I Am the Weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings but the Demons Are Obsessed With Me

8 – The Perennially Absent Scepter King, Rain.

It was fortunate that Scarlet came at just the right time. With this, no one will suspect my death. No demon would think that the weakest among the Four Scepter Kings could have defeated the hero.

I felt a bit sorry knowing that Scarlet would have to take on all the duties I had been responsible for. Considering all the mischief I’d stirred up in the demon lord’s castle… there was no one else who could handle it, except for Scarlet, who had been watching by my side. She would probably be run ragged to the point of no sleep.

Nevertheless, this meant I could finally retire. I planned to settle down in a fairly bustling town with a sizable retirement fund. Just thinking about a comfortable life warmed my heart.

‘But I really feel like I might die for real….’

The wound inflicted by the hero still hurts. It is somewhat fortunate that, as a half-demon, I can resist some of the hero’s power. Even gods might be unsure how to view half-demons. We look like humans, yet we resemble demons.

It’s not particularly fortunate to receive damage from both ends, when you think about it… Come to think of it, it feels quite unfair.

If humans in the human world are the children of the Goddess, and demons in the demon world are the children of the Demon God, then wouldn’t half-demons be somewhat like the grandchildren of the Goddess and Demon God? If so, we should be immune to both.

Or the Goddess and Demon God could get married and give birth to a half-god, half-demon entity… One’s mind sure does wander when in pain.

Having confirmed my death, the hero fled immediately. He must have decided that dealing with Scarlet’s demons would be too difficult for him. It was fortunate that I knew various survival and trick skills from working in the organization. They call this pretending to be dead in martial arts literature, although I don’t understand why they use such a grand term.

Anyway, I survived! Finally, it was time to be liberated from this damned organization.

After a few days of recovery, I would have to report the completion of my mission to the organization, and then I would be done. I had already established contact with a department in the organization nearby. I also obtained information about the hero through them.

Now.

It’s time to become Rain, the half-human, half-demon from the human world, not Rain, the weakest among the Four Heavenly Kings, half-demon.

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“It’s been rejected.”

“What?”

“They say it’s still impossible to complete the mission.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a long-term mission. You see where it says the deadline here? Until the Demon King is defeated by the hero. The mission is still ongoing.”

“…sh*t. Ah, sorry.”

“That’s okay. I understand. By the way, you’ve done an impressive job. Given your achievements, it’s fine if you just rest from now on… Would you like me to recommend a comfortable hideout where you can pass your time?”

“…I’ll think about it a little more.”

“Alright. We appreciate your dedication to the organization and humanity.”

Cursed old fools. They should have explained this before sending me to the demon world.

Of course, as that department head said, now that I’ve achieved so much, completing the mission itself won’t be a problem. It’s just a matter of time.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

The mission deadline of ‘until the Demon King is defeated by the hero’ assumes that the hero will defeat the Demon King.

So, what if…

What if the hero loses to the Demon King? Or if he suddenly dies in an accident?

Then I’d be a lifelong slave of the organization without any chance of escaping. There wouldn’t be an issue if the hero defeats the Demon King, but… something just felt off.

After pondering this for a few minutes, I soon realized what was bothering me.

“…Was it a mistake to hasten the hero’s growth too much?”

The current hero lacked experience. He had even hunted a member of the Four Heavenly Kings and yet failed to confirm the kill, fleeing instead. Of course, I did manipulate the circumstances to force this outcome, but even so, the hero was dreadfully immature.

The very fact that he had grown so much in just two years might have proven to be a poison. It was an undeniable error on my part.

True heroes are meant to slowly develop through hardship and trials, encompassing both mental maturity and an inner hardness. However, the plan I created lacked this process of ‘mental maturity.’

At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if the hero were to die by a sudden mistake. A cold sweat started to run down my face as a sense of unease began to creep up on me.

Could it be that I… caused an accident?

*

The death of Rain, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The news that Rain, who once held the lowest rank among the Four Heavenly Kings, had died quickly spread throughout the demon world.

Many demons mocked Rain. There were those who anticipated that they would become the new member of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Those who knew Rain mourned his death. It was an odd occurrence. Demons, a species that thrived in conflict, were not accustomed to seeing fellow demons grieve for someone who was nothing more than another casualty.

In fact, the story was quite simple.

To them, Rain was not just ‘another.’ He was a friend, a companion, a leader… some even considered him family. At least those in the Demon King’s castle who had personally encountered the Four Heavenly King named Rain displayed a minimum level of respect for his death.

Even if it was… another of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings.

Magenta, the pink-haired witch girl, was no exception. Stepping out of her pumpkin carriage, she surveyed the castle grounds. They had changed considerably since her last visit. Where once the grim Dark Castle stood, now there were flowerbeds bursting with colorful blooms.

“…It’s beautiful.”

