The creaking sound made the Demon King open its eyes.
Demon King? No, that was a title given later.
At that time, it was nothing more than an organism without a name, the Demon King recalled.
“The place where I existed was inside a small aquarium.”
“Inside an aquarium…?”
“Yes. I had no mother. To call it a mother might be inaccurate; it would be more correct to say it was a matrix that shared genetic information.”
Her place of existence wasn’t inside her mother’s womb but within an aquarium filled with teal-colored liquid.
It seemed the Demon King had slept for quite some time there, until the creaking sound disturbed her slumber.
‘Wha…t is…this…?’
Upon opening its eyes for the first time, the Demon King saw a child with bare feet and hands, with hair so long it reached past their waist.
The Demon King could never forget the moment they first saw that child.
It wasn’t because their heart raced or because the child was strikingly beautiful—it wasn’t anything like that.
“…It resembles…”
The Demon King turned its head to the right. Inside the long aquarium, children were sleeping with their eyes closed.
Then it turned its head to the left. There were more sleeping children there as well.
Now, the Demon King looked ahead, lowering its head.
The girl resembled those children sleeping in the aquariums stretched out on both sides. That child was yelling something while pounding on the aquarium.
‘I can’t understand what they’re saying…’
Bang-
Bang-
Bang-
‘…’
Bangbangbang.
‘…’
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The pounding became urgent.
The child looked frightened. Behind them, a massive hand appeared.
That hand grabbed the girl and roughly threw her backward.
A white-haired man with a stern expression stood there.
The child rolled on the ground in pain. The man’s voice was much clearer due to his larger build.
“A fully grown one has emerged.”
He smirked as he said this.
Even though the Demon King knew nothing yet, it was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
It seemed the child felt the same way.
While curling up their body, the child looked toward them.
“Why are you doing that? Is there something over there?”
Nod.
The child nodded.
Seeing this, the man approached the Demon King. Soon, excitement flickered across his face.
“Good. Two have awakened already.”
The man pressed a button.
The aquarium opened, and the Demon King tumbled out along with the gushing water.
“Haa…Haa…”
“Get up.”
“Uuuugh…”
There was an undeniable pressure in the man’s words.
Not that there was even any right to refuse in the first place.
“Come, follow me.”
The man took both children by the hand and headed toward the adjacent aquarium.
Inside, another child who resembled the two was asleep.
The man grinned and pointed at a red button with his finger.
“One of you press it.”
“Press…it?”
“Yes, anyone can press this button.”
“I’ll…”
“…Don’t press it!”
The Demon King hesitated.
“You shouldn’t press it. If you do…the kid inside will die.”
“Die? What does dying mean…?”
“Dying means…well…sorry, I don’t really know either. Anyway, you mustn’t! You mustn’t press that button!”
As the child shouted this, the man blocked their path.
“Don’t listen to the failed specimen.”
“Failed specimen…?”
“Yes. Make your own judgment and act. Will you press it?”
This was a kind of coercion.
To the Demon King, it meant: if you don’t press this button, you’ll be labeled a failure too. What do you think will happen then?
It was as if he was saying just that.
It was terrifying. What would happen if they didn’t press it?
“Will you press it? Or won’t you?”
“I…I’ll press it…”
“No-”
SMACK!
“Ugh…”
“Be quiet. You’re interfering with them.”
…A choice had to be made.
Whether to press this button…
Or get beaten like that child.
With the violence unfolding before their eyes, the Demon King gave in far too easily.
They gripped the red button tightly and pressed it.
The fluid inside began draining through the outlet and disappeared. The child inside, who hadn’t yet opened their eyes, squirmed violently—but soon stopped moving altogether.
It was hard to put into words, but the Demon King realized at that moment what the other child had been referring to when they spoke of death.
“Well done. A successful specimen has been decided.”
“Guh…”
“Shall we dispose of the rest now?”
Dispose?
The Demon King didn’t understand the meaning of those words. But one thing was clear: if they stayed idle here, the other child would meet the same fate.
“Um…”
“Hm?”
“Can I…have a favor?”
“…A favor?”
“Yes, um…could you…spare this child?”
Where did such courage come from? Despite trembling legs, they pleaded.
