All Hail the Demon King - Chapter 2

The secretaries were all speaking excitedly when such an announcement came out. The Demon King was dead? What did that even mean? The war between the human and demon realm had been going on since before I was born. Through that time, the ever-present Demon King existed and sought to make the lives of every human being miserable. His death would the biggest event in a thousand years.

“Quick, check your phones!” One of the secretaries cried out.

I didn’t have a phone, as if my aunt would ever pay for such a thing. Thankfully, one of the secretaries started playing the news loudly, and I could at least hear what was being said.

“Yes, I repeat, the government has officially announce that the Demon King is dead. After a long and grueling battle, Heroine Adora proved victorious in battle. Her currently location is only known to a few select government officials, but we can confirm the Demon King has fallen. No, let us switch to our Demon War analyst, what does this mean for the future of the human race? Is it too soon to celebrate?”

Another voice began speaking after a brief pause. “I don’t think it’s too soon to start celebrating. This war has already gone on for one thousand years. There have been twelve demon kings over that time, each one reigning for nearly one hundred years. Each time a Demon King is defeated, there is a period of time where the demon realm becomes quiet. This makes it prime time to retake lost human land, mine the demon realm for resources, and recuperate. It’s been nearly sixty years since the last time we got such a period, so we should take advantage of it.”

“Is there no hope we can invade and end the war for good?” The other voice asked.

“The death of the demon king created a power vacuum. The demons will be fighting amongst themselves until a new power arises. This power restructuring means they won’t be openly focused on the conflict against humans. However, if we push the demon realm too hard, they wont sit back. A new power will rise more quickly and we may even experience severe retaliation if we push too hard. We would also lose out on such a period, which usually includes an economic boon.”

“Economics! We’re talking about the chance to end a war! There are a million deaths  over the course of this war, at a minimum.”

“The Prime Minister will need to consider this all very carefully before making his decision. He was elected on an economy first platform though. He never promised an end to the war, and a pro-war stance may not even be what his voters asked for.”

“P-pro-war! It’s not… I mean… is it possible to negotiate a peace treaty with the demons?”

“Anything is possible.” The other one responded. “Many demons are simply too different from humans to possibly coexist. Such a treaty was attempted once before six hundred years ago. The demons required regular sacrifices, and every year the amount demanded increased until it became untenable. Don’t forget, many demons require humans as food, reproductive fodder, or even resources. One thing is certain though, they’d need to collect under a new Demon King first before we could try negotiating with them.”

“I see… thank you for your analysis. It seems like there is some joy to be had, but we must remember that this war is still far from being over…”

The man continued to talk, but the secretaries had lost interest and were now excitedly babbling to each other. They were mostly talking about how they were going to party that night. There was a lot of talk about going out to the bar and drinking. I felt a bit unhappy. I wasn’t old enough yet to drink, but I knew that was what my aunt would be doing. That meant there would be no food at home tonight. I couldn’t help but let out an annoyed sigh.

At that point, the door to the Principal’s office opened and principal Serrice came out again. I immediately watched her face to see if she was angry. How much she made my life miserable depended on her attitude. However, the expression on her face was hard to read. She wasn’t angry, but her brow was furrowed and she seemed to be lost in thought, her hands crossed under her breasts. She glanced to the side where she saw me sitting there.

“You should be in class!” She barked, but when I opened my mouth to protest, she shook her head. “It’s fine. I have a new student. She happens to be in your class. You can guide her to the proper classroom. I have some phone calls I need to make.”

With that, she spun, her high heels clicking as she entered back into her office and closed the door. It was only then that I noticed the girl that had been standing next to her. She was my age, with blonde hair and perfect skin. I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was extremely beautiful, and she gave off a gentle aura. She wasn’t smiling, but she seemed somewhat nervous. When I realized I had been staring at her, I jerked upright and stood.

“Ah! S-sorry… the Principal just caught me off… um… hello!” I held out my hand, immediately realizing I was being dumb.

The girl looked at my hand, and then a moment later she reached out and took my hand. Her fingers were soft and small, but they also could feel callouses on her fingertips.

“H-hi.” She spoke shyly, and I realized again I was holding her fingers too long.

My hands let go of hers like I had been shocked, and my face turned red. “My name is Set.”

“R-rea.” She responded, pushing back her hair.

“You’re new?” I asked, immediately regretting my clumsiness.

I knew that she was new. That was the only reason we were even talking.

“Y-yeah… I heard the principal say you were late?”

I put my hand on the back of my neck. “Ah, you heard that? It was just an accident. This school takes tardiness really seriously, so you definitely should be here on time.”

“I’ll remember that.” She responded, and when a silence started to form between us. “Shouldn’t we be going?”

“Right!” I jerked away from her, realizing I was staring again. “I’m sorry, it’s just… you seem a bit familiar.”

“That’s…” For the first time, I saw her look a bit flustered. “I don’t know why that would be. I’ve never been here before.”

“Oh…” I responded, laughing slightly as we left the office. “You just look like one of those heroines.”

“Why do you say that?” She suddenly stopped, reaching out and grabbing my hands.

“Um… you’re really pretty like most of them.” When I realized what I said, I shook my head. “I mean, I know you’re not! They all go to that special school, and it’s an all-girls school!  A heroine would never be at a school like this right?”

“Oh,” She stared at me for another second, and then let go of my hands so we could continue walking. “You’re right… sorry…”

“Then again, with the demon king dead, is that school even necessary anymore?”

“It is…” She spoke quietly, looking away from me. “There will be another Demon King.”

“Right, I did hear that, but in like ten years, right?”

“I’m not so sure…”

“What?”

She stopped again, looking back at me. “You said I was pretty.”

“Ah! Did I? Haha… I didn’t mean to! No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I do think you’re pretty… haah… that’s not, I’m not… we’re not…”

“Can you… show me around town?” She asked.

“I’m sorry, what?” I barely heard her as I was still talk to myself.

“I’m new to more than just this school.” She spoke, sounding a bit sullen. “I’d like to… go out, at least once.”

“O-out… like… like… yes! Yes, we can go! We can go to-” I stopped as I started leading her to the exit. “We’re in school, we need to finish school first. However, later… um… 6:30?”

She tilted her head and nodded. “6:30.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. Not only was there a new girl this year who was cute, but she also asked me out on a date! She didn’t have enough time to realize I was kind of a loser in school. I nearly skipped for joy as I lead her the rest of the way down the hallway. Addy followed after me, her expression difficult to read.

When we reached class, it was already in the middle of a lecture and we could only take our seats. I went to my usual seat where Addy was given a new seat. Regrettably, it was nowhere near mine. Her appearance certainly caused a lot of whispering, and me arriving with her also caught a lot of eyes.

“Hey, Set, what’s with the new girl?” The guy next to me pinched my arm painfully to get my attention.

“Ah… what?” I glared at him, rubbing my arm. “She’s a new girl. We’re going out.”

He gave a laugh and a look of disbelief, “No, really.”

“It’s true!”

“If you’re not going to tell the truth, at least don’t make up stupid lies.”

He kicked my leg from under the desk, and it hurt, but I still couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Danny was always beating up on me. Calling him a friend would be inaccurate.  He was more of a prolonged bully who copied off me. He had a habit of hitting or kicking me whenever I said something he didn’t like. It wasn’t like he was malicious, he was just a lunkhead who didn’t process his emotions very well. That said, I knew Addy and I were going out, and I couldn’t wait for Danny to realize the truth so I could rub his stupid nose in it.