Chapter 11.4. Demon Kings Recovery (4)

  No. I lost that qualification the moment I was birthed a second time. It was replaced by human DNA. And honestly, I don’t even believe I was a god to begin with, replied Lucifer.

  Why is that, my lord? asked Kane.

  As far as I can remember, my father was a demon, and I believe my mother was a demon as well. However, I could never sense any demonic energy—or any kind of energy—from her, which was rather odd, replied Lucifer.

  My lord, do you perhaps remember what they looked like? asked Kane.

  No. I forgot what they looked like after I was born the second time. But why are you asking? responded Lucifer.

  I thought it was possible that your father might have been the Demon King who disappeared thousands of years ago, replied Kane.

  That’s highly unlikely. If that were true, it would mean I’m over ten thousand years old. Besides, didn’t that king leave with the Queen of Dragons? Demons and dragons can’t reproduce, so I can’t be their child, said Lucifer.

  You make a valid point, my lord, said Kane. I’m curious—what exactly did you do to be cast out of Heaven?

  I summoned demons in Heaven using a magic circle powered by the Garden of Eden, then I waged war against the angels… and my father, replied Lucifer.

  I turned the Silver City and all its glory into a sea of blood, said Lucifer. The streets were covered in the corpses of angels and demons alike, and the city itself was reduced to ruins.

  When I finally reached my father, I had to fight the very people I trusted most while I was in Heaven. I defeated every last one of them. Just as I was about to go after my father, he stepped in and tried to force me to submit to his will.

  When I broke through his power, he used a demonic spell and sent me straight to Hell. That was the last time I ever saw anyone from Heaven, said Lucifer.

  I’m certain the remaining demons were eventually wiped out by the archangels. After all, even the high demons I summoned were average at best when it came to intelligence. All they knew was destruction.

  My lord, holy magic is deadly to demons. And in Heaven, demons should die instantly from exposure alone. How were you able to keep them alive? asked Kane.

  I was an archangel too, Kane. Not just any archangel, but the strongest among them, replied Lucifer.

  I cast magic that reduced the effects of holy magic on the demons by half. Their power was cut in half as well, but they made up for it in numbers. I summoned tens of thousands of demons, and with the Garden of Eden powering the summoning circle, I had an immense supply of magic energy to draw from.

  My lord, you slaughtered countless angels, and yet not a single one has come after you. It’s not like you’ve been hiding or anything, said Kane.

  I believe the explanation is simple, replied Lucifer. My father knows that I am far more powerful now than I ever was in Heaven—far stronger than the archangels, even those I once called my closest friends. He most likely doesn’t want to send his children to their graves by pursuing me out of vengeance.

  Since the Supreme Being is the creator of everything, couldn’t he simply snap his fingers and erase you from existence? asked Kane.

  That’s a very good question, said Lucifer thoughtfully. I wonder the same thing myself—especially considering how many of his precious humans I’ve killed.

  They walked through the holy-magic-filled space for a while longer before finally coming across another door. Unlike the others, this one was made of wood.

  Lucifer grabbed the handle and pulled it open. A strong breeze rushed out from the other side, brushing against them as they stepped through.

  They emerged onto the sixth floor—still under repair. A massive, jagged hole gaped in one of the walls, leading straight into nothingness.

  Lucifer stopped, stared at it for a moment… then face palmed.

  Ah right, he muttered. That was me.

  Directly above them loomed the seventh floor, now connected to the sixth thanks to Lucifer’s handiwork. Instead of searching for a door, they simply jumped up to it.

  Compared to the floors below, the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth floors weren’t considered particularly challenging. All they contained were doors—and while most doors were harmless, choosing the wrong one could mean instant death for the unlucky.

  Lucifer, uninterested in exploring any of the remaining doors, shrugged at Kane and leaped straight to the ninth floor.

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  Those four floors had been easy to access thanks to a large portion of the castle that Lucifer had destroyed. The damage conveniently made those floors far simpler to reach.

  But from the tenth to the twelfth floor, not even Kane knew what awaited them.

  They walked through the damaged passageway and came upon the door to the tenth floor. As Lucifer opened it, his eyes immediately fell upon a reflection of himself.

  “Oh great… it’s the mirror dimension,” muttered Lucifer.

  “Mirror dimension?” Kane repeated, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes. As you can see… our reflections,” Lucifer said with a smirk.

  “Alright then. We’ve had our fun. Let’s return to the throne room,” he added, closing the door to the tenth floor.

  “My lord, what about exploring the tenth floor… as well as the rest?” asked Kane.

  “If my guess is correct, there is no tenth, eleventh, or twelfth floor. It all ends in the mirror dimension,” responded Lucifer.

  “How is that so, my lord? The castle’s records clearly state there are thirteen floors, the throne room being the thirteenth,” said Kane.

  “That’s just a lie. There are only ten floors. It’s a trap—a way to bait anyone into entering the mirror dimension. The mirror dimension isn’t particularly dangerous… at first glance. But it serves as a prison for anyone foolish enough to enter willingly. Once inside, you can never leave. And the worst part? You can’t even use magic to escape—any spell just bounces off your mirror self,” explained Lucifer.

