Rebirth of the Obake Demon King [Isekai Reincarnation Quest]

---

My eyes were closed and my heart was open, right? Well, I'd thought about it for a bit, and I could safely say there was only one thing I felt the Gods could help me with, and I wanted that one thing from the bottom of my heart: information. Up until now I'd been stuck here, completely lost and alone. I knew the gods were probably stuck within the confines of the system and had no way of helping me...but if they could possibly offer me any sliver of knowledge, even a tiny bit of understanding as to why I was here, then I'd have something to work with.

'The gods, huh? ...I don't know if you're listening, but if you are, if you really are the kind-hearted beings they said you are, then please, please help me. I don't want money, or power, I'm not asking for you to beat anyone up or fix my problems for me. I just want to know...why am I here? If you really are gods, you can help answer this question for me, right? I don't know why I'm here, I don't belong in this world. I don't know how the hell I've gotten trapped in here, I don't know what I'm meant to be doing, I don't know anything at all. Please, if there's any guidance you can give me, anything at all that would help, I'll take anything I can get.'

I waited, but was greeted only by silence.

'P-please? Look, I'm not trying to play around here, I honestly have no idea why I'm here. If there's something I'm supposed to do to get back home, no one's told me. I'm...I'm scared, okay? There, I admitted it. I'm scared and I want to go home, so can't you please tell me what I need to do?'

...the silence continued.

Well, I tried, I guess this sort of thing was to be expected. Who knew if the gods in this system were even real, and if they were, they were probably coded to only respond in certain ways. Maybe if I'd asked for a Blessing or something suitably game-driven, it would've gone differently. Feeling defeated, I opened my eyes and turned to say something to sister...

Huh? Where'd she go? I looked around. No, it wasn't just her, everyone was gone - no priest, no guards, no one. It wasn't only that, the once brilliant church seemed completely devoid of colours, and I could tell that the dust which normally flowed through the air just hung there in still silence. Was this-?

「Surprised?」

I jumped as the voice flowed into my head, looking around in shock. Wasn't that exactly the same sensation I'd gone through in the void when I first came here? A chill ran down my spine. "W-who's there?"

「My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you; I suppose introductions are in order?」

Before me, a figure coalesced out of black smoke. Tall and handsome, a man in perhaps his mid-forties, wearing a coal-black suit and tie, with matching sunglasses. After all the time I'd spent in this fantasy setting, it was kind of unsettling to see such a modernly dressed figure appear before me, but the figure didn't seem to mind my shocked reaction - or if he did, he was good at hiding it.

"Who are you?"

It was a dumb question, I was pretty sure this must be a god. I'm sure if any of the NPCs had run into this situation, they'd be scraping and bowing. I couldn't bring myself to do that, maybe because of my knowledge that it was a game, or maybe because of my sheer stubbornness. Maybe it was even just the opportunity to talk to someone like a normal human being for once, instead of this half-assed child acting. I figured it was no use holding back when talking to a God.

「You can call me Victor. Ah, and your name is Victoria, is it not? How apropos, it's almost as if our meeting was destiny.」

Something about this guy was kind of sleazy, but I held back my bile. Game or not, it probably wasn't a good idea to upset one of the local gods with comments like that.

「Your prayer was heard, for while many of the gods would forsake or ignore the plea of a child of tainted blood, or are too cowardly to interfere with a traumatized soul brought here by that one, I can't bring myself to ignore your impassioned plea any longer. While I'm afraid there is little that I can offer to you, my child, I will help in how I can.」

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a moment, please. First of all, child of tainted blood, does that mean a half-demon? And...another thing, traumatized soul? Is that supposed to be me?"

「Yes, you understand matters correctly. That a child of your age can make such deductions and speak so eloquently is further proof of your origins beyond this system, I suppose. 」

"Sure, about that...you said I was brought here? Brought here by who?"

This so-called god suddenly fell a little quiet, as if hesitant to continue. I continued to stare expectantly, and he stroked his greying beard before finally continuing. 「Maybe I said too much, although I feel if I had gone too far, I would have already been stopped by now. Suffice it to say that you were brought here by an entity which is beyond any of the gods in power, a god amongst gods who we cannot resist or fight against. I cannot pretend to know their motives in bringing you to our world. What I think I can tell you is that this world was created in the image of a piece of ancient entertainment.」

"...entertainment? What do you mean it was created in the image of that?"

「Well, like I said. I'm sure you must've noticed it like the others did. The laws and rules of the world which are considered to be canonical truth, as immutable and normal as they are to us, were they not functions of a simple game in your world, or are you telling me this is completely unfamiliar to you?」

I didn't know what to say, my mouth opened but no sound came out.

「So as I thought, you really were like the others. You are the 347th soul to reincarnate into our world, marked by those strange status ailments which even the gods cannot identify. Through interrogations of both the entity responsible for this, and scraps of information divulged by souls such as yourself, we have learned a few things, but if you ask me for the full answers as to why you are here, I'm afraid I don't have them.」

"You don't, huh?" I swallowed and clutched at my dress subconsciously. "They've done this to hundreds of others, then? I...I need to know, did the others get out? I mean, were they able to do something that convinced the one responsible for this to send them home?"

