Chapter 5
Delight Project
“Sob… hic…”
What the—?
Why am I crying?
As I regained consciousness, the sound of my own sobbing was the first thing I heard.
I was crouched on the floor, my face buried in my knees, crying.
“Daddy, please come back…. If you don’t, I’m coming to Hell to get you, okay? You know I will, right?”
I think that’s what I said.
I abruptly lifted my head.
Blinking away the tears in my swollen, wet eyes, the first thing I saw was the full moon—so bright it made my eyes ache.
And just as I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, I noticed the blown-out wall.
Shattered windows, bricks crumbled like paper, and a cold night wind rushing through the gaping hole.
I sprang to my feet.
“What the—? What happened?”
I quickly retraced my memories.
Just a moment ago, I was in the forest, where I ran into Meteo Pluto. I tried to run away, but he kept asking me questions, and I was getting flustered.
Then suddenly, a low-level demon appeared behind him. From that point on, I moved on instinct, with no time to think.
I had pulled Meteo out of the demon’s way, only to get hit myself. My hair and limbs were consumed by the demon—and then my consciousness faded.
At that moment, I died.
Yeah. I definitely died….
So why am I awake again?
My heart pounded as I scanned my surroundings.
It was a scene etched deeply into my memory.
How could I forget?
This was four years ago. The night Dad had flown away through the wall, his beautiful black wings spread wide. I had chased after him.
No matter how far I ran, I couldn’t find him, and eventually, I came back home.
And then I cried.
Dad, this prank’s too much. Did you really think I’d find this funny?
Come back. I miss you so much.
I truly believed he’d return soon—but he didn’t.
From the age of eight until twelve, I never saw my dad again. He had become the true demon king Baal.
“So how did I end up back here? Is this a dream?”
I ran to the mirror.
As I ran, I noticed my legs were shorter and my feet tiny.
I locked eyes with the reflection in the mirror—and screamed, hands cupping my cheeks.
“Aaaah! What is this? I’ve gotten so small!”
Below my round eyes, my nose looked like a little cherry. My lips were tiny and cute, and my head was small.
And my hair! That ridiculously thick and silky blond hair!
It was exactly how I looked when I was eight.
“No way!”
Smack!
I slapped myself across the face.
The pain was shockingly real.
“Ow, ow…”
Clutching my sore cheek, I looked around. Everything was too vivid to be a dream.
Especially that gaping hole in the wall—it was so real it made my heart ache.
“Don’t tell me… I went back to the past?”
How?
How did I return to the past?
Just then—
<The system is activating!>
Bright letters floated before my eyes.
I had never seen this language before, but I could somehow understand it as if I had always known it.
“!”
What is this?
<Tutorial for Possessor Complete!>
<Name: Seo Dabit>
<Age Before Possession: 19>
Huh? Tutorial?
Possessor?
What is all this nonsense?
I was speechless.
I had lived twelve years as Lloyd Delight’s daughter. All I knew came from what I’d learned growing up with my dad.
Crescent Delight—that was my name. That was who I was.
Seo Dabit? Never heard that name before.
I’m Crescent, Dad’s beloved daughter, and I’m twelve years old—
<Possessor’s memories are returning!>
<10% — In Progress>
<20% — In Progress>
“…”
Suddenly, vivid memories surged into my mind like a flood.
A black-haired girl who looked somewhat like me.
A girl named Seo Dabit, holed up in a tiny room playing smartphone games. Somehow, I knew exactly what game it was.
“Demon Realm Great Subjugation — Delight Project.”
The game was about defeating Baal, the worst demon king in history.
And back when Baal was still human, his name had been Lloyd Delight. He had a daughter named Crescent Delight.
That was me.
I was right there in the game’s memories.
Unbelievable—but undeniable. The memories hit me like a storm.
In the game, Crescent loses her father and eventually dies of starvation. She doesn’t even live to see her twelfth birthday.
Later, when Meteo Pluto turns eighteen, Baal is finally defeated—by him.
And Baal’s final words before disappearing were—
“My daughter… I couldn’t protect my daughter Crescent. I’m sorry, my angel…”
“!”
<99% — In Progress>
<Complete>
<All Possessor Memories Restored!>
<Tutorial Complete. Restarting From Beginning>
More text floated in my dizzy vision.
Seo Dabit’s memories fully overlaid my own. Turns out, I wasn’t just Crescent—I had once lived as Seo Dabit!
So I’ve… been living as a character from “Demon Realm Great Subjugation” this whole time?
I couldn’t believe it.
I was a character in a game?
And not just any character—the daughter of the demon king who dies tragically at just nine years old!
“Delight Project” was the name of the grand mission in the game to defeat Baal.
It involved numerous characters. Players could choose from among them as the protagonist.
But in the official storyline, the true hero who defeats Baal is Meteo—and Meteo alone.
I really loved that game…
Especially Crescent, the poor girl who died after losing her dad. She stuck with me.
She was only a background character with barely a few lines of dialogue, but I felt drawn to her—maybe because we were alike.
Seo Dabit’s dad—he was also a famous “daughter fool” in their town, but one day he lost his memory and died.
Trying to forget that grief, I became obsessed with “Demon Realm Great Subjugation” for months.
Someone I had relied on and lived happily with, just the two of us, was suddenly gone.
And I didn’t know how to overcome that sadness. All I could do was cry, starve, and collapse from exhaustion.
And then, I died.
And somehow ended up living as Crescent all this time.
* * *
“Wow. This is actually insane.”
I wandered around the mansion, dumbfounded. The cold wind still blew through the gaping hole in the wall.
Though I had recovered Seo Dabit’s memories, I still felt more like Crescent.
After all, I had lived twelve whole years without any memory of a past life—only as Crescent.
How much pain and loneliness had I endured after losing Dad?
Those happy times I spent with Lloyd—no, the demon king Baal—as his daughter… There was no way that wasn’t my real life.
I shouted toward the empty space where I’d seen the system window.
“What is this? A tutorial? If it’s a tutorial, you should’ve told me! I almost died thinking this was my actual life…”
Well, I did die!
Just then, the system window reappeared.
As if responding to me directly.
<Opening Chat Window with the Possessor’s Sponsors: ‘Guardian Saints’>
<‘Dragon Slayer Sylvester’ has entered the chat!>
<‘Yuri Druid Gabriella’ has entered the chat!>
<‘From Maid to Saint: Astina’ has entered the chat!>
“…What is all this?”
<‘Dragon Slayer Sylvester’ says it’s good to see you again.>
<‘Yuri Druid Gabriella’ asks how you’ve been.>
<‘From Maid to Saint: Astina’ says she’s been waiting forever for you to finish the tutorial.>
<‘Yuri Druid Gabriella’ says you took way too long in the tutorial.>
“……!”
