An island of gemstones and magical beasts floats in the sky…
On this island lives a kind and powerful demon king, Kougyoku.

Some forty years ago, Kougyoku used his magic to restore a stillborn griffin egg to life, and that griffin became his dearest companion, Topaz. In the years that followed, Topaz found that his love for Kougyoku had grown into something deeper than that of a beast’s love for his king… and unbeknownst to him, Kougyoku had begun to feel the same. 

Now, as Kougyoku struggles to summon the magic needed to restore his island, he is torn between his love for Topaz and his duty as king. And as his beloved finds himself faced with an impossible decision, Topaz is left with no choice but to decide their fates for him, even should it break his king’s heart…!

This was a five-star BL for me. I think a lot of it had to do with a combination of great things going for this manga: beautiful art, a unique and creative world, a sweet romance, and a work that pulls on your heartstrings.

The gemstone island doesn’t make any worldbuilding sense, but it’s still really cool. And there was a battle ages ago that killed many of the creatures of the island, and Kougyoku, the demon blessed with incredible magic, takes turns resurrecting them one by one in order to avoid overspending his magical energy…because while he is busy resurrecting the dead and protecting his flock, and enabling Topaz to live in a human form, he also has a barrier on the island to keep those pesky humans and sorcerers at bay (but not for long). This demon has stretched himself too thin, and it’s starting to show.

Topaz can tell this is what’s going on, so at night he flies out in his griffin form and patrols the area, looking to see if there’s any trouble to be found, ready to save those in need. Topaz is so devoted to Kougyoku that he will do anything to release him from some of his burdens. The demon king recognizes this in Topaz, and continues to fall for him more and more…but he won’t reveal his feelings out of obligation to his people, and the long history between him and Topaz. So, he does whatever he can to try to suppress them.

As danger starts creeping in on the gemstone kingdom from humans who have purchased magical weapons from sorcerers, there is an attack (particularly focused on griffins) and plenty of denizens of the kingdom get injured, including Kougyoku. HIs injuries are serious enough that his magic isn’t healing him…because if the demon king thinks about himself for once, his magic keeping up the barrier will fail, and he won’t be able to resurrect the creatures of old. Kougyoku cannot stand this, so he lets himself suffer. Topaz can’t stand Kougyoku suffering, so he turns himself fully back into a griffin to return some of Kougyoku’s magic. After all, Kougyoku has been using magic on Topaz for decades to give him a human form.

Topaz is in danger, because the longer he is in his griffin form, the greater the chance he will lose all memory and temperament and behaviors from his time being human. But he’s stubborn, and insists on remaining in that form. To my surprise, after some flashbacks and thoughtful scenes, years pass…and Kougyoku really feels the loss of Topaz’s presence.

Just look at the bottom panel of Kougyoku, how expressive and beautiful it is. You can really see his sorrow and loss. The art in this book is full of emotions like this.

Anyway, I’m not going to continue to spoil things from here…just know that all’s well that ends well, and it ends well and happily, making this manga a keeper for me.

I’ve read several of Emu Soutome’s works and I think out of all of them (I’ve read like 5) this one might be my favorite. I love the fantastical setting and imaginative story threads in this work, plus some good old-fashioned hot BL sex scenes and sweet romance. I believe this is a standalone, but if Soutome ever chooses to revisit this world in a future work, I’m along for the ride.

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Dear Demon King was released November 2025 and is available in digital and print. Purchase directly from the publisher to show your support, although you can also find this work from a variety of online book retailers.