Rou rubbed his eyes as he sat back, his thoughts drifting once more to the demons he'd encountered in the game. Their appearances were distinct—similar to demi-humans in their humanoid form, though their features were far more unsettling. Their skin was often dark, their eyes glowing in unnatural hues. Yet, it wasn't just their physical appearance that set them apart—it was the aura they exuded, a palpable presence of darkness that made even the bravest hesitate.
Rou:
(I mean you can literally see their aura in the game...)
[White eyes... Blue eyes... all the way to Dark eyes...]
The demon ranks were something Rou had studied obsessively, knowing how important they were to the story's progression. He had witnessed the chaos they could cause, and how each rank had its own terrifying capabilities. The memories of them still haunted him, their presence in the game marking the escalation of conflict in the world.
Rou:
[White eyes... just common demons. They're strong, capable of taking down seasoned veterans. Not the worst to face, but still dangerous in groups.]
His mind ticked through the ranks. White-eyed demons were the lowest in strength, but they made up for it in numbers. They could overwhelm groups of soldiers with their relentless assaults. Then there were the blue-eyed demons, a step above.
Rou:
[Blue eyes—strong enough to wipe out a town. That's when things really start getting bad.]
He shuddered at the thought. Those demons had a terrifying power, able to level villages with ease. Rou remembered the desperation that followed their attacks. The way entire towns would be wiped off the map in a matter of hours, leaving nothing but ruins.
Rou:
[Then there were Brown eyes... capable of destroying an army.]
His brow furrowed. Brown-eyed demons were even stronger, able to decimate large battalions of soldiers without breaking a sweat. He recalled a particularly brutal fight in the game, where an army was crushed beneath their might, no matter how many reinforcements were sent.
Rou:
[Red eyes... those are the real nightmares. Destroying cities... entire populations just gone.]
Red-eyed demons were rarer, and far more dangerous. Their power was so immense that entire cities could be reduced to ashes with a single strike. Rou had never wanted to imagine facing one in real life. The damage they could inflict was beyond comprehension.
He sat up, his thoughts growing heavier.
Rou:
[And then... Grey eyes. The noble demons. They're the worst... if they ever show up, everything's already too late.]
Grey-eyed demons were the nobles of the demon race, incredibly rare and almost mythological in the game. Their power could obliterate entire nations. Just one could shift the balance of the world. The thought of encountering one sent a chill down his spine. These were the demons that controlled everything, pulling strings from the shadows. They weren't just threats—they were disasters waiting to happen.
Finally, there was the worst of them all—the one that haunted every corner of the world in the game: the Demon King.
Rou:
[Dark eyes... if it's him, then we're all doomed.]
The Demon King was the ultimate force, the true embodiment of destruction. The power of this demon could obliterate everything in its path, rewriting the very foundation of the world. Rou couldn't help but feel a knot tighten in his chest. To face the Demon King? It was the kind of situation that no one survived.
He sighed, his fingers curling into fists.
Rou:
[Demons? This can't be happening now.]
If a demon had already shown up in the village Elise had mentioned, things were far worse than he had initially thought. It wasn't just the typical monster threat—they could be facing a much higher danger, and that could only mean one thing: the story was unraveling faster than he could keep up with.
The thought of what was to come made his chest tighten. Demons weren't just enemies—they were harbingers of something much worse.
... This was no game.
... The rules had changed.
He stared at the darkness outside the window, the weight of the realization pressing down on him. In the game, demons were just obstacles to be conquered, their difficulty scaled by how much money he was willing to throw at the problem. But now? Now, there was no cheat code, no buying his way out.
Rou muttered to himself, his voice barely a whisper. "Demons are a real pain in the ass... and they just kept getting worse. Although I had the money. I could buy my way past them. But if Elise's theory is true and that a demon might be behind all of those... I don't know if I can even defeat it. I'm stronger than a reaper but a white eye can easily pass through those things..."
He clenched his jaw, remembering the grind. The battles with the "Idiot 5" as his characters, their power mostly useless when compared to the real stakes. Sure, they were love interests, meant to make the heroine's life easier. But for Rou, they were little more than expensive crutches.
Rou stood abruptly, pacing around the small room. His heart beat faster, and the pressure in his chest only tightened. His hands clenched into fists.
Rou:
[Damn it...]
But even as his frustration grew, another thought lingered. What about Elise?… Could she survive against this kind of threat? Would anyone else even care if demons started appearing?
His mind kept going in circles, the anxiety rising with each unanswered question. The uncertainty was gnawing at him. He didn't have time for this. He couldn't afford to second-guess himself now.
But then again, maybe that's what made him different. In the game, everything had been scripted. He knew how things would go, even if he had to pay for the privilege. But now, there was no script. There was no way to know what came next.