He first appeared in this world in the distant ancient past.
He was born an absolute powerhouse, possessing a charisma that let him manipulate those around him as he pleased.
The Embodiment of Pride.
Had he continued to grow as he was, he might well have become a being worthy of being called the King of the Underworld.
His summoning to the surface was purely by chance, but it would come to dramatically alter his fate.
He looked around upon being summoned.
Instantly, he understood that he had been called forth.
The pompous, mage-like man who had called out in such an imperious manner was irritating.
From what he gathered, the man wanted him to destroy a nation they were at war with.
It was child's play.
Without hesitation, he unleashed a large-scale destructive spell — "Blessing of Death" — and annihilated them.
A city of one million was transformed into a city of the dead. He felt little more than a passing twinge at the fact.
However, by harvesting the souls of so many humans, he realized he had awakened as a true Demon Lord.
It seemed that collecting around ten thousand human souls had been enough to trigger his awakening.
Then what would happen if he gathered even more? Such was his curiosity.
Besides, he owed a suitable return to the one who had burdened him with such trivial errands.
He summoned two of his followers — "Supreme Demon Generals" — and issued his command.
*Go forth and erase the target nation from the face of the earth.* Now that he had awakened as a Demon Lord, his mood was excellent.
And so, he had the nation of the mage who had roped him into this pointless errand utterly subjugated, without so much as a moment of suffering or terror. That fact was perhaps the clearest proof of his extraordinary high spirits.
After all, he had bestowed upon the demons he summoned the honor of manifesting physical forms.
The ancient, magically advanced kingdom — once prosperous, then fractured into warring factions — met its end in this manner.
It was an event from thousands of years ago.
He had destroyed the nation as an experiment that doubled as retaliation, and though he had harvested a vast number of human souls, no further transformation had occurred.
Thus, he understood that no further enhancement was possible.
It was the beginning of tedious days, but Guy did not mind. He devoted himself to wandering the lands and enjoying this world.
Unlike his existence in the Underworld — spent entirely in battle and the refinement of souls — this world brimmed with stimulation.
Fighting powerful magical beasts in pure hand-to-hand combat. Burying demon lords who ruled over regions with devastating magic.
It was also during this era that he left behind various legends among the native peoples, who praised him as both a god and a demon lord.
And then, he met *them*.
The Creator of this world. The supreme and most powerful existence.
The "Star King Dragon"
Guy, who had never once doubted that he was the strongest, naturally challenged this existence head-on.
The result was a crushing defeat.
He was not even permitted to resist. Guy was brought low, driven to the ground.
His pride — the unshakable conviction that he was the supreme being — was utterly, irrevocably shattered in that moment.
"Go ahead and kill me. I'm satisfied.
In this world, I've come to understand that there is always something greater above.
Within the endless flow of reason, my own existence is also woven in, undeniably.
Great one — I am proud to have been defeated by you."
"Little one.
You see, I love the beings I have created.
This world, once so dull, is growing richer and more developed with each passing age.
Those with wisdom have been born, evolving to the point where they can communicate their will with mine.
Now, strong ones like yourself have even emerged — ones who can endure a battle with me.
But you see, if this rate of growth continues, the world will perish in less than a few thousand years.
So, won't you cooperate with me?
I'd like you to help me — as one of the 'Arbiters.'"
What came to mind was the magical kingdom he himself had destroyed.
Consumed by lust for power, fighting amongst themselves despite being of the same bloodline — how foolish it had been.
*(I see... that truly was ugly.)* There was no hesitation needed.
Guy, too, was fond of this world.
"Sure. What do you want me to do?"
"Just as you are. Reign as a Demon Lord, exactly as you have been.
Let the world know that threats exist, so that mankind never grows arrogant."
*Arrogant.* Now that it was pointed out to him, it seemed a fitting role for him.
As if foreseeing — no, precisely *because* he had foreseen — that Guy possessed the Unique Skill "Pride," Veldanava spoke.
"Very well. I shall become this world's Demon Lord.
Should mankind grow arrogant, I shall serve as their judge in your stead."
Guy had gained a deeper resolve through having his pride broken.
He had obtained the Superior Skill "Prideful King."
A Demon Lord with power rivaling that of a god was born in this moment.
"Yeah. I'm counting on you."
Hearing Guy's reply, the "Star King Dragon" Veldanava smiled warmly.
This was the moment Guy and Veldanava acknowledged one another and became friends.
True to his word, Guy spent his days as a Demon Lord.
That said, he wasn't exactly doing anything of particular note.
