When Haruto played the original “Heroes of Darkness,” his first-ever character was the samurai, a mystical warrior from a faraway island nation, who washed up on the shore into the madness that had befallen the world. In homage, Haruto once again selected this character to complete the full cycle, ending his life’s chapter involving the game he had dedicated many years to. After this playthrough, Haruto would lose one of his few escapes from reality. 

After a dark screen, Haruto found himself in the starting location. The area was a massive fortress that acted as the gateway between the demon scourge and humanity. The world map consisted of the main continent, where the great Holy Human Empire stood. Little kingdoms were spotted throughout the continent. All were subservient or in an alliance with the Holy Empire. The demons came from beyond the map by way of sea. The third installment focused on the events ten years after the initial re-emergence of the demons. For beginners, the safest place to level up was this mega fortress.

Previous modes followed the same formula: linear escalation of battle with a linear progression of challenge. Typically, regardless of the game mode chosen, the fortress began void of monsters, except for the low-level monsters beating on the outer gate. Inside the fortress was humanity’s champions, which started at level 30, making the fortress near impregnable. These NPCs were dubbed caretakers by the players since they protected the low-level player with near fanaticism when a demon approached. These caretakers were currently being ripped apart by level 50 mini-bosses and drowned by an endless wave of demon hordes. The whole fortress was alive with battle as if the demonic invasion had progressed to the standard story’s midpoint.

 In the center of all this stood a level one samurai, whose only weapon was a chipped katana. Haruto smirked in self-deprecation and anticipation, “So this is true despair? No wonder there were so many warnings, just the scale of gore could cause someone to have mental problems. On top of that, the demon scourge is already knee-deep in the continent. RIP special easter egg Sir Arthur as the coast’s defender I’m sure the demons have killed you by now and are using your holy sword as a plunger.”

Dashing towards a horde of demons like a mad man, Haruto slid in between them until he reached a hidden latch, barely making it almost being bitten by a level 30 hellhound. Slamming onto the ground, Haruto appeared in a secret tunnel, free of demons, and guarded by a mysterious soldier who was level 80. 

Haruto leisurely approached the soldier completely unafraid.

The soldier in a mechanical voice barked, “halt only those of royal heritage may pass through this gate, what is the phrase which binds this agreement.”

Haruto smirked, after weeks of deep-diving online, he stumbled upon this hidden area listed on a shady forum site. In Hell mode, he had fully mapped it out and found where it led. It led back to the Emperor’s palace. While completing the imperial princess’s tasks, he also found a letter hidden in her room from the Emperor. It was an agreement between the original Emperor, and a dragon half-breed to protect the passageway and allow the imperial family to escape under its protection should danger ever arise. During a hidden cutscene, the Emperor had begged the princess to use this passageway to escape death. Unfortunately for the Emperor, the princess refused his request. She ultimately died trying to evacuate citizens in a final charge against the demons. This action moved Haruto’s heart, but he knew he would never choose to sacrifice himself in a million years. So he would gladly take this get out of jail free card if the princess shall not. 

Haruto whispered to the soldier as if he were telling the universe’s secrets, “Beelzebub lives.” In this world, no one knew that Beelzebub, who was supposedly killed by the gods, had reincarnated and was the mastermind behind everything. No one except for the Emperor and his predecessors who have guarded this secret, building up humanity for the day that Beelzebub returns to bring the world into chaos. 

Unfortunately for the Emperor, humans ended up being the more significant problem. Numerous cults secretly made pacts with the devils and reopened ancient pathways. The corrupt officials sold their souls for eternal pleasure. They allowed the monsters into the proverbial fortress until the Empire was basically at war with itself. But this was the beginning of the game. Usually, the only place filled with demons would be the neighboring kingdoms that had collapsed from within. This fact no longer mattered unless the crooked officials worked overtime in god slayer mode and finished their plans exceedingly earlier. If that were the case, then if only those idiots had put 10% of that effort in defeating the demons, humanity would surely be the alpha species, gods of the new world, and every demon’s nightmares. Alas, such is not the case. 

 Haruto sighed in his mind. If the rest of the map is like this, that means all my quests are either impossible for me to do alone, or the quest giver is dead. Too bad multiplayer is switched off for this mode. 

After hearing Haruto state the phrase, the soldier knelt, asking, “What will you have me do, my liege.” 

With this near cheat soldier in tow, Haruto finally had some breathing room. The tunnel itself led back to the royal palace, so he decided not to head there, in case an event started where the soldier figured out some random stranger was duping him. Or even worse, running into the secretly overpowered princess and being struck down. That would suck losing the game to an NPC on my side due to a misunderstanding. 

