Newbie, Public Execution

James had faced a lot of things in life.

Ruthless business competitors, scandals, betrayals—hell, even a full-blown assassination attempt.

But nothing, nothing, could have prepared him for this.

His hands trembled as they cupped his crotch, fingers grasping at nothing. His breathing was erratic, like a man on the brink of a full-blown mental breakdown.

"This… this doesn't make any sense…"

James muttered as sweat dripped down his forehead.

His voice was shaking.

"It can't be gone. That's physically, biologically, and scientifically impossible, right…? RIGHT?!"

His mind was screaming. He squeezed again.

Still… space. Just empty, horrifying space.

Alfred noticed his master's increasingly concerning behavior — especially the fact that James had been groping his crotch for the past five minutes like a man trying to find loose change in his pockets.

Alfred frowned slightly.

『Surely… surely, Master James isn't so aroused that he couldn't even wait until later? I mean, he just spent the morning with Miss Hughes… hmm.』

This was a problem.

Adjusting his tie, Alfred leaned in slightly and whispered—

"Uhm… Master James, if you are feeling… active, perhaps I could arrange for a sweet and discreet escort in one of the new office buildings?"

James shot Alfred a side-eye so sharp it could cut steel.

"What the fuck?" James hissed. "Are you on crack?"

Alfred blinked. "Pardon?"

Before Alfred could recover, James grabbed him by the collar, yanked him down to his level, and whispered through clenched teeth—

"My dick. It's gone."

Alfred stared at him. "..."

He chuckled awkwardly, as if trying to brush it off.

"Surely, you're—"

Then he stopped. Because James looked pale.

Not just pale… but saw-a-demon-in-the-mirror pale.

Alfred's brain stalled. "… No."

With the urgency of a man searching for his lost car keys, Alfred's hand shot down James's pants and under his boxer shorts as his fingers probed desperately—

Nothing.

No. No, no, no. Absolutely no way.

Alfred's face drained of color.

"I… I don't understand. Where is it?!"

Equally horrified, James yanked Alfred even closer until their foreheads were touching.

"If I fucking knew, do you think I'd be looking like a goddamn lunatic right now──?!"

Alfred swallowed. "… Fair point."

Then, as if sensing something strange, both men slowly turned their heads.

Sitting at the far end of the hall, staring at them like she'd just witnessed a Lovecraftian horror, was Ada Brown.

Her face was frozen in sheer, unfiltered disbelief.

Ada's lips parted.

"Oh. My. God. The new director is… g-, ga… g—"

The words refused to leave her mouth.

James and Alfred looked at each other.

Then at the position they were in. Then down—

Alfred's hand was still shoved down James's pants.

They immediately let go of each other like they had been electrocuted as both frantically straightened their clothes in a desperate attempt to regain dignity.

Now sitting with the elegance of a noble, James looked completely unfazed.

Standing stiffly behind him like the professional butler he was, Alfred didn't acknowledge what just happened.

After a few seconds of silence, Alfred leaned in—

"Sir… what should we do about the… missing penis?"

He almost choked on his own words.

James exhaled deeply. "Nothing."

"… Nothing?"

"We'll deal with it later…"

James muttered with a dark voice.

"After I finish dealing with this stupid business showcase. If I suddenly run off, the board will think I'm an incompetent idiot. And I've already got Allison and the entire Golden Group breathing down my neck, so I can't fumble this early."

His expression was stone cold.

Keeping it professional, Alfred simply nodded.

Then James glanced back toward Ada.

She was still staring like a lost puppy.

The moment their eyes met, she turned away so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.

Her shoulders tensed as she began mumbling—

"Oh fuck, I stared too long… kill me already… I really need to stop getting into people's business. Ohhh, I'm so dead. He definitely saw my face. He's gonna fail me. Shit!"

Her face rumpled like a baby about to cry.

With a heavy sigh, she got up and bolted out of the hall.

