The first thing I noticed wasn’t the air.

  It wasn’t the sky either.

  It was the noise.

  A constant, roaring, endless wave of sound metal beasts screaming, lights fshing like hostile magic circles, humans everywhere moving like they were being chased by an invisible apocalypse.

  I stood there, blinking.

  “…Wait,” I said slowly. “Do you hear that?”

  Mira turned toward me sharply. “Hear what?”

  Grando, standing perfectly upright beside me, nodded once.

  Charmie tilted her head, hands on her hips. “Yeah. I hear it too.”

  My stomach sank.

  “No,” I whispered. “No, no, no. Don’t tell me...”

  A familiar, hated voice echoed in my head.

  [Announcement: The Demon Lord has entered an unfamiliar environment.]

  I screamed.

  “WHY IS THE SYSTEM STILL ANNOUNCING MY LIFE?!”

  Charmie cpped her hands. “Oh! So it does work here!”

  Grando adjusted her posture calmly. “From the reactions of nearby humans, it appears they cannot hear it. Only demons.”

  I stared at her. “That is not reassuring.”

  Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. “Enough! Enough stupid chatting! What are you idiots pnning to do now?”

  “My lord,” Grando said immediately, “I strongly advise returning to the Demon Realm as soon as possible.”

  Charmie spun in a circle, eyes sparkling. “But everything’s so shiny! Look at that moving metal carriage! And that glowing sign! And—oh my god, are those screens outside?”

  “That’s a billboard,” Mira snapped.

  “I want one.”

  “Mira,” I said, turning toward her, “how do you summon the portal?”

  She went silent.

  The kind of silence that screams we’re doomed.

  “Didn’t you chant it yourselves?” she barked.

  I csped my hands together innocently. “I chant. But you know what I’m capable of.”

  She groaned and grabbed her head. “I’m cursed. I can’t summon portals!”

  “Oh,” I said brightly. “Right. You were thrown out.”

  She looked at me like she was deciding whether murder was still illegal here.

  She sighed. “I need help to summon it.”

  “Then we need your friend!” Grando said, visibly relieved.

  “I can’t, it—” Mira started, but I cut her off immediately.

  “No,” I said firmly.

  All three of them turned toward me.

  “Now that we’re here,” I continued, excitement bubbling up, “this is an opportunity.”

  “What,” Mira asked slowly, “kind of opportunity?”

  “To learn.”

  She stared.

  “I told you, I want to know how humans live,” I said. “What they eat. How they build things. How they survive without systems narrating their every emotional breakdown.”

  Charmie gasped. “A cultural exchange!”

  Mira’s hand tightened around her knife. “I won’t allow it.”

  I dropped to my knees.

  Charmie and Grando followed instantly, kneeling in perfect synchronization.

  “Please,” I said sincerely. “I mean it. I want peace between humans and demons.”

  Mira trembled.

  Then she screamed, pressing the knife just close enough to scratch my neck. “I will kill you all if you harm a single human.”

  “I promise,” I said calmly, smiling, “we’ll behave.”

  She stared at me.

  “…You’re insane.”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “But I’m consistent.”

  ---

  Cars roared past.

  Charmie screamed and hid behind me.

  “What is that metal demon?!”

  “That’s cars,” Mira said.

  “Why is it angry?”

  People stared at us.

  One approached. “Whoa,” he said. “Nice cospy.”

  He reached out and touched my horn. “Beautiful craftsmanship.”

  I froze.

  “H-He touched me.”

  Charmie beamed. “See? We’re celebrities.”

  Grando whispered, “My lord. Humans are terrifying.”

  As we walked, Mira kept herself between us and others.

  Redirecting attention.

  I noticed, "thank you."

  “Don’t misunderstand,” she muttered. “I just don’t want chaos.”

  I smiled.

  ---

  [Announcement: The Demon Lord has entered a residential area.]

  I flinched. “STOP!”

  Mira stiffened. “What?”

  “Nothing,” I sighed. “Just my curse.”

  Charmie patted my back. “At least humans can’t hear it.”

  So... Mira let us stay.

  Technically.

  By “let,” I meant she marched us through the streets at knife-point, gring at anyone who looked twice, and dragged us straight into her pce, a cramped human apartment with thin walls, strange furniture, and far too many right angles. The air smelled like metal, soap, and something fried yesterday.

  The moment the door shut, she turned around. “Hands out.”

  “Excuse me...?” I said.

  Before I could protest, she pulled out metal restraints.

  Handcuffs...

  I stared. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “For how long?”

  “For as long as I feel like it.”

  Charmie tilted her head, intrigued. “Ooooh. Is this a human bonding ritual for guests?”

  “No,” Mira said ftly, snapping the cuffs around Charmie’s wrists.

  Click.

  Charmie froze.

  Grando stepped forward calmly. “If this is necessary to ensure safety, I will comply.”

  Click.

  I was st.

  Mira hesitated—just a second—then cuffed me anyway.

  Click.

  “Wow,” I muttered. “You really took notes from how we treated you.”

  She didn’t answer.

  Instead, she guided us, no, dragged us to the small living room and forced us to sit. The couch creaked ominously under demonic royalty.

  “For the record,” I said, holding up my restrained hands, “this feels very ironic.”

  “You deserve it,” she replied.

  Charmie rattled her cuffs experimentally. “Hmm. Lightweight. Humans really expect these to hold?”

  “Don’t test it,” Mira warned.

  “ACHOOOO!!” I sneezed.

  Nothing happened.

  No transformation.

  No magical girl time.

  No announcement chime.

  I blinked.

  “…Wait.”

  Charmie frowned slightly. “My lord...”

  I focused, tried to activate my skills.

  "Grow, you potatoes! Rise!"

  Nothing...

  No soil reaction.

  No dramatic announcement.

  “Oh?” I whispered.

  “Lord Getgun powers...” Grando said quietly. “They’re gone.”

  Mira crossed her arms, unimpressed. “Good news.”

  Charmie pouted. “That’s rude. We’re very powerful beings.”

  “Gd you wasn't now,” Mira said. “Welcome to the Human Realm.”

  I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling. “So this is what helpless feels like.”

  She gnced at me, unreadable.

  “For your own safety,” she said. “And everyone else’s.”

  I smiled wryly. “Fair,” I admitted. “Guess this is karma.”

  Somewhere in my head, the system stayed suspiciously silent.

  And honestly?

  That scared me more than the handcuffs.

  ---

  That night, cramped in Mira’s home, powerless, surrounded by a world the prophecy never mentioned, I looked out the window at the glowing city.

  “The prophecy didn’t say anything about this,” I murmured.

  Grando nodded. “Then perhaps,” she said carefully, “this is the part we’re meant to write ourselves.”

  Charmie grinned. “I call dibs on human snacks.”

  Mira stood quietly at the door.

  Watching us.

  And somewhere deep inside me, the system chimed softly.

  [Announcement: The Demon Lord has taken the first step into an unrecorded future.]