Dark. The sky turned dark, thunder roared in the sky, the wind blew fiercely, a truly terrifying atmosphere.
The rain began to fall heavily, soaking the ruined castle. A red-haired man with red eyes lay helpless near the castle.
What a misfortune, there was nothing he could do, only death awaited him. His body could not move, his vision began to blur, his mind began to empty.
He had tried everything, but it was all in vain, slowly his existence began to disappear from the world. His gaze was empty, only darkness enveloped his consciousness.
A woman with purple hair sat on her throne, with a cold gaze, she seemed to be looking down on him.
Her eyes were filled with anger, revenge filled her mind. Reincarnation, it was the only way she could think of to get revenge.
"<𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀>"
The remnants of his energy passed through time and space. Then faintly, he heard whispers— sobs, screams, and mocking laughter. Memories, like sharp shards of glass, pierced his soul. War, defeat, betrayal. He, Hastora the great demon lord, had fallen. His existence had completely disappeared from the world.
However, the darkness began to recede. A soft light bathed his senses. He felt warmth, the smell of milk, and a gentle touch. He opened his eyes. A new world stretched out before him. Vast and magnificent buildings, lamps made of gold. And... a woman with a gentle smile carrying him. Ah... reincarnation, he had been reincarnated.
He was no longer Hastora, the feared Demon Lord. He was a tiny baby, weak and helpless. The name given to him: Hastora. Whether it was a coincidence or planned, his name was the same as before.
He was born a baby with black hair and red eyes, different from his former self. He was a cold, tyrannical Demon Lord, now trapped in the weak body of a baby. Anger enveloped his body. Revenge, that was all that was on his mind. His new life had just begun.
"... "
Eight years passed, Hastora grew into a cold and intelligent boy. He always showed a flat and cold expression on his face. Even though he was still young, a mysterious aura emanated from his body. He grew up in a low-class noble family, which made him and his family looked down upon by other nobles.
Although he was often looked down upon by other nobles, he didn't care about them, and preferred to ignore them. Every morning, he practiced his Swordmanship at the training ground. He had been doing it for three years.
Not only Swordmanship. He also trained his magic, he tried to adapt to the new body. Day by day, he began to adapt to the new body. His body was not yet able to use the original powers of Hastora. It was because he was only eight years old.
He decided to wait for the time for him to show himself to the world. And wait for the time for him to take revenge.
His journey had just begun.
"Hastora! It's time for lunch" his mother's voice shouted.
"Yes, mother" he replied briefly.
Hastora decided to end his training and return to the mansion for lunch. He sheathed his sword, and walked back towards the mansion.
In the kitchen, all his family gathered. His father, Ard, had black hair and blue eyes. His mother, Elsia, had black hair and red eyes. His older sister, Sera, had black hair and blue eyes. And himself, Hastora, had black hair and red eyes. They all sat at the dining table to eat together.
The atmosphere felt warm, peaceful, and pleasant. Even for a cold Demon Lord like him. But, it wouldn't make him change his ambition. He wouldn't change his ambition for revenge.
After eating, he decided to return to the training ground. He did it all to realize his plan.
"Hastora, do you want to train at the gate with me?" asked his father who had just finished eating.
The 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲 can be created and appear on its own due to the clash of the world's balancing energy <𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝗔𝘇𝘂𝗿𝗲> from another world, causing the two worlds to be connected through the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲.
The 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲 is usually a dungeon that must be completed. The 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲 can also be created by itself using spatial magic with great skill. The 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲 created by spatial magic is usually a portal to another world or to another place.
Of course this was a good opportunity for him to become stronger, all for revenge. He couldn't refuse this opportunity.
"Of course" he replied briefly.
"Wait, you're still eight years old, entering the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 is dangerous" his mother said worriedly.
"It's okay, dad will protect me". He replied as a reason to be able to enter the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲.
Actually he didn't need his father's protection. He couldn't even imagine the great demon lord like him being defeated by a lowly monster.
"Alright, then, don't get separated from your father" his mother said reluctantly.
After that conversation, they left the mansion and boarded the horse carriage towards the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲. The horse carriage moved quite fast, it was caused by the mana crystal that was on his necklace. The mana crystal could make the horse faster and longer in moving. Those mana crystals were mined from inside the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲.
After fifteen minutes of travel, they both arrived at their destination. The 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲 emitted energy that indicated Rank C. They both immediately entered the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲.
"Let's do it quickly, dad" he said to his father.
"I leave it to you" his father replied with a wide smile.
Not long after a group of goblins appeared. They looked like they were carrying a sword and a small shield on their arms. Hastora felt a little disappointed because all that appeared were lowly goblins, he hoped a strong monster would appear.
"Hastora, kill them all" his father said while pointing to a group of goblins.
He heard that and immediately swung his sword while taking a fighting stance.
"Dark Swordmanship level one <𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻>"
He used his Swordmanship. The group of goblins were immediately cut in one attack.
"This is weak" he muttered to himself.
His father looked a little surprised and disbelief at what he saw. He couldn't believe how an eight-year-old boy could kill fifty goblins in one attack.
He held his head, and tried to calm down and stay focused on training him. He thought that Hastora was a gift from God to his family.
"Great, then let's go deeper" his father said.
"Alright" he replied while sheathing his sword again.
They walked deeper, while walking, three Orcs appeared and blocked their way. The Orcs were carrying a hammer and looked like they were wearing armor.
Hastora was still a little disappointed with the monster. He wanted to quickly meet the dungeon boss.
Hastora attacked the Orcs using his magic. He released a giant dark ball, the attack was launched towards the Orcs.
But the attack was not enough to defeat the Orcs. It was caused by the armor they were wearing.
They moved forward simultaneously attacking Hastora. He jumped back to avoid their attacks. The Orcs didn't stop there, they attacked again repeatedly. Hastora felt annoyed, and wanted to kill them all immediately.
He released a large dark chain and entangled all the Orcs. Hastora wanted to finish them all with a destructive magic. But it didn't happen because his father was still there, and his weak body still couldn't withstand the power of that magic. He decided to use his Swordmanship only.
"Dark Swordmanship level one <𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻>"
The entangled Orcs were immediately split in two. Their blood splattered everywhere. His father, seeing this, immediately held his head, it was all done by him so that he could accept the fact that his son was indeed talented.
"Father, let's go deeper". He invited while pointing into the dungeon.
"Huh... Alright" his father replied while calming his mind.
They walked for quite a while until they finally arrived at the boss room. Hastora had been waiting for this moment, he took the key located next to the boss room door and immediately opened it.
The door opened, a large spider was seen inside.
"Hastora... I'll take care of this'. His father said about to draw his sword.
"What do you mean, father? He's my prey". He said with a cold gaze.
His father looked a little surprised to hear that. He tried to stop Hastora from doing something useless.
"You're still young, you won't be able to defeat the Rank C dungeon boss". His father said while trying to stop Hastora.
"No, he's mine"
He immediately ran towards the boss while swinging his sword.
"I'm coming, you trash".