Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 1 Read online

  (This is just like the game!)

  He looked up, and the monster was blown to bits, perhaps from the impact of the knife. Akira couldn’t help but wonder who the real monster was. Neither Akira nor the child spoke another word, as painful silence fell on the forest.

  Gulping down a lump of saliva, Akira timidly spoke.

  “A-Ah, um, well... It’s... self-defense. That’s what that was. That was not my fault.”

  The child’s gaze felt like daggers to Akira. Those innocent eyes were filled with evident terror and fear. The polar opposite of how a child would look at a hero.

  “M-Master Demon Lord... Please don’t eat me! I-I won’t taste good at all!”

  “What the hell!? What kind of monster do you think I am!?”

  And so, a Demon Lord fell into a strange world full of the unknown. At this point, no one knew how he, an ordinary man from Japan trapped inside a Demon Lord’s body, would survive this cruel fantasy world...

  Hakuto Kunai

  Race: Human — Age: 45

  * * *

  Weapon Sodom’s Fire

  A knife that can be used as a close-combat or projectile weapon. Infinite uses. Bonus Effect: Chance to Burn the target.

  Armor Assault Queller

  Negates any attack from those under Level 30. Infinite Durability. Has no effect on magic, which didn’t exist in the game.

  Item The Laws of the Empire (Book)

  An item given to those who defeat Kunai. It actually has no effect in the game. Rather, this item would have an effect in the real world.

  Item Mild Heaven

  The best-selling cigarettes in the Empire. There are many other brands on the market, like Hi-Nite or Spellcaster.

  * * *

  Level: 1 — HP: 40000/40000 — Stamina: 600/600 — Attack: 70 (+50) — Defense: 80 (+20) Dexterity: 60 — Magic: 0 — Magic Defense: 0

  Equipped Skills: First: Charge Second: Eye Gouge Third: Supersonic

  Combat Skills: Mad Rush, Break Through, Fake Out, Intimidate, Lock-On, One-Shot Kill, Instinct, Ruler, Avenger, Strategist, Mind’s Eye, Overlord, Obliterate, Equal to None, Limit Breaker, Second to None

  Survival Skills: Recover, Fighting Spirit, Duality, One Step Ahead, Meditate, Medicine

  Duel Skills: Tyrant, etc.

  Special Abilities: Administrator, etc.

  * * *

  Akira Ono, a Japanese man, merely borrowing the appearance and abilities of the game’s final boss. While still categorized as a civilian, he has serious potential when he can commit to it. Acquired through years of running the game and surviving the Japanese workforce, he can fake it until he makes it through any situation. The final boss of the game is no joke, and his stats, especially his HP, are astronomical. He may appear invincible at first glance, but his lack of any protection against magic (which didn’t exist in the game) makes him precariously unbalanced. Deep down, his original mind still lurks. Insurmountably cold and cruel, he rules atop 4,143,792 corpses. A bona-fide Demon Lord.

  Greole, King of Devils

  Race: Top-tier Devil

  * * *

  Level: 34 — HP: 45/666 — Stamina: 200/200 — Attack: 66 — Defense: 66 — Dexterity: 66 — Magic: 66 — Magic Defense: 66

  Spells: Death Winds, Inferno, Dark Hyper Beam, etc.

  Skills: Enslave High Devils Control and Boost, etc.

  * * *

  A great devil sealed away by the Wise Angel, long ago. It can even enslave High Devils, truly making Greole the king among them. Its HP had been drastically reduced from being sealed away, but who could possibly damage the King of Devils through its impervious Defense? If given the chance to devour souls upon souls and flesh upon flesh to regain its power, Greole would have surely brought hell upon earth.

  Demon Lord and Evil

  The forest that hadn’t seen many human souls in ages, was inhabited by not one, but two humans this day. One was a sketchy-looking man with long hair, and the other was a child.

  “M-My name... is Kunai. I’m not scary, you know. Nothing to do with the Demon Lord, much less. I just have a few questions for you. Is that all right?”

