I, the anti-superman, have hacked into the chat group.

Kurumi Tokisaki explained, "He is the only survivor, a Kryptonian orphan."

The default nicknames in the group all contain information related to the person. Karl's default nickname is "Kryptonian Orphan," and it's easy to guess what it means.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," the Demon King apologized, but she was still very curious: "But what kind of circumstances could destroy such a race? It's too unreasonable that only one person managed to escape."

Because the other survivors were killed by their adoptive parents.

Karl certainly couldn't say that, and he really didn't know how the Kryptonian planet he was born on was destroyed. Before his escape pod took off, Krypton's father lay on it and said a lot of things to him, but Karl didn't understand a word of it.

There was nothing he could do; no one taught him Kryptonian, and even now, Karl doesn't speak the Kryptonian language.

Superman learned Kryptonian language after he came to Earth.

Because Superman's father was one of Krypton's greatest scientists, in addition to the spaceship, he also built Superman a solitary fortress in the North Pole.

It contains all of Krypton's technologies, as well as his father's AI-powered step-by-step tutorials.

Karl didn't have that kind of treatment. He started with only a piece of clothing, a kryptonite, and a small spaceship, which he had to steal. This forced him to figure out how to slowly advance his tech tree on his own.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," the Demon King said.

“No, there’s nothing I can’t say,” Karl replied.

Now, let's talk about Superman's backstory.

"Krypton's destruction was due to the planet's explosion, but the more fundamental reason was that society had stagnated and civilization had no goal. My father discovered that there was a problem with the planet's core at the time, but everyone had become accustomed to the uneventful life and no one cared. Deeply in love with Krypton, he ultimately chose to go down with the planet and built a spaceship to send me, as an infant, to another planet."

"When the planet explodes, don't the others escape?" Kurumi Tokisaki asked curiously. She remembered Karl saying that he could easily fly into space, so why didn't the others fly?

“Krypton’s environment hinders the development of extraordinary abilities, so everyone on Krypton is just an ordinary person,” Karl explained.

He casually revealed this information, since he wasn't afraid of the Kryptonian environment anyway. If someone really used this method against him, he would promise to burn three sticks of incense at their grave every year to express his gratitude.

The leisurely time spent chatting passed quickly. After a day and a night of flying, they successfully crossed the border of the human and demon territories, the Demon Mountains, and arrived in the territory of the demons.

The spaceship was no longer suitable for this place, so after everyone reached the vicinity of the town, Karl turned back to the Demon Mountains and dug a pit at the foot of the mountain to bury the spaceship.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go," Karl said as he flew back.

He put on the clothes the spider had woven for him again, and then everyone, led by the Demon King, arrived at the town.

Through the city gate, what came into view was clean streets, vendors hawking their wares, and bright sunshine. The scene could be described in two words: ordinary.

"Demon King, are you sure you didn't give me the wrong directions?" Kurumi Tokisaki asked, tilting her head. "Isn't this just an ordinary human town?"

It was really ordinary, not much different from the town where Karl and his group had stayed before, except that it was a bit more prosperous. Otherwise, the architecture and customs were not much different, and the people coming and going looked no different from those they had seen before.

At least the Demon King has pointed ears and little tiger teeth, but these demons look exactly like humans.

"Surprised? But this is a demon. You can verify it if you don't believe me," the Demon King said.

Spider-Man, in a coordinated move, threw an appraisal at the people on the street, then slowly nodded to Karl, meaning that the Demon King was right.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. In a normal world, there's no distinction between humans and demons.

According to the Demon King's previous account, long ago, everyone on the planet was called human.

However, after the great war, the system divided them into three races: the descendants of ordinary people became the current human race, the descendants of enhanced humans became the demon race, and the elves were an artificial race created by Little Horse in the laboratory.

The Elf race is one thing, at least their appearance matches, but the Human and Demon races are just names that were forcibly imposed, the purpose of which is to play the game of the Hero and the Demon King.

"Monster! Don't even think about entering the town!" A squad of guards surrounded them; the spider's recent identification must have alerted them.