He merely received reports from the subordinate demons he had dispatched for intelligence gathering and issued directives accordingly.
At his side stood a white dragon.
She was a beautiful dragon with eyes the color of the deep sea.
For some reason she had gotten it into her head that — "Even if my brother acknowledges you, I do not!?"
— and came picking a fight with him.
Guy, who had been bored out of his mind, was delighted and gave her his full attention.
After three days and three nights of battle, Guy's domain had been transformed into a world of silver and ice, blanketed in snow.
To Guy it was a laughing matter, but to those who had lived there, it was a catastrophe.
She was Veldanava's younger sister, and it seemed she was jealous of Guy for having earned her brother's recognition.
However, there was no sign that she had awakened to any ability born of jealousy, so her true purpose had likely been nothing more than to test Guy.
In the end, for reasons unknown, she chose to walk alongside Guy.
This was how Guy first met the "White Ice Dragon"
He relocated his base of operations to the northern continent.
The Demon Aura leaking from Velzard caused the surrounding temperature to plummet, after all.
He decided it was best to move his headquarters somewhere the impact would be minimal — the frozen northern lands.
By that time, Velzard had also mastered human form, but this only caused even more of her Demon Aura to spill outward.
Moving the base had been the right call. It was unfortunate, however, that the region had become so impossibly frigid that not even monsters could set foot in it.
To stave off his boredom, Guy took to monitoring the large settlements that had developed from villages into nations and were beginning to rise to prominence across the land.
They were crude compared to the ancient super-civilization, but the magic and technology that had been quietly passed down were once again seeing the light of day and developing in their own way.
Watching humanity's endeavors was interesting.
Before long, villages had become nations, and small-scale skirmishes began to break out.
Should he intervene?
In the spirit of a warning, Guy destroyed several of them.
Fearing Guy as a visible, tangible threat, humanity learned to cultivate the will to unite.
*(That's how it should be. As long as you don't cross my threshold, I won't wipe you out!)* As an "Arbiter," Guy was reasonably content with his work.
Time passed, and several hundred years went by.
One day, while he was languishing in boredom, a party of three came challenging him.
They had infiltrated this impossibly frigid land that no one else could enter.
"I am Rudra! Rudra Nasca!
A human Hero, bearing upon my shoulders the hopes of all mankind!
Evil Demon Lord — I shall obliterate you!! And while you're at it, hand over every last piece of treasure you've got!!"
"Big Brother Rudra, we won't be able to tell *which* one is the Demon Lord if you say it like that!"
"Ah, no good. Your eyes are clouded with greed.
You're almost certainly going to lose and suffer for it, you know?"
A bizarre trio, bickering among themselves.
*Hero? What on earth is that?* Guy, who had been bored for so long, found himself intrigued by the word.
"Hmph! I'm the strongest, so I don't need your help.
Demon Lord — face me in a one-on-one duel, fair and square!"
A young man who could be called a strikingly handsome youth, clad in an intricately crafted full-body magic armor, lunged at him.
Guy considered whether to dodge with ease, block the blow, or shatter the fellow's sword and make him cry.
Using Super Speed Thought to deliberate, Guy observed the three of them.
But — "Brother! At the very least, let me provide support magic — Holy Sword, activate!!"
A spell fired by the girl with silver hair — his sister, presumably — caused the sword held by the young man calling himself Rudra to shine with radiant light.
A dazzling, divine radiance — the purifying light that vanquished all evil.
*(That's bad. That light has the power to tear through any barrier!)* On top of that, perhaps he had been concealing his true skill, for the young man's sword speed surged and bore down on Guy.
Guy hastily deflected with the demonic sword "Tenma."
The young man's swordsmanship was brilliant — even Guy's "Future Sight" struggled to predict the trajectory of his blade.
"Not bad, kid! You're the first person who's ever made me draw a sword!"
"Hah! So you *can* receive my blade! This might actually be fun, Demon Lord!
Before I destroy you, I'll at least hear your name."
"You've got some nerve for a human...
I'm Guy.
Anyone who faces me screams 'Guuuuy!' — that's sort of how my name works.
It's a pain, so I just shortened it to 'Guy.' That's my name."
"...Hold on.
That's not a name. That's not a name at all!
Defeating a Demon Lord with a weird name like that isn't going to look cool at all...
Come to think of it, you've got beautiful crimson hair, so —"
"Wait.
If you're talking about *crimson*, that's my thing! It's what people call me!"
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah, I know, you're so annoying...
Then — *deep crimson*! How's that? No complaints, right?"
"...It's basically the same thing, but fine. It wouldn't make a difference anyway."
