A week ago, the royal capital sent a fourth of its guards, along with the hero Nars, to subdue a demon who had threatened Warm City with destruction.
Ryomen Sukuna.
Three thousand armed soldiers, 20 skilled mages, as well as 15 priests for support.
Plus the strongest hero of the royal capital, Nars.
They were informed of the demon's terrifying might by Lord Warmer's associates.
They were prepared, armed to the teeth.
Yet when they fought, they...
The scribe paused and dipped his quill in ink before continuing with a trembling hand.
Lost.
An utter and complete loss.
No one could tell what happened—not the mages, not the warriors, nor even the hero.
All they knew was that it happened in an instant.
One moment, they were charging at the demon.
The next moment, they lay on the ground, their bodies cut in several places, with several of them missing their limbs.
Within a second.
An entire army had been defeated.
But surprisingly, none of them died.
Which is unlike anything we have ever seen.
It was against a demon's nature.
Hero Nars, who had been the closest to the demon, said it clearly.
They didn't survive.
They were spared.
Spared by that demon.
He said he saw a girl crying loudly while hugging the demon's leg, desperately begging him to spare them.
It was a stupid action.
Begging a demon who didn't even know the thing called sympathy? A mistake commonly made by those who didn't understand their true nature.
But against all odds,
The demon actually lowered his hands and patted her head, helping her calm down.
The scribe paused again before looking at the reports once more and continuing.
It appears the girl and the demon share some unknown connection.
According to the reports, the demon's method of attack seemed to be a high-speed, invisible slash that could easily cut through the prized armor of even Hero Nars.
It is the fastest and most deadly spell ever recorded.
The threat level of the demon who calls himself Ryomen Sukuna is listed to be on par with the strongest Demon Sage of Destruction, Macht.
After contemplation, he was titled the 8th Demon Sage of Severance.
The Demon Sage of Severance spared the royal army and told them about his Dawn City.
He said that if they dared to attack him again, then he would retaliate in turn—and at that time, death would be the only outcome.
In exchange for the 3,000 soldiers, the Demon Sage demanded 15,000 Strahl gold coins, along with a copy of all magic knowledge possessed by the royal capital.
A ridiculously high demand.
Especially for injured soldiers who might not even be fit for battle any longer.
But then, the 8th Demon Sage promised to heal the soldiers if they agreed.
And miraculously, he could even regrow lost limbs.
The demon's magic is truly awe-inspiring.
After some negotiations, the Demon Sage agreed to a price of 9,000 Strahl gold, along with a copy of the magic knowledge of the Kingdom.
The 8th Demon Sage seemed to be very interested in human magic, which is completely unlike other demons who look down on it.
For some unknown reason, he seemed to have built a city at the extreme end of the Granz Plain and had started ruling it as its lord.
Dawn City.
Lord of Dawn, Ryomen Sukuna.
A demon city, with humans living inside.
Having reached the end of the report, the scribe put the quill down and stared outside the window in silence.
----
Inside Dawn City.
Sukuna, inside his castle, sat on a luxury leather chair, holding a magic book in his hands.
Beside him were 20 young villagers he had selected based on their aptitudes.
"Lord Sukuna... can I really use magic like this?"
Erde asked while trying to sense mana by doing what Sukuna had shown her.
"Yes. Keep doing it repeatedly every day until you can sense the mana inside you."
Sukuna replied in a calm tone, keeping his eyes on the book.
Not only her—even his own mana was increasing as he continued to practice.
It was like the hidden restriction that had been placed on him in the JJK world had been lifted, and he could continue to improve his mana every day like a normal mage here.
So while improving himself, he also started teaching the villagers.
Apart from the 20 he had selected to become mages, he told every other villager to focus on strength training.
Because of all the money they had acquired, he didn't need them to focus too much on work except for some farming and other odd jobs they wanted to do.
He wanted them to focus on research. Alas, everyone here was a little dumb, so it was going to be a long-term goal.
He also wanted to get more citizens, but after the battle with the royal capital's army, all humans seemed to be avoiding his city like the plague.
Tsk, he even healed their soldiers...
