CHAPTER 186: CHAPTER 185: CORONATION INTERRUPTED

The Demon Capital pulsed with energy. Black spires curled toward the clouds like talons. Rivers of molten light glowed crimson in the streets, reflecting the bonfires of celebration. Tens of thousands of demons chanted in unison, shaking the obsidian walls with their thunderous cheer.

"LONG LIVE THE DEMON QUEEN!"

"LONG LIVE THE DEMON KING CANDIDATE!"

Rei stood in the middle of the colossal coronation hall, heart hammering, sweat sliding down the back of his neck.

He wore robes so heavy with embroidery, gold trim, and enchanted gemstones that he could barely move. His sleeves dragged across the floor like rivers. A crown—not even the real one yet, just the ceremonial waiting crown—rested awkwardly on his head.

He whispered through clenched teeth: "This isn’t happening. This is not happening."

[System Reminder: It is happening. Please smile for the audience.]

[Remember, posture is important. Look less like a hostage.]

Rei’s lips twitched in agony. Beside him, Lucivella—the Demon Queen, the Final Boss Yandere—smiled with the serenity of someone who had already won. Draped in endless violet silk, her golden eyes never left him. Every time he shifted uncomfortably, she adjusted his collar, smoothed his sleeve, or whispered in his ear:

"Relax, my king. You’re home now."

Rei wanted to vomit into the ceremonial chalice.

The hall itself was enough to make any sane man faint.

A ceiling painted with blood-red constellations. Rows upon rows of demon nobles, each more horrifyingly elegant than the last—horns polished, wings folded, smiles too sharp. Candles floated mid-air, casting shadows that writhed like serpents.

At the center stood the Altar of Dominion: a black stone pedestal upon which rested the true crown of the Demon King. A circlet of obsidian thorns, humming with a power that bent the air itself.

The High Chancellor—a skeletal demon with a voice like shattering glass—lifted his staff and began the ritual.

"By decree of the abyss... by oath of shadow and flame... we crown the sovereign..."

Drums thundered, a thousand voices chanted. The crown began to rise into the air, spinning slowly, descending toward Rei’s trembling head.

Lucivella leaned closer, her lips brushing his ear. "Once it touches you, there is no escape. You will be mine, for all eternity."

Rei whimpered audibly. "I just wanted peace..."

[System Notification: Title Pending → "Demon King Candidate (Against Your Will)."]

[System Encouragement: Stand still. Resist the urge to scream. Screaming looks bad in official portraits.]

The crown was inches from his scalp when the walls exploded.

A searing beam of holy light blasted through the stained obsidian glass, showering shards across the nobles. Screams erupted.

"STOP THIS WEDDING CIRCUS!" a voice roared.

Through the smoke and falling rubble stormed Seraphina, halo blazing like a miniature sun, staff raised high. "I will not allow this profane coronation to proceed!"

Immediately, a second explosion rocked the hall as a dragon claw punched through the roof. Drakana swooped in, wings igniting tapestries in her wake, bellowing: "BACK AWAY FROM MY MATE!"

From the shadows, daggers whistled through the air—Rosette’s calling card. One dagger embedded itself in the waiting crown, another in the High Chancellor’s staff, a third nearly skewering Rei before lodging into the throne.

"...She tried to kill me too!" Rei shrieked.

[System Note: Correction – She tried to kill everyone. You were just conveniently in the way.]

As if that wasn’t enough, a champagne bottle whizzed through the air, shattering across Lucivella’s dais. Poisoned bubbles fizzed and melted a hole through the obsidian floor.

Emilia stepped daintily into the hall, parasol twirling. "Ara~ forgive the intrusion. I simply cannot allow my darling Rei to become corrupted by demonic bureaucracy."

Lilia stormed in next, radiating divine madness. "By the goddess, this coronation is VOID! Rei belongs to me by heavenly decree!"

And finally, Velveria’s shadows seeped like black tar through the cracks of the floor, coiling around pillars and devouring the chandeliers. Her voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. "The crown belongs to the abyss. To me."

The Anti-Sister Alliance—reborn, furious, and insane.

And Rei, trapped between them and Lucivella, realized: he was about to die. Again.

The coronation dissolved instantly into absolute battlefield chaos.

Seraphina unleashed holy fire across the pews, demon nobles scattering in flames.

Drakana slammed into a row of guards, sending them flying like bowling pins.

Velveria’s shadows lunged at the crown itself, claws stretching.

Rosette flitted through the smoke, knives whistling, targeting Lucivella’s throat.

Emilia tipped her poisoned champagne, spilling vaporous mist across the nobles.

Lilia screamed scripture so loudly the stained glass re-assembled itself just to shatter again.

Rei crouched under the altar, shielding his head with both arms. "STOP! THIS IS SACRED DEMON PROPERTY!"

[System Report: Property Damage Update – 1 Coronation Hall, priceless crown stability compromised, 400 nobles fainted.]

[Congratulations. You’re now responsible for the single worst coronation in demon history.]

Lucivella, unbothered by the carnage, merely lifted one hand. A sphere of shadows swirled around her, dissolving daggers, holy fire, and poison gas alike. She continued smiling, serene, as if none of it mattered.

"My husband," she purred over the noise, "see how desperate they are to keep us apart? Doesn’t that prove how much you belong to me?"

Rei’s response was muffled screaming into the carpet.

