I slowly opened my eyes. It’s like everything that happened was just a dream. But I remember everything. The summoning, the pain, my death and even the meeting with the Demon God. There’s no way that could have been a dream. When my vision returns to me I notice an elegant chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Instead of lightbulbs, it had candles. I try putting some strength into my body and slowly started to get up.
I started to look around the room. The room I was in was similar to a library. Lots of bookshelves packed with books. The room had a rather dark feeling to it. I noticed that I was standing on a table. And around the table there was a strange pentagram drawn on the floor. It gave quite the sinister feel to it.
“I guess this truly is the… demon… kingdom…
What’s… going on with my voice?”
I was startled. When I spoke out loud the voice that came out wasn’t my own. But that isn’t the reason I was shocked. The Demon God did say she will put my soul in another body. So I wasn’t expecting to have the same voice. What shocked me the most was that the voice that came out sounded like a girl. It had a high pitch to it. I began to tremble. In a corner of the room I noticed that there was a large mirror. I went straight for it, wanting to see my new body. The moment I looked in the mirror my brain froze. The blow I’ve been dealt was huge.
In the mirror there was a girl. A little girl. Her height was roughly around 145cm. She had long red hair that reached all the way to her butt. Her eyes were also died in a deep crimson-red color. She wore some sort of black dress that exposed the belly. Rather than calling it a dress it was closer to a swimsuit. Her bust size was rather small, but she wasn’t completely flat either. She did have a bit of breasts developing. Her legs were wrapped in black stockings that seemed to have merged in some way with her shoes. She had a rather simple pair of high heels. Right above her chest there was some kind of jewel attached to the dress. At first glance it looked like a ruby. But probably the most abnormal part was that the young girl had wings. They weren’t dragon wings, nor were they devil wings. They resembled the wings of crow. Pitch black feathers and 3 eyeballs on each wing. They were actually pretty scary. The wings alone would have shocked anyone. But that wasn’t the reason I was shocked.
“WHAT!? Why the hell am I a loli?!”
I suddenly shout as hard as my lungs could allow me.
“What did that Demon God do to me? Couldn’t she find a male body? And if it had to be a female body, why a loli? Are you telling me I am supposed to live the rest of my life in this body? You gotta be shitting me!”
I started cursing and yelling at the reflection in the mirror. Because I was talking to myself I didn’t hear a pair of footsteps that were running towards this room. The door suddenly opened with a BAM.
“Halt, intruder! No matter who you are I will stab your… heart…”
A loud clang followed shortly after. The person that barged in dropped the long scythe it was holding. Tears started to form in her eyes. She took a few steps forward.
“Is it… really true? Have you… finally awakened… after all these years?”
I wasn’t sure how to reply to that. I was still kinda in shock. The only thing my brain told me to do was to at least great the person before me.
“Uhm… hi.”
I was taken aback by her reaction. Only now did my brain start working properly again and I realized the person in front of me was a female. After my greeting she quickly took a knee and lowered her head.
“Mistress Milla, I can not express the joy I feel right now. I’m glad that you finally awakened. Your faithful servant is ready to follow your orders!”
I didn’t know how to react. I have no idea in whose body I am. Another million questions popped into my head. But it was hard to think right now, since my eyes were drawn to this woman’s breasts. As I begin to analyze her from top to bottom, she was a full fledge adult. She was taller than me. I think my head only reached her chest. She wore a frilly maid dress. The upper part of her chest was exposed. She had a nice pair of breasts. I would say they were around the same size as Shiori’s. Her skirt reached to around her knees. She also had a maid headdress. She had short lime hair. It only reached her shoulder, but it had quite the volume. A pair of horns circled her head. The most curious part about her attire was that her gloves and boots were basically armor. Metal gloves that reached all the way to her elbows and metal boots that went all the way to her knees. The more I stare at her, it feels as something wants to obstruct my vision. I try focusing a bit and above the maids’ head I manage to see the following:
Name: Grace
Age: Unknown
Race: High Mazoku
Class: Battle Maid
Strenght: SS
Agility: S+
Endurance: SS
Magic: S-
Luck: B
Overall Rank: SS
Amazing. I could see her stats without a card. Was it maybe due to the fact that I’m supposed to be a Demon King now? Her stats left me speechless. This woman was OP. In the first 2 days the church tried to feed us as much info as they could. I remember a part that said “an SSS human is equivalent in strength to an S class demon”. If that was true then it would take at least 10 SSS humans to beat this woman. But it's said that the heroes summoned are supposed to be an exception and should be stronger. The other important part was her class. Battle Maid. I read about it in a book. Battle Maids, were women skilled at doing maid duty but at the same time have mastered high combat skills. They are extremely rare but they are famous for being strong war potential. But a Battle Maid was special. Their loyalty can't be bought. Their services can't be employed. The thing about Battle Maids is that they choose their master. Kings would often lay before them riches to gain their favor, but no matter what they are presented with, if they do not deem that person worthy they will turn down every offer. And such a person is calling me mistress.
