The truth is, in my previous life, I was a Demon Lord.
…Saying that out loud would probably get me dismissed as having a serious case of middle-school delusions, but it’s the truth. For various reasons, I became the Demon Lord in the world I once lived in. I ruled, I reigned, and in the end, I met the fate a tyrant rightly deserves, dying at the hands of a hero. Then I was reborn here, in the Republic of Korea on Earth.
I’d always doubted the existence of gods even back when I was the Demon Lord, and seeing how someone like me, who ought to have gone straight to hell, was instead reborn as an ordinary person in such a peaceful world, it seems there really is no god after all.
In any case, my new life was relatively peaceful. Sure, I was born into relative poverty in a world where capitalism is highly developed. But this wasn’t a world where the social welfare system had completely collapsed, so thankfully, I managed to survive safely until adulthood. Honestly, this was still better than the world I used to live in.
Well, humans are naturally inclined to envy those better off than themselves. If I didn’t have memories of my previous life, this might have been quite a harsh existence, but for someone who used to be a Demon Lord, it was tolerable enough.
Once I was old enough to work part-time, I could at least earn my own food and clothing, and it wasn’t as if there was no hope. In this society, the CSAT system still exists. Of course, the results vary depending on innate talent, the resources one can acquire later, and environmental factors, so it can’t be called perfectly fair. Still, it was undeniably an opportunity I could grasp under my current circumstances.
In short, my plan was to obtain as much comfort as possible without violating social order. Sure, the fastest road to success would be awakening as an S-rank Hunter, but I had absolutely no intention of doing that.
Because if I ever connected to the system…
The system issues a warning to the “Destroyer of Worlds”.
Appearance conditions have not been met. Entity deemed incompatible.
That’s exactly what would happen.
“Tch.” My brow furrowed on its own.
Entity deemed incompatible. In other words, I was being treated like a monster that appears on the Korean server… no, like a high-level monster that isn’t even supposed to appear in Korea yet.
This wasn’t unexpected. I knew the system would turn hostile the moment it learned my true identity. That’s why I’d deliberately avoided awakening any dormant talent in this body and refused to connect to the system for nearly twenty years. But who would’ve thought the ability assessment device would be upgraded this year of all years?
It even feels malicious.
Is it self-centered to think someone improved the machine specifically to detect and weed out an existence like mine?
The upgrade would’ve been authorized by the World Hunters Association. I’ll need to look into that.
But that wasn’t the important thing right now. Thanks to this sudden upgrade, even the mana circuits I’d deliberately left undeveloped, and the soul memories I’d buried deep at the bottom, were completely exposed.
In short, I was screwed. Crude as that expression may be.
As the entity has been deemed incompatible, the “Destroyer of Worlds” will be excluded.
“Haa…”
I knew this would happen… but still.
Whoooosh! Along with a system message, something like a black hole suddenly formed beneath my feet and rapidly spread outward. Darkness fell over everything.
Just moments ago, I had been standing in the school auditorium. Now, without realizing when it happened, I had been thrown into infinite space.
Isolating from the flow of time.
“Cough—!”
At the same moment the message appeared, a crushing pain seized my core, as if my insides were being squeezed tight. The system was trying to eliminate me.
Shrrk! Chains flew in from somewhere, wrapping around my body as if restraining a wild beast. My arms, legs, limbs— even my neck. Even as it bound me, the system continued to operate at full speed.
Measuring the threat level of the “Destroyer of Worlds”…
Stamina: Unmeasurable
Strength: Unmeasurable
Mana: Unmeasurable
Overall threat rating: Cataclysm
Recommended suppression level: S-rank or higher (Evacuation is advised if user is below the recommended level)
As the conditions for a Cataclysm-class emergence have not been met, the “Destroyer of Worlds”’ abilities will be restricted.
“Don’t make me laugh…!”
The sudden violence sent agony coursing through a body that had grown accustomed to nineteen years of peaceful living. It was pain that made me clench my teeth without thinking. But just because the system had noticed me didn’t mean I was going to lie down and die. If I were the type to die so obediently, I wouldn’t have endured that miserable forced group living in the first place!
And besides, I had something to say.
“I’m neither a Demon Lord nor the Destroyer right now. Even a system shouldn’t have the authority to arbitrarily erase a life that hasn’t accumulated evil karma, shouldn’t it?”
That’s right. Even if my soul remembered my past life and the countless sins I once bore, the newly reborn body of Jeong Daon had accumulated no evil karma. That was exactly why I’d lived meticulously as an ordinary person for nineteen years. I had planned to never connect to the system at all. That’s why I deliberately suppressed any mana I could clearly sense, ignored it entirely, and let even the most ridiculous provocations slide when people picked fights with me.
So the system identifying the utterly ordinary Jeong Daon as a “Destroyer of Worlds” was, in itself, an error.