  Akira... Well, the Demon Lord, said, as he pushed his long locks behind his head.

  The Demon Lord contemplated for a while what to introduce himself as, and settled on Kunai. He tried to maintain a mature tone in front of the child, but the paint was already cracking, showing his true colors.

  “Y-Yes, sir...”

  The Demon Lord maintained the best smile he could as to not spook the child, but the little one in front of him held his eyes wide open, quaking with fear. But who could blame the child? A top-tier devil was blown to bits a foot away from them. With the understanding of where that monster stood in terms of power level, anyone would react the same way. Someone who could swat and kill a top-tier devil as if it was a buzzing gnat could be none other than the Demon Lord himself.

  “I suppose I should ask you for your name, first. If you don’t mind, of course.”

  “I-I’m Aku.”

  This response triggered the Demon Lord to do a spit-take before coughing into a tizzy. The Demon Lord and Aku, the Japanese word for ‘evil’... Was this some sort of sign?

  “W-What a wonderful name. Have you heard of the country of Japan? Or, like, New York?”

  “N-No, I’m sorry... I have never heard of them...”

  After mumbling ‘thought so,’ the Demon Lord lit a cigarette. From the looks of it, there was no way that Aku’s clothes were made from modern technology. It seemed to be made of cheap fabric, with a small blue design or two. Fashionable would not have been how the Demon Lord would describe it. The child’s hair was cut-short, except for their bangs, which hid the left half of the child’s face.

  The Demon Lord almost directly asked the child if they were a boy or a girl, before being an adult and thinking better of it. Since the child seemed harmless, the Demon Lord decided to ask some of the countless questions he had. ‘What is this world called?’ ‘What is this forest?’ ‘What was that Demon earlier?’ Aku’s answers were all mumbled, and didn’t provide any real insight. It looked like Aku didn’t really have much knowledge, per se. While Aku seemed to understand how one was expected to act in this world, the child didn’t seem to have any existential knowledge on this world. Aku seemed like Average Villager #1, and had the looks to match. There wasn’t much for intellectual discourse between an average villager and an average working Joe.

  “I still have some questions for you, but... There’s a lake over there. Why don’t you clean up a bit first?”

  “M-May I!?”

  “Hm...? I-I don’t see any problem to it. Take the time to dry off, too.”

  “Th-Thank you!”

  †　†　†

  (Ugh... What to do...?)

  Watching Aku trot away to the lake, the Demon Lord let out a sigh. Who he had hoped to be a precious source of information was an ordinary villager, which left him with too few questions answered. The only new pieces of information he gained were about the country he was in and Aku’s village.

  (Holylight, was it? Sure doesn’t sound like a country on Earth...)

  Apparently, the nation worshipped the Wise Angel, who, according to legend, had sealed away that devil from earlier. On top of that, the Demon Lord was bombarded with all sorts of laughable stories about things and sayings from groups like the three Holy Maidens who serve the Wise Angel, the Holy Knights’ Order, and the Holy Church.

  There was no denying the fantasy in this world. It’s not like Akira was a high-schooler with infinite possibilities ahead of him. What was the point of summoning an almost middle-aged grown man? Then, a scary thought crossed his mind. What if he wasn’t the one who was summoned, after all?

  (What if this body was the one that was summoned...?)

  After the rapid-fire series of unthinkable events this man has gone through, who could blame the Demon Lord for detaching himself a little bit from the rules of the real world? One of th
e ex-players of the game, Virgil the Kentucky Fried Butcher had always jeered ‘Everyone and their mother is getting sent off to different worlds.’ A character in a game, a giant statue of Buddha, a samurai lord... Anything could be summoned across worlds, nowadays. With this kind of mentality, it made sense to the Demon Lord that his vessel was the one that was summoned.

  The Demon Lord had no idea what purpose there could behind the summoning, but if whoever it was was actually after Hakuto Kunai, he figured that there could be a million uses for him. By coincidence, he had been logged in as the character...

  (Which means I was roped into this for no reason!)

