Chapter 1: The End and the Beginning

The Demon Emperor of the Seventh Realm has died!

You have slain the legendary Lord of Destruction!

A translucent window appeared in front of me the moment I severed the beast’s neck. How long was it since this familiar window first appeared? I could not remember. What I was sure of was that decades had passed since the Judgement Day. Billions of humans succumbed to their banes that day, and my loved ones were no exemption.

“Heh, damn monster,” I spat. My eyes were glaring at the beast in front of me. The ruler of the Seventh Realm. One of the seven rulers of Hell.

Its humanoid body was slim, yet muscular. Twin horns protruded out of its forehead, encircling towards the back. Its eyes were bloodshot from rage, and its sharp set of teeth were wide open. Its chest was perforated with holes from my blade, and its right arm was severed from its body.

Around us, mountains were split apart, and the previously lush forest had turned barren. The ground had been turned into an endless dessert, and numerous bodies of demonic beasts littered the ground.

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

“Great, I gained four levels,” I chuckled in mockery.

I was Lv.195 now, probably the highest a human had ever achieved in this lifetime. After all, a mere Demon Lord was around level 95. At my current level, taking care of it would be a piece of cake.

“Killing Demon Lords, huh?” I said. “Now that I remember, there was that Demon Lord that doesn’t like to harm humans. Is he still alive? I wonder. After all, he’s the weakest of his kind.”

Back then, before I became this strong, I had the fortune to encounter to the Demon Lord called Kreylam. He was a monster that would remind one of a humanoid cat. He had the characteristic horns of demons, but his body that was that of a human entirely.

I had not passed the Lv10 mark that time, and just that demon’s aura alone was enough to send me to the brink of insanity. But to my surprise, that demon spared my life.

Even now, I could still vividly remember the words he said back then: “The current Lucifer is too lax. There is no doubt that this invasion is perpetrated by the Lord of the Seventh Realm. I will need to talk to him.”

I had no idea what Kreylam was talking about back then. It was only after a few years had passed since the human race was brought to the brink of extinction that I found out the meaning behind those words. It appears that Lucifer, the current ruler of all seven realms of Hell, was in deep hibernation. Using that opportunity, the Lord of the Seventh Realm rallied his troops and invaded the Mortal Realm, resulting to billions of casualties.

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I was in rage. The memories of how I found the corpses of my loved ones repeatedly resurfaced in my mind. Before, I was mindlessly killing all the demons that I could find. But after realizing the meaning behind Kreylam’s words, I had decided that I would kill this so-called Ruler of the Seventh Realm.

And now that wish had turned reality.

“Bastard,” I snarled at the corpse in front of me. Its disfigured face was a sight. “Just killing you isn’t enough! Do you know how much suffering my loved ones went through?! Why did you have to kill all the humans?! Why?!”

In my rage, I kicked its head, sending it rolling through the desert ground. Sand flew everywhere, and I shouted in utter rage.

“Damn it!”

Due to the Curse of the Lord of Destruction, all healing abilities had been sealed.

Current HP: 158/71590

I was dying, there was no doubt about it. But somehow, there was no regret, only contentment. A single tear flowed down my cheek as the memories of how I struggled in these past years resurfaced within my mind.

I trained myself everyday with single-minded focus. My only driving force was my desire to kill this bastard.

I let myself fall down the sand-covered ground. The former forest had turned into a desert after our fight.

“I’ve become really strong, haven’t I?” I said, as I raised a hand over my face, shielding it from the scorching sun above.

My HP continued to dwindle down as I laid there, waiting for my final moments to come.

“Franchesca… I’m coming to you,” I mumbled. I was unable to protect her back then. “We’ll be together, finally.”

I was about to close my eyes when a voice rang out.

“My, my, what a marvelous sight,” said the voice. It was cold, eerily cold. “To think that a mere human would be able to kill the Lord of Destruction. Truly a sight to behold.”

With what little strength I had left, I turned my head and looked at the source of the voice.

A child in his early teenage years. His white robe covered his body, and his ivory skin seemed to glimmer upon the faintest touch of light. His blonde hair flowed down till his waist. And those sapphire eyes of his seemed to pierce through me, and I knew that he was looking directly at my very soul.

“Who are you?” I asked.

The child looked at the headless corpse of the Lord of Destruction, then at me. He smiled, revealing a beautiful set of teeth.

“I am Lucifer,” he said jubilantly. Shivers crawled down my spine. I knew that he was not lying. My years of battling with demons told me that. “The ruler of all seven realms of Hell. The absolute God of Hell.”

I tried to stand up, but my body refused to move. Upon looking at my stats, I saw that it was only a matter of moments before my HP was depleted.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask Lucifer, but I guess that was impossible now. I smirked from the realization.

“Can no longer move and speak, eh?” said Lucifer nonchalantly. “I’ve wanted to talk with you more, but it seems that is no longer possible. After all, the Reincarnation Ritual works only to those that are on the brink of death. I cannot heal you.”

Reincarnation Ritual? Those words had an ominous ring to it.

Lucifer opened both his arms wide, then smugly declared, “The God of Hell has spoken. With my will, death shall be void. Time shall shatter. The string of fate shall be severed.”

For a moment, Lucifer and I locked eyes with each other.

“After hundreds of years of sleep, I have finally awoken. Mortal, I must thank you for taking care of this mess,” said Lucifer. “I thank you for taking down the Lord of Destruction. Saved me a lot of headache, really.”

There was a soft chuckle after that, like the one you would hear from a child.

As I thought, the Lord of Destruction was acting on his own. The Judgement Day was entirely his doing.

“As a favor, I will return you to the time before this mess happened,” said Lucifer. “Live your life once again. This will be the first and last time we’ll meet. If you meet the me in the parallel timeline, be sure to give your regards. Farewell, mortal.”

A blinding flash of light enveloped my entire body, my surroundings distorted, and I found myself in an entirely different place.

I looked around. A familiar, smelly room. Unwashed laundries everywhere. The cracked glass of the window was something I had not forgotten even now.

“This… is my room,” I said, voice hushed in disbelief.

I ran to the mirror in the bathroom and I could not believe what I saw.

Thick brows, bald head, and a small scar on my left cheek. The same slit-like eyes from before were staring directly at my reflection. The wrinkles I gained from age were no longer there. I was young. Absurdly young.

I dashed to the bedroom and opened the television. I paid no heed to the pretty female announcer on the news. My eyes were focused on the numbers at the bottom of the screen.

It seems that I was transported back a few hours before the Judgement Day transpired.