Beep! Beep! Beep!
The irritating sound tore me from the clutches of a peaceful dream—one I strangely couldn't remember. Filled with unnecessary anger, I smacked the stop button on my alarm clock.
Forcing myself to move, I tossed the warm blankets off and stood from my bed. The cold tiles sent a shiver up my spine, urging me to slip on my slippers as quickly as possible.
I stood and walked away from the bed, heading into the bathroom.
After preparing myself for work—scratch that, after preparing myself for another 24 hours of hell on earth—I left my beautiful yet lonely mansion. Behind the wheel of my 2020 BMW M5 CS, tuned to a monstrous 900 horsepower, I sped through the highways and eventually arrived at Sivvy Electronics, the internationally renowned electrical company.
After parking, I consciously walked into the gates of hell, and the first demon I saw was none other than Tracy—the company's beautiful receptionist.
The moment her eyes landed on me, I saw a chaotic mix of emotions: hatred, envy, lust, and frustration. I understood the lust—given how handsome I am—but the rest? Those were harder to explain. Yet everyone seemed to have the same cocktail of feelings when they looked at me.
Why couldn't it be love instead of hatred? Praise instead of envy? Lust can stay. And maybe delight instead of frustration.
Putting on a half-hearted, pretentious smile, the demon greeted me like I was her master. The Envious Demon—honestly, not a bad nickname.
"Good morning, Vice President," she said with that rotten mouth of hers.
Though, to be fair, she did have a sweet voice and a beautiful face—too bad she was rotten on the inside.
"Morning, Tracy. How are you feeling this morning?"
I silently prayed she'd say bad. Demons like her aren't meant to feel good, no matter the situation.
"Good, sir. How about you?" she replied. I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not—but I doubted it.
"I'm okay, Tracy. Thank you for asking."
Before an unwanted conversation could begin, I quickly walked away from the reception area.
I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 10th floor—where the torture room was located. A room that looked like a luxurious office but held the hidden purpose of tormenting the Vice President of this hellish company. Unfortunately, I am the Vice President in question.
Now that I was here, I sank into my office chair and began making mental preparations to endure the torture that was about to begin.
And then, at that exact moment, I heard one of the most soothing sounds one might ever expect in a place like this...
A scream.
My instincts took over as my body moved before my mind could catch up. Through the indoor glass walls surrounding my office, all my eyes could see was chaos. People were running—pushing each other—all heading in the same direction: the exit.
As if they were fleeing from something dangerous...
That's when the creature appeared.
A green beast that could only be described as a monster. A humanoid abomination with a massive, muscular build and two oversized canines, like the descendant of a saber-toothed cat—but with a face far too grotesque to belong to any natural creature. It was a monster straight out of fiction. Gamers had given it a name: Orc.
And it wasn't alone.
It came with others of its kind, mercilessly slaughtering every human in sight. It was a gruesome, terrifying scene—at least, it would have been for any normal person.
But for some reason, I didn't feel fear.
I felt excited.
An overwhelming urge surged within me—the desire to join the beasts and kill alongside them. After all, they were only killing demons worse than themselves...
So, in a way, wasn't it justifiable?
I felt myself succumb to the feeling—the urge.
I exited my office and ran to join the beasts—now turned comrades.
Like a madman, I grabbed one of the lamps and hurled it at a fleeing worker, causing them to fall and get caught by the orcs.
I felt my face stretch into a smile, then into chuckles—then finally, crazed laughter.
This... this is fun.
I snatched up anything within reach and threw it at the fleeing employees. Fortunately, our company was packed with workers, and the fear in their hearts slowed them down. They couldn't cooperate, couldn't escape together—so my reckless throws were almost guaranteed to hit someone.
One of the orcs—larger than the rest—locked eyes with me. He had the look of a predator staring at another predator. But not just any predator… a psychopathic one too dangerous to be left alive.
He charged at me, ready to kill.
But my body didn't move—not because it couldn't. I could've moved whenever I wanted. But I was curious—curious to fall, to face death. If life was this cold, then perhaps death would be warm.
I closed my eyes and opened my arms, ready to embrace the end.
But it never came.
When I opened my eyes to see what was taking the orc so long, I found myself no longer in the company building, but in a white room.
At its center stood a woman—beautiful beyond reason. She seemed divine, with four majestic white wings and a face sculpted by the Goddess of Beauty herself.
And yet... even here, even now, I felt it again.
