Her Masterplan

When Aki told me that demon lords are immortal and can only be killed by someone with the title of hero, then all the things became clear. Why she killed the king and not a hero, why my friends were killed, why the after-effects of killing the king will work in her favor, all of it became clear and started making sense.

Hanako was the daughter of the demon king who died three hundred years ago along with the hero of that time to put an end to the Great War; they met alone in an unknown place and stabbed each other to death. They were the strongest and the ones who led the army of both sides, without them the coordination between the soldiers broke and they were unable to fight with a strategy.

An army without a leader is the same as an RPG without regular updates; they won't last long. Eventually, after their death, both armies' power balance and coordination fell and the war somehow ended.

But the main thing starts now, the demon lord and the hero didn't tell anyone about their plan so in the eyes of normal people they just one day vanished. The demon lord can only be killed by a hero and a hero can only be killed by a demon lord, this condition gave rise to a rumor in both the kingdom of humans and demons. Humans thought that the demon lord invited the hero for peace talks but assassinated him and the same goes for the people in the demon kingdom as well.

This thing must have hurt Hanako, who was probably a kid and ignited the fire of revenge inside her.

When Aki told me about the war it took me some time but when I recalled that Hanako stated her being a demon lord my mind immediately connected this with the thought of her being a daughter of the previous demon lord.

The reason behind this is that when I checked my stats I had a qualification to become a demon lord, but it was also mentioned that to get the title *Demon Lord* I have to kill the current one. So how did she have the title?

I have two theories about this, first that she is lying about it and the second is that if a person with the title of demon lord gets killed by a person with the title of hero; both the titles neutralized and canceled each other just like an electron and a proton neutralize each other and form the neutron.

When the titles canceled each other and the hero and the demon lord died, either the titles got passed forward in their bloodline or the first person who got the qualification after their death also got the title immediately.

I am assuming that after the death of her father she trained to get strong and take revenge on the hero, but when she reached a certain power level she got the qualification for the title of the demon lord, and since there was no current demon lord she also got the title. (Man this 'title' thing is confusing; I need to study more about them later)

But if things really went this way, then I was sure about her real intention behind killing the king. Just when I was thinking about it, Aki asked me.

"I think now you also why she killed the king instead of a hero?" He had a grin on his face; it was like he knew that I will find this out.

"It seems like me and my friends got us involved in someone's master plan!" I said; it was time to confirm what I was thinking.

I took a deep breath.

"According to Hanako the hero who killed her father is still alive and is keeping his identity hidden, the reason being that he can only be killed by a demon lord but he killed him with his own hands. All this stuff is to make him come out in open; for that, she killed the king and revealed that she is a demon. Now the crown prince will take control of the kingdom and will try to avenge his father by attacking the demon kingdom."

"Even after the great war, the tension between two kingdoms remained and they were looking for a reason to attack each other. Now that the crown prince got that reason he will wage a war on the demon kingdom; from here she as the current demon lord will also send an army in the name of self-defense and this will cause the armies to clash and eventually war will start."

"But when Hanako will enter the war as a demon lord, then the hero who she thinks is hiding will also have to come out and face her."

"This was all I could think of."

The grin on his face turned into a smile and he stood up.

—Clap, Clap, Clap!

"I expect nothing less from you!"

"Was this really the reason?" I asked to clear my doubts.

"Yes."

I felt a little depressed after hearing this, originally I and my friends had no role to play in her plan. They only got killed because of me, because I suggested that we should help that little girl.

If I haven't done that, then all of them would be alive right now.

All of it was my mistake!

"It was not your mistake; you did what anyone with a heart will do," He said as she sat back on the throne.

"So what do you want me to do now?" I asked while trying to change the topic.

"I will say straight, I want you to stop this war from happening."

Somehow I knew that he was going to ask for something similar to this.

"Why me?"

"Huh, it's simple. It's because you know her plan now and have encountered her before, and this is also one of the reasons I reincarnated here for."

At first, I hesitated a bit, I mean why won't you? What does all of this have to do with me? I am not some novel protagonist who happily accepts the quest to save the world even when that world has nothing to do with him.

But then I thought this will be good, by this way I can take my revenge on her.

After stopping the war not I can kill her but all the planning she did for three hundred years will mix into dust.

This was perfect; by this, I can break her both mentally and physically.

"Okay, I will do it!"

He stared at me for a bit, maybe he knew my real intentions.

"I want you to stop this war by depending on your physical strength as less as possible."

"And why is that?"

"Just a kind of personal request from me, I'm not saying that don't use your power but use it as the last option."

"Then I also have a personal request! If Hanako ever came in front of me, then I will kill her and you will not stop me!"

"Revenge won't bring anything Haruto. It's only one-time happiness, after taking revenge you will be left with emptiness."

I stood up from the throne and said.

"That doesn't have anything to do with you!"

He also stood up; his face doesn't have a pleasing look. Instead, he was carrying a fake smile.

"If that's what you have decided to do then I won't stop you, but at least let me do one thing for you."

"What?"

"I will give you a skill that will help you to control your emotions, so you won't go berserk and release your full power again."

"You can give me a skill!" I asked with a surprised look on my face.

How can he give me a skill? I thought this type of thing is only available when I have the wish before reincarnating.

"Yes, I can do that. I just have to bend some rules."'

He is making it sound so easy.

"Come here and raise your hand," He said and raises his right hand straight towards me.

Doing what he said, I also stepped a few steps forward and touched the palm of his hand with mine.

He then closed his eyes, a few seconds later some light started coming between our hands and suddenly a notification came into my vision.

[You have unlocked a new skill: Stabilized memory]

"It's done!" He said and removed his hand.

"Try checking your status window."

Following his advice, I did what he said.

"Status!"

A translucent blue colored window before my eyes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Name – Haruto]

[Level – XXXXXX]

[MP – XXXXXX]

[HP – XXXXXX]

[Skills – Stabilized memory (Passive skill)]

[Title – None]

[Qualifications – You are qualified to become a demon lord. Kill the current demon lord to gain the Title.]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yes, I got the skill."

"That's good"

He snapped and the thrones disappeared, he walked towards me and said.

"I guess now it's time for you to go back and solve the war problem."

"No, wait there's something I wanted to ask about titles and the magic of this world," I said hurriedly.

"I will tell you after you have successfully stopped the war!"

He snapped again.

A bright light flashed in front of me and I lost consciousness.