“The others…I’ll press all their buttons. Just please spare this one…”
Let this child live, and I’ll press the buttons for the remaining ones.
The man pondered for a while and muttered.
“Perhaps observing how two individuals grow differently in separate environments isn’t a bad idea. And if possible, utilizing both might work…”
“Yes…I’ll press all the buttons.”
“Alright. Understood. Wait here for a moment; I’ll take this child somewhere else.”
The man picked up the child and headed toward the door. The child stared at the Demon King with trembling eyes.
And the Demon King parted ways with that child, never to meet again.
Afterward, the Demon King started pressing the buttons one by one.
The sound of water draining filled the air. As someone who looked exactly like them writhed and met their end, they moved on to the next.
How many had they killed? Around the time they stopped counting, everything ended, and the Demon King arrived at a deep, dark castle.
“Now, from now on, you shall call me ‘Daddy.'”
“Not Daddy…?”
“Daddy.”
“…But the person who brought me into this world should be called Father, right?”
“Daddy.”
“…Yes. Daddy…”
From that day forward, the Demon King became the Demon King.
Though unsure of what to do, they followed him around and worked.
Doing exactly as he instructed, like his puppet.
+++++
“…Is that story true?”
“Yes. That’s what I remember. And that man was Daddy, my father.”
“Then why haven’t you grown at all?”
“I don’t know. Up to that point.”
“…Hmph…”
Noah sighed and looked at me.
His eyes shimmered with slightly transparent tears.
“…Me…”
I was also astonished. Could it really be true, as the Demon King had said? Noah might be a cloned child. And his father, the madman conducting the experiment.
“Hey Demon King, is there anything else?”
“Hmm…now that you mention it, I once overheard my father muttering to himself.”
“What did he say?”
“The name of this kid is ‘Naona,’ he said. It was the name of a porn star he often watched, I think. But what’s porn?”
“…Ha.”
Noah’s face soured.
“Noah?”
“…”
“Noah?”
Noah stared blankly for a moment before glaring at my beer can.
I could tell what he wanted to say.
“…Do you want some?”
Nod.
“Just one sip. Really, only one.”
Nod.
Normally, I wouldn’t, but I’ve become the bad adult giving alcohol to a minor.
“Drink. Just one sip. Since an adult offered it, don’t refuse.”
“…I won’t refuse then.”
“Sometimes you should decline, shouldn’t you?”
“No. I want to drink. I want to look cool too.”
“Tsk, giving alcohol to kids and doing villainous deeds. I might really end up in hell.”
“It’s fine as long as you start being good from now.”
Noah grabbed the beer and gulped it down. Already seeing this behavior worries me about their future.
“Ah…”
“Feeling better?”
“Definitely…eating something unpleasant definitely helps ease the shock…”
Noah handed me the almost empty can.
I’m worried.
Noah was smiling again.
It was the same weak, painful smile I’d seen before. I pulled down the corners of their mouth.
“Didn’t they say that struggling people aren’t top-tier but just fools?”
“It…just doesn’t work.”
They continued to laugh, as if losing their mind. I thought maybe they were drunk from that sip of beer, but it didn’t seem so.
Purely shocked and burdened, they were showing this painful smile.
If the only family they trusted and loved actually viewed them merely as experimental subjects…
What must that feel like?
It was hard to imagine, and I didn’t even want to.
Especially about those puppets resembling Noah and the Demon King.
‘Could it be…’
Were they talking about the melted specimens in the abandoned lab?
One of the places Noah had to visit to fight the Demon King was called the Abandoned Lab, aptly named.
There, melted specimens were found, all resembling young children with white hair, although severely melted, making it hard to see their exact forms.
“Are you okay, Noah?”
More importantly, Noah first.
Noah extinguished the stars in their eyes and let out a long sigh.
“Haaa…Uncle.”
“Mm.”
“I’m going to see Dad tomorrow. Would you come with me?”
“Yes.”
Noah continued after fidgeting a bit.
“And…since I probably won’t sleep well tonight…could you stay with me?”
“If the Demon King stays too.”
“Tch…fine.”
That night, as promised, I fell asleep with Noah and the Demon King.
Of course, I had to console the sobbing Noah for a long time.
…Damn.
‘That rabbit-headed brat is getting on my nerves.’
