The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death

Grant, the previous generation's Demon King, currently appeared to be in a state where only his soul existed. Although he had parted with Heris's body, his feet remained inside Heris's body.

"You are right in that I did not expect this generation's Demon King to have appeared already…but no matter. So long as I kill you, nobody will find out that the new Demon King has already appeared," Grant said.

However, Alice didn't show much reaction even when she heard that Grant intended to kill her. If the other party truly intended to kill her, he would've done so already. After all, she was currently pinned down by his powerful gravity magic and could put up no resistance whatsoever. Even an ordinary person could just walk up to her and choke her to death with their bare hands right now. Yet, Grant did not kill her.

"You have nothing but your soul left, yet you are still thinking of making trouble?"

"It is because I have nothing but my soul that I prepared all of these things," Grant said, grinning. As he spoke, the clarity of his hazy body gradually increased. Now, it was even possible to see the expressions on his face. Then, pointing at the black crystal behind him, Grant continued, "Who do you think left this radioactive crystal here? Of course, it is I, the previous generation's Demon King.

I created this crystal to drive away ordinary demons and house my soul. Then, once I attached my soul with the crystal…all I needed to do was wait for a worthy prey to appear."

"You hid your soul inside that crystal?" Alice was stunned. "You mean Heris only got possessed because she approached Demon King City?"

"That's right. I already sensed your presence when you two were approaching the city. Although you two haven't entered the radiation zone yet at the time, my possession ability extends far beyond the radiation zone. Hence, I had already occupied this girl's body long before you even realized it," Grant said, seemingly elated to explain these things to Alice.

Then, Grant frowned and continued, "After possessing her body, I quickly read her memories and found out the purpose of your visit. Then, to prevent you from becoming a hindrance, I planted gravity magic into those anti-radiation magic stones in preparation to contain you. But who knew you would use all those magic stones on a mere Milu Rabbit…"

Alice grew a little embarrassed when she heard Grant's words. However, it didn't matter even if she unintentionally foiled the former Demon King's initial trap. Grant still ended up imprisoning her with even stronger gravity magic. Though, when Alice heard that Heris had only become possessed when they were approaching Demon King City, she couldn't help but sigh in relief. After all, if Grant had possessed Heris's body since the beginning, it would mean that an old man had been taking advantage of Alice all this time.

"This little girl named Heris has the blood of one of the Four Heavenly Kings. She has a considerable reserve of mana in her body, and it just so happens that I can use it to restore my soul... As long as I restore my soul to a certain degree, it can start interfering with reality, and I will have more ways to recreate my body."

Grant was like a talkaholic. He revealed his entire plan even though Alice didn't ask him about it. In this respect, he was more villainous than any of the villains described in the novels Alice had read.

"Although I won't regain the Demon King's Power even if I recreate my body, it doesn't matter. The foundations of my soul remain. So long as I fully restore my soul, I can return to my peak strength before I died. At that time, I will still have absolute dominance over the demon realm."

Indeed. As a former Demon King, Grant undoubtedly had strength surpassing the Four Heavenly Kings when he was still alive. Even if he would have difficulty improving himself without the Demon King's Power's support, so long as he managed to restore his strength, he could still reign over the demon realm with an iron fist.

However, Grant had also revealed another important piece of information.

He can start interfering with reality once he restores his soul to a certain degree? Does that mean he can't interfere with reality right now?

After carefully thinking about it, Alice found that it was indeed the case. Grant had not personally cast any of the gravity magic he had used thus far. Instead, he relied on mediums such as the anti-radiation magic stones and the five crystals in the main hall.

Thinking up to this point, Alice realized that Grant wasn't leaving her alive because he didn't wish to kill her immediately. Instead, he was doing so because he lacked the means to kill her right now.

"Why are you telling me all these?" Alice said before resting her chin on the ground. Her neck had started feeling a little sore after keeping her head up all this time. "Shouldn't these plans be important secrets to you?"

"I can't help it. I have been staying in this black crystal by myself for almost three hundred years now. I'm already dying of boredom."

Upon hearing Alice's words, Grant deeply sighed like a frustrated middle-aged office worker. Then, he began complaining, "Do you know how much of a torture it is to be alone in a dark space for hundreds of years? I nearly went insane after all these years! I could get whatever I wanted when I was the Demon King, yet I had to stay stuck in this place for three hundred years all by myself! Now that I finally have the chance to speak to someone, what's wrong with talking a little?!"

After saying so, Grant took a deep breath to calm himself. Then, he coldly looked at Alice and said, "Also, you'll be dying later anyway. So what if I tell you my plans now?"

"That makes sense. It is true that I don't have any means of resistance right now."

After pondering for a moment, Alice finally understood why Grant was so talkative. It wasn't because the former Demon King had a talkative personality, but rather because he had grown a little bored after being alone for a long time. So, he couldn't wait to find topics to talk about. Since that was the case, Alice decided to go along with the flow and ask a few more questions. At the same time, she could also use this time to think of a solution for her current predicament.

"You say that your soul has been residing in that black crystal for three hundred years. Does that mean the previous generation's Hero didn't finish you off completely?"

"Hmph, the previous generation's Hero was a little girl just like you. That girl didn't have any means to destroy my soul, so she sealed me using the taboo War God's Lock instead," Grant said with a contemptuous smile.

"However, War God's Lock is a spell targeted towards the flesh. So, when my physical body lost its vitality and died, the taboo's effects also disappeared, and my soul gained its freedom. I have always been a prudent person as well. Before departing for my decisive battle with the Hero, I had already arranged these things in Demon King City should I ever lose the fight."

"I see. So your soul didn't get extinguished." Alice nodded. Then, she looked at the unconscious Heris, who currently wore a pale complexion, and said, "According to your previous statement, Heris's mana should be more than enough for you to resurrect yourself. I remember hearing that one of the Four Heavenly Kings previously visited this place, so why didn't you try to possess his body?"

"A person with too much mana is no good, either. My soul is in a relatively weak state. If I tried to possess that guy's body, it might backfire on me instead. So, I needed to wait for someone with a lot of mana, but not too much, just enough for me to restore my soul," Grant said.

Looking down at Heris, Grant continued, "As a side note, you probably won't be able to guess why this fellow would be willing to come all the way to Demon King City. Apparently, her household has a diviner, and this diviner divined that Demon King City would welcome the birth of the Demon King today. But divination magic…most people just treat it as entertainment. So, nobody else in her household paid any attention to the divination. Only this little fellow believed it and came running to Demon King City to witness the Demon King's birth."

After saying so, Grant couldn't help but chuckle.

"But this divination might not be wrong, either. So long as I absorb this girl's mana and restore my soul, a Demon King would indeed be born. Or maybe it'd be more appropriate to say that a Demon King would be resurrected?"

"Tsk, going by that logic, if I get rid of you today, that divination would still be correct," Alice said. When she thought about how Grant had mistaken her as the new Demon King, she couldn't help but voice a retort.

"Yes. If you can get rid of me, you will be the next Demon King and fulfill this divination as well," Grant said. Then, he looked down at Alice and continued, "But do you have a way out of your current predicament?"