Skybound Throne - Chapter 8: The Battle Royal III

A martial art expert from the Song dynasty lives like a Phoenix that can live again in another body after death. This time, he happened to take over the body of a Japanese high schooler who is also a victim of bullying and has a bit complicated family circumstances.

[Ding! Sorceress Beauty Merlin from Camelot has added you to a chat group full of beautiful maidens!][Ding! You've claimed the title of Supreme Demon Lord!][Ding! Fairy Queen Ophelia tagged you in a post!][Ding! Medusa sent you some of her spicy videos, shut your blinds before watching!][Ding! Your dog has been transformed into the Ancient Black Dragon Veligrpyh!]James Kang, once the youngest heir to the multi-trillion-dollar Hart Global Corporation, has everything anyone could dream of: money, luxury, and freedom. But his life is hollow—friends are fake, family distant, and his days are a blur of shallow extravagance.One late, lonely night, James gets a notification:[Congratulations! You have been added to the Ancient Multiverse Chatroom!]Thinking it's some cringy online role-playing game, he decides to entertain himself and plays along, proclaiming himself the “Supreme Demon Lord.”The group, filled with titles like:[Princess of the Azure Seas][Dragon Emperor of Ashvale][Goblin Slayer Supreme][High Priestess of the Sun][Fafnir, the Pet Wyvern]And they seemed hilariously invested in their roles.What starts as a joke takes a bizarre turn.The more James participates, the more he notices strange phenomena: glowing runes on his skin, magic artifacts materializing from nowhere, an elder dragon in his garage, and a sudden mastery of dark magic.Things escalate when a private group chat, run by a perverted female King Arthur, invites him to [The Table of Beauties], a circle of god-tier roleplayers… or so he thinks.Soon, James learns the truth.The chat is an interdimensional nexus connecting real worlds where magic, legends, and gods exist. His casual banter and fake roleplay have turned him into a living, breathing Demon Lord, complete with a castle in Hell, loyal monster armies, and reality-warping powers.To make matters even crazier, his “friends” start visiting Earth, and they’re nothing like he imagined!

[Pre-Author's Note: MC develops as time passes, it starts out slow but surely]“The Apocalypse isn't just fit for anyone... Without Strength, you're just a tool waiting to be exploited, So hurry the fuck up and get some strength already,”The world ended in an instant.One moment, Simon, a 20-year-old game designer, was sitting at his desk, immersed in code.The next, the sky cracked open and monsters poured into the streets.Werewolves with claws sharp enough to slice through steel.Undead skeletons that marched with deadly purpose and Zombies that infected humans with the power of their bite.The gods had unleashed an apocalypse, and humanity was no longer at the top of the food chain.Simon ran, he survived... and then he was granted a power.|Congratulations You have been binded to the Vampire Overlord System|He was something else.A vampire overlord.Yet the Apocalpyse had only just begun...

Born and raised as a nameless shadow guard for his kingdom’s crown prince, his life’s purpose was to be used and discarded at the whims of his liege.

And his meaningless life ended when the gaze of a princess lingered on him for too long. The crown prince had him beheaded without a second thought, as if throwing out trash.

Transmigrating into the body of a baby girl, the nameless shadow finally had a name, a family, and a place to call her own. Throwing away his past, the shadow guard was now called ‘Emilia’, and walked on a new path to seek fulfillment.

It was not meant to be, however, as the girl whom she had loved with all her heart and soul ended up mercilessly plunging a dagger through Emilia's love-struck heart at the highest point in her life.

The crowd clamored at the ‘deserved death of the villainess’, and at that moment, the shadow could only wonder… why?

Why am I always the one to dedicate myself fully to someone, only to be thrown away like trash in the end?

And thus, as her soul floated away while cursing in resentment, ‘Emilia’ vowed to herself that in her next life she shall never be the one to fully dedicate herself.

Whatever she likes shall be held in her palm, and shall never escape.

The moment the vow was made, a self-proclaimed villainess system proposed to partner with her, to explore and conquer the worlds through their anchors—the heroes and heroines.

And by cultivating this energy, she shall one day go back. Back to the world she was born as ‘Emilia’ in, and face the so-called heroine once more.

The second time they meet, Emilia won’t be the one drowning in regret!

...

Author's Note: The heroines are not just trophies she’s collecting, only to be forgotten once she collects them. Each of them will remain relevant throughout the story. And it won’t become a mess, promise!