1 Why should life end after I die?

In a world where demons reign supreme in Hell, giant kingdoms are known as Underworlds are governed solely by [Overlord] class demons, a class of demon which could rival and slay Angelic Seraphs, Demigods and even full-fledged Gods.

Nemesis, the [Overlord of Extermination], slowly regained his consciousness from his undisturbed slumber.

'My life may have ended once before, but now it has finally begun anew.'

That was the last thing he thought as he finally liberated himself after an eternity, from the shackles of the [Void]. His senses slowly began to return to him as he finally felt the wonderful sensation of his body again. That heart of his leisurely pulsating, the rapid flow of blood coursing through his veins and arteries, that stagnant feeling of his entire body due to time felt amazing! But most importantly he could now once again use his eternal prison as a median to achieve his goals.

The feeling of having his own power become his shackles for what seemed to be an eternity was torturous for him. He lost all his senses and spent all that time in a paralyzed state. Now he was free and his wish would finally be granted.

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A young boy slowly opened his eyes, revealing two azure eyes as vibrant as glimmering pearls. That youth was Nemesis, or more accurately a younger version of Nemesis.

Nemesis' vision had yet to fully return to him, which was understandable as he had seen nothing but darkness for an unknown amount of time.

'Time moves slower when reversing it seems, otherwise that miracle wouldn't have taken so long to finish. Another possibility is that as one's sense of time deteriorates due to the reversal of the flow of time, one can no longer tell how long one second is, thus causing their time to be perceived as longer. After all, an exact measurement of time is strictly held up by the world's inhabitants... I'm thinking far too into this. I'm just glad that I'm back. Deale, I'll see you again, my love.'

Nemesis sighed softly. Giddy at the thought of seeing a Deale again, like a young boy crazily awaiting to open their birthday presents. While his body felt foreign with his vision blurred. He couldn't soothe his uncontrollable nerves which awaited the sight, the aura and the presence of Deale.

But instead, as his vision focused, all he could see around him was a distorted terrain and a thick, ghastly fog surrounding him. His giddiness quickly faded as he became more aware and vigilant about his current situation. He wasn't where he thought he'd end up.

He sniffed and a putrid smell assaulted his nose. He couldn't help but uncontrollably gag as his right hand instinctively raised to block the smell. The smell was of something he had previously gotten accustomed to. A scowl couldn't help but grow on his face as the scent of death paraded across the area.

He immediately scanned the surrounding area for any sign of life using his [Void] powers and caught the presence of two demons who were several meters away from him. They seemed to not have heard his soft sigh, not that he actually care if they did. He rolled his eyes and hunched over in a haggard way. Transporting back in time was a more gruesome experience than what the novels he had been addicted to made it out to be.

He stood up straight again, patting his pants as a black aura engulfed then swiftly entered his eyes. He was able to see everything clearly now. The scene which presented itself to him was very, very familiar.

'This scene...why am I back here? Dammit! Hunger when I said I wished to go back, I didn't mean this far back in time!'

Nemesis was enraged and befuddled. He had been expecting to see his castle or his room or anywhere else in particular! But he hadn't been prepared to see a meadow of bodies with a crimson river which flowed in between it, separating both sides. This was a scene he had once witnessed before, simply due to the fact that he was the cause of this scene.

He stood motionless with an overly expressed expression on his face. The one expression to be seen was amusement. He even began to slightly chuckle at the horrendous sight. Many would call him insane for laughing at such a sight but he didn't mind, his sanity was already far gone and his 'To-Give-A-Fuck Meter' had already reached the negative numbers. He was not laughing at the sight anyways like some psychopath, but the circumstances of his appearance there.

'Why me... Why me... oh dear lord, seriously, WHY ME!? Why must I have to suffer for longer due to the absence of Deale? Why must I be the hated child of this world? Living an existence without purpose, while holding no meaning to it. All I had was the one I love, which you cruelly took away from me. Why must my life be so pitiful?'

Nemesis couldn't help but curse his own existence. The futility of his actions. He even began to question to himself if it was justified to slay millions for his own happiness and obsessive tendencies, as it seemed that no matter what he did, the world would always force him into a bad ending.

