Demon Kings Last Level

Kyros's POV

I blinked my eyes open, the light piercing through my lids. As my vision cleared, I saw Nissa standing over me, her familiar grey hair and blue eyes glowing in the sunlight. Her hand was on my shoulder, gently shaking me.

“Are you okay, Kyros?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.

I winced, trying to look up at her, but the sun was directly behind her, forcing me to shield my eyes. “I’m fine,” I muttered, though my body felt weak.

Nissa frowned but extended her hand to help me up. I took it and slowly pulled myself to my feet. The world spun around me, and I nearly toppled over again.

“You’re clearly not fine,” she said, her voice firm as she steadied me. “You’re coming back to town. I don’t know what happened, but you’re not well.”

I wanted to protest. I wasn’t finished with my research. I needed to understand more about the spell I’d been working on. “No,” I said weakly, shaking my head.

She glanced over at me, her brow furrowed. “You’re going regardless. You could barely walk just now.”

We hadn’t spoken in a while, not really. Nissa and I had drifted apart over the years. But even so, her concern for me hadn’t faded. She pulled my arm over her shoulder, helping me keep steady as we walked.

By the time we reached the village, the sun was setting, casting a golden glow over the streets. Despite her small stature, Nissa was surprisingly strong, practically dragging me to the healer’s hut. It wasn’t a place that saw much use, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“I want you to check him,” Nissa demanded as we stepped inside, her voice leaving no room for refusal.

The healer, a man with a hunched back and bored expression, looked me over with a tired gaze. “He looks fine,” he muttered. “Just tired.”

Nissa shook her head, frustration clear in her tone. “He’s not fine. I found him passed out in a field!”

I sighed, trying to wave them both off. “I’m fine, really. I was just a little tired.”

Nissa shot me a sharp look. “You could barely stand. You’re not fine.”

The healer sighed and extended his hand. “I’m Rynor,” he said, his voice flat. “Do you really need to be checked?”

I shook my head again. “No. I’ll be alright. Just need some sleep, that’s all.”

Rynor nodded lazily. “Sleep’s a good idea. Especially if you’re hoping to attend one of the academies.”

I sighed in relief when the healer dropped the issue. Most of the people in town knew who I was—or at least, they knew of me. I’d helped redesign parts of the village, including the monument to the Demon King in the city center.

As I walked out, Nissa followed close behind. “So? What’s wrong with you?” she asked, clearly not ready to drop the issue.

“Nothing,” I said, shrugging. “I just need sleep and food.”

She smiled at me, a rare sight. “Then come have dinner with me. I was going to go to a restaurant anyway.”

I didn’t really want to go. I was exhausted, and I had no money on me. “I don’t have any coin,” I said, hoping that would end the conversation.

Nissa shrugged. “I’ll pay. It’s no big deal.”

I knew I couldn’t really argue. Her family, the Dawnstar family, was one of the wealthiest in town. She could afford to buy dinner for the whole village if she wanted to.

And so, despite myself, I found myself being dragged along to what could only be considered a date. Most people in the village would’ve killed for her attention. Nissa was considered a once-in-a-generation beauty. But I had no interest in romance or marriage. I couldn’t afford to be tied down to anything or anyone. My ambitions stretched far beyond this village.

The restaurant we entered was new, one of the first human establishments on this side of the barrier. The smell of cooking meat filled the air, and the lighting was warm and inviting. It was busy, but Nissa still managed to get us a table.

I had no idea what to order, so I just picked the same thing as her. When the food arrived, I was surprised by how good it was. A steak from the human world—soft and tender, unlike the tough, muscle-bound livestock we raised here.

After the meal, I offered to walk Nissa home. She agreed, and we took a shortcut through one of the village’s narrow alleyways. The dim light from the street lamps barely illuminated the path. The ground was slick with water from the afternoon rain.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind us. Two figures emerged from the shadows, blocking our path. “Well, what do we have here?” one of them sneered.

Thugs. I knew what they wanted—or rather, who they wanted. Nissa, with her family’s wealth, was the perfect target.

I glanced at her, and she nodded. We didn’t need to exchange words. I rushed toward the thug in front, hoping to buy her time to escape. But what Nissa didn’t know was that my mana reserves were completely drained. Without mana, this fight was anything but trivial.

In seconds, I was on the ground, the thug’s boot pressing into my ribs. “You little shi—” his words were cut off as he kicked me again, his partner joining in.

Every blow sent waves of pain through me, and slowly, the world began to fade to black.

---

Demon King’s POV

Pain. Suffering. The world I’d once shaped, now reduced to this. Injustice surrounded me, but I had sworn to fix it.

And yet, here I was.

I felt rage build within me, an uncontrollable fire. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

I was lying on the ground, unfamiliar memories rushing through my mind—this wasn’t my body. But it felt so real. So connected to me.

Two figures stood above me, beating me senseless. The anger in me snapped. Without thinking, I released a pulse of magic, sending the thugs flying into the nearby walls.

“So this is what’s happened in my absence?” I muttered to myself, rising to my feet. “What has the world come to?”

The thugs, eyes wide with fear, scrambled to their feet and ran. I didn’t care about them. They were beneath me. I turned and began walking toward the house that this body—Kyros’s body—called home.

But in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder: What had become of the world I left behind? Was it still worth saving?

Or had everything I sacrificed been for nothing?