Chapter - I

The Demon King never expected to be betrayed in this manner at the end moment.

He was left to die all by himself while the King of Beasts fled with his tail between his legs. Some king he is. For the Demon King, he is nothing more than a coward and a mere puppy to the King of Berserk Dragons.

His army had already perished before him and all that remained of the demon kind's pride and glory was him in his battered and bruised state, already on the verge of death. At the very least his army, his own kind remained loyal to him till the very end and gladly laid down their lives for him. They had even managed to wipe out the army of the Shadow Monarch, avenging their comrades. Also they won't be able to turned into summons by the Shadow Monarch to become the part of his Death's army.

That provided him with the most satisfaction.

In the battlefield, littered with corpses of demons pooled in their own blood, there were only two souls alive among the site of this carnage. One already on the verge of death and the other looming towards the former with an immense intent to kill.

The darkness-clad celestial being lifted up the king of demon kind with his single bulky arm by his throat and glared at the fading crimson eyes of the latter. To the demon king, it felt as if his enemy is trying to look into his very soul.

"Why did you betray me?" He demanded to know. He had trusted them as his new allies but the end result was same for him.

Be it Rulers or Monarchs, he had been stabbed in the back by both of them.

The Demon King choose not to answer. His pride won't allow him to submit to someone who wasn't even a Monarch in the first place. He would rather die while laughing on his enemy's face. That would be an end befitting of him. Him who was known as the Monarch of White Flames in the Chaos World.

He begin laughing maniacally, showcasing he didn't even fear death even it comes from the hands of someone who rules over death. He has his own pride and won't even dare to falter. A complete madman. HIs crown fell off his head, showing his distorted face to the King of Death.

"Wingdilings! Wingdilings!" Was all he uttered, noticing the white specks of light falling from the clouds on the battlefield.

They were coming to witness it. The death of a Monarch with their very own eyes.

The last thing he remembered was getting his head crushed by the bare hands of Shadow Monarch before being tossed aside.

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'Where am I? What is this place? Afterlife?'

A lone soul finally took note of his surroundings which were nothing but filled with pitch-black darkness. The darkness being similar to the one who had ended his life. Maybe it is his domain. It didn't surprise the soul much, knowing that he had the omnipotent authority over death while compared to him, he owned nothing.

'Is it this bastard's dimension huh? I wonder what's going to happen to me?'

He could even speak or hear his own words. He had been rendered to being a mere soul without even a body to reside in. All he had is a residue of his magic power, he previously possessed. That was enough to make a suitable body for him to reside in but what use will it be? He is in the realm of death and nothingness.

Maybe he will have to wander here endlessly. The feeling of hope ebbing away is definitely miserable. He wondered how his clansmen felt when they gladly gave up their lives on his orders. Even if their mere existence was to only fight against the armies of Rulers, there will still some like the Radir Clan who never wished for fighting but had to do it for the sake of their king and honor.

He had plenty of time to think and contemplate about everything. Time is eternal in the realm of death.

If only there was another chance, just another chance to reclaim what he had lost.

He would also have his revenge on those bastard Monarchs, especially the Beast who betrayed him and left him die in the hands of Ashborne. He would gather immense strength, even if he has to start from the bottom to go for the top to rival the powers of those like Ashborne and Antares. He had enough of being under the commands and mercy of someone else.

His pride as a demon won't allow him to have that for a second time.

'That's just wishful thinking on my part. It is impossible to even escape from here.'

Even his pride won't be of any help to him in here. Even if he forms a suitable body for his soul to reside in with the remaining of his magic power, it will be futile. He will have to roam in this realm endlessly without any means to escape and wait for his soul to extinguish into nothingness.

At the very least he is glad that the bastard Shadow Monarch won't be able to use his soul to make him a part of his army. They are both Monarchs, celestial beings who can't be made into Shadow Soldiers, not matter how omnipotent control one has over death.

"What is that you desire?"

An unknown deep voice rang in his head.

'Now what is this? Some kind of trick being played on me by the Shadow Monarch Ash--no this voice is different than his..'

"Is it Power? Glory? Money? Revenge?"

