Emilia’s eyes flew wide with terror, her muffled scream lost against the shadowy hands crushing her mouth. She writhed and struggled, but the writhing arms of darkness held her fast, her body bound like a puppet in the demon’s grasp.
Mimi, too, was paralyzed. Her tiny frame trembled so violently she could barely breathe, every hair on her fur standing on end. Her heart thundered against her ribs, pounding so fast and hard it felt like it might break free from her chest. She willed her legs to move, to kick, to run, to do anything at all.
But nothing happened. She was completely helpless.
[!! NEGATIVE STATUS INFLICTED !!]
Demonic Fear has taken hold of your soul!
All actions: Disabled
Stun Duration: 14,223 seconds (3h 57m 3s)
FUCKKKK!!!
The despair was crushing, smothering her like the darkness itself.
And yet... through the haze of terror, Mimi recognized it. The twisted form looming before them, she knew it.
An Archdemon!!!
Its body was enormous, a towering mass of living shadow that pulsed and writhed as though it barely had shape at all. Its outline was warped and unnatural, like a nightmare given flesh. Four great, curved horns crowned its head, jagged like the bones of some ancient beast. From its back spread two enormous wings, leathery and bat-like, dripping with smoke as they stretched across the chamber. Its eyes, slitted and blood-red, burned with a hunger so vile it seemed to devour the air itself. One look from those eyes was enough to twist the soul, filling the heart with the certainty of death.
Mimi had seen this before. Back in Arventia Online, her character had fought enemies just like this—thousands of times actually. They were terrifying beings born from Abyssia, the cursed land of evil whose only purpose was to consume and corrupt until nothing remained but chaos.
And she remembered the great events of the game too—massive battles where countless players and the armies of Arventia had to unite as one to fend off Abyssia’s invasion. Once every week, the war horns would sound, and thousands would march to the border. The battlefield would become a sea of fire, blood, and steel. Just like Emilia’s parents and the heroes of this world, the players fought endlessly to hold the line against the darkness.
And there were also expedition missions, dangerous raids that sent players deep into Abyssia itself, exploring that cursed, twisted land.
Of course, both of those kinds of missions were incredibly difficult. They demanded extremely high levels, huge parties, and unshakable preparation to even have a chance at survival. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0velFire.ɴet
And now... Mimi was staring right at one of those horrors.
But this time, she wasn’t behind a screen.
This time, it was real.
***
Anyways, about Archdemons...
They were the third rank in the demonic hierarchy if counted from the bottom.
In Abyssia, demons were beings of pure hatred and malevolence, born from chaos itself. Their hierarchy began at level 60, and the ranks were divided like this:
Level 60–100: Lesser Demons
Level 100–200: Greater Demons
Level 200–300: Archdemons
And above them, there were even more terrifying beings—Demon Lords and Abyssal Monarchs!
As the players eventually figured out, a demon’s ranking was always marked on its forehead. Some kind of strange demonic script, a word glowing with infernal light. That writing was part of the demon’s language, a language known as Infernic.
Of course, Mimi couldn’t read Infernic.
But she recognized the symbol glowing on this demon’s forehead all too clearly!
It was without a doubt an Archdemon!
A creature of this magnitude could wipe out entire cities in an instant! Even Draco might not be able to match it. After all, these were supposed to be raid bosses—the kind of enemies entire guilds struggled to defeat! In a divine scale, they would be on par with demi-gods!
"AAaaa!!!" Mimi screamed inside her mind.
But why???
WHY IS AN ARCHDEMON HERE?!
Here, in the SILVERVEIN’S TREASURY VAULT of all places?!
Mimi couldn’t understand...
This is unfair... so unfair!
She had only just reincarnated here... not even level 2 yet... and already she had to face an Archdemon?!
What kind of twisted, cruel humor is this?!
*****
Slowly, the Archdemon drifted closer, its massive, twisted form gliding through the black mist as if the shadows themselves carried it. With a lazy motion of its clawed hand, the writhing arms of darkness lifted Emilia high into the air, dangling her helplessly until she was face-to-face with the nightmare.
Its voice rumbled when it spoke—deep, guttural, and layered, like dozens of voices whispering in unison beneath the surface of one dreadful tone. Each word vibrated through the chamber, shaking the air itself. It wasn’t just a sound—it was something that crawled beneath the skin, spreading dread straight into the heart.
"Ahhh..." the Archdemon breathed, its crimson eyes glowing brighter as they locked onto Emilia’s. "What a magnificent doll. So beautiful, so adorable! Rejoice..." Its grin split impossibly wide, jagged teeth glinting in the faint red light of its own eyes. "You would make a truly excellent vessel for me, little girl!"
Emilia thrashed wildly, muffled screams trapped under the shadowy hand pressed against her mouth. Her legs kicked and twisted, but there was no escape.
The Archdemon leaned closer, inhaling slowly, savoring her scent. The rumble of its voice deepened as it spoke again. "Ooooh? What’s this?" Its eyes flared wide, then it jerked its head back, laughter exploding from its throat. The sound was madness itself—booming, distorted, echoing off the walls like an earthquake made of screams. "HAHAHA! A mere human with two divine bloodlines?"
Its laughter warped into a low, trembling moan of delight, vibrating like thunder through Emilia’s bones. "Delicious... exquisite... you make my body shudder with ecstasy! Ahhh, yes... this is truly a miracle! With your body, I may never need to change hosts again! Not in a thousand years... not in ten thousand... perhaps forever!"
"Ahhh... finally..." it growled, the words dripping with madness. "I will be free of this cursed prison that held me for a thousand years!"