since he’s a demon. But for me now, there’s no difference between magical power and ‘Magi’.

For that reason, I moved past that.

“Your Majesty, knowing you might feel this way, I brought a clown.”

This demon, Robert, with fiery red eyes and black hair, was the worst of all. He constantly saved me from the brink of death.

One time I jumped from the clouds to end it, and he caught me. Another time, I tried to drown myself, and I woke up to find him next to me. Once, I tried to slit my throat, and he suddenly appeared from under my blanket. Damn, it felt like a horror scene.

Because of him, I gave up on death.

‘That real demon…’

As I glared at him, Robert hesitated.

“…Shall I send him away?”

He oddly had peach-colored skin. When asked, he said he was a fallen angel.

I took a deep breath.

“No, let him in.”

“Okay.”

Robert smirked, probably plotting something again. However, I was bored, so I allowed it.

A demon man stood in front of me.

I beckoned, “Go on, speak.”

“Yes… Yes…”

The clown exaggeratedly cleared his throat. He then stared at me with a surprisingly determined look.

“Your Majesty, do you know what the king says when he enters the palace?”

“What?”

“It goes ‘gung-sireong gung-sireong.’ Palace… throat… ‘Pal. Ace!’ ‘Pal. Ace!’ … Silent.”

The clown started laughing at his own joke. Only the deflated sound of his laughter echoed through the suddenly cold air.

Soon, Robert burst out angrily, and the demons started to riot.

“What the hell is that nonsense?! How dare you make such a trivial joke in front of the king?!” “Woahhhh!!”

Robert reached out to the clown with his long arm.

“Look at him! Punish that clown immediately!”

“Wait.”

I raised my hand to stop him. The room became silent. I calmly assessed,

“It was funny.”

“Fu…funny?” Robert looked shocked.

It wasn’t that I was trying to help, but it was genuinely funny. I didn’t laugh out loud, but after hearing devilish jokes all the time, an earth-style joke felt refreshing.

Robert hesitated, then decisively pointed at the clown.

“Promote that clown to the top clown of Solomon’s demon realm now!”

“Woahhhh!! Top clown!!”

‘They’re crazy.’

It used to be fun teasing them like this. Now, only sighs came out.

“Clown! Clown!”

“Hahaha! Thank you!”

The clown eventually left to the cheers of the demons.

Ugh, how long do I have to do this?

Maybe I should try suicide again soon. Robert might be off guard. As I was deep in thought, Robert quietly approached.

“Your Majesty, I’m glad the small gift seemed to amuse you.”

“…Gift?”

Looking puzzled, Robert cleared his throat humbly.

“Yes. After today, it will be 6666 years since the Demon King descended. You always told us not to fuss, but it seemed too sad to just let it pass without acknowledgment…”

“6666 years…”

Looking up, I saw a round window on the ceiling.

When the red full moon floating in the sky aligns with that window, a day has passed. Meaning, it’s almost 6666 years since I’ve been here.

‘6666 years…’

It’s been a long time.

Lezie and Alter bowed slightly.

“Your Majesty, all we can offer is our modest physical form, and we apologize.”

“All I have is humble knowledge, and I deeply regret it.”

…Is that so?

It’s not just about their physical and knowledge forms. I wonder if they really feel that way or if they’re just being humble in front of me…

The pale moonlight touched my smile.

“Thank you.”

Robert and Alter’s eyes widened, and Lezie’s lower lip quivered. They silently bowed their heads.

I looked at the window on the ceiling, and they quietly followed my gaze.

…. Time flows.

The jade throne began to radiate a reddish glow.

It was quieter than ever before, so quiet that even the sound of moonlight seemed audible.

A reddish hue gradually cast over my face.

The time was approaching, marking 6666 years.

Swish.

Finally, the Red Moon settled into the window.

It was beautiful and distant. While I was still lingering here, time never stayed in the same space.

As I stared into the distance,

[[You have survived for 6666 years on Solomon Realm. Would you like to return to Earth?]

A system window suddenly appeared.

…It was the ‘blue window’ I hadn’t seen since I was summoned here.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and looked again.

Yet the window still hovered.

‘Can I really… go back?’

I had decided long ago that if I could go back, I would.

Even though much time has passed and even if the people of that place are all dead, I wanted to wither away in my homeland with them.

This desire still hasn’t changed.

But why the hesitation? Is it because I thought it was an illusion? Or…

“Your Majesty, congratulations on the 6666th anniversary of your descent.”

“…Thank you.”

The moment I responded hesitantly to Robert’s congratulations,

[Returning to Earth]

Zzzzzz一

Without resistance,

Bright beams poured out of my body.

Distant light streaks webbed across my vision, and my physical body faded to mere particles.

“““Your Majesty!!”””

I heard desperate calls as I vanished,

But I had already completely disappeared from the jade throne.

[Calculating your achievements over 6666 years on Solomon’s planet.]

[Successfully survived for 6666 years on Solomon’s planet]

[Successfully dissolved Solomon’s Realm’s Gate]

[Checking all achievement rates. Calculating causality rate…]

[Calculating causality rate…]

[Using the causality rate to transcend spatial rate.]

[Space transcending complete]

[All causality rates consumed to grant a power rate of 1.]

[‘Demon King of Solomon’ obtained]

……,

[‘Robert’s Knowledge’ obtained]

[‘Lezie’s Insight’ obtained]

[‘Alter’s Understanding’ obtained]

[‘Solomon’s Demon King, Lee Seo-Jun’ is returning to Earth】

(To be continued in the next episode)