Man on the ark, forced to become king

"it is good."

Saria hesitated for a moment, then hugged Ifrit and moved closer, still not letting go of her arms.

Seeing this, Theresa simply smiled and said nothing.

Her fingers flicked a wisp of black light, causing Ifrit's eyes to widen suddenly, reflecting a firelight that seemed almost tangible.

The high temperature erupted again. This time, a solidified flame appeared out of thin air, forming a blurry humanoid flame without a lower body, which looked somewhat similar to the 'genie' in fairy tales.

However, this fiery humanoid that appeared out of nowhere was not as gentle as the genie. As soon as it appeared, it began to attack its surroundings indiscriminately. The flames rose up and increased by three times, trying to engulf everything around it.

"Go back."

Theresa, holding the King's Sword, uttered two simple words.

As soon as the words were spoken, a pitch-black rhomboid crystal appeared from the void, encircling the raging flame humanoid figure. The abyss-like darkness condensed into tiny chains, firmly locking the fire demon that had manifested in the outside world.

The flames that swept around paused for a moment, and then dissipated completely.

The Demon King's authority has an extremely strong control over Sarkaz, whether they are alive or dead.

"Demon...King..."

The fire demon, bound by chains, struggled for a moment before suddenly falling silent.

It lacks physical structures like a mouth and vocal cords, yet it can transmit its own sound by vibrating the air, albeit with some distortion, making it barely audible.

"Demon King!"

The air vibrated, and the indistinct sounds suddenly became clear, as if a consciousness trapped in chaos had awakened at this moment.

The Balrog faced Theresa and struggled frantically.

"You are the Demon King now! Show me your qualifications!"

Its words sounded illogical and were entirely fragmented, but they were not difficult to understand.

Regarding its reckless behavior as soon as it regained some consciousness, Lin Lu could only say... this thing might have retained some consciousness within the fragments, it has a brain, but not much.

Is it possible that the Flame Demon clan is just like this? They attack everyone they encounter? They don't even spare their own Demon King?

That's why he got himself killed in history...

Snapped!

Theresa didn't hold back at all, and slapped him across the face. Her hand, carrying the heavy power of a demon king, sent the half-bodied fire demon spinning like a top in mid-air several times.

This can only be described as "one is influenced by one's surroundings."

Having been by Lin Lu's side for so long, the princess, who was once as warm as the sun, has also picked up many bad habits.

At least... she certainly wouldn't have acted so violently during the Civil War.

However, this violent act of slapping directly seems to be surprisingly effective on the Balrog.

Spinning around as it was whipped, the Flame Demon didn't become even more enraged; instead, it calmed down considerably.

"Are you awake?"

Theresa's tone remained gentle, a stark contrast to the way she was moving her hands.

She raised her arm slightly, as if she was about to slap him again if things didn't go her way.

"I salute you, Your Majesty the Demon King."

Feeling the restraint of the chains surrounding him and the violent power contained in that palm, the Flame Demon lowered its floating height and lowered its proud head.

If he had physical legs, he would probably be kneeling on one knee right now.

"My power... my memories are chaotic, yet so immense... Your power surpasses that of all previous kings! Seeing you, I know that the glory of Ticarch continues, and Kazdel still stands above all nations!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Theresa froze on the spot, and her surging aura dissipated considerably.

This……

How should she answer?

The Sarkaz are now universally hated and infamous on Terra, and are in a terrible state.

Kazdel was almost ruined by those two siblings, and it was only recently that it was reunified and started to improve.

She couldn't respond to that!

Even though she was the Demon King and held a high position in terms of status, she still felt somewhat guilty in front of such an old and respected elder. She felt ashamed that she was an unworthy descendant and had no face to meet her ancestor.

Chapter 144 The Demon King's Glorious Moment

"..."

In the end, Theresa was still unable to reveal the truth.

