Hey everyone, Astaroth here. I don't actually have many memories of my life on Earth, since any unnecessary memories are erased from a Hero's mind upon being summoned, in order to prevent them from having any attachments to Earth. My family, my friends, a girlfriend... I might've had them, but I can't remember at all. Apparently, knowledge about religion and about fantasy worlds and video games was deemed 'useful', though.

In any case, where was I? Ah, yes. With a 'crack', the transformation began. The crackling sounds of bones being rearranged and the flesh-like sounds of muscles and other tissue being added, removed and changed resounded through the chamber. Honestly, it sounded quite- no, very painful. As the transformation had begun, I placed the Dark Goddess's Scriptures back into my [Storage].

"Will... Will he be, be okay?", Evyna asked with an uneasy expression on her face. "It sounds quite, uh, quite painful."

Shaking my head, I answered her question: "There is no need to worry. He lost consciousness just before the transformation began, and he will regain it just after it ends."

"Ah, I, I see", she responded. "Is, is it okay for you to, to turn away like, like that?"

"The transformation is out of my hands from this point", I answered. "You all are also free to stop pouring magic power any time you like", I continued, and the moment the words left my mouth, all five of the Demon Generals stopped immediately.

"Maaan, that was tirin'. Glad that's over", Lilith said, yawning without even putting a hand to her mouth and stretching her body.

"Please do cover your mouth when you yawn, Lilith. It is unladylike if you do not", Charlotte admonished her, almost like an older sister, even though she was several sizes smaller than Lilith in various ways.

"Went well? Navillus is glad!", Navillus said, jiggling with... some kind of emotion. A slime's body language was difficult to understand, and this did not change when it became a higher ranking monster.

"Master, I still haven't had enough yet!", Davna told me after approaching, like a child who still wanted to play. Meanwhile, Tempest silently looked towards me with pleading eyes.

"Davna, go play with the soldiers at the training ground", I decided. "Tempest, go work on that machine", I continued, Tempest's desires being clear as day.

"Yay! I can play until I'm satisfied!", Davna shouted, hurriedly sprinting out the door. The soldiers would probably despair if they heard these words, but that wasn't my problem. Tempest, on the other hand, simply nodded repeatedly before sprinting out in a way not dissimilar to Davna, moments earlier. Even though she was the tallest, whether she was the most mature out of my Demon Generals was questionable.

"Master, I'm goin' to bed", Lilith told me before simply walking out the door.

"Ah, wait, you! Master, I am heading out as well", Charlotte said, afterwards chasing after Lilith. Truly like an older sister.

"Navillus is going out to eat!", Navillus announced before 'walking' out the room. You couldn't really call her action walking, but there's honestly no better word.

"I, uh, I... What should I do?", Evyna asked. "I wasn't that, that close with him, so I'm not, not really interested, so..."

"Then", I said, and snapped my fingers. The moment I did so, through the wall floated a spectral form in the shape of a young maid. The ghost bowed to me, straightened up and tilted her head, awaiting orders. "Guide her to a guest room", I instructed the ghost, in response to which she bowed, said "Please follow me" and left. Evyna followed her without objections. Once I was sure she was out of earshot, I faced up to above the big magic circle and called out.

"You can come out now, those two won't be able to register anything for at least the next half hour."

"... Are you... Sure?", a feminine voice without intonation sounded in response after a bit of hesitation.

"I am most certain, Lady Entropy", I responded, waving my hand in front of the Ice Queen's face. She showed no reaction. "Besides, if anyone is going to know this, that would be you, yes? It is your ritual, after all."

Like a mirror breaking into pieces, cracks appeared in the air above the circle and the illusion she was holding intact fell to pieces. In the air, she gracefully floated, as if she belonged above all beings. Her face carried no expression, as if she felt no emotion at all, though I knew she was just shy. Her porcelain-like white smooth skin was wrapped in black clothes that looked as if they were made out of darkness itself, a dress which was far longer than she was. Her white hair flowed behind her, long past her feet, and her rainbow-coloured eyes were fixedly focused on me. Gently, slowly, she floated down, until her bare feet made contact with the ground and she was looking up at me, expression still unmoving.

"... So you knew I was watching", she finally said after several seconds of silence. Her voice lacked intonation and her face had no expression, and yet I could still tell she would normally be pouting.

"Of course, Lady Entropy. I could never allow myself not to know where you are", I answered, a sly smile on my face. "Then, Lady Entropy... What do you think of this one's potential?", I asked, gesturing towards the ex-Slayer inside the large magic circle.

"... Not suitable for darkness. Too independent. Perfect for water, since he's a masochist and she's a sadist", she answered, looking between the ex-Slayer and the Ice Queen.

"And your true feelings?", I asked, knowing full well that this wasn't the full answer, and also knowing what her full answer would be.

"... I don't want you to have such a rebellious and perverted underling", she said, turning her head away from me. If she were human, surely she would have been blushing. Her doll-like expression did not change, however, and her cheeks remained white.

"I am honoured to be held in such high regard, Lady Entropy", I responded, placing my right hand over where my heart once was. "Additionally, thank you for the good work. I know that forging an alliance, even momentary, with another Goddess is tough, especially the fickle Lady Undine, yet you did so for my sake anyway."

