16th Round Service Creed

“Command me, Demon Lord, and I shall follow them.” Replied the blacksmith angel, tainted by my Dark Energy.

I had replaced the Divinity I extracted from her with Dark Energy, but it would only slightly prolong her life.

After all, angels, in essence, were “Spirits of Light.”

The light constantly generated by an angel’s body suppressed Dark Energy from rising within them. However, if darkness infected them externally, they would enter an unstable state where they wouldn’t become an “angel fighting against darkness” but would simply become rapidly dying beings.

But I wasn’t interested in this blacksmith angel’s future. I just needed her to complete my order.

“Melt this weapon and use it as a material.”

Clap!

I summoned the weapons of the angels and placed them in front of the blacksmith.

I had no idea how great their armaments’ values and effectiveness were since I had never used them, but all that mattered to me was that they were created in the Festival of Heroes’ dimension.

As stated before, items made from that realm’s materials would never disappear even if I regressed.

That was why I decided to seek the help of angels.

They knew their weapons better.

“This is a very well-made weapon…”

“I have them available in bulk.”

The angels living in the Festival of Heroes’ dimension had provided me with ample materials.

Weapons, armor, arrows, jewelry, artwork… The hands and wings of the righteous hero were much stronger than any of those, so I didn’t use them.

“If the Demon Lord so desires, I can get to work right now.”

***

The blacksmith angel who saw the blueprint recreated everything using Fantasy materials and Fantasy technology.

Eventually, a mini-generator and a charger were born, both plated with a metal that would never bend even under dragons’ weight yet still having a shape memory effect commonly used for sword blades.

Brrrr…

The generator and charger worked without problems.

They produced soft mechanical noises, but that was due to the sensitivity of my ears. Nobody else could hear it.

“Excellent work!”

But I didn’t stop there. The mini-generator would constantly require fuel to operate, after all.

Coal, oil, timber, wind, or water energy…

The type of fuel for the

However, I wanted to use one that was readily available anywhere in the Fantasy World.

For example, Dark Energy?

“If the Demon Lord wants, I can redesign and combine the devices, taking into account your wishes.”

“Proceed.”

This angel had a really strong spine.

“Drug Demon Lord, I’ve been bored since the day you started fiddling with this stupid box. Why not crawl out of my warm niece sometimes and hunt down heroes for a change of scenery?”

“Auntie! I’m not a blanket!”

“If you’re bored, hunt them yourself.”

There was one common misconception among the natives of Fantasy.

They weren’t aware of the fact that this world was already on the brink of destruction even before the resurrected MAX-Class Demon Lord threatened it.

The First Spirit.

The Addicted Spirit, lying on my head all day, could erase the entirety of humanity in the Fantasy World with just one command.

Even I wasn’t capable of that.

I couldn’t control all of my copies at the same time.

But the First Spirit, without even moving a finger, could just say, “Children! Kill all humans!”

And that would be the end of it.

In her hands was the nuclear missiles’ launch button.

“That’s too simple and utterly uninteresting.”

“I don’t think the Addicted Spirit that the elves caught and sealed in the sewers has the right to say so. Let me show you just how entertaining a smartphone can be.”

Since I could now charge my smartphone’s battery, functions that I couldn’t use until now had now become readily available.

Anime, movies, TV shows, webcasts…

I used to avoid accessing sites with many images, but they wouldn’t cause a problem now.

The signal remained weak, so everything was loading slowly, but with enough patience, one would be able to witness the entirety of the sites.

The only thing that wouldn’t work was playing mobile games, though I wouldn’t get bored even without them. After all, during the past ten years, a huge amount of anime, films, light novels, and mangas had accumulated for me to indulge myself with.

“I’m not interested in pictures.”

“Hmm. What about this one?”

I showed her a photo.

“Who are they, Drug Hero?”

“These are my parents and my brother.”

“Brother? This is the first time I’m hearing you have a younger sibling.” The bored Addicted Spirit showed interest for the first time in a long while.

Ssosia, whose lap I used as a pillow, was no exception.

It wasn’t a big secret, so there was no problem with me answering honestly.

“He was born after I went missing. He should be around two years old by now.”

He wasn’t as cute as me because he took after my dad.

“He’s so cute.”

He’s like a little Demon Lord.”

These women didn’t understand babies!

I decided to ask someone else’s opinion.

“Father, did you call?”

If I called forth Green Cake in his original form, which was already the size of Noebius’s hind leg, my castle would get crushed.

Therefore, he always appeared in the form of a boy.

Green hair, green eyes, green outfit… His appearance alone shouted, “I’m a green dragon!”

“Come here and take a look at this photo. What do you think of my brother?”

“Is that my uncle?”

“Ah… yes.”

Although the difference in age and size was immense, the baby in the family photo was still technically his uncle.

Green Cake’s eyes blinked several times before sharing his opinion.

“He’s not cute.”

“That’s it! You inherited my eyes!”

“…”

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just very happy that at least in some way I resemble my father.”

Rice Cake’s expression, that said he was happy, seemed a little dark, but it was probably just me.

“So that’s what your father looks like. Here I thought he’d look like some kind of terrible ogre.” Ssosia sounded surprised.

“I told you I have an ordinary father.”

“I didn’t believe you. Your mother is a very beautiful woman.”

“But time isn’t sparing her. There are more wrinkles on her forehead than when I last saw her… Ahem! No, well, in general, of course, she is still young and beautiful! Hahaha!”

“What was that about wrinkles?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I was finally able to touch civilization again.

It was a shame the internet was slow, but it was better than being completely isolated.