He gave out a long sigh, then quickly starting from his feet up, his body transformed into a deep black which only space above could rival in darkness. He then vanished without a trace, as the two demons who were traversing the field of bodies came to a stop nearby.

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The two demons looked around, scowls appeared on their face as they questioned how bad their misfortune was.

"Damn this field of corpses! Seriously, how do so many people die in an area to create a field, Zack, it's been around a day and we've still yet to see town... Will we make it back, brother?"

The younger Demon, Jack, spoke with worry to his older brother Zack. He wasn't sure on whether or not they would survive this journey back to their town and tries his best to ignore the possibility that it could have already been destroyed by the same demon who massacred the very demons they were standing on.

"I'm not sure Jack. I'm not sure. But I'm sure that Ma won't make it if we don't."

Zack said with uncertainty as a sombre expression began to grow on his face at the same realization which Jack had come to about their hometown. He couldn't help but pick up something solid from the ground and throw it in a fit of rage.

They had gone out to scavenge for anything valuable to sell for Spites so that they would be able to purchase food to eat and elixirs which would be able to cure or at least alleviate their mother's disorder which had plagued her for around a year now.

'This could be the end for us. I'm sorry Mom, while you were working yourself to death in that brothel, earning a measly amount of Spites from those horny bastards, we were messing around trying to impress Terra and her friends. I wish we understood that every time you came back home to the shack, why you were so tired. I wish we saw through your fake smiles and your "no worries, I am doing alright", I just wish that if it comes to us not making it-'

Zack's thoughts were interrupted by a thud and a small soft grunt, which he heard as whatever he had thrown hit something alive. He froze.

'Something else is alive here? How long were there here, could they have been following us?'

He looked up to see a black liquid which stood in the outline a tall and slim person, holding a severed arm, which he presumed to be what he threw in his fit of anger. He was shocked, he hadn't seen or heard of anything like this before, even in the ludicrous stories town children would tell to each other to scare each other off for laughs.

"H-hello? Who're you?"

Zack spoke in a shaky voice trying to not sound scared, which failed, as Jack took out his rusted blade with quivering hands, in preparation for any unwanted assault that the monstrous thing may bring. Jack grinding his teeth in suspense while Zack tried to calm down.

No response was given from it, instead, the black outline quickly began to gain from. The blackish liquid shrunk and condensed into the form of a meter tall child. It then began to gain colour and reveal pale skin, charcoal black hair, a suit accustomed with a vampire's attire though it lacked the cape yet still had the two white gloves, though one was covered crimson as it held the bleeding arm and something which shocked the two as the young boy had a very unique eye colour for what they presumed to be a vampire, two dull azure eyes.

"Which one of you threw this arm at me. I was enjoying idling away at my own thoughts. Tell me quickly, I don't have much patience left."

Nemesis stated in an impatient yet equally lifeless tone while lifting the severed arm he was already holding up just in case they hadn't noticed it before. He was extremely wary of time now, all he could think of was the fact that they had been traversing through the field of bodies for around a day, so he estimated that he must've regained consciousness at least one and a half to two days later than he did in his previous life.

'So... I woke up later than before... Dammit, Hunger! When I wished to return back to a prior moment in my life, I expected it to be when I had just entered my teens at the earliest! Not when I first awoke in this land! Also, why did you have to make me wake up later then I did previously? I could have missed two days already, if I miss certain key events I'll never.....never....'

At that moment, Nemesis felt only sadness. He wished to cry. He couldn't allow himself to miss several key events which would trigger a butterfly effect, causing the next key events to fruition. If he failed, he would never have the chance to see Deale again... Not as an innocent childish demon, who thought the best of the world with an unparalleled optimism, which helped counteract Nemesis's pessimistic attitude to most events. Instead if he were to ever see her again after a month's time, she would already be too far gone for him to have a chance to save her, instead the best he could do after that Project was installed into her brain would be to end her life, saving her from her inevitable torment she would face afterwards.

