≈ Chapter 1 ≈

1: Baby Demon King’s Survival Strategy

“Hey, trash.”

Even after hearing such an open insult, I didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

Because I had heard it far too many times.

“Why would the Demon God choose a filthy half-breed girl like you as the Demon King?”

‘Maybe He just liked me better. What, are you jealous?’

I really wanted to answer like that.

But instead…

I simply smiled brightly.

The more harmless and empty-headed I looked, the less they would be on guard against me.

That was my current situation.

A puppet Demon King controlled by the high-ranking demons.

The demons looked down at me with snake-like eyes.

“The only reason you’ve survived as the Demon King until now is because of us. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Yes! I know!”

I nodded happily like a little puppy following its owner.

Only then did they leave the room with satisfied expressions.

Click. Clank!

The sound of the door being locked from the outside echoed loudly.

The moment they were gone, the smile disappeared from my face.

I glared at the closed door.

“Hah… they really talk too much…”

Just wait until I awaken as the Demon King.

The first thing I’ll do is sew those old men’s mouths shut!

Anyway…

To understand why I ended up being bullied by those mustached old demons, you first need to know about the fantasy novel I read in my previous life.

《The Prince Becomes a Hero》

People called it a cliché novel.

But it was still my favorite.

The story itself was pretty typical.

A genius prince with a tragic past defeats the Demon King, who throws the world into chaos, and finally finds happiness.

A simple, predictable story.

But while almost everyone in that world got a happy ending…

There was one person whose life ended in complete tragedy.

That person was Tatiana.

The Demon King chosen by the Demon God.

The final boss who was destined to be defeated by the male protagonist.

‘And now… I’m Tatiana?! How does that make any sense?!’

Unable to hold back my anger, I clenched my teeth.

Anyway…

Back to the original story.

Tatiana’s background was like this.

She was the only human-demon half-breed in the entire world.

The original novel made that very clear.

She was also an orphan who didn’t even know who her parents were.

And she looked much more human than demon.

Because of that, the other demons treated her like garbage.

She spent three whole years living in the Slave Market.

‘Three years doesn’t sound that long… but I’m only four years old! That means I’ve been abused for almost my entire life!!’

Sob…

Let me wipe my tears first.

As if that wasn’t miserable enough…

Something happened that made my terrible life even worse.

It was the Demon God’s revelation.

The message itself was simple.

The Demon God, who had remained silent for so long, had finally chosen a new Demon King.

The problem was…

The new Demon King… was me.

After hearing the revelation, the demons desperately searched for the new Demon King.

Eventually…

They found me.

‘A human-demon half-breed?’

The demons frowned as if they were looking at something disgusting.

‘A filthy half-breed like this is already disgusting enough. And this lowly girl is supposed to be the Demon King?!’

But honestly…

I was the real victim here.

Did they think I wanted to be reincarnated as Tatiana, whose entire life was destined to be a disaster?

After looking me over for a while, one of the demons smiled wickedly.

‘Well… she’ll still be useful in many ways. Take her away.’

As they dragged me away like a dog…

I came to a cold conclusion that no three-year-old should ever have.

‘Yep… my life is completely ruined.’

A year passed.

I became four years old.

Just like in the original novel, my life followed the exact same path.

I became a puppet controlled by the high-ranking demons.

Some of them even stole my power and pretended to be Demon Kings themselves.

That was how the world came to know about the Five Demon Kings.

I vaguely remembered hearing rumors that the Five Demon Kings had invaded the Human World.

But honestly…

My own life was already so miserable that I couldn’t care enough to pay attention.

‘And the worst part is… I don’t awaken as the real Demon King until the very end of the novel.’

The male protagonist eventually became a righteous Warrior and invaded the Demon King’s Castle.

He rescued Tatiana, who had been exploited by the high-ranking demons.

But…

It was already too late.

Unable to endure years of abuse any longer…

Tatiana fell into endless sadness and despair.

And then…

She awakened as the true Demon King.

After a long and desperate battle…

The male protagonist defeated Tatiana.

