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[ The netherworld. The realm where demons live. And the king that rules over the nation is the Demon King.
But the Demon King’s throne has been vacant for some time now.
Who will be the next Demon King? ]
━━━━━━━━
On a fishing boat, in the middle of the sea during a storm, stood a fourteen-year-old Suzuki Iruma. The blue-haired teen was doing his best to put away the frozen fish to store them.
“Iruma,” A masculine voice called out. An older coworker of the teen. “I’m leaving this all to you! Don’t let it fall apart!”
“Eh?” The boy, Iruma, looked at the older man in disbelief. Did this old man not see how the storm was making the job harder? “Now? There’s still a lot to do-“
The man didn’t seem to mind his attitude and instead continued to leave the storage room with a wave of his hand. “If it falls apart, I’m docking half your pay!”
“Y…Yes, sir,” Iruma answered just in time before the man left. ‘ There’s no way I could get by with half of my pay,’ He thought as a way to support his choice to agree.
[ Suzuki Iruma, fourteen years old.
He’s being forced to work on a tuna fishing boat. To put it simply, his parents are scumbags who refuse to work, so he has to work instead .]
Suddenly, the fishing boat started to sway from side to side. The movements caused the stored fish to slide out and onto the floor of the boat. Iruma started trying to put them back away but cursed when the number of falling fish started to increase. With every dish that fell, he managed to dodge. Even when he slipped on the ground the teen rolled away. However, when he looked up, he saw a ton of frozen fish starting to fall over him.
“Holy crap,” He exclaimed, eyes wide. Iruma got ready to move out of the way as one started to fall on his face. He had closed his eyes and was going to let his reflexes take over, but when it didn’t he slowly opened his eyes. “What the..?”
The boy looked around him to see everything but he had stopped. The fish was frozen ( ha) in midair, even the boat had stopped moving from the storm. Speaking of, he couldn’t even hear it from outside anymore. When he stopped looking around, he noticed that there was a tall shadow that loomed before him. “Huh?!”
Iruma tried to move away but soon realized that he was tied up. The mysterious figure held up a sign with a single word: ‘ SOLD!’
“Sold?!” Iruma blurted in shock. “What’s going on- Whoa!”
In the blink of an eye, Iruma was flying in the air. Or maybe he was being flown since he was still tied up. He took the time to look around, though it didn’t help his confusion. Because now he was being flown over a forest?! When he looked in front of him, he saw a tall old man. From the body structure, this had to be the man from before.
“Where are we?” He asked, after finding his voice. “And who are you?”
“זה העולם התחתון, סוזוקי אירומה.”
“Hah?!”
The flying man then snapped his fingers and Iruma felt a strange sensation in his head. Before he could ask what that was, the man spoke once more. And this time, he understood the words he said.
“I made it so you can understand the demon language,” the man confirmed. “Suzuki Iruma.” The boy in question felt a chill when he said his name but stayed silent. “This is the netherworld.”
“Nether…world?”
The man nodded. “It is the realm of demons.”
“Demons?!” Iruma repeated, his voice rising. Then he went silent. A demon.. that he can understand. “That snap. Was that a spell?”
The old man looked back at him intrigued. “Oho, you figured that out fast,” he said and grinned. “Yes. I put a spell on you.”
“Then.. you’re-“
“A demon?” The older man finished the question for him. “Indeed, I am. My name is Sullivan.”
Demons. Spells. Netherworld. This was already giving him an aggravating migraine. This couldn’t get worse, right?
“Iruma,” Sullivan spoke, gaining the teen’s attention. “Your parents sold your soul to me.”
He was corrected.
“They what,” he exclaimed. His parents sold him to a demon?! A part of him wanted to deny the fact that they would do something like that. But the rest of him quickly pointed out that it was something they would do. In the end, the boy just sighed. “Those idiots. Hm. What’s that?”
A building was seen from a distance. The closer they got, the bigger it was becoming.
“That is my mansion,” Sullivan answered, shocking the boy once more. Just who was this old man? “Now, prepare yourself.”
A chill ran down his spine at the tone switch. Suddenly the tall demon had become a lot more serious.
