The Daily Life of the Demon King

Alex lay on the roof of the Humvee, enjoying the sight of clouds drifting across the blue sky. However, his thoughts were elsewhere—he was trying to recall everything he knew about the Las Plagas parasite. He wondered: could Osmund Saddler actually see through the eyes of the infected, or did he merely sense when the parasite was in danger?

If Saddler truly had the ability to see through his hosts, it meant only one thing—he had just gained another target on his back. Moreover, the more infected there were, the higher the chance that they would try to attack his group. Of course, it wasn't a serious problem for them, but it added unnecessary hassle.

If Alex weren't trying to keep his power a secret, he would have already dropped something like a meteorite right onto Saddler, just to remove yet another half-baked villain from his path. However, he knew full well that if he revealed himself, the mastermind would either flee and go into hiding or immediately resort to extreme measures, abandoning the spectacle known as the "Apocalypse."

But what annoyed him the most was the complete lack of leads on the true orchestrator's identity. The only thing he knew—or rather, suspected—was the existence of a certain Director of the Live Corporation, whose identity remained shrouded in mystery. The question that nagged at him was: how many people were under this man's command?

All these so-called villains could very well be connected to the evil corporation and its enigmatic leader in one way or another.

"What a damn headache…" Alex muttered, exhaling a puff of smoke.

He didn't know how many characters from different universes might have ended up in this world, but he considered the likelihood that many of them had inevitably sided with the corporation. It had already been confirmed that characters from Resident Evil were present here, and the more of them he encountered in the future, the more potential enemies he would gain—ranging from minor scumbags to truly powerful and ruthless beings who wouldn't hesitate to use the dirtiest tactics, including taking hostages and resorting to blackmail.

Lowering his gaze from the sky, Alex sat up on the Humvee's roof and looked ahead. In the distance, the port where the ferry awaited them came into view. Squinting, he spotted one of the Hummers, belonging to one of the raid groups, pulling in. Someone had already returned before them.

Focusing, he recognized the guys from Koko's team unloading supplies. At that moment, Koko, who was driving, realized they were almost there and stepped on the gas, closing in on the port.

Not only Koko but also the other girls were eager to return—they had had more than enough excitement for one day in that ghost town crawling with infected cultists.

The guys from Koko's group spotted Alex lounging on the Humvee's roof and Koko behind the wheel. He couldn't understand why their faces looked as if they had just seen a ghost. But a second later, he realized why.

Koko suddenly swerved, nearly flattening poor Ugo, who was trapped between two Hummers.

Sweat beaded on Ugo's face—any closer, and they would've had to scrape him off the armor.

"Sorry, Ugo, I didn't see you!" Koko called out from the window.

"It's fine, Koko. I'm used to it," he grumbled, trying to wiggle free.

"Here, let me help," Alex said, grabbing Ugo by the shoulders.

Before the man could protest, Alex had already lifted him and placed him on top of the Hummer. Ugo looked slightly bewildered but quickly regained his composure, thanked Alex for the help, then jumped down and returned to unloading supplies.

Meanwhile, the girls started getting out of the vehicle. Since Koko had parked right up against another Hummer, they had to squeeze out from one side. However, the smartest ones simply climbed out through the roof hatch.

From the ferry, another group of people emerged, joining in on the unloading of Alex's group's supplies.

Jonah looked around, trying to find his family members among the crowd. After a few minutes, he spotted the children, including Malka and Alice, who had rushed off the ferry, led by GIR, MIMI, and Stitch.

Jonah let out a relieved sigh, releasing his worries.

Alex noticed this, patted him on the shoulder, as if to say there was no need to worry.

Jonah nodded and quickly headed toward his family to check on them and find out where they had been settled.

However, instead of answering, the children excitedly began talking about the trio of troublemakers who had already occupied the girls.

Stitch, perched on Rebecca's shoulders, looked pleased. Meanwhile, GIR and MIMI clung to Alex's legs like two mischievous kids.

