How long has it been?

I must have slumbered far too long in human perspective since a lot has changed, even the landscape. Well, humans haven't changed much. They're still as chaotic and annoying as ever. My last encounter with them was at war or something. There are players too, but I don't know what became of them nor do I care.

"My kids are gone..."

Recalling the game's final minutes is still a headache, but I can certainly remember being with two young players while I waited for the shut down in the castle. Those two sisters are neglected by their wealthy parents, so they immerse themselves in video games to be distracted from such a dysfunctional family. I may be an adult but even if I were to have a child my age, my kid would still be a toddler. Nevertheless, I loved them as my one...ever since they asked if I could be their video game mother.

"Au...gghh..." One of the bandits is still breathing

Oh, that's right. I woke up when someone managed to "reawaken" both the castle and I. They're very weak, so I'm baffled how mere bandits managed to solve the puzzle.

"You're still alive? Good. Tell me if you encountered two girls names Margaret and Nellian?"

"W-wha..."

"They're like my children. One of them is a paladin and the other is a magic caster"

"...!" The man's teeth is shaking

It's certainly hard to speak, let alone concentrate, since his legs are bending the other way and four of his fingers on his right hand are bending in different directions. Not to mention, his left eye is swollen and there are numerous cuts on his torso alone.

"Demon!"

My clothes are already tainted by both blood and dirt. His screaming is making my headache worse. Fortunately enough, this is just cosmetic, and my actual equipment remains clean.

"P-please spare me. We didn't know there's a Demon Lord living in the castle! We thought it was abandoned, so we wanted to help ourselves with the treasure!"

"I'm a Devil, you piece of shit. More importantly, my position is more similar to Archduchess after I passed out during a raid and woke up being the dungeon's new owner...for some reason"

I complain under my breath. It all started when I joined in a large scale raid on a whim. The boss there didn't follow supposed attack patterns. While everyone is getting deleted by its barrage of spells, I fainted then woke up in the throne room with the game notifying me that I'm occupying the castle now.

"..."

I look back at the bleeding man while he continues to beg for forgiveness and to spare him.

"I don't want to die yet! I haven't even apologized to my mother when I left my village!" The man screams at the top of his lungs

"..."

Normally, I would consider and pity him seeing his sincerity and familial regret, but I scoff in disgust. My body is that of a devil now. It feels vastly different before now that I'm stronger and have no fear of wasting away.

"What would Touch-san would do?"

When I think about him, I believe he would spare the man if he truly intends to change. He sees the best in everyone and guides those who are lost. It's him who saved me when I was cornered by a party of high elves. Ever since then, not only did he teach me about combat, he taught me about the value of justice and being a hero.

"P-please-!"

Before he can keep begging again, I permanently silenced him with a swift decapitation from my greatsword.

"I have no sympathy for bandits. If you had been a wanderer who accidentally stumbled on my castle, I would have spared you"

I swing my tainted blade in the air and let the blood splatter on the ground. Have I changed much after arriving here? The thought of killing humans and staring at their mutilated corpses would sicken me, but I feel nothing.

"If Sir Touch Me can see me now, I'm sure he'd be angry and berate me for being cruel"

It makes me feel uneasy at the thought that he would be disappointed in me. Touch Me is my hero and the one I admired the most. I wanted to have my own kind of justice because I know I can't be an ideal hero like him.

"I want to be a hero of my own too and find those girls"

If I'm a lone player, travelling all over this unknown world is easy, but I have a castle and NPCs to attend to. From a regular office worker to the duchess of a demonic castle. Well, it still beats having an old geezer yell at me everyday and constantly panic about deadlines.

"I wonder if Sir Touch Me or his friends are here too..."

I gaze up at the sky and take a deep breath. My heart beats in excitement at the possibility that my hero might have ended up in this world too. If his guild friends are here too then I might ask them where he is. He left the game some time ago, but I want to believe he logged in to watch the game end as well.

"My lady..." A familiar voice gently calls me

"Hmm?"

When I turned around, I spot Garmr kneeling on the once rich soil now darkened with mixed blood of different bandits. As a werewolf, he doesn't flinch at the scent of dead flesh and guts spilled everywhere.

"My pack found no escapees. However, we managed to capture three humans. They're likely scouts in case their robbery failed" The dark furred werewolf lowers his head without looking at me

"Hraesvalgr?"

"The Birds of Prey are still scouting the land as we speak and I haven't received any update about your children or the silver paladin"

"I see..."

"Forgive us, my lady. If we had awakened sooner..."

"Don't blame yourself. They're fully equipped with the best items I could give them and I taught them about surviving uncharted territory, so I'm sure they're out there somewhere"

"..." Garmr folds his ears out of guilt and worry

"As half devils, they would stand out. Surely, someone spotted them travelling. What's the nearest residential area here?"

"Residential? Uhm...there's a village outside the forest" Garmr flicks his left ear

"Knowing Margaret and Nellian, they would either try to help people or find humans first"

First and foremost, I must track down my children and pray that they are safe. I don't know how strong the people of this world are, but mere bandits won't be able to take them down since I dispatched the chopped corpses around me with sheer physical strength.

"Have Mikon assemble her best spies and informants. We're scouring this land for any traces of my daughters. They're the closest ones I have for a family left ever since my sister..."

I stomp my left foot with intensity that my fear and worry causes ice to spread everywhere.

"I have nothing left. My parents are gone and so is my sister. Those kids are the only ones who gave me the reason to live in a shitty and godforsaken world"

I tightly grip my chest and wrinkle my coat out of my mind's desperation to find them safe and well. The inhabitant list marked them as unknown, so it's my only hope that they're still alive somewhere.

[Fufufu. Don't make such a noise, devil. Death hasn't come for them]

A voice of a gentle yet ominous woman rings in all corners of my mind that I nearly loft my sword out of instinct. I look in all directions, but all I can see are the flies gathering on the corpses and my confused werewolf subordinate.

Am I going insane out of worry and fear?