The Author's POV

It felt as if time had frozen. My mind blanked. My blood froze. My breathing quickened. My pupils dilated.

...I thought I was prepared.

Since reincarnation inside of my novel, I knew that one day I would encounter a demon.

I was ready...I thought

But looking at the creature haughtily sitting on the throne, hallucinations of death repeatedly replayed in my mind.

'I have to run!'

...I repeated again and again in my mind.

I knew that...yet my legs refused to listen to me

Ba...dump! Ba...dump!

The hall was silent, and only the sound of my heartbeat repeatedly pulsing could be heard.

Sweat started dripping down from my body, soaking all my clothes. With a shivering hand, I tightly clenched on my clothes, right where my heart was.

What's this...?

...Am I scared?

'There's no way I can fight against that!'

...was what my mind repeatedly told itself as my eyes transfixed themselves onto the demonic creature that was amusingly looking down on me from the throne. With its blood-red eyes, the demon looked down at me as it smiled widely.

"It seems like a little mouse has sneaked inside my abode"

Licking its lips, the demon eyes carefully looked at me up and down, almost as if a delicious snack had presented itself before it.

-Crack! -Crack! -Crack!

Using its thumb, the demon slowly cracked every one of its fingers on its right hand.

"huuuuu...."

Letting out a long breath I forcefully tried to calm myself down.

'This is all an illusion!'

What I was experiencing was the innate fear a prey faced when meeting a predator.

If I thought about it rationally, although my opponent was strong, it wasn't to the point that I would have to despair.

Yes...

The demon's stats couldn't be above F rank, else the dungeon would've already desynced.

The fear I was experiencing was all in my mind.

I didn't have to fear what was before me.

...was what I repeatedly tried to tell myself, yet I still couldn't stop my body from trembling.

The feeling I was experiencing was similar to the moments before I took my final exams.

I knew I could do it, as I had prepared rigorously for it...but even if I was prepared, it didn't stop me from being scared.

"How cute..."

Amusingly looking down on me, the Demon leaned forward as its red eyes carefully looked at me.

Instantly, it felt as if all my secrets had been laid bare for the demon to look at. It felt as if nothing could be hidden from its two prying blood-red eyes.

"G rank..."

-tap! -tap! -tap!

Shaking its head disappointedly the Demon began tapping on the armrest of the throne as it started pondering.

Finally, after a couple of seconds, the Demon shook its head in disappointment.

"Too bad, too bad..."

up with a decision, the demon's demeanor completely changed from

thick bloodlust exuded from its body, suffocating

"Let me introduce myself..."

-Fwap!

bat-like wings expanded from its back casting a large

one step forward, smiling from ear to ear, the demon

"I am—baron of everblood!"

...

large spacious luxurious corridor, a middle-aged man leisurely walked. His hair which was tied

the side to

-Ding!

vibration

-Ding!

-Ding!

-Ding!

"...Hm?"

about to ignore it thinking that

man

on the black box, the middle-aged man's brows knit together

may be more troublesome than

was standing and reappeared in front of a gate with the number <<756>>

"Stop right there"

as he appeared, two

1, Timothy 2...I don't have time for this

man was in fact, Thomas. Taking out the small

box, the two guards immediately moved to the side and allowed Thomas to enter

two guards move, Thomas disappeared once again

hope it's nothing

the two guards heard before

...

"B-baron o-f everblood!"

the demon introduced itself, like when you replaced a rusty

an elder of the vanity tribe, sub-branch of the demon clan of pride, and

right before the third cataclysm in the later half of

'W-hy was he here?'

something a G rank like

Prince/Princess, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and

was around SS, the same as the strongest humans alive. After Duke-ranked demons were Marquis-ranked

the approximate power levels of

most against Duke-ranked demons. If a Prince/Princess ranked demon showed up, humanity would stand no chance as each rank

the Dwarves, Elves, and Orcs were keeping the Prince/Princess

for them, humanity

it came as a great shock to know that I was currently in front

demon was four ranks

felt

everything started to make

But wait...

a Baron-ranked demon, why

me, causing my pupils to dilate as

"Dungeon overload..."

"...Hm?"

the demon looked

did you know

see the demon looking at me in both

...as expected.

actually trying to cause a

was similar to a dungeon desync in that it involved a dungeon becoming oversaturated with energy. However, contrary to when dungeons desync, where the dungeon just loses connection to the demon world. In a dungeon overload, all the monsters

of monsters suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The consequences alone would

was a reason why humanity had still not gone extinct. It was simply

added with the fact that the Demon King was currently being held back by various forces, the looming threat

being one of the strongest creatures in the whole universe. It had gotten to

no being would be able to stop the Demon King. The world would be at the Demon King's mercy. Knowing this, many forces have joined together in a last-ditch attempt to stop him from conquering its next target. Planet

King's ascension, there was another factor that prevented the demons from

demon army was still unable to adapt

atmosphere, due to earth only have been exposed to mana recently, monsters couldn't

was why dungeon overloads weren't considered

of the third cataclysm

would die immediately upon entering the human world, the monsters that came out from the dungeons were able to adapt to earth's

were your friends suddenly backstabbed you just to

beginning of

-Fwap!