Chapter 36: The Demon King
It wasn't long before they found the Demon King's castle.
To be honest, spotting it among his city wasn't that hard. All they needed to do was look for the massive castle of petrified darkness next to the coastal cliff with a dozen or so spires.
Seriously, what the hell was up with the architecture? Momo was pretty sure she had seen this sort of "dark ominous castle" vibe before in some fantasy anime she half-watched as a teenager. So… the question here was if art was imitating life, or was life imitating art?
No time to answer that philosophical question. Melissa was somewhere in there, and she needed to be saved. Looking towards Togata, she asked, "Okay, what's the plan?"
"It'll be easier to avoid capture if we split up into two teams," Togata said. "Our most combat-oriented group goes through the front, everyone else gets the back."
Tsuburaba raised his hand. "Uh, I'm all about getting that backdoor, if you know what I mean –"
"Oh my fucking God," Monoma muttered.
"- but is it a good idea to split up the party? Just asking."
"This place is no doubt guarded," Shoto said. "If our main fighting unit shows up at the front door, the enemy will come for them, making it easier for the second team to sneak in."
Kaibara nodded. "Okay, fair point."
"Alright, once we're past the front, my party will lead the main assault to the Demon King's throne room, where we'll fight him," Togata said. "Everyone else with us will deal with any of his minions that show up, and then proceed to search the castle for your friend."
"Cool. So, who's on what team?" Kirishima asked.
As soon as Momo saw the secondary team leave for the backdoor, she looked back towards who remained here. Aside from Togata's party and Shoto, there was still herself, Monoma, Bakugou, Kodai, and Uraraka. Everyone else had gone with Kendo.
So, while they may have split the two groups evenly, this front door team consisted of the Hero and his allies, along with the most powerful mages in the SREU, Shoto Todoroki, and… herself. Yeah, if Momo of all people was the weak link, then their party was definitely overpowered.
"So, how do we go in?" Kodai asked.
"Wait," Togata said. "Tamaki, what do you see?"
The elf narrowed his eyes, and said, "I see the Chimera, guarding the front gate."
Chimera? Momo had heard that name before when Melissa was battling Usagiyama back in the Saltu Jungle. "Is it a three-headed monster, with each head being a different animal?"
"What? No. He's a demon by the name of Chojuro Con. He has a wolf-like head and body, hands and feet like those of an avian, and a reptilian tail," Togata explained. "He's one of the most dangerous melee fighters alive, and a member of Midoriya's inner circle, a Demon Lord."
Okay, that was somewhat bad news. Melissa had compared Usagiyama to this guy back when they were fighting, which meant that only Togata had a chance of beating him. But the problem with that was that if the two of them started fighting, their cover would be blown.
"Okay, how do we get past him?" Monoma asked.
"I can take care of both him and the front gate," the blue-haired witch, Nejire Hadou, said. "But I'm going to need some kind of diversion to keep the Chimera busy while I work my magic."
"I've got this." Kodai stood up and walked towards the front.
"Kodai, no – Aaaaand, she's gone," Momo sighed.
Chojuro Kon, better known as the Chimera, was bored.
Of all the Demon Lords, he was the one stuck guarding the font gate of the palace. Sure, it definitely beat whatever administrative garbage Nedzu and Shimura did that basically made them glorified governors, but Chojuro was a warrior! He wanted some action!
"Yoo-hoo…"
Hm? Chojuro looked down to see… a black-haired human? What was she doing here? And why was she… looking at him with those kinds of eyes, and… blowing kisses at him?
"Uhh… can I help you –?"
"CATENA DRACO FULGUR!"
The last thing Chojuro Kon saw was white.
Itsuka balanced her way on the rocks, her and the rest of the team trying not to fall down into the sea below them, as they did their best to be as stealthy as possible.
Crouching down right across from the back gate of the castle, she signaled Aoyama for visuals, as the squad's sniper pulled out one of his scopes to get a better look.
"Hmm… no guards," he said. "So, either they're cocky or this is a trap."
"My money's on cocky," Awase said.
Kaibara, meanwhile, chuckled. "Heh-heh. Cock."
