Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods-Chapter 135: Where Is the Black Sheep?

Thunder rolled overhead, a deep, slow drumbeat echoing through the ruined village.

Midas glanced upward in confusion, before realization slowly set in.

He turned his gaze back down, eyes narrowing warily at Bel.

Bel stood perfectly still, the wind tugging gently at his hair, his face hidden by shadows.

Then, he spoke. His voice was quiet but cold, filled with an unsettling calm.

"All this... it’s because of you," Bel murmured. "She suffered because of you. You took her from the orphanage. You made her a demon. You put her in that village."

Midas tilted his head slightly, eyebrows raised in mock surprise. Then, his lips twisted into an ironic smile.

"You’re blaming me? Really? Don’t forget, Ravager, you’re also a demon. Your mere existence caused events like these. We learned that you refused to attack the hero. We had to do something. So tell me, who truly caused her death?"

Bel stepped forward slowly, his presence growing heavier and more oppressive with each movement.

His voice deepened, rumbling like the thunder above.

"I’m beginning to hate demons," Bel continued softly, dangerously. "Humans are fools because they choose evil. But evil by nature isn’t any better. Goblins who rape women, prolonging their suffering just to satisfy their twisted nature. People who torture others under the guise of love. Demons who play with lives to prove meaningless points." His voice cracked with suppressed rage. "I’m sick of it. I’m sick of seeing this madness."

Each step grew heavier, muscles visibly tensing beneath his skin. Midas, initially confident, watched the approaching figure in disbelief, his composure crumbling into shock as he realized something, and then desperation.

"Wait, calm down," Midas urged, stepping backward instinctively, hands raised defensively. "This isn’t what you think. I never meant to antagonize you. I was trying to help you understand—"

Bel advanced relentlessly, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"Understand what? That demons, humans, they’re all the same? No, Midas. I’m done understanding."

Midas stumbled back, panic seeping into his voice.

"Please, Ravager! Listen! The demons... we’re your allies! We’re on your side..."

A surge of power erupted from Bel’s body, the force shaking the earth. His figure became shadowy, lit only by the fierce, violet gleam of his eyes.

His voice rose, a powerful declaration cutting through the storm.

"I am... on no one’s side."

An explosion of energy surged forward, engulfing the area in a wave of destructive power.

The world trembled.

Darkness claimed the sky. Thunder rolled in the distance, echoing like a heartbeat across the horizon.

Far away, in the capital, everyone paused, feeling something shift. It was subtle but undeniable, a surge of power rippling through the air.

In a room, where a lifeless woman lay quietly, Sylphera slowly lifted her gaze upward, frowning.

Beside her, Aurus, seated with his eyes peacefully closed, opened one eye.

Back at the village, the energy erupted violently, tearing through the remaining structures, sending wood and stone spiraling into the sky.

Midas stared upward in horror, eyes wide, raising an arm to shield his face from the fierce wind.

"Damnit," he whispered harshly, gritting his teeth against the force.

Through the chaos, Bel emerged, majestic and terrifying in his full draconic glory.

His massive form towered over everything, a dark silhouette lit by the crackle of purple lightning.

One enormous wing unfolded with an earth-shattering force, expanding wide and casting an ominous shadow.

The surge of energy intensified, churning the air, until a massive dragon paw pressed firmly onto the ruined ground, sending tremors through the earth.

Bolts of lightning struck down fiercely as the second wing unfurled, equally immense and overwhelming.

A long, spiked tail whipped out, carving the air with a loud crack.

Midas stared upward, breath caught in his throat, as the colossal neck rose, revealing the monstrous head at its peak.

The dragon’s violet eyes burned fiercely, illuminating the darkness like twin beacons.

With a single, powerful beat of his wings, Belzerion unleashed a wave of devastating wind, sweeping across the area like a hurricane.

Midas stumbled backward, nearly hurled off his feet, barely managing to brace himself against the tremendous force.

Midas stood frozen, staring upward at Belzerion with a mix of awe and anxiety.

The colossal dragon towered above him, wings spread wide, blocking the sky.

"Majestic..." Midas whispered under his breath. His voice trembled slightly as he blinked, fighting against the terror slowly rising within. "Truly majestic. But..."

Gritting his teeth, he steadied himself and shouted to the looming giant.

"Lord Ravager! Do you even understand what you’re doing?" His voice echoed, loud yet uncertain. "Demons might differ in nature, but we are still demons. You can’t escape that fate!"

