This Shop is Protected by the Demon King

Chapter 1

My life before this one was not a kind life, the world I lived in was filled with danger and magic. I was born impoverished and suffering under the will of the upper classes. The son of a low demoness who had sold her body to live, a bastard, a mistake, a child that should not exist. And yet for the short while my mother had held me. She loved me dearly, whispering softly into my ears how she just knew I would do great things.

It had only been through my grit and determination that I rose to the position that I did. My refusal to give up or stand down was the only reason why the throne became mine. I, King Asmodeus the Undying, had once ruled the most powerful nation in the world. I stood at the top as king of all demons. Countless soldiers filled my armies waiting for my every command. Nations kneeled before me trembling under my might. 

The rich and powerful across the world showered me with gifts and bribes for mercy. The powerless and weak fell to their knees pleading to me for their lives. Some worshipped me as though I were a god. Others thought of me as evil incarnate cursing my very name until their last breaths.

My rule ran for three hundred and thirty-three years, I'm sure today historians call my rule dark and terrible. Perhaps, maybe it was, I was not a good person or a good ruler. I was not always merciful or fair, I had an insatiable lust and greed for anything that caught my eye. Only now do I understand that I had been forever trying to fill the belly of the starving child hidden deep within my heart. Still searching for that warmth that I had only briefly felt from my sickly mother.

It took me being born again to truly understand what I had wanted all along. Yes, that's right, I... Asmodeus the Undying, died. The irony of my name and my death is not lost on me, I assure you. I was slain by a human hero using the magical sword blessed by the fairy queen Celestine. 

The brutality of my death was no better than a beast being slaughtered in a butcher's shop. It was sudden and quick, I had little time to react or defend myself. Seeming more incidental as if it were a chore rather than striking down the man who had ruled the known world for so long.

When the blade pierced me, I thought I had only received a punch. Or that, like with any other blade they had tried to take to me. It had broke shattering on impact with my aura. It took my hands feeling the blade disappear inside of me and the warmth of my blood quickly draining from me did I realize what had happened. I tried to form words, to speak out a curse or some sort of profound sentence for my final words. But blood had filled my throat and I could only let out a pathetic gurgle. 

I hit my knees first before landing face-down on the tiles in front of my court in the throne room. My eyes flickered to everyone just... Watching... They had all just watched. Not a single one making a move to help me.

Even now, in my new life, I remember still the cold tiles of the palace floor on my skin. The numbness that came from the warmth spilling out of my body. I remember reaching out my clawed hands towards one of my many lovers hoping that someone... Anyone... Would at the very least hold me as I took my last breath. To comfort me as I once comforted my dying mother. But in the end... I was alone.

It seemed that, despite all my power... All my riches... I lacked the love that I truly desired.

I remember my vision fading shortly after that, there was darkness for a long while. It was quiet and warm, I teetered between existence and the sweet taste of oblivion there. But, then I heard the sounds of dogs whining. Puppies to be exact, soft dewy whimpers filled the air and I felt something warm run across my body. A whine left me and though I could not see I understood then, quickly, what had happened.