At least I could finally confirm that my parents were safe.

That was what’s most important.

However, if there were light, there would be darkness.

□ Mother: You haven’t seen this before, have you? (9:25)

□ Mother: My sister-in-law gave me this. (9:25)

My mom sent me a photo.

It was a smartphone with a white plastic panel peeking out from under it.

Was it a new kind of smartphone?

I didn’t think there was a need to buy a new product if the phone had a fully functioning call feature and it could properly connect and utilize the internet, but as a good son, I sincerely answered.

□ Son: Wow! It has a unique smartphone design. (11:54)

□ Son: I envy you very much. (11:54)

I wasn’t really jealous, but I decided to please my mom with this message.

□ Mother: Hahaha! (20:15)

□ Mother: There is wireless charging these days. (20:16)

□ Mother: Just put your smartphone on top of the dock, and it’ll charge on its own. (20:17)

□ Mother: Son, are you a hillbilly now? (20:18)

…

Yes, in terms of technology, I fell behind.

Although the situation was tense when the First Hero’s army, the so-called aliens, invaded Earth, it caused the development of science and technology to accelerate rather than slow down.

Even looking at the products on the internet sites, I saw a lot of strange items.

But they seemed strange only to me. For ordinary civilized people, they would be no different from ordinary household appliances.

It hurt my heart.

“My mother poked on the sore spot of her only son…”

“Only son? There are two of you.”

“Oh, exactly! Two!”

I now had a younger brother who was born without my knowledge.

I couldn’t envy my younger brother, who was still a toddler, but I urgently needed to return to Earth.

I put my smartphone aside.

“So, are you jealous of your brother?”

“No.”

“Hmm.”

“Any complaints?”

“No. I don’t see anything wrong with my husband, who is constantly fiddling with his smartphone, trying to get out of the Fantasy dimension. But my absconding father worries me.”

“He’s doing well, I’m sure.”

Worrying about the test was a waste of time.

I knew this well because I was appointed the second Demon Lord, which gave me access to an unlimited supply of Dark Energy.

The Demon Lord could never be defeated if he was vigilant.

That was how absurd our position was.

“I’m not worried about my father exactly. I’m worried about what he can and what he’ll do.”

“For as long as he doesn’t go to Earth, I don’t care what he’s doing.”

The universe was infinitely vast. The probability of my father-in-law visiting Earth was almost zero.

“Because of revenge, he can do a lot of things…”

“I disagree.”

Having defeated my lunatic senior, the goal of his revenge, my father-in-law would immediately come to save his greatest son-in-law and cowardly daughter!

We just had to wait.

“It’s not as simple as you make it sound to be. Dad is no longer the Demon Lord. He doesn’t have the same amount of Dark Energy anymore.”

“Hmmm?”

“Think about it. If it were so easy to appoint other Demon Lords just by announcing it, there would already be tens of thousands of them.”

“…”

Ssosia’s remark made sense.

The moment he left the family business and his daughter to me and escaped from the Fantasy dimension, his job was no longer “Demon Lord.”

That aside…

“I’m bored.”

Since I put my smartphone down, I didn’t have much to do.

The number of heroes recklessly rushing towards the Demon Lord’s castle with their pathetic hopes and dreams had greatly diminished.

The burden of the Karma skill greatly suppressed their fervor.

▶ Confirmation: Cadet Kang Han Soo is right. Because of Karma, the students can no longer act as recklessly as they used to. They have lost the spirit of adventurism and are trying to find safer methods around their problems. According to the latest statistics, the rookies’ favorite mission has changed from Hunting Slimes to Finding the Girl’s Lost Cat.

‘Thanks for the explanation, Trainee Teacher!’

It looked like many heroes were now wasting precious time and stamina looking for a feline that didn’t even grant them experience points.

It took me ten years to successfully complete the 1st round. However, the situation was now quite different.

The vast territory of the Demon Lord had been reduced to this castle of mine, and Grand Duke B remained the only combat unit I had capable of virtually anything. On top of it all, we were surrounded.

Humanity was in an incredibly advantageous position.

“Wait… Advantageous?”

‘Beautiful and smart Trainee Teacher, I have a question!’

▶ Curiosity: Ask away!

‘I am interested in the educational policy established by the teaching staff. I would like to know what the Oath of Heroes encompasses.’

▶ Determination: We are heroes of Fantasy, and we must: 1) Strive for love and friendship 2) Protect the inhabitants of Fantasy and stand guard for world peace. 3) Emerge victorious in the battle against evil. 4) Abide by the law and fulfill the requests of the weak. 5) By joining together, protect our dreams and hopes. That’s all.

‘I see… Just listening to it made me dizzy.’

“To win the heroes over to my side, I need to turn their dreams and hopes into despair and their love and friendship into betrayal and hatred.”

“How did you even come up with that logic, diabolic husband?”

“Everything seems so simple now.”

I would trample their vain hopes and dreams about defeating the just and kind MAX-Class Demon Lord.

They dreamed of returning to their hometowns of smog, have fun adventures, and build a harem.

What if their reality went downhill?

“They’ll be forced to cling to the cowardly Demon Lord?”

“They won’t have any other choice.”

“It will be difficult…”

“Even if it is, I can handle it. I have to!”

I had a good reason for this.

□ Mother: Do you know what this is? (19:35)

□ Son: It looks like a river tram. (3:41)

□ Mother: It’s a car! And it can fly! (16:20)

□ Mother: Do you use wagons there, son? Hahaha! (16:22)

Failure was unacceptable.