Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Ouch—?! It's so cold—?!

Wow! What is this?! It's so cold! It's chilling to the bone!

When I came to my senses, I was already sealed inside a coffin made of ice, with runes flowing within it. Does this world still need ice like this?

No, that's magic, isn't it?!

To be honest, I've gradually developed a phobia of ice. I was almost killed by the hero's ice back then, and now I'm sealed in this super cold ice coffin.

I need to get out of here quickly... Ugh.

I just realized that my magic is not working; it's frozen and cannot function. My body, which is made of magic, is also unable to move.

What happened...?

I looked at my magic eye, and a dozen or so abnormal status markers appeared in my field of vision. The numbers on the markers kept refreshing, and the countdown didn't seem to be decreasing at all, but the duration wasn't very long either.

What's going on here?

This is probably the reason why my magic can't function. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't have any effect and will disappear in a while.

However, this effect keeps refreshing, so the countdown doesn't decrease at all!

At this rate, it'll never end, won't it?!

Although I don't know who did it, I just want to say that this kind of debuff is useless to me because I still have the power of simplicity.

Okay!

With a single slash, he shattered the ice coffin, then swiftly chiseled open a large hole, bursting out in one breath, completing a perfect 360-degree turn and landing flawlessly. Excellent, full marks!

"Oh dear... I really didn't expect this to happen."

A leisurely voice came from the sky, and I looked in the direction of the sound. That was…

She had long, icy blue hair in pigtails, blood-red eyes, a seductive mouth revealing slightly pointed canine teeth, a curvaceous and alluring figure encased in a dress that resembled the night sky, and a pair of slender black bat wings.

Name: Aye

Gender: Female

Race: Vampire

Level: Lv.128……

Wow, it really is a vampire... This is troublesome, and this one is of an extremely high level.

The Demon Eye instantly displayed the information I wanted to know in my field of vision. I didn't expect it to actually attract a powerful enemy. What should I do now...?

"I said, you're blocking the way a little."

Aye casually released her magic, which instantly transformed into cold air and then into ice swords that shot towards her. These ice swords also contained the same runes as before.

Wow! This is magic I've never seen before!

I have absolutely no desire to come into contact with these ice swords. Those runes are probably the reason I got the debuff earlier. I don't want to be constantly getting debuffed like this.

Even if my main body is incredibly powerful, I can't absorb so many debuffs and still do whatever I want.

Unfold—'Twisted'!

I unleashed the magic I'm best at, warping space and then reconnecting it, just like this!

The ice sword plunged into the silvery-white magic circle. It didn't appear at the other end of the magic circle; instead, it disappeared and was completely swallowed up by the 'Twisting'.

at last…… "……!"

Aye was pierced by the ice sword. Yes, that's right, it was her own magic. I just twisted space and connected it to her back.

Bright red blood dripped down from the several ice swords that pierced her body. She calmly pulled out the swords, then smeared some of her own blood on her lips, making her look even more eerie.

As expected, an attack of this level couldn't hurt a vampire. Besides, it was her own magic, so there was no way to stop her.

In many games, these vampires are the epitome of strength, possessing super-fast regeneration, bewitching eyes that can charm others, unimaginable superhuman strength, and they're also incredibly handsome... well, that's just my personal opinion.

I can't really comment on what it's actually like, but at least this vampire is very handsome! I'd give him full marks.

Come to think of it, she doesn't seem to be affected by her own magic...

Aye retracted her wings and slowly landed on the ground. Her wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. As expected of a vampire, she was really tough.

“■■■■，■■■■■■■■!?”

The demons gathered around her, as if to protect her, and spoke to her about something. Their faces were filled with worry and a sense of impending death; I was a little confused about which side was the villain.

Maybe I'm the villain...? The Demon King and the Hero will come together to defeat me someday...? Ugh, just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt. What a cheesy plot.

“You may leave here,” Aye gestured for them to leave. “Our night raid has failed this time, so let’s retreat.”

"Huh? Are you leaving already?"

"...?! Is this speaking aloud?!"

Oh no... I forgot to turn off voice chat.

My words had already reached her mind, and she suddenly became interested in me. Wow, what's with that look in her eyes that's like a carnivorous beast?

"Oh, I'm starting to get a little interested." Aye licked her lips. "You are the Dragon King who disappeared that day, right? — 'The Newborn Dragon King'."

How did you know?

Logically, only my two sisters and Laelfa should have known about this at the time, but...

“I visited the labyrinth once before you were born.” Aye gave a playful smile. “Back then, the ‘Dragon King of Time’ was still alive, wasn’t he? I never imagined he would be defeated by such a hero. And then, you were born, weren’t you? Although I don’t know what happened in between, you must have had a tough time.”

Chapter 53

"rather……"

Unable to make a correct judgment about the current situation, I had no choice but to seek Ning's help.

"I've met someone here who seems to know about our situation...he's from the demon race."

"Did the demons...were they involved in what happened back then?"

Ning began to consider this possibility: if the demons were indeed involved in that matter, then the demons could also be considered enemies.

Why would the demons get involved in something like this? What benefit would it bring them? Or is it just a coincidence?

“Our Demon King is actually quite interested in your existence,” Aye said, extending her hand in invitation. “How about it? Would you like to come with me to meet the Demon King?”

"Wow... Ning, she's inviting me."

What are you invited to do?

"...Your voice is a little scary?"

"Speak quickly! ★"

I suddenly felt a chill. What terrifying thing did I see over there? And why is Ning suddenly acting so aloof?

"She's inviting me to see the Demon King."

