Here I was, with my face smashed into the ground and my butt sticking up. For some reason, a strange feeling whispered in my mind that I had lived this embarrassing moment before. I pushed myself up, brushed off the dust, and looked around with a tired sigh.

  The sky burned red like a dying sun, and the ground was nothing but dark earth and sharp black rocks. A cold, heavy feeling crawled up my spine, as if someone had opened the gates of hell and tossed me inside. I stood there in the middle of that empty place, and when I lifted my head to look ahead, my eyes almost popped out of my head.

  A huge man sat on a black stone throne, his long black hair fell over his broad shoulders, and his half-open uniform showed a chest that looked like carved from marble. He was strong, tall, handsome, and had a dangerous edge that made everyone around him tense.

  When I got closer, I noticed two relatively small black horns hiding in his long, wavy hair. His dark red eyes stayed fixed on a book in his hands, and he looked so deep in thought that I didn’t dare interrupt him. Or maybe I just didn’t have the guts after seeing how frightening he was from up close.

  “Finally, you decided to show up,” he muttered, flipping the pages fast.

  “Uh, sorry, but... can I ask where I am?” My voice came out a bit louder than a shy fart.

  He stood up at once and walked toward me, turning the book so I could see the page he tapped. The moment my eyes landed on it, I felt my soul tried to sneak out of me in embarrassment. It was one of my mangas, the ecchi one, the same one I was sure I had ripped apart, burned, and buried under my bed like a cursed secret.

  As if that wasn’t enough, he jabbed his finger right at the most painful part, the shower scene, the girl in full glory, shining like my worst sin… and stared at me with this confused look on his face.

  “Let me ask, what kind of spellbook is this? Are you studying some weird seduction techniques?”

  “Oh, n-no, definitely not!”

  He suddenly spun around and pointed at the huge pile of books next to his throne, his face even more confused.

  “Then what are all these supposed to be?”

  I had a bad feeling, but I still stepped closer to be sure, even though every part of me screamed not to. Soon I wished I hadn’t. My face went red so fast it felt like smoke should be coming out of my head. I stared at the ground, praying for a crack big enough to jump into and disappear.

  The pile in front of me was just my entire lifetime of ecchi collection. Years of lonely nights stacked into one sad tower of regret. Every cursed volume I thought I had destroyed long ago, all the evidence wiped out, was now sitting there in plain sight.

  Panicked, I dropped to my knees and started throwing every book I could grab as far as possible. Each one flew farther than the last, powered by some strange force, shattering whatever dignity I had left. There was no time to face my shameful past, this was a pure survival moment.

  “No, these are, uh, just… unimportant things! I don't even know how they got here!”

  Then suddenly, the man appeared right behind me. He grabbed my collar, spun me around, and lifted me into the air like I was a costume with no person inside. He squinted his eyes, sharp and furious, locking onto me.

  “Listen here, brat,” he growled, “I already know you’re one of that annoying goddess’s little toys, so don’t even start with your lies!”

  “What? No, wait… I—”

  “So, tell me. What spell did you use to stop me? Was it her blessing, huh?”

  “No? I… really don’t understand any of this.”

  “Either you’re really stupid or perfectly faking it.” He set me down and muttered.

  While he drifted around, lost in deep thought, I took a long breath and gathered whatever courage was left in me. Then, like a nervous kid raising a hand in class, I slowly lifted mine.

  “Uh, if I’m not wrong, you said something about the goddess, right? Are you also a kind of god or?”

  He turned back to me, looked around, and let out a deep, tired sigh. “I’m not a god. I’m the Demon Lord. Or… whatever piece of him that didn’t die yet.”

  “You are whaat?!” I yelled. My voice bounced all around and came back. “B-but… wait. The Demon Lord was already dead. That’s what the goddess said—”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Well, she does have a point. I’m not really alive. I’m just the last fragment of his soul, the part that broke off before he died.”

  “So, you are a… ghost?”

  He turned and gave me a tired, drained look, like I was the dumbest creature he had ever seen in his whole life. Then his brows pulled together, and he slammed a hard fist down on my head.

  

  “Focus, idiot! I’m not some ghost. I’ve been a wandering soul looking for a body for decades. But I think… I’m finally tired.”

  He walked back to his throne and sat down hard. Then he grabbed the book standing on the armrest and tossed it at me with a lazy flick of his hand.

  “Now tell me, what is all this about?”

  “W?what do you mean?”

  “How long are you going to play dumb?!”

  “I’m not! I mean, I really don’t—”

  “I’ve taken every body I wanted. From littles to giants, I ruled anything I touched. But with you, a weak twig? With you, I slammed into a wall. So tell me, how could you stop my possession?”

  “Wait, you tried to take over me?!”

  “Yes, but I failed...”

  “What do you mean by failed? Am I already dead?!”

  My heart started pounding, and I frantically patted my arms and legs, making sure every part was still where it belonged.