The fear, however, was quickly halted as Iruma found himself in a lavish room, sitting on a large comfy chair. Sullivan was in front of him presenting a table of sweets and tea. The switch-up seemed to halt his current emotions.
“What.. what is this?” He eventually asked, a teacup in hand. ‘When did he take it?!’
“You see,” The demon started with a serious expression. The boy gulped as he tried to prepare himself for what he was going to say. “I’ve been single all this time. But it’s always been my dream to have a grandchild.”
‘…huh?’
Sullivan took a knee in front of Iruma, to be at eye level with the teen, taking his hands as he spoke in a sincere tone. “So, would you be my grandson?”
“Huh? Hold on!”
“I've been so jealous of Levy and Belia bragging about their grandkids! I’ll buy you anything you want! I’ll spoil you to death,” Sullivan rambled to try and convince him. “So, won’t you agree?”
Iruma furrowed his eyebrows. Yes, those were good positives, but still. “Didn’t I get sold to you? Would I even have the option to refuse?”
“You can say no if you really want to,” Sullivan answered honestly. “I’ll respect your wishes.”
Iruma stared at the demon with a raised eyebrow. ‘ What should I do?’ He thought. ‘ In this rare circumstance, normally I would refuse. This situation is completely insane! If it’s fine to say no..”
“ Then—“
“However!” Sullivan interrupted taking a more egg like shape. “That is exactly why I’m putting everything in this request! I want to have a grandson! Please be my grandson!”
‘ Must..’
“Think of it as helping out a dying man, Iruma-kun! Please make my dream come true.. Please fulfill my wishes! I beg of you!”
[ Suzuki Iruma, despite his attitude, is a kind-hearted boy.
Whether he is asked for help. Or if nobody asks at all. Even with unreasonable requests. He will accept anything and can’t decline.
In other words, he was a complete pushover.
Words that stand no chance against Iruma: Please, Help, and I beg of you.]
Iruma found himself hitting the armrest of the chair with gritted teeth as an egg-shaped Sullivan celebrated with a freshly signed contract.
‘ I just became a demon’s grandson,” he thought to himself as he stared at the hand he signed the contract with in horror.
[ Iruma has the habit of just accepting anything after living fourteen years of misfortune.]
“Well, now that that’s settled,” Sullivan spoke as he put the contract away. With a snap of his fingers, the room became a large bedroom and his work clothes was replaced with what he guessed was a school uniform. An Olympic-blue jacket with a white stripe lining the edges, pockets, and cuffs; matching pants with white stripes lining the ankles; a red bow adorned with a red demon-eye decoration; and dark-blue dress shoes.
“Eh? What’s all this?” Iruma asked, referring to the clothes as his new grandfather complimented him.
“Well, you're my precious first grandchild. I will take care of everything! Not only food, clothing, and shelter. But also,” The old man pulled out books and more with a bright smile. “Your education! You will attend a demon school.”
“A.. demon school?” He repeated slowly.
“You were forced to start working at a young age because of your parents and didn’t really go to school, right? But have no fear! All the paperwork has been taken care of—“
“Already?!”
“From now on,” Sullivan continued despite being interrupted. “I’m your Grandpa!”
“Grand..pa-“
“Ah! That sounds wonderful,” Sullivan said delighted. “Let’s take a picture on the first day, okay!”
“Hold on..” Iruma tried to speak up.
“There's never been a human enrolled in this school, but you won't be eaten as long as they don't find out you're human!”
Iruma blanched at that, eyes wide. “I’ll be eaten if someone finds out I’m human?!” His words were soon drowned out as a bunch of liquid splashed on him with a ‘ Sploosh,’ making the boy cough in his fist.
“Thanks to this perfume, your scent will be masked. So, don’t worry.”
When Iruma finished coughing, he saw Sullivan squatting down and messing with the books he had presented earlier. “Actually can we..”
“It’s a relief to have you as my grandson, Iruma-kun! If you had declined,” Sullivan’s body slowly transformed to something more disturbing. “I would’ve had you as my dinner for tonight. Oh, what were you saying?”
The teen blanched at the transformation and had fallen silent when the demon went back to the sight he had somehow grown accustomed to. The sight almost made him believe that the demon really was going to eat him. Almost. Despite the act, he could tell the words were an empty threat. When he turned to him, he managed to snap out of his stupor and clear his throat.