--------

P.S.: Some people are curious about what the Demon King looks like, so here's a picture.

Demon King.jpg

Chapter Twenty: Main Quest

Demons and monsters are not related, even though both have "demon" in their names.

Humans and demons are like players from different factions, while monsters are neutral wild monsters. If wild monsters wander near a town, the players will naturally not allow it.

The guards came in a menacing manner, carrying a murderous aura. This was a town near the front line of the human-demon battlefield, and the soldiers were highly skilled in combat; each of them had crawled out of blood and fire.

The leader was even more extraordinary. He had been guarding the border for many years and was a top-notch general among the demons, with an ability value of several thousand.

Okay, that's a bit low. Even an un-evolved spider that hasn't eaten the Queen Spider Monster's soul could defeat him, let alone the spider's current stats of around 40,000. Even if the whole city attacked together, they wouldn't be able to defeat the spider.

That's why the game balance in this world is so terrible. Once monsters gain intelligence, they grow much faster than humanoid races. Moreover, monsters can extend their lifespan through evolution, giving them an even greater advantage.

Fortunately, the two sides would not actually clash. The leader saw the Demon King's petite figure from afar, and his face turned pale instantly. He had not expected the Demon King to suddenly appear, and he quickly sped up and rushed over.

"Demon King, you've returned." He didn't even glance at the others, and immediately led everyone to kneel on the ground and respectfully greet them.

"Yes, I'm back," the Demon King said casually.

"Your subordinate failed to greet the Demon King in advance, please forgive me, Demon King." The man lowered his head even further.

"Alright, we need to find a place to rest. We can talk about it tomorrow. Now, go do whatever you need to do." The Demon King casually dismissed him, his attitude more like that of a slave than a subordinate.

Several demon soldiers were trembling with anger, but the demon king himself remained unmoved and respectful. Logically, guarding the border should be a busy job, but the leader still escorted the demon king to the most luxurious mansion in town before leaving.

As for Spider's demonic identity and Karl and his group whose origins were unknown, that person didn't dare to ask any questions.

Upon arriving at the mansion, the Demon King had the servants bring over a lot of food and several barrels of red wine.

Although somewhat afraid of the half-human, half-spider spider, the servants dared not disobey the Demon King's orders and still forced themselves to provide good service.

"Everyone, eat and drink as much as you like," the Demon Queen said generously. Incidentally, this mansion belonged to the leader of the group, so the Demon Queen was essentially giving away someone else's property. However, she was the Demon Queen, and in the Demon Realm, she had the right to do whatever she wanted.

After the servants left, Kurumi Tokisaki took a sip of red wine and said, "You're only now acting like a demon king. These people are all afraid of you."

The Demon King smiled and said, "Didn't I look like a Demon King before?"

"It's hard to say when we first met, but when you appeared the second time, you were definitely no longer scary, and you even called yourself a demon king girl or something..."

The Demon King said nonchalantly, "Well, after all, I was influenced by that guy's parallel consciousness, but I am still me, that part hasn't changed."

"What do you mean by 'this guy'? That's so rude."

Just then, a dissatisfied voice suddenly rang out. The voice sounded so unfamiliar that no one could immediately recognize who was speaking.

When they looked in the direction of the voice, they found that it was Spider-Girl who was speaking. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was holding a half-empty wine glass in her hand.

Everyone was a little confused. Spider-Zi had suddenly started talking. You know, in the past few days, Spider-Zi hadn't even said more than ten words in total.

"Hahaha, your expressions are hilarious." Spider-Woman slammed her hand on the table and laughed so hard that she cracked what looked like an expensive table.

"Is he... drunk?"

"That should be right, and it has even revealed its true nature. Although it appears cold and taciturn, it is indeed like this inside," the Demon King said.

"What do you mean by this behavior?!"

The spider was arguing with the demon king, but she didn't stop drinking. She used her human hands to hold the wine glass and drink, while her spider body below held the wine bottle in her mouth, eating with both mouths at the same time.

After a while of excitement, while Spider was still able to speak, Karl asked her, "Spider, what are your plans for the future? We won't stay here forever, and you're a monster in the labyrinth now."

