Prologue (2/2)

His two eyes clearly saw the sight of his Enforcement army being crushed in a distressing manner. It was true, he was really afraid.

'Please come before it is too late!'

'Please allow Etna to participate in the battle, Demon King! If you leave them be like this, you will also be in danger! Please allow her to participate in this, Sheff!'

“Please don't cause any trouble and surrender to us, Heavenly King Artpe Hirtana Kelduke. There is no need for us to fight each other any longer.”

It was all too late.

Fuck this demonic life of his...

Artpe looked at the innocent looking girl who was the hero. She had her sword pointed towards his neck with a slightly sorrowful expression on her face. He let out a hollow laugh.

“You make it sound as if the Demon King's army isn’t on a campaign to bring about world peace.”

She probably didn't know about the existence of the shackles that bound all demons under the Demon King's service. Even if he didn't want to fight, he had to force himself to fight. He didn't like killing humans, yet he had to force himself to kill them. She probably didn't even know such a demon existed within the Demon race.

If she found out about the truth, this kind girl would probably be unable to swing her sword against them. However, Artpe decided not to tell her anything. Since things had progressed this far, he thought it might be better if she was able to kill the Demon King once and for all.

“Still, the others around you seem better equipped for this.”

There was a magician, a warrior equipped with a shield and a sharp-eyed thief with a dagger. If Artpe said or did anything funny, they would kill him without giving him any quarter.

They knew the truth behind the Demon race, yet they still decided to walk the road of carnage. They were true heroes, and Artpe admired them, they were qualified to be by the side of this heroine.

“Hero, I'm pretty sure a very good looking noonim will be coming here soon, and she'll be very angry when she sees my corpse. I want you to give her this message.”

Artpe's weird and offbeat words were taken as being a start of some kind of ploy by the thief, who immediately moved. He was incredibly fast. He might be even faster than the hero.

It was understandable. There was no burning animosity shown towards the hero by Artpe, and it seemed she would need a good amount of time before she could bring herself to apply the final blow to him. Her impatient comrade had stepped forward to try to kill him in her stead, Artpe had expected such a move.

“In truth, I....Kuh-huhk!”

The thief's dagger pierced through Artpe's heart. The blade was sharper and deadlier than the ugly past of his childhood. It had shredded his heart, but Artpe didn't die immediately.

“In truth, I'm not too fond of older women...Kahk. Please tell her...!”

“W...what the hell are you talking about? Why are you saying such strange words? This makes you... It makes you seem like a normal person!”

The hero had a sad expression on her face, as if she was about to cry. When Artpe faced her pure sadness, he felt better. He grinned.

In the end, he would die, but his tedious life would come to an end.

If he was born again, he wanted to be born in a place where he was free of that damn Demon King.

Artpe gave a heartfelt prayer as he closed his eyes.

Before he died, he heard the angry shout of a woman, but he didn't care. He was about to die, so it was none of his business.

This was how Artpe Hirtana Kelduke died.

He was one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the Demon King's army, but his death was miserable. It held no weight.

In his last moments, he could see two lines of words etched into his retina. However, his consciousness was already fading into death.

[Innate Ability Read All Creation has evolved.]

[Secret Option Rewrite is Activated.]

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the form of a small male child.

“Huh?”

Didn't a thief ruthlessly stab a dagger into his heart a moment ago? Artpe was having a hard time getting used to this rapidly changed situation. He then looked at his surroundings.

It was a very small and worn down hut. The window up top was letting in sunlight, and the light illuminated a cloud of dust. This looked like a place where humans would live. Now that he thought about it, it seemed he had taken the form of a male human child!

‘Is this Illusion Magic?’

However, this thought lasted only for a brief moment. His soul held his Innate Ability called Read All Creation which allowed him to pierce through all lies, showing him only the truth. This was why he was sure he wasn’t under any Illusion magic.

‘Mirror, I have to find a mirror. I have to assess what kind of situation I am in.’

His ability, Read All Creation, was an incredible power. However, if he wanted to Read himself, he needed a reflective surface to see himself. It didn’t matter if the reflection came in form of a puddle, mirror, or even a person’s eyes.

He searched the small and dirty hut, but he couldn't find a mirror. In the end, he was successful in finding a bowl on the top of the kitchen table.

He poured enough water into the bowl and he could see a blurred image of himself.

“······it is me.”

He had black hair and purple colored eyes. He had a white enough skin to be called pale. It had been a long time ago, but his face was identical to the face he had when he was a very young Demon. It was indisputable. Artpe was himself, but at the same time it was indisputable that he was a human.

Artpe was still in the midst of despairing when his Innate Ability Read All Creation delivered the final blow.

[Name - Artpe]

[Race : Human Male]

[Level : 1]

[Strength : 3, Agility : 2, Stamina : 2, Magic Energy : 19]

[Innate Ability : Read All Creation(Step 2)]

His name, race and level were all too shocking! If there was a god, he wanted to kill the bastard! He would kill the god alongside the Demon King!

“······huh?”

Soon, Artpe realized that the most shocking part was still left for him to be discovered.

[Innate Ability : Read All Creation(Step 2)]

His Read All Creation was now on Step 2?

‘When did the Innate Ability develop stages?'

It happened when Artpe was thinking over this question.

The door to the hut opened, and a human ran in from outside.

“Let's play, Artpe!”

The one who spoke was a beautiful human girl.

She had such beautiful golden hair that it was almost unbelievable that a commoner could have such hair.

Her emerald colored eyes were bright and passionate.

Instead of the rag she was wearing, a silk dress would have gone better with her white skin and well-formed features.

“Hero?”

Artpe was so taken aback that he mumbled to himself.

Somehow, the hero heard his words. Maetel let out a bright laugh as she replied.

“Yes, let's go play being heroes!”

This was the day when Artpe died as a demon.

He was reborn as a 12 year old human male who was the childhood friend of the hero.