We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Puppet King.
“Elin, stop it. Your selfish puppet show is over, isn’t it?”
“Fufu. Fufufu.”
The Puppet King, with a sword at my throat. Yet, he remained seated on his throne with a serene smile.
“Puppet King. Even you are not permitted to sit on that throne.”
Then, the Verdant Demon Lord also approached the throne.
Of course, carried by the Yoguades Doll.
The Yoguades Doll bringing the Verdant Demon Lord to the side of the Puppet King meant that the Puppet King himself had permitted the Demon Lord’s approach.
Confronted by both myself and the Verdant Demon Lord, the Puppet King looked up at us from his seated position. Then, he slowly rose from the throne.
“Indeed. This chair is too constricting for me. Please, Your Majesty.”
And, with an almost overly polite gesture, he yielded the throne to the Verdant Demon Lord.
Supported by the Yoguades Doll, the Verdant Demon Lord slowly sat down on the throne.
“!”
It was then.
An unprecedented killing intent filled the throne room, amidst the battle between dozens of Yoguades Dolls and Cadis Dolls.
Immediately after.
I instinctively swung my white sword!
The clash of blades, a furious and sharp slicing sound, echoed through the throne room.
“Cadis! …Are you the real one!”
What my white sword blocked was a magic sword burning with scorching flames. The person wielding it suddenly sprang from the smoldering flames near the throne and lunged to attack the standing Puppet King’s neck.
My white sword, as a result, saved the Puppet King’s life.
And the person who aimed for the Puppet King’s life with the scorching magic sword was undoubtedly the real Cadis!
He overwhelms others with killing intent alone and demonstrates his existence with immense magic power.
“Ah, I see. The Puppet King can create dolls, but he cannot create magic swords, so I should have distinguished the real one from the fakes by the authenticity of the magic sword? But the magic swords held by the Cadis dolls that appeared in the throne room all seemed to have the same performance… you were lurking in the flames from the beginning, waiting for an opportunity to strike down the Puppet King!!”
I pushed back the scorching magic sword! Both Cadis and the Verdant Demon Lord marveled at me, who did not yield even an inch in physical strength against a Great Demon. The real Cadis, his scorching magic sword repelled, jumped backward, as if to escape my range. He then surveyed those assembled, his expression contorting grumpily.
“How disgustingly vulgar. Not only my fake dolls, but even at this late stage, you’ve prepared new fake Yoguades, and old ones at that.”
Cadis’s gaze was directed at the Verdant Demon Lord seated on the throne.
Cadis seems to have determined that the Verdant Demon Lord is a fake. It’s understandable, for Cadis wore the genuine “Soul Spirit Seat” at his waist. He defeated the Verdant Demon Lord who possessed the Soul Spirit Seat, and took it. Therefore, Cadis believes the person on the throne cannot be the real Verdant Demon Lord.
But that is wrong.
“My immature son.”
The Verdant Demon Lord met Cadis’s gaze with eyes that showed no emotion. He then sighed in disappointment.
“The Soul Spirit Seat is a mark of a Demon Lord. However, I entrusted it to a doll. The one you defeated was a doll; I am the true Demon Lord.”
“Such nonsense, I won’t believe it!”
Cadis’s outcry is understandable. After all, there are countless Yoguades Dolls and Cadis Dolls in this throne room. Even now, the two types of dolls are fiercely fighting each other, as if to destroy one another. Cadis glared at the Verdant Demon Lord with eyes filled with killing intent.
“If you are the real one, show me proof. I can no longer tolerate the Puppet Duke’s vulgar games. If you are the real one, then show me proof. And if you are indeed real, I will defeat you this time!”
“Very well. Then I shall show you proof. But even if you defeat me, you will not be able to govern this country, my immature son.”
Saying so, the Verdant Demon Lord dug his sharp claws into his arm, making a wound in his skin. Despite his age, his skin, still supple, tore, and bright red blood spilled out.
“Dolls do not bleed. This blood is the proof that I am myself.”
