200 Years Ago
The world was already full of chaos. Wars between humans and demons happened often. But then, something even worse appeared.
Two newly born creatures came out from the Gate of Rebirth and Reincarnation — the Twin True Dragons.
They were just newborns, with no real intelligence, but they caused disaster everywhere they went. It didn't matter if you were a human, demon, elf, dwarf, or any other species — everyone suffered because of them.
No one could stop them. Even though they were just born, a true dragon was still far too powerful.
For a long time, all the different races were helpless. But then one day, something strange happened.
A bright pillar of light came down from the sky. In fact, there were two. One landed in the Demon Realm. The other appeared in the Human Realm.
After that night, everything changed.
The very next day, Asmodeus, the Third Demon King, called all of his top subordinates to the throne room.
He sat high on his dark throne, looking down with his usual cold and proud expression. His snake-like eyes scanned the room.
Then he spoke, and what he said shocked us all.
"We are going to cooperate with Hero Kael Bloodhound and the human army. Together, we will defeat the Twin True Dragons. From now on, we will not go to war with humans unless they attack us first."
The room went silent. Then the shouting began.
Many demons stood up in disbelief. And I, Noir, was the first to raise my voice.
"Cooperate with those filthy humans? How can you even say that?"
I couldn't understand it. Lord Asmodeus had always hated humans. He attacked them whenever he had the chance. Why was he suddenly changing now? What had happened to him in just one night?
While I was still trying to figure it out, Lord Asmodeus turned to look directly at me.
His eyes were sharp, glowing faintly, and the look he gave sent a chill down my spine.
He said in a low and firm voice, "Noir, I'm not asking for your permission. This is an order. If anyone disagrees, they're free to leave. And never come back."
After hearing what Lord Asmodeus said, my blood boiled. Without thinking, I shouted back in anger.
"Then I can't stay here any longer. I'm going!"
Asmodeus raised his eyebrows a little, like he was surprised by my decision, but in the end, it didn't seem to matter much to him.
"Is that so? Well, you were a good subordinate. Since you've made up your mind, how about I give you a farewell present?" he said casually.
He summoned a scroll from thin air, wrote something on it with a wave of his hand, and then tossed it toward me. I caught it in confusion.
"Here. If in the future you're ever getting beaten badly, just rip that paper. I'll show up and give your enemy a single punch," he said with a small chuckle.
"One punch?" I asked, not fully understanding.
"Pfft... Noir really doesn't get it, huh? Lord Asmodeus is clearly making fun of you," another demon snickered.
Many others laughed too, covering their mouths and shoulders shaking.
"I guess that's what you deserve. Keep it safe!" Asmodeus added in a mocking tone.
I clenched my fists tightly, my anger boiling even more, but I didn't let it out. Without another word, I turned and walked away from Asmodeus's territory.
And who would've thought… that moment turned out to be the best decision of my life. I started over from nothing. I built my own kingdom—"The Sacred Kingdom"—and eventually rose to become the Fifth Demon King, with a powerful army and strength that couldn't be matched.
———
"Do you not wear panties?" Noir asked while staring at the bra in his hand with a strange expression.
Scarlett's face instantly turned red like a ripe tomato. "I forgot, you perverted demon king!" she shouted in embarrassment.
She jumped at him without hesitation and gave him a strong, solid kick right to the face, beheading him on the spot.
She landed on the ground lightly, her long hair swaying, and her chest rising and falling with her breaths—not from tiredness, but because she was still flustered from the situation.
"He didn't die… did he?" Aoto asked, blinking in disbelief.
As soon as he said that, another Noir appeared behind them, calmly walking while rubbing his chin.
"You were a man? How did you end up like this? Did you get reincarnated or something? Your resistance is insanely high. I could only see up to fifteen years of your memories," Noir said like he was lost in thought, not even caring about the chaos just now.
"Stop looking at people's personal memories!" Scarlett yelled again and dashed forward to land another kick.
But this time, Noir didn't take it. He teleported away just in time, disappearing before her foot could reach him.
"He can steal memories? How is he doing that?" Scarlett wondered, her gaze narrowing. "Is it some kind of unique skill or… an ultimate skill?" She couldn't find the answer, no matter how hard she thought.
Noir floated back into the air, hovering above the three of them, looking down with a half-smile.
"You three have some pretty huge secrets… A gender-bender, a human with the same unique skill as the Kael Bloodhound, and someone with the such interesting unique skill " he said, pausing for a moment.
"I really made the right move by tricking you all into coming here."
"Tricking?" Chiyoko asked, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
Noir let out a deep chuckle. "You still haven't figured it out, have you?" he said mockingly. "You're all here because I wanted you to be. And what a bunch of fools you are—running into my land without knowing anything about me or my territory, thinking you're some kind of chosen heroes! Like you're the main characters of some grand story!" He laughed loudly, rolling midair as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
His sharp black eyes turned to Scarlett, and he grinned with amusement. "Especially you," he pointed. "You think just because you're physically strong, you can win against me? How laughable."
