Alex stood dumbfounded before the two demons staring at him expectantly. He wasn’t sure what to say, but the silence was deafening.

“But I’m… I’m not a demon?” Alex decided that was his first question.

The young man before him, however, looked unperturbed. He looked back to the woman behind him then back to Alex, waving his hand nonchalantly, “The book said something like this might happen… don’t worry about it.” He gave off an awkward toothy smile, seemingly trying to comfort Alex.

Alex sighed. What was that even supposed to mean?

“I-I mean, besides that problem,” Alex decided to continue protesting, “I don’t want to be…. The Demon Lord either…”

“Well I suppose that is a problem…” The shorter demon scratched his chin, looking thoughtful, as the woman behind him decided to step forward. She turned to her companion and whispered something into his ear, to which he nodded energetically, “Oh that’s a great idea!” The boy’s eyes lit up as he looked back to Alex.

“Based on the current situation, my advisor has suggested that we simply ask you to help us turn back the coming human army for now…” The boy continued, starting to look a bit sad. He kicked the ground a bit while looking down, “It is very likely that during the current unrest, the humans have decided it is best to invade our lands now and we… I do not want anyone in this country to suffer…”

Alex considered this. He knew the humans’ plan. He remembered how…angry he felt when he first heard it. Maybe… maybe he could agree to do just this. He could do something he honestly believed was right, for once. He had been training hard, and he knew how powerful summoned heroes were compared to normal humans.

“I… I’ll help you. At the very least with just this…” Alex broke the long silence, not realizing just how long he had been standing there thinking, his brow furrowed. The demon boy’s eyes darted up quickly, and slowly lit up with hope as he realized what Alex had said. He showed Alex his smile again, but this time it was far brighter and more genuine. Alex was surprised by how much he liked that smile.

“A-amazing!” The young man started. He looked back to his advisor happily and gestured for her to step forward, “Cera, please help ah… our young hero here become situated.”

The woman, Cera, nodded, her expression unchanging as she looked toward Alex, “Master Telan will now attend to some of the demon generals who he wishes to remain allies,” as she said this, the demon boy began walking away. He looked back and gave a short little wave to Alex before taking off down the hall with long strides. Cera coughed then continued in her deep deadpan voice, “I will show you to your room in the castle. Do not worry. it is not as destroyed as the throne room.” Cera then turned away from Alex and started stepping toward a side entrance on the opposite wall from where Telan was heading. Alex fell in step behind her.

The pair passed through the archway into a long hall lined with tall windows on Alex's left and occasional elaborately carved tall wooden doors on his right. Alex was surprised to see Cera was right, so far at least. The structure of the hall was entirely intact, and the windows were not damaged at all. The room stretched for what seemed like an eternity but Cera quickly found the room she wanted and took a full stop before its door.

“This will be your room for as long as you remain here,” she stated without even looking at Alex, “Master Telan’s is the room to our current right.” Alex blinked and stood before the door, staring at the carvings of monsters, dragons, and people all swirling beautifully throughout it.

Alex heard a cough and turned to his left, realizing it was Cera. She looked at him and he realized she wanted him to open the door. Alex obliged and pushed open the large entryway, letting him gain his first glimpse of his new living quarters. He could already see the dark stone masonry and tall gothic windows that characterized the rest of the building. The windows in this room were covered with long violet curtains, though.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Alex took a few steps inside and looked around. There was a large bed to his left surrounded by extensive sheer drapery. The bed coverings were also violet and seemed velvety. A wooden dresser with an unlit candle and small hand mirror stood at the foot of the bed. To his right was a small velvet settee and dark wooden coffee table which had a tea set that seemed to currently be empty sitting atop it. An elaborate knotted rug sat below the settee and coffee table. A tapestry depicting a hunting scene was hanging on the far-right wall.

Alex thought this new room looked more elaborate than even the one the human king had assigned to him.

“Is the room to your liking?” Alex heard Cera ask. He barely registered it as a question at first.

