Mark opened his eyes slowly and the first thing he noticed was that he was in complete darkness.

"Ughh... my head hurts," said Mark as he blinked to adjust his vision.

Then he looked down at his own body and noticed that he was completely naked.

"’...Here again,’" he said to himself while getting to his feet. "’Seriously?’"

He stood there for a moment, looking around as if expecting something to happen.

"’I hope this doesn’t become a habit...’" he muttered, running a hand across his face.

Then a voice sounded behind him.

"Well, darling," said the voice with a sweet and playful tone. "Don’t you like this place?"

Mark recognized that voice immediately, and he quickly turned to see where it was coming from.

And there she was.

The Demon Lord was sitting on an enormous throne that definitely wasn’t there last time.

She was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, her elbow resting on the armrest and her cheek resting on her hand.

Her white hair fell loosely over her shoulders, her thin black horns curved upward between the strands, and her red eyes observed him with an amused expression.

But unlike last time, this time she was actually dressed. She wore a long black dress that covered her all the way to her feet but left her shoulders and a generous amount of cleavage exposed.

"Well, to be honest, it’s not baaad at all," said Mark, looking directly at her and trying to ignore the fact that he was completely naked in front of her again. "But it definitely needs a little decoration, maybe some curtains, a rug, or a couple of torches..."

At that, she let out a small laugh.

"It’s always a pleasure to talk with you, darling," she said, looking at him with a wide smile. "Of all the humans I’ve met, you’re the only one who doesn’t start trembling when he sees me."

"Maybe it’s because I’m starting to get used to it..."

Mark noticed her staring at him silently for a few seconds, so he decided to speak first.

"Is this a dream?" he asked directly, remembering the last time he was in this place. "Or are you really here?"

The Demon Lord tilted her head without lifting her cheek from her hand.

"Maybe yes, maybe no... who knows," she said with a playful tone.

"’...’"

"I could be the real deal," she continued, shrugging her shoulders. "Or I could just be a product of your imagination."

She paused and her smile widened a bit more.

"Of your... quite horny imagination, I must say."

"’...That last part makes more sense, to be honest,’" admitted Mark without changing his expression.

"Doesn’t it though?"

The Demon Lord stared at him for a moment longer with that smile that revealed absolutely nothing useful.

And then her expression changed, not suddenly, but gradually.

The playful smile faded into something more neutral, and her red eyes acquired a seriousness that Mark had never seen in them before.

"Whatever it is that I represent here," she said, straightening slightly in the throne, "there’s an important matter I want to discuss with you."

Mark was somewhat surprised to hear this, but he decided to try and mess with her a little.

"If you wanted to confess your love to me, you could have just told me," said Mark with a tone that tried to be carefree. "You didn’t need to set up all this dramatic atmosphere."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord didn’t laugh, she just looked at him with that half-smile that was more unsettling than any serious expression.

"’Alright... I’m listening,’" he said, noticing her seriousness.

Then the Demon Lord settled into the throne, clasping her fingers over her lap.

"History is about to set itself in motion again," she said in a voice that had lost all trace of playfulness. "Exactly like it did three hundred years ago."

"’Three hundred years ago?’" asked Mark, frowning.

"The last time the heroes appeared..." she explained. "The last time a group of reincarnates was brought to this world to fulfill their purpose."

Mark fell silent, thinking about those words.

"While last time they managed to thwart my plans..." the Demon Lord continued. "This time I won’t let that happen again."

"I don’t understand any of what you’re saying," he said with sincerity. "What does what happened three hundred years ago have to do with me?"

The Demon Lord leaned slightly forward in the throne, looking at him with an intensity that made Mark feel an invisible weight on his shoulders.

"It means I have a proposal for you, darling."

"And what could that proposal be?"

"Become my subordinate," she said bluntly. "If you accept, I will protect you and all those women of yours that you care so much about."

Mark’s eyes widened in surprise, and after a moment he spoke.

"’Protect us from who? From you?’" said Mark with sarcasm.

"Oh, but of course not, darling," she replied, waving her hand dismissively. "Believe me, if things develop the way I think they will, I’ll be the least of your worries."

Mark fell silent, thinking about what he had just heard, not because he was considering the offer, but because he was trying to understand why she was telling him all this.

"Why?" Mark asked finally, his tone making it clear he didn’t trust her one bit. "Why are you offering me something like this?"

"Because you’re more valuable than you imagine."

"’...That’s not an answer.’"

"You’re right, but it’s all I can tell you for now," she said with a smile.

Mark stared at her for a few seconds, his gaze on the invisible ground beneath his feet.

"While it’s a tempting offer..." said Mark, looking up again. "I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline it."

The Demon Lord didn’t seem surprised.

"There’s no guarantee that you’ll keep your word," he continued, his gaze fixed on the Demon Lord. "I don’t know you, I don’t know what your true intentions are, and the last time we met you almost killed my entire group."

"That’s true," she admitted, nodding slowly. "And I could just be trying to trick you to get you out of the way." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Exactly."

"But even so..." she said, tilting her head slightly, "I’m completely certain that in the end we’ll end up on the same side."

"And why are you so sure of that?" asked Mark, his eyes narrowing.

"You’ll find out soon enough," she said with the playful smile from before, and she snapped her fingers.

The sound echoed through the space.

And the instant she snapped her fingers, Mark felt everything around him becoming blurry.

A sudden dizziness hit his head like a wave, making his legs tremble and his vision distort.

Then she got up from the throne slowly and began walking in the opposite direction from Mark.

"What...?" said Mark, bringing a hand to his forehead. "What did you do to me?"

The Demon Lord continued walking, moving away from him, her white hair waving gently despite there being no wind.

"Unfortunately, we’ve run out of time, darling," she said without stopping or turning around. "But think about my offer."

"Wait," said Mark, extending a hand toward her as he felt the dizziness growing stronger. "I still have questions."

The figure of the Demon Lord grew smaller with each passing second.

Mark watched as she raised a hand over her shoulder and waved it briefly, in a clear gesture of farewell.

And then Mark’s legs gave out beneath him.

His body fell forward, his face directed toward the invisible ground, and the last thing he saw before everything went dark was the back of the Demon Lord disappearing into the darkness.