"I see you didn't bring that many supplies… unless you count the rescued kids… and that blonde who's staring daggers at you," Lehm said, observing the group.

"You know the priority is saving people. What about you? Aside from the mutated dogs, did you encounter anything else?" Alex asked, lighting a fresh cigarette.

"We ran into a small group of cultists. But before we could do anything, their heads exploded like confetti poppers, and disgusting parasites crawled out of them."

R, who had approached Alex and Lehm, nodded and added, "The strangest thing was that these creatures died when we detonated a flashbang grenade."

Alex nodded, now fully convinced that the Las Plagas parasite had the same weakness to bright light as in the original universe. However, at the same time, he realized that R had just said something he probably shouldn't have—he mentioned the cultists.

The girls, hearing this, also remembered how Alex and Rebecca had previously asked them to avoid that topic. Both of them already felt an incoming headache.

Alex shot a dry look at R, who had yet to realize he had just stepped on a landmine. Then, his gaze shifted to Stitch, still sitting on Rebecca's shoulders, and then to GIR and MIMI, whose eyes suddenly glowed red.

"BURN THE HERETIC!"

"KILL THE MUTANT!"

"ABHOR THE ALIEN!"

"PURGE THE UNCLEAN!"

The trio's loud battle cries made everyone around them flinch. Stitch jumped off Rebecca's shoulders and ran over to GIR and MIMI. The three of them, filled with fanatical zeal, chanted slogans about purging heretics and burning them in holy fire.

The sudden contrast in their behavior left everyone who knew them baffled. Those unaware of their radical views looked at them in pure shock. Their loud slogans echoed through the port, causing passersby to turn their heads in confusion.

Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering how to calm them down.

"All the heretics have already been burned. There's no one left to purge," he said calmly, hoping to end the madness.

GIR looked at him with a childlike pout.

"No more?"

"Maybe we'll find more later," Alex replied, barely holding back a laugh at their disappointed faces.

GIR, MIMI, and Stitch stared at him with reproachful expressions, as if he were personally responsible for the fact that all the heretics were already dead, depriving them of their "purification" mission.

Alex felt his headache worsening. He searched the crowd for a way out and spotted Alice, who was watching the scene with wide eyes.

A light bulb went off in his head. He motioned for Alice to come closer and whispered in her ear,

"Distract them with something."

Alice nodded without asking questions and immediately dragged the trio of troublemakers away. Once they disappeared onto the ferry, all eyes turned to Alex, waiting for an explanation.

He just sighed tiredly and turned his gaze to R, who was still in a slight shock, trying to process what had just happened.

"Why do your pets act like crazed fanatics?" R finally asked, still bewildered.

Alex smirked.

"You should be worried not about that, but about GIR helping with the training. And most likely, he's going to blame you for not being able to clean out the heretics."

R irritably pointed a finger at Alex.

"What do I have to do with this?! You're the one who attacked the farm full of cultists, not me! Why should your robo-dog go after me and not you?!"

Alex lazily shrugged.

"You mentioned the cultists. You said they're all dead. So, put two and two together. I, for one, didn't say I burned down an entire village of cultists."

R's eyes widened as the meaning of Alex's words sank in.

Lehm slapped him on the back, trying not to laugh—after all, R would have to face the consequences in the evening. Everyone who overheard their conversation cast him sympathetic glances.

R began frantically thinking of ways to avoid revenge from the robo-dog. Or maybe just skipping the training? But then he remembered that he'd be punished even worse for skipping.

His shoulders slumped. He realized there was no chance of escape.

Passersby just patted him on the back in support. Even Itami and Kota's group, who arrived just then, asked why R looked so down. After learning the reason, they too gave him a restrained pat on the back.

"I don't need your support!" R snapped. "What's the big deal about revenge from a robo-dog? So what?!"

Lehm laughed.

"Then don't complain when they shock you in the evening to boost motivation and the strength of youth."