"... If you appreciate it, then praise me", she said, facing me once again. She continued in a whisper which even a dragon would have trouble hearing, one which I only heard due to my body as a Demon Master: "... And don't refer to other goddesses like that."

"As you wish, Lady Entropy", I said, approaching her and gently placing my hand on her head, stroking her silky smooth hair. She was by no means short, though she couldn't be said to be tall either, but I was 2 metres tall, so I was still quite an amount taller than her.

Even as I stroked her, her expression did not change, nor did she close her eyes even once. I could tell she was enjoying it, though, so I did not stop until I heard a knock on the door. Lady Entropy's attention snapped over to the door, and I too looked over, focusing on the other side for a second or two. "One of the maids", I said after figuring out the knocker's identity. Lady Entropy quickly rebuilt her illusion as I answered the maid with a "Come in".

"Master Astaroth, there is an issue", the ghost maid reported after bowing.

"An issue? Of what sort?", I asked.

"There is a group of Heroes approaching."

"Their numbers?"

"There appear to be at least twenty."

"Call-and-response?"

"All positive, I am afraid."

"Then there's no saving them, huh... Very well. I shall slaughter them myself. Guide me."

"As ordered."

She left through the same door she entered from, and I followed her as she guided me through the halls. After only a few minutes, we arrived at the humongous main gates of the castle. At least twenty metres tall and half as wide, these were truly fit for a 'final boss's castle. Excusing herself with a bow, the maid hurriedly left to continue tending to her duties. After concentrating on the other side of the door, certainly, I did feel roughly twenty light presences. Deciding to grandly swing the doors open, I immediately stood face-to-face with a Hero- or, well, looked down at a Hero. I was at least an entire head taller than he was.

"D-Demon!", he shouted as he reflexively plunged a sword into my stomach. Calmly, I looked between him, the sword and the rest of the Heroes a few times, before carefully extracting the sword he'd left hanging inside me and handing it back to him. Reflexively, he accepted.

"That hurts, you know?", I said. It was a lie, as all Heroes, present or past, cannot feel pain by a regular wound. "What would you have done if I were still human?" I then looked back at the location he had stabbed, and confirmed my wound had healed. To kill a Demon Master, it was necessary to exorcise them, chop their head off or annihilate them entirely- any other wound would heal. Looking back up, I cleared my throat and spread my arms, confident sneer on my face.

"Pitiful puppets manipulated by the light! I am the Demon Master, Astaroth! Rejoice, for I shall liberate you poor souls from Lady Luciel's tyrannical rule!", I shouted, loud enough for the whole group to hear. Observing the group from a distance, there seemed to be a few Grand Priests, some Paladins and two or three Archwizards. This time, the Heroes did not take any Monster Tamers or Thieves. Their numbers were big, but still, before me, this was nothing.

"It's the target!", the Hero who stabbed me earlier shouted.

"He survived that kind of wound?!", another Hero shouted.

"He's a Demon, remember?", a third Hero answered.

The maid had answered my question before, but just in case, I decided to make sure and asked in a loud voice: "Heroes! Who do you serve?!"

As I had already expected, though, the response was all the Heroes placing their hands in front of their chests while shouting "I devote myself wholly to the sacred Goddess of Light, Lady Luciel!" in choir.

"I see", I muttered, before stretching out my right hand. I then activated the Demon Master's other Demon Master-only skill, [True Demon Form], enveloping my arm in a flurry of darkness. Once the darkness calmed down, rather than a human arm, there was a dark purple, demonic arm with sharp black claws instead of fingers. Kicking off the ground with my right leg, I accelerated towards one of the Archmages and pierced his chest with my arm, killing him before he could even cough up blood.

"A-Attack him!", someone shouted, and in response, the other Archmages started firing spells my way and the Paladins who happened to be close to me started to slash at me with their swords. Unconcerned with the minor wounds these attacks caused, I stood still, looking for the next target, and charged towards another Archmage, this time piercing his head with a claw.

The battle continued in such a fashion, with me swiftly disposing of the opponents I deemed most threatening first and gradually working my way down until there were none left, upon which my arm was once again enveloped by a flurry of darkness, returning to normal. If it were the me from earth, surely I would've been disgusted at such a sight, but as a result of having been a Hero, I felt nothing looking at the pile of corpses. "Someone clean up the mess!", I shouted as I re-entered my castle and decided to call it a day and go to sleep.

"Their reaction ist gone... So they haveth fallen, have they? How woeful", a voice sounded through the Holy Church.

"My deepest apologies, Lady Luciel, our training was insufficient...", the head priest said, deeply prostrating himself and pressing his forehead to the floor.

"Thou art forgiven, child of mine, this time's frustration was not thy fault", the voice spoke again, with a deeply empathetic tone. "This simply meaneth that we shalt have to train our Heroes even finer next time we oppose this unfathomable horror." It was extremely obvious to anyone who was paying attention that the voice was faking its archaic tone, but the head priest did not notice.

"Truly, thank you for your grace, Lady Luciel... I swear upon this life of mine that we shall train the next group of heroes even stronger!"

And this vow, too, contributed to the revolution which would turn the world upside down-