Chapter 1 – A Required Quality


    “I am here to inform you of your potential candidacy as a Demon Lord.”


    Those were the words I heard as I regained consciousness. As my vision returned the first thing I saw was an incredibly beautiful woman with a bored look on her face. Her expression didn’t lessen her beauty instead it gave her a captivating presence that would leave anyone who looked at her mesmerized.


    And judging from the context of her words, it seemed the words she just spoke were meant for me. I could only stare at her in bewilderment as I tried to understand their meaning.


    The woman was dressed in a black business suit that female executives would often wear. Her beauty only made her look more imposing as she sat elevated a few meters away from me.


    “You are the only potential candidate left to be tested. Let us proceed with your examination.”


    She crossed her legs as she said her next words. She was wearing a suit skirt and black leggings, and to be honest I’m having a hard time trying not to stare at her alluring thighs. Does she not realize that people could ogle at her thighs with the way she was sitting?


    It’s not like it’s just her thighs though. She has voluminous golden hair that draped down to her waist, captivating blue eyes and such a stunning body that couldn’t be concealed by her formal clothing. I could feel a faint tingling sensation as I admired the scenery. What was that about an examination?


    “I will answer your questions before we begin.”


    She spoke with boredom as she reclined in her chair. The chair she reclined on would more accurately be described as a throne. And looking around, the place we were currently in fit the term “throne room” perfectly.


    A spacious hall elegantly decorated with banners depicting red roses. Red carpets draped along the walls and ornate chandeliers hung from the ceiling. But the woman sitting in the throne wore her black business suit so well that it felt more like a boss of a corporation in their office rather than in a throne room.


    As for questions, I have a lot of them and I’m quite sure I didn’t apply for any positions. Besides the fact that “potential candidate” meant I’m not even set as a candidate yet, the “Demon Lord” position certainly isn’t something I would have applied for.


    “I have a few questions and I would like to have them answered truthfully.” I spoke curtly.


    I can’t help but speak tensely when she looks like a well dressed businesswoman. As a side note, I have always correlated being well dressed with being successful in business. There are exceptions to this, but she does not fall in that category.


    She seemed to find my response somewhat amusing and smiled for the first time. Her immense beauty fully displayed itself as she did so.


    “I will answer your questions with honesty. Proceed.”


    Using such a beautiful face won’t lessen my suspicions of you, probably. What was I going to ask again? Oh right.


    “Are the horns growing on the sides of your head real?” I asked.


    Yes. The sharply dressed woman has a pair of large curling horns growing from both sides of her head. And it has been on my mind all this time if those were real and how sore her neck must be if they are.


    She had a brief look of surprise then made a slight chuckle as she spoke.


    “Hmn… Why yes they are.”


    Looking at the well dressed woman, I realized that she would also have stiff shoulders as well. She is certainly robust. Do Demon Lords have masseuses? Because she would definitely have a very stiff back and shoulders.


    Where was I?


    “Er- Might I inquire who you are?” I feel like I should have asked who she was before anything else but I became too focused on the woman’s- horns.


    “Oh my! How rude of me for not introducing myself yet. It has been a long day.”


    She said in a slightly playful tone but her presence quickly changed as she straightened her posture. She exuded an oppressive yet dignified air as she spoke, no, declared her next words as would a regal monarch when addressing her subjects.


    “I am Victoria BloodRose, Ranked Tenth Demon Lord, and Master of the dungeon Crimson Castle.”


    I don’t know how to respond or if I should respond to that declaration. I have an idea of what a Demon Lord is or what dungeons are from games and novels, but it might not necessarily apply here so it would be best not to jump to any conclusions. What’s unexpected is that I’m a candidate to be one. Well, potential candidate. Did I sign up somewhere unknowingly or what?


    “You seem like a calm one.”


    She said with a pleasant smile that made her seem like an angel.


    “You’re taking this quite well, most react very differently and many are quite annoying with their incessant questions.”


    She did say I was the last candidate and she seemed to have expected me to have a different reaction to what is currently happening. What do you mean I’m taking this quite well? I just don’t know how to react in this situation so I’m just acting like this is a job interview, which it kind of is. I feel slightly comforted by doing so.


