Reborn to Devour: A Demonic LitRPG

[Yoshitsune]

Smiles disappeared with a puff of magical smoke and any sense of civility left with them. Just we contestants were left behind in tense silence. By the energy that coursed through the room like an angry storm, I could foresee a diplomatic solution to our situation. Sensing this change, the cursed hands dutifully slid my sword down my arm so that the tip of the weapon poked out just beyond my wrists.

VOTE

Vote: Will you sacrifice the contestant assigned to the final car? Y/N

“Stop baring your teeth, fools,” Liscio spoke first, causing a brief moment of hesitation in a few of the demons. “You heard our host, killing each other here won’t win you this game.”

“So, what, you propose that we keep yapping to each other?” The crocodile questioned. “I’m going to win this game anyways, there is no need to be considerate.”

“Are you sure about that?” The snake-haired woman questioned with a sneer. “I’m clearly the strongest of us.”

A chorus of arguments broke out over who is the strongest. Who killed who, who cleared what Dungeon the fastest, and who had the most powerful affiliations. But, we were quick to learn that few of us had shared realms and that the words of achievement could not be reliably verified.

Without words, other demons went for more visible feats of power. Muscles bulged, weapons were summoned from the sky, and mana flared angrily to show to all around that they were the one on top. Before they could come to blows, Liscio stepped forwards.

“Calm down, all of you. All we are making is a simple decision, Dungalaba,” Liscio said to the crocodile. “We are all incredibly strong, but there will be only one that makes it through. Are we going to fight to the death or are we going to have one person lose for all of us? Will there be a single winner, or will there be nineteen?”

Scattered chatter broke out amongst the demons. For all of Dungalaba’s bravado, I sensed a wavering in their confidence.

“I don’t think many of you are considering what sort of punishment awaits those of us that do not win,” the chimp spoke up. “If this ‘Smiles’ speaks truth, then all of us have died numerous times. If you are like me, then each and every one of those deaths carries with it a major setback, enslavement, a death loop, sometimes, everything at once.”

“Hear, hear,” multiple members of the group said. Even the snake-haired woman nodded in acknowledgement.

“Even if you are the outright strongest in the group, there are no guarantees that you will be the winner,” the chimp continued. “What if you have a bad match-up or someone is hiding a secret weapon? Is it really worth the risk?”

I could feel eyes shift towards the one that they were most wary of. Many looked towards the snake-haired woman. Some looked towards Dungalaba who continued to puff out their chest despite it all. But, none bothered to look my way.

I know that I had endeavored to try to be a better person. This news should have been of a relief to me that people did not look at me and see a violent brute. I was above this sort of sword measuring contest and should feel confident in my own skills. I knew that the opinions of these demons who did not know me mattered little and a cool head would be what would lead me towards success.

And yet, I felt deeply frustrated that I was not feared.

“And, all of those punishments will be delivered onto the singular loser,” a demon with a large deer-like head and bird wings spoke up. “Are you willing to take that five percent chance that you are the one chosen? Have you all gotten this far relying on luck instead of your own skills?”

“Hear, hear,” a different group of demons chimed in.

“But, if you have confidence that you are not the weakest, then you have nothing to fear,” the chimp rationalized.

“When was it established that the weakest of us would be placed in the final car?” The deer-headed creature questioned in response. “It could be the one with the most deaths or the least kills or even at random. It says ‘contestant assigned to the final car’ and nothing about the criteria that chooses that contestant.”

More arguing broke out between the two main camps. Luck against skill. Nineteen winners versus one. There were no new ideas; just the rephrasing of already used ideas and without winning over anyone new to the other side.

All the while, Liscio moved around the room to have private conversations with different demons. They spoke for a few moments before he would move onto the next before he eventually made his way back to his original spot. He got on his toes to speak into my ear.

“Good news, I think that, with you, we have enough to gain a majority for the vote.”

“Huh?” I whispered back, confused on how he believed I was already a member of his group without speaking to me first. But, he didn’t seem to notice.

“I think we’ve gotten as far as we can,” Liscio said. “Why don’t we just finish the vote and accept the decisions that we all made when the first arguments were completed?”

“I’ve already voted,” the snake-haired woman spat. “Hurry it up.”

I could feel everyone’s focus drift inwards towards their vote. I focused on my own ballot. My mind hovered over the ‘Yes’ option. Warriors pick their battles based off of their chance of success. One loser was far better than one winner.