Despite the lovely garden, it appeared that no one had watered the flowers since Rain’s passing; they had begun to wilt. If left this way, the petals would soon dry out and die.

Not that it was her concern, really. She could find the same kind of flowers in a witch’s garden any day.

But she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away.

Staring blankly at the flowers, she recalled the half-demon who had tended to this garden.

‘He was a strange one.’

She had thought him an odd creature when he had asked her for flower seedlings to create a garden in the Demon King’s castle. She had given him particularly high-maintenance flowers, threatening that if the seedlings she provided withered, she would punish him.

Rain had cared for those flowers with great diligence. Despite being busier than anyone, he watered them daily, plucked the withered leaves, and often stared at them, lost in thought, much like she was doing now.

When that little brat Onyx playfully set the garden on fire, Rain had been despondent for days. It was such a pitiable sight. In the end, she had helped to recreate the garden, using her own witch’s spells.

Seeing that half-demon beam with gratitude… she had thought him foolish. What did he take her for, a great witch who had mastered the seventy-two spells of witchcraft, to be concerned about a Four Heavenly King so downhearted? She had only helped because she couldn’t stand to see him look so defeated.

Well, still… the cookies he had made her as a token of his thanks were truly delicious. They were so good she half-wondered if they contained a love potion out of the legends of witches. If he hadn’t been one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, she might have forced him to become her puppet by any means necessary.

No matter how she thought about it, he just didn’t fit the image of a Four Heavenly King.

‘hehehe, I hope they pick someone more suitable for the next Four Heavenly King~.’

At the entrance of the Demon King’s castle, where not a single hole marred the ground, a green poisonous miasma began to rise. Then, from within the smoke emerged a skeleton, draped in a robe. It was one of the Four Kings of the Demon King’s army, a great lich known as the Dark Lord by other demons, who had abandoned even his own name.

The death of one of the Four Kings was quite a significant event—significant enough to warrant the summoning of the others to a single place. The lich was displeased by the turn of events.

“So you perish because you held a position above your strength.”

Tsk, what a nuisance it was that the creature had simply died of its own accord. Had it died nearby, the lich would have enslaved its soul and condemned it to eternal labor.

Of course, such a weak creature was hardly meaningful to enslave. One could consider themselves fortunate if the creature was good for menial tasks at best. Useless half-demons. It might have been better for it to have requested an immortal body from him instead.

After all, being devoid of venom, a life in a corpse must have been hard to endure. When that witch Magenta incited the underling to betray it, it just laughed it off, even worrying about the traitor instead. Back then, it seemed like a mere fool.

The position of one of the Four Kings was far beyond such a creature.

“I hope the new King will be a proper demon.”

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From a sky filled with unpleasant purple-swirling clouds, a being descended. It was a massive dragon, glistening with sleek, black scales like an obsidian pearl.

Landing at the Demon King’s castle, the dragon’s body began to shrink, soon transforming into the figure of a person with twin horns. This was Lord Onyx, belonging to the most powerful race in the demon realm, the Dragonkin.

“It was an entertaining creature, dead too soon.”

As Onyx traveled to the grand meeting hall, it recalled a particular half-demon. Despite its weakness, it was a peculiar creature that haughtily slipped through all of Onyx’s tricks.

Onyx had thought it had finally found an amusing new toy, but never expected it would perish so pointlessly. If only Onyx had known, it would have made the creature a vassal to play with longer.

During spring, when Onyx threw the bones of a skeleton created by that child to a dog demon to play with, it was mildly amusing. But when, by mistake, the bone hit the dog demon on the head, causing it to flee in a panic, Onyx laughed until its stomach hurt. How that thing managed to survive thus far was a mystery, a unique and odd creature indeed.

And to think such a creature was one of the Four Kings… There truly couldn’t have been a demon who fit that title any less.

“I hope the new King will be more entertaining!”

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The new Four King was decided by unanimous agreement among the others.

Or rather, the decision was unanimously rejected.

The three Kings pleaded with the Demon King to leave the last spot unclaimed. There were various reasons suggested: the body had not been found, raising the possibility of Rain’s eventual return, and appointing a mainstream demon as the new King could cause a backlash among the minority races that followed Rain. However, everyone knew these reasons were mere excuses.

Thus, the last seat among the Four Kings remained vacant.

That seat would forever be reserved for Rain.

Unforgotten by anyone.

Even though it was mocked by some demons.

As the most foolish game that was caught without a scar.

It was to remain an unchanging symbol of minority species.

And a few demons who live a very long time.

They were to remember the empty space.

He was.

Our.

He was said to be the weakest of the four heavenly kings.

*

‘No, please, Hero!’

Why are you going into a place that’s obviously a trap?

Even the village elder is dodging around with various excuses, don’t you doubt it?

And you’re underage! Don’t drink!

What if you lose all your travel expenses to dice gambling!

Hero!