"Shut the hell up!" Scarlett screamed in rage. Her fists clenched, and without hesitation, she threw a punch forward—aiming for Noir's smug face.
But her own punch hit herself instead.
It landed on her jaw with such force that her head twisted slightly, and pain shot through her cheek like lightning. She stepped back, stunned.
"What just happened?" Scarlett muttered, rubbing her face. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Why did you hit yourself?" Aoto quickly rushed to her side, concern clear on his face.
Meanwhile, Chiyoko unsheathed his sword in a flash, holding it tightly. He dropped into a low stance, ready to strike at any moment.
But before he could even take a step, the sword vanished from his hand. It suddenly appeared in Noir's grasp.
Noir looked down at the blade, turned it in his fingers for a second, and then snapped it with ease.
"Garbage," he said coldly and let the broken pieces fall.
He slowly turned to face Scarlett again, his voice now calm but proud.
"You all don't get it, do you?" he said. "This is the power of one of my unique skills… 'Anchors.'"
He smirked and continued. "With meeting someone once, I can slowly change someone's thoughts. Bit by bit, I influence their mind—either pushing them to make choices I want, or even worse… turning them into another version of me and they can become demon king noir whenver they want with same powers and strength and even if someone does manage kill one noor, There are millions to replace them."
He pointed at Aoto. "You think you escaped from Seraphina after that fight by your own will? No. That decision was mine. I already planted my influence in your mind, guiding you to come here—and even bring along this so-called 'hero' from Almeida."
He chuckled again, this time more amused. "But I didn't expect you to bring her," he added, glancing at Scarlett with a sly grin.
Aoto's eyes widened in shock. His hands trembled slightly as the pieces started to come together in his mind.
"Now that I think about it… why did I tell Scarlett to bring Chiyoko?" he whispered to himself. "I… I never wanted Chiyoko to shine, So why did I say that...?"
Realization hit him hard, like a hammer to the chest.
He looked up at Noir, his voice filled with a mix of confusion and anger. "But wait… I only fought Seraphina. I never met you. How did you do it then?"
Before Noir could reply, Scarlett's body tensed. Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened behind her blindfold.
"Wait…" she said, almost in a whisper. "Don't tell me..."
Noir burst into wild laughter, louder and crazier than before.
"Hahahaha! Of course! Don't you get it now?"
He floated higher into the air, arms stretched wide, like a king announcing his rule.
"I am everyone—and everyone is me!"
"Seraphina? That's me. My entire army? All me. Every single person you've met since stepping foot here… they were all just me in different forms."
He grinned, his voice filled with wicked joy.
"This is my kingdom… my sacred kingdom of Me."
"I can literally make every monster and demon on the battlefield turn into me and wipe everyone out in just a few minutes... but I won't," Noir said calmly, floating in the air with a smug face. "Because through this war, I'll influence more and more humans. And once they're under my control, they'll spread it even further—until the entire Kingdom of Darwitz becomes another sacred kingdom of 'Me'."
"This guy is seriously insane..." Chiyoko whispered, his body tense, sweat starting to slide down his forehead.
"Are we screwed now?" Aoto asked, his voice a mix of nervous laughter and fear.
Scarlett didn't reply. She was already thinking, her brain running faster than lightning. "We can't run," she thought. "I'm sure he's set a trap. Maybe he's already manipulated our minds, so even if we escape, we'll just come back on our own!"
She clenched her jaw. "Killing him won't work either... not unless we find and destroy all of his 'anchors'. But that'll take time. And by then..." She glanced at her hands. "I might already be turning into him by then "
Her thoughts spiraled deeper. "He's not turning Aoto and Chiyoko into him first—he's targeting me. He knows once I'm out, the others can't stop him."
"Why are demon kings this smart now?" she muttered silently to herself. "This feels like cheating! Aren't they supposed to be crazy maniacs who just fight?!"
She gritted her teeth. "And I still don't know how he's stealing things like swords and memories without even touching us!"
Only a few seconds passed in the real world, but for Scarlett, it felt like a storm of thoughts had hit her.
Suddenly, she touched her blindfold, the cloth that covered her unique eyes. An idea sparked in her heart.
"What if... What if my eyes can see his real body?",Her lips curved slightly. "It's worth a try!"
Without waiting, she took off her blindfold. Her blue and red eyes were now visible—one glowing like the clear sky, the other burning like crimson fire.
And then—her eyes widened in shock.
She saw thin, glowing threads coming out from every single person's head. The threads went straight up, climbing into the sky endlessly, disappearing into the clouds and beyond.
Her vision changed—like she was no longer looking through her own eyes, but from somewhere far above. A third-person view.
She saw a peice of land that included—the demon castle, the village, the people—it was all sitting in the palm of a giant human like being.
A huge, tall figure stood beyond the clouds. He had eyes blacker than the deepest night and long white hair that flowed like mist, It was the real noir.
That thing... was holding the land like it was a toy.
Like a fourth dimensional being ... playing with his third dimensional puppets.