The other guys laughed along with Lehm, causing R's face to turn an even darker shade. Alex smirked and headed towards the ferry. He didn't even need to guess what awaited R during the evening training—GIR would surely take it out on him, and it was already inevitable.

The girls, curious, asked what exactly GIR was planning to do with R, intrigued by how the robo-dog intended to take revenge. Rebecca, smiling broadly, gave a few examples, making the girls laugh and express a desire to watch it in full enjoyment later.

Alex reminded them that they would be at the training anyway, as Valmet, Saeko, and Rei were also in the group he was training.

Returning to the ferry's control room, Alex noticed Shizuka, comfortably settled on a mattress. She waved at them as soon as she saw them. Before anyone could say anything, Alex swiftly moved forward and collapsed face-first onto her thighs. Sinking into the softness, he relaxed, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Shizuka blinked in surprise but quickly regained her composure and began gently stroking his hair.

"Why did our three little ones come back so upset? What happened after they ran out?" she asked, continuing to tenderly comb through his strands.

Alex mumbled something, but since his face was between her thighs, his words were impossible to decipher.

"It tickles, and I didn't understand anything," Shizuka laughed, feeling his breath.

"Shizuka, if he turns his head, he won't be able to see your face because of your two hills. Though, considering your size, you won't see his face either," Rika teased, watching her friend with a sly smile.

"And I don't need to see his face to understand what happened to our little ones," Shizuka puffed her cheeks.

Rika just laughed, then sprawled out on the available space, showing no desire to move at all.

Alex turned onto his back and indeed found that his view was blocked by two impressive hills. Quietly explaining to Shizuka why GIR, MIMI, and Stitch were so upset, he noticed that she just nodded in confusion, not fully understanding why the trio had reacted the way they did. To her, those people were infected and cultists, so eliminating them was a logical step.

Not wanting to go deeper into the discussion, Alex simply advised her not to overthink it — the trio would get over it soon enough and return to their usual behavior.

"So, what about those people? I mean, the infected who kidnapped the older sister of those kids?" Shizuka asked, changing her wording just in time as she noticed warning looks directed at her.

"I dealt with them. But it might have put another target on me and our group," Alex said, gesturing around.

"What do you mean? Another target?" Yuriko frowned.

"Wait, you said 'another'? So, we already had one? Did I miss something?" Rei asked in surprise.

"Do you even pay attention to what's going on around us?" Brunhilda asked dryly, looking at the girls with a blank expression.

The girls exchanged glances, then looked at Brunhilda, each trying to remember when the first target appeared on their backs. However, Koko wasn't even going to worry about it — she had been hunted so many times throughout her life that she'd long stopped counting. One or two new targets didn't change anything. Lazily sprawled on the mattress, she made it clear that what was happening didn't concern her.

Valmet noticed her behavior and sighed heavily, while the other girls tried to analyze the situation.

"If I understand correctly, the first target appeared after we helped with the shelter in Tokyo, where Alex killed that huge zombie," Saya began, frowning. "And the second one was when he dealt with the infected farmers?"

"Exactly right," Alex confirmed with a smile. "Good job, Saya! I'm so proud of you! Want a reward in the form of a kiss?" He winked and blew her an air kiss.

"Idiot... not here," she muttered, turning away, her cheeks turning slightly red.

Alex smirked, noticing her embarrassment, but was immediately met with Rebecca's laughter.

"Well, well, a shy virgin," she giggled. "With that shyness, you'll never end up in bed with Alex!"

At those words, a vein began to pulse on Saya's temple, and their argument flared up again with new intensity. The others tactfully ignored their spat, but Alex felt Shizuka gently tap his cheek. He sat up slightly to see what she wanted and noticed how she pointed expressively to herself, her gaze clearly asking, "What about me?"

Smiling, Alex gently kissed her on the lips.

Of course, this didn't go unnoticed. Saya and Rebecca immediately stopped arguing, exchanged looks, and... teamed up to attack him. The other girls quickly joined in, and within seconds, Alex's face was covered in lipstick.

