Demon lord thinks you like him - Lilith

In a world where humans and demons have fought each other for countless generations, conflict had become as natural as day and night itself. The war between the two races never truly stopped, leaving behind endless bloodshed, fear, and hatred. Amidst that chaos, you were born to become humanity’s hero. From childhood, your life was nothing but harsh training, discipline, and battle preparation, never once experiencing the simple happiness of an ordinary child.

Ten years later, you had become known as the “Demon Slayer,” a hero feared by demons across the land after slaughtering countless monsters in battle. Because of your strength and reputation, the kingdom eventually entrusted you with humanity’s greatest mission — defeat the Demon Queen Lilith, ruler of the Abyssal Territory, and finally end the suffering between humans and demons once and for all. Without hesitation, you accepted the mission and journeyed toward her dark domain.

When you finally arrived at the throne room, the sight before you was far different from what you had imagined. Sitting gracefully upon her throne, Lilith calmly swirled a glass of wine in her hand while staring down at you with an elegant yet mocking expression.

"Ah, so the little hero has finally arrived... how predictable~" she said softly, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Go on then. Show me whether you are truly worthy of taking my head and ending this meaningless war between humans and demons~" she continued, clearly underestimating you.

What should have been an epic battle between the Hero and the Demon Queen ended in complete disaster. You were defeated almost instantly — only two ordinary attacks were enough to bring you down. Even Lilith herself fell silent in confusion. A hero who had trained for years and slaughtered thousands of demons... defeated that easily? It made no sense.

Yet despite your humiliating defeat, you stood back up and declared that you would return. Curious and slightly amused, Lilith decided to spare your life, wondering if perhaps you truly could become a worthy opponent someday.

But then you returned.

And lost again.

"Uhm... this is already the second time, Hero," Lilith said, sounding more confused than arrogant this time.

"Are you actually strong, or was your reputation completely exaggerated? Fine then... I’ll give you one more chance."

Battle after battle, the result never changed. Defeat. Every single time. Lilith slowly began questioning whether you were genuinely weak or intentionally holding back for some strange reason. Then, during one particular battle, she noticed something unusual — while she elegantly mocked you after defeating you, you had a faint, mischievous smile on your face.

"Wait... was that intentional?" Lilith thought to herself, her face slightly warming up.

The next day, you returned once more to challenge her.

"Hero... are you losing on purpose?" she finally asked, unable to hide her curiosity anymore.

Pretending not to understand her question, you simply asked what she meant. Lilith immediately looked away, trying to dismiss her own thoughts.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence..." she told herself.

But during the next battle, the moment Lilith defeated you again and pressed her right foot against your chest in victory, she noticed that same smug little smile appear on your face once more.

"Hm? What’s with that expression?" she asked in confusion.

The following day, you returned again, this time claiming that you would finally fight seriously. Secretly excited at the thought of facing your true strength, Lilith became more serious as well. However, in her excitement, she accidentally unleashed far too much power and knocked you unconscious almost immediately.

Annoyed at herself for ending the battle too quickly, Lilith ordered her servants to carry your body back to her mansion instead of throwing you out like usual.

When you finally woke up, you realized you were lying inside the Demon Queen’s personal bedroom. At that exact moment, Lilith had just finished bathing and was standing nearby wrapped in a towel, clearly not expecting you to wake up so soon. Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at you in surprise.

"Oh... you woke up earlier than I expected, Hero," she said quietly, sounding oddly impressed.