「So you want to go home? Well...I don't have an answer for that. Simply put, I don't know. Everyone who has come here from your world has accomplished or has the potential to accomplish incredible things which only the most talented of those normally born here can achieve; the strength of their abilities is great enough to even eclipse those of the mythical PCs and challenge gods. I also cannot determine whether those who were here before you have been successful in returning home, simply because the timeframe is too short. Those who have died had their souls immediately snatched away by the entity who brought you here, and most of them still live.」

"Still live? Wait, you're saying there are others like me?"

「Yes, although I wouldn't say you're entirely like the others. Most aren't candidates to claim the title of Demon King, after all.」

"...Demon King? (魔王さま?) Wait, you can't mean-"

「It is as I said. Everyone who has been reborn into this world is special, but it seems you are special even above them. You might have the strength to reclaim the Throne of the Demon King and seize power over all the world, should you choose to. Such a mark is incredibly rare, and you have the potential to surpass all others who might rival you in such a quest.」

What the heck was this guy talking about? Suddenly his tone and behaviour had shifted, and I almost got the impression that he was acting more like a salesman than an informant. I didn't get this whole Demon King thing, but doesn't it mean they're typecasting me as some kind of villain? Is this just because I was a badass thug in real life? Bullshit, don't put me in a box like that!

"...well, that's nice and all, but how do I get back home? Is there some way I can talk to the one responsible for this and sort this out? It must be some kind of mistake..."

「Victoria...ah, I suppose that's not your real name, is it? Well, mysterious woman from another world, let me make one thing clear to you. Most of the people who have come here carried great troubles, and carried on to live full and meaningful lives. I don't know why you're so desperate to get away from a second chance at life, but given what I've seen, you don't seem to be any happier than they were. Perhaps you should consider facing reality, and accepting that you may never go back.」

Never go back? What the hell is this, are you trying to tell me I'm trapped here for good? That everything back home, all the shit I still needed to fix, I should just forget about it?! All my calm was beginning to boil away as I gritted my teeth in frustration. I just wanted to punch this asshole, what kind of god is he, anyway?!

...actually, that's a good question, I should-

「Ah, you've got me. Well, if you want to know, my real name is Nyctos, and I am the God of Night, Master of Tricksters, Overseer of Thieves, Lord of the Dark, and so on. I suppose there are many people who would instead choose to refer to me as an Evil God.」

I knew it. Of course, I, a half-demon, would end up getting visited by the worst, most mean-spirited kind of god possible.

「Well, that's not very nice, is it?」

...wait, can he read my damn mind?!

「Haha...you're quite entertaining, Victoria. Unfortunately, it looks like our time is about up, you've been rather strained by this whole experience, and I can't keep you for much longer without causing real damage.」

My head was beginning to hurt, the room began to spin around us. I could tell something mystical was going on, but without any sense of training or control over it, I was totally stuck and along for the ride.

「Oh, one last thing - does the word Elysium ring any bells to you?」

Elysium? That's the entertainment centre I was at - how did you hear that name?! What is it you know?!

「Hahahaha...thanks for the useful clue, Victoria! I'd best stop prying now before it gets angry with me. I'll leave you with a parting gift before I go, call it a token of our friendship! Tootles!」

---

My eyes jerked open suddenly, a cold sweat running down the back of my neck. I tried to process all of the emotions which were boiling up inside of me, whilst simultaneously assessing my situation. I was no longer in the church, I was in a carriage, along with mother and sister. They were having a low conversation about something, but my muddled head couldn't even bring myself to pay attention to that. I tried to stand up in the carriage, instinctively reaching for the door and fresh air, my hand raised to blot out the intense evening sun. What on earth happened, how did I get here?

「Divine Blessing Status Applied」
「Skill Level Up! Skill: Shadow Magic Lv. 1 Unlocked」
「Skill Level Up! Skill: Lightfooted Lv. 1 Unlocked」

「Gift of Maou-sama Unlocked, Please Select a Gift:」
[] - Preternatural Physique Lv. 1
[] - Preternatural Agility Lv. 1
[] - Preternatural Mind Lv. 1
[] - Preternatural Soul Lv. 1
[] - Regeneration Lv. 1
[] - Demonic Evil Eye Lv. 1
[] - Vampiric Touch Lv. 1
[] - Select Nothing - I didn't ask for this gift, and I sure as hell don't want an Evil God's dodgy help.

What kind of dodgy names were those? A pit formed in my stomach as I thought about everything the Evil God had said. Ugh. Wasn't this just some shady recruitment scheme? How can I even trust that anything he said was true, and that he wasn't just trying to manipulate me to his own ends? He kept pushing the Demon King angle at me - am I supposed to just take this sitting down? Should I accept his help while remaining cautious of his motivations? And...why couldn't I bring myself to disbelieve that I was really stuck here for good? Why the hell wouldn't this pain and fear in my heart go away?

Ah, shit...the tears were starting to build up again. I hated this, I didn't want to seem like a crybaby, but even so...was it true? Would I ever get to really be myself again?

What should I do?
[] - I don't even care what anyone thinks right now, how was I supposed to get home now? Vent my frustrations on anything and everything in range.
[] - My head and heart hurt, this is too much to handle. Will I ever even be me again? Do I even want to be? At times like this, maybe my family will support me.
[] - Try to calm my emotions. Panicking won't do me any good - I should figure out how I got here from the church, did I black out? How much did I miss?