"...Phew, I see the Demon King..." Ning seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "The Demon King... Is he interested in you?"

"That seems to be the prevailing view..."

I'm not quite sure why the Demon King is interested in me. What is he thinking? What is he plotting?

In the current situation, their position is clearly more passive, more like that of the suppressed party, with an overwhelming lack of intelligence.

Ah, I'm starting to regret doing all sorts of random things lately. It's really a disadvantage to be completely unaware of what's going on outside.

"Then let's go," Ning said. "It's better than you being paranoid and unable to do anything. Besides, if you want to run away, can anyone stop you? 'The Time-Space Dragon King'?"

"Dragon King of Time and Space"—the Dragon King who controls time and space, that is my power. I can control time and space, allowing myself to escape. With such power, Ning believes no one can catch me.

"...Okay, I'll listen to you then?" I added as a precaution, "If something happens to me after I get there, you have to come quickly with my other self to rescue me, okay?"

"Ha...have you said enough?"

"Okay, I know."

I could already sense Ning's impatience from her tone, and I knew she would get upset if I continued talking to her like this. She urged me to agree quickly.

Considering the current situation, it seems I don't have a choice but to agree... I'm surrounded by demons.

"Alright... take me there, to see that demon king."

Aye nodded and gestured to the demons with her eyes. The demons hesitated for a moment, then made way for her.

“Let’s go see the Demon King.” Aye led the way inside.

It went too smoothly, didn't it...?

"What's wrong?" Aye looked at me, who was still refusing to leave. "Don't you trust me?"

"Yeah, I don't trust you." I confessed. "To be honest, I don't trust you."

The line between the Demon King and the Hero is very blurred. I still don't understand what the crisis in this world is, why the Hero appears, or what the Demon King is fighting for.

“That’s true…” Aye seemed to understand me. She thought for a moment and said, “Well, the Demon King once told me something like this: ‘The Demon King and the Hero are essentially the same kind of characters, both heroes, or something else entirely. These two contradictory things can be interchanged. For humans, the Hero is their hero, and the Demon King is their nightmare; for demons, the Demon King is their hero, and the Hero is their nightmare. Both of them are just fighting for a certain group of people, fighting for a certain reason. Saving the world is just a side effect. I am the Demon Clan’s ‘Hero.’ I don’t fight for you. Why would the world choose me? How could I possibly know such a thing?’”

Demon King and Hero...

"This demon king seems quite willful."

"Ha, you might not believe it, but he actually came to the front lines himself," Aye said with a wry smile.

The Demon King is right. There is no absolute good or evil in the world. Contradictions can transform into each other. All I have to do now is go and meet the Demon Clan's "Hero".

Let's go.

Honestly, I'm starting to get a little curious about this Demon King; his ideas are really ahead of their time. And, judging from what he says... who knows?

He is also a 'hero'.

Xuanze stood on high ground, gazing at the battlefield. The night raid should be over by now. Human weapons and countless corpses were scattered across the battlefield.

These corpses all belonged to the demon race. There were no human corpses; only bloodstains from the battle and a large quantity of weapons and other such items remained.

He is currently on the front lines of the war between the demons and humans. He has assigned night raid missions to his subordinates to launch simultaneous night raids on various battlefields, but the results have been poor.

"...What exactly does that bald old man want to do?"

His whispers melted into the cold air of the battlefield, an air mixed with the smell of rust and a hint of dampness—was it about to rain?

So far, all the reports from my subordinates have been about the successful night raids, but the problem is the passive response from the human side.

The only battle they encountered with humans was during the first surprise attack, when they faced a very strong counterattack. After that, they never fought any direct combat.

It was as if they gave it a perfunctory attack, stalled for a while, and then began to retreat, abandoning their positions and fleeing in one fell swoop.

Although their fighting didn't have much impact on this area, and the food they left behind was all non-poisonous, and they also had a lot of weapons, they didn't take these things away. Instead, the demons gained a lot of benefits from them.

However, the demons never managed to launch a single effective attack on humanity. Humans always attacked and then ran away, and were never able to effectively kill their enemies.

The current situation is that the demons are being used as kites by humans, and they no longer intend to push the front lines further because it's pointless.

He leaned forward and slid down the slope. He had come alone to thank and say goodbye to these strangers.

The Demon King, ha, what a laughable character.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly. He had only fled from the kingdom to the demon realm, where he received help from the demons and then sought revenge.

He had been very cautious, but he was still too naive, which led him to the brink of death. If it weren't for the help of the demons, he would probably be a corpse on some distant land now.

Revenge is his true goal, while becoming the Demon King and helping the demon race are just side effects.

...It was just a side trip.

He walked to a badly wounded corpse. He seemed to have been taken care of by this demon not long ago, but now he didn't even know the other's name.

“... ‘Earth rupture’.”

His hand, pressing against the ground, emitted a faint earthy magical light. The earth itself rose up, enveloping the demon like a coffin, and then closed up.

He didn't linger a moment longer, offering a token tribute to the deceased, before moving on to the other corpses and repeating the same action. Just how many more such bodies lay on this battlefield?

Boom—whoosh whoosh whoosh…

It started to rain, and dark clouds obscured the two moons. The battlefield became even more silent in the cold rain, and in the darkness, only Xuanze emitted a faint magical light.

Like the only glimmer of light in the darkness, faint...lonely.

After burying what seemed like the umpteenth corpse with magic, he stood up. Then he turned around to face the white figure that had appeared behind him at some unknown time.

"It's been a long time," Xuanze said.