Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

Before his orders could linger, Ifrit struck his fists against each other, his eager steps echoing as he led the march.

'Can't he feel fear, or does he love burning things that much?'

A wry smile stretched his lips as he followed with the other subjects.

Unlike the fiery-tempered Ifrit, they all scanned the area warily, noticing the sparse torches flickering with the whistling wind to illuminate the winding underground and the rubble covering the floor.

Amidst his observation, the noise of fabric rustling against skin entered his ears. Turning to see what caused it, his eyes narrowed at the two creatures holding their heads a few meters in front.

"What's happening?"

The question burned his lips as he scanned their bodies, noticing their smooth skins, the few scales covering them, and their reptilian faces... but also the green flames coursing through their bodies.

"They're trying to resist the demonification process."

Wukong shook his head behind him as his voice echoed, its tone strangely down.

"I doubt they'll endure for long. The most terrifying thing about demonic energy is that it can contaminate beings so long as enough is poured into them. Opposing it? It's not impossible in theory but in practice? Only a few possess hearts strong enough to refuse the allure of power while suffering."

He grumbled at the explanation, and Wukong's twisted lips yet felt nothing for the kobolds.

Demonised or not, they came here to claim the mine and riches they accumulated. To show empathy here would sound like a hypocritical joke, especially when they became a threat to his territory.

His eyes narrowed, and his heart hardened as he repeated his commands and swung his arm.

"Kill on sight."

His short sword cleaved through the air in a silver blur to show the example as he looped their heads off without hesitation.

Despite the pungent smell replacing the runnel's damp air, he picked up the two corpses and threw them at the entrance before continuing.

His demonic subjects cracked their fingers and gripped their weapons, raring to go, and followed behind in a tight formation.

Soon, the tunnel enlarged and led them to a circular contraption in the mountain's belly.

"I'm the strongest now! I'll become a dragon!"

"Fool! We'll all become demonic dragons and soar to the sky! Hahaha!"

He saw two dozen demonised kobolds hunching their backs and roaring like madmen.

But the most unsettling thing that forced his brows to furrow was their hulking size compared to the two he had beheaded earlier.

Despite his confusion, he shook his head.

'The reason doesn't matter. The demonic energy just acted as a catalyst to trigger their evolution to a new... unholy path.'

He shoved his thoughts away, believing his theory to be correct and raised his blade in a silent command to eviscerate the enemy.

Ifrit lunged first, the two embers burning in his eyes igniting in a delighted inferno.

The flames licking his arms came to life, burning with furious intensity and causing the surrounding temperature to increase by a few degrees as he swung them despite the distance. Continue reading at m|v-l'e m,p| y- r

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Bright orange flames escaped his palms as he bombarded the poor kobolds.

"ARGH!"

"How can I burn when I'm both a demon and a dragon?"

Even as a sea of flames engulfed them and charred their bodies, the mad kobolds ignored the damage they sustained, more preoccupied with how great they became.

Then, they turned as one and observed his group as the scent of their burning flesh filled the area... with smirks that sent shivers down his spine.

"He's here! The bastard who sullied our ancestors' bloodline! Kill! Kill him to get more power from the demon king!"

'When did I sully anything? These fools are more crazy than I thought! Try to extinguish the flames instead of spouting nonsense!'

He roared in his mind, the surreal scene annoying him.

Without wasting a second and his commands to kill them clear, he dashed through the flames, the heat unable to pierce through the scarlet scales covering his tough skin. He beheaded the pest who accused him randomly first and watched how his subjects handled the fight in interest.

Bart, Garduck, and the Asura followed, their sword and axe whistling in dark and silver blurs with each swing.

He nodded at their fighting styles, noticing how close they stuck, ready to support each other.

Luna overlooked everything from behind with Ondine, ready to use their demonic energy to help their melee fighters if danger threatened them.

Then... he almost choked on his saliva as he watched the six kids running and screaming as if they were playing a game.

"Ahhh! A demonic kobold tried to touch a succubus. You're almost there. You only need to be a little faster! Hahaha!"

"Bro! That was my prey! Why are you ruining my fun?"

"Ayaya! Big brother is frowning at us. Act serious for a minute, then play again when he's not looking."

His brows twitched, and his tone hardened like that of a genuine brother worrying for his unruly siblings as he scolded them amidst the chaos.

"I didn't ask everyone to fight in a team for fun but for your safety! Even if they look weak, they're all evolved creatures. A single strike from them can wound or even kill you! So, return behind Garduck, Bart, and the Asura and learn from them."

Then he turned to Garduck, who had trained him for a few days and commanded.

"Garduck! You're now the territory military instructor. Train the kids before they die or worse, make someone else die because they can't stay in formation."

With a nod, Garduck cleaved another kobold in halves and answered, "It's an honor, my lord."

In a brief two minutes, they had eviscerated every creature, leaving blood, guts, and charred bodies behind their passage.

'And that's only because we're saving our strength. If Luna and I joined in or if the kids didn't fool around, we could have ended things in thirty seconds. Wukong didn't fight either, but he doesn't need to.'

The most important thing was for the monkey king to get the experience points and recover his strength. Once he did, he would have a supreme fighter no one could stop. Anyway, he had stated that he wouldn't follow commands. Therefore, ordering him would only sour their relationship.

'He'll fight if he wants to. I don't believe he'll give up on us if things go south, though.'