Yuto Sakamura didn't ask for this.
He wasn't a hero. He wasn't a villain. He was just a twenty-four-year-old corporate drone with a healthy distrust of anything that involved meetings, team-building exercises, or upper management.
So, naturally, when he discovered something he wasn't supposed to see… the universe yeeted him into another world.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
It started on a Tuesday. It always starts on a Tuesday. Mondays are too obvious.
Yuto walked into Mitsuhara Industries at 6:52 a.m., soaking wet from the rain, sipping canned coffee that tasted like battery acid. Everyone else clocked in late, but he was early. Not because he cared, but because Tokyo's rush hour made him consider violence.
On the way to his cubicle, he noticed the executive meeting room door slightly open. Weird.
He peeked in. Empty.
A black folder sat on the table. Inside: a USB drive marked "YAMI_4B".
He blinked.
His first thought? This smells like HR bait.
His second thought? Whatever. I'm bored.
That night, curiosity won.
He plugged the drive into his home laptop, expecting spreadsheets or cringe corporate presentations.
Instead, he got a video file named "4B_Terminal_Fail_Confidential.mp4"
Yuto hit play.
The footage showed a room. Cold. Sterile. Scientific. But what drew his eye wasn't the people, it was the thing chained in the center. A creature, humanoid but wrong. Skin like melted wax. Glowing eyes. Veins that pulsed unnaturally.
He turned up the volume.
> "Dimension link incomplete. Specimen unstable. Terminate and reset Project YAMI."
> "Corporate wants deniability."
> "Understood. Dispose of all witnesses."
Yuto closed the laptop.
And exhaled.
"...Yeah. I'm getting fired."
Two days later, he was running through the streets with a folder stuffed under his coat and five people in black suits probably tailing him.
"Okay," he muttered, "Plan A: deliver this to the police. Plan B: get hit by a truck and escape this crap."
He shouldn't have said that.
Screeeeech.
His eyes widened. A delivery truck, unmarked, way too fast, slid toward him like fate on wheels.
"Seriously!?"
THUMP.
Darkness.
A moment later, something clicked.
> [Initializing… Soul Transfer: Complete]
[System Booting… Please do not panic.]
He opened his eyes.
The sky was red. The grass was purple. Something screeched overhead that looked like a bird, except it had two heads and too many legs.
"…Did I actually die?" he whispered.
> [Welcome, Yuto Sakamura. You have been selected as the new host of the Demon King System™.]
> [System Type: Experimental (Possibly Unstable). Please report any bugs to support.]
Yuto blinked. "What."
A floating blue screen hovered in front of him. Sleek, modern UI. Definitely better than anything his company ever made.
> [You have been successfully isekai'd to: AZRAXIA, Realm of Eternal Conflict.]
[Current Class: Demon King (Intern)]
[Power Level: Absolutely Pathetic.]
He sat up slowly. His clothes were gone, replaced with ragged armor and a tattered cape. He looked like someone who lost a cosplay contest.
Around him: black mountains, lava streams, broken pillars.
Then he heard it. The slow, heavy clanking of armor.
Figures approached, eight of them, each towering and decked out in nightmarish metal. Horned helmets. Glowing eyes.
They knelt before him.
"You have returned, my liege," said one, his voice echoing with unnatural bass.
"Uh-huh," Yuto muttered. "And who are you supposed to be?"
"I am Valthor, your Third General. You've slumbered for a thousand years. But the Prophecy said you would awaken when the Balance was broken."
"…Cool. So, uh, what exactly is the balance?"
"The balance between Light and Dark, of course."
Yuto deadpanned. "Of course."
> [New Objective Unlocked: Establish Demon Empire]
[Rewards: Basic Castle, One Throne (Stone), and 10 Starting Goblins (Guaranteed defective).]
Yuto crossed his arms. "Alright, system. Level with me. Am I strong?"
> [Analyzing… You currently possess the combat potential of a mildly annoyed squirrel.]
> [However, you have the potential to become OP… eventually.]
"So I'm weak."
> [Correct. Would you like a starter skill?]
"…Yeah."
> [You have learned: INTIMIDATING GLARE (Lv. 1)]
[Effect: You look slightly menacing. Might scare weaklings.]
Yuto sighed. "I love this stupid world already."
The demon generals were still kneeling. One of them looked up nervously. "My King… shall we rally the legions?"
"Do we have any legions?"
"...No."
> [Quest Added: Rebuild Your Army]
[Tip: Try not to die before reaching Level 5.]
"Great. Okay," Yuto muttered. "Let's take inventory. I've got a haunted UI, eight cosplaying generals, no soldiers, no castle, and a starter skill that makes me glare slightly harder."
He stood up, brushed off his cape.
"But I'm not dead, and I'm not in that office anymore."
He turned to the horizon. Massive spires floated in the distance. Black dragons flew above ruined cities. And further beyond, mountains pierced the sky, their peaks glowing with unknown magic.
This world was huge.
Broken.
And begging to be taken over.
Yuto smirked faintly. It wasn't excitement.
It was calculation.
He looked at the generals.
"Step one: find shelter. Step two: gather resources. Step three: I'm going to build an empire so disgustingly powerful that even the gods will file a complaint."
The screen pinged again.
> [New Passive Acquired: Sarcastic Inner Monologue (Permanent)]
> [WARNING: This world contains multiple factions, hidden systems, ancient ruins, OP heroes, overpowered swords that talk too much, dragons with gambling addictions, and at least one evil chicken overlord.]
> [Difficulty: Unfair]
Yuto sighed. "Figures."
He began walking forward, cape fluttering behind him like a knockoff villain.
He didn't know what this world had in store, but he knew one thing:
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't even a proper villain yet.
But someday, he would be the one behind the throne everyone feared.
And probably underpaid again.
[To be Continued...]