…
The system did not respond. However, the pressure of the chains constricting my neck eased slightly. It seemed to be acknowledging the validity of my argument.
Even so, I couldn’t relax.
The system is now on alert regarding the “Destroyer of Worlds”.
Of course it would be wary. No matter how quietly I’d lived until now, from the system’s perspective I was a dangerous variable, one that could regain power at any time. And once the system had labeled me a “Destroyer of Worlds,” that recognition itself couldn’t be erased.
In other words, if I wanted to survive, I needed to find another way out.
What do I do…?
It wasn’t as if there were no options.
After all, the system isn’t omnipotent. Most humans seem to think of the system as some divine force that grants omnipotent power, but as a former Demon Lord, I know better.
The system is… the manifestation of a collective intelligence formed for human survival.
When a single species comes to dominate a world and begins to accumulate wealth rather than merely survive, invaders inevitably appear, coveting the ruler’s abundant resources. Sometimes even crossing stars or dimensions. Perhaps that’s simply the nature of living beings’ desires. Those invaders stubbornly burrow through the hardened shells separating worlds. That phenomenon is what people usually call a “Gate,” and the invaders seeking to steal resources are called “monsters.”
But a ruling species cannot simply surrender its dominion to such invaders. And so, in response, an unconscious aggregation of desire was born. That is the system. A collective intelligence created by humanity’s desire to survive.
Therefore, the system’s most fundamental operating principle is the continuation of human survival. However, precisely because of that, it cannot exclude an individual within the collective without cause. Doing so would contradict its core directive of preserving humanity. Which means…
“By what right do you intend to exclude the current Jeong Daon from this world?”
Right now, I am an ordinary human, someone the system is supposed to protect.
Blink, blink. The system text flickered, as if it had sensed my hostility. As if it were considering strangling me on the spot.
Yet unlike before, it couldn’t apply pressure to my existence.
From the system’s perspective, this must be a damnable contradiction. To ensure humanity’s survival, it should eliminate unstable variables like me immediately. And yet, at present, I am wearing the skin of a human the system is obligated to protect.
Still, the system’s dilemma wasn’t my problem. I was irritated too. Honestly, given my temperament, now that I’d already been exposed and the system was acting so hostile, part of me wanted to just go along with it and smash everything…
I took a deep breath.
It’s been nineteen years since I was born on this Earth. And I’ve actually grown rather fond of those nineteen years. Sure, financially it was tough. But if I’m being honest, I owe my blood relative a great debt. No matter how functional Korea’s welfare system may be, I wouldn’t have survived without an older sibling who cared for me.
The dedication was enough to move even a demon.
But if I were to truly awaken as the “Destroyer of Worlds” here and clash head-on with the system…
That would be war.
At the very least, there would no longer be any room for policies like prohibiting minors from Hunter activity for their protection.
That’s what a war between a ruler and an invader looks like. Ordinary people’s daily lives would be completely destroyed… And among those shattered lives would be my family’s.
After taking another deep breath, I spoke.
“…Let’s make a compromise.”
?
The system displayed a question mark.
“If I were to go berserk right now, it wouldn’t be easy for the human side to deal with either. That hurts both of us. So let’s just… pretend we didn’t see each other. Turn a blind eye.”
The system has recognized the “Destroyer of Worlds”. There is no erasure function within the system.
The “Destroyer of Worlds” poses a severe threat to humanity.
Appearance conditions have not been met.
“So inflexible.”
Maybe humans who worship capitalism are idiots; that must be why their collective intelligence is also stupid.
Suppressing my anger, I spoke again. “All you need is a guarantee that I won’t be a threat to humanity, right? No—better yet, I could even be a benefit. I could actively hunt invaders… monsters.” Since the system’s primary objective is humanity’s survival, if it judged me as helpful toward that goal, there’d be no need to exclude me.
That was my reasoning.
The system doubts the true intentions of the “Destroyer of Worlds”.
“My intentions, my ass… If I’m volunteering to help, shouldn’t you just take it as a blessing and accept it?”
The system can’t eliminate me anyway. Its own logic prevents it. Wouldn’t this be a win-win? Stupid bastard. Honestly, there isn’t a single thing I like about the humans of this world except for one stupid blood relative. No, thinking about how that one stupid relative is the reason I’m arguing with this ridiculous system makes me dislike my brother too.
Didn’t I just say I owed him a debt? Well, demons are fickle by nature.
“And what if you doubt my intentions?”
The chains binding my limbs rattled and shook. A sharp, electrifying sensation raced through my veins.
Mana was flowing through the mana circuits I had never once used since being born in Korea. Power I once wielded as naturally as breathing. It wasn’t something that would rust away after just nineteen years simply because I’d taken on a new body.
“Or do you want to really try this with me?”