“It’s great, thank you,” Alex quickly responded as he turned to look at her. He realized he had never really looked at Cera before and realized she looked quite well put-together. She had a high collar on her overcoat. The front of it had small ruffles and a small brooch in the middle. She was wearing clean black slacks and sleek pointed shoes. She carried herself tall and proud, her light purple hair was short and neatly cut, and there was a small horn protruding from her forehead.

Cera nodded and made a one-eighty degree turn, her shoes clicking as she did, “Master Telan will be here shortly. He wishes to discuss some matters with you after he is free. Please do not hesitate to call on me if any issues arise.”

Cera quickly stepped out of the room and closed the doors behind her, before Alex realized he had no idea what room Cera would be in.

Alex sighed and went to sit on the bed, which he found to be quite comfortable. Perhaps a bit too comfortable, as he sank quite far into it. He scooted away from the center of the bed and sat, thinking.

This was quite the situation. That young man… Telan, had wanted Alex to take his place as the Demon Lord but Alex managed to wheedle his way out of that. All Alex had to do was help them push back the human army and he was sure that would be enough. He could finally go home and wish Telan good luck. Alex still couldn’t believe the circle had summoned him, a human, to help and what did Telan mean when the book he had used said that “something like this might happen”?

Alex ran his hand through his hair as he closed his eyes resignedly but stopped as his fingers hit something… odd. It felt like a small bump in the back of his head. Alex felt for it again and realized it felt sold, somewhat like bone, with small ridges encircling it. He moved his hand around his head and found another one on the opposite side. This was… concerning.

Alex shot up from his seat and darted toward the dresser at the foot of the bed. He reached quickly for the hand mirror and brought it up to his head. He tried reaching around and positioning it to see what was going on, but the bumps were either too small or the mirror was and he couldn’t make out anything. However, Alex began to notice something odd about his fingers as well. His nails seemed… sharper. Oh no… there’s no way, right?

Alex jolted and almost dropped the mirror as he heard a sharp knock from the closed door behind him. Realizing it was probably Telan, he said, “Come in…”

Telan pushed open the doors and then closed them behind him as he stepped in. Telan was short, but he carried himself quite regally. His wavy hair bounced joyfully as he stepped toward Alex. Telan’s clothing, now that Alex had time to notice it, was quite interesting. The base outfit seemed to be a simple shirt, overcoat, and long pants with high boots, but the sleeves were layered with a sheer fabric that flowed freely as Telan walked.

“I hope I have not… bothered you,” Telan began, looking between Alex’s still frantic face and the mirror he was clutching in his hand.

Alex quickly realized why Telan was staring at him and lowered the mirror back to the dresser, “I’m sorry, I ah… I just,” Alex was struggling to put what he was thinking about to words. It all sounded quite crazy to him. Perhaps Telan would laugh? Alex looked back to the demon and locked eyes. Telan looked honestly concerned and Alex decided to continue, “I think… something’s happening? I-I mean. I noticed two small bumps on the back of my head and ah… my nails are…” Alex trailed off. He noticed he had been looking back down to the floor again at the end so immediately brought his gaze back up to Telan’s and realized the demon’s face had lit up with recognition and surprise.

“So that’s what the book meant!” Telan exclaimed, furrowing his brows in thought, “It had said that the summoning circle might choose a non-demon, but that it would soon be corrected, and I had no idea what it had meant.”

Alex paused, staring at Telan. That phrasing... sounded terrifiying...

“So, it meant the summoned hero would turn into a demon if they weren’t already… fascinating…” Telan began mumbling as he scratched his chin, looking off to the side.

Turn into a demon? Alex looked back and forth between him and Telan and then looked over to the mirror on the dresser again. He reached for it slowly, feeling some sort of odd dread.

Alex looked into the mirror and noticed his eyes were starting to take on a reddish tint. Did they look a bit slitted? He couldn’t tell. How far would this…. Transformation go, even?

Alex dropped the mirror.