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..."

decision, the demon's demeanor completely changed from its leisurely self

thick bloodlust exuded from its body,

"Let me introduce myself..."

-Fwap!

up, the demon's large bat-like wings expanded from its back casting

step forward, smiling from ear to ear, the

"I am—baron of everblood!"

...

luxurious corridor, a middle-aged man leisurely walked. His hair which was tied in a ponytail, accompanied by his unkempt beard

were next to him stepped to the side to

-Ding!

a small vibration from his pocket followed by a light

-Ding!

-Ding!

-Ding!

"...Hm?"

about to ignore it thinking that it was nothing important, his pocket started vibrating again,

that something wasn't right, the middle-aged man

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

be more

where he was standing and reappeared in front of a gate with the number

"Stop right there"

as he appeared, two white-clad

don't have time for this

middle-aged man was in fact, Thomas. Taking out the small box from

moved to the side and

once again and reappeared inside of

just hope it's

words the two guards heard before Thomas disappeared from

...

"B-baron o-f everblood!"

like when you replaced a rusty gear, everything

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

the third cataclysm in the later half

'W-hy was he here?'

was not something a G

ranked from, King, Prince/Princess,

human power level. Following Prince/Princess ranked demons, were Duke-ranked demons whose power level was around SS, the

power levels of the

could only fend off at most against Duke-ranked demons. If a Prince/Princess ranked demon showed

Orcs were keeping the

not for them, humanity would've long gone

of the demons, it came as a great shock to know that I was currently in front of

Baron-ranked demon was four ranks higher than

I felt so much

thought as everything started

But wait...

demon, why didn't the dungeon

causing my

"Dungeon overload..."

"...Hm?"

demon looked

did you

could see the demon looking at me in both shock and

...as expected.

demon was actually trying to cause a dungeon

in that it involved a dungeon becoming oversaturated with energy. However, contrary to when dungeons desync, where the dungeon

appearing out of nowhere. The consequences alone would be disastrous...Fortunately, this was not a problem

had still not gone extinct. It was simply because

was still unable to ascend into the world. Further added with the fact that the Demon King was currently being held back by

overlords of the universe, grew stronger the more planets it ate. Through its numerous exploits in which it conquered and ate planets, the Demon King grew into being one of the

away from becoming the strongest being in the universe. Once it consumed one more planet, no being would be able to stop the Demon King. The world

there was another factor that prevented the demons from fully

army was still

the atmosphere, due to earth only have been exposed to mana

why dungeon overloads weren't considered a

event that marked the beginning of the third cataclysm happened...Suddenly, as the people on Earth were going

came out from the dungeons were able to adapt to

suddenly backstabbed you just

was the beginning of the third

-Fwap!