Kentaro Saitou had had enough.
The clock on the wall blinked 2:15 AM, casting a pale glow on his haggard face.
He was the only one left in the office again.
Every night, without fail, Kentaro stayed late.
He hated it.
But what else could he do?
There were always more emails to respond to, more reports to file, more angry clients to appease.
He rubbed his tired eyes and sighed, clicking through another set of spreadsheets.
How had he ended up like this?
Fifteen years in the company, rising from the trenches of logistics to a middle management position, and yet the more he climbed, the more he felt like he was stuck in a hamster wheel that never stopped spinning.
“Hey, Kentaro, can you handle one more thing before you go home? It’ll only take a minute, promise!”
His boss’s voice echoed in his mind, the same chirpy tone he’d used every night for the past month.
Sure, just one more thing, Kentaro thought bitterly.
What was one more report after all?
A simple task.
He was so used to it that he didn’t even look at the clock when he clicked on the email.
But now, two hours later, he was still staring at the same spreadsheet, trying to figure out why half of the numbers didn’t add up.
Just one more hour, he thought, but deep down, Kentaro knew he was lying to himself.
He glanced at his phone.
A notification popped up: “Reminder: Meeting at 9 AM. Bring updated figures for Q3.”
Kentaro groaned.
Was this really his life?
He hadn’t seen his family in weeks, his hobbies were a distant memory, and his friends had stopped texting him because they figured he was “too busy to hang out.”
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
He could almost hear the words of his parents echoing in his mind: “Work hard, Kentaro. Success comes to those who give their all.”
Except they didn’t mention that it might just kill you.
As if on cue, the cursor on his screen froze.
His computer suddenly buzzed ominously, the words on the screen blurring.
Kentaro squinted, then blinked.
His body felt strangely heavy.
A wave of dizziness hit him.
He reached up to rub his eyes, but when he looked at his hand, it was… different.
Wait.
What?
His skin was now a dark, ashy red.
His fingers were elongated, claw-like.
His shirt had turned into a flowing black robe, decorated with glowing runes he could not recognize.
He stared at himself in horror.
Was he having some sort of weird office hallucination?
Maybe he’d inhaled too much printer ink.
But before he could even process what was happening, the room around him shifted.
The dull hum of the office disappeared, replaced by an eerie silence.
He was no longer sitting at his desk.
In fact, he was no longer in his office at all.
Kentaro looked around in confusion.
The space was huge—far bigger than any corporate office he had ever seen.
The walls were made of black stone, with jagged edges, and there were glowing red runes all over the place.
It looked like something out of a fantasy video game.
“What… what is this?”
Kentaro muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed in his head, as though it was speaking directly to his mind.
“Welcome, Baalgron the Unholy, Archdemon of Despair, CEO of the Dungeon Conglomerate.”
Kentaro blinked.
Baalgron?
Who the heck was that?
He tried to open his mouth, but only a growl came out.
“What’s going on?!”
He demanded, feeling both panicked and annoyed.
“Oh, don’t worry.”
The voice replied, oddly cheerful.
“You’ve been chosen for a very important role. You are now the CEO of the Dungeon Conglomerate, an extremely prestigious organization that oversees all of Hell’s operations. You’ll be managing the War Division, Research and Torture, Marketing & Propaganda, and more. You’ve been reincarnated as a powerful archdemon, and your work is about to begin!”
Kentaro’s brain went blank.
He stared at his monstrous, clawed hands.
“Wait… what?! This is a mistake, right? I just wanted to go home, not… become some… demon overlord or something!”
“Oh, no mistake.”
The voice chuckled.
“You’re the CEO, after all. The top boss. Your new title is Baalgron the Unholy. Enjoy the perks!”
Before Kentaro could protest further, a huge, shadowy figure appeared before him.
It looked like a cross between a giant bat and a lizard.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Kentaro.
“Congratulations on your promotion.”
The figure said, its voice smooth and eerie.
“It’s not often we get someone so… efficient… in this position. Welcome to the Dungeon Conglomerate.”
Kentaro stared at the creature, his jaw hanging open.
This couldn’t be real.
Was this some kind of elaborate prank?
Was his stress finally getting the best of him?
Had he fallen asleep at his desk?
“I don’t… I don’t want this.”
Kentaro muttered.
“I just want to go back to my old life. I… I just want to take a nap, eat a good meal, and not… not be a demon!”
The figure’s eyes narrowed.
“Ah, I see. You’re not yet accustomed to your role. But don’t worry. You’ll get used to it. Now, let me show you to your new office.”
Before Kentaro could argue, the ground beneath his feet rumbled.
He was suddenly jerked forward and, with a loud whoosh, he was swept into a massive, terrifying room.
The ceiling stretched so high it was impossible to see the top.
A dark throne stood at the far end, and it was surrounded by a sea of fiery, writhing shadows.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Kentaro panicked.
“What am I supposed to do as CEO of a Dungeon Conglomerate? I don’t even know what that is! What’s the company culture here? Do you do performance reviews? Is there a cafeteria? Will I need to do reports?”
The bat-lizard demon stared at him, its eyes glowing brighter.
“You’ll figure it out. But first, there’s one thing you should know.”
Kentaro gulped.
“What’s that?”
“Your task as CEO?”
The demon grinned wickedly.
“HR.”
Kentaro’s heart sank.
“HR?”
He echoed.
“Human Resources?”
“Exactly. You’ll be in charge of managing all the demons, handling complaints, and—”
The demon paused, eyeing Kentaro mischievously.
“—keeping the peace between departments. War Division, Research & Torture, Marketing… it’s a lot of paperwork.”
Kentaro’s head spun.
HR?!
No!
He was supposed to be a terrifying demon overlord, not the one stuck in endless meetings, sorting through grievance forms, and solving interdepartmental conflicts!
“No.”
Kentaro said, backing up slowly.
“No way. I refuse! I quit!”
The demon tilted its head.
“You can’t quit. You’re already dead, remember?”
Kentaro slumped.
“So… I’m stuck being sometimes like an HR manager in Hell?”
The demon nodded.
“Yep.”
“Well, this is just great.”
Kentaro muttered.
“I was hoping for a nice afterlife. Instead, I’m stuck with paperwork.”