Advent of the Demon Lord?

Ayla and Mannu had spent months getting reaquainted with each other and this new world they found themselves in. Every new discovery lead to a feast of sight and sound. Richard had not died in the ER like Ayla hoped. The paramedics had diligently fought to save his unworthy life and he was arrested for the scene he caused. It wasn't the outcome Ayla wanted but it led her to have a deeper understanding how this world's justice system worked. 

In Alpeach, Richard would've been executed after the trial. It would've been a quick process because there were so many witnesses but, in this world, it was a long process. The police were taking statements from anyone and everyone they could and grabbing video from every source they could find. It seemed this state did not have the death penalty but if Richard was found guilty, he would be in a prison for the rest of his wretched life.

The officer presciding over Richard's case called them back often to get clarifying statements. But it was the phenomena that happened afterwards at the hospital that seemed to puzzle the officers. Someone theorized that Richard had somehow caused the power outage in some strange act of domestic terrorism. No one expected it to have been a result of a battle of magic between Roxy and the demon lord's proxy. It was easier to believe Richard was a lone wolf - some woman hating incel who red pilled himself into launching an assault on an attractive woman who turned him down. 

Clearly, he was out of his mind yelling some fantasy character's name and babbling about magic and demons. Right?

What bothered Roxy the most about the encounter was why Richard thought their world was a game to cheat and win. It was in the news reports that followed she discovered pictures of herself as Ayla plastered all over Richard's apartment in varying states of undress. He was seemingly obsessed with the character Ayla and that's way he screamed that name in the emergency room, at least that's what the reporters speculated. It was a strange story with a lot of unknowns in a world that got weirder every day.

Weirder still for Ayla was the realization that she and Mannu, every trial they experienced was part of a game called, "Advent of the Demon Lord: Will the Angel Kneel?" 

Roxy was horrified it was an eroge where the goal was to corrupt the Child of Promise into a haze of lust and perversion. It explained so much about why Richard acted the way he did when came to their world. It hurt that their lives were viewed so callously. They had done nothing to deserve his scorn. 

"I don't really like this idea, Gunner" Roxy pouted as she sat on Gunner's lap. He was only wearing a pair of loose sweat pants as he sat on his large chair in front of his desk. It was strange still, they saw themselves as who they were in Alpeach and who they were now within the bodies of Roxanne and Gunner.

He gave her an affectionate squeeze, a chuckle rumbling through his chest. "Well, I'm just saying, this might be our best chance to figure out how to defeat the demon lord. And how we might be abble to save Alpeach... if we can ever make it back." 

"I'm not sure if its possible to go back but, there might be a chance." Roxy sighed, leaning back into Gunner before staring at the animation looping on the large computer screen in front of them. Her face was a bright pink, her thick red hair was braided neatly to one side to keep it out of the way. "This is too embarassing, Gunner..." 

Gunner ran his hand over her bare thigh, sliding upward to her partly covered rear. The dress she was wearing was thin and short enough to not impede him if he felt so inclined. "Darlin', how about, we enjoy the game? Every time you end up doing something naughty in this game, we do the dame sort of thing in person." 

Rotxy's face burned a brighter shade of red as she covered her face in her hands. "Gods, it's bad enough that this exists, Gunner. Do we really have to play it?"

Gunner chuckled. "I have a different joystick you can play with while I figure out the plot of our enemies from the game we supposedly come from," he suggested as he kissed her neck. His hand sliding teasingly up between her legs, rested at the warmth between them. She shivered with anticipation as she closed her eyes with a quivering exhale. 

"You're terrible," Roxy laughed but she didn't move away from him, content to stay right where she was and feeling how much he was enjoying teasing her. 

"You're just so sexy, especially as yourself," he replied, pointing to the images of Ayla in varying states of undress in the game's opening splash animations. "You are tempting me to figure the game and just play with you instead." 

Roxy indignantly pulled the keyboard closer. "Finnne." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Play the damn game. I want to know how we can stop the demon lord once and for all. I'm enjoying my time here but I don't want to leave Alpeach in the demon lord's hands."

Gunner grinned. "Don't get jealous, I'm crazy about you, no matter what form you're in. I especially like the you that is soft, warm, and fits so beautifully around my..." 

Roxy playfully smacked him, her face a bright red. "STOP. I get it. I love you too. Just play the game and retrieve my dignity as a DLC or something." 

Gunner paused his teasing as she said those words. A satisified smile played across his face as he leaned down and tenderly kissed her lips. "I never get tired of hearing you say that. No matter what, Roxy, I want to spend the rest of my lifetimes with you. Be it here or some other world. I don't care what some other person defines our reality as, we are just as real as Richard is. And our lives are not something to be toyed with."

She stared at him with a dreamily expression on her face. "You say the sweetest things with your hands in the most insidious of positions."

He grinned at her. Laughter annd affection dancing in his eyes as he looked at her. "It's just my way of helping you relax and enjoy what I know will be an initally embarassing few hours at the beginning of the game."

She reluctantly nodded, leaning against Gunner's bare chest. "Sure you are. Let's just play this game before we have to meet the detective again. I think Richard's trial is in a couple weeks, so Kirie is determined that we're prepared to testify."

"Oh?" He shrugged, quirking a curious brow at the comment. "You're expecting she's going to call or you have some appointment you haven't told me about?" 

"It's just a feeling. I've been having something similar to the premonitions I used to have back in Alpeach. I don't know if it means I'm becoming more attuned with the magic of this world or if its a result of the demon lord's presence becoming stronger." She sighed. 

"We can explore some options later, let's get started. I think we've stalled on starting this game enough. I'm curious to see what happens. This seems to have numerous endings so we might need to get the bad endings to see how things could've turned out." He hit start as heavy orchestral music greeted them and the opening animation began to play. 

Roxy felt uneasy still but couldn't stop herself from watching the video. It was humilating to see herself objectified and reduced to a parody of herself in this way but she had to know. This is the me that Richard expected when he came to our world. But how did he even get pulled into our world? He made a deal with the demon lord to leave it and brought us with him. How? Is the answer really in this game? 

---

Moonlight streamed in through a skylight inside of a grand temple made of white marble atop a great purple mountain. Within its serene walls, a trio of priestesses in white robes encircled an infant swadded in white silk atop an altar draped with red silk and circled with a ring of candles. A light purple fog and sandalwood incense filled the chamber. Their soft prayers echoed, each word causing a sigil glowing red like an ember to appear on the infant's left hand.

The infant's violet eyes appraised the ritual with uncomprehending innocence. Above them, a stained glass mural of a radiant hero standing before a monstrous demon lord watched over them. Their prayers became louder, flooding the chamber with power. Suddenly, the image of the hero cracked and a drop of crimson dripped down the glass from his wound.

Outside, a shadow danced across the moon, leaving it stained red, bathing the temple in an omnious red light as the ritual inside continued undisturbed. 

A raspy male voice whispered from the darkness, "You were meant to destroy me… but what if you were meant to become me?"