Demon King

CH- 19: Henzo.

 Ric slipped away from the crowd before any new topics or tedious backstories emerged. For him, maintaining leadership meant staying ahead and disengaging to preserve that position. There was no middle ground—either he led or risked falling behind.

As the crowd gathered around the wall, questions arose about why none of them had attempted to breach it and claim the resources beyond. The consensus was that they considered themselves weak, and they reasoned that a slow death was preferable to an instant one. While acknowledging the accuracy of the brat's words, no one seemed willing to engage in self-reflection or alter their set path.

One path offered the comfort of a familiar pattern, while the other hinted at uncertainty and potential doom. The mere idea of embracing change sounded preposterous to many individuals, reinforcing their preference for the known over the unknown.

Ric contemplated scaling the wall to unravel the numerous predicaments that surrounded him. His strategy involved instilling a sense of greed in the civilians, motivating them to act as a protective barrier while he lurked in their shadows, seeking to uncover the truth behind immortality. In this way, they would either perish, thereby granting death's affinity to him, or he would venture into the city within the walls to seek answers.

Either way, he would win, but how could his darn fate allow for such an easy victory?

Despite the foolproof plan, Ric was thwarted by the twists of fate. The initial attempt to turn the civilians against the kingdom failed, and even after various on-the-spot improvisations, their inherent cowardice persisted. Faced with a lack of viable ideas, Ric retreated into the forest, determined to cook up a different approach to achieve his goals.

With such a frail body, he might never uncover the truth, yet Ric refused to be deterred. The limitations of his physical form wouldn't impede the indomitable will of the demon king. If brute force wasn't an option to propel him towards his goal, he resolved to manipulate others into uncovering the sought-after information. Ric embraced the notion that there were always multiple paths to achieving one's desires, and he was prepared to sacrifice the world if even the slightest chance of success existed.

In his relentless pursuit, Ric declared that if he could not find the answers in this life, he would persist through a million more lives until success was inevitable. The stubborn will of demons always led them to get what they desired, one way or another.

If the surrounding cowards refused to confront challenges head-on, Ric concluded he had to teach them the demon way.

A demonic smile curled upon Ric's lips as he plotted his next moves. In his eyes, even the simplest of barriers can be transformed into a lethal trap with the right enchantment, so his initial strategy involved persuading someone to scale the wall on his behalf.

His planning met its first hurdle after spotting Mary in the forest. Boy, was he glad for refraining from monologuing like a stereotypical villain while strategizing.

"There must be another way," Mary hoped, anticipating Ric's alternative solution to his previous question.

"Once you find it... feel free to follow." Ric strolled deeper into the forest, intent on picking up the trail of Henzo. The air buzzed with an unspoken tension, leaving Mary to contemplate the unfolding events and consider her course of action.

Of all the individuals, Henzo harbored a potent mystery that intrigued Ric, compelling him to delve deeper into the enigmatic child's psyche. Ric resolved to probe Henzo further, waiting for the opportune moment when the citizens let their guard down.

In the forest, Henzo displayed an unusual scene, stabbing a trunk with a potato scraper. Next to him lay an axe and a pocket knife, yet only the scraper appeared to serve a purpose with his strength. Henzo scraped parts of the trunk at an angle, causing it to topple over from its own weight.