Darkness, cold and suffocating death spread throughout the area where a young man stood

Tristan Althrone was the young man's name, the successor of the noble Althrone family, who held the rank of duke, despite being a bastard.

He opened his eyes slowly, watching the world drowned into chaos.

Crimson flames spread and devoured the entire academy building, the smell of burning flesh wafting strongly in the air, with countless corpses scattered across the battlefield, fresh blood flowing from their unrecognizable bodies.

Even though the sun should be shining brightly right now, crimson light covered the entire sky, like there was another dimension covering the sky, blocking the sun from shining on the kingdom.

Amidst all the chaos, Tristan stood there, with his hands shaking and blood pouring out, running down his hands and the sleeves of his academy uniform.

That blood was not his own, but that of a young girl, whose chest was pierced by a sword thrust by Tristan.

"W..why..?"

The girl whimpered in pain, her expression clueless, not understanding why Tristan was doing all this.

[Rejoice, Tristan! Isn't it beautiful? Aren't you happy with your choice? Look at all the trash, the people who look down on you just because you are the bastard son of the duke family, of house Von Althrone]

A dark and sinister voice echoes in his mind, a creepy voice belonging to Lilith, one of the fourth demon lord general.

It is said one demon lord general is more than enough to destroy the entire kingdom alone, without any difficulty.

Tristan's body shook violently, his facial expression was hard to read, disappointed, angry, desperate, confused, all mixed together.

He suddenly could feel a presence behind him, a strong and creepy, sinister and dark, far darker than any abyss, that was a demon.

Lilith appears behin him, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind while whispering sweet words

"Tristan my dear~, I know you are not a useless pawn, ahh how about it? I will give you a special gift after you complete your mission"

Lilith whispered sweet words, which were accompanied by mana to contort Tristan's body before then kissing his cheek.

This was the price of contract, In exchange for invincible power, Tristan made a contract with a demon, one of the fourth demon lord general, Lilith.

Lilith is a demon of lust, Tristan's strong desire for revenge seems to attract Lilith's attention to make a contract with her, however, this means Lilith can control Tristan's body freely whenever she wants.

The pungent smell of blood entered his nose because it was carried by the wind, the desperate cries of the survivors sounded clearly in his ears like a symphony of desperation and Lilith as his conductor.

His crimson eyes slowly looked towards Lyria, a supposed hero who was destined to save the world from demon lord invasion, but here she was, threatened with death because of the actions of someone controlled by one of the demon lord generals.

"N-no! Don't listen to h-?!"

Blood splattered around her chest as Tristan stabbed his sword deeper, soiling Stellaris Academy's elegant dark blue uniform.

That single stoke was enough to make Lyria's body stop moving, as if to show that Lyria, the choosen heroes had fallen.

"Hahahahahahah, good job my dear"

Lilith released her embrace on Tristan's neck, a sinister laugh echoes throughout the kingdom, signaling the victory of the demon's side.

"Ahh right"

A pitch black thorn suddenly came out of nowhere, piercing through Tristan's heart, the attack happened so fast, faster than lightning that Tristan had no time to respond.

Lilith then opened the portal back to the demon world, leaving the crimson flames kingdom without leaving a word.

"So in the end I was betrayed too huh? Cough cough"

A dull pain throbbed at the back of his mind, like a fractured memory, struggling to accept reality, a flash of something distant, yet feel familiar to him come to his mind, before he his consciousness slowly fadding.

...

Suddenly i woke up.

A sharp intake of breath, the sensation of silk sheet against his skin, the scent of candle wax and old parchment filling his lungs.

I found myself in a strange place, yet somehow, it felt familiar. I carefully observed my surroundings when I realized where I was.

The Althrone estate.

I jolted upright from my bed, my heart pounding wildly, confusion clouding my thoughts.

This room was eerily familiar to me.

The extravagant gold chandelier, the antique furniture, the beautiful yet unsettling paintings, and the undeniable weight of noble prestige embedded in every inch of the space.

This was definitely his room. But, why?

I even remember grinding my characters all day before beating Azaroth and yes, I definitely remember I finally beat him and became the first person to beat him on the highest difficulty.

But why am I here? Is it related to why I had a heart attack right after finishing the game?

Trying to stay positive, I walked slowly to the mirror in my room, hoping that I wasn't in the body of Tristan, a third rate and hateful villain.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

The mirror reflection was definitely not my reflection, silver hair and crimsone eyes that were sharp and cold, a face that screamed that he was a cruel villain, yeah, that definitely Tristan.

Out of all people in this damn game, why should it be him, I know very well his fate, the third rate villain who is the first main villain arc to be killed by Lyria, the protagonist of this game when her hidden power awakens.

Well it's not like I want to turn into a girl by reincarnation or transmigration? I don't know, wich one, into Lyria.

But even nameless extra or atleast her companion is fine.

[Welcome player]

A window like thing suddenly appeared right in front of me with a word of welcome.

"What is this?"

I try to touch the window like thing with my finger, my finger penetrates the window and then I can feel memory, Tristan memory entering my head.

About who my identity is, my past, my relationship with others, and so on, important information about this world and Tristan's identity will be very helpful for now.

[I am a system trusted to help players survive in this world, which will be destroyed within 3 years.

Name: Tristan Althrone

Race: Human

Class: ??? (System Error)

Level: 10

Attributes:

Strength: 24

Agility: 38

Endurance: 29

Charisma: 32

Luck: ??? (System Error)

Unique skill:

> ???

> ???

> ???

> Eclipse Blade

A shadow sword that can only be summoned and used by Tristan, the more blood drunk by this skill, the stronger the sword and its user will be.

Normal Skills:

> Shadow steps

Ability to move between shadows

> Strategic Insight

Allows the user to think quickly in order to adapt to the situation the user is facing.

> Arcane manipulation (passive)

Allows the user to use mana and magic more efficiently, can develop as the level increases]

"So this is my status window?"

I was amazed to see the status window displayed on the system, no wonder it's really pain in the ass when fighting Tristan at the beginning of the game, but somehow it became easy in the middle to the end of the first arc.

"Still, I need to survive no matter what and find a way to return home to earth, even if I have to deceive and utilize everyone"