"Plans? What plans could we possibly have? We'll just have to take it one step at a time. Even if the planet runs out of energy and is destroyed, that's a long way off. There'll always be a way. Before that, let's treat ourselves. We finally escaped this precarious existence. I think this place in the Demon King's is pretty good; there's food and drink to eat." Spider said drunkenly.

"Then you may be disappointed." The Demon King finished his wine and suddenly became very serious. "The peace is only temporary, because I am about to start preparing for the war between humans and demons. Those who do not work will not eat. If you want to eat, you will have to go to the battlefield."

The Demon King is preparing to open the tower.

Karl asked, "Demon King, do you really want to go to war? All I've heard in this town is war-weariness."

As he drank, he took in all the sounds of the entire town.

Among the many voices, the one Karl heard most was complaining: complaining that too many people died in the war, complaining that no one was cultivating the land, that there wasn't enough food, and complaining that life was too hard.

Among the many complaints, the most numerous were those against the Demon King. The complaints were that the Demon King insisted on launching a war despite the country's depleted strength, and that no one truly supported him. It would not be surprising if a resistance army were formed at any time.

“The demons can’t even be self-sufficient right now, can they? How about I help them clear some wasteland and let them recuperate for a few years?” Karl said.

The Demon King shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Superman, but to be honest, I don't care about the demon race, or rather, I hate them."

“I hate everyone, those who hope to survive by sacrificing the goddess, those who can only exist by the goddess’s suffering, I hate them.”

"I have only been enduring this because of the goddess's wishes."

The Demon King gritted his teeth and revealed his true feelings, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy.

The tranquility was broken by a drunken spider.

"Idiot, why live for others? Doing what you want to do is the most important thing."

The Demon King smiled again and said, "That's true. Thanks to you, I'm much more optimistic. Anyway, I've made up my mind to do it."

“But your real purpose shouldn’t be to take revenge on humanity, right? You don’t seem like the kind of person who would seek revenge in this way,” Karl said.

This should be the real main quest. Spider has no roots or connection to this world. If we're talking about quests, we really have to look to the Demon King.

Chapter Twenty-One: Because I'm Superman

Although the Demon King says she hates humans, she has endured this for so many years since ancient times, so it's unlikely that she would suddenly start a war between humans and demons for revenge. There must be some hidden reason.

“Tell me, maybe I can help you,” Carl said kindly.

Spider also chose to chime in at this moment.

"That's right, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Demon King! If someone is genuinely willing to help you, just accept it. Superman will be leaving in half a month. I really hate to see him go. Superman, don't go!"

Spider-Man, halfway through his speech, suddenly became drunk and hugged Carl, showing none of his usual social anxiety.

The Demon King seemed to have been persuaded.

"Alright, I only have two goals: to rescue the goddess and to kill the source of all evil, Potimas. No, even if I don't kill Potimas, I'll do anything as long as I can rescue the goddess!"

“You don’t need to do this, Demon King. Your wish is reasonable. The goddess has been imprisoned by the system for so long for the sake of the world, and she really deserves to be freed. I will definitely help you,” Karl said.

"Really?!" the Demon King said, somewhat moved. In her eyes, Karl's power surpassed that of the system, reaching the realm of gods. Such assistance was enough for her to place some of her hopes on him.

“Of course,” Karl said, moving the spider back to his seat. “So, what’s the connection between saving the goddess and the war between humans and demons?”

The Demon King explained, "To save the goddess, we must first save the world. This requires sufficient energy, which is the greatest challenge and the source of this world's sorrow."

That is a problem. It's easy to take down the world's scourge, Potimas, with force. But the key is to fill the bottomless pit that is the planet. Otherwise, the planet will still be destroyed, just a little later.

Where can you find so much MA energy?

The Demon King's plan was to use the war between humans and demons to create a large number of dead to recover energy, while simultaneously eliminating Potimas, who had been stealing energy. Finally, he would dismantle the system, rescue the goddess, and use the system's energy to repair the planet.