『I can't believe I actually peed myself out of fear… and in Mom's dress, no less. She'd be so mad. Sigh~ might as well use the bathroom and get rid of whatever nervousness is left.』

James raised an eyebrow.

He could see a wet patch on her old-fashioned dress — the butt area to be precise.

"… Did she actually pee herself?"

Alfred cleared his throat.

"Perhaps you should… pretend you didn't see that."

James exhaled, then shook his head, before glancing back at his phone.

[MythosNet Chatroom: Tales of Old]

[Zeus: Hmm… I don't know whether to be disappointed that the newbie is a man or the fact that I've never heard of this so-called Supreme Demon Lord Kang. I know a few Demon Kings, but a SUPREME Demon King? Never. 😑]

[Amaterasu: Actually, I'd say it's a good thing they're a man. Otherwise, we'd have to deal with you harassing another poor woman for feet pics. Save the ladies, save the world.]

[Thor: Why is Zeus acting like being gay is a bad thing? Personally, I'm not, but I have nothing against it. Honestly, I think the love between two men is the purest love.]

[Zeus: I just don't care for men, that's all. What do I gain from screwing another man?]

[Ganymede: Oh, so you're just gonna pretend that night at the strip club didn't happen? 😒]

[Zeus: What are you talking about?]

[Ganymede: My loose butthole still aches whenever I think of you, and you're gonna act like it never happened?]

The entire chat went silent.

[Amaterasu: Uhm…]

[Thor: … 😅]

[Fafnir: …]

The next thing they saw—

[@Zeus has gone offline.]

James let out a slow, exasperated sigh.

He slapped a hand over his face.

"I can't believe this shit…"

He read the chats like he was staring at a bowl of poop.

『These old bastards are seriously just a bunch of dedicated roleplayers who've gone way off the edge. Must be hard for their family and friends… if they have any…』

And yet…

James smirked and continued reading.

A new notification popped up.

[@Amaterasu has tagged @PrinceArthur]

[Amaterasu: Oi, give the newbie a display name already. It's kinda weird seeing just their username.]

[Prince Arthur: Oh yeah… I'll do that now. Give me a sec, going off to ask Merlin something about our new friend.]

A few seconds passed before Amaterasu fired back.

[Amaterasu: That's fine. Also, remind Merlin and Morgana that we're streaming Clash of Gods tonight. Our fans have been waiting ages for another post 🤧 and Merlin better bring her A-game—I swear Wukong and his team are hacking.]

Arthur huffed a small laugh, shaking his head.

[Prince Arthur: KK.]

━ ━ ━ ━

Back in Camelot.

Prince Arthur was slouched in his gaming chair, arms folded, his blue hooded cowl draped lazily over his white and gold tunic.

His room had the medieval elegance of a royal chamber but was also fitted with sleek, modern tech — a fusion of history and the present. His computer screen reflected his thoughtful frown as he muttered to himself—

"Hah… I should probably remove this guy. But eh, maybe I should have Lin check them out first… if this 'Supreme Demon Lord Kang' is some kind of problem, father's just gonna start his usual 'You can't even handle a chat group, how do you expect to rule a kingdom?' speech."

Arthur scoffed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stood up and slipped on his slippers.

With his MP3 player and headphones, he made his way through the castle halls.

Knights stiffened at his presence, and maids blushed as they greeted him with reverence. His only response?

"Yo."

He nodded to the beat of the music, mumbling—

"Man, I really thought Freya was just a pretty face, but after that collab album with Apollo? Straight fire."

His destination—Merlin's chambers.

When he reached the grand doors he walked in without hesitation — completely unannounced.

Inside, the beautiful and shapely Merlin was seated cross-legged on her king-sized bed, delicately painting her nails purple while chatting on her laptop.

Her messy, black hair cascaded down her shoulders as her soft, otherworldly beauty made it clear why she was revered as one of the most bewitching figures in all realms.

Arthur peeked at her screen — Freya, the Norse Goddess of Fertility, was on a video call, giggling.

