The battlefield had fallen silent.
Smoke covered the sky like a suffocating veil, turning the world into a dull crimson haze.
Ash drifted slowly through the air, settling over shattered weapons, broken banners, and lifeless bodies.
Human and demon corpses lay together, indistinguishable in death.
At the center of the ruined plain stood a lone figure in battered silver armor.
King Marcus von Zusakus.
His cape hung in tatters behind him, soaked with blood and ash.
A deep wound ran across his side, and every breath he took seemed to scrape against his ribs.
He leaned heavily on his sword, using it as support just to remain standing.
Around him stood the heroes of humanity.
The same people he had fought beside for years.
Now, their weapons were pointed at him.
"…Explain," Marcus said, his voice hoarse but steady. "Why are your blades aimed at your king?"
The golden-haired hero stepped forward.
Aiden.
The chosen Hero of the Holy Church. The man praised across the continent as humanity's savior.
His armor shone, untouched by blood or dust, and the holy sword at his side emitted a faint, radiant glow.
"King Marcus von Zusakus," Aiden declared, his voice carrying across the empty battlefield, "you stand accused of treason against humanity."
Marcus frowned. "…Treason?"
" You formed a secret pact with the demon kings," Aiden continued talking calmly.
"You provided them with our strategies and troop movements in exchange for your safety."
The accusation struck harder than any blade.
"That is absurd," Marcus replied.
"I never cared for my life! You were there. I fought beside you. I nearly died dozens of times for this war."
"Don't lie! We found the evidence in your palace," one of the heroes said coldly.
"Your kingdom is already under our protection," another added. "There is no need for a traitor king."
Marcus's grip on his sword tightened.
So that was it,his kingdom had already been taken.
He sees around him.Around him were thousands of soldiers.They were not enemies but hiss own men.
Men he had fed, trained, and led into battle.
But the way they looked at him now… there was no loyalty left in their eyes.
Only hatred.
"Traitor!"
The shout came from somewhere in the crowd.
Another voice followed. " Disgrace of humanity!"
"You sold us out to the demons!"
"You deserve death!"
The voices grew louder, more numerous.
"Kill the traitor!"
"Execute him!"
"Death to the false king!"
Marcus's chest tightened.
Each word felt like a blade twisting inside him.
Then Aiden stepped forward, his golden armor shining even in the dim light.
His expression was cold, almost indifferent.
"You deserve death, Marcus," Aiden said.
The words were calm, but they carried across the entire battlefield.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then the soldiers began to shout.
"Yes! Yes!"
"Execute him!"
"Kill the traitor king!"
"Yes! Yes!"
The chant grew louder and louder, until it felt like the entire battlefield was trembling.
Marcus's hands tightened around the hilt of his sword.
He looked around desperately.
Surely… someone would defend him.
Someone had to.
His eyes moved across the crowd.
Then he saw them.
His royal knights.
The men he had personally chosen.The men he had trusted with his life.
They stood in formation not far away.
For a brief moment, hope flickered in his chest.
But one by one…
They turned their faces away.
None of them could meet his eyes.
Marcus's breath caught in his throat.
"…You too?" he whispered.
No one answered.
His gaze shifted again.
He saw his closest allies,nobles and generals who had sworn eternal loyalty to him.
They all avoided his eyes.
Some stared at the ground.
Others simply turned their heads.
Not one of them spoke for him.
Then Marcus's eyes landed on a familiar figure.
His commander.
A tall, muscular man who had fought beside him in countless battles. A man Marcus had trusted more than anyone else.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Then the commander slowly turned his face away.
Marcus felt something inside him break.
The distant sound of wheels rolling across the battlefield reached his ears.
Carriages.
Several of them approached, escorted by guards.
The doors opened, and out stepped high nobles and royal ministers, dressed in fine clothes untouched by the filth of war.
Marcus's eyes widened.
"Aron… Wolferd… you're here," he said, relief flooding his voice. "Good. Tell them the truth. Save me. I am not a traitor!"
The two nobles looked at him as if he were something filthy.
Aron scoffed. "Not a traitor? After everything you've done?"
Wolferd sneered. "You brought disgrace upon the throne."