Indeed, the dolls we had seen until now did not bleed from their cuts or wounds. So, this is another way to distinguish dolls from the real thing.
Cadis, seeing the blood flowing from the Verdant Demon Lord’s arm, tightened his grip on the scorching magic sword.
“Then, the one who has been sitting on that throne all along…!”
“Yes. It was my doll.”
The Verdant Demon Lord nodded deeply at Cadis’s retort. And what that meant was…
“Fufu. Fufufu.”
The Puppet King, who had ceded the throne, smiled delightedly beside the Verdant Demon Lord.
“You mean to say you’ve been deceiving and making fools of us all this time!!”
Cadis, wreathed in scorching flames, lunged forward as if to cleave through both the Verdant Demon Lord on the throne and the Puppet King beside him. I flashed my white sword, meeting the furious Cadis’s sword head-on! Cadis’s fierce and refined swordplay assaulted me, and I repelled it with a one-handed Dragon Sword Dance. The sound of slashing swords echoed, and flames danced. The aftershock of the scorching magic sword set several nearby dolls ablaze. But it was no match for me!
The Verdant Demon Lord, once a swordmaster, had a specially made Yoguades Doll modeled after his younger self, who was a terrifying sword wielder. However, compared to that special Yoguades Doll, Cadis’s swordsmanship was immature, not even measuring up to Ruilala. Therefore, I had no reason to fall behind!
Up until now, what Cadis, his own son, and his vassals had seen was a fake Verdant Demon Lord created by the Puppet King. Cadis, enraged upon learning this and feeling he had been toyed with, unleashed a furious sword attack imbued with layers of emotion and killing intent. But it was no match for me. Cadis’s sword, swung to strike down both the Verdant Demon Lord and the Puppet King, was blocked by me, further fueling his rage. Seeing this, the Puppet King laughed gleefully.
“Fufufu. Well then, shall we have it answered soon?”
Smiling with a girlish expression, the Puppet King watched the enraged Cadis and me facing off.
“It doesn’t matter who answers. Well then, let me ask you again. Why am I widely known as the ‘Puppet King’ and not the ‘Puppet Duke’?”
This was one of the questions the Puppet King posed to us. Why was Errinberyl, a Primogenitor Race member who was not a Demon Lord, referred to as the “Puppet King”? At first, we thought it was because he was the “King of Dolls” who could create and manipulate them freely. However, that was incorrect.
Then why is Errinberyl called the “Puppet King” by the demon race? It’s because…!
“I have no need for such foolish talk! No matter what you are called, it will all be settled if I defeat you and Yoguades here and now!”
Shouting, Cadis unleashed a massive torrent of flames! Giant embers engulfed the dolls fighting in the throne room. The dolls, burning and moving erratically, yet still fighting, presented a strange sight. But only the Puppet King narrowed his eyes, smiling contentedly at the mad stage. The Puppet King, to the very end, saw everything as just a “puppet show.” Therefore, the chaotic battle between the Yoguades Dolls and Cadis Dolls, and Cadis’s own destruction and slaughter, were all just part of the play’s direction.
The burnt-out dolls collapsed to the floor in ruined heaps. And the giant, scorching embers that had consumed the dolls now threatened to engulf us as well!
“I won’t let you!”
I performed my Dragon Sword Dance. My right hand held the white sword, my left hand was empty, but imbued with Dragon Energy to my fingertips, I sharpened my consciousness. With graceful movements, unlike Cadis’s aggressive ones, I swung my white sword. And so, I entwined and captured the powerful magic-infused flames. I focused, feeling the Dragon Energy. I read the Dragon Vein. I untangled the flow of magic emanating from Cadis. Then, I altered the flow of flames, which held hostility and murderous intent, and gently pushed them aside. The scorching flames, caught by the Dragon Sword Dance, swirled and dispersed as they were batted away.
“!”
Cadis glared fiercely at me with eyes burning with scorching flames.
“You think you can deflect my magic with mere tricks!!”