'The heck is money?'

"Or something that transcends all other?"

'Is it the power of the Chalice or some other artifact of those damned Rulers? They dare try to mock me!'

"All of what you desire shall be achieved at the top of the Tower. Do you have what it takes to reach the top?"

That was the last straw for him. Someone had dared to challenge him and his capabilities. The didn't seem like the act of the Rulers to him. They aren't the kind of beings to provoke someone to this extend and neither he had heard of any tower that could fulfill wishes before. His own dimension was a tower but that was all. In the various floors of his towers resided the demons based on their ranks and strength.

But this tower seemed different. It would grant him anything he wishes for and for once he knew what he is wishing for. If the Tower can actually make that wish come true then he would gladly take the challenge and climb to the top, no matter what. He is that determined to have his vengeance.

"I desire for bloody revenge on those bastards who left me for the dead. I want to make them suffer in agony with my own two hands. And then...." He paused for a moment, regretting not having a proper body to see his own malice-filled maniacal grin etched on his soul. "I shall rule over the worlds including this so-called wish granting Tower myself!"

'If I have to climb the tower to get what then so be it!'

This time he didn't hesitate and neither bothered to give it a second thought. He now had an objective and in order to achieve that objective he will need a physical form. But he needed to think carefully on what sort of form he will choose. Picking any form from the denizens of the Chaos World would take more magic than required. He had to come up with something that would take less magic power to maintain. He isn't what he used to be before and by that it is implied that his mana pool isn't infinite.

'Wait! There is one form I can take..'

A species that resided in an entirely different dimension from those of Rulers and Monarchs. A species even fragile and weak than his lowest-ranked demons who are nothing more than cannon fodder used in war.

Those species are none other than Humans who reside in the Magic-less planet called Earth.

Taking form of a lesser species didn't hurt his pride this time. He is doing all this for the goal he has in mind and taking form of a measly human won't change things. Since it is he himself, he won't even need to worry about the vessel being insufficient for him to use the full extent of his powers once he regains them.

With his goal set in mind, he infused the remaining of his mana to finally give his soul another form to take over. Light shone in the abyss of darkness before it begin taking a distinct shape.

The light subsided to reveal a male in his late teens with disbelieved grey hair, with bangs falling everywhere on his face and sharp dusty golden eyes that held an ambitious gaze added with madness. He even added a set of clothing with his appearance for the sake of decency.

It is nothing grandeur, just a pair of simple black trousers with a white full-sleeved shirt under a grey sweater. The sleeves were folded. Lastly a pair of black, open-toed sandals decorated his feet.

"This will have to work." He mumbled to himself, checking out his feature. His voice sounded different, way different from before but it was a relief to hear his own voice after what seemed like an eternity.

His gaze then fell on the necklace around his neck which he swore he didn't form with his magic. Though it didn't even take him a second to recognize the necklace on his neck, the ring on his left arm and the strange-shaped earrings he is currently wearing. They seemed to be concealed away, behind the bangs of his long grey hair.

"Well at the very least these make me better than an average human." He muttered before a light shone in front of him as if guiding him the way forward. "Looks like I have to head that way."

He tried to sense the mana within him, realizing that taking a new permanent form had drained him of what he had before. Now he had little to no mana which means he will have to become stronger step by step like he had thought before. Starting from scratch, the term used by humans.

"To think me, the great Baran would be reduced to such pitiful state." He mused while walking towards the light pathway that seemed to be leading him somewhere. "Nah even my name doesn't do justice anymore. I should go for a new one."

The path led him in front of two massive doors which were waiting to be opened. What lied beyond that door was completely unknown to him. He had a rough guess that once he opens this set of massive doors, there is no turning back and the only thing to do is forge forward. This door will lead him to the Tower that will fulfill his desire of revenge and conquest.

His mind is made up.

"Baran, simple and best." He pressed his hands on the door yet hadn't applied any force yet to open them. "That will be my new identity in this Tower until I reclaim my powers and take over this Tower. Then I will reveal who I truly am."

With one last maniacal laughter, Baran pushed open the doors to step foot into the unknown.