ALEXANDER
CRAP!! I'm being hunted down?!
And just as things were starting to get interesting with the demons... I was this close to getting my first actual female phone number from this gorgeous cutie.
In my previous life, only Alice's number graced my contact list. Everything else was strictly work or official junk.
Whatever.
Trouble never sleeps, it seems.
"Oho? I'm afraid we must've overstayed our welcome," the Ruben guy said, all smiles.
He shifted his gaze from the hunters(?) and turned to me.
Tsk. His handsomeness really grates on my nerves—especially considering I was just around average back then.
"My name is Ruben Morningstar, as you must've guessed by now."
At that, the humans around us flinched, and hushed murmurs broke out.
Guess he's famous. Well, he is a demon after all.
Lilith didn't even glance at the humans. Instead, she kept stealing shy looks at me.
God, she's too adorable.
"This one is Lilith Morningstar—I'm certain she hasn't told you her name yet, due to her social awkwardness."
"R-Ruben!" She blushed and smacked his head.
Oh god, she's so cute!
I can't wait till I hit 15 or 16 (which is barely legal) so I can s—see if what's down there is also red.
"...Ah. You just thought of getting under my sister's skirt, didn't you?"
GASP!!
I've been found out!
"Y-Y-You can read minds?" My fine-tuned deep voice returned. "I mean—I wasn't thinking anything lecherous or anything!"
Ruben laughed, while Lilith closed her eyes in embarrassment.
"Your face says it all—you're definitely one of those closet pervs."
Damn you, Ruben!
I'm sure he and I are going to get along so well.
(I'm being sarcastic, of course.)
"We shall meet again soon, Alex," Ruben said, as he and Lilith began to dissolve into red mist.
"Then we'll talk about how we can convince the old man to let you join our family."
Join a demon family? I don't know... won't my life constantly be in danger?
And—WAIT!!
How the hell did he know my name?!
And why would he say it in front of the humans—then leave me behind to clean up the mess?!
Now they're going to think I'm allied with demons.
Fantastic.
Or wait... let's not jump to conclusio—
"You beast! So you are an ally of the demons?!"
Right… and here comes the misunderstanding.
"All right! We'll be eliminating you immediately! Team, take positions! Every enemy of humanity must fall!"
"…"
So... it's been about eight hours since I became aware of my reincarnation.
In that time, I've fought demons. Somehow ended up dating a demon princess.
And now I'm about to be purged by some misinformed humans.
What's next?
The number one hero of this world singles me out?
Maybe we'll enter a three-way standoff—me, the hero, and the main antagonist.
Yeah. All the foreshadowing is falling into place.
Let's run away!
Good thing I'd already covered myself with [Jericho].
I even copied Sera's trick: by visualizing my mana like water in a deep well, my magical presence became nearly imperceptible.
They won't be able to get a proper reading on me even if they tried.
If not for those precautions, the Lucians would've been branded as "enemies of humanity."
As for this blue squishy form I'm in? I'm sure it's already on that list.
But wait—
Why am I so scared?
I mean, I fought high-class demons, and even slammed that terrifying Ruben into orbit—what's a few twiggy humans to m—
SWISHHHH!
GULP!
(Uhhhh... Sera?)
{Master.}
(A nice lady just shot me with a strange-looking crossbow glowing with ominous light, and it pierced through "Absolute Defense" like hot iron through butter. Explain.)
{Hmm? So it did. Well then, why don't you ask the demons—your new companions—to explain the basics to you?}
(Ah! So that's what you were angry about?!)
Before I could finish pleading, another arrow came flying—straight for the "head" of the blue slime figure formed by [Jericho].
The thing is: while the slime currently covered about 8 feet in length and 4 feet in width, I was tucked safely in the abdominal region.
So, technically, a shot to the head wouldn't kill me.
But there's no telling if the next one will aim lower.
(Sera, please, don't abandon me!)
{No. It is you who has abandoned me, Master.}
(Really? Okay, I un-abandon you now!)
{…}
(Gah!! It's not working!)
As I begged Sera (again), I frantically dodged and swerved around the projectiles.
Maybe it's my Superhuman body, but I could actually react fast.
Unlike normal humans who just get hit and die without seeing anything coming, I could respond the moment I saw the arrow twitch.
And just as I was thinking "Wow, I'm getting the hang of this!"—
WHAM!!
Something smashed into my side and sent me flying several meters.
I landed like a water droplet slapping flat rock.
What the hell just happened?
It was so fast I didn't catch it all, but—someone must've snuck up on my blind spot and slammed me with a spiked club-thingy.
He must've been concealing his presence, and I was distracted—probably by Mrs. Oliver Quinn's demon-slaying arrows.
Ah... and she did hit my blue slime head three times?!
Just as I tried to reorganize my slime form and get my bearings, I heard a shout:
"Rain of Thunder!!"
Suddenly—
CRACK!!
Golden arcs of lightning rained down like divine wrath, cracking the air with sheer violence.
The 20-meter radius around me exploded with force, smoke and steam curling off the earth.
Shit... That was terrifying.
For a second, I genuinely thought I was dead.
The volume, the tremors—it shook me.
I thought the lightning had directly hit me, but... turns out lightning has less effect on me than magical or physical attacks.
That's a weird weakness hierarchy...
But when I fought Lilith, none of her absurd attacks did much to Jericho's defense?
...Sera...
Please help.
I'm sorry I got carried away. I don't understand anything.
I literally just got here.
And these hunters… they seem to be professionals.
I'll be killed, you know?!
{…Say it…}
(Hm?)
{Say you love me, and that you'll never replace me again.}
(...)
{Enjoy hell, you ingrate!!}
(No, no, no!! Wait!! You don't understand!)
Huh...?
Now that I looked around...
Was the world... paused?
{A while back, the demon Lilith saw you talking to me and probably branded you a deranged person.}
(What?! This is a first!)
{So, I boosted your brain's processing speed several times beyond human level. That's why we can talk like this—it only takes a second or so.
Hurry up, though. Your brain might fry.}
GULP
(You said I should say "I love you" and I'll never replace you, right?)
{...That was...}
(You boob. Of course I'll never replace you. Can I even? Aren't we bound together or something?)
(And... it's embarrassing to say, but... I do like you. You're my... uh... type. We've gotten so close in just these few hours that it's hard to even say it straight.)
{Master...}
(I know you were watching me even back in my other world. You probably kept me alive till 37 instead of dying at 17... right?)
{...I d-don't know what you're talking about.}
(Even if I've only just started talking to you now... I realize you've been my guardian angel. And if no one else, I want you by my side.)
(So please, help me get out of this situation—)
(And P.S., my baby head is really starting to hurt. So, uh, let's wrap up this brain-overclock-time-stop-thing.)
{Ehehe. Master, you pure soul~}
(What was that?!)
{Understood! Let's tear through these feeble beings and head home!}
...Tear?
(I don't want to kill anyone though.)
{Hm? But Master, it'd be far more efficient to just mince them all at once. In this world, bloodshed is quite necessary.}
(You're scaring me again.)
Tsk! I cannot keep up with these god-like figures.
What does she think a life is?
Then again, she did toy with mine—initiating my reincarnation without asking—
So a hundred or two people dying probably doesn't feel like much to her.
Right.
She's ancient. She's probably seen millions die at once.
Which brings me to the real question:
Why is she even bothering with me?
{Isn't it obvious? I'm bored. And you're the perfect entertainment.}
(...First—ouch. Second—you're awful for reducing me to a clown. Third—stop reading my mind like that!!)
We went back and forth a little, but eventually, Sera agreed—