"Silence," I ordered.
All eyes snapped back to , observing every detail of my blue eyes.
As I approached the altar’s edge; my face nearly pressed against the clear barrier, I leaned closer to Julian.
Standing on the front bench, Julian swallowed. He avoided my gaze, his eyes flicking to anything but .
"Do you lack basic etiquette? Has the Demon Academy failed to teach you to show respect to your superiors through a proper salute?"
Julian’s jaw tightened as he looked up at . "Are you claiming to be the Demon King reincarnated?" he asked, his voice strained.
I slamd the white paper bearing my alias against the barrier. Julian narrowed his eyes, reading its contents.
"Why does the alias say ’King?’"
Julian scratched his head, his gaze distant, the very picture of soone whose ntal gears had completely seized up.
"What’s going on?" inquired the woman seated next to Julian.
A hushed voice questioned, "Why did Julian refer to him as King?"
"Is he really the Demon King?" the murmurs continued.
I banged my hand against the barrier, drawing the attention of all the cadets.
"If you fail to acknowledge as the legitimate successor to the throne and the Demon King reborn, I will disqualify and expel all of you from the Demon Army."
Julian’s brow furrowed, a faint line etched between his eyebrows. He clenched his left fist, his teeth gritted.
’Thwack!’
With a barely perceptible sigh, Julian brought his right hand to his temple, fingers rigid and together, palm facing slightly downwards. His elbow ford a clean, sharp angle, and for a brief mont, his gaze was fixed straight ahead,
The salute was completed, proper in form, but lacking the usual conviction. He held it for a beat, waiting for the acknowledgnt, before lowering his hand, his expression carefully neutral.
"Good boy," I murmured to Julian, my finger gently touching my chin.
’Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!’
The sea of cadets in the cathedral rose like ocean waves, saluting in unison, much like copycats. A confused look marked their faces, a clear contrast to the fear of disobeying my orders.
’Now let’s move to the second phase.’
Standing at the podium, Lana glance at , her hands folded, having just turned her attention away from the cadets.
What was unsettling was my inability to decipher the expression on her face. When I turned my gaze to the Duke, standing behind the podium, his facial expression remained neutral.
’Sothing is not right.’
Turning my head left, I looked at Queen Violet and the Generals. They all behaved as though everything was normal.
’Why are they putting up with my antics?’
Closing the space between Lana and myself, I leaned in and quietly asked, "Why aren’t you stopping ?"
Grinning, Lana tilted her head up, her small green horns almost grazing my chin as she looked at .
"You seed to be enjoying yourself; why would I interrupt?"
’Tsk!’
I leaned back, the smug expression on her face told sothing was not right.
She reclaid the paper I had previously taken from her.
"Going forward, your alias will be King."
Tucking the paper between her breasts, she concealed it from my view.
Lana, offering an awkward smile, raised her hand. "Repeat the Oath," she directed.
"I am King, and I solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Queen against all enemies, foreign and dostic," I repeated.
Lana held my hand and gave a silver dog tag. It featured a purple rose with a single petal.
"Effective imdiately, you hold the rank of Second Lieutenant and are inducted into the House of Sinners. Congratulations," she said.
Having taken the tag, I quickly moved to the side and walked towards the woman beside the podium.
She had pink lipstick on and her hair was in pigtails. Instead of a shirt, she wore a halter top made of belts that went around her neck like a dog collar, crisscrossing her torso.
She wore a leather bra over her bare chest and a black, fur-trimd jacket that was open in the front.
’I had to convince the generals that I am the reincarnation of the demon king.’
Tilting her chin, I leaned closer, compelling her gaze to et mine. "What’s your na?"
"Cupcake," She replied.
"The Demon King has selected you as his first disciple; you should be grateful."
Cupcake didn’t speak. Gently, she took my hand and moved it from her chin.
"Are you the demon king?" she asked.
Smiling, I cupped her left cheek in my hand, my thumb gently caressing her skin. "Of course I am, and I have chosen you."
"You are telling the truth," she said, pushing my hand away from her face a second ti. "As your disciple, I will offer my worship, but only on the condition that you pledge yourself exclusively to ."
A sudden backward movent caused my hands to tremble.
"Is she serious?"
Cupcake’s gaze was unwavering as she stared.
Taking her hand, I unfolded her fingers, exposing her palm. Deliberately, I outlined the creases etched there.
’This feels too good to be true.’
"You won’t gain anything from this. I am rely using you to unlock my Demon King class-related skills," I stated.
Cupcake’s cheeks flushed a deep pink as her eyes grew wide. Without hesitation, she released the barrier that had confined us, leaning forward to embrace .
Her hand traced a slow path up my chest until it rested on my chin. Gently, she tilted my head, and our eyes t.
"You can use ," she said.
Her expression relaxed, taking on a look very similar to Evelyn’s when sexually aroused.
Red flag, it was so big that I could see it from the moon. However, she is the only person I can rely on to achieve my goal.
"Let us seal the contract," I told her.
Producing a pocketknife, I swiftly sliced through her palm. Despite the black blood welling up, she remained unfazed.
The blade found its mark with brutal ease on my palm. Blood, red and viscous, erupted; it dripped from the center of my palm, each drop falling onto my boots with a soft splat.
With our fingers interlaced, our blood mingled, signifying the sealing of the contract.
Cupcake released my hand and retreated a step backward, stating, "I never thought you were a human"
"Blood still trickling from the gash on her palm, she aid it in my direction. "We’re official now; anyone who tries to interfere—"
Cupcake paused, abruptly raising a barrier.
’Bang.’
I spun around only to see a shoe striking the barrier Cupcake had created.
When I looked further, I saw Julian with his hand extended. His face was a mask of fury, his jaw tight, and his red eyes blazing with an intensity that could lt steel.
Veins bulged on his forehead, and his knuckles were white as he clenched his extended hand into a fist. A low growl rumbled in his chest, a sound of pure, unadulterated rage directed squarely at the barrier protecting .
"How dare you?" he snapped.
The rest of the cadets, following his lead, also hurled their boots at , but the barrier blocked them all.
"You, a pathetic human, had the gut to impersonate the Demon King and, insultingly, compel us to salute you," Julian said through clenched teeth.
A furious murmur rippled through the ranks, swelling into a roar. "He tricked us!" one cadet bood, his voice barely heard over the rising tide of outrage.
Closer to the front, another cadet whispered, eyes wide with a dangerous glint, "He will pay for this."
From the very back, where the fury seed to simr longest, a cadet yelled, "He made us salute a human! This is outrageous!"
’What have I done wrong?’
With each step, I was deliberate and flawless, ensuring they believed I was truly the demon king.
’Yet, all of a sudden, things fall about, and now this."
Judging by the smug look she cast in my direction as I turned to her, Lana seed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.
To my left, the generals flanking Queen Violet concealed a smile beneath their neutral expressions.
’Are they mocking ?’
Towering over Lana at six feet tall, I moved closer and questioned her, "You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?"
"And so," she replied.
Wrinkles ford around my eyes, and I furrowed my eyebrow. "How did they know I was a human? My eyes are blue, and I even possess fangs."
Lana shoved my face away. "It looks like you are an idiot after all, what a disappointnt."
Turning to Cupcake, who stood next to Lana, I grasped her shoulders. "What made you realize I was human?"
Cupcake grabbed my injured palm and pulled it away from her shoulder. She placed my bloodied hand between us, her gaze fixed on the red drops falling from the cuts.
"Your blood is red, humans have red blood, and Demons have black blood, it’s that simple."
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