Everything was dark and wet.
William's consciousness slowly returned. His body felt cramped, like he was stuck in a tight space filled with thick liquid.
"Where... am I?"
Memories flooded back. The accident. That blinding flash. Then nothing.
"Wait. Did I just... reincarnate?"
He tried moving his arms. Something blocked him. A thick, leathery wall surrounded his entire body. Voices echoed from somewhere beyond, muffled and distant.
"Okay, if this is my second life, I'm not wasting it stuck in here."
William pushed. Hard. His limbs thrashed against the barrier. Exhaustion crept in, but he refused to give up. Not when he'd been given another chance.
Rip.
The wall tore. Light pierced through the opening. Fresh air rushed in. William kept pushing, widening the tear until he could finally break free.
"Haah... finally..."
The light hurt his eyes at first. When his vision cleared, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar room.
Two figures rushed toward him before he could process anything. Their scents reached him first. Sweet and floral. One of them scooped him up immediately.
William's head was pressed against something soft and warm. His new body was small, so all he could see from this angle was... well. He tried not to think about it.
"Look! His Majesty is finally here!"
"Quick! We need to take him to the ritual chamber!"
His Majesty? Me?
William wanted to ask questions, but his body felt weak. The struggle to break free had drained him completely. He could only let himself be carried.
"Wait, Arisu. He looks exhausted. Shouldn't we give him Holy Water first?"
"You're right! Good thing I just learned how to make it yesterday."
Holy Water? What are they talking about?
Before William could wonder further, something soft pressed against his lips. A sweet smell filled his nose. His mouth opened on its own, and he started drinking.
It was delicious. Incredibly so.
"Mmh..." The woman holding him let out a soft moan. Her body temperature rose. "His Majesty is... drinking so eagerly..."
William knew this situation was weird, but the taste was too good to resist. His mind went blank. All he wanted was more.
Time passed. He wasn't sure how long.
The woman had slumped to the floor by now. Her breathing was heavy. Her face flushed red.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
A sharp voice cut through the room. William jerked in surprise. The woman holding him flinched.
An elderly woman stood in the doorway. Her presence filled the space with authority. Her eyes bore into the two younger girls.
"T-Tribe Elder!"
"Do you have any idea what you just did? His Majesty just finished being awakened! His body needs careful handling! Too much energy could kill him!"
"We're so sorry!"
The woman carefully set William down. For the first time, he got a proper look at the two girls.
They were beautiful. Strikingly so. But what caught his attention more were the fox ears perched on their heads and the fluffy tails swishing behind them.
Fox girls. Actual fox girls with real fluffy ears and tails.
"No way..." William's mind raced. This is insane! Real animal ears! Real tails! They're moving! He'd seen this stuff in anime and games before, but seeing it in real life? His heart pounded with excitement despite his exhausted body. So this world really has monster girls! What else is out there? Cat girls? Wolf girls? His inner otaku was screaming.
"Arisu, pick up his majesty properly this time."
"Yes, Tribe Elder!"
The girl named Arisu lifted William with much more care now.
The Tribe Elder moved forward and gathered the scattered pieces of thick skin from the floor. The remnants of what William had torn through earlier. She collected every piece and handed them to the other girl.
"Alice. Feed these to His Majesty. This birth skin contains ancestral essence. When he consumes it, he'll inherit the memories and powers of past Demon Kings."
She paused, her gaze sharp.
"This is crucial. Don't mess up again."
"Yes, Tribe Elder! We understand!"
The moment the old woman left, both girls exhaled deeply.
"I thought we were dead..." Alice wiped the sweat from her neck.
"Same here..." Arisu's chest heaved as she caught her breath. Then she remembered. "Oh! Alice, the birth skin! Hurry!"
"Right!"
Alice approached with the pieces of birth skin. She hesitated, then placed one piece on her tongue. Her cheeks turned pink.
"Your Majesty... let me feed you..."
She moved closer to William.
From his angle, William watched Alice's face approach. Her mouth opened, revealing the piece of skin resting on her wet tongue.
"Seriously? This is how they feed people here?!"
He wanted to protest. But his new body wouldn't cooperate. And something else bothered him more. His lower body was reacting.
"Hold on. Why is this happening?! I'm literally a kid right now!"
Before he could think about it more, Alice's tongue slipped into his mouth, carrying the birth skin with it.
The moment the skin touched his tongue, information exploded in his mind.
Languages. History. Magic systems. The anatomy of Demon Kings.
Everything poured in at once.
But one thing was missing. An explanation for why his child's body could react like an adult's.
"Is it my adult soul? Or is something different about this body?"
"Oh, right, I am now the demon king, and the growth of my body is very different from my previous life as a human."
Alice continued feeding him piece by piece. Her face grew redder with each one. Her breathing quickened. Her lips glistened with his saliva.
Arisu watched from the side with obvious envy.
"Not fair, I wanted to feed him…"
Then she smiled to herself.
"But tonight's my turn to give him a bath."
Her jealousy vanished, replaced by anticipation.