  “My lord… doesn’t that make it a highly dangerous place?” asked Kane.

  “Well, yes and no. The only thing that can truly harm you there… is yourself. But only if you’re stupid enough to attack,” said Lucifer.

  “My lord… please explain that part,” Kane urged.

  “Think of it like this: if there were two versions of yourself with equal power, and you each fired the same magic spell at each other… what do you think would happen?”

  “The spells would cancel each other out… since they’re identical,” replied Kane.

  “Exactly. Now, in the mirror dimension, as the name suggests, it’s a dimension full of mirrors. That means there are thousands of versions of yourself. So if you fired a magic spell at one of your mirror versions… guess what the other thousands would do?” said Lucifer.

  “I see… that’s interesting. So even if you aim at just one version, all the other copies mimic your every movement. One spell turns into thousands of spells, all coming toward you at once. And even if they’re low-level spells, you wouldn’t escape uninjured,” replied Kane.

  “Exactly. The same principle applies when opening a gate. If you enter one, you’d end up coming out of one of the thousands of gates created by the mirror versions of yourself,” said Lucifer.

  “I see… so that’s why you didn’t want to enter the tenth floor,” Kane said.

  “No, that’s not the reason. Getting out of the mirror dimension is actually easier than you’d think,” Lucifer replied.

  “Wait… then why aren’t we going to the tenth floor?” Kane asked.

  “Because finding the exit is a huge hassle. You have to constantly fire magic spells at your mirror selves while simultaneously searching for a specific mirror that has no reflection,” Lucifer explained.

  “Even if you find that mirror’s location, you’ll have to keep firing magic spells until you reach it. And if you stop and that mirror disappears, you’d have to start the whole process over again. It’s a huge pain,” said Lucifer.

  “I see… but my lord, how do you know so much about the mirror dimension?” asked Kane.

  “Oh, that dimension is the same one my father sent me through when he was banishing me to Hell. I’m sure he thought it would scare the humans if they saw the chains of Hell reaching into Heaven and dragging down a casket engulfed in hellfire. So he hid the entire process inside the mirror dimension,” said Lucifer.

  “That… would make the torment far worse,” Kane muttered.

  “Exactly. Of course, at the time, I didn’t have the luxury to think about the dimension I was in. But I do remember hearing the sound of glass as I was sent to Hell. Now I’ve confirmed that it was indeed the mirror dimension,” said Lucifer.

  After their conversation, Kane created a portal, and they stepped through it, arriving back in the throne room. Lucifer sat upon his throne, pondering what to do next. He couldn’t think of anything—he was effectively a prisoner in his own castle—so he told Kane to have a meal prepared for him.

  As Kane exited the throne room, Lucifer closed his eyes and called out to Lokie. In an instant, he was drawn into his throne. Opening his eyes, he found Lokie staring at him.

  “My lord, if it’s a fight you’re after, I’d advise against it. I’m much stronger than you at this very moment,” Lokie said.

  “Hah! When did you become an adviser anyway? I’m not here to fight—I need your help recovering my Ki. Since you have one hundred percent of my power, even if it’s just an imitation, you should be able to transfer some—or even most—of it to me. After all, even an imitation requires power, especially when it’s mimicking my own,” Lucifer replied.

  “Hmmm… that is true,” Lokie conceded.

  “Good. The process is simple. Inject Ki into my body little by little. I’ll direct it into my world space, which will, in turn, recover my Ki even faster,” Lucifer explained, taking off his shirt.

  “Alright, sounds simple enough,” Lokie responded.

  Lucifer seated himself in a cross-legged position. Lokie appeared behind him, mirroring the posture, and placed both hands on Lucifer’s upper back. Slowly, he began injecting Ki into Lucifer’s body. Lucifer felt the energy flow in and directed it straight to his Dantian, where it replenished his inner world space, significantly boosting his Ki recovery rate.

  Lucifer thought for a moment that perhaps he should have started this sooner, but then again, recovering too quickly would have limited the freedom he had enjoyed until now. After a while, he had regained a third of his full strength and felt invigorated. Deciding to take a break—not just for himself, but because transferring energy was also taxing Lokie—he left the throne.

  He was met by Kane, who informed him that his meal was ready. The two left for the dining hall. Later that day, Lucifer returned to his throne and resumed his recovery with Lokie’s help.

  The next day, when Lucifer emerged from the throne, Kane immediately noticed a shift in his energy. Even a small increase was perceptible. Two-thirds of Lucifer’s power had returned; only the final third remained, which he believed could be restored with just one more session with Lokie.

  Curious, Kane asked how Lucifer had managed to recover his energy so quickly, given that just a day ago he had less than a third of his power. Lucifer explained the process to him. Kane, puzzled, wondered why Lucifer hadn’t used this method from the start. “I only recently thought of it,” Lucifer replied, truthfully enough.

  They left the throne room, and Lucifer stepped outside, seeking some fresh air. As he walked, he remembered the barrier Kane had set up to keep him inside the castle. He approached it and placed his hand against it, confirming that it was still in place. With a flick of his finger, the entire barrier shattered effortlessly.