Damn it…
Where the hell am I?
Agony tore through my skull, as if I had been hurled from the heavens straight into the ninth hell. Every cell in my body screamed under the weight of… change. Strange energy rushed through my veins like wildfire.
Then came the voice.
Cold, mechanical, calm — a sound that could never belong to anything human.
[Process complete. Host body stabilized.]
Process? What process?
I didn't have time to think.
A girl's shrill, furious voice cut through the haze.
"You disgusting pervert! Escaria Kingdom is under attack, and you—"
She froze mid-sentence, eyes widening in horror.
I must have radiated something — a killing intent so sharp it made her breath hitch.
I tried to move, but my limbs were heavy, stiff, as though I hadn't used them for centuries.
Something soft was in my hand.
Another whisper, this one small, trembling, pleading:
"R-Raven… please, stop for a moment… at least wait until we're married… I'll give myself to you, just not now… we're under attack!"
What the hell kind of circus was this?
Romance drama? Battlefield?
Before I could even process it, the metallic voice rang again:
[Excess energy discharged. Level up complete. Host has reached Level 7 – Beginner Realm.]
Level? Beginner?
What kind of joke—
Then it hit me. Power — raw and untamed — rushed through my body like a raging river.
It was intoxicating.
My entire being thrummed with violent energy.
And then I snapped.
The girl was still screaming.
"Raven, you per—"
I didn't let her finish.
My fist connected with her face before I even realized what I'd done.
There was a sickening crack.
Her body slammed into the stone wall, embedding half of it before sliding lifelessly to the floor, blood pooling into a perfect red mirror.
Silence.
I stared at my fist, not in shock, not in guilt — but in satisfaction.
One punch. That's all it took.
No one had the right to call me by my first name.
No one except my mother.
And she had been dead for a long, long time.
BOOM!
The doors to the throne hall burst open.
Guards stormed in, bloodstained and panting, weapons dripping with gore.
They froze the instant they saw the scene.
Their fear was almost palpable.
In their eyes, I was no longer their king.
I was a monster that had just crawled out of hell.
Then, slowly, one by one — they knelt.
And that's when the flood hit.
Memories — not mine — crashed into my head, drowning me.
A miserable childhood.
Betrayal.
Despair.
This wasn't my body.
This wasn't Earth.
The terrified girl was Eliana Veris — the fiancée of the body's original owner.
The corpse on the floor? Sirene — her maid, her only friend.
And I had just killed her.
I pieced the truth together.
This man — this so-called king — Raven Kailos, had been nothing more than a drunk, a lecher, a pitiful ruler who let his kingdom rot until it became an easy target.
A weakling.
A disgrace.
A puppet with a crown.
The captain of the guards swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he spoke:
"Y-Your Majesty… Escaria is under siege. Enemy numbers… approximately two thousand. The outer wall has fallen. What are your orders?"
So I was a king now?
A king of a dying kingdom?
I smiled coldly.
It didn't matter.
What mattered… was power.
"Leave."
They scattered like frightened mice.
I sat down on the cold black throne, breathing slowly, sorting through the avalanche of information in my mind.
Yes. I was Raven Kailos now — king of Escaria.
We were in the continent of Valdrin, a place where kingdoms and empires endlessly devoured one another, where only strength meant survival.
Just like Earth.
But crueler.
Simpler.
More honest.
I needed power.
Not to protect this kingdom.
Not to play hero.
No.
I needed power for one purpose only — to crush this world in my hands.
I laughed.
A low, hollow sound that echoed across the hall like a funeral bell.
"I couldn't destroy Earth before I died… but I made it a hell. Now I have a second chance."
Images from my past life flashed before me.
An unwanted child, born from violence.
A mother who loved me anyway, who fought for me until her last breath — and died sick, alone, in a filthy alley.
This world didn't deserve to exist any more than the last one.
"Orion."
At my call, a glowing screen appeared, hovering in the air.
Name:
Raven Kailos
Level:
7 (Beginner Realm)
EXP:
20 / 1000
Skills:
None
Weapons:
None
Title:
None
Another notification appeared:
[Bloodline Detected: Nehara Royal Lineage. Unlock price: 500,000,000 points (discounted).]
I laughed bitterly.
"Perfect. And I have zero points."
The system chimed again:
[New Quest: Defend Escaria. Kill 2,000 enemies (0/2000). Reward: 10,000 System Points.]
I pressed Decline without hesitation.
"Can I get rid of you?" I asked, my tone flat.
No answer.
Then darkness claimed me.
And I smiled.
I wasn't afraid.