  This conclusion boiled his blood. All because of this stupid final boss, he was thrown into a world he knew nothing about. The Demon Lord wanted to convince himself of this.

  (I have to find a way home... Fast.)

  Fortunately, for once, Akira Ono had already lost his parents and was a bachelor, leaving no one behind that would worry about his whereabouts. His work, though, was another story. What would his boss say if he pulled a ‘no-call, no-show’ at his age?

  (Now, should I head for some town? Or look for clues in the forest?)

  He took a good look around, but only eerie silence filled the forest. Under normal conditions, this was not the sort of place he would enjoy sticking around in.

  (Jeesh, Aku’s taking a while... It’s been a while, right?)

  †　†　†

  (Thank goodness I’m alive...!)

  Aku could not be happier to be bathing in so much crystal-clear water, able to wash and launder as long as they liked. Not even the villager elder could afford this luxury. Water was a precious commodity around these parts, and Aku’s village could barely provide enough drinking and cooking water for everyone. Any more water, of course, had a price tag on it, and only a select few could afford to rinse their bodies with it. The only time the villagers, including Aku, could bathe or launder was during the rain. It had to be a rainstorm, too, not just a sprinkle. Since this land had been ruled by a devil in the past, the soil had been dried out, and most of the old wells were poisoned. Obtaining even the bare minimum water supply was a difficult task on its own.

  Moreover, Aku was ‘tainted.’ There was no way this child was going to pass up on such an opportunity.

  (But really, who is that man...?)

  Aku pondered, bathing in the lake up to the neck, naked. He had blown that top-tier devil to bits with a single blow. Could he really be the Demon Lord, told of in legends in the Holy City? Judging by his all-black attire, Aku doubted that he was an angel. Finding him alone in this forest was strange to begin with. The forest held a hallowed shrine, and coming here was taboo.

  They had been told that there was a beautiful lake in the forest, but the devil’s presence, on top of its mythological status, prevented anyone from actually paying a visit.

  (Could it be... he just wants to clean me up before eating me...?)

  A shiver ran down the child’s spine. Aku felt the urge to run for it, but the child had already washed and hung their clothes on the tree. Flee now, and there may not be a chance to recover those clothes. Considering that there could be more devils around, that was suicide.

  “Hey, you done yet? Hurry it up, I want to check out the Aku-stics in there.”

  “I-I’m sorry! I’ll be right out!”

  “Nah, I’ve just been holding on to that one. Take your time cleaning up.”

  Despite the Demon Lord telling Aku not to rush, the child shuddered at the thought of keeping the Master Demon Lord waiting.

  (He might have some reason for keeping me alive now, but one wrong move to upset him and I’m done for.)

  As the child peered over to see if the Master Demon Lord was upset, Aku saw him mumbling to himself as he moved both of his hands in a flurry. Was he performing some kind of curse ritual?

  “Yes! I can use admin features!”

  (Adminfi Churrs...? Could it be the name of an ancient false god?)

  The more Aku thought about it, the name sounded more and more sinister. After watching what ensued, however, the child would become convinced of this theory.

  A pitch-black hole opened in the space in front of the Demon Lord, into which he shoved his right hand in without hesitation. Just imagining what could possibly emerge from the void made Aku want to cry. A dark scythe? Some equipment of darkness? Aku even imagined a pair of silverware the Demon Lord would use to eat the child up.

  “There we go... Here. Soap and a towel. Use these.”

  “Huh...? This isn’t bubbles, is it!?”

  “B-Bubbles? Anyway, I’ll take a look around the area, just to be safe.”

  With that, the Demon Lord walked away from the lake. Even as he went, he mumbled things like ‘My Skill Points are plummeting though...’ which Aku didn’t really understand.

  (Wait, I almost forgot about the bubbles!)

  This was something Aku had dreamt about using, even just once. But, the child wondered, how could the Demon Lord produce such an item of luxury reserved for nobles?

  †　†　†

  “I didn’t expect that to come in so handy...”

