Heir to the Demon King's Throne

Rizen Vesperian should not exist. His father, the Dark Elf conqueror who once brought five nations to their knees, was betrayed and killed, and his remains were divided among the kingdoms that feared him. Raised in shadow and trained in the darkest depths of the Death Dungeon, Rizen surfaces as the true heir to the Demon King’s throne. He has no army yet and no allies, only a suppressor mask and the lingering spirit of Kael guiding him from within. Hiding his true strength, Rizen joins Shining Blade, a struggling adventurers’ party led by Rain, an elven captain bound by royal duty and haunted by her own stagnant power. Along the way they face corrupt priests, rebel uprisings and the S-rank dungeon dives that turn comrades into family. Rain begins to see the man behind the mask, and the feelings between them grow into something neither of them expected. Rizen is quietly building something too. In the Death Dungeon, his loyal generals Daigon, Saber, Blade and Artanis gather an army of outcasts, half-breeds and forgotten races. When betrayal pushes Rizen past his limits, Kael’s rage breaks loose and an entire kingdom is erased. The world now believes the Dark Conqueror has returned. The human kingdom answers by summoning a Hero from another world, and the generals scatter across five nations to reclaim Kael’s remains. Rizen lies near death, Rain believes he is gone, and the continent is heading for war. The question is no longer whether the heir will rise, but what he will become when he does: a conqueror like his father, or something the world has never seen. Genre: dark fantasy, action, romance, revenge For readers who like: overpowered hidden protagonists, antihero leads, dungeon progression, political intrigue and slow-burn romance