"You are unfit to rule," another minister added.
Marcus stared at them, unable to believe what he was hearing.
These were the same men who once bowed before him every morning.
The same men who praised his rule.
Now they looked at him with open contempt.
One of the nobles stepped forward, holding Marcus's crown,the symbol of the Deos Kingdom.
Without hesitation, he walked past Marcus and stopped in front of Aiden.
Then, before everyone, he placed the crown on Aiden's head.
"Aiden is the most suitable man to rule humanity," the noble declared loudly. "From this day forward, Lord Aiden shall be the king."
For a moment, there was stunned silence.
Then the battlefield erupted.
"Long live King Aiden!"
"All hail the new king!"
"Glory to King Aiden!"
The soldiers cheered. The nobles clapped. The heroes bowed.
Marcus stood alone in the middle of it all.
He slowly lifted his gaze to Aiden. "…You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?"
Aiden did not deny it.
Instead, he spoke in a quiet, resolute tone. "Humanity needs a hero. Not a king like you..."
Marcus let out a tired, hollow laugh.
"So you kill the one man who kept the kingdoms united… for the sake of humanity?"
"For the sake of humanity. " Aiden repeated without hesitation.
Marcus's eyes grew distant.
He had lived two lives.
In his first life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary man in a modern world.
No magic,no monsters,and no heroes.Just a quiet, forgettable existence.
Then came the accident.
Then darkness.
And when he opened his eyes again, he was a newborn child in a royal cradle,reborn as Marcus von Zusakus.
A king.
At first, he thought it was a miracle.
A second chance.
So he tried to live differently this time.
He ruled with kindness.
He trusted his allies.
He fought on the frontlines alongside his soldiers.
He believed that compassion would inspire loyalty.
How naive he had been.
"Any last words?" Aiden asked.
Marcus lifted his gaze toward the smoke-filled sky.
"…If there is a next life," he said quietly, " I won't be this kind."
Aiden raised his glowing sword.
"Then pray you are reborn as something else."
Aiden raised his sword ready to cut.
The blade fell on Marcus,silent but painful,then Marcus died.
There was no pain,no light,but only darkness.
Marcus felt as though he were falling endlessly through a vast, empty void.
There was no body, no ground, no sky,only the sensation of descent into infinite nothingness.
"So this… is death."
His consciousness drifted slowly downward, swallowed by the abyss.
"…I'm a reincarnator," he murmured into the darkness.
He had already died once before.
And now, he had died again.
Memories surfaced like fragments of broken glass.
His first life was quiet, uneventful, and powerless.
A life where he had no influence, no strength, no meaning.
Then his second life.
A king.
A ruler.
A protector.
He had tried to do everything right.
He treated his people with kindness.
He trusted his allies with sincerity.
He sacrificed himself for the greater good.
And what did it earn him?
Betrayal.
Execution.
Oblivion.
A hollow laugh escaped his fading consciousness.
"…Kindness brought me betrayal."
"…Trust brought me death."
"…Loyalty led me to the death."
Faces flashed before him.
Soldiers who swore loyalty.
Nobles who praised his rule.
Heroes who called him brother.
All of them had turned their backs on him.
"…If I had been cruel… if I had been ruthless…if i had been tyrant.."
Perhaps he would still be alive.
Perhaps his kingdom would still stand under his banner.
The thought lingered in the darkness.
"In my first life, I was powerless."
"In my second life, I was kind."
"And both lives ended in regret."
The void around him seemed to grow colder, heavier.
"…If there is a third life…"
His voice hardened.
"I will not be kind!"
"I will not trust anyone!"
"I will not fight for humanity!"
"I will take everything for myself!"
"I would kill the Heroes!"
As those words echoed into the abyss, something deep within the darkness stirred.
A faint blue light appeared before him.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION ....]
[SSS RANK DEMON SOVEREIGN SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[REINCERNATION COMPLETED]
[PRIMARY SKILL : DEMONIC AUTHORITY UNLOCKED]
[SECONDARY SKILL : SUPREME DEMON GACHA UNLOCKED]
[ WELCOME DEMON LORD]