    Miss- um, Victoria seemed to have thought of something and smiled wide as she spoke. Have I mentioned how beautiful she is when she smiles? The tingling feeling I get when I see her smile is kind of distracting.


    “Now that I have introduced myself, would it not be proper for you to do so as well?”


    Oh right, I’m…


    “I’m…”


    ...


    So is that what she smiled about? I don’t remember who I am. No name to call my own and no face to attach to it.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Miss Victoria looked at me with some anticipation, sadly I do remember being a rather unexpressive person to the point that I was called a block of wood, so you probably won’t get that much of a reaction from me. Now that I try to remember things, anything related to identities seemed none existent while the knowledge and information I had had remained. So I couldn’t recall the name or face of the person who called me a block of wood.


    “Hmm… What a block of wood you are.”


    Miss Victoria spoke with a hint of disappointment. Those words gave me a strong prickling feeling for a split second but immediately subsided. That is a strange coincidence in her choice of words though. I think so too, so no offense taken.


    “Have you checked your body then?”


    “Yes” I immediately answered.


    My body you ask? I don’t have one. I’m just a small floating ball of murky light. I can still see and hear and for some reason I could speak as well. I quickly realized something was wrong with my body, or lack thereof, when I awoke. Hmn, I’m quickly realized that I wasn’t dreaming. Everything feels too real and solid for that to be the case. And I really can’t remember the identities of anyone I used to know, especially myself, but remember everything else which should have been impossible.


    I remember being a man in his mid twenties though. And… single…


    It should also be noted that I cannot move nor do anything else other than talk, which is the reason I am being very cooperative with Miss Victoria. Not that I wouldn’t have been cooperative otherwise.


    “Let us set that aside for now and focus on your body or lack thereof” She said as she regained her smile.


    “Why is that exactly- Miss Victoria?”


    I wondered if calling her by her name would be appropriate. Do I call her ‘oh great Demon Lord’ or ‘Master BloodRose’? She said she’s Demon Lord after all. I can’t do anything about it now that I have said it though.


    “Guess.”


    She spoke back smilingly. Calling her Miss Victoria seemed acceptable.


    Err…


    Guess?


    I though you would answer my questions truthfully?


    “I did say I would answer them honestly but that’s if I choose to answer them at all.” she suddenly spoke, still wearing that dazzling smile.


    So she can read my mind? That’s some invasion of privacy right there. What if the person you were talking too was imagining doing perverted things to you? That would have been something.


    “Do you want to know?” she was still smiling but her eyes were cold as winter.


    Not really.


    So I have to guess?


    If I think about it, it would be obvious that I am currently dead. I had died… and I remember… how. And being a floating ball of light probably means I’m just a soul right now or something similar. Is that correct?


    Miss Victoria nods before resting her chin on her palm with an amused look on her face.


    From what you have said. I have been chosen as a candidate to become a Demon Lord, but why? I can’t think of anything that would get me chosen as a candidate. To be honest I think I’m kind of below average.


    “You are a potential candidate. Not a certified candidate just yet.” She laughs lightly and says.


    Yes I am, but that doesn’t answer my question though.


    “I will get to that. But first we need to have a short history lesson to be able to answer your questions in full." Miss Victoria waved her hand and a screen made of magic appears on our left. “Would that be alright with you?”


    It seems wise to gather information, especially when I’m completely in the dark.


    Miss Victoria smiles wide as the screen showed us a scene of what looked like a demon and a knight that were locked in a vicious battle. Miss Victoria started explaining as the images on the screen started to move like in a movie.


    “The earliest records of this world tell of the two Primary Gods: Ralos of the light and Krad of the darkness, waging eternal war against each other. There are no records of why they fought but it is recorded about how much they wanted to kill the other. Hundreds of thousands of years of battle passed as one could not best the other, that is, until the day they sent each other into eternal slumber.


    But long before that day had arrived, the two gods had created sapient beings to be their followers. Ralos created the races that thrive in the brilliance of the light such as the Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and the Beastmen. Krad on the other hand had created the beings that lived in the embracing veil of the darkness, such as the Demons and Vampires.


