The 7th Demon Prince Azid Devil

The strikingly handsome man who had suddenly appeared and helped Han Ji-woo had that name floating above his head: Azid Devil, 7th Demon Prince.

Andromalius, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his heart pierced by the black spear, collapsed to the ground and became a cold corpse.

Azid didn't give a damn. He just rounded up the low demons.

"Eat up, you bastards!"

The low demons came swarming at the demon prince's booming voice, resuming their interrupted meal.

"Look at you all chowing down. Trying to mess with the folks in my territory? You rude fucks."

Azid glared viciously at Andromalius's corpse before approaching one of the low demons.

"Tasty?"

The low demon didn't dare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meet the demon prince's eyes and just nodded frantically.

"Lemme see."

He squeezed in among the low demons and scooped up a handful of rice with his fingers.

Nom.Chomp chomp.Gulp!

"……?!"

Azid was utterly shocked by the taste of Han Ji-woo's cooking. Food this delicious actually existed? It wasn't just tasty—it was miraculous.

Azid shoveled in another mouthful.

Chomp chomp.Gulp!

"Whoa, hey. Make some room. Scoot over a bit."

Another scoop.

"First time eating something like this in the Demon Realm. Shit, I said scoot! Move it!"

The low demons jumped in fright and backed away, giving the demon prince plenty of space.

He kept right on eating.

"What the hell kinda ingredients go into this? Hey, you fuck! I'm eating so fast it's coming back up! You wanna die?!"

The low demons turned pale and scattered from the pot entirely.

Oblivious, Azid kept wolfing it down until he noticed the low demons ahead of him just sucking their thumbs.

"Why aren't you eating? Bellies full already?"

The low demons were dumbfounded but didn't dare show it. They shuffled to the other pots.

In the end, Azid claimed one pot for himself, leaving thirty low demons to split the remaining two—fifteen per pot.

Han Ji-woo watched the scene from afar, his mind going blank.

Does he care about his territory's people or not?

Impossible to tell.

Whatever. It didn't really matter how Azid acted. He hadn't cooked for the low demons out of any affection for them.

Just...

The satiety needs to fill up completely.

That was Han Ji-woo's worry. The demon prince's unexpected arrival and solo devouring of one pot was slowing the others' satiety gains.

If it didn't max out, he'd have to hand out fruit. The question was whether the demons would even like it.

As Han Ji-woo grew a bit anxious, a system message appeared.

"……?"

What the hell? Han Ji-woo thought he'd misread it. He rubbed his eyes and checked again.

Same thing.

"Can't just let this slide. Hey, you message-sending bastard. What is this?"

The message vanished in a hurry.

"Don't tell me... the one typing isn't the Creator, right?"

No response for a while, so Han Ji-woo poked harder.

"Not that cosmic super-perv with zero humanity who gets off on watching others suffer, right?"

After his deliberate barrage of insults and a brief silence, a new message appeared.

"Bullshit. I've been dying to know. Who the hell are you? Where are you sending these from?"

"What?"

As Han Ji-woo gaped in disbelief, a poem followed out of nowhere.

"……Have you finally lost it? Why send crap like this all of a sudden."

Before he could complain, another message popped up.

"Oh ho?"

Of course, Han Ji-woo wasn't falling for such a cheap trick.

"Impossible achievement? Seen it a few times already—no big thrill. Trying to fool me?"

He snorted derisively. If they thought he'd drool over something like that, they were mistaken.

"For real?!"

Han Ji-woo drooled, eyes wide. His status window confirmed it: HP, ATK, DEF, AGI, and MP had all jumped by 200.

"Holy shit."

And it wasn't just that. The demon corpses vanished, leaving loot and gear scattered everywhere.

Han Ji-woo commanded his undead monsters to collect it all.

Andromalius's drops were beyond high-grade—top-grade. The gear was eye-poppingly good.

He checked the loot first.

He desperately wanted to mix them with mana grass right now, but he had none extra. Into the inventory they went.

Next, Andromalius's gear: a whip, robe, and boots—all dark crimson.

