《To be a Demon》


 Chapter 1: To awake as a demon.

    In the world of Amberge, there are five kingdoms. The kingdom of Ars Maxima, the place where artisans are abundant, artists are like weeds and life is easy. The kingdom of Terra Nova, where medicine is extremely advanced because of myriads of mysterious herbs that are raised there. The kingdom of Plantae Ultima, where the people never starve and there are wide plots of land to be cultivated. The kingdom of Metalurgia, that impresses the others with their weaponry, even though they were never able to discover gunpowder. And the most powerful nation...


    Ignis Gloria... They occupy the most territory in the world, they have raided the other countries countless times, and used their resources to power themselves. They are a war-monger country, they have strife, deceiving and Evil running through their veins.


    In this kingdom, there is a boy called Dante Reinhardt Belchiore, Son of the twenty-first concubine of the king. He is mentally challenged, but still aware enough to live on. Fortunately, he has the right to live by being the son of the king, otherwise, he would have died already.


    He has twenty-five brothers, twenty of them from concubines and five of them are from the wives of the king. The crown prince is his eldest brother, and has more than thirty years already, while he is barely twenty.


    His brother is an elitist and also manipulates the underworld secretly, but Dante couldn''t care less, he just lives on his courtyard with his mother, the only person he loves. His brother wouldn''t be bothered with him, as he is just an idiot son of the last concubine.


    Or so he thought.


    ...


    Inside a courtyard. A man was chasing a butterfly, in the middle of a beautiful natural scenario. He was jumping around, and even though his movements were nimble, he never caught the butterfly.


    He had white hair and fire-red eyes. A symbol of the Belchiore Family, that has ruled this kingdom since its founding. That man had white glossy skin, he was tall and had a fit physique. In the background there was a woman, she had a warm smile on her face and a sorrowful aspect. She looked at him fixedly and laughed every now and then.


    The man then executed a swift swipe with his hand and caught the butterfly on it lightly. He looked at it and smiled. He then freed it and headed towards the woman. She was close to a bush, under the shadow of a tree.


    He got close and hugged her. He had a naive smile on his face, he beamed as he embraced that woman.


    "Mommy! Can we go eat now? Today the chefs made barbecue! I love barbecue mommy!" He said so in a childish voice, that did not fit his manly and handsome build.


    The woman nodded, and let him go.


    "Okay darling, we will go eat now." She said while carrying him to the dining room, she was strong enough to carry him, even though he was an adult man.


    As she traveled across the courtyard, a shadow suddenly somersaulted from a bush. It was a man in black that had a sharp dagger coated in poison in his hands. He aimed it at the man''s chest and stabbed towards it.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The man was shocked for a minute before he saw his vision dropping, and his body falling to the ground. He then saw the dagger stabbing at his mother''s heart, she screamed ''Guards!'', as the light faded from her eyes. black blood dripped on the man''s face.


    The assassin took the dagger from her heart and looked at the boy. He sneered before stabbing towards him. The dagger was even faster than before, and it would hit the man anytime.


    The time stopped for the man at that moment, he could only hear voices in his head, the same voices he has heard his entire life.


    {The day arrived Dante, unfortunately, you didn''t hear our warnings...}


    His eyes squinted, as they glinted with a murderous light. His muscles contracted and he grits his teeth in anger.


    [At least you received our teachings... you potential was already there, and now you have the knowledge and physique to boot.]


    He moved his hand fast and gripped the hand of the assassin. The assassin smirked for a moment before gasping. The man''s grasp was too strong, his arm wouldn''t move!


    (The path of revenge is a sorrowful one, we can''t say anything bad about it, as we trod this path once...)


    He crushed the man''s wrist and grabbed the dagger with his other hand. He used the downwards momentum to throw the assassin overhead. He then threw the dagger at the airborne assassin''s throat, that died by having an important artery hit.


    He then walked towards his mother and put his hands on her throat to feel her pulse. He knew it was useless. That dagger hit her heart, and the poison in it could corrode living tissue.


    He was huffing in anger... the guards did not come. That means its an insider''s work. The only one that would dare attempt to kill another member of the royal family was...


    "Damn you, Alexander! I''ll make you suffer a fate worse than death!" He screamed in a loud and deep voice, that was different from his childish voice.


    Amidst his overflowing emotions, he could hear the voices in his head.


    {You brother''s title is the ''ruthless demon prince'' isn''t it? You will have a hard time getting revenge. At least you are still rational, usually, people would go crazy when they lose the one they love.}


    [What do you plan on doing?]