"Shut up, all of you," Itsuka ordered. "Okay, we should probably wait for a signal –"
BOOOOOM!
"Like that one?" Rin asked.
"Uh… yeah. That'll do."
It was official in Momo's book: Witches are no joke.
After Kodai's distraction (which was basically just flirting and blowing kisses at the Chimera), Hadou did indeed work her magic. And by magic, it was a lighting-based spell that not only took out the Demon Lord guarding the entrance, but also the front wall of the gate.
Monoma let out a low whistle. "Damn, these guys aren't playing around."
"Yeah, no shit," Uraraka agreed. "I can't even see a burnt corpse."
That was true, Momo couldn't seem to find the charred remains of the Chimera anywhere, which would either mean that he managed to escape or that he was completely atomized.
"Follow us!" Togata said. "His throne room should be in the center of this castle!"
Momo and the others followed Togata through the halls of this fortress. While the walls of this place looked like they were made from obsidian, there were actually plenty of things that betrayed the status of its inhabitant. Floors covered in elegant red carpets, massive golden candelabras that seemed lit with unnatural candles, and marbled columns all around.
"Something's not right," Bakugou muttered. "Where is everyone?"
That was a good question. Despite how massive this castle was, the only person they had seen so far was one of the Demon Lords. Where were the rest of them? Hell, where were the lower-level guards and the maids? And more importantly… Where was Melissa?
"There!" Amajiki pointed to two massive doors. "He must be behind there!"
As it turned out, the elven archer's assessment was accurate, because as soon as they approached the giant doors, they just… opened up… and revealed the throne room.
The room was massive, almost as if it was designed to hold a massive battle within it, rather than a royal court. The darkness seemed to be just as pervasive as it had been for the rest of this godforsaken region, but somehow, Momo could still see in front of her.
And in front of her sat a horned man atop a throne of bones. His clothes were almost as dark as the room itself, only showing a hint of purple to give away their royal origins. Minor golden patterns were on these clothes, making the creature wearing them seem all the more regal. But the black-haired woman knew better. Those red horns that curved upwards, and those glowing green eyes that seemed to be expecting them, showed her that this was no man.
"So… you finally showed up," the Demon King said.
Itsuka and the others moved through the corridors as fast as they could. The distraction provided by the explosion would only last for a few minutes, at best. After that, there was a good chance that the whole castle would be on-guard for any further attacks.
Or, at least, that would be the usual route, if there was actually anyone here.
"Where the hell are all the monsters?" Sato asked.
"It is kinda weird that this place is empty," Komori agreed with him.
"Doesn't matter," Itsuka said. "We need to keep an eye out for –"
The orange-haired woman, along with the rest of her party, came to a halt at one of the larger rooms, as they came across two of the locals. One of them was a woman with red eyes and two horns next to her long, gray hair, while the other was… just a black-haired dude?
"What the hell?" the black-haired guy said. "The JSDF?"
Kirishima blinked. "Wait, that guy knows who we are –?"
"INTRUDERS!" The red-eyed woman, however, wasn't having any of it. Her body began to flare up with red lighting, as she began to chant some kind of spell. "ANTIQUA –"
"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" The black-haired stranger waved his hands around. "Eri, these aren't intruders! I mean, technically they are trespassing, but they're the good guys!"
Yeah, no, it was official: Itsuka didn't know what the fuck was going on.
"DEMON KING!" Togata shouted. "I'VE COME TO FINISH THIS!"
"Oh?" The green-haired demon smiled. "Then let us finish this… HERO!"
The red-horned monster stepped off of his throne, and the battle began immediately. Amajiki launched an arrow from his bow, while Togata immediately charged in.
"VIS CREPITUS!" With a chant and a flick of the Demon King's hand, both the arrow and the Hero were pushed away, in a fashion that made Momo think of that one movie franchise with the space wizards. What were they called again? Jedi? Didn't matter, they were still in a fight!
Togata, however, didn't relent, as he used one of his various Skills to fly straight back towards the viridian-haired monarch, swinging down his sword with a battle cry. "RAAAA—"
"BELLATOR PERFECTUS! CREARE MAIORA ITEM!"
