Chapter 2: I, the Demon King, was reborn

"Elise!! Come here!" my human mother called.

I ran towards her. When I was in front of her, she immediately hugged me and rubbed her face on me. Ugghh… Humans… such peculiar creatures. No matter how many times she had done it for the past 6 years, she didn't get tired of doing that shameful act.

"Lady Elise. You dirtied your dress again. As a lady, you must always be careful with your clothes", the head maid said.

"It's no problem, Martha. She's having a fun time playing", my mother told her.

"But Lady Louise, she must learn the etiquette of a lady since she has the blood of the great Lan family", Martha rebutted.

That's right. I, the former all-powerful Demon King, was reincarnated as a human girl. From being the great Demon King Ashia, I was the noble girl named Elise Ysabelle Lan.

My human mother started playing with my hair.

"Ahh… You inherited your father's beautiful silver hair while you got my violet eyes. You will definitely attract many boys but I won't let them lay a hand on my dear Elise!" Louise said.

A young man with blonde hair and green eyes walked towards us.

"Good afternoon, mother", he said.

"Hector! Won't you agree that Elise is cute?" she asked.

"Yes she is. Any man who wishes to court her must pass my trials!" Hector declared and both of them laughed softly.

My human older brother, Hector Roy Lan, was a skilled swordsman and the heir of our territory. He recently graduated from the Royal Academy as top graduate and he was going to be the head of our family five years from now.

"Big brother! Do you remember our promise?" I asked.

"O-Of course. I'm going to take you out now", Hector answered while looking worriedly at my human mother.

"Oh dear. I haven't heard of this 'promise'. Care to elaborate?, she asked.

"W-Well. Elise won against me in a game and she made me promise that I'll show her around outside the estate", Hector answered.

"Please mother. I haven't been outside the walls. I want to see the world!" I pleaded.

"But it's…" she hesitated.

"I can't??" I asked and even though I hated doing it, I acted cute.

"Fine. But return by sundown and please don't let her out of your sight", she told Hector

"Yes, mother", he replied.

Hector and I rode White, his favorite horse. We went towards the city we rule. It wasn't big as the Demon Capital, Ashiel, but it was peaceful and had nice sceneries.

All the human cities I've visited during my reign were all destroyed with little to no survivors. To think that mere ants could also make decent cities, I might have underestimated them. Then again, my body is of that a 'mere ant' and a weak one to make it worse.

Hector showed me around the city and people recognized him wherever we go. They clearly loved him since they would smile and offer discounts and even gifts for him to which he didn't accept. We ate at a well-known restaurant and after a talking to the manager for a while, we managed to pay half of the bill instead of having it for free. They definitely adored my human older brother.

We went outside the city's gates.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see", he answered.

After a while, we reached a beautiful lake which was somewhere in a forest.

"This is one of our territory's attractions. When summer comes, people would travel here to refresh themselves with these waters", Hector said.

"I see", I replied.

Humans like doing pointless activities. The word 'playing' did not exist in the demon's dictionary. All we ever did was fight, hunt, and train. Ever since from birth, demons were trained to be warriors who will fight for their tribes. Because of that, it took me time to unite them as one nation and start my conquest.

Actually, my plan was to go out and learn where I was. If I was somewhere near my nation, I would be able to find my brethren and once more, rise as the Demon King/Queen. But sadly, the "Kingdom of Ouros" did not appear in my memories. Was it because I did not pay enough attention to humans before?

I looked at the water and a young human girl with silver hair and violet eyes stared back. No matter how much I refused to accept it, I was a human who had an overprotective mother and popular brother. While I was living an easy life, my brethren were out there scattered and lost.

"Elise", Hector called out.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do you think I'll be a great lord?" he asked.

"Of course. Your sword skills are unmatched and the people already adore you. If that's not enough reason, your personality itself makes you a great lord", I answered.

"Is that so?" he muttered as he stared at the distance.

There were times I would like to try and figure out what my human family thinks… not that I wanted to understand them or anything. I just wanted to know how they think so that I could take advantage of them.

"By the way, you're already 6 right?" Hector asked.

"Yes", I answered.

"Then that means your lessons will start soon", he said.

I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Didn't mother tell you?", he asked and I shook my head.

Hector sighed and then sat down. He motioned me to sit.

"You will learn swordsmanship, history, magic, and arithmetic. Those lessons are important since you are a member of the Lan family", Hector explained.

"What do those lessons have to do with being a Lan?" I questioned.

"You don't know of our family's history?" Hector asked and I shook my head.

He patted my head and looked at the sky.

"More than a millennium ago, there was once a Demon King. He united all of the demons into one nation and made the strongest army. The world was almost conquered by that Demon King until the Goddess Celia bestowed us three weapons. The Sword of the Mighty, the Staff of the Wise, and the Bow of the Guardian. With those weapons, the heroes managed to turn the tides of war and defeat the Demon King. The Lan family was the one who trained the Hero of the Sword", Hector told me.

My head became dizzy from the sudden information. I wasn't surprised by the fact that the Lan family was the one who trained the Hero of the Sword. The fact that more than a millennium have passed since my death shocked me. I should've known. A thousand years was required if the humans were to restore what I destroyed and repopulate the world. Why did I not think that I was reincarnated far into the future? I had one more question for my human older brother.

"What happened to those weapons?" I asked.

"After the defeat of the Demon King, the weapons disappeared. A hundred years ago, the Sword of the Mighty was found embedded in a rock. Many tried to pull it out but failed. The Oracle prophesied that the only one who could wield the sword was a worthy hero. She also said that once a great disaster will happen, the Sacred Weapons will appear once again", he answered.

A serious question appeared in my head.

"What about the demons? What happened to them?" I asked.

"After the Demon King's defeat, they continued to struggle. It took years to subjugate them since the Heroes died while fighting the Demon King. There are hardly any sightings of demons nowadays. Maybe we killed them all", Hector said and laughed.

My heart felt heavy. A thousand years passed while I was gone. My brethren must've died fighting a losing war since everything was peaceful. That was what I thought. I knew them very well. If they found out that I died, they would try to avenge me. That was one thing about demons. They were always loyal.

"Now then, let's go home. The sun is already setting so we must keep our promise to mother", Hector told me and lifted me up to his horse.

We went back to the estate and after dinner and a bath, I headed to my room.

"My brethren… they're gone? That can't be it. They are not foolish enough to waste their lives for me", I muttered.

That was when it hit me. I was responsible for a lot of lost lives. Not only the humans but also the demons' deaths were caused by me. Deaths during war was only normal… but why did I start a war in the first place? Why wasn't I satisfied with uniting my brethren under one flag? It was foolish of me to think that things would end with my death. Humans could be as cruel as demons.

My mind needed rest so I decided to sleep. The softness of the pillow and the fragrance of the sheets relaxed me and I drifted off to dreamland.

It was around midnight when I felt an eerie presence. Wondering what it could be, I got out of my room and walked around the mansion. I then heard a noise in the kitchen.

When I got there, I saw someone was rummaging the insides of a cupboard. I tried reaching the lamp further to see it clearly but it noticed. In a flash, I felt something hit my stomach and I groveled on the ground. My lamp fell but luckily, it didn't break. That was when I saw who the intruder was.

He was wearing a grey armor that had many scratches and dents. His black cape was torn and had holes. But what was important was his black horn on the center of his forehead.

"Eh?" I was dumbfounded.

In front of me was a demon.