    Of course the races created by Gods who abhorred and ultimately killed each other won’t get along even with no one guiding them to do so. And that hasn’t changed even after thousands and thousands of years. Or so the tale goes. “


    Miss Victoria let out a breath after saying that and looked at me.


    “Although, we as the children of Krad, grow stronger as we consumer the flesh and suffering of the races of Ralos might have something to do with such a hostile relationship though.”


    Miss Victoria said that with such a vicious grin. Even with such facial expression she still ended up captivating me with her beauty, the faint sensation that I have been feeling for awhile now became stronger.


    But I do agree that the two groups won’t ever come to an agreement when one sidefeeds off of theothers flesh and suffering.


    “Wars raged on as the children of the two departed gods ripped each other apart, as the gods had with each other, until the day the races of Ralos discovered an advantage” she said. “Reincarnating the souls of humans from another world, humans with knowledge and thinking not possessed by those of this one”


    “Although the cost of reincarnating these souls was immense for them” She gestured to the screen to change the contents to a squad of what looked like human soldiers holding flintlock rifles.


    “In the centuries that went by, the beings of Krad were slowly pushed back with the aid of these reincarnated individuals” she spoke with some anger in her voice. “Although we as the races of Krad still control the cold northern realms were daylight is scarce and the races of Ralos there are under our mercy, the majority of our territory had been taken over by the humans who built kingdoms there. The other races had clans that migrated there as well.”


    She composed herself as she spoke those words.


    “We, the Demon Lords leading the races of Krad, had created dungeons in strategic locations in these former territories, death traps designed to make the intruders that invade them suffer gruesome and painful deaths while providing us with their suffering. We had planned to regain these lands using the dungeons as a means of a foothold”


    She then spoke in a monotone voice. She sounded eerie as she said her words.


    “But as time passed even these dungeons we thought were unconquerable were breached with the lead of reincarnated individuals slowly adapting to them, leaving only the deepest, strongest and most remote dungeons still standing”


    Her smile regained its cheerfulness as she continued speaking.


    “Although in the last one thousand years we had successfully implanted the notion that the dungeons can be profitable if properly controlled in most of the human kingdoms, giving us Demon Lords a bit of respite. Even the adamant elves were forced into a corner by the greed of the human kingdoms, even straining the relationship between the two races.”


    “And in the last five hundred years we figured it out the ritual that brought the reincarnators here.” Miss Victoria looked at me with a smile as she said. “We tested and altered the method on how they were reincarnating the souls of humans from other worlds. Sadly, only the souls of humans could be summoned and reincarnated with the ritual.


    “That’s just a brief summary though, but all you need to know for now.” She waves her hand and the images on the screen stop moving.


    There were a lot of things mentioned in that summary that I wanted to ask about but I’m fine with waiting. I would probably end up with more questions than answers anyway.


    “Currently the children of Krad, Led by us Demon Lords, are on the defensive and are gathering strength while waiting for the races of the Ralos to slowly forget and get complacent.”


    “Now you asked why you are qualified.” She said with a face full of joy as she focused all her attention on me. “A soul of a human no less”


    That has come into my attention. I can’t think of anything that would get me chosen for something like this.


    “The Great Demon Lords of old had successfully twisted the summoning ritual, now only capable of summoning souls with no sense of morality or a conscience, souls with a deep rooted hatred for humanity and souls drenched in sin.” She did a grand gesture as she looked at me.


    “You were called because you possess any of these qualities.”


    What can I say? Those are qualities I wouldn’t ever have thought I had. Your ritual must have made a mistake. There must be some mistake somewhere!


    “We have used this ritual for over five hundred years and not once did we find a clean soul among the summoned.” She said that with such a pleasant smile.


    That is strange then. I have a sense of morality and a conscience. I remember being an upstanding member of society. And I’m certain that I have not sinned as such for my soul to be drenched in it! I feel horribly guilty when I do something wrong…


    “Oh, then you must really hate humanity then?”She laughed a bit as spoke. Her smile looked all the more beautiful as she leaned in closer.


    That doesn’t…


    …


    “…”


    .


    .


    .


    I couldn’t deny it any longer as the memories I always kept repressed in the back of my mind came flooding back.


    “I hate people.”