But, which option gave me the best chance of winning?

My thoughts could not help but shift towards Ishmael-san and Vendetta. Would they have voted to sacrifice a single person? No, I could not envision a world where either of them would rely on chance instead of their own skills. I know that Ishmael-san especially would rather rip himself to pieces than to allow himself to lose without even the chance to fight. Perhaps, it was my lack of that mentality that made it so that others did not believe that I was strong. Perhaps it was that lack of mentality that caused me to believe myself to be lesser than either of them.

Even if it was the more foolish decision and even if it led to a punishment that would harm my ability to support them, I don’t think that it was a decision that they would be ashamed of.

VOTE

Vote completed. Game will proceed as normal. Players will be moved to their car.

Liscio’s cohort sighed in disappointment about the result. Some, like the chimp, seemed stressed that the vote didn’t go their way while others turned their attention towards strategizing just how they would win the upcoming game.

“Tough luck,” Liscio said to me with a shrug. “I’m sure you’re disappointed that only one of us will make it through.”

“What are you saying?” I asked curiously. “I did not vote with you.”

Liscio’s eyes widened in surprise before he chuckled in response. The fingers on my body wriggled and tapped. They may have hated me, but they didn’t like the thought of being butchered by a weak person.

“Listen, I know that it’s good to have confidence, but it doesn’t seem like you have that factor to you. You give the impression of a naïve demon who made it here by virtue of your strong allies. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good way to get by, but it's not the way to win this game. You should have been smarter to realize that.”

“I was just starting to feel that, if I don’t prove myself here, that my comrades would think of me the same way that all of you seem to think of me,” I replied with a faint smile as I thought about one person in particular. “That even I would believe that your impression of me would be true.”

Liscio’s energy suddenly shifted. Gone was the amicable energy marred by black splotches. Those dark splotches burned through that warmth and only left hostility behind.

“Fuck you,” Liscio spat scornfully at my feet, taking me off guard by the sharp change in mood. “I don’t give a shit about your comrades or your journey of self-discovery. You’ve made this all so much harder than it had to be. You better pray that you are in a car ahead of me, because I'm going to make sure that you get eliminated by my own hands.”

I didn’t have the opportunity to retort. My body had turned to light and exiled me out of the chamber. I was pulled further down the metallic beast to be deposited in an empty chamber the same way as last time.

This time, I was expecting the sensation and managed to land stably. The room did not have the same sterile feeling as the metallic chamber that I started in. For starters, it was significantly larger. I could not feel any walls nearby, or at all, now that I started to pay attention. The ground was hard and uneven, sloping steeply to my left. I felt the warmth of a fire beside me. Licking flames caused the wood to crackle.

Something about this place felt familiar, as though I stood here at one point in my life. A cool breeze in the air and the sounds of water reminded me of the time that I visited Haruna-san and the nearby lake.

But, I did not feel peace from this tranquil memory. I simply felt tired that my past was constantly pulled from the grave to remind me of what I had lost.

I sat down and quickly activated [Sensory Meditation] to see whether or not I was truly alone in this place. Colors of menacing hues spread out above me. Smiles’ signature along with the faraway gazes of the spectators were my only company in this place.

“Finally, that vote is over and so is our commercial break,” Smiles' voice echoed from all around me. “As you can see, our contestants decided that only one will be able to prove themselves. I’m sure a few of you are disappointed that your predictions were wrong. But, I hope that you will continue to watch despite that disappointment. Isn’t it more fun this way? With that out of the way, let’s get this show on the road.”

NOTICE

Welcome to the "Culling of the Weak." Be the only contestant remaining in the first car.

Your current car: 20/20.

Current bets placed on you: 0

“Nobody expects anything of me.”

I could only laugh when I saw the number. I couldn’t even feel happy that I avoided being the only one to be sacrificed. Disrespect after disrespect after disrespect from everyone and everything had accumulated to an intolerable level. My hands clenched and I could feel anger course through me like a river after heavy rainfall.

Even I had limits. My blade fully extended out of my sleeve. I opened the menu and targeted the car in front of me. After a moment, a small chirping sound emitted in my head to give me permission to head onwards.

Before I was turned to light and sent to the car ahead of me, I tilted my head towards the sky where I felt a clump of mana hanging above me. I spoke to everyone, myself included with a voice that quivered like a volcano about to burst.

“I’m going to show you all. I’m going to kill every last one of them myself.”