Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods-Chapter 161: Let the Curtain Rise

The wide plaza was buzzing with everyday life, but at the announcement, the atmosphere shifted instantly.

A gentle wave of magic spread over the area. Little glowing lights appeared, floating like fireflies.

Soft music began to play, peaceful and strange, as if it came from nowhere. This wasn’t a planned show. In Castella, it was tradition, magic performances that happened without warning.

People appeared from nowhere. Some jumped from rooftops, others seemed to fly through the air, or walk out of illusions.

The plaza turned into a stage.

Everyone stopped to watch. Shopkeepers leaned over their stalls. Children stared with wide eyes.

"This is amazing," Lyraen whispered.

Airi stayed quiet, watching the crowd with a sharp eye.

Above, magical images appeared in the air. They showed a peaceful world, bright fields, shining rivers, and huge blue skies.

Then it all broke.

A loud crack echoed. The ground in the center of the plaza seemed to split. Red smoke came out like claws.

Darkness spread above, and shadows shaped like monsters rose. The music changed. Drums began to beat like a storm.

A deep voice spoke:

"Once, the world lived in peace. But something below the earth woke up. A crack opened... and the Demon King looked into the light."

The music grew louder. Magic warriors appeared, fighting demons in the air. Fire and wind clashed, filling the sky with color.

Then it stopped.

"When the world was at its darkest, a new light appeared. Not from the sky, but from the hearts of people. A spark of courage."

A glowing path formed in the sky. The crowd held their breath.

A boy walked down that glowing road. Every step made the air light up. He had wild blond hair and a long cloak. He looked down at the people below.

"The Hero came."

"MAËL!" the crowd shouted together.

The entire group stood frozen. Crest’s face turned pale, Lyraen’s eyes widened in disbelief, and her voice stuck in her chest. Airi didn’t speak, her arms slowly falling to her sides.

In front of them, above the plaza, Maël hovered like a symbol brought to life.

Not a legend, no longer a hidden hope. He was real, here, in the flesh. A boy who looked barely older than them, smiling, radiant, almost theatrical.

That boy who was supposed to stay hidden was now the center of the world.

The crowd roared again, chanting his name. But for the group, the noise faded.

They had come seeking a mystery. And now, that mystery was waving down at them, wrapped in lights and applause.

"That’s him?" Airi murmured.

It wasn’t an illusion. The boy in the sky was real. Maël raised a hand and smiled.

"People of light," he said, "You don’t have to live in fear. I don’t fight for fame. I fight for peace, for all of you."

The crowd clapped and cheered loudly.

Astros leaned in.

"Maybe... Maybe he’s just an actor? No one..."

"Dude, that’s the face Elysia had in the capital." Airi frowned.

The play kept going.

The demon king came back, bigger and meaner, red smoke pouring from his mouth. The illusion made it look like the whole plaza was burning.

Maël pulled out a glowing sword. He fought the Demon King on steps made of light and roads made of lightning.

Their battle lit up the sky.

It was intense, like a final battle.

Then, Maël jumped high and stabbed the demon in the heart. The sky exploded into a glowing cross.

The magic faded into glowing petals. People clapped like thunder.

Crest dropped onto a bench.

"That’s our hero?"

No one replied. Lyraen just stared. Kardrax crossed his arms.

All around them, people cheered. But the group felt something else.

Confusion, or maybe deception.

The crowd’s applause still echoed through the plaza as Maël stood tall on a glowing path above. He raised one hand, soaking in the cheers with a boyish grin.

"Don’t miss tonight’s show in the Glass Gardens!" he called out. "The real fight starts there!"

With that, he turned, sprinting across the floating light. Then, as if gravity no longer applied to him, he jumped from building to building, running across rooftops.

People pointed and cheered again. The Hero of the world, darting through the city like a street performer.

The group stayed frozen.

"Tonight’s show... My God, he really is a performer," Astros said, finally.

"... Whoa... Wait, guys, he’s running away," Lyraen snapped out of it. "He’s the one we came to find. Move!"

The group flinched, blinking out of their daze, and then everything exploded into action.

[Blessing of the sky]

Airi was the first to move. With a flash of light, wings of sky-blue energy spread from her back, lifting her into the air.

She soared upward, wind swirling around her ankles.

"Her power is really something," Astros muttered, already running. He kept pace with surprising speed.

Kardrax howled with laughter and leapt upward, landing on rooftops and chasing Maël directly.

Crest tried to follow on foot.

"Why is everyone so fast?!"

Astros narrowed his eyes, realizing they were losing ground.

"No choice. Sorry!" In an instant, he vanished in a blinding flash of light, leaving only scorched stone behind.

Crest and Lyraen both skidded to a halt, staring at the trail left by Astros.

"That’s cheating!" Crest shouted, frustrated.

Lyraen exhaled sharply, shaking her head.

"Yeah, sorry too."

She lifted her hand, whispering something in a foreign language. A massive wind bird formed in the air beside her, its feathers glowing faintly.

She climbed onto its back and gave Crest a half-grin.

"Catch up if you can."

The wind burst outward as the bird soared upward, lifting her into the sky and leaving Crest alone in the dust.

"... Are you kidding me?"

Maël glanced back with a wide grin. He spotted the group gaining on him, Airi gliding through the sky, Kardrax bounding across rooftops, and Astros flickering across buildings like a shooting star.

His smile grew bigger.

"So we’re racing now?"

Then, with a burst of speed, he launched himself forward. In a blink, he was a flash, weaving through towers, alleyways, and lantern posts.