He blinked in confusion, trying to grasp why the girls even used lipstick in the middle of an apocalypse… but decided he didn't want to know what was going on in their heads. What concerned him more right now was that he desperately needed a shower to wash off the traces of their "affection" from his face.

"I mean, I'm not opposed to kisses and all that," he smirked. "But can we skip the lipstick next time?"

"What do you mean, 'skip the lipstick'?" Yuriko protested. "A girl should always look beautiful, no matter the situation. It's obvious."

"Uh... okay, got it," Alex grinned, raising his hands in surrender. "Then I think I'll go take a shower. Wash off the remnants of your affection."

"Sweetheart, would you like me to scrub your back?" Rika cooed flirtatiously.

"Well, I'm not against it... but no funny business," Alex warned, squinting. "Because when things start getting interesting, you know someone will always show up."

"You sure know how to spoil a girl's fun..." Rika pouted.

Alex went to his bag, grabbed clean clothes, and headed to the shower. However, before he even had a chance to collect himself, Rika, Brunhilda, Rebecca, Koko, Valmet, and Saeko had joined him. The other girls held back for now, but Rika clearly wasn't going to back down—she was busy persuading Shizuka to come with them, convincing her that with her "hills," she'd seduce Alex even faster.

Shizuka glanced at her impressive chest, then at Rika... and hesitated.

"Hmm..." she squinted, but after a few seconds of thought, shook her head. "No, maybe next time. When we're alone."

Rika didn't give up, and started whispering something in Shizuka's ear. Judging by the quick blush on Shizuka's face, Rika's arguments were quite... convincing.

Rei and Saya, noticing this, decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. But after a few seconds, they too blushed... and started considering whether they should join the others.

Meanwhile, the older girls—Yuriko, Kiriko, and Namiyo—just watched, exchanging glances. They decided to give the younger ones a chance, but when the opportunity arose, they'd surely take it to be alone with Alex.

Alex and the girls headed to the shower area to freshen up and relax. He quickly undressed and wrapped a towel around his waist, while Rebecca didn't even bother with such formalities—she just stripped off her clothes and walked straight into the shower as if nothing unusual had happened. Alex just shook his head, used to her usual behavior.

They turned on the hot water first, enjoying the warm streams. In truth, Alex was craving not just a shower but a hot bath, but after a sigh, he resigned himself to the current circumstances. Within a few seconds, the other girls joined them.

When the girls, who hadn't seen Alex undressed yet, finally got a good look at his body, their eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Perfect proportions, defined muscles, impeccable posture—a sight that made their throats dry.

"I didn't know you had matching tattoos," Rika commented, examining Alex and Rebecca's backs.

"Sort of. Didn't you notice before?" Alex slightly turned his head toward her.

"How could I have noticed if you've never taken off your t-shirt around us? I was starting to think it was glued to your skin," Rika scoffed, rolling her eyes and patting him on the back.

"And what does that tattoo of flames and weird symbols mean?" Koko asked with interest, studying his back closely.

"It's the crest of the goddess Hestia—the protector of family, home, and the hearth," Brunhilda explained as she entered the shower beside Alex.

Koko squinted, demanding a more detailed explanation. Alex, taking his time, explained that the inscriptions on their backs were a sort of blessing written in an ancient language.

"So, you and Rebecca chose these tattoos because you put family above everything else?" Valmet asked, standing nearby.

"Exactly. Rebecca and I live by this principle. It's tied to our past," Alex replied.

The curious girls began to ask what exactly had motivated their choice. Without hesitation, Rebecca opened up a bit of her story, sharing what she had gone through in her childhood.

Koko, Valmet, Saeko, and Rika weren't expecting to hear something like this. They were shocked to learn that her own parents had sold her to slave traders, and it was only thanks to her older brother that she survived.

"So, what did you do to your parents after that?" Valmet asked, frowning.