Haruto could still hear the heat of battle going on above. Haruto knew even with this op messiah; he would be shredded to pieces by some demons upon charging out of the fortress. Instead, he decided on the strategy of drawing a few enemies inside the tunnel at a time and milking XP off his companion, killing them. An ingenious idea if he must say so himself, which he did. 

Opening the hidden latch, he peeked to see if a weak enemy was nearby to lure it. He was greeted by a level 20 zombie knight’s soulless eyes, frightening him and causing him to trip back into the tunnel. 

With the latch opened, and the sweet, sweet smell of a weak, frightened human to devour, a horde of demons and zombies rushed towards the underground space. Haruto shuffled back quickly as his heart began pounding. He could feel the pure adrenaline and the metallic taste in his mouth from his senses overstimulation. Haruto’s thoughts were jolted by this sensation.

He was surprised to feel such tangible fear since companies restricted the realism level in VR, as consumers dying from shock would be bad for business. That’s when it hit him, not only could he feel his heart pounding. He could feel the cold hard ground, hear the demonic shrieks that grated on his ears and feel the pure demonic aura exuding off these monsters. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, with fear grasping his heart, Haruto lost all thought process and instinctively crawled further into the tunnel, as the horde of demons clawed each other to get to him first. The latch was too small, so the monsters impeded each other from entering, but Haruto knew this wouldn’t last long. 

Suddenly Haruto felt an unbearable heat, becoming blinded by a radiant red light. The next time he opened his eyes, the latch was empty, and the draconic knight was triumphantly standing before him. The back of this NPC was as large as a mountain. The pressure it exuded off was ten times more suffocating than the demons, but at the same time, a feeling of protection was found within it as well. A loud ding resounded as Haruto skyrocketed through levels before leveling out at 50. He chuckled, “wow, just one attack from this thing and all the enemies are dead.” I can do this, with me being level 50 I should be able to slowly clear the fortress and reach a level suitable to win.

 Haruto quickly formulated the best path to victory, deciding first to reach at least level 100. Then he would find a town, purchase the best equipment available, nothing below legendary would suffice, then spend some more hours grinding up again. Ten hours of grinding at the very least just to be sure his level was high enough. Then he would spend some time going to the locations that had rare items he had memorized throughout the map. I must get my hands on the great Daimyo’s War Armor that increases all the samurai’s stats by triple. Then pick up “Shimazu’s Katana” for the increased damage to crit shots. Yes, it’s all coming together, I may have to extend the overall time needed to beat this mode by 20 hours or so, but that is a small price to pay for greatness. 

Right as he finished these thoughts of success, a loud boom resonated over the fortress. Blistering heat leagues above the one from the draconic knight could be felt, searing the tunnel’s cold cobblestone. 

A majestic, seductive, and booming voice sang, “hear me, humans, I AM Beelzebub, and I bring DOOM!” 

The silence after this shout was a deathly silence unfit for a place where intense battles were happening just minutes ago. 

Haruto became frozen in place. Then he felt something staring at him. The stare came from above the ceiling, going through the dirt and rocks, drilling into his mind, and grasping everything he was weak against, everything he feared. Heavy steps thudded growing closer and closer, then a dashing figure with two horns reaching for the heavens appeared. Haruto’s face went pale, as every plan he thought off disappeared in an instant. 

Floating above this man’s horns was his name. Beelzebub. Next to his name was 1000 skulls on fire. When an enemy had a skull next to its name, it meant they were at least 100 levels above the character. Even in hell mode, when the player reached the minimum level to fight Beelzebub, a skull was still present, and the battle was always intense and hard-fought. But this was beyond intense, beyond insane, this was a nightmare within a nightmare dictated purely by insanity.

A smile came onto Beelzebub’s face when he saw Haruto, one that would make even a straight man’s heart skip a beat. Then a soothing voice that seemed unfit for a villainous devil but was known far and wide by players. Slithered from Beelzebub’s mouth, “I have found you. You who believed they could triumph over me, you who will know true suffering, you who will know true fear, and yes, you who will understand true gluttony. You have come for the hidden reward. Well, you have found it.” The natural aura of an apex predator seeped out of Beelzebub, like a majestic king in front of the masses, one would be compelled to kneel.

Haruto’s brain couldn’t process this outcome. Why was the main villain who should be locked in the 13th stage of the map here in the starting area? Why does he have 1000 skulls? What are those flames, how many bloody levels is that? How does he know about the hidden reward as an NPC? What type of bullshit is this? God-slayer no, this is logic slayer, fun slayer, or better yet hope slayer mode. I regret everything. I should have just watched anime.