“Listen, uh.. Grandpa,” Iruma tried to ignore how Sullivan lit up at the name. “Don’t you think I should learn a little more about this world before being thrown into school? I’ll stick out if I don’t know anything about where I live?”
Sullivan froze momentarily before clapping. “You’re so smart, Iruma-kun! I’ll make sure to bring over some books explaining the history of the Netherworld and other information you’ll need to adjust better.”
Satisfied with the answer, Iruma gave his grandfather a bright smile. “Thank you, grandpa!”
A light blush appeared on Sullivan’s face and his smile grew. To Iruma’s shock, the demon began to cry and hugged him. “You’re such a cute grandson of mine.”
Iruma let out a nervous chuckle and let the demon hug him. He did his best to not indulge on the urge to roll his eyes at the dramatics.
Finally, his new demon grandfather left his new room with an eager ‘goodnight.’ Now that he was alone, Iruma let his smile drop and eyes sharpen as he stared at the door. He began to roam around the room. The bed was a lot bigger than he’d ever been in. Then again, the room as a whole was a lot bigger than he was used to.
Making it to the window, his eyes went up to the two moons in the sky. His blue hair and eyes taking a purple hue while a smirk curled on his face. “This is going to be interesting,” he muttered and crossed his arms before turning on his heel and walking from the window.
>Time Skip to Entrance Ceremony<
Iruma looked up at the large school in front of him in awe.
Demon School: Babyls. Just from the look alone, he could tell it was a prestigious school. But at the same time.
‘Is this even a school..?’ He thought as he scanned the many towers and fences. ‘Well.. it is the demon realm.’
“Iruma-kun!” Sullivan called out, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Picture time! Picture time!”
Iruma turned to see Sullivan at a sign. The first thing the human noticed was the sign itself. It looked unfamiliar at first, but then the words turned into ones he could understand. «Entrance Ceremony» it read.
After he finished scanning the sign, he went up to his demon guardian. “Stand right next to that,” he had instructed and Iruma followed. Sullivan stood next to the blue haired boy with a peace sign for the photo. While Sullivan’s smile was bright, Iruma will admit that his smile was more nervous.
After the picture was taken, the three went their separate ways. The demon had said he needed to get ready. Though he didn’t say what for. That fact by itself had Iruma a little worried that something weird would happen. Still, he ignored it and continued to make his way to the directions given to him.
As Iruma sat in between two uncomfortably large demons, he decided to try and go over his strategy for the next six years. Surviving was the first part, obviously. But he’s been stuck on whether or not he should blend into the crowd or stick out so much no one would bother him. From his research, ranks were a big part of demon culture. So much so, that lesser rank demons depend on their career and lives on upper ranks. It wasn’t too far off from the human world and their greed for money. But, this realm was all about power. Power that he didn’t have, so until he figures that much out.. blending in was the easy answer.
His thoughts were soon interrupted by the singing that surrounded him:
❝Humans only exist to be our food
Suck them dry, soul, blood, flesh, and all
Tremble at the sound of black wings as we take flight
For we are demons
As this song pours forth from our red lips
Scream for us, for we are demons
Our castle is the greatest evil
Its name is Babyls, a solitary place for study
Sacrificing our souls, blood, and meat without leaving anything behind
We shall aim for the demon's top❞
Iruma’s expression went blank as he listened to the school’s anthem. Yeah, blending in was the best option for now. Sitting down with everyone else. He was ready to zone back out until he heard that the principal was going to make an announcement.
‘A demon principal,’ Iruma thought to himself, intrigued. ‘ I wonder how he’s like—‘
“IRUMA-KUN! Your grandpa is here!”
The boy almost fell out of his seat by the loud voice and looked on stage to see his egg-shaped of a grandfather waving to the crowd. ‘HE’S THE PRINCIPAL! No wonder it was so quick for him to enroll me.’
Iruma watched in slight horror as the old man started to single-handledly destroy his plans to blend in by showing a poster of the picture they took and announcing he was selling them.
“WHY WOULD ANYONE BUY THOSE?!” He quickly covered his mouth after suddenly blurting out.
