Tenshiura: Shadow Before the Slime
Chapter 1 — The Life I Let Go Of
I didn't realize I was dying at first.
At the beginning, it just hurt. A sharp, burning pain in my stomach, like my body had been torn open from the inside. My legs gave out before my mind could catch up, and I collapsed onto the pavement. My phone slipped from my hand and skidded across the road.
Someone was screaming.
I think it was me.
My vision blurred, streetlights stretching into long, distorted lines. I tried to breathe, but every breath felt thinner than the last. When I pressed my hand against the wound, it came away warm and red.
So this is how it ends.
It wasn't heroic. It wasn't meaningful. Just a random man, a random knife, and a life that stopped in the middle of nowhere.
I didn't want to die like this.
Not because I was afraid, but because I had done nothing worth remembering.
As the cold crept in, my thoughts slowed. The pain faded, replaced by a strange emptiness.
And then, a voice spoke.
Not through my ears, but directly into my mind.
> "Individual confirmed: Haruto Kisaragi"
"Life termination in progress"
I should have panicked, but I didn't. I was too tired.
So this is real…
> "Soul transfer available. Skill acquisition permitted"
I understood immediately. This was my last chance.
If I'm going to live again…
I don't want to be helpless.
"I want knowledge," I thought. "Something that supports me. Something that doesn't lie."
> "Unique Skill acquired"
Something settled inside me, gentle but clear.
> "Master… I am Cursed Sage."
"I exist to support you."
Her voice wasn't commanding or cold. It felt careful, almost timid, like she was afraid of burdening me.
That alone made me trust her.
Next, I thought of the pain, the fear, how easily my life had been taken.
"I don't want to die easily again. Give me resistance. Let me survive."
> "Resistances granted"
I felt my soul stabilize, as if layers were being built around it.
But something still bothered me.
If I was being reborn… did I really want to be human again?
Humans were weak. Fragile. Limited.
I didn't hate humanity, but I knew myself. If I returned as one, I would probably die the same way.
"I want to be something else," I thought quietly.
"Something that can live in a cruel world."
The word came naturally.
"A demon."
There was a brief pause.
> "Destination confirmed: Demon World"
"Species confirmed: Lower Demon"
Relief washed over me.
But then fear followed.
The Demon World is dangerous.
I wished again, carefully, desperately, asking for power—not to dominate, but to survive.
The world answered each time.
Skills flowed into me, one after another. I couldn't fully understand them, but I felt their weight.
Cursed Sage stayed with me the whole time.
> "Master, please remain calm."
"I will manage the integration."
Then everything went wrong.
> "Warning: lineage conflict detected"
Seven pressures crashed into my forming existence at once. I felt like I was being pulled apart from the inside, my very self stretched beyond what it could hold.
> "Seven Demon Lineages detected"
"Forced integration required"
If I could scream, I would have.
> "Please endure, Master."
"I will reduce the damage."
I focused on her voice.
Somehow, I didn't break.
When awareness returned, I felt… different.
No heartbeat. No breath. Just a steady flow of magicules, calm and natural.
I opened my eyes.
The sky above me was dark, heavy with demonic mana. The land itself felt alive, hostile, yet familiar.
I looked down at myself.
A small body, incomplete, made of shadow and condensed energy.
A Lower Demon.
> "Status confirmed."
"Time reference: one year until Rimuru Tempest reincarnates in the Cardinal World."
So this really was that world.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
One year.
One year to learn.
One year to grow.
One year to prepare.
I wasn't strong.
But I was alive.
And this time, I intended to stay that way.
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End of Chapter 1