Though no normal merchants were coming, there were plenty of spies trying their luck every now and then.
As for these spies, Sukuna killed them outright.
It was to send a message—not to try idiotic things.
Apart from all of this, Sukuna had focused his entire attention on studying barrier magic.
With Sukuna's barrier knowledge, which he hadn't used since the Heian Era, he was able to quickly relate it to the barrier magic of this world and advance at a rapid pace.
And although the bastards from the royal city had withheld much important magical knowledge while giving him a copy, he was able to quickly make inferences and understand it on his own.
Just after a week of learning, he had already grasped the method of breaking the barrier spells protecting most of the human cities from demons.
'Due to the barrier's very nature, even if I know how to dismantle it, it will take me about a month, even if I try my best...'
'On the other hand, it is much easier and far faster to simply break it by continuously attacking it using Shrine...'
He didn't have any plan of invading a human city. He was simply learning it so that one day he wouldn't get stuck inside a barrier like Demon Sage Macht.
He had also developed an interest in item enchantment and magic item creation.
Mostly because the people of this world didn't use it to its full potential.
With the Heian Era knowledge inside his mind, he could create many magic tools based on cursed tools.
"How long will the materials from Warm City take to arrive?"
"About three more days."
"What about the skilled laborers I asked Lord Warmer to deliver? Heh, I still remember his fear-struck face after I beat the royal army."
"...It seems they will arrive with the materials, Lord."
"Oh, well, might as well focus on studying since there's nothing else to do..."
Sukuna scratched his chin and started reading through another magic book.
As night fell, everyone except Sukuna—who didn't sleep—went to bed.
He was casually reading through a curse magic book when he suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes.
Putting the book aside, Sukuna got up from his chair and looked toward his balcony.
There, he saw a long teal-colored woman standing barefoot, looking at him with a serene smile on her face.
She looked beautiful, without a single blemish on her face.
The only problem was the two tiny horns coming out of her head.
'Great Demon Solitar.'
Sukuna instantly recognized her.
As he was sizing her up, Solitar too was examining Sukuna.
After a moment of thought, she opened her mouth and said,
"How peculiar..."
Turning away from Sukuna, Solitar started looking around as if trying to find something.
She took several steps forward while speaking to herself.
"I heard the royal capital's army was defeated by a new Demon Sage..."
"So I came here to check it out. Alas, it seems I was late..."
After scanning the entire room, she turned to Sukuna and asked,
"Tell me, how long until your master returns?"
'She doesn't think I am the new Demon Sage? Because I'm suppressing my mana?'
Sukuna thought while examining Solitar's mana.
It was indeed a good amount.
But still far less than his own.
"Who are you?" Sukuna asked, even though he knew.
"I am the Great Demon Solitar. Now answer my question, young demon," Solitar replied in a calm tone, still not bothering to look at him.
"I am the only master here, Demon Solitar."
Sukuna said as he stopped suppressing his mana.
And almost instantly—
The Great Demon Solitar froze.
Her pupils constricted as she slowly turned her head and finally looked at Sukuna.
Staring silently at his incredibly vast mana.
"More than the Demon King..."
She muttered in a dazed tone, her vision enveloped by power that seemed greater than anything she had ever seen before.
Just then, the terrifying mana suddenly vanished, suppressed back inside Sukuna's body.
Seeing this, Solitar's ever-smiling face suddenly changed.
She frowned and scrunched her brows, involuntarily asking in a harsh voice,
"You... why hide something so magnificent?"
To demons, their mana was everything—their status, wealth, dignity. For them, it was sacred, not something to be hidden away but displayed for all to see.
"Are you even a demon?"
She couldn't help but ask while returning to her usual smiling face.
But even though she appeared calm, Sukuna could sense the anger hidden inside her voice.
"I am indeed a demon."
Sukuna said as he took a step forward and waved his hand through her teal-colored hair.
It was indeed beautiful and very unique.
"As for what I do, or how I live, that has nothing to do with you," he replied in a calm tone while letting go of her hair.
The Great Demon Solitar fell silent for a moment.
Her brain seemed to be processing something.