Chapter 1: Dark Demon, Not a Dark Demon
"Welcome to Saint Marian Academy!"
Holy hymns echoed in the grand hall, luxurious black velvet curtains slowly parted, revealing the most beautiful and noble lady of Saint Marian Academy—Cynthia Saint Arte, the Principal!
Around the Holy Magister, nine magical spirits conjured flowers and fireflies, turning the stage into a dreamlike scene.
In the hall, four grandly decorated long tables were arranged, with thousands of candles floating mid-air, illuminating the space.
The candlelight reflected off golden plates and silver goblets, casting a rainbow of dazzling colors, adding to the surreal atmosphere.
By the time Dark Demon regained his senses, he was already standing on the stage, beside the fragrant Principal Arte.
Memories surged back into his mind.
Dark remembered his past life.
"Saint Marian Academy… Isn't this the academy from that infamous, heavily criticized game before its release, but became a surprise hit afterward?"
"Duel! Saint Marian Super XX Academy"!
In a world where most galgames funneled their budget into artwork and skimped on plot, "Duel! Saint Marian Super XX Academy" was a breath of fresh air.
Though its plot was almost entirely borrowed from Harry Potter, and its power system blatantly "borrowed" from Yu-Gi-Oh and other card games, even using characters from popular anime for the cards, it somehow came together to create an unexpectedly fun game.
Even if one didn’t pursue the female characters, one could still enjoy the game immensely.
For a while, "Duel! Saint Marian Super XX Academy" even became known as a "card dueling starter," with various versions becoming wildly popular in the pirate game scene.
However, Dark, with his firm Heart of Justice, never touched this pirated, plagiarized, and H-filled game, only hearing about its settings and plot secondhand.
He vaguely remembered that the final boss of the game was a noble young master named Dark Demon.
In the game, Dark Demon, the only son of a duchess, filled the Draco Malfoy role, being the early antagonist who clashed with the protagonist. Later, it was revealed that he was a descendant of a demon god, and after the demon king's resurrection, his bloodline awakened. He then transformed into the final demon god boss, giving the protagonist a chance to defeat him and steal his fiancée!
Dark Demon was truly a tragic character from the start, with a name that literally sounded like "dark demon." It seemed his fate as a pitiful villain was sealed from the beginning...
Wait, why does that name sound so familiar?
Dark Demon’s face grew pale.
"Dark Demon, Dark Demon…"
A warm, soothing voice broke through Dark’s shock.
He struggled to control the trembling muscles in his face and turned toward Principal Arte.
Principal Arte had silver hair as pure as moonlight, and her long lashes framed blue eyes that seemed to pull one's soul into them.
As one of the game's romantic interests, she was the shining moon of Saint Marian, the epitome of beauty. Her luxurious gown, a size too small, only enhanced the brilliance of her silver moon necklace.
Dark realized he was at the Saint Marian Academy’s opening feast, standing as the first new student to undergo the sorting ceremony.
He tried to recall his life since his rebirth.
After recovering memories of his past life, his current memories had become blurry.
But by piecing together what he knew from Harry Potter, he finally remembered.
Saint Marian Academy was the only school in the kingdom that could rival the Holy Mystery Academy, and within the academy, students were sorted into four houses.
These houses were: Noble House, Knight House, Magister House, and Fool House.
Noble House students were all noble purebloods.
Knight House students were brave and righteous, like knights.
Magister House students were wise and knowledgeable, inheritors of vast knowledge.
Fool House students might not yet possess the bravery of knights or the wisdom of magisters, but they were innocent and full of potential!
Dark wasn’t too nervous.
Before the demon god bloodline awakened, even the academy’s sorting card shouldn’t be able to detect it.
He was the son of a duchess, the most noble bloodline beneath royalty!
He would surely be placed in Noble House.
Otherwise, this ridiculous game wouldn’t even be able to continue...
Feeling calmer, Dark glanced at the section for the new first-year students, but among the sea of heads, he couldn’t identify the protagonist.
It suddenly dawned on him—he didn’t even know the protagonist's name!
But that didn’t matter. As the son of the Brave One who sealed the demon king, the protagonist would surely stand out soon like a firefly in the dark.
Dark took a deep breath and said, "Principal, I’m ready."
"As expected of the only son of the Demon family," Principal Arte smiled softly.
Among the nine magical spirits fluttering around her, one griffin-shaped magical spirit flew toward Dark.
As it approached him, an otherwise empty beak now held a card with a crown, lance, spellbook, and the tarot card of The Fool on the back, while the front remained blank.
"Take the sorting card in your hand, Demon."
Following Principal Arte’s instructions, Dark took the magic card from the magical spirit’s beak.
"Now cover the card with your right hand over your left, think about what you desire, and the sorting card will guide you."
"Yes, Principal."
Dark closed his eyes and began to imagine.
His knowledge of the game was limited, but he knew that as the antagonist boss, his downfall came only after his demon god bloodline awakened.
And that awakening happened on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony.
Before then, although he had conflicts with the protagonist, they were minor squabbles, far from life-or-death battles.
His fiancée, the game’s most popular female character, only gave up on him after he transformed into the demon god, giving the protagonist a chance to swoop in.
So, as long as he suppressed the demon god bloodline before his coming-of-age, he could remain the duchess's son, not only powerful but still loved by his fiancée despite his flaws!
Maybe things weren’t so bad after all?
A blinding white light burst from his hand, and Dark felt the sorting card heat up, seemingly printing an image.
Principal Arte’s gentle voice sounded again: “Demon, raise the sorting card and show this year’s new students how to perform the ceremony properly.”
“Yes, Principal.”
Dark removed his right hand and saw the card displaying a crown, symbolizing nobility.
He raised the card high, infused his magic energy into it, and triggered the effect.
"Boom!"
Fireworks shot into the air, forming a giant golden crown.
The sorting card roared: “Dark Demon, Noble House!”
"Ohhhh!"
Cheers erupted from the long table where the Noble House students sat.
"Dark Demon, the only son of the duchess also known as the Valkyrie, has indeed been placed in our house!"
Oh my. Looks like I'm quite popular in Noble House.
Dark’s lips curled slightly as he lowered his hand.
[Beep! Detected demon god bloodline entering awakening stage, triggering…]
“Damn it!”
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Interesting, ty for chapter. What's the release rate for this?
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to it and thank you for the chapter but could you change the name of the Mc or the demon god cause it's confusing. As both has demon in their name it's confusing.
ReplyDeleteit should be "dak daimon" turns into "dark demon"
DeleteAlso the principal is female right? So the below line should have 'she':[Principal Arte had silver hair that was pure and innocent like moonlight, and under his long eyelashes were a pair of blue eyes that seemed to inhale human souls.
ReplyDelete]
thanks
DeleteYou're welcome though I was wrong and typed 'she' instead of 'her' in the above comment. Glad you fixed it in the chapter.
DeleteHow is he able to infuse magic and such right off the bat?
ReplyDeletetq for the chapter
ReplyDeleteSo, if he's Malfoy and the original MC is Harry, does that mean there's DarkX(Whoever the MC is)?
ReplyDelete