Hatred.
Envy.
Lust.
Frustration.
The same emotions everyone always had when they looked at me.
She was rotten... just like the rest of them.
And like the Envious Demon, she also had the most beautiful of voices.
"Greetings, human. I am Elizabeth—Goddess of Harmony," she introduced herself, speaking as though she were some sort of absolute being… when she clearly was not.
At least her pretentious smile was better than most—maybe a bit too perfect.
Well, two can play at that game.
"Anos De Luna, the Perfect Human, at your service.
By the way, why am I here?" I asked.
The woman giggled at my introduction…
Lighting up the mood wasn't really my intention, but whatever.
"Perfect Human, you say? Well then, Perfect Human, you're here because I need your help. I need you to save one of my worlds. I guarantee to give you the power to do so."
The moment I heard the word power, my heart instantly agreed to help—though, of course, I didn't say that out loud.
"What kind of power are we talking about here?" I asked her.
Elizabeth's wings fluttered gently behind her as she offered me a warm, radiant smile. One that was meant to disarm even the coldest of hearts. Too bad mine had been dead long before I ever arrived in this room.
"I will grant you powers… divine abilities that will allow you to protect the world I cherish. You will be transported to that world in a new body—one molded perfectly to house these powers."
My brows rose with interest, though I made sure to keep my face as expressionless as possible. Inside, however, I was grinning like a child in a candy store. New world? New body? Overpowered gifts? This sounds suspiciously familiar… Ah, yes. a reincarnation. Did I perhaps die by that orc's hand?
I folded my arms, tilting my head slightly. "And I get to choose these powers?"
Elizabeth nodded, her voice filled with conviction. "Yes. They are fragments of my divine essence—abilities I have cultivated over eons. Giving them to you means I will be left powerless. But I believe you are… worthy."
Ah… So she thinks I'm some heroic savior. How adorably naïve.
Worthy?
I laughed internally.
Lady, I just helped murder a hallway full of my coworkers and enjoyed every second of it. I'm about as worthy as a shark in a goldfish tank.
Still, I gave her a polite smile—charming, controlled, convincing.
"Then I'll take your offer, Elizabeth. Tell me more about these powers."
Her face lit up. That gentle look of hope in her eyes… it was laughable.
She raised her hand, and three glowing symbols appeared in the air.
"The first," she said, pointing to a crimson sigil, "is called Eclipse Devourer. With it, you can absorb any energy-based attack or spell and convert it into your own power. At first, it will seem like a simple defense mechanism. But as you grow… you'll gain the ability to consume and evolve any magic you encounter. Even divine spells will eventually bow to you."
Interesting… A power that grows based on what I eat? Sounds delicious.
"The second," she continued, gesturing to a shimmering silver icon, "is Soulforge Dominion. It allows you to forge contracts with souls—living, dead, or divine. These souls can become your allies, weapons, or sources of knowledge. The more powerful the soul, the more potent your arsenal. However… to claim the strongest ones, you must first break them."
So I get a collection of sentient slaves who grow stronger the more I dominate them? You really don't know who you're talking to, do you?
"And lastly," she said, touching a black-gold glyph that pulsed with chaotic energy, "this is Chrono Abyssal Core. At first, it grants you brief control over time—slowing, accelerating, or stopping it for a few seconds. But with time… it will allow you to rewrite causality itself. To bend fate. Undo death. Create outcomes that never existed."
I closed my eyes, absorbing it all. Power to consume, dominate, and manipulate time itself.
You might just be the most generous idiot I've ever met, Elizabeth.
I opened my eyes and smiled warmly. "These… gifts of yours are more than I deserve. I'm honored."
She beamed with pride—mistaking my false humility for virtue.
"I knew I was right about you, Anos. You have a good heart."
No, darling.
I have a black hole where my heart should be. And you… just handed me the fuel to make it devour worlds.
Now, what I don't understand is, if she has such powerful abilities, why does she need someone else to save her world instead of doing it herself?
"Elizabeth, wouldn't it be better to save your world yourself rather than entrusting the job to someone else?" I asked.
"...Well, the reason behind that is a bit embarrassing, but if you need to know, I might as well get over it."
She continued, "I can't stand to see someone else die. Even killing any living creature feels like torture to me."
Well, that's just pathetic. If someone like her is a god, then I must be the absolute being.
I couldn't even stand to look at her anymore. "I think I'm ready to go to the other world."
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