Ascend to Heaven?!

   Reclining in his dimly lit seat in a dark chamber, a young man with a Black Tuxedo suit put his cup of tea on the table next to him gently as he listened to the beautiful sound of the harp and the flute.

"Another failure?! Once again, I am dead," he muttered. He tilted his head backwards in what seemed like a declaration of defeat to the fate that was awaiting him.

“A fate?! More like doom!” he sighed desperately.

The young man took a glance at his watch, noticing that the second hand wasn’t moving.

“Aaah! This thought acceleration stuff is annoying!” he said after seeing the second hand move to mark another second’s start. “Only 6 months left… I should maybe enjoy them and stop worrying about the future.”

With that, the time flow started moving at its normal pace.

In the last month, using the unique skill ‘Extra thought acceleration’ over and over, the man had foreseen the future millions of times, but the end was always the same…

Finally, he decided to give up.

Expressions of delight were noticeable on his face.

As he held his breath, he stared transfixed upon the sight before him. A screen was slightly illuminating the room, transferring live footage from a classroom located on one of the higher floors.

The man, Baal, was listening to the only piece written by Mozart for the harp.

“Unsurprisingly, it's great!” He thought. He was, after all, strictly a Mozart aficionado.

Reflecting for a moment, he felt that the “concerto for flute, harp, and orchestra” was only created for that moment. A changing point in his life that will have a bigger impact on the world. The moment when the real countdown for the final six months has started.

Although he believed that it would be inappropriate to be concerned with anything other than the screen before his eyes and the heavenly music echoing in his ears, he found himself obliged to look aside quickly after hearing a loud creak as someone pushed the door open.

A sweet scent filled his nostrils as the sight stunned him into silence.

“Is it time already?” He asked while retaining his composure before the cute female that appeared before him.

“Your highness, are you sure about this? There is still some time… You can abandon the plan now if you want!” The woman’s face was telling Baal that she was worried.

He couldn’t ignore that. She is one of the few humans who decided to follow him and the woman he loves…

Knowing that fate won’t change if he were to abandon the plan, he took off his fedora revealing his dark blue hair then sighed deeply.

“And here I thought I can enjoy listening to Mozart until those brats wake up. How about you join me instead of worrying about trivial matters!”

“This isn’t a trivial matter, your highness!” she replied immediately with a surprised tone.

Baal looked at the screen before him silently for a moment, deciding to ignore her futile attempts to convince him, then smiled wryly after noticing that one of the students was about to wake up.

“I might as well enjoy myself for a bit since this is the last time repeating this scene!” he thought to himself quickly before finally, deciding to pronounce random stuff to show his interest in the conversation.

“You know? Listening to Mozart makes me feel that I am about to ascend to heaven!”

“Ascending to heaven would be a problem!”

Surprised, he gazed at her silently, thinking that her reaction wasn’t expected, so she continued explaining. “Just thinking about ascending to heaven in your case defies all the laws of this world!”

“Eh?! Don’t you think it’s a bit hurtful to say that even for me?”

“Don’t “Eh” me!” The woman, Alice, was annoyed. “You’re the demon lord! Why do you think you can go to heaven?!”

“Aaah!” Baal looked at her with a surprised face showing that he was forgetting an important fact. Shortly after that he stood up and looked at her with an excited smile. His sudden reaction surprised Alice. Confusion was all over her face.

She looked away as her face was slowly turning red.

“What’s wrong with you today?!” She shook her head.

“I am not going to heaven?”

“I don’t know but that would be very hard!”

The demon lord sighed then returned to his chair. “Is that so…”

“Why are you disappointed?”

“Nothing…”

“You don’t need to tell me. You don’t have to force yourself! It’s okay!” She added.

That was the biggest lie told by Alice for that day!

In reality, if he didn’t tell her the reason behind his disappointment, she wouldn’t be able to sleep for the next couple of days.

‘Don’t force yourself' and ‘You don’t need to talk’ were a part of a quick strategy she made to make him talk.

As he opened his mouth to reply, a large smile appeared on her face. A smile that declared her victory.

“Scoring some points against the demon lord himself… That was easy!” she thought.

“It’s because…” Baal muttered with embarrassment all over his face.

“Because?”

Baal looked aside and replied in a shy tone. “You’re too cute to go to hell. So, we won’t meet in the afterlife!”

“Oh, that’s so cute!!” Alice didn’t realise that her thoughts went straight out of her mouth at that moment until a few seconds later.

She coughed and then asked. “More importantly, since when you were obsessed with Mozart?”

Baal’s face lightened up after hearing that as he answered with his usual excitement: “You remember my last visit to the king?”

“Eh? What does that have to do with Mozart?”

“King Zola told me that Mozart’s music makes him feel in heaven. So I decided to try it myself: ascending to heaven!”

“That bastard!” Alice clenched her fists in anger, imagining king Zola’s laughing face when he recommended that music.

In the Montsou Kingdom, few people believed that Baal was the actual new demon lord. If anything, some even doubt the fact that a new demon lord has appeared.

So far, for the last ten years, no victims or actual battles have occurred between the three factions: the demons (magical beasts and devils), the humans, and the citizens of the Great Forest (elves and dwarves)

“Eh?” Baal looked a bit confused after seeing Alice getting angry.

He threw a glance at the screen before him to notice that a few students had woken up already.

“Finally! They will find my letter!” He shouted in excitement, like a kid who has just got a present.

Forgetting about the whole heaven thing, Alice looked at the screen before her. After all, she couldn’t do anything to King Zola. That would cause Baal’s anger, who prohibited any act of violence, especially toward the kingdom that respects him where he was born as the son of a noble family, the Montsou Kingdom.

“If I remember correctly, you’re talking about the letter that you ordered to put on the teacher’s desk earlier this morning!”

“The one and only! The letter that will turn the world upside down!” he replied.

Looking at the enormous smile on Baal's face, Alice could not resist yet again, asking him.

“May I know what was written there?”

“Kill the teacher!” He simply answered with an innocent look on his face that would never suit a demon lord.

“And who’s that teacher?” She asked again, bracing herself for the answer that she’s judged already to be nonsense.

“Who else would it be?” he laughed gently then stood proudly while looking at her. “The one and only, the 30th demon lord aka Baal!”

It took Alice a few seconds to realise the mess that the mighty demon lord was about to create.

“So let me get this straight!”

She crossed her arms, sceptical. “You, the demon lord, became a teacher at the Royal Magic Academy?”

He nodded silently, with an innocent smile on his face.

“And you wrote a letter to your students on the first day, telling them to kill you!”

Baal innocently nodded once again like a child that waits for compliments.

Upon seeing that, Alice took a deep breath for a moment, then continued. “You do realise that the Royal Magic Academy was built centuries ago to form heroes that usually end up slaying the demon lord?”

“Yes! Yes! I am totally aware of that!”

“Your… Highness… May I know the reason behind that?” She asked with a trembling voice.

She was confused. She did not know whether Baal was pretending to be an idiot, or he was one.

She didn’t have to brood over it, as Baal’s answer confirmed her doubts.

He, with that fake excited smile, replied: “To ascend to heaven!”

“Oh, my god!”