I Became an Archdemon

Decker City, built on the Endless Wasteland three hundred years ago, was the Silver Moon Kingdom's most heavily fortified city in the north.

In an unremarkable inn near the city center of this northern metropolis,

a handsome young man, handsome enough to make one wonder if he had elven blood, lay on the floor, his life hanging in the balance.

He wore an extravagant pure-white noble's robe, and his eyes were closed.

His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, as if he were already dead.

The culprit behind his unconsciousness was the deep gash on his wrist. Blood slowly seeped from it, filling the entire room with the stench of blood.

Even more horrifying, the blood oozing from his wrist was being greedily sucked up by the Crystal Ball clenched in his hand.

A Crystal Ball that could devour blood was clearly no ordinary object.

The scene looked much like some greedy, ignorant noble had performed a forbidden, evil ritual and died from its backlash.

No one knew how long had passed. The light outside gradually dimmed, and the room seemed to be veiled in gloom.

In his sleep, Loren felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if someone had stabbed him.

At first, he thought it was a dream, but the intense pain kept rousing his nerves, and his sluggish thoughts slowly came back to life.

After a long while, as if pushing open a thousand-ton iron gate, he finally managed to open his eyes with every last ounce of strength.

The moment he awoke, the Crystal Ball in his hand radiated a burst of chaotic light.

The wound on his wrist strangely healed at a rapid pace, leaving only a faint mark.

His weakened body left Loren's thoughts sluggish, and he failed to notice this incomprehensible supernatural phenomenon.

The ceiling above him came into view, decorated with reliefs bearing strong religious motifs.

In the dim light, he couldn't make them out clearly. They gave him a hazy, disorienting feeling.

After catching his breath for a moment, he finally had the strength to look around.

The room was steeped in the style of medieval Western Europe. Faded oil paintings hung on both walls, their indistinct images depicting legends of dragon-slaying knights.

The antiques, furniture, and curtains around him were old, but they all carried a strong foreign flavor.

Staring at his unfamiliar surroundings, Loren's mind filled with questions. Hadn't he been drinking with a few of the company's clients? Had he drunk too much?

What kind of club was this? They'd certainly gone all out with the set. Was a witch going to come in next and give him a physical examination?

That was a pretty novel idea.

But just as he tried to struggle into a sitting position, countless fragments of memory suddenly flooded his mind.

His weakened body felt as if it had been slapped hard. His head roared, and he once again fell unconscious.

After a long while, Loren opened his eyes for the second time.

But this time, the confusion was gone from his eyes, and his expression had become extraordinarily complicated.

"Nol Main Plane, Silver Moon Kingdom, Decker City..."

"I'm Loren Grant, a descendant of the Orchid Family, a High Noble family in the Silver Moon Kingdom.

Three months ago, I followed my elders on an operation to hunt down an evil cult. By chance, I obtained a Crystal Ball.

That Crystal Ball possessed incredible power, and I even gained the Archdemon Bloodline from it."

"Now I have an Archdemon Bloodline that hasn't yet awakened. I became an Archdemon?!"

At the thought, Loren's heart jolted, and his eyes suddenly widened.

"Not only that, but the reason this Crystal Ball appeared was that a terrifyingly powerful Demon Overlord planned to use an evil ritual to activate it.

After losing the Crystal Ball, that Demon Overlord appeared in the Silver Moon Capital every day for half a month, searching for traces of it. A legendary powerhouse was even gravely injured by the Demon Overlord."

"So it's true that I gained the Archdemon Bloodline, but I'm already being hunted by a Demon Overlord right from the start?! Does it have to be this intense?!"

Loren's expression darkened as he continued reviewing the memories left by his predecessor from a first-person perspective.

"The Nol Main Plane contains countless dimensional planes. They aren't desolate; instead, they're home to countless powerful and evil beings. Demons are among the most terrifying of them."

"The Silver Moon Kingdom once suffered greatly from demons. Any prince who had dealings with demons would be executed, and their evil reputation ranked just below that of the Bloody Polluters."

"Under the pressure of both threats, my predecessor applied to the family to give up his right to inherit the title of Grand Duke Orchid before the Archdemon Bloodline awakened. He left the capital and went north to become a Pioneer Lord."

"With Fiana, a guardian assigned by the family, protecting him, he safely reached Decker City, a great city in the north.

To develop his territory as quickly as possible, my predecessor paid a fortune to a mercenary squad for information about a suitable place to build a city. Full of confidence, he led hundreds of people and ample supplies to that territory."

"On the thirty-first of every month in the Nol Main Plane, the moon in the sky turns blood-red. This day is known as the Bloody Day."

"Disaster strikes!"

"Ever since the ancient twilight of the main gods, the Bloody Polluters lurking in dimensional planes have crawled out to attack every human city whenever the Blood Moon rises."

"On the Bloody Day five days ago, the Bloody Polluters were far stronger than anyone could have imagined. The poorly defended territory was overrun outright."

"If guardian Fiana hadn't been exceptionally powerful, my predecessor would probably already be dead."

"Even so, more than a month of hard work and all the savings he'd brought from his family had gone up in smoke."

"To rebuild his territory, my predecessor returned from the Endless Wasteland to Decker City."

"But by then he was penniless. So a descendant of the mighty Orchid Family had no choice but to live in a small inn.

Shaken by the destruction of his territory, my predecessor wanted to fully awaken the Archdemon Bloodline inside him. He tried to draw power from the Crystal Ball again through a blood sacrifice."

"But he accidentally bled himself too much, and the Crystal Ball devoured even his soul."

"So, putting it all together, I transmigrated? I'm not in some club?"

After going through the memories, Loren exerted a little effort and sat up on the floor.

As he looked around at the unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar surroundings, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

"What's going on? I only had a few extra drinks. How did I end up transmigrating?"

Then, as if he'd suddenly remembered something, his heart clenched.

A helpless, bewildered look appeared on his face, like a child who couldn't find his way home after dark.

"Will I... ever be able to go back?"

"Mom. My little sister."

His already low spirits sank further, and a pang of pain twisted inside him.

His father had died young. His mother had poured in countless hours and endured untold hardship to raise him and his little sister alone.

His little sister, who'd always worn her hair in a ponytail and followed him everywhere, sweetly calling him "big brother, big brother," and his mother, whose hands were covered in yellow calluses and whose smile was so warm, were his only ties to the world and his only pillars of support.

And now...

Thinking that he might never again see the little girl leaning against his knee, eating and mumbling "big brother" through a mouthful of food, made his throat feel blocked and his nose sting.

Though he tried hard to suppress his emotions, the force of it still overwhelmed him.

Just then, creak—

The inn room door was suddenly flung open, and a tall, graceful figure wearing black armor stepped inside, as if an angel had descended into the mortal world.