"Uhm… Grace, could you please stand up for now?"
"As you wish, mistress."
She quickly stood up and picked up the scythe she dropped when she barged in the room. Now, I wonder what am I supposed to do next. How should I choose my words? If the Demon God was telling the truth and everything the church told us was a lie, then I need to know the situation over here. Well the Demon God did tell me to live as I please. If that's the case I will just go with my gut.
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"Grace listen carefully. My memory is hazy. I don't remember anything. I can't recall why I was sleeping, I don't know were we are and I don't know much about the demon race either. So I'm asking you to answer all my questions!"
"Developing memory loss… That truly is unfortunate. It might be an after effect caused by the seal placed on you. But I understand. I will do my best to teach you everything you wish to know. Please follow me to a more appropriate room."
It seems like she wasn't that bothered by my explanation. There are a lot of things I want to ask. For now I should just follow her. Now that I think about it I never checked my own status. I tried looking at my hands to trigger the words to appear. It was then when I also noticed that I had 2 jewels on the back of my palms. It felt as though they were merged into my skin. A part of my body. After a few tries and errors, I managed to see my stats.
Name: Milla Walpurgis
Age: 228
Race: High Mazoku
Class: Demon King
Strenght: SSS
Agility: SS-
Endurance: SSS+
Magic: SSS-
Luck: A
Overall Rank: SSS
My jaw almost dropped when I saw my own stats. I thought Grace was OP. Seriously now, how can such a little girl have so much power? I mean, I feel completely normal. And what the fuck is with that age? 228 years old? Does that make me a lolibaba? I guess I am legal at this age. No! Why am I even thinking about stuff like this? I better just keep up the pace with Grace for now.
◇ ◇ ◇
Back in the Olympia Empire, Ryu’s classmates were trying to get over their first defeat. Even if everyone saw Ryu as an otaku freak, a pervert, losing someone was a shock for many. It was the moment that they realized they can actually die. The church held a burial ceremony for Ryu. It was a ceremony to calm down all the students. They prayed that Ryu’s soul might find peace on the other side. After the ceremony was over, the Archbishop was preparing to go to his office. On his way, a young man was waiting for him.
“Well, Ren-dono, I must say, that went pretty well. You truly know how to hide your true intentions. If you weren’t a hero, you probably would have made an excellent politician.”
Ren Takeda. Right now he had a creepy grin on his face. Just moments ago he looked gloomy during the ceremony, but right now he showed his true face before the priest.
“Still, I didn’t expect for you to come to me and ask for a way to kill that loser.”
“I can read the mood. It was clear after a week that you hated him too. You didn’t like that he was weak and that you had to spend resources on a trash like him. I knew you wanted to get rid of him too.”
What Ren said was true. The priest only saw Ryu as an annoying maggot. He wanted to get rid of that filth as there was no merit in nurturing the likes of him. Although he was shocked at first at Ren’s proposal to kill him, he took quite a liking into Ren. A hero who is pure has no price. But a hero with desire can be easily reasoned with and most importantly manipulated. Hence the Archbishop approved of Ren’s idea. He made sure to pick a cave that they weren’t ready to face. Ren’s job was to use the commotion and panic so he can kill Ryu without anyone noticing and blaming his death on the goblins.
“I hope that you don’t forget our deal.”
“Of course not, young hero. Continue to assist me and in a few months time you shall have what you desire. I will see to it personally.”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page then.”
--------
After the sun had set, Momoyo Nakano went to check up on her friend, Shiori Watanabe, who was still sleeping. Ryu's death had a big impact on her so since the students returned, she had been asleep for 2 days. Momoyo was the class president. She had long black hair wrapped in a simple ponytail style. Her eyes were like a gem. A pure amethyst color could be seen in them. Unlike a knight she didn't wear any metal armor. She had leather clothing with a green cape that reached around her butt. This gear was more suited for her class.