"Great! Then it's settled! From today on, you are 'Demon Lord'
And so, "Demon Lord" Guy Crimson was born.
Naming him caused the young man — Rudra — to lose consciousness and hover between life and death, and their duel was called off as a result...
But looking back, perhaps this was the moment the strange fate between Guy and Rudra was born.
He waited for Rudra to recover, and they fought again and again.
True to his title of Hero, Rudra was strong.
An awakened Hero and an awakened Demon Lord.
Rudra, who had honed his technique to its peak, versus Guy, who fought with nothing but raw power and talent.
The matches were closely contested, but it was only natural that Guy would gradually gain the upper hand.
Watching the two of them with a look of exasperation were Rudra's sister Lucia, and the "Scorching Dragon"
Before long, this had become an everyday scene.
Then one day — "Hey! You said you wanted a fair fight, but what the hell was that dirty trick just now?!"
Guy complained to Rudra, who had blinded him and then used a Holy Barrier to inflict stat-reducing status ailments.
"Victory is justice! No — if you *don't* win, it stops being justice!
So I'll do whatever it takes to win!
Besides, that move you just used — that's something *I* used last time!
You stole my technique... The dirty one here is *you*!!"
Rudra fired back.
In recent matches, they had been nearly equal in strength, but Rudra had started to feel himself slipping and was growing desperate.
His initial chivalrous pretenses had long since gone out the window, and he was now resorting to every trick in the book to scrape out a win.
Guy heaved an audible sigh, but in truth, he enjoyed even this kind of exchange.
Having someone who could fight him on equal terms was gratifying in itself, and as Rudra had said, the more they fought, the more Guy could feel his own power growing.
He had learned that a Superior Skill was not something you simply acquired and forgot about — its true value emerged only when you wielded it to its fullest.
He had been matching Rudra by fighting with swords alone, yet even so, Guy was slowly beginning to overpower him.
For now, Rudra was pulling every trick he could, and every match ended in a draw without resolution.
But if they kept going, it was inevitable that Guy would eventually win.
However...
There was one thing Guy simply could not let go of.
"Hey... When we first fought, why didn't you finish me off?
If you'd come at me with everything you had — without going through that naming nonsense — you would've won, wouldn't you?"
Proud to a fault, Guy had avoided confronting this question because he did not want to admit the truth. But he pressed Rudra on it.
Just as Guy possessed "Prideful King," Rudra too held the Superior Skill "Justice King."
If he had used that ability from the very start, without holding anything back, there was no doubt he could have wounded Guy.
There was, in fact, a real possibility that Rudra would have won.
"You idiot! There's no point in just killing you!
I need to make you acknowledge my greatness, reform your ways, and join me as my ally.
I am the man who will one day conquer the world.
That is my promise with the 'Star King Dragon' Veldanava — my teacher."
That was his answer.
This man, who boasted that he would one day bring even Guy to heel.
Guy realized that he was, in fact, rather fond of Rudra.
Of course, if he *hadn't* liked him, he would have killed him on the spot, so it was a moot point.
"Also, to tell you the truth — if I use it at full power, I can't control it.
After all, this 'Justice King' is something I borrowed from Veldanava..."
Hearing Rudra's explanation, Guy felt a mixture of disappointment and understanding.
It made sense — if it was even a fraction of Veldanava's power, it was entirely plausible that it could defeat even him.
"What the hell? Then that means —"
Guy started to say "what's the point," but his words were drowned out by a thunderous roar.
It was a fight between sisters — Velzard and Velgrynd.
Apparently, their newborn brother was throwing a tantrum, rampaging about as he pleased.
Each sister blamed the other — Velzard for being too strict in her discipline, Velgrynd for spoiling him — pointing fingers and refusing to accept responsibility.
It was nothing new, and Guy was used to it, but he wished they would at least do it somewhere that wouldn't bother anyone else.
Guy and Rudra evacuated to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Their will to fight had evaporated.
After all, his role as Demon Lord was itself a favor Veldanava had asked of him.
He couldn't very well go all-out against Rudra, who was Veldanava's friend. It was only natural.
"Enough! I've said it already — I like you.
So I can't bring myself to kill you, and I have no intention of fighting you seriously.
But to prevent the collapse of the world, I'll keep being the Demon Lord, okay?"
When Guy looked Rudra in the eye and said this — "Then how about this — let's make a game of it?"
Rudra said, scratching his head with an embarrassed grin.
"A game?"
"Yeah.
You and I — we each use pawns to vie for control of the world.
I... no, I believe that humanity can be brought together as one.
