I Took the Demon King as My Wife

—Kwang!
With a thunderous noise, the tower wall crumbled.
Debris crashed inward with a deafening sound.
“Oh no…!”
Avoiding the falling debris, Eilena hurriedly threw herself backward.
Kakagak! The sound of sharp nails scraping the floor echoed. Leaving crimson bloodstains on the floor, she barely managed to stop her sliding body.
“Kugh…!”
Her fingertips burned with pain. Eilena quickly removed her hands from the floor and tried to stand up.
But her body was already in tatters. She couldn’t even rise halfway before collapsing back down.
Blood trickled down her forehead. Her vision began to blur with dizziness.
She bit her bloody lips, barely managing to hold onto consciousness.
“Damn it!”
Spitting out a curse she couldn’t fully swallow, she slowly raised her head. Her jade-colored eyes blazed with anger as she looked toward the collapsed wall.
Through the thick dust, she could see a large shadow walking toward her.
—Bwoong!
With a sound cutting through the air, the settling dust scattered upward.
The blurry figure finally became clearly visible.
Hair as black as the deep shadow, and eyes of the same darkness.
A massive frame that could rival any demon, and the emerald holy sword in his hand.
“The Hero…!”
Hero Hans.
He was her eternal nemesis, hailed as the savior of humanity.
He walked steadily toward her through the cleared surroundings.
“Demon King Eilena, admit your defeat gracefully.”
“…Kugh!”
Hans pointed his sword at Eilena who sat slumped on the ground.

Facing the sharp blade, Eilena could only grit her teeth and grimace.
At this, the Saint Lasia, who had been hiding behind the hero, stepped forward beside him.
“Eilena! I will not forgive you for bringing chaos to the continent!”
“…Shut up.”
Eilena, who had been hanging her head dejectedly, muttered a curse under her breath.
Lasia trembled momentarily when she met Eilena’s blazing eyes.
Behind the Saint, another member of the hero’s party, the mage Yeomje, revealed himself.
“To remain unbroken even in this state… Indeed, worthy of being called the Jade-Eyed Demon King.”
He muttered, looking down at her with an indifferent expression. Blue flames began to flicker in his left hand.
Having already experienced the power of his blue flames with her body, Eilena slightly hunched, clutching her burning shoulder.
‘Damn it…!’
Her teeth clenched involuntarily in fury. Enduring the waves of pain, she looked around.
What entered her trembling vision was her castle, now reduced to ruins.
The Sovereign of the Green-Fingered.
The magnificent throne room of the infamous Demon King had become a complete wasteland after the fierce battle.
The thick pillars supporting the castle were all cut in half, and the once impenetrable outer walls now had gaping holes everywhere.
Many of her subordinates, including the Four Heavenly Kings, were scattered chaotically throughout, and their uncoagulated blood still lingered in the air.
‘Damn it…! Everyone….’
Were they dead or still breathing? It was impossible to tell their state as they were all in such terrible condition.
But unlike the tragedy of her kind, the three standing before her were perfectly fine.
Not even a scratch, completely unharmed.
‘Damn it….’
Eilena ground her teeth several times as she averted her indignant gaze.
It was the ultimate humiliation.
To think that she, known as the Sovereign of the Green-Fingered, the Jade-Eyed Demon King, would taste such an overwhelming defeat at the hands of just three humans.
With her physical strength and magical power completely depleted, she couldn’t even struggle.
It was a miserable defeat. What she felt in the face of such overwhelming powerlessness was humiliation laced with anger.
As if reading her thoughts, Hans looked at her and casually said,
“Demon King. Admit your defeat. You have nothing left.”
“……”
Eilena barely raised her head, clinging to her fading consciousness.
Continuously exhaling rough breaths, she glared at the man pointing his sword at her with trembling vision.
Eventually, releasing her labored breath, she gave a reluctant answer with a deep sigh.
“I lost. It’s my defeat.”
With those powerless words, her head dropped lifelessly.
Having heard her answer, Hans slowly lowered his sword to under her chin and asked once more.
“You admit defeat?”
“Yes, kill me.”
Eilena raised her head stiffly, squeezing out her last strength.
Her final words were filled with anger that had not yet been washed away by humiliation.
There were mountains of things she hadn’t accomplished, and duties that weighed heavily on her shoulders, but now they were all meaningless.
For the defeated, only death remained. She needed to humbly accept her end.
This was her duty to her subordinates who had departed before her and befitting behavior for a ruler.
She relaxed her entire body, ready to accept death. At this, Hans moved his lips once more.
“You admit defeat?”
“Shut up and get it over with.”
How many times did he need to be reminded?
Eilena inwardly cursed Hans, who seemed intent on humiliating her until the very end.
“Very well….”
Finally, the blade that had been resting on her chin rose high into the sky.
Eilena closed her eyes tightly, sensing her imminent death.
‘This is the end.’
Having given up everything and letting go completely, Eilena felt emptiness flood her mind.
A ruler’s qualifications, a Demon King’s honor—all were meaningless in the face of death.
After surviving hundreds of years with tenacity, to vanish in an instant like a bubble…is this what it feels like?
Would it all end with just my death?
What would happen to my fallen subordinates and remaining people?
Would they become sacrifices in a massive slaughter?
Would they be reduced to slaves of humans?
Countless negative thoughts raced through her mind in a split second.
In the overwhelming emptiness, nothing held meaning. There was nothing she could do.
—Hwook!
