"Hyah!!" shouted a man in black armor. He pulled the leather reins, causing a sharp crack.
Two black horses like the gloom of the night neighed, accelerating their majestic march even further. Their hooves left marks on the dirt and mud road, which were soon erased by the wheels of the luxurious carriage.
Anyone who saw it would know that this carriage did not belong to an ordinary person, perhaps its owner was not even "human." The coachman, dressed in elegant black armor, had two purple flames burning in place of his eyes, just like the horses, which were much larger than ordinary ones.
Inside the carriage, sitting calmly, leaning his back against the soft leather-covered seat, was a young man. His hand supported his head as he stared fixedly out the window.
There was no scenery to admire; the path outside was merely dense vegetation on both sides of the road. Even if there were, the wine-colored blindfold covering his eyes made it clear that he would not see anything around him.
Sigh.
The young man straightened his posture, letting out a slow sigh and organizing his thoughts.
"I really reincarnated…" he murmured, running his hand through his long hair that fell over his shoulders.
Another factor that confirmed this assumption was the strange screen floating in front of his face. In the midst of his world of darkness, that floating screen, glowing in shades of violet, stood out like a star on a cloudless night.
[Demon God Contract System.]
'System!' he called softly in his mind. 'Explain your functions!'
Ding!
With a sound extremely familiar to 21st-century readers, the words were replaced by a familiar screen, and soon a voice echoed in the young man's mind.
[Welcome, host! This system is called: Demon God Contract System!]
[As the name suggests, you have been selected to be the god who will guide the demonic races in this vast world!]
Hearing the brief introduction, the young man felt uncomfortable. The words God and demon together gave a sense of something very sinister.
Calming his mind, the young man decided to better understand what the system was about.
"I see, what kind of beings are the demons of this world?"
He was not a teenager craving power or attention, much less a man who thought with his lower head. If this so-called system aimed to cause chaos and widespread destruction, he would simply give up right there.
[Answering the host, in this world there are no demons…]
"Eh??"
The young man's mind short-circuited.
"How am I supposed to guide demonic races if they don't exist!" the young man shouted, somewhat irritated.
[Remain calm, host!]
The cold voice of the system brought the young man back to himself. He did not think this system was defective, especially since the luxurious carriage transporting him at that moment was one of the items included in his welcome package.
A system capable of granting this kind of reward right from the start would somehow be broken… right?
[As stated before, the host must guide the race of demons in this world. Of course, the host must also create his own demons.]
After thinking for a moment, the young man nodded. Now, what remained was the most important question.
"How should I do that?" he asked.
If this "creation" required human sacrifices, he would refuse right then and there.
As if reading his thoughts, the system finally began to explain in detail how it functioned.
[First, the host will receive three bloodlines per month. Even if unused, they will be stored in the system's inventory as cards and can be used at any time!]
The young man was intelligent; he quickly realized the obvious limitations of his system.
"So how should I use these… cards?"
[The host cannot use the cards on himself!]
Those words quickly made the young man thoughtful. Remembering the system's name, he quickly connected the dots and formed his own conjecture.
"Should I use the cards to turn humans into demons?" he asked.
[Exactly, host!]
The young man then turned his attention back to the screen, which now displayed a simple menu, similar to a game's home screen.
[Status]
[Inventory]
[Contracts]
These three options stood out on the screen, while three others were dim and nearly illegible. The young man didn't care and, using his mind, selected the [Contracts] option.
The young man's mind was soon flooded with a torrent of information related to contracts. Unlike what he had initially imagined, it did not involve slavery or mind control, which reassured him.
The contract worked as follows:
The Demon God must grant power to his follower, and in return, the follower must offer loyalty. After forming the contract, the human will transform into a demonic race, and the Demon God will gain limited access to all racial abilities of the form assumed by the human.
The young man placed his hand on his chin, sinking into thought. The contract or the race would not affect the individual's personality, just as he could not force a contract without the other party's consent.
"System, show me the currently available bloodlines!"
Ding!
[Drawing this month's bloodlines!]
["Werewolf" bloodline unlocked!]
["Witch" bloodline unlocked!]
["Yuki-onna" bloodline unlocked!]
If not for the blindfold covering his eyes, they would have definitely widened in surprise. All three items on the list were extremely powerful, and best of all, they were not grotesque beings.
Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, he returned to the main menu and selected the [Status] option. Soon, his information appeared before him like a character sheet in an RPG.
[Status]
[Name: Kael]
[Race: Demon God]
[strength - 10 (normal human 20)]
[mana - 0 (normal human 5)]
[speed - 15 (normal human 25)]
[intelligence - 100 (normal human 50)]
The statistics were easy to understand, but when comparing them to those of a human in this world, Kael felt slightly disappointed.
