If you’re reading this, just know that it’s probably because I’ve passed on from this world. I can’t say I’ve lived an eventful life because I have no memories, but I’d like to imagine that I did. I probably did.

Want to know why? Because I bet I was just as good at getting myself into trouble back then as I was now. Why didn’t I just find the exit! Who cares about a room behind crystal doors? Run! Flee! Just get out of the castle as quickly as possible!

That thief was right, I am a bumbling buffoon.

I had tried keeping myself sane, but the Demon Queen’s gaze drilled into me so uncomfortably that no matter where I turned my eyes to look in the grand throne room I couldn’t escape the feeling that she wanted to rip my throat out.

Her fingers tapped against the deep mahogany armrest of her throne. Standing on both sides of her were winged demons in dark, full plate armor. They both rested their hands on massive greatswords that surely would be the tool of choice for when they carved me up.

Oh god….

I hadn’t noticed this before, but my lord was she covered in blood. It was everywhere. Like a child who got a little too excited with a bottle of red paint, except the bottle was a human body, and the paint was….well, you get it.

“How did you get into that room?” the Queen asked me in her demonic tongue.

I nearly jumped from my position. Her voice was cold and harsh and I had just imagined her painting a canvas using my body as a brush. In other words, I was trying my best to not need another new pair of pants.

“It….was already open? I was just walking by and then, what do you know, I see this room of darkness,” I said.

The queen didn’t like my answer. She slammed her fists against the armrest causing her violet hair to shift in front of her grey forehead.

“Lies! Do not lie to me, manling. I am not a fool who you can dissuade with your petty tricks.”

Why do they always have to yell....and how does she know it wasn’t already open? It wasn’t as if she had a lie detector in her mind. D-did she?

“I'm sorry. It wasn’t open when I got there. I put my hand on it, and then it opened up….”

“I said don’t lie!”

“What!?”

“Tell me the truth!”

“I did! That was the truth! That’s exactly what happened,” I exclaimed.

She couldn’t detect a lie if her life depended on it! Lucky for her, it was my life instead—but that’s unlucky for me, so please, fix your faulty detector already!

“That door does not open simply because some human places their hand on it. It was built by the first Demon King, and only a specific few are capable of opening it. Now tell me the truth, child of Cellinere, the goddess of man: how did you get into that room?”

Well sorry to break it to you, but it did open simply because some human placed their hand on it. Maybe you got some magical difficulties going on, but that’s not on me.

“Follow along now, I wouldn’t want you to fall behind—”

“Do not patronize me, you wretched human. You will speak to me like the lower being you are.”

....Ok.

Wretched kind of stung. But it’s not as if my answer would change just because she belittled me. That only served to hurt my feelings.

“My answer is the same as before: I came across the door and placed my hand on it. It went, Vroom~ and then opened up. That’s exactly what happened. I’m serious.”

The queen seemed surprised by what I said.

“It went….Vroom~? It did that?”

“Y-yes, Vroom~ Why, is that something important?.”

“You’re not lying to me again, are you? It actually made that sound?”

“I mean, it could’ve been more of a Vrrroooom~ but I suppose that’s mostly the same.”

The queen leaned back in her throne and seemed to be processing my answer. There was a speculative look on her face, and she occasionally bit her index finger while squinting her eyes.

On closer inspection, she was quite attractive. Her reptilian-like eyes and small, black horns did little to detract from her sharp features and overall beauty. Perhaps they even added to it. How exotic.

Her fist slammed on the armrest again causing me to jump. No amount of beauty could make up for that personality though….

“You,” she said. Her face was a mixture of anger and confusion.

“Ridiculous!” she said again, rising from her throne in a fit of anger.

“Consider yourself lucky, manling, your life has been spared until further notice. Once I figure out how to tear the Gatekeepers soul from your own, I will flay your skin from your bones an—”

Her horrifying depiction of my future was cut short as the doors to the room burst open behind us. Thank god for that. I was nearly about to faint if she continued.

Would she flay me alive? While I was screaming and crying in pain and agony?

Oh, I could see it now. Hordes of demons around me choosing which cut they’d get. ‘Yes, I’d like the thigh meat. Cook it rare for me? Thank you.’ I could see Smiles hovering over me while saying that.

My overly imaginative mind aside, this was the best news I’d received since getting reincarnated. Judging by her annoyance, removing the….what was it? Doorman? Bellhop? Ah! Removing the Gatekeeper's soul from my body didn’t seem like it was such a simple task.

Perhaps I could escape within that time….

“What brings you here, Viodel?” the queen asked.

Her question was directed to the violet-haired demon who marched towards her throne with an ensemble of black-plated demons behind him. He too was very human-looking and had the same grey skin and red, reptilian eyes as the queen. His light armour was very sleek and it revealed his toned arms and shoulders.

Viodel came awfully close to me and knelt to my left, in front of the queen. He flicked his cape behind him and overextended his arm so that it whacked me in the stomach. That was definitely intentional.

If I’d ever been hit before in my life, the sensation must have been forgotten as I felt like my entire rib cage had been crushed with that small flick.

The ass glared at me with murderous intent before facing and answering the queen.

“All traces of the human army have gone. We’ve succeeded in fending them off, but….I’m afraid we lost far too much for what we’ve achieved. Our forces have thinned greatly,” Viodel said.

I suppose he was a high-ranking member of the clan. That was most likely the same for any of the humanoid demons. For a race that has fought with mankind for so long, they certainly did resemble them to a frightening degree. Not demons like M-Scum and Smiles though. Those guys were just straight out of a nightmare.

“Tch. We’ve been fighting too much these days. Are we even capable of surviving another assault?” the queen said. Her face was deep in contemplation.