Belzerion’s gigantic head slowly lowered toward Midas. Midas instinctively stepped back, his heart hammering inside his chest.

"You blame us for our nature?" Midas continued defiantly, despite the fear clawing at him. "But look at yourself! You slaughter and devour your own kind to grow stronger. You wouldn’t hesitate to kill humans either. You’re even worse than us! What right do you have to judge?"

Belzerion’s massive head paused mid-descent, eyes narrowing slightly as he observed Midas from above, still silent.

Midas swallowed hard but kept going, his tone becoming more desperate.

"Everything that happened was just a test! I didn’t corrupt those humans; they made their own choices! You can’t turn against us because of their actions! There’s no reason for you and me to be enemies!"

Belzerion halted completely, his gaze fixed steadily on Midas.

"And that girl," Midas pressed, his voice strained, "she was one of us. Would you kill her too? She could only survive among demons. Are you going to destroy her creator? Her entire species?"

His lips curled, his voice growing more mocking.

"She was foolish! If she’d just run away the first night, nothing would have happened! They were free to choose, and she chose poorly! She decided to stay because she didn’t want to disappoint them! She was fool—"

A heavy, powerful voice reverberated through the air, silencing Midas instantly.

"Mammon."

Midas’s eyes suddenly blazed yellow, his body seizing violently.

Yellow cracks spread rapidly across his skin, his body twitching uncontrollably. He muffled a scream, his hands flying to his face as it began to splinter and crumble.

Breathing heavily, body trembling, he slowly raised his head.

Half his face remained human, while the other half had shattered, revealing something demonic in the purest sense of the word.

His skin was a cracked obsidian black, etched with lines of molten gold pulsing like veins.

Twisted ram-like horns curled from his forehead, framing a crown of jagged, glimmering gold fused to his skull.

His mouth stretched wider than humanly possible, filled with interlocking rows of serrated teeth, eternally grinning.

His eye was sunken, glowing sickly yellow.

This was not a demon wearing gold, this was gold made flesh, the living embodiment of hoarded greed: Mammon, the Gilded Maw.

Mammon’s fingers trembled as he patted the cracks on his face, trying to understand.

His breath came in shallow, broken waves.

"My name..." he whispered. "How did he know...? Who dared... who DARED to divulge my name?"

A low voice echoed across the ruined village.

"So this is your true face. Fitting. You look more like a thief than a lord."

Mammon flinched, his golden eyes twitching. Belzerion loomed before him, the sky dark behind the massive dragon.

His purple eyes blazed like burning stars.

"I hate disgusting things," Belzerion growled. "But even the filthiest hell looks like heaven next to that ugly face of yours. No wonder you hide behind a mask."

Mammon’s lips curled back.

"How... HOW did you get my name?! Who gave it to you?!" he snapped, stepping forward with rage trembling in his voice.

But Belzerion was calm.

"Enough."

The word dropped like a mountain.

Mammon stopped in his tracks. He felt it, the change. It was time.

"W-Wait!" he stammered. "You can’t! You can’t turn against us! We, Demons, have worked for you, fought for you! We are your people! They believe in you! You are our hope, Lord Ravager! You owe them that much!"

Belzerion lowered his massive head slowly, bringing one eye down to meet Mammon face to face.

His voice rumbled.

"Then answer one question. Your answer will determine if I attack the Demons or not."

Mammon nodded, barely able to breathe.

"Where... is... the black sheep?"

Silence.

Mammon’s lips quivered. The truth was poison. If he said it, it was over. All of it.

The demons’ hopes, the war, their future. But it wasn’t a stupid question, it was an answer.

The outcome was already decided.

He kept his eyes low, his voice barely audible.

"She... she’s dead."

Belzerion’s pupil narrowed into a slit.

His head rose slowly, his neck drawing back. The wind in the area dropped.

The ground shuddered. From the base of his throat, a sound began. A low hum that vibrated through the earth like the growl of a sleeping god.

It rose, climbing into a sharp, unnatural whine.

Like the charge of the end of the world.

Mammon couldn’t move. He was frozen in the storm of pressure, staring at the monster he had created. No words left, no excuses.

Belzerion reached full height, wings spread wide, lightning flashing across his silhouette.

He said only one thing:

"Then give her my regards."

A beam of pure annihilation erupted from his mouth.

The sky split open, the land vanished, and the Gilded Maw disappeared under a cataclysm.

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