Finally, the sharp sound of air being cut echoed in her ears.
“Hup!”
At the fierce sound, her body’s hair stood on end, and a suppressed scream escaped her lips.
The last words she would utter in this unfortunate world—a death rattle, as it were.
She trembled, anticipating the cold sensation of the sword passing through her neck.
However, despite the sound and the passage of time, she felt neither coldness nor pain.
Had she already died and gone to the afterlife?
Had it ended so quickly that she didn’t even feel a brief pain?
If asked if she was already dead, that wasn’t the case either.
The sensation of her still-bristling skin was vivid.
The aching arm and the hot blood flowing down her cheek proved she was still alive.
She could even hear sounds clearly.
—Chulgeureok.
Clear enough to hear the smooth sound of some metal sliding.
‘…What’s going on?’
Wondering what was happening, Eilena slowly opened her tightly shut eyelids.
What entered her vision was the hero with his sword sheathed.
His holy sword, which should have pierced through her neck, was somehow fully returned to its scabbard.
‘What… is this…?’
Eilena slowly raised her head to look at the hero’s face.
He was looking down at her with a candid expression as he wiped away his sweat.
Unlike him, who seemed unbothered, Eilena’s face showed clear confusion.
After her pupils flickered dozens of times, Hans’s tightly closed lips finally opened.
“Lasia.”
“Yes, Hero?”
“Please provide some healing.”
“Ah… yes, understood.”
Standing dazed behind him, Lasia quickly approached at Hans’s words.
“I invoke the touch of light….”
Just as she was about to use her healing magic by borrowing divine power,
“Lasia.”
“Eh? Y-yes…?”
Hans interrupted her, stopping her outstretched hand and halting her spell.
The flickering light dimmed, and bewilderment rose on Lasia’s face.
Hans continued, disregarding her reaction.
“Not me.”
“What?”
To the repeatedly blinking Lasia, Hans promptly extended his finger to indicate who he wanted her to heal.
Following his finger, Lasia let out a gasp of surprise.
“W-what are you saying, Hero! Y-you’re asking me to heal that woman?”
Despite Lasia’s loudly exclaimed attitude, Hans answered with the same consistent tone.
“Yes, please.”
“No, what is this….”
Beyond surprise, Lasia now looked at him with an expression that showed she couldn’t comprehend.
‘What is this guy saying…?’
And just like her, Eilena, equally confused, also directed her gaze at him.
Hans continued to show the same reaction despite the gazes upon him. He silently bent down toward the seated Eilena and extended his hand.
“Can you stand?”
“H-Hero!”
“What are you trying to do?”
Even Yeomje joined in rebuking Hans for his unexpected action. But he remained unmoved.
In front of the three, Eilena simply stared alternately at Hans’s extended hand and his face.
‘What is this…? Why suddenly…?’
She couldn’t understand why an opponent who had been trying to kill her with all his might suddenly showed such a reversed attitude.
Judging by the reactions of the other two, it didn’t seem like a pre-planned strategy either.
‘What is his real intention…?’
Eilena looked at him with eyes full of suspicion.
She couldn’t discern why he was acting this way or what his true intentions were.
The only certainty was that he showed no sign of withdrawing his extended hand until she took it.
Finally, Eilena, filled with questions, took his hand and stood up.
“Ugh…!”
Though she managed to stand, a groan of pain escaped her due to her severely injured state.
“Lasia, heal her, quickly.”
Hans, who had caught her as she lost balance and stumbled, immediately spoke to Lasia.
Lasia shook her head vigorously with a pale face.
“N-no! W-why should I heal an enemy? I don’t understand, Hero!”
“Lasia, I didn’t ask you to understand, I asked you to heal. Don’t make me repeat myself, just heal her quickly.”
“Ugh…! B-but…!”
At Hans’s resolute tone, Lasia trembled in frustration, gripping her staff tightly.
Eventually, with deeply furrowed brows, she glared at Eilena and reluctantly extended her hand to use healing magic.
“Touch of light….”
With a bright light, Eilena’s face, which had been contorted, became a bit more stable.
As her breathing stabilized, Hans, supporting her, said,
“Hey, are you alright? Can you stand now?”
“Ah… yes… thanks… to you….”
Although the healing was merely a basic, low-level healing, it was enough to improve her condition.
Eilena, pushing away the lingering pain, released Hans’s hand that she had been holding.
“So, would you care to explain what this charade is all about?”
Yeomje, who had been silently observing the process, stepped forward and asked Hans.
“Y-yes! Why didn’t you finish her off right away? If you don’t take her life now, when will…!”
“Enough.”
As Lasia began chattering excitedly following Yeomje’s statement, Hans made a gesture to her, closing his eyes tightly.
“Hero!”
Restrained once more, Lasia frowned and exclaimed loudly.
Hans lightly ignored this and once again asked Eilena,
“Demon King, you clearly admitted defeat earlier, right?”
“……”
Under his intense black gaze, Eilena awkwardly avoided his eyes and reluctantly nodded slightly.
Only after repeatedly questioning her did Hans nod and mutter in a small voice,
“Yes… good.”
“What’s good about this?”
“Hero! Kill her quickly! What have we been doing until now…!”
Passing by Lasia, who had started chattering again, Hans took a step forward toward Eilena.
Engulfing her entire body with his large shadow, he spoke in a very calm tone,
“Demon King, having admitted defeat, you are now mine.”
“What…?”
“Become my wife.”
Eilena doubted what she had just heard.