[Warning: Excessive virtue detected. Deploying countermeasures...]
I died choking on my own blood, laughing.
Not because death was funny—I'd dealt it enough times to know it rarely was—but because the heroes standing over my broken body actually believed they'd won something. The Saintess wept. The Knight Commander prayed. The Mage muttered some nonsense about "justice prevailing."
Idiots. All of them.
My name was—is—Malachar the Inevitable, Scourge of Seven Kingdoms, the Demon King who turned the western continent into a graveyard and used the skulls of paladins as garden decorations. For three centuries, I'd carved my legend into the flesh of this pathetic world.
And yes, they killed me. Congratulations. Took them fifty years, an army of a million, and a prophecy they'd been nursing since before their grandparents learned to walk.
But here's what they didn't know: death, for beings like me, is just... inconvenient.
I expected the Abyss. Maybe the Void. Perhaps even some bureaucratic afterlife where demons fill out paperwork for eternity. What I got instead was—
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
[Welcome to the Virtue Reformation Program!]
[Host identified: Malachar, former Demon King]
[Karma Score: -99,999,999]
[Congratulations! You've been selected for mandatory rehabilitation!]
The words burned across my vision in cheerful golden letters. I blinked—or tried to. Consciousness returned in fragments. I had eyes. A body. I was... breathing?
"What in the seven hells—"
[Language Warning: Profanity detected. Minor shock administered.]
ZAP.
Pain lanced through my skull like someone had jabbed a hot poker directly into my brain. I gasped, clutching my head—small hands, weak hands—and fell off whatever I was sitting on.
The floor was cold. Stone, maybe? My vision swam, adjusting to this new existence. I was in a small room. Sparse. A wooden bed, a cracked mirror, a single window showing a gray sky.
And I was tiny.
I scrambled to the mirror, my new body moving with unfamiliar clumsiness. The face staring back at me made my non-existent stomach drop.
A child. Maybe twelve years old. Scrawny, with messy black hair, pale skin, and eyes that still held a faint crimson glow—the only remnant of my true form. I was wearing rags that might have once been a shirt.
"No. No, no, no—"
[Please remain calm. Panic will result in reduced daily reward points.]
"WHO ARE YOU?" I roared at the golden text floating in my vision. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?"
[I am the Virtue System, designed by the Celestial Council to reform irredeemable souls. Your karmic debt has qualified you for our most intensive program.]
[Your mission: Accumulate 100,000,000 Virtue Points through good deeds, kindness, and selfless actions.]
[Current Virtue Points: 0]
[Completion reward: Reincarnation with memories intact into a life of your choosing.]
[Failure penalty: Eternal erasure from all cycles of existence.]
I stared at the words, my mind—three centuries of accumulated malice and strategic genius—processing this cosmic joke.
They wanted me, the Demon King who'd literally eaten the hearts of heroes for breakfast, to... do good deeds?
I started laughing. It came out as a child's high-pitched giggle, which only made it worse. I laughed until tears streamed down this weak little face, until my sides hurt, until—
[Warning: Detected intention to harm System Administrator. Severe shock administered.]
The pain this time wasn't a jab. It was a sledgehammer made of lightning. Every nerve in this pathetic body screamed. I collapsed, convulsing on the stone floor, biting my tongue to keep from screaming.
When it finally stopped, I lay there panting, tasting copper.
"You... you dare..." I wheezed.
[The System cannot be harmed, threatened, or circumvented. Any attempt will result in escalating punishment.]
[Additional note: Your new body is that of 'Kai Ashford,' a 12-year-old orphan in the city of Thornhaven. Your previous identity is known only to you and the System.]
[To assist in your reformation, the System will monitor all actions and thoughts. Good deeds earn points. Evil deeds result in immediate physical correction.]
[We believe in you, Host! ♡]
That little heart at the end made me want to murder something. Preferably whoever designed this abomination.
But I was nothing if not adaptable. Three centuries of conquering kingdoms teaches you that much. I pulled myself up, leaning against the bed, and took stock.
Weak body. No mana reserves—I could barely sense the ambient magic in the air. No army. No castle. No power.
And a damned System that would torture me for every evil impulse.
"Fine," I muttered, my child's voice dripping with venom. "You want good deeds? I'll give you good deeds."
[Excellent attitude! First quest assigned!]
[Quest: "A New Beginning"]
[Help someone in need within the next 24 hours.]