  “No, but if you keep going like this, I’m going to suffer brain death,” he muttered, dragging his hand down his face and shaking his head.

  “Sorry, I’m just confused and shocked and a little… stupid.”

  “That last part I already acknowledged! Are you under the goddess’s blessing? Is that why I couldn’t take your body?”

  “N?no, I don’t have any blessing or power.”

  “Not that I think it’s likely but… is it because of those weird picture books of yours?”

  “No, no, not at all. They are useless! Please, let’s forget them already!”

  “So why?!” he roared, his voice ripping through the air like thunder.

  “I-I really don’t know. Yes, the goddess sent me, but she couldn’t bless me at all. Then she just threw me out of the sky into this world. I barely survived the fall, and before I could even breathe, something hit me from behind and I ended up here. That’s it. That’s all I know!”

  “I see, that explains your weird landing then…” he muttered. “So, what was that book of yours? Did the goddess give it to you?”

  “What? Which book? Oh, that one? Yeah, it’s the goddess’s book, but she didn’t exactly give it to me. It just… ended up in my hands when she sent me here.”

  “You mean you almost killed me by accident?”

  “No! I don’t know, even so, I didn’t do it on purpose, really!”

  He looked around and squinted, scanning the area like he’d spotted something I didn't yet. Curiosity got the better of me, and when I looked, a darkness on the horizon seemed to inch closer. For a moment, it felt like the world itself was closing in, and my shoulders tensed without me even noticing.

  “Well, uh, okay… nice meeting you, but I think I should go now.”

  I turned around and started walking fast, ready to escape this nightmare place while I still had legs. But the moment I took my first step, something yanked me back like a snapped bowstring, and I shot backwards, landing on my knees right in front of his throne.

  “We’re not done talking,” he said, sharp and commanding.

  I turned around and dropped to my knees, feeling like a useless little potato, just waiting for him to finish talking. Somewhere deep inside, I hoped he’d let me go. But nope, everything about this screamed that wasn't happening.

  He leaned forward, eyes sharp. “You still haven’t told me your little trick. How can someone as useless as you resist my possession?”

  “I-I have no idea, really!”

  “Or maybe I do,” he paused. “I have a guess, but… how exactly did you say you came to this world?”

  “Uh… so, I was talking to the goddess about why she couldn’t bless me, and then someone showed up, she freaked out, and... I got tossed from the sky.”

  “So you never got a new body. This form," he pointed at me, eyes narrowing, “is this the same one from your old world? Did I get that right?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I guess so.”

  He let out a slow breath, like pieces were falling into place. “Now that explains why you pulled me in like a drain.”

  “...Huh?”

  He rubbed his forehead like he had a headache coming, then muttered on in a weary voice. “I was aiming for the turtle. I needed its body. But then you showed up out of nowhere and pulled me in instead.”

  “Sorry, but... I did what?” I asked, voice cracking a little.

  “You dragged me in, like an empty vessel.”

  “Okay, just letting you know. I’ve been called stupid in many creative ways,” I said, waving my hands. “But how is any of this tied to my empty head?”

  “Not your empty head, idiot! Though yes, it also looks empty.” He pointed at me. “Your whole body is empty. You… have no mana source.”

  “I have no… what?”

  “Never mind. I don’t have time to explain it. And even if I did, I doubt anything would reach that empty head of yours.”

  He glanced around, and only then did I notice it too. The darkness around us had rushed in. In the blink of an eye, it was right at our feet.

  “Excuse me, but what exactly is happening?”

  “I’m getting swallowed by your consciousness,” he muttered, letting out a long sigh. “I’ve fought a million battles, faced countless enemies… but never… never felt this much shame in my whole existence. Losing to a clueless idiot like you...”

  “Sorry, I still don’t understand any of this—”

  I didn’t even get to finish. He flicked his finger, and my mouth snapped shut like someone had just dragged a zipper across my lips. I tried to talk anyway, producing noises that sounded like a stressed squirrel.

  “Shut your mouth and listen!” he growled. “What’s done is done. I can’t take it back. And as much as I hate it, I must accept that you beat me and somehow took me over instead.”

  He pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed, like the whole world was sitting on his shoulders. After a long, miserable pause, he straightened and looked at me again. The anger was gone, replaced by visible sadness.

  “Since you’ve taken me over, you will inherit my domain. So I name you my heir, the next Demon Lord. You are in charge of the remaining demons. I don’t expect you to surpass me, but at least… protect my people.”

  The moment he finished talking, the darkness that had already been creeping around us surged forward. It swallowed him and his throne in one gulp. My mouth snapped open again the second he vanished. I yelled after him, hoping somehow it would still reach wherever he went.

  “Wait! Why me?! And how?!”

  But no answer came. Then the same darkness turned toward me. It rolled over me, and within seconds, everything went black.