"It seems my race doesn't influence my stats," he murmured, soon shifting his attention to his intelligence, his highest attribute.
At first, he was surprised. Compared to an adult, his intelligence attribute was twice as high, but remembering that in his previous life he died at 89 years old, everything made sense.
'Age brings knowledge.'
Just as Kael was about to continue exploring his system, the carriage came to an abrupt stop. Due to the soundproofing, he had no idea of the chaos happening outside.
....
The coachman stared fixedly at the massacre before him. His eyes glowed with a supernatural violet light, sending chills through the vultures feeding on the scattered remains.
Decapitated bodies, scattered entrails, arms and legs… it was a true scene straight out of hell.
Despite all this, the coachman remained calm, as if it were just another ordinary day. It was expected. His true identity was that of a cursed knight, a type of war zombie created by the system, along with this carriage and the horses.
His cold eyes soon fixed on a dying figure amid all the carnage.
A man with wrinkled skin and long white hair leaned on a blood-soaked sword, trying to lift his old body.
His eyes were empty, like a soul that had already given up on life, but could not stop. Not yet. He had a mission, his final act as a man, a warrior, a grandfather, and a father.
The old man raised his head. His line of sight met the coachman's. Both remained there, still. There was no fear, only madness and sorrow in that tired gaze.
"Haha… so the devil finally sent his servants to take this old man?!" he asked, his voice hoarse and filled with malice.
This old man was not an ordinary person. It was evident from the scene: his hands had taken many lives. Even before the coachman, he remained firm.
Soon, a terrifying pressure emanated from the coachman's body. The air trembled, and gravity itself seemed to force everything and everyone to the ground.
"Urgh!"
Under the immense pressure, the old man could no longer support himself with his sword. His wrinkled face hit the ground, smearing his face with the blood spread across it.
Even so, he kept his eyes fixed on the armored man seated in front of the carriage.
"Enough!"
A soft and calm voice echoed. Soon, the invisible pressure vanished as if it had been nothing but an illusion. The carriage door slowly opened, and from it emerged the figure of an elegant young man.
Holding a wooden cane, he walked calmly across the battlefield. Soon, he stood before the old man.
The coachman stood right behind him. His eyes shone with malice and disdain. Any movement deemed a threat would end the old man's life instantly.
"Demon!" exclaimed the old man, eyes wide.
Now that the young man stood right before him, his appearance was fully revealed.
Even though he looked somewhat human, the strange dark energy surrounding him made his origins clear.
The young man was, obviously, Kael. Finding the carriage's sudden stop strange, he decided to step down to investigate. Even if it were a group of bandits, he felt no need for caution — not with the bodyguard provided by the system.
Glancing sideways at the armored warrior protecting him, he activated the analysis function that came with the status tab.
[Status]
[name: Velkan]
[race: Death Knight]
[strength - 60]
[mana - 25]
[speed - 20]
[intelligence - 35]
Kael felt satisfied. Turning his attention back to the dying old man, he decided to compare the stats.
[Status]
[name: Baldur]
[race: Human]
[strength - 28]
[mana - 3]
[speed - 18]
[intelligence - 60]
Seeing the old man's stats, for the first time since arriving in this world, Kael was truly impressed.
It was possible to see that many of the bodies scattered across the ground wore armor. It was also possible to notice a crest on the chest of some. These soldiers were not ordinary — likely a group of knights serving a noble — they should not have been so weak.
This seemingly frail old man was, in truth, a specialist weakened by time.
'How strong was he in his prime?'
That thought passed quickly, but soon faded. The smell of blood filling the air brought him back to focus.
Remembering that the old man had called him a demon, he began to wonder what his current appearance truly looked like in this world.
Kael kept staring at the old man for a while. Those eyes covered by the wine-colored blindfold, along with the strange aura surrounding him, caused immense discomfort.
Soon, the heavy atmosphere was broken by Kael's calm voice.
"So… Mister Baldur?" he said, a smile spreading across his face.
Baldur's aged heart trembled at that moment.
'How does he know my name?!'
His breathing became intense. His chest rose and fell rapidly, causing his open wounds to bleed again.
Baldur was an old merchant. Even though his mercantile group placed his family in the middle class of that feudal era, his status was not influential enough for his name to be known by outsiders.
Seeing the old man's face grow increasingly pale, Kael's smile widened even more.
He was not a sadistic person, but the situation required him to remain mysterious, at least until he understood what had happened.
"W-Who are you?" Baldur asked, his body tense.
Cold sweat ran down his spine. His mind was on high alert.
An even wider smile adorned Kael's pale face. Now that he had become a Demon God, even if his nature did not allow truly evil acts, he would still play the role masterfully.
"I…" — pausing for dramatic effect, he crouched, leaning on his cane — "I am Kael… the Demon God!"