Maou and Hero Translated

Prologue

The heavens gift talents onto people in various ways.

Some, a talent for agriculture.
Some, a talent for commerce.
Some, a talent for music. (1)
Some, a talent for the sword.
Some, a talent for magic.

But occasionally, the heavens grant particularly special ability to certain individuals.

An incomparable intellect, one to be called a genius.
An unfaltering resolve and determination, the willpower to continue where ordinary men would have given up a hundred times over.
An unwillingness to be arrogant about one's own skills, continually honing their talents with effort.
An indomitable courage, never to yield to evil in the worst of situations.

Blessed by the gods, those who forge their own paths, never yielding to evil in the worst of situations, forever fighting to prove that justice exists in the world. With words laden with respect and honour, people refer to them by this title.

The "Hero," or the "Brave." (2)

Has it been said that kings are chosen by the heavens?
There are those who were born with the destiny to become king.

The purest darkness.
Those who rule this darkness that would swallow up the world.
Those who seek the darkness as a friend, born to swallow up the light. (3)

Blessed by the demon god, destroying all those who seek to obstruct them, observing evil regardless of the situation.

Within the devouring darkness, the ruler of ten thousand evils.
With words laden with respect and honour, all 'evil' refer to him by this title.

The Demon King! (Maou) (4)



(1) Raws said 'singing,' I went for the more liberal 'music.'
(2) Okay. The raws gave these terms as 영융 (英雄) and 용사 (勇士), both of which can more or less translate to 'hero.' The first is defined as 'one with peerless talent and wisdom, leading the people to his ideal,' whereas the other literally means 'brave person.' JP LN/WN/Manga readers may know this term better as 'yuusha.'
(3) I'm getting SERIOUS Kingdom Hearts vibes from this line. Just sayin'
(4) Okay, the hanza (KR equivalent to JP Kanji) the author gave us is technically pronounced 'ma-wang' if you insist on the Korean pronounciation, but due to a crippling lack of proper names for the two main characters, I've opted for the JP pronounciation for the same characters (魔王) purely because it reads better in my mind instead of 'Demon King' as a name. If you have any problems, feel free to tell me so and I'll take the majority vote.