Name: Momoyo Nakano
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Archer
Strenght: C+
Agility: A+
Endurance: B-
Magic: A-
Luck: B
Overall Rank: A
Momoyo was an archer. Her stats were comparable to Ren. But since Ren was labeled hero, she didn't want to make a fuss over it. The last thing the students needed was "Who's stronger? Ren or prez?"
Yes, she wanted to avoid such a situation.
Momoyo had known Shiori for quite some time. Although she didn't get close to Ryu, she always admired Shiori when she was defending him. She had a deep respect towards Shiori and became close friends.
When she opened the door to the bedroom she noticed that Shiori was awake. Tears were dripping along her cheeks. Momoya got closer and took Shiori's hand.
"Momo-chan… is it true? Is Ryu-kun…"
"Yes."
"Lies… it can't be true… he can't be…"
"Shiori, he's dead."
Momoyo didn't know how she should comfort her friend. Shiori was affected by Ryu's death the most.
"I wasn't strong enough. I promised I would protect him, yet I did nothing. I shouldn't have left his side!"
"Shiori, it wasn't your fault. What would Homura-san say if he saw you like this? If you feel you aren't strong enough, then you just have to get stronger."
After a few minutes, Shiori finally stopped crying and pulled Momoyo into her embrace. Momoyo went along and accepted her hug.
"Hey, Momo-chan, will you help get stronger? I have to. I don't want to see anyone else die."
"Of course I will. I will always watch over you."
After the heart warming scene, Momoyo bid Shiori goodnight and let her rest. As she returned to her room, there was one thought that crossed her mind. She didn't share it with Shiori. When Ryu's body was brought back and buried, she noticed the wound on Ryu's chest. It was clearly caused by a blade. The goblins they fought only used arrows and clubs for weapons. So how did Ryu get that wound? She gave it some thought, but in the end couldn't come to any conclusion. Before entering her room she said to herself:
"I promise I'll properly look after Shiori, so try to rest in peace, Ryusei."
◇ ◇ ◇
I think I've been talking with Grace for a full day, if not more. Grace tried to feed me as much information as she could. I found out that I am the last member of the Walpurgis clan. Once a proud demon clan, that eventually got eradicated by other demons. It seems they thought my clan would hinder them so they exterminated us. Even I was almost killed when they discovered the power this body had. I was poisoned and fell into a deep sleep. Grace being loyal to the bone saved me. She brought me to this abandoned mansion. This mansion was in the middle of the forest. It used to be some lords' vacation home, but he got killed too, so Grace has been hiding me and taking care of me ever since. 200 years have passed since then. It seems that High Mazoku don't need to eat. They get nutrients from magic particles in the air so I didn't have to worry about starving.
The next part Grace insisted upon was that I memorize the names of all the 12 Demon Kings.
1) Demon King of Despair, Ornis Balmund
2) Demon King of Savagery, Tigre Vacheron
3) Demon King of Lust, Murglais Avalon
4) Demon King of Tyranny, Zolgia Obelisk
5) Demon King of Wisdom, Odin Asgardia
6) Demon King of Sloth, Persia Castella
7) Demon King of Wrath, Magnus Bastellion
8) Demon King of Calamity, Tiamat Dragulia
9) Demon King of Death, Arnos Kerberus
10) Demon King of Kindness, Miraluka Rizia
11) Demon King of Insanity, Milla Walpurgis
12) Demon King of Profanity, Ymir Zariush
It took me a while until I learned all of them. I didn't want to go into details, so I didn't ask how their titles were asigned. I mean, I am supposed to be the Demon King of Insanity. Who decided something like that? Well, in the end I didn't care that much. I'm supposed to live as I want so I don't give a dam what others label me as. The ranks doesn't mean that the rank 10 King is inferior in power to say rank 5. The sole exception was rank 1. Demon King of Despair, Ornis is labeled as the strongest of all the 12 Demon Kings. Grace said he is strong enough to carry a war by himslef. I seriously wanted to avoid someone like him if possible.
Finally she started to tell me about the situation in Xenovia. Xenovia is the name of the demon kingdom. I learned what currency is used, she tried to slowly brief me about the political status and I've been instructed about each Demon Kings' territory. Although I still had questions, I felt like I needed a break. And there was one thing I wanted to try out right now.
"Grace, let's stop for now. I want to go out and test something."
"Understood."
Such a nice maid. She's not questioning me at all. I feel kinda happy that she treats me like this. Ok. And now it's time to have some fun.