This isn't about losing face; the main issue is that the Fiery Demon residing within the little girl's body now only has this fragment retaining its former consciousness. This wisp of consciousness is extremely weak, and the chains and crystals surrounding it, constructed from the power of the Demon King, are not only shackles that bind it, but also the medium that supports the manifestation of its consciousness.

Without the support of the Demon King's power, with such a weak consciousness and such a young host as Ifrit, the manifestation of the Balrog wouldn't even last ten minutes before it and Ifrit were drained and burned away.

Therefore, in order to avoid upsetting the ancient fire demon with the cruel truth, Theresa decided to keep this 'secret' for the time being.

Yes! That's it!

Absolutely, absolutely not because I'm afraid of losing face!

"My King! Your power is so vast! I can feel the fragments reviving... Are these people all your subordinates?"

The Balrog waved his arms wildly; though he had no eyes, he made scanning motions.

"These people, ha, only Vayvan is barely worth considering. Weak, really too weak..."

"How could someone so weak be worthy of your status?"

"I will return from the ashes, to become the blade in your hand; my flames will pave the way for you!"

"Calm down."

Theresa glanced at Lin Lu discreetly, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he wasn't making any moves. She quickly stopped this outspoken guy from saying anything more outrageous.

I thought it was the era of the Demon King conquering the world and the Sarkaz dominating the continent!

People shouldn't be so nostalgic; times change.

Putting everything else aside, there's a big shot sitting right here. If you talk nonsense and upset Lin Lu, even if you, the Flame Demon, were to be resurrected in full force, it wouldn't matter. She could tear you apart in a heartbeat.

"Your Majesty! How can the weak be qualified to follow the Demon King?"

"You can rest assured that although this body is fragile, it is still usable. With your help, I can soon complete the initial recovery and return to the glorious royal court!"

You'd better shut up!

Are you out of your mind or something? Can't you see the situation?

Theresa was exhausted; she wished she could just tap his mouth shut.

Can't you just shut up? Huh?

They even used Ifrit's body to revive. If they really dared to do that, Lin Lu would probably dismantle those fragments on the spot.

Didn't you see that even this demon king didn't dare to speak loudly?

"In short, you cannot revive using Ifrit's body. I will find a better vessel for you. Now, be quiet. This is the king's order."

"...Your will, my king, Pistos obeys your command."

The Flame Demon Pistos was clearly still a bit slow to grasp the situation, but his loyalty to the Sarkaz and the Demon King was impeccable. When Theresa gave the order in the name of the King, he immediately agreed to comply without asking any further questions.

"interesting."

Lin Lu watched the interaction between the king and his ministers with great interest, stroking her chin with a deep gaze.

If I heard correctly, the fire demon just said... Tikaz?

That's a very old word.

Kazdel has been destroyed three times in history. According to known information, the once glorious Kazdel may have been the most powerful country on the entire continent. At that time, the Sarkaz called themselves the Tikkaz.

In other words, this guy likely knows many secrets that were buried along with history.

What an unexpected surprise.

He's playing a very complex jigsaw puzzle right now, and the people who hold the puzzle pieces are all riddle-makers, speaking in a way that's unclear and ambiguous.

But this ancient fire demon might be different from them.

Surely a guy with a violent mind can't also be full of riddles?

Once we get back to the Golden Tree and nourish this fragment, we might be able to get something out of him.

"Lin Lu, what should we do next? What about Pistos...?"

Theresa hesitated, maintaining the Demon King's power to support the Balrog, then turned her head to look over, hoping to get some help.

With her power, she could naturally maintain Pistos's consciousness from collapsing, but the key issue is that the current Balrog is parasitizing Ifrit, which makes things difficult. She can't stay in the current state forever, can she?

"It's not a big problem. It's not too difficult to suppress it for now. When you go back, take him back to the Golden Tree and find Melina or Lani. They both have solutions."

Lin Lu gently raised her hand and unleashed a devastating golden light that landed on Ifrit in Saria's arms, enveloping her completely. The girl's expression quickly calmed down, her eyes closed, and she fell asleep again under the protection of the golden power.