"Freya, this new nail polish you released is just… divine!"

Merlin cooed like a teenage girl.

"I swear, my fingers have never felt this sexy before. Look at how the color shifts under sunlight!"

Freya chuckled.

"Oh, that's nothing."

Her cute, angelic smile widened.

"Wait 'til nighttime and see what it does."

Merlin gasped, jerking forward. "Ooo, does it glow?!"

That motion — Arthur didn't want to notice it, but how could he not? The way Merlin's tight dress clung to her curves made her massive ass cheeks look like lethal weapons that could choke any man down.

His cheeks flushed, and he instantly looked away, coughing as he muttered—

"Damn it, I'll stay faithful to Guinevere… but seriously, why the hell does Merlin have to be so hot?"

He pulled at his collar like he was suffocating.

Meanwhile, Freya leaned back and smirked at Merlin.

"You should really start working on that immortality spell, you know. Every divine being wants a business partnership with you—and with that face and body? It's honestly unfair."

Merlin's smile faded slightly.

"Uhh… I haven't decided yet."

But then, she suddenly turned, her amethyst eyes narrowing as she locked onto Arthur.

"… You do fucking realize you just walked into a lady's room without knocking?"

Arthur yawned, completely unbothered.

"Eh, manners are for another time. I need a divination search on some newbie I added to the chat."

Merlin smirked as she rested her chin on her palm.

"Oh? You're actually taking his admin duties seriously. You might just be king one day."

Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

"Ehh… I kinda added them by mistake. The group ads I put out weren't really working so I—"

Merlin sighed. "Figures."

Feeling a bit called out, Arthur quickly moved on.

"Anyway, can you check on this 'Supreme Demon Lord Kang' guy? Just to be sure he's legit."

Merlin waved him off.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take care of it. Now get out—I'm in the middle of a nail session."

Arthur grinned, flashing her a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Lin!"

━ ━ ━ ━

[MythosNet Chatroom: Tales of Old]

Back in his room, Arthur plopped into his chair and typed in the group chat.

[Prince Arthur: Alright, I just told Lin to check the guy out with a divination search. In the meantime, I'll give him a display name and ask a few more questions.]

[Thor: Sounds fair.]

[Amaterasu: Cool. Oh, and Arthur, did you tell Merlin about our game streaming tonight?]

Arthur blinked.

[Arthur: Oops. Forgot. 😅]

[Amaterasu: Typical. 🙄]

･･･

Reading all this, James shook his head in disgust.

"Greedy sons of bitches. So they can be whatever they want, but when I want to roleplay as a demon lord, suddenly it's a problem? Alright then."

He turned off his phone, clearly offended, and focused back on the stage.

Ada Brown was now on stage.

She confidently presented her product.

Her bright smile lit up the hall, and the audience seemed to be pleased with her so far. James had missed part of her introduction, but from the excited murmurs, it seemed promising.

He was about to just let it slide and move on… but then his eyes landed on the product displayed at her booth.

His fingers gripped the small mic near his mouth.

His voice cut through the hall — sharp!

"You—"

Ada froze as her body stiffened like she had just been caught stealing the Crown Jewels.

She turned hesitantly with a nervous smile still plastered on her sweaty face.

"S-, Sir…?"

James's grip tightened around the mic.

His face darkened and his eyes narrowed as he spoke again — this time with quiet, restrained fury.

"You stupid, wretched thief… shut up."

A ripple of shock coursed through the hall.

The audience shifted uncomfortably as murmurs spread like wildfire.

Ada paled instantly, her hands trembling. "Wh-, What?"

James slowly rose from his chair, adjusting his sleeves with eerie composure.

His voice was calm—very calm.

"Did you really think you could steal that design… and get away with it?"

The hall went dead silent.

Ada's face crumpled.

"I—I don't know what you mean, Sir, I—"

James's eyes locked onto hers.

His next words sent a chill down her spine.

"Explain. Now."

And just like that—Ada Brown's bright, shining moment turned into a public execution.