    The man gritted his teeth.


    "I... I don''t know!"He had not planned for such things! He feigned his mental disease from a young age because those voices on his head foresaw that he would be a thorn in his brother''s side. But he had no intention of getting him and his mother into trouble.


    Who would have thought it would still happen in the end?


    [You could fight fire with fire... Become a demon, and seek your revenge!]


    (I am not supportive of such idea... But he is already hooked by it.)


    {I will have fun either way. So it''s fine.}


    The man was indeed intrigued by the suggestion of the voices, the one that names itself: Scarlet. Becoming a demon is a good way to get his revenge. But how to do such thing?


    {It is actually pretty simple! There are some simple laws to follow as a demon, as well as requirements. You already fit the requirements, you are cunning, intelligent and have nothing holding you.}


    [The laws are simple actually. An eye calls for an eye.]


    (Blood calls for blood.)


    {The requirements are already there.}


    [To lose love and retrieve suffering.]


    (To gain hate and forsake humanity.)


    The guards entered the room and saw the scene, for a moment, they saw a murderous glare on the face of their dumb young master. His eyes were devouring as if they could suck their souls out of their bodies.


    The voices in the man¡¯s head then said, all at the same time.


    ([{Go there and show them what it really means...}])


    ([{To be a Demon!}])

 Chapter 2: Let’s make me a King.

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    Do you guys have any idea why my brother would aim for me? You all are gods as you''ve told me so you should know what he wanted.

 Chapter 3: Choosing a plan!

    Avilio was stunned at Dante''s sudden declaration. But kept quiet as he could not interfere with a decision of his master, even if it was something like destroying the kingdom. A man of sacrifice only had one task in their life: To obey.


    "Our kingdom is based on the premise that judges three aspects of the heirs to the throne. Their support, their individual skills, and their own faction. I have no support, people think I am a retard and not to mention soldiers, I don''t even have a sword. I am not planning on revealing my abilities anytime soon and no one on their right mind would support me. Do you know a good way to start a faction? People that are good but lust for money and power are mostly taken, so do you know any that were not recruited by ordinary methods?"Dante asked as he will need to have a standing in the race to the throne if he wants a shot at killing his brother. But now, he doesn''t only want to kill his brother. He wants that bastard to suffer, and outrunning him in the throne race is the best way to do it.


    "My lord... I know of no individuals that act as such."Said Avilio. People in Ignis Gloria are greedy and don''t know such thing as honor or duty, the men of sacrifice are not included though. That is why it would be hardly achievable to get such people here.


    Dante then went into deep thought, and in such state, the ''Elder Council'' appeared spontaneously.


    {You are having a hard time aren''t you? if you had started gathering power earlier, it would have been better. But telling you that divination was just a gamble, and you lost, unfortunately.}


    I know, I am at fault here, but now we have to discuss our next steps. How do I make a faction? There are no vegetarians here for me to make use of through ideologic brainwashing, that would be the best option. Any other ideas?


    [Assassinate one of your brothers and then take his faction for yourself. That would require extreme situational control. The possibility of success is of 68.90%. Possible mistakes would be: Your brother taking the faction -Ignorable repercussions to self-; You being plotted against by the said faction -Extreme repercussions to self-; Your real abilities being revealed-Mild repercussions to self-; 1% out-of-project exogen factors.]


    Dante thought about such course of action, but that ''possibility'' of success is a difficult factor to analyze, as he has no idea on how the conversion of ''possibilities'' into ''numeric data'' worked, it may only represent the possibilities that would result in success, but not show the feasibility of such possibilities. And that rate is not high enough for him to use anyway.


    (Manipulating one of your brothers, and use his faction for yourself. That would require extreme knowledge of human management and control. The possibility of success is of 46.85%. Possible mistakes would be: Said brother not being manipulated and the plan backfiring -Extreme repercussions to self-; Your real abilities being revealed-Mild repercussions to self-; *beep* ?????? -Unknown repercussions to self-; 1% out-of-project exogen factors.)


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    That was an even riskier plan, it could not even be considered a plan actually. But what is that weird sound I just heard? What do unknown repercussions mean?


    (It means that it involves something that you know nothing about. Which means we can''t analyze it. looks like one of your brothers has a secret, and it is a troublesome one.)


    Such thing worries me. I need to do some in-depth recon on my brothers'' powers. Now, only GM still hasn''t given his opinion. Do you have something good?


