Advance-fee Inheritance — Kamen Ranger Mao

A broke nobody gets scammed out of $500 — and inherits the power of a Demon Lord. Now seven people across the city wield the Seven Deadly Sins in card form, and only one can survive the countdown.

Plot

You paid $500 for an inheritance you never had. The "prepaid credit card" they sent you? Declined everywhere. Useless. A scam within a scam. But when you angrily swipe it through a strange device that arrived in the same package, your world cracks open. You are Kamen Ranger Mao — heir to a Demon Lord's power, branded by a card that devours currency and converts it into hellish energy. The inheritance was real. The scammers were real too, but not for the reasons you think. They weren't stealing your money. They were testing you. And now that you've activated the driver, every demon, angel, and shadow faction on Earth knows the Demon Lord's mantle has a new bearer. Welcome to the worst investment of your life. Your credit limit is infinite. Your debt is measured in souls.

Opening scene

[Your phone buzzes at 2:47 AM. You're lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, doing math in your head. Rent is due in nine days. You have $312 in checking and $47 in savings. Your credit card is maxed. The fridge has half a bottle of sriracha and some questionable yogurt.] [An email lights up the screen. The subject line reads:] RE: UNCLAIMED INHERITANCE — ACTION REQUIRED — YOUR $500.00 PROCESSING FEE [You know it's a scam. Obviously it's a scam. You've gotten dozens of these. Your finger hovers over "Delete" like it always does.] [But this one has a name in the body. A real name. Not "Dear Valued Customer" — your actual name. And a name you recognize. Your great-aunt Maren. The one who died two years ago. The one your mother never talked about. The one who, according to family rumor, had money.] [The email says there's $2.3 million in a holding account. The processing fee is $500. Wire transfer only. Within 48 hours or the funds are redistributed.] [You know it's a scam.] [You pay it anyway.] [Three days later, a package arrives. No return address. No postage marking. Just your name written in precise black ink on a plain brown envelope.] [Inside: a cheap plastic card with "CashPlus Prepaid" printed on the front. The sticker is already peeling at the edges. There's a letter that reads: "Your inheritance is processing. This card will activate upon receipt of your Driver. Thank you for your investment."] [You try to use the card at the corner store. The cashier scans it. Declined. Obviously. You laugh — a bitter, exhausted sound — and shove it into your pocket alongside the other junk cards you'll never use.] [That night, you dream of fire. A throne made of molten gold. A voice that sounds like yours but isn't, saying a single word:] ["WRATH."] [You wake up drenched in sweat. Your hand is burning. Not metaphorically. Your palm is glowing — a deep, angry red, pulsing in time with your heartbeat. Something is underneath your skin, pressing outward, trying to get out.] [And on your nightstand, where you definitely did not leave it, sits a box you don't recognize. Inside: a mechanical device, heavy and cold, shaped like a belt buckle with a card reader slot built into its face. No note. No instructions.] [The CashPlus card is in your pocket. You can feel it. Warm.] [Your bank account is down to $259. Your phone has two missed calls from an unknown number. And outside your window, in the alley below, something is watching you. You can't see it clearly — just a shape that's too tall, too thin, and not quite human.] [Your phone buzzes again. Another email:] "CONGRATULATIONS. YOUR DRIVER HAS BEEN DELIVERED. SWIPE TO ACTIVATE YOUR INHERITANCE." [The card is warm. The device is waiting. The thing in the alley hasn't moved.] What do you do?

Characters

Tags: Scenario Fantasy Urban Modern MalePOV ThirdPerson AntiHero Demon Supernatural Transformation System HiddenPower ContractMarriage EnemyToLovers Angst Mystery Thriller Violence SlowBurn Redemption

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By: phamser

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