“That's all I wanted to say, bye bye!” The principal-grandfather waved as he skipped off stage.
‘ He just wanted to brag?!’
Iruma wanted to hide in his hands, but refused. If no one realized it was him in that photograph. No need to cause a scene, even if the camera was currently on fire. But the increasing whispers didn’t help his urge.
“Next, we have a greeting from the representative of the new students,” the teacher spoke through the mic. “The representative of the new students, Asmodeus-Kun.”
Suddenly, the attention shifted as a tall student with light pink hair stood from the crowd. Instead of the blue school uniform, the guy wore his own white formal set. Some kind of noble? The name did sound familiar. According to the whispers, the representative had a perfect score on the entrance exam.
‘ At least the attention is off me ,’ Iruma sighed softly.
“Huh? What?” The teacher looked off the stage. And suddenly Iruma had a bad feeling. “Change in plans, giving the speech will be the honor student, Iruma-kun.”
Iruma blinked and soon found himself standing on stage in front of the entire student body of first years. ‘ Why me?!’ He looked to the side and saw Sullivan standing with a video camera in hand. Of course. He withheld a sigh and got a good look at the students.
“ That’s him!”
“He’s kind of cool looking.”
“He’s in front of a crowd like this and isn’t even flinching!”
Well, he could probably use the attention to his advantage at another time. But as for now.. what was he supposed to do?! He wasn’t prepared for this at all! He was aware of the nonchalant look on his face, but inside he was completely flustered by the situation. He wasn’t even sure if he could move.
Then he looked down at the stand in front of him, his eyes catching a letter. He picked it up to read it properly. It was from Sullivan. “So you don’t trip and fall throughout your upcoming school days,” it read before the lines turned into a language he didn’t completely understand. Did he need to say this out loud? Iruma looked back to the wings with a raised eyebrow. Only to receive a thumbs up.
‘Guess so.’
Iruma took a deep breath and began reading what was on the paper. He kept his voice steady and clear with every word he spoke aloud. At some point, he sensed that the air had changed into something more tense. But it was too late to stop now, so he kept going until it was done.
When it was over with, the room erupted into cheers. There was a mixture of shock and excitement with the other students. He didn’t know the reason why until the teachers reprimanded him for chanting a ‘forbidden spell.’ Iruma made a mental note to talk to his so-called grandpa when they got home.
“Seriously, what was that old man thinking?” He muttered to himself as he walked through the hallway with his hands in his pockets. He pulled out a hand to reread the note. For now, he’ll give the principal the benefit of the doubt.
“Hey.”
Iruma looked up to see the guy from the entrance ceremony.
“My name is Asmodeus Alice,” the representative— Asmodeus spoke. “I’m the one that was going to give the speech.”
Soon, they both stood in the courtyard. Asmodeus went on to complain that he didn’t like how the other relied on the principal. For a moment, Iruma felt kind of bad. But that quickly went away as he instinctively moved out of the way of an incoming fireball.
“I’ll see for myself if you’re worthy!” The pink haired demon exclaimed while shooting another fireball at him.
It didn’t take long for a crowd to form, thinking it was a fight. But all Iruma could do was dodge the attacks. It took twenty minutes before the demon got tired and stopped his assault, breathing heavily as he kneeled on the grass.
“Why.. why can’t I hit you!?” Asmodeus demanded.
Iruma stared down at the rather prideful demon. The reason why was because it was a survival instinct he had gained from the hell his idiot parents put him through from the last fourteen years. His brain automatically puts him on the defensive from any dangerous, scary, or painful situations. His power was below zero attack wise, but infinite in defense. Subconsciously, he named the feat ‘Overwhelming Crisis Evasion Capability’ or OCEC for short. Yet.. Iruma didn’t say any of that information out loud.
Instead, he smirked. With Asmodeus’ growing frustrations and the crowd watching them. ‘This.. could be a good opportunity.’
“Why? That’s an easy answer, isn’t it? You’re not worth the effort.”
Asmodeus’ eye twitched. “Are you saying.. I’m not worth attacking?”
Iruma shrugged. His smug smirk stayed on his face as he answered, “Isn’t that obvious? You’re nothing more than a useless bug.”