[Reward: 10 Virtue Points + Basic Gift Box]
[Failure: 24-hour starvation penalty]
I ground my teeth. Help someone? The only helping I'd done in centuries involved helping enemies find their graves.
But... fine. I could play along. For now.
I moved to the window, peering out at Thornhaven. A typical human city—wooden buildings, cobblestone streets, the distant smell of bread and sewage mixing in that uniquely mortal way. People bustled about their pathetic little lives, unaware that the greatest evil their world had ever known was now stuck in the body of an orphan boy.
The irony was exquisite.
A scream cut through the ambient noise.
I turned toward the sound, instinct taking over. Even in this weak body, I recognized prey when I heard it. A woman's voice, desperate. Coming from the alley below.
[Opportunity detected! A citizen is in distress!]
"Oh, how convenient," I muttered, but I was already moving.
The orphanage door was unlocked—security here was laughable. I slipped out, my new body surprisingly nimble despite its weakness. The narrow stairs led down to a grimy street. The scream came again, closer now.
I followed it to an alley where three men had cornered a young woman. Mid-twenties, clutching a bag to her chest, terror written across her face. The men were typical street trash—unshaven, poorly armed, probably desperate enough to be dangerous.
In my old life, I would have killed all four of them just for annoying me with their noise.
Now...
[Quest opportunity identified!]
[Save the woman from her attackers!]
[Bonus points available for non-lethal resolution!]
I felt my eye twitch. Non-lethal?
"Hey!" I called out, my child's voice cracking embarrassingly. "Leave her alone!"
The three men turned. One of them—the largest, with a scar across his nose—started laughing.
"Look boys, we got ourselves a hero!" He took a step toward me. "Run along, kid, before you get hurt."
I analyzed the situation with centuries of tactical experience. I had no strength, no magic, no weapons. Just a scrawny body and a System that would probably electrocute me if I crushed this fool's windpipe like I wanted to.
But I'd conquered kingdoms with less.
"That woman," I said, forcing my voice steady. "She's a merchant's daughter. Her father employs twenty guards. Kill her, and they'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."
Complete lie. I had no idea who she was.
The men hesitated. Good. Doubt was a weapon.
"But," I continued, "let her go now, and I'll convince her not to report this. You walk away. She walks away. Everyone lives."
The scarred man narrowed his eyes. "And why would she listen to a brat like you?"
"Because," I smiled—and even in this child's face, I put three centuries of malice into that smile—"I'm very persuasive."
For a moment, the alley was silent except for the woman's ragged breathing.
Then the scarred man spat. "Tch. Not worth the trouble." He jerked his head at his companions. "Let's go."
They left, their footsteps echoing away into the maze of streets.
The woman collapsed against the wall, sobbing with relief. "Thank you... thank you so much..."
[Quest Complete!]
[+10 Virtue Points earned!]
[Bonus: +5 points for non-violent resolution!]
[Basic Gift Box acquired!]
[Current Virtue Points: 15]
The golden text practically glowed with approval. I felt... nothing. Just the cold satisfaction of a chess move executed perfectly.
"Are you alright?" I asked the woman, because apparently that's what good people did.
She nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yes... yes, I think so. What's your name, brave one?"
"Kai," I said, the lie tasting like ash. "Just... be more careful."
I turned to leave.
"Wait!" She fumbled in her bag, pulling out a silver coin. "Please, take this. As thanks."
[Warning: Accepting payment for good deeds reduces moral value!]
[-5 Virtue Points if accepted!]
I stared at the coin. Then at the floating text. Then back at the coin.
This System wanted me to refuse money for services rendered?
"Keep it," I forced out through clenched teeth. "I don't need payment."
Her eyes welled with fresh tears. "You're such a kind soul! The gods bless you!"
[+2 Bonus Virtue Points for selfless refusal!]
[Current Virtue Points: 17]
I walked away before I did something the System would punish me for.
Back in my tiny room, I collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Seventeen points.
Ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty-three to go.
"This," I said to the empty room, "is going to take a while."
[The System believes in your redemption journey! Tomorrow's quest will be assigned at dawn!]
[Sleep well, Host! ♡]
I closed my eyes, already planning.
They wanted to reform me? Fine. I'd play their game. I'd collect their points. I'd smile and help and be the perfect little saint.
But I was still Malachar the Inevitable, Scourge of Seven Kingdoms.
And I always found the loopholes.
The System thought it could change me?
We'd see about that.
End of Chapter 1
Next chapter: "The Gift Box of Disappointment"