  The Demon Lord muttered to himself as he opened the admin screen. Earlier, part of his administrator privileges were unlocked for some reason. It looked like he was able to take advantage of them by using SP, a system of the game. In the game, SP increases or decreases from combat, Retaliation, or use of items. Players could spend SP to learn powerful skills, shore up defenses, or even weaken opponents by robbing them of their SP. In this world too, the Demon Lord seemed to acquire SP after combat as expected. He had obtained some after the last encounter.

  “But 5 points for that crap item...?”

  Craft Novice item ---- 5SP

  Craft Intermediate item ---- 10SP

  Craft Advanced item ----20SP

  Craft Master item ---- 30SP

  Craft Super Rare item ---- 50SP

  The Demon Lord got carried away from the excitement of unlocking an admin feature, but the items he crafted were just so unimpressive. The bar of soap was a garbage throwing weapon, and even the towel was a piece of body armor, but their modifiers were +1 each. Pathetic. Carrying these around towards the latter half of the Game meant that death was imminent.

  “Thirty or so SP left... I wonder if the other categories would unlock if I save up enough? Or are there other conditions to meet?”

  Closing his eyes, he contemplated this for a while. While the Demon Lord couldn’t grasp how powerful his previous opponent was, the amount of SP he obtained indicated that the devil was a pretty high-level enemy. On the other hand, it was so weak. The amount of the reward didn’t reflect how easy the creature was to take down. This was what the Demon Lord was bothered about.

  “It doesn’t look like everything’s as it was in the game...”

  In the game, the level difference between a player and their enemy would drastically affect the amount of SP the player could earn. In other words, defeating an enemy with a much higher level would earn the player loads of SP, while the inverse would leave the player with a meager amount of SP.

  “Oh, I get it... That thing must have been one of those silver slime types.”

  The Demon Lord imagined a particular monster from one of the most prolific JRPGs out there. Weak, but quick to escape, this monster offered an exorbitant EXP for defeating it. He considered that, if there were more of those creatures around here, he’d better hunt them to extinction. At this time, Aku came to him from the lake.

  “M-Master Demon Lord! Thank you for waiting!”

  “I’ve told you, I’m not the Demon... Oh, whatever. Anyway, do a lot of those weaklings pop up around here?”

  “N-No way! If there was more of that monster out there, our nation would be doomed!”

  “Huh...? That thing was really that dangerous?”

  Aku nodded profusely in confirmation. The Demon Lord was becoming less sure of his assessment, but he knew that he wan
ted to prioritize earning SP above all else in order to unlock as many admin features as he could.

  If possible, he wanted to earn plenty of SP before leaving the forest. At this rate, who knows what would happen to them as soon as they left? Moreover, the Demon Lord thought there was a possibility that, if he unlocked all of the admin features with SP, he might discover a way home.

  “Aku, do you know his lair, or nest, or something? I want to check it out.”

  “According to legend, the King of Devils... was sealed away in the Shrine of Wishes in this forest.”

  “Wishes, huh...? Would you mind showing me the way?”

  “I-I’m sorry, I would love to, but my foot isn’t exactly in... tip-top shape.”

  Looking down, the Demon Lord noticed a large scar on Aku’s right ankle. A painful one to look at, as it seemed like a large cut or tear had healed over without much medical attention.

  (Am I putting too much guesswork into this? It could be an illness unique to this world.)

  Unfortunately, the Demon Lord was no doctor. One of the Demon Lord’s advisors back in the game had the (perhaps unfair) power to heal any illness or injury, but alas, there was nothing he could do now.

  “Fine... I’ll carry you. Get on my back.”

  “I-I wouldn’t dare bring my filth upon you!”

  “Sorry, but we’re short on time. I won’t ask you again. Just do it.”

  “...”

  The Demon Lord crouched to the ground, turning his back to Aku, but the child remained motionless. What’s worse, Aku’s expression was filled with pain, tearing up.

  (Jeez... Does this kid hate me that much? My skin isn’t that thick!)

  The young child’s tears flustered the Demon Lord.

  “I-I’ve always been unwanted in my village. I always tried to collect the trash or empty people’s waste to help as much as I could...”