The crowd reacted strongly after hearing those words, much to Iruma’s delight. Around them, he heard things like, “That means you’re less than a bug!” Or “Why don’t you run away, you coward?”
Though, Asmodeus was less than amused. If anything, he seemed pretty pissed off. “I will not abide by such insults,” he exclaimed. Enraged, the demon made a sword of fire and held it tightly. “If magic won’t work, then I’ll take you down with martial arts! I’ll slice you into pieces!”
With that, Asmodeus ran towards Iruma with a battle cry, his fiery weapon ready to strike. Iruma was slightly taken aback by the switch up. Seeing the dangerous situation heighten, his brain switched gears. When Asmodeus got close enough, Iruma took a step to the side and used his hands to redirect the attack. Aikido fighters use the technique to use their opponents strength against them, a parry. But to Iruma, it was simply another part of his OCEC. For a moment, he was relieved that the move was successful. Until he heard a panicked scream,
“Eiko!”
Iruma turned to see Asmodeus running towards another student, a girl with blonde hair that looked just as frightened. ‘He’s so upset that he can’t control himself!’ Unconsciously, Iruma followed after the fire demon and pounced, wrapping his arms around the other’s waist. Iruma gritted his teeth when they both started to go down.
‘Crap. We’re both gonna fall!’
Then Iruma felt a force lift him up. Suddenly, he was reminded of what happened just before this.
o0O0o
« By the way, what exactly does that spell do?» Iruma asked the teacher after the scolding was done.
The teacher seemed caught off guard for a moment. Then his hand went up to his chin as he thought. «If it works correctly, then you won’t be able to trip or fall for the whole day.»
o0O0o
‘Well… It definitely works.’ Iruma thought blankly underneath the cheering from their current position.
Who would’ve thought a freshman would do a German suplex on his first day? Certainly not Iruma. But it didn’t stop the newspaper committee to write about it. The only reason he was aware of it was because of Sullivan’s reaction the next day.
“I’d expect nothing less from my grandson!” The old demon stated proudly, after hearing other students whisper of Iruma’s first day “achievements”. He turned to Iruma and continued. “You have a bright future ahead of you.”
Iruma was more horrified about how things turned out. He was supposed to blend in, not stand out! He stood across from Sullivan with his head in his hands. “What am I going to do now…? It wasn’t supposed to end like that…”
Sullivan didn’t seem to hear his grandson’s rambling, instead his focus was on the newspaper. The demon was focused on how “adorable” Iruma looked.
“Maybe I should apologize-?” Iruma started. He was going to deny the idea and suggested something else, but promptly shut up when Asmodeus appeared. Their eyes met for a second before Iruma straightened in surprise. “A-Asmodeus?!”
The pink haired demon said nothing as he walked up to Iruma. Before anyone knew it, Amodeus kneeled down in front of him.
‘…hah?’
“In the match earlier,” Amodeus started. “I was at an advantage, but still lost. I humbly accept my defeat. I’m top of that, I was told you also took me to the infirmary. I am truly thankful. According to Demon Law, the loser must serve the victor! And so…”
Iruma blinked, confusion written all over his face. This… this wasn’t going how he thinks it’s going, right?
“I give my all to you and will abide you in ruling over this school, Iruma-sama!”
It went exactly how he thought! To think the Demon world would have a rule like that. He managed to say a forbidden spell, get in a fight, and obtain an underling in the span of one day.
“Iruma-sama, who shall we slay first? Please give me your orders.”
Not to mention get sold and adopted by a demon the night before.
“Iruma-kun, can we make this the main picture on the school’s website?”
“Don’t!” Iruma exclaimed to Sullivan, who pouted in response.
With a deep sigh, he placed his hands on his hips and looked at the two new additions in his life. Blending in was definitely going to be difficult. If he was going to stand out, he supposed he might as well get used to it.
“Tsk, do what you want,” he huffed as he turned in his heels. He didn’t need to look back to know how his newly appointed grandpa brightened up. The purplish glint reappeared in his eyes as a small smirk spread on his lips. Iruma’s first day didn’t go as smoothly as he hoped… but it was definitely something he could work with.
[Suzuki Iruma, fourteen years old.
Has completed his first day of Demon School and gained his first servant.]