Rain hammered down like it had a personal grudge against the city.
Rivel darted through a narrow alley, his shoes splashing through puddles, the sound of angry footsteps echoing behind him. His chest burned, his lungs screamed, but his mind was almost too calm.
Four of them. Three with bats, one with a knife. All muscle, no brain. Easy.
He slid behind a dumpster, leaning against the wet metal and catching his breath. The sound of his pursuers faded somewhere down the opposite street.
Rain dripped form his hair as he ran a hand through it, slicking back messy curls that refused to behave.
His brown skin gleamed under the dim alley light. the shadow of exhaustion etched deep under his eyes.
A scowl sat on his face by default, not from anger, but from being so completely done with life's nonsense.
His hair was tied into a small ponytail at the back, though the front spiked and curled in every direction, somehow defying order like the rest of his day.
The undercut didn't help, if anything it made him look a delinquent who'd lost his way from an anime convention.
A worn-out black jacket clung to his shoulders, torn at the sleeve, and faded jeans stuck to his legs from the rain.
"idiots," he muttered, wiping rain from his face. "Didn't even check their corners."
A low chuckle escaped him, the kind that didn't sound sane, just tired. "I really need to stop getting into this kind of mess."
He peeked around the corner. The coast was clear. He could finally head home, maybe get some instant noodles, maybe sleep for a day and pretend he wasn't a magnet for trouble.
Then the ground beneath him glowed.
"...The hell?"
A circle of light etched itself into the asphalt, symbols spiraling outward in perfect, burning precision. He jumped back, but the glow followed, locking him in place.
"Okay, okay, not funny," he said, waving his arms as the air began to him. "Whoever set up the anime grade special effect-"
Light swallowed him whole.
__________________________________________
Rivel woke up to silence.
The first thing he noticed was how wrong the air felt, think, heavy, like oxygen itself was judging him. The second thing he noticed was that he was surrounded.
Dozens of figures in dark armor stood in a circle around him, horns curving from their heads, eyes glowing faintly in the torchlight. They stared down at him like he was scarped off their boots.
"...Ah," he said slowly, rubbing his head. "So this is the part where I die in a dream, right?"
No one laughed.
The tension in the air was suffocating. And then-
A voice echoed through the vast throne room. Smooth, commanding, and strangely melodic.
"State your name, mortal."
Rivel turned, following the sound. His gaze landed on a massive throne made of obsidian and crystal. Sitting atop it was a woman.
Silver hair cascaded down her shoulders like moonlight. Two long, horns curved form her head, gleaming faintly with runes. Her crimson eyes shimmered with an otherworldly glow that could've frozen the room solid if she wanted. Her posture was regal, her aura overwhelming.
Until she tilted her head slightly and spoke again.
"Did you not hear me? I asked, who are you?"
He blinked, trying to process the absurdity. "...Shouldn't you start with where the hell I am first?"
The demons around him erupted instantly.
"How dare you speak to Her majesty that way!"
"Silence, human filth!"
"Bow before the Demon Queen!"
Rivel froze. "...Demon Queen?"
His mind started connecting the dots faster than he wanted it to. The horns. The throne. The anime logic. The dramatic lighting.
"Oh, no" he muttered. "I actually got isekai'd. You've got to be kidding me."
The shouting stopped all at once when the woman on the throne raised her hand. Her expression was calm and unreadable.
"Enough," she said, her voice carrying authority that silenced the room like a blade's edge.
And in the blink of an eye-
She wasn't on the throne anymore.
Rivel blinked, stepping back in shock as the Demon Queen now stood right in front of him.
"I am Velmira," she said grandly, "Queen of the Northern Demon Dominion Conqueror of the-"
She flinched suddenly, clutching her jaw. "--Conq--ah---!
The air went dead quiet as she winced in pain. Her crimson eyes watered slightly as she hissed through her teeth. "Ow, ow, ow-damn tongue!"
Rivel just... stared.
For a few seconds, the legendary throne room scene of intimidation was replaced by the sound of a queen groaning like she'd stabbed.
He blinked once. Twice.
"...Are you serious?"
Velmira froze mid grimace. Her tail twitched nervously behind her as she realized everyone in the hall was staring. She quickly straightened up, cleared her throat, and tried to force her expression into something regal again.
"Ahem--pay that no mind! I, Velmira, Demon Queen of the North, have summoned you here for a purpose most grand."
Her tone regained its grandeur, though the faint red on her cheeks refused to leave.
Rivel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sure. Because nothing says 'grand' like biting your own tongue."
A few demons gasped at his audacity. Velmira blinked, then to everyone's horror giggled.
"You're bold for a human."
"More like confused." he muttered.
Just what kind of scenario is this? I mean I love isekai's just as much as the next guy, but to be in one is a no go. And just for my luck of course I end up in such an rare cliche instead of the typical "Please save our kingdom from the demon kings clutches!" Instead I get this!
He ruffles his hand in hair as he glances around while Velmira goes back to focusing on her tongue.
I haven't seen too much source material like this and even when I had... don't all those guys end up being evil in the end? Though in some cases their are those who seek peace.
He glances back up at Velmira who was hovering her hand over her tongue as black mist emitted from her palms.
"Hey sorry to interrupt whatever you're..." he paused, as she was now touching her tongue looking up at him. "Doing...but you never exactly explained what the hell you summoned me for?"
"Ah, yes! The reason."
Velmira clapped her hands, now smiling wide enough to show her fangs. "You are here for one purpose, human...uh"
"Rivel"
"Right! Rivel, now listen closely"
The throne room grew quiet again, the tension rebuilding-until her next words shattered it.
"You're going to help us make peace with the humans!"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Rivel just… blinked at her. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Peace!" she said cheerfully. "Unity, reconciliation, harmony— all those flowery words humans like to carve temples.
You'll be my human adviser!"
He slowly turned to glance at the other demons. Their expressions ranged from shock to horror to "please tell me I misheard that."
"You can't be serious."
"Entirely serious!" Velmira beamed. "We've been at war for centuries. I've decided to end that cycle of hatred. And you—by sheer luck of being the first human I could summon—shall be my bridge to the other side!"
Rivel rubbed his face with both hands. "Right. Because nothing says peace like abducting a random guy off the street and intimidating him."
"See? You're already understanding diplomacy!"
He sighed, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Damned Isekai's."
"Isekai?" Velmira tilted her head innocently.
"Never mind."
The queen smiled brightly, stepping closer with the grace of a monarch…and chaotic energy of someone who shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects.
"Then it's settled!" She declared. "Rivel the Human, you shall stand at my side as we change the world together!"
"Don't I get options?" he shouted.
"Death."
"Thank you for this opportunity your majesty." he said, while dropping down to one knee before her.
"Welcome to your new job, Rivel."
And as the words echoed through the room, the reality of it all finally hit him.
One moment he'd been running from streets thugs. The next, he was apparently dragged by interspecies politics by a woman who could possibly level a whole mountain— if she could get through a entire sentence without injuring herself.
Rivel closed his eyes and muttered, "…I already miss the alley."