It hurts. Where am I?
I woke up in a very dark prison, my hands and feet bound with robust chains. My last memory was after defeating the Demon King; we celebrated with a party in the palace.
As I was remembering, I heard footsteps walking down the prison corridor. The sound became clearer. Not long after, a handsome man with white hair appeared. He was very tall and slender, but I could sense a very strong killing aura from him. He was my friend, Kravius.
"Hey, how are you, Neil?"
Hearing those words made me furious.
"KRAVIUS, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!!!!!!!!"
Hearing my scream, he just smiled faintly.
"Ahhh, your scream was really loud, Neil. Do you want to know why I did all this?" he said with a smile.
I didn't answer the question; I simply stared at him angrily. I tried to free my hands and feet from the iron shackles. The sound of the metal clanging was incredibly loud inside the prison. My hands and feet were already injured, and blood was flowing profusely.
"Why are you still trying so hard? Do you still believe you're everyone's hero?"
I fell silent, remembering the first time they called me a hero. I killed all the demons attacking a village. The villagers called me a hero for killing. Can that even be considered a hero?
Seeing my inability to answer, he laughed loudly.
"HAHHAHAHAHA, I can't believe this. They're just using you to kill all the demons."
"I never dreamed of being a hero. I just wanted to live quietly in a small village with the people I love," I said quietly.
"But why are you doing this to me, Kravius?"
"I've wanted to finish you off for a long time, Neil. I want all this praise. I want the only person who can be called a HERO," Kravius said with a wide smile.
I know that face; it's the face of someone who wants to get what they want by any means necessary. And it's not the face of a hero.
Kravius took out the cell key and unlocked it. He entered the cell and approached me.
"Look at you now, Niel. Your body is weak, and your friends aren't here. You can't do anything anymore."
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed at his words.
Hearing my laughter, his smile faded. He slowly drew the sword he was carrying. He swung it at my hand.
Swoosh!
"AARRGHHH!!"
My hand… was severed.
Blood spurted wildly from the base of my arm, forming a warm pool beneath my prone body. The pain? It wasn't just pain anymore—it was like the coals of hell being driven straight into my bones.
I wanted to scream, but my vocal cords were too dry. My breath hitched. The world shook.
Then he approached. His steps were calm, relaxed, as if this were all a little game to him.
"Don't give up yet, Neil…" his voice was low, filled with twisted glee. "…this is just the beginning."
SHLUKK!
His sword sliced through my fingers. I could hear my tiny bones breaking… one by one.
CRACK!
CRACK!
I stared at the pieces of flesh scattered on the ground. My eyes watered, but not from sadness. It was... more like my body had given up on staying strong.
He raised his sword again. This time, my ankle was the target. With one swing—SWOOSH!—the sharp blade struck, ripping through skin, muscle, and tendon.
I writhed. My body shook violently, unable to hold back the scream that finally escaped my lips.
"AARRGHHH!!"
He smiled. "Good. Scream, Neil. This world would be more honest if everyone stopped pretending to be strong."
My thoughts began to fray.
The pain I'd felt before... now felt like a warm hug compared to the hell that awaited me. My body trembled, my breathing was erratic, and my heart pounded as if it were about to explode.
Then he took something out.
A small bag—dingy, dirty, and stained with dried blood. When he opened it, the scent of metal and chemicals hit my nose. Inside… a white powder.
He scooped up a little with his fingertips, then sprinkled it directly onto the open wound on my lacerated arm.
"AARRGHHHHH!!"
My body lifted off the ground. My nerves felt like they were exploding one by one. I bit my tongue until blood filled my mouth. My entire system was rejecting the pain, but there was nowhere to run.
He chuckled with satisfaction.
"How does it feel, Neil?" His voice was low, but every word was like a dagger. "I got this powder from the black market. They said it could increase the pain tenfold. And it turns out—"
He stared at my bleeding arm, my quivering, rotting skin. "—they weren't lying."
My eyes widened, filled with pure rage and hatred.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
My scream was raw, like a driven animal. But he just smiled, then slowly lowered his head to my face.
"I knew you'd say that."
Suddenly—CRACK!
His hands gripped the sides of my head. His thumbs pressed against my eyelids.
"Come on, Neil. Show me your eyes one last time."
I struggled with all my might—but it was no use. My body was too weak. Too damaged.
CRUNCH.
My screams were shrill as his fingers began to gouge out my eyeballs. The world turned red… then black.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
His maniacal laughter filled the stone room, which reeked of blood and death.
"The one they call a hero…" he brought his face closer to mine, his breath warm and putrid.
"He's powerless… before me."
His hands were covered in my blood. His sword was no longer needed—my body was nothing but crushed flesh, fragments of what was once human. My eyes… had been taken. My body… no longer whole. Even my guts… were beginning to crumble.
The sound of my heartbeat slowed.
But I could hear his footsteps approaching. Calm. Sure. Enjoying every second of my suffering.
"Look at you now, Neil… hero… their knight of hope…" he said softly, almost like a devilish whisper. "Just a worm waiting to be buried in the ground."
SHHHK—!
His sword pierced my chest slowly. Very slowly, as if to make sure I felt it all. I couldn't scream anymore. All that escaped my lips was blood and my last, broken breath.
The world went black.
My last thought… wasn't fear. Not anger.
Just… regret.
I failed.
The world went black, then vanished completely. I sank into emptiness… without feeling… without sound… without a body.
I don't know how long my consciousness floated in this emptiness—as if time itself refused to touch me.
But suddenly, from the darkness that enveloped my soul, I felt something.
A throbbing. Heat.
Like a heart beating for the first time.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Heavy, stinging air filled my lungs as I inhaled—
BREATHE?!
My eyes opened.
What I saw wasn't a blue sky. Not the roof of a torture chamber. But a dark cave with red stone walls, faintly lit by fires erupting from cracks in the ground. The smell of sulfur filled the air. Skulls and bones were scattered around me.
I sat down. My breathing was heavy. My body… felt different.
My legs were long, muscular, and scaly. My skin was no longer human, but hard, dark as charcoal, with fiery red veins that pulsed slowly. These hands, clawed. Strong. Brutal. And on my face were horns. I could feel them growing from my temples, curving sharply backward.
I gritted my teeth. Even my molars ground together like stone grinding against metal.
"What… is this…?"
This body… wasn't mine. But my consciousness, my soul—it was still me. I was Neil. But I wasn't the Neil I used to be.
I died… and somehow, I came back to life. In the form of… a demon.