And finally saved the world from destruction.

That…

Was the ending of the original novel.

“That’s completely unfair!”

Unable to contain my frustration, I stomped my feet.

Living my whole life being used by everyone else was already bad enough.

But after finally awakening as the Demon King…

I was immediately killed by the male protagonist!

Wasn’t that way too cruel?!

“If this was going to happen anyway, couldn’t I have awakened earlier?! I wanted to cause some chaos too!”

The moment I shouted while raising both of my fists—

BOOM!!

“W-What?!”

Startled, I quickly turned around.

Boom! Crash! Bang!!

Massive explosions echoed everywhere.

Walls collapsed.

Furniture shattered.

Weapons clashed against one another.

“Stop them!”

“Don’t let them break through!”

“Are we really going to lose to mere humans?!”

Desperate shouts mixed with the sounds of battle.

Then—

CRACK!

“Aah!”

I jumped in surprise.

A gigantic greatsword flew through the air and stabbed directly into the doorknob.

For a moment, I was too shocked to react.

Then my eyes became fixed on the door.

‘The door… opened?’

The doorknob that had always been locked was completely destroyed.

Which meant…

‘I can finally escape this horrible little room!’

I froze.

My heart pounded wildly.

Even though an enormous battle was happening outside…

The hope of finally leaving this prison was much stronger than my fear.

I forced myself to calm down.

‘They’re still fighting. If a little child like me goes outside now, I’ll only get hurt.’

So I pulled the blanket over my head…

And quietly waited.

“…”

“…”

Eventually…

Everything became silent.

I swallowed nervously and slowly stood up.

‘C-Can I go out now?’

I quietly walked toward the door and listened carefully.

There were no more sounds of fighting.

‘Good… then…’

After making up my mind, I pushed the door open with both hands.

It opened without a sound.

The moment I stepped outside…

I froze.

“Wooow…”

The entire place was in ruins.

The castle, which had once been magnificent, was now covered with countless scars from battle.

Everything had been destroyed.

Oddly enough…

There wasn’t a single demon corpse.

That was probably because…

The demons believed completely in the survival of the strongest.

The high-ranking demons considered themselves far superior to ordinary demons.

They never even allowed normal demons to come close.

Even servants weren’t allowed to stay inside the Demon King’s Castle.

They were only called in when needed and immediately sent away afterward.

Well…

Considering that kind of atmosphere…

It wasn’t surprising that they hated serving a little half-breed girl whose human blood was stronger than her demon blood.

I quietly enjoyed the feeling of freedom for the first time in a long while.

Then…

I turned my head.

My eyes landed on the Central Hall where the Demon King’s throne stood.

“Over there…”

I slowly walked toward it.

The once magnificent doors had already been smashed apart.

Going inside wasn’t difficult.

The scene inside…

Was horrifying.

Blood-covered weapons were scattered everywhere.

Beautiful furniture had been completely destroyed.

The five thrones had collapsed into rubble.

And…

The high-ranking demons lay on the ground with fatal wounds.

‘Those people…’

My eyes trembled as I stared at them.

Objectively speaking…

It was probably a terrifying sight for a child.

But…

Seeing the same people who had abused and looked down on me lying there like trash…

‘Does it make me a bad person if this feels satisfying?’

Even though I felt a little guilty…

A smile slowly spread across my face.

It felt as if a huge stone had finally been lifted from my heart.

No matter how powerful those high-ranking demons were…

There was no way they could survive wounds like those.

‘Does that mean… I’m finally free?!’

No way!

I covered my flushed cheeks with both hands and bounced with excitement.

Even if people called me a bad child…

I couldn’t help it.

I was so happy I felt like I might faint.

Only after enjoying that feeling for quite a while did I finally calm down.

‘Still… if someone strong enough to kill the high-ranking demons so easily came here…’

Who could it be?

And…

What if they attacked me too?

Feeling nervous, I shrank my neck like a frightened turtle and carefully looked around.

Then I saw them.

“Ah!”

Not far away…

Three unbelievably handsome men were lying on the ground, covered in blood.