The gap widened.

The group started the chase in good spirits, calling out as they ran.

"Hey! Maël! Wait!" Astros shouted, trying to sound friendly.

"Maël! Slow down! We’re looking for you!" Lyraen added.

Airi groaned.

"Stop running, idiot!"

Maël turned his head with a playful grin.

"If you want me, come catch me!" he called out, clearly enjoying himself.

That was all it took.

Airi flew higher, closing in fast. But just when she thought she’d grab him, Maël shimmered like a mirage and vanished, making her crash into a building.

Kardrax growled.

"I didn’t come here to entertain a brat," he snapped. "You want me to catch you? Fine. I’ll catch you."

He leaped over a rooftop, his fingers glowing red.

"Kardrax, wait—don’t!" Astros shouted, sensing what was coming, but it was too late.

A beam of energy shot toward Maël’s path, but again, Maël disappeared, like smoke slipping through cracks.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kardrax shouted.

Maël waved mockingly, his eyes gleaming.

"Nah, but I still think you’re a clown," he said with a smirk.

Kardrax snarled from the rooftop above.

"Someone catch this bastard so I can kill him!!!"

Airi tried another angle, cutting through the air like a spear. She tossed a dagger of light to cut him off, but he ran along the wall sideways and flipped over it.

Lyraen, closing in the distance, summoned glowing vines to trap him, but Maël danced through them like they weren’t even there.

"Nice try, Granny!"

"... Kill him!" Lyraen yelled, face red.

Astros, watching from the rooftops, grew tense as more attacks flew.

Civilians were starting to notice them, the chase attracting too much attention.

"Stop it! You’re endangering the people! Calm down and think!" he shouted, trying to reel them in. "Don’t let him provoke you!"

Yet, the attacks kept coming. Kardrax shot more red beams, but Maël let them pass through him like a mirage.

Airi pushed harder and flew in close. Just as she was about to grab him, Maël shimmered and she passed right through.

She crashed into a wall, but instead of falling, Maël caught her effortlessly in his arms. He held her like a princess, smirking.

"Oh, you’re the cutest girl I’ve ever seen. You’re free tonight?"

Airi’s eyes went wide with disbelief. Her face flushed in shock and rage.

"Wha—Put me down!"

She kicked free and darted back into the air, flustered and furious, her movements more aggressive now.

Astros tried to trap Maël with a light cage. But Maël concentrated all his aura into one finger and sliced through the light like it was paper.

Astros froze, shocked.

"What..."

Lyraen tried to ambush him from the side, but Maël caught her spell and redirected it.

"You again? Can’t you stick to people your age?"

Lyraen screamed in frustration, but Maël only laughed louder.

They were fast, but he was faster.

Until Crest, somehow, managed to turn a corner at just the right time. He found himself face to face with the boy.

"That’s it, stop!"

Maël paused, surprised.

"Hm? Oh, what the rookie want? Go nap."

He raised his hand, a faint shimmer of magic gathering, and then... a sword struck the ground in front of him.

"Ugh?!"

Another. And another. A full ring of glowing swords fell, trapping him in a radiant prison.

Maël blinked, looking around.

"Okay, that’s new."

From above, a figure landed with a controlled burst of air.

Aurus.

The crowd paused, sensing the change in atmosphere. Even the Sacred stilled. No one felt him coming, yet once they saw him, his presence was everywhere.

"Enough games, young man. You’re causing a scene."

Maël blinked, then groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face.

"Of course it had to be you."

In the far north, snow mixed with ash as thick smoke rose from a burning village.

The sky had turned dark and gray. Flames covered the wooden houses, lighting up the burned and broken bodies that lay across the streets.

The air smelled of blood and smoke. Large high orcs stomped through the snowy roads, their axes bloody.

They laughed as they pulled screaming people out of hiding. Bodies were ripped apart and thrown aside.

Demons, goblins, and strange beasts feasted, assaulted, and torn meat from bones.

An old village chief ran through the chaos, his heart pounding. His arms were covered in blood, though he didn’t know if it was his.

He slipped on the snow, barely staying on his feet.

"Why... why is this happening..." he whispered as he ran.

His thoughts were messy. Just the day before, a strange man had warned them that monsters were gathering in the forest nearby.

They had called the Adventurer’s Guild for help. A few adventurers arrived and entered the forest, but they never came back.

Instead, monsters came. Demons, High orcs, goblins, and some others monstrosities.

He remembered the screams. The laughter.

And worst of all, he remembered leaving behind his young assistant when three orcs cornered her. He didn’t want to imagine what happened next.

Tears filled his eyes.

His foot hit something. He tripped and fell, hitting the cold ground. He groaned and tried to get up. But his right leg wouldn’t move.

He looked down.

A chunk of his calf was gone. Torn off, his bone sticking out.

He screamed.

A small shadow moved in the corner of his vision. A goblin, its head dripping with blood, sniffed the air. In its mouth was a piece of raw flesh. His flesh.

The goblin grinned and stepped closer.

"No... please..."

Then , the beast jumped.

A loud blast followed.

The ground shook. Heat washed over the elder.

He cried out, but he was still alive.

Smoke filled the area. He opened his eyes slowly.

In front of him, the goblin was gone. In its place was a crater. The ground was scorched. What was left of the goblin was nothing more than a smear of purple and broken bones.

"Oh? I barely even touched it."

The elder turned to look. A figure stood at the edge of the crater. Red wings spread wide behind her, blocking the light of the burning village.

Novaria.

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