And, channeling more magic, he unleashed his spell. The magic sword shining with scorching heat, and the swirling magic. But, having begun the Dragon Sword Dance, I incorporated all of it as fuel for my dance. Just as the Puppet King treated everything as a “stage for a puppet show,” I incorporated everything Cadis did into the “direction of my Dragon Sword Dance.” Cadis’s swordsmanship and magic, now a part of my Dragon Sword Dance, were under my control. Cadis tried desperately to overcome my Dragon Sword Dance, but it was useless now, no matter what he did. Moreover, Cadis, who fled from the Puppet King’s question, could gain nothing and achieve nothing!
“Cadis. You certainly possess the power of a Great Demon. But that’s all! Seeing you face-to-face like this, I’ve realized it. You lack the capacity to be the Demon Lord who could rule this country!”
“A mere human like you!”
I swept aside Cadis’s blade with a shout and counterattacked. Cadis retreated. I took a step forward and said, “Errinberyl, who existed as the Puppet Duke in the Verdant Demon Lord’s country. Why is it that you are widely called the ‘Puppet King’ by the demon race? It’s because…”
Struck by the fierce slashes of my white sword, Cadis was repelled. Flames scattered, and Cadis, outmatched in swordsmanship, fell to one knee. I pointed the tip of my white sword at Cadis and voiced the answer to the Puppet King’s question.
“The Verdant Demon Lord had grown old and had already lost his power as a Demon Lord. However, the demon race’s country was in dire need of a ‘Demon Lord’.”
A country without a Demon Lord inevitably falls into ruin. The eastern part of the Verdant Demon Lord’s domain was once the country ruled by the Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla. However, Kusharilla was deposed and relocated to the southwest of the demon race’s cultural sphere. The eastern lands, left without a Demon Lord, became desolate and lawless. If the Giant Demon Lord hadn’t become the new ruler, it might have become a barren land by now. The Verdant Demon Lord had always recognized the importance of the existence of a “Demon Lord.” Therefore, even after losing his power as Demon Lord, he did not leave the Demon Lord’s seat vacant. However, a Demon Lord without power is always defeated.
“I don’t know what happened between the Verdant Demon Lord and the Puppet King in the past. The Verdant Demon Lord, to avoid leaving the Demon Lord’s seat vacant, relied on Duke Errinberyl, the Puppet Duke. And he had a puppet sit on the country’s throne in his weakened stead.”
One would not normally realize it was a fake Demon Lord if it wore the Soul Spirit Seat. However, the high officials who had served the Verdant Demon Lord since long ago noticed. They realized that the Demon Lord on the throne was a doll created by the Puppet Duke.
“It was Duke Errinberyl, the Puppet Duke, who governed this country using a doll in place of the Verdant Demon Lord. Therefore, one of the high officials who knew this fact must have been the first to call him the ‘Puppet King,’ not as a Demon Lord but as the de facto king of this country. And eventually, it spread among the demon race. Isn’t that right?”
The Verdant Demon Lord nodded quietly at my deduction. The Puppet King smiled joyfully, saying, “That is correct.”
“Therefore, Cadis, even if you defeat the doll that served as a substitute for the weakened Demon Lord, the high officials of this country will not pledge loyalty to you! Moreover, defeating the Puppet King will not allow you to govern this country!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!!”
Cadis retorted.
“Yoguades, who wore the Soul Spirit Seat, was a doll? Even if that were true! If I defeat the Puppet King, who is the mastermind behind it all, my power will be demonstrated! For I will defeat the true king who served as the Demon Lord’s substitute!”
The Verdant Demon Lord judged that Errinberyl could support this country in his stead, so he had his own doll created and entrusted it with governance. If so, defeating the Puppet King, who created the substitute doll, would demonstrate his power as the new Demon Lord, the new ruler of the country. It might make sense. But Cadis was, as always, mistaken.
“You’re wrong, Cadis. More accurately, you, who are adept at fire magic, cannot govern this country.”
“A mere human like you denies me!”