We even managed to become friends, right?
We don't need Demon Lords or Arbiters.
Veldanava said it was too idealistic and wouldn't listen, but...
I convinced him.
He said the odds were practically zero, but to go ahead and try anyway.
The 'Angelic Host' of 'Justice King' can summon an army of angels of annihilation that will destroy everything.
But I'll learn to wield it properly.
If humanity grows arrogant, I'll destroy only their military power and their civilizations.
And I will absolutely unite the world and build an ideal one!
So please — stop slaughtering humans."
"Hah! It's not like I *enjoy* mass killing or anything?
I only kill people I find disagreeable.
Good people or bad, it doesn't matter.
If I like them, they live. If I don't, they die.
But fine... why not?
I was bored out of my mind anyway.
I'll stay my hand and gather Demon Lords in my place, and leave things to them.
Before the world gets locked down under complete Demon Lord control, you go ahead and unify it.
I promise I won't interfere.
But I do have to carry out my judgments. That's my promise to Veldanava, and my duty as an Arbiter.
Besides — you'd know this as a 'Hero.' A Hero is the embodiment of justice, wielding the greatest power.
Just like the 'Angelic Host,' you possess power that serves as a counterbalance against Demon Lords — no, something greater still.
It is the 'contingency factor' designed to annihilate the world should the Arbiters ever abandon their role.
Veldanava isn't a perfectionist, but he's no dreamer either.
He spent hundreds of millions of years cultivating intelligent life — and that's exactly why he believes the world needs management, or it will collapse."
"But still!
I have to put his mind at ease.
Veldanava fell in love with my sister Lucia.
And Lucia is carrying Veldanava's child.
Apparently, Veldanava has become nearly indistinguishable from a human now.
He laughed as he told me that he was now bound by something he'd never had to worry about before — a lifespan.
But while he was happy that he could pass on alongside Lucia, he was worried about the future of this world!
And above all, about the future of his child...
That's why *I* have to give him peace of mind.
That the world he created has matured beautifully into a harmonious, wonderful place — that's what I need to show him."
At Rudra's words, Guy could not find a rebuttal.
His mind overflowed with possibilities and counterarguments, but he understood Rudra's feelings all too well.
He resented his own brain for being so irritatingly perceptive when it came to emotion.
*(What the hell, you fool... If you go down that path, you'll end up shouldering everything yourself...)* For this foolish man — whom he could truly call a beloved friend — Guy had lost the words to say.
Guy's mind calculated with cold precision.
A success rate so minuscule it was almost an insult to call it a probability.
This man — whom Guy had unilaterally decided was his friend — intended to bear every hardship and aim for the realization of an ideal world.
But with this man, perhaps, just perhaps...
Something about Rudra made Guy believe that.
In the end, Guy accepted the challenge.
If all of Guy's allies were defeated, Rudra would win. In that case, Guy would swear loyalty to Rudra.
But until that point, Guy would continue to exist as an Arbiter, true to his agreement with Veldanava.
There was little for Guy to gain by winning.
At most, he could force Rudra to abandon his reckless plan and return to his proper role as an Arbiter — one who kept Demon Lords from overstepping.
But for Guy, that was enough.
His stubborn friend would never be swayed by words alone.
And so, the "match" between Guy and Rudra — spanning over two thousand years — began.
But the result was...
A series of tragedies, repeating over and over.
Shortly after their child was born, Lucia and Veldanava were killed in a magical attack orchestrated by a nation targeting the Nasca Kingdom.
Milim grew up without ever knowing her parents' faces. She didn't even know she shared Rudra's blood.
Milim's bodyguard, too, was assassinated through the machinations of yet another nation.
When Milim flew into a rage, Guy had no choice but to step in with everything he had to stop her.
Tragedy after tragedy.
The ugliness of the human world, thrust before them again and again.
With each reincarnation, Rudra's holy power eroded further, and he gradually lost even the qualification to call himself a "Hero."
Yet Rudra continued to be a "Saint" — driven by his unwavering desire to realize his ideals.
But...
Over time, Rudra's heart was corroded, and he began resorting to methods far removed from his idealism.
Cold. Cruel.
Winning against Guy became his everything, and in the end, it only led to more blood being spilled.
"I told you, you damn fool...
That sort of thing is better left to demons like me — to beings who can control their emotions perfectly..."
Guy murmured these words, unaware of the tears streaming down his cheeks...
And simply prayed in silence for the passing of the man who had once been his friend.
And so, the age-long game between Guy and Rudra drew to a close.
Please wait a while longer for the main story to resume.