"What do you think I did…? I unloaded an entire magazine into them. If it weren't for Pilar, I probably would've dismembered them and fed them to the dogs," Rebecca said coldly.

The girls involuntarily flinched upon hearing her tone. To them, Rebecca had always been like a mischievous gremlin who loved teasing everyone, but now they saw a completely different side of her.

Alex noticed the shift in her emotion and gently stroked her hair, trying to calm her. He knew that Rebecca hated talking about her past, that it haunted her at night until they started living together.

Realizing they had touched a sensitive topic, the girls decided to change the subject. To lighten the mood, Rika suggested that she scrub Alex's back—after all, that's why she was here. Alex sat down on a stool to make it easier for her.

The problem, though, was that Rika didn't seem interested in simply washing his back. Her hands grew more mischievous, slowly moving from his shoulders to his chest, and then...

"Hey! Stop groping him!" Saeko protested, pulling Rika away.

"Yeah, yeah, give us a turn!" Koko chimed in.

"Oh, really?!" Rika huffed. "At least I'm not shy!"

While the girls argued, Brunhilda seized the moment, silently going around them and starting to wash Alex's back.

"How dare you take advantage of the fact that we're distracted?!" Rebecca exclaimed, pointing at her.

"I'm not to blame that you're all too loud," Brunhilda replied calmly, with a slight smile, massaging Alex's head and lathering him with shampoo.

The girls exchanged glances, then turned back to Brunhilda, who completely ignored their stares and calmly continued helping Alex wash off the foam. Realizing that fighting her was useless, they agreed to a temporary truce and decided to join in.

A few minutes later, Alex looked like a living mountain of soap bubbles. He could never have imagined he'd end up in such a comical situation. The girls, not missing the opportunity, immediately started teasing him.

"Now you'll become a part of me, The Man of Foam! No one can escape my soap bubbles!" Alex declared dramatically, suddenly grabbing the first girl he could, which happened to be Koko, and pulling her tightly against him.

"Run, girls! I'll hold him off, sacrificing myself!" Koko cried in a pitiful tone.

From the huge cloud of foam, her hand emerged, dramatically extended forward, as if she were bidding farewell to the others.

"Don't worry, White, we'll save you!" Rebecca theatrically declared, grabbing the shower and directing it at Alex.

"No! You can't defeat him! Escape while you can! I have become part of The Man of Foam!" Koko continued to perform her dramatic act.

Alex couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter, completely breaking character as the villain. Koko joined him, and it looked from the outside like a massive mountain of foam was laughing contagiously.

Rebecca didn't waste any time and turned on the shower, dousing Alex and Koko with a stream of water, washing away all the foam. When the soapy cloud cleared, the girls saw that Koko had clearly seized the moment and was now pressed against Alex, shamelessly feeling him up.

"Not again!" Rebecca exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

A new struggle began: the girls tried to pull Koko away from Alex, but she wasn't about to give up so easily. Eventually, the shower took much longer than planned, but no one complained — everyone had a great time.

When they finally left the shower, Alex and the girls headed back. Upon reaching upstairs, Alex noticed Itami, who seemed to be looking for him. As soon as he saw Alex, he hurried toward him.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up," Alex said to the girls while drying his hair with a towel.

Once they had gone, he turned to Itami.

"Something happened? I thought you'd be watching anime by now, not looking for me."

"First, I wanted to report on the raid we just returned from, then I'd get to my hobby," Itami replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I doubt you found anything new, except for infected dogs or another group of cultists," Alex shook his head.

"This time it's different. We came across a new type of zombie... but it was strange," Itami said, pulling out a holographic projector, which every raid group leader had.

Alex showed a hint of interest and gestured for him to continue.

"When we split up, my group went to the city to gather medical supplies. We stumbled upon a clinic and decided to check it out, in case there was something useful left. At some point, we heard crying. We thought someone might need help and followed the sound. When we got closer, we saw a woman in tattered clothes, sitting on the floor, crying. Deciding to help, we approached... and then she suddenly jumped up and started screaming, before charging at us."

