A barren wasteland.

Volcanic eruptions burst from the earth, shrouding the sky and leaving no light to reach the ground.

In the pitch-black darkness, where one couldn’t see even an inch ahead, half the land was submerged in molten lava.

Leading this searing inferno was a demon with crimson eyes.

The massacre had begun, led by Perlerina.

Thud.

At that moment, a girl with jet-black hair stood in her path.

“…Huffniss,” Perlerina said, gazing at her with sorrowful eyes.

“Lina. Please, stop…”

The girl’s voice quivered as she cried out.

“Is this… is this the way you said we would survive? This is too much!”

The continent was covered in lava.

Countless lives were consumed in its wake.

Not even superhumans could withstand the power of the Infernal Era’s authority.

“This isn’t a way for us to live—it’s a way to kill everyone else but us!”

That this was the method chosen by the once gentle and kind Demon King was something the girl could scarcely believe.

“Move aside, Huffniss.”

The Demon King’s voice no longer carried warmth.

It was cold, hardened, and low.

“I don’t want to kill you. So step aside.”

“Lina!”

The girl shouted, hoping for the return of the person she once knew.

“…Do you truly intend to defy me?”

Whoosh!

Six spiraling columns of molten lava rose into the air, taking the form of serpents.

“If you’re going to stand in the way of the demons’ salvation, then I will simply deal with you. I don’t want to kill you, but finding a new suitable Demon King won’t be difficult.”

“Lina…”

There was no trace of warmth in the Demon King’s eyes as she looked at the girl.

Only hostility toward an obstacle.

That was all she could see.

“Even so… I’ll stop you.”

Voom.

Demonic energy enveloped the girl.

Black armor and wings formed around her, encasing her in an impenetrable shell.

With a sword forged of concentrated dark energy, she ascended into the air.

“How unfortunate. It seems I’ll have to find a new candidate.”

The Demon King extended her hand.

“In consideration of our history, I’ll make it painless.”

Screech!

Dozens of lava serpents surged toward the girl.

Drip…
Drip…

“Cough!”

The Demon King coughed up a handful of blood.

A black demonic sword was embedded in the center of her chest.

“W-why… why didn’t you block it…?”

Even as the sword pierced the Demon King’s chest, the girl’s expression was one of utter confusion.

“I… didn’t account… for my magic running out. It seems this is my loss…”

The Demon King’s eyes slowly began to close.

As her authority faded, the molten lava that had engulfed the land began to cool and harden.

“No! That can’t be! You were the one who taught me swordsmanship! You were the one who taught me magic! There’s no way you’d miscalculate something like this!”

“…Heh.”

The Demon King gave a faint smile.

“If that’s true… then I must’ve become obsolete.”

She reached out and gently stroked the girl’s cheek.

“…Huff…niss…”

“Why…? Do you have something to say…?”

“…Die…”

With her final words, the light in the Demon King’s eyes vanished, and her head slumped forward lifelessly.

“Waaahhh! The Demon King has fallen!”
“Huffniss! The savior of the continent!”

The vision ended with the echoing cheers of those celebrating the end of the war.

“What do you think?”

The Demon God spoke to me.

“That was an event from my mortal days—the time the previous Demon King, who had raised me, tried to kill me.”

…Tried to kill you?

No, that’s not what happened.

From what I saw in the past memory, it was clear how the previous Demon King felt about you.

“The Demon King inherits the power of all preceding Demon Kings. The accumulated strength of countless generations of predecessors allows a Demon King to cover the entire continent in lava. She was the strongest opponent I’ve ever faced.”

The vision replayed in my mind—the endless expanse of molten lava reaching the horizon behind the previous Demon King.

To control such an immense quantity of lava…

It was power capable of ending the world.

“However, the Demon King didn’t fight me with her full strength.”

The Demon God frowned deeply.

“She dared to hold back against me.”

She seemed genuinely angry.

“And her final words were ‘die.’”

Reading her thoughts as they flowed into me, I finally understood why she wanted to resurrect the previous Demon King in reality.

“You wish to fight her again, don’t you?”

“That’s right.”

This arrogant Demon God wanted to defeat the one opponent she considered a blemish on her record.

She couldn’t accept the idea that her opponent had held back during their fight.

“Resurrect the previous Demon King, Perlerina. I will crush her outright and prove the perfection of my victory.”

…What was with these gods?

Why were they all so flawed?

Was being twisted a prerequisite for becoming a god or something?

“Well, it’s possible.”

At least now I knew exactly what kind of story to create.

“But there are certain conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“It took specific circumstances for both the Ten Heroes and Saintess Kate to manifest in reality.”

Having listened to Ren and the Magitech Engineer’s conversation via my terminal, I’d pieced together the process.

Kate’s resurrection was no surprise since the Magitech Engineer had been working toward it, but reviving all ten heroes? That had been shocking.

Still, thanks to the Magitech Engineer’s explanations, I understood how the resurrection had worked.

When a Constellation’s name changes, they overcome the core concept tied to their identity and make it their own.

That process is what enabled the resurrection of their loved ones.

For the Demon God, achieving this would be nearly impossible.

It would almost certainly be a waste of effort.

But that didn’t matter.

I wasn’t interested in granting the Demon God’s wish.

Hearing my conditions, the Demon God hesitated.

“I don’t mind others seeing stories about me and the Demon King, but… are you saying I have to play that game myself?”

“Yes. Both the Magitech Engineer and Sacrifice played the game directly, which made their resurrections possible.”

“…Tsk.”

The Demon God seemed displeased with the idea of having to play the game herself.

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid the Queen of Ten Thousand Demons might not be good at games?”

Boom!

“Ridiculous! I’m not afraid! I just… don’t see why I should waste time on such a trivial task! Fear has nothing to do with it!”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

I smirked.

Reading her thoughts, I was beginning to understand how to handle her.

Her entire mindset was ruled by an overbearing arrogance.

“I’ll need to review your memories and take some time to process them into an episode.”

“How long?”

“Three days should be enough.”

After all, that was when the next version update was scheduled.

Launching new content alongside the second act would be perfect.

“Fine. I’ll be watching.”

Rip.

The Demon God tore through the dreamworld and disappeared.

Even though I was now alone, I could still feel her gaze lingering on me.

She must’ve left it there to keep me in check, fearing I might break my promise.

For someone so arrogant, she sure was paranoid.

Well, no matter.

I intended to keep my promise.

At first, I had planned to twist her history a little to trap her in the story.

But after seeing her memories, I realized I didn’t need to.

‘Just showing her the truth she doesn’t know will be enough.’

I wondered how she would react when she saw the completed episode.

One thing was certain: once she learned the truth, her mind would shatter, and she’d never be able to escape this world on her own.

I couldn’t wait to see it.

How was I supposed to endure these three days?

***

The Depths of the Dimensional Rift

In the pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, seven silhouettes emerged.

[The second seed has been destroyed.]

[The first was a coincidence, but the second cannot be.]

[Someone is interfering with our harvest.]

[That is impossible.]

[We thought so too, but it seems we were mistaken.]

[Who will go?]

[I will.]

[No objections.]

[None from me either.]

[It is decided.]

[This meeting is adjourned.]

Six of the seven silhouettes vanished, leaving one behind.

The remaining figure shot upward, radiating an ominous presence.

She was confident.

Confident that, with her involvement, all obstacles would be eliminated.

But what she didn’t know…

…was that she would soon become known as the mid-boss.