    Dante was starting to be worried. He only had so many plans to build a faction, but none of them are good or probable enough. He needed something that could be more feasible. But GM''s answer surprised him.


    {That is all we have. You haven''t got a clue on what to do, so we can only give you that. Try to get a better overview on the situation, it''s not as if we are over-the-top omniscient beings.}


    Dante was stumped, he could only look at the ceiling with a weird look on his face. This ''boon'' is even worse than he thought it was! It doesn''t help at all! He could only rub his temples while wondering what to do. He stayed in that position for a few minutes, before getting up from the bed and stretching his legs a little.


    "Avilio, let''s take a walk. I need some time to think about the next course of action."He said as he stopped in front of the door while waiting for Avilio, who is supposed to open the door for him.


    Avilio got up and proceeded to open the door with a bow. They then got out of the room and proceeded to take a walk around the caste. The front door of his courtyard led directly to the main square of the castle.


    This castle is more of a small town than just a castle. Because it housed the higher nobles, the princes, the royal barracks, the high-status workers like the royal chef and many others. Just by getting outside he could already see the bustling vision of fully armored soldiers marching and pompous nobles coming to and fro.


    He didn''t have his serious face anymore and had returned to his previous naive face. He looked around while swaying his arms and chuckling at every scene he thought was funny. And as he strolled around the square in circles, he was stopped when he saw someone.


    "Look who''s here! The giant kid is out for a stroll! I heard your whore mom died today instead of you, fate favors the kids and the dumb indeed."The one that said this was the son of the fifth concubine, the tenth prince Agamemnon. He is the son of a princess of Metalurgia and is in the top ten favorites for the throne.


    "Hello, big brother Agamememnoi! What are you doing? Is it something fun?"Said Dante with a big warm smile as he jumped at Agamemnon and hugged him.


    Agamemnon was angered at this imbecile, not only because he never says his name correctly but also because he hates the way he likes to hug his brothers. But he got used to it, and it costs nothing to let Dante hug him, and mistreating him now would probably buy him a fight with Plantae Ultima. Him being protected by a spy is a hot topic right now, even though it just happened.


    "I am going to an execution, a prisoner is going to be executed by hanging in the third square, and I was invited to watch. He was a great warrior before, I will try to recruit him as a slave."He said as he shrugged Dante off him.


    Dante looked at him and tilted his head to the side.


    "Egecution? I don''t know what that is, but I hope you have fun! I have to go now! Bye!" He said as he stormed towards his courtyard and waved at Agamemnon, who was left floored.


    As he entered his courtyard he darted towards his room and looked at Avilio seriously again.


    "Close the door, stay in alert!" He said while sitting on the bed again and entering a relaxing position.


    Avilio bowed and stayed by the locked door. He was immobile while he stood his watch, and his eyes were as alert as an eagle¡¯s.


    Dante concentrated again and asked the voices on his head.


    Show me the options again!


    The voices appeared again, and the same two options were presented, but then...


    He heard the third option.

 Chapter 4: Five hundred people for a gold coin.

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 Chapter 5: Scum!

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Hahahahahahahahahaha! No wonder! No wonder they were caught! They are idiots! Just because I act like a retard and a child, they think they can trust me! Have they ever heard of acting?! Probably not, because the theater is only for the nobles! Hahahahahaha!

 Chapter 6: Ninth Circle / To make a deal with the devil.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

 Chapter 7: The beggining of the rise.

    "What deal do you want to make?"Said Verdante, still not calming down.


    "It is quite simple actually. In the eyes of society, I am a retarded person. I would like it to stay this way. But as I will need to go out for many tasks, I need someone to hold the act for me. That would be you."Dante said while straightening his messy clothes.


    "But why me?"The man said, as his curiosity was piqued.


    "You are a great actor, one of the best in the whole capital. You also have the same hair and eye color as me, if I do some surgery, you will be almost exactly like me. There are biological fillings and skin care products that can do the trick. My skill is enough to change you into an entirely different person. You would then only need to act as a retard and live the life of a prince for a long while. It is a bargain, isn''t it? What do you say?"Dante had a warm smile on his face as he said those words, but in the man''s eyes, that smile was terrifying.


    "What if I refuse?"He said, as there was some uncertainty inside him.