Beezlebub’s soothing voice drilled through Haruto’s chaotic mind as if attempting to placate and subdue him, “My child, it is too soon to despair. Too early to regret. I will make a fitting buffet of emotions for you. I will have a true seasoning fit for the meal; that is your fear. So, for now, I can not allow you to fall into hysteria,” Beelzebub snapped his fingers. In an instant, Haruto’s mind was clear. 

I have to get the fuck out of here. A singular unified thought struck across Haruto’s mind like lightning. Not knowing how and certainly not caring where this clarity came from, Haruto attempted to log out of the game. The game froze as the exit screen popped up; Hope popped up in front of Haruto. He could feel tears of joy, running down his face in the real world. I’m uninstalling this game and never using VR again. This I swear on Remsama. Hell, I’ll go to class 3, no 2 out of 5 days.

 Then, pure madness descended, the screen started to shake, and Haruto felt like his soul was being forcibly ripped from his body. Beelzebub’s loud laugh resonated. The mechanical voice of Haruto’s nightmare bringer exclaimed, “That was but a taste of despair, an important first step. You cannot escape, you are mine now forever, this world is mine, and no one leaves without my permission. Welcome, my worthy successor to a brand new reality.” Achievement unlocked: CHOSEN SON OF GLUTTONY

 A cracking sound occurred as the exit screen began to disintegrate and with it any chance of escape. 

In disbelief, Haruto looked around, hoping against hope for a miracle. And at this moment, he remembered the mountain of a man who easily defeated the horde of demons. He stared at the draconic knight who was proudly standing tall. I doubt he could beat Beelzebub, but the fact he still stands touches my heart and illuminates my only hope. If Beelzebub is this OP, I can only imagine the scaling of the Empire. I need to run to the princess. But first, I need a distraction.

Haruto called to the knight, “Brave knight who knows no fear. Your emperor calls strike down this devil.” Haruto smiled, waiting to see the bravery that would facilitate his escape, but strangely enough, the knight did not move. Haruto tilted his head and shouted after some hesitation, “hey, the agreement is in effect, you must save me.”

 Still no response.

Haruto could feel fear creeping up his spine, and he wondered if the knight had rebelled and decided to serve Beelzebub. 

That’s when he heard him. “Poor child, why are you talking to the dead as if they would reply.” The soothing effect was in full throttle. If not for the pain of his soul being ripped out sobering his mind, Haruto would be unaware that he was slowly lowering his defenses. 

Haruto’s heart froze as the last kindles of hope died out. Impossible that draconic knight was the cheat obtained by the first emperor, and it was defeated so quickly. I fuck your mother, Sugita.

 Haruto stuttered out half, attempting to refute Beezlebub and the other half to console himself, “what do you mean dead? He still stands.” 

A sympathetic smile crept up on Beelzebub’s face like a parent who had heard their child still believed in Santa Klaus or the tooth fairy. The voice resounded again, soothing Haruto’s heart, caressing his ears, “this half-breed died the moment I entered. My aura stopped his heart instantly, unlike what’s in store for you, his death was instant and painless. But, I applaud you for chasing so doggedly towards despair. You step with the vigor as I did in my youth.” 

It’s hard to ignore the subtle hint of the pain in store for me even though it sounds so soothing; his words always hide something sinister. Even in the game, he had a passive mental attack. I can’t believe this being with a majestic dragon’s blood would die so quickly. How lame. I can still escape even if I die I’ll just respawn. There is a pain limiter, so he can’t torture me. Honestly, it could be worse. Haruto’s thoughts currently seemed more logic-driven after Beelzebub squashed his emotions. He was confident that the situation was not as bad as he thought. 

With an understanding expression etched on his face, Beelzebub replied as if hearing Haruto’s thoughts, “Child, you do not believe this to be possible, correct? Because if that killed the dragon filth, why are you, one who is so weak still alive.”

Haruto nodded his head like an obedient child waiting for their parents to answer an obvious question that their still-developing brain couldn’t comprehend. 

Like a magnificent parent, Beelzebub replied in a simple manner that could not cause confusion, “I apologize for not being learned on your world’s magic. Perhaps your confidence is based on it. But allow me to answer your question with action!” The caring smile on Beelzebub’s face disappeared and was replaced with one of lunacy. An oppressive power overtook the surroundings, causing Haruto to lose the ability to breathe, his brain stopped working, and he got goosebumps, so bad, blood spurted out. 

