He clamped his hands tightly over his ears, crawling desperately as warm blood trickled from the corner of his eye. The sunset bathed the sky in a deep, blood-red glow that stretched across the darkening city like a silent warning.
His eyes locked onto the faces around him—faces he had spent his whole life trying to win over, hoping to be seen as the perfect citizen. But their cold stares cut deeper than any blade.
"You're a demon! Cursed spawn! You killed her!"
The city chief's voice thundered like a storm, the same man who had always sneered at Itaru's kindness. With a cruel shove, he sent the trembling boy sprawling onto the cold stone ground.
"I didn't… I didn't hurt her! She's faking it! Please, believe me!"
Itaru's crimson eyes flashed with cold as icy buckets of water drenched him repeatedly. His teeth chattered with each splash, the freezing liquid soaking through his clothes and chilling his bones.
Nearby, a circle of priests murmured ancient purification chants, their voices rising like a haunting melody.
"No… this can't be happening…" His voice cracked as he struggled to crawl toward the girl's lifeless body, barely three meters away. "I trusted you, Lavia. I told you the truth about my eyes. You're faking your death, aren't you?"
His hands trembled as he reached out, desperation sharpening his gaze.
> "I can prove she's alive! These eyes—they're just a genetic mutation! I'm not a demon! I'm like you!"
A sharp crack echoed across the courtyard—the executioner's whip lashed against Itaru's back the moment he dared claim kinship with the humans.
The angry crowd erupted in furious shouts, their voices rising like a tide demanding his death.
> "Itaru Myon, cursed demon! Return to where you belong—with your kind, in hell! You're no longer welcome here. Cast him into the abyss!"
The city chief turned away without another glance. Itaru's heart hammered violently as the sacred guards closed in, their hands weaving the forbidden Hellgate ritual—a spell whispered about in fearful legends, reserved only for the elite mages.
His eyes snapped up just in time to see Lavia—alive—stand slowly and mock him with a teasing kiss as she wiped sweat from her brow.
A hollow ache settled in his chest. For once, he wished for power. For a miracle. For anything to save him.
But deep inside, he knew—miracles were lies.
Without warning, the ground split open beneath him. The portal was complete.
He burned the faces of his accusers into memory as he was swallowed by the void.
---
He landed in complete darkness, the void pressing against him from every side.
A wild, bitter laugh tore from his throat, echoing endlessly in the emptiness.
"I was the good boy… obedient… or so I thought. Curse you all…"
Then came a sound—a low, grinding growl that made his skin crawl and his heart slam against his ribs.
No weapons. No skills. No hope.
He dragged his legs across the jagged earth, every thorn biting into his flesh as if tearing out pieces of his soul.
"Make it stop… I'll take any pain… just end this."
Memories flickered—his parents' faces, long gone before he could speak; the orphanage walls where he hid the secret of his crimson eyes.
He'd tried to be kind, helpful, human. But it was all meaningless now.
Heavy breaths shattered the silence as he faced the glowing fangs of the beast stalking him.
Then—sharp pain—a blade plunged deep into his chest.
Darkness claimed him.
But before everything faded, a single red flame danced before his eyes.
' Am I… dead?'
He looked down at his hands, then at several glowing screens hovering before him.
They showed his city. His people.
Living, happy—without him.
A voice whispered inside his mind:
[Itaru Myon, you have been chosen by the Absolute System to become the next Demon King.]
He blinked in disbelief.
A system? What kind of force was this? Magic? Technology? Something else?
[As you can see, no one wants you in the human world. You've been cast out. I offer you power—vengeance. You want that, don't you? All you must do is accept.]
Itaru ran a hand through his dripping hair, eyes fixed on the flickering flame.
"Nothing is free. No power comes without a price. No fate-changing deal is ever made without cost."
The system paused.
Then images flashed: the sprawling Demon Realm, its warring kingdoms, fierce races, and the beast that nearly ended him.
[I will grant you power in exchange for your body—one night each full moon. That's the deal. Tell me... do you accept? Do you want to become the strongest?]
Before him appeared a final screen:
[YES] or [NO]
Itaru's lips curved into a smirk as he stared into the blazing abyss.
"To make them feel every ounce of pain I endured. To make them regret condemning me. No matter the cost... I accept."
He pressed YES.
A surge of energy ripped through every fiber of his being.
---
[Demon System Activated]
Name: Itaru Myon
Level: 1
[Initializing Physical Reconstruction…]
Everything had changed.
They would soon taste despair, weakness, humiliation—the same torment he had endured, naked and powerless before their judgment.
…
The sight was utterly repulsive—monsters tearing each other apart right before his eyes. He glanced down at his own body, unchanged; the pain and wounds that had tormented him were gone.
The creatures sensed his presence and locked their gaze on him, instincts flaring as they prepared to attack.
A human in their realm—of course they would halt their cursed battle. Who could resist such an extraordinary prey?
"Won't the system intervene? Or wherever it might be?"
Itaru murmured, watching them rush toward him. Their senses, strength, and twisted forms stirred a wave of nausea within him.
He was surprised by his own resilience—surviving in such a toxic, hostile environment.
"You're stronger than them—look closely,"
read the words of the system as they melted before his eyes.
Itaru closed his eyes, only to open them again the moment the two beasts lunged at him.
His gaze was sharp, challenging them to come closer, as if he were taming them. He could see the size of the energy flame each monster possessed—and he felt it was far too weak to frighten him.
"Run,"
Itaru spoke in a tongue he wasn't used to, but that single word made the two creatures fight each other just to flee from his presence—
as if something within him had suddenly changed.
---