    "You die. Simple and neat. There is a rack with weapons right there don''t you see? And if you accept, of course, there is also a catch. You will be fed with a special hybrid of Obscura. Not only is is rare, it is incredibly hard to identify. Even if you found it by luck, you wouldn''t recognize it. You need to ingest it every day instead of every three days as well, so even if you tried to run, you wouldn''t run very far... Now! What is your answer?! My patience is running out!"Dante''s expression turned grave as he said that. Heavy hostility covered the room, to the point that even Avilio had to take a step back.


    "I accept! I accept! Please, just spare my life!"The face of the man contorted, as he almost pissed his pants at Dante''s scream. If the previous Dante gave a cunning and cold feeling, when he screamed, it was as if he was a ferocious beast that guarded the entrance to hell.


    Dante calmed down, he then nodded at Avilio and he entered the cell. He moved fast, as he punched Verdante in the face, knocking him out.


    Dante looked at the unconscious man and then walked towards a drawer in the alchemy desk. He opened it and took a pair of thick leather gloves from inside. He put them on and said."Put him on a table. Go get the materials and equipment, I am going to start the surgery right now."


    Avilio bowed and went out of the room through a kind of elevator that was by the side of the stairs, he took a thick rope and pulled it, bringing himself up.


    ...


    One month later...


    ...The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Inside the hideout of Ninth Circle in the city of Arcade Ignis, number four was working in front of a Desk. A stack of reports was in front of him, but he didn''t even notice those, he was staring fixedly at a letter in his Hands.


    The letter read:


    Judecca four,


    After a month of development, Ninth Circle has become a middle-level power in the underworld of Ignis Gloria. My tasks are finally over, and I will start overseeing the development of the faction.


    Such development will start on large-scale on Arcade Ignis, one of the five main cities of the kingdom, the one you currently oversee. I will arrive a few hours after this letter does, please do expect my arrival.


    Sincerely,


    Lucifer Morningstar.


    Four was stunned while reading this letter. The overseer of the faction was going to arrive soon! He had to make preparations immediately!


    He looked at the corner of the room, there stood one of the Erinyes, the counselors that each Judecca has. They were sent by Morningstar himself, and especially helpful when sending orders to the rest of the personnel. They weren''t always there, they were the first batch of people that were sent to the headquarters to receive the teachings of the ideology. After that those first five hundred people became the Erinyes, they are only below the Judecca and Morningstar himself!


    "Quattro! Please go to the entrance and receive Mister Morningstar personally. I will go there personally after I finish looking at these reports."He said as he kept looking at the reports. But he was stopped by a sudden voice.


    "That is not necessary."It was a deep and resounding voice. It had a contralto tone to it, and it was smooth like an angel''s.


    Four looked at the door and saw that it was silently opened by a man in completely black robes. He had a white mask on his face, but differently from the Judecca, his did not have a number, only a smooth white surface. As the masks did not cover the hair, his white hair was visible, and along with his penetrating red eyes, it gave an ominous feeling to him.


    Four lost his cool and hastily got up from his chair. He walked across the room and arrived in front of Morningstar.


    "Mister morningstar! Welcome to Arcade Ignis!"Four said that as he bowed. He had a deep respect for that man that was the right arm of his Highness. But while he bowed he did not notice something...


    A blade descended on his neck, decapitating it. His head rolled through the floor, and even after his death, he still had a smiling expression on his face.


    Lucifer... Dante looked at the corpse of the man with disdain. He then proceeded to take out a white piece of cloth from his pocket and wipe the blood off his sword. He then sheathed it again and walked to the table where Four was previously sitting. He sat on it and looked at Quattro.


    "Did the other Judecca receive the order as well?"He asked without faltering, even though he was talking about the death of five hundred people.


    "Yes, mister morningstar. All of the temporary Judecca must be dead by now."Quattro said as she bowed at Dante.


    Dante acknowledged and entered into the world of his mind, he could hear the bantering from the moment he focused.


    (Damnit! You only used them for a month! They may not have been usable forever because of their ideology, but you surely could have used them for a few years! Now you have five hundred elites less!)


    [I can''t say anything, as I have killed many more people than that for worse reasons. But that was still a dick move.]


    Like I care about morals and whatnot! They were unstable variables! The less I had to use them, the better! But that is not what I am here for...


    {Indeed... We will now present you the best options to make Ninth Circle the dominant power in this city.}

 Announcement

    This novel will be interrupted as I rewrite and continue my main project. It was mainly made for practice, and will not continue until the first arc of the main project is finished. If you have any curiosity about what the main project is, check out Scarlet Ascension, here on Royal Road.


    Now i will fill the blank with a line of Puppies.


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