"It's so dark... where am I?"
Amon opened his eyes, staring into the darkness surrounding him. He reached out in front of him but found only emptiness.
"Is this a dimensional rift? If so, why didn't this kind of scene appear when I was thrown into hell?"
The question swirled in his head, but he wasn't afraid at all.
A thousand years of living in hell, until he became its ruler, had sharpened his mind.
Even if it were the end of the world, he would not be afraid.
He remained calm, waiting to see where this dimension would take him.
If he had been transferred to another world, he wouldn't be worried. After all, he was incredibly powerful.
But he hoped he could return to Earth. His aunt, who had been with him for so long, must be worried about him.
Suddenly, Amon felt a mysterious pull from above. His body shot forward so fast that he couldn't react.
The darkness around him slowly faded, replaced by an extremely bright blue light.
Amon quickly closed his eyes because of the light. Not long after, a mysterious voice sounded in his ears.
"Welcome back, Demon King…"
***
Thud!
Amon felt his body hit the ground hard. He groaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes.
"Have I arrived?" he asked in confusion.
What greeted him was the sight of a vast green forest. His worry vanished, replaced by overwhelming joy.
"I'm… back!" he exclaimed happily, tears welling in the corners of his eyes.
It had been a thousand years. After such an agonizing wait, he had finally returned to his homeland.
Amon stood up and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.
The air felt incredibly fresh. Just breathing it in made him certain this was Earth.
"Earth, I'm back!"
Amon shouted loudly, raising both hands above his head.
GRRR...
Amon's eyes widened when he heard a faint growl behind him.
With a stiff movement, he turned around and saw a three-meter-tall monster staring at him with glowing red eyes.
The monster was shaped like a bull, with large, sharp horns, and its hot breath blew onto Amon's face.
"M-Monster!?" he cried in horror as he stepped back. "How is this possible!? This is Earth, right? How could there be a monster!?"
His mind raced. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time, because the monster had already pulled its front legs back.
With a face full of rage, the monster lowered its head and charged toward him.
Amon quickly regained his composure, then jumped into the air and maneuvered. After that, he opened his right palm and whispered, "Hellfire..."
Buzz!
Black flames appeared, then shot toward the monster.
Boom!
A huge explosion erupted, and the black flames burned the monster alive.
Roar!
The monster let out a painful roar. But it didn't take long for its body to burn completely, leaving only bones.
Amon landed on the ground and exhaled deeply.
"Something's strange," he whispered, staring intently at the bones. "How could there be a monster on Earth? Or maybe I've wandered into another world?"
He observed the trees around him and realized that everything looked very strange.
The trees were very tall, about eight meters. The leaves were green, just like ordinary trees, but the fruit was pink and shaped like a mouth.
As far as he could remember, there were no such trees on Earth.
"It seems I have to check the situation," he whispered.
Just as he was about to spread his senses to search for humans, he heard a scream in the distance.
"Kyaa! Don't touch me! Someone, help me!"
Amon's eyes widened. That voice and that language... felt very familiar to him.
It was the language of his compatriots!
Without hesitation, Amon unleashed his demonic power. But then he realized that his power was much weaker than when he was in Hell.
And by his estimation, only twenty percent of his power remained!
"How is this possible? Why is my power sealed?" He furrowed his brow deeply.
However, he quickly pushed the thought aside and, without further ado, disappeared from the spot.
...
"Please don't come any closer!"
An eighteen-year-old girl pleaded with a panicked and frightened expression.
She was exceptionally beautiful and captivating. Her pink hair was tied in a side bun.
Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she stared at the two burly men and one fat man in front of her.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you betraying us!?" she screamed hysterically.
Her gaze shifted to the purple-haired girl beside her. The girl had the same face as hers, but her condition was much worse.
She was unconscious, her breathing labored, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead.
"Hehehe... Sakura, you're so stupid," the fat man said, licking his lips. "Do you think we're good people? You and your twin sister are such idiots!"
The two burly men beside him nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you two are really stupid," the burly man on the left chimed in. With a lecherous look on his face, he stared at Sakura and her sister's voluptuous bodies, then continued in a playful tone, "From the beginning, we've had our eyes on you two, useless F-rank transcendents! Hehehe… to be honest, you two are the best-looking ones we've ever seen. So, just accept your fate, okay?"
"All of you... all of you are so evil! I'll report you to the security bureau!" Sakura threatened, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Instead of being afraid, the three men just laughed at each other.
"Hahaha! Go ahead and report us! We're not afraid at all," the fat man grinned widely. "But before that, you and your sister have to serve us first. Do you understand?"
Sakura felt her heart pound. Her fear reached its peak until her vision became blurry.
As the three men approached, she closed her eyes and whispered sadly, 'Is this the end?'
But suddenly...
Boom!
A huge explosion erupted. Sakura was shocked and quickly opened her eyes.
When she saw what was in front of her, her eyes widened in horror.
The fat man had been blown to pieces, along with the ground beneath him, forming a hole half a meter deep.
And the culprit was a tall, handsome man with black hair, like the night sky.
"This... what exactly... happened!?"