Amidst the chaos, the Demon King’s crown began to glow. It pulsed with ancient magic, hungry, searching for a head to claim. The brides noticed.

"THE CROWN IS MINE TO PLACE!" Lilia shrieked, lunging forward with holy chains.

"NO! I’LL CROWN HIM!" Drakana roared, grabbing the crown mid-air.

Velveria’s shadows twisted around it. "It is destined for the abyss!"

Emilia snapped her fan. "Ara~ I’ll lace it with my poison. A lovely accessory, don’t you think?"

Rosette hurled a dagger straight at it. "Better broken than hers."

The crown vibrated violently, releasing shockwaves of magic that knocked half the guests unconscious. Rei crawled desperately away on all fours.

[System Alert: WARNING – Demon Crown Unstable.]

[System Advisory: Do not sneeze. Any vocal noise may be interpreted as coronation consent.]

Rei clamped both hands over his mouth. "Mmmfhhh—!!"

The battle reached fever pitch when Seraphina and Drakana collided—holy fire against dragon flame—sending a shockwave that toppled the entire central spire of the hall.

Lucivella caught Rei in her arms like a bride, shielding him with her aura. She whispered sweetly: "See? Even the heavens fall before us. But I will never let you go."

Rei shrieked. "PUT ME DOWN BEFORE THEY KILL ME!"

Rosette’s dagger sailed past his ear. Emilia’s champagne mist nearly suffocated him. Velveria’s shadows wrapped around his leg like a noose before Lucivella yanked him free.

It was less a coronation and more a demolition derby starring magical psychopaths.

[System Notification: Title Unlocked → "Demon King Candidate (Against Your Will)."]

[Congratulations. You are now officially a pawn in the apocalypse.]

At last, the crown fell from the air, clattering against the cracked obsidian floor. The fighting ceased for only a moment as every eye turned toward it.

Lucivella reached for it. The brides lunged for it. Rei... stared at his reflection on its gleaming surface.

The face that stared back at him was pale, terrified, and framed in robes far too heavy for his shoulders. A crown fit for a king hovered inches from his grasp.

He whispered, hollow, exhausted, broken:

"I just wanted peace..."

The hall erupted into another explosion, feathers, fire, and poison raining down as the scene faded to black.

[System Announcement: Arc 4 Event – "Coronation Interrupted" Complete.]

[System Forecast: Global War of Wives escalating. Survival probability: 0.0004%.]

[Have fun, Your Majesty.]

Rei lay sprawled across the scorched altar floor, tangled in his ceremonial robes and half-buried under shards of obsidian and broken chandeliers. His head throbbed, his lungs ached from smoke, and every inch of his body smelled like charred candle wax, dragon smoke, and slightly burnt hair.

"I... I just wanted a quiet semester," he muttered. "A little peace. Maybe some lectures on advanced demon politics... maybe a nap in the afternoon. And now—"

A shadow swept over him. Lucivella hovered, her hair and silk flowing as if they were alive, the crown of the Demon King now gently resting on her lap while she stroked his cheek. "My king," she said softly, "you are so brave. Look at you, surviving this ordeal. It’s... admirable."

Rei glared, teeth gritted. "I am not brave. I am insane to still be alive after this!"

[System Observation: Correct. Probability of survival decreased by 98%.]

[Keep your whining to a minimum, Your Majesty. It’s unbecoming.]

He groaned, curling into a ball. "And the brides... they’re still out there. They’ll never stop, will they?"

Lucivella’s golden eyes gleamed like molten gold. "Of course they won’t. But that’s why I am here. You belong to me. They can try to take you... but I will protect you."

Rei’s chest tightened. Part of him wanted to laugh hysterically, part of him wanted to scream, and another tiny, completely buried part of him wanted to cry. "Protect me... from them...?" he wheezed.

She smiled, brushing a strand of his hair back. "Yes, my king. From them. From anyone. From everything. You are mine, and I will not let you go."

[System Reminder: Main Mission Route Active → Marry the Demon Queen. All other brides are hostile targets.]

[Enjoy your role as the continent’s most unwilling war prize.]

Rei slumped back against her chest, muttering, "I didn’t ask for any of this... I just wanted a normal life... a quiet life... maybe a nap... maybe a library..."

Lucivella chuckled, low and warm, her voice vibrating through the air like a spell. "Normal is boring. I intend to give you a life full of excitement, passion... and of course, love."

Rei groaned loudly. "I hate that word right now. Because it contains too many explosions, too many assassins, also too many... magical disasters."

[System Notification: Emotional Support Active → Lucivella protects protagonist.]

[Disclaimer: "Protection" may include body-slamming everyone who tries to kill you. Multiple times.]

Rei peeked at the crown on her lap. The reflection of his face—pale, exhausted, terrified—stared back at him. "I just... I just wanted peace," he whispered again, voice barely audible.

Lucivella leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Shh, my king. Peace is overrated anyway. But surviving... surviving with me by your side... that will be far more fun."

And somewhere outside the shattered walls, the first reports of armies mobilizing and brides regrouping reached the ears of the Demon Queen—and the ears of the man who didn’t want any of this.

Rei groaned into her silk-covered shoulder. "Why... why me..."

[System Alert: Arc 4 Mission Update → Survive Global War of Wives. Secondary Objective → Don’t die before being crowned Demon King.]

[Good luck, Your Majesty. You’ll need it.]

The fires of war were already spreading across the continent, and Rei realized with horror: his "quiet life" had officially ended.

To be continued...