In the demon realm.

"T-that’s everything I was t-told...!"

The ruler of that realm, the Demon King, sat on his throne as he listened to the report concerning the latest incident in Loogam.

He remained calm compared to the shaking and nervous subordinate.

"I see. You can leave now." the Demon King said apathetically.

"Y-yes!"

"..."

Now, the Demon King was alone in the throne room.

He got up from his throne and walked over to the windows.

"So he died, huh...?" he muttered.

He did not sound particularly sad.

"And here I was hoping that we could take over the human realm..." he sighed.

If Lucio had ruled over the world, then he could have opened a portal for the demons even if it meant killing all humans in the process.

Lucio would not have cared as he was a loyal follower of the Demon King, albeit never having seen his face before.

"Well, I guess I have to find another method..." the Demon King pondered.

He ruffled his hair.

"Aside from that, there’s also the matter concerning that strange woman who appeared in one of our fortresses... Maybe I will just send out an S-rank demon..."

For a while, a strange individual rampaged in one of their fortresses and no one was able to stop her yet. Even A-rank demons.

The Demon King bent his neck backward and faced the ceiling as he heaved another heavy sigh.

"What was his name again...? Mika Elbar...?" he muttered exhaustedly.

His gaze shifted to the outside.

"This time, you may have won, however..."

He sharpened his black eyes which had oddly white pupils.

"This is just the..."

Meanwhile, Mika confronted an existence that stood on top of everything, including all living beings.

That existence was known as God.

"Y-you’re Go-"

"Lower your head."

"!"

Instantly, Mika cast his gaze to the floor.

"..."

Mika suddenly felt his heart racing. His face was warm and he turned to sweat a little.

He could notice his legs and fingers becoming restless.

"You sure created a mess down there, didn’t you?"

God’s tone changed and turned relaxed again.

"Not just Loogam but even a great amount of land surrounding that nation was caught up by the attack of your friends. Normally, I would have let humans and nature restore the destroyed land but it appears like your friends were more special than expected." God stated with a small chuckle.

"W-what do you-"

"Did I allow you to pose questions?" God cut Mika off sharply.

"!"

Mika shut his mouth, sensing the pressure God emitted.

"Whatever..." he sighed.

"Those two brats burnt and froze a lot of land but because they used a variation of their initial magic element it could prove to be difficult to repair things the normal way. Heck, that ice girl even froze the entirety of Grat...!" God complained.

Mika could not do anything but stay silent while looking at the clean and shining floor that reflected Mika’s nervous and stiff face.

"I wanted to mind my business but if things stay like this, then there will be more problems later on."

"I guess I have to do it mys- Wait... Instead of restoring, wouldn’t it be easier to just completely restructure the nations...?"

"...?!"

Mika had to listen to God mumbling to himself, mentioning how he wanted to shape the human realm differently.

It was a big matter but based on the tone of God, it appeared like a small problem.

"Anyways, I’m getting off-topic here."

"Mika Elbar."

"?"

Reflexively, Mika was about to raise his head.

"Don’t move."

But God reprimanded his action.

"I know that there are many things going through your head right now but I will keep myself short for today."

"Enter a deal with me."

"A d-deal...?"

"Like Mikaela, I observed you as well, even after Mikaela passed away. Thus, I know what you went through and what you’re desiring right now." God stated with a smirk.

"..."

Mika clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"If you swear your utmost loyalty to me and do whatever I say without questioning me, I can give you the chance to grant your wishes."

"Don’t screw with me...!" Mika grumbled enragedly.

He could not hold back his feelings anymore.

Based on God’s tone and behavior, he treated Mika and humans like mere objects.

While Mikaela showed empathy to Mika, it looked to him like God did not care about the things Mika had to experience in order to save the world.

"Argh...!"

Suddenly a big stone pillar rained down on Mika, crushing him onto the floor.

"Don’t waste my time any further. Will you accept the deal or not?" God asked coldly.

"...!"

Mika tried to push the pillar away despite having his arms chained together behind his back.

"Only if you accept my terms, I can give you the only chance to save your dead friends."

"?!"

Hearing that, Mika lost his strength, letting the pillar crush him down again.

"..."

Frustratedly, he bit his lower lip.

"I see. It’s a no th-"

"I-I accept!" Mika shouted.

He may have agreed but his face showed how disgusted he was at himself for allowing himself getting to get toyed around by God.

"It was about time."

God snapped his fingers which led to the pillar to disappear suddenly.

"From now on, you will serve me under a new name, understood?"

"Yes..." Mika replied, swallowing his pride down reluctantly.

"Good. You may leave now, ’Mikaela’."

"!"

Mika flinched for a second after hearing his new name.

But he no matter what he wanted to do or say, he had to obey and leave.

"..."

God was alone.

"Tch. He sure had a lot to say just because he experienced a few unpleasant things." God clicked his tongue.

His arms were on the throne’s armrests while his fingers were tapping on a certain book.

"But don’t worry, soon you won’t waste your time on those thoughts anymore..."

A creepy grin crept onto his face.

"After all, this is just the prelude."

End of Part 1.