A metallic clang was heard throughout the room, as the Demon King now had in his possession two greatswords, whose hilt decorations were so massive, twisted, and sharp, they made Momo think that they looked more like some fancy short-staffed tridents, rather than swords.
"Not bad," he said, still blocking Togata's latest attack. "Not bad at all."
"GLACIES GLADIO!"
Looking towards the right, everyone saw that Shoto had summoned a sword made of ice into his hand, intending to strike the Demon King from the back. But before he could land a hit, two massive, bat-like wings broke out of his back, knocking Shoto off his balance.
"He was just hiding those under his clothes?!" Monoma shouted.
"MAGICAE SAGITTA!"
Hadou's bolts of color flew from her staff straight towards her target, who jumped up into the air. Momo could definitely see how a flying Demon King was now kind of a problem.
"Great, he's got air superiority!" Bakugou growled.
"Do you all still have the will to fight?" the Demon King asked, as he floated in the air. His response came with a barrage of bullets from Momo and Bakugou, causing him to have to block them with his swords. "I'll take that as a yes. My turn! FLAMMAE GEHENNA!"
In an instant, yellow-and-green flames (with a hint of orange and a few other colors) engulfed the area all around them, temporarily blinding the entire room. Having become adjusted to the darkness of the Demon King's domain, suddenly having these flames appear out of this air was like having a flash grenade go off in the middle of a pitch-black room.
"...Lieutenant? PONYTAIL, OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES!"
"Huh?" Momo opened her eyes to see that the flames were still there, and… Bakugou was in them?! But wait… he was perfectly fine? "What's going on? What happened?"
"These flames are fake!" Uraraka said, walking through them. "An illusion!"
"Our big bad villain used them to flash-bomb us, before grabbing Togata, and flying through the ceiling!" Monoma said, pointing up to the massive hole in said ceiling.
Mirio Togata wasn't sure how it happened.
One second, he was engaged in combat with the Demon King, and then the next, he had been launched out of the castle, and was now flying in the space above it. He remembered the fire, along with the pain of hitting some kind of wall, but that was all. He was here now.
"There. Now we can have a proper fight, without any… distractions."
Right across from him in the sky, he could see Izuku Midoriya staring into his eyes, his dark wings flapping to keep him in flight, and with both of his greatswords still in his hands.
"Amazing. It seems that the sword was not satisfied with my parents."
Was… was that some way for him to try and get sympathy from Mirio?! Outrageous! How many families had the Demon Kings destroyed?! And he was trying to play that card?!
"Don't ever try to paint yourself as the victim here!" Mirio growled, pointing One For All at him. "I know what sort of monsters the Demon Kings are, and I'll make sure your line ends here!"
"You'll try," Midoriya said. "Can I at least know the name of you, new wielder?"
"Mirio Togata," the ninth wielder One For All said. "Now… BLACKWHIP!"
A mass of dark tentacles erupted from Mirio's free hand, heading straight for the Demon King's face and wrapping around his head. The blond clenched his open fist, sending the tendrils, and the Demon King, towards him and his blade. Perhaps I can end this quickly –
No good. Midoriya used his swords to chop the dark tendrils, freeing himself. Trying again, Mirio used Smokescreen, filling the dark skies with the purple mist. A quick direction change from Fa Jin and and overall speed-boost from Greashift sent him towards Midoriya's back, and –
CLANG!
"Nice try," the demon said, blocking the sneak attack. Another swing of his dual swords came, which Mirio only managed to escape with Danger Sense. "You're a novice at this."
Good, he took the bait. Playing dumb, Mirio asked, "What are you talking about?"
"It's clear to me that you have never used your newfound Skills together. You keep switching between them, making your reaction times slow down," Midoriya said. "Pathetic."
"Oh, yeah?" Mirio asked. "Then let's see you do better!"
"Gladly. Watch and learn," the green-haired demon said, as his body began to glow with magic. "Corpus Effulgentis Berylli… Benedictio Magia Caster... Infinitas Wall... Sanctus... Vita Essentiae... Maiorem Potential... Libertas... Falsa Data, Vita... See Per…"
So, that's how he does it, Mirio realized. While the previous Demon King was known for his flashy and devastating attacks, his successor had a more strategic mind. He was casting every sort of defense and buff on himself, stacking them one on top of the other.
