When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by darkness, or rather, a half-darkness. Groaning softly, I raised myself into a sitting position, feeling a dull ache in my limbs. The conversation with Aphrodite was still fresh in my mind, as if it had just happened moments ago.
Summoned as a hero by the Demons? The notion was surreal, yet here I was.
I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. The room was dimly lit, but I could make out its lavish furnishings. Ornate tapestries adorned the walls, and an intricately carved wooden dresser stood against one side. Velvet drapes hung heavy over tall windows, allowing only slivers of moonlight to pierce through.
Despite the darkness, it was clear that this was a room of opulence and luxury, a stark contrast to what I had expected.
As a human from another world, summoned into the midst of demons, I had anticipated a much harsher reception. The fact that they had placed me in such a room and not a prison cell was surprising. Even more so was the absence of any shackles on my arms, legs, or neck.
Shifting my body, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, intending to stand. A sharp, unfamiliar sensation in my left leg made me flinch. Pulling up the pant leg, likely provided by my captors, I stared in shock. My left leg was gone, ending in a neatly bandaged stump just below the knee. Attached to it was a crude prosthetic, a rod strapped to the stump to serve as a makeshift leg.
My breath caught as I examined my right leg. It was intact but covered in burn scars, remnants of a painful past I had not yet remembered fully. With a sinking heart, I checked my right hand. There was nothing. Pulling back the long sleeve, I saw that my right arm ended in a similarly charred stump, half of it burned away, the rest marked by ugly scars.
The sight was horrifying.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stand, the effort sending a wave of pain through my damaged limbs.
“Hgn!” I grunted, feeling immense pressure on the stump of my left leg. Biting back the pain, I pushed forward, making my way to the bathroom. Each step was a struggle, my body protesting with every movement. I leaned heavily against the doorframe, then the wall, until I finally reached the mirror.
I caught sight of my reflection and let out a bitter laugh. “Haha.”
What stared back at me was a wretched figure. My left eye was gone, replaced by a grotesque red burn. The rest of my face had been spared the worst of the damage, but my body was another story. I tore off the shirt I had been wearing, revealing a torso covered in burn scars. They crisscrossed my skin like a macabre painting, turning what was once flesh into a testament of suffering.
Pain radiated from every part of me, a constant reminder of the torment I had endured. It felt as though I was still being burned alive, the searing agony etched into my very being. Yet, my remaining ice-blue eye, a haunting reminder of Khione, remained cold and unyielding, reflecting the depth of my newfound hatred.
The spell that had been cast upon me was powerful, potent enough that even the Demons couldn’t fully heal the damage. They had done their best, I could see that, but their best wasn’t enough to restore me. The scars remained, a permanent mark of the horrors inflicted upon me by the Divine Knights.
I stared at my reflection, my expression hardening. “You guys hated demons so much, huh? I’ll show you what a true demon is, from the merciless world called Earth.”
I wasn’t just any human. I was from an Earth that had endured countless schemes, bloodshed, and wars—all orchestrated by the most ruthless species of all: humans. I had kept certain reservations to live properly on Earth, to maintain some semblance of normalcy. But now, the Divine Knights had pushed me too far.
“Divine Knights, you’ve gone too far this time,” I muttered to my reflection.
Opening the tap, I let the sink fill with hot water. The room was silent, empty. No one expected me to wake up this soon, not after enduring such grievous injuries. Even though it had been quite a while, my wounds were severe enough to put me in a coma. I survived by sheer plot armor, or perhaps luck, and mainly due to Aphrodite’s intervention.
She seemed to be the one who aided the Demons in my summoning.
Did she foresee this day coming?
I didn’t fully trust her, but she had saved my life and kept Khione away from Poseidon’s grasp. It wasn’t for Khione’s sake, but for mine. Whatever affection she held for me had proven beneficial, though I had been unaware of it. I wondered again if my absurd luck had played a role in all this.
Any god could have discovered my illicit relationship with Khione, but it was the least dangerous goddess who did.
Once the water was ready, I removed the rest of my clothes and stepped into the steaming bath. I had made it intentionally hot, almost scalding. The heat seared my skin, but I suppressed the groans of pain as I let it wash over my scarred body. The burning sensation brought a strange sense of cleansing, as if the heat could wash away the remnants of my suffering.
My muscles, once strong and defined, were gone. My bones were visible beneath the tight, burned skin. I looked like a shadow of my former self.
“I am starting truly anew, huh?” I murmured to myself, the sound of my voice echoing softly in the small bathroom.
Thankfully, my stats hadn’t changed. I still had my high attributes, but they were temporarily blocked because my current physical state didn’t align with them. Instead, I had a different set of stats, ones that matched my weakened condition. These new stats were quite miserable, to say the least, but I didn’t care. They were just numbers, temporary setbacks.
It wouldn’t take long to recover my strength, but the loss of my left leg, right arm, and left eye was a more complicated issue. How much time had passed since my injury? Days? Weeks? Months? Certainly not years, or I’d already be dead, considering I had less than a year to live when this began.
After half an hour in the hot water, I stood up awkwardly, my right leg slipping on the wooden prosthetic. The sensation was still strange and uncomfortable. Fortunately, there were clothes nearby, seemingly tailored to fit my new stature. I put them on carefully—a set of shirt, coat, and pants that clearly belonged to a rich Demon officer.
I tore a piece of the black curtain to fashion a makeshift eye patch, hiding my unsightly left eye. The rough fabric felt abrasive against my skin, but it would serve its purpose. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and stepped out of the bathroom.
Let’s see who summoned me this time.
A Goddess again? Or someone else.