The morning came slow.
Light bled through the cracks in the old wooden ceiling, cutting faint lines across the floor. Birds chirped — distant, wary. The forest was still uneasy after the chaos of yesterday.
He opened his eyes.
His limbs were sore. His breath was shallow. But his heart… was loud.
He rose and stepped outside.
The air was cold. Damp earth clung to the soles of his feet. The scars on the ground from yesterday's battle had already begun to fade — as if the world wanted to forget what happened.
But not her.
In the clearing, his sister stood — drenched in sweat, her hands trembling around a chipped training sword. Her arms were bruised. Her knees scraped raw. Blood streaked one palm.
Again and again, she swung.
Not with grace. But with fury. Fear. Guilt.
"Stop overdoing it, Aira," their mother's voice called from the doorway, worried. "You're hurting yourself."
His sister didn't stop. Just grit her teeth harder and muttered:
"I need to get stronger… to protect my brother."
He froze.
"That incident made me realize how weak I am," she continued, her voice cracking. "If something like that happens again, and I can't stop it… I won't forgive myself."
Their mother stepped closer, frowning.
"You're just a child. Everyone your age is weak. Even most F or E ranks can't do what you've done. You're already C-rank."
Aira spat blood and shook her head.
"It's not enough."
"I want to get so strong… that no one ever dares to touch my family again. Not my home. Not my little brother."
His vision blurred.
He looked away.
They're doing this… for me?
The love he had never known in his first life — the warmth he'd begged for in silence — now poured around him like the sun after a hundred winters.
And he didn't know how to hold it.
He almost cried.
💔 A Father's Gamble
Later that day, he saw his father dressing — not for town, not for errands. For battle.
Steel boots. A battered breastplate. A hunting spear strapped to his back.
"You're leaving?" his mother asked.
He nodded once.
"I won't be gone long. But I have to go."
"Why?" she pleaded. "That region is crawling with high-ranked monsters. Only Grand-rank adventurers go there. You're barely B-rank—"
"Because this place isn't safe anymore," he said, voice steady. "We live at the edge. If another beast comes, no one will help us in time."
She reached for him. He caught her hands.
"If I can't even give our children a proper life… what kind of father am I?"
"I'm willing to risk everything… if it means seeing them smile."
He kissed her forehead.
And left.
🌙 Nightfall Realization
Sleep wouldn't come that night.
The boy tossed under his blanket, heart racing. A thousand thoughts clawing at his skull.
Something stirred below.
He got up and walked quietly down the stairs.
The fire was low — flickering blue and gold.
And there she was.
His mother, hunched over an old spellbook. Whispering incantations, scribbling notes, her fingers glowing with faint healing light. Her eyes were tired — but fierce.
She was trying to learn high-rank healing magic.
For him.
For them.
For a family that had already given everything.
And in that moment, he understood.
🛡 The Vow
They were all fighting.
His sister, through blood and sweat.
His father, by risking death.
His mother, by tearing her mana core apart just to learn forbidden spells.
And none of them asked him for anything.
Yet they stood between him and danger.
And smiled.
"I've decided," he whispered, hands clenched. "This is my family. My real one."
"I have a sister. I have a mother. I have a father."
Tears didn't fall. Not yet.
But his heart shattered in the way only love could do.
"Thank you… for trying to protect me."
"But from now on… I'll protect you."
🔥 A Demon's Promise
His aura trembled.
Power surged within his veins, still sealed, still too vast for this fragile shell.
"But first… I need to hide this power."
"If they find out who I am… what I am… they'll fear me again. Hate me. Like last time."
"I don't want to lose this."
"I'm finally happy."
His fingers dug into the wood beneath him.
"This body is weak. It can't hold the power I once had."
"So I'll adapt. I'll learn the magic of this world."
"I was the Great Demon once. I stood at the peak. I can do it again."
And if the world dares to come for them—
If anyone threatens the home he never thought he'd deserve—
"Then I'll become the Demon King again."
"Not for vengeance. Not for wrath."
"But to protect the people I'd burn the world for."
"I could live my past life a hundred times over…"
"If it means I get to save them once."