The caring smile returned, dragging the aura back, “Now you understand there is no hope. Our realms are not on the same platform, let alone the same universe. Come to me, my son. Why do you wish to leave? You hungered for this very moment, I know. I watched, nay I was captivated as you single-mindedly worked to arrive before me such hunger to arrive before me, such yearning. I could feel, almost taste the gluttony spilling off you. So why do you want to leave me? You have traveled so far to reach this very moment; This is what you humans call destiny, no? Only I can feed your constant hunger. Your world would never fulfill it. Your birth family would never understand it. Your society would never allow it. But I will. I offer you GLORIOUS DOMINATION!” For a moment, the lunacy returned to his face. He reached tenderly towards Haruto as if asking Haruto to approach him willingly. 

Haruto felt, even more, fear seeing the game mechanics being forcibly suppressed. Seeing the apparent mentally unstable devil reaching towards him, he could only drag himself away. 

 Watching Haruto move away, Beelzebub grimaced as if the action deeply wounded him. “No, you must stay.” A loud voice devoid of tenderness rattled out, as Beelzebub’s arm began shaking. “No, I will make you stay!!!” He began approaching Haruto at a slow pace. The more Beelzebub spoke, the more potent the power became, almost as if he could no longer control it or no longer desired control. Forcibly a half caring smile returned to his face.

The power was so strong that Haruto’s instincts rooted deep in his real body activated from his mind’s overstimulation. It sent raging signals to his body to snap himself awake. His instincts battled incessantly against the VRs suppression mechanics intended to prevent people from moving while in-game. Until the instincts ultimately prevailed, causing Haruto’s real-life body to be bombarded by the virtual damage.

Haruto’s shaking body slammed into the desk, knocking over a half-eaten container of ramen noodles. The juices spilled forth and crashed onto the outlet where the power supply for the VR headset was connected. Electricity traveled up into the headset, frying Haruto’s brain. 

The caring smile and soothing expressions froze on Beelzebub’s face. Anger became evident for a moment then vanished. Only God knows where he directed the rage. Perhaps regaining some clarity after suppressing his rage, Beelzebub rushed towards Haruto like a parent whose child was about to fall down a flight of stairs. But he was too late. Tears streaked down Beelzebub’s distorted face. The tears were the color of blood, creating a grizzly imagine that would mentally scar the average person. He looked down at Haruto’s face, where a seemingly mocking smile was frozen halfway from completion.

For Haruto, the pain was unbearable, he had long since lost the ability to speak, but that smile said a thousand words. Well, at least that’s what one would imagine seeing the smile. In reality, Haruto’s electrotherapy had destroyed his ability to reason. Inside his brain, a series of thoughts flashed. Who is cooking bacon… A crazy person’s mind is unimaginable to cry over a torture candidate... to think that I would die before ever getting a girlfriend, having a first kiss, or sex… Man, I would love some bacon… Well better to die a virgin than to live a life full of misery and sorrow... HAHA, I can smell it cooking… Please kami-sama if you are listening, reincarnate me far away from this hell… And next time, don’t overcook the bacon.

Beelzebub roared towards the heavens as if he could see the enemy who stole his precious son away. 

After a week, the smell that leaked out of Haruto’s room became unbearable. With reluctance, his parents gathered the courage to open his door. The stench wafted out, making Haruto’s father gag, and anger rose from his stomach, pushing his urge to vomit higher. Haruto’s mother, on the other hand, just had a look of resignation and disgust.

 With their noses covered, they marched forward, prepared to strangle their waste of a son. But as they came closer, they noticed something weird about Haruto. Their waste of a son, who they always complained about and always thought it would be so much better if he just left, was dead. Death wasn’t how they wanted him to go. No, they wanted him to turn his life around and stand on his own two feet in the outside world. They wanted him to start a family, come back one day, and laugh at how irresponsible he was in his adolescence. Instead, his life was taken without them even being aware of it. They collapsed onto the floor, the smell no longer registered in their minds. 

A few months later, Haruto’s funeral was held. The only people there were his parents, his younger brother, and the teacher that always nagged him like a worried wife, watching the coffin lower. Tears flowed down everyone’s eyes. 

His little brother tried to maintain a deadpan expression. But his facade finally collapsed as his brother was covered with dirt. A myriad of emotions bounced inside his little mind. There was pity, for the waste of a human life, who died in such a sorry way. Anger that he will never understand why Haruto was the way he was, why Haruto never kept his promises, and why he had to die without making up first. Finally, there was a deep sadness knowing he had lost his one and only brother who good or bad was always there. Now their house would feel emptier.