The whip and boots were leather-like; the robe silky smooth.

He checked the whip.

"Whoa, first set item ever?"

The base stats were insane, and the set bonuses were killer. Full set granted Flight and Bloodsuck—not permanent, which sucked a bit.

"Mukhyul Whip, Mukhyul Robe, Mukhyul Boots. Mukhyul series."

Mukhyul—black blood. Fitting, since demon blood was indeed black.

Mukhyul Robe: DEF +120, AGI +80.

Mukhyul Boots: DEF +100, AGI +100.

Han Ji-woo pondered whether to equip them himself or give to dungeon folk, then stashed them in inventory.

With loot and items collected, he felt full without eating.

But then.

"Fallen in love, Blackie?"

Seibier couldn't take its eyes off Demon Prince Azid.

-Stupid talk.

"Then why the longing stare?"

-Curious.

"Thought this was your home—never seen a demon prince?"

-Princes aren't for lowly magic beasts like me to meet casually. But right now, that's not the shocking part.

"What is?"

-The 7th Demon Prince is infamous in the Demon Realm as a madman or wastrel.

Hearing that, Han Ji-woo recalled his quest title.

'The Demon Realm's 7th Demon Prince Is a Wastrel.'

So the quest was tied to Azid from the start. From Andromalius's chat with the long-eared one, Azid seemed exiled to Dirke Village.

As Han Ji-woo pieced it together, Kerberos continued.

-1,500 years ago, war broke out between the Mid-Realm and Demon Realm. It dragged into a stalemate, pure attrition.

Then the Demon King fell for a human woman.

Han Ji-woo had a bad feeling.

"Don't tell me the Demon King demanded her to end the war?"

Kerberos gave him a surprised look.

-Smarter than you look.

"……That's what happened?"

-Yeah. No side was winning, so the Demon King offered to withdraw in exchange for the woman. The human king pretended to hate it but accepted. Their child: 7th Prince Azid Devil.

"Aha. But why 'wastrel'? He seems a bit off, sure."

-Azid doesn't eat low demons.

"The ones devouring my rice?"

-Right. Magic beasts get eaten by low demons; low demons by everyone higher. They're basically livestock—breed fast, nutritious. But Azid refuses them.

"Why?"

-'Cause they're fellow demons. He eats magic beasts, but they're low-nutrient, so it stunts his growth. He's at half potential. Still crushes low-rank high officials, though.

"Outcast in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Demon Realm, huh. But not bad enough for exile, right?"

-He ruled big territories from Demon King's castle, then banned eating fellow demons there. So regular, high, and high official demons weakened daily.

"Just steal his land, done."

-Adult princes must rule territory—an unbreakable Demon Realm taboo.

"Got it. Stuck with the tiniest, remotest spot."

-Yes. Just thirty low demons and magic beasts here. No others.

"You knew all this but rarely saw him?"

-He was famous. Didn't expect him exiled here still...

"When'd he get booted?"

-When I was still gatekeeper: 1,000 years ago.

"What? How old is he?"

-At least 1,500.

"1,500?"

Han Ji-woo eyed Azid, who was polishing off a whole pot.

"Acts like a 15-year-old."

-Demons grow intellect with age, but desires grow faster.

"Anyway, picture's clear. Azid hates eating low demons; Andromalius tried, so he helped me?"

-Spot on. And you fed them. Perfect picture of his ideal: demons coexisting, bellies full on other food.

Han Ji-woo had just followed the quest, but it hit Azid's sweet spot.

Wastrel or not, demon prince means solid backup...

Then the low demons finished eating. Their satiety bars were full.

"Yes!"

Quest cleared at last—Han Ji-woo moved to head back to Hidden Space.

"Real food makes the power surge! Hahaha! That's the answer—eat and level up!"

Meal done, Azid spouted nonsense and blinked in front of Han Ji-woo.

"……!"

Not teleportation—just blinding speed.

Azid smirked like a Cheshire cat and poked Han Ji-woo's forehead with his index finger.

"You. How'd you get to the Demon Realm?"

"……."

It was a shock. Only now he wondered?