The painful realisation set in at that moment when Nemesis realised that his chance of failure was higher than ever, he didn't wish to let anything happen to her. He was truly obsessed with her. Yes he was a stalker, yes he was a creep obsessed and yes he was willing to do anything necessary to be with her. But in the end he didn't wish for her to lose her personality, he wasn't obsessed with her looks, but her personality. If that would be gone then she would be nothing more than an empty shell, hollowed out of any recognition to her former self. He couldn't let that happen, everything including all of his own emotions and chance for love, were secondary compared to her freedom

Nemesis seethed in rage at the painful realisation he had, as the air of death which paraded around began to march towards the two frightened demons and entangled them in an inescapable grasp. They felt the air which, they found precious at that moment dissipate. They both believed it to be the unique vampire's special ability, which helped them discern why his eyes were a dull azure instead of a vigorous crimson. It also made them believe they had irritated the young vampire by not answering immediately to his question.

"I...I did.."

A quiet and submissive voice quickly called out. Zack felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and the lacking amount of oxygen he got didn't help. He was struggling to breathe after several seconds as the stench of death condemned them until he heard a tiny snap as the stench of death, which reeked off of them vanished. They finally no longer felt as if they were getting strangled and heaved several quick gasps of air in only a few seconds.

"Alright then, that wasn't hard, was it?"

Nemesis stated with an unnerving tone, one which sent shivers down both Zack and Jack's bodies. They didn't realise it until now that both of their legs were quivering in fear and the blade which Jack had held before he struggled to breathe, had vanished without a trace. They had lost their ability to move, flee, and were now sure that if they failed to answer his questions fast enough, they'd be punished.

"N-no! No, it wasn't."

Jack and Zack both blurted out at the same time. They then looked at Nemesis for a reaction and only saw a heated glare sent at the two of them. They gulped as Nemesis was considering whether or not to punish them for lying, as he could clearly see it wasn't easy for them to answer as they didn't answer immediately. Eventually, he chose to drop the punishment and asked a different question instead.

"What's the name of the town you two come from? I heard something about returning back to sell your scrap to save your ill mother. May I ask what the name of your hometown is?"

Nemesis inquired, as he let a bit of sympathy and pity to leak out of his voice to try to get the two to answer him faster, hoping to remove some of the fear he brought them. He even softened his glare.

"T-the name of the town is, [Vanquished Town]. It is a [Rank-12 Demonic Village]."

Jack answered Nemesis' question instantly, hoping to feel no pain for answering honestly and correctly...and they felt no pain as expected. They both looked at each other and swiftly nodded, then turned their gazes in sync with each other to see Nemesis...

Tears streamed down Nemesis' face. The two were obviously shocked to see this, but he didn't care. He had felt a various amount of negative emotions due to the sole fact that, there was a high chance he would never see Deale again. He let out all his pent up frustrations through those tears as the world which condemned him, finally gave him a chance to fix one of the few things he regretted in his last go at life.

Though he may have been evil and considered the villain of his story, even he wasn't heartless enough to allow other innocent, young females other than Deale, to grow up in that twisted project..... Now he had no more second chance in this life, he couldn't let what haunted his dreams for over 10 years proceed any longer.

Nemesis' cries slowed after a minute as he used his hand to wipe away any leftover tears. Afterwards, he then turned to face the two quivering demons who were now on their knees.

"Tell me something important, what are your names? I won't kill you if you're honest, though I will tell you in advance now. If you two are to lie to me once, I'll sever a limb, twice and I'll slay your ill mother while you two shall be castrated and finally, a third time and you two shall beg for death, yet I shall not give it....easily."

Nemesis stated his conditions slowly in a menacing tone, as the stench of death waft throughout the air once again as he waited for their response. He didn't give them any chance of negotiation as he and more importantly they knew that they'd die if they didn't agree.

"M..My name is Zack while my y-younger brother here is named Jack. W-why must you know our names, oh great demon lord?"

Zack as the older brother this time, took up the daunting task of answering them, to them, God of Death, who was able to control the very essence and scent of death itself! They had never seen anything similar to it before nor did they ever wish to see it any further.

"I must know because I wish to know. Must there be a reason behind every single action I do? Now stand up and let's go. Hurry up and let's venture forth to [Vanquished Town]. Don't worry, I won't let you die. I'll even help your cure your mother's dilemma. Just be good temporary vassals for the time being. Now go forth!"