Reincarnation

As the old prophecy fortold, when the Demon Lord rises to power, a champion will soon be summoned in order to defeat him. The summoned hero will carry the hopes of mankind on his shoulders, and usher humanity into an age of light.

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Damn it, he one-shot me!

That wasn't even a fair fight! I didn't get to do my evil monologue, gloat about my victory, nothing!

As I mentally vented my frustration about my nearly instantaneous defeat, I realized that I was no longer standing in my throne room.

Rather, I was standing in a small dark room, illuminated by a strange rectangular machine, with a man with dark eyebags and unkempt hair sitting in a strange chair and focusing on it intently. There seemed to be multiple cups of something called "Top Ramen" strewn across the floor, and the bed only had a sheet and a couple of pillows.

Drawing up behind him, I saw that he seemed to be playing some sort of...game. He was using a strange device at his fingertips to click through lines of text, overlaid over a portrait of an attractive, if not of questionable age, girl. He then spoke aloud, still focused on the screen.

"So, you would be the Almighty Demon Lord, Ashtar, correct?"

Slightly caught off guard, I quickly readjusted myself and answered accordingly.

"WHY YES INDEED MORTAL, I AM IN FAC-"

"Okay, shut up. You'll wake up the neighbors."

"Y-y-ou…. Insolent worm! I'll have you know that i could end your life with a thoug-"

"I said...SHUT UP!"

As he gave a shout, I suddenly felt as if a gaping hole had opened up in my throat. Desperately grasping at it, I fell to the ground, writhing in pain. I glared at him with eyes of hatred, wondering how he could do this to me, of all people.

"Ah, that did it."

As if nothing had happened, he returned to his usual tone.

"I wouldn't recommend interrupting me from here on out."

"As for why you're here, you could call this the afterlife. I'm the deity in charge of reincarnation, Satou. Pleasure to meet you."

Noticing I was still clutching at my throat, he waved his hand and the pain went away. Coughing, I sat up, now wary of this strange being.

"Seems you've learned some manners. Anyways, the reason you're here should be obvious. You got instantly obliterated by the hero summoned into the world to defeat you. It was very anti-climatic if I'm being honest."

Seething with rage, I began to offer up a retort, but one look from him shut me up.

"So as I am the reincarnation deity, it falls upon me to decide what to do with you. Ordinarily, dictators and tyrants and the like are usually reincarnated as cockroaches, or flies. Rats if I'm being merciful. But seeing as how you've just recently inherited the throne of the demon lord, and how terribly unamusing it was to see that final battle, I've decided to do something a bit different."

"You'll be reincarnated into a world of my choosing, and your body will be reverted to that of a nine-year-old child. Essentially, I'm giving you a second chance."

"And what if I don't want to?" This seemed far too suspicious.

"I'm a deity, I don't care what you want. If you want the illusion of choice, you can either do this or be reincarnated as a housefly."

"...."

"That's what I thought. If it makes you feel any better, the world I have in mind for you has an extremely high power ceiling, meaning you might be able to rise to the level of travelling between worlds."

I see. So if I get strong enough, I'll be able to return to my old world, and take revenge on that damned hero!

"Indeed. Although it might not be as easy as you make it out to be."

Surprised that he had read my thoughts, I had barely gotten a word out before I noticed a portal begin to open underneath me.

"Let's see, I should probably give you some advice before you go on your way."

As he said those words, I felt something burning into my palm. Grabbing at it, I noticed that there was now a strange symbol, similar to a sword, unlike any I had ever seen before.

"Remember you will die. Remember your death.

"Memento Mori."

With those cryptic, albeit super cliche, words ringing in my ears, the portal enveloped me completely, and the world gradually faded to black.

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