The black fog wrapped around my entire body, and when I came to my senses, I was in a dark room decorated like a castle.
In front of me was a throne adorned in black.
[The king asks where exactly this place is.]
The status window began to move noisily in front of my eyes, fluttering back and forth.
Who are you?
‘What’s this GM guy doing?’
[The king asks what GM means.]
?
[Could it be that you’re talking about? the king asks.]
What are you saying?
I couldn’t see it clearly.
It wasn’t just me who couldn’t see the letters; the status window also began displaying confused messages.
[The king says they were sure they said it correctly and asks why it’s like this.]
[The king impatiently shakes their legs in frustration.]
“Who are you? How can you communicate with me through the status window?”
No matter how much I interrogated them, the unknown existence only deflected my questions.
[The king gleams with excitement, saying the atmosphere here is amazing.]
…Right, it really does feel like the home of a demon lord.
[The king asks why you keep saying things out loud instead of thinking them silently.]
[Of course, they assure you not to worry even if the demon lord hears, as they’re here to protect you, and they puff out their chest with confidence.]
? Demon lord?
“Demon lord?”
[The king says it’s written up there.]
I followed the king’s words and looked up above the black throne, as indicated by the status window.
Contrary to the grand and intimidating black atmosphere, a white banner hung in mid-air.
It looked like a hastily cut piece of fabric, with crude, scribbled letters written on it.
“(Welcome to the Demon Lord Void’s Dungeon!)”
[The king bursts into laughter, holding their sides, saying the demon lord these days is cute.]
You’re giving me a headache, old man.
[The king tells you to handle things well since someone has arrived.]
[They sigh about how ungrateful young people are these days after being saved.]
“What?! The demon lord is coming?”
[They say, “They’re coming. Good luck, I’m out,” and sulk away.]
??
Suddenly, they started speaking fluently.
After that, the status window stopped talking entirely, as if sulking or truly disappearing.
This is… a little terrifying.
As the sudden silence settled in, the oppressive atmosphere of the demon lord’s castle began weighing heavily on me.
When I saw it in pixelated game graphics, it didn’t feel like this.
I never realized the demon lord’s dungeon could be this overwhelming.
Honestly, back when I was dominating everything in the game, I didn’t notice.
I even remembered it as somewhat adorable.
Now, this one-year-old body of mine started trembling uncontrollably in fear.
A slight chill crept over me.
While remaining cautious and scanning my surroundings, it happened.
Creak.
As the status window had foretold, the large black door behind me began to open with a creaking sound.
As the firmly shut door opened, the sound of footsteps echoed—click, clack, click.
Before long, the owner of those footsteps entered the room with poise.
A woman wearing a black cloak with long hair flowing down to her waist.
Though her face was hidden, I was certain she was the demon lord of this place, as I had guessed.
Her aura alone was extraordinary.
“Ah, uh, hello? I’m V-Void.”
But the moment she opened her mouth, the oppressive aura disappeared.
She removed her cloak, revealing her face to me.
“Hehe, you’re so cute~~”
She was drooling.
Even though her eyes were closed, it felt like they were spinning in circles.
I think… I’ve stumbled upon a rather dangerous demon lord.
I soon found out why the demon lord was acting like that.
‘Status window!’
[Due to the immense difference in abilities, not all information can be displayed.]
[The title Child of the Emperor disables interfering systems!]
[Name: Void.]
[Race: Incomplete Creator (Final Evolution Form).]
[Lv. MAX]
[Strength: 972]
[Magic Power: ???]
[Health: 355]
[Titles: Void Demon Lord, Void Creator, and 5 others.]
[Status: Enchanted (Permanent, Irreversible).]
[This entity is close to a godlike being.]
[The fact that you have enchanted such a being proves the greatness and cuteness of the dragon race!]
[As a reward, the Emperor bestows a gift upon you!]
[Reward: Unlocking of the Sealed Past Dragon Magic (Usable at Lv. 25).]
What… what is this?
The status window had showered me with an endless stream of compliments just because I opened it once.
Honestly, I was happy about it.
I wouldn’t mind a bit more praise, to be honest.
But the status window stayed silent.
Was it done with its business? How mean.
I stared at it for a bit longer, hoping for more compliments, but nothing came my way.
Disappointed, I closed the status window, only to hear:
“Why, why are you staring so intensely…? You’re making me shy,”
Void, the demon lord… or should I say Void-sis, spoke, her cheeks slightly flushed.
A kidnapper.
Why does she have to be unnecessarily pretty?
“Uh, I’m the demon lord, Void!”
So? What do you want me to do about it?
My cold reaction left the kidnapper flustered and restless.
Why did she kidnap me? What was her purpose?