“Perhaps….it is time we return.”

“My Queen! Do not be rash. No matter how much we struggle, or how ragged we become, we must not turn back. We’ve all followed you to—”

Viodel wiped his head to me as if he just remembered I was there.

Ah….while I appreciate your acknowledgment of my presence, I’d prefer it if you just didn’t look at me. You’re scary.

The ass looked at me as if to say ‘Why can’t you just be dead?’

“Are we able to discuss our matters with this….thing, in our presence?”

The Queen nodded. “Think of him as nothing more than livestock. Tell me, Viodel, how long do you think we can last at this rate?” The Queen asked.

They really did see me as a source of food….

“I’m not sure. We can always refurbish our units with your powers but that is not something we can do as frequently as we desire. If we consider the proper management of your ability and our recruitment….I estimate we have two months before we fall to the humans.”

The Queen closed her eyes as if she expected the dreary response.

“I’ve failed you,” she said to him. “As your leader, I have done you and the others a great injustice. But very well. We must work with what we’re given. And we happen to have been given something unexpected.”

She then cast her gaze onto me.

The amount of times I have flinched since coming to this castle is unhealthy. I was starting to get an ache in my neck. I couldn’t even sleep properly anymore with all the twitching I did. Just please, stop looking at me, you fiends!

“Perhaps you weren’t as much of a nuisance as I had assumed, human. You may come in handy just yet,” she said.

I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“And how will I be of use to you?”

“You will address her as the Queen she is!” Viodel roared at me.

Uh….ok. I knew better than to argue with someone that could crush your skull like an acorn.

“And how, my Queen, will I be of use to you?”

“You will be a vessel to the soul you now contain. I will use your body to make the soul stronger while I discover how to remove it from you,” she replied.

I was going to be used as an incubator for some other being's soul. It’s like I was hatching chickens. Thinking about chickens, I was quite hungry.

“I’m not sure I follow. How will I grow the soul inside of me?”

“I didn’t expect a being of your caliber to understand. What you now contain inside of you is the soul of the Gatekeeper, a being beyond those of the mortal realm.”

Oh wow, it’s not as if I couldn’t figure that out from the bloody name of the thing. That doesn’t tell me anything!

“Ok, I understand that much. But what does that mean?” I asked.

“You’ve had the soul in you for quite some time, yet you don’t understand anything about it? You humans are embarrassing,” the Queen said.

Viodel snickered.

Is it just me, or were they bullying me right now? I get we’re supposed to not like each other and all, but this definitely felt like they were going too far….I kind of wanted to cry.

“The Gatekeeper is the guide to all souls. As it must guide them, it knows all there is to know about them. The first Demon King captured the Gatekeepers' soul after defeating it many centuries ago and placed it in the treasure room. After all this time, it had never answered to any of those who tried to harness it, so the reason it fused with one such as yourself is beyond my understanding,” she said.

So basically, I was amazing. That’s what I was hearing right now if I wasn’t mistaken. All these barbaric creatures couldn’t hold a candle to me! But they could hold a campfire underneath me, and that was much worse.

“While I despise the idea of teaching you how to utilize it, it is now necessary for my future goals. Try calling upon the power. Omni Vision is the name. I don’t expect you to access it immediately, though, I understand the limitations of the human race.”

I wasn’t fully understanding any of this, aside from her continued belittling of me, but I simply had to do as she asked.

Ok. Uh, Omni Vision?

My eyes were suddenly filled with a blue, misty aura. The edges of my sight swirled like fog, and everything in the room was now coated with a shade of blue.

“Wow,” I muttered.

I gazed at the Queen and noticed a label floating above her head.

[Title: Higher Demon]

[Danger Level: Will vaporize your entire body with a flick of her finger. She could do that, but she won’t. This particular Demon would prefer to watch you suffer as she kills you slowly. Avoid at all costs]

….

That was….unnerving. I got my answer to my question from before. She would most certainly flay me while I was still alive. This woman was psychotic!

The Queen seemed to grasp the situation from my expression.

“I’m impressed, manling. You were able to call upon it much quicker than I expected of you. You have my praise.”

Viodel didn’t like the Queen's acknowledgment of me. I mean….it was simple recognition, you ass, no need to attack me with your hatred.

“This is perfect,” she said again. “If you can grow the soul with this same speed, I may reconsider your execution.”

“Really?!”

I nearly ran up and hugged her. I didn’t, of course. I just got a chance at survival, I didn’t want to throw it all away just to feel her body against mine. Or did I? No, no. I didn’t.

….

Either way, this was great. I wasn’t sure what exactly I’d need to do to grow the soul, but I was sure as hell going to shed blood, sweat, and tears at it.

“What you see now is the physical analysis. It tells you what you’re looking at and how dangerous the creature is to you. There is a second part to the skill that only activates when you’re around something that you have recently killed. You can analyze their soul and absorb it to gain an enhancement for yourself. That is how you will grow the Gatekeepers soul. You will work under me and do as I tell you while absorbing the souls of those you’ve defeated. Understand?” she said.

Loud and clear you fearful woman!

I nodded my head fervently.

The Queen smiled and said, “Good. We will start right away. Viodel, take him to a zone where the monsters are F-rank. Let him test the powers of the soul there.”

And there went any faint trickles of excitement I may have had. This guy of all people was going to be my supervisor? I could see him offing me and hiding me in a ditch somewhere, saying I got killed by a monster. Look! Look at those menacing eyes! He was definitely going to kill me out there.

“As you wish, my Queen,” he said.

Despite my inner pleas, there was nothing I could do but follow the towering demon out of the throne room and towards the front entrance of the castle.