CHAPTER 00
[Prologue] –
“Everyone, get back!”
My companions, who had been cornering the Demon King, quickly retreated.
I leapt high into the air and drove my greatsword down.
The sharp tip of the blade pierced the Demon King’s heart and embedded itself into the ground.
BOOM!
With the explosion of mana, the Demon King let out a scream.
“Graaaah!”
I had torn through his second heart—this time, he would be banished to the Underworld for good.
Watching the purple blood spread from the Demon King’s back, I let out a long sigh.
“Whew…”
Finally, the end was in sight. The conclusion of this damned novel was drawing near.
At that moment, my companion and prince of the Philio Empire, Leonhart, shouted,
“Adele! Look around! The ground is collapsing!”
Then the hot-headed mage Rusfel started shouting, and the kind priest Owen stomped his feet in panic.
“You idiot! What are you dawdling for?! Ditch that bastard and run!”
“L-Lord Adele! It’s dangerous! Please get out of there quickly!”
I bent down as if to pull out my sword. The Demon King’s ragged breaths grew louder.
“Huff! Huff!”
I could feel his life force rapidly draining away with every breath. I looked into his blood-red eyes and whispered softly.
“Hurry up and say your line.”
“Grrgh… L-Line? Say… what are you talking about?!”
“You’ve got something to say to me, right? Get on with it.”
The Demon King furrowed his brow in rage.
“Even now, you mock me! But don’t be so full of yourself! I am not perishing—I am merely returning to the Underworld!”
‘Yeah, that’s the line.’
I wiped the Demon King’s bloodstained face.
“Goodbye. Once you’re down there, don’t crawl back out for a while.”
“That’s the plan. This time, I don’t think I’ll be bored.”
The Demon King sneered. I raised an eyebrow and asked,
“What are you scheming?”
“I just thought… maybe, with you down there, even the boring Underworld might become interesting.”
“With me?”
The next stage prompt floated up in my mind.
[Stage 2: (Firmly) Don’t flatter yourself!]
I read it out like a machine.
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Is it really flattery? Can’t you see how the spirits are reacting?”
He wasn’t wrong.
The spirits, sensing something, had been frantically fluttering around me for a while.
— Adele! Something’s off! I think something’s really wrong! Should I blast him with an Aqua Ball?
— Damn, he’s up to something. Contract-holder, move aside. I’m gonna roast him.
— Lord Adele, the wind is ominously restless. I suggest binding his limbs first. Or, if you’d prefer something simpler, we could cut out his tongue.
— …Scary.
Ignoring the spirits’ uproar, I spoke lazily.
“I’m really tired right now. Let’s move this along.”
The Demon King’s expression wavered, then twisted into a sly grin.
“You’re trying to buy time with nonsense. Clever—but you can’t fool me!”
I wasn’t trying to fool anyone. I just wanted this over with.
“I will now release all my remaining power. You might survive it, but your companions certainly won’t!”
Explaining his attack in detail, how considerate.
‘For a Demon King, he’s oddly polite.’
I waited silently for his next line.
“But if you choose to die with me, I’ll spare them. So, what’s your choice—your life, or your comrades’?”
‘Ah… finally, the ending.’
The hero who sacrifices himself to save his companions—this is the final scene of the novel.
How grand.
It was a terrible story to begin with, and now it ends by killing off the protagonist.
What kind of author ends their novel like this? I wanted to peek into their brain.
Then came the next prompt:
[Stage 3: (With horror) No! Don’t hurt my precious friends!]
“Don’t hurt my friends.”
I summarized the prompt in a flat tone. That triggered a penalty.
It felt like a spike had been driven into my chest.
“Kehehe—so you’d sacrifice yourself for your friends? Such tear-jerking friendship.”
As he finished speaking, a new prompt appeared.
[Stage 1: (Clutching hands to chest, eyes teary) I love my friends. It’s a noble feeling you could never understand. Even if my body dies, my soul will live on in their hearts. That means I’m not truly dead.]
…Too cringey. Hard pass.
Ignoring a Stage 1 prompt didn’t matter anyway.
“Quit yapping. Don’t your jaws hurt?”
“W-What did you just say?!”
“Wait right there.”
Leaving the flustered Demon King behind, I turned to Leonhart, Rusfel, and Owen.
They were waiting anxiously.
“Adele! What are you doing?! Come over here now!”
“You trying to die by my hand instead?! Hurry and get over here!”
While Leonhart and Rusfel shouted in a frenzy, Owen stumbled back, face pale.
“…N-No… Lord Adele, right? I’m wrong, aren’t I?”
As a priest, he had frighteningly sharp intuition. Uncomfortably so, at times.
‘This is one of those times I wish he wasn’t so sharp.’
I opened my mouth toward them, who looked like they were ready to rush toward me.
Right then, another prompt flashed.
[Stage 3: (Gravely) Stay back! Don’t come near me!]
“Stay back. Don’t come near me.”
[Stage 3: (Voice trembling, as if holding back tears) Leonhart, Rusfel, Owen… I’m sorry. I’ll always love you all… Please don’t forget that.]
‘…Are you serious right now?’
It was almost over.
Instead of following the prompt, I addressed the trash author directly:
“It was filthy being with you. Let’s never meet again.”
“…!”
My companions’ eyes went wide.
They looked more shocked than I’d ever seen.
‘I wasn’t talking to them…’
Just as I was about to clarify—
“Cough! Hrk!”
Blood spurted from my mouth. My chest flared with intense pain. That was the result of ignoring a Stage 3 prompt.
“Adele!”
Even while misunderstanding me, my companions cried out in worry.
‘They’re too kind for their own good.’
They were truly good comrades. So much so, it made this all feel cursed.
Swallowing the blood rising in my throat, I grabbed the Demon King by the neck.
“Let’s go.”
“Ha ha ha! Very well! I welcome you to the Underworld!”
He was fine, except for being way too talkative.
‘A chatty Demon King. This story really is a joke.’
I covered his mouth with my hand.
“Shut up and let’s go. Sound good?”
He glared at me with slitted eyes full of murder.
Then—
RUMBLE!
The earth crumbled with a massive tremor.
“Adele!!!”
I closed my eyes as their screams echoed.
In the blinding white void, ornate letters slowly appeared.
–The End–
Thank you for loving until now.
It was finally over.
Endless darkness followed.
“D-Duke…”
“…”
“Duke, are you hurt?”
What…? That voice is so cute I could bite it.
Someone was gently touching my fingers. Then I felt a faint breeze over my hand.
“Blow, blow. Don’t be hurt, my Duke.”
The voice that had seemed so distant just moments ago suddenly became crystal clear.
At the same time, my body, which hadn’t felt like mine, now felt perfectly fine.
My eyes flew open.
“…Gasp!”
A strange ceiling. A strange bed.
Where am I?
“O-Oh! D-Duke! Y-You’re awake?!”
I turned my head and blankly stared at the child beside me.
‘A doll… is talking?’
Blue eyes and pink hair. How could someone be so cute?
They were clumsily trying to climb up onto the bed, just barely managing to rest their arms and face on it. It was almost eerily adorable.
“D-Duke! Sh-Should I go c-call the b-butler, sir?”
‘Wait… not a doll?’
“You…”
So cute. What’s your name?
Before I could ask, glowing letters appeared in the air.
[Stage 3: (Coldly, while brushing away the child’s hand) Who gave you permission to enter my bedroom?]