"And then what happened?" Alex asked, watching as Itami activated the hologram.

"We were lucky that one of the guys reacted in time and shot her in the chest with a buckshot. But that didn't stop her. We had to empty an entire magazine into her before she finally fell," Itami scrolled through images of the unusual zombie's body.

Alex studied the pictures carefully, then muttered thoughtfully:

"This is getting interesting..."

From Itami's story, Alex already figured out what type of zombie his group had encountered. They had come across a mutated infected, referred to as a Witch, or something similar. This is a very dangerous, resilient, and incredibly fast type of zombie. The most unsettling thing about it is its endless pursuit of the person who disturbed it. That's why this mutant was called a Witch.

Nodding, Alex asked a few more questions, but Itami knew very little — his group had killed the infected too quickly to gather detailed information.

"Got it," Alex said, patting Itami on the shoulder.

But before Alex could add anything else, Itami had already saluted and yelled:

"Time to watch anime!" before disappearing down the corridor.

Alex just shook his head and headed for the steamship's control room.

As soon as he entered, the girls immediately asked what Itami wanted.

Alex briefly explained the situation, telling the girls about the new type of zombie his group had encountered. The girls perked up, eager to see it, and Alex simply nodded toward the laptop:

"Anytime, you can check all the available information about the zombies we've encountered."

Without wasting time, the girls gathered around the laptop, studying the new data.

At that moment, Alex's phone rang.

"Pirate ship Mugiwara! If you've found the One Piece, we're coming for you!" he answered with a smirk.

A familiar laugh came from the other end of the line:

"Heh, unexpected greeting, Alex."

"Why are you calling so early? Or is everything in your CIA bunker so good that you're bored?"

"No, the reason is different. I hope you're already far from Tokyo?"

"And why do you need to know? We've been on the road for a couple of days."

"The UN council has approved an airstrike on Tokyo to contain the infected horde. This proposal came from Japan's prime minister. I found out about it through my contacts — the decision was made twenty minutes ago."

Alex frowned.

"Kasper, you do realize the entire Japanese government is already dead?"

"That's obvious. Just like the fact that most world governments haven't been functioning for a while. I'm just calling to warn you. If you're far enough away, that's good. I don't want to lose my sister without even attending her wedding."

"We've already left the strike radius. Unless an EMP causes trouble... But something tells me it's not that simple. Alright, thanks for the heads-up. Stay in touch."

Alex ended the call and looked up — the girls had been listening to the conversation.

"Warn everyone. Tokyo will be hit by an airstrike soon. And check who has pacemakers — EMP could be a problem."

The girls nodded and quickly spread the warning.

Alex ordered GIR to move the steamship farther from the shore, just in case the explosion triggered a tsunami.

Those who wanted to see the strike gathered on the deck, watching the horizon. Time seemed to drag on unbearably, and the tension among the people grew.

And then, in the distance, a massive dome-shaped vortex appeared above Tokyo.

Alex narrowed his eyes.

"This isn't an airstrike..."

He immediately understood: this was a cleansing operation by the "Evil Corporation" branch. Even so, the scale of destruction was colossal — the city and everything in it vanished in an instant.

Those watching the explosion felt a heavy weight in their hearts. People they had known, worked with, and served alongside in Tokyo were now gone.

Rika stood nearby, holding Alex's hand. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

"How are you?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine... I just knew many people who stayed there. I served with them... and now they're gone," her voice trembled.

"Don't mourn those who've already gone. Better direct that pain toward something that will help you cope with it."

Rika sniffed and slapped his hand.

"You could've just hugged or kissed me instead of throwing around wise words."

Alex smirked.

"Well, do you feel better now?"

Rika wiped away her tears and looked at the shrinking explosion dome.

"We still have to deal with the bastards who caused this..."

That anger was shared by all the survivors. They wanted to punish those responsible for the zombie apocalypse.

To be continued...

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