I mean, there had to be a reason for kidnapping me before being enchanted… right?
“W-Wouldn’t you like to be friends?”
She half-opened her eyes as she said that.
She’s pretty.
But I don’t think I can be friends with her.
My parents must be worried about me. Just send me back already.
With those thoughts in mind, I let out a quiet scoff.
“Hmph!”
“…Ah!”
I turned my head away sharply.
At that, she began to cry.
…Is she drunk?
“I-I’m sorry! I’m really sorry… Uh, I’m not usually like this, so why am I acting this way?”
“Tears just keep coming out.”
At this point, she started to look a bit pitiful.
“…Are you crying?”
“Yeah, I’m crying.”
“Don’t cry.”
I reached out and patted her head lightly. That was all it took for her to light up with joy.
“Hehe, thank you~”
Is this really my kidnapper? She’s ridiculously adorable.
“How old are you, sis?”
“Huh?”
“Just curious.”
How old is she, really?
Considering she’s in her final evolution form, she must be quite old.
Usually, a demon lord’s final evolution takes over 2,000 years, plus some extra time.
It’s a process that takes an absurdly long time, even though it might seem like it happens in minutes in a game.
From the demon lord’s perspective, it requires immense time and effort.
“Oh, I think I just turned 800. Hehe.”
E-Eight hundred?!
What the—she’s a total rookie.
In the demon lord world, 800 years isn’t just young; it’s a newbie, practically a baby.
“I actually died once and reincarnated. Hader helped me. I’m 500 now.”
“What?!”
I couldn’t help but let out a shocked gasp.
Oops, that was a bit rude of me.
But who’s Hader?
“Who’s Hader?”
“Hmm? Oh, did you just hear the name I mentioned?”
The kidnapper, who had kept her eyes closed until now, suddenly opened them wide and grabbed me.
The atmosphere shifted dramatically.
In that instant, fear overtook me, and my body began trembling uncontrollably.
Her hollow eyes stared directly into mine.
For a moment, it seemed as if she regained her senses.
She stared at me blankly for a long while, then closed her eyes again.
“S-Sorry! I-I got a little excited.”
She gently placed me back on the ground.
She seems like a good person… but…
There’s definitely something deep within her that occasionally slips out.
My sense of caution toward this kidnapper increased by one.
Ten minutes passed.
The standoff between me and the kidnapper continued.
I stayed backed into a corner, yelling at the kidnapper not to come any closer.
“Stay back!”
“Hing…”
Then, suddenly.
Grrrrr.
My stomach growled.
Seriously, stomach?! How could you betray me and make noise in a situation like this?!
“Do you… want some jelly?”
Apparently, the kidnapper heard it, too. She held out something that looked like a colorful, glowing stone.
From the way she spoke, it seemed like it really was jelly, but…
What the hell am I even thinking?
Am I seriously considering eating something the kidnapper gave me?
No matter how much of a child I’ve become, this isn’t right, Han Minho. No, Mino.
This is absolutely not okay.
Determined to set my mind straight, I smacked both of my cheeks.
Slap!
“Hiek?! What are you doing?!”
“…Ow, that hurt.”
“Oh no! What are you doing to yourself?! Do you know how delicate a baby’s skin is?! You can’t go around hitting yourself like that!”
…It stung a little, but was that reaction really necessary?
“Here, if it hurts, have something sweet.”
She began pulling out a ridiculous amount of jelly from some sort of subspace.
What is this? Why does she have so much jelly? Does she have kids or something?
Hmph! Does she think I’ll eat it just because she offered?
Let me remind you—I’m Han Minho, a 30-year-old adult.
I don’t even like sweets that much. In fact, I dislike them.
There’s no way I’d fall for such a cheap trick.
You might be trying to tempt me with this, but I’ll have you know, you’re already my prisoner.
No matter what you offer, I have no intention of eating it.
I absolutely won’t eat it.
No matter what happens, I won’t eat something you gave me.
Nom.
“Oh, look at you eating so well.”
Despite my firm resolve, my body betrayed me.
It moved on its own, grabbing the jewel-like jelly and munching on it.
“So sweet! So good!!”
At the same time, my ability to communicate properly also went out the window.
There’s no way someone who gives me something this delicious could be a bad person.
She must’ve kidnapped me just to give me something tasty.
My wariness toward Void-sis, no, the kidnapper, dropped by 2.
And so.
My body couldn’t stop itself and continued devouring the jewel-like jellies.
Poke, poke.
“Hehe, you’re so cute.”
“Mmmph!!”
In the end, my cheeks puffed up like a balloon, and Void-sis couldn’t stop showering me with affection.
Thus, another day passed in the demon lord’s castle.