All of those last attacks back in his throne room, they were just theatrics! But why? To minimize the damage to his home? Was he just that confident he would survive? Who's to say he wouldn't? With how he was still going, Mirio would need all of One For All's power to…
…wait a minute, that could actually work.
"Paranormalis Intuitio... Major Resistentia…. Chaos Pallium... Indomitabilitas…"
Mirio began to summon Fa Jin within his limbs, while wrapping them with Blackwhip to reinforce his muscles. Looking back at Midoriya, who was still casting more magic on himself, making him even more of an immovable object. Well, two can play at that game, Mirio thought to himself.
It was time to make himself an unstoppable force.
If Mirio's calculations were correct, then One For All wouldn't break from the attack he was preparing. However, that didn't mean Midoriya was gonna give in from it. If he was going to take him down, he needed to apply all the pressure he had on one place.
"Majoris Felicitatis… Potestas Draconica... Maiorem Hardening..."
He's still going? It was hard to believe that someone who physically looked in their twenties had that many spells at his disposal, but that was demons for you. As Midoriya kept enchanting himself, Mirio added Gearshift into the mix, hoping that Skill's speed would tip the scales.
The preparations were almost done. If this was gonna work, Mirio would have to strike at a single point. An attack of this power would usually be devastating, destroying entire mountains, or worse. But that would be a waste of power, all of it needed to go into killing him.
Rather than letting all of the power explode out of him like a waterfall, it would all go into a focused point of Mirio's choosing. He had moved his limbs enough for Fa Jin to be used at its peak, Blackwhip covered his whole body, and Gearshift was ready to go.
He was like a deadly spring. All that was left… was for the ball to be ready.
"Auram Maiorem... Effusio… Penetrare... Magia Clypeus Major... Mana Essentia," the Demon King said, finishing the last of his spell-casting. "There! Now let's see you try and –"
The spring was launched.
"What the hell do we do now?" Bakugou asked.
That was definitely a good question. In all honesty, Momo had no idea. Both their biggest weapon and their main enemy were gone. Maybe Hadou had some sort of spell capable of flight? Could Shoto use his flames to propel himself in the air? Would it even matter?
If this was anything like the movies and books, then the Hero and the Demon King were the only ones who really mattered. The rest of their armies and party members were just extras and side characters to be thrown into the meat grinder by the sadistic writers and authors of those franchises. Having two other combatants up in the sky might only make things worse…
No, the SREU came here for one thing and one thing only: Saving Melissa. While defeating the Demon King would be nice, it wasn't their main mission. Sure, they agreed to help Togata take the guy down, but they were both gone now. If push comes to shove, she and her team could leave Amajiki and Hadou here to take care of the guy if he popped up again, but –
"Momo?"
The black-haired woman, along with everyone else in the throne room, turned around to see… Melissa. But it wasn't just her, it was also the backdoor team, and… "KOTA?!"
"Lieutenant Yaoyorozu?!" the teenager yelped. "You're here, too?!"
"What the…? What are you doing here?! Wait…" Now that Momo was getting a better look at the newcomers, she noticed that Kota wasn't alone. There was some Special Region local with him, and Melissa… was wearing a dress? Okay, best to start with one question at a time.
"Who the hell is the chick with the horns?" Kodai asked.
"Oh, hi, I'm Eri!"
Hadou, meanwhile, was on-guard. "Dragon… that's a dragon…"
"What?!" Monoma exclaimed. "But… she looks like a teenage girl!"
"Of course!" Bakugou snapped his fingers. "She's polymorphed!"
"Wait, she's a polygamist?" Tsubuaraba asked.
"No, you dumbass, he said that she's a polytheist!" Kaibara said.
"Neither of those words you said are what that means, you goddamn pair of bozos!" Bakugou snapped. "She's a shapeshifter! She just looks like a demon right now!"
"Let me guess, you got that from the Monster Manual, as well?" Rin asked.
"It hasn't let me down thus far!"
"Could you all please stop with the nonsense?!" Momo shouted, before rushing over to Melissa. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he? Did he force you to wear this?!"
"What, this?" Melissa gestured to her dress. "This is just my evening wear… wait a minute, back up! What are you doing here, who are these people, and why is there a hole in the ceiling?!"
"Oh, these guys?" Awase asked. "They're Amajiki and Hadou. They're with the –"
POOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
A flash of light hit everyone, as the Demon King's throne was absolutely annihilated. Everyone was blown back by the shockwave of whatever it was that just hit them, and anyone who stared at the intense pillar of light would have been blinded for a few hours after that.
When the lightshow died down, Momo could feel her ears ringing. Standing up from the floor, she looked over to the source of the light, to see a crater had been left, with… a half-naked Togata, smoke coming off of his body, and beneath his foot… was the Demon King.
Or at least, it resembled him.
To be perfectly frank, he was seriously hurt. Aside from the overall burns on his body and the mangled limbs, there was a massive wound running across his chest, from his shoulder, all the way down to his waist. Hell, the slash was so bad, that a closer look revealed to Momo that his insides, specifically his still-beating heart, were completely exposed to the open air.
"Oww…" the demon groaned.
Monoma gasped. "Oh, shit, he's still alive!"
"Time to end this," growled Togata, as he lifted his sword, and –
"NO!"
CLANG!
Before Momo's eyes could even register it, Melissa teleported towards where Togata was, summoned her sword, and was now blocking One For All from finishing off the Demon King. To make this even more insane, her white angelic feathers… began to turn black.
"If you're gonna kill him…" Melissa hissed, "...you're gonna have to kill me, too."
Wait a flipping minute. Momo's brain went into overdrive as she suddenly began to connect the dots. Melissa never confirmed Bakugou's question that her lover was a human. She fell in love with someone that the gods condemned her for, resulting in her status as a fallen angel. The fact that the Demon Lords, a group supposedly taking orders from the Demon King, had one of their members abduct Melissa the second they found her… all of that could only mean…
"TOGATA!" she called out to the Hero. "STAND DOWN!"
"NO! WE HAVE TO KILL HIM, HERE AND NOW –"
POW!
A flying kick to the face knocked Togata off-balance, as everyone looked up to see Eri, now with claws, wings, and a tail, looking utterly pissed. "Stay the fuck away from by big brother."
Momo had no idea how she managed to move that fast, but that clearly showed her that Midoriya was just playing around with them. She needed to resolve this quickly, or else everyone in this room was dead. "Everyone… stand down. That's an order."
Her soldiers hesitated, but after a few seconds, their weapons were lowered. The Hero and his allies had looks of betrayal, but Momo didn't care. "Kodai, help Melissa heal… him."
The black-haired woman nodded, as Melissa simply said, "Thank you."
Thirty minutes later, Izuku Midoriya was healed from his injuries sustained during the fight. His sister also brought some clothes for both him and the half-naked Togata to wear, while Midoriya used the last bit of magic in him to directly translate everything that was being spoken.
"I have to admit, that is quite the handy spell," Momo said, staring off the conversation. "It's definitely more convenient than having to constantly switch between languages."
"Yeah, sure thing," Midoriya said. "Okay, so, for starters, I understand what One For All and his buddies' beef is, but who are you guys? And more importantly, why come after me?"
"Your living shadow abducted our friend!" Komori answered.
"Kurogiri? He told me that he picked Melissa up from some kind of warzone…"
"...That is technically true," Momo admitted. "At the time of the incident, we were wrapping up our fight against the mercenaries. However, it was still wrong of him to do that!"
"Okay, don't blame Kurogiri for that one, that's a bit on me!" Melissa said, her wings still black. "I was just so happy to be with Izuku, that… I kinda forgot to tell you guys that I was okay."
"So, this is the guy you've been banging," Kaibara said.
"Your friend was in league with the Demon King this whole time?!" Togata spat, before looking at Melissa with contempt. "I can't believe you'd betray us to this world's greatest evil!"
"I just can't believe my Monster Manual lied to me!" Bakugou half-joked.
"No, you don't understand! I love him!" Melissa said. "I gave up all I had to be with him!"
"...Is he really that good in bed?" Kodai asked.
Momo's cheeks immediately went red. "KODAI!"
"What? If she's willing to go as far as to be cast out of paradise for this guy, he must be amazing, so who's to say I'm not gonna jump for him, too?" the medic asked.
Bakugou, meanwhile, bonked her on the head. "Down, girl."
Togata looked like he was now having an existential crisis. "Wait, you're not evil?"
Midoriya face-palmed, and sighed. "Of course I'm not evil!"
"But… you're the Demon King."
"Yeah, I'm the guy who's trying to rebuild the crumbling remnants of my parents' crumbling empire!" Midoriya said. "I'm a full-time monarch! I don't have time to be evil!"
"How are you not evil?! YOU LITERALLY SAT ON A THRONE OF BONES!"
"Yeah, wyvern bones!" Midoriya added. "Put to sleep ethically, as their meat was used to feed the poor and their skin was to make quality leather! The only "evil" thing about it is that I didn't waste a single part of the animal! Go on, ask me what happened to the wyvern dicks!"
As Togata remained silent, Hadou asked, "Isn't it kinda offensive towards you?"
"I'm a high dragon, wyverns are lesser dragons! That's like saying an ostrich and a sparrow are the same type of bird!" Eri said, clearly offended. "Or a peregrine falcon and a pigeon!"
Togata, meanwhile, still wasn't convinced. "But… you're a demon."
"And you're a human! But who barged into whose home trying to kill who?! Hmmm?!"
"But… your dad was evil…" Togata whispered.
"Yeah, and my uncle was a Hero! Hell, he was the one who forged your sword!"
"WHAT?! That's impossible! One For All was forged by Yoichi –"
"Yeah, Yoichi Shigaraki, my uncle, and brother of Hisashi Shigaraki, my father!" Midoriya said. "And sure, my dad might have been a prick, but he was still decent enough to adopt my sister after rescuing her from, guess what? Oh, that's right! An evil human!"
"And the other demons that were terrorizing the lands?" Togata asked.
"Former subordinates of my father!" Midoriya said. "I only have three other demons in my direct employment! Everyone else is of a different race! Hell, Hitoshi and Tenko are humans themselves! Or did you just assume that all demons know each other?!"
Ooohhh… Momo internally cringed at that.
Togata was once again stunned into silence, as Midoriya continued. "Look, I get it. My dad was a villain to the rest of the world, but I'm trying to do better. Yes, I might not be perfect, but my imperfect rule is better than just killing me and leaving my country in chaos. Like it or not, demons are here to stay. So, can you at least wait to see what I do before you kill me?"
SLAM!
Before Togata had the chance to answer, the doors were slammed open, as a purple-haired human came in, shouting, "BOSS! WE HAVE TROUBLE!"
"Huh? Hitoshi? What's going on?!"
"CHISAKI IS BACK!"
Author's Note: Yep, the big reveal has happened, and now the big bad has also been revealed! I'll talk about the behind-the-scenes stuff (like the architecture, the throne of bones, and some of the character interactions) later. Right now, comments!
Honey- (Guest): Originally, I was gonna keep the twist a secret up until now, but I added the Melissa scenes to pad out the page length. I'm glad I did it, though, as without them, I wouldn't get such hilarious comments as yours. And while I might not have gone into detail about it here, yeah, Melissa kinda did forget about everyone else (add?).
DarlingSherlock: I will always shout out the commenters (at least when I see them), and I'm glad for your confirmation regarding everyone's favorite explosive magician. Anyways, as much as I would love to claim credit for the eldritch egg joke and your soda-related accident, I can't. I lifted that from the Wizard City episode of Adventure Time: Distant Lands, so, legally speaking, that's their joke, not mine. I will, however, claim credit for you laughing at Melissa and Izuku getting steamy. That was all my idea.
Shiroshio4: In my personal opinion, I might have gone a bit too fast with the Melissa reveal in favor of the verbal smackdown Midoriya gave Togata in this chapter, but I do genuinely hope that whatever meager reactions I wrote are sufficient for you.
valkrus: Busy, huh? Given that you have two whole weeks to reply, I guess that must make you a major workaholic, or something along those